What might be “the largest forced removal of rural Americans since that of Japanese Americans during the Second World War?” It never is a good time to try to tell people about these issues; however, I had occasion this summer to meet a couple Navajo Elders from Big Mountain on the Navajo reservation, in which … Continued
In general the history of hydroelectric dams in the United States has involved the transfer of wealth from the nation’s poorest people, American Indians, to the nation’s wealthiest people, industrial capitalists. In the name of progress, industrialization, and manifest destiny American Indian nations have had their lands, water rights, fishing rights, and sacred sites taken … Continued
Funerary practices and beliefs about death are more about the living than the dead. They provide some insights into the cultures of the people. The several Pueblo cultures and the Athabascan cultures (Navajo and Apache) live in close proximity to one another in New Mexico and Arizona. These cultures, in spite of their geographic proximity, … Continued
Help a school in Indian Country get a badly needed makeover. Help our kids go to school in a nice environment! Go to www.glidden.com and vote for Jefferson Elementary in Gallup, NM. Voting lasts until October 26.
Traditionally the United States has assumed that any mineral and energy resources found on Indian reservations should be developed by non-Indian private enterprise and that Indians should benefit as little as possible from these resources. The role of the federal government in developing these resources has been to help private enterprise obtain mineral and energy … Continued
In 1821 Mexico obtained independence from Spain. In the Plan of Iguala, Mexico did away with all legal distinctions regarding Indians and reaffirmed that Indians were citizens of Mexico on an equal basis with non-Indians. In what is now New Mexico and Arizona, this means that the various Navajo bands now had to deal with … Continued
In 1964, with one out of every five Americans living in poverty, President Lyndon Johnson addressed Congress in his State of the Union message and proposed a war on poverty. In response, Congress passed the Economic Opportunity Act which established the Office of Economic Opportunity. While the War on Poverty reduced overall poverty in the … Continued
Sometime in the late 1300’s and early 1400’s groups of hunting and gathering Athabascan-speaking peoples began arriving in the Southwest from the far north in Canada. These were the ancestors of the Navajo and Apache peoples. While most scholars agree that the ancestors of the Navajo and Apache originally lived in western Canada, probably on … Continued
In 1846, the United States took control of New Mexico and Arizona. The United States Army under the leadership of General Stephen Watts Kearny occupied the territory which had been acquired from Mexico. One of the major priorities of the new regime was to “pacify” the Navajo who had been raiding against the Spanish settlements … Continued
Cross Posted at Daily Kos Welcome to News from Native American Netroots, a Sunday evening series focused on indigenous tribes primarily in the United States and Canada but inclusive of international peoples also. A special thanks to our team for contributing the links that have been compiled here. Please provide your news links in the … Continued
