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Plains Indian Art in the Maryhill Museum (Photo Diary)

The Great Plains is the huge area in the central portion of the North American continent which stretches from the Canadian provinces in the north, almost to the Gulf of Mexico in the south, from the Rocky Mountains in the west to the Mississippi River in the east. This is an area which contains many … Continued

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A brief overview of Northern Plains Indian spirituality

The Northern Plains include what is now North and South Dakota, Eastern Montana, northeastern Wyoming, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. This was an area which was the traditional homelands for the buffalo-hunting peoples, such as the Blackfoot, Assiniboine, Gros Ventre (Atsina), Sioux, Crow, Northern Cheyenne, Plains Chippewa (Ojibwa), and Plains Cree. It … Continued

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Indian Artifacts in the Presby House Museum (Photo Diary)

The Presby House Museum in Goldendale, Washington, has three display cases filled with Indian artifacts. These included beaded items (moccasins, gloves, bags), baskets, and a variety of stone artifacts (pestles, mortars, projectile points). The items are displayed with no explanation of tribal histories or aboriginal use. Most of the items were probably trade items made … Continued

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Suppressing Peyote in 1918

During the first part of the twentieth century, one of the primary concerns of the United States government, as well as state and local governments, was the suppression and eradication of American Indian religions. As a Christian nation, a fact expressed in a number of court cases, one of the goals of the federal policies … Continued

American Indian Religions

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The Luiseño Village

Before the European invasion, led by the Spanish in the eighteenth century, Southern California Native Americans lived in small villages of up to 200 inhabitants. In general, California Indians have been classified as hunters and gatherers, meaning that they tended to obtain food from hunting and from gathering wild plants. Often evidence of agriculture—the deliberate … Continued

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Ancient Mesoamerica: The Classic Period

Archaeologists use the term Mesoamerica in referring to Mexico and the adjacent areas of Central America which were the home to Native American civilizations prior to the Spanish invasion. During the time generally known as the Classic Period in Mesoamerica, the region was characterized by several complex cultural systems known as state societies. For Central … Continued

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Tribal disenrollment: 101 – The Basics

Stop Tribal Genocide What is tribal disenrollment? Tribal disenrollment is the stripping of Native American citizenship and it’s reaching epidemic proportions. Throughout Indian Country thousands of Native Americans are losing their tribal rights and having their citizenship terminated in their tribes. While some tribal councils assert disenrollment are meant to protect the “integrity of the … Continued