In 1851, the United States called a treaty council at Fort Laramie, Wyoming which was attended by 8,000 – 12,000 Indians from the Cheyenne, Arapaho, Shoshone, Crow, Assiniboine, Arikara, Gros Ventre, Mandan, and Hidatsa tribes. The purpose of the council and of the resulting treaty was to establish peace between the United States and the … Continued
The time period from about 400 CE to 900 CE in northeastern North America is called the Late Woodland period by archaeologists. This was a time of major population growth and the introduction of new technology, including the bow and arrow. While a native agriculture had developed in North America prior to this time, … Continued
My sister, a friend, and I are planning on walking the Choctaw Trail of Tears on foot. At the moment, I’m working on plotting a route and I’m wondering if anyone knows exactly what the most accurate route to take would be, as I’ve been getting conflicting answers to this question in my searches. We … Continued
America was named on April 25, 1507 after the Florentine explorer Amerigo Vespucci. The process of naming the continent (initially what is now South America) came about through the interface of several processes, including the printing press, advances in geography, and cartography. All of these forces came together in the early 1500s in the town … Continued
Traditionally fish were an important food resource to most of the northern California tribes. Indian nations such as the Hupa, Karuk, Achomawi, and Yurok relied heavily on the salmon. Also important to some of the tribes were steelhead, sturgeon, trout, and lamprey eels. A Yurok plankhouse is shown above. A photograph of a Hupa … Continued
Welcome to the 12th edition of First Nations News & Views. This weekly series is one element in the “Invisible Indians” project put together by Meteor Blades and me, with assistance from the Native American Netroots Group. Last week’s edition is here. In this edition you will find my personal encounter as second-grader with Mormon … Continued
Looking back at what was going on in Indian country in 1962-fifty years ago-reminds us that many of the problems we face today were being discussed then. Further, we are currently living with the consequences of some of the actions, particularly court decisions, which were made at that time. Indians and the President: At … Continued
There is a profound difference between the Dominant Culture’s use of the land, and tribe such as the Winnemem Wintu’s relationship with the land. “…and in 2010 a boater dumped cremations in the river…” Outside the towering, gray walls of the U.S. Forest Service’s office in Vallejo, California, April 16, the Winnemem Wintu’s War Dance … Continued
The reservation for the Jicarilla Apache Tribe was established in New Mexico by Executive Order of President Grover Cleveland in 1887. Following the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act, the tribe adopted a formal constitution that provided for the taxation of members of the tribe as well as for non-members of the tribe who were doing business … Continued
Welcome to the 11th edition of First Nations News & Views. This weekly series is one element in the “Invisible Indians” project put together by navajo and me, with assistance from the Native American Netroots Group. Last week’s edition is here. In this edition you will find a review of the Oklahoma Painters exhibit at … Continued
