Long before the first Spaniards arrived in Southern California, the area was occupied by six distinct Native American tribes: Chumash, Tongva, Serrano, Cahuilla, Luiseño, and Kumeyaay. The map shown above shows the territories of the six Southern California Indian nations. The Riverside Metropolitan Museum in Riverside, California has a display on Southern California’s First Peoples. … Continued
One of the displays in The Cahuilla Continuum exhibit in the Riverside Metropolitan Museums shows some of the material culture associated with traditional Cahuilla daily life. The Cahuilla homeland in California was bounded on the north by the San Bernardino Mountains; on the south by the northern Borrego Desert; on the east by the Colorado … Continued
The idea that the soul leaves the physical body at death and journeys to the land of dead is found in Native American cultures throughout North America. In some instances, the soul may remain in the land of the living and become a ghost. Belief in ghosts is common in many American Indian cultures. In … Continued
In 1669, the impact of the European invasion was being felt by Indian nations throughout North America. The European explorers were attempting to discover what they viewed as a wilderness, following Indian trails with Indian guides, and ignoring any possibility of Indian claims to the land. European missionaries sought to convert Indians to Christianity, ignoring … Continued
The National Indian Health Board (NIHB) invites applications for the 2018 Tribal Youth Health Policy Fellowship seating the second cohort of Fellows. The cohort will consist of 12 Native youth from around the country to engage throughout the year in Indian health policy and programming efforts. The Fellows will engage in Indian health policy solutions, … Continued
The Artic Culture Area includes the Aleutian Islands, most of the Alaska Coast, the Canadian Artic, and parts of Greenland. It is an area which can be described as a “cold” desert. Geographer W. Gillies Ross, in his chapter in North American Exploration. Volume 3: A Continent Comprehended, writes: “The North American Arctic is usually … Continued
Basketry is probably the oldest art form, although the archaeological record is devoid of the earliest basketry. In his 1904 book American Indian Basketry, Otis Mason writes: “In ultimate structure, basketry is free-hand mosaic or, in the finest materials, like pen-drawings or beadwork, the surface being composed of any number of small parts—technically decussations, stitches, … Continued
https://www.google.com/search?q=Shoshone+Chief+Washakie&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiM1dCR_LzUAhUE2GMKHXqMC-kQ_AUICygC&biw=1366&bih=662#imgrc=qn_AcJbA5VgYlM: Despite the sentiment behind Washakie’s photo in Town Hall, using it as a replacement for President Trump is seen by some people as disrespectful. I challenge the idea it is “disrespectful,” when Trump supporters mean disloyal. Traditionally government buildings are adorned with pictures of the United States’ chief executives. Mayor Pete Muldoon, however, recently … Continued
When the Europeans began their invasion of the Americas, the Cherokee were an agricultural people whose villages could be found throughout the American Southeast. By the first part of the nineteenth century, the Cherokees had had enough experience in dealing with the American government that they understood that they needed to have a unified government. … Continued
The fur trade was an important part of the economic history of North America and incorporated American Indian economies into a larger world economy. Furs were valuable, easily portable, and renewable resources. The prime furs—marten, otter, fox—were sold at high prices in the European and Chinese markets. Of less value, but still profitable, were pelts … Continued