Many Feathers and Much Paint Don't Make an Indian

Indian Lectures - an educated Indian of the Pequot tribe, by the name of Gos-kuk-wa-na-kon-ni-di-yu, is delivering lectures in Ne York, on the Indian origin and character, and on the wars and treaties made by the red men with this country, the avails of which will go to aid the erection of an Indian academy. The Pequots were once the most powerful tribe of New England, and inhabited Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. They waged several bloody wars with the early settlers of those colonies. 1837 Feb 24, Public Ledger  We have seen an estimate in the Eastern papers, from which it appears, that the business of killing Indians in the South during this last year will cost the US not less than $15,000.000. [What cost $15,000,000. in 1837 would cost $329,841,781.00 in 2017] 1837 Feb 28, The Courier Journal 

1967 Feb 28. Albuquerque Journal       Santa Fe – An Indian legislator was refused entry into the House of Representatives Saturday by a sergeant at arms for wearing his native Indian garb instead of the traditional suit and tie.       Rep. Jake Chee , R-McKinley, complained of the incident to Gov. David Cargo, who backed Chee, saying, “If you can wear cowboy boots, you ought to be able to wear moccasins.”       Several representatives, including House Speaker Bruce Kind, wear cowboy boots and suits to sessions of the legislature. When stopped, Chee was wearing a bright-colored Navajo shirt, bolo tie and moccasins.       Sergeant at arms Wyllie Grijalva of Gallup apologized to Chee Monday. The governor said he had received several protesting telephone calls from Navajo areas of the state.       House Speaker Bruce King said he was unaware of the incident, but that if he had known that Chee was denied e...

Native Americans want school mascots changed Names, icons 'are insults to us' By Ron Barnett …. Robert Chastain [tries to make a point when speaking about racial stereotyping] – saying racial stereotyping of blacks has largely become a thing of the past, but putting on war paint and dancing around with a string of dyed turkey feathers around your head pretending to be an Indian at a high school football game is seen as just good fun.       Paul Guy, president of the Greenville NAACP, explains it this way: “If you asked an African warrior (mascot), a Zulu or something like that, that would be offensive to Afro-Americans. And we have the political clout to get something changed,” he said. “But the Native Americans have no political clout.”        The numbers show why:       Only 0.3 percent of South Carolina’s 4 million residents are American Indians or Alaska-Native persons, according to the U.S. Census Bureau – compared with...

1940, Feb 27. The Amarillo Globe Times  1944, Feb 1. Statesville Record and Landmark  1952, Feb 26. Press and Sun Bulletin 

… the name of the team doesn’t breed loyalty, people do. We understand that tradition is something that people hold dear. But how does tradition outweigh racism or the use of a derogatory term? Slavery used to be a tradition in the United States, but was abolished. We need to do the same with words that hurt! – Ron and Jan Lancaster, Marshall  2013 - Civil rights complaint ignites debate over Native American mascots                           By SARAH HULETT • FEB 22, 2013 2005 - Marshall Redskins changed to the Redhawks - officially 2001 Feb 27, Battle Creek Enquirer 

Indian scholars assess common goals 1970, Feb 26. The Santa Fe New Mexican.        Princeton, NJ – In the first such fathering in their history, American Indian scholars will assemble for an assessment of common leadership goals and challenges in a four-day Convocation to be held at Princeton University…        Representing many tribes and from all parts of the US Mexico, Canada and South America, the scholars will consider a wide range of topics bearing upon the American Indian today – from preservation of his rich cultural heritage to the 1969 Civil Rights Act…        Chairing the pioneering meetings is Dr Alfonso A. Ortiz , assistant professor of anthropology at Princeton, who was raised at the San Juan Pueblo near Santa Fe. He views the convocation as an opportunity to demonstrate “that we are not the inarticulate masses about whom so much benevolent concerns has been voiced in the past.”      ...

Blowing holes in Indian literature myths by Jo Anne Baldinger 1993, Feb 26. The Santa Fe New Mexican        A fierce determination to retrieve a lost personal and cultural identity lies at the heart of American Indian literature today, say two of its most acclaimed scholars and practitioners.       Gerald Vizenor and Louis Owens , both professors in the University of California system – Vizenor at the Berkley campus, Owens at Santa Cruz --- …..        “Until recently, Indians have been represented in fiction by non-Indian writers, from James Fennimore Cooper to Mark Twain to Larry McMurtry,” Owens said. “From that perspective, the Indian is a metaphor without human dimension. Everyone knows the stereotypes: Indians are stoic; they don’t laugh or cry; they are silent; and they have a genetic predisposition not to break twigs. Europeans brought to this continent certain preconceptions about a new Garden of Eden, and the...

1939 Feb 26, Clarion Ledger 

At the annual meeting of the Folk Lore society Miss Alice C Fletcher gave an interesting contribution in a paper entitled "The Significance of the Scalp Lock; a Study of the Omaha Tribe."The Omaha Indians, like many other tribes, have peculiar ideas regarding a continuity of life and a kind of spiritual link between animate and inanimate objects. They believe a piece of any article connects them with the entirety. The hair is thought to have a close connection with life, and one possessing it may work his will upon whoever or whatever the hair belonged to. From this idea came the custom of scalping enemies -- Boston Transcript  1898 Feb 25, The Paducah Evening Sun 

2002 Feb 24, Northwest Herald 

1966 Feb 24, Arlington Heights Herald 

Stereotype of Indian denounced 1983, Feb 24 - The Tribune        Provo, Utah – Although Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show has been off the entertainment circuit for nearly 100 years, the image of Indians created by the show lingers on – in motion pictures, television shows and textbooks, according to a Bingham Young University professor.       The faulty stereotype of Indians that persists is being examined in a contemporary Indian affairs class taught at BYU by Dr. Janice White Clemmer, assistant professor of American Indian Education and History.        Mrs. Clemmer is believed to be the first Indian woman in the United States to earn two doctoral degrees, one in cultural foundation of education and the other in history.       “Images of Indians portrayed in most movies, television shows, cartoons and textbooks stereotype them as the bad guys, perpetuating the same type of negative image which Buffalo Bill’s...

1913 Feb 23, The Philadelphia Inquirer 

Some Purely English Humor ..... Ernest [Fownes] came over with the Earl and Lady Yarmouth. Rich blue blood flows in his veins, and he had a notion that he would like to see a buffalo hunt in Wall Street, or be present while the redskins burned somebody at the stake in Des Moines, Ia.  1906 Feb 23, The Union Leader 

John Lytle, I am glad you raise the question of Indian suffrage. I believe in it with proper conditions. In Michigan an Indian can vote if he is a native of the United States, is civilized and does not maintain tribal relations. I should not be in favor of indiscriminate suffrage for the Indian or for anyone that had not been in some degree educated to understand and appreciate it. -- Standford Hunt, Jackson, Mich. 1888 Feb 23, The National Tribune 

Patriotic Indians       As in the last war, thousands of American Indians again are demonstrating their patriotism.       The desk of John Collier, able chief of the Office of Indian Affairs, is stacked with letters from every tribe in the country, pledging aid and offering to make fresh sacrifices for the war effort. Here are a few examples: Immediately after the declaration of war, the Crow Indians of Montana voted $10,000 of tribal funds to President Roosevelt to 'use as you see fit.' They also voted to place in the President's hands the entire resources of their 2,000,0000-acre reservation, including mineral, oil and coal deposits, plus all available manpower for combat service. The Creeks of Oklahoma have set aside $400,000 of tribal funds for the purchase of defense bonds. Other tribes voting large sums for the same purpose include the Jicarilla Apaches and Pueblos of New Mexico, the Euchee and Seminole Indians of Oklahoma, and the Navajos. ...