Happy National Aboriginal Day, to Louis XOXOXOXO

[Ambivalent]

Hey, Louis -

In 10 minutes (here in Canada): it's "National Aboriginal Day" - the day we celebrate the contributions of the First Nations, Inuit, and Metis people who first lived in this land - and who generously shared this land with those of us of European and other ancestries who came to North America, much, much, later.

It has not been an easy history. The Aboriginal people were good to us - but we were not always so good to them. There is a long, bad, story to be told, about the way that First Nations and Inuit people (and sometimes the Metis people, too) were:
*Pushed aside - with the First Nations people, especially, being pushed onto reservations;
*Disrespected - so that traditional beliefs and cultures were looked down upon;
*Emotionally and culturally destroyed - especially (here in Canada) through residential schools, so that children were taken from their parents, forced to give up their original languages, and estranged from their family and friends.

All of this has led to a legacy of tragedy, heartache, poverty, and abuse. It is only in the last few years that people have begun to wake up to all the destruction which was wrought upon the first peoples of this land - and begun to listen a little - and to learn (a little) how much we all have to learn from First Nations, Inuit, and Metis people. Respect for elders and for outsiders; love for family; a belief in sharing and consensus in decision-making; and a desire to live in harmony with the natural world. . . these are hallmarks of the many diverse cultures of the people who inhabited North America, before we did. And people like me, have a lot to learn, from these values.

Though it is only the beginning, I am glad that we are finally beginning to understand the wrongs that have been done to the first inhabitants of this continent, and to celebrate the goodness and wisdom that are intrinsically a part of Aboriginal cultures - and that always were, long before the Europeans came.

It is astounding to me that, despite all the wrongs that have been wrought upon First Nations, Inuit, and Metis people, they have continued to try so hard, and live in such goodwill with US. SO that, in Canada, we have had:
*Great war heroes, like Tommy Prince: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Prince
*Great northern guardians, like the Inuit and First Nations people who watch over Canada's arctic: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Rangers
*Great clergymen and linguists and educators, like Henry Budd: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Budd
*Great artists like Norval Morrisseau: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norval_Morrisseau
*Great musicians like Buffy Sainte-Marie: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffy_Sainte-Marie
*And inspiring and wonderful movie-stars, like Adam Beach: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Beach

These are all people who inspire me, and give me hope - just like you do. It is high time that all of us celebrate the accomplishments of Native-Canadians, and Native-Americans, in making life in North America the beautiful thing it has sometimes come to be. . . despite all the persecution, and despite all the odds.

And, because you are an ELDER (I say this with all respect, and you know what I mean): I hope that your example, and the example of others like you, will help EVERYONE to realize that we all live in the circle, and must always do our best to listen to each other, and learn from each other, and make life a little better, for each other.

Love (and very humbly, 'Meegwetch') your friend,
"A" XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xMGmaR9VAs

 

[louis33705]

Thank you for your kind words and bringing this awareness to the people.

 

[Ambivalent]

Thank you for your kind words and bringing this awareness to the people.

*********************************

Kisses, Louis.

Here is Andy Dejarlis, one of our great Metis fiddle-players, and one of my Dad's favourites, too.

"A" XOXOXOXOXO

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axoADlArRCk

 

[tampa24]

And, because you are an ELDER (I say this with all respect, and you know what I mean): I hope that your example, and the example of others like you, will help EVERYONE to realize that we all live in the circle, and must always do our best to listen to each other, and learn from each other, and make life a little better, for each other.

Love (and very humbly, 'Meegwetch') your friend,
"A" XOXOXOXOXOOXXO

What a lovely post Ambi. Thank you for all those sentiments. And thank you for bringing awareness to the wrongs of the past and the hopes for a more inclusive future for all of humanity.

I am part Cherokee myself. The Cherokee Nation suffered great cruelty, death and misfortune when the white man arrived. The infamous "Trail of Tears" that the Cherokee endured being force marched for 1,000 miles and relocated from their lands in North Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee in the east, all the way to their assigned home in Oklahoma makes for some woeful reading. It was a death march for the 4,000 or so people who did not survive. About a fourth of the party never made it. Among those who did make it, many were broken and in poor health for the rest of their lives. A forced march of civilians by the military like that, would be considered a war crime in today's world.

***************************************​

Gold had been discovered in Georgia in 1829 and much of it was believed to be on traditional Cherokee land. There began the incitement by the government in Georgia (and other southeastern states) to confiscate the land and remove the native inhabitants. A treaty was proposed and sent to Congress to grant a form of official legitimacy and legal sanction to this decision.


An excerpt from Wikipedia:

Nevertheless, the treaty, passed by Congress by a single vote, and signed into law by President Andrew Jackson, was imposed by his successor President Martin Van Buren who allowed Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Alabama an armed force of 7,000 made up of militia, regular army, and volunteers under General Winfield Scott to round up about 13,000 Cherokees into concentration camps at the U.S. Indian Agency near Cleveland, Tennessee before being sent to the West. Most of the deaths occurred from disease, starvation and cold in these camps. Their homes were burned and their property destroyed and plundered. Farms belonging to the Cherokees for generations were won by white settlers in a lottery. After the initial roundup, the U.S. military still oversaw the emigration until they met the forced destination.[30] Private John G. Burnett later wrote, "Future generations will read and condemn the act and I do hope posterity will remember that private soldiers like myself, and like the four Cherokees who were forced by General Scott to shoot an Indian Chief and his children, had to execute the orders of our superiors. We had no choice in the matter."[31]

“ I fought through the War Between the States and have seen many men shot, but the Cherokee Removal was the cruelest work I ever knew. ”

—- Georgia soldier who participated in the removal,[32]


In the winter of 1838 the Cherokee began the thousand-mile march with scant clothing and most on foot without shoes or moccasins. The march began in Red Clay, Tennessee, the location of the last Eastern capital of the Cherokee Nation. Because of the diseases, the Native Americans (colloquially known as Indians) were not allowed to go into any towns or villages along the way; many times this meant traveling much farther to go around them.[33] After crossing Tennessee and Kentucky, they arrived at the Ohio River across from Golconda in southern Illinois about the 3rd of December 1838. Here the starving Indians were charged a dollar a head (equal to $22.15 today) to cross the river on "Berry's Ferry" which typically charged twelve cents, equal to $2.66 today. They were not allowed passage until the ferry had serviced all others wishing to cross and were forced to take shelter under "Mantle Rock," a shelter bluff on the Kentucky side, until "Berry had nothing better to do". Many died huddled together at Mantle Rock waiting to cross. Several Cherokee were murdered by locals. The killers filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Government through the courthouse in Vienna, suing the government for $35 a head (equal to $775.14 today) to bury the murdered Cherokee.[33]

As they crossed southern Illinois, on December 26, Martin Davis, Commissary Agent for Moses Daniel's detachment, wrote: "There is the coldest weather in Illinois I ever experienced anywhere. The streams are all frozen over something like 8 or 12 inches (20 or 30 cm) thick. We are compelled to cut through the ice to get water for ourselves and animals. It snows here every two or three days at the fartherest. We are now camped in Mississippi [River] swamp 4 miles (6.4 km) from the river, and there is no possible chance of crossing the river for the numerous quantity of ice that comes floating down the river every day. We have only traveled 65 miles (105 km) on the last month, including the time spent at this place, which has been about three weeks. It is unknown when we shall cross the river...."[34]

Removed Cherokees initially settled near Tahlequah, Oklahoma. When signing the Treaty of New Echota in 1835 Major Ridge said "I have signed my death warrant." The resulting political turmoil led to the killings of Major Ridge, John Ridge, and Elias Boudinot; of the leaders of the Treaty Party, only Stand Watie escaped death.[35][36][37] The population of the Cherokee Nation eventually rebounded, and today the Cherokees are the largest American Indian group in the United States.[38]

There were some exceptions to removal. Perhaps 100 Cherokees evaded the U.S. soldiers and lived off the land in Georgia and other states. Those Cherokees who lived on private, individually owned lands (rather than communally owned tribal land) were not subject to removal. In North Carolina, about 400 Cherokees, known as the Oconaluftee Cherokee, lived on land in the Great Smoky Mountains owned by a white man named William Holland Thomas (who had been adopted by Cherokees as a boy), and were thus not subject to removal. Added to this were some 200 Cherokee from the Nantahala area allowed to stay in the Qualla Boundary after assisting the U.S. Army in hunting down and capturing the family of the old prophet, Tsali. (Tsali faced a firing squad.) These North Carolina Cherokees became the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation.

 

[tampa24]

And, because you are an ELDER (I say this with all respect, and you know what I mean): I hope that your example, and the example of others like you, will help EVERYONE to realize that we all live in the circle, and must always do our best to listen to each other, and learn from each other, and make life a little better, for each other.

Love (and very humbly, 'Meegwetch') your friend,
"A" XOXOXOXOXOOXXO

What a lovely post Ambi. Thank you for all those sentiments. And thank you for bringing awareness to the wrongs of the past and the hopes for a more inclusive future for all of humanity.

I am part Cherokee myself. The Cherokee Nation suffered great cruelty, death and misfortune when the white man arrived. The infamous "Trail of Tears" that the Cherokee endured being force marched for 1,000 miles and relocated from their lands in North Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee in the east, all the way to their assigned home in Oklahoma makes for some woeful reading. It was a death march for the 4,000 or so people who did not survive. About a fourth of the party never made it. Among those who did make it, many were broken and in poor health for the rest of their lives. A forced march of civilians by the military like that, would be considered a war crime in today's world.

***************************************​

Gold had been discovered in Georgia in 1829 and much of it was believed to be on traditional Cherokee land. There began the incitement by the government in Georgia (and other southeastern states) to confiscate the land and remove the native inhabitants. A treaty was proposed and sent to Congress to grant a form of official legitimacy and legal sanction to this decision.


An excerpt from Wikipedia:

Nevertheless, the treaty, passed by Congress by a single vote, and signed into law by President Andrew Jackson, was imposed by his successor President Martin Van Buren who allowed Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Alabama an armed force of 7,000 made up of militia, regular army, and volunteers under General Winfield Scott to round up about 13,000 Cherokees into concentration camps at the U.S. Indian Agency near Cleveland, Tennessee before being sent to the West. Most of the deaths occurred from disease, starvation and cold in these camps. Their homes were burned and their property destroyed and plundered. Farms belonging to the Cherokees for generations were won by white settlers in a lottery. After the initial roundup, the U.S. military still oversaw the emigration until they met the forced destination.[30] Private John G. Burnett later wrote, "Future generations will read and condemn the act and I do hope posterity will remember that private soldiers like myself, and like the four Cherokees who were forced by General Scott to shoot an Indian Chief and his children, had to execute the orders of our superiors. We had no choice in the matter."[31]

“ I fought through the War Between the States and have seen many men shot, but the Cherokee Removal was the cruelest work I ever knew. ”

—- Georgia soldier who participated in the removal,[32]


In the winter of 1838 the Cherokee began the thousand-mile march with scant clothing and most on foot without shoes or moccasins. The march began in Red Clay, Tennessee, the location of the last Eastern capital of the Cherokee Nation. Because of the diseases, the Native Americans (colloquially known as Indians) were not allowed to go into any towns or villages along the way; many times this meant traveling much farther to go around them.[33] After crossing Tennessee and Kentucky, they arrived at the Ohio River across from Golconda in southern Illinois about the 3rd of December 1838. Here the starving Indians were charged a dollar a head (equal to $22.15 today) to cross the river on "Berry's Ferry" which typically charged twelve cents, equal to $2.66 today. They were not allowed passage until the ferry had serviced all others wishing to cross and were forced to take shelter under "Mantle Rock," a shelter bluff on the Kentucky side, until "Berry had nothing better to do". Many died huddled together at Mantle Rock waiting to cross. Several Cherokee were murdered by locals. The killers filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Government through the courthouse in Vienna, suing the government for $35 a head (equal to $775.14 today) to bury the murdered Cherokee.[33]

As they crossed southern Illinois, on December 26, Martin Davis, Commissary Agent for Moses Daniel's detachment, wrote: "There is the coldest weather in Illinois I ever experienced anywhere. The streams are all frozen over something like 8 or 12 inches (20 or 30 cm) thick. We are compelled to cut through the ice to get water for ourselves and animals. It snows here every two or three days at the fartherest. We are now camped in Mississippi [River] swamp 4 miles (6.4 km) from the river, and there is no possible chance of crossing the river for the numerous quantity of ice that comes floating down the river every day. We have only traveled 65 miles (105 km) on the last month, including the time spent at this place, which has been about three weeks. It is unknown when we shall cross the river...."[34]

Removed Cherokees initially settled near Tahlequah, Oklahoma. When signing the Treaty of New Echota in 1835 Major Ridge said "I have signed my death warrant." The resulting political turmoil led to the killings of Major Ridge, John Ridge, and Elias Boudinot; of the leaders of the Treaty Party, only Stand Watie escaped death.[35][36][37] The population of the Cherokee Nation eventually rebounded, and today the Cherokees are the largest American Indian group in the United States.[38]

There were some exceptions to removal. Perhaps 100 Cherokees evaded the U.S. soldiers and lived off the land in Georgia and other states. Those Cherokees who lived on private, individually owned lands (rather than communally owned tribal land) were not subject to removal. In North Carolina, about 400 Cherokees, known as the Oconaluftee Cherokee, lived on land in the Great Smoky Mountains owned by a white man named William Holland Thomas (who had been adopted by Cherokees as a boy), and were thus not subject to removal. Added to this were some 200 Cherokee from the Nantahala area allowed to stay in the Qualla Boundary after assisting the U.S. Army in hunting down and capturing the family of the old prophet, Tsali. (Tsali faced a firing squad.) These North Carolina Cherokees became the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trail_of_Tears#Cherokee_forced_relocation

Let us hope for a more enlightened society and a better world.

 

[tampa24]

And, because you are an ELDER (I say this with all respect, and you know what I mean): I hope that your example, and the example of others like you, will help EVERYONE to realize that we all live in the circle, and must always do our best to listen to each other, and learn from each other, and make life a little better, for each other.

Love (and very humbly, 'Meegwetch') your friend,
"A" XOXOXOXOXOOXXO

What a lovely post Ambi. Thank you for all those sentiments. And thank you for bringing awareness to the wrongs of the past and the hopes for a more inclusive future for all of humanity.

I am part Cherokee myself. The Cherokee Nation suffered great cruelty, death and misfortune when the white man arrived. The infamous "Trail of Tears" that the Cherokee endured being force marched for 1,000 miles and relocated from their lands in North Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee in the east, all the way to their assigned home in Oklahoma makes for some woeful reading. It was a death march for the 4,000 or so people who did not survive. About a fourth of the party never made it. Among those who did make it, many were broken and in poor health for the rest of their lives. A forced march of civilians by the military like that, would be considered a war crime in today's world.

***************************************​

Gold had been discovered in Georgia in 1829 and much of it was believed to be on traditional Cherokee land. There began the incitement by the government of Georgia (and other southeastern states) to confiscate the land and remove the native inhabitants. A treaty was proposed and sent to Congress to grant a form of official legitimacy and legal sanction to this decision.


An excerpt from Wikipedia:

Nevertheless, the treaty, passed by Congress by a single vote, and signed into law by President Andrew Jackson, was imposed by his successor President Martin Van Buren who allowed Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Alabama an armed force of 7,000 made up of militia, regular army, and volunteers under General Winfield Scott to round up about 13,000 Cherokees into concentration camps at the U.S. Indian Agency near Cleveland, Tennessee before being sent to the West. Most of the deaths occurred from disease, starvation and cold in these camps. Their homes were burned and their property destroyed and plundered. Farms belonging to the Cherokees for generations were won by white settlers in a lottery. After the initial roundup, the U.S. military still oversaw the emigration until they met the forced destination.[30] Private John G. Burnett later wrote, "Future generations will read and condemn the act and I do hope posterity will remember that private soldiers like myself, and like the four Cherokees who were forced by General Scott to shoot an Indian Chief and his children, had to execute the orders of our superiors. We had no choice in the matter."[31]

“ I fought through the War Between the States and have seen many men shot, but the Cherokee Removal was the cruelest work I ever knew. ”

—- Georgia soldier who participated in the removal,[32]


In the winter of 1838 the Cherokee began the thousand-mile march with scant clothing and most on foot without shoes or moccasins. The march began in Red Clay, Tennessee, the location of the last Eastern capital of the Cherokee Nation. Because of the diseases, the Native Americans (colloquially known as Indians) were not allowed to go into any towns or villages along the way; many times this meant traveling much farther to go around them.[33] After crossing Tennessee and Kentucky, they arrived at the Ohio River across from Golconda in southern Illinois about the 3rd of December 1838. Here the starving Indians were charged a dollar a head (equal to $22.15 today) to cross the river on "Berry's Ferry" which typically charged twelve cents, equal to $2.66 today. They were not allowed passage until the ferry had serviced all others wishing to cross and were forced to take shelter under "Mantle Rock," a shelter bluff on the Kentucky side, until "Berry had nothing better to do". Many died huddled together at Mantle Rock waiting to cross. Several Cherokee were murdered by locals. The killers filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Government through the courthouse in Vienna, suing the government for $35 a head (equal to $775.14 today) to bury the murdered Cherokee.[33]

As they crossed southern Illinois, on December 26, Martin Davis, Commissary Agent for Moses Daniel's detachment, wrote: "There is the coldest weather in Illinois I ever experienced anywhere. The streams are all frozen over something like 8 or 12 inches (20 or 30 cm) thick. We are compelled to cut through the ice to get water for ourselves and animals. It snows here every two or three days at the fartherest. We are now camped in Mississippi [River] swamp 4 miles (6.4 km) from the river, and there is no possible chance of crossing the river for the numerous quantity of ice that comes floating down the river every day. We have only traveled 65 miles (105 km) on the last month, including the time spent at this place, which has been about three weeks. It is unknown when we shall cross the river...."[34]

Removed Cherokees initially settled near Tahlequah, Oklahoma. When signing the Treaty of New Echota in 1835 Major Ridge said "I have signed my death warrant." The resulting political turmoil led to the killings of Major Ridge, John Ridge, and Elias Boudinot; of the leaders of the Treaty Party, only Stand Watie escaped death.[35][36][37] The population of the Cherokee Nation eventually rebounded, and today the Cherokees are the largest American Indian group in the United States.[38]

There were some exceptions to removal. Perhaps 100 Cherokees evaded the U.S. soldiers and lived off the land in Georgia and other states. Those Cherokees who lived on private, individually owned lands (rather than communally owned tribal land) were not subject to removal. In North Carolina, about 400 Cherokees, known as the Oconaluftee Cherokee, lived on land in the Great Smoky Mountains owned by a white man named William Holland Thomas (who had been adopted by Cherokees as a boy), and were thus not subject to removal. Added to this were some 200 Cherokee from the Nantahala area allowed to stay in the Qualla Boundary after assisting the U.S. Army in hunting down and capturing the family of the old prophet, Tsali. (Tsali faced a firing squad.) These North Carolina Cherokees became the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trail_of_Tears#Cherokee_forced_relocation

Let us hope for a more enlightened society and a better world.

 

[joninliverton]

On a lighter note

 

[tampa24]

I'm sorry for the triple post there. All I was trying to do was edit some things for clarification, spelling, punctuation and typos. Oops!

 

[louis33705]

I'm sorry for the triple post there. All I was trying to do was edit some things for clarification, spelling, punctuation and typos. Oops!

The Trail of Tears A magnificent book. Brings a story to mind. Not too long after I moved to the nudist resort in 2008, I became friends with a guy there by the name of Garrison. The only way I could remember his name was to nickname him "Fort." We were talking one day and sharing our pasts. After telling him my story he told me he was Cherokee and wanted to learn as much as he could about his People. For his birthday I gave him that book as a present. He read it religiously by the pool every day. I had a tattoo artist that would visit me often and applied several tatts on me. One day Fort said he wanted the trail of tears tattoo'd on his back. Between the artist and me we came up with a sketch of a trail going through the mountains ending with a tear drop of blood. This was tattoo'd on Fort's back extending across his back and half way down. I had pictures of it but lost them in my computer crash of 2011. Yes, Folks, I learned to back up files the hard way.

Thanks Ambi for your post and Tampa for your informative piece of history. I don't have a printer but I will copy and paste it to my journal file which I also have backed up on an external drive.

 

[peterh6308]

Some of you may know that my Mother is full blooded Native American Indian. Although our people did live through some unimaginable things, and some nations had it worse then others, we have perservered as people of strength and peaceful hearts. I cannot speak for any native other then myself or my family, but we have forgiven the "whiteman" for what our ancestors had endured. Lets not forget though, like the African Americans the Natives were treated like second class citizens just two generations ago.

 

[Ambivalent]

Some of you may know that my Mother is full blooded Native American Indian. Although our people did live through some unimaginable things, and some nations had it worse then others, we have perservered as people of strength and peaceful hearts. I cannot speak for any native other then myself or my family, but we have forgiven the "whiteman" for what our ancestors had endured. Lets not forget though, like the African Americans the Natives were treated like second class citizens just two generations ago.

***********************************

Hugs, Peter, and Tampa - I really appreciated your stories.

I'm really glad I decided to do this post, because, I think. . . in North America so many people just don't know all that much about the history of our countries; and all that Native peoples have had to endure; and all the wonderful stories of courage and hope which have come from Native communities, in the U.S.A. and in Canada.

I hope that, one day soon, the U.S. will ALSO have its own "National Aboriginal Day", so that the sacrifices and contributions your families made - and the history and culture and wisdom of Native peoples in the U.S.A., will also be remembered, and celebrated.

"A" XOXOXOXOXOXO

 

[louis33705]

And, thank you again, Ambi, for posting this. While it is important to know the history of our People and what we had to endure, we must all still be aware of what continues to exist today.

 

[IggyPop]

It is wonderful to learn of the many cultures from this land before Columbus arrived and ruined things. (The Vikings and other early Europeans had the decency to keep this paradise a secret: See Avalon.)

I was a mentor to a boy who was Native American. He had no idea about his heritage (he was abandoned) and we went on a journey to discover who he was.

My many blessings to those who survive and work each day to keep their culture alive. We have lost so many languages and customs because of the attempt to "Christianize" the Natives.