I’ve been through a lot of changes. I moved to WNY a couple years ago, got divorced, moved back home to Oklahoma and started over. I’ve done some good ground helping a couple Native American causes, but my muse hasn’t felt much like talking – until I was visiting my grandparents for the first time … Continued
In 1829, Andrew Jackson became President of the United States. Jackson felt that since the Constitution prohibited the establishment of a new state within the boundaries of another without the agreement of the later and since the states had not agreed to the establishment of a Cherokee nation, the establishment of a Cherokee nation was … Continued
On the Mississippi River in the eighteenth century the French encountered the Natchez Nation. Like the Mississippian peoples at places like Cahokia, the Natchez built pyramids, lived in towns, supported themselves with agriculture, and had a chief that reigned like a king. During a period of about three decades, the French destroyed the Natchez. Natchez … Continued
About 650 CE some trends were beginning to emerge in the American Bottom area near the Mississippi River in Illinois which would culminate in the development of a complex culture known today as Mississippian. Setting the stage for the emergence of this complex culture were the use of the bow and arrow and the development … Continued
Cobá was a Maya city located in the northern portion of the Maya region on the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. Most of the city was constructed between 500 and 900-a period corresponding to the Classic Maya Period. Most of the dated inscriptions found in the city date from the seventh century. Cobá had a population … Continued
During the 1930s, with the United States in the midst of the First Great Depression, American Indian art began to emerge as a form of economic development as well as cultural expression. During this time there were a number of programs to educate Indian artists in both art techniques and in art marketing. The … Continued
In 1890 American fear, xenophobia, and religious intolerance led to the massacre of Sioux Indians at Wounded Knee in South Dakota. While there have been many books written about this massacre, there were a number of related incidents prior to this. Setting the Stage for Violence in 1890: In South Dakota, the Great Sioux … Continued
A treaty is an agreement between two or more sovereign nations. Under the U.S. Constitution, Indian tribes are considered sovereign nations-or as dependent domestic nations, in the words of the Supreme Court-and thus the United States negotiated treaties with the tribes in order to obtain title to Indian land and open Indian lands to non-Indian … Continued
In 1901, President William McKinley was assassinated and Theodore Roosevelt became the 26th President of the United States. He entered the White House better acquainted with both the Indian Service (later known as the Bureau of Indian Affairs) and Indians than any President since William Henry Harrison. While Roosevelt had a background with regard to … Continued
The Yuma-speaking tribes live in the desert and semi-desert area along the Colorado and Gila Rivers in what is now Arizona, California, Sonora, and Baja California Norte. This is an area that is nearly all desert or semi-desert, but the annual flooding along the Colorado River and along the Gila River made agriculture possible. Thus, … Continued
