( – promoted by navajo) During the nineteenth century it was commonly believed by non-Indians that American Indians and their cultures were destined for extinction. Government policies were often based upon this assumption and were intended to extinguish Indian cultures. While American Indians-their cultures, their nations, and even their reservations-endured into the twentieth century, they … Continued
( – promoted by navajo) At the height of the Classic Period (200 CE to 900 CE), the Maya population numbered several million people living in 60 kingdoms in the greater Yucatan area of Mexico. The Maya built large cities which were supported by the agricultural surpluses from the villages and towns in the surrounding … Continued
( – promoted by navajo) In 1853 the United States divided Oregon Territory into two territories: Washington and Oregon. President Millard Fillmore appointed Isaac I. Stevens as the territorial governor of Washington. Stevens immediately began an aggressive plan to deprive the Indian nations within the territory of title to their lands. He was a Jacksonian … Continued
( – promoted by navajo) Personal names among the Indian nations east of the Mississippi River were quite different from European names. There was little concern for maintaining family wealth through inheritance and thus there were no surnames. The process of naming an individual varied greatly among the tribes, but the names tended to be … Continued
( – promoted by navajo) The Great Plains 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. Plains Indians are those which are most often stereotyped by movies and other media as representing … Continued
( – promoted by navajo) Among the Cheyenne there are two sacred medicine bundles: The Sacred Arrows (Maahotse) and the Sacred Buffalo Hat (Esevone). The spiritual power of these bundles could be tapped ceremonially to help the tribe prosper. As long as the ceremonies were performed as taught by the culture heroes, the tribe would … Continued
( – promoted by navajo) In 1600, shortly before the beginning of the European invasion, the population of the Wampanoag people in Massachusetts was estimated at 12,000 living in 40 villages. Two years later, Bartholomew Gosnold landed at Cape Cod and traded with the Wampanoag. He reported that the Indians were in good health. When … Continued
( – promoted by navajo) The Cheyenne oral tradition tells of a time when the people were living in what is now Northeastern Canada. They had a way of life which centered around hunting wild game and gathering wild plant foods. Disease prompted them to leave their homeland and move south into the marshy areas … Continued
( – promoted by navajo) A treaty is simply an agreement between two sovereign nations. The Constitution indicates that Indian tribes are nations and thus the United States entered into many treaties with Indian nations. In 1853 Isaac I. Stevens was appointed Governor of the newly created Washington Territory by President Franklin Pierce. The appointment … Continued
( – promoted by navajo) During the first part of the nineteenth century, the American policy was to remove Indians from east of the Mississippi River and to “give” them reservations in Indian Territory. While this idea had been proposed by President Thomas Jefferson, it was not enacted into law until 1830 with the passage … Continued
