While many non-Apache scholars and popular writers have labeled all the Apache as a fierce, war-like people, in actuality warfare was not glorified as it was in some other culture areas, such as the Great Plains. Warfare, in the form of raiding, was often an economic activity. Anthropologist Keith Basso, in his book The Cibecue … Continued
The High Desert Museum in Bend, Oregon, has a gallery which takes visitors on a journey through some of the most dramatic periods in the High Desert. According to the Museum display: “Thousands of years ago, more than one hundred Native American tribes inhabited the High Desert. During the early 1800s, newcomers began arriving—starting with … Continued
Taken with Permission When I wrote this, The Death & Vision of Moxtaveto (Black Kettle) Custer was pursuing the snow tracks of Dog Soldiers that would eventually lead to Black Kettle’s village on Thanksgiving Day in a cruel irony. The cruelest irony however, was that Black Kettle and his wife would be slain nearly four … Continued
At the time when the first Europeans began to enter into the Central Oregon Coast area, the American Indians in the area—Tillamook, Alsea, Yacona, and Siuslaw—were living in large, permanent villages clustered along the coastal rivers. In 1855, the Coast Reservation (also known as the Siletz Reservation) was established by executive order of President Franklin … Continued
One of the displays in the San Bernardino County Museum in Redlands, California, is entitled Sacred Earth and subtitled Understanding our past and honoring cultures that thrive today. Shown below are some artifacts associated with historic Southern California Indian cultures. The map above shows the location of the historic tribes of Southern California. According to … Continued
For more than 10,000 years Indian people have lived adjacent to the Columbia River. In the Columbia Gorge area, hundreds, if not thousands, of archaeological sites provide silent testimony to this long period of human occupation. Rock art, in the form of petroglyphs and pictographs, is found throughout the area. The area along the Columbia … Continued
Source “…Roman Nose made his record against the whites, in defense of territory embracing the Republican and Arickaree rivers. He was killed on the latter river in 1868, in the celebrated battle with General Forsythe. Roman Nose always rode an uncommonly fine, spirited horse, and with his war bonnet and other paraphernalia gave a wonderful … Continued
From 1500 BCE until about 1200 CE, the Zapotec were one of the prominent and historically important groups in Mesoamerica. They originated in the Valley of Oaxaca in Mexico. Their major archaeological sites include Monte Albán, Dainzu, Huitzo, Monte Negro, Yagul, and Zaachila. The Zapotec By 1500 BCE, the Cloud People (Ben Zaa, Gula’sa, or … Continued
The Flathead Indian Reservation in Western Montana was created in 1855 as a result of the Hell Gate Treaty Council with the Salish-speaking Pend d’Oreilles, the Salish-speaking Flathead (also known as the Bitterroot Salish), and the Kootenai. While Washington Territory Governor Isaac Stevens considered these tribes to be unimportant, the American government wanted to consolidate … Continued
Yankton Sioux (Nakota) writer and activist Gertrude Simmons Bonnin was born in 1876 and grew up on the Yankton Agency in South Dakota. Her mother was Reaches for the Wind (Tate I Yohin Win, also known as Ellen). Her father abandoned his wife and Ellen married John Haysting Simmons. Gertrude Simmons grew up on the … Continued
