Following the Civil War, the United States had a large, experienced army that could turn its attention to the “pacification” of the Indian nations in the West. At the same time, the United States was opening up vast tracts of land for non-Indian settlement, thus increasing tensions and violence between the Indians who saw the … Continued
The Plateau Culture Area is the area between the Cascade Mountains and the Rocky Mountains in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, British Columbia, and Western Montana. From north to south it runs from the Fraser River in the north to the Blue Mountains in the south. Much of the area is classified as semi-arid. Part of it … Continued
With the relatively warm climate of Southern California, the Native Americans in area did not need clothing for warmth and nudity was common. Frequently, children wore no clothing until they were about ten years old. Women often wore a short skirt made of plant fiber and went naked above the waist. With regard to footwear, … Continued
The county and city of Pawnee, Oklahoma are home to the Pawnee (Chahiksichahiks) tribe. Over the course of the 19th century, the tribe declined in numbers from over 10,000 to approximately 4,000 people living on lands along the North Platte river in Nebraska and Kansas. By the 1870s, despite a long history of military service … Continued
The Inuit are a Native American people whose homelands are in the Canadian Arctic. A special exhibit at the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture in Spokane, Washington, featured The Inuit Art of Povungnituk. Povungnituk is a village on the eastern shores of Hudson Bay in Arctic Quebec. This artwork provides some insights into the … Continued
For thousands of years, American Indians used the asphalt from the tar seeps of Rancho La Brea in what is now Los Angeles, California, for many different things. The displays at the La Brea Tar Pits Museum show many of the Native uses of the tar and display some of the artifacts which archaeologists have … Continued
By 1869, the Indian policies of the United States government were largely focused on reservations. It was generally felt that by confining Indians to small reservations out of the way of non-Indian settlement, Indians could be made into English-speaking, Christian farmers. Or they could become extinct. The well-known Indian-fighter General William T. Sherman once defined … Continued
By the last quarter of the nineteenth century, most American Indian cultures had dramatically changed, and many Indian tribes ceased to exist. Many Americans, particularly politicians and academicians, were convinced that American Indians were a vanishing race and would be gone by the first part of the twentieth century. With this in mind, some scientists … Continued
In museums, textbooks, the popular media, and college classrooms, American Indians are often kept in the ghetto of the past. Displays of American Indian art often focus on the past both in terms of when the art was made and the images shown. Indian people did not disappear nor did they stop producing art at … Continued
The Eastern Woodlands refers to the vast area in North America which is basically east of the Mississippi River. Anthropologists generally divide this area into two major culture areas: the Northeastern Woodlands and the Southeastern Woodlands. The shaded area on the map shown above shows the Woodlands culture area. The Maryhill Museum of Art near … Continued
