- — Indians 101: Some Columbia Gorge Indian artifacts (museum exhibit 2)
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at 3/13/25 8:15amThe Columbia Gorge Museum in Stevenson, Washington has a large gallery dedicated to the First Peoples of the Columbia Gorge: Watlalas (Wahlalas; also known as the Cascade Indians), Wascos, and Wishrams. Shown below is one of the exhibits. Shown above is a cedar bark basket. Shown above is a cedar bark basket showing the bottom of the basket. Shown above is a small cedar bark basket. Shown above is a cedar bark basket. Shown above are some stone canoe anchors. Note: These photographs were taken on October 18, 2024. More American Indian museum exhibits Indians 101: Some Columbia Gorge Indian artifacts (museum exhibit 1) Indians 101: Busy Fingers in the Columbia Gorge (museum exhibit) Indians 101: A collection of Plateau Indian artifacts (museum exhibit) Indians 101: A display of Plateau Indian beadwork (museum exhibit) Indians 101: Flathead Indian history through ledger art (museum exhibition) Indians 101: Flathead Reservation baskets (museum exhibit) Indians 101: Some Plateau Indian artifacts (museum exhibit) Indians 101: Sanpoil and Wanapan Indians (museum exhibit)- — Montana Museum: American Indian artists (photo diary)
- at 3/12/25 8:38amThe Montana Museum of Art and Culture on the Campus of the University of Montana includes some works by American Indian artists. Shown above is Great Lakes Bandolier Bag made by Minisa Crumbo Halsfey (Potawatomi/Muscogee Creek). Shown above is Hummingbird Basket made by Canadian artist Brenda Besito (Ojibwe/Saugeen First Nation); porcupine quills, birchbark, sweetgrass, dye, thread. Shown above is Hummingbird with Flowers made by Canadian artist Irene Desmoulin (Odawa First Nation); birchbark, porcupine quills, sweetgrass, thread). Shown above is Beaver Basket. Shown above is Basket made by Canadian artist Rachel Jordan (Ojibwe); birchbark, porcupine quills, dye, sweetgrass. Shown above is Untitled made in 1957 by John L. Clarke (Blackfeet; 1881-1970); wood and metal. Detail of Untitled Another view of Untitled Shown above is Santa Clara Bowl made about 1920-1925 by Maria Montoya Martinez (Pueblo; 1887-1980); ceramic. Another view of Santa Clara Bowl Another view of Santa Clara Bowl Shown above is Four Human-Animal Figures by Jessie Oonark (Inuit); mixed media collage. Shown above is Hunting Party made about 1890-1892 by Philip John (Nez Perce); mixed media on paper. Detail from Hunting Party Detail from Hunting Party Detail from Hunting Party Detail from Hunting Party Detail from Hunting Party Detail from Hunting Party: a stick game Shown above is Untitled (Portrait) by King Kuka (Blackfeet); watercolor on paper. Note: These photographs were taken on April 11, 2024. More art exhibitions Montana Museum: Anonymous art (photo diary) Montana Museum: Three-dimensional art (photo diary) Montana Museum: Human figures (photo diary) Montana Museum: Ceramics (photo diary) Montana Museum: Hmong Migration and the War in Laos (museum exhibition) Montana Museum: The Eight Immortals (museum exhibition) Montana Museum: Japanese Temple Lanterns (photo diary) Montana Museum: Religious art (museum exhibition)
- — Indians 101: American Indians and Christianity 350 years ago, 1675
- at 3/11/25 8:32amDuring the seventeenth century, the European invaders brought with them a great religious intolerance to North America. Missionaries attempted to Christianize Indians and to prohibit and even punish many aspects of Indian spiritual life. The logic of this Christian imperialism, according to Frances Mossiker, in her book Pocahontas: The Life and the Legend, is that: “God intended the savage Indians’ land for the civilized Christian Englishman, who would occupy the earth, increase and multiply, who would farm the land and make it fructify, who would give it order.” In an article in The Progressive, historian Howard Zinn puts it this way: “The killing of Indians was seen as approved by God, the taking of land as commanded by the Bible.” Sioux writer Charles Eastman, in his 1911 book The Soul of the Indian, says: “The first missionaries, good men imbued with the narrowness of their age, branded us as pagans and devil-worshippers, and demanded of us that we abjure our false gods before bowing the knee at their sacred altar.” The Europeans, and particularly the missionaries, had a great deal of difficulty in understanding that women had power in Indian society and that they had the right to sexual freedom. Indian societies were not organized on the patriarchal, monogamous norms of European society. In her book Countering Colonization: Native American Women and Great Lakes Missions, 1630-1900. anthropologist Carol Devens writes: “The priests found the ease with which native couples divorced equally outrageous.” New England The English claimed sovereignty over New England and thus the right to govern all people there, whether European or Native American. The early English colonists in New England were Pilgrims and Puritans. With regard to Puritans, Richard Holloway, in his book A Little History of Religion, writes: “They believed that they alone were the true Christians, the pure ones.” Pilgrims were Puritans who could not tolerate worshipping in a state-sponsored church as this robbed them of their religious freedom and, therefore, at a chance for salvation. Pilgrims left England, settled in the Netherlands, and then came to New England. With regard to the Puritan religion of the English colonists in New England, James Swanson, in his book The Deerfield Massacre: A Surprise Attack, a Forced March, and the Fight for Survival in Early America, writes: “Their God was active in this world and in human affairs on earth. He intervened directly in daily life. Success was a sign of his approval, while misfortune of any kind—sickness, failure, accidents, death, and yes, even witchcraft—was a sign of his displeasure.” James Swanson also writes: “In Puritan theology, the only way to heaven was through sustained faith; succumbing to temptation and indifference led to hell.” In Connecticut in 1675, the English colonists passed a law forbidding all Indian spiritual practices. Jesuits The Jesuits, a Roman Catholic order, carried out missionary work in many parts of the Americas. James Swanson reports: “The Jesuits—members of the Catholic order of the society of Jesus, founded by St. Ignatius Loyola in 1540—were radical missionaries.” In her book Chain Her by One Foot: The Subjugation of Native Women in Seventeenth-Century New France, Karen Anderson writes: “In the Jesuits’ view, because Satan was particularly powerful in the New World, it was their task to struggle on behalf of God and Jesus against him and his legions.” In Michigan, at the request of the Amikwa, the Jesuit missionary Father Henry Nouvel (1621-1701) accompanied them to their winter hunting grounds. According to Catholic historians, he paddled through fog, rain, and ice-encrusted water in order to celebrate the first Catholic Mass in the interior of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. In Illinois, the Mission of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin was established among the Kaskaskia. An estimated 1,500 warriors attended the East Mass given by Father Jacques Marquette (1637-1675). New Mexico Writing about the Spanish in New Mexico, ethnohistorian Nancy Parrott Hickerson, in her book The Jumanos: Hunters and Traders of the South Plains, reports: “The church’s position was evangelical and paternalistic; the friars considered the Indians to be childlike but sinful beings. They were to be saved from perdition through baptism and, that accomplished, their way of life was to be transformed.” In 1675, the Spanish governor of New Mexico arrested 47 medicine men from the Tewa-speaking Pueblos of Nambé, San Felipe, and Jemez. They were charged with plotting to overthrow the government. Three of the men were executed, the rest were flogged and sentenced to be sold into slavery. In response Tewa warriors, armed with clubs and shields, invaded Santa Fe and demanded that the governor release the men. The men were released. In his book Intruders Within: Pueblo Resistance to Spanish Rule and the Revolt of 1680, Louis Baldwin reports: “The governor’s public humiliation of high-ranking Pueblo priests was meant, of course, to break the back of any native resistance that might interfere with the propagation of the Christian faith. What it actually did, however, was to galvanize and unify the resistance.” One of the men who was flogged and released was Popé, a ceremonial leader from San Juan. Louis Baldwin reports: “Popé returned to his village of San Juan with the scars of whips upon his back and hatred in his soul. He had always been a troublemaker, a rebel, a leading advocated of purging the river of foreign poison. He was not fanatic, single-minded, and relentless.” Determined to obtain revenge, Popé moved to Taos, a pueblo known for its anti-Spanish sentiment. Here Popé talked with the spirits and made plans. In 1680 he would lead the Pueblo Revolt against the Spanish. Nova Scotia In Nova Scotia, Father Chrestien Le Clercq (1641-1700), a Recollet, arrived as a missionary among the Mi’kmaq on Cape Breton Island. He soon found that many Native Americans were not interested in Christianity or in adopting European practices. The Recollects was a French reform branch of the Franciscan order who were known as the Gray Friars because of their gray habits and pointed hoods. They were dissolved in 1897. More American Indian histories Indians 101: American Indians and English colonists 350 years ago, 1675 Indians 101: American Indians in the Southeast 350 years ago, 1674 Indians 101: American Indians in New England 350 years ago, 1674 Indians 101: American Indians and French explorers 350 years ago, 1673 Indians 101: The Dutch and American Indians in the 17th century Indians 101: The French and American Indians in the 17th century Indians 201: American Indians and the establishment of Jamestown Indians 201: The Spanish search for the mythical American Indian cities of Cibola
- — Indians 201: The Omaha Venerable Man
- at 3/6/25 8:15amAt one time the Omahas and the Poncas lived as one people in the Ohio River valley. They moved onto the eastern portion of the Central Plains in the late 1600s. Ethnographers Alice Fletcher and Francis La Flesche, writing in their 1911 book The Omaha Tribe, put it this way: “The primordial habitat of this stock lies hidden in the mystery that still enshrouds the beginning of the ancient American race; it seems to have been situated, however, among the Appalachian Mountains, and all their legends indicate that the people had knowledge of a large body of water in the vicinity of their early home. This water may have been the Atlantic Ocean.” According to George Will and George Hyde, in their 1917 book Corn Among the Indians of the Upper Missouri: “The traditions of these tribes tell of their migration northward through the State of Iowa to the vicinity of the pipestone quarry; then west to the Big Sioux River, where they were attacked by enemies and forced to remove to the Missouri River, in South Dakota.” When the Poncas, (who had probably been an Omaha clan) left the Omahas, they left behind all of the sacred objects. One of the most important of these was the Venerable Man (also called the Sacred Pole). The Venerable Man has been with the Omaha for several centuries: he signifies the unity of the Omaha people. The Anointing of the Pole ceremony gives thanks for the buffalo and was traditionally held following the fourth successful buffalo hunt. In their book The Encyclopedia of Native American Religions, Arlene Hirschfelder and Paulette Molin report: “It was conducted annually during the summer, although it was customary to anoint the pole twice a year. The ceremony, including preliminary activities, lasted several days.” The pole was set up at a 45-degree angle facing the north star. The pole was anointed with a mixture of buffalo fat and red paint symbolizing abundant life. There are two parts to the ceremony. In the first part, officiated by a man, the pole symbolizes the unity of the people and the governing authority of the tribe. In the second part, officiated by a woman, the pole symbolizes men as protectors and providers. The ceremony includes ceremonial songs which must be sung in the proper sequence (if a mistake is made, there must be a ceremony of contrition), the smoking of the pipe which belongs to the pole, and ceremonial offerings. Arlene Hirschfelder and Paulette Molin report: “With the decimation of the buffalo, essential to the religious observance, the ceremony became more and more difficult to continue.” In 1888, ethnologists Alice Fletcher and Francis La Flesche (Omaha) persuaded Yellow Smoke, the keeper of the sacred pole of the Omaha – the Venerable Man – to send the sacred object to the Peabody Museum in Massachusetts for safekeeping. Recognizing that the ethnographic significance of the Venerable Man would be greatly reduced without a precise and detailed account of the ritual songs and sacred stories associated with it, they also persuaded Yellow Smoke to speak of these things and to allow the story to be recorded. Yellow Smoke was hesitant to speak of these things as this was punishable by the supernatural. However, Joseph La Flesche (Iron Eye), the father of Francis La Flesche, agreed to accept for himself any penalty that might occur following the revealing of these sacred traditions. After Yellow Smoke finished telling the story, Iron Eye became ill and died two weeks later. Joseph La Flesche had opposed traditional ceremonies and advocated assimilation into American culture. As the principal Omaha chief, he had refused to support the annual renewal ceremony (Anointing the Pole) for the Venerable Man. Following this he developed an infection in his leg which resulted in its amputation. Traditional Omahas feel that this was a result of his refusal to participate in the ceremony. A century after the Venerable Man left the Omaha people to live in a museum basement, he returned to them. In 1989, Doran Morris and Edward Cline, the representatives of the Omaha tribe, visited the Harvard’s Peabody Museum to bring the Venerable Man home. As the museum officials brought the Venerable Man outside to meet with the Omahas, the elevator refused to respond to their commands and took them back and forth between the bottom and top of the building. Then it stopped on the first floor. Joe Johns (Creek artist-in-residence at the Peabody) carried the Venerable Man to the waiting Omahas. In their book Blessing for a Long Time: The Sacred Pole of the Omaha Tribe, Robin Ridington and Dennis Hastings describe the scene: “Tears began to stream down the face of Doran Morris as his hands touched the Pole that his great-great-grandfather, Yellow Smoke, had placed in the hands of Francis LaFlesche a hundred years before.” The Venerable Man returned to the Omaha tribe at the tribal powwow in Macy. The Omahas brought him back hoping that his return to the tribal circle would bring all his relations “blessings for a long time to come.” More American Indian stories Indians 201 is a revision/expansion of an earlier essay. Indians 101: Tribal medicine bundles among Northern Plains tribes Indians 101: A very short overview of Mandan religion Indians 101: Traditional Shawnee religion Indians 101: Shamans in the Arctic Culture Area Indians 101: A very short overview of Inuit religions Indians 101: Outlawing the potlatch in Canada Indians 201: Peyote and the Native American Church Indians 101: Iroquois ceremonies regarding death
- — Black Kos: Save our HBCUs, Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) Tribal Colleges & Universities
- at 3/4/25 3:14pmOur Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) Tribal Colleges & Universities (TCUs) are facing challenges from the new anti Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) forces in the racist Administration of the white supremacist in the White House and his appointed minions. Commentary by Black Kos Editor Denise Oliver-Velez I realized some time ago, that though I grew up knowing what HBCU’s were and are that many of my white friends didn’t. Both my parents graduated from one, as did my aunts and uncles, and I attended Howard University in my undergraduate years. I’ve written about them here in the past, multiple times — as recently as mid February in Black Kos: Black history and education are under attack, and we are fighting back. I wanted to also highlight the other institutions that serve student populations from minority constituencies here today as well. First, some demographics. According to 2022 government data, HBCUs were serving 290,000 students. For Hispanics, “In 2024, about 1.4 million Hispanic undergraduates were enrolled in Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), which is roughly 60% of all Hispanic undergraduates.” For Native Americans, “In fall 2022, 17,294 students were enrolled in Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), including 17,037 undergraduates and 257 graduate students” For a quick review, here are three short videos explaining some of the history, and importance: What is an HBCU? YouTube Video What is an HSI? YouTube Video Why attend a Tribal University. YouTube Video On the news front — here are some of the stories. From HBCU Academics: Trump executive order already impacting DEI programs for HBCUs In a move that has sparked widespread reactions, President Donald J. Trump’s recent executive orders have forced the cancellation of the HBCUs and Registered Apprenticeship Mini-Conference, which was set to take place next week. Organized by the Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions (CMSI), the event was designed to showcase the voices and experiences of HBCU leaders and students in the area of workforce development. However, Trump’s new policies targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs have effectively shut down federally funded initiatives like this one. The executive orders, titled “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing” and “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity,” were issued on January 20 and 21, 2025. These orders aim to dismantle DEI-focused programs across all federal agencies, including those that provide funding for initiatives benefiting HBCUs. CMSI announced in a statement that they have been directed to cease all work under the U.S. Department of Labor-funded Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility HUB. [...] The implications for HBCUs are far-reaching. Many historically Black colleges and universities rely on federal funding to support initiatives aimed at fostering equity and access for their students. By targeting these programs, critics argue that Trump’s policies risk undermining the progress HBCUs have made in preparing students for success in the modern workforce. Advocates of these institutions view the executive orders as a direct attack on their mission to address systemic inequities. From Inside Higher Ed: A Tenuous Moment for Minority-Serving Institutions Under Trump As the Trump administration targets federal DEI programming, colleges and universities with a mission to serve underrepresented students, like minority-serving institutions and tribal colleges, don’t know where they stand. On his first day in office, President Donald Trump rescinded a slew of Biden-era executive orders and actions that he deemed “harmful.” In his order disbanding the initiatives, he slammed the former president for injecting diversity, equity and inclusion work “into our institutions,” calling DEI a “dangerous preferential hierarchy.” Among the programs Trump slashed were initiatives Biden created to support Hispanic-serving institutions and tribal colleges and foster greater collaboration between federal agencies and the institutions. Another initiative that included “breaking down barriers” to federal funding for predominantly Black and historically Black colleges also bit the dust. That same week, federal webpages with information about HSIs and tribal colleges went dark. n his first day in office, President Donald Trump rescinded a slew of Biden-era executive orders and actions that he deemed “harmful.” In his order disbanding the initiatives, he slammed the former president for injecting diversity, equity and inclusion work “into our institutions,” calling DEI a “dangerous preferential hierarchy.” Among the programs Trump slashed were initiatives Biden created to support Hispanic-serving institutions and tribal colleges and foster greater collaboration between federal agencies and the institutions. Another initiative that included “breaking down barriers” to federal funding for predominantly Black and historically Black colleges also bit the dust. That same week, federal webpages with information about HSIs and tribal colleges went dark. I happen to be an avid follower of women’s college basketball — and this distressing story, regarding Haskell Indian Nations popped up in my feed. From The Kansas City Star: Trump’s firings cost Kansas coach his job. Now, he works unpaid as team fights for victory Trump’s firings cost Kansas coach his job, at Haskell Indian Nations University. Now, he works unpaid as team fights for victorywww.kansascity.com/news/local/a... [image or embed]— Denise Oliver-Velez (@deniseoliver-velez.bsky.social) March 4, 2025 at 9:06 AM Less than two miles from the University of Kansas, home of one of the most storied programs in college basketball, Adam Strom, the 48-year-old coach at Haskell Indian Nations University — tiny with 978 students, beleaguered and long overshadowed — blew his whistle twice on Monday night to gather his team’s attention. “OK, it’s about that time,” he said, beginning practice. “Let’s stretch. Let’s warm-up. We’ll meet at half (court). Let’s go ladies.” Every one of his players, 17 young women from as many tribal nations — Blackfoot, Apache, Navajo, Nez Perce and more — knew the situation, one that began as wrenching, but has since turned inspiring. On Feb. 15, they were brought to tears following their Senior Night victory, an 87-18 walloping of Kansas Christian College, when Strom informed them that, in keeping with one of President Donald Trump’s executive orders to reduce the federal workforce, he had been fired one day prior, on Valentine’s Day. His dismissal was “effective immediately.” From The Guardian: An uncertain future for agricultural students at Black colleges after Trump cuts: ‘a clear attack’ Dr Marcus Bernard was shocked to learn last week that the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) had suspended the 1890 National Scholars program that funds undergraduate students’ education in agriculture or related fields at about 20 historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Bernard is dean of the college of agriculture, health and natural resources at one of those institutions, Kentucky State University. At Kentucky State, close to 40 of the scholars have enrolled since the project’s inception in 1992. Nationwide, the program has supported more than 800 students, according to the USDA. The 1890 scholarships have created a pipeline for rural and underrepresented students to pursue studies in fields such as animal science, botany, horticulture, nutrition and forestry. Upon graduation, they are placed in USDA positions around the nation. The news of the program’s suspension – explained in a single sentence that briefly sat atop the program’s USDA page – sparked a flurry of inquiries at Kentucky State. Bernard said the university had been notified that incoming fall 2025 scholarship selectees would not be funded. Without the federal funds, Kentucky State couldn’t pay for those students’ education or continue current students’ scholarships. Bernard, anxious students and families got some small relief late on Monday when the program reopened – a change noted on the website. It said that applications for the scholarship, which gives full rides to the institutions created from federal lands, would be accepted until 15 March. However, the future of the scholarship remains unclear as much of the funding that supports the students’ research and fieldwork has been halted I’m hoping that this story is a window on the importance of protesting. Under pressure, White House reinstates HBCU scholars program The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers the federal 1890 National Scholars Program through its Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement (OPPE), put the program on hold last week “pending further review,” but the program’s USDA website was updated Tuesday to note that the application process has resumed. Eligible students can apply through March 15. [...] The new administration, under President Trump’s direct order, has sought to shutter many federal programs that are geared toward diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts. [...] “I’m pleased the Secretary has lifted the suspension of and reopened the application for the USDA 1890 National Scholars Program,” Rep. Alma Adams (D-N.C.) said in a statement on the reversal. “This program has been in place since 1992, and I hope we can work together to address the real challenges and real opportunities for our 1890s and our HBCUs.” Adams is a founding member of the bipartisan HBCU caucus in Congress and a senior member of the House Agriculture Committee, and she had been a vocal opponent of the proposed change. Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) also had blasted the pause before its reversal. In a statement to The Hill after the program was reopened, Ossoff said he would continue to watch for other attempts at program changes that would affect HBCU funding. “The Trump Administration should never have paused this funding in the first place,” he said. “I will continue my oversight to ensure that Georgia HBCU students receive the support Congress directed to them.” Question: Do you know the location of the HBCUs, TCUs and HSIs in your states? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ News round up by dopper0189, Black Kos Managing Editor ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THE QUESTION ISN'T WHETHER DEI INITIATIVES ARE NECESSARY—THE DATA SCREAMS THAT THEY ARE. THE REAL QUESTION IS: WHY ARE SOME FOLKS SO SCARED OF A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD? The Grio: DEI with a hard ‘ER’: The anti-DEI movement in tech is having a chokehold on Black economic progress ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Even though Black people aren’t the primary beneficiaries of so-called DEI policies, we are the target of campaigns to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion. Let that sink in. We live in a country that is so steeped in anti-Blackness that the masses are upset at the thought of “equity” for Black people. Enough so that they will hurt other groups to keep us in our place. When they say “DEI,” I hear the “n—-r” loud and clear. These DEI lawsuits, executive orders, and outcries flooding our headlines? They’re not about “discrimination against white people” or “merit-based decisions.” They’re about maintaining the chokehold on Black economic progress. As someone who’s moved through elite spaces as a lawyer, founded and sold a successful tech company, and now leads a venture fund, I know tech is the new frontier for wealth creation. They know it too, which is why the anti-DEI movement is so focused on tech. And it’s not just Elon Musk. Tech bros have cultivated a false myth of meritocracy in the tech, venture, and startup spaces because it makes them feel good to explain their success in these terms instead of being steeped in the same white privilege that slave-holding ancestors leveraged to build extractive wealth (which they also claimed was accumulated by “pulling themselves up by the bootstraps”). For example, Peter Thiel, the founder of PayPal, said at an event last year, “If you think of the woke DEI whole coalition as a combination of true laborers and useful idiots, and, you know, from the capitalists or people who are in some corrupt racket, that’s probably a far more powerful coalition.” Would you be surprised to learn that Peter Thiel was born in West Germany, lived in apartheid South Africa as a child, and then went on to Stanford University and law school? Like Musk, who is South African, the ideas they are espousing aren’t stemming from a commitment to talent and meritocracy over everything else. It’s a deep-seated belief in white superiority, such that any advancement of Black people (and pathways that facilitate that advancement) is intolerable. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Millions of people are now without access to life-saving care globally after the White House's latest funding cuts. The Grio: USAID cuts are already hitting countries around the world. Here are 20 projects that have closed ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Countries around the world already are feeling the impact of the Trump administration’s decision to eliminate more than 90% of foreign aid contracts and cut some $60 billion in funding. Hours after the announcement earlier this week, programs were shuttered, leaving millions of people without access to life-saving care. Some 10,000 contracts with the U.S. Agency for International Development were terminated on Wednesday, in letters sent to nongovernmental organizations across the globe. The letters said that the programs were being defunded “for convenience and the interests of the U.S. government,” according to a person with knowledge of the content who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the issue. Here some key projects around the world that AP has confirmed have closed: 1: In Congo, aid group Action Against Hunger will stop treating tens of thousands of malnourished children from May, which the charity said will put the children in “mortal danger.” 2: In Ethiopia, food assistance stopped for more than 1 million people, according to the Tigray Disaster Risk Management Commission. The Ministry of Health was also forced to terminate the contract of 5,000 workers across the country focused on HIV and malaria prevention, vaccinations and helping vulnerable women deal with the trauma of war. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Environmental justice is on the chopping block. Associated Press: $75 million was awarded to plant trees in places that badly need them. In anti-DEI push, that’s over ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Arthur Johnson has lived in New Orleans’ Lower 9th Ward for nearly three decades, long enough to appreciate the trees that filter pollution from the big ships traveling the nearby Mississippi River and that offer shade on sweltering summer days. When Hurricane Katrina roared through two decades ago, it wiped out 200,000 trees across the city, including many in Johnson’s neighborhood and several in his own yard. The city has struggled ever since to restore its tree canopy. Those efforts will be set back by the U.S. Forest Service’s decision in mid-February to terminate a $75 million grant to the Arbor Day Foundation, which was working to plant trees in neighborhoods that might not otherwise be able to afford them. The program is the latest victim of a drive by President Donald Trump’s administration against environmental justice initiatives. In New Orleans, part of the money was going to the environmental group Sustaining Our Urban Landscape (SOUL), which has planted more than 1,600 trees in the historically Black community but has now paused plans for another 900. Those are trees that largely low-income residents otherwise couldn’t afford to plant or maintain, said the 71-year-old Johnson, who runs a local nonprofit, the Lower 9th Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development, that has helped SOUL with its work and done some tree plantings of its own in the area. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Details emerge about Natal conference in Austin later this month, set to feature figures linked to far-right politics. The Guardian: US natalist conference to host race-science promoters and eugenicists ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A natalist conference featuring speakers including self-described eugenicists and promoters of race science, apparently including the man behind a previously pseudonymous race-science influencer account, and the founder of a startup offering IQ screening for IVF embryos, will be held at a hotel and conference venue operated by the public University of Texas, Austin. Details of the conference have emerged as a prominent supporter of pro-natalist positions, tech billionaire Elon Musk, lays waste to US government agencies under the banner of his “Doge” initiative, with the blessing of Donald Trump. Natalism in its current often rightwing iteration encourages high birth rates, and Musk has been a vocal proponent. He also maintains a large compound home near Austin, where reportedly he plans to house some of his children and two of their mothers. The Natal conference website embeds a Musk post on X, reading: “If birth rates continue to plummet, human civilization will end.” Musk, who reportedly has at least 13 children by four mothers, was in recent days confronted on X by musician Grimes and rightwing influencer Ashley St Clair over his alleged neglect of the children he has fathered with them. The conference, scheduled for 28-29 March, is being organized by Kevin Dolan, who the Guardian identified in 2021 as the person behind a Twitter account that was prominent in the far-right “DezNat” movement, and last year as the organizer of the first conference. It is the second time the conference has been held, and once again, the speakers roster runs from provocateurs who emerged from the “fascist fitness scene” to practitioners of “liberal eugenics”. Patrik Hermannson, a researcher at Hope Not Hate, a UK anti-hate nonprofit, said that the pro-natalism beliefs informing the Natal conference was one of the crucial planks of “the modern race science movement”. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UN food agency received half its budget from US last year and is accelerating merger plan as a result of funding cuts. The Guardian: World Food Programme to close office in southern Africa after Trump aid cuts ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) is closing its southern Africa office in the wake of the Trump administration’s aid cuts. In a statement, a spokesperson said the office in Johannesburg would close and the WFP would consolidate its southern and east Africa operations into one regional office in Nairobi, Kenya. The spokesperson said the UN food agency had launched a long-term plan to streamline its structure in 2023, but as “the donor funding outlook becomes more constrained, we have been compelled to accelerate these efforts”. The spokesperson said food programmes would continue: “Our commitment to serving vulnerable communities is as strong as ever, and WFP remains committed to ensuring our operations are as effective and efficient as possible in meeting the needs of those facing hunger.” The WFP did not say how much funding it had lost from USAid, but it received $4.4bn (£3.5bn) in assistance from the US last year, about half its total annual budget and more than four times the amount given by the second biggest donor, Germany. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Voices & Soul “… The last Rangers/ In flight against/ The last lawless/ Latin-blooded immigrant… “ Justice Putnam ”It Was A Dark and Stormy Night” by Black Kos Editor, Justice Putnam Henry Smith was a former slave who was tortured and murdered at a public, heavily attended and promoted lynching on 1 February 1893 at the Paris Fairgrounds in Paris, Texas. His capital crime was one very familiar for the times, trumped up charges of rape and murder, a drunken confession and a summary judgement by a mob for a lynching. I won’t go into detail about the grotesque torture Smith suffered while hands were bound and a noose around the neck, I won’t describe how the mob burned him alive and the shouts of joy at every moan from his pain. I really don’t see how these are different times. I don’t see any difference in the capacity of a mob’s behavior in the late 1800’s with the behavior of the MAGA mob today. Cruelty has always been the point, and a mocking disregard for anyone expressing any kind of humanity to a fellow human being. The times may not be different. We may be living under the same yoke of hate that enslaved a race and blamed them for it. We may be confronted with the unthinkable, we might even be confronted with the familiar, and we may be tested as our ancestors were tested. We may be forced, as so many others were forced before us, to decide if death is preferable to slavery. The odds may be stacked against us and against all we hold dear and love. We may come to believe hope is but mere folly, and a better tomorrow will never be a better today. But I’m still not giving up. It Was A Dark and Stormy Night by Justice Putnam It was a dark a And stormy night As I sloshed along The gale-washed streets Of a Sam Shepard Paris, Texas The wooden senoritas Dressed in their virginal white The local Padre righting The fallen-in-the-wind-nativity The lizards scurrying Across the rain-lashed Wind-beaten stones And sand The flag of The Texas Republic Tattered in The gusting torrent Laying claim to A deeper truth A deeper meaning A deeper consideration Of all that is And is meant to be The last Rangers In flight against The last lawless Latin-blooded immigrant Escaping through The wind And the rain And the dark To a new destiny Where the wind And the rain And the dark Are but distant memories And the tears of yesterday Becomes the giddy laughter Of child-like tomorrows And all of humanity Is lighted by the City of Light Paris While the Sam Shepard Paris Is darkened by The nocturnal blowings Of wind And rain And the extinguished candles Of a forgotten today. © 2010 by Justice Putnam and Mechanisches-Strophe Verlagswesen ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ WELCOME TO THE TUESDAY PORCH IF YOU ARE NEW TO THE BLACK KOS COMMUNITY, GRAB A SEAT, SOME CYBER EATS, RELAX, AND INTRODUCE YOURSELF.
- — Indians 101: American Indian trade and agriculture 500 years ago, 1525
- at 3/4/25 8:15amFor thousands of years prior to the European invasion American Indians were farming and had developed very efficient forms of agriculture long before the Europeans arrived. Agriculture began in the Americas about 10,000 years ago. Throughout the world, including North America, agriculture increased carrying capacity, which meant that populations could now be larger. Agriculture also allowed people to live in relatively permanent villages, to develop more elaborate ceremonies, to construct monumental features such as pyramids and earthworks, and to allow some economic specialization. At the beginning of the European invasion, most Indian people got the majority of the food they ate from the crops they raised. In his 1930 book The Mound-Builders, archaeologist Henry Clyde Shetrone reports: “Contrary to widespread popular belief, most of the historic tribes of native American Indians were agricultural in varying degrees, and to corresponding degrees sedentary in their manner of life.” While American Indian farmers grew many different kinds of plants for food and fiber, by 1525 there were three major agricultural crops: maize (corn), beans, and squash. In many cases, perhaps most, agriculture resulted in food and fiber surpluses which could be traded to other peoples. By 1525, aboriginal trade routes spread across the Americas and many villages became trading centers. Briefly described below are two 1525 events relating to agriculture and trade. New Mexico Five hundred years ago what is now New Mexico was inhabited by village agriculturalists collectively known as Pueblos. While the Pueblos are usually lumped together in both the anthropological and historical writings as though they are a single cultural group, they are linguistically and culturally divergent. They do, however, share some common traits: they are agriculturalists who grow corn, beans, and squash; they have permanent villages with a central plaza; and most have kivas (underground ceremonial centers). When the Spanish first entered New Mexico, they found the Indian people living in settled villages made of stone. The Spanish called these communities “pueblos”, their word for town or village, and the name was later applied to the people living in these villages. The masonry for the houses is laid, finished, and plastered by the woman of the house and her female relatives. The stone is sandstone which can be easily worked, even with stone tools, into smooth blocks. Prior to the European invasion, the Pueblos were important trading centers. Goods came from the Pacific Coast, the Sea of Cortez, western Mexico, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. Trade with Indian nations in Mexico was common and Pueblo turquoise was frequently traded to these southern nations. Taos Pueblo functioned as a trading center for many of the Plains tribes, such as the Comanche, Ute, and Lipan Apache. The Plains tribes traded buffalo robes, buckskin products, and meat for corn, blankets, and other products. In 1525, Taos established trading relations with the Apaches. In addition to trading at Taos, the Apaches also began trading at Picuris and Pecos. In the summer, the Apaches would arrive at the Pueblos with their dogs hauling hides, meat, tallow, and salt which were then exchanged for cotton blankets, pottery, corn, and turquoise. The Apaches and Navajos are Athabascan-speaking peoples who migrated into the Southwest from Canada. Their aboriginal homeland was in what is now the province of Alberta. The establishment of trading relationships with the Pueblos in 1525 may mark the entrance of the Athabaskan-speaking groups – Apache and Navajo – into the Southwest. According to archaeologist James Gunnerson, in his chapter in the Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 13, Part 1: Plains: “Although the older idea that Apacheans might have arrived in the Southwest as early as 1200 has not been rejected by all authors, most evidence supports an arrival date in the Southwest of about 1525, a time when the Plains were recovering from the severe droughts of the 1400s.” North Dakota Five hundred years ago, the upper Missouri River Valley was the home to farming peoples (known today as Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara, who raised corn (maize), beans, sunflowers, tobacco, pumpkins, and squash. These village tribes planted between nine and eleven different varieties of corn. These farming peoples had permanent villages in which they constructed large earthlodges. The earthlodges were circular structures built partially underground. They had a log framework which was covered with willow mats and then overlaid with a thin coating of earth and sod. At the top of the dome-shaped lodge there was an opening—often two or three feet across—which allowed smoke to escape. The floor of the lodge was often excavated a foot or more below ground level. Beneath the smoke hole, there would be a shallow depression, five or six feet across, curbed with stone for the fire. The size of the earthlodges ranged from 20 to 50 feet in diameter. A typical earthlodge would have 15-25 people living in it. Unlike the Mandan and Arikara villages, Hidatsa villages had neither a central plaza nor a ceremonial structure. In 1525 the Awaxita Hidatsas established a village on the Knife River. This village would eventually grow to about 50 earth lodges with a population of about 500-600 people. More American Indian histories Indians 101: American Indians and Spanish explorers 500 years ago, 1525 Indians 101: American Indians 450 years ago, 1575 Indians 101: The Spanish and the Southeastern Indian nations 500 years ago, 1521 Indians 101: Powhatan Indians and the Spanish mission at Cheasapeake Bay Indians 101: The Calusa Indians and Spanish missionaries in 1549 Indians 301: Canadian First Nations and Jacques Cartier, 1534-1542 Indians 201: Plains Indians and the Spanish in the sixteenth century Indians 201: Southwestern Indians and Fray Marcos de Niza
- — Ancient America: The Great Southwestern Drought, 1276-1299
- at 3/1/25 8:15amThroughout the world the transition from hunting and gathering economies to lifeways based on raising domesticated plants has resulted in the development of permanent settlements. This development has usually evolved over long periods of time. In the Four Corners Region of the American Southwest—the present-day states of New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Arizona–-the archaeological record shows evidence of agriculture as early as 2000 BCE. By 400 BCE, plants originally domesticated in Mexico had become dominant in the Four Corners Region. In her chapter in The Oxford Handbook Handbook of North American Archaeology, Deborah Pearsall writes: “Maize, beans (common and tepary), and pepo squash form the core of Southwestern agriculture, with cotton and bottle gourd also introduced early, and other beans and squashes later arrivals.” By 100 BCE, the Ancestral Puebloan (also known as Anasazi) cultural tradition was developing in the Four Corners Region. This cultural tradition is characterized by an increase in population and the development of pueblos (towns), such as Chaco Canyon and Mesa Verde. In his chapter in North American Archaeology, Stephen Lekson writes: “Population in the Four Corners area (including the Mesa Verde, Totah, and other districts) reached as many as 30,000 people by about 1250. By 1300, the region was almost entirely empty.” The Drought An economy dependent on agriculture is also dependent on water. In 1276, a long period of drought (23 years) began. As a result of this drought, many areas were abandoned except for spring oases. Archaeologist Scott Wood, in his chapter in Salado, writes: “While some of these folk may have left the area entirely, it seems reasonable that the majority merely gravitated toward the existing settlements along the rivers, where they would have had the strongest kin ties and best hope for assistance.” With food scarcity, violence increases and is expressed with warfare. In a report in American Archaeology, Tamara Jager Stewart writes: “A 23-year-long drought beginning in A.D. 1276, combined with warfare, over-population, and limited resources, caused Mesa Verdeans to leave the entire region, including Hovenweep, and migrate south by the end of the 13th century.” Stephen Lekson writes: “Most of the Four Corners population migrated to the areas of today’s pueblos in Arizona and New Mexico.” Sand Canyon Pueblo In 1277, construction stopped at Sand Canyon Pueblo in Colorado. The abandonment of the pueblo began. The residents were now consuming less domesticated turkey and more cottontail rabbit, deer, and pronghorn. Corn was still an important part of their diet and there was no indication of dietary stress. However, the regional drought which started the year before may have reduced the agricultural yield. According to archaeologist Kristin Kuckelman (2010: 519): “With crops diminishing, or failing entirely, under droughty conditions, villagers were probably forced to consume maize stores.” In an article in American Antiquity, Kristin Kuckelman reports: “Failed crops could have led to diminished turkey flocks: the low frequencies of turkey bone in abandonment contexts site-wide suggest that few turkeys remained near the time of village depopulation.” Many of the villagers began to emigrate, probably planning to return when the climate improved. It has been estimated that from one-fourth to three fourths of the population emigrated. Those who stayed were forced to use a hunting and gathering strategy which meant that they were now competing with other communities for these resources. Kristin Kuckelman reports: “Those hunting and foraging away from home returned to the safety of the village whenever possible, bringing whatever provisions they had been able to procure.” In 1280, Sand Canyon Pueblo was abandoned. The village was attacked and many villagers died. At least 35 people were killed and were not formally buried. One middle-aged man was killed by a face-to-face blow delivered by a right-handed assailant. He was on the roof at the time he was killed. In another room block, an adolescent male (12-15 years old) was killed in a kiva by being struck from behind, perhaps while attempting to flee. This individual was scalped. Another man, about 20 years old, was killed on a rooftop by being struck from behind. An eight-year child was killed by being struck from behind and was scalped. Archaeologist Kristin Kuckelman reports: “Death might have resulted from arrows with stone projectile points that were then retrieved from victims. Wood-tipped arrows would also have left no visible traces; recent research suggests that this type of arrow was much more widely used than previously thought.” In seeking to answer the question as to who attacked the village, Kristin Kuckelman writes: “Overall, the data—mostly negative evidence—lead to the conclusion that the attackers were residents of one or more Pueblo settlements from within the Mesa Verde region.” The attack did not appear to involve non-Pueblo invaders. Some of the abandoned kivas were burned. This was not a simple task, but a labor-intensive process requiring a great deal of time, perseverance, and determination. The roofs of the kivas were set on fire as a part of a closing ritual. This could have been done by villagers who were away from the village when it was attacked or by a delegation of emigrating survivors who returned after the attackers had departed. In summarizing the reasons for the abandonment of Sand Canyon Pueblo, Kristin Kuckelman writes: “Overexploitation of natural resources, high population levels, and overdependence on one crop left Ancestral Pueblo residents of the region catastrophically vulnerable to the vagaries of weather and climate, resulting in social turmoil, massive relocations of population, and far-reaching, permanent changes in Pueblo culture.” Pueblos abandoned, migrations, violence From 1280 until the end of the drought many pueblos were abandoned, some due to increased violence in the region. For example, in 1280 Castle Rock Pueblo in Colorado was abandoned and the archaeological evidence suggests that this abandonment was accompanied by warfare. In 1285 at least 41 people were killed in Castle Rock Pueblo in McElmo Canyon, Colorado. This ended the occupation of the village of 75 to 150 people. There were also migrations out of the area. The archaeological record shows population increases at several sites, including Chodistaas Pueblo and Point of Pines, both in Arizona. Conclusion By 1300, most of the Ancestral Puebloan communities in the Four Corners Region were abandoned. The prolonged drought meant that these communities could not grow sufficient crops to maintain their population. While there are still a few people who insist that the Anasazi people vanished, it is clear that the communities were evacuated, and useful goods were taken with those who left. Today’s Pueblo peoples of New Mexico and Arizona are descended from this cultural tradition. Archaeologist William Lipe, in his chapter in American Indian Places, writes: “The people who left Mesa Verde and the adjacent areas did not disappear; they moved south, often to areas where related Pueblo people lived.” Modern Pueblo people know that the Ancestral Puebloan communities were abandoned because the serpent god mysteriously left them. This is the deity which controls rain and fertility. The people left the towns and followed the snake’s trail until they found a river where they once again built their communities. According to Pueblo oral tradition, the last Mesa Verde chief was Salavi (whose name means “Spruce.”) This respected elder sent his people away in search of better land even though he was too old to travel with them. As the people left, he told them to return in four years. If he was to blame for the lack of rain and the withering fields, then they would find no trace of him. However, if his heart was pure, they would find a sign. According to Badger Clan history, when the people returned, they found a four-year old spruce tree next to a spring which was gushing water. A clan historian then wrote the events of this story on the rocks at Pictograph Point. More Ancient America Ancient America: The prehistoric Southwest, 1375-1425 CE Ancient America: A very short overview of the prehistory of the Grand Canyon Ancient America: Linking people to the cosmos in ancient Ohio Ancient America: The Paleo-Indian Period in Texas (prior to 8000 BCE) Ancient America: Avonlea, the early bow hunters Ancient America: The Old Copper People Ancient America: Astronomy Ancient America: Solar Calendars
- — Ancient America: The Great Southwester Drought, 1276-1299
- at 3/1/25 8:15amThroughout the world the transition from hunting and gathering economies to lifeways based on raising domesticated plants has resulted in the development of permanent settlements. This development has usually evolved over long periods of time. In the Four Corners Region of the American Southwest—the present-day states of New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Arizona–-the archaeological record shows evidence of agriculture as early as 2000 BCE. By 400 BCE, plants originally domesticated in Mexico had become dominant in the Four Corners Region. In her chapter in The Oxford Handbook Handbook of North American Archaeology, Deborah Pearsall writes: “Maize, beans (common and tepary), and pepo squash form the core of Southwestern agriculture, with cotton and bottle gourd also introduced early, and other beans and squashes later arrivals.” By 100 BCE, the Ancestral Puebloan (also known as Anasazi) cultural tradition was developing in the Four Corners Region. This cultural tradition is characterized by an increase in population and the development of pueblos (towns), such as Chaco Canyon and Mesa Verde. In his chapter in North American Archaeology, Stephen Lekson writes: “Population in the Four Corners area (including the Mesa Verde, Totah, and other districts) reached as many as 30,000 people by about 1250. By 1300, the region was almost entirely empty.” The Drought An economy dependent on agriculture is also dependent on water. In 1276, a long period of drought (23 years) began. As a result of this drought, many areas were abandoned except for spring oases. Archaeologist Scott Wood, in his chapter in Salado, writes: “While some of these folk may have left the area entirely, it seems reasonable that the majority merely gravitated toward the existing settlements along the rivers, where they would have had the strongest kin ties and best hope for assistance.” With food scarcity, violence increases and is expressed with warfare. In a report in American Archaeology, Tamara Jager Stewart writes: “A 23-year-long drought beginning in A.D. 1276, combined with warfare, over-population, and limited resources, caused Mesa Verdeans to leave the entire region, including Hovenweep, and migrate south by the end of the 13th century.” Stephen Lekson writes: “Most of the Four Corners population migrated to the areas of today’s pueblos in Arizona and New Mexico.” Sand Canyon Pueblo In 1277, construction stopped at Sand Canyon Pueblo in Colorado. The abandonment of the pueblo began. The residents were now consuming less domesticated turkey and more cottontail rabbit, deer, and pronghorn. Corn was still an important part of their diet and there was no indication of dietary stress. However, the regional drought which started the year before may have reduced the agricultural yield. According to archaeologist Kristin Kuckelman (2010: 519): “With crops diminishing, or failing entirely, under droughty conditions, villagers were probably forced to consume maize stores.” In an article in American Antiquity, Kristin Kuckelman reports: “Failed crops could have led to diminished turkey flocks: the low frequencies of turkey bone in abandonment contexts site-wide suggest that few turkeys remained near the time of village depopulation.” Many of the villagers began to emigrate, probably planning to return when the climate improved. It has been estimated that from one-fourth to three fourths of the population emigrated. Those who stayed were forced to use a hunting and gathering strategy which meant that they were now competing with other communities for these resources. Kristin Kuckelman reports: “Those hunting and foraging away from home returned to the safety of the village whenever possible, bringing whatever provisions they had been able to procure.” In 1280, Sand Canyon Pueblo was abandoned. The village was attacked and many villagers died. At least 35 people were killed and were not formally buried. One middle-aged man was killed by a face-to-face blow delivered by a right-handed assailant. He was on the roof at the time he was killed. In another room block, an adolescent male (12-15 years old) was killed in a kiva by being struck from behind, perhaps while attempting to flee. This individual was scalped. Another man, about 20 years old, was killed on a rooftop by being struck from behind. An eight-year child was killed by being struck from behind and was scalped. Archaeologist Kristin Kuckelman reports: “Death might have resulted from arrows with stone projectile points that were then retrieved from victims. Wood-tipped arrows would also have left no visible traces; recent research suggests that this type of arrow was much more widely used than previously thought.” In seeking to answer the question as to who attacked the village, Kristin Kuckelman writes: “Overall, the data—mostly negative evidence—lead to the conclusion that the attackers were residents of one or more Pueblo settlements from within the Mesa Verde region.” The attack did not appear to involve non-Pueblo invaders. Some of the abandoned kivas were burned. This was not a simple task, but a labor-intensive process requiring a great deal of time, perseverance, and determination. The roofs of the kivas were set on fire as a part of a closing ritual. This could have been done by villagers who were away from the village when it was attacked or by a delegation of emigrating survivors who returned after the attackers had departed. In summarizing the reasons for the abandonment of Sand Canyon Pueblo, Kristin Kuckelman writes: “Overexploitation of natural resources, high population levels, and overdependence on one crop left Ancestral Pueblo residents of the region catastrophically vulnerable to the vagaries of weather and climate, resulting in social turmoil, massive relocations of population, and far-reaching, permanent changes in Pueblo culture.” Pueblos abandoned, migrations, violence From 1280 until the end of the drought many pueblos were abandoned, some due to increased violence in the region. For example, in 1280 Castle Rock Pueblo in Colorado was abandoned and the archaeological evidence suggests that this abandonment was accompanied by warfare. In 1285 at least 41 people were killed in Castle Rock Pueblo in McElmo Canyon, Colorado. This ended the occupation of the village of 75 to 150 people. There were also migrations out of the area. The archaeological record shows population increases at several sites, including Chodistaas Pueblo and Point of Pines, both in Arizona. Conclusion By 1300, most of the Ancestral Puebloan communities in the Four Corners Region were abandoned. The prolonged drought meant that these communities could not grow sufficient crops to maintain their population. While there are still a few people who insist that the Anasazi people vanished, it is clear that the communities were evacuated, and useful goods were taken with those who left. Today’s Pueblo peoples of New Mexico and Arizona are descended from this cultural tradition. Archaeologist William Lipe, in his chapter in American Indian Places, writes: “The people who left Mesa Verde and the adjacent areas did not disappear; they moved south, often to areas where related Pueblo people lived.” Modern Pueblo people know that the Ancestral Puebloan communities were abandoned because the serpent god mysteriously left them. This is the deity which controls rain and fertility. The people left the towns and followed the snake’s trail until they found a river where they once again built their communities. According to Pueblo oral tradition, the last Mesa Verde chief was Salavi (whose name means “Spruce.”) This respected elder sent his people away in search of better land even though he was too old to travel with them. As the people left, he told them to return in four years. If he was to blame for the lack of rain and the withering fields, then they would find no trace of him. However, if his heart was pure, they would find a sign. According to Badger Clan history, when the people returned, they found a four-year old spruce tree next to a spring which was gushing water. A clan historian then wrote the events of this story on the rocks at Pictograph Point. More Ancient America Ancient America: The prehistoric Southwest, 1375-1425 CE Ancient America: A very short overview of the prehistory of the Grand Canyon Ancient America: Linking people to the cosmos in ancient Ohio Ancient America: The Paleo-Indian Period in Texas (prior to 8000 BCE) Ancient America: Avonlea, the early bow hunters Ancient America: The Old Copper People Ancient America: Astronomy Ancient America: Solar Calendars
- — Indians 101: A very short overview of the Gosiute Indians
- at 2/27/25 8:15amThe traditional homeland of the Gosiute Indians was south and west of Great Salt Lake. They lived in the Tooele, Rush, and Skull valleys. This is a part of the high desert area known as the Great Basin. This is an area which is characterized by low rainfall and extremes of temperature. Gosiute is also spelled as Go-sha-Utes, Goshee Utes, Goshoots, Go-Shutes, and Gosh Yuta. Some scholars feel that the Gosiutes are a Shoshone band in terms of culture and language. Subsistence Prior to the European invasion, the scattered Indian nations of the Great Basin engaged in an intensive utilization of their desert environment. According to anthropologist Jesse D. Jennings, in his chapter in the Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 11: Great Basin: “Instead of being the uniformly uninviting desert so often visualized, the Great Basin consists of hundreds of special and often rich environments where a widely varying mix of desired plant and animal species was available for harvest.” This included the gathering of many different plants, the hunting of small game and birds, and the consumption of insects. In his book Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes, Carl Waldman reports: “Because of their foraging practices, the hunter-gatherers of this region are sometimes referred to collectively as Digger Indians.” The designation “Digger Indians” has often been used as a derogatory term. The Gosiutes hunted many small animals, of which the most important was the jackrabbit. Rabbits were often driven into tall nets where they could be easily clubbed. The nets were about two feet high and were made as long as possible. The communal rabbit drives, which often lasted five days, were organized under the direction of a rabbit boss who was an elder recognized as having skill in such matters. The rabbit net would be stretched across a valley. Part of the party would then go far up the valley and drive the rabbits into the net with a great deal of whooping and hollering. The rabbits which were snared in the net were then killed with clubs. In his Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin Basin-Plateau Aboriginal Sociopolitical Groups, anthropologist Julian Steward writes of the rabbit in Great Basin cultures: “It not only afforded considerable meat when taken in communal hunts, but provided skins which were utilized for the all-important Shoshonean garment, the rabbit-skin blanket or robe.” Rabbit skins were often woven into cloaks and other clothing. Much of the subsistence of the Great Basin groups depended on the gathering of wild plants. Among the Gosiute, at least 81 different plants were used, including 47 plants which were used for their seeds, 12 for berries, 8 for roots, and 12 for greens. Housing Among the Gosiutes, winter campsites were selected for their accessibility to wood and water as well as stored seeds. In his chapter on the Gosiute Indians in A History of Utah’s American Indians, Dennis Defa reports: “These conditions were most often fulfilled in the mouths of canyons or within the pinyon pine and juniper belt in the mountains, although sometimes broad valleys near fishing streams were chosen.” Clothing With regard to clothing, nudity was not uncommon, particularly during the warmer months. Men would sometimes wear a breechcloth, and women would sometimes wear a fringed woven apron. Woven sandals were used for footwear. In colder weather, people often wore a woven rabbit skin robe. Family Great Basin families were primarily nuclear families: that is, they were composed of a man and a woman and their children. At times, there might be other people who were also a part of the household, such as a younger brother, a grandfather, a widowed aunt. Beyond the nuclear family, Gosiutes were linked by blood relationships, marriage relationships, adoptions, and friendships. These various and extensive linkages gave the nuclear family access to many different resource areas, something that was very important during times of food resource shortage in the home area. One of the characteristics of the Great Basin cultures is sexual egalitarianism. Both boys and girls were free to engage in sexual exploration that could lead to a trial marriage. Young people were taught about abortion methods as well as contraception. Divorce was simply a matter of either partner returning to their parental camp. Sex was not restricted to marriage, nor did marriage necessarily grant exclusive sexual privileges. Sexual relations outside of marriage were not seen as threatening to the marriage. While marriage was an important economic union, it tended to be informal and was not accompanied by any ceremony. Marriage was a personal arrangement between individuals. In other words, the couple simply started living together. Government With the harsh nature of the environment, Indian bands tended to be small – rarely larger than 30 people in the desert areas and up to 100 in other areas – and they usually used places near water sources for their residential sites. Band names tended to reflect geography, that is, bands were often named for the area which they inhabited. Band membership tended to be fluid. While many of the band members were related to each other by blood or by marriage, people were free to leave one band and join another. Band leadership was not autocratic, and members were free to pursue an independent course when they so desired. In an article in American Antiquity, Angus Quinlan and Alanah Woody write: “One limiting factor of chiefly authority was the freedom of band members to switch allegiance to other bands or family clusters.” Spirituality The worldview of the people in the Great Basin area perceives all physical features and elements of the world as being spiritually alive. These spiritual beings have a power—puhá—which controls the world and thus impacted the fate of human beings. Spirituality among the people in the Great Basin area was based in large part on the acquisition of power through visions and dreams. Healing was often done ceremonially, and Gosiute healing ceremonies often involved a sweat bath. Dennis Defa reports: “The Goshute sweat bath was done without water; hot rocks and coals were covered with earth and the patient would lie on top.” More tribal profiles At the present time, this series has profiled 45 tribes. Indians 101: A Brief Overview of the Assiniboine Indians Indians 101: A very short overview of California's Cahuilla Indians Indians 101: A Brief Overview of the Creek Indians Indians 101: A very short overview of the Hualapai Indians Indians 201: A very short overview of the Kalispel Indians Indians 101: A very short overview of the Menominee Indians Indians 101: A very short overview of the Timucua Indians Indians 201: A very short overview of the Wichita Indians
- — Indians 101: American Indian art 100 years ago, 1925
- at 2/25/25 8:15amThe concept of a discrete category called American Indian Art is a Euro-American concept which was refined during the twentieth century. Traditionally, American Indians had improved the aesthetics of the things they made, but they did not conceptualize art as something separate from function. In his book Native Arts of North America, Christian Feest writes: “None of the native languages of North America seem to contain a word that can be regarded as synonymous with the Western concept of art, which is usually seen as something separable from the rest of daily life.” As non-Indians encountered Indians, they often acquired (through purchase, trade, gifting, or theft) some of the artifacts that Indians had made. These were then displayed in cabinets of curiosities in homes, offices, and natural history museums. Neither Indians nor non-Indians classified these objects as art, and most non-Indian collectors simply considered them to be examples of Indian crafts. The items displayed in these cabinets of curiosities were items that Indian people had made for their own use. Today’s art historians would classify them as examples of tribal art. Christian Feest writes: “Tribal art was (and is) produced by members of tribal societies primarily for their own or their fellow members’ use.” Christian Feest goes on to write: “Tribal art was not made for its own sake, but to satisfy the material or spiritual needs of the tribesmen.” As tourists encountered Indians, they wanted to buy souvenirs. The Indians, in response to market demand, began to make traditional items not for tribal use, but for sale to the tourists. In her book The Living Tradition of Yup’ik Masks, Ann Fienup-Riordan reports: “The early 1900s saw an upswing in the purchase of native artifacts, including masks. Whereas during the Victorian era collecting had been the domain of the rich, at the turn of the century owning and displaying Native American artifacts of all kinds became an increasingly widespread expression of the antimodernism that arose in the United States. Baskets and carvings neatly arranged in a corner cabinet in many middleclass homes served to remind ‘civilized’ owners of their own innocence. Native Americans were viewed as vanishing, and everyone wanted a piece of their past before they went.” As with any entrepreneurial enterprise, the Indian craftspeople paid attention to what sold and what did not and thus began to make more of the items which sold well. In addition, non-Indian traders who sold Indian crafts often made suggestions regarding designs, styles, and colors. The non-Indian tourist stereotypes of what was Indian and what was not began to shape the Indian art market. This tourist-oriented Indian art market is what Christian Feest calls ethnic art: “Ethnic art was (and is) produced by members of tribal societies primarily for the use of members of other groups, in the case of North America mainly for White Americans. It is generally not thought of as art by its makers, who still live in a social context that does not recognize art as something separate.” Christian Feest also writes: “The maker of ethnic art often does not know why his products are bought and what possible use the buyer may make of them. For himself they are first of all a source of income; in the long run they may become an important symbol of the makers’ ethnic identity.” Ethnic art, however, is often considered to be a form of craft, not “fine” art and is often ignored by art museums. This began to change, however, due to the influence of the artist Paul Cezanne. While not Native American, or directly involved with Native Americans, his work opened up art museums to consider Indian art as fine art rather than just craft. In discussing Anasazi painting, art historian J.J. Brody, in his book Anasazi and Pueblo Painting, states: “A modern history of Anasazi painting could be said to begin with Paul Cezanne” and “Before Cezanne, it was not possible for Anasazi or Pueblo painting to be classified as art in the Western art classification system.” In a similar vein, art critic Michel Waldberg, in his chapter in Robes of Splendor: Native North American Painted Buffalo Hides, writes about Indian art: “It wasn’t until the aesthetic revolutions brought on by cubism, and especially surrealism, and the establishment of anthropology as a science, that objects previously limited to curiosity status legitimately attained the dignity of art.” Because of the influence of Cezanne, by 1912, American art museums were beginning to exhibit Native American works as forms of art. As the market for Indian Ethnic Art increased, by both private collectors and museums, a type of Pan-Indian Art developed. Christian Feest explains: “Pan-Indian art is produced by native Americans who feel themselves no longer exclusively bound to the values and customs of their original tribal society. They work for the art market of the dominant White society and consequently regard themselves as artists.” Christian Feest goes on to write: “While still drawing on the experience of their specific cultural background, their style is no longer unique to the tribe, but is largely shaped by White expectations about ‘Indian style.’” Briefly described below are some of the American Indian art events of 100 years ago, in 1925. Brooklyn Museum In New York, the Brooklyn Museum opened a new gallery—the Rainbow House—to present world cultures. In 1925, the Exhibition of the Decorative Arts of the American Indian was held in New York City and included materials from the Brooklyn Museum (Navajo blankets, Pomo baskets, Hopi pottery, Zuni masks, and shields) and contemporary art from the Eastern Association on Indian Affairs. Denver Art Museum In Colorado, the Denver Art Museum established a formal collecting program for American Indian art. Edgar McMechan became the first curator of the Department of Indian Art and undertook an active program of field collecting as well as devising a catalog system for the collection. Tesuque Pueblo In New Mexico, Tesuque artist Juan Pino (1895-1953) began to be recognized for making prints in a bold and graphic style, using linoleum block printing to express Pueblo life. In her chapter in Painters, Patrons, and Identity: Essays in Native American Art to Honor J.J. Brody, Ruth Lanore writes: “Moving away from a strict adherence to images of ceremonial scenes and dances, Pino depicted Pueblo people actively working and traveling among the village buildings, fields, and mountains.” His works were displayed in exhibitions at the Museum of Fine Arts, the Denver Art Museum’s Chappell House, and the Santa Fe Fiesta’s Southwest Indian Fair. He gained some acclaim for his depictions of animals. At this time, Juan Pino was the only Indian artist known to be working solely in the print medium. Washo In Nevada, Washo basket weaver Dat-so-la-lee died at the age of 90. In her biographical sketch of Dat-so-la-lee in Notable Native Americans, Lori J. Sawicki writes: “One of the most famous weavers in the world, Datsolalee was a major influence on the evolution of the Washo fancy basketry and is recognized as the greatest basket weaver and designer among the Washo people.” During her life she created about 300 baskets, of which 80 are considered to be extremely valuable. She wove her works at 36 stitches to the inch and some of her works took her a year to complete. More 20th century American Indian history Indians 101: American Indians and the federal government 100 years ago, 1924 Indians 101: American Indians and the states 100 years ago, 1924 Indians 101: The American Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 Indians 101: American Indian art and heritage 100 years ago, 1923 Indians 101: Art, Education, and Sports 100 years ago, 1922 Indians 101: American Indian art 100 years ago, 1921 Indians 101: American Indians and the 1904 St. Louis Louisiana Purchase Exposition Indians 101: The Last Great Indian Council (1909)
- — Klickitat Indian baskets
- at 2/22/25 2:14pmWelcome to the Street Prophets Coffee Hour cleverly hidden at the intersection of religion, art, science, food, and politics. This is an open thread where we can share our thoughts and comments about the day. Let’s start by looking at some Klickitat Indian baskets. The various peoples who lived in this area along the Columbia River, commonly called the Mid-Columbia area, are famous for making baskets. In his book People of the River: Native Arts of the Oregon Territory, Bill Mercer, the curator of Native American Art at the Portland Art Museum, writes: “Basketry is an art form that reached great heights of creative expression among the people of the Columbia River region. Although baskets served primarily functional purposes, they were nevertheless constructed with great care and decorated with sophisticated designs that lent them an aesthetic status beyond mere utilitarian objects.” With regard to the tradition of making baskets, Bill Mercer reports: “Numerous and time-consuming steps went into the making of a basket, and the art of basketry was passed down from one generation to the next, with young women learning from a more experienced female relative, such as a mother, grandmother or aunt.” The materials for making baskets—cedar and spruce roots; elk and rye grass; strips of willow, cedar, and alder bark; and Indian hemp—were usually gathered in the fall. Baskets were then woven during the winter. In her book Columbia River Basketry: Gift of the Ancestors, Gift of the Earth, Mary Dodds Schlick reports: “Most basketmaking, that essential industry, was carried out in wintertime when food-gathering was over for the year and families could settle into their winter homes.” Most of the basketmakers were women, but many young boys also learned this skill. One of the important foods in this region is the huckleberry and weavers, such as those among the Klikitat, would make special baskets for carrying and storing huckleberries. In her chapter in Woven History: Native American Basketry, Mary Dodds Schlick reports: “Sloping sides of the traditional basket distribute the weight of the berries and the mold-resistant roots of the Western red cedar, used to construct the basket, keep the berries fresh.” This type of basket has become known as the Klickitat basket although it is made by other tribes in the region as well. Helen Schuster, in her chapter in the Handbook of North American Indians, explains: “There were large, hard, coiled imbricated ‘Klikitat’ baskets that could hold from two to five gallons of fruits and berries, made out of cedar roots, with rye grass from the mountains dyed various colors for imbricated designs.” In her book Columbia River Basketry: Gift of the Ancestors, Gift of the Earth, Mary Dodds Schlick writes: “We associate these baskets with the autumn, for the best-known style was the huckleberry basket—round and tall with sides sloping outward toward a looped edge finish at the rim.” A false embroidery technique (imbrication) was often used to create patterns on the baskets. Strips of beargrass would be sewn onto the surface of the basket as the coils were sewn together. Bill Mercer writes: “The result is that the strips of beargrass resemble small loops and are visible only on the exterior of the basket.” In her book Columbia River Basketry: Gift of the Ancestors, Gift of the Earth, Mary Dodds Schlick writes: “Unknown except in the Pacific Northwest, imbrication allows the weaver to create a complex design with the added interest of a textured tilelike surface.” Concerning the use of the Klickitat baskets, Bill Mercer writes: “Once a basket was filled, it would be left in the shade of a tree and leafy branches would be interlaced through the loops to prevent the berries from drying out while the harvesting continued.” The Maryhill Museum located near Goldendale, Washington, has a display of Klickitat-style baskets. The tall flaring baskets are often attributed to the Klickitat, but they are also made by the Yakama and other Plateau tribes. Making Klickitat baskets is time-consuming work. To produce a basket completely covered with imbrication in a complex design takes about three months of steady weaving each day. For this reason, few young people can afford to become professional basketmakers. With regard to the economics of basketmaking, Mary Dodds Schlick, in her book Columbia River Basketry: Gift of the Ancestors, Gift of the Earth, writes: “The period of affluence that created the demand for Klikitat baskets ended with the Great Depression and the basketmakers lost a market for their fine work, not to recover until fifty years later.” Open Thread This is an open thread—all topics are welcome.
- — Ancient Maya artifacts
- at 2/20/25 2:07pmWelcome to the Street Prophets Coffee Hour cleverly hidden at the intersection of religion, art, science, food, and politics. This is an open thread where we can share our thoughts and comments about the day. Let’s pause from the events of the day and look at some ancient Maya artifacts. In major museums, only a small fraction of the artifacts held by the museum are on display and interpreted for the public. Most of the museum’s artifacts are in vaults where they are available only to researchers. The Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History maintains a Visible Vault in which visitors can view hundreds of archaeological artifacts. The Visible Vault includes archaeological treasures from Ancient Latin America. About the Maya According to the Museum display: “By the year A.D. 250, Classic Maya city-states with planned cities, stone pyramids, elaborate palaces, and administrative structures ruled the area from southern Mexico to Honduras. The Maya developed writing, which they used to document the stories of their ruling dynasties in stone. Classic Maya civilization collapsed long ago, probably due to drought and economic pressures, but Mayan cultural traditions continue into the present day.” The Maya flourished in the area south of the Valley of Mexico and they reached their peak of urban development during the period which archaeologists call the Classic Period which dates from about 250 CE until about 900 CE. On the Maya calendar, the Classic Period begins in baktun 8 (a baktun is a period of 144,000 days or approximately 400 years) and it ends in baktun 10. The first evidence of Maya kings and dynasties is found at the beginning of the Classic Period. It was during the Classic Period that Maya had dozens of urban settlements and thousands of smaller settlements. Archaeologists general divide the Classic Period into the Early Classic (250 CE to 600 CE) and Late Classic (600 CE to 900 CE). The Maya were, of course, an agricultural people who raised maize (corn), beans, squash, and manioc. They had irrigation systems with large reservoirs which allowed them to continue farming during the dry seasons. In his book Elixer: A History of Water and Humankind, Brian Fagan describes the water system at the Maya city of Tikal in what is now Guatemala: “During the rainy season, freshwater would flow down the steep sides and cascade into strategically places reservoirs. During dry spells, and the rainless months, the rulers would release water through carefully monitored channels into nearby field systems.” One of the features of most major Maya centers is the ballcourt which functioned as the location for culturally and ritually important games. The ball game was more than just a sporting event, sometimes it was a substitute for warfare. For the Maya, human sacrifice was associated with the ball game, including the sacrifice of the losing team. Another important feature of Maya culture was the development of an accurate calendar. In an article in Archaeology, Anthony Aveni writes: “…they were obsessed with sophisticated timekeeping systems. And it is clear from their painted-bark books, or codices, that their astronomers had the capacity to predict celestial events, such as eclipses, accurately.” The Visible Vault According to the Museum display: “We have selected some objects to feature on exhibition-quality mounts, but most of the six hundred items are displayed in storage mounts that use archival materials ideal for long-term storage. The white band around some of the artifacts is unbleached cotton twill tape that is often used to secure objects in case of an earthquake. We invited you to explore the selected highlights of this rich collection while taking a rare look at how these objects are cared for behind the scenes.” Shown below are some of the Mayan artifacts which are in the Museum’s Visible Vault. Shown above is a stair block with a glyph meaning “holy lord.” This block was probably surrounding by others that conveyed a full sentence. Shown above is a weaver figurine who is using a back-strap loom. Shown above is a Late Classic plate showing the Maize god performing a dance. Open Thread This is an open thread—all topics are welcome.
- — Delta Tribal Environmental Coalition Slams Newsom's Letter Claiming Delta Tunnel In Public Interest
- at 2/20/25 8:33amGovernor Gavin Newsom’s campaign to build the Delta Tunnel amped up on Feb. 19 when the Governor sent a letter to the State Water Resources Control Board claiming that the petition to amend water rights permits to accommodate the proposed Delta Conveyance Project, AKA Delta Tunnel, would be in the “compelling public interest.” The Delta Tribal Environmental Coalition (DTEC) quickly responded to the Governor’s Letter, disputing Newsom’s claims that the Delta Tunnel would be in the public interest — and would instead further destroy a sensitive Bay-Delta ecosystem that has already been decimated by massive water diversions, driving Central Valley salmon and Delta fish populations closer and closer to extinction. Newsom’s letter said the preceding two Governors, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jerry Brown, have supported a Delta conveyance project of some sort because California’s prosperity supposedly depends on it. “The local water agencies that pay for the State Water Project are diversifying their water sources and getting increasingly efficient, but they cannot fully replace foundational State Water Project deliveries that supply nearly half the water people use in the South Bay, Central Coast, San Joaquin Valley, and Southern California. Some water districts in those regions depend entirely on State Water Project supplies,” the letter states. Governor Newsom says the impacts of climate change will bring thirsty plants, drier soils, and a warmer atmosphere that will, in turn, cause annual deliveries from the State Water Project to decline. At the same time, the intensity of the largest storms is increasing. “We must adapt. New infrastructure could ameliorate the decline in State Water Project supplies by capturing excess flow from big but infrequent storms. That is one of the many key benefits of the Delta Conveyance Project: It would increase the opportunities to save storm runoff for drier times,” Newsom gushed. He also claimed that the latest iteration of the project has a shrunken footprint and avoids or reduces the effects of noise, air quality, traffic, power, and land use, among others — and called the project “the most important climate adaptation project we can undertake for future Californians.” “The proposal before you has been thoughtfully refined to protect the environment, fisheries, ecosystems, water quality, and water supply,” Newsom wrote. “We share the task of balancing public trust resources and the many beneficial uses of water. I have considered the Delta Conveyance Project carefully and am convinced that the reach of the State Water Project and the essential nature of water make it the most important climate adaptation project we can undertake for future Californians. I urge you to weigh this compelling public interest carefully when considering DWR’s petitions.” In response, the Delta Tribal Environmental Coalition (DTEC) issued a statement calling the DCP is the “complete opposite” of a project that has been “refined to protect the environment, fisheries, ecosystems, water quality and water supply” but rather a project that will further decimate the Delta. “In actuality, operation of the DCP will reduce the monthly average water flow to the Delta in nearly all months, especially in drought, and even in wet years,” the DCP stated. “Given current insufficient flows have led to an ecological crisis in the Delta, further reductions in water flow will cause inevitable and unreasonable harm to fish and wildlife and to other beneficial uses that impact communities throughout Northern California. Reducing freshwater flows and further starving the estuary is not a ‘compelling public interest’ as noted in the letter by Governor Newsom.” Referring to the DCP, Newsom says that “California’s prosperity depends on it.” “Yet, California’s prosperity will not benefit from a more than $20 billion project that will be footed by tax payers and Southern California water rates. Local officials that rely on the State Water Project are becoming increasingly aware that they do not need the Delta tunnel to achieve water resilience,” the DTEC pointed out. The Coalition said idea of a tunnel persists and each past iteration, including the peripheral canal, Bay Delta Conservation Plan, and twin tunnels, has been struck down because it is not the right solution for California. “The governor continues to exaggerate the benefits while minimizing the real cost of the DCP — a devastated Delta that disadvantaged and marginalized communities depend on for the benefit of those with privilege, wealth and power,” the DTEC noted. Representatives of the Tribes and groups blasted the Governor’s letter. "Why does Governor Newsom continue to think Californians and Tribes are stupid?,” said Gary Mulcahy, Government Liaison for the Winnemem Wintu Tribe. “There is nothing about the Delta Tunnel Project that significantly benefits anyone except Big Ag and south of the Delta water agencies, while putting endangered species, tribal cultural resources, and disadvantaged communities and the viability of the S.F Bay-Delta itself at risk." “Just because the Governor thinks the Delta Conveyance Project is worthy does not mean it should be approved,” stated Malissa Tayaba, Vice Chair for the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians. “Tribes, Delta communities, environmental and fishing organizations and others opposed to the project have valid concerns. We need a better solution that improves tribal water access and the health of the largest estuary on the West Coast." Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Executive Director for Restore the Delta noted that the Delta’s fishing, recreation, and agriculture industries contribute $5 billion to California’s economy each year. “Sacrificing our communities and environment just to replenish overdrawn groundwater supplies is a failure of both economic and environmental planning. Governor Newsom is selling out Northern California to benefit Southern California, but governing isn’t about choosing winners and losers – he’s supposed to represent all Californians,” Barrigan-Parrilla-Parrilla concluded. The Governor’s letter promoting his Delta Tunnel couldn’t come at a worse time for the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. Zero Delta smelt, an indicator species that has been villainized by Donald Trump and his corporate agribusiness allies, have been caught in the CDFW’s Fall Midwater Trawl Survey in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta for the seventh year in a row: nrm.dfg.ca.gov/... Meanwhile, salmon fishing on California’s ocean and river waters has been closed for the past two years and may be closed again this year, due to the collapse of Sacramento River and Klamath River fall-run Chinook salmon populations. Likewise, Sacramento River winter-run and spring-run Chinook salmon are moving closer and closer to extinction, due to massive water exports from the Delta and other factors, including invasive species, toxics and water pollution. The Sacramento Perch, the only native sunfish found west of the Rocky Mountains, became extinct in its former native habitat in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta by the 1970s. However, the fish is thriving in Crowley and Bridgeport Reservoirs in California and Pyramid Lake in Nevada where it was transplanted. The fish was recently introduced to a pond in Sacramento County. Conservationists and scientists say the Delta Tunnel, by diverting more water from the Sacramento River before it flows through the Delta, will only further exacerbate the critical situation that Delta fish species and Central Valley salmon populations are now in.
- — Indians 101: Some Columbia Gorge Indian artifacts (museum exhibit 1)
- at 2/20/25 8:15amThe Columbia Gorge Museum in Stevenson, Washington has a large gallery dedicated to the First Peoples of the Columbia Gorge: Watlalas (Wahlalas; also known as the Cascade Indians), Wascos, and Wishrams. Shown below is one of the exhibits. Shown above is a root gathering or storage bag. Shown above is a root gathering or storage bag. Shown above is a root gathering or storage bag. Made about 1880. Shown above is a child’s basket, Klickitat, made about 1900. Made from split cedar root. Shown above is a child’s basket, Klickitat, made about 1890. Made from split cedar root. Shown above is a turtle bowl made from carved granite. Shown above is a Klickitat berry gathering basket. Shown above is a small gathering basket. Shown above is a larger gathering basket. Shown above is a small gathering basket. Shown above is a small gathering basket. Shown above is a Klickitat storage basket made by Sally Wahkiacus about 1900. It is made from cedar root. Shown above is a wooden bowl. Note: These photographs were taken on October 18, 2024. More American Indian museum exhibits Indians 101: Busy Fingers in the Columbia Gorge (museum exhibit) Indians 101: A display of Plateau Indian beadwork (museum exhibit) Indians 101: Sanpoil and Wanapan Indians (museum exhibit) Indians 101: Entiat and Chelan Indians (museum exhibit) Indians 101: A Wasco diorama (museum exhibit) Indians 101: Native American Salmon Fishing on the Columbia River (museum exhibit) Indians 101: Klikitat Baskets (Photo Diary) Indians 101: The Fowler Collection of American Indian artifacts (museum exhibit)
- — Indians 101: Indian reservations 150 years ago, 1875
- at 2/18/25 8:15amDuring most of the nineteenth century, the policy of the United States was to settle all American Indians on reservations where they would be out of the way of the American settlers who wanted to claim their lands. In accordance with the Constitution of the United States, the federal government negotiated treaties (international agreements) with Indian nations. These treaties often established Indian reservations that were territories which the Indian nations reserved for themselves (please note that the United States did not “give” reservations to the Indian nations). The treaties indicated these reservations were to be for the exclusive use of the Indians. Reservations were established by treaties, by Presidential Executive Order, and by acts of Congress. Similarly, reservation boundaries could be changed, and reservations enlarged or reduced in this fashion. The Indian nations were sometimes, but not always, consulted about changes to their reservations. In addition, the Americans tended to view all Indians as one people and, blissfully unaware of cultural differences between tribes, to assign multiple tribes to a single reservation. One of the purposes of reservations was to “civilize” Indians by acculturating them into American culture and destroying their Indian cultures. In an article in the Western Historical Quarterly, Christina Klein writes: “Reservations were physical spaces designed to redefine the cultural space of Indians—to move them from savagery, a position wholly outside the social order, to quasi-citizenry, a position within the emerging social hierarchy, albeit on its lowest rungs.” Historian Sherry Smith, in her book The View from Officers’ Row: Army Perceptions of Western Indians, puts it this way: “United States Indian policy during the last half of the nineteenth century centered on the reservation system. On reservations, policymakers hoped, Indians would begin the acculturation process that would eventually usher them into the Anglo-American world.” Corruption in the administration of Indian reservations was widespread. In an effort to stop corruption and to speed-up the assimilation of Indians, President Ulysses S. Grant instituted his Peace Policy in which the administration of reservations was given to Christian (primarily Protestant) churches. With no regard for aboriginal religious practices, it was assumed that all Indians should be forced to become Christian as a part of their assimilation into American culture. Briefly described below are a few of the reservation events of 150 years ago, in 1875. Alsea Reservation In a cost-cutting move in Oregon, Congress closed the Alsea Reservation and the northern part of the Siletz Reservation. Skeptical Senators inserted a clause which required that the Indians give their consent for the closure. When the Indian people declined to consent, the Indian agent claimed that they had, in fact, indicated a willingness to consent to the closure and a federal commissioner certified their agreement. Tillamook chief Joseph Duncan protested the removal: “We all want to stay in our own country and take up land like the whites—Our people all think alike on this subject.” The agent told the Indians that the American settlers would cheat them if they take up homesteads and recommended that they move. The Nestuccas also insisted that they would rather take their own land under the homestead law than be removed. Alsea chief Albert tells the agent: “We have houses which we built ourselves—have little farms and places, and we do not want to give them up even if our land is not fenced.” Alsea chief William says: “Never have we done wrong to the whites—Never have we killed a White man—Why do the Whites have sick hearts for our land?” The arguments made no impression on the agent. The agent called a council with the Indians. Three leaders from the Siletz Reservation—George Harney, Depot Charlie (later known as Charles Depoe), and William Strong—were hand-picked by the agent and supposedly spoke in favor of removal. The Indians were told that they could stay on the reservation by taking 20-acre homesteads which were being surveyed for them. After the council, the three Siletz men supposedly informed the agent of the Indians’ willingness to be removed. Historian E. A. Schwartz, in an article in the Oregon Historical Quarterly, reports: “The statements attributed to unnamed Alsea Reservation people at the mouth of the Alsea by Harney, Depoe, and Strong were the only ‘consent’ ever given for removal.” San Carlos Apache Reservation During the nineteenth and early twentieth century, many non-Indians felt that the Yavapais were an Apache group and often labeled them as Yavapai Apaches. In terms of language, the Yavapai language is classified as Upland or Northern Yuman and thus is most closely related to Walapai (Hualapai) and Havasupai. The United States government, in its infinite ignorance, assigned the Yavapais to the San Carlos Apache reservation, far from their homelands in western Arizona. Yavapai reservation life on the San Carlos Apache Reservation is described by Sigred Khera and Patricia Mariella, in their chapter on the Yavapais in the Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 10: Southwest: “At San Carlos, the Yavapais were settled in an area separate from the Apaches. Relations with the Apache were basically peaceful, and intermarriage took place occasionally. Agriculture was an important part of subsistence; but due to extreme difficulties in developing a permanent irrigation system, hunting and gathering was necessary to provide supplementary food.” In 1875, a group of about 25 Tolkepaya Yavapais left the San Carlos Apache Reservation without permission and visited the Pima and Maricopa settlements in Central Arizona. When they returned, they told the Indian agent that they had friends among the Pimas and wanted to settle there. A little while later, a group of 27 Tolkepaya Yavapais left the reservation heading for the Pima settlements. This time the agent sent the Indian police after them. The Yavapai, even though they outnumbered the police, offered no resistance, and were escorted back to the San Carlos Apache Reservation When a new group of Yavapais and Tonto Apaches arrived at the San Carlos Apache Reservation, they were met by the Indian agent who told them that they must surrender all their arms. All of the Indians leapt to their feet and dashed back to their camps. However, the Indian agent refused to issue rations until the weapons were surrendered. Tonkawa In Texas, the army terminated further allowances for the Tonkawa scouts and recommended to the Department of the Interior that a reservation be established for them in Indian Territory. In an article in Chronicles of Oklahoma, Thomas Schilz reports: “To the Indian Office the Tonkawas were scouts on a military reservation; to the army, they were Indians squatting on government land.” Under pressure from the War Department and Congress, the Indian Office recommended that the Tonkawa be removed to the Mescalero Apache reservation in New Mexico but noted that there were no funds available for removal. Seneca In New York, Congress authorized six “congressional villages” on the Seneca’s Allegheny Reservation. These villages converted “temporary” settlements which had been built for railroad workers into permanent villages. These villages occupied one-third of the reservation. The state of New York was given jurisdiction over these villages. Crow Reservation In Montana, stock growers and farmers complained about the proposed removal of the Crows to a reservation in the Judith Basin. As a result, President Ulysses S. Grant revoked his earlier removal order and placed the Crows on a small reservation south of the Yellowstone River. Historians Michael Malone and Richard Roeder, in their chapter in The Great Sioux War 1876-77, report: “Once again the Indians were the losers.” In Montana, one of suppliers to the Crow reservation is charged with fraud. One of the common fraud practices was double bagging. In his book Lost Fort Ellis: A Frontier History of Bozeman, Thomas Rust explains: “During inspection, a bag of flour would be stamped ‘received’ and then recorded. If double sacked, after inspection the outer sack could be removed and the second sack stamped again and counted a second time.” A grand jury in Virginia City heard the allegations. Thomas Rust reports: “The jury returned no charges, causing the presiding judge to reprimand them for not doing their duty because the evidence clearly favored an indictment.” Moapa Reservation In 1875, the Moapa Reservation in Utah was reduced to 1,000 acres because of requests from non-Indian settlers, a lack of funding to support the reservation, and a lack of success in persuading the Southern Paiute to move to the reservation. Gosiute In Nevada, in response to the White Pine War, the Indian Bureau decided to remove the Gosiutes to a reservation where they could: “…be free of Mormon influence and where they would find other Indians with whom they could readily affiliate.” Two possible reservations were suggested: Uintah-Ouray Reservation in Utah and the Fort Hall Reservation in Idaho. However, the Indian Bureau was unable to decide which reservation and as a result that Gosiute were not removed. Ho-Chunk (Winnebago) In Nebraska, about 650 of the 860 Winnebagos who had been forcibly removed from Wisconsin in 1871 have disappeared from their new reservation and returned home to Wisconsin. Southern California Rancherias President Ulysses S. Grant set aside several small reservations (called “rancherias”) for Indians in Southern California. Lemhi Valley Indian Reservation By executive order of President Ulysses S. Grant, the Lemhi Valley Indian Reservation in Idaho was created for the mixed tribes of Shoshones, Bannocks, and Sheepeaters. The reservation encompassed about 100 square miles of mountainous terrain. Navajo Reservation The Navajo chiefs in Arizona and New Mexico discovered that Indian agent Arny had been withholding about half of their annuity goods. The chiefs asked that Arny be replaced by Thomas V. Keans who was married to a Navajo and who spoke the language. In their petition to the government, the Navajo chiefs reported that Arny had used “threats and coercion to make us sign numerous papers of which we have no knowledge whatever.” The Navajos seized the agency headquarters while Arny was absent and threatened to kill him if he returned. In searching the agency’s storehouses, the Navajo found that Arny had labeled the goods as his personal property. According to historian Frank McNitt, in his book The Indian Traders: “On retiring as agent, Arny conceivably planned to open a general store.” Sioux Reservation In South Dakota, charges of corruption were made against the Office of Indian Affairs regarding the administration of the Sioux Reservation. According to the charges, the Indians had been given inferior beef and flour; the pork issued to them was not fit for human consumption; and that the freight contractor was paid for 212 miles while the actual distance is only 145 miles. The complaint was investigated by the government and the allegations were found to be groundless. In his book Red Cloud and the Sioux Problem, James Olson reports: “Very little, then, came of the Great Investigation. One cannot escape the conclusion that the Commissioners either played down or failed to see the implications of much of the testimony they heard.” Cheyenne River Reservation In South Dakota, the Miniconjou Sioux under the leadership of Big Foot were settled on the Cheyenne River Reservation. In his biographical sketch of Big Foot in Notable Native Americans, John McDermott writes: “Being a person accustomed to finding ways of reconciling disparate views, Big Foot sought means to adapt to white ways.” Kickapoo In Oklahoma, Kickapoo chief Thahpequah and other leaders began searching for a new home. They finally selected a 100,000-acre tract between the Deep Fork and Canadian Rivers. In 1875, a band of 115 Kickapoos from Mexico under the leadership of Mosquito were removed to the new reservation in Oklahoma. The U.S. government provided each family with supplies and food for their journey. Standing Rock Reservation In North Dakota, the Indian agent for the Standing Rock Reservation took the Sioux leaders to Fort Abraham Lincoln where they signed a treaty with the Arikara, Mandan, and Hidatsa from the Fort Berthold Reservation to end hostilities and horse stealing between the two reservations. Fort Peck Agency In 1875, a tribal police force was established at the Fort Peck Agency. Most of the officers were Yanktonais and their primary job was to keep order in the tribal camps, to stop alcohol trafficking, and to prevent war parties from leaving the reservation. In Montana, the Lower Assiniboines under the leadership of Red Stone relocated to Wolf Creek on the Fort Peck Agency. With help from the Agency staff, 50 acres of land were planted in wheat, corn, peas, potatoes, turnips, and squash. They also built fences and constructed a large root cellar. Day schools were established for the Sioux and Assinboines at Fort Peck and Wolf Creek. The schools were built of logs and roofed with sod. More American Indian histories Indians 101: American Indian Reservations 150 years ago, 1874 Indians 101: Indian reservations in Washington, Oregon, and California 150 years ago, 1873 Indians 101: Indian reservations 150 years ago, 1873 Indians 101: Southwestern Indian Reservations 150 years ago, 1873 Indians 101: Indian Reservations 150 years ago, 1872 Indians 101: Councils and reservations 150 years ago, 1870 Indians 101: American Indians 150 years ago, 1874 Indians 101: American Indian religions 150 years ago, 1874
- — Indians 101: Columbia River Indian beadwork (museum exhibit)
- at 2/13/25 8:15amThe Columbia Gorge Museum in Stevenson, Washington has an exhibit of Columbia River Indian beadwork. Shown above is a Klickitat buckskin dress decorated with beads and shells. Made about 1900. Shown above is the beadwork on the dress Shown above are Klickitat guantlets Shown above is a Wasco bridal veil Handbags Shown above is a Kickitat handbag made about 1900 Detail from the handbag Shown above is a Kickitat handbag made about 1890 Shown above is a Kickitat handbag made about 1890 Shown above is a belt-style Kickitat handbag made about 1890 Note: These photographs were taken on October 18, 2024. More American Indian beadwork Indians 101: A display of Plateau Indian beadwork (museum exhibit) Indians 101: A Display of American Indian Beadwork (Photo Diary) Indians 101: Anishinaabe Beadwork (Photo Diary) Indians 101: Plateau Indian Beadwork at the Maryhill Museum (Photo Diary) Indians 101: Plateau Beadwork (Photo Diary) Indians 101: More Plateau Beadwork (Photo Diary) Indians 101: Some Plateau Beaded Bags (Art Diary) Indians 101: Warm Springs beadwork and baskets (museum exhibits)
- — Deb Haaland campaigning to be the next Governor of New Mexico
- at 2/12/25 8:26amNativeNewsOnline.net Former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo) officially launched her campaign for Governor of New Mexico today. The announcement follows weeks of speculation about Haaland’s next move after leaving her position as Interior Secretary on January 20, 2025. A former congresswoman, Haaland brings a strong background in public service to the race. In her launch video, Haaland emphasized issues such as the cost of living and public safety while underscoring the importance of listening to communities across New Mexico. She also highlighted her experience in securing resources for small businesses, creating clean energy jobs, funding water projects in rural areas, and leading efforts to clean up pollution across New Mexico’s landscapes—both as a congresswoman and as Secretary of the Interior. “Lowering costs, making rent and housing affordable, strengthening our schools, and preventing crimes so that you feel safe raising a family here. The solutions are there if we are fierce enough to choose them,” Haaland said in the launch video. more at the link and around the internet.
- — Deb Haaland Officially Announces Bid to Become New Mexico Governor
- at 2/12/25 8:26amNativeNewsOnline.net Former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo) officially launched her campaign for Governor of New Mexico today. The announcement follows weeks of speculation about Haaland’s next move after leaving her position as Interior Secretary on January 20, 2025. A former congresswoman, Haaland brings a strong background in public service to the race. In her launch video, Haaland emphasized issues such as the cost of living and public safety while underscoring the importance of listening to communities across New Mexico. She also highlighted her experience in securing resources for small businesses, creating clean energy jobs, funding water projects in rural areas, and leading efforts to clean up pollution across New Mexico’s landscapes—both as a congresswoman and as Secretary of the Interior. “Lowering costs, making rent and housing affordable, strengthening our schools, and preventing crimes so that you feel safe raising a family here. The solutions are there if we are fierce enough to choose them,” Haaland said in the launch video. more at the link and around the internet.
- — Indians 101: American Indians and the federal government 200 years ago, 1825
- at 2/11/25 8:15amDuring the first part of the nineteenth century the United States followed policies which viewed American Indians as impediments to the economic growth of the country. At the beginning of the century, President Thomas Jefferson had expressed the idea that the future of the United States depended on acquisition of land for the rapidly growing population. Thus, the future of the country depended on dispossessing the Indians of their land. Under this Jeffersonian view, American Indians were not seen as being welcome in the United States and it was felt that they should be removed from their ancient homelands and moved to lands west of the Mississippi River. By 1825, the United States was actively pursuing a policy of manifest destiny to spread out between the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans. In their chapter in North American Indian Wars, James Davidson et al write: “Many Americans had long believed that their country had a special, even divine mission. The Protestant version of this conviction could be traced back to John Winthrop, who assured his fellow Puritans that God intended them to build a model ‘city upon a hill’ for the rest of the world to emulate.” In his book The Bitter Waters of Medicine Creek: A Tragic Clash Between White and Native America, Richard Kluger describes manifest destiny this way: “God had assigned the American people, robust and pure of heart, to spread the gospel of liberty and democracy around the earth—well, certainly across all of North America—and prosperity and happiness would follow.” Briefly described below are some of the events involving American Indians and the federal government 200 years ago, in 1825. President John Quincy Adams (1767-1848) became the sixth President of the United States in 1825. There was little change in basic Indian policies as Thomas McKenney (1785-1859) continued as the head the recently established Indian Desk. In his book Toward the Setting Sun: John Ross, the Cherokees, and the Trail of Tears, Brian Hicks writes: “The new president was not only sympathetic to the Indians but also understood the larger issues of sovereignty.” Indian Territory In 1825 Congress created Indian Territory as a permanent home for Indian people. The new territory was bounded by the Platte River on the north, the Red River on the south, Spanish territory on the west, and Arkansas territory on the east. Most Americans at this time viewed this area as a “Great Desert” which was unsuitable for American settlement. Therefore, it provided a solution to the “Indian problem” by putting Indians in a territory which was not desired by the land-hungry American settlers. Trade Debts In 1825, the United States government began a policy of paying the trading debts of individual Indians out of funds granted to the tribes for lands which had been ceded in treaties. As a result of this policy, many traders began to extend additional credit to Indians. Anthropologist Timothy Roufs, in his book The Anishinabe of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, reports: “Inasmuch as Indians often did not understand bookkeeping procedures, these credit arrangements proved quite profitable to many unscrupulous traders.” Indian Affairs William Clark, the Superintendent of Indian Affairs in St. Louis wrote to former President Thomas Jefferson: “In my present situation of Superintendent of Indian Affairs it would afford me pleasure to be enabled to ameliorate the condition of those unfortunate people placed under my charge, knowing as I do their [w]retchedness and their rapid decline—It is to be lamented that the deplorable situation of the Indians do not receive more of the human feeling of the nation.” Quapaw In Arkansas, Quapaw Chief Hecketon asked the American Indian agent to tell the President that they wished to remain on their lands for a few more years. The agent informed that chief that he didn’t think the request would be granted. In his letter to the Secretary of War (the Indian Desk is within the War Department), the agent noted: “I have no doubt that the removal of the tribe to the Caddo country will be effected without difficulty, even before the term stipulated.” Despite the request, the Quapaws were removed to the Red River area in Oklahoma. More American Indian histories Indians 101: American Indian battles and skirmishes 200 years ago, 1824 Indians 101: American Indian tribes 200 years ago, 1824 Indians 101: Canadian First Nations 200 years ago, 1824 Indians 101: Cherokee Indians 200 year ago, 1824 Indians 101: Sauk, Fox, Piankashaw, and Iowa Indians visit Washington 200 years ago, 1824 Indians 101: Cherokee Indians visit Washington 200 years ago, 1824 Indians 101: Choctaw Indians visit Washington 200 years ago, 1824 Indians 101: American Indian treaties 200 years ago, 1823
- — Indians 101: A very short overview of the Paiute Indians
- at 2/6/25 8:15amThe Paiute homelands were in a high desert area known as the Great Basin. This region is bounded on the north by the Columbia Plateau and on the south by the Colorado Plateau. It includes southern Oregon and Idaho, a small portion of southwestern Montana, western Wyoming, eastern California, all of Nevada and Utah, a portion of northern Arizona, and most of western Colorado. The Great Basin is an area which is characterized by low rainfall and extremes of temperature. The designation Paiute does not define a single politically unified tribe, but numerous small bands which share common cultural features, including language and spiritual ceremonies. The various bands were often tied together through kinship brought about by intermarriage between the bands. The Paiutes are generally divided into three distinct groups: (1) the Northern Paiute whose traditional territory included much of Nevada and Oregon; (2) the Owens Valley Paiute, who lived just east of what is now Yosemite National Park; and (3) the Southern Paiute whose territory included parts of California, southern Nevada, and southern Utah. The Paiute language belongs to the Numic group of the larger Uto-Aztecan language family. The linguistic and archaeological data seem to suggest that the Numic-speaking people spread into the Great Basin from southeastern California. Shown above is a Paiute diorama in the High Desert Museum in Bend, Oregon According to the Museum display: “The Northern Paiute lived across the southern half of the High Desert region. These hardy and nomadic people ranged throughout an arid landscape from eastern California and southeastern Oregon, most of Nevada and into southern Idaho. They migrated with the seasons to harvest the region’s resources: fish, game, edible plants and roots.” Another view of the diorama. Subsistence In general, the Indian people of the Great Basin tended to be highly mobile to utilize the diverse and scattered subsistence resources of the area. This mobility was not random nomadism but was timed to maximize the seasonal resources of numerous environmental niches within the area. Regarding the Paiutes, Carl Waldman, in his book Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes, reports: “For the Paiute bands, their activities and whereabouts in the course of a year were dictated by the availability of food.” In their book Native American Heritage, Merwyn Garbarino and Robert Sasso describe the Paiute subsistence activities this way: “The Paiute followed a regular seasonal pattern of food-getting within the band’s traditional territory, knowing which roots and bulbs to dig in spring, where seeds and berries ripened in summer, and so on through fall, when the piñon crop came in. As they pursued plant foods, the Paiute also collected almost anything that walked, flew, or crawled—larvae and adult insects, grasshopper, locusts, and ants.” Prior to the European invasion, the scattered Indian nations of the Great Basin engaged in an intensive utilization of their desert environment. According to anthropologist Jesse D. Jennings, in his chapter in the Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 11: Great Basin: “Instead of being the uniformly uninviting desert so often visualized, the Great Basin consists of hundreds of special and often rich environments where a widely varying mix of desired plant and animal species was available for harvest.” This included the gathering of many different plants, the hunting of small game and birds, and the consumption of insects. Carl Waldman reports: “Because of their foraging practices, the hunter-gatherers of this region are sometimes referred to collectively as Digger Indians.” The Northern Paiutes gathered about 150 species of plants. Seeds were ground into flour. In their chapter on the Northern Paiutes in the Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 11: Great Basin, Catherine Fowler and Sven Liljeblad report: “Dried whole berries were added to soups and stews, and dried berry cakes were often taken on journeys away from camp.” Shown above is a basket used for gathering berries. This was exhibited in the Museum at Warm Springs on the Warm Springs Reservation in Oregon. The stone bowl and pestle shown above was used for processing foods such as seeds and berries. This was exhibited in the Museum at Warm Springs on the Warm Springs Reservation in Oregon. The stone mortar and pestle shown above was used for grinding seeds. This was exhibited in the High Desert Museum in Bend, Oregon. Merwyn Garbarino and Robert Sasso write: “Women treated nuts and especially seeds by grinding them into flour which they then boiled or baked into porridge or cakes. It was this preparation that rendered the otherwise inedible seeds into digestible and nourishing food.” The prepared flour could be stored for several months. Shown above is a bowl made from juniper, and a stone pestle. This was used in processing foods. This was exhibited in the Museum at Warm Springs on the Warm Springs Reservation in Oregon. Among the Owens Valley Paiute, the pine nut gathering areas were divided into family plots. Anthropologist Julian Steward, in his 1938 Bureau of American Ethnology report Basin-Plateau Aboriginal Sociopolitical Groups, writes: “Trespass on pine-nut areas by other families, and especially by members of other bands, led to fights but not bloodshed.” Upon completion of the harvest, some of the pine nuts would be taken back to the permanent village and some would be cached so that they could be retrieved as needed. Seeds were also an important Paiute food source. Among the Southern Paiute, for example, seeds were gathered from at least 44 different species of grass. Among the Owens Valley Paiute, seed areas were owned by the band. Women gathered the seeds using a small, paddle-shaped basket which they would use to knock the seeds into a conical container. The seeds would then be winnowed, parched with hot coals, and ground on a flat stone. The seed flour could then be prepared as mush or used for making bread. Ditch irrigation of wild plants was used to increase the yields among the Owens Valley Paiute. Brush dams were used to divert the water into ditches which ran for miles, and which watered multi-acre plots. Gathering wild plants for food, fiber, and medicine was not a passive activity: Indian people often used fire to alter their environments and to enhance the productivity of the land. In an article in Idaho Yesterdays, William Tydeman reports: “Among Northern Paiute groups, burning was practiced to encourage wild plants. In some cases, seeds were sown after fires.” The Paiutes also hunted large game animals, such as deer, antelope, and desert bighorn sheep, and small game animals such as hares, rabbits, marmots, lizards, and porcupines. The most important small game animal was the jackrabbit. Rabbits were often driven into tall nets where they could be easily clubbed. The nets were about two feet high and were made as long as possible. The communal rabbit drives, which often lasted five days, were organized under the direction of a rabbit boss who was an elder recognized as having skill in such matters. The rabbit net would be stretched across a valley. Part of the party would then go far up the valley and drive the rabbits into the net with a great deal of whooping and hollering. The rabbits which were snared in the net were then killed with clubs. Pronghorn antelope were an important food source in many areas. Pronghorns, however, tend to be wary and very fast, therefore it is difficult for a lone hunter to be successful. With regard to the Paiute antelope hunts, Merwyn Garbarino and Robert Sasso write: “Communal hunts occurred every six or seven years under an antelope shaman who directed the effort to drive antelope into a surround where hunters killed them. The shaman was very important and highly respected because it was believed he or she had power to charm antelope into the trap to be killed.” In some areas, waterfowl was also a part of the diet. Communal duck drives would be held in the marshy areas. Writing in 1859, Captain James Simpson notes of the Paiutes he has encountered near Carson Lake: “The duck decoys they use on the lake to attract the live ducks are perfect in form and fabric.” The concealed hunter would use the decoys to lure the birds to him. Shown above is a duck decoy. This was exhibited in the Museum at Warm Springs on the Warm Springs Reservation in Oregon. Among the Paiute in Nevada, fishing was an important subsistence activity. In some instances, fish would be taken with gill nets and dip nets. In his book Prehistory of the Carson Desert and Stillwater Mountains: Environment, Mobility, and Subsistence in a Great Basin Wetland, archaeologist Robert Kelly reports: “Basketry trays could be used to scoop small fish from near the shorelines, and old burden baskets were sometimes recycled into traps and baited with minnows.” Fish were taken throughout the year. Fish were also an important stored resource. Basketry One of the important aspects of Paiute material culture was basketry. Anthropologist Bertha Dutton, in her book The Ranchería, Ute, and Southern Paiute Peoples: Indians of the American Southwest, writes: “Foremost of the Paiute arts was basketmaking, including conical baskets for carrying burdens, parching trays for roasting seeds, water jars, hats, and semi-basketry cradles for babies.” Among the Kaibab, a Southern Paiute group, basketry was made using both coiled and twined techniques. In an article in American Indian Art, Larry Dalrymple reports: “Sumac (Rhus trilobata) was used almost exclusively, since willow (Salix) was considered inferior.” In the winter, the basket makers would gather the sumac which was to be used for sewing splints. The foundation rods for the baskets could be gathered at any time. Kaibab basketry had very little decoration. Shown below are some Paiute baskets displayed in the Museum at Warm Springs on the Warm Springs Reservation in Oregon. Shown above is a basketry water jug. It was coated with tree sap to make it waterproof. The water jug shown above is a basket which has been coated with sap to make it waterproof. This was exhibited in the High Desert Museum in Bend, Oregon. Wickiup For the highly mobile Paiutes, the brush-covered hut or wikiup provided quick and temporary shelter when they needed it. A wickiup frame is shown above. This was exhibited in the High Desert Museum in Bend, Oregon. Shown above is the Paiute wickiup display in the Museum at Warm Springs on the Warm Springs Reservation in Oregon. The location of camps was determined not only by food resources—plants and animals—but also by water and firewood. In her chapter in Native Americans and Wage Labor: Ethnohistorical Perspectives, Martha Knack reports: “Base camps were made near reliable springs or along short and intermittent streams, with water carried to dry camps to enable hunting or the gathering of food plants in the desert.” Family Paiute families were primarily nuclear families: that is, they were composed of a man and a woman and their children. At times, there might be other people who were also a part of the household, such as a younger brother, a grandfather, a widowed aunt. Beyond the nuclear family, people were linked by blood relationships, marriage relationships, adoptions, and friendships. These various and extensive linkages gave the nuclear family access to many different resource areas, something that was very important during times of food resource shortage in the home area. Both boys and girls were free to engage in sexual exploration that could lead to a trial marriage. There was instruction in abortion methods as well as contraception. Divorce was simply a matter of either partner returning to their parental camp. Sex was not restricted to marriage, nor did marriage necessarily grant exclusive sexual privileges. Sexual relations outside of marriage were not seen as threatening to the marriage. While marriage was an important economic union, it tended to be informal and was not accompanied by any ceremony. Marriage was a personal arrangement between individuals. In other words, the couple simply started living together. Among the Northern Paiute, a woman would sometimes marry a set of brothers – a practice called fraternal polyandry by anthropologists. This appears to be a response to sparse, scattered populations and the difficulty in finding eligible mates. There were also some instances of polyandry involving two cousins as well as unrelated males. While polyandry usually involved two males, there were a few instances of polyandry with three males. Polyandry was often fraternal and temporary. According to Julian Steward: “A woman married the oldest brother first, then, if she liked a younger brother, took him into the household and allowed him sex privileges.” At a later time, the younger brother would acquire his own wife, preferably a sister to his polyandrous wife. Government With the harsh nature of the environment, Paiute bands tended to be small – rarely larger than 30 people in the desert areas and up to 100 in other areas – and they usually used places near water sources for their residential sites. Band names tended to reflect geography: that is, bands were often named for the area which they inhabited. Julian Steward reports: “The functional basis of band organization, then, was the habitual cooperation of its members in joint enterprises and its objective expression was the common name, chieftainship, and ownership of territory.” Villages were independent political units, but they were sometimes allied with each other to form larger bands. Band membership tended to be fluid. While many of the band members were related to each other by blood or by marriage, people were free to leave one band and join another. Band leadership was not autocratic, and members were free to pursue an independent course when they so desired. In an article in American Antiquity, Angus Quinlan and Alanah Woody write: “One limiting factor of chiefly authority was the freedom of band members to switch allegiance to other bands or family clusters.” The traditional Paiute leader was called niave. In their chapter in A History of Utah’s American Indians, Gary Tom and Ronald Holt report: “He would be identified by each community to lead by example and through a search for consensus. Although such a ‘chief’ was not a decision-maker, he would offer advice and suggestions at council meetings and would later work to carry out the council’s decisions as well as other prescribed duties.” Writing about the northern Paiute, archaeologist Luther Cressman, in his book The Sandal and the Cave: The Indians of Oregon, notes that they did not have permanent chiefs: “A leader was chosen to organize community activity, such as an antelope hunt, but his authority ended with the close of the hunt.” More American Indian tribal profiles Indians 101: A Brief Overview of the Assiniboine Indians Indians 101: A very short overview of California's Cahuilla Indians Indians 201: A very short overview of the Chickasaw Indians Indians 201: A short overview of the Coeur d'Alene Indians Indians 101: A very short overview of the Hualapai Indians Indians 101: A Brief Overview of the Kansa or Kaw Indians Indians 101: A Very Short Overview of the Ottawa Indians Indians 201: A very short overview of the Wea Indians
- — Indians 101: Natchez Indians 300 years ago, 1725
- at 2/4/25 8:15amOn the Mississippi River in the eighteenth century the French encountered the Natchez Nation whose territories included portions of the present-day states of Mississippi and Louisiana. Like the Mississippian peoples at places like Cahokia, the Natchez built pyramids, lived in towns, supported themselves with agriculture, and had a chief that reigned like a king. The designation Natchez is probably a French interpretation of Naches, the name of a village. The people called themselves “Theloel”. In his book American Indian Almanac, John Terrell writes: “The Natchez were sedentary, living in permanent villages. They were advanced agriculturalists, but also depended on hunting, fishing, and food-gathering for their subsistence.” Natchez government was a kingdom. The king, known as the Great Sun, served as both religious and civil chief. The Great Sun had a lot of power and unlike the political leaders of other Indian tribes, the Great Sun reigned as a kind of king. John Terrell reports: “The great chief of the Natchez held absolute power over the property and lives of his subjects.” In their book Native American Heritage, Merwyn Garbarino and Robert Sasso report: “He was in charge of the chiefs of the Natchez villages, and his word was law. He was assisted by a council, however, so that other members of the nobility and the town chiefs limited his despotism somewhat.” In his book Indians, William Brandon writes: “Every deference was shown him, and his power over his individual subjects, their lives, labor, and property was absolute and despotic; although in political decisions involving the nation as a whole the Great Sun was controlled by a council of respected men.” The status of the Great Sun was shown by distinctive clothing, by carrying him on a litter so that he didn’t have to touch the ground, and by the behavior of others. When leaving his presence, people would walk backwards rather than turn their backs to him. The main Natchez settlement, Grand Village, was the home of the Natchez king, Great Sun. In addition, there were five to nine other villages. In their book This Land Was Theirs: A Study of Native Americans, Wendell Oswalt and Sharlotte Neely report: “In the center of Grand Village was an open plaza measuring 250 by 300 paces with a flat-topped mound at each end. On top of one mound was a temple, and on the other was the home of the Great Sun.” In their book Native American Architecture, Peter Nabokov and Robert Easton write: “The average Natchez settlement contained about four hundred people living in thirty to forty rectangular, plastered dwellings. The domestic compounds were clustered around nine ceremonial town centers, generally overlooking the creek just east of the Mississippi and protected by a combination of natural cliffs and log palisades. The tillable floodplains supported individual family gardens of corn, beans, and pumpkins, and a communal garden in which everyone in the community worked.” The Natchez Great War Chief, Tattooed Serpent, lived in a house that was 30 feet long and 20 feet high atop a 10-foot house mound. Woven mats covered the windowless interior walls. In 1725, Tattooed Serpent, the Natchez Great War Chief and brother of the Great Sun died. In his book The American Indian, Colin Taylor reports: “His body was laid out on a cane bed in his house, probably on a small mound near the town plaza, dressed in his finest and with his face painted vermilion. His weapons were tied to his bed and around it were arrayed all the calumets (peace pipes) he had received during his career. All his other belongings were taken out of the house and packed to be buried with him.” As a part of the traditional Natchez death rituals for high class individuals, two of his wives, one of his sisters, and several of his aides were strangled to death. His two wives were buried with him in a trench in the village temple. The bodies of the others were carried on litters back to their home villages for burial. The temple structure was burned and then the entire mound was covered with baskets of earth. In 1725, Natchez war chief Stung Serpent commented on life before the coming of the French: “Did we not live better than we do, seeing we deprive ourselves of a part of our corn, our game, and fish, to give a part to them?” Conflicts with the French would eventually destroy the Natchez Nation. More American Indian histories Indians 101: American Indians and the English 300 years ago, 1724 Indians 101: American Indians and Europeans 300 years ago, 1723 Indians 101: Indians and Europeans 300 years ago, 1722 Indians 201: The Tuscaroras join the Iroquois League Indians 101: Washington's Chehalis Indians and the Americans in 1792 Indians 201: Ute Indians and the Spanish quest for silver in 1765 Indians 101: Russians and Native Americans in the 18th century Indians 101: Indian Resistance to the California Missions
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