In 1817, James Monroe became the new President of the United States. In his book The Removal of the Choctaw Indians, Arthur DeRosier writes: “America embarked upon a period of intense nationalism which completely dominated Monroe’s administration.” Arthur DeRosier goes on to say: “The changing attitudes of the period affected even the handling of the … Continued
At the time of first contact with Europeans, the Ottawa (Odawa in Canada) were living on Manitoulin Island. The Ottawa homeland for at least three centuries prior to European contact was the Michigan Lower Peninsula. The tribes of the Three Fires Confederacy—Ojibwa, Ottawa, Potawatomi—were once a single people living in the east according to oral … Continued
For the Central Alaska Yup’ik Eskimo, spirituality was focused largely on the need to secure food for hunting. As with other animistic hunting peoples, animals were felt to have souls which would be reincarnated. Thus, rituals sought to appease the soul of the animal so that it would give itself to the Yup’ik hunters who … Continued
The Northeastern Atlantic Coast of the U.S. was dominated by Algonquian-speaking nations who practiced agriculture supplemented by hunting, fishing, and gathering. In general, tribes tended to be localized along major river drainages with a tendency for the people along each drainage to divide themselves into upstream and downstream groups. Since much of the Native culture … Continued
The Northwest Coast culture area stretches along the Pacific coast between the Cascade Mountains and the ocean. It extends north of California to Alaska. This is an area which is the home to many Indian nations who traditionally based their economy on the use of sea coast and river ecological resources. The Northwest Coast culture … Continued
The Indian nations living west of the Rocky Mountains in what would become northwestern Montana, started to become a part of the European economic system in the first part of the nineteenth century through the fur trade. From 1800 to about 1835, beaver was of primary importance, driven in large part by European fashion. By … Continued
What would the population of indigenous people be now, approximately three generations after the forced sterilizations? The Forced Sterilizations of indigenous women were covert means of the continuation of extermination policy against Indian Nations. At least three indigenous generations from 3,406 women are not in existence now as the result. The sterilizations were not unintentional … Continued
Today, the Columbia River marks the boundary between Oregon and Washington. The river was named for the ship Columbia Rediviva whose captain, John Gray, sailed into the area in 1792. Gray was the first of many Euroamerican fur traders who would invade the area over the next half century. American Indians had lived along the … Continued
As a Christian nation, the United States has never been comfortable with the idea that American Indians might have their own non-Christian religions or that Indian spiritual leaders could provide role-models for other Indians. Under the European notion of the Discovery Doctrine, the United States felt that it had a legal right to rule over … Continued
The Northwest Coast is a region in which an entrenched and highly valued artistic tradition flourished. Among the highly developed art traditions were basketry and carving. A special residency program at the Museum of Glass (MOG) in Tacoma, Washington, allowed traditional artists to explore the medium of Studio Glass. A special exhibit at MOG, entitled … Continued
