In the early 19th century, a dark chapter unfolded in America’s history – the forced relocation of Native American tribes living east of the Mississippi River to lands westward. This massive displacement, justified by ideals of progress and civilization, would come to be known as Indian Removal. For the native peoples torn from their ancestral…
In our nation’s narrative, the year of 1968 brought forth a powerful surge of unity and defiance among the indigenous tribes – a chapter that marked the birth of the American Indian Movement, known as AIM. Echoing with the resonant voices of tribal leaders, AIM rose as a beacon championing their unique cause – a…
Imagine a world where the skies are filled with stars, and the earth is teeming with life. A world where every plant, animal, and person has a story to tell. This is the world of Native American origin stories. For centuries, these stories have been passed down through generations, shaping the beliefs and traditions of…
Native American medicinal plants have been used to treat everything from ailments like headaches and stomachaches to cancer and cardiac disease.
The Sipapu and the Spider Woman is a story that’s been passed down for centuries. It serves as the fascinating Hopi tale of the world’s emergence.
From 1854 to 1890, the Northern Plains Indians fought with the US government in what was called the Sioux Wars. The American Indians were being forced into smaller and smaller reservations, out of the lands they once roamed freely. While many acquiesced and retreated to the reservations, a number of American Indians resisted, fighting the…
The slaughter of American Indians at Wounded Knee left such a cultural wound, that it is often used to describe any wrongs done to the natives by the white men. American Indians dispute the title of “battle” for the incident, and many prefer that it be called the Massacre at Wounded Knee. The U.S. government…
Sitting Bull is remembered as a Sioux leader who united his people against the oppression and injustice of the white men. He had a distrust of the white people around him and often tried to avoid confrontation with them rather than engage in outright acts of hostility. The Tribal Leader’s Early Life Born Tatanka Iyotake,…
Most experts agree that the earliest Native American ancestors came over the land bridge from Eurasia around 5000 BC, settling in the Pacific Northwest. A separate group broke away and made their way into North America. This group settled there and eventually spread out to the Great Plains, what is now called the Midwest, and…
There was a serious attempt, in the 1930s, to make amends for the way the United States Government had historically treated the Native Americans. In the wake of the changes brought on by President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal, many of the same socioeconomic changes were attempted on Indian reservations. This was, in many respects, a…