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In this section, we answer questions from our readers about Native American Indians.
QUESTION:
I have been searching for information on the significance of Lakota jewelry in the past. I am a teacher and during watching a film on Lewis & Clark, which included some references to the Lakota, some students were very interested in the pictures of the beautiful bear claw necklaces, etc. They wanted to know what the jewelry really meant. So far, I've had no luck with internet searches. Can you help?
~Submitted by Jewell S.
QUESTION:My sister taught school on the reservation in Pine Ridge (Porcupine) about 20 years ago. She will be 50 this year. I am looking to buy her turquoise jewelry. I’d like to know it’s authentic and made by the Indians. She would hold this as being very special. I understand that some jewelry has tribes’ names inscribed on the back. Can you give some reputable stores or web sites that I can look at and buy. I would be particularly…
QUESTION: When did it become legal in Arizona for Native Americans to buy alcohol and to vote? ~Submitted by Mel H.Continue to When did native americans get the right to vote and drink alcohol? →
QUESTION:
I know this may be a strange question and i am sorry if it seems not right to ask, but i was wondering if there had been any sioux - apache weddings? Meaning the girl was apache and the boy sioux? There is a very valid reason for this question but I am not allowed to talk about it. Only to ask. Please can you go back as to 14-15 hundred years. Or after.
~Submitted by Kerry S.
ANSWER:
I suppose it could be possible, through trade routes or captive prisoners taken in raids and later traded, but 14-1500 years ago the Apache and Sioux tribes lived in very different regions of the US, separated by mountain ranges and great distances, and they were neither neighbors, enemies or friends. There was very little, if any, contact between those two tribes before the reservation era.
In ancient times, the Apache people were once a part of the Navajo tribe. Traditional Apache territory was in Arizona, New Mexico and Old Mexico, while the Sioux were originally from Minnesota and around the great lakes in Michigan and Wisconsin.
QUESTION:
Do indian reservations need summer volunteers? I am a 17 year old junior in high school and would like to do some volunteer work this summer with another culture.
~Submitted by Cindy T.
ANSWER:
Hi Cindy,
Yes, there are many opportunities to volunteer on indian reservations. These volunteer programs usually charge a nominal fee to cover your food and housing during your stay, and you have to pay your own transportation, which is usually tax deductible as a charitable donation. You will be expected to work a set number of hours each week you are there, but will also have the opportunity to interact with the community and learn something about their culture.
Here is a partial list:
Continue to Do indian reservations need summer volunteers? →
QUESTION: We have recently traced my husband’s roots to Pocahontas. His Grandmother had always told him there was a relation, but he never had any proof. He is now interested in joining a tribe. Is this something that is completed in the state we reside? We have found that there is a Accohannock Tribe in Maryland, but we reside in North Carolina. Thanks in advance for your assistance. ~Submitted by Connie C.Continue to I’m related to Pocahontas. Can I…