The traditional homeland of the Luiseño was in the area of the San Luis Rey River and their name, given to them by the Spanish, comes from the San Luis Rey de Francia mission which was established in their territory in 1798. The aboriginal name for the Luiseño is presently unknown. In her entry on … Continued
In providing a broad overview of the hundreds of distinct American Indian cultures found in North America, it is common for museums, historians, archaeologists, and ethnologists to use a culture area model. This model is based on the observation that different groups of people living in the same geographic area often share many cultural features. … Continued
The northern part of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington was originally the homeland for two different American Indian nations: the Makah on the west and the Clallam (S’Klallam, Klallam) on the east. The Olympic Peninsula is located in the Northwest Coast culture area which is characterized by aboriginal subsistence patterns that relied on fishing and … Continued
The Portland Art Museum’s Center for Contemporary Native Art recently brought together two Cherokee artists, Brenda Mallory (Cherokee Nation) and Luzene Hill (Eastern Band Cherokee), for an exhibit called Connecting Lines. According to the museum display: “Art is powerful. It has the ability to take an idea, a concept, and mold it into an object. … Continued
The Maidu inhabited a series of mountain valleys in northeastern California. In general, the area occupied by the Maidu had an elevation of more than 4,000 feet above sea level. The Maidus are usually divided into three main groups, based elevation: valley, foothill, and mountain. Of the these, the valley group Maidus were most numerous. … Continued
By 350 years ago, in 1668, the impact of the invading European traders, colonists, and missionaries was resulting in many changes for Indian people. The European market demands for North American furs and Indian interest in obtaining European manufactured goods changed the relationships between Indians and animals and between the Indian nations. Trade with the … Continued
A treaty is simply an agreement between two or more sovereign nations. When the European nations began their invasion of the Americas, they generally viewed Indian nations as sovereign entities and negotiated treaties with them. The concept of making treaties was not new to American Indian nations and Antone Minthorn, in an essay in As … Continued
One of the mainstays of the diet for the California Indians was the acorn which was used in soup, porridge, and bread. Sixteen different species of oak provided the acorns. There are a number of steps involved in gathering and processing the acorns. They are gathered in September and October. Traditionally, the people gathered the … Continued
The Sherman County Museum in Moro, Oregon, includes a display of Indian (primarily Tenino) artifacts. When the Euro-American invasion of what was to become Sherman County, Oregon, began in the 1770s, the area was occupied by several Tenino bands which moved seasonally between summer and winter villages. The four Sahaptin-speaking groups were: Dalles Tenino, Tygh, … Continued
Situated on a bluff high above the Columbia River near Goldendale, Washington, the Maryhill Museum of Art has an outstanding collection of American Indian art and artifacts which are displayed in a series of galleries. In addition, the Museum has displays of recent acquisitions of Native American art displayed in another gallery. Shown below are … Continued
