"All we ask is full citizenship. Why not? We offered our services and our money in this war, and more in proportion to our number and means than any other race or class of the population." -
Charles Eastman, Santee Sioux
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Historical fact...
March 25 1971, William John Gobert, a Blackfoot man, was named the “Outstanding Handicapped Worker of the Year” by the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. The award was presented to him by President Richard Nixon’s wife, Pat Nixon. Gobert worked for the Indian Health Service in Arizona.
Cahuillas honor the Blue Frog with new exhibit
By: Judith Salkin
Long before the first settlers ever set foot in the Coachella Valley, the First People called it home.
The Panik (paa-nick) people lived in the area of Palm Springs now called Andreas Canyon, while the Kauisik (ka-we-sek) people lived by the hot springs that would eventually become the heart of the city.
In 1876, the two communities merged to form the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians.
According to Cahuilla tradition, the hot springs was the dwelling place of the Mukatem - sacred beings who taught the shamans of the tribe how to use the mineral waters to heal others.
The Blue Frog was one of these sacred beings.
The Agua Caliente Cultural Museum's new exhibit, "The Dream of the Blue Frog (Wahaatukicnikic Tetaya)," uses Cahuilla legends like these to remind us of the importance of the ancient hot springs. It also offers a history of the famous site and how it interrelates to the development of Palm Springs.
The exhibit - featuring photographs, diagrams and the words of the Cahuilla people and early settlers - opens Wednesday with a free reception at the museum.
"The museum has always wanted to do a history of the hot springs," museum archivist Jon Fletcher said. "No one knows the whole story of the shared history."
The idea was to present an exhibit that would tell the story from "the First People to the present," Fletcher said.
Today, the original hot spring is covered, and through some elaborate plumbing, now feeds the soaking baths and spa at the Spa Hotel at the corner of Indian Canyon Drive and Tahquitz Canyon Way.
"It's right in the middle of downtown," Fletcher said.
"It has historical prominence and people have been drawn to the area because of the hot spring."
Long before the first settlers ever set foot in the Coachella Valley, the First People called it home.
The Panik (paa-nick) people lived in the area of Palm Springs now called Andreas Canyon, while the Kauisik (ka-we-sek) people lived by the hot springs that would eventually become the heart of the city.
In 1876, the two communities merged to form the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians.
According to Cahuilla tradition, the hot springs was the dwelling place of the Mukatem - sacred beings who taught the shamans of the tribe how to use the mineral waters to heal others.
The Blue Frog was one of these sacred beings.
The Agua Caliente Cultural Museum's new exhibit, "The Dream of the Blue Frog (Wahaatukicnikic Tetaya)," uses Cahuilla legends like these to remind us of the importance of the ancient hot springs. It also offers a history of the famous site and how it interrelates to the development of Palm Springs.
The exhibit - featuring photographs, diagrams and the words of the Cahuilla people and early settlers - opens Wednesday with a free reception at the museum.
"The museum has always wanted to do a history of the hot springs," museum archivist Jon Fletcher said. "No one knows the whole story of the shared history."
The idea was to present an exhibit that would tell the story from "the First People to the present," Fletcher said.
Today, the original hot spring is covered, and through some elaborate plumbing, now feeds the soaking baths and spa at the Spa Hotel at the corner of Indian Canyon Drive and Tahquitz Canyon Way.
"It's right in the middle of downtown," Fletcher said.
"It has historical prominence and people have been drawn to the area because of the hot spring."
Tribe wins grant for Cottonwood deer refuge
By: Thacher Schmid
Cottonwood Island will be preserved and put off limits to long-sought industrial development as a result of a Cowlitz Indian plan to establish a population of endangered deer.
The tribe Monday was awarded its first-ever Tribal Wildlife Conservation grant by the U.S. Department of Interior to protect the endangered Columbian white-tailed deer, whose local population has shrunk to 400.
Tribal officials will use the $200,000 grant to relocate deer from other parts of the lower Columbia region to Cottonwood Island, which is jointly owned by six Columbia River ports.
A 62-acre portion of the 650-acre island will continue to be used for the dumping of Columbia River dredge spoils, said Dianne Perry, manager for the channel- deepening project at the Port of Portland.
A succession of private owners have long wanted to develop the island, which is located just upstream of where the Cowlitz River enters the mightier Columbia River.
But a lack of utilities and access - there's no bridge - as well as environmental concerns have made all development plans non-starters. So the sandy island, much of which is covered by cottonwoods that glow golden yellow in the fall, will remain undeveloped, though subject to vegetation management for the benefit of the deer.
The federal grant was the first to be awarded to the Cowlitz tribe, whose proposal was among 38 chosen from 110 applications nationwide.
Get the whole story here: http://www.tdn.com/articles/2008/03/25/area_news/10172809.txt
Cottonwood Island will be preserved and put off limits to long-sought industrial development as a result of a Cowlitz Indian plan to establish a population of endangered deer.
The tribe Monday was awarded its first-ever Tribal Wildlife Conservation grant by the U.S. Department of Interior to protect the endangered Columbian white-tailed deer, whose local population has shrunk to 400.
Tribal officials will use the $200,000 grant to relocate deer from other parts of the lower Columbia region to Cottonwood Island, which is jointly owned by six Columbia River ports.
A 62-acre portion of the 650-acre island will continue to be used for the dumping of Columbia River dredge spoils, said Dianne Perry, manager for the channel- deepening project at the Port of Portland.
A succession of private owners have long wanted to develop the island, which is located just upstream of where the Cowlitz River enters the mightier Columbia River.
But a lack of utilities and access - there's no bridge - as well as environmental concerns have made all development plans non-starters. So the sandy island, much of which is covered by cottonwoods that glow golden yellow in the fall, will remain undeveloped, though subject to vegetation management for the benefit of the deer.
The federal grant was the first to be awarded to the Cowlitz tribe, whose proposal was among 38 chosen from 110 applications nationwide.
Get the whole story here: http://www.tdn.com/articles/2008/03/25/area_news/10172809.txt
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