Crooked Bough News Round-up

— Tulalip Indian longhouse

 

at 4/3/25 2:08pm

Welcome to the Street Prophets Coffee Hour cleverly hidden at the intersection of religion, art, science, food, and politics. This is an open thread where we can share our thoughts and comments about the day. The people of the Tulalip tribes would traditionally spend the winter in their longhouses situated in permanent villages. During the winter months, a great deal of teaching would take place around the longhouse fires. During this time, the elders would pass on the family stories, songs, lineages, and moral teachings. According to the exhibit in the Hibulb Culture Center: “Our songs, dances, stories, basket designs and carvings are owned by certain families and are used only with their permission. Ownership of this knowledge may be given by families to particular family members, other selected people, or the whole tribe. We have a strict process of granting rights and permission to use this type of knowledge.” Shown above is the entrance to the longhouse in the Hibulb Culture Center. The television screen provides visitors with the stories of the Tulalip peoples. he poles shown above were carved about 1914 by William Shelton. As a young boy in the 1870s, he had been to the great potlatch house at Skagit Bay Head. In 1912, he advocated for a longhouse to be built on the Tulalip Bay. These posts were carved for this longhouse according to his childhood memories of the posts at the great potlatch house. Shown above is the outside of the longhouse showing the shed roof configuration.  Coast Salish houses were often built in a shed style with the roof pitched because of the great width of the structure. Open thread This is an open thread—all topics are welcome.

[Author: Ojibwa] [Category: AmericanIndians, CoffeeHour, Community, Museums, OpenThread, Photography, Washington, HibulbCultureCenter, StreetProphets, TulalipIndians] [Link to media]

— Indians 101: Educating American Indian children in 1890

 

at 4/3/25 8:15am

In 1890, there were two kinds of schools for American Indian children: boarding schools and day schools. These schools were run by the federal government or by Christian missionary groups (often funded, at least in part, by the federal government). School attendance was mandatory, and the army was sometimes called in to force the children to attend school. Non-Indian Americans generally supported the Indian school as one solution to the “Indian problem.” Historian Clyde Ellis, in an article in the Chronicles of Oklahoma, writes: “Reformers and policymakers believed the school could mold Indian youths into a new race, one in which the values of thrift, discipline, individuality, and Christianity would more, closely reflect those of white society.” In the boarding schools, Indian children were required to wear European-style clothes (often military-style uniforms), speak only English (speaking a Native language often resulted in physical punishment), attend Christian church services, and sleep in beds. Boys had their long hair cut short. While education in the boarding schools focused on vocational training, it also sought to provide them with the basics of English reading and writing and to convert them to Christianity. The curriculum usually called for the children to spend a half-day in the classroom and then work for a half-day. Since the federal government, and perhaps the American people, didn’t want to spend very much money for Indian education, the boarding schools were expected to be relatively self-sufficient. The students, often under the guise of “industrial education”, served as an unpaid labor pool to provide cleaning, cooking, sewing, farming, dairying, and other services.  In her Dartmouth College M.A. Thesis Chemawa Indian Boarding School: The First One Hundred Years, 1880-1980, Sonciray Bonnell reports: “Unpaid labor was justified by the claim that hard work shaped character and gave students pride; wages only encouraged students to expect such wages for all their work.” Cary Collins, in the introduction to Assimilation’s Agent: My Life as a Superintendent in the Indian Boarding School System, writes: “Many social reformers believed these schools, buttressed with their superior machinery for remaking Indian people in the dominant American image, held the promise of a viable means of assimilation and an effective formula for solving America’s venerable Indian problem.” In her University of Montana M.A. Thesis The Ottowa Experience: The Life of Iassac Battice in the Context of his Tribe, Betty Paulsen reports: “Harsh discipline and corporal punishment, study and Christian training were the ethic of the boarding schools.” Sonciray Bonnell puts it this way: “The founders of Indian boarding schools were committed to casting their students into something they were not, nor necessarily wanted to be: Euroamerican Christians.” In his chapter in Eating Fire, Tasting Blood: An Anthology of the American Indian Holocaust, Hopi historian Matthew Gilbert writes: “Although off-reservation boarding schools largely existed to train Indian students in industrial trades, school officials forced Indian pupils to attend Christian gatherings, pray Christian prayers, and adopt, at least for a time, a cultural worldview based on Christianity.” Briefly described below are some of the events involving Indian education in 1890. Cheyenne and Arapaho In Oklahoma, rations were withheld from Cheyenne and Arapaho parents who refused to place their children in school. Kiowa In Oklahoma, a Protestant mission school was established among the Kiowas. According to the missionary there is a-- “...need for strictly religious schools, with no political affiliation, where unhindered the Bible could be taught and its truths emphasized.” The school was sponsored by the Women’s Board of Missions of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.   Hopi In Arizona, conservatives in the Hopi village of Oraibi refused to send their children to school. The Tenth Cavalry was sent in to maintain peace. The military troops invaded the village and “captured” 104 children for the school. The Commissioner of Indian Affairs arranged for Oraibi leader Loololma (also spelled Lololoma) and other Hopi leaders to visit Washington where they were encouraged to accept allotments, Christian missionaries, and American schools. Loololoma returned to the Hopi supporting these programs. In his chapter in the Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 9: Southwest, Frederick Dockstader reports: “Lololoma was apparently deeply impressed by what he saw in the capital. Crediting these wonders to the White educational system, he changed his attitude completely and began to use his influence to persuade his people to send their children to school; thus began the disintegration of Oraibi.” Indian Affairs representatives met with the military at the boarding school at Keam’s Canyon, Arizona to discuss a quota system to force Hopi children to attend the school. The Army was to implement and enforce the program. In the Hopi village of Oraibi, Loololma supported the government program and was imprisoned in a kiva by those who opposed it. Federal troops came into the village and released Loololma. Paiute, Shoshone, Washo In Nevada, the Stewart Institute was opened as an Indian boarding school. The school started with 67 Paiute, Shoshone, and Washo students While the school opened its doors as the Stewart Institute, named after Senator William Stewart who was responsible for obtaining the federal appropriation to start the school, the name was soon changed to the Carson Indian School and in 1894 it was changed to the Stewart Indian School. Shoshone and Bannock In Idaho, the Indian agent for the Fort Hall reservation managed to enroll 100 Shoshone and Bannock children in the agency boarding school. With the use of Indian police and a policy of withholding rations from reluctant parents, nearly half of all of the school-aged children on the reservation were enrolled in the school. When enrollment at the school dropped, a council was held with the Shoshone and Bannock and they were informed that the school was to be kept filled or the soldiers would come. Scarlet fever broke out in the boarding school on the Fort Hall Reservation. Soon nearly all of the Shoshone and Bannock children had the disease. Thirty-eight children died from the disease. Blackfoot In Montana, the Jesuits opened the Holy Family mission on land given to them by Blackfoot chief White Calf. In his book Mission Among the Blackfeet, Howard Harrod describes the setting: “Built on the banks of the Two Medicine River in a narrow valley at the edge of a cottonwood grove, the mission buildings were surrounded on the north and west by stark cliffs over which the Blackfeet had driven buffalo in earlier times.” With regard to the function of the mission, Howard Harrod reports: “Holy Family Mission was designed to displace and replace the functions performed by the traditional home. The children were taken from their families and lived at the mission most of the year, except for a brief vacation.” The mission school took over the parents’ role in teaching their children. Puyallup Reservation In Washington, a reporter from the Tacoma Daily Ledger visited the boarding school on the Puyallup Reservation. He wrote: “The reporter was surprised to find a class at the board drawing. He had not supposed that Indians possessed artistic ability.” He went on to report: “A large number of drawings of various kinds were shown, all the fruit off the natural genius of the Indians, directed only by such training as the teachers could give them.” More American Indian histories Indians 101: American Indian education policies in 1890 Indians 201: The Hopi Indians and Mormon missionaries Indians 101: The Hopi Reservation in the 19th century Indians 101: Faith-Based Reservations Indians 201: The Pueblos and the United States, 1846 to 1876 Indians 101: Heathens on the Nez Perce Reservation Indians 201: Indians as People Under the Law Indians 101: Federal Policies in 1890

[Author: Ojibwa] [Category: AmericanIndians, boardingschools, Education, History, Indians101, Jesuits, NativeAmericanNetroots, BannockIndians, BlackfootIndians, PaiuteIndians, ShoshoneIndians, HopiIndians, CheyenneIndians, MethodistEpiscopalChurch, KiowaIndians, ArapahoIndians, WashoIndians, FortHallReservation, CommissionerofIndianAffairs, Loololma, StewartInstitute, PuyallupReservation] [Link to media]

— Indians 101: American Indian education policies in 1890

 

at 4/1/25 8:15am

In 1890, Indian affairs in the United States were administered i- the Interior Department by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, a political appointee. At this time, one of the goals of the federal government was to “civilize” American Indians by having them assimilate into mainstream American society. One important “civilizing” force in assimilation was education. The purpose of education was to strip all vestiges of Indian culture from the Indian students: they were to speak only English; they were to dress in the American style, they were to eat American foods, they were to worship the Christian gods, they were to live in American-style houses. With regard to the emphasis on Christianity in the government-run Indian boarding schools, Hopi historian Matthew Gilbert, in his chapter in Eating Fire, Tasting Blood: An Anthology of the American Indian Holocaust, writes: “The necessity to include Christianity in the overall objective for Indian education largely stemmed from the government’s desire to create Indian students who would reflect a Protestant America.” Destroying Indian cultures, particularly Indian religions, was seen as a critical step in assimilating Indians into mainstream American culture. Matthew Gilbert reports: “The government intended for students to learn about Jesus Christ, Christian doctrine, and the Bible.” Law researcher Steven Newcomb, in an article in Indian Country Today, writes: “One of the things U.S. boarding schools beat into American Indian children was patriotism toward the American flag and devotion to the Bible, in part by working to make Indian children ashamed of their own Native spirituality.” In 1890, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs announced that the 8th of February was to be celebrated as Franchise Day. It was on this day that the Dawes Act was signed into law, and the Commissioner felt that this: “…is worthy of being observed in all Indian schools as the possible turning point in Indian history, the point at which the Indians may strike out from tribal and reservation life and enter American citizenship and nationality” The purpose of the Dawes Act was to break up communally owned reservation lands, assign allotments to individual tribal members, and declare “surplus” lands open for non-Indian settlement. Also in 1890, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs published a detailed set of rules for Indian schools which stipulated a uniform course of study and the textbooks which were to be used in the schools. The Commissioner prescribed the celebration of United States national holidays as a way of replacing Indian heroes and assimilating Indians. According to the Commissioner: “Education should seek the disintegration of the tribes, and not their segregation. They should be educated, not as Indians, but as Americans.” Schools were to give Indian students surnames so that as they became property owners it would be easier to fix lines of inheritance. The Commissioner of Indian Affairs ordered Indian names on the reservations to be changed so that each Indian was given an English Christian name and surname. Surnames were to be translated to English and shortened if they are too long. The new names were to be explained to the Indians. Historian Virginia Cole Trenholm, in her book The Arapahoes, Our People, writes: “One wonders what reasons the agent could give for changing such colorful names as Lone Bear to Lon Brown, Night Horse to Henry Lee Tyler, or Yellow Calf to George Caldwell.” On some reservations, Indians were given names such as “Cornelius Vanderbilt” and “William Shakespeare.” In commenting on the practice of giving Indians names from Euroamerican history and literature, Frank Terry, in his 1897 article in American Monthly Review of Reviews.  reports: “The plan resorted to in some quarters of discarding the Indian names altogether and fitting the Indians out with names that are purely English has not worked well, for those selected in many cases are names illustrious in American history, and this has caused the Indians to become the butt of many a vulgar joke.” On the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming, the Indian agent reported that: “Now every family has a name. Every father, mother; every husband and wife and children bear the last names of these people; now property goes to his descendant.” The Indian agent also reported: “During my administration I took a census of over two thousand names and had them all change, though it took over two years to accomplish the task.” In noting that Indians often changed names in response to events in their lives, Frank Terry, the Superintendent of the Crow Boarding School, writes: “Hence it will be seen that the Indian names are nothing, a delusion, and a snare, and the practice of converting them into English appears eminently unwise.” Frank Terry also notes that the requirement to give Indians American-style names has not been uniformly carried out: “While some have made earnest efforts to carry out the wishes of the Department in this particular, others have treated the matter as one of little or no concern. In many cases no attempt seems ever to have been made to systematize the names of the Indians, and in many others where such attempt was made the correct names for want of attention on the part of officers in charge, have been forgotten or permitted to fall into disuse.” More American Indian histories Indians 201: Carlisle Indian School Indians 101: The Chemawa Indian School Indians 101: The Fort Shaw Indian Boarding School Indians 101: The Genoa Indian School Indians 101: From Boarding School to University Indians 101: The Smithsonian and the Indians in the 19th Century Indians 201: Renaming Indians Indians 101: Choctaw Education After Removal

[Author: Ojibwa] [Category: AmericanIndians, boardingschools, Education, History, Indians101, NativeAmericanNetroots, DawesAct, WindRiverReservation, CrowBoardingSchool, CommissionerofIndianAffairs] [Link to media]

— Standing Rock Sioux & Greenpeace vs. big oil

 

at 3/29/25 5:02pm

This is the story about how Greenpeace paid the price for standing up for a Native American tribe against a oil pipeline firm called Energy Transfer and losing a SLAPP suit. Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation. The point is to tie up money and resources of a defendant. It's something Donald Trump does all the time. In 2016, the Standing Rock Sioux set up a protest camp along the proposed route for the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) in North Dakota. The were concerned about pollution to their water, calling themselves "water protectors." They also feared the pipeline would disturb sacred sites and that it violated treaty rights. During the next year, they were joined by activists and activist organizations around the country, and other Indigenous people, and even hundreds of Veterans. Greenpeace showed up, too. Six people. Over the year 100,000 took part. Hundreds of police were used to patrol the protest with periods of violent arrests, even of journalists. The Energy Transfer Dakota Access Pipeline went online is 2017. They picked Greenpeace as a target for having disrupted their construction work, causing additional costs. They filed a suit against Greenpeace for $300 million in a federal lawsuit which was dismissed in 2019. In that suit, Energy Transfer accused Greenpeace of racketeering conspiracy and terrorism. So, Energy Transfer changed it's legal efforts to the North Dakota state courts. They knew that North Dakota has no protection against SLAPP lawsuits. Every judge in the district where it was filed, recused themselves for conflict of interest. Of the 11 person jury, 7 had ties to the fossil fuels industry. Some of them admitted they could not be fair, but the judge empaneled them anyway. There were no Indigenous or people of color on the jury, even though Indigenous issues were central to the trial. In a pretrial survey, 97% of the people said they could not be fair to Greenpeace. Energy Transfer put on a television and online advertising campaign in the weeks before the trial making their case against Greenpeace. Printed copies of the Central ND News, with articles critical of the protest, were sent to every resident in the county. The judge wouldn't allow discovery for Greenpeace to find out who was behind this operation, which was designed to taint the jury pool. The Standing Rock Sioux tribe was the organizer of the protests, and yet Energy Transfer was able to convince a jury that's six Greenpeace members were behind the whole thing. During the legal battle during the years, the CEO of Energy Transfer, Kelly Warren, also a major Trump campaign donor, had many things to say about the lawsuit, like activists, "should be removed from the gene pool." He said the lawsuit was not only about the damages, but also to send a message to environmental protesters. Greenpeace claimed that: "In this case, Energy Transfer has maintained their entirely false claims that Greenpeace organized the #NoDapl resistance at Standing Rock, an allegation rooted in racism and in its erasure of Indigenous leadership in North Dakota." When the jury reached it's verdict over a week ago, the damages were a whopping $667 million. During the three week trial, The Guardian had an observer in court. Several things stood out as stacked against Greenpeace. There was no court recorder, and there are no court transcripts or recordings available. Live stream of the proceeding was not allowed even though requested by The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. Key documents were sealed, so not available to the public. The judge did not allow an expert report that showed that the work on the pipeline had leaked roughly 1 million gallons of drilling fluids into the drinking water of millions of people. It was not a fair trial and there are so many grounds for appeal, even having the verdict set aside, that Greenpeace should win. This win for Energy Transfer does not bode well for environmental protesters during this second Trump administration. When the FBI can determine that an organization is supporting terrorism, then the Treasury Department can revoke their nonprofit status. Greenpeace is appealing here, and has a countersuit they filed in the Netherlands In February of 2024. In what is apparently the first test of the European Union's anti-SLAPP Directive, Greenpeace International is looking to recover damages and costs it has accrued due to Energy Transfers meritless lawsuits. Their suit will be heard in court in July. The Standing Rock Sioux tribe has filed their own lawsuit against the Army Corps of Engineers last October, arguing that the DAPL is operating illegally and must be shut down. The Army Corps of Engineers has jurisdiction over a section of the pipeline that passes under Lake Oahe, half a mile upstream from the Standing Rock reservation. Standing Rock Sioux celebration The suit contends that the Army Corps of Engineers ignored federal regulations by allowing the pipeline to operate without an easement and insufficient study of environmental impacts, an emergency plans for spills. "We are fighting for our rights and the water that is the life of the Oceti Sakowin tribes," said said Standing Rock Sioux Chairwoman Janet Alkire said during a news conference on Indigenous Peoples Day. The pathway of the pipeline crosses unceded tribal land recognized as belonging to the Sioux Nation under an 1851 treaty with the U.S. government. An engineering report from a firm called Exponent was conducted at the behest of Greenpeace in their continuing lawsuit against energy transfer. The report concluded that 1.4 million gallons of bentonite clay-based drilling mud was unaccounted for. There was no clear indication of what happened to it, but the assumption is that it seeped into the soil. Energy Transfer has requested that the report be thrown from the case due to it being unreliable. The tribe noted that the Environmental Protection Agency in 2022 recommended that Energy Transfer be banned from any federal contracts. Standing Rocks Sioux put forth that Energy Transfer is not entitled to an easement if it is barred from government contracts. The ban recommendation stems from action in Pennsylvania with two of Energy Transfer's pipelines, where a criminal case showed that they had used unapproved additives in the drilling fluid used in constructing one of the pipelines. For this reason, the Sioux Tribe wonders whether any toxins were used in the drilling underneath Lake Oahe. On March 28th, it was Judge James Boasberg that dismissed the Standing Rock Sioux case against the Army Corps of Engineers. He found that the tribe must wait until the Army Corps has finished an environmental study before bringing another case against the agency. "No matter it's frustration with Defendant's sluggish pace, it is not yet entitled to a second bite at the Apple," Boasberg ruled. The first case that the Sioux filed was in 2016. In 2020, Judge Boasberg ruled that the Army Corps had not conducted an environmental impact study, violating Federal law. The judge pulled the easement and ordered the pipeline drained of oil pending the Army Corps report. In 2021, an appellate court reversed his decision but did not reinstate the easement. Following that decision, Boasburg wrote that he couldn't shut down the pipeline indefinitely, as the tribe had not proved any immediate danger and irreparable harm. The Army Corps of Engineers published a draft version of its report in 2023. Once the report is finalized the Army Corps will use it to determine whether an easement should be granted again. Judge Boasberg was annoyed that the Army Corps hadn't acted on its own property rights. ​​"The Corps has conspicuously declined to adopt a conclusive position regarding the pipelines continued operation, despite continued prodding from this court and the court of appeals to do so," he wrote in 2021. In his Friday memo, the judge noted that many of the pieces of the current lawsuit were decided in the 2016 case, and the situations are not going to change until the Army Corps of Engineers report is completed. But, he noted that the tribe could file a new lawsuit against the Corps once the report is finished. The tribe last fall asserted that they had new evidence, which is probably the Greenpeace commissioned study, which Energy Transfer does not think is valid. After the judge's decision, North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong said in a statement, ​"The Dakota Access Pipeline has been operating safely for almost 8 years now and is a critical piece of infrastructure for North Dakota and our nations energy security."​ Judge Boasberg has been handling the Standing Rock Sioux cases since 2016. He's criticized the Army Corps of Engineers of dragging their feet, but there's nothing he can do about it. When they finalize the report, the Standing Rock Sioux have their chance to file another lawsuit to shutdown the Dakota Access Pipeline. All they can to is right now is to write letters to the Army Corps of Engineers to hurry it up. Greenpeace has two avenues to get rid of the Energy Transfer win. Since Energy Transfer made the mistake of including Greenpeace International in the lawsuit, Greenpeace International has every right to file their anti-SLAPP lawsuit in the Netherlands. A court ruling there can be used to help reverse the North Dakota ruling. In the meantime, Greenpeace can appeal on all the court bias mistakes from the judge, the jury, disallowed evidence, jury pool tampering and more. These cases are intertwined for many important issues. First Amendment rights. Tribal treaty rights. EPA and Army Corps of Engineer mistakes. Both Greenpeace and the Standing Rock Sioux need to win to literally stay alive. The Sioux for their water rights, and Greenpeace for beating a judgement that would bankrupt them. The Sioux would have rather have had Energy Transfer file against them for the protests, because they would have more easily won. That's why Energy Transfer went after Greenpeace. In oil country, they're looked at as interlopers, as seen by the pre-trial jury survey that said 97% couldn't give Greenpeace a fair trial. That should have caused a venue change, but it didn't. Greenpeace filed motions for a venue change and were overruled. Greenpeace will file their appeal soon. If they lose in the North Dakota appeals court, then it's the state Supreme Court. They could just leapfrog over that and take it to the U.S. Supreme Court because it really is a First Amendment case. Six Greenpeace members did not cause a year long protest and there was no "funding" of the protest as the right loves to accuse. I'd like them to take it to the U.S. Supreme Court. I don't think they can get a fair shake in North Dakota. Resources: Standing Rock Sioux Statement on Energy Transfer case against Greenpeace. Greenpeace March 19th Case Statement March 25th Op-ed in The Guardian about the Greenpeace case and its meaning to free speech Two page summary of Standing Rock Sioux October 2024 lawsuit against the Army Corps of Engineers (PDF) 34 page lawsuit of Standing Rock Sioux lawsuit against Army Corps of Engineers (PDF) English translation from Dutch of Greenpeace lawsuit against Energy Transfer for SLAPP lawsuit (PDF)(not so great) National Museum of American Indian page on why treaties matter with the DAPL 17 page 2023 letter by the Standing Rock Sioux to the Army Corps of Engineers (PDF)

[Author: Bill Addis] [Category: greenpeace, Netherlands, NorthDakota, Sioux, Boasberg, energytransfer, StandingRockSioux, lakeoahe, armycorpsengineers] [Link to media]

— The erasure of Indigenous peoples continues as federal websites scrub MMIP* report

 

at 3/29/25 8:23am

Yesterday I posted a diary about the elimination of flags representing Arizona’s 22 Indigenous nations at the VA medical center in Phoenix following trump’s boneheaded DEI order. According to news reports, the flags were “unceremoniously” dropped off at the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community in Scottsdale with no explanation. Several tribes worked with Gov. Katie Hobbs’s office, and today all 22 flags are on display at the Capitol in Phoenix. We’re grateful every day that it’s Katie Hobbs and not Kari Lake sitting in the governor’s office!  Given that Arizona is more than 40% Hispanic and has one of the country’s largest Native American populations, trump’s assaults on nonwhite individuals and groups is a nonstop freak show, but this recent attempt to erase Indigenous cultures is national in scope. The Not Invisible Act was signed by — wait for it — Donald Trump in 2020, when it was heralded as a landmark effort to combat the systematic violence perpetrated against Indigenous persons at rates higher than the general population, especially homicide, child abuse, rape, and human trafficking. Until a spotlight was shone on the tragedies by the Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP) movement, too many crimes went uninvestigated let alone solved (here’s Arizona’s database). Trump took credit for signing the Act and bragged about being the first president to recognize MMIP. That was then. One important outcome of the Not Invisible Act is a 200-page report titled “Not One More,” which was available on federal websites until it wasn’t. You can still find general information about MMIP and the Not Invisible Act at the Department of Justice website, but if you click the link for the “Not One More” report, you’re greeted with “Page Not Found.” I guess reporting on crimes against American Indian populations, and making specific recommendations that the federal government should undertake in partnership with Native communities, is a bridge too far for that racist boob in the White House.  However, the wonderful folks at the Wayback Machine grabbed the report before it was disappeared. There you’ll find a comprehensive review spelling out the many problems specific to Tribal communities as well as for Indians living off the reservation, including: a lack of funding, training, and awareness; the roadblocks created by overlapping legal jurisdictions; the lack of historic and contemporary data; the need for tools and skilled professionals to conduct investigations, and so much more. The nearly 50 Commissioners, drawn from Tribal leadership, law enforcement, and federal agencies, make dozens and dozens of recommendations throughout the report, which begins: There is a crisis in Tribal communities. A crisis of violence, a crisis of abuse, and a crisis of abject neglect affecting Indian Women & Men, Indian Children, and Indian Elders. The federal government must act now; not tomorrow; not next week; not next month; and not next year. Once and for all, the federal government must end its systematic failure to address this crisis and react, redress, and resolve this. We call on the federal government to declare a Decade of Action & Healing to address the crisis of missing, murdered, and trafficked Indian people. That last sentence, which begins “We call on the federal government," is today a sick joke and no doubt the reason the report was scrubbed. Unless we are fabulously wealthy and preferably white, we can’t “call on the federal government” for anything except cruelty, which the president of that government is happy to provide.       

[Author: Mother Mags] [Category: Crime, Indian, Indigenous, NativeAmerican, NotOneMore, MMIP, NotInvisibleAct] [Link to media]

— New Name, Same Commitment to Empowering Tribal Voters

 

at 3/27/25 2:32pm

Since 2018, the Northeast Arizona Native Democrats has been a stalwart defender of Arizona’s tribal voters and their access to the ballot. Our team is made up of majority tribal members who work year-round in their communities, driven by their passion for democracy and their love for their families and neighbors.  Arizona Native Democrats work on the Navajo Nation, and the White Mountain Apache and Hopi Tribal lands. In 2025, we will expand to include San Carlos & Yavapai Apache Lands, and the Tohono O’odham Nation.  Through consistent relational organizing work across communities in White Mountain Apache, Hopi, and the Navajo Nation, we have increased voter turnout and Democratic support on Arizona’s sovereign lands every cycle. Now, we are expanding to San Carlos Apache, Yavapai Apache, and Tohono O’odham to continue building on our success. In light of this expansion, we have changed our name to the Arizona Native Democrats. Our new identity reflects our statewide focus and affirms that we will leave no community behind in our efforts to empower and turnout native voters. Our 2025 expansion is just the start. Our long term goal is to have a presence in every tribal community in Arizona. With that in mind we thought we would introduce you to the people responsible for our success.  Loren Marshall, Field Director  First up, our Field Director, Loren Marshall. Loren is Diné, a citizen of the Navajo Nation. Her clans are (Tó’áhaní) Near the Water People clan, born for (Tódích’íi’nii) the Bitter Water clan. Her maternal grandfather was of the (Táchii’nii) Red Running Into the Water People clan, and her paternal grandfather is of the (Ma’ii Deeshgiizhnii) Coyote Pass Jemez clan. As Field Director, Loren oversees our efforts across tribal lands to register, empower, and turn out voters. She identifies areas of highest needs and creates programs designed to fulfill those needs. She has been working to strengthen Indigenous political power and increase voter participation in rural Native communities since 2020.  Next, Missa Foy. Missa is the Programs Director for the Arizona Native Democrats. Missa is our team leaderher job is to ensure that our organizers on the ground have the resources and support they need to do effective outreach in their communities. She began organizing on sovereign lands in 2018. In addition to her work with Arizona Native Democrats, Missa serves as the Chair of the Navajo County Democratic Party, a co-chair of the Arizona Democratic Party Progressive Caucus and sits on the board of the non-profit Arizona Native Vote.  Missa Foy, Programs Director (Left) & Janice Ben, Family Votes Coordinator (Right)  Another valued member of our team is Janice Ben. Janice serves as our Family Votes Coordinator, providing support and guidance to over 375 matriarchs across Arizona’s sovereign lands who are actively working with their families and neighbors to ensure their communities are up-to-date on the issues most pressing to them and ready to cast their ballots. Janice is Dine. Her clans are (Tachiinii) Red Running into the Water People clan, born for (Kin yaa aanii) Towering house clan. Her maternal grandfather was of the (Bit ah nii) Within his cover clan, and her paternal grandfather was of the (Kin lichii nii) Red House clan. Her journey in community organizing has been dynamic and fulfilling, having served as a tribal organizer for four different organizations since 2008. Janice previously worked on Voter Registration efforts and addressing challenges like the need for Google Plus Codes to provide physical addresses in our rural Arizona. Kasheena Miles, Youth Votes Coordinator  Kasheena Miles, Arizona Native Democrats Youth Votes Coordinator, joined our team in the 2024 cycle. Kasheena comes from Whiteriver, the heart of White Mountain Apache. Her passion for youth began when she was in high school, where she took part in local youth councils. From there it sparked an interest to promote community service, leadership skills, and encouraging our youth to tell their own stories. By working with these students, she gained different perspectives and feedback on what is important to them. Her job is to provide safe spaces, resources, and tools to help youth solve these issues. Letting them take the lead has helped them build confidence in not only themselves but for any task given to them. Amber Faith, Finance & Communications Director Our newest team member is Amber Faith, our Communications and Finance Director. Amber is a native Arizonan and steadfast Democrat, who is passionate about ensuring access to the vote for all. Her job is to raise funds to enable the work of the Arizona Native Democrats Team on the ground by telling stories from the field in a compelling and persuasive way. She has worked for Democrats across the state running for office at all levels of government, and is proud to play her role in uplifting voters.  Lorraine Coin is the Senior Field Coordinator for the Arizona Native Democrats. She is a member of the Hopi Tribe and resides on the Third Mesa in Bacavi Village with her husband and family. She is a member of the Coyote Clan, and currently works with the Arizona Native Democrats as a Senior Field Coordinator. Prior to her position with Arizona Native Democrats, she worked with Arizona Native Vote as a Field Organizer, and is currently a Board Member of Arizona Native Vote. Lorraine came to work with A.N.D. in 2015 the same year she first registered to vote at the age of 58. Lorraine enjoys her job because every day is different and she gets to meet people from all walks of life and educate her community's youth and elderly about the importance of voting. Lorraine Coin, Senior Field Coordinator (Left) & Joe Bia, Compliance & Outreach Coordinator (Right)  Last but certainly not least, Joe Bia is the Compliance and Outreach Coordinator for the Arizona Native Democrats. Fondly referred to as the “ledger avenger” by the team, Joe oversees our books and ensures that our funds are spent responsibly and in compliance with both federal and state laws. He also provides outreach support to the team, ensuring that people know about our events and programs. Joe is Dine and his clan is Bit’ahnii (Under His Cover People), born for Tódích’íi’nii (The Bitter Water People). His maternal grandfather is Naakaii Dine’é (The Mexican People), and his paternal grandfather is Tłááshchí’í (The Red Cheeks People). At Arizona Native Democrats, we have a dynamic, experienced, and passionate team, who work tirelessly to uplift native voters everywhere. Every dollar we raised keeps our team on the ground, organizing and providing mutual aid to uplift Arizona’s sovereign communities in a meaningful and lasting way. Please consider supporting us with a donation to fund our expansion. Donations can be made at: secure.actblue.com/… To learn more about the Arizona Native Democrats visit: www.arizonanativedemocrats.org. 

[Author: NEAZNativeDemocrats] [Category: Arizona, Recommended, NativeVotes] [Link to media]

— Indians 201: Terminating American Indian reservations

 

at 3/27/25 8:15am

In 1945 the official governmental policies of the United States began a twenty-year period known as the Termination Era. As with many earlier government policies, Indians were rarely consulted. Termination was intended to end Indian reservations and eradicate American Indian cultures so that Indians could be fully assimilated into a mythical mainstream American culture. In an article in Chronicles of Oklahoma, historian Richard Lowitt writes: “This new approach was intended to make Indians, as rapidly as possible, subject to the same laws and entitled to the same rights and responsibilities that pertained to all other American citizens.” In the philosophy of termination, American Indian cultures were considered to be irrelevant at best and anti-American at worst. In a chapter in The History of the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, Montana, 1800-2000, David Miller writes: “Reservations were considered the product of separate and unequal treatment, with little understanding of what treaties or negotiated executive agreements meant to Indian people.” The termination idea was to force individual Indians to assimilate into mainstream, English-speaking, Christian American society by getting rid of Indian reservations; by terminating all treaty obligations to Indian nations; and by terminating all government programs intended to aid Indians. With little understanding of the historical, cultural, and legal basis of reservations, the proponents of termination viewed reservations as a form of segregation which retarded the assimilation of individual Indians. Termination was intended to dismantle the reservation system, to transfer the natural resource wealth of the reservations to private non-Indian corporations, and to place Indians at the mercy of local state and county governments. Historian Katrine Barber, in her book Death of Celilo Falls, summarizes termination this way: “Termination required that the federal government relinquish its responsibility to Indian nations and shift those to state and county governments. Terminationists hoped to dismantle the reservation system and get the federal government ‘out of the Indian business.’” In an article in The Conversation, Kerri Malloy reports: “Officially, this policy ended the tribes’ status as wards of the United States in order ‘to grant them all of the rights and prerogatives pertaining to American citizenship.’” Former U.S. Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell wrote: “In Washington’s infinite wisdom, it was decided that tribes should no longer be tribes, never mind that they had been tribes for thousands of years.” The Nez Perce Tribe put it this way: “This era marked another abrupt change in what can only be described as a schizophrenic federal Indian policy.” The inspiration for the termination argument stemmed in part from a sense of innate superiority by non-Indians, and in part it involved money. It would be cheaper for the United States, which was now heavily committed to rebuilding the war-torn countries and economies of their former enemies, to do away with treaty rights, tribal governments, and support for Indian programs. In his chapter in the Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 8: California, Edward Castillo writes: “After the war, as the United States spent millions of dollars rebuilding Germany and Japan, the government hoped to rid itself of its embarrassing failure to ‘rebuild’ Indian nations by simply withdrawing government aid to Indian people.” In his essay in American Indian Nations: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow, former Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell explains that the idea at the time was: “If we get rid of ‘tribes,’ we can avoid responsibility to individual Indians and save lots of money.” Under termination reservation lands could be sold and would be subject to local property taxes, a concept strongly supported by local governments which had traditionally been anti-Indian. Following World War II, the United States underwent a massive housing boom. This meant that there was an increased demand for natural resources, particularly timber. Many of the tribes which were initially selected for termination had valuable timber and mineral resources. With termination, these resources could be privatized—that is, transferred from the public domain to the ownership of large corporations—and then developed. Termination was set against the backdrop of the Cold War in which the United States saw itself as being involved in a deadly struggle against Communism to maintain its way of life. Historian Mark Miller, in his book Forgotten Tribes: Unrecognized Indians and the Federal Acknowledgment Process, writes: “Caught up in the growing Cold War hysteria of the time, many Americans again viewed Indians as aliens and even equated tribalism with communism and anti-Americanism.”  In her book American Indian Ethnic Renewal: Red Power and the Resurgence of Identity and Culture, sociologist Joane Nagel writes that during the termination era: “…federal Indian policy remained frozen in the policy mold stamped during a conservative cold war-period policy epoch that stressed patriotism, American individual initiative, and national unity and pride.” During this period, the distinctiveness of American Indians was seen as being un-American. Historian Thomas Cowger, in his book The National Congress of American Indians: The Founding Years, puts it this way: “The anticommunist spirit of postwar America demanded conformity and tended to discourage the preservation of Indian culture and the communal lifestyle of Indians.” In his book The Qualla Cherokee: Surviving in Two Worlds, sociologist Laurence French writes: “Termination emerged as the McCarthy era solution to Indian communism.” He goes on to say: “This solution was designed to force American Indians into a capitalist corporation environment thereby forcing them to compete within the larger dominant society.” Failure would, of course, clearly indicate that Indians are morally and genetically inferior. In the anti-Communist hysteria of the time, many people viewed Indians as aliens and viewed tribal ownership of land as a form of Communism and therefore un-American. To be Indian with a distinct history and culture was viewed as anti-American. Another aspect of termination was a political philosophy of states’ rights: often used as a shorthand designation giving tacit approval to racial discrimination. Returning to the anti-Indian racism of the nineteenth century, Indians would have little support from local governments. In his chapter in The Impact of Indian History on the Teaching of United States History, historian Alvin Josephy writes: “Prominent among the complainers were the aggrandizing interests, still coveting Indian lands and resources, and urging the end of reservations, tribes, treaties, and trust protections, and the turning over of Indians and their possessions to the jurisdiction of the states.” In their chapter in The Impact of Indian History on the Teaching of United States History, Richard West and Kevin Gover write: “Much of this unhappiness was rooted in simple racism, but some was based on the fact that non-Indian businessmen no longer had free reign to plunder reservation resources.” Many of the promoters of termination viewed Indian reservations as a form of racial segregation. Historian Warren Metcalf, in his book Termination’s Legacy: The Discarded Indians of Utah, writes: “Many commentators of the 1950s took the position that preserving Indian culture on reservations was really an insidious form of segregation.” The cry used by those who wished to return to assimilation and to terminate the relationship between the tribes and the federal government was “Free the Indian.” In order to free Indians from federal control, it was first necessary to destroy the tribal governments. While the mood of the post-war Congresses was clearly in favor of assimilation and termination, the first strong step toward assimilation as the official policy of the United States came in 1952 with   House Joint Resolution 698. This resolution called for an examination into the conduct of Indian affairs and a list of tribes which were sufficiently prepared for termination. Tribes subject to termination were supposed to have attained a significant degree of acculturation, to be economically self-supporting, and to be willing to accept the termination of government services. In response to the resolution, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) developed an extensive questionnaire for BIA officials to use in evaluating each tribe. The resulting report reflected the judgment of reservation superintendents and BIA staff. The following year, House Concurrent Resolution 108 called for the formal termination of Indian tribes. The writers of the resolution apparently were unaware that Indians are citizens (Congress had granted all Indians full citizenship in1924 and again in 1940) and that they were not “wards of the state”. Again, as usual, Indians were not consulted. The Resolution specifically expressed the intent of Congress as supporting unilateral withdrawal from its treaty obligations to Native Americans as soon as possible. Members of Congress were particularly interested in opening up Indian lands for sale and taxation, particularly if those lands contained valuable natural resources such as timber. The Klamath and the Menominee, whose reservations included valuable timberlands, were specifically singled out for early termination. In response to this resolution, the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) held an emergency meeting in Washington, D.C. in an attempt to block the legislation. According to NCAI President Joe Garry (Coeur d’Alene): “Most of the pending legislation, if passed, would result in the end of our last holdings on this continent and destroy our dignity and distinction as the first inhabitants of this rich land.” Apache tribal leader Clarence Wesley told the NCAI delegates: “Either the United States government will recognize its treaty and statute obligations to the Indians . . . or we will continue down the bitter road toward complete destruction.” The End of Termination In 1970, President Richard Nixon asked Congress to pass a resolution repudiating termination. He told Congress: “Because termination is morally and legally unacceptable, because it produces bad practical results, and because the mere threat of termination tends to discourage greater self-sufficiency among Indian groups, I am asking the Congress to pass a new Concurrent Resolution which would expressly renounce, repudiate and repeal the termination policy as expressed in House Concurrent Resolution 108 of the 83rd Congress.” Since the end of termination, many of the terminated tribes have been recognized again by the United States government. Some of the terminated have state recognition but not federal recognition. Many of the terminated tribes are landless. Summarizing the Impact of Termination Between 1945 and 1960 Congress terminated more than one hundred tribes and small bands. This action left these groups with the same legal status as the unrecognized tribes. In his chapter in American Indian Nations: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow, Kevin Grover sums up termination this way: “Some 11,500 Indians lost their legal status as Indians, and nearly 1.4 million acres of land lost its status as trust land.” In an article in the Oregon Historical Quarterly, anthropologist Patrick Haynal reports: “Terminated tribes may have maintained their legal status as sovereign governments, but they no longer passed or enforced laws and were unable to exercise their power to act as governments.” Historian Thomas Cowger notes: “Termination, in actuality, affected only a relatively small number of Indians, but it aroused tremendous fear and hostility throughout Indian country.” None of the terminated tribes improved economically: in most cases the impact of termination was to increase poverty. In her chapter in American Indian Nations: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow, law professor Rebecca Tsosie writes: “Without fail, the tribes selected for termination suffered terribly, being divested of valuable reservation lands as well as the political identity that sustained their survival as distinct nations within the United States.” On the other hand, many non-Indians became wealthy through this process and many corporations gained a great deal of wealth. In his introduction to A History of Utah’s American Indians, Forrest Cuch summarizes the various attempts at termination this way: “They proved to be of benefit to land-grabbing non-Indians but a miserable failure resulting in poverty for those tribes terminated, with the loss of thousands of acres of land on the part of individual Indians and their tribes.” In their book The Nations Within: The Past and Future of American Indian Sovereignty, Vine Deloria and Clifford Lytle write: “We can mark out the two decades from 1945 to 1965 as the barren years. Self-government virtually disappeared as a policy and as a topic of interest. Indian affairs became a minor element in the American domestic scene; Indians became subject to new forms of social engineering, which conceived of them as a domestic racial minority, not as distinct political entities with a long history of specific legal claims against the United States.” Former Commissioner of Indian Affairs Philleo Nash would later write: “The termination era may appear as a unique event, a failed experiment that was soon corrected. But termination was actually an expression of the national will that the ultimate goal of government policy toward Indians was ‘assimilation.’” In his book Deadliest Enemies: Law and the Making of Race Relations on and off Rosebud Reservation, Thomas Biolsi summarizes termination this way: “The termination period was characterized by the goal of terminating the special legal status of Indian people and Indian tribes and assimilating them into the nation.” In his book Command of the Waters: Iron Triangles, Federal Water Development, and Indian Water, Daniel McCool simply states: “The 1950s was a bad decade for American Indians.” More 20th Century American Indian Histories Often the 20th century is a forgotten era in American Indian histories. Many American history books never mention Indians in the 20th century, leaving readers with an impression that Indians are relicts of the past who have disappeared from America. Here are a few 20th century histories:  Indians 301: American Indians and World War I Indians 101: The Last Great Indian Council (1909) Indians 101: American Indians and the 1904 St. Louis Louisiana Purchase Exposition Indians 101: World War II Veterans Come Home Indians 101: Changing Federal Indian Policies Through the Indian Reorganization Act Indians 101: Indians, Iwo Jima, and the American Flag   Indians 101: Boulder Dam and the Navajo Reservation Indians 101: The Navajo, Sheep, and the Federal Government

[Author: Ojibwa] [Category: AmericanIndians, BureauofIndianAffairs, History, NativeAmericanNetroots, RichardNixon, Termination, NationalCongressofAmericanIndians, Indians201, MenomineeIndians, KlamathIndians] [Link to media]

— THE SANDHILL BAND OF LENAPE AND CHEROKEE INDIANS BEGIN TO POST THE TRIBE'S CONSTITUTION-UPDATED

 

at 3/26/25 2:55pm

For expedience, the Federation of Aboriginal Nations of the Americas will be addressed as FANA, and the Sand Hill Band of Lenape and Cherokee Indians (NY, NJ, PA) will be addressed as The Sand Hill. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Over the years, the member tribes of FANA have assisted other tribes in formulating Constitutions, writing treaties,  assisting with legal matters, and addressing other Tribal needs. The Sand Hill Tribe is a founding member of the Federation. Principal Chief Dr. Ronald Yonaguska Holloway asked me to publish the Sand Hill Constitution's preamble and first amendment. Therefore below is the aforementioned document ************************************************************************************* Whereas The Sand Hill Band of Lenape and Cherokee Indians (NY, NJ, PA) are the heirs, inheritors, upholders, possessors, protectors, and sovereigns of the inalienable, inherent, natural, and sovereign rights, laws, spiritual systems, customs, traditions, lands, territories, and resources that The Great Spirit, The Almighty God, The Most High, The Creator of All Living Things- In infinite wisdom, knowledge, power, and authority- accorded to their ancestors, clans, clan mothers, great warriors, principal chiefs, and spiritual leaders who have previously walked the earth; Whereas in infinite wisdom, knowledge, power, and authority, and intending that The Sand Hill Band of Lenape and Cherokee Indians (NY, NJ, PA) perpetually possess, protect, and uphold the inalienable, inherent, natural, and sovereign rights, laws, spiritual belief systems, customs, traditions, lands, territories, and resources it has been accorded, The Great Spirit, The Almighty God, The Most High, The Creator of All Living Things conferred into the trust of The Sand Hill Band of Lenape and Cherokee Indians (NY, NJ, PA), as an individual sovereign, the responsibilities and duties of self-governance, self-provision, and self-protection;     Whereas The Sand Hill Band of Lenape and Cherokee Indians (NY, NJ, PA) retain inherent rights to ancestral knowledge, heritage practices, Traditional ecological knowledge, Traditional environmental knowledge, intellectual property, cultural property, customs, spiritual belief systems, knowledge systems, traditions, lands, and resources;   Whereas naturally occurring botanicals are a genetic resource, a plant, part of a plant, the genetic expression of a plant, or the biochemical structure related to the specific species, genus, phylum, and class of the plant kingdom that retain particular ethnobotanical importance to the heritage practices and the combined traditional ecological knowledge of The Sand Hill Band of Lenape and Cherokee Indians (NY, NJ, PA); Whereas all Tribal Citizens retain the inherent rights to practice ethnobotanical knowledge and heritages with medicinal, spiritual, religious, recreational, and personal uses as they emerge from naturally occurring botanicals throughout all Tribal Lands and Territories, be they biotechnologies, including and not limited to tinctures, decoctions, salves, topicals, and other derivatives that emerge from ethnobotanical knowledge, traditional environmental knowledge, and traditional ecological knowledge of naturally occurring botanicals.   ************************************************************************************************* Whereas Intellectual & cultural properties (TEK) AMENDMENT # 1 TO SANDHILL BAND OF INDIANS CONSTITUTION: By unanimous vote of The Sand Hill Band of Lenape and Cherokee Indians (NY, NJ, PA) (SHBI) Council, and in agreement with and assented to by the Principal Blood Chief Ronald Yonaguska Holloway, the SHBI Tribal Constitution is hereby amended and the following law is added to the constitutional body. By virtue of Sovereign Rights, Ancestral Rights, Ancestral Tradition, Human Rights, and Treaty Rights, this codification of and documentation of the Tribe's Historical and current position on the use of Natural Ethno-Botanicals in the course of a tribal National’s life while being a citizen in good standing is a right enshrined in our history, and hereby enshrined in our Tribal Constitution. As our peoples traditionally undertook vision quests as directed by OUR Medicine/ Spiritual Leadership Clan Heads, Parents, and those attempting to form a closer relationship with the Living Planet, the Tribal Council felt that it was in the best interest of the tribe for future generations to understand, clarify, and uphold our traditional, and current position on Naturally Occurring Ethno-Botanicals usage. It is the tribe's position that naturally occurring ethno botanicals are best for the human body and should be considered predating and having a more predictable outcome than the comparatively newer pharmaceuticals. They have a longer track record of usage and fewer side effects. Be it known that throughout all the tribal lands, be they Historical, current, or future, the following law shall hold sway: All Tribal Citizens have the right to use All Naturally Occurring Botanicals for Spiritual, Religious, Medicinal, and or Personal use. This includes but is not limited to all Naturally Occurring Tinctures, Decoctions, extracts, salves, and the like.  E. g. Be they Cannabis, ayahuasca, Skullcap, and Naturally occurring Mushrooms of all sorts.

[Author: LauraZ] [Category: Indigenous, NativeAmerican, fana, TheFederationofAboriginalNationsoftheAmericas, TheSandHillBandofLenapeandCherokeeindians, TheSandHill, Indigenousconstitutions] [Link to media]

— Indians 101: American Indians and Mexico 200 years ago, 1825

 

at 3/25/25 8:15am

Mexico obtained its independence from Spain in 1821. Mexican territory as this time extended into the American Southwest (the present-day American states of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and California). Under the Treaty of Córdobav between Spain and Mexico all Indians were granted Mexican citizenship. In the Plan of Iguala which outlined Mexico’s political and social structure Mexico did away with all legal distinctions regarding Indians and reaffirmed that Indians were citizens of Mexico on an equal basis with non-Indians. In his book Cycles of Conquest: The Impact of Spain, Mexico, and the United States on the Indians of the Southwest, 1533-1960, Edward H. Spicer reports: “The Plan of Iguala had insisted on no racial distinctions for citizenship, and the federal constitution adopted in 1821 pursued this course.” Edward H. Spicer also reports: “All Mexican-born persons were to be citizens, and all citizens were guaranteed equal participation in the political life.” The Catholic Church, however, opposed equality and advocated a return to the colonial mission system. In reality, each Mexican state determined for itself how to incorporate Indians into the new nation. While Mexico recognized Indian citizenship and Indian land ownership, in many areas, such as New Mexico, the government did little to actually enforce Indian land and water rights. Comanches Following the acquisition of the horse in the eighteenth century, the Comanches moved out into the Southern Plains. By 1825 the Comanches, known as the “Lords of the Southern Plains,” were the dominant military Indian nation in Mexico’s Texas province. In order to bring the Comanches under Mexican control, several Comanche leaders were given military rank in 1825 by the Mexicans: Hoyoso was made lieutenant colonel; Terequena was made lieutenant; and Huaquenjavi was made sub-lieutenant. The Mexicans also provided the Comanches with gifts. However, some Comanches were unhappy with the quantity of gifts from the Mexican government. A group of 226 warriors along with 104 women and children under the leadership of Hoyoso, Ysachene, and Bonique came to Béxar , Texas where they robbed three houses, captured three horses, and killed 19 cows. American Settlement In Mexico’s far north (i.e. the province of Texas) there was concern over Comanche raids. In seeking a solution for this problem, the Mexican government opened the province for foreign settlement (primarily Americans) for those who were willing to accept Mexican rule and worship the Christian (Catholic) god. Mexico had outlawed slavery, which irritated the new American settlers as slavery was a cherished American institution. The new colonists are given land grants intended to act as a barrier between Mexican Texas and the Comanches. Lipan Apaches In 1825, Stephen Austin (1793-1836), one of the leaders of the Americans in Texas, recognized Huan Novale as the principal chief of the Lipan Apache and gave him a passport indicating that he was a friend to the American settlers in Texas. In his chapter on the Lipan Apache in the Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 10: Southwest, anthropologist Morris Opler reports: “The initial cordiality between the Lipan and Americans was genuine as far as the Lipan were concerned. The Americans in Texas were still too few to pose a threat to hunting territories and offered a good opportunity for trade relations.” In is interesting to note that the Americans arrogantly felt that they had the right to designate Indian leaders. More American Indian histories Indians 101: American Indians and the federal government 200 years ago, 1825 Indians 101: American Indian battles and skirmishes 200 years ago, 1824 Indians 101: American Indian tribes 200 years ago, 1824 Indians 101: Canadian First Nations 200 years ago, 1824 Indians 101: Cherokee Indians 200 year ago, 1824 Indians 201: The 1836 American Indian Liberation Army Indians 101: The Republic of Texas & the Cherokee Indians 201: The 1827 Winnebago Uprising

[Author: Ojibwa] [Category: AmericanIndians, History, Indians101, ComancheIndians, LipanApacheIndians, PlanofIguala] [Link to media]

— History 101: The Trial of Metis leader Louis Riel

 

at 3/22/25 8:15am

In 1885, the Riel Rebellion broke out in Saskatchewan, Canada. The Métis, angered by the refusal of the Canadian government to confirm their river lot claims along the Qu’Appelle and South Saskatchewan Rivers, organized the Provisional Government of Saskatchewan with Pierre Parenteau, Sr. as president, Gabriel Dumont as military adjunct, and Louis Riel as people’s council. The new government’s capital was Batoche, a village with about 500 residents. The armed rebellion began at Duck Lake where the Métis under the leadership of Gabriel Dumont encountered the North-West Mounted Police and local militia. After a tense standoff, the Mounties retreated. About two miles from Duck Lake there was a heated twenty-minute battle won by the Métis. During the battle Louis Riel carried an enormous crucifix and encouraged the Métis warriors and called upon God to help them. Only through the intervention of Louis Riel did the Canadian forces manage to escape total destruction. Louis Riel claimed that the victory at Duck Lake was because God was on their side. At the Battle of Batoche the Canadian forces, numbering about 950 soldiers, defeated a force of 250 Métis and ended the rebellion. Following this defeat, many Métis fled to Montana, North Dakota, and Minnesota. Gabriel Dumont evaded the Canadian patrols and escaped to the United States. Louis Riel was captured. The rebellion had lasted only two months. Background In the early 1800s, the Métis began to develop their own identity as a distinct people. The heart of Métis country was on the plains of Saskatchewan and Manitoba. While many Métis worked for the trading companies, primarily the North West Company and the Hudson’s Bay Company, others became specialists in commercial bison hunting which provided meat and pemmican to the trading posts. In their book Louis Riel, Dan Asfar and Tim Chodan write: “The Métis were a French-speaking people living in western Canada who drew their ancestry from both whites and Natives. They were the offspring of French fur traders and Native women who married during traders’ sojourns in Rupert’s Land.” Dan Asfar and Tim Chodan also report: “Over time, the Métis (French for “half-caste”) formed a distinct population. They developed buffalo-hunting practices of their own and competed against bordering Natives for hunting grounds.” Rupert’s Land is the territory which was granted to the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) in 1670. Rupert’s Land is the area drained by Hudson Bay and includes all of the present-day province of Manitoba, most of Saskatchewan, southern Alberta, southern Nunavut, and parts of Ontario and Quebec.  In 1870, HBC transferred Rupert’s Land to Canada. After Rupert’s Land became a part of the Canadian Federation and opened to homesteading, settlers began flooding the region. Among them were “Canada Firsters”. In his book Who Was Who in Native American History: Indians and Non-Indians From Early Contacts Through 1900, Carl Waldman described the Canada Firsters this way: “Being Protestant Orangemen, prejudiced against French, Catholics, and Indians, they were insensitive to Métis land rights.” Canadian surveyors set out to section off the land into square townships of 800 acres each. The Métis system of land distribution—narrow, river front lots—did not mesh with the Canadian homesteading squares. The Métis river lot system was inspired by the seigneurial system of New France. In this system there are parallel lots which are 6-12 chains in width (1 chain = 66 feet) and up to two miles deep. The rear of each lot was used for hay and for wood. The Métis during the 1880s repeatedly petitioned Ottawa for official recognition of their lands and their concerns were ignored. Consequently, there were several armed conflicts between the Métis and the newcomers which culminated with the Riel Rebellion of 1885. The Trial In 1885 Louis Riel was tried in Saskatchewan under the North-West Territories Act of 1880. The jury that heard his case was composed of six English-speaking Protestants. Dan Asfar and Tim Chodan write: “How this could be construed as a jury of his peers is hard to fathom.” During the trial there were many problems with translation. In addition, Riel was tried before a magistrate rather than a judge. A magistrate is simply a lawyer with at least five years’ experience. In her biographical sketch of Riel in Notable Native Americans, Tina Weil writes: “He hoped his trial would become such a spectacle that it would embarrass the Canadian government and they would set him free. Unfortunately, Riel was wrong.” Riel’s legal team, after meeting with him, concluded that he was not of sound mind and therefore they would use insanity as their only defense. Dan Asfar and Tim Chodan write: “There is no reason to believe that their opinion of Louis’ mental health was not genuine. After meeting him, they sincerely believed he was mad.” In his meeting with them, Riel had expounded on his belief that he was a prophet. The jury found Louis Riel guilty of high treason and recommended that mercy be shown. However, the magistrate pronounced a sentence of death by hanging. Following the sentence there was a flurry of appeals, both in the legal system and in the court of public opinion. Dan Asfar and Tim Chodan write: “Riel came to be seen as a symbol of French Canada’s fate at the hands of Anglo-Saxon Protestant Canada. The newspapers and public opinion were transfixed by the symbolic struggle to gain mercy for Riel.” In spite of this, the Protestant Anglo-Saxons won, and Riel was hung. Riel’s body was transported to Manitoba for burial. Dan Asfar and Tim Chodan report: “Rumors had been circulating that a group of Orangemen was planning to attack the procession, and every Métis man in the long column of mourners had a rifle slung over his back and one keen eye fixed on his surroundings.” There was no attack. Riel’s Legacy Louis Riel envisioned an entirely new nation on the Canadian plains, a nation bound together by blood, by a common culture, and by belief. In her biographical sketch of Louis Real in the Encyclopedia of North American Indians, Olive Patricia Dickason writes: “National hero of the Métis, Louis Riel is a key figure in Canadian history. In formulating the aspirations of his people during the difficult years following the confederation of Canada (1867) and acting to realize them, he became a catalyst in the French-English and Catholic-Protestant rivalries that dominated the Canadian political scene of the period.” With regard to Riel’s legacy, Dan Asfar and Tim Chodan write: “A man who has alternatively been described as a frontier hero, a Father of Confederation, an egotistical maniac and a religious zealot, Riel left a legacy that has aroused no shortage of controversy over the years.” Dan Asfar and Tim Chodan also write: “The Anglo-Saxon subjugation of Louis Riel and the Métis rebellion in Saskatchewan defined the immediate future of western settlement, discouraged French Canada’s ambitions past the 100th meridian and nudged Québec into an isolationist shell that would remain firm for the better part of a century.” Carl Waldman writes: “Saskatchewan became an Anglo-dominated province, as Manitoba had earlier. To the Métis, as well as to Catholics all over Canada, Riel was a martyr to their religion and cause.” In his book Montana 1889, historian Ken Egan writes: “Riel’s story repeatedly raises questions about the difference between madness and political genius, between vision and delusion. Was he a prescient political thinker who had the courage to follow his convictions, or was he a madman caught up in deceptive dreams that cost him and his people?” Ken Egan also writes: “Riel’s role as revolutionary was rendered even more controversial by his religious beliefs, for he imagined replacing the Catholic Church, so central to Métis life, with a New World religion modeled on the Church but looking more like a Protestant sect. This original creed reveals that this gifted, melancholic, unsteady man was dreaming of a far more profound revolution than might be apparent at first glance. He was imagining a mixed-race polity that practiced an original form of religion, all rooted in the place, the traditions, and the values of indigenous peoples and settlers.” More history Indians 101: Metis Indians 201: The Pemmican War Indians 101: The Red River War Indians 101: The North-West Mounted Police History 101: The Deerfield War of 1675 History 101: Fort Astoria, Oregon History 201: The War of Jenkins Ear History 101: British exploration of the Northwest Coast

[Author: Ojibwa] [Category: Canada, History, Saskatchewan, Metis, LouisRiel, History101] [Link to media]

— Indians 301: American Indians and World War I

 

at 3/20/25 8:15am

In 1914, the nations of Europe began the conflict which would become known as the Great War and later as World War I.  In 1917, President Woodrow Wilson called for the United States to enter what he called “the war to end all wars” and “to make the world safe for democracy.” The military estimated that a million men would be needed for the war and in the first six weeks following the declaration of war only 73,000 men volunteered. In response, Congress implemented a draft, and 2.8 million men were called to service. American Indians, however, were not citizens and could not be drafted, but the federal government still required Indian men to register for the draft. Citizenship for Indians at this time was not determined by place of birth, but by whether or not they had taken an allotment and were considered “competent.” Only those Indian men who were citizens could actually be drafted for military duty. Registration for the draft included all Indian males, both those who were citizens and those who were not. The Indian Office (Bureau of Indian Affairs) was instructed to establish draft boards for each reservation.  On some reservations, the Indian agents had difficulties in explaining to the men why they needed to register if they could not be drafted. The debate over American Indian participation in the war divided the Society of American Indians, a pan-Indian organization formed in 1911 dedicated to educating the general public about American Indians. One of the founders, Arthur Parker (1881-1955), a Seneca archaeologist and museum director, supported Indian participation in the war. In his entry on Arthur Parker in The Encyclopedia of North American Indians, Jack Campisi reports: “For his part, Parker saw American Indian participation in the war as a means of advancing the acceptance of the Indian into American society.” On the other hand, Dr. Carlos Montezuma (1866-1923), a Yavapai physician, felt that because Indians were not citizens they should not participate in another nation’s war. Dr. Carlos Montezuma writes in an article reprinted in Talking Back to Civilization: Indian Voices from the Progressive Era: “They are not citizens. They have fewer privileges than have foreigners. They are wards of the United States of America without their consent or the chance of protest on their part.” Resisting the Draft The idea of registering for the draft was opposed by many Indian leaders. In Idaho, a thousand or more Shoshone gathered in council at the Fort Hall Reservation to discuss the requirement that Indian men register for the draft. Garfield Pocatello and others advised the young men not to enroll. About 50 men fled to the hills to avoid the draft. When it was explained to the chiefs that the draft was more like a census and that as noncitizens they could not be drafted, the chiefs agreed to cooperate. As a result, all but 14 eligible Shoshone men on the reservation were enrolled. In Utah, the Shoshone living in Box Elder County refused to register for the draft. The local sheriff arrested the draft resisters and had them enrolled. In Utah, a number of Gosiute men on the Deep Creek Reservation refused to register for conscription. The Indian agent explained that the conscription registration was merely a census and that it did not mean that they would actually be drafted as they were not citizens. Unsatisfied by this explanation, several men refused to register. The Special Agent for the Bureau of Indian Affairs reported that the Gosiutes were:  “…absolutely against their men going to war … and would rather die on the spot … than enlist or submit to the draft.” When the Special Agent tried to shame them into registering by telling them that they were alone in their resistance to the draft, two tribal council members—Al Steel and John Syme—angrily walked out of the meeting.   The Indian agent ordered that several men be arrested for inciting draft resistance and held without bail. Several men were arrested, and tensions increase. In his chapter in A History of Utah’s American Indians, Dennis Defa reports: “Rumors from both sides of the dispute added to the tension and distrust. The Goshutes armed themselves and reportedly bought thirty cases of ammunition from the local store.” When federal officials tried to arrest the two men, the Gosiutes refused to surrender them. Army troops were then called in to arrest the supposed ringleaders. The troops moved in, detained about 100 men, and arrested six. The six men were taken to Salt Lake City but were freed after three weeks of confinement. In Oklahoma, Ellen Perryman, an unmarried woman from a prominent Creek family, attempted to organize a Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) post to commemorate the deeds of the Loyal Creek during the Civil War. At a meeting at the Hickory Stomp Ground—the location of the Crazy Snake Rebellion—the meeting became an anti-government rally and a protest against the draft. Historian Thomas Britten, in an article in Chronicles of Oklahoma, reports: “When a mob comprised of ‘patriotic’ citizens from Muskogee County broke up the meeting amidst sporadic gunfire and verbal threats later that evening, the Creek Draft Rebellion of 1918 ended—and began.” Concerned that the publicity from the event would undermine the government’s claims for unanimous support for the War, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs ordered an immediate investigation. The subsequent reports claimed that Ellen Perryman was disloyal to the government, a possible violation of the Espionage and Sedition Acts. One investigator met with her and concluded that she was demented and recommended that the matter be dropped. The investigation, however, continued and law enforcement agents watched her every move. A warrant was issued for the arrest of Ellen Perryman. Amidst rumors that the Indians were organizing an uprising, armed agents arrived at the Hickory Stomp Ground to arrest Perryman who was described as being about 40 years-old, heavily built, and about five feet three inches tall. The agents found no uprising, no armed Indians, no draft rebellion, and no Perryman. As the hunt for Ellen Perryman intensified, there were reports that she was in Washington, D.C. with several older Snakes meeting with the German government. At this point the Secret Service and the Bureau of Investigation became involved. For two months Perryman eluded federal agents, but she was finally arrested in Oklahoma and charged with violating the Espionage Act. At her hearing it was agreed to postpone the case indefinitely with the understanding that she would behave herself and keep quiet. Historian Thomas Britten reports: “Thus ended the ‘Creek Draft Rebellion of 1918’ after six months of investigation that included a detachment of the Oklahoma National Guard, dozens of state and local law enforcement officials, the United States Department of Justice, the United States Post Office, the Secret Service, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.” Supporting the war While Indians were not liable to be drafted, they enlisted in large numbers. Many of the volunteers were eager to count coup, gain war honors, and to maintain the warrior traditions of their tribes. In his entry on urban Indians in the Encyclopedia of North American Indians, C. Matthew Snipp reports: “As the United Stated entered World War I, American Indians became involved with the war effort in many ways. Most significantly, approximately eight to ten thousand American Indians served directly in the armed forces.” One of the problems facing the American forces was communication: since English was frequently spoken by the Germans they could understand radio transmissions as well as telephone conversations (lines were often tapped). American Indians provided an interesting solution. While speaking Indian languages was not encouraged in the United States—in fact it was often punished—many Indian soldiers were fluent in Native languages.  One regiment used Choctaw officers to transmit messages in Choctaw regarding troop movements and other sensitive operations. In doing this, the Choctaw had to develop a special Choctaw vocabulary for military words such as machine gun and hand grenade. The Onondaga Nation, a part of the Iroquois Confederacy, unilaterally declared war on Germany, citing ill-treatment of tribal members who were stranded in Berlin at the beginning of hostilities. The Oneida Nation, another member of the Iroquois Confederacy, also declared war on Germany. By 1917, Jackson Barnett (Creek) was the richest Indian in the world. In 1912, the Department of the Interior had approved oil leases on Jackson Barnett’s 160-acre allotment. Six to eight wells were drilled and by 1913 his monthly royalty income was $14,000 to $15,000. As a ward of the government, this money was not paid to him but was collected on his behalf by the Department of the Interior and deposited into his Individual Indian Money (IIM) account with the Treasury Department. Barnett was only allowed a few hundred dollars a year: the rest was managed for him by the Department of the Interior. As his millions accumulated in the Treasury Department many people other than Jackson Barnett became interested in spending this money. Members of Congress, the media (the New York Times), and others advocated investing $800,000 of Jackson Barnett’s (Creek) money in Liberty Loan Bonds to help the war effort. However, the Department of the Interior, acting as Barnett’s guardian, was hesitant as the request was not coming from Barnett himself. In California, the Round Valley Indians wanted to show their support for the War through Red Cross work—making hospital garments, surgical dressings, and Christmas boxes. Their Indian agent, however, excluded them from these activities. Historian Jason Charles Newman, in an article in News from Native California, reports: “Local whites apparently wanted neither to include the Indians in their organization nor to assist them in forming their own chapter.” Indian feelings were further inflamed when non-Indians attempted to exclude them from a parade to celebrate the end of a Liberty Loan drive to raise funds for the war. The Indian superintendent ignored Indian requests for full participation in the parade and restricted them to a single float. In addition, the superintendent put the Indian service flag at the end of the parade.   The Indians called a general meeting of the community and demanded that the agent be present and explain his treatment of them. Approximately 25% of the Round Valley Indian Community attended the meeting, and while the agent drove by the meeting hall several times, he failed to attend. Realizing that no apology was forthcoming, the Indians organized themselves and petitioned Washington to investigate the matter. They also petitioned the Red Cross to grant them a charter as an independent Indian chapter, but the paperwork granting such a chapter was delayed until the end of the war. Canada World War I also impacted the Canadian First Nations. Canada, as a member of the British Commonwealth, entered the war in 1914. In Ontario, the Iroquois Six Nations took the position that it was a sovereign nation and that it would not participate in the war effort unless asked to do so by the King himself. The women of the Six Nations organized the Women’s Patriotic League which provided soldiers with socks, cigarettes, and other small items. Despite the official Iroquois council policy regarding the war, 292 men from the Six Nations Reserve enlisted and most were assigned to the 114th Battalion of the Haldimand Rifles. Of those who enlisted, 29 were killed in combat, 55 were wounded, and 1 was taken prisoner. In Ontario, Mohawk political organizer Fred Loft (1861-1934) visited reserves throughout the province encouraging young Indian men to enlist and join the war effort. Loft himself enlisted, changing his age for 56 to 45 in order to qualify for overseas duty. Impact on Reservations World War I also impacted American Indian reservations. During this time the loss of Indian land increased. During the war—1917 to 1919—the federal government issued more fee patents—that is, moving land from tribal status to individual status—than it had in the previous ten years. During the war, cattle and sugar beet companies convinced the federal government that they were contributing to the war effort. Thus, when they wanted more land, they were able to lease Indian land quickly, cheaply, and easily. In Montana, sugar companies leased 20,000 acres of Crow land without having to consult with tribal leaders and in South Dakota, non-Indian ranchers grazed their cattle on Sioux land without Sioux approval. In the state of Washington, the army, encouraged by the non-Indians of Pierce County, created Camp Lewis named after Meriwether Lewis. Seeing an area that would be an ideal artillery range, the army simply took two-thirds of the Nisqually reservation, lands which were supposed to be sacrosanct according to the amended Medicine Creek Treaty. The Nisqually were not happy about this: they were being forced to give up two-thirds of a small reservation. Following the war, the tribe asked that their land be returned, but the War Department refused to consider this possibility.   Aftermath With regard to the impact of Indian participation in the war, Nancy Lurie, in her chapter in the Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 4: History of Indian-White Relations, reports: “Like the old Wild West show performers who traveled widely, they saw a larger world of adaptable socioeconomic models than the narrow alternatives thrust upon them by the government and missionaries. They began to rediscover the old idea of confederacy for united action that segregation on reservations had discouraged.” In his chapter in American Indian Nations: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow, law professor Kevin Grover (Pawnee) reports: “The performance of Indian soldiers in World War I was valiant and demonstrated a perfectly fine compatibility to deal intelligently with circumstances well beyond the Indians’, or anyone else’s, prior experience.” Regarding the Indians who served in the armed forces, C. Matthew Snipp writes: “Participation in the war gave these Indians exposure to mainstream urban America as well as the skills to cope with the cultural expectations of white society—important prerequisites for urban settlement.” In 1919, Congress passed an act which provided citizenship for all Indians who served in the military or in naval establishments during World War I. More American Indian histories Indians 101: the 1923 Posey's War in Utah Indians 101: The Last Great Indian Council (1909) Indians 101: American Indians and the 1904 St. Louis Louisiana Purchase Exposition Indians 201: Indian Nations and Oklahoma statehood Indians 201: The Hoover Commission Report on American Indians Indians 101: The Grand Coulee Dam and the Colville Indians Indians 101: Hopi Indians as tourist attractions in the early 20th century Indians 101: World War II Veterans Come Home

[Author: Ojibwa] [Category: AmericanIndians, ChoctawIndians, creekindians, History, NativeAmericanNetroots, JacksonBarnett, ShoshoneIndians, RoundValleyIndians, MohawkIndians, IroquoisConfederacy, Indians301, GosiuteIndians, CrowReservation, SocietyofAmericanIndians, ArthurParker, CarlosMontezuma, FortHallReservation, DeepCreekReservation, OnondagaIndians, IroquoisSixNations, Nisquallyreservation] [Link to media]

— Native American Iwo Jima Hero Cancelled by the Pentagon

 

at 3/18/25 4:36pm

You may find this hard to believe, but just a week or so ago, a friend and I were having an email conversation about the cancelling of the Enola Gay, the B-29 bomber named for the pilot’s mother, that dropped the atom bomb on Hiroshima, by the Department of Defense.  We couldn’t help but laugh at the idiots—maybe some of the Musk Army of Stupid Young Tech Bros—who decided that the word “Gay” doomed the plane to oblivion.  Because they were too dumb to know anything about World War II and too complacent in their supposed knowledge to bother Googling the information about the plane’s name before assuming that it had a deadly homosexual aura.  As if American soldiers in the 1940s were Out and Proud!   At the end of our email chat, my friend wrote this:  “Next thing you know they’ll be removing the Native American from the Iwo Jima statue.”  I knew the statue, of course.  My dad fought in the Pacific and I think everyone of my generation knows that sculpture and what it means.  But I had had no idea that one of the soldiers was a Native American—Marine Private Ira Hayes, of Arizona, who selflessly volunteered and fought bravely in the Pacific in general and the Iwo Jima campaign in particular.  Hayes was well known after the war.  My friend told me about the movie released in 1961, “The Outsider,” that was made about his life, with Tony Curtis (of all people!) in the starring role.  And we LOL’d about the idea that anyone, ever, could tarnish this brave young man’s reputation simply because he was a Native American. You know...not white. But today, as reported in WaPo and elsewhere, that is exactly what happened.  In line with the proud statement of purported alcoholic, wife abuser, and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth that “DEI is dead at the Defense Department,” all mention of Ira Hayes and his participation in the Iwo Jima campaign and bronze presence in that iconic statue has been removed from the DOD Web site.  All mention of the Navajo code talkers—who made a critical contribution to the defeat of fascism in WWI by creating signal codes in their own language—is also gone.   Remind me:  Isn’t this the gang of morons who are always screaming about “cancel culture?”  It’s beyond shameful.  It’s almost impossible to believe that we are living through this kind of crap.

[Author: Petsounds] [Category: DEI] [Link to media]

— Indians 101: American Indians and English colonists 300 years ago, 1725

 

at 3/18/25 8:15am

By 1725 the English colonies were firmly established along the Atlantic coast and the interactions between the English and the many tribes of the region had significantly modified the Indian cultures. By this time, disease and warfare had decimated Indian populations and the expanding English populations had reduced Indian lands. In Massachusetts, Indian communities changed to meet the cultural, religious, and ecological demands of the immigrants. Native communities remained apart from Anglo communities, according to historian Daniel Mandell, in his book Behind the Frontier: Indians in Eighteenth-Century Eastern Massachusetts. This would later help fuel the myth that “Indians have disappeared.” English colonial authorities were aware of the great importance of the Indian tribes and individual Indians. In an article in The IndianHistorian, Yasuhide Kawashima reports: “No matter how valuable and useful the Indians might have been to the colonists as allies, dependent tribes, and servants and slaves, however, they were never considered as equal to the white settlers.” Indians were not citizens, nor could they become citizens and from the viewpoint of the English colonists, they were aliens. With regard to the legal system, Indians were generally not allowed to testify or be admitted as a witness against any Christian non-Indian. War had existed in the Americas long before the arrival of the Europeans. The Europeans, however, brought with them a different concept of warfare and their wars were fought under different cultural rules. Unlike Indian nations, the Europeans fought wars to obtain territory, to subjugate people, to prove the validity of their religions, and to exterminate entire populations. Cherokee historian Robert Conley, in his book The Cherokee Nation: A History, writes: “They brought to America a concept of total war, wherein villages were burned and crops destroyed, so that anyone who might escape instant death during the battle would face death by exposure and starvation.”  Briefly described below are a few of the American Indian events involving English colonists 300 years ago, in 1725. English authority   The English colonists, under the religious legal concept of the Doctrine of Discovery, assumed that Christians had the right, if not the obligation, to rule all non-Christian nations. In 1725, all Indians in Connecticut were placed under the jurisdiction of the governor and council. Indian tribes were required to submit to the jurisdiction of the colony. Grey Lock’s War Grey Lock’s War started in 1722. This was not just an “Indian”War, more importantly it was a religious war: it was a war fought by the Protestant English colonists against the hated, “evil,” and “atheistic”Catholics. The colonial English were staunchly anti-Catholic and were particularly opposed to the activities of the Jesuit missionaries among the Indians. They were especially upset that Father Sebastian Rasles (also spelled Rale), a French Jesuit priest, was strongly encouraging the Abenaki to defend both their lands and their culture against the English colonists. The Abenaki (also spelled Abnaki, and Wabenaki) are a group of loosely related Algonquian-speaking people who have lived in the New England area for thousands of years. Grey Lock (also recorded as Gray Lock and Greylock), a Woronoco living in the village of Missisquoi, had led some Abenaki raids against the English settlements.   In retaliation for Grey Lock’s raids, Captain Benjamin, considered an “experienced’ Indian fighter, raised a force of 59 men in 1725 and set out to attack Grey Lock’s hometown of Missisquoi. The force returned after a month without encountering any Indians, only to find that Grey Lock had followed them. Grey Lock spent the summer raiding Massachusetts settlements. Penobscots The Algonquian-speaking Penobscots lived in what is now Maine. Their name means “the rocky place” referring to the rocky, river falls on the Penobscot River where they lived. In the summer they would migrate down the river and live along the Atlantic Ocean.   In 1725, the Penobscots created a pirate fleet of 22 vessels which they had liberated from the English. The Penobscot pirates disrupted English shipping along the coast for the entire summer. In 1725, the Penobscots sent a delegation to Boston to talk about peace with the English. Loron Sagouarrab claimed to be empowered to speak for all tribes from St. Francis on the St. Lawrence to Cape Sable in Nova Scotia. He asked the English to give up their forts in Richmond and St. Georges as a show of peaceful intent. A treaty of peace was concluded, but the issue of the forts remained unsettled. Cherokees The Cherokees were a farming people whose homelands included a large portion—over 40,000 square miles—of the American southeast. Their territory included parts of the present-day states of Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Virginia, Kentucky, and the Carolinas. At the time of European contact in the sixteenth century, the Cherokees were divided into three broad groups: (1) the Lower Towns along the rivers in South Carolina, (2) the Upper or Overhill Towns in eastern Tennessee and northwestern North Carolina, (3) the Middle Towns which included the Valley Towns in southwestern North Carolina and northeastern Georgia and the Out Towns. There were some cultural and linguistic differences between these groups.   The primary unit of government among the Cherokees was the town. Traditionally each town was autonomous, and the government of each town was not tied to the government of other towns. The English colonists in the Carolinas named the head warrior of one Cherokee village as the principal chief of all Cherokees. This warrior had, of course, little influence on the Cherokees outside of his own village, but it was important to the colonists that the Cherokees have an “emperor.” Micmac The homeland of the Algonquian-speaking Micmacs was in what is now the Canadian Maritime Provinces. In what is now Nova Scotia, Halifax colonial leaders met with the Micmacs and read to them a proposed peace treaty. The effort did not bring peace. More American Indian histories Indians 101: Natchez Indians 300 years ago, 1725 Indians 101: American Indians and the English 300 years ago, 1724 Indians 101: American Indians and the French 300 years ago, 1724 Indians 101: American Indians and Europeans 300 years ago, 1723 Indians 101: Indians and Europeans 300 years ago, 1722 Indians 101: The Indians and the English in 1712 Indians 201: The Tuscaroras join the Iroquois League Indians 101: Little Turtle's War

[Author: Ojibwa] [Category: AmericanIndians, DoctrineofDiscovery, History, Indians101, NativeAmericanNetroots, CherokeeIndians, MicmacIndians, PenobscotIndians, AbenakiIndians] [Link to media]

— Indians 101: Some Columbia Gorge Indian artifacts (museum exhibit 2)

 

at 3/13/25 8:15am

The Columbia Gorge Museum in Stevenson, Washington has a large gallery dedicated to the First Peoples of the Columbia Gorge: Watlalas (Wahlalas; also known as the Cascade Indians), Wascos, and Wishrams. Shown below is one of the exhibits. Shown above is a cedar bark basket. Shown above is a cedar bark basket showing the bottom of the basket. Shown above is a small cedar bark basket. Shown above is a cedar bark basket. Shown above are some stone canoe anchors. Note: These photographs were taken on October 18, 2024. More American Indian museum exhibits Indians 101: Some Columbia Gorge Indian artifacts (museum exhibit 1) Indians 101: Busy Fingers in the Columbia Gorge (museum exhibit) Indians 101: A collection of Plateau Indian artifacts (museum exhibit) Indians 101: A display of Plateau Indian beadwork (museum exhibit) Indians 101: Flathead Indian history through ledger art (museum exhibition) Indians 101: Flathead Reservation baskets (museum exhibit) Indians 101: Some Plateau Indian artifacts (museum exhibit) Indians 101: Sanpoil and Wanapan Indians (museum exhibit)

[Author: Ojibwa] [Category: AmericanIndians, Indians101, Museums, NativeAmericanNetroots, Photography, Washington, WascoIndians, ColumbiaGorgeMuseum, WatlalaIndians, WishramIndians, CascadeIndians] [Link to media]

— Montana Museum: American Indian artists (photo diary)

 

at 3/12/25 8:38am

The Montana Museum of Art and Culture on the Campus of the University of Montana includes some works by American Indian artists. Shown above is Great Lakes Bandolier Bag made by Minisa Crumbo Halsfey (Potawatomi/Muscogee Creek). Shown above is Hummingbird Basket made by Canadian artist Brenda Besito (Ojibwe/Saugeen First Nation); porcupine quills, birchbark, sweetgrass, dye, thread. Shown above is Hummingbird with Flowers made by Canadian artist Irene Desmoulin (Odawa First Nation); birchbark, porcupine quills, sweetgrass, thread). Shown above is Beaver Basket. Shown above is Basket made by Canadian artist Rachel Jordan (Ojibwe); birchbark, porcupine quills, dye, sweetgrass. Shown above is Untitled made in 1957 by John L. Clarke (Blackfeet; 1881-1970); wood and metal. Detail of Untitled Another view of Untitled Shown above is Santa Clara Bowl made about 1920-1925 by Maria Montoya Martinez (Pueblo; 1887-1980); ceramic. Another view of Santa Clara Bowl Another view of Santa Clara Bowl Shown above is Four Human-Animal Figures by Jessie Oonark (Inuit); mixed media collage. Shown above is Hunting Party made about 1890-1892 by Philip John (Nez Perce); mixed media on paper. Detail from Hunting Party Detail from Hunting Party Detail from Hunting Party Detail from Hunting Party Detail from Hunting Party Detail from Hunting Party: a stick game Shown above is Untitled (Portrait) by King Kuka (Blackfeet); watercolor on paper. Note: These photographs were taken on April 11, 2024. More art exhibitions Montana Museum: Anonymous art (photo diary) Montana Museum: Three-dimensional art (photo diary) Montana Museum: Human figures (photo diary) Montana Museum: Ceramics (photo diary) Montana Museum: Hmong Migration and the War in Laos (museum exhibition) Montana Museum: The Eight Immortals (museum exhibition) Montana Museum: Japanese Temple Lanterns (photo diary) Montana Museum: Religious art (museum exhibition)

[Author: Ojibwa] [Category: AmericanIndians, Art, creekindians, Inuit, Montana, Museums, Photography, OjibwaIndians, PotawatomiIndians, BlackfeetIndians, Museums101, OdawaIndians, NezPerceIndians, MontanaMuseumofArtandCulture, MinisaCrumboHalsfey, BrendaBesito, IreneDesmoulin, RachelJordan, JohnL.Clarke, MariaMontoyaMartinez, SantaClaraIndians, JessieOonark, PhilipJohn, KingKuka] [Link to media]

— Indians 101: American Indians and Christianity 350 years ago, 1675

 

at 3/11/25 8:32am

During the seventeenth century, the European invaders brought with them a great religious intolerance to North America. Missionaries attempted to Christianize Indians and to prohibit and even punish many aspects of Indian spiritual life. The logic of this Christian imperialism, according to Frances Mossiker, in her book Pocahontas: The Life and the Legend, is that: “God intended the savage Indians’ land for the civilized Christian Englishman, who would occupy the earth, increase and multiply, who would farm the land and make it fructify, who would give it order.” In an article in The Progressive, historian Howard Zinn puts it this way: “The killing of Indians was seen as approved by God, the taking of land as commanded by the Bible.” Sioux writer Charles Eastman, in his 1911 book The Soul of the Indian, says: “The first missionaries, good men imbued with the narrowness of their age, branded us as pagans and devil-worshippers, and demanded of us that we abjure our false gods before bowing the knee at their sacred altar.” The Europeans, and particularly the missionaries, had a great deal of difficulty in understanding that women had power in Indian society and that they had the right to sexual freedom. Indian societies were not organized on the patriarchal, monogamous norms of European society. In her book Countering Colonization: Native American Women and Great Lakes Missions, 1630-1900. anthropologist Carol Devens writes: “The priests found the ease with which native couples divorced equally outrageous.” New England   The English claimed sovereignty over New England and thus the right to govern all people there, whether European or Native American. The early English colonists in New England were Pilgrims and Puritans. With regard to Puritans, Richard Holloway, in his book A Little History of Religion, writes: “They believed that they alone were the true Christians, the pure ones.” Pilgrims were Puritans who could not tolerate worshipping in a state-sponsored church as this robbed them of their religious freedom and, therefore, at a chance for salvation. Pilgrims left England, settled in the Netherlands, and then came to New England. With regard to the Puritan religion of the English colonists in New England, James Swanson, in his book The Deerfield Massacre: A Surprise Attack, a Forced March, and the Fight for Survival in Early America, writes: “Their God was active in this world and in human affairs on earth. He intervened directly in daily life. Success was a sign of his approval, while misfortune of any kind—sickness, failure, accidents, death, and yes, even witchcraft—was a sign of his displeasure.” James Swanson also writes: “In Puritan theology, the only way to heaven was through sustained faith; succumbing to temptation and indifference led to hell.” In Connecticut in 1675, the English colonists passed a law forbidding all Indian spiritual practices.   Jesuits The Jesuits, a Roman Catholic order, carried out missionary work in many parts of the Americas. James Swanson reports: “The Jesuits—members of the Catholic order of the society of Jesus, founded by St. Ignatius Loyola in 1540—were radical missionaries.” In her book Chain Her by One Foot: The Subjugation of Native Women in Seventeenth-Century New France, Karen Anderson writes: “In the Jesuits’ view, because Satan was particularly powerful in the New World, it was their task to struggle on behalf of God and Jesus against him and his legions.” In Michigan, at the request of the Amikwa, the Jesuit missionary Father Henry Nouvel (1621-1701) accompanied them to their winter hunting grounds. According to Catholic historians, he paddled through fog, rain, and ice-encrusted water in order to celebrate the first Catholic Mass in the interior of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. In Illinois, the Mission of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin was established among the Kaskaskia. An estimated 1,500 warriors attended the East Mass given by Father Jacques Marquette (1637-1675). New Mexico Writing about the Spanish in New Mexico, ethnohistorian Nancy Parrott Hickerson, in her book The Jumanos: Hunters and Traders of the South Plains, reports: “The church’s position was evangelical and paternalistic; the friars considered the Indians to be childlike but sinful beings. They were to be saved from perdition through baptism and, that accomplished, their way of life was to be transformed.” In 1675, the Spanish governor of New Mexico arrested 47 medicine men from the Tewa-speaking Pueblos of Nambé, San Felipe, and Jemez. They were charged with plotting to overthrow the government. Three of the men were executed, the rest were flogged and sentenced to be sold into slavery. In response Tewa warriors, armed with clubs and shields, invaded Santa Fe and demanded that the governor release the men. The men were released. In his book Intruders Within: Pueblo Resistance to Spanish Rule and the Revolt of 1680, Louis Baldwin reports: “The governor’s public humiliation of high-ranking Pueblo priests was meant, of course, to break the back of any native resistance that might interfere with the propagation of the Christian faith. What it actually did, however, was to galvanize and unify the resistance.” One of the men who was flogged and released was Popé, a ceremonial leader from San Juan. Louis Baldwin reports: “Popé returned to his village of San Juan with the scars of whips upon his back and hatred in his soul. He had always been a troublemaker, a rebel, a leading advocated of purging the river of foreign poison. He was not fanatic, single-minded, and relentless.” Determined to obtain revenge, Popé moved to Taos, a pueblo known for its anti-Spanish sentiment. Here Popé talked with the spirits and made plans. In 1680 he would lead the Pueblo Revolt against the Spanish. Nova Scotia In Nova Scotia, Father Chrestien Le Clercq (1641-1700), a Recollet, arrived as a missionary among the Mi’kmaq on Cape Breton Island. He soon found that many Native Americans were not interested in Christianity or in adopting European practices. The Recollects was a French reform branch of the Franciscan order who were known as the Gray Friars because of their gray habits and pointed hoods. They were dissolved in 1897. More American Indian histories Indians 101: American Indians and English colonists 350 years ago, 1675 Indians 101: American Indians in the Southeast 350 years ago, 1674 Indians 101: American Indians in New England 350 years ago, 1674 Indians 101: American Indians and French explorers 350 years ago, 1673 Indians 101: The Dutch and American Indians in the 17th century Indians 101: The French and American Indians in the 17th century Indians 201: American Indians and the establishment of Jamestown Indians 201: The Spanish search for the mythical American Indian cities of Cibola

[Author: Ojibwa] [Category: AmericanIndians, Christianity, History, Illinois, Indians101, Jesuits, Michigan, NativeAmericanNetroots, NewEngland, NewMexico, NovaScotia, pilgrims, Puritans, Religion, RomanCatholic, TaosPueblo, MikmaqIndians, JemezPueblo, sanjuanpueblo, SanFelipePueblo, NambPueblo, Recollects, GrayFriars] [Link to media]

— Indians 201: The Omaha Venerable Man

 

at 3/6/25 8:15am

At one time the Omahas and the Poncas lived as one people in the Ohio River valley. They moved onto the eastern portion of the Central Plains in the late 1600s. Ethnographers Alice Fletcher and Francis La Flesche, writing in their 1911 book The Omaha Tribe, put it this way: “The primordial habitat of this stock lies hidden in the mystery that still enshrouds the beginning of the ancient American race; it seems to have been situated, however, among the Appalachian Mountains, and all their legends indicate that the people had knowledge of a large body of water in the vicinity of their early home. This water may have been the Atlantic Ocean.” According to George Will and George Hyde, in their 1917 book Corn Among the Indians of the Upper Missouri: “The traditions of these tribes tell of their migration northward through the State of Iowa to the vicinity of the pipestone quarry; then west to the Big Sioux River, where they were attacked by enemies and forced to remove to the Missouri River, in South Dakota.” When the Poncas, (who had probably been an Omaha clan) left the Omahas, they left behind all of the sacred objects. One of the most important of these was the Venerable Man (also called the Sacred Pole). The Venerable Man has been with the Omaha for several centuries: he signifies the unity of the Omaha people.   The Anointing of the Pole ceremony gives thanks for the buffalo and was traditionally held following the fourth successful buffalo hunt.  In their book The Encyclopedia of Native American Religions, Arlene Hirschfelder and Paulette Molin report: “It was conducted annually during the summer, although it was customary to anoint the pole twice a year. The ceremony, including preliminary activities, lasted several days.” The pole was set up at a 45-degree angle facing the north star. The pole was anointed with a mixture of buffalo fat and red paint symbolizing abundant life. There are two parts to the ceremony. In the first part, officiated by a man, the pole symbolizes the unity of the people and the governing authority of the tribe. In the second part, officiated by a woman, the pole symbolizes men as protectors and providers. The ceremony includes ceremonial songs which must be sung in the proper sequence (if a mistake is made, there must be a ceremony of contrition), the smoking of the pipe which belongs to the pole, and ceremonial offerings. Arlene Hirschfelder and Paulette Molin report: “With the decimation of the buffalo, essential to the religious observance, the ceremony became more and more difficult to continue.” In 1888, ethnologists Alice Fletcher and Francis La Flesche (Omaha) persuaded Yellow Smoke, the keeper of the sacred pole of the Omaha – the Venerable Man – to send the sacred object to the Peabody Museum in Massachusetts for safekeeping. Recognizing that the ethnographic significance of the Venerable Man would be greatly reduced without a precise and detailed account of the ritual songs and sacred stories associated with it, they also persuaded Yellow Smoke to speak of these things and to allow the story to be recorded. Yellow Smoke was hesitant to speak of these things as this was punishable by the supernatural. However, Joseph La Flesche (Iron Eye), the father of Francis La Flesche, agreed to accept for himself any penalty that might occur following the revealing of these sacred traditions.  After Yellow Smoke finished telling the story, Iron Eye became ill and died two weeks later. Joseph La Flesche had opposed traditional ceremonies and advocated assimilation into American culture. As the principal Omaha chief, he had refused to support the annual renewal ceremony (Anointing the Pole) for the Venerable Man. Following this he developed an infection in his leg which resulted in its amputation. Traditional Omahas feel that this was a result of his refusal to participate in the ceremony. A century after the Venerable Man left the Omaha people to live in a museum basement, he returned to them. In 1989, Doran Morris and Edward Cline, the representatives of the Omaha tribe, visited the Harvard’s Peabody Museum to bring the Venerable Man home. As the museum officials brought the Venerable Man outside to meet with the Omahas, the elevator refused to respond to their commands and took them back and forth between the bottom and top of the building. Then it stopped on the first floor. Joe Johns (Creek artist-in-residence at the Peabody) carried the Venerable Man to the waiting Omahas. In their book Blessing for a Long Time: The Sacred Pole of the Omaha Tribe, Robin Ridington and Dennis Hastings describe the scene: “Tears began to stream down the face of Doran Morris as his hands touched the Pole that his great-great-grandfather, Yellow Smoke, had placed in the hands of Francis LaFlesche a hundred years before.” The Venerable Man returned to the Omaha tribe at the tribal powwow in Macy. The Omahas brought him back hoping that his return to the tribal circle would bring all his relations “blessings for a long time to come.” More American Indian stories Indians 201 is a revision/expansion of an earlier essay.  Indians 101: Tribal medicine bundles among Northern Plains tribes Indians 101: A very short overview of Mandan religion Indians 101: Traditional Shawnee religion  Indians 101: Shamans in the Arctic Culture Area Indians 101: A very short overview of Inuit religions  Indians 101: Outlawing the potlatch in Canada Indians 201: Peyote and the Native American Church Indians 101: Iroquois ceremonies regarding death

[Author: Ojibwa] [Category: AmericanIndians, NativeAmericanNetroots, Religion, OmahaIndians, Indians201] [Link to media]

— Black Kos: Save our HBCUs, Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) Tribal Colleges & Universities

 

at 3/4/25 3:14pm

Our Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) Tribal Colleges & Universities (TCUs) are facing challenges from the new anti Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) forces in the racist Administration of the white supremacist in the White House and his appointed minions.   Commentary by Black Kos Editor Denise Oliver-Velez I realized some time ago, that though I grew up knowing what HBCU’s were and are that many of my white friends didn’t. Both my parents graduated from one, as did my aunts and uncles, and I attended Howard University in my undergraduate years. I’ve written about them here in the past, multiple times — as recently as mid February in Black Kos: Black history and education are under attack, and we are fighting back. I wanted to also highlight the other institutions that serve student populations from minority constituencies here today as well.  First, some demographics. According to 2022 government data, HBCUs were serving 290,000 students. For Hispanics, “In 2024, about 1.4 million Hispanic undergraduates were enrolled in Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), which is roughly 60% of all Hispanic undergraduates.” For Native Americans, “In fall 2022, 17,294 students were enrolled in Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), including 17,037 undergraduates and 257 graduate students” For a quick review, here are three short videos explaining some of the history, and importance: What is an HBCU? YouTube Video What is an HSI? YouTube Video Why attend a Tribal University. YouTube Video On the news front — here are some of the stories. From HBCU Academics: Trump executive order already impacting DEI programs for HBCUs In a move that has sparked widespread reactions, President Donald J. Trump’s recent executive orders have forced the cancellation of the HBCUs and Registered Apprenticeship Mini-Conference, which was set to take place next week. Organized by the Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions (CMSI), the event was designed to showcase the voices and experiences of HBCU leaders and students in the area of workforce development. However, Trump’s new policies targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs have effectively shut down federally funded initiatives like this one. The executive orders, titled “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing” and “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity,” were issued on January 20 and 21, 2025. These orders aim to dismantle DEI-focused programs across all federal agencies, including those that provide funding for initiatives benefiting HBCUs. CMSI announced in a statement that they have been directed to cease all work under the U.S. Department of Labor-funded Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility HUB. [...] The implications for HBCUs are far-reaching. Many historically Black colleges and universities rely on federal funding to support initiatives aimed at fostering equity and access for their students. By targeting these programs, critics argue that Trump’s policies risk undermining the progress HBCUs have made in preparing students for success in the modern workforce. Advocates of these institutions view the executive orders as a direct attack on their mission to address systemic inequities. From Inside Higher Ed: A Tenuous Moment for Minority-Serving Institutions Under Trump As the Trump administration targets federal DEI programming, colleges and universities with a mission to serve underrepresented students, like minority-serving institutions and tribal colleges, don’t know where they stand. On his first day in office, President Donald Trump rescinded a slew of Biden-era executive orders and actions that he deemed “harmful.” In his order disbanding the initiatives, he slammed the former president for injecting diversity, equity and inclusion work “into our institutions,” calling DEI a “dangerous preferential hierarchy.” Among the programs Trump slashed were initiatives Biden created to support Hispanic-serving institutions and tribal colleges and foster greater collaboration between federal agencies and the institutions. Another initiative that included “breaking down barriers” to federal funding for predominantly Black and historically Black colleges also bit the dust. That same week, federal webpages with information about HSIs and tribal colleges went dark. n his first day in office, President Donald Trump rescinded a slew of Biden-era executive orders and actions that he deemed “harmful.” In his order disbanding the initiatives, he slammed the former president for injecting diversity, equity and inclusion work “into our institutions,” calling DEI a “dangerous preferential hierarchy.” Among the programs Trump slashed were initiatives Biden created to support Hispanic-serving institutions and tribal colleges and foster greater collaboration between federal agencies and the institutions. Another initiative that included “breaking down barriers” to federal funding for predominantly Black and historically Black colleges also bit the dust. That same week, federal webpages with information about HSIs and tribal colleges went dark. I happen to be an avid follower of women’s college basketball — and this distressing story, regarding Haskell Indian Nations popped up in my feed. From The Kansas City Star: Trump’s firings cost Kansas coach his job. Now, he works unpaid as team fights for victory Trump’s firings cost Kansas coach his job, at Haskell Indian Nations University. Now, he works unpaid as team fights for victorywww.kansascity.com/news/local/a... [image or embed]— Denise Oliver-Velez (@deniseoliver-velez.bsky.social) March 4, 2025 at 9:06 AM Less than two miles from the University of Kansas, home of one of the most storied programs in college basketball, Adam Strom, the 48-year-old coach at Haskell Indian Nations University — tiny with 978 students, beleaguered and long overshadowed — blew his whistle twice on Monday night to gather his team’s attention. “OK, it’s about that time,” he said, beginning practice. “Let’s stretch. Let’s warm-up. We’ll meet at half (court). Let’s go ladies.” Every one of his players, 17 young women from as many tribal nations — Blackfoot, Apache, Navajo, Nez Perce and more — knew the situation, one that began as wrenching, but has since turned inspiring. On Feb. 15, they were brought to tears following their Senior Night victory, an 87-18 walloping of Kansas Christian College, when Strom informed them that, in keeping with one of President Donald Trump’s executive orders to reduce the federal workforce, he had been fired one day prior, on Valentine’s Day. His dismissal was “effective immediately.” From The Guardian: An uncertain future for agricultural students at Black colleges after Trump cuts: ‘a clear attack’ Dr Marcus Bernard was shocked to learn last week that the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) had suspended the 1890 National Scholars program that funds undergraduate students’ education in agriculture or related fields at about 20 historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Bernard is dean of the college of agriculture, health and natural resources at one of those institutions, Kentucky State University. At Kentucky State, close to 40 of the scholars have enrolled since the project’s inception in 1992. Nationwide, the program has supported more than 800 students, according to the USDA. The 1890 scholarships have created a pipeline for rural and underrepresented students to pursue studies in fields such as animal science, botany, horticulture, nutrition and forestry. Upon graduation, they are placed in USDA positions around the nation. The news of the program’s suspension – explained in a single sentence that briefly sat atop the program’s USDA page – sparked a flurry of inquiries at Kentucky State. Bernard said the university had been notified that incoming fall 2025 scholarship selectees would not be funded. Without the federal funds, Kentucky State couldn’t pay for those students’ education or continue current students’ scholarships. Bernard, anxious students and families got some small relief late on Monday when the program reopened – a change noted on the website. It said that applications for the scholarship, which gives full rides to the institutions created from federal lands, would be accepted until 15 March. However, the future of the scholarship remains unclear as much of the funding that supports the students’ research and fieldwork has been halted I’m hoping that this story is a window on the importance of protesting.   Under pressure, White House reinstates HBCU scholars program The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers the federal 1890 National Scholars Program through its Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement (OPPE), put the program on hold last week “pending further review,” but the program’s USDA website was updated Tuesday to note that the application process has resumed. Eligible students can apply through March 15. [...] The new administration, under President Trump’s direct order, has sought to shutter many federal programs that are geared toward diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts. [...] “I’m pleased the Secretary has lifted the suspension of and reopened the application for the USDA 1890 National Scholars Program,” Rep. Alma Adams (D-N.C.) said in a statement on the reversal. “This program has been in place since 1992, and I hope we can work together to address the real challenges and real opportunities for our 1890s and our HBCUs.” Adams is a founding member of the bipartisan HBCU caucus in Congress and a senior member of the House Agriculture Committee, and she had been a vocal opponent of the proposed change. Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) also had blasted the pause before its reversal. In a statement to The Hill after the program was reopened, Ossoff said he would continue to watch for other attempts at program changes that would affect HBCU funding. “The Trump Administration should never have paused this funding in the first place,” he said. “I will continue my oversight to ensure that Georgia HBCU students receive the support Congress directed to them.” Question: Do you know the location of the HBCUs, TCUs and HSIs in your states? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ News round up by dopper0189, Black Kos Managing Editor ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THE QUESTION ISN'T WHETHER DEI INITIATIVES ARE NECESSARY—THE DATA SCREAMS THAT THEY ARE. THE REAL QUESTION IS: WHY ARE SOME FOLKS SO SCARED OF A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD? The Grio: DEI with a hard ‘ER’: The anti-DEI movement in tech is having a chokehold on Black economic progress ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Even though Black people aren’t the primary beneficiaries of so-called DEI policies, we are the target of campaigns to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion. Let that sink in. We live in a country that is so steeped in anti-Blackness that the masses are upset at the thought of “equity” for Black people. Enough so that they will hurt other groups to keep us in our place. When they say “DEI,” I hear the “n—-r” loud and clear. These DEI lawsuits, executive orders, and outcries flooding our headlines? They’re not about “discrimination against white people” or “merit-based decisions.” They’re about maintaining the chokehold on Black economic progress. As someone who’s moved through elite spaces as a lawyer, founded and sold a successful tech company, and now leads a venture fund, I know tech is the new frontier for wealth creation. They know it too, which is why the anti-DEI movement is so focused on tech. And it’s not just Elon Musk. Tech bros have cultivated a false myth of meritocracy in the tech, venture, and startup spaces because it makes them feel good to explain their success in these terms instead of being steeped in the same white privilege that slave-holding ancestors leveraged to build extractive wealth (which they also claimed was accumulated by “pulling themselves up by the bootstraps”). For example, Peter Thiel, the founder of PayPal, said at an event last year, “If you think of the woke DEI whole coalition as a combination of true laborers and useful idiots, and, you know, from the capitalists or people who are in some corrupt racket, that’s probably a far more powerful coalition.” Would you be surprised to learn that Peter Thiel was born in West Germany, lived in apartheid South Africa as a child, and then went on to Stanford University and law school? Like Musk, who is South African, the ideas they are espousing aren’t stemming from a commitment to talent and meritocracy over everything else. It’s a deep-seated belief in white superiority, such that any advancement of Black people (and pathways that facilitate that advancement) is intolerable. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Millions of people are now without access to life-saving care globally after the White House's latest funding cuts. The Grio: USAID cuts are already hitting countries around the world. Here are 20 projects that have closed ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Countries around the world already are feeling the impact of the Trump administration’s decision to eliminate more than 90% of foreign aid contracts and cut some $60 billion in funding. Hours after the announcement earlier this week, programs were shuttered, leaving millions of people without access to life-saving care. Some 10,000 contracts with the U.S. Agency for International Development were terminated on Wednesday, in letters sent to nongovernmental organizations across the globe. The letters said that the programs were being defunded “for convenience and the interests of the U.S. government,” according to a person with knowledge of the content who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the issue. Here some key projects around the world that AP has confirmed have closed: 1: In Congo, aid group Action Against Hunger will stop treating tens of thousands of malnourished children from May, which the charity said will put the children in “mortal danger.” 2: In Ethiopia, food assistance stopped for more than 1 million people, according to the Tigray Disaster Risk Management Commission. The Ministry of Health was also forced to terminate the contract of 5,000 workers across the country focused on HIV and malaria prevention, vaccinations and helping vulnerable women deal with the trauma of war. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Environmental justice is on the chopping block. Associated Press: $75 million was awarded to plant trees in places that badly need them. In anti-DEI push, that’s over ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Arthur Johnson has lived in New Orleans’ Lower 9th Ward for nearly three decades, long enough to appreciate the trees that filter pollution from the big ships traveling the nearby Mississippi River and that offer shade on sweltering summer days. When Hurricane Katrina roared through two decades ago, it wiped out 200,000 trees across the city, including many in Johnson’s neighborhood and several in his own yard. The city has struggled ever since to restore its tree canopy. Those efforts will be set back by the U.S. Forest Service’s decision in mid-February to terminate a $75 million grant to the Arbor Day Foundation, which was working to plant trees in neighborhoods that might not otherwise be able to afford them. The program is the latest victim of a drive by President Donald Trump’s administration against environmental justice initiatives. In New Orleans, part of the money was going to the environmental group Sustaining Our Urban Landscape (SOUL), which has planted more than 1,600 trees in the historically Black community but has now paused plans for another 900. Those are trees that largely low-income residents otherwise couldn’t afford to plant or maintain, said the 71-year-old Johnson, who runs a local nonprofit, the Lower 9th Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development, that has helped SOUL with its work and done some tree plantings of its own in the area. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Details emerge about Natal conference in Austin later this month, set to feature figures linked to far-right politics. The Guardian: US natalist conference to host race-science promoters and eugenicists ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A natalist conference featuring speakers including self-described eugenicists and promoters of race science, apparently including the man behind a previously pseudonymous race-science influencer account, and the founder of a startup offering IQ screening for IVF embryos, will be held at a hotel and conference venue operated by the public University of Texas, Austin. Details of the conference have emerged as a prominent supporter of pro-natalist positions, tech billionaire Elon Musk, lays waste to US government agencies under the banner of his “Doge” initiative, with the blessing of Donald Trump. Natalism in its current often rightwing iteration encourages high birth rates, and Musk has been a vocal proponent. He also maintains a large compound home near Austin, where reportedly he plans to house some of his children and two of their mothers. The Natal conference website embeds a Musk post on X, reading: “If birth rates continue to plummet, human civilization will end.” Musk, who reportedly has at least 13 children by four mothers, was in recent days confronted on X by musician Grimes and rightwing influencer Ashley St Clair over his alleged neglect of the children he has fathered with them. The conference, scheduled for 28-29 March, is being organized by Kevin Dolan, who the Guardian identified in 2021 as the person behind a Twitter account that was prominent in the far-right “DezNat” movement, and last year as the organizer of the first conference. It is the second time the conference has been held, and once again, the speakers roster runs from provocateurs who emerged from the “fascist fitness scene” to practitioners of “liberal eugenics”. Patrik Hermannson, a researcher at Hope Not Hate, a UK anti-hate nonprofit, said that the pro-natalism beliefs informing the Natal conference was one of the crucial planks of “the modern race science movement”. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UN food agency received half its budget from US last year and is accelerating merger plan as a result of funding cuts. The Guardian: World Food Programme to close office in southern Africa after Trump aid cuts ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) is closing its southern Africa office in the wake of the Trump administration’s aid cuts. In a statement, a spokesperson said the office in Johannesburg would close and the WFP would consolidate its southern and east Africa operations into one regional office in Nairobi, Kenya. The spokesperson said the UN food agency had launched a long-term plan to streamline its structure in 2023, but as “the donor funding outlook becomes more constrained, we have been compelled to accelerate these efforts”. The spokesperson said food programmes would continue: “Our commitment to serving vulnerable communities is as strong as ever, and WFP remains committed to ensuring our operations are as effective and efficient as possible in meeting the needs of those facing hunger.” The WFP did not say how much funding it had lost from USAid, but it received $4.4bn (£3.5bn) in assistance from the US last year, about half its total annual budget and more than four times the amount given by the second biggest donor, Germany. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Voices & Soul “… The last Rangers/ In flight against/ The last lawless/ Latin-blooded immigrant… “ Justice Putnam ”It Was A Dark and Stormy Night” by Black Kos Editor, Justice Putnam Henry Smith was a former slave who was tortured and murdered at a public, heavily attended and promoted lynching on 1 February 1893 at the Paris Fairgrounds in Paris, Texas. His capital crime was one very familiar for the times, trumped up charges of rape and murder, a drunken confession and a summary judgement by a mob for a lynching.  I won’t go into detail about the grotesque torture Smith suffered while hands were bound and a noose around the neck, I won’t describe how the mob burned him alive and the shouts of joy at every moan from his pain.  I really don’t see how these are different times. I don’t see any difference in the capacity of a mob’s behavior in the late 1800’s with the behavior of the MAGA mob today. Cruelty has always been the point, and a mocking disregard for anyone expressing any kind of humanity to a fellow human being. The times may not be different. We may be living under the same yoke of hate that enslaved a race and blamed them for it. We may be confronted with the unthinkable, we might even be confronted with the familiar, and we may be tested as our ancestors were tested. We may be forced, as so many others were forced before us, to decide if death is preferable to slavery. The odds may be stacked against us and against all we hold dear and love. We may come to believe hope is but mere folly, and a better tomorrow will never be a better today. But I’m still not giving up. It Was A Dark and Stormy Night by Justice Putnam It was a dark a And stormy night As I sloshed along The gale-washed streets Of a Sam Shepard Paris, Texas The wooden senoritas Dressed in their virginal white The local Padre righting The fallen-in-the-wind-nativity The lizards scurrying Across the rain-lashed Wind-beaten stones And sand The flag of The Texas Republic Tattered in The gusting torrent Laying claim to A deeper truth A deeper meaning A deeper consideration Of all that is And is meant to be The last Rangers In flight against The last lawless Latin-blooded immigrant Escaping through The wind And the rain And the dark To a new destiny Where the wind And the rain And the dark Are but distant memories And the tears of yesterday Becomes the giddy laughter Of child-like tomorrows And all of humanity Is lighted by the City of Light Paris While the Sam Shepard Paris Is darkened by The nocturnal blowings Of wind And rain And the extinguished candles Of a forgotten today. © 2010 by Justice Putnam and Mechanisches-Strophe Verlagswesen ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ WELCOME TO THE TUESDAY PORCH IF YOU ARE NEW TO THE BLACK KOS COMMUNITY, GRAB A SEAT, SOME CYBER EATS, RELAX, AND INTRODUCE YOURSELF.

[Author: Black Kos] [Category: Africa, BlackKos, Community, Eugenics, Recommended, USaid, HBCUs, DEI] [Link to media]

— Indians 101: American Indian trade and agriculture 500 years ago, 1525

 

at 3/4/25 8:15am

For thousands of years prior to the European invasion American Indians were farming and had developed very efficient forms of agriculture long before the Europeans arrived. Agriculture began in the Americas about 10,000 years ago. Throughout the world, including North America, agriculture increased carrying capacity, which meant that populations could now be larger. Agriculture also allowed people to live in relatively permanent villages, to develop more elaborate ceremonies, to construct monumental features such as pyramids and earthworks, and to allow some economic specialization. At the beginning of the European invasion, most Indian people got the majority of the food they ate from the crops they raised. In his 1930 book The Mound-Builders, archaeologist Henry Clyde Shetrone reports:  “Contrary to widespread popular belief, most of the historic tribes of native American Indians were agricultural in varying degrees, and to corresponding degrees sedentary in their manner of life.”  While American Indian farmers grew many different kinds of plants for food and fiber, by 1525 there were three major agricultural crops: maize (corn), beans, and squash. In many cases, perhaps most, agriculture resulted in food and fiber surpluses which could be traded to other peoples. By 1525, aboriginal trade routes spread across the Americas and many villages became trading centers. Briefly described below are two 1525 events relating to agriculture and trade. New Mexico Five hundred years ago what is now New Mexico was inhabited by village agriculturalists collectively known as Pueblos. While the Pueblos are usually lumped together in both the anthropological and historical writings as though they are a single cultural group, they are linguistically and culturally divergent.  They do, however, share some common traits: they are agriculturalists who grow corn, beans, and squash; they have permanent villages with a central plaza; and most have kivas (underground ceremonial centers). When the Spanish first entered New Mexico, they found the Indian people living in settled villages made of stone. The Spanish called these communities “pueblos”, their word for town or village, and the name was later applied to the people living in these villages. The masonry for the houses is laid, finished, and plastered by the woman of the house and her female relatives. The stone is sandstone which can be easily worked, even with stone tools, into smooth blocks. Prior to the European invasion, the Pueblos were important trading centers. Goods came from the Pacific Coast, the Sea of Cortez, western Mexico, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. Trade with Indian nations in Mexico was common and Pueblo turquoise was frequently traded to these southern nations. Taos Pueblo functioned as a trading center for many of the Plains tribes, such as the Comanche, Ute, and Lipan Apache. The Plains tribes traded buffalo robes, buckskin products, and meat for corn, blankets, and other products. In 1525, Taos established trading relations with the Apaches. In addition to trading at Taos, the Apaches also began trading at Picuris and Pecos. In the summer, the Apaches would arrive at the Pueblos with their dogs hauling hides, meat, tallow, and salt which were then exchanged for cotton blankets, pottery, corn, and turquoise. The Apaches and Navajos are Athabascan-speaking peoples who migrated into the Southwest from Canada. Their aboriginal homeland was in what is now the province of Alberta. The establishment of trading relationships with the Pueblos in 1525 may mark the entrance of the Athabaskan-speaking groups – Apache and Navajo – into the Southwest. According to archaeologist James Gunnerson, in his chapter in the Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 13, Part 1: Plains: “Although the older idea that Apacheans might have arrived in the Southwest as early as 1200 has not been rejected by all authors, most evidence supports an arrival date in the Southwest of about 1525, a time when the Plains were recovering from the severe droughts of the 1400s.” North Dakota Five hundred years ago, the upper Missouri River Valley was the home to farming peoples (known today as Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara, who raised corn (maize), beans, sunflowers, tobacco, pumpkins, and squash. These village tribes planted between nine and eleven different varieties of corn. These farming peoples had permanent villages in which they constructed large earthlodges. The earthlodges were circular structures built partially underground. They had a log framework which was covered with willow mats and then overlaid with a thin coating of earth and sod. At the top of the dome-shaped lodge there was an opening—often two or three feet across—which allowed smoke to escape. The floor of the lodge was often excavated a foot or more below ground level. Beneath the smoke hole, there would be a shallow depression, five or six feet across, curbed with stone for the fire. The size of the earthlodges ranged from 20 to 50 feet in diameter. A typical earthlodge would have 15-25 people living in it. Unlike the Mandan and Arikara villages, Hidatsa villages had neither a central plaza nor a ceremonial structure. In 1525 the Awaxita Hidatsas established a village on the Knife River. This village would eventually grow to about 50 earth lodges with a population of about 500-600 people. More American Indian histories Indians 101: American Indians and Spanish explorers 500 years ago, 1525 Indians 101: American Indians 450 years ago, 1575 Indians 101: The Spanish and the Southeastern Indian nations 500 years ago, 1521 Indians 101: Powhatan Indians and the Spanish mission at Cheasapeake Bay Indians 101: The Calusa Indians and Spanish missionaries in 1549 Indians 301: Canadian First Nations and Jacques Cartier, 1534-1542 Indians 201: Plains Indians and the Spanish in the sixteenth century Indians 201: Southwestern Indians and Fray Marcos de Niza

[Author: Ojibwa] [Category: AmericanIndians, History, Indians101, NativeAmericanNetroots, NavajoIndians, TaosPueblo, PuebloIndians, UteIndians, MandanIndians, HidatsaIndians, ArikaraIndians, ComancheIndians, LipanApacheIndians] [Link to media]

— Ancient America: The Great Southwestern Drought, 1276-1299

 

at 3/1/25 8:15am

Throughout the world the transition from hunting and gathering economies to lifeways based on raising domesticated plants has resulted in the development of permanent settlements. This development has usually evolved over long periods of time. In the Four Corners Region of the American Southwest—the present-day states of New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Arizona–-the archaeological record shows evidence of agriculture as early as 2000 BCE. By 400 BCE, plants originally domesticated in Mexico had become dominant in the Four Corners Region. In her chapter in The Oxford Handbook Handbook of North American Archaeology, Deborah Pearsall writes: “Maize, beans (common and tepary), and pepo squash form the core of Southwestern agriculture, with cotton and bottle gourd also introduced early, and other beans and squashes later arrivals.” By 100 BCE, the Ancestral Puebloan (also known as Anasazi) cultural tradition was developing in the Four Corners Region. This cultural tradition is characterized by an increase in population and the development of pueblos (towns), such as Chaco Canyon and Mesa Verde. In his chapter in North American Archaeology, Stephen Lekson writes: “Population in the Four Corners area (including the Mesa Verde, Totah, and other districts) reached as many as 30,000 people by about 1250. By 1300, the region was almost entirely empty.” The Drought An economy dependent on agriculture is also dependent on water. In 1276, a long period of drought (23 years) began. As a result of this drought, many areas were abandoned except for spring oases. Archaeologist Scott Wood, in his chapter in Salado, writes: “While some of these folk may have left the area entirely, it seems reasonable that the majority merely gravitated toward the existing settlements along the rivers, where they would have had the strongest kin ties and best hope for assistance.” With food scarcity, violence increases and is expressed with warfare. In a report in American Archaeology, Tamara Jager Stewart writes: “A 23-year-long drought beginning in A.D. 1276, combined with warfare, over-population, and limited resources, caused Mesa Verdeans to leave the entire region, including Hovenweep, and migrate south by the end of the 13th century.” Stephen Lekson writes: “Most of the Four Corners population migrated to the areas of today’s pueblos in Arizona and New Mexico.” Sand Canyon Pueblo In 1277, construction stopped at Sand Canyon Pueblo in Colorado. The abandonment of the pueblo began. The residents were now consuming less domesticated turkey and more cottontail rabbit, deer, and pronghorn. Corn was still an important part of their diet and there was no indication of dietary stress. However, the regional drought which started the year before may have reduced the agricultural yield. According to archaeologist Kristin Kuckelman (2010: 519): “With crops diminishing, or failing entirely, under droughty conditions, villagers were probably forced to consume maize stores.” In an article in American Antiquity, Kristin Kuckelman reports: “Failed crops could have led to diminished turkey flocks: the low frequencies of turkey bone in abandonment contexts site-wide suggest that few turkeys remained near the time of village depopulation.” Many of the villagers began to emigrate, probably planning to return when the climate improved. It has been estimated that from one-fourth to three fourths of the population emigrated. Those who stayed were forced to use a hunting and gathering strategy which meant that they were now competing with other communities for these resources. Kristin Kuckelman reports: “Those hunting and foraging away from home returned to the safety of the village whenever possible, bringing whatever provisions they had been able to procure.” In 1280, Sand Canyon Pueblo was abandoned. The village was attacked and many villagers died. At least 35 people were killed and were not formally buried.  One middle-aged man was killed by a face-to-face blow delivered by a right-handed assailant. He was on the roof at the time he was killed. In another room block, an adolescent male (12-15 years old) was killed in a kiva by being struck from behind, perhaps while attempting to flee. This individual was scalped. Another man, about 20 years old, was killed on a rooftop by being struck from behind. An eight-year child was killed by being struck from behind and was scalped. Archaeologist Kristin Kuckelman reports: “Death might have resulted from arrows with stone projectile points that were then retrieved from victims. Wood-tipped arrows would also have left no visible traces; recent research suggests that this type of arrow was much more widely used than previously thought.” In seeking to answer the question as to who attacked the village, Kristin Kuckelman writes: “Overall, the data—mostly negative evidence—lead to the conclusion that the attackers were residents of one or more Pueblo settlements from within the Mesa Verde region.” The attack did not appear to involve non-Pueblo invaders. Some of the abandoned kivas were burned. This was not a simple task, but a labor-intensive process requiring a great deal of time, perseverance, and determination.  The roofs of the kivas were set on fire as a part of a closing ritual. This could have been done by villagers who were away from the village when it was attacked or by a delegation of emigrating survivors who returned after the attackers had departed. In summarizing the reasons for the abandonment of Sand Canyon Pueblo, Kristin Kuckelman writes: “Overexploitation of natural resources, high population levels, and overdependence on one crop left Ancestral Pueblo residents of the region catastrophically vulnerable to the vagaries of weather and climate, resulting in social turmoil, massive relocations of population, and far-reaching, permanent changes in Pueblo culture.” Pueblos abandoned, migrations, violence From 1280 until the end of the drought many pueblos were abandoned, some due to increased violence in the region. For example, in 1280 Castle Rock Pueblo in Colorado was abandoned and the archaeological evidence suggests that this abandonment was accompanied by warfare. In 1285 at least 41 people were killed in Castle Rock Pueblo in McElmo Canyon, Colorado. This ended the occupation of the village of 75 to 150 people. There were also migrations out of the area. The archaeological record shows population increases at several sites, including Chodistaas Pueblo and Point of Pines, both in Arizona. Conclusion By 1300, most of the Ancestral Puebloan communities in the Four Corners Region were abandoned. The prolonged drought meant that these communities could not grow sufficient crops to maintain their population. While there are still a few people who insist that the Anasazi people vanished, it is clear that the communities were evacuated, and useful goods were taken with those who left. Today’s Pueblo peoples of New Mexico and Arizona are descended from this cultural tradition. Archaeologist William Lipe, in his chapter in American Indian Places, writes: “The people who left Mesa Verde and the adjacent areas did not disappear; they moved south, often to areas where related Pueblo people lived.” Modern Pueblo people know that the Ancestral Puebloan communities were abandoned because the serpent god mysteriously left them. This is the deity which controls rain and fertility. The people left the towns and followed the snake’s trail until they found a river where they once again built their communities. According to Pueblo oral tradition, the last Mesa Verde chief was Salavi (whose name means “Spruce.”) This respected elder sent his people away in search of better land even though he was too old to travel with them. As the people left, he told them to return in four years. If he was to blame for the lack of rain and the withering fields, then they would find no trace of him. However, if his heart was pure, they would find a sign. According to Badger Clan history, when the people returned, they found a four-year old spruce tree next to a spring which was gushing water. A clan historian then wrote the events of this story on the rocks at Pictograph Point.  More Ancient America Ancient America: The prehistoric Southwest, 1375-1425 CE Ancient America: A very short overview of the prehistory of the Grand Canyon Ancient America: Linking people to the cosmos in ancient Ohio Ancient America: The Paleo-Indian Period in Texas (prior to 8000 BCE) Ancient America: Avonlea, the early bow hunters Ancient America: The Old Copper People Ancient America: Astronomy Ancient America: Solar Calendars

[Author: Ojibwa] [Category: AmericanIndians, Archaeology, NativeAmericanNetroots, SouthWest, AncientAmerica, SandCanyonPueblo] [Link to media]

— Ancient America: The Great Southwester Drought, 1276-1299

 

at 3/1/25 8:15am

Throughout the world the transition from hunting and gathering economies to lifeways based on raising domesticated plants has resulted in the development of permanent settlements. This development has usually evolved over long periods of time. In the Four Corners Region of the American Southwest—the present-day states of New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Arizona–-the archaeological record shows evidence of agriculture as early as 2000 BCE. By 400 BCE, plants originally domesticated in Mexico had become dominant in the Four Corners Region. In her chapter in The Oxford Handbook Handbook of North American Archaeology, Deborah Pearsall writes: “Maize, beans (common and tepary), and pepo squash form the core of Southwestern agriculture, with cotton and bottle gourd also introduced early, and other beans and squashes later arrivals.” By 100 BCE, the Ancestral Puebloan (also known as Anasazi) cultural tradition was developing in the Four Corners Region. This cultural tradition is characterized by an increase in population and the development of pueblos (towns), such as Chaco Canyon and Mesa Verde. In his chapter in North American Archaeology, Stephen Lekson writes: “Population in the Four Corners area (including the Mesa Verde, Totah, and other districts) reached as many as 30,000 people by about 1250. By 1300, the region was almost entirely empty.” The Drought An economy dependent on agriculture is also dependent on water. In 1276, a long period of drought (23 years) began. As a result of this drought, many areas were abandoned except for spring oases. Archaeologist Scott Wood, in his chapter in Salado, writes: “While some of these folk may have left the area entirely, it seems reasonable that the majority merely gravitated toward the existing settlements along the rivers, where they would have had the strongest kin ties and best hope for assistance.” With food scarcity, violence increases and is expressed with warfare. In a report in American Archaeology, Tamara Jager Stewart writes: “A 23-year-long drought beginning in A.D. 1276, combined with warfare, over-population, and limited resources, caused Mesa Verdeans to leave the entire region, including Hovenweep, and migrate south by the end of the 13th century.” Stephen Lekson writes: “Most of the Four Corners population migrated to the areas of today’s pueblos in Arizona and New Mexico.” Sand Canyon Pueblo In 1277, construction stopped at Sand Canyon Pueblo in Colorado. The abandonment of the pueblo began. The residents were now consuming less domesticated turkey and more cottontail rabbit, deer, and pronghorn. Corn was still an important part of their diet and there was no indication of dietary stress. However, the regional drought which started the year before may have reduced the agricultural yield. According to archaeologist Kristin Kuckelman (2010: 519): “With crops diminishing, or failing entirely, under droughty conditions, villagers were probably forced to consume maize stores.” In an article in American Antiquity, Kristin Kuckelman reports: “Failed crops could have led to diminished turkey flocks: the low frequencies of turkey bone in abandonment contexts site-wide suggest that few turkeys remained near the time of village depopulation.” Many of the villagers began to emigrate, probably planning to return when the climate improved. It has been estimated that from one-fourth to three fourths of the population emigrated. Those who stayed were forced to use a hunting and gathering strategy which meant that they were now competing with other communities for these resources. Kristin Kuckelman reports: “Those hunting and foraging away from home returned to the safety of the village whenever possible, bringing whatever provisions they had been able to procure.” In 1280, Sand Canyon Pueblo was abandoned. The village was attacked and many villagers died. At least 35 people were killed and were not formally buried.  One middle-aged man was killed by a face-to-face blow delivered by a right-handed assailant. He was on the roof at the time he was killed. In another room block, an adolescent male (12-15 years old) was killed in a kiva by being struck from behind, perhaps while attempting to flee. This individual was scalped. Another man, about 20 years old, was killed on a rooftop by being struck from behind. An eight-year child was killed by being struck from behind and was scalped. Archaeologist Kristin Kuckelman reports: “Death might have resulted from arrows with stone projectile points that were then retrieved from victims. Wood-tipped arrows would also have left no visible traces; recent research suggests that this type of arrow was much more widely used than previously thought.” In seeking to answer the question as to who attacked the village, Kristin Kuckelman writes: “Overall, the data—mostly negative evidence—lead to the conclusion that the attackers were residents of one or more Pueblo settlements from within the Mesa Verde region.” The attack did not appear to involve non-Pueblo invaders. Some of the abandoned kivas were burned. This was not a simple task, but a labor-intensive process requiring a great deal of time, perseverance, and determination.  The roofs of the kivas were set on fire as a part of a closing ritual. This could have been done by villagers who were away from the village when it was attacked or by a delegation of emigrating survivors who returned after the attackers had departed. In summarizing the reasons for the abandonment of Sand Canyon Pueblo, Kristin Kuckelman writes: “Overexploitation of natural resources, high population levels, and overdependence on one crop left Ancestral Pueblo residents of the region catastrophically vulnerable to the vagaries of weather and climate, resulting in social turmoil, massive relocations of population, and far-reaching, permanent changes in Pueblo culture.” Pueblos abandoned, migrations, violence From 1280 until the end of the drought many pueblos were abandoned, some due to increased violence in the region. For example, in 1280 Castle Rock Pueblo in Colorado was abandoned and the archaeological evidence suggests that this abandonment was accompanied by warfare. In 1285 at least 41 people were killed in Castle Rock Pueblo in McElmo Canyon, Colorado. This ended the occupation of the village of 75 to 150 people. There were also migrations out of the area. The archaeological record shows population increases at several sites, including Chodistaas Pueblo and Point of Pines, both in Arizona. Conclusion By 1300, most of the Ancestral Puebloan communities in the Four Corners Region were abandoned. The prolonged drought meant that these communities could not grow sufficient crops to maintain their population. While there are still a few people who insist that the Anasazi people vanished, it is clear that the communities were evacuated, and useful goods were taken with those who left. Today’s Pueblo peoples of New Mexico and Arizona are descended from this cultural tradition. Archaeologist William Lipe, in his chapter in American Indian Places, writes: “The people who left Mesa Verde and the adjacent areas did not disappear; they moved south, often to areas where related Pueblo people lived.” Modern Pueblo people know that the Ancestral Puebloan communities were abandoned because the serpent god mysteriously left them. This is the deity which controls rain and fertility. The people left the towns and followed the snake’s trail until they found a river where they once again built their communities. According to Pueblo oral tradition, the last Mesa Verde chief was Salavi (whose name means “Spruce.”) This respected elder sent his people away in search of better land even though he was too old to travel with them. As the people left, he told them to return in four years. If he was to blame for the lack of rain and the withering fields, then they would find no trace of him. However, if his heart was pure, they would find a sign. According to Badger Clan history, when the people returned, they found a four-year old spruce tree next to a spring which was gushing water. A clan historian then wrote the events of this story on the rocks at Pictograph Point.  More Ancient America Ancient America: The prehistoric Southwest, 1375-1425 CE Ancient America: A very short overview of the prehistory of the Grand Canyon Ancient America: Linking people to the cosmos in ancient Ohio Ancient America: The Paleo-Indian Period in Texas (prior to 8000 BCE) Ancient America: Avonlea, the early bow hunters Ancient America: The Old Copper People Ancient America: Astronomy Ancient America: Solar Calendars

[Author: Ojibwa] [Category: AmericanIndians, Archaeology, NativeAmericanNetroots, SouthWest, AncientAmerica, SandCanyonPueblo] [Link to media]

As of 4/3/25 3:49pm. Last new 4/3/25 2:40pm.