Values
There was little emphasis on material objects. In fact, it was considered more appropriate to purge yourself of all of your material items then it was to collect them. When a person died, the less they left behind,the better they were remembered. All their belongings, everything, was burned with them. In this way, the people did not have to deal with humanity’s four problems, which include Ignorance, Greed, Arrogance, and Jealousy.
Native Indian population
The native American population constitutes about 1% of the total American population. There were thousands of Native American tribes before invasion by the Europeans . Now there are about 600. They are nearly extinct today. Mexico and Canada natives would not have to jump any borders to visit their homelands and family.
Citizenship
All native americans in usa are citizens since 1924. 80% live of the native americans do not live in reservations but in mostly urban areas like Chicago and New York City etc. As sovereign nations, state laws do not apply on the reservations and they fall under federal jurisdiction.
Native American stories
Dibaajimowinan (Stories)
http://www.umich.edu/~ojibwe/stories/
The site has stories in Anishinaabemowin (Chippewa/Ojibwa Language)
All stories can be downloaded as MP3 files.
This download is not in MP3
Narratives
http://imp.lss.wisc.edu/~jrvalent/ais301/Stories/Stories.html
This is in Oji-Cree. A download is available at the Legends Site
http://legends.knet.on.ca/
Verify Native Indian status
If you wish to verify Native Indian status, you find have to find out which nation, you belong to. You can then contact the enrollment office of that nation. They have a family tree of all members and can check eligibility. If you are eligible they can give you the needed forms.
Red Cloud’s war
Red Cloud’s War is considered the biggest war won by the Native American and was an armed conflict between the Lakota tribe and the United States Government in Wyoming and Montana between 1866 and 1868 . Access to the Montana gold fields was through the Bozeman trail and this encroached on Powder River County in central Wyoming, which resulted in the conflict.
Gold was discovered in 1963 in the Bannack area of Montana, which lead to increase in the number of white settlers in the area. It also lead to the discovery of the Bozeman trail, which ran from Fort Laramie through the Powder River county to Yellowstone and the Bozeman Pass. This affected the hunting grounds of the Lakota in Powder River county. Though a council was called in 1866 to discuss a treaty between the Lakota and United States, it was done in bad faith by the United States government.
As the United States government continued construction along the Bozeman trail, the native Americans organised a resistance against travellers on the trail by targeting traders, emigrants and mail carriers. The biggest defeat was the massacre of Lieutenant Colonel William Fetterman’s column just outside Fort Phil Kearny, Wyoming, in December of 1866. This lead to the signing of the Fort Laramie Treaty
Red Cloud
Red Cloud ( Makhpiya-Luta) was one of the most successful native American leaders in the confrontation with the United States Governments consisting of WASPs. He was born near the Platte River near the city of North Platter near Nebraska in 1822. His mother was from the Oglala tribe and he was bought up by his maternal uncle.
After a successful war against the US government over the construction of forts in Native American territory in 1966, the Fort Laramie treaty was signed with the United States government in 1968. In the treaty it was agreed that the United States government would abandon its forts along the Bozeman trail. The Red Cloud Agency was established and it was responsible for issuing rations to the Lakota weekly.
The disputes with the representatives of the United States government continued and in 1878, the Red Cloud Agency was removed to the forks of the White River at the Pine Ridge reservation. He continued to fight for the rights of the Native American people and opposed treaties to sell more Sioux land. He died in 1909 and is buried at the Pine Ridge reservation.
Secret ancient techniques
Like any ancient civilization, the native Indians traditions include many techniques which are a secret and have never been explained by modern scientific techniques. Some are similar to the secret building techniques which have been used in the construction of Coral castle in Florida in the last century.
Native American culture
Native American culture has many customs which have been been handed down over the years. The basic rules are that you should be respectful of everything and everyone around you have and share whatever resources that you have.
Living Legend
by Elaine Raper
The world we live in is rapidly changing with the dawning of each new day. It is time for us to stop and look around us — to become aware of all that is. And we need to live each day of good mind and good spirit. It’s a time for people to share with each other again – to share stories to relearn the ancient teachings of the old ones to regain our balance and harmony with nature – all that is.
Man, in his rush to discover and to accomplish things, has not taken the time after each achievement to pay attention to the effect that it had on other people and the environment. In fact, part of the problem is so many people feel they have to “go by the book” and ignore basic truths, the common sense, of the matter. Total awareness is not evident. People are going through life with blinders on and they are missing so much that Mother Earth has to offer.
Native Americans have told the stories and legends from generation to generation about life as they knew it, from the beginning of time. These teachings tell the story of life and hold the answers to many of the questions we, the people, have today!
There is a Cherokee story that spoke about the beginnings of life and how the spirit people from the sky came to Mother Earth. The Great One told the Cherokee Spirit People they have been chosen to be keepers of Mother Earth and all living things that go into the physical world. The power Medicine, which is choice would be given to them and to the human spirits of the other tribes that will follow to be keepers.
It was said that Mother Earth is suspended at the Sacred Four Directions by a strand of energy that is very strong going into the sky. The same is true for each and every one of us. We are so connected to the same Four Directions consisting of energy and are a part of Mother Earth and Father Sun. This existence is under our care and if we do not protect Mother Earth, she will drop her energy cords at each of the Four Directions and drop into the sea of infinity.
Over a long period of time, there have been devastating events around the world and the earth and atmosphere aches from the man-made pollution, wars, mining, radiation, stripping the land of its trees and wildlife – just to name a few detrimental doings.
As we approach the Millennium, we all need to care more about what we do and how we do it – the effects of our actions are critical in this time.
A way of living that is natural, with understanding, compassion for one another is vital. We are related to all things and to each other. And this flow of energy is called life.
It is up to us to live each day with a good mind, to feel and give love to others – sharing – and to count your blessings each and every day. This is a sign of the times and the way of living the right relationship with all Living things. This is our Living Legend.