"There are stories and stories...there are songs, also, that are taught. Some are whimsical. Some are very intense. Some are documentary...everthing I know is known through teachings, by word of mouth, either by song or by legends." -
Terrance Honvantewa, Hopi
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Do you know...
Mangas Coloradas or Dasoda-hae (known as Red Sleeves) (c.1793 - January 18, 1863) was an Apache tribal chief and a member of the Eastern Chiricahua nation, whose homeland stretched west from the Rio Grande to include most of what is present-day southwestern New Mexico. He is regarded by many historians to be one of the most important Native American and Apache leaders of the 19th century due to his fighting achievements against White intruders from the United States.
In 1846, when the United States went to war with Mexico, the Apache Nation promised U.S. soldiers safe passage through Apache lands. Once the U.S. occupied New Mexico in 1846, Mangas Coloradas signed a peace treaty, respecting them as conquerors of the hated Mexican enemy. An uneasy peace between the Apache and the United States lasted until an influx of gold miners into the Santa Rita Mountains led to open conflict. In 1851, near Pinos Altos mining camp, Mangas was personally attacked by a group of White miners who tied him to a tree and severely beat him. Similar incidents continued in violation of the treaty, leading to Apache reprisals. In December, 1860, thirty miners launched a surprise attack on an encampment of Bedonkohes on the west bank of the Mimbres River. According to historian Edwin R. Sweeney, the miners "...killed four Indians, wounded others, and captured thirteen women and children." Shortly after that, Mangas began raids against U.S. citizens and their property.
Mangas Coloradas' daughter Dos-Teh-Seh married Cochise, principal chief of the Chokonen Apache. In early February 1861, US Army Lieutenant George N. Bascom, apparently without orders, lured Cochise, his family and several warriors into a trap at Apache Pass, southeastern Arizona. Cochise managed to escape, but his family and warriors remained in custody. Negotiations were unsuccessful and fighting erupted. This incident, known as the "Bascom Affair," ended with Cochise’s brother and five other warriors being hanged by Bascom. Later that year, Mangas and Cochise struck an alliance, agreeing to drive all Americans out of Apache territory. They were joined in their effort by Juh and Geronimo. Although the goal was never achieved, the White population in Apache territory was greatly reduced for a few years during the Civil War, after federal troops had been withdrawn to the east.
In the summer of 1862, after recovering from a bullet wound in the chest, Mangas Coloradas met with an intermediary to call for peace. In January of 1863, he decided to meet with U.S. military leaders at Fort McLane, in southwestern New Mexico. Mangas arrived under a flag of truce to meet with Brigadier General Joseph Rodman West, an officer of the California militia and a future Reconstruction senator from Louisiana. Armed soldiers took Mangas into custody. West allegedly gave an execution order to the sentries.
“Men, that old murderer has got away from every soldier command and has left a trail of blood for 500 miles on the old stage line. I want him dead or alive tomorrow morning, do you understand? I want him dead.”
That night Mangas was tortured, shot and killed "trying to escape."
The following day, U.S. soldiers cut off his head, boiled it and sent the skull to Orson Squire Fowler, a phrenologist in New York City. Phrenological analysis of the skull and a sketch of it appear in Fowler's 1873 book Human Science: or.... In Eve Ball's Indeh: An Apache Odyssey,Daklugie, one of her informants says the skull went to the Smithsonian Institution. However, the Smithsonian has done a thorough search for the skull, and reports that it never received it. Mangas' descendents and sources based on their testimony may have confused the Smithsonian with Fowler's Phrenological Cabinet in New York, where the skull was on display, leading to the misattribution.
The murder and mutilation of Mangas' body only increased the hostility between Apaches and the United States, with more or less constant war continuing for nearly another 25 years.
Mangas Coloradas is listed in 100 Native Americans Who Shaped American History.
In 1846, when the United States went to war with Mexico, the Apache Nation promised U.S. soldiers safe passage through Apache lands. Once the U.S. occupied New Mexico in 1846, Mangas Coloradas signed a peace treaty, respecting them as conquerors of the hated Mexican enemy. An uneasy peace between the Apache and the United States lasted until an influx of gold miners into the Santa Rita Mountains led to open conflict. In 1851, near Pinos Altos mining camp, Mangas was personally attacked by a group of White miners who tied him to a tree and severely beat him. Similar incidents continued in violation of the treaty, leading to Apache reprisals. In December, 1860, thirty miners launched a surprise attack on an encampment of Bedonkohes on the west bank of the Mimbres River. According to historian Edwin R. Sweeney, the miners "...killed four Indians, wounded others, and captured thirteen women and children." Shortly after that, Mangas began raids against U.S. citizens and their property.
Mangas Coloradas' daughter Dos-Teh-Seh married Cochise, principal chief of the Chokonen Apache. In early February 1861, US Army Lieutenant George N. Bascom, apparently without orders, lured Cochise, his family and several warriors into a trap at Apache Pass, southeastern Arizona. Cochise managed to escape, but his family and warriors remained in custody. Negotiations were unsuccessful and fighting erupted. This incident, known as the "Bascom Affair," ended with Cochise’s brother and five other warriors being hanged by Bascom. Later that year, Mangas and Cochise struck an alliance, agreeing to drive all Americans out of Apache territory. They were joined in their effort by Juh and Geronimo. Although the goal was never achieved, the White population in Apache territory was greatly reduced for a few years during the Civil War, after federal troops had been withdrawn to the east.
In the summer of 1862, after recovering from a bullet wound in the chest, Mangas Coloradas met with an intermediary to call for peace. In January of 1863, he decided to meet with U.S. military leaders at Fort McLane, in southwestern New Mexico. Mangas arrived under a flag of truce to meet with Brigadier General Joseph Rodman West, an officer of the California militia and a future Reconstruction senator from Louisiana. Armed soldiers took Mangas into custody. West allegedly gave an execution order to the sentries.
“Men, that old murderer has got away from every soldier command and has left a trail of blood for 500 miles on the old stage line. I want him dead or alive tomorrow morning, do you understand? I want him dead.”
That night Mangas was tortured, shot and killed "trying to escape."
The following day, U.S. soldiers cut off his head, boiled it and sent the skull to Orson Squire Fowler, a phrenologist in New York City. Phrenological analysis of the skull and a sketch of it appear in Fowler's 1873 book Human Science: or.... In Eve Ball's Indeh: An Apache Odyssey,Daklugie, one of her informants says the skull went to the Smithsonian Institution. However, the Smithsonian has done a thorough search for the skull, and reports that it never received it. Mangas' descendents and sources based on their testimony may have confused the Smithsonian with Fowler's Phrenological Cabinet in New York, where the skull was on display, leading to the misattribution.
The murder and mutilation of Mangas' body only increased the hostility between Apaches and the United States, with more or less constant war continuing for nearly another 25 years.
Mangas Coloradas is listed in 100 Native Americans Who Shaped American History.
Gila resolution calls freeway path 'sacred land'
By: Colleen Sparks
A resolution adopted a year ago by the Gila River Indian Community Council has thrown a wrench into the proposed South Mountain Freeway plan.
The council in April 2007 designated the South Mountain Range as "a sacred place/traditional cultural property" that must not be violated.
The council said any alteration of the range "for any purpose would be a violation of the cultural and religious beliefs of the Gila River Indian Community."
Phoenix Councilman Greg Stanton, who represents Ahwatukee Foothills, said he read the resolution for the first time Tuesday and that it is "critically important that we respect tribal sovereignty issues, that we respect the tribe's interpretation of sacred places and religiously important sites."
The freeway, if approved, would run along the Pecos Road alignment in Ahwatukee and cut through South Mountain Park. The cuts would range from 120 to 220 feet into the mountain, the Arizona Department of Transportation estimates.
"We as the community better think long and hard before we are willing to destroy a sacred place," Stanton said.
There's more here: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2008/04/29/20080429ar-gilariver0429.html
A resolution adopted a year ago by the Gila River Indian Community Council has thrown a wrench into the proposed South Mountain Freeway plan.
The council in April 2007 designated the South Mountain Range as "a sacred place/traditional cultural property" that must not be violated.
The council said any alteration of the range "for any purpose would be a violation of the cultural and religious beliefs of the Gila River Indian Community."
Phoenix Councilman Greg Stanton, who represents Ahwatukee Foothills, said he read the resolution for the first time Tuesday and that it is "critically important that we respect tribal sovereignty issues, that we respect the tribe's interpretation of sacred places and religiously important sites."
The freeway, if approved, would run along the Pecos Road alignment in Ahwatukee and cut through South Mountain Park. The cuts would range from 120 to 220 feet into the mountain, the Arizona Department of Transportation estimates.
"We as the community better think long and hard before we are willing to destroy a sacred place," Stanton said.
There's more here: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2008/04/29/20080429ar-gilariver0429.html
Mismanagement of Native American Land?
As reported by KFYR-TV, Bismarck, ND
This story begins more than 200 years ago when the United States government began offering land on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation to Native Americans. When the land started to run out, it was offered on the public domain, in some cases, hundreds of miles away stretching into parts of Montana.
"We haven`t seen our land, we don`t know what`s on our land, and we don`t really know what`s happening to our land,” says Jessie Cree, an allottee landowner.
Some families have never laid eyes on their land and a group called the Turtle Mountain Allottee Association worries there`s oil being extracted off the land and some of the poorest people on the reservation are not getting paid for it.
"They`re told that there`s no activity going on on their land, but we`re getting satellite views of the people`s land and it`s showing us something different,” says Delvin Cree of the Turtle Mountain Allottee Association.
"They tell us, `Keep this very quiet.` Why? I don`t know. That`s what we asked them, why?" says Jesse Peltier of the association.
The association blames the Bureau of Indian Affairs and The Office of Trustees for not properly taking care of landowners.
"There is oil and gas activity on their land and the Office of Trustees is saying something different,” says Delvin Cree.
"I haven`t seen any what you would call misuse of positions or property,” says Richard Lafrombois of the Office of Trustees in Belcourt, North Dakota.
Keep reading here: http://www.kfyrtv.com/News_Stories.asp?news=18018
This story begins more than 200 years ago when the United States government began offering land on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation to Native Americans. When the land started to run out, it was offered on the public domain, in some cases, hundreds of miles away stretching into parts of Montana.
"We haven`t seen our land, we don`t know what`s on our land, and we don`t really know what`s happening to our land,” says Jessie Cree, an allottee landowner.
Some families have never laid eyes on their land and a group called the Turtle Mountain Allottee Association worries there`s oil being extracted off the land and some of the poorest people on the reservation are not getting paid for it.
"They`re told that there`s no activity going on on their land, but we`re getting satellite views of the people`s land and it`s showing us something different,” says Delvin Cree of the Turtle Mountain Allottee Association.
"They tell us, `Keep this very quiet.` Why? I don`t know. That`s what we asked them, why?" says Jesse Peltier of the association.
The association blames the Bureau of Indian Affairs and The Office of Trustees for not properly taking care of landowners.
"There is oil and gas activity on their land and the Office of Trustees is saying something different,” says Delvin Cree.
"I haven`t seen any what you would call misuse of positions or property,” says Richard Lafrombois of the Office of Trustees in Belcourt, North Dakota.
Keep reading here: http://www.kfyrtv.com/News_Stories.asp?news=18018
Monday, April 28, 2008
Pagans in the Promised Land: Decoding the Doctrine of Christian Discovery
A book review by: Jessica Lee
In a well-argued book, Shawnee/Lenape scholar and author Steven T. Newcomb outlines how the doctrine of Christian discovery and dominion was used by European monarchs and colonists, and eventually the U.S. courts, to justify the taking of Native American land, through both physical and psychological warfare, and to refuse to grant complete Indian sovereignty today.
Pagans in the Promised Land shines an informative light into understanding the conscious — and unconscious — founding principles of “the United States of America” empire.
Explaining American colonial history through cognitive theory, Newcomb reminds us that all laws and borders are a manifestation of one’s imagination, that what we deem to be literally or objectivelytrue is really only metaphorically true from a specific perspective. For example, that Europeans “discovered” North America is only metaphorically true from the European perspective at the time, not from the perspective of the millions of Native peoples who had been living on the continent for thousands of years.
The thrust of his book involves a careful analysis of the infamous 1832 U.S. Supreme Court ruling of Johnson v. M’Intosh, in which the high court ruled that Native Americans did not have ownership rights to their ancestral lands (only a title of “occupancy” on U.S.-owned land) and thus could not sell parcels to private citizens. The court opinion detailed this rationale in its “Discovery Doctrine,” the principle that claims the U.S. government had fairly acquired land from the European Christian colonial immigrants who had previously “discovered” and made claim to the land (“dominion”) based on their belief that God wanted “barbarous nations” to be overthrown and to become subservient to the “Cross and Crown.”
There's more here: http://www.indypendent.org/2008/04/25/discoverer-delusions-a-review-of-pagans-in-the-promised-land/
In a well-argued book, Shawnee/Lenape scholar and author Steven T. Newcomb outlines how the doctrine of Christian discovery and dominion was used by European monarchs and colonists, and eventually the U.S. courts, to justify the taking of Native American land, through both physical and psychological warfare, and to refuse to grant complete Indian sovereignty today.
Pagans in the Promised Land shines an informative light into understanding the conscious — and unconscious — founding principles of “the United States of America” empire.
Explaining American colonial history through cognitive theory, Newcomb reminds us that all laws and borders are a manifestation of one’s imagination, that what we deem to be literally or objectivelytrue is really only metaphorically true from a specific perspective. For example, that Europeans “discovered” North America is only metaphorically true from the European perspective at the time, not from the perspective of the millions of Native peoples who had been living on the continent for thousands of years.
The thrust of his book involves a careful analysis of the infamous 1832 U.S. Supreme Court ruling of Johnson v. M’Intosh, in which the high court ruled that Native Americans did not have ownership rights to their ancestral lands (only a title of “occupancy” on U.S.-owned land) and thus could not sell parcels to private citizens. The court opinion detailed this rationale in its “Discovery Doctrine,” the principle that claims the U.S. government had fairly acquired land from the European Christian colonial immigrants who had previously “discovered” and made claim to the land (“dominion”) based on their belief that God wanted “barbarous nations” to be overthrown and to become subservient to the “Cross and Crown.”
There's more here: http://www.indypendent.org/2008/04/25/discoverer-delusions-a-review-of-pagans-in-the-promised-land/
Green Corn Dance
Few non-Indians have witnessed a Green Corn Dance, a special spiritual event held at undisclosed South Florida locations each spring. Most Native Americans have a similar event within their cultures, stemming from traditional expressions of gratitude to the Creator for providing food.
At the Green Corn Dance, Seminoles participate in purification and manhood ceremonies. Tribal disputes are also settled during this time. Men and women separate into different "camps" according to their clans. In earlier times, the Green Corn Dance marked an important occassion when Seminoles from different camps and areas would get together.
The gathering will include hours and hours of "stomp dancing," the methodical, weaving, single file style of dancing traditional to Seminole Indians. Following behind a chanting medicine man or "leader," a string of male dancers will "answer" each exhortation, while women dancers quietly shuffle with them, shakers tied to their legs.
Several troupes of Seminole Stomp Dancers occasionally appear at public events, demonstrating the "fire ant," "crow," "catfish" and other Seminole social stomp dances.
At the Green Corn Dance, Seminoles participate in purification and manhood ceremonies. Tribal disputes are also settled during this time. Men and women separate into different "camps" according to their clans. In earlier times, the Green Corn Dance marked an important occassion when Seminoles from different camps and areas would get together.
The gathering will include hours and hours of "stomp dancing," the methodical, weaving, single file style of dancing traditional to Seminole Indians. Following behind a chanting medicine man or "leader," a string of male dancers will "answer" each exhortation, while women dancers quietly shuffle with them, shakers tied to their legs.
Several troupes of Seminole Stomp Dancers occasionally appear at public events, demonstrating the "fire ant," "crow," "catfish" and other Seminole social stomp dances.
Joba on the Mound
By: Dalton Walker
The Winnebago with the brilliant right arm was in sports headlines across the nation recently for two entirely different reasons.
The first, a more humanized Joba Chamberlain surfaced as the 22-year-old relief pitcher for the New York Yankees left the team to be with his ill father back home in Lincoln, Neb.
Chamberlain missed a few Yankee outings and when he returned he released a statement to the media explaining his father's condition.
"After several difficult days, my father is feeling much better," Chamberlain said in the statement released by the club. "Each day he's acting more and more like himself, and he's even giving people grief — myself included — because the hospital doesn't carry Yankees games on television."
His father, Harlan Chamberlain, is a wonderful man and a great role model for many Native children. The elder Chamberlain has a history of health issues including a childhood case of polio that left him partially paralyzed. He relies on a motorized scooter for transportation. The father and son are very close. Joba has told numerous media outlets that he speaks to his father on the phone at least once a day.
The second set of headlines had to deal with an on-field issue brought up by the often outspoken Steinbrenner family, which owns the Yankees. With the team off to a slow start, at least by New York standards, Yankees co-chairman Hank Steinbrenner blasted the team, saying Joba should start.
"I want him as a starter and so does everyone else, including him, and that is what we are working toward and we need him there now," Steinbrenner told The New York Times. "There is no question about it, you don't have a guy with a 100-mile-per-hour fastball and keep him as a setup guy. You just don't do that. You have to be an idiot to do that."
The rest of the story is here: http://www.reznetnews.org/article/feature-article/joba-mound
The Winnebago with the brilliant right arm was in sports headlines across the nation recently for two entirely different reasons.
The first, a more humanized Joba Chamberlain surfaced as the 22-year-old relief pitcher for the New York Yankees left the team to be with his ill father back home in Lincoln, Neb.
Chamberlain missed a few Yankee outings and when he returned he released a statement to the media explaining his father's condition.
"After several difficult days, my father is feeling much better," Chamberlain said in the statement released by the club. "Each day he's acting more and more like himself, and he's even giving people grief — myself included — because the hospital doesn't carry Yankees games on television."
His father, Harlan Chamberlain, is a wonderful man and a great role model for many Native children. The elder Chamberlain has a history of health issues including a childhood case of polio that left him partially paralyzed. He relies on a motorized scooter for transportation. The father and son are very close. Joba has told numerous media outlets that he speaks to his father on the phone at least once a day.
The second set of headlines had to deal with an on-field issue brought up by the often outspoken Steinbrenner family, which owns the Yankees. With the team off to a slow start, at least by New York standards, Yankees co-chairman Hank Steinbrenner blasted the team, saying Joba should start.
"I want him as a starter and so does everyone else, including him, and that is what we are working toward and we need him there now," Steinbrenner told The New York Times. "There is no question about it, you don't have a guy with a 100-mile-per-hour fastball and keep him as a setup guy. You just don't do that. You have to be an idiot to do that."
The rest of the story is here: http://www.reznetnews.org/article/feature-article/joba-mound
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