"The time will soon be here when my grandchild will long for the cry of a loon, the flash of a salmon, the whisper of spruce needles, or the screech of an eagle. But he will not make friends with any of these creatures and when his heart aches with longing he will curse me. Have I done all to keep the air fresh? Have I cared enough about the water? Have I left the eagle to soar in freedom? Have I done everything I could to earn my grandchild's fondness?."
Chief Dan George - Salish First Nations
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Today in history...
1521: Spanish Captains Francisco Gordillo, and Pedro de Quexos, land in, and claim, Florida for the King of Spain.
1802: A treaty with the SENECA Indians is concluded today on Buffalo Creek, in Ontario County, New York. All SENECA lands in Ontario County are ceded to the "Holland Land Company", and they will be given new lands on Lake Erie. Nineteen Indians will sign the treaty. A 2nd treaty is also signed today with the SENECAs. They will receive $1200 for what is called "Little Beard's Reservation. John Taylor, and 12 Indians will sign this document.
1802: A treaty with the SENECA Indians is concluded today on Buffalo Creek, in Ontario County, New York. All SENECA lands in Ontario County are ceded to the "Holland Land Company", and they will be given new lands on Lake Erie. Nineteen Indians will sign the treaty. A 2nd treaty is also signed today with the SENECAs. They will receive $1200 for what is called "Little Beard's Reservation. John Taylor, and 12 Indians will sign this document.
'In the Blood' by Robert Mirabal
TAOS PUEBLO, N.M. - After a four-year hiatus, American Indian recording artist Robert Mirabal is back with the strongest album of his career. The 13 tracks on ''In the Blood,'' blend scenes from the American experience - past, present and future - with themes from contemporary Native life. Sung both in English and Tiwa, Mirabal's native tongue, love songs merge with ghost songs that roll into Americana ballads and full-on tribal rocker anthems.
Produced by Nashville legend Andy Byrd, this concept album will please dyed-in-the-wool Mirabal fans as well as attracting a brand new following.
''It's the strongest songwriting and performance being put forth today from an indigenous point-of-view,'' Byrd said. ''This album follows a narrative cycle of songs in the quest for a brighter future.''
New renditions of all-time Mirabal favorites like ''Medicine Man'' and ''The Dance'' shimmer beside new works like ''Brave New World,'' ''Pottery Shard Man'' and ''Holding up the Sky,'' which ends with an 1866 quote from Sitting Bull.
For more information on Mirabal or to purchase his CD, visit www.mirabal.com.
Produced by Nashville legend Andy Byrd, this concept album will please dyed-in-the-wool Mirabal fans as well as attracting a brand new following.
''It's the strongest songwriting and performance being put forth today from an indigenous point-of-view,'' Byrd said. ''This album follows a narrative cycle of songs in the quest for a brighter future.''
New renditions of all-time Mirabal favorites like ''Medicine Man'' and ''The Dance'' shimmer beside new works like ''Brave New World,'' ''Pottery Shard Man'' and ''Holding up the Sky,'' which ends with an 1866 quote from Sitting Bull.
For more information on Mirabal or to purchase his CD, visit www.mirabal.com.
American Indians find support at business expo
By Caroline Fossi
Among friends and family, Vanessa Russell is known for her baking skills. Macadamia nut brownies and cream cheese pound cake, as well as a traditional bread pudding from her American Indian heritage, are just some of her specialties.
To capitalize on her culinary talents, the Ladson resident launched Cheraw Bakery and Designs out of her home. Now, she's hoping to expand the venture and eventually open a store.
Wednesday, she took a first step in that direction, displaying some of her homemade goods at a booth during the inaugural Native American Business Expo in North Charleston.
"I'm here to learn," she said.
Russell was among about 20 American Indian business owners who attended the event, the first of its kind in South Carolina. Attendees ranged from craft makers to uniform suppliers to industrial firms.
One of the expo's main goals was to help small businesses such as Cheraw Bakery learn about resources that can help them grow, said organizer Teresa Gore, president of the American Indian Chamber of Commerce of South Carolina, which is based in Ladson.
Click here to read more: http://www.charleston.net/news/2007/jun/28/american_indians_find_support_at_business_expo/
Among friends and family, Vanessa Russell is known for her baking skills. Macadamia nut brownies and cream cheese pound cake, as well as a traditional bread pudding from her American Indian heritage, are just some of her specialties.
To capitalize on her culinary talents, the Ladson resident launched Cheraw Bakery and Designs out of her home. Now, she's hoping to expand the venture and eventually open a store.
Wednesday, she took a first step in that direction, displaying some of her homemade goods at a booth during the inaugural Native American Business Expo in North Charleston.
"I'm here to learn," she said.
Russell was among about 20 American Indian business owners who attended the event, the first of its kind in South Carolina. Attendees ranged from craft makers to uniform suppliers to industrial firms.
One of the expo's main goals was to help small businesses such as Cheraw Bakery learn about resources that can help them grow, said organizer Teresa Gore, president of the American Indian Chamber of Commerce of South Carolina, which is based in Ladson.
Click here to read more: http://www.charleston.net/news/2007/jun/28/american_indians_find_support_at_business_expo/
Friday, June 29, 2007
Bluebird and the Coyote
The legend goes...
A long time ago the Bluebird's feathers were a very dull ugly colour. It lived near a lake with waters of the most delicate blue which never changed because no stream flowed in or out. Because the bird admired the blue water, it bathed in the lake four times every morning for four days, and every morning it sang:
There's a blue water. It lies there. I went in. I am all blue.
On the fourth morning it shed all its feathers and came out in its bare skin, but on the fifth morning it came out with blue feathers.
All the while, Coyote had been watching the bird. He wanted to jump in and catch it for his dinner, but he was afraid of the blue water. But on the fifth morning he said to the Bluebird: "How is it that all your ugly colour has come out of your feathers, and now you are all blue and sprightly and beautiful? You are more beautiful than anything that flies in the air. I want to be blue, too."
"I went in only four times," replied the Bluebird. It then taught Coyote the song it had sung.
And so Coyote steeled his courage and jumped into the lake. For four mornings he did this, singing the song the Bluebird had taught him, and on the fifth day he turned as blue as the bird.
That made Coyote feel very proud. He was so proud to be a blue coyote that when he walked along he looked about on every side to see if anyone was noticing how fine and blue he was.
Then he started running along very fast, looking at his shadow to see if it also was blue. He was not watching the road, and presently he ran into a stump so hard that it threw him down upon the ground and he became dust-coloured all over. And to this day all coyotes are the colour of dusty earth.
A long time ago the Bluebird's feathers were a very dull ugly colour. It lived near a lake with waters of the most delicate blue which never changed because no stream flowed in or out. Because the bird admired the blue water, it bathed in the lake four times every morning for four days, and every morning it sang:
There's a blue water. It lies there. I went in. I am all blue.
On the fourth morning it shed all its feathers and came out in its bare skin, but on the fifth morning it came out with blue feathers.
All the while, Coyote had been watching the bird. He wanted to jump in and catch it for his dinner, but he was afraid of the blue water. But on the fifth morning he said to the Bluebird: "How is it that all your ugly colour has come out of your feathers, and now you are all blue and sprightly and beautiful? You are more beautiful than anything that flies in the air. I want to be blue, too."
"I went in only four times," replied the Bluebird. It then taught Coyote the song it had sung.
And so Coyote steeled his courage and jumped into the lake. For four mornings he did this, singing the song the Bluebird had taught him, and on the fifth day he turned as blue as the bird.
That made Coyote feel very proud. He was so proud to be a blue coyote that when he walked along he looked about on every side to see if anyone was noticing how fine and blue he was.
Then he started running along very fast, looking at his shadow to see if it also was blue. He was not watching the road, and presently he ran into a stump so hard that it threw him down upon the ground and he became dust-coloured all over. And to this day all coyotes are the colour of dusty earth.
Inuit hunters say global warming is thinning ice.
By: Beth Duff-Brown
Inuit hunters are falling through thinning ice and dying. Dolphins are being spotted for the first time. There's not enough snow to build igloos for shelter during hunts.
As scientists work to establish the effect of global warming, explorers and hunters slogging across northern Canada and the Arctic ice cap on sled and foot are describing the realities they see on the ground.
"This is really ground zero for global warming," said Will Steger, a 62-year-old Minnesotan who has been traveling the region for 43 years and has witnessed the effect of warming on the 155,000 indigenous people of the Arctic.
"This is where a culture has lived for 5,000 years, relying on a very delicate, interconnected ecosystem, and, one by one, small pegs of that ecosystem are being pulled out," Steger said by satellite phone from a village outside Iqaluit, about 200 miles south of the Arctic Circle. Iqaluit is the provincial capital of the Canadian territory of Nunavut.
Steger, who made the first journey to the North Pole by dogsled without resupply in 1986, is sledding with Inuit guides for three months across Baffin Island, the northeastern corner of Nunavut, with two teams of huskies and a cameraman.
He is charting his 1,200-mile adventure on his Will Steger Expedition Journal web site, and making a documentary about how Inuit hunters are being forced to adapt to a warming Arctic Ocean and melting polar ice cap. In June, he will testify before a U.S. Senate committee on climate change.
Click here to read the full article: http://www.aaanativearts.com/alaskan-natives/inuit-hunters-thinning-ice.htm?name=News&file=article&sid=1440
Inuit hunters are falling through thinning ice and dying. Dolphins are being spotted for the first time. There's not enough snow to build igloos for shelter during hunts.
As scientists work to establish the effect of global warming, explorers and hunters slogging across northern Canada and the Arctic ice cap on sled and foot are describing the realities they see on the ground.
"This is really ground zero for global warming," said Will Steger, a 62-year-old Minnesotan who has been traveling the region for 43 years and has witnessed the effect of warming on the 155,000 indigenous people of the Arctic.
"This is where a culture has lived for 5,000 years, relying on a very delicate, interconnected ecosystem, and, one by one, small pegs of that ecosystem are being pulled out," Steger said by satellite phone from a village outside Iqaluit, about 200 miles south of the Arctic Circle. Iqaluit is the provincial capital of the Canadian territory of Nunavut.
Steger, who made the first journey to the North Pole by dogsled without resupply in 1986, is sledding with Inuit guides for three months across Baffin Island, the northeastern corner of Nunavut, with two teams of huskies and a cameraman.
He is charting his 1,200-mile adventure on his Will Steger Expedition Journal web site, and making a documentary about how Inuit hunters are being forced to adapt to a warming Arctic Ocean and melting polar ice cap. In June, he will testify before a U.S. Senate committee on climate change.
Click here to read the full article: http://www.aaanativearts.com/alaskan-natives/inuit-hunters-thinning-ice.htm?name=News&file=article&sid=1440
Do you know...
The Arapaho Indian Nation have lived on the plains of the American West since the 17th Century; prior to that they had roots in Minnesota. The Arapaho refer to themselves as ‘Inuna-Ina’ which translates as ‘our people.’ Their language is of Algonquin heritage, as is that of their close neighbors the Cheyenne. When they began to drift west, the Arapahos formed an alliance with the Cheyenne. Forsaking their life as corn planters they began to follow the great Buffalo herds.
The newly transplanted Plains Arapaho split into two separate tribes, the northern and southern Arapaho. Both tribes constantly waged war with the Shoshone, Ute, Pawnee and Navajo tribes throughout the 18th and early 19th century. From 1840 onwards, however, a peace settled over the plains tribes. The Northern Arapaho lived along the edges of the mountains at the headwaters of the Platte River, while the southern Arapaho moved towards the Arkansas River.
The Arapaho were a nomadic people in the summer when they followed the Buffalo. To accommodate this they lived in tipis. The tipis were made from buffalo skins that were sewn together and wrapped around lodge poles. The tipi was easily maneuverable and could be comfortably erected by two women in an hour. The Arapaho became acknowledged experts at hunting the buffalo, which provided them with virtually every essential of living. In addition to the meat of the buffalo the Arapaho would eat berries and plants. A favorite among the people was to mix buffalo meat with berries and the fat of the buffalo to make pemmican. The Arapaho were also known for the custom of eating their dogs.
For their clothing the Arapaho would utilize the hide of the elk and the deer. From these they would fashion breechcloths, leggings and moccasins for the men and fringed dresses for the women.
The Arapaho would live together in small bands with membership predominantly determined by birth. Members were, however, free to move between bands at will. Once a year all of the bands would congregate together for the Sun Dance festival – an eight day festival that preceded the great summer buffalo hunt. Each band would raise their tipis in a circle, ensuring that their opening flaps were facing to the east. In the center of the camp the Sun Dance Lodge would be constructed. In the middle of this lodge would stand the Sun Dance pole. After a preparatory period the Sun Dance would begin with specific dance patterns and body painting methods. Those chosen as the primary participants would then undergo an excruciating ordeal that involved staring into the Sun while dancing hypnotically before being impaled to the Sun Dance pole by way of tiny stakes punctured into the skin. The Sun Dancer was not to show any signs of pain during the ritual and, if able to do so, would be rewarded with a vision from the Great Spirit.
The Arapaho are a very spiritual people. They believe in an overall creator who they refer to as Be He Teiht. As with many Native American peoples they believe in a close relationship between themselves, the animals of their world and the land on which they live. The Arapaho also have a deep respect and appreciation for the wisdom of their elders.
With the coming of the white man the Arapaho endeavored to coexist in peace. But as the advance of Europeans on the frontier continued at pace, The Arapahos, along with all the other plains tribes, found themselves being pushed further and further west. The buffalo which they so depended upon was being shot by the thousands and left to rot by the newcomers. Treaties made by the United States Government with the Arapaho were soon broken as the need for more land presented itself. The gold rush of 1858 saw the floodgates opened even further.
The treaty of Medicine Lodge in 1867 placed the Southern Arapaho on a reservation in Oklahoma along with the Southern Cheyenne. The Northern Arapaho were placed on a reservation in the Wind River area of Wyoming along with the Shoshone.
The newly transplanted Plains Arapaho split into two separate tribes, the northern and southern Arapaho. Both tribes constantly waged war with the Shoshone, Ute, Pawnee and Navajo tribes throughout the 18th and early 19th century. From 1840 onwards, however, a peace settled over the plains tribes. The Northern Arapaho lived along the edges of the mountains at the headwaters of the Platte River, while the southern Arapaho moved towards the Arkansas River.
The Arapaho were a nomadic people in the summer when they followed the Buffalo. To accommodate this they lived in tipis. The tipis were made from buffalo skins that were sewn together and wrapped around lodge poles. The tipi was easily maneuverable and could be comfortably erected by two women in an hour. The Arapaho became acknowledged experts at hunting the buffalo, which provided them with virtually every essential of living. In addition to the meat of the buffalo the Arapaho would eat berries and plants. A favorite among the people was to mix buffalo meat with berries and the fat of the buffalo to make pemmican. The Arapaho were also known for the custom of eating their dogs.
For their clothing the Arapaho would utilize the hide of the elk and the deer. From these they would fashion breechcloths, leggings and moccasins for the men and fringed dresses for the women.
The Arapaho would live together in small bands with membership predominantly determined by birth. Members were, however, free to move between bands at will. Once a year all of the bands would congregate together for the Sun Dance festival – an eight day festival that preceded the great summer buffalo hunt. Each band would raise their tipis in a circle, ensuring that their opening flaps were facing to the east. In the center of the camp the Sun Dance Lodge would be constructed. In the middle of this lodge would stand the Sun Dance pole. After a preparatory period the Sun Dance would begin with specific dance patterns and body painting methods. Those chosen as the primary participants would then undergo an excruciating ordeal that involved staring into the Sun while dancing hypnotically before being impaled to the Sun Dance pole by way of tiny stakes punctured into the skin. The Sun Dancer was not to show any signs of pain during the ritual and, if able to do so, would be rewarded with a vision from the Great Spirit.
The Arapaho are a very spiritual people. They believe in an overall creator who they refer to as Be He Teiht. As with many Native American peoples they believe in a close relationship between themselves, the animals of their world and the land on which they live. The Arapaho also have a deep respect and appreciation for the wisdom of their elders.
With the coming of the white man the Arapaho endeavored to coexist in peace. But as the advance of Europeans on the frontier continued at pace, The Arapahos, along with all the other plains tribes, found themselves being pushed further and further west. The buffalo which they so depended upon was being shot by the thousands and left to rot by the newcomers. Treaties made by the United States Government with the Arapaho were soon broken as the need for more land presented itself. The gold rush of 1858 saw the floodgates opened even further.
The treaty of Medicine Lodge in 1867 placed the Southern Arapaho on a reservation in Oklahoma along with the Southern Cheyenne. The Northern Arapaho were placed on a reservation in the Wind River area of Wyoming along with the Shoshone.
Memorial honors Oglala veterans
by: David Melmer
KYLE, S.D. - Ola Millie Rexroat, Oglala Sioux Tribal member, didn't know how to drive a car, but she thought she could fly an airplane.
During World War II, Rexroat flew planes that pulled targets for artillery practice and she was the only American Indian woman among the 1,700 women who flew those planes.
Rexroat was specially honored during the unveiling of the Oglala War Veterans memorial dedicated to the Oglala Lakota veterans June 23.
Veterans are honored at every pow wow and every official gathering on the Pine Ridge Reservation, but now a permanent memorial has been established that includes the names of veterans from all wars.
The Oglala Lakota College was instrumental in organizing and developing the memorial, which is located at the Piya Wiconi Administrative Headquarters for OLC.
''I stand in honor of veterans who couldn't come home, for those who went to the spirit world and for those who are not here today. I am not a veteran but I have the greatest respect for veterans,'' said Newton Cummings, president of the board of trustees for OLC.
''Without the akicita [warriors], where would we be today?'' he asked.
Cummings said the memorial is significant because the future generations will know who the warriors were and who it was that sacrificed to make them free and safe. The memorial contains more than 1,800 names from all wars in which Oglalas served in the defense of the United States.
Read more here: http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096415311
KYLE, S.D. - Ola Millie Rexroat, Oglala Sioux Tribal member, didn't know how to drive a car, but she thought she could fly an airplane.
During World War II, Rexroat flew planes that pulled targets for artillery practice and she was the only American Indian woman among the 1,700 women who flew those planes.
Rexroat was specially honored during the unveiling of the Oglala War Veterans memorial dedicated to the Oglala Lakota veterans June 23.
Veterans are honored at every pow wow and every official gathering on the Pine Ridge Reservation, but now a permanent memorial has been established that includes the names of veterans from all wars.
The Oglala Lakota College was instrumental in organizing and developing the memorial, which is located at the Piya Wiconi Administrative Headquarters for OLC.
''I stand in honor of veterans who couldn't come home, for those who went to the spirit world and for those who are not here today. I am not a veteran but I have the greatest respect for veterans,'' said Newton Cummings, president of the board of trustees for OLC.
''Without the akicita [warriors], where would we be today?'' he asked.
Cummings said the memorial is significant because the future generations will know who the warriors were and who it was that sacrificed to make them free and safe. The memorial contains more than 1,800 names from all wars in which Oglalas served in the defense of the United States.
Read more here: http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096415311
Funeral services set for former Cherokee council member
By Donna Hales
Services for Don Ray “Chief” Crittenden, 77, who served 26 years as a Cherokee Nation tribal councilor, will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday.
“It’s a sad day for the Cherokee Nation that we lost one of our most beloved former officials,” said Councilor Bill John Baker of Tahlequah.
Services will be at the new Sequoyah High School Gymnasium for Crittenden, who died Friday. He formerly served as president of the Sequoyah School Board for many years.
While on the tribal council, Crittenden served under every chief.
Baker recalls Crittenden going to Washington, D.C., where he “pleaded and begged” to keep Sequoyah open “and got it done. Now, it is one of the finest institutions of higher learning in northeastern Oklahoma.”
Baker credits Crittenden with starting the Cherokee Nation Roads Program.
“It blossomed into a $100 million program. He did so much for northeastern Oklahoma than any one man could claim,” Baker said. “He did so much for the (Cherokee) Nation that very few people even knew about.”
Crittenden graduated from Westville High School before serving in the U.S. Navy and later serving in the U.S. Army.
He earned a master’s degree in education from Northeastern State University and taught school at Hulbert and Tahlequah. He was a coach for many years. He also was co-owner of Cherokee Pest Control for many years.
The son of Luke and Cleo Beatrice (Kirby) Crittenden, both deceased, he married Mary Lee King in 1956 in Fayetteville. They moved to Tahlequah and raised three sons, Philip, Christopher and Kelly. Mary Lee died in 2004.
Crittenden participated in rodeos for 20 years, bulldogging for 15 years and riding bucking bulls for a shorter time. He enjoyed his church, Tahlequah Bible Church, and loved spending time with family, friends and going fishing.
Services for Don Ray “Chief” Crittenden, 77, who served 26 years as a Cherokee Nation tribal councilor, will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday.
“It’s a sad day for the Cherokee Nation that we lost one of our most beloved former officials,” said Councilor Bill John Baker of Tahlequah.
Services will be at the new Sequoyah High School Gymnasium for Crittenden, who died Friday. He formerly served as president of the Sequoyah School Board for many years.
While on the tribal council, Crittenden served under every chief.
Baker recalls Crittenden going to Washington, D.C., where he “pleaded and begged” to keep Sequoyah open “and got it done. Now, it is one of the finest institutions of higher learning in northeastern Oklahoma.”
Baker credits Crittenden with starting the Cherokee Nation Roads Program.
“It blossomed into a $100 million program. He did so much for northeastern Oklahoma than any one man could claim,” Baker said. “He did so much for the (Cherokee) Nation that very few people even knew about.”
Crittenden graduated from Westville High School before serving in the U.S. Navy and later serving in the U.S. Army.
He earned a master’s degree in education from Northeastern State University and taught school at Hulbert and Tahlequah. He was a coach for many years. He also was co-owner of Cherokee Pest Control for many years.
The son of Luke and Cleo Beatrice (Kirby) Crittenden, both deceased, he married Mary Lee King in 1956 in Fayetteville. They moved to Tahlequah and raised three sons, Philip, Christopher and Kelly. Mary Lee died in 2004.
Crittenden participated in rodeos for 20 years, bulldogging for 15 years and riding bucking bulls for a shorter time. He enjoyed his church, Tahlequah Bible Church, and loved spending time with family, friends and going fishing.
Environmental politics
The latest trail through the land dispute involving the Ardoch Algonquins has more potholes than a downtown street. No matter which way you turn, peril awaits.
This week Bob Lovelace, speaking for the Algonquins, said the natives will fight the plans of a mining company, Frontenac Ventures, to look for uranium on land near Pine Lake. Citing the Royal Proclamation of 1763, the Algonquins claim the land as their own and say they have the right to throw people off it if they don't want them there.
To support their cause, the natives are playing the environmental card, suggesting radiation will poison the area's watershed if uranium in the bedrock is disturbed. Their outrage, however, rings hollow. These are the same Algonquins who ignored demands for an environmental assessment before they began to build a community centre on Crown land at Pine Lake.
The natives no longer have credibility as environmental stewards.
The government of Ontario, which regulates mining in the province, similarly seems to be trying to grab ethical high ground to which it has no claim. At a time when confrontations at Caledonia and Deseronto have made us aware of how charged these disputes can become, you'd think a bureaucrat wouldn't need a regulation to understand the need to consult natives when a prospector expresses interest in minerals on disputed land.
Want to know more? Click here: http://www.thewhig.com/webapp/sitepages/content.asp?contentid=580290&catname=Editorial&classif
This week Bob Lovelace, speaking for the Algonquins, said the natives will fight the plans of a mining company, Frontenac Ventures, to look for uranium on land near Pine Lake. Citing the Royal Proclamation of 1763, the Algonquins claim the land as their own and say they have the right to throw people off it if they don't want them there.
To support their cause, the natives are playing the environmental card, suggesting radiation will poison the area's watershed if uranium in the bedrock is disturbed. Their outrage, however, rings hollow. These are the same Algonquins who ignored demands for an environmental assessment before they began to build a community centre on Crown land at Pine Lake.
The natives no longer have credibility as environmental stewards.
The government of Ontario, which regulates mining in the province, similarly seems to be trying to grab ethical high ground to which it has no claim. At a time when confrontations at Caledonia and Deseronto have made us aware of how charged these disputes can become, you'd think a bureaucrat wouldn't need a regulation to understand the need to consult natives when a prospector expresses interest in minerals on disputed land.
Want to know more? Click here: http://www.thewhig.com/webapp/sitepages/content.asp?contentid=580290&catname=Editorial&classif
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Quotes
"At my death paint my body with red paint and plunge it into fresh water to be restored back to life, otherwise my bones will be turned into stone and my joints into flint in my grave, but my spirit will rise." -
Crazy Horse - Oglala Sioux
Crazy Horse - Oglala Sioux
Ancient bones to be reburied
The remains of a Tocobaga Indian will be ceremoniously returned to sacred ground.
By KAMEEL STANLEY
SAFETY HARBOR - In fall 2003, someone left a small, unwanted box on the doorstep of the Safety Harbor Museum of Regional History.
No one thought anything of it for months, until, during a routine inventory of the museum's artifact room, workers lifted the lid.
What they found - a pile of human bones and several ancient artifacts - set off an effort that lasted nearly a year and determined the remains are those of a Tocobaga Indian who lived in the area as much as 1, 100 years ago.
And so, after considering ways to handle the remains with dignity, the museum and a local American Indian group will bury them in a ceremony this Saturday.
"This is an unusual, rare proceeding, " said Walter Bowman, the museum's educational director. "It's something the public isn't going to see, if ever, again."
The Spirit People Intertribal Family, a multitribal group, is handling the burial.
"Our burial grounds have been desecrated, " said Pamela Davison, known as Waterbird, who is the group's spiritual leader. "It is a great and tremendous honor for us to be asked to bring this ancestor back to where they belong."
Click here to read more: http://www.sptimes.com/2007/06/28/Northpinellas/Ancient_bones_to_be_r.shtml
By KAMEEL STANLEY
SAFETY HARBOR - In fall 2003, someone left a small, unwanted box on the doorstep of the Safety Harbor Museum of Regional History.
No one thought anything of it for months, until, during a routine inventory of the museum's artifact room, workers lifted the lid.
What they found - a pile of human bones and several ancient artifacts - set off an effort that lasted nearly a year and determined the remains are those of a Tocobaga Indian who lived in the area as much as 1, 100 years ago.
And so, after considering ways to handle the remains with dignity, the museum and a local American Indian group will bury them in a ceremony this Saturday.
"This is an unusual, rare proceeding, " said Walter Bowman, the museum's educational director. "It's something the public isn't going to see, if ever, again."
The Spirit People Intertribal Family, a multitribal group, is handling the burial.
"Our burial grounds have been desecrated, " said Pamela Davison, known as Waterbird, who is the group's spiritual leader. "It is a great and tremendous honor for us to be asked to bring this ancestor back to where they belong."
Click here to read more: http://www.sptimes.com/2007/06/28/Northpinellas/Ancient_bones_to_be_r.shtml
American Indian law added to state bar exam
Beginning in July, law students will be required to demonstrate knowledge on the basics of American Indian law to pass the South Dakota Bar exam.
The South Dakota Supreme Court voted to adopt a rule to require the state bar exam to include on essay question about American Indian law.
The essay question will include basic principles of federal American Indian law. It will not include tribal codes or customary laws.
South Dakota is the third state in the nation to add an American Indian law question to its state bar exam. The state board of bar examiners must report back to the state Supreme Court by Jan. 1, 2009, with an evaluation of the new rule.
The South Dakota Supreme Court voted to adopt a rule to require the state bar exam to include on essay question about American Indian law.
The essay question will include basic principles of federal American Indian law. It will not include tribal codes or customary laws.
South Dakota is the third state in the nation to add an American Indian law question to its state bar exam. The state board of bar examiners must report back to the state Supreme Court by Jan. 1, 2009, with an evaluation of the new rule.
Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean meets with tribal leaders
It's a sign of the tribe's growing clout
By: SEAN COCKERHAM
Howard Dean, chairman of the national Democratic Party, wooed the Puyallup Tribal Council on Tuesday in a sign of the tribe’s growing influence.
Dean met with tribal council members for lunch in the Bridge nightclub at the tribe’s Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma. Midday gamblers played blackjack and fed video terminals on the floor below while Dean dined in an intimate setting with council members in the largely darkened nightclub.
Dean was in the Puget Sound area for Democratic Party fundraisers. The Puyallup Tribe was the only tribe on his itinerary.
“They are politically very active,” Dean said in a brief interview before the meeting.
He also said the tribe is close with Kalyn Free, a Cherokee Indian whom Dean appointed to the Democratic National Committee. Free is founder of INDN’s List, a national American Indian political organization.
Click here to read the full article: http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/updates/story/96824.html
By: SEAN COCKERHAM
Howard Dean, chairman of the national Democratic Party, wooed the Puyallup Tribal Council on Tuesday in a sign of the tribe’s growing influence.
Dean met with tribal council members for lunch in the Bridge nightclub at the tribe’s Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma. Midday gamblers played blackjack and fed video terminals on the floor below while Dean dined in an intimate setting with council members in the largely darkened nightclub.
Dean was in the Puget Sound area for Democratic Party fundraisers. The Puyallup Tribe was the only tribe on his itinerary.
“They are politically very active,” Dean said in a brief interview before the meeting.
He also said the tribe is close with Kalyn Free, a Cherokee Indian whom Dean appointed to the Democratic National Committee. Free is founder of INDN’s List, a national American Indian political organization.
Click here to read the full article: http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/updates/story/96824.html
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Quotes
"A long time ago this land belonged to our fathers, but when I go up to the river I see camps of soldiers on its banks. These soldiers cut down my timber, they kill my buffalo and when I see that, my heart feels like bursting." -
Santana - Kiowa
Santana - Kiowa
Today in history...
1542: Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo will leave Mexico today to go up the Pacific coast in exploration. Cabrillo will be the first European to land in San Siego Bay, California. He will go as far north as the Rogue River, in California.
1879: The Drifting Goose Reserve will be created out of townsites number 119, 120, and 121 north, of range 63 west in the Dakota Territory today. It is created for the "MAG-A-BO-DAS or DRIFTING GOOSE Band of the YANKTONAIS SIOUX Indians."
1879: The Drifting Goose Reserve will be created out of townsites number 119, 120, and 121 north, of range 63 west in the Dakota Territory today. It is created for the "MAG-A-BO-DAS or DRIFTING GOOSE Band of the YANKTONAIS SIOUX Indians."
Remembering Sunshine, murdered Lakota woman special spirit
By Brenda Norrell
At the end of a scorching day, with a gentle breeze at sunset, the people of Tucson came from every walk of life to a downtown park to honor a special soul that touched the lives of so many in her life and death.
Lillian Ruth Wright, known as Sunshine, was Lakota Sioux from Rosebud, South Dakota. Wright, 69, was found on the morning of June 12, lying in a pool of blood beneath the stars where she chose to sleep in downtown Tucson.
Rosebud Sioux tribal member Connie Laven and Sunshine's sister Sylvia Konop remembered Sunshine and thanked those who came to El Presidio Park to honor her.
Laven asked the crowd to imagine an Indian boarding school, with people carrying wajapi and fry bread, with beautiful star quilts and speaking words of respect. She asked those gathered to imagine Sunshine's friends shaking hands with the family and crying as they vowed never to forget her.
"We bury our dead very well," Laven said.
Attorney Robert Lundquist, who allowed Sunshine to sleep outside his law office and use the electricity and water hose, also welcomed her as a housesitter in his home during summers. Tearfully, Lundquist remembered this Lakota soul who gave him so much.
Bearing a basket of organic vegetables from his garden as an offering for those who came and were in need of food, Lundquist spoke of the gifts that Sunshine gave him."She was a gift to humanity, as we all can be," Lundquist told the crowd of several hundred friends, attorneys, community members and people who make their homes on the streets of Tucson.
Click here to read more: http://www.nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=8827
At the end of a scorching day, with a gentle breeze at sunset, the people of Tucson came from every walk of life to a downtown park to honor a special soul that touched the lives of so many in her life and death.
Lillian Ruth Wright, known as Sunshine, was Lakota Sioux from Rosebud, South Dakota. Wright, 69, was found on the morning of June 12, lying in a pool of blood beneath the stars where she chose to sleep in downtown Tucson.
Rosebud Sioux tribal member Connie Laven and Sunshine's sister Sylvia Konop remembered Sunshine and thanked those who came to El Presidio Park to honor her.
Laven asked the crowd to imagine an Indian boarding school, with people carrying wajapi and fry bread, with beautiful star quilts and speaking words of respect. She asked those gathered to imagine Sunshine's friends shaking hands with the family and crying as they vowed never to forget her.
"We bury our dead very well," Laven said.
Attorney Robert Lundquist, who allowed Sunshine to sleep outside his law office and use the electricity and water hose, also welcomed her as a housesitter in his home during summers. Tearfully, Lundquist remembered this Lakota soul who gave him so much.
Bearing a basket of organic vegetables from his garden as an offering for those who came and were in need of food, Lundquist spoke of the gifts that Sunshine gave him."She was a gift to humanity, as we all can be," Lundquist told the crowd of several hundred friends, attorneys, community members and people who make their homes on the streets of Tucson.
Click here to read more: http://www.nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=8827
Ancestry.com Launches 150 Years of Native American Family History, Online for the First Time
PROVO, Utah, June 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Ancestry.com, the world's leading online family history resource, today launched more than 7.5 million names in U.S. Indian Censuses, the largest online collection of Native American family history records. Taken by the Bureau of Indian affairs, the censuses document some 150 years of Native American family history. These censuses create an intimate portrait of individuals living on all registered Indian reservations between 1885 and the 1940s.
The U.S. Indian Censuses are among the most important documents for tracing Native American family history -- as well as the place to for anyone with Native American ancestry to begin searching for their heritage. Representing more than 250 tribes from some 275 reservations, schools and hospitals across the United States, the censuses typically recorded names, including Indian names, ages, birthdates, tribe, reservation and more.
Details of children born in the 1940s combined with information about individuals born in the early 1800s enable researchers to find parents and grandparents as children in 20th century censuses and trace their family to earlier generations. Clues in the census show where ancestors lived and how families changed over the years.
"The stories contained in these censuses will help Native Americans preserve their tradition-rich personal and cultural identity," says Megan Smolenyak, chief family historian for Ancestry.com. "Crossing tribal and reservation boundaries, these censuses tell personal stories of Native Americans living on reservations across the United States. In them we find influential Native Americans who led their people along side those whose stories are still waiting to be told."
Among the well-known names in the Native American censuses include: -- Celebrated Iwo Jima flag raiser Ira Hayes was counted on Arizona's Gila River reservation in censuses from 1930 to 1936. -- Legendary Jim Thorpe appears 15 times in the censuses -- first as a three-year-old named Jimmie living in Indian Territory, finally as a 50 year old in 1937. The census also tells countless personal stories, such as: -- Jesse Cornplanter of New York's Cattaraugus reservation appears in 16 censuses -- first as a child with his parents, then as a father with a wife and child -- Gabe Gobin, a logger on the Tulalip Reservation in Washington, who appears in 33 years of censuses. -- Seminole Mary Parker appears as a young teenage in three censuses taken in the 1930s.
Because the Native American censuses were taken so often, they are among the best censuses worldwide for tracing family history. The U.S. federal census is taken only once every ten years. In addition, because Native Americans were not granted full U.S. citizenship until 1924, the U.S. federal censuses before 1930 are sporadic at best for counting Native Americans. The yearly counts and updates reflected in the Indian censuses offer Native American family historians a more complete and accurate picture of their ancestors than the federal census.
The U.S. Indian Censuses are among the most important documents for tracing Native American family history -- as well as the place to for anyone with Native American ancestry to begin searching for their heritage. Representing more than 250 tribes from some 275 reservations, schools and hospitals across the United States, the censuses typically recorded names, including Indian names, ages, birthdates, tribe, reservation and more.
Details of children born in the 1940s combined with information about individuals born in the early 1800s enable researchers to find parents and grandparents as children in 20th century censuses and trace their family to earlier generations. Clues in the census show where ancestors lived and how families changed over the years.
"The stories contained in these censuses will help Native Americans preserve their tradition-rich personal and cultural identity," says Megan Smolenyak, chief family historian for Ancestry.com. "Crossing tribal and reservation boundaries, these censuses tell personal stories of Native Americans living on reservations across the United States. In them we find influential Native Americans who led their people along side those whose stories are still waiting to be told."
Among the well-known names in the Native American censuses include: -- Celebrated Iwo Jima flag raiser Ira Hayes was counted on Arizona's Gila River reservation in censuses from 1930 to 1936. -- Legendary Jim Thorpe appears 15 times in the censuses -- first as a three-year-old named Jimmie living in Indian Territory, finally as a 50 year old in 1937. The census also tells countless personal stories, such as: -- Jesse Cornplanter of New York's Cattaraugus reservation appears in 16 censuses -- first as a child with his parents, then as a father with a wife and child -- Gabe Gobin, a logger on the Tulalip Reservation in Washington, who appears in 33 years of censuses. -- Seminole Mary Parker appears as a young teenage in three censuses taken in the 1930s.
Because the Native American censuses were taken so often, they are among the best censuses worldwide for tracing family history. The U.S. federal census is taken only once every ten years. In addition, because Native Americans were not granted full U.S. citizenship until 1924, the U.S. federal censuses before 1930 are sporadic at best for counting Native Americans. The yearly counts and updates reflected in the Indian censuses offer Native American family historians a more complete and accurate picture of their ancestors than the federal census.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Neither Wolf Nor Dog
On Forgotten Roads With An Indian Elder
Book review:
By Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Kent Nerburn (The Wisdom of the Native Americans) has been deeply involved in Native American issues and education. In this extraordinary work (which won the 1996 Minnesota Book Award), Nerburn has fashioned a powerful drama around his encounters with Dan, a Lakota elder who unflinchingly speaks the truth about Indian life, past and present.
Like a Zen Master, Dan refuses to whitewash the historical clash between whites and his people. Nerburn comes with certain expectations and idealism that is shattered by Dan's refusal to be written off as just another Native American wise man. The author becomes the brunt of many jokes as he travels down dusty roads, sees reservation life, and is exposed to his own prejudices. This teaching strategy of Dan reminds us of the tricksters in Zen and Sufism who are always trying to take us beyond conventional thinking and dogmatism.
Nerburn gets the point and learns some hard truths about himself and his assumptions about Indians. He respects the diversity of Native American experiences and the differences between tribes. Nerburn stays far away from the clichéd images of the drunken Indian, the vicious savage, the noble wise man and the silent earth-mother. And he acknowledges the harm done by whites who exploit Indian themes or rituals as well as those who fall under the "Cherokee Grandmother" syndrome (claiming a Native American in their family tree and in a flash being able to be one with these people). This smacks of a pernicious kind of spiritual arrogance where whites try to appropriate for themselves the customs and rituals of other cultures and religions.
In one of the most crucial passages in the book, Dan explains to Nerburn why for centuries his people have been unable to see eye to eye with the rest of Americans. Dan explains that for the American white person, the most important thing is freedom. But for an American Indian, the most important thing is honor.
Click here to read more: http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/books/books.php?id=10149
Book review:
By Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Kent Nerburn (The Wisdom of the Native Americans) has been deeply involved in Native American issues and education. In this extraordinary work (which won the 1996 Minnesota Book Award), Nerburn has fashioned a powerful drama around his encounters with Dan, a Lakota elder who unflinchingly speaks the truth about Indian life, past and present.
Like a Zen Master, Dan refuses to whitewash the historical clash between whites and his people. Nerburn comes with certain expectations and idealism that is shattered by Dan's refusal to be written off as just another Native American wise man. The author becomes the brunt of many jokes as he travels down dusty roads, sees reservation life, and is exposed to his own prejudices. This teaching strategy of Dan reminds us of the tricksters in Zen and Sufism who are always trying to take us beyond conventional thinking and dogmatism.
Nerburn gets the point and learns some hard truths about himself and his assumptions about Indians. He respects the diversity of Native American experiences and the differences between tribes. Nerburn stays far away from the clichéd images of the drunken Indian, the vicious savage, the noble wise man and the silent earth-mother. And he acknowledges the harm done by whites who exploit Indian themes or rituals as well as those who fall under the "Cherokee Grandmother" syndrome (claiming a Native American in their family tree and in a flash being able to be one with these people). This smacks of a pernicious kind of spiritual arrogance where whites try to appropriate for themselves the customs and rituals of other cultures and religions.
In one of the most crucial passages in the book, Dan explains to Nerburn why for centuries his people have been unable to see eye to eye with the rest of Americans. Dan explains that for the American white person, the most important thing is freedom. But for an American Indian, the most important thing is honor.
Click here to read more: http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/books/books.php?id=10149
The Cherokee Ball Game
By Lowell Kirk
When the long, hot days of dry, dusty summer begin to give way to the cool, crisp, colorful days of autumn, “Footballmania” sweeps through the American landscape like a wildfire rushing up a mountainside.
All across the United States, excitement for the game consumes Little League moms and pops. Friday nights are filled with local civic pride for high school games. Saturdays bring us festivities, ceremonies and tail-gate parties on college campuses. On Sundays millions of Americans focus on professional teams and many continue the “mania” with Monday Night Football. Millions of us have an obsession for the “ball game.” It is as American as apple pie and motherhood.
However, many centuries before the hoards of European invaders came flooding to America upon the heels of Christopher Columbus, for the original Americans, the ball game was as American as cornbread, beans, pumpkins and pristine rivers. The Cherokee, and all other Native American tribes, were just as obsessed with the ballgame as any present day weekend warrior. The Cherokee name for the ball game was “anetsa.” It meant, “little brother of war.” Much of the village pride depended upon winning ball games with rivals. Great players were sought after in much the same manner as Peyton Manning and many concessions were made by villages to obtain them. And the Indian ball game was a far more dangerous game than football. The entire village turned out for a ball game. Large wagers were made. The Cherokee once won an entire Creek village in Georgia by winning a ball game.
Want to know more? Click here:
When the long, hot days of dry, dusty summer begin to give way to the cool, crisp, colorful days of autumn, “Footballmania” sweeps through the American landscape like a wildfire rushing up a mountainside.
All across the United States, excitement for the game consumes Little League moms and pops. Friday nights are filled with local civic pride for high school games. Saturdays bring us festivities, ceremonies and tail-gate parties on college campuses. On Sundays millions of Americans focus on professional teams and many continue the “mania” with Monday Night Football. Millions of us have an obsession for the “ball game.” It is as American as apple pie and motherhood.
However, many centuries before the hoards of European invaders came flooding to America upon the heels of Christopher Columbus, for the original Americans, the ball game was as American as cornbread, beans, pumpkins and pristine rivers. The Cherokee, and all other Native American tribes, were just as obsessed with the ballgame as any present day weekend warrior. The Cherokee name for the ball game was “anetsa.” It meant, “little brother of war.” Much of the village pride depended upon winning ball games with rivals. Great players were sought after in much the same manner as Peyton Manning and many concessions were made by villages to obtain them. And the Indian ball game was a far more dangerous game than football. The entire village turned out for a ball game. Large wagers were made. The Cherokee once won an entire Creek village in Georgia by winning a ball game.
Want to know more? Click here:
Do you know...
The Catawba – River People – were located along the North/South Carolina border. This was the boundary that separated them from the neighbours, the Cherokee. The Catawba referred to themselves by the name of Iyeye meaning ‘people.’ Prior to the coming of the white man, the Catawba numbered as many as ten thousand people. From first contact with the British in the mid 1600’s, however, the tribe was hit by disease. Warfare and the introduction of the demon drink also took their toll. A smallpox epidemic in 1738 wiped out nearly half of the Catawba people. Twenty years later a second epidemic further decimated these people. By the 1820’s they were down to only about a hundred people. That number has grown until now there are about 2,600 Catawba who live in and around Rock Hill, South Carolina.
The Catawba speak a variation of the Siouan language. However, the language of the Catawba is so different from other Siouan languages that it wasn’t recognised as belonging to that family until the beginning of the Twentieth Century. The Catawba were originally two tribes – the Catawba and the Iswa. Prior to the 1700’s the Tribes lived in small scattered villages. Around 1760 the Catawba absorbed the Iswa and the people began to live together in larger villages. By the 1780’s there were two main Catawba settlements, Newton and Turkey Head, both of which lay along the Catawba River.
The Catawba lived in bark covered long houses. Religion was a prominent part of their lives. Large temples structures were prominent parts of their villages. The Catawba were farmers, with maize being the main crop. They were also hunters and fishers as well as fierce warriors. Their traditional enemies were the Cherokee, Shawnee, Delaware and the Iroquois. The Catawba warrior presented a fearsome sight. Their faces would be painted for war, with a black circle pattern around one eye, a white circle around the other and the rest of the face painted black. Their hair style was in pony tail style. The Catawba also practiced the custom of flattening the foreheads of their infant males, which added to the fearsome appearance of their warriors.
The Catawba soon allied themselves to the interests of the English colonists of the mid 1600s. From the British the Catawbas got a hold of guns with which they could take on the many invading tribes. The Iroquois were the greatest enemies of the Catawba and warfare between them continued for over a hundred years after the Catawba allied with the British. The problem for the English was that they were also allied with the Iroquois, which put them in a very delicate situation. In 1706 the British brokered a peace between the Catawba and the Iroquois. This was to prove only temporary, however. After fifty more years of bitter rivalry peace was again established between the two tribes in 1759. The Shawnee, however, still loomed as a major threat to the Catawba people. The Catawba also fought against other native tribes and, of course, the Americans for the British. During the French – Indian War of 1755-63 the British employed the Catawba as scouts against the French. This association with the British inevitably led to the adoption of many European ways and the loss of some aspects of their own culture.
In 1760 the treaty of Pine Hill established a fifteen square mile reservation along the Catawba River. Almost immediately, however, this small apportionment of land suffered white encroachment. Although the Government of South Carolina agreed to evict all white settlers within the Reservation territory, nothing was done to enforce these promises. By 1826 nearly all of the reservation area was gone. 110 Catawba were crammed into an area just one square mile in size.
In 1840 the Catawba sold their land to the State of South Carolina. They tried to relocate in North Carolina, but no land was available to them there. They moved back to South Carolina, where they resettled on just 600 acres of their old reservation lands. In the 1880’s Mormon missionaries moved into the Catawba region. They were able to convert nearly all of the people to the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints. The Catawba did not receive Federal recognition until 1941.
The Catawba speak a variation of the Siouan language. However, the language of the Catawba is so different from other Siouan languages that it wasn’t recognised as belonging to that family until the beginning of the Twentieth Century. The Catawba were originally two tribes – the Catawba and the Iswa. Prior to the 1700’s the Tribes lived in small scattered villages. Around 1760 the Catawba absorbed the Iswa and the people began to live together in larger villages. By the 1780’s there were two main Catawba settlements, Newton and Turkey Head, both of which lay along the Catawba River.
The Catawba lived in bark covered long houses. Religion was a prominent part of their lives. Large temples structures were prominent parts of their villages. The Catawba were farmers, with maize being the main crop. They were also hunters and fishers as well as fierce warriors. Their traditional enemies were the Cherokee, Shawnee, Delaware and the Iroquois. The Catawba warrior presented a fearsome sight. Their faces would be painted for war, with a black circle pattern around one eye, a white circle around the other and the rest of the face painted black. Their hair style was in pony tail style. The Catawba also practiced the custom of flattening the foreheads of their infant males, which added to the fearsome appearance of their warriors.
The Catawba soon allied themselves to the interests of the English colonists of the mid 1600s. From the British the Catawbas got a hold of guns with which they could take on the many invading tribes. The Iroquois were the greatest enemies of the Catawba and warfare between them continued for over a hundred years after the Catawba allied with the British. The problem for the English was that they were also allied with the Iroquois, which put them in a very delicate situation. In 1706 the British brokered a peace between the Catawba and the Iroquois. This was to prove only temporary, however. After fifty more years of bitter rivalry peace was again established between the two tribes in 1759. The Shawnee, however, still loomed as a major threat to the Catawba people. The Catawba also fought against other native tribes and, of course, the Americans for the British. During the French – Indian War of 1755-63 the British employed the Catawba as scouts against the French. This association with the British inevitably led to the adoption of many European ways and the loss of some aspects of their own culture.
In 1760 the treaty of Pine Hill established a fifteen square mile reservation along the Catawba River. Almost immediately, however, this small apportionment of land suffered white encroachment. Although the Government of South Carolina agreed to evict all white settlers within the Reservation territory, nothing was done to enforce these promises. By 1826 nearly all of the reservation area was gone. 110 Catawba were crammed into an area just one square mile in size.
In 1840 the Catawba sold their land to the State of South Carolina. They tried to relocate in North Carolina, but no land was available to them there. They moved back to South Carolina, where they resettled on just 600 acres of their old reservation lands. In the 1880’s Mormon missionaries moved into the Catawba region. They were able to convert nearly all of the people to the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints. The Catawba did not receive Federal recognition until 1941.
Today in history...
1791: American negotiators, led by William Blount, will begin the Treaty of Holston negotiations today with the CHEROKEEs. The treaty will be signed on July 2, 1791.
1827: After hearing of the false rumor of the release of 2 WINNEBAGO murder suspects to the CHIPPEWAs by whites, WINNEBAGO Chief Red Bird is ordered to fight by the tribal elders. He will attack several families today in Wisconsin near Prairie du Chien. After a few other attacks in the following days on settlers, and river boats on the Mississippi, the Americans order his surrender, else they will destroy the entire tribe. Red Bird will surrender on September 27, 1827.
1827: After hearing of the false rumor of the release of 2 WINNEBAGO murder suspects to the CHIPPEWAs by whites, WINNEBAGO Chief Red Bird is ordered to fight by the tribal elders. He will attack several families today in Wisconsin near Prairie du Chien. After a few other attacks in the following days on settlers, and river boats on the Mississippi, the Americans order his surrender, else they will destroy the entire tribe. Red Bird will surrender on September 27, 1827.
The Ancient One
by Bearwalker
Ancient One sat in the shade of his tree in front of his cave. Red People came to him and he said to Red People, "Tell me your vision."
And Red People answered, "The elders have told us to pray in this manner, and that manner, and it is important that only we pray as we have been taught for this has been handed down to us by the elders."
"Hmmmm," said the Ancient One.
Then Black People came to him and he said to Black People, "Tell me your vision."
And Black People answered, "Our mothers have said to go to this building and that building and pray in this manner and that manner. And our fathers have said to bow in this manner and that manner when we pray. And it is important that we do only this when we pray."
"Hmmmm," said the Ancient One.
Then Yellow People came to him and he said to Yellow People, "Tell me your vision."
And Yellow People answered, "Our teachers have told us to sit in this manner and that manner and to say this thing and that thing when we pray. And it is important that we do only this when we pray."
"Hmmmm," said the Ancient One.
Then White People came to him and he said to White People, "Tell me your vision."
And White People answered, "Our Book has told us to pray in this way and that way and to do this thing and that thing, and it is very important that we do this when we pray."
"Hmmmm," said the Ancient One.
Then Ancient One spoke to the Earth and said, "Have you given the people a vision?" And the Earth said, "Yes, a special gift for each one, but the people were so busy speaking and arguing about which way is right they could not see the gift I gave each one of them." And the Ancient One asked same question of Water and Fire and Air and got the same answer. Then Ancient One asked Animal, and Bird, and Insect, and Tree, and Flower, and Sky, and Moon, and Sun, and Stars, and all of the other Spirits and each told him the same.
Ancient One thought this was very sad. He called Red People, Black People, Yellow People, and White People to him and said to them. "The ways taught to you by your Elders, and your Mothers and Fathers, and Teachers, and Books are sacred. It is good that you respect those ways, for they are the ways of your ancestors. But the ancestors no longer walk on the Face of the Earth Mother. You have forgotten your own Vision. Your Vision is right for you but no one else. Now each of you must pray for your own Visions, and be still enough to see them, so you can follow the way of the heart. It is a hard way. It is a good way.
Ancient One sat in the shade of his tree in front of his cave. Red People came to him and he said to Red People, "Tell me your vision."
And Red People answered, "The elders have told us to pray in this manner, and that manner, and it is important that only we pray as we have been taught for this has been handed down to us by the elders."
"Hmmmm," said the Ancient One.
Then Black People came to him and he said to Black People, "Tell me your vision."
And Black People answered, "Our mothers have said to go to this building and that building and pray in this manner and that manner. And our fathers have said to bow in this manner and that manner when we pray. And it is important that we do only this when we pray."
"Hmmmm," said the Ancient One.
Then Yellow People came to him and he said to Yellow People, "Tell me your vision."
And Yellow People answered, "Our teachers have told us to sit in this manner and that manner and to say this thing and that thing when we pray. And it is important that we do only this when we pray."
"Hmmmm," said the Ancient One.
Then White People came to him and he said to White People, "Tell me your vision."
And White People answered, "Our Book has told us to pray in this way and that way and to do this thing and that thing, and it is very important that we do this when we pray."
"Hmmmm," said the Ancient One.
Then Ancient One spoke to the Earth and said, "Have you given the people a vision?" And the Earth said, "Yes, a special gift for each one, but the people were so busy speaking and arguing about which way is right they could not see the gift I gave each one of them." And the Ancient One asked same question of Water and Fire and Air and got the same answer. Then Ancient One asked Animal, and Bird, and Insect, and Tree, and Flower, and Sky, and Moon, and Sun, and Stars, and all of the other Spirits and each told him the same.
Ancient One thought this was very sad. He called Red People, Black People, Yellow People, and White People to him and said to them. "The ways taught to you by your Elders, and your Mothers and Fathers, and Teachers, and Books are sacred. It is good that you respect those ways, for they are the ways of your ancestors. But the ancestors no longer walk on the Face of the Earth Mother. You have forgotten your own Vision. Your Vision is right for you but no one else. Now each of you must pray for your own Visions, and be still enough to see them, so you can follow the way of the heart. It is a hard way. It is a good way.
Exhibit highlights unique talent of Meskwaki code talkers
By TAYLOR BERN
TAMA --- When they were growing up, earlier generations of the Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa weren't always allowed to use their native language.
Later though, the U.S. Army requested that specific skill from eight members of the Meskwaki Nation, and the code talkers helped the country and its allies win World War II.
This summer those soldiers are being recognized in a traveling exhibit from the National Museum of the American Indian and Smithsonian Institution. Native Words, Native Warriors will be at the Meskwaki Bingo-Casino-Hotel near Tama until July 31.
Code talkers were Native Americans in the Army who used a version of their own languages to relay important military messages. U.S. armed forces started developing the code talker program before the country entered World War II. And the Meskwakis' involvement predates the Navajos later role in the military.
In all, 18 tribal nations were represented in the code talkers program.
Twenty-seven Meskwaki men enlisted in the 168th Iowa Infantry 34th Red Bull Division in January 1941. Eight --- Edward Benson, Mike Waubaunasee, Judie Wayne Waubaunasee, Dewey Roberts, Dewey Youngbear, Frank Sanache, Willard Sanache and Melvin Twin --- were selected for special training with walkie-talkie radios.
The key to their success was the use of the Meskwaki language as a code used to communicate vital information, including enemy's location, battlefield tactics and other messages between units.
Click here to read more: http://www.nativebiz.com/community/News,op=visit,nid=15764.html
TAMA --- When they were growing up, earlier generations of the Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa weren't always allowed to use their native language.
Later though, the U.S. Army requested that specific skill from eight members of the Meskwaki Nation, and the code talkers helped the country and its allies win World War II.
This summer those soldiers are being recognized in a traveling exhibit from the National Museum of the American Indian and Smithsonian Institution. Native Words, Native Warriors will be at the Meskwaki Bingo-Casino-Hotel near Tama until July 31.
Code talkers were Native Americans in the Army who used a version of their own languages to relay important military messages. U.S. armed forces started developing the code talker program before the country entered World War II. And the Meskwakis' involvement predates the Navajos later role in the military.
In all, 18 tribal nations were represented in the code talkers program.
Twenty-seven Meskwaki men enlisted in the 168th Iowa Infantry 34th Red Bull Division in January 1941. Eight --- Edward Benson, Mike Waubaunasee, Judie Wayne Waubaunasee, Dewey Roberts, Dewey Youngbear, Frank Sanache, Willard Sanache and Melvin Twin --- were selected for special training with walkie-talkie radios.
The key to their success was the use of the Meskwaki language as a code used to communicate vital information, including enemy's location, battlefield tactics and other messages between units.
Click here to read more: http://www.nativebiz.com/community/News,op=visit,nid=15764.html
Impoverished Pine Ridge appeals for health clinic
But help unlikely for reservations, Sanford says
By Megan Myers
PINE RIDGE INDIAN RESERVATION - The people here who care for the sick amid rural isolation and a deep-rooted poverty that's created Third World health conditions see opportunity in a medical project backed by the wealth of a Sioux Falls health system.
The people here on South Dakota's largest reservation, far removed from the daily life of most Americans, also face a continent of competition and strong odds of exclusion.
Sanford Health, already a massive collection of hospitals and clinics spread across four states, plans to use part of the $400 million donated by its namesake philanthropist, T. Denny Sanford, to build a network of pediatric clinics across North America. The project, to be carried out during the next decade, promises to bring first-rate care to far-flung areas and, at the same time, collect data from diverse patient populations to feed back to a children's hospital and burgeoning research empire in Sioux Falls.
Some Native Americans point out that, when it comes to the Upper Midwest, they epitomize diversity - not only in terms of race but also in economics, geography and the range of health issues that afflict the reservations much more severely than anywhere else in the region. They would welcome a private enterprise on a reservation that knows only a comparatively anemic government-run health system.
Read more about it here: http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070624/NEWS/706240312/1001
By Megan Myers
PINE RIDGE INDIAN RESERVATION - The people here who care for the sick amid rural isolation and a deep-rooted poverty that's created Third World health conditions see opportunity in a medical project backed by the wealth of a Sioux Falls health system.
The people here on South Dakota's largest reservation, far removed from the daily life of most Americans, also face a continent of competition and strong odds of exclusion.
Sanford Health, already a massive collection of hospitals and clinics spread across four states, plans to use part of the $400 million donated by its namesake philanthropist, T. Denny Sanford, to build a network of pediatric clinics across North America. The project, to be carried out during the next decade, promises to bring first-rate care to far-flung areas and, at the same time, collect data from diverse patient populations to feed back to a children's hospital and burgeoning research empire in Sioux Falls.
Some Native Americans point out that, when it comes to the Upper Midwest, they epitomize diversity - not only in terms of race but also in economics, geography and the range of health issues that afflict the reservations much more severely than anywhere else in the region. They would welcome a private enterprise on a reservation that knows only a comparatively anemic government-run health system.
Read more about it here: http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070624/NEWS/706240312/1001
Monday, June 25, 2007
Do you know...
Lillian Pitt is an accomplished artist who has been exhibiting her contemporary sculpture, carvings, masks, glass, wearable art, and works on paper for over twenty years. One of the indigenous people of the Columbia River Gorge, she is called by her Indian name, Wak'amu (Strongly Rooted), by elders of the Warm Springs/Wasco and Yakama tribes. The term might also describe her art, for although her approach to form and materials is eclectic and contemporary, her intriguing metaphors are always rooted in her Native American tradition.
She says this about her work: “I use the ancient stories of my ancestors as a basis for the imagery I create. By doing this I maintain the memory of an ancient culture and keep the beliefs of my people alive. We have forgotten how to live in harmony with nature. Accessing this vast reservoir of traditional information and translating it into contemporary terms jogs our memories and provides points of reference to achieving balance within ourselves, our community and the world. My ancestors have a 10,000-year history in the Columbia River Gorge. Much of my work has to do with the preservation and care of the environment along this ancient waterway.”
Lillian Pitt was the recipient of the Governor's Award of the Oregon Arts Commission in 1990, which declared that she had made, "significant contributions to the growth and development of the cultural life of Oregon. She is known nationally and internationally for her Raku and Anagama fired ceramic and bronze masks and "Shadow Spirit" totem images based on traditional symbols and spirits of her Columbia River ancestors. Her repertoire has expanded to include monumental bronze sculpture, sometimes reflecting the theme of Salmon migration. One recurring image, "She Who Watches," is based on a Columbia River petroglyph which represents the last of the Woman Chiefs. The bronze mask above is one of her tributes to She Who Watches.
Lillian's art has been exhibited and reviewed in the U.S., Europe, New Zealand, and Japan. Her work has been commissioned by numerous museums and organizations and is in several collections, including the University of Washington's Burke Museum, the Sapporo City Hall, Sapporo, Japan and the prestigious Heard Museum in Phoenix, AZ. A traveling retrospective of her work,"Spirits Keep Whistling Me Home," was launched in 1999 at the Museum at Warm Springs on her native reservation in Oregon and has been exhibited at other museums nationwide. In May, 2007, her work recieved the Best in Show Award at the Second Annual "In the Spirit" Contemporary Northwest Native Arts Exhibit. The July-August 2007 issue of Native Peoples Magazine features Lillian and one of her cast glass masks on the cover.
To learn more and see some of her amazing work click here: http://www.lillianpitt.com/bio.html
She says this about her work: “I use the ancient stories of my ancestors as a basis for the imagery I create. By doing this I maintain the memory of an ancient culture and keep the beliefs of my people alive. We have forgotten how to live in harmony with nature. Accessing this vast reservoir of traditional information and translating it into contemporary terms jogs our memories and provides points of reference to achieving balance within ourselves, our community and the world. My ancestors have a 10,000-year history in the Columbia River Gorge. Much of my work has to do with the preservation and care of the environment along this ancient waterway.”
Lillian Pitt was the recipient of the Governor's Award of the Oregon Arts Commission in 1990, which declared that she had made, "significant contributions to the growth and development of the cultural life of Oregon. She is known nationally and internationally for her Raku and Anagama fired ceramic and bronze masks and "Shadow Spirit" totem images based on traditional symbols and spirits of her Columbia River ancestors. Her repertoire has expanded to include monumental bronze sculpture, sometimes reflecting the theme of Salmon migration. One recurring image, "She Who Watches," is based on a Columbia River petroglyph which represents the last of the Woman Chiefs. The bronze mask above is one of her tributes to She Who Watches.
Lillian's art has been exhibited and reviewed in the U.S., Europe, New Zealand, and Japan. Her work has been commissioned by numerous museums and organizations and is in several collections, including the University of Washington's Burke Museum, the Sapporo City Hall, Sapporo, Japan and the prestigious Heard Museum in Phoenix, AZ. A traveling retrospective of her work,"Spirits Keep Whistling Me Home," was launched in 1999 at the Museum at Warm Springs on her native reservation in Oregon and has been exhibited at other museums nationwide. In May, 2007, her work recieved the Best in Show Award at the Second Annual "In the Spirit" Contemporary Northwest Native Arts Exhibit. The July-August 2007 issue of Native Peoples Magazine features Lillian and one of her cast glass masks on the cover.
To learn more and see some of her amazing work click here: http://www.lillianpitt.com/bio.html
In The Spirit
Northwest Native Arts Market and Festival
The Washington State History Museum and The Evergreen State College Longhouse Education and Cultural Center have partnered to bring the In the Spirit Northwest Native Arts Market and Festival to downtown Tacoma at the Washington State History Museum on July 21st and 22nd, 2007.
This year on the Museum's Plaza there will be some of the best Native American Artists in the region selling exquisite artworks. Throughout the weekend Native American singers, musicians, and dance groups will provide entertainment.
Added to the festival this year will be a special collectors seminar. The seminar is designed to help patrons select and collect quality Native American artworks.
Check out their website: http://www.wshs.org/arts-festival/
The Washington State History Museum and The Evergreen State College Longhouse Education and Cultural Center have partnered to bring the In the Spirit Northwest Native Arts Market and Festival to downtown Tacoma at the Washington State History Museum on July 21st and 22nd, 2007.
This year on the Museum's Plaza there will be some of the best Native American Artists in the region selling exquisite artworks. Throughout the weekend Native American singers, musicians, and dance groups will provide entertainment.
Added to the festival this year will be a special collectors seminar. The seminar is designed to help patrons select and collect quality Native American artworks.
Check out their website: http://www.wshs.org/arts-festival/
Indians complain graves dug up for border fence
By Tim Gaynor
ALI JEGK, Arizona (Reuters) - Members of a traditional Indian nation spanning the Arizona-Mexico border are complaining that work to put up a new barrier to secure the border has desecrated an ancient burial ground.
The U.S. Border Patrol is building a 75-mile (120-km) vehicle barrier across the Tohono O'odham nation lands next to Mexico's Sonora state, in a bid to stop drug and human traffickers driving across from Mexico in trucks and cars.
The barrier is made of closely set steel posts sunk in concrete, and is being built in close consultation with tribal authorities. It replaces a rusted, barbed wire fence that stretched across the vast, cactus-strewn tract of desert where the tribe has lived for generations.
The tribal government said on Friday that "human burials" dating from the 12th century were found at two sites during preparatory work on the footings for the fence, and say the discovery was handled correctly according to protocols developed with the U.S. government.
Want to know more? Click here: http://www.nativebiz.com/community/News,op=visit,nid=15757.html
ALI JEGK, Arizona (Reuters) - Members of a traditional Indian nation spanning the Arizona-Mexico border are complaining that work to put up a new barrier to secure the border has desecrated an ancient burial ground.
The U.S. Border Patrol is building a 75-mile (120-km) vehicle barrier across the Tohono O'odham nation lands next to Mexico's Sonora state, in a bid to stop drug and human traffickers driving across from Mexico in trucks and cars.
The barrier is made of closely set steel posts sunk in concrete, and is being built in close consultation with tribal authorities. It replaces a rusted, barbed wire fence that stretched across the vast, cactus-strewn tract of desert where the tribe has lived for generations.
The tribal government said on Friday that "human burials" dating from the 12th century were found at two sites during preparatory work on the footings for the fence, and say the discovery was handled correctly according to protocols developed with the U.S. government.
Want to know more? Click here: http://www.nativebiz.com/community/News,op=visit,nid=15757.html
Today in history...
1528: Today, Narvaez, and his Spanish expedition will cross the Suwannee River. They will discover, and occupy, a village they call Apalachen, in Florida. There are approximately 40 houses in the village, and a quantity of corn. They will remain here for almost a month. During that time they will fight with the local inhabitants on several occasions. The local APALACHEE Indians call the village Ibitachoco or Ivitachuco.
1876: Col.George Custer will be commanding Troops C,E,F,I, and L; Major Marcus Reno will have troops A,G, and M. Captain Frederick Benteen will lead Troops H,D, and K. Captain Thomas McDougall will guard the supply wagons with Troop B.
1876: Col.George Custer will be commanding Troops C,E,F,I, and L; Major Marcus Reno will have troops A,G, and M. Captain Frederick Benteen will lead Troops H,D, and K. Captain Thomas McDougall will guard the supply wagons with Troop B.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Western Shoshone keep fighting for 1863 treaty property rights
By KEN RITTER
LAS VEGAS (AP) - The way Allen Moss sees it, most of the riches of Nevada - from the Las Vegas Strip to the state's gold mines - belong to an American Indian tribe.
Keep Las Vegas, he said. But the Western Shoshone tribal leader wants to reclaim ancestral lands stretching from California through Nevada and Utah to Idaho.
Time after time, in lawsuit after losing lawsuit, the Western Shoshone National Council and its members have been turned aside as they try to use a 19th-century treaty to win back what they say has been improperly taken by the U.S. government.
"Las Vegas is on Shoshone land. The gold mines, that's all Shoshone," said Moss, Reno-area representative to the eight-member tribal council in Nevada. "People don't understand how much money, how many resources are coming out of Shoshone country."
Want to read more? Click here: http://redwebz.org/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2305
LAS VEGAS (AP) - The way Allen Moss sees it, most of the riches of Nevada - from the Las Vegas Strip to the state's gold mines - belong to an American Indian tribe.
Keep Las Vegas, he said. But the Western Shoshone tribal leader wants to reclaim ancestral lands stretching from California through Nevada and Utah to Idaho.
Time after time, in lawsuit after losing lawsuit, the Western Shoshone National Council and its members have been turned aside as they try to use a 19th-century treaty to win back what they say has been improperly taken by the U.S. government.
"Las Vegas is on Shoshone land. The gold mines, that's all Shoshone," said Moss, Reno-area representative to the eight-member tribal council in Nevada. "People don't understand how much money, how many resources are coming out of Shoshone country."
Want to read more? Click here: http://redwebz.org/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2305
Today in history...
1610: Membertou (MICMAC) becomes the 1st Indian Catholic.
1832: Reverend Samuel Worcester has been arrested, and convicted of living, and working, among the CHEROKEEs without having a state permit, or having sworn an oath of allegiance to the state of Georgia. Today the Supreme Court rules that the state of Georgia has unfairly tried to exercise control over the CHEROKEEs contrary to federal law, and treaties. The court will strike down most of the anti-Indian laws passed by Georgia, including those seizing their lands, and nullifying tribal laws. Before the trail, President Andrew Jackson officially stated that he has no intention of supporting the CHEROKEEs over the state of Georgia. Speaking to the court's decision today, Jackson would be quoted as saying, "John Marshall has rendered his decision; now let him enforce it." Jackson would ignore the Supreme Court ruling, and continue in his efforts to move the CHEROKEEs out of the south, and into the Indian Territory.
1832: Reverend Samuel Worcester has been arrested, and convicted of living, and working, among the CHEROKEEs without having a state permit, or having sworn an oath of allegiance to the state of Georgia. Today the Supreme Court rules that the state of Georgia has unfairly tried to exercise control over the CHEROKEEs contrary to federal law, and treaties. The court will strike down most of the anti-Indian laws passed by Georgia, including those seizing their lands, and nullifying tribal laws. Before the trail, President Andrew Jackson officially stated that he has no intention of supporting the CHEROKEEs over the state of Georgia. Speaking to the court's decision today, Jackson would be quoted as saying, "John Marshall has rendered his decision; now let him enforce it." Jackson would ignore the Supreme Court ruling, and continue in his efforts to move the CHEROKEEs out of the south, and into the Indian Territory.
Unused FEMA trailers headed to reservations nationwide
South Dakota reservations in dire need of housing
By Bill Harlan
Officials on the Pine Ridge and Rosebud reservations in South Dakota say their communities urgently need mobile homes that could be available under a new federal law.
Sen. Tim Johnson’s office announced Friday that American Indian tribes throughout the nation will get 2,000 so-called “FEMA trailers,” which are sitting idle in Arkansas and Texas.
The trailers are mostly three-bedroom mobile homes, Johnson spokesman Megan Smith said.
Johnson pushed through legislation last year that allows FEMA to distribute the homes to reservations, where housing shortages are often dire.
"I saw pictures of tens of thousands of empty mobile homes sitting unused in Hope, Ark., while South Dakota's Indian tribes were struggling through a tough winter with inadequate housing," Johnson said in a written statement. "There is still much that needs to be done to improve Indian housing, but this is a good step toward addressing this serious problem."
Click here to read more: http://www.nativebiz.com/community/News,op=visit,nid=15755.html
By Bill Harlan
Officials on the Pine Ridge and Rosebud reservations in South Dakota say their communities urgently need mobile homes that could be available under a new federal law.
Sen. Tim Johnson’s office announced Friday that American Indian tribes throughout the nation will get 2,000 so-called “FEMA trailers,” which are sitting idle in Arkansas and Texas.
The trailers are mostly three-bedroom mobile homes, Johnson spokesman Megan Smith said.
Johnson pushed through legislation last year that allows FEMA to distribute the homes to reservations, where housing shortages are often dire.
"I saw pictures of tens of thousands of empty mobile homes sitting unused in Hope, Ark., while South Dakota's Indian tribes were struggling through a tough winter with inadequate housing," Johnson said in a written statement. "There is still much that needs to be done to improve Indian housing, but this is a good step toward addressing this serious problem."
Click here to read more: http://www.nativebiz.com/community/News,op=visit,nid=15755.html
Tribal members gather for sacred sites prayers
Mohave Daily News
NEEDLES - Members of the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe gathered Thursday morning to participate in the National Prayer Day for Native Sacred Sites. The gathering took place at the Topock Maze, a Mojave sacred area along the lower Colorado River.
According to Mojave beliefs, this area is both a physical manifestation and a spiritual pathway for the afterlife. The Maze is an integral part of the Mojave way of life, beliefs, traditions and culture.
While the Maze has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1978 and is formally recognized as nationally significant. It recently received national attention as the subject of a settlement agreement between the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe and Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) over the location of PG&E water treatment facilities within the Maze area.
Even though settlement was achieved, those gathered prayed for further understanding by PG&E and other agencies as to the nature of this cultural landscape.
Some prayed for forgiveness for any desecration that may occur until the facilities are removed and a final remedy is selected that respects the sacred area.“This has been a long struggle,” said Linda Otero of the Fort Mojave Tribal Council.
“It is a battle that we continue to fight and today we pray for continued guidance, preservation and national support to defend this sacred area.”
NEEDLES - Members of the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe gathered Thursday morning to participate in the National Prayer Day for Native Sacred Sites. The gathering took place at the Topock Maze, a Mojave sacred area along the lower Colorado River.
According to Mojave beliefs, this area is both a physical manifestation and a spiritual pathway for the afterlife. The Maze is an integral part of the Mojave way of life, beliefs, traditions and culture.
While the Maze has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1978 and is formally recognized as nationally significant. It recently received national attention as the subject of a settlement agreement between the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe and Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) over the location of PG&E water treatment facilities within the Maze area.
Even though settlement was achieved, those gathered prayed for further understanding by PG&E and other agencies as to the nature of this cultural landscape.
Some prayed for forgiveness for any desecration that may occur until the facilities are removed and a final remedy is selected that respects the sacred area.“This has been a long struggle,” said Linda Otero of the Fort Mojave Tribal Council.
“It is a battle that we continue to fight and today we pray for continued guidance, preservation and national support to defend this sacred area.”
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Today in history...
1683: Today, William Penn and DELAWARE Chief Tamenend will sign a peace treaty in Shackamoxon, Pennsylvania. Tamenend was also called Tammany. He was renown for his honor. The Tammany societies were named so in his honor. William Penn will purchase 2 plots of land from Chief Tamanend. The land will be on the Pennypack & Neshaminy Rivers, and between them. The land was purchased for a long list of supplies.
1704: James Moore, former Governor of South Carolina, is leading a force of 50 British, and 1,000 CREEKs against Spanish settlements. Today, they will attack the APALACHEE Mission of San Pedro y San Pable at Patale, in north-western Florida. They will take many Indians as slaves and kill Father Manuel de Mendoza. The mission will be destroyed tomorrow.
1704: James Moore, former Governor of South Carolina, is leading a force of 50 British, and 1,000 CREEKs against Spanish settlements. Today, they will attack the APALACHEE Mission of San Pedro y San Pable at Patale, in north-western Florida. They will take many Indians as slaves and kill Father Manuel de Mendoza. The mission will be destroyed tomorrow.
Quotes
"We are now about to take our leave and kind farewell to our native land, the country that the Great Spirit gave our Fathers, we are on the eve of leaving that country that gave us birth...it is with sorrow we are forced by the white man to quit the scenes of our childhood... we bid farewell to it and all we hold dear." -
Charles Hicks, Tsalagi (Cherokee) Vice Chief on the Trail of Tears, August 4, 1838
Charles Hicks, Tsalagi (Cherokee) Vice Chief on the Trail of Tears, August 4, 1838
Do you know...
Bill Miller - Mohican
Over the past three years, singer/songwriter Bill Miller has produced two amazing projects, SPIRIT RAIN and CEDAR DREAM SONGS that exemplify his artistry by blending the Native American and western folk/blues traditions in something wholly new. These are works of a man who knows first-hand life's keenest joys and sorrows, a man who distills experience into a potent musical style.
CEDAR DREAM SONGS brought Bill great recognition by winning this year's Grammy Award for Best Native American Recording. This instrumental CD contains nine beautiful songs which, as the subtitle suggests, are perfect examples of ‘Musical Portraits on the Native American flute.'
A Mohican Indian from northern Wisconsin, Bill Miller has long been one of the most admired figures in the Native American music arena and beyond. As an award-winning recording artist, performer, songwriter, activist, and painter, he's been a voice for the voiceless, a link between two great and clashing civilizations. On SPIRIT RAIN, he walks the path of reconciliation in a set of fourteen heartfelt songs and evocative instrumentals.
Want to know more? Click here: http://www.billmiller.net/bio.html
Over the past three years, singer/songwriter Bill Miller has produced two amazing projects, SPIRIT RAIN and CEDAR DREAM SONGS that exemplify his artistry by blending the Native American and western folk/blues traditions in something wholly new. These are works of a man who knows first-hand life's keenest joys and sorrows, a man who distills experience into a potent musical style.
CEDAR DREAM SONGS brought Bill great recognition by winning this year's Grammy Award for Best Native American Recording. This instrumental CD contains nine beautiful songs which, as the subtitle suggests, are perfect examples of ‘Musical Portraits on the Native American flute.'
A Mohican Indian from northern Wisconsin, Bill Miller has long been one of the most admired figures in the Native American music arena and beyond. As an award-winning recording artist, performer, songwriter, activist, and painter, he's been a voice for the voiceless, a link between two great and clashing civilizations. On SPIRIT RAIN, he walks the path of reconciliation in a set of fourteen heartfelt songs and evocative instrumentals.
Want to know more? Click here: http://www.billmiller.net/bio.html
Mohegans Restore Ancient Burial Ground
By JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN
NORWICH, Conn. _ The Mohegans were wiped out long ago in the novel "The Last of the Mohicans," but today the real American Indian tribe is flush with casino cash and using it to restore its proud past.
The Connecticut tribe has reclaimed the Mohegan Royal Burial Ground and is restoring it to pay homage to its famed Chief Uncas and his descendants, who were mythologized in James Fenimore Cooper's 1826 work.
The project has been dubbed "The Lasting of the Mohegans."
"Writing somebody out of history is another form of genocide," tribal historian Melissa Tantaquidgeon Zobel said. "We certainly can't allow Uncas to be forgotten."
The Mohegans operate one of the world's most successful casinos and are among about 50 tribes in the U.S. that have managed to reclaim burial grounds or other sacred sites, said Suzan Harjo, president of the Morning Star Institute, an Indian rights organization in Washington.
In recent years, the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes have preserved a massacre site in Colorado, while the Nez Perce have taken control of worship sites in Idaho, Harjo said. Several tribes in California who operate casinos also have reclaimed burial grounds, she said.
"More and more, the native people are using newfound wealth to purchase what should be theirs anyway," Harjo said.
Read more here: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/4911480.html
NORWICH, Conn. _ The Mohegans were wiped out long ago in the novel "The Last of the Mohicans," but today the real American Indian tribe is flush with casino cash and using it to restore its proud past.
The Connecticut tribe has reclaimed the Mohegan Royal Burial Ground and is restoring it to pay homage to its famed Chief Uncas and his descendants, who were mythologized in James Fenimore Cooper's 1826 work.
The project has been dubbed "The Lasting of the Mohegans."
"Writing somebody out of history is another form of genocide," tribal historian Melissa Tantaquidgeon Zobel said. "We certainly can't allow Uncas to be forgotten."
The Mohegans operate one of the world's most successful casinos and are among about 50 tribes in the U.S. that have managed to reclaim burial grounds or other sacred sites, said Suzan Harjo, president of the Morning Star Institute, an Indian rights organization in Washington.
In recent years, the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes have preserved a massacre site in Colorado, while the Nez Perce have taken control of worship sites in Idaho, Harjo said. Several tribes in California who operate casinos also have reclaimed burial grounds, she said.
"More and more, the native people are using newfound wealth to purchase what should be theirs anyway," Harjo said.
Read more here: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/4911480.html
Eiteljorg's Indian Market will be artistic wellspring
By Whitney Smith
From a humble start on its own grounds, the Eiteljorg Museum's Indian Market has blossomed into an event that will feature more than 140 American Indian artists from at least 50 tribes this weekend in Military Park.
Traditional and modern jewelry, pottery and paintings will be shown and sold Saturday and Sunday, with performances ranging from flute music to tribal dance.
To mark the Indian Market's 15th year, here's a glimpse at hip-hop artist Buggin Malone, who parlayed his troubled past into what he hopes is an upbeat message, and visual artists Patria Smith and Katrina Mitten, longtime friends from Northeast Indiana.
Katrina Mitten
Since she finished raising her kids, Katrina Mitten has been earning a fine-arts degree and studying metal crafts. But at Indian markets, she's far better known for her beadwork.
"I've always been an artist," said Mitten, who is a descendant of the Miami tribe and began beading at age 12.
"I wanted to find an art form that was traditional to my people, so I chose beadwork and started looking to see how it was done, because there was no one left in my area to explain it."
Click here to read full article: http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070622/ENTERTAINMENT01/706220311/-1/LOCAL17
From a humble start on its own grounds, the Eiteljorg Museum's Indian Market has blossomed into an event that will feature more than 140 American Indian artists from at least 50 tribes this weekend in Military Park.
Traditional and modern jewelry, pottery and paintings will be shown and sold Saturday and Sunday, with performances ranging from flute music to tribal dance.
To mark the Indian Market's 15th year, here's a glimpse at hip-hop artist Buggin Malone, who parlayed his troubled past into what he hopes is an upbeat message, and visual artists Patria Smith and Katrina Mitten, longtime friends from Northeast Indiana.
Katrina Mitten
Since she finished raising her kids, Katrina Mitten has been earning a fine-arts degree and studying metal crafts. But at Indian markets, she's far better known for her beadwork.
"I've always been an artist," said Mitten, who is a descendant of the Miami tribe and began beading at age 12.
"I wanted to find an art form that was traditional to my people, so I chose beadwork and started looking to see how it was done, because there was no one left in my area to explain it."
Click here to read full article: http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070622/ENTERTAINMENT01/706220311/-1/LOCAL17
Hate vandalism stuns reserve
Spray-painted swastikas, SS symbols mar Aboriginal Day
By JORGE BARRERA
As dawn was waiting to break on National Aboriginal Day, vandals attacked a Native cultural centre on a West Quebec reserve.
In the dead of night, they covered the centre's beige stucco walls with black spray paint, screaming "white power" alongside swastikas and "SS" symbols.
They overturned picnic tables, ripped down tents and trashed a teepee, leaving Kitigan Zibi, a community about 130 km north of Ottawa, aghast and grappling with its first taste of a hate crime.
"Elders are shocked, saddened, upset and frustrated. The youth are upset and angry, the parents are angry and people are saying, 'Gee, when are we going to move away from this?' " said Anita Tenasco, director of education at the cultural centre.
"The message is so clear. 'White power' on our building as we get ready to celebrate (National Aboriginal Day)."
Click here to read more:
By JORGE BARRERA
As dawn was waiting to break on National Aboriginal Day, vandals attacked a Native cultural centre on a West Quebec reserve.
In the dead of night, they covered the centre's beige stucco walls with black spray paint, screaming "white power" alongside swastikas and "SS" symbols.
They overturned picnic tables, ripped down tents and trashed a teepee, leaving Kitigan Zibi, a community about 130 km north of Ottawa, aghast and grappling with its first taste of a hate crime.
"Elders are shocked, saddened, upset and frustrated. The youth are upset and angry, the parents are angry and people are saying, 'Gee, when are we going to move away from this?' " said Anita Tenasco, director of education at the cultural centre.
"The message is so clear. 'White power' on our building as we get ready to celebrate (National Aboriginal Day)."
Click here to read more:
Four Directions Teachings
Four Directions Teachings celebrates Indigenous oral traditions by honoring the process of listening with intent as each elder or traditional teacher shares a teaching from their perspective on the richness and value of cultural traditions from their nation. In honor of the timelessness of Indigenous oral traditions, audio narration is provided throughout the site, complimented by beautifully animated visuals. In addition, the site provides free curriculum packages for grades 1 to 12 to further explore the vast richness of knowledge and cultural philosophy that is introduced within each teaching. The curriculum is provided in downloadable PDF and can also be read online through the Teacher’s Resources link. The elders and traditional teachers who have shared a teaching on this site were approached through a National Advisory Committee of Indigenous people concerned with the protection and promotion of Indigenous knowledge. This committee was formed directly for the purposes of this website to ensure a community based approach that was respectful and accountable.
Check it out! It's well worth your time. http://www.fourdirectionsteachings.com/about.html
Check it out! It's well worth your time. http://www.fourdirectionsteachings.com/about.html
Friday, June 22, 2007
Quotes
"You have noticed that everything that an Indian does is in a circle, and that is because the Power of the World always works in circles, and everything tries to be round....The Sky is round, and I have heard that the earth is round like a ball, and so are all the stars. The wind, in its greatest power, whirls. Birds make their nest in circles, for theirs is the same religion as ours....Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing, and always come back again to where they were. The life of a man is a circle from childhood to childhood, and so it is in everything where power moves." -
Black Elk - Oglala Sioux
Black Elk - Oglala Sioux
The Little People
I see them in the darkness
running as if in a race.
I watch in awe and wonder
as I hide in my secret place.
They dance around the fire,
they even know that I'm there.
I can see they are happy, celebrating.
The excitement is in the air.
I watch in total amazement.
I watch as they're having fun,
then a drum starts and they begin praying
that the Cherokee will unite as one.
Little People I want to thank you,
you have taught me so much today,
For the Cherokee to be united,
everyday this is what I will pray.
Written by Bear Warrior
running as if in a race.
I watch in awe and wonder
as I hide in my secret place.
They dance around the fire,
they even know that I'm there.
I can see they are happy, celebrating.
The excitement is in the air.
I watch in total amazement.
I watch as they're having fun,
then a drum starts and they begin praying
that the Cherokee will unite as one.
Little People I want to thank you,
you have taught me so much today,
For the Cherokee to be united,
everyday this is what I will pray.
Written by Bear Warrior
Cherokee Principal Chief Chad Smith Responds
SUBMITTED BY CHEROKEE NATION, PRINCIPAL CHIEF CHAD 'CORNTASSEL' SMITH
Cherokee people in Sequoyah County need to understand the truth about what is going on in tribal court and with our tribal citizenship.
First of all, the Cherokee people have the right to decide who is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. With the support of 83 percent of the Cherokees in Sequoyah County, the Cherokee people decided they wanted to be just like more than 500 other Indian tribes in the country: you have to be Indian to be a citizen of our Indian Nation.
Some of the non-Indians who lost citizenship are appealing their case in tribal court. But, contrary to what you might have read, the court has not ruled in their favor. The Cherokee Nation attorney general agreed to let non-Indians remain citizens while the appeal process progresses, but the court has not even begun to consider the arguments, much less rule on what the 1866 Treaty says.
A simple, straightforward reading of the 1866 Treaty with the United States shows that it did not provide citizenship for the Freedmen. Cherokee District Court Judge Cripps did not rule that barring the Freedmen could not be done under existing law. He ruled that Freedmen could be citizens while their case was pending in tribal court. Additionally, the highest Cherokee court and the federal courts have ruled the Cherokee people have the right to define membership even if it means barring people without Indian blood.
Click here to read the full article: http://www.sequoyahcountytimes.com/articles/2007/06/20/news/frontx.txt
Cherokee people in Sequoyah County need to understand the truth about what is going on in tribal court and with our tribal citizenship.
First of all, the Cherokee people have the right to decide who is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. With the support of 83 percent of the Cherokees in Sequoyah County, the Cherokee people decided they wanted to be just like more than 500 other Indian tribes in the country: you have to be Indian to be a citizen of our Indian Nation.
Some of the non-Indians who lost citizenship are appealing their case in tribal court. But, contrary to what you might have read, the court has not ruled in their favor. The Cherokee Nation attorney general agreed to let non-Indians remain citizens while the appeal process progresses, but the court has not even begun to consider the arguments, much less rule on what the 1866 Treaty says.
A simple, straightforward reading of the 1866 Treaty with the United States shows that it did not provide citizenship for the Freedmen. Cherokee District Court Judge Cripps did not rule that barring the Freedmen could not be done under existing law. He ruled that Freedmen could be citizens while their case was pending in tribal court. Additionally, the highest Cherokee court and the federal courts have ruled the Cherokee people have the right to define membership even if it means barring people without Indian blood.
Click here to read the full article: http://www.sequoyahcountytimes.com/articles/2007/06/20/news/frontx.txt
Image and Reality
Appearance is not Everything: To the unsuspecting eye, the buckskin dress that Ruth is most famously known for wearing before and during her excursion to Washington D.C., is not what a Cherokee Indian would have been found wearing in their prior Georgian homeland hundreds of years ago, or even presently in Oklahoma Indian Territory. The dress that Ruth wore for her introduction to President Calvin Coolidge was a called, in an article published after her presentation by the Mount Holyoke Alumnae Quarterly, a "symbol… of traditional craftsmanship of her race...made of buckskin and covered in ornate beaded designs."(21) The dress, described like the beaded cover of The Red Man in the United States, the book given to President Coolidge in 1923, were not actually crafted by Cherokees at all, but rather Cheyenne and Apache Indians.(22) According to the Cherokee Heritage Center, "elaborately beaded buckskin and feathered costumes were not the style of the Cherokee"(23) Traditional Cherokee women's' dresses were actually fashioned after white settlers' clothing in colonial Georgia. The Cherokee dresses were called Tear Dresses, named after their experience on the Trail of Tears in 1838, and made from cotton and hardly ever beaded. Ruth's choice of attire played into white Americans' conceptions of what an Indian should look like. The response to her image as a traditional Indian was seen in the articles published in conjunction with Ruth's trip to Washington.
To read more click here: http://www.mtholyoke.edu/courses/rschwart/hatlas/mhc_widerworld/cherokee/ruth_dress.html
To read more click here: http://www.mtholyoke.edu/courses/rschwart/hatlas/mhc_widerworld/cherokee/ruth_dress.html
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Quotes
"When the last red man shall have perished, and the memory of my tribe shall have become a myth among the white men, these shores will swarm with the invisible dead of my tribe...when your children's children think themselves alone in the field, the store, upon the highway, or in the silence of the pathless woods, they will not be alone."
Chief Seattle - Dwamish
Chief Seattle - Dwamish
Cherokee Nation to Host Job Fair
The upcoming Cherokee Nation job fair will offer employment opportunities and information related to Cherokee Nation and its entities.
Cherokee Nation News
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. — If you are new to the job market or are looking for other means of employment, the Cherokee Nation Job Fair is the place for you.
“The Cherokee Nation is proud to offer job fairs that allow our Cherokee citizens and our Oklahoma neighbors to apply for positions within the Cherokee Nation and its entities,” said Chad Smith, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. “Self-reliance is important to the success of our Cherokee citizens and we feel that by offering job fairs, our citizens and other people within our Cherokee communities can become economically self-sufficient and in turn will make for a more successful Cherokee Nation.”
The job fair is hosted by Cherokee Nation’s Career Services Department and will take place on Thursday, June 28 from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m., at the “Place Where They Play,” located on the campus of Sequoyah Schools south of Tahlequah.
“People are completing school right now and getting out into the job market,” said Melanie Dodge of Cherokee Nation’s Career Services group. “We have the resources and materials to help them.”
The job fair will offer employment opportunities and information related to Cherokee Nation and its entities. Local businesses are invited and encouraged to take part.
Cherokee Nation News
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. — If you are new to the job market or are looking for other means of employment, the Cherokee Nation Job Fair is the place for you.
“The Cherokee Nation is proud to offer job fairs that allow our Cherokee citizens and our Oklahoma neighbors to apply for positions within the Cherokee Nation and its entities,” said Chad Smith, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. “Self-reliance is important to the success of our Cherokee citizens and we feel that by offering job fairs, our citizens and other people within our Cherokee communities can become economically self-sufficient and in turn will make for a more successful Cherokee Nation.”
The job fair is hosted by Cherokee Nation’s Career Services Department and will take place on Thursday, June 28 from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m., at the “Place Where They Play,” located on the campus of Sequoyah Schools south of Tahlequah.
“People are completing school right now and getting out into the job market,” said Melanie Dodge of Cherokee Nation’s Career Services group. “We have the resources and materials to help them.”
The job fair will offer employment opportunities and information related to Cherokee Nation and its entities. Local businesses are invited and encouraged to take part.
Feds: Reservation flood damage at $421K
A federal preliminary assessment of flood damage to public infrastructure on the Crow and Northern Cheyenne Indian reservations came to $421,545.
Federal Emergency Manage-ment Agency and Montana Disaster and Emergency Services personnel completed the preliminary assessment, which includes Custer and Big Horn counties and the reservations, according to Montana Disaster and Emergency Services.
"While this does not meet the threshold for providing federal assistance through FEMA, we are committed to helping these communities recover," Dan Mc-Gowan, administrator for DES, wrote in a release. "We will continue to work with volunteer agencies and other federal agencies in pursuing assistance. An unmet needs committee will assist in determining other sources of help for individuals.
"Tribal officials have estimated damages in the millions, including $1.5 million in agricultural losses and about $1 million in expenses for the tribal response.
Want to know more? Click here: http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2007/06/21/news/state/40-flood.txt
Federal Emergency Manage-ment Agency and Montana Disaster and Emergency Services personnel completed the preliminary assessment, which includes Custer and Big Horn counties and the reservations, according to Montana Disaster and Emergency Services.
"While this does not meet the threshold for providing federal assistance through FEMA, we are committed to helping these communities recover," Dan Mc-Gowan, administrator for DES, wrote in a release. "We will continue to work with volunteer agencies and other federal agencies in pursuing assistance. An unmet needs committee will assist in determining other sources of help for individuals.
"Tribal officials have estimated damages in the millions, including $1.5 million in agricultural losses and about $1 million in expenses for the tribal response.
Want to know more? Click here: http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2007/06/21/news/state/40-flood.txt
Tribe shares new rescue boat with up-Island towns
The Martha's Vineyard Times
In the photo below left, Chilmark harbormaster Dennis Jason and Bret Stearns, Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) Natural Resources department director, stand in a newly outfitted Hurricane rigid hull inflatable.
The tribe and the town of Chilmark recently approved an agreement under which the town will share the use of the boat.
The natural resources department acquired the boat through a federal surplus program from the US Coast Guard and outfitted it with a new Mercury Optimax engine, Raymarine electronics, and a searchlight to equip it for rescue and research operations.
The agreement stipulates that the vessel will be kept at the Harbormaster's dock in Menemsha. Mr. Jason will have the use of the vessel for harbor patrol, assisting boaters and rescue. In exchange, the town will contribute to maintenance and insurance costs.
Aquinnah harbormaster Brian Vanderhoop also has use of the vessel in the event of an emergency.
The natural resources department will use the inflatable for water quality monitoring, environmental research, and training, said Mr. Stearns. The department also has received Environmental Protection Agency funding to support an oil spill response training program with the Hurricane that will be made available to responders Island-wide, he said.
"The tribe and the Natural Resources Department have prepared this vessel specifically for the purpose of providing increased safety and environmental awareness in the community," said Mr. Stearns. "The vessel is in capable hands in Menemsha, and we are looking forward to building upon this relationship in the future."
In the photo below left, Chilmark harbormaster Dennis Jason and Bret Stearns, Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) Natural Resources department director, stand in a newly outfitted Hurricane rigid hull inflatable.
The tribe and the town of Chilmark recently approved an agreement under which the town will share the use of the boat.
The natural resources department acquired the boat through a federal surplus program from the US Coast Guard and outfitted it with a new Mercury Optimax engine, Raymarine electronics, and a searchlight to equip it for rescue and research operations.
The agreement stipulates that the vessel will be kept at the Harbormaster's dock in Menemsha. Mr. Jason will have the use of the vessel for harbor patrol, assisting boaters and rescue. In exchange, the town will contribute to maintenance and insurance costs.
Aquinnah harbormaster Brian Vanderhoop also has use of the vessel in the event of an emergency.
The natural resources department will use the inflatable for water quality monitoring, environmental research, and training, said Mr. Stearns. The department also has received Environmental Protection Agency funding to support an oil spill response training program with the Hurricane that will be made available to responders Island-wide, he said.
"The tribe and the Natural Resources Department have prepared this vessel specifically for the purpose of providing increased safety and environmental awareness in the community," said Mr. Stearns. "The vessel is in capable hands in Menemsha, and we are looking forward to building upon this relationship in the future."
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
''Prez on the Rez'' brings candidates to Indian Country
By: Michelle Blank
In recent years, American Indian voters have helped decide close elections in five Western states: Washington, Montana, South Dakota, Arizona and New Mexico. And the tribes may well play an important role in swing-state elections in 2008.
That’s one reason why the Indigenous Democratic Network recently announced “Prez on the Rez,” a forum designed to bring together Democratic presidential hopefuls and tribal leaders. The August event will be the first time presidential candidates have faced off on reservation land.
So far, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson is the only candidate who has confirmed his attendance, although fund president Kalyn Free says other candidates, including John Edwards, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, have expressed interest.
Some 500 tribal leaders are expected to attend the event on the Morongo Reservation in Cabazon, Calif. Free anticipates that social issues such as poverty, health care, unemployment, alcoholism and suicide will dominate discussions. “The ills America suffers from are most prominently featured on Indian country,” she says. “Those are the issues that are going to be at the forefront and how the president can help give hope and opportunity.” And Free believes the forum will have a ripple effect on voting, as tribal leaders bring their opinions back home.
Nonpartisan groups and political parties alike are beginning to recognize the impact of American Indian voters. In 2002, a gaming proposition on the Arizona ballot turned out unprecedented levels of Indian voters from across the state. The proposition passed, and the Indian turnout also helped elect the state’s first Democratic governor in over 10 years. The Democratic National Committee now has a staffer dedicated to building party participation and voter awareness among Arizona’s 22 tribes.
In 2004, the Congress of American Indians led a nationwide get-out-the-vote effort and sponsored the first post-election study of tribal voting. All eight states studied reported increased Indian voter turnout in 2004 compared to 2000.
Free hopes this trend will spur candidates to listen to tribal leaders. During a speech at a legislative summit, she said, “We’re bringing these candidates in to Indian country so they can hear what we expect of them, and what we want them to do if they’re elected president.”
In recent years, American Indian voters have helped decide close elections in five Western states: Washington, Montana, South Dakota, Arizona and New Mexico. And the tribes may well play an important role in swing-state elections in 2008.
That’s one reason why the Indigenous Democratic Network recently announced “Prez on the Rez,” a forum designed to bring together Democratic presidential hopefuls and tribal leaders. The August event will be the first time presidential candidates have faced off on reservation land.
So far, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson is the only candidate who has confirmed his attendance, although fund president Kalyn Free says other candidates, including John Edwards, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, have expressed interest.
Some 500 tribal leaders are expected to attend the event on the Morongo Reservation in Cabazon, Calif. Free anticipates that social issues such as poverty, health care, unemployment, alcoholism and suicide will dominate discussions. “The ills America suffers from are most prominently featured on Indian country,” she says. “Those are the issues that are going to be at the forefront and how the president can help give hope and opportunity.” And Free believes the forum will have a ripple effect on voting, as tribal leaders bring their opinions back home.
Nonpartisan groups and political parties alike are beginning to recognize the impact of American Indian voters. In 2002, a gaming proposition on the Arizona ballot turned out unprecedented levels of Indian voters from across the state. The proposition passed, and the Indian turnout also helped elect the state’s first Democratic governor in over 10 years. The Democratic National Committee now has a staffer dedicated to building party participation and voter awareness among Arizona’s 22 tribes.
In 2004, the Congress of American Indians led a nationwide get-out-the-vote effort and sponsored the first post-election study of tribal voting. All eight states studied reported increased Indian voter turnout in 2004 compared to 2000.
Free hopes this trend will spur candidates to listen to tribal leaders. During a speech at a legislative summit, she said, “We’re bringing these candidates in to Indian country so they can hear what we expect of them, and what we want them to do if they’re elected president.”
Do you know...
Many horses was an Oglala Sioux medicine man, a friend of Sitting Bull, and a promoter of the Ghost Dance as the last protection against the white man's invasion. He organized the final Ghost Dance at Standing Rock Reservation in the Spring of 1890, to dance away the white soldiers camped at the foot of the hills. At dawn the white tipis of the U.S. Army were still visible, and Many Horses, with a heart full of grief, knew that the magic had failed. But the Great Spirit spoke to him. Turning his back on the rising sun, he addressed the assembled warriors:
"I will follow the white man's trail.I will make him my friend, but I will not bend my back to his burdens. I will be cunning as a coyote.I will ask him to help me understand his ways, then I will prepare the way for my children, and their children. The Great Spirit has shown me - a day will come when they will outrun the white man in his own shoes."
All other recorded prophesies of Many Horses have come to pass. The nations of the People see the beginnings of this final prophesy today. We have the white man's shoes.
"I will follow the white man's trail.I will make him my friend, but I will not bend my back to his burdens. I will be cunning as a coyote.I will ask him to help me understand his ways, then I will prepare the way for my children, and their children. The Great Spirit has shown me - a day will come when they will outrun the white man in his own shoes."
All other recorded prophesies of Many Horses have come to pass. The nations of the People see the beginnings of this final prophesy today. We have the white man's shoes.
Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs
The Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs was founded in November, 1969, by a majority of Indian chiefs in BC, partly in response to the federal government’s 1969 White Paper, which was a blueprint for assimilating Canada’s First Peoples, and partly as an inevitable outcome of a growing conviction of many of our people that our survival in the face of such policies depended upon our ability to work together.
The UBCIC founding head office is located in Kamloops, BC. The satellite office has had many homes over the years, all in the Lower Mainland, including the Musqueam and Squamish Reserves and Coqualeetza complex in Sardis. For some time now it has been located in the Gastown district of Vancouver.
Our Vision
One of the main principles of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs is that, despite our differences, we will be stronger if we work together. The goal of the UBCIC is to support the work of our people, whether at the community, nation or international level, in our common fight for the recognition of our aboriginal rights and respect for our cultures and societies. Our goal, the goal of the people, has been to give the aboriginal people of BC a voice strong enough to be heard in every corner of the world. We have, and we continue, to carry out this mission in a number of different ways.
Another major principle behind our organization is the belief that knowledge is power. We are dedicated to information-sharing as well as to the fostering of fundamental and necessary research skills for Indian people in the province.
Our Mission
to improve intertribal relationships through common strategies to protect our Aboriginal Title
to hold the federal government to its fiduciary obligations and have them change their extinguishment policy
to support our peoples at regional, national and international forums
to continue to defend our Aboriginal Title through the revival of our way of life (political, social, economic and spiritual)
to build trust, honour and respect so we may achieve security and liberty in our lifetime and continue the healing and reconciliation (decolonization) of our Nations
Check out their website: http://www.ubcic.bc.ca/about/
The UBCIC founding head office is located in Kamloops, BC. The satellite office has had many homes over the years, all in the Lower Mainland, including the Musqueam and Squamish Reserves and Coqualeetza complex in Sardis. For some time now it has been located in the Gastown district of Vancouver.
Our Vision
One of the main principles of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs is that, despite our differences, we will be stronger if we work together. The goal of the UBCIC is to support the work of our people, whether at the community, nation or international level, in our common fight for the recognition of our aboriginal rights and respect for our cultures and societies. Our goal, the goal of the people, has been to give the aboriginal people of BC a voice strong enough to be heard in every corner of the world. We have, and we continue, to carry out this mission in a number of different ways.
Another major principle behind our organization is the belief that knowledge is power. We are dedicated to information-sharing as well as to the fostering of fundamental and necessary research skills for Indian people in the province.
Our Mission
to improve intertribal relationships through common strategies to protect our Aboriginal Title
to hold the federal government to its fiduciary obligations and have them change their extinguishment policy
to support our peoples at regional, national and international forums
to continue to defend our Aboriginal Title through the revival of our way of life (political, social, economic and spiritual)
to build trust, honour and respect so we may achieve security and liberty in our lifetime and continue the healing and reconciliation (decolonization) of our Nations
Check out their website: http://www.ubcic.bc.ca/about/
CREEK INDIAN TRIBES
MOUNDBUILDER ORIGINS
Moundbuilders, the first great civilization in North America, arose 4,000 years before the Spanish set foot on the islands of coastal Georgia. From the oldest of these sites, Poverty Point in Louisiana, this great culture spread across two-thirds of the United States, following the Mississippi north to Minnesota, its tributaries, including the Ohio, east and west deep into the continent, and around the Florida peninsula into coastal Georgia.
By the time Spanish conquistadors worked inland in search of the wealth of a continent the Moundbuilder culture was in steep decline. Cahokia, Etowah and Ocmulgee, major cities of a dying culture, were no longer active sites. The remaining Moundbuilders were absorbed into the Woodland cultures which they dominated. With few exceptions in the state of Georgia, the Indians that deSoto met were not Moundbuilders, but these remnants of that tribe.
The Muscogee (Creek) people are descendents of this remarkable culture that, before 1500 AD, spanned all the region known today as the Southeastern United States. The Creek were originally one of the dominant tribes in the mid-south and later became known as one of the Five Civilized Tribes.
Most of the Creeks descended from groups living in six towns: Cusseta, Coweta, Areka, Coosa, Hoithle Waule, and Tuckabatchee, all within the confines of the future Alabama and Georgia. The historic Muscogee later built expansive towns in Florida and South Carolina.
They were known in their own language as Muskoke or Muskogee, by the Shawnee as Humaskogi, by the Delaware as Masquachki and by the British as the Ochese Creek Indians, hence the present name. Their name has been adapted for that of their linguistic group and for Muskogee, Oklahoma, which was a major city of the Creek Nation in Indian territory.
Moundbuilders, the first great civilization in North America, arose 4,000 years before the Spanish set foot on the islands of coastal Georgia. From the oldest of these sites, Poverty Point in Louisiana, this great culture spread across two-thirds of the United States, following the Mississippi north to Minnesota, its tributaries, including the Ohio, east and west deep into the continent, and around the Florida peninsula into coastal Georgia.
By the time Spanish conquistadors worked inland in search of the wealth of a continent the Moundbuilder culture was in steep decline. Cahokia, Etowah and Ocmulgee, major cities of a dying culture, were no longer active sites. The remaining Moundbuilders were absorbed into the Woodland cultures which they dominated. With few exceptions in the state of Georgia, the Indians that deSoto met were not Moundbuilders, but these remnants of that tribe.
The Muscogee (Creek) people are descendents of this remarkable culture that, before 1500 AD, spanned all the region known today as the Southeastern United States. The Creek were originally one of the dominant tribes in the mid-south and later became known as one of the Five Civilized Tribes.
Most of the Creeks descended from groups living in six towns: Cusseta, Coweta, Areka, Coosa, Hoithle Waule, and Tuckabatchee, all within the confines of the future Alabama and Georgia. The historic Muscogee later built expansive towns in Florida and South Carolina.
They were known in their own language as Muskoke or Muskogee, by the Shawnee as Humaskogi, by the Delaware as Masquachki and by the British as the Ochese Creek Indians, hence the present name. Their name has been adapted for that of their linguistic group and for Muskogee, Oklahoma, which was a major city of the Creek Nation in Indian territory.
Why the Sun Follows the Moon
Southern Maidu Legend
Father Sun and Mother Moon lived inside the huge hollow rocks of Rock House. Their light did not shine from the sky, so the People and the Animals lived in darkness.
Now Coyote, who was always playing tricks, thought it would be great fun to dump some fleas on Father Sun and Mother Moon. So he began to gather the fleas and place them in bags. On his way to Rock House he met Rabbit. When Coyote bragged about his bags of fleas, Rabbit would not believe him. They began to argue. Between them, Rabbit and Coyote began to tug on one of the bags. As Rabbit yanked it from Coyote's grasp, the bag opened and the fleas spilled out on the ground. And to this day, Rabbit and Coyote are always scratching fleas.
Rabbit liked Coyote's idea of taking the fleas to Rock House. So together they trudged up the peak to Rock House carrying the bags of fleas. As they walked they tried to think of a plan to get the fleas inside of Rock House.
Along the path they found Gopher digging a hole. They decided to include Gopher in their trick. Gopher could dig a hole down through the soil to Rock House. When they reached the top of the peak, Gopher began to dig quietly so Father Sun and Mother Moon would not be alarmed. As soon as Gopher backed out of the hole, Coyote and Rabbit shook the bags of fleas down the opening. Then they plugged up the hole and ran away feeling very pleased with themselves.
The fleas soon covered Father Sun and Mother Moon. When Mother Moon could no longer stand the fleas, she flew out of Rock House and began to circle the Earth. Father Sun followed Mother Moon out of Rock House. They raced around the Earth trying to get rid of those fleas.
That is why, to this day, the Sun follows the Moon across the sky.
Father Sun and Mother Moon lived inside the huge hollow rocks of Rock House. Their light did not shine from the sky, so the People and the Animals lived in darkness.
Now Coyote, who was always playing tricks, thought it would be great fun to dump some fleas on Father Sun and Mother Moon. So he began to gather the fleas and place them in bags. On his way to Rock House he met Rabbit. When Coyote bragged about his bags of fleas, Rabbit would not believe him. They began to argue. Between them, Rabbit and Coyote began to tug on one of the bags. As Rabbit yanked it from Coyote's grasp, the bag opened and the fleas spilled out on the ground. And to this day, Rabbit and Coyote are always scratching fleas.
Rabbit liked Coyote's idea of taking the fleas to Rock House. So together they trudged up the peak to Rock House carrying the bags of fleas. As they walked they tried to think of a plan to get the fleas inside of Rock House.
Along the path they found Gopher digging a hole. They decided to include Gopher in their trick. Gopher could dig a hole down through the soil to Rock House. When they reached the top of the peak, Gopher began to dig quietly so Father Sun and Mother Moon would not be alarmed. As soon as Gopher backed out of the hole, Coyote and Rabbit shook the bags of fleas down the opening. Then they plugged up the hole and ran away feeling very pleased with themselves.
The fleas soon covered Father Sun and Mother Moon. When Mother Moon could no longer stand the fleas, she flew out of Rock House and began to circle the Earth. Father Sun followed Mother Moon out of Rock House. They raced around the Earth trying to get rid of those fleas.
That is why, to this day, the Sun follows the Moon across the sky.
Hoopa Valley Tribe Praises Thompson's Bill to Fund Trinity River Restoration
HOOPA VALLEY TRIBE LAUDS LEGISLATION FOR PROTECTION OF TRINITY RIVER RESTORATION
by Dan Bacher
Hoopa, Calif. – The Hoopa Valley Tribe lauded north coast Congressman Mike Thompson for his introduction Thursday of a bill to adequately fund the restoration of the Trinity River, which bisects the tribe’s reservation, and has been the focal point of decades of fishery restoration studies, litigation and bureaucratic short-changing. Thompson decided to introduce the bill (H.R. 2733) after a Hoopa delegation visited him to express concern that Trinity River restoration funding was being diminished by a plan to restore the San Joaquin River in the Central Valley.
“The Hoopa Valley Tribe is supportive of river restoration throughout California, but legislation to restore the San Joaquin River has a funding plan that will significantly reduce environmental restoration funding from the Central Valley Project restoration fund,” said Clifford Lyle Marshall, Chairman of the Hoopa Valley Tribe. “The Hoopa Valley Tribe sent a delegation to Washington, D.C. to alert Congressman Thompson of the potential harm to the fishery based communities dependent on the Trinity River, and he reacted to our concerns.”
Marshall anticipates working with San Joaquin River restoration advocates to support tandem legislation to benefit both rivers. “We will gladly be part of a coalition to restore both rivers, but after three decades of legislation, litigation and cooperative studies that have produced the solid science for restoring the river, we cannot agree to new legislation that will undermine the federal government’s promise to restore the Trinity River.”
Click here to read more: http://www.nativebiz.com/community/News,op=visit,nid=15725.html
by Dan Bacher
Hoopa, Calif. – The Hoopa Valley Tribe lauded north coast Congressman Mike Thompson for his introduction Thursday of a bill to adequately fund the restoration of the Trinity River, which bisects the tribe’s reservation, and has been the focal point of decades of fishery restoration studies, litigation and bureaucratic short-changing. Thompson decided to introduce the bill (H.R. 2733) after a Hoopa delegation visited him to express concern that Trinity River restoration funding was being diminished by a plan to restore the San Joaquin River in the Central Valley.
“The Hoopa Valley Tribe is supportive of river restoration throughout California, but legislation to restore the San Joaquin River has a funding plan that will significantly reduce environmental restoration funding from the Central Valley Project restoration fund,” said Clifford Lyle Marshall, Chairman of the Hoopa Valley Tribe. “The Hoopa Valley Tribe sent a delegation to Washington, D.C. to alert Congressman Thompson of the potential harm to the fishery based communities dependent on the Trinity River, and he reacted to our concerns.”
Marshall anticipates working with San Joaquin River restoration advocates to support tandem legislation to benefit both rivers. “We will gladly be part of a coalition to restore both rivers, but after three decades of legislation, litigation and cooperative studies that have produced the solid science for restoring the river, we cannot agree to new legislation that will undermine the federal government’s promise to restore the Trinity River.”
Click here to read more: http://www.nativebiz.com/community/News,op=visit,nid=15725.html
A banner year for Native American culture
BRUNSWICK — The way Nicholas Smith sees it, it's been a big year for Native American affairs in Maine.
Among other milestones, Gov. John Baldacci thanked tribes for their land stewardship, legislators visited tribal reservations on a bus tour of northern and eastern regions of the state, state leaders renewed conversations about the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act and state officials proclaimed June 6 as Native American Veteran History Day.
"I think 2007 has been a big break-through year," said Smith, 80, a Brunswick resident who also saw something of a banner year for his investment in Native American culture. In May, on the heels of decades of work that have rendered him a familiar face for many of Maine's indigenous people, Smith received an honorary degree from his alma mater and a legislative proclamation recognizing his work as a scholar of Wabanaki culture.
"Nick is an unsung researcher," said John Dieffenbacher-Krall, executive director of the Maine Indian Tribal State Commission. "They remember Nick at these weddings and ceremonies that few white people have ever observed."
Click here to read more: http://www.timesrecord.com/website/main.nsf/news.nsf/0/2F3375B51E2325E1052572FF0057BC99?Opendocument
Among other milestones, Gov. John Baldacci thanked tribes for their land stewardship, legislators visited tribal reservations on a bus tour of northern and eastern regions of the state, state leaders renewed conversations about the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act and state officials proclaimed June 6 as Native American Veteran History Day.
"I think 2007 has been a big break-through year," said Smith, 80, a Brunswick resident who also saw something of a banner year for his investment in Native American culture. In May, on the heels of decades of work that have rendered him a familiar face for many of Maine's indigenous people, Smith received an honorary degree from his alma mater and a legislative proclamation recognizing his work as a scholar of Wabanaki culture.
"Nick is an unsung researcher," said John Dieffenbacher-Krall, executive director of the Maine Indian Tribal State Commission. "They remember Nick at these weddings and ceremonies that few white people have ever observed."
Click here to read more: http://www.timesrecord.com/website/main.nsf/news.nsf/0/2F3375B51E2325E1052572FF0057BC99?Opendocument
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Quotes
"The ground on which we stand is sacred ground. It is the blood of our ancestors." -
Chief Plenty Coups - Crow
Chief Plenty Coups - Crow
Today in history -
1541: Today, de Doto's expedition meets the CASQUI Indians near modern day Helena, Arkansas. There has been a drought in the area, and the padres offer to help. A large cross is erected and the Spaniards join in prayer. Soon it starts to rain. The CASQUIs will become allies of the Spanish.
1767: The Governor of Louisiana issues an order today. The order recognizes the CHITIMACHA Indians, and instructs the commander at Manchac to treat them with proper deference.
1767: The Governor of Louisiana issues an order today. The order recognizes the CHITIMACHA Indians, and instructs the commander at Manchac to treat them with proper deference.
Battle over Sitting Bull
Descendant opposes plans for memorial, wants reburial at Little Bighorn
By The Associated Press
STANDING ROCK INDIAN RESERVATION, S.D. - You have to travel back in time to get from the nearest town to the chipped and wind-whipped little stone face that peers out over the Missouri River and the endless plains beyond.
The drive from Mobridge, S.D., across the river takes you from the Central Time Zone into the Mountain, and if you turn off the main road and clatter four miles down a winding path, you find it - a modest monument on a lush green bluff.
This simplicity is striking because of what lies beneath: The remains of Sitting Bull, the Sioux chief said to have foretold the defeat of Lt. Col. George Custer at the Battle of Little Bighorn in 1876.
But it is more striking because of the state of extreme disrepair that befell the resting place of one of the best-known American Indians in history for half a century, until just two years ago.
It was shot and spat at, and worse. On the surrounding grounds bonfires burned and shattered beer bottles glittered. Someone tied a rope around the feather rising from the head of the bust, rigged it to a truck and broke it off.
The site is on what is called fee land, within the boundaries of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe but privately owned, and two years ago two men - one white, the other a tribesman - paid $55,000 for it and began cleaning it up.
They have plans for a $12 million monument complex they hope will honor Sitting Bull's memory with the dignity missing for so long, and let new generations learn about him.
But these plans, like Sitting Bull himself, are not so simple. And they have torn open a wound over who will control the great Sioux chief's legacy.
Read more here: http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2007/06/18/news/state/25-sitingbull.txt
By The Associated Press
STANDING ROCK INDIAN RESERVATION, S.D. - You have to travel back in time to get from the nearest town to the chipped and wind-whipped little stone face that peers out over the Missouri River and the endless plains beyond.
The drive from Mobridge, S.D., across the river takes you from the Central Time Zone into the Mountain, and if you turn off the main road and clatter four miles down a winding path, you find it - a modest monument on a lush green bluff.
This simplicity is striking because of what lies beneath: The remains of Sitting Bull, the Sioux chief said to have foretold the defeat of Lt. Col. George Custer at the Battle of Little Bighorn in 1876.
But it is more striking because of the state of extreme disrepair that befell the resting place of one of the best-known American Indians in history for half a century, until just two years ago.
It was shot and spat at, and worse. On the surrounding grounds bonfires burned and shattered beer bottles glittered. Someone tied a rope around the feather rising from the head of the bust, rigged it to a truck and broke it off.
The site is on what is called fee land, within the boundaries of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe but privately owned, and two years ago two men - one white, the other a tribesman - paid $55,000 for it and began cleaning it up.
They have plans for a $12 million monument complex they hope will honor Sitting Bull's memory with the dignity missing for so long, and let new generations learn about him.
But these plans, like Sitting Bull himself, are not so simple. And they have torn open a wound over who will control the great Sioux chief's legacy.
Read more here: http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2007/06/18/news/state/25-sitingbull.txt
Top Native American writers get together for a three-day UA symposium
By GENE ARMSTRONG
For the first time in Tucson, a stellar roster of Native American poets will gather to share their poetry, creative ideas and thoughts on the literary arts and language with each other and with audiences at the Native Voices Symposium, scheduled for next weekend at the University of Arizona.
The symposium, featuring revered author Leslie Marmon Silko as keynote speaker, also will include such noted writers as Luci Tapahonso, Sherwin Bitsui, Simon Ortiz, Nora Marks Dauenhauer, Rex Lee Jim, Danny Lopez, Joy Harjo and Laura Tohe, among others, teaching classes and workshops, reading from their work and sitting in on panel discussions June 14-16.
According to a press release, the symposium is designed to celebrate "linguistic and cultural diversity, and it explores how languages--endangered indigenous languages in particular--are not just preserved but invigorated by poetry, storytelling, bookmaking and literary pursuits."
The symposium is the result of a collaboration of the University of Arizona Poetry Center and the 28th annual American Indian Language Development Institute, a four week residential summer program for teachers of Native American students.
Click here to find out more: http://www.tucsonweekly.com/gbase/Books/Content?oid=97028
For the first time in Tucson, a stellar roster of Native American poets will gather to share their poetry, creative ideas and thoughts on the literary arts and language with each other and with audiences at the Native Voices Symposium, scheduled for next weekend at the University of Arizona.
The symposium, featuring revered author Leslie Marmon Silko as keynote speaker, also will include such noted writers as Luci Tapahonso, Sherwin Bitsui, Simon Ortiz, Nora Marks Dauenhauer, Rex Lee Jim, Danny Lopez, Joy Harjo and Laura Tohe, among others, teaching classes and workshops, reading from their work and sitting in on panel discussions June 14-16.
According to a press release, the symposium is designed to celebrate "linguistic and cultural diversity, and it explores how languages--endangered indigenous languages in particular--are not just preserved but invigorated by poetry, storytelling, bookmaking and literary pursuits."
The symposium is the result of a collaboration of the University of Arizona Poetry Center and the 28th annual American Indian Language Development Institute, a four week residential summer program for teachers of Native American students.
Click here to find out more: http://www.tucsonweekly.com/gbase/Books/Content?oid=97028
Monday, June 18, 2007
Quotes
"When we walk upon Mother Earth, we always plant our feet carefully because we know the faces of our future generations are looking up at us from beneath the ground. We never forget them." -
Oren Lyons - Onondaga
Oren Lyons - Onondaga
Pueblo Indians
The word Pueblo is the Spanish name for "town or village."
The Pueblo Indians speak seven languages from four different linguistic stocks. However, most Pueblo people speak a variation of primarily two linguistic stocks, Keresan and Tanoan, as well as English and frequently Spanish.
The ancient area of Pueblo culture, as indicated by numerous prehistoric ruins, extended from about the Arkansas and Grand rivers, in Colorado and Utah, southwards indefinitely into Mexico, and from central Arizona eastward, almost across the Texas Panhandle.
At the beginning of the historic period in 1540, the Pueblo population centered chiefly on the upper Pecos and Rio Grande, and about the Zuñi in New Mexico, and upon the Hopi mesas in north-east Arizona. The inhabited pueblos at that date probably numbered close to one hundred. Today, 26 are occupied, excluding the two small Americanized pueblos of Isleta del Sur (Texas) and Senecú (Mexico), in the immediate neighbourhood of El Paso. With the exception of these two, all but the seven Hopi pueblos (including Hano) are in New Mexico. The Hopi are in Arizona. All have US Federal recognition except Senecu, which is in Mexico, and San Juan de Guadalupe, which is currently petitioning for recognition.
The Franciscan monk, Marcos di Niza, first saw the Zuni in 1539 but did not approach them. As soon as he returned, a new expedition was organized Francesco Vasquez de Coronado, for the conquest of this new country. In July, 1540, after nearly five months' march, the advance guard reached the principal Zuñi town, which was taken by storm.
Exploring parties were sent out in every direction, over to the Hopi, the Colorado, and the Buffalo plains, and the expedition finally went into winter quarters at Puaray, among the Tigua (Tiguex province), about the present Bernalillo, North Mexico, on the Rio Grande. The province was rich and populous, having twelve pueblos with perhaps 8000 people.
The Indians were at first friendly, but the conduct of the Spaniards soon provoked hostility and resistance, which was put down with one hundred surrendered prisoners being burnt at the stake, or shot as they attempted to escape, and hundreds or thousands of others being butchered by the Spaniards.
Click here to learn more: http://puebloindians.aaanativearts.com/
The Pueblo Indians speak seven languages from four different linguistic stocks. However, most Pueblo people speak a variation of primarily two linguistic stocks, Keresan and Tanoan, as well as English and frequently Spanish.
The ancient area of Pueblo culture, as indicated by numerous prehistoric ruins, extended from about the Arkansas and Grand rivers, in Colorado and Utah, southwards indefinitely into Mexico, and from central Arizona eastward, almost across the Texas Panhandle.
At the beginning of the historic period in 1540, the Pueblo population centered chiefly on the upper Pecos and Rio Grande, and about the Zuñi in New Mexico, and upon the Hopi mesas in north-east Arizona. The inhabited pueblos at that date probably numbered close to one hundred. Today, 26 are occupied, excluding the two small Americanized pueblos of Isleta del Sur (Texas) and Senecú (Mexico), in the immediate neighbourhood of El Paso. With the exception of these two, all but the seven Hopi pueblos (including Hano) are in New Mexico. The Hopi are in Arizona. All have US Federal recognition except Senecu, which is in Mexico, and San Juan de Guadalupe, which is currently petitioning for recognition.
The Franciscan monk, Marcos di Niza, first saw the Zuni in 1539 but did not approach them. As soon as he returned, a new expedition was organized Francesco Vasquez de Coronado, for the conquest of this new country. In July, 1540, after nearly five months' march, the advance guard reached the principal Zuñi town, which was taken by storm.
Exploring parties were sent out in every direction, over to the Hopi, the Colorado, and the Buffalo plains, and the expedition finally went into winter quarters at Puaray, among the Tigua (Tiguex province), about the present Bernalillo, North Mexico, on the Rio Grande. The province was rich and populous, having twelve pueblos with perhaps 8000 people.
The Indians were at first friendly, but the conduct of the Spaniards soon provoked hostility and resistance, which was put down with one hundred surrendered prisoners being burnt at the stake, or shot as they attempted to escape, and hundreds or thousands of others being butchered by the Spaniards.
Click here to learn more: http://puebloindians.aaanativearts.com/
The great horse of the Pawnee Nation
By: Tim Giago
There is a well-kept graveyard in the rolling, green hills on the outskirts of Pawnee, Oklahoma. There lie the graves of the fallen warriors and women of the Pawnee Nation. In one corner is the headstone of an Indian scout identical to the government issued headstones found in Indian cemeteries across America to honor the scouts who served the U. S. Army during the Indian wars of long ago.
On this beautiful June day fluffy white clouds float slowly over the graveyard and the afternoon sun reflects off of the large tombstone bearing the names of Mary and Charles George Shunatona. He was known as Chief Shunatona to the many friends he made in his 84 years on this earth.
On the back of the tombstone is the family name of the Shunatona clan. It reads, “Great Horse,” and there is a story behind the name. Told to me many years ago by Charles this is how the story goes:
“One day long ago while the warriors were away from camp hunting, only the women, children and a few elders remained in the camp. A young boy spotted enemy warriors approaching and he raced back to the camp to warn them. The only way to safety was to cross the river now swollen and crashing from the melting snow and spring rains. An elderly man told the boy who brought the news of the enemy to get the great horse that stood grazing at the edge of the camp. He then summoned all of the people together and they followed him as he led the horse to the edge of the raging river. In the Otoe language he told the horse to start across the river and he held out his hand to the boy who in turn held out his hand to a woman and so it went until all of the people in the camp were joined together with clasped hands. The elderly man then grasped the tail of the horse as it started to swim across the river and all of the people held hands tightly as the mighty horse pulled them all across the river to safety.”
Want the whole story? Click here: http://www.indianz.com/News/2007/003466.asp
There is a well-kept graveyard in the rolling, green hills on the outskirts of Pawnee, Oklahoma. There lie the graves of the fallen warriors and women of the Pawnee Nation. In one corner is the headstone of an Indian scout identical to the government issued headstones found in Indian cemeteries across America to honor the scouts who served the U. S. Army during the Indian wars of long ago.
On this beautiful June day fluffy white clouds float slowly over the graveyard and the afternoon sun reflects off of the large tombstone bearing the names of Mary and Charles George Shunatona. He was known as Chief Shunatona to the many friends he made in his 84 years on this earth.
On the back of the tombstone is the family name of the Shunatona clan. It reads, “Great Horse,” and there is a story behind the name. Told to me many years ago by Charles this is how the story goes:
“One day long ago while the warriors were away from camp hunting, only the women, children and a few elders remained in the camp. A young boy spotted enemy warriors approaching and he raced back to the camp to warn them. The only way to safety was to cross the river now swollen and crashing from the melting snow and spring rains. An elderly man told the boy who brought the news of the enemy to get the great horse that stood grazing at the edge of the camp. He then summoned all of the people together and they followed him as he led the horse to the edge of the raging river. In the Otoe language he told the horse to start across the river and he held out his hand to the boy who in turn held out his hand to a woman and so it went until all of the people in the camp were joined together with clasped hands. The elderly man then grasped the tail of the horse as it started to swim across the river and all of the people held hands tightly as the mighty horse pulled them all across the river to safety.”
Want the whole story? Click here: http://www.indianz.com/News/2007/003466.asp
Oconaluftee Indian Village offers time-travel experience
CHEROKEE, N.C. - Making a canoe doesn't seem like such a big deal. All it takes is a few power tools and a little know-how; or, even better, a trip to the local sporting goods store. Boating enthusiasts hit the water all the time and many never stop to wonder how boats were made centuries ago. One trip to the Oconaluftee Indian Village in Cherokee - where the Cherokees recreate the painstaking six-month task of hulling a canoe - will change the way guests look at these floating vessels forever.
The same can be said for baking bread, taking medicine, making a bed and turning up the thermostat. In this Cherokee village, an authentic replica dated to the mid-1700s, many simple tasks take on new significance for the people who visit. Cherokee has created a time travel experience that gives guests a fun and interesting way to think about life at home. And to realize the impact technology has had - for better or worse.
''Wandering through the village, you can't help but relate these activities to our own daily tasks,'' said James Bradley, executive director of Cherokee Historical Association. ''We are all so focused on multi-tasking and technological advances help us do that. Coming here you can slow down to recognize the beauty of doing one thing at a time and doing it well. Our culture celebrates that idea.''
Residents of this replica village are involved in numerous activities - many still practiced today - that visitors see while on tour. Canoe hulling is one example. This lengthy process catches many by surprise - it looks like nothing more than a huge downed tree with a smoldering fire in the center. This process, as the crafter explains, is a traditional burning method that creates an opening in the center of the log. The tree is packed with clay, which causes the fire to burn towards the center, and the burned sections are chipped away using stone tools. After six to eight months, the resulting canoe will be 20 to 30 feet long and hold 12 passengers.
Click here to read more: http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096415197
The same can be said for baking bread, taking medicine, making a bed and turning up the thermostat. In this Cherokee village, an authentic replica dated to the mid-1700s, many simple tasks take on new significance for the people who visit. Cherokee has created a time travel experience that gives guests a fun and interesting way to think about life at home. And to realize the impact technology has had - for better or worse.
''Wandering through the village, you can't help but relate these activities to our own daily tasks,'' said James Bradley, executive director of Cherokee Historical Association. ''We are all so focused on multi-tasking and technological advances help us do that. Coming here you can slow down to recognize the beauty of doing one thing at a time and doing it well. Our culture celebrates that idea.''
Residents of this replica village are involved in numerous activities - many still practiced today - that visitors see while on tour. Canoe hulling is one example. This lengthy process catches many by surprise - it looks like nothing more than a huge downed tree with a smoldering fire in the center. This process, as the crafter explains, is a traditional burning method that creates an opening in the center of the log. The tree is packed with clay, which causes the fire to burn towards the center, and the burned sections are chipped away using stone tools. After six to eight months, the resulting canoe will be 20 to 30 feet long and hold 12 passengers.
Click here to read more: http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096415197
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Internment Ceremony
Press release:
SAFETY HARBOR, FL: On June 30, 2007, at 10: 00 a.m. an Internment Ceremony will be held at the Safety Harbor Museum of Regional History, 329 Bayshore Blvd. South, Safety Harbor, FL. The general public is invited to observe. This ceremony is in fact a reburial of human remains culturally affiliated with the Seminole Nation. The remains are from the Weedon Island Period (AD 200-400), which is the time period during which the Tocobaga Indian Tribe inhabited this region.
The ceremony will be performed by the Spirit People Intertribal Family which is a multi-tribal family consisting of members representing tribes from across North America, Canada, and South America. Their focus is teaching the community about the diverse history, culture, traditions and ways of the old ones. We should remember that our Tampa Bay area was first inhabited approximately 10,000 – 12,000 years ago.
Following a short private ceremony due to the significance of spiritually returning the person back to earth and into the world that they now reside in, the public will be invited to celebrate and honor all indigenous peoples and their ancestors.
SAFETY HARBOR, FL: On June 30, 2007, at 10: 00 a.m. an Internment Ceremony will be held at the Safety Harbor Museum of Regional History, 329 Bayshore Blvd. South, Safety Harbor, FL. The general public is invited to observe. This ceremony is in fact a reburial of human remains culturally affiliated with the Seminole Nation. The remains are from the Weedon Island Period (AD 200-400), which is the time period during which the Tocobaga Indian Tribe inhabited this region.
The ceremony will be performed by the Spirit People Intertribal Family which is a multi-tribal family consisting of members representing tribes from across North America, Canada, and South America. Their focus is teaching the community about the diverse history, culture, traditions and ways of the old ones. We should remember that our Tampa Bay area was first inhabited approximately 10,000 – 12,000 years ago.
Following a short private ceremony due to the significance of spiritually returning the person back to earth and into the world that they now reside in, the public will be invited to celebrate and honor all indigenous peoples and their ancestors.
National Aboriginal Day - Canada
In 1996, Former Governor General Romeo LeBlanc officially declared June 21st as National Aboriginal Day. June 21 was chosen because it is the summer solstice and, for many generations, Aboriginal Peoples have celebrated their culture and heritage on this day. National Aboriginal Day 2007 marks the monumental 11th Anniversary and we are prepared to create an equally special event to celebrate.
National Aboriginal Day is a day for all Canadians to celebrate the cultures and contributions to Canada of First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples. On June 13, 1996 former Governor General Romeo LeBlanc officially declared June 21 as National Aboriginal Day. June 21 was chosen as a significant date in time when Aboriginal Peoples have traditionally celebrated their culture, tradition and way of life as well the coming of the summer solstice. This celebration of Aboriginal cultures within Canada aims to bring about awareness to the rest of Canadian society, in all aspects of art, music, oral history and traditional games.
The events of National Aboriginal Day within the National Capital Region (NCR) are coordinated and facilitated in conjunction with a National Aboriginal Day committee. The committee is a unique collaboration between six of the primary National organizations reflective of the diversity of Aboriginal people from across Canada. Each organization participates in the planning and execution of the National Aboriginal Day events to ensure that their community's distinct cultures are represented. National Aboriginal Day is an important event as it is represents one of the few collaborative efforts between all of these national organizations demonstrating their commitment to bringing a unified message about Aboriginal people to Canadians through this event.
National Aboriginal Day is a day for all Canadians to celebrate the cultures and contributions to Canada of First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples. On June 13, 1996 former Governor General Romeo LeBlanc officially declared June 21 as National Aboriginal Day. June 21 was chosen as a significant date in time when Aboriginal Peoples have traditionally celebrated their culture, tradition and way of life as well the coming of the summer solstice. This celebration of Aboriginal cultures within Canada aims to bring about awareness to the rest of Canadian society, in all aspects of art, music, oral history and traditional games.
The events of National Aboriginal Day within the National Capital Region (NCR) are coordinated and facilitated in conjunction with a National Aboriginal Day committee. The committee is a unique collaboration between six of the primary National organizations reflective of the diversity of Aboriginal people from across Canada. Each organization participates in the planning and execution of the National Aboriginal Day events to ensure that their community's distinct cultures are represented. National Aboriginal Day is an important event as it is represents one of the few collaborative efforts between all of these national organizations demonstrating their commitment to bringing a unified message about Aboriginal people to Canadians through this event.
Conference links men's roles and furthering of the culture
by: Jack McNeel / Indian Country Today
PLUMMER, Idaho - It was billed as a Native Men and Culture Conference, but about equal numbers of women were in attendance at the Wellness Center on the Coeur d'Alene Reservation. The conference was organized by tribal member Jon Skwanqhqn, who had attended a similar conference on the Tohono O'odham Nation and had been impressed with the results they had attained. ''I want to get the community back as a whole,'' he said.
Newly elected tribal council member Charlotte Nilson represented the tribe in welcoming those in attendance.
''When we think of awareness, we look to our fathers. The fathers here have to make a better life for children and the community.''
Six panels were assembled to speak on various issues, including wellness, the importance of education and the role of men in passing on customs and traditions, Native ceremony, spirituality and justice issues, and the role of men supporting their families.
While the topics of many panels tended to overlap, the principal message came through with each: Culture and tradition need to be maintained, and fathers must take a leading role in providing teaching and direction to be a positive example for the young.
Bob Sobotta, of the Coeur d'Alene Tribal School, has served many roles in education. He encouraged parents and grandparents to volunteer at schools.
''You're always welcome. Your kids really want and need you. They want to connect with their ancestry and culture. Parents and grandparents can be the main mentors and must provide the spiritual element. Kids need that to hang on to.''
Want the whole story? Click here: http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096415138
PLUMMER, Idaho - It was billed as a Native Men and Culture Conference, but about equal numbers of women were in attendance at the Wellness Center on the Coeur d'Alene Reservation. The conference was organized by tribal member Jon Skwanqhqn, who had attended a similar conference on the Tohono O'odham Nation and had been impressed with the results they had attained. ''I want to get the community back as a whole,'' he said.
Newly elected tribal council member Charlotte Nilson represented the tribe in welcoming those in attendance.
''When we think of awareness, we look to our fathers. The fathers here have to make a better life for children and the community.''
Six panels were assembled to speak on various issues, including wellness, the importance of education and the role of men in passing on customs and traditions, Native ceremony, spirituality and justice issues, and the role of men supporting their families.
While the topics of many panels tended to overlap, the principal message came through with each: Culture and tradition need to be maintained, and fathers must take a leading role in providing teaching and direction to be a positive example for the young.
Bob Sobotta, of the Coeur d'Alene Tribal School, has served many roles in education. He encouraged parents and grandparents to volunteer at schools.
''You're always welcome. Your kids really want and need you. They want to connect with their ancestry and culture. Parents and grandparents can be the main mentors and must provide the spiritual element. Kids need that to hang on to.''
Want the whole story? Click here: http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096415138
Quotes
"Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself. All things are bound together. All things connect." -
Chief Seattle - Suquamish and Duwamish
Chief Seattle - Suquamish and Duwamish
Today in history -
1579: Sir Francis Drake will land, today, north of San Francisco, probably, at what is called today, Drake's Bay, in California. He will report the Indians to be "people of a tractable, free and loving nature, without guile or treachery."
1654: Today in a meeting between the Swedes and the DELAWAREs in Tinicum (New Sweden, Pennsylvania). DELAWARE Chief Naaman praises the Swedes for their righteous treatment of the native inhabitants.
1654: Today in a meeting between the Swedes and the DELAWAREs in Tinicum (New Sweden, Pennsylvania). DELAWARE Chief Naaman praises the Swedes for their righteous treatment of the native inhabitants.
Honor Sacred Sites Day - National Day of Prayer
The National Day of Prayer to Protect Native American Sacred Places is being observed at the Native American Rights Fund on June 21, 2007. The public is welcome to a sunrise ceremony that will be held on NARF's front lawn beginning at 6:00 a.m. The program is expected to last for one hour with a prayer ceremony, speakers, and a moment of silence to show concern for the sacred places that are being damaged and destroyed today. NARF is headquartered at 1506 Broadway in Boulder , Colorado .
As part of its mission, the Native American Rights Fund advocates for sacred site protection, religious freedom efforts and cultural rights. NARF attorneys and staff participate in local and national gatherings and discussions about how to protect lands that are sacred and precious to Native Americans.
The Native American Rights Fund utilizes its resources to protect First Amendment rights of Native American religious leaders, prisoners and members of the Native American Church, and to assert tribal rights to cultural property and human remains, in compliance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.
Why should holy places be protected? How well do existing laws and federal agency regulations protect Native American places of worship? These and other questions will be addressed by NARF attorneys, and committee members who are active in the Valmont Butte, Medicine Wheel National Historic Landmark, The Devil's Tower, the Kennewick Man case and the work of the Sacred Lands Protection Coalition, of which the Native American Rights Fund is a member.
As part of its mission, the Native American Rights Fund advocates for sacred site protection, religious freedom efforts and cultural rights. NARF attorneys and staff participate in local and national gatherings and discussions about how to protect lands that are sacred and precious to Native Americans.
The Native American Rights Fund utilizes its resources to protect First Amendment rights of Native American religious leaders, prisoners and members of the Native American Church, and to assert tribal rights to cultural property and human remains, in compliance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.
Why should holy places be protected? How well do existing laws and federal agency regulations protect Native American places of worship? These and other questions will be addressed by NARF attorneys, and committee members who are active in the Valmont Butte, Medicine Wheel National Historic Landmark, The Devil's Tower, the Kennewick Man case and the work of the Sacred Lands Protection Coalition, of which the Native American Rights Fund is a member.
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