Handsome Lake or Ganioda'yo (1735 – 10 August 1815) was a Seneca religious leader of the Iroquois people. He was also half-brother to Cornplanter. Before his emergence as a prophet, Handsome Lake fought in Pontiac's Rebellion (against the British) and the American Revolutionary War (against the Americans). After struggling with alcoholism and an apparently near-fatal illness in 1799, Handsome Lake began professing instructions he had been given in a series of three visions.
Handsome Lake's teachings were both a revival of traditional religious practices as well as a program of cultural adaptation to the realities of reservation life in the United States. While he encouraged the adoption of certain customs of white Americans, such as European-style farming and housing, Handsome Lake also urged his followers to continue to practice traditional American Indian ceremonies. He encouraged Christian-style confessions of sin and urged Native Americans to stay away from alcohol. In addition to his moral instructions, Handsome Lake delivered a series of prophecies about the end of the world and the signs that would signal it. In 1802, Handsome Lake traveled to Washington D.C. with a delegation of Iroquois representatives to speak with President Thomas Jefferson about land issues and other matters. President Jefferson's approval of Handsome Lake's teachings was an important early endorsement of the prophet's religious movement.
Handsome Lake had a good relationship with the Quakers who lived among the Seneca and encouraged them to become farmers, since the Quakers were religious pluralists who agreed with a number of Handsome Lake's teachings, especially his stance against alcohol. Similarly, Handsome Lake did not discourage Indians who chose to embrace Christianity. Christian missionaries among the Seneca after Handsome Lake's lifetime, who (unlike the Quakers) actively sought to convert the Indians to Christianity, were less tolerant of the religion of Handsome Lake's followers.
Handsome Lake gained a wide following, aided by the prominence of his half-brother Cornplanter, an influential Seneca leader. Handsome Lake was disliked and dismissed by Red Jacket, who led a rival faction of Senecas. Handsome Lake encountered controversy when he accused a number of American Indian women of witchcraft; several of these women were executed by Handsome Lake's followers. When an accused witch was killed in 1809, Handsome Lake fell out of favor with Cornplanter and the Quakers, although he still retained a circle of loyal followers.
In the last years of his life, Handsome Lake advised against Iroquois involvement in the War of 1812. However, by this time many Senecas, including Cornplanter, considered the United States to be their country, and so they enlisted in the war.
Handsome Lake's teachings, known as The Code of Handsome Lake, eventually were incorporated into the Longhouse religion, which is still followed today.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act
The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) is a Federal law passed in 1990. NAGPRA provides a process for museums and Federal agencies to return certain Native American cultural items -- human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony - to lineal descendants, culturally affiliated Indian tribes, and Native Hawaiian organizations.
The National NAGPRA program assists the Secretary of the Interior with some of the Secretary's responsibilities under NAGPRA, and focuses on NAGPRA implementation outside of the National Park System.
Among its chief activities, National NAGPRA develops regulations and guidance for implementing NAGPRA; provides administrative and staff support for the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Review Commitee; assists Indian tribes, Native Alaskan villages and corporations, Native Hawaiian organizations, museums, and Federal agencies with the NAGPRA process; maintains the Native American Consultation Database (NACD) and other online databases; provides training; manages a grants program; and makes program documents and publications available on the Web, including the two new NAGPRA brochures.
Check out this website: http://www.nps.gov/history/nagpra/
The National NAGPRA program assists the Secretary of the Interior with some of the Secretary's responsibilities under NAGPRA, and focuses on NAGPRA implementation outside of the National Park System.
Among its chief activities, National NAGPRA develops regulations and guidance for implementing NAGPRA; provides administrative and staff support for the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Review Commitee; assists Indian tribes, Native Alaskan villages and corporations, Native Hawaiian organizations, museums, and Federal agencies with the NAGPRA process; maintains the Native American Consultation Database (NACD) and other online databases; provides training; manages a grants program; and makes program documents and publications available on the Web, including the two new NAGPRA brochures.
Check out this website: http://www.nps.gov/history/nagpra/
Indians mark centennial with protest march at state Capitol
Associated Press
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - About 500 Indians and their supporters marched on the state Capital today to protest their treatment during 100 years of Oklahoma statehood.
Chanting "No Justice, No Peace" the tribal members say they want to draw attention to the fact that Oklahoma was once their land.
Donna Reiner (RINER) of the Delaware-Caddo Tribe says the land was taken from Indians in land runs and shows that the federal government violated treaties.
Gary Redeye of the Seneca Tribe says history books don't teach what happened to Indians during the land runs. He says the Indian experience during the early years of statehood is unknown to young tribal members and isn't part of the Centennial celebration under way today in Guthrie.
The marchers also stopped traffic for a short time on Lincoln Boulevard south of the Capital when they stopped in the street before moving on.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - About 500 Indians and their supporters marched on the state Capital today to protest their treatment during 100 years of Oklahoma statehood.
Chanting "No Justice, No Peace" the tribal members say they want to draw attention to the fact that Oklahoma was once their land.
Donna Reiner (RINER) of the Delaware-Caddo Tribe says the land was taken from Indians in land runs and shows that the federal government violated treaties.
Gary Redeye of the Seneca Tribe says history books don't teach what happened to Indians during the land runs. He says the Indian experience during the early years of statehood is unknown to young tribal members and isn't part of the Centennial celebration under way today in Guthrie.
The marchers also stopped traffic for a short time on Lincoln Boulevard south of the Capital when they stopped in the street before moving on.
Bush taps Hopi for Ariz.'s U.S. attorney
By: Lindsey Collom
A member of the Hopi Indian tribe could be the first Native American to serve as the U.S. attorney for Arizona.
President Bush on Thursday nominated Diane J. Humetewa, who has spent most of her career as a federal prosecutor and is currently the senior litigation counsel and tribal liaison with the Arizona U.S. Attorney's Office.
Humetewa, 42, said she was "extremely honored" by the nomination but declined to comment further, saying it was too early in the process.
If the U.S. Senate confirms the nomination, Humetewa will fill the position vacated by Paul Charlton, one of eight U.S. attorneys forced to resign nationwide in a Justice Department purge. Daniel Knauss has served as the interim U.S. attorney since January. Charlton said he and Humetewa have discussed the job in recent months and he feels she is a "perfect fit."
"I tried a case with Diana about 10 years ago, and it was there that I saw this extraordinary combination of outstanding prosecutor and an individual with a clear moral compass who understood what was right and demonstrated good judgment consistently," Charlton said. "One of the qualities you need to be a U.S. attorney in Arizona is to have a great deal of sensitivity to issues in Indian country, and no one has been better able to exemplify that than Diane."
Sens. John McCain and Jon Kyl in January recommended Humetewa for the post. Humetewa served as counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs during both of McCain's tenures as committee chairman.In a joint statement Thursday, the senators urged a swift confirmation.
"Diane has demonstrates a devotion to public service and commitment to justice, and I believe she is uniquely qualified to address legal issues in the state of Arizona," McCain said in the statement.Humetewa began her career with the U.S. Attorney's Office in 1987 as a victim's advocate. Six years later, she graduated from the Arizona State University College of Law. Humetewa sits as an appellate court judge for the Hopi Tribal Court.
A member of the Hopi Indian tribe could be the first Native American to serve as the U.S. attorney for Arizona.
President Bush on Thursday nominated Diane J. Humetewa, who has spent most of her career as a federal prosecutor and is currently the senior litigation counsel and tribal liaison with the Arizona U.S. Attorney's Office.
Humetewa, 42, said she was "extremely honored" by the nomination but declined to comment further, saying it was too early in the process.
If the U.S. Senate confirms the nomination, Humetewa will fill the position vacated by Paul Charlton, one of eight U.S. attorneys forced to resign nationwide in a Justice Department purge. Daniel Knauss has served as the interim U.S. attorney since January. Charlton said he and Humetewa have discussed the job in recent months and he feels she is a "perfect fit."
"I tried a case with Diana about 10 years ago, and it was there that I saw this extraordinary combination of outstanding prosecutor and an individual with a clear moral compass who understood what was right and demonstrated good judgment consistently," Charlton said. "One of the qualities you need to be a U.S. attorney in Arizona is to have a great deal of sensitivity to issues in Indian country, and no one has been better able to exemplify that than Diane."
Sens. John McCain and Jon Kyl in January recommended Humetewa for the post. Humetewa served as counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs during both of McCain's tenures as committee chairman.In a joint statement Thursday, the senators urged a swift confirmation.
"Diane has demonstrates a devotion to public service and commitment to justice, and I believe she is uniquely qualified to address legal issues in the state of Arizona," McCain said in the statement.Humetewa began her career with the U.S. Attorney's Office in 1987 as a victim's advocate. Six years later, she graduated from the Arizona State University College of Law. Humetewa sits as an appellate court judge for the Hopi Tribal Court.
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