What's New
Navajo Nation may stiffen crime penalties
The tribe's Law and Order Committee this week is holding public hearings regarding changes that could be made to Title 17, the tribe's criminal code that deals with sentencing on the Navajo Nation. A public hearing will be held 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday at the Shiprock chapter house.
The changes could include steeper penalties for a variety of crimes, including the possession of alcohol one of the most common offenses on the Navajo Nation.
The committee is reviewing the code because in January 2000 the tribe eliminated or lessened jail terms and fines for nearly 30 offenses. The tribe had limited resources to penalize offenders, according to the committee.
Shoshone Chief Washakie (Whoshakik): A Biographical Sketch
Washakie, the best-known leader of the Eastern Shoshones in the latter part of the 19th century, is still considered by some Shoshones as an outsider because he was not a full-blood Shoshone.Indeed, Washakie was of mixed tribal heritage.
Read more: Shoshone Chief Washakie (Whoshakik): A Biographical Sketch
Enrollment requirements of the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Reservation
Read more: Enrollment requirements of the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Reservation
French auction house plans to sell sacred Hopi katsina masks
The Heard Museum and the Museum of Northern Arizona have joined Hopi cultural officials in urging a French auction house to cancel the planned sale this month of about 70 ceremonial kachina faces, known to tribal members as “friends.”
In Hopi theology, kachinas are supernatural messengers depicted in fantastical costumes worn during religious ceremonies.
There are several hundred spirit characters in the pantheon representing wildlife, plants, human qualities, weather and other facets of nature or society.
More correctly known as katsina friends to the Hopi people, these characters are more commonly depicted in smaller form as carved doll-like figures.
Read more: French auction house plans to sell sacred Hopi katsina masks
Shoshoni Indians (Northwestern Bands)
The Eastern Shoshoni, numbering about 2,000 under their famous Chief Washakie, occupied the region from the Wind River Mountains to Fort Bridger and astride the Oregon Trail. Their descendants today live on the Wind River Reservation.
Two other divisions having similar cultures were the Goshute Shoshoni and the Western Shoshoni.
Wes Studi inducted into Hall of Great Western Performers
Actor Wes Studi this weekend will become the second Native American ever inducted into the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum’s Hall of Great Western Performers in Oklahoma City.
In an interview from his home in Arroyo Hondo on Wednesday, Studi said the honor is particularly significant because “I’m the only one who’s still alive.”
Read more: Wes Studi inducted into Hall of Great Western Performers
Wood Resources to reopen Colville Tribe's plywood mill in Omak
Wood Resources has signed a 25-year lease with the Colville Tribe to reopen the Colville plywood mill in Omak and ultimately hire as many as 200 workers to operate the mill.
The agreement between the Colville Tribal Federal Corporation, the business arm of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, which owns the mill, and Wood Resources LLC, also includes a wood supply agreement for timber from tribal forest lands.
Read more: Wood Resources to reopen Colville Tribe's plywood mill in Omak
List of Memorial Day Pow Wows and basic powwow etiquette
The rhythm of the drum signifies the heartbeat of the people. Singing and dancing are integral features of the pow wow celebration, expressions of the spirit of the people. We get together at a powwow to celebrate and to give thanks to the Creator for the good that we’ve had in the past. We say healing prayers as we dance.
Read more: List of Memorial Day Pow Wows and basic powwow etiquette
Star Wars Movie to be translated to Navajo language
Navajo members will soon be able to hear the beloved character from the Star Wars Saga say this and more as the Navajo Nation Museum, Navajo Parks and Recreation, and Lucasfilm, Ltd. have joined forces to dub Episode IV of the classic space fantasy film, Star Wars into the Diné language. This marks the first time that a mainstream movie will be dubbed into the Navajo language.
Read more: Star Wars Movie to be translated to Navajo language
Kinship Terminology Explained A-D
The symbols, terms, and concepts used when talking about kinship relationships can be confusing to the layman. Here is a kinship terms glossary to help you out.
Nez Perce Bands
Sacagawea's son: Through the mist of two centuries, a portrait emerges
PORTLAND, Ore. - Sacagawea carried her infant son on her back when she trudged along with Lewis and Clark on their Voyage of Discovery to the Pacific.
Jean Baptiste Charbonneau was 55 days old when the explorers left Fort Mandan in present-day North Dakota in 1805 and headed west into the unknown.
"This was the first child this woman had boarn and as is common in such cases, her labor was tedious and the pain violent," Meriwether Lewis wrote in his journal.
Interpreter Rene Jessaume suggested a folk remedy - a rattlesnake rattle crumbled in water. Sacagawea drank it, and because of it, or in spite of it, Jean Baptiste entered the world 10 minutes later on Feb. 11, 1805.
Read more: Sacagawea's son: Through the mist of two centuries, a portrait emerges
Blackfeet Tribe of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation of Montana
Brief Summary:
The Blackfeet and Blackfoot tribes are really the same tribes.There are three divisions of the Blackfoot Nation. When the US - Canadian border was drawn, those on the Canadian side of the boundary continued to be called by their traditional branch names. However, those on the US side of the border, which may have belonged to any one of the three original branches, were lumped together as one tribe and renamed the Blackfeet Tribe of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation of Montana. Unfortunately, the US Government mispelled Blackfoot to Blackfeet, which is still a bone of contention for this tribe's members as of today.
Read more: Blackfeet Tribe of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation of Montana
Spokane Tribal Council may oust vice-chairman for lying about identity in bison poaching incident
Spokane Tribal leaders are deciding whether to oust their vice chairman for lying to a game officer investigating bison poaching in Montana.
Rodney W. Abrahamson was convicted of five misdemeanors after he illegally killed two bison north of Yellowstone National Park in February, while traveling with a group of Nez Perce hunters who were on a legal hunt. The court record states he lied to Montana wildlife agents about his identity. He claimed to be Nez Perce, the tribe that has rights to hunt bison. The Spokane tribe does not have treaty rights to hunt the animal.
Reno linguist foremost expert on Washoe language
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
William H. Jacobsen Jr. is recognized as the foremost expert on the ancient and complex language of the Washoe tribe that has occupied Carson Valley and surrounding areas for thousands of years.
For centuries, Washoe had been a spoken language. Jacobsen learned to speak it fluently. It wasn’t written down, so Jacobsen wrote it down.
Blackfeet and Blackfoot kinship is traced from the male line
The Blackfoot / Blackfeet tribes are subdivided into gentes, a gens being a body of consanguineal kindred (blood relatives) in the male line. It is noteworthy that the Blackfeet, although Algonquins, have this system of subdivision, and it may be that among them the gentes are of comparatively recent date. No special duties are assigned to any one gens, nor has any gens, so far as I know, any special "medicine" or "totem."
Read more: Blackfeet and Blackfoot kinship is traced from the male line
Death Valley TimbiSha Shoshone Band of California
Brief Summary:
The Timbi-sha are Western Shoshone who have a 40-acre federal reservation in Death Valley (Inyo County), in south-central California, near the Nevada border. This site is commonly known as Indian Village. They also have additional lands in and near Death Valley National Park.
Read more: Death Valley TimbiSha Shoshone Band of California
Bands of the Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone Indians of Nevada
Brief Summary:
The Battle Mountain Band, Elko Band, South Fork Band, and the Wells Band collectively make up the Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone Indians. The Te-Moak Tribal Council has total jurisdiction over all tribal lands, while the bands (colonies) retain sovereignty over all the other affairs, and each band has its own separate governing Band Council.
Read more: Bands of the Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone Indians of Nevada
Low Man on the Totem Pole
Great Basin Region Timeline
12,000-9,000 B.C. Sites have been found indicating Paleo-Indian habitation within the Great Basin. They were small hunting groups following the mammoth, bison, camel and horse herds.
9,000 B.C - 400 A.D. Implements found in this area from this "Great Basin Desert Archaic Period" include milling stones.
3,000 B.C. The lives of the oldest bristlecone pine trees in the Great Basin National Park began.
500-800 A.D. The Fremont Culture emerged, leaving behind well-preserved sites indicating agricultural activity as well as hunting and gathering.
Sacred Hopi masks sold at French auction house for 1.2 million
The auction of the sacred Hopi masks brought a cool 1.2 million for the sacred masks, collectively. The most expensive mask, the “Mother Crow,” sold for $209,000, which was more than three times the pre-sale estimate.
Read more: Sacred Hopi masks sold at French auction house for 1.2 million
Chippewa and Cree Tribes and Rocky's Boy Reservation Timeline
Read more: Chippewa and Cree Tribes and Rocky's Boy Reservation Timeline
Enrollment Requirements of the Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribes of the Fort McDermitt Indian Reservation
Enrollment requirements of the Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribes of the Fort McDermitt Indian Reservation requires members to live on the reservation at least one year out of three and also requires a blood quantum of at least 1/4 Paiute or Shoshone ancestry.
Yerington Paiute Tribe of the Yerington Colony & Campbell Ranch Index
Brief Summary:
The Paiute (PY-yoot) tribe is actually many different bands distributed across a large part of the western United States.The vast desert area used by the Paiutes extends from central Oregon southward through Las Vegas Valley to land along the Colorado River in Arizona and Southern California and eastward to southwestern Idaho. The Yerington Paiute Tribe of the Yerington Colony and Campbell Ranch is a federally recognized tribe of Northern Paiute Indians in western Nevada.
Read more: Yerington Paiute Tribe of the Yerington Colony & Campbell Ranch Index
Northern Cheyenne Tribe Timeline
Blackfeet folk singer Richie Havens walks on
Karuk Tribe Index
Brief Summary:
The Karuk tribe is the second largest indigenous tribe in the state of California. Most Karuk people are enrolled in the Karuk Tribe; however, some are enrolled in the Cher-Ae Heights Indian Community of the Trinidad Rancheria, located in Humboldt County, California. The Quartz Valley Rancheria of Karok, Shasta, and Upper Klamath Indians is also a federally recognized tribal entity.
Sioux & Assiniboine Tribes and Fort Peck Reservation Timeline
histories and remain in the collective memories of individuals. Some of that history has been lost, but much remains vibrant within community stories and narratives that have yet to be documented. This is a brief Souix and Assiniboine Tribes and Fort Peck Reservation Timeline.
Read more: Sioux & Assiniboine Tribes and Fort Peck Reservation Timeline
Judge rules Jim Thorpe's body should be returned to Oklahoma
Read more: Judge rules Jim Thorpe's body should be returned to Oklahoma
Eric Schweig - Inuit Actor
KEYWORDS: native american actor, Eric Schweig, american indian actor
biography, Eric Schweig picture, Eric Schweig photo, Eric Schweig pics, Inuvik, Northwest Territory, Canadian actor, Inuvik actor, Inuit actor, Skins, Dead Mans Walk, Follow the River, 500 Nations, June 19, 1967
Eric Schweig had been acting for five years when his role as Uncas in The Last of the Mohicans brought him to the attention of the masses. With no formal training and very few lines, Eric brought the role of quiet, steady Uncas to life and to his tragic end using body language and facial expressions alone.
The fact that there are numerous Internet sites devoted to the movie and to Eric himself attest to his talent. He is one of the leading Native actors in the film industry.
Date of birth: June 19, 1967
Location of birth: Inuvik, Northwest Territory, Canada
Assiniboine and Gros Ventre Tribes and Fort Belknap Reservation Timeline
histories and remain in the collective memories of individuals. Some of that history has been lost, but much remains vibrant within community stories and narratives that have yet to be documented. This is a brief timeline of the Assiniboine and Gros Ventre tribes and the Fort Belknap Reservation.
Read more: Assiniboine and Gros Ventre Tribes and Fort Belknap Reservation Timeline