December 2001 Newsletter
Phil Konstantin
Dec 02, 2001 11:30 PST
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Start of the December 2001 Newsletter
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Greetings,
I hope this message finds you well. It is a clear morning here in San
Diego, California. Our rainy season (if you can call it that) starts in
November. We are between rain fronts. Being a semi-arrid region, we can
use the precipitation. I am doing fairly well. A couple of days after
returning from Mexico, I broke one of the toes on my right foot. I was
trying to avoid stepping on a cat, and I hit a doorjam with my foot.
There is not a lot you can do for a broken toe. During my trip to
Mexico, I lost about ten pounds. Since I have returned, I think I found
most of them. :-)
==============================
The Link of the Month for December 2001 is "Spanish Conquest of Native
America" at
http://www.floridahistory.com/index.html
To quote the site: "This Site provides a Twenty-first Century glimpse at
the oldest written history of America." It is very well designed and
provides LOTS of information. There are maps, travelogs, detailed
articles, pictures. and much more. If you have any interest in the
history of the original "explorers" of the United States, this is the
site to visit. I highly recommend it.
==============================
The Chemehuevi Tribe is trying to contact enrolled members to make sure
they have their correct addresses. The tribe has some funds to
distribute. If you know any Chemehuevis, they are asked to contact:
Chemehuevi Indian Tribe
c/o Tribal Secretary/Treasurer
P.O.Box 1976
Havasu Lake, California 92363
==============================
I noticed in November that Carol Gallagher (Cherokee) has been appointed
as an auxiliary bishop in the Episcopal Church. If the appointment is
ratified by the Church's governing body, she will become the first
American Indian female bishop in a major Christian group.
==============================
The United States Department of the Interior has announced a place to
restructure the handling of tribal trust matters. This restucturing
involves the creation of a new agency: the Bureau of Indian Trust Assets
Management. This proposal comes with some considerable controversy. Some
tribal leaders have complained that it was proposed without tribal
consultations.
You can read the press release here:
http://www.doi.gov/news/011115b.html
This is sure to generate considerable news for some time.
====================================
As you may recall, Jim Thorpe (Sac and Fox) was voted the "Best Athlete
of the Century" by several sports organizations. It took some effort,
but Jim Thorpe will grace the cover of the breakfast cereal Wheaties.
Here are some websites which discuss the effort:
http://www.joplinglobe.com/archives/2001/010611/regional/story3.html
http://www.alphacdc.com/necona/jimthorp.html
http://www.yvwiiusdinvnohii.net/News2000/0500/PV000516Thorpe-Wheaties.htm
=====================================
Hee is a website which discusses the efforts of the Cayuga Indians of
New York to get reparation for lands they relinquished 200 years ago.
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/26/opinion/26HERB.html?ex=1007778201&ei=1&en=db90602db4b5a0ac
=====================================
I was remiss by adding this e-mail in one of the earlier newsletters.
With all of the other things I have been doing, this message was
mislade. In any case, if you can assist Joseph, please contact him
directly. The e-mail was dated November 13, 2001.
"I was hoping you (or someone you know) could assist my office up here
on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota. The problem is one
that we believe other reservations may be facing in the next 3-4 years.
A number of years ago, dissatisfied with the amount of protection that
the BIA police were capable of, the Oglala Sioux Tribe (OST) 638'd the
Department of Public Safety. Despite the fact that BIA was supposed to
act in complete cooperation with our tribal police, they have resisted
at every opportunity. Recently they have indicated that they "need" to
resume responsibilities in areas such as law enforcement here.
Our Tribal Council does not want the BIA Police Force back for numerous
reasons. The residents of the reservation do not want the BIA Police
Force back. Our Department of Public Safety does not want the BIA back.
Yet, instead of going along with the wishes of the people of the Pine
Ridge Indian Reservation, the BIA is currently preparing to take matters
into their own hands. Last Friday, they said they would be hosting
"Contract Negotiations" during this week.
The BIA has lost and is still unable to locate the monies and land that
it was supposed to be holding in trust for the Indian People. They were
ordered by the US Supreme Court to answer questions concerning this
situation. If they are unable to fulfill their job responsibilities, why
on earth, should we allow them to basically "take over" the extremely
important matters of law enforcement here?
Please, anything that you or your friends can come up with will be of
great use. The Oyate are calling for a meeting this week to discuss the
BIA and what can be done to prevent their take over of our government.
Please accept my most sincere thanks in advance of you kind
consideration and valuable cooperation in this delicate matter. If you
require additional information or have questions, I may be reached at
this email address joered-@usa.net or via
telephone at (605) 867-5141.
Respectfully,
Joseph RedCloud
=================================
Here are some random historical events for December:
December 1, 524: Palenque Maya Lord Chaacal I dies according to the
museum at Palenque.
December 2, 1794: A treaty (7 stat. 47) is concluded with the Oneida,
Tuscarora, and Stockbridge Indians, at Oneida, New York. The treaty is a
gesture of thanks for the tribes help during the Revolutionary war. They
receive $5000 for damages suffered during the war. Grist and saw mills
are built, and salary for their workers are provided for three years.
They receive $1000 to build a church. No further claims are made by the
tribes. The treaty is signed by Thomas Pickering for the United States,
and by eleven Indians.
December 3, 1598: Juan de Zaldivar "discovers" the Acoma.
December 4, 1833: Twenty-one Chickasaw Chiefs arrive at Fort Towson, in
eastern Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma). They assess the lands
the United States wants them to move to when they are removed from
Alabama. Meeting with local Choctaws about buying land from them proves
to be unfruitful.
December 5, 1855: The Columbia River volunteers, under Nathan Olney, are
near Fort Walla Walla, in southeastern Washington, when they encounter
Pio-pio-mox-mox's (Yellow Serpent) band of WallaWallas. Pio has looted
the Hudson Bay Company's Fort Walla Walla, but he has always been
neutral or helped the Americans in the past. He advanced under a flag of
truce and wanted to return the booty. But an agreement cannot be
reached. Pio refuses to fight, and Olney's men take Pio, and four
others, prisoners.
December 6, 1866: Red Cloud, Crazy Horse, Yellow Eagle, and High Back
Bone, and their followers, have been harassing Colonel Henry
Carrington's troops from Fort Phil Kearny, in northern Wyoming. They
stage several raids and ambushes along the road from the fort to the
nearby woods. Colonel Carrington leads his troops in some of the
fighting. Several soldiers are killed in the fighting. Carrington is
called "Little White Chief" by the Indians. This skirmish sets the stage
for the "Fetterman Massacre" on December 21, 1866.
December 7, 1868: Sheridan and Custer leave Camp Supply (Oklahoma)
leading 1,600 soldiers and 300 supply wagons. They are en route to Fort
Cobb. It is primarily meant as a show of force to the local Indians. It
proves the army can march during the winter months.
December 8, 1818: Secretary of War John C. Calhoun presents a report to
the House of Representatives. Among the report’s proposals are: tribes
should no longer be treated as sovereign nations; Indians should be
saved from extinction; and Indians should be taught the correctness of
the concept of land ownership.
December 9, 1861: Colonel Douglas Cooper, again encounters the pro-Union
Creeks and Seminoles, under Chief Opothleyahola, in a battle on Bird
Creek, north of Tulsa. Many of his Cherokee troops, under John Drew,
defect and join the pro-Union forces. Cooper withdraws to Fort Gibson.
This is often called the "Battle of Chusto-Talasah," or the "Battle of
Caving Banks."
December 10, 1850: Federal agents sign a treaty with the Lipan Apache,
Caddo, Comanche, Quapaw, Tawakoni and Waco Indians near the San Sabá
River in Texas.
December 11, 1833: Captain Page, and almost 700 Choctaws, reach their
destination at Fort Towson, in eastern Indian Territory (present day
Oklahoma). The others in the group have split off and gone to Fort
Smith.
December 12, 1531: According to most sources, Juan Diego
(Cuauhtlatoatzin), a Nahua, sees the apparition of the Virgin Mary on a
hill called Tepeyacac in Mexico again. He first saw her on December 9th.
According to Juan Diego, the Virgin Mary instructs him to carry some
roses in his macehualli (a cloak) to the local Bishop as proof of her
appearance. When the macehualli is opened before the Bishop, an image of
the Virgin Mary appears on the cloak among the rose petals. The
macehualli is still on display in the church (Our Lady of Guadalupe)
built to honor the event.
You can see a copy of my photo of it on this page:
http://agentwilson.tripod.com/mexico.html
December 13, 1640: A deed for Indian land is signed in New England. It
says, "It is agreed that the Indians above named shall have liberty to
break up ground for their use to the westward of the creek on the west
side of Shinecock plaine." In town meeting, 1641: "It is agreed that any
person that hath lotts up on Shinecocke playne in which there are any
Indian Barnes or wells lying shall fill them up."
December 14, 1763: A band of almost five dozen frontiersmen, called "the
Paxton Boys," attack a peaceful Susquehanna Indian village in Conestoga,
Pennsylvania. They kill eight of the twenty-two inhabitants in this
unprovoked raid. "The Boys" continue their rampage during the next two
weeks.
December 15, 1890: Sitting Bull is killed while being arrested at Fort
Yates, South Dakota by Eighth Cavalry soldiers and Indian police, near
Standing Rock on the Grand River in Montana.. Thirty-nine police
officers and four volunteers were assembled to arrest Sitting Bull.
Before it was all done, over 100 of Sitting Bull’s supporters arrived at
the scene. Several people are injured or killed in the subsequent
fighting. According to army documents, four soldiers and eight Indians
are killed. Three soldiers are wounded. Later this week, the editor of
the "Aberdeen Saturday Pioneer," writes a editorial about Sitting Bull.
One of the passages is as follows: "The proud spirit of the original
owners of these vast prairies inherited through centuries of fierce and
bloody wars for their possession, lingered last in the bosom of Sitting
Bull. With his fall the nobility of the Redskin is extinguished, and
what few are left are a pack of whining curs who lick the hand that
smites them. The Whites, by law of conquest, by justice of civilization,
are masters of the American continent, and the best safety of the
frontier settlements will be secured by the total annihilation of the
few remaining Indians." The author of this editorial is L. Frank Baum,
best known as the author of "The Wizard of Oz."
December 16, 1811: The New Madrid earthquake takes place on the
Mississippi River around 2:30 am. Many tribes tell tales of this event
for generations. Many people say that Tecumseh predicted this
earthquake.
December 17, 1890: Sitting Bull and the police killed during his arrest
are buried with honor. Today, members of the Hunkpapa Sioux arrive at
Big Foot's camp of Minneconjou Sioux seeking refuge. However, today will
also see the issuing of an arrest warrant for Big Foot, himself, for his
part as a "trouble maker" in the ghost dance religion.
December 18, 1892: Congress approve a monthly pension of thirty dollars
for Lemhi Chief Tendoy.
December 19, 1980: Chaco Canyon (New Mexico) is officially designated as
the "Chaco Culture National Historic Park." It is the home of many
Anazasi ruins.
December 20, 1812: Sacajawea dies at Fort Manuel, South Dakota,
according to some sources.
December 21, 1866: Red Cloud, Crazy Horse, Yellow Eagle, and High Back
Bone, and their followers, have been harassing Colonel Henry
Carrington's Second Cavalry and Twenty-seventh Infantry troops from Fort
Phil Kearny, in northern Wyoming. They stage several raids and ambushes
along the road from the fort to the nearby woods. Captain William J.
Fetterman had once said. "a company of regulars could whip a thousand,
and a regiment could whip the whole array of hostile tribes." A convoy
of wagons carrying wood leaves the fort. It is attacked by a decoy group
of Indians. Following up on his claim that he "could ride through the
Sioux Nation" with just eighty men, Fetterman pursues the decoying
Indians away from the fort. Here the Indians’ trap is sprung.
Fetterman’s entire force of three officers, forty-seven infantry,
twenty-seven cavalry and two civilians are killed in the fighting. The
soldiers call this the "Fetterman Massacre." The Indians call it the
"Battle of the Hundred Killed."
December 22, 1898: President McKinley, by Executive Order establishes
the Hualapai Indian School Reserve for the purpose of educating the
Hualapai Indians in Arizona Territory. The reserve is in section 10,
township 23 north, range 13 west.
December 23, 1855: White volunteers surround a "friendly" Rogue River
Indian village they had visited the day before. The village is mostly
unarmed. The whites attack, and nineteen Indian men are killed. The
women and children are driven into the cold. The survivors arrive at
Fort Lane, in southwestern Oregon, with severe frostbite, and frozen
limbs.
December 24, 2012: One interpretation of the Maya calendar predicts
today will be the end of world or the present creation.
December 25, 1839: After the defeat at the Battle of the Neches on July
16, 1839, Cherokees under Chief "The Egg" attempts to escape to Mexico.
They make it as far as the Colorado River, before they meet resistance.
Colonel Edward Burleson leading Texan and Tonkawa forces engage them in
a fight. Seven Cherokee warriors are killed, and twenty-four women and
children are captured. Among the dead is The Egg.
December 26, 1862: The thirty-eight Santee Sioux condemned for their
actions in the "Santee Uprising" are hanged at Mankato, Minnesota. This
is the largest mass hanging in American History.
December 27, 1875: President Grant, by Executive Order, establishes
reservations for the Portrero, Cahuila, Capitan Grande, Santa Ysabel,
Pala, Agua Caliente, Sycuan, Inasa, and Cosmit Mission Indians primarily
in San Diego County, California. This order is modified on: May 3, 1877;
August 25, 1877; September 29, 1877; January 17, 1880; March 2, 1881;
March 9, 1881; June 27, 1882; July 24, 1882; February 5, 1883; June 19,
1883; January 25, 1886; March 22, 1886; January 29, 1887; March 14,
1887; and May 6, 1889.
1952: Phil Konstantin, author of these pages and a member of the
Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, is born. Thanks, Mom and Dad!
December 28, 1520: According to some sources, Hernán Cortés and his army
start their second excursion to Tenochtitlán (modern Mexico City) from
Tlascala, Mexico. This time they have made and bring a group of smal
boats to use on the lake surrounding the city.
December 29, 1890: The Wounded Knee Battle or Massacre (depending on
which version you read) takes place. According to army records, one
officer (Captain G.D. Wallace), twenty-four soldiers (including Captain
G.D. Wallace), and 128 Indians are killed. Thirty-five soldiers, and
thirty-three Idians are wounded in the fighting.The army will give
Congressional Medals of Honor to the following soldiers: Sergeant
William G. Austin, for "using every effort to dislodge the enemy";
Company E musician John E. Clancy: "twice voluntarily rescued wounded
comrades under fire of the enemy"; Private Mosheim Feaster, Company E,
for "extraordinary gallantry"; First Lieutenant Ernest A. Garlington for
"distinguished gallantry"; First Lieutenant John C. Gresham for leading
an attack into a ravine; Sergeant Richard P. Hanley, Company C, for
recovering a pack mule loaded with ammunition, while under heavy fire;
Private Joshija B. Hartzog, Company E, First Artillery, for rescuing his
wounded commander while under heavy fire; Second Lieutenant Harry L.
Hawthorne, Second Artillery, for distinguished conduct; Private Marvin
C. Hillock, Company B, for distinguished bravery; Private George Hobday,
Company A, for conspicuous and gallant conduct; Sergeant George Loyd,
Company I, for bravery, especially after being severely wounded through
the lung; Sergeant Albert McMillian, Company E, for leading by example;
Private Thomas Sullivan, Company E, for conspicuous bravery; First
Sergeant Frederick Toy, Company C, for bravery; First Sergeant Jacob
Trautman, Company I, for "killing a hostile Indian at close quarters"
and remaining with the troops even though he was entitled to retire;
Sergeant James Ward, Company B, for fighting after being severely
wounded; Corporal Paul Weinert, Company E, for assuming command of his
artillery piece when his officer was wounded; and Private Hermann
Ziegner, Company E, for conspicuous bravery.
December 30, 1950: A Constitution and By-Laws for the Eskimos of the
Native Village of Buckland, Alaska is ratified by a vote of 17 to 13
December 31, 1590: Spaniard Gaspar Castaño de Sosa is exploring the area
of what is now New Mexico. A few days ago, several men in his group have
a fight with some of the residents of the Pecos Pueblo. Sosa’s main body
reaches the pueblo. There is a brief fight, and Sosa takes some of the
Indians captive. Sosa would later return to the pueblo and get a better
reception.
==================================
That's it for this newsletter, although, I am sure I will think of
something else as soon as I send this out.
Have a great month,
Phil
http://americanindian.net
newsletter@americanindian.net
philkon@rocketmail.com
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