Gallery
Photo Gallery
HISTORY/ARTICLES
WOUNDED KNEE AFTERMATH (1890)
Journalist Thomas H. Tibbles of the Omaha World Herald horrifically reported on the immediate aftermath as wounded survivors and the dying Lakota were brought in from the massacre site ~ into a church ~ where they lay on the floor in the pulpit, directly under a Christmas sign that read “Peace on Earth, Good Will to Men”…
“Nothing I have seen in my whole… life ever affected or depressed or haunted me like the scenes I saw that night in that church. One unwounded old woman… held a baby on her lap… I handed a cup of water to the old woman, telling her to give it to the child, who grabbed it as if parched with thirst. As she [the baby] swallowed it hurriedly, I saw it gush right out again, a bloodstained stream, through a hole in her neck.” Heartsick, I went to… find the surgeon… For a moment he stood there near the door, looking over the mass of suffering and dying women and children… The silence they kept was so complete that it was oppressive… Then to my amazement I saw that the surgeon, who I knew had served in the Civil War, attending the wounded… from the Wilderness to Appomattox, began to grow pale… ‘This is the first time I’ve seen a lot of women and children shot to pieces,’ he said. ‘I can’t stand it’….
Out at Wounded Knee, because a storm set in, followed by a blizzard, the bodies of the slain Indians lay untouched for three days, frozen stiff from where they had fallen. Finally they were buried in a large trench dug on the battlefield itself.” [Lakota victims’ bodies were subsequently dumped into a mass grave without proper grieving ceremony.
IMAGE: 1891 Oversize Albumen Cabinet Card Photograph of the makeshift hospital inside the Holy Cross Episcopal Church still decorated for Christmas at the Pine Ridge Indian Agency where wounded Native American Miniconjou Sioux were cared for following the Massacre at Wounded Knee, South Dakota. Northwestern Photographic Company.
~ NATIVE AMERICAN NAMES (OF STATES IN THE USA) THAT LIVE ON ~
Alabama – From Alabama River by early European explorers and named “Alibamu” after the local Indian tribe
Alaska – Corruption of Aleut word meaning “great land” or “that which the sea breaks against”
Arizona – from the O’odham Indian word for “little spring”
Arkansas – From the Quapaw Indians
Connecticut – From an Indian word (Quinnehtukqut) meaning “beside the long tidal river”
Hawaii – Uncertain. The islands may have been named by Hawaii Loa, their traditional discoverer. Or they may have been named after Hawaii or Hawaiki, the traditional home of the Polynesians.
Idaho – Despite this lack of evidence for the origin of the name, many textbooks well into the 20th century repeated as fact Willing’s account that the name “Idaho” derived from the Shoshone term “ee-da-how”.
The name “Idaho” may be derived from the Plains Apache word “ídaahę́” which means “enemy.” The Comanches used this word to refer to the Idaho Territory. An excerpt from a 1956 Idaho history textbook: “Idaho” is a Shoshoni Indian exclamation. The word consists of three parts. The first is “Ee”, which in English conveys the idea of “coming down”. The second is “dah” which is the Shoshoni stem or root for both “sun” and “mountain”. The third syllable, “how”, denotes the exclamation and stands for the same thing in Shoshoni that the exclamation mark (!) does in the English language. The Shoshoni word is “Ee-dah-how”, and the Indian thought thus conveyed when translated into English means, “Behold! the sun coming down the mountain”.
According to local knowledge the name Idaho originated from the Nez Perce language and stands for “the Land of many Waters”, a kidney shaped drainage area in North Central Idaho in which a multitude of rivers come together.
Illinois – Algonquin for “tribe of superior men”
Indiana – Meaning “land of Indians”
Iowa – From the Iowa River which was named after the Ioway Indian tribe
Kansas – From a Sioux word meaning “people of the south wind”
Kentucky – From an Iroquoian word “Ken-tah-ten” meaning “land of tomorrow”
Massachusetts – From Massachusett tribe of Native Americans, meaning “at or about the great hill”
Michigan – From Indian word “Michigana” meaning “great or large lake”
Minnesota – From a Dakota Indian word meaning “sky-tinted water”
Mississippi – From an Indian word meaning “Father of Waters”
Missouri – Named after the Missouri Indian tribe. “Missouri” means “town of the large canoes.”
Montana – From the Spanish word meaning “mountain.”
Nebraska – From an Oto Indian word meaning “flat water”
Nevada – Spanish: “snowcapped”
New Mexico – From Mexico, “place of Mexitli,” an Aztec god or leader
North Dakota – From the Sioux tribe, meaning “allies”
Ohio – From an Iroquoian word meaning “great river”
Oklahoma – From two Choctaw Indian words meaning “red people”
Oregon – “The word “Oregon” is derived from a Shoshoni Indian expression meaning, The River of the West, originating from the two Shoshoni words “Ogwa,” River and “Pe-on,” West, or “Ogwa Pe-on.” The Sioux pronounced this word in the more euphonious manner in which their tongue excels and the Shoshoni “Gwa” underwent, etymologically, a variation in the new language and became changed to “r,” thus giving the sonorous word which Jonathan Carver (around 1778) who first published the name to the English world, heard spoken by them during his visit with the Sioux nation.
South Dakota – From the Sioux tribe, meaning “allies”
Tennessee – Of Cherokee origin; the exact meaning is unknown
Texas – From an Indian word meaning “friends”
Utah – From the Ute tribe, meaning “people of the mountains”
Vermont – From the French “vert mont,” meaning “green mountain”
Virginia – In honor of Elizabeth “Virgin Queen” of England
Washington – In honor of George Washington
Wisconsin – French corruption of an Indian word whose meaning is disputed
Wyoming – From the Delaware Indian word, meaning “mountains and valleys alternating”; the same as the Wyoming Valley in Pennsylvania
~ And since Canada was always part of Turtle Island as a whole, one continent without borders, it is also important to pay Tribute to the Tribes there, here, showing what is today the province of Quebec, and other known places of interest ~
ABITIBI: The sharing of the waters, half-way
ARTHABASCA: Grass and reeds, here and there
CANADA: Mass of cabins (lodges)
CHICOUTIMI: Until there, waters are deep
KENOGAMI: Very long lake
MAGOG: Large surface of water
MANICOUAGAN: The place where you give to drink
MASSAPIWI: Between the waters
MATAPEDIA: The branching of the river
MATAWIN: Junction of the rivers
MEKINAC: Tortoise, turtle
MISTASSINI: large rock
NIAGARA: Thunder of the waters
ONTARIO: Beautiful lake
OTTAWA: The boiling waters
PERIBONCA: Rivers flow through the sands
RIMOUSKI: Land of the dogs
SAGUENAY: Water that exits (comes out)
SHAWINIGAN: Fast current
TADOUSSAC: breast – hill
TEMISCAMINGUE: Deep waters
TEMISCOUATA: Deep lake
TORONTO: Tree in the waters
YAMACHICHE: Vase river (a river of)
YAMASKA: Reeds and grasses here and there
LOOKING IN THE MIRROR
~ for Clayton Tootoosis
I came across a great post one day, and it simply said:
“The fact that Indigenous People seek recognition and not revenge ~ should tell you exactly which culture is the civilized one!”
The Indigenous have always cared… They have always been The Caretakers of these lands, wherever they may be living… They were the First People, and they knew best how to cherish the lives of their own, intimately connected with the Earth… their Mother.
As fate would have it, the settlers have always seen the Indigenous as vermin, in the way, “They have that land but WE want it!” ~ and have taken what they want all along, and the ‘treaties’ were just another TRICK to achieve their end goal…
Take a good look at this image. What you see in the mirror is SACRED. Everything about that portrait in the mirror is SACRED, from the drum he plays, to what he wears, and sings…
According to Traditional Apache beliefs, for example, “Everything the Apache does is Sacred.”
The incoming culture, the non-Native one, saw the riches ~ the beauty of the land, the wealth of the resources ~ and in a time when ‘might makes right’, all they thought necessary, according to them, was to ‘claim and defend’ this new land…
Not so easy… And the rest is genocide, a history about to be ERASED from the ‘new generations’, as governments north and south scurry to erase and destroy all veritable documents and proof, getting the courts to help then do it… Anything to SILENCE everything ‘INDIAN’… and everything done to them…
So when I see this image, it becomes very clear ~ WHAT THEY WANT, is a controllable, weak, malleable, obeying ‘good boy’, well indoctrinated, lost, no distinguishable knowledge of his past… AND POWER. Better to be a bum, unemployed, drunkard, meth addict or whatever, than TO FIND THE TRUE SOURCE OF WHO HIS PROUD ANCESTORS WERE AND THE POWERS THAT HE POTENTIALLY HAS… if he follows his roots back far and well enough…
Everything Indian must go ~ They must silence us, and make us believe that we are powerless in front of them, to make us scared of authority ~ and obedient in our allowed (even encouraged and paid for) ENSLAVEMENT…
Everything in that mirror poses A THREAT (to ‘national security’) because of the unknown, or better yet, the ACKNOWLEDGED but kept-secret power of The Divine, The Spiritual, The Universe…
The elite know… and they want it all… and they need for us all, as many as possible, to be docile… agreeing to our prison status, in a war that they wage on us… a Spiritual War… one in which they absolutely need to ‘disarm us all’ in order to win.
This is why, my Red Brothers and Sisters, it is so vital for you to remain STRONG, as the pillar of your Ancestors were, the unvarying power of the mind, the soul and the heart… A Balance of Knowledge, Equity, Power and Responsibility ~ and where we belong in the Web of Life and the respect all living things deserve…
All these Treasures must be extinguished for the elite to be able to move forward… No one must know THEIR TRUE POWERS…
~ Luca Majno 2018
CARTOONS REVEAL TRUTH
This image was published just days before December 29th 1890 when 300 Lakota men, women and children were massacred near Wounded Knee Creek (Lakota: Čhaŋkpé Ópi Wakpála) in the U.S. state of South Dakota by a detachment of the U.S. 7th Cavalry.
This editorial cartoon was published with the title: “The Reason of the Indian Outbreak General Miles Declares That the Indians are Starved Into Rebellion.”
Date Published: Dec. 20, 1890. By Judge.
Native man holding musket and small package labeled “starvation rations for one year.” standing next to an obscenely wealthy Indian agent loaded down with pilfered bags of money intended for starving indigenous nations
Repository, the US Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division Washington, D.C
THE 14 POLES OF THE TIPI (Northern Plains)
Everything that they did had a Purpose.
Everything was in place
Everything was Perfect
“Creator will be Honored”, they said…
“Creator will listen and sit with us inside, at our fires…”
The more we ‘go inside’, in our own hearts, the more we see the essence of the way things were done before ~ the intent and spirit in which things were done. It was once said: “The most difficult, the most important journey that we will ever take in our lives, is the eighteen inches from our head to our heart.” … And then, our eyes open.
Life seen through the heart is Life seen through the eyes of the Original People here, on ‘Turtle Island’, what we call ‘America’ today. Imagine a system that is literally polar opposite from the one in which we now live… A system in which the tiniest living beings are respected as all others are, a system in which one would not eat without Giving Thanks, one would not pick Medicines without Giving Thanks in Prayer…
Yes, the essence of their being was built around the ‘pillars’, the representation of what their lives stood for. And this essence came through each pole, in this case, in the building of their lodges… This is an offering of their lives…
“The 14 Poles Of The Tipi”.
And so, each pole of the Tipi has a meaning ~ a representation, a purpose… and it is a Sacrifice of the People, for the People, when it is assembled. There is a good reason why people say, for example, that for the Apache, “Everything they did was Sacred.” Although every tribe was different, and there were once over 500 of them spread across this land, they all shared a common core value, a respect for Life, a need for Balance and Giving Thanks every day for their lives, a chance for a new day, to make a better life FOR OTHERS…
~ THE POLES ~ (Tipi: Northern Plains Indians)
1. OBEDIENCE. (to your parents first, as children, then to Elders)
2. RESPECT. (to All My Relations ~ the Spirit of all living entities)
3. HUMILITY. (remaining inside ~ honoring the Spirit within, without)
4. HAPPINESS. (joy, laughter, peace, fun)
5. LOVE. (the basic foundation of life, the opening of the heart)
6. FAITH. (belief in Creator)
7. KINSHIP. (All My Relations, the immediate and extended family)
8. CLEANLINESS. (removing that which would harm you)
9. THANKFULNESS. (gratitude to Creator and to all that is provided for you)
10. STRENGTH. (the ability to use physical, spiritual power in a good way)
11. GOOD CHILD REARING. (raising children with care, wise teachings)
12. HOPE. (the desire of our prayers)
13. ULTIMATE PROTECTION. (trust in Creator and Spirit, the tribe)
14. CONTROL FLAPS. (keeping elements out, allowing smoke to release)
Of course, there are smaller or even larger ones that are built, but I am using this example because at this time, I am living among the People of this area, and so I am honoring their Ancestors, in this case, the Tsalagi (Cherokee).
With each pole came a meditation, a prayer. The one holding it (picture below) realizes the responsibility, the pure and sacred actions of this event.
And so he or she reflects on the one particular pole and stays silent, quiet and in deep thought. It is now that the Spirit of their Ancestors is called upon to come and to be a part of this event, to honor them and to protect the tipi with their Spirit, their living energies.
The door of the lodge faces the east. The Elder always sits closest to the door, followed by the younger ones in sequence, and the youngest tends to the fire in silence. This ensured the Teachings staying in the tribe, from generation to generation. The respect that I have seen in these two images, ones that I took myself, were so powerful, that they were awe-inspiring and jaw-dropping. One really has to experience these things for themselves to really grasp their importance and their sacredness.
The Elder was once the ‘pillar’ of Teachings, the foundation on which life was built in the tribe, and nothing was done without his consent, or seeking his advice or knowledge. For example of a polar opposite, look at what we have today: We ‘imprison’ them in old folks homes, “We put them away, so we don’t have to look at them.” (Leo Buscaglia)
CARLISLE INDIAN SCHOOL ~ Carlisle, PA ~
This school was established in order to rapidly “immerse its students into mainstream Euro-American culture, believing they might thus become able to advance themselves and thrive in the dominant society.
From 1879 until 1918, over 10,000 Native American children from 140 tribes attended Carlisle; however, according to one source, only 158 students graduated. Tribes with the largest number of students included the Lakota, Ojibwe, Seneca, Oneida, Cherokee, Apache, Cheyenne, and Alaska Native. …
At Carlisle, Pratt attempted to “Kill the Indian: Save the Man” through any means necessary. Beyond a typical military regimen, Pratt was known to use corporal punishment on students who exhibited Native behaviors to help students become dependent only on themselves.
Carlisle and similar schools remain deeply controversial; many Native Americans say they forced children to leave their families at young ages, giving up their indigenous cultures, languages, religious and spiritual beliefs, and even their names, thus doing untold psychological damage to generations of Native people.”“Since the 1970s, Native American nations have founded their own schools and colleges, thus regaining control of their children’s education.”
PERSONAL NOTE: These ‘schools’ were in effect ‘prisons’ ~ where the Indian would suffer all kinds of abuses imaginable, from all the abuses we can name to others which seem just as horrific, but which were kept silent in order to protect the ‘church-and-state’: The use of the ‘home-made’ electric chair. That’s right. In Canada, it was used on children, “for the entertainment of passing dignitaries”. (more information available upon request)
See the links below for more information on the Carlisle Indian Industrial School:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlisle_Indian_Industrial_School
https://nativeamericannetroots.net/diary/1497
http://www.carlisleindianschoolproject.com/history/
http://pulitzercenter.org/reporting/carlisle-and-indian-boarding-school-legacy-america
“There is a cemetery near where the School once stood that contains the graves of 184 of its students.”
https://cumberlink.com/news/local/closer_look/indian-school-descendants-reflect-on-remnants-of-carlisle-indian-school/article_ad30d145-1a92-5da0-8ae3-91a07dcd6f60.html
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/army-begins-unearthing-remains-of-children-killed-at-carlisle-indian-school-20170808.html
There are other websites and several books that contain more information on the Carlisle School. (and other schools around the country like it, as well as ‘north of the border’ …