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Ned Christie, a Cherokee, was born December 14, 1852 at Wauhillau, in the Goingsnake District of the Cherokee Nation and died November 3, 1892 in the Goingsnake District. He was the son of the Removal Era, Trail of Tears, survivors, Watt and Lydia (Thrower) Christie.

To most Americans, or at least to those who have heard of Ned Christie, he was a vicious killer and outlaw who killed a deputy and evaded capture for over four years until his death. To the Cherokee, however, Ned Christie is a martyr, a symbol of white encroachment and racism. What follows is the true story of Ned Christie, the way the Indians see it.

Contrary to the description given in most history books, Ned Christie was not a man of questionable character. In fact he was a politician. I know what you're thinking, but he was a good politician. In 1885, Ned was elected a Cherokee Senator, representing the Going Snake District in the National Council of the Cherokee Nation. As a member of the Cherokee National Council, Ned was interested in protecting the interests of the Cherokee people. He supported tribal sovereignty and was opposed to allowing the railroads to enter the Cherokee Nation. In addition to his political dealing, Ned was also a successful blacksmith and gunsmith.

In May 1887, while Ned was in Tahlequah to attend a special council meeting regarding the fire that destroyed the Cherokee Female Seminary, U.S. Deputy Marshal Dan Maples was killed. Ned was accused of the crime and was soon wanted for the murder. Though he wanted to approach authorities immediately and proclaim his innocence, Ned was persuaded otherwise by friends. Ned retreated to his home in Wauhalla to try and collect evidence which would prove his innocence.

"Hanging Judge" Isaac Parker, a Federal Judge in nearby Fort Smith, Arkansas claimed jurisdiction over the case because it had been one of his white Marshals who was killed. Knowing that he would most likely not receive a fair trial, Ned stayed at his home and thus began a five-year-long battle between the US Marshals and Ned Christie and his family and neighbors. Though he never left his home, Ned was able to evade capture for many years. The marshals efforts to capture or kill him were thwarted on several occasions. During one siege, in which they burned his house to the ground, the Marshals managed to shoot him in the head but the wound was not fatal and only blinded him in one eye. His fame grew over the years and Ned became known as the most notorious and sought after outlaw in the region. He was accused of every unsolved crime in the Cherokee Nation and surrounding areas.

After the fire, Ned and his neighbors built a new cabin. The new home was fortified, built two logs thick with sand between the logs. The Marshals continued their attempts to capture Ned. They endangered the lives of his family and friends serving only to embitter Ned. He believed more strongly than ever in sovereignty and even vowed to stop speaking English, only speaking Cherokee - his first language.

In December 1892, a posse attacked Ned's home. They unsuccessfully attempted to destroy his home with a cannon before resorting to dynamite. The deputies fashioned a shield to cover them from gunfire so that they could approach the house. When they were within ranged they lobbed dynamite into the house. Ned fled his home and was confronted with a volley of gunfire. Ned was shot and killed.

However, Ned's story did not end with his death. As was the practice in the day, the outlaw's body was paraded on display. The deputies tied Christie's body to a plank door and took him to Fayetteville, Arkansas where he was propped up on a porch and people were allowed to pose for pictures with the body. Next, the deputies traveled to Fort Smith, Arkansas with Ned's body in order to collect their reward. In Fort Smith Ned's body was put on display with a rifle placed in his arms. Finally the body was sent to Fort Gibson -- Indian Territory where his father and brother were able to claim his remains and lay him to rest.

In the early 1900's a witness stepped forward and cleared Ned of the killing of Deputy Dan Maples. Regardless of the facts surrounding the killing of Dan Maples and the fact that Christie was never tried nor convicted of the crime and despite the truth about Ned's life as a respected member of the Cherokee community, Ned Christie is still referred to as a murderer, criminal, gang leader, whiskey runner, horse thief, and train robber in history books and western lore. However, to the Cherokee Ned Christie will always be remembered as a martyr. At the time of Ned's death the Cherokee people lost what little sovereignty still remained with the Dawes Rolls, which absorbed the Cherokee Nation into Oklahoma. Ned Christie stood up for his rights as a Cherokee and lost his life, but at least he stood up. While the history books paint his as a monster we will always know and honor the real Ned Christie.

Indian Land Tenure Foundation and The Tribal Education Departments National Assembly Join Forces

Press release -

The Indian Land Tenure Foundation (ILTF) has awarded the Tribal Education Departments
National Assembly (TEDNA) with grant monies to develop Indian education professional
development materials, and promote and market the ILTF Indian Land Tenure Curriculum.

In recognition that education of tribal youth is one of the most important areas of sovereignty,
TEDNA and ILTF will spend the next year working collaboratively to create professional
development materials that support the ILTF Curriculum and incorporate the Curriculum into
schools across the nation.

The ILTF Curriculum was designed with Native American tribal issues and values in mind, but
the context illustrates the important relationship between land and people in general, not just
Native Americans. The main goal is for students to become intellectually reconnected to the
land and aware of its importance to their past, present and future.

“We hope to introduce the Curriculum into schools to reestablish the relationship between land
and people while focusing on Native American views of the human relationship to land. We
believe that these efforts will strengthen tribal youths’ understanding of who they are as Native
American people. We also believe that this can help improve school performance by increasing
student self-esteem and school engagement,” said TEDNA President Quinton Roman Nose.

ILTF Program Officer, Terry Janis explains, “TEDNA is an ideal partner as it has a nationwide
network of tribal education departments, private businesses and government employees working in education. Our message, one of traditional Native American land values, will reach all tiers of education.”

There's more here: http://www.tedna.org/news/iltf_tedna_pr.pdf

Camp Chaparral - Yakama Nation - Healing With Honor

In 1990, Joe Jay Pinkham, Secretary for the Yakama Nation, suggested the formation of an all-Indian Healing Camp for Indian Veterans. Subsequent development of an all-cohort Indian Group at American Lake VAMC didn't work because of infighting among the various participating tribes.

In May of 1991, in Toppenish, Washington, an Advisory Council was formed to address American Indian Health and healing within the VA. The Yakama Nation authorized the use of Camp Chaparral, on its sacred land, in 1991; funding became available in November of 1991 and the first Camp was held in 1992.

The Camp, which assumed the name of the sacred ground on which it was held, Camp Chaparral, was formed to teach or sensitize VA and other practitioners who work with Indian Veterans on the American Indian Traditional Methodology of Healing. The rest is history.

For the first four years, there was a progressive “journey” through the VA system, “from the eyes” of an American Indian veteran. An additional objective was to develop a significant percentage of VA staff with intimate personal awareness and sensitivity for American Indian culture. They were also provided a sense of American Indian culture and invited to apply a holistic approach to the care of Indian veterans.

Today, the camp concentrates on providing a unique and positive experience to the VA staff. It includes hands-on interaction with Native American warriors, spiritual leaders, traditional healers, and tribal Elders and families from the Yakama, Umatilla, Nez Perce, Sioux, Makah, Lummi, Warm Springs, Karuk, and Colville tribes.

Want to know more? Click here: http://www.waterplanet.ws/cc/Site/Home.html

Celebration, somber protest at Capitol

By: Kara McGuire

After years of preparation, Minnesota kicked off its 150th birthday celebration week Sunday, the actual anniversary of Minnesota's statehood. There was no cake and it was too windy to light 150 candles anyway, but the citizens who came out to remember Minnesota's past and ponder its future were treated to a wagon train, remarks by several politicians and, on a more solemn note, a protest.

About 75 American Indians and supporters gathered on sacred ground at Indian Mounds Park on Sunday morning for a march to the Capitol, holding banners with phrases such as "take down the Fort"-- a reference to Fort Snelling, which they said played a key role in abuses of Minnesota's native tribes. Others wore black masks and carried scaffolding with 38 nooses in remembrance of the 38 Dakota men executed in Mankato by order of President Abraham Lincoln, on Dec. 26, 1862.

"We tried to encourage [sesquicentennial organizers] to use this year for truth-telling," said Gustavus Adolphus scholar Waziyatawin Angela Wilson. According to Wilson, Minnesota leaders "refused and wanted to continue with their birthday celebration and not let truth-telling get in the way."

On Saturday, the Dakota protesters briefly stalled the Sesquicentennial Wagon Train as it approached its camping area at Fort Snelling. Police removed several protesters from the path of the train, which left Cannon Falls seven days ago on a circuitous 101-mile trip to the Capitol. It arrived Sunday afternoon and this time police kept the two groups separated.

Keep reading here: http://www.startribune.com/local/stpaul/18848444.html