Jessica Crabtree

PBS Independent Lens: “Reel Injun” – On the Trail of the Hollywood Indian

Watch Reel Injun – Trailer on PBS. See more from INDEPENDENT LENS.

Smithsonian Magazine: How the Potato Changed the World by Charles C. Mann

From the same author that brought us 1491: New Revelations About the Americas Before Columbus and numerous excellent essays and articles comes this very interesting piece on one of Native America’s most important staple crops.

This time of year, with Thanksgiving just around the corner, foodstuffs with deep connections to Native culture come to the forefront of popular culture: turkey, pumpkin, cranberry, just to name a few. There’s an aura of bounty and nostalgia around the foods that hallmark the holiday, as if the lingering memory of the land’s plenty as first experienced by early colonists has been passed down along with its ever-evolving traditions and legends.

Most people aren’t aware that their Thanksgiving turkey was first savored by the Aztecs, or their steaming bowl of mashed potatoes is an Andean specialty – or for that matter, that their European, African, or Asian ancestors would have been completely unaware of these dishes. Likewise, few know about the underlying circumstances that made the introduction of these foods possible for the rest of the world. But there’s a subconscious cultural connection that still links them – however vaguely – with their Native source.

Maybe it’s the grade school story of Squanto befriending the Pilgrims, teaching them how to plant maize – recounted again and again, and plastered all around us in countless cartoons and caricature – that gives the modern Thanksgiving its ostensible “Indian” savor, and makes it a uniquely American holiday. But maybe there is more to be gleaned from today’s Thanksgiving rituals about the intertwining of cultures that forms the roots of both the holiday and the country.

Food for Thought: Little-Known Facts About American Indian Innovations

National Geographic News – 16 Indian Innovations: From Popcorn to Parkas

“Celebrating an Indian Summer” by Richard B Williams The importance of the material contributions from Native cultures

Countdown: 10 Things About Thanksgiving A series about the foods, traditions, and legends of this distinctly “Native” holiday

Charles C Mann, “Native Intelligence” from the Smithsonian Magazine – a background study of the events and people of the mythical Thanksgiving

The Pocahontas Paradox: A Cautionary Tale for Educators
From Journal of Navajo Education, Fall/Winter 1996/97
Cornel Pewewardy, Ph.D. (Kiowa/Comanche)

An exhaustive writing about Native stereotyping in film and particularly its effects on Native youth.

Below: Heroine or hazard? Legend or liability?

John T. McCutcheon’s Injun Summer, Chicago Tribute, 1907

According to the National Weather Service,

“…The most popular belief of Indian Summer is as follows…It is an abnormally warm and dry weather period, varying in length, that comes in the autumn time of the year, usually in October or November, and only after the first killing frost/freeze. There may be several occurrences of Indian Summer in a fall season or none at all…”

The article goes on to describe many popular and scientific theories about the origin of the expression:

“One explanation of the term “Indian Summer” might be that the early native Indians chose that time of year as their hunting season. This seems reasonable seeing the fall months are still considered the main hunting season for several animals. Also, the mild and hazy weather encourages the animals out, and the haziness of the air gives the hunter the advantage to sneak up on its prey without being detected. Taking this idea one step further, Indians at that time were known to have set fires to prairie grass, underbrush and woods to accentuate the hazy, smokey conditions. But Albert Matthews pointed out that the Indians also did this at other times of the year.

Other possibilities include; the Indians made use of the dry, hazy weather to attack the whites before the hard winter set in; that this was the season of the Indian harvest; or, that the predominant southwest winds that accompanied the Indian Summer period were regarded by the Indians as a favor or “blessing” from a “god” in the desert Southwest. Another idea, of a more prejudicial origin, was that possibly the earliest English immigrants equated Indian Summer to “fools” Summer, given the reliability of the resulting weather. Finally, another hypothesis, not at all in the American Indian “camp” of theories, was put forward by an author by the name of H. E. Ware, who noted that ships at that time traversing the Indian Ocean loaded up their cargo the most during the “Indian Summer”, or fair weather season. Several ships actually had an “I.S.” on their hull at the load level thought safe during the Indian Summer.”

(From JUST WHAT IS INDIAN SUMMER AND DID INDIANS REALLY HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH IT? by William R. Deedler)

But there’s another side to this coin: if there was such a thing as an “Indian summer” among Indians, that begs the question – what do they have to say about its origins?

The following article was first published in the Denver Post, 2001 (thanks to NativeVillage.com for the text.)

Celebrating an Indian Summer
(Richard B Williams, President, American Indian College Fund)

“Lately we have heard the phrase “Indian summer” used frequently to describe our stretch of good weather. Most of us are taking advantage of the warm weather rather than contemplating the etymology of the term “Indian summer.” However, a study of the phrase is an eye-opening look into our nation’s history. After years of asking elders and prominent Indian historians, I stumbled across an article written by a leading American Indian author from an Eastern tribe who explained the origins of “Indian summer.”

Early settlers who coined the term would see Indian farmers celebrating the blessing of being able to add a second and sometimes third harvest to their winter store following the first frost. The author described how the Indian farmers would give thanks to the creator for the warm days. As we celebrate our own recent warm weather, we must also recognize the contributions that these Indian farmers made to our overall well-being. American Indians were not only the first landowners in North America – they were also accomplished farmers whose agricultural aptitude would eventually transform the world.

Most Americans today do not know that American Indians owned the land upon which they farmed largely because the land-tenure system to the American Indian was vastly different than what the European colonists knew and would later institute in North America. The Indian farmer owned the land as long as it was occupied. When land was abandoned, anyone could claim the land as long as the new owner farmed it.

Because the farmed land did not look like the parceled-out sections of Europe when settlers arrived, they mistook the symbiotic, ecologically friendly farming style used by Indians as meaning the land was not owned.

According to Jack Weatherford’s book titled “Indian Givers; How the Indians of the Americas Transformed the World,” American Indians cultivated more than 300 food crops with dozens of variations that improved the world’s diet both in quantity and quality of foods.

As testimony to the skill and knowledge of Native farmers, three-fifths of the world’s crops in cultivation today originated from the ingenious farmers who were successfully growing crops in varied soils and climates throughout the Americas.

The Native farmers’ agricultural proficiency and understanding of the need to farm in harmony with the land is reflected in “Three Sisters,” a traditional horticultural technique of planting corn, squash and beans together.

The Three Sisters are inseparable because each crop benefits the growth of the other two crops in a limited space. The growing corn provides a pole for the bean plant to climb and needed shade for the squash that covers the ground to provide even moisture and reduce weed growth.

Through agricultural experimentation, Native farmers employed highly developed agricultural methods and introduced nutritious crops to the world that included corn, new grains, wild rice, tomatoes, chilies, sunflowers, numerous bean and pepper varieties and potatoes.

Ironically, the introduction of high-yield crops such as the potato and a more nutritious diet helped spawn a population explosion in Europe that heralded the colonization of the Americas. The eventual displacement of Indian people from their traditional farming lands would encourage the eradication of Indian civilizations.

Some 7,000 years before the first Thanksgiving, farming was an integral part of the culture and economy of indigenous people in the Americas. By introducing new agricultural principles, foods and improved cultivation techniques, the American Indian farmer made an immeasurable contribution to the world. This is indeed a blessing we should all celebrate during this Indian summer.”

See also: Food for Thought: Little-Known Facts About American Indian Innovations

BBC News: Indians oppose ‘recycled’ sewage for Arizona skiing

Ski resorts using recycled sewage to produce artificial snow is not new – especially in water-poor regions. But in the San Francisco peaks outside Flagstaff, Arizona, the prospect of introducing this alternative has spawned a legal battle with the Hopi who are taking the issue to court.

To the owners of the Snowbowl resort, and the surrounding communities, the lack of water to produce artificial snow has a direct impact on the bottom line. To the Hopi Indians who have tended the land for millennia, the sacred mountains are a bulwark of refuge and purity – and blanketing them with recycled refuse for a purely commercial enterprise is not an option.

So far, the Forest Service has already approved the expansion of the resort into the surrounding wilderness reserve, and it remains to be seen if the Hopi can appeal the water issue on the grounds of environmental violations, since processed waste water contains trace pharmaceuticals and other chemical substances that would be introduced into the local environment.

The variance between indigenous and modern Western viewpoints about land runs deep, and battles like this are just a small manifestation of the chasm that has always divided them. Because the indigenous approach to decision-making in issues that affect their people is so fundamentally different, it’s hard for those living in the mainstream outside tribal society to understand why the Hopi can fight this kind of issue with the same rigor that they would oppose, for instance, the dumping of nuclear waste. What many may see as a backward, stubborn adherence to tradition is a demonstration of an ancient way of thinking that is driven by profound respect for land and resources and a careful consideration of both the principles of the past and the rights of future generations.

The resort argues that the use of non-potable water for their purposes is in the end more efficient and environmentally friendly, since they would not be diverting valuable fresh water from elsewhere. But without taking sides in the argument, it’s hard not to observe the irony of the situation:

1. that an argument over water for a resort exists at all, when every day so many people around the world die of thirst;
2. that the very fact that it has come down to using recycled sewage suggests that a polar playground in the middle of a desert is perhaps a ridiculously extravagant luxury.

Maybe, in our scientific day and age, truly nothing is sacred anymore. Maybe if the leisure industry did not have such a powerful pull in our over-indulged society, the scruples of the Hopi and others would have more meaning for the rest of us. And maybe the time will come when we are forced into having the same kind of respect for our resources that the ages have taught the Hopi.

The San Francisco Peaks (Hopi “Nuvatukya’ovi,” Navajo “Dookʼoʼoosłííd“)
Image: Wikimedia Commons (public domain)

October 14, 1964: Oglala Lakota Billy Mills (Makata Taka Hela) becomes the second American Indian in history to win an Olympic gold medal

Mills (born 1938) was raised on the Pine Ridge reservation. He trained as an athlete from an early age, later garnering many awards and earning sports scholarships that put him through college. He became a cross-country track star before graduating and joining the US Marines.

His record and training qualified him to compete for both the 10,000 meter and marathon events in the ’64 Tokyo Olympics, where his 24:4:4 win in the 10k was one of the great upsets in the history of the games. He was inducted into the US Olympic Hall of Fame in 1984.

Today, Mills is the spokesperson for Running Strong, an outreach organization for Native youth.

Wikipedia: Billy Mills

Running Strong for American Indian Youth – Official Website

Image: “Catching up with Billy Mills,” Sports Illustrated

(You can find the editorial version of this post under the title “Reframing Columbus Day” on Worldpress.org, an online magazine for independent journalism.)

Recently I posted about research positing a link between peoples of the Na-Dene/Athabaskan family (e.g. Navajo, Apache, Tlingit) and Central Asian refugees of Genghis Khan’s conquests. The connection, based on physical, cultural & religious similarities and linguistic and genetic evidence, has been proposed for decades but is only now being verified by concrete evidence.

The implications of such a realization are staggering – but no more than those of other recent discoveries challenging our conceptions of the early Americas.

In time for Columbus Day this year I thought it would be appropriate to note a few of the major convulsions in the established historical record that highlight the fact that the “era of Columbus” is now over. It’s already firmly established that Columbus didn’t discover America; and the illusion that the Americas existed in a bubble of cultural isolation is being shattered with every new finding of global interchange. But beyond that, it’s time to observe this ideological regime change by questioning whether Columbus is really so important after all – and what that means in the context of America’s colonial and imperialist legacy.

1: Norse Colonies & the First Native American in Europe

The presence of Scandinavians in North America before Columbus is well-established. At present they lay title to being the first Europeans to set foot on American soil. But one of the major revelations of the past year was the evidence of the earliest Native Americans in a European country – not as chattel transported via the English and Spanish slave trades, or even as diplomatic attaches to European monarchs – but as part of the saga of Norse exploration along the Atlantic seaboard.

The ill-fated Norse colony of L’anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland, dating to the 11th century, may have shared less than ideal relations with their Beothuk neighbors, according to extant records; but their association may have been closer than those records indicate. It remained for DNA science to reveal that many present-day Icelanders carry the genes of Newfoundland’s extinct indigenous populations, indicating that this Norse emigration was, at least on one occasion, a two-way street. This discovery marks a milestone in our understanding of early European involvement in North America and raises numerous questions about the nature and extent of the interaction between these groups.

2: Polynesian Trade with the Pacific Coast

There is a growing body of evidence that Polynesian sailors reached the Americas long before the 15th century, setting up an exchange that left clues on both sides of the Pacific. The Polynesians are an optimal candidate in the search for pre-Columbian contact, because they had both the technology and the motive to reach the Americas.

The prime evidence:

• Chickens – Ancient remains of chickens found on the coast of Chile predate the arrival of domesticated breeds introduced by European colonists. There were no chickens indigenous to the Americas; they are native to southeast Asia where they were first domesticated and later brought as far east as the Pacific islands. Obviously their presence in Chile could not be explained as a simple case of migratory spread. The carbon dating of the chicken bones gave them a tentative age of 600 years, right around the peak of the Polynesian’s Pacific expansion.

(National Geographic: Polynesians – And Their Chickens – Arrived in Americas Before Columbus)

• Sweet potatoes – As part of the Columbian Exchange, many of the New World’s important native foodcrops – including maize, potatoes, and cacao – were transported to Europe, Asia, and Africa where they became fundamental commodities. One of these crops, the sweet potato, has been cultivated for more than 5,000 years by peoples in Central and South America, where it first originated. Apart from direct human introduction, it is difficult to account for sweet potato cultivation by the Polynesians dating back more than a millennia. (Sweet potatoes propagate through tubers or plant cuttings, not by seeds that can be windblown or spread by birds.) It is even more difficult to explain how they came to be called by almost identical names in both regions.

There are even deeper connections on the horizon. Many researchers point to linguistic similarities and parallels in artifacts found in the Polynesia Pacific (including Easter Island) and in America’s Pacific coast cultures. Such suggestions of an information and technology exchange may be circumstantial at best. But there is considerable support rising from other fronts, not the least of which is recent DNA research confirming the exchange of much more than just trade goods.

3: Tibetan origins of Athabaskans

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This 5-minute clip from ‘All Things Considered‘ describes a fascinating episode of ‘meeting of cultures’ that occurred when two Navajo Indians joined a journalist friend in a Tibetan community.

The striking similarities of appearance, language, culture & customs between the two peoples were just a backdrop for a rekindling of a very deep and very ancient connection.

On the other hand, it’s possible that their bond may be not quite so ancient: the topic is controversial, but linguistic and genetic evidence strongly suggests that the origins of the Athabaskan peoples (including the Navajo and Apache) may have more recent links with Central Asia.

Renowned Lakota scholar Vine Deloria Jr. once said in an article entitled Indians, Archaeologists, and the Future,

“I personally feel that unless and until we are in some way connected with world history as early peoples, perhaps even as refugees from Old World turmoils and persecutions, we will never be accorded full humanity. We cannot be primitive peoples who were suddenly discovered half a millennium ago.”

Here is a scholarly publication from the University of Western Australia’s Anthropology department that gives a pretty detailed overview of the subject:

Relatives Halfway Round the World by Joseph Wilson

Can you tell which of the women below are Navajo and which are Tibetan?