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1. b. Some 500 tribes inhabited what is now the United States, totaling about 22 million people.
2. c. Census Bureau figures report that the Native American population in the United States is slightly above 2 million, or 1 percent of the total U.S. population.
3. d. Native American societies are matrilineal, with family
descent traced through the female line. Native women have traditionally performed central roles in both domestic and public decision making.
4. b. Approximately 2,200 words from Native languages are
contained in the English language.
5.
a) Animals
skunk
puma
moose
jaguar
chipmunk
raccoon
opossum
chigger
barracuda
caribou
b) Trees and Plants
pecan
mahogany
hickory
yucca
mesquite
tobacco
hominy
squash
maize
avocado
tapioca
papaya
tomato
potato
c) Weather Phenomena & Land Masses
hurricane
chinook
bayou
savanna
6. g,n,m,a,f,e,c,d,i,j,b,b,b,b
7. a. Exasperated by trading with the various separate colonies, Canassatego, the leader of the Iroquois Confederacy, urged Benjamin Franklin to encourage the other colonial leaders to form a unified, representative government, modeled after the government of the Iroquois Nation.
While the European founders had historical knowledge of the ancient Greek and Roman models of representative government, they were not familiar with this system in practice, as the countries of Europe were primarily monarchies. At Franklin's urging, the Continental Congress approved "a more perfect union" fashioned after the Iroquois model which was said to have been in existence for thousands of years.
8. c. The founders of the United States adopted the Iroquois Nation's symbol, the bald eagle, instead of the turkey, as Franklin had proposed.
9. d. The Navajo language proved to be an unbreakable code against the Japanese in World War II.
10. d. Ira Hayes,a member of the Pima tribe, fought on the Pacific island of Iwo Jima during World War II. Despite heavy enemy fire, Hayes and five other marines raised the U.S. flag atop the summit of the island. An Associated Press reporter captured this moment on film. The film became perhaps the most memorable of World War II.
11.
a) True
b) True. According to European religious beliefs prior to the time of the Crusades, bathing with water was considered an act of temptation causing sexual arousal. As a result, bathing was
outlawed in many areas of Europe. When European colonists arrived in America and saw the Native Americans openly bathing with water, they objected to the practice and pronounced the
Native Americans "heathens." The importance of bathing for hygienic purposes was foreign to Europeans until crusading soldiers, returning from the Middle East, adopted the idea of the
public bath. However, use of public baths was not widespread; to the contrary, it was reserved for the elite, who were few in number.
c) True
d) False. Bill Clinton signed this executive order.
RESOURCES
The following references present valuable information to enhance your understanding of
Native American culture and history.
Clicking on a linked title will take you directly to the Amazon.com page where you can purchase or learn more about the reference. Purchases made from this page through Amazon helps maintain this website.
"Cleanliness: An On-Again, Off-Again Practice" by Jay Stuller, Smithsonian ,Vol. 21 No.
11, February 1991. Avaliabale only from the Smithsonian
500 Nations: An Illustrated History of North American Indians by Alvin M. Josephy, Jr.
Alfred A. Knopf, New York, © 1994.
From Abenaki to Zuni: A Dictionary of Native American Tribes by Evelyn Wolfson.
Walker and Company, New York, © 1988. ages 9-12
Indian Givers: How the Indians of the Americas Transformed the World by Jack
Weatherford. Fawcett Columbine, New York, © 1988.
The Gale Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes (Vols 1- IV), edited by Sharon
Malinowski and Anna Sheets. Gale Research, Inc., Michigan, © 1998.
Wisdom Keepers: Meetings With Native American Spiritual Elders by Steve Wall and
Harvey Arden. Beyond Words Publishing, Inc., Oregon, © 1990.
1. Before the European Conquest, approximately how many tribes
inhabited what is now the United States?
a) 50, with a population of about 500,000
b) 500, with a population of about 22 million
c) 70, with a population of about 2 million
d) 225, with a population of about 900,000
2. The present population of Native Americans in the United
States is
a) about 6 million
b) about 800,000
c) about 2 million
d) about 300,000
3. In most Native American societies, women have traditionally
played a central role in:
a) the care of home and children
b) community decision-making
c) governmental and ceremonial functions of the group
d) all of the above
4. Approximately how many words were contributed to the English
language by Native American cultures?
a) about 50
b) about 600
c) about 2,200
d) about 4,000
animals, plants, weather phenomena and land masses that were unfamiliar to them.
Frequently the newcomers adopted and adapted Native American words to describe the
environment, and many of these terms entered the English language. Below are just a few.
See how many you can unscramble and discover.
a) Animals
uksnk
ampu
osoem
gauraj
pihckunm
oocnarc
sumosop
ggrehci
cudaarrab
uoriba
b) Trees and Plants
necap
yhonamga
ckihory
ucacy
semetuiq
ccotbao
minyoh
hsuaqs
zeima
ovcdaao
apitoac
apyaap
mtotao
ottpao
c) Weather Phenomena & Land Masses
caurhiaen
koohcin
youba
vnnasan
6. Match the following Native American place names with their
meanings. (Note: Four place names have the same meaning)
Nebraska
Massachusetts
Michigan
Ohio
Minnesota
Oregon
Kentucky
Iowa
Alabama
Mississippi
North Dakota
South Dakota
Texas
Oklahoma
a) "good river"
b) "friend"
c) "dark and bloody ground"
d) "beautiful land"
e) "beautiful water"
f) "waters that reflect the sky"
g) "flat" or "broad river"
h) "water flowing along"
i) "I make a clearing"
j) "big river"
k) "long river"
l) "green mountain"
m) "great water"
n) "rocky hills"
7. The concept of a unified, representative government for the people was recommended to
the founders of the United States by:
a) Canassatego, leader of the Iroquois tribe of the Northeast
b) Sitting Bull, chief of the Sioux nation
c) Powhatan, leader of the Leni Lanapi (Delaware) Nation and the father of Pocahontas
d) Tisquantum (Squanto), the English-speaking member of the Wampanoag tribe who assisted the Pilgrims in their settlement in Plymouth, Mass.
8. The founders of the United States assumed the national symbol of the bald eagle from:
a) The Apache Nation
b) The Cherokee Nation
c) The Iroquois Nation
d) The Ojibwa (Chippewa) Nation
9. The victory of the Allies over the Axis Powers in World War II was due, in part, to the
use of a Native American language as a secret code. Which language served as that code?
a) Cherokee
b) Potawatomi
c) Sioux
d) Navajo
10. The U.S. Marine Corps Memorial Statue in Washington, D.C., honors a once-famous
World War II hero of Native American descent. What is his name?
a) Sequoia
b) Chief Seattle
c) Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell
d) Ira Hayes
11. True or False
a) Pocahontas is the only Native American whoseportrait is painted in the
rotunda of the U.S. Capitol building.
True or False
b) Many European colonists objected to the Native's use of water for bathing
and drinking.
True or False
c) A sachem is a woman who represents her people as a leader in
governmental or ceremonial affairs.
True or False
d) By 1993, Native Americans convinced President George Bush to sign an
executive order declaring Native American tribes to be considered by the U.S.
Government as sovereign "Domestic Governments" with the ability, among
other state functions, to issue passports.
True or False
Educational Program on CA Indian Baskets NEW!! (Flash Player 6 Required. Download for free at www.macromedia.com)
Welcome to Native Spirit. We are proud to provide you with an opportunity to take a step into the culture and dances of Native America. The southwest has become one of the few places in the world where people can come to appreciate and learn about the original inhabitants of this beautiful land we have come to share. Through our entertaining as well as educational presentations you will see dances that have survived thousands of years. You will witness the beauty and grace of color and movement as the air resonates with the beautiful and rhythmic sounds of the first nations. During the shows you will get an opportunity to learn the origins as well as the purpose of many of the dances and be thoroughly entertained with appropriate humor. Pinagigi (Thank you)
Brian Hammill is known throughout the world as an outstanding player of the Inspirational Traditional Flute , as well as a Championship Hoop Dancer, storyteller, educator, and a recording artist.
Alan Alda in Scientific American Frontiers: The Dark Side of the UniverseDrum vibrations seep deep inside each individual, each beat in synch with a heartbeat.
There is a group of people singing, seemingly meditating around the drum. Their eyes are closed, and they are chanting.
They are the Broken Heart Singers made up of Native American Colorado State University students, alumni and community members.
"I needed some kind of cultural uplifting," said Darwin St. Clair, Jr., founder of the Broken Heart Singers and assistant director of Native American Student Services.
St. Clair said the group began in fall 1992 because he needed something to help him feel normal and help Native American students get in touch with their culture.
"It brings us all together," St. Clair said. "We all become one."
It's very spiritual for him to play the drum and sing with other members of the group, he said.
"When all of us are sitting around the drum, we all smudge (sweet grass) to purify ourselves; that's very spiritual," he said.
The message of the music is to educate and open people's minds to the native culture and their singing.
Four poles and a strap of leather hold each drum. Each pole is a different color: red representing the north, white representing the west, yellow representing the east and black representing the south. The colors are also symbolic for all races and colors of the earth.
Gerry Himmelreich, an environmental geology major, said he did not grow up in a reservation but felt the need to know more about his culture.
"The drum has a healing power," he said. "I sing to honor those who came before me."
He said the name of the group means a lot to him because it represents the mending of his people who have suffered in the past.
Rosalyn Salters, an ecology tourism major, said she has always drummed. It's not traditional for a woman to drum because the drum stands for the womb of mother earth, and since women already have a womb they are not allowed to drum. Yet she said drumming is a part of her.
"It is as important for me to eat as it is to drum," she said. "I can't help it."
Jennifer Johns is a biology chemistry major who said when she came to CSU she felt lost. She felt a huge culture shock, but the Broken Heart Singers served as a refuge.
"They were a little family in the middle of a huge university," she said.
She said she uses this time (drumming) to release her stress and to feel relaxed.
"You let yourself be free," she said.
Emo Notah, a CSU alumnus, was with the Broken Heart Singers from the beginning of its conception.
"I saw it as a place to meet other Indians and to learn about other Indian culture," he said.
He gets his energy from the drum and the people around him, he said.
"I look at them as an extended family," he said.
Referring to the name of the drummers, Notah said, "For me it's a symbol, it gives me a sense of identity."
The Broken Heart Singers practice from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesdays near the Native American Student Services Department.
For more information contact Darwin St. Clair, Jr. at 491-7338.
The Kid was born in the 1860s, possibly a White Mountain Apache, and his family settled at Globe, Arizona Territory, in 1868. His name, Haskay-bay-nay-natyl ("the tall man destined to come to a mysterious end"), was too much for the citizens of Globe, who called him "Kid." The Kid learned English, worked at odd jobs in town, and was soon befriended by the famous scout, Al Sieber. In 1881, the Kid enlisted in the Indian Scouts, probably at Hackberry, Arizona Territory, and showed such aptitude for the job he was made sergeant, eventually rising to the rank of first sergeant within two years.
The Geronimo Campaign of 1885-1886 found Kid in Mexico early in 1885 with Sieber, and when the Chief of Scouts was recalled in the fall, Kid rode with him back to San Carlos. He re-enlisted with Lt. Crawford's call for one hundred scouts for Mexican duty, and went south in late 1885. In the Mexican town of Huasabas, on the Bavispe River, Kid nearly lost his life as the result of a drunken riot in which he had been a participant. Rather than see Kid shot by a Mexican firing squad, the Alcalde fined him twenty dollars, and the Army sent him back to San Carlos.
It was during Kid's eighth enlistment in the scouts, which began April 11, 1887, that he found himself in a situation that would lead to a court-martial, imprisonment, a civil trial, a new sentence, escape, and life as a fugitive. The course of the disastrous events unfolded, as did so many among the Apaches, with the brewing of tiswin, a beverage made of fermented fruit or corn. Brewing tiswin was illegal on the reservation, but with the agent, Captain Pierce, and Al Sieber both gone on business, the time seemed auspicious for a tiswin soiree. Kid had been left in charge of both the scouts and the jail, but before he and the scouts could get to the camp where the tiswin was flowing freely, two men were dead.
One of the dead was Kid's father, Togo-de-Chuz, and the other was the man who had killed him, Gon-Zizzie. Kid's friends had killed Gon-Zizzie, but the blood-price did not satisfy Kid; he and his scouts went to Gon-Zizzie's brother's place, and there Kid killed the brother, Rip. Kid and his scouts then returned to his father's camp, where they joined the others in drinking tizwin. The drunk lasted several days, and finally, perhaps filled with remorse and certainly hung-over, the scouts made their way back to San Carlos to face both Sieber and Captain Pierce.
Kid and his scouts arrived at San Carlos on June 1, 1887, and found that neither Sieber nor Pierce was in a mood to deal generously with them. A crowd of Indians, some armed, had gathered to witness the punishment, and when Captain Pierce ordered the scouts to disarm themselves, Kid was the first to comply. The scouts' firearms were laid on a table near Sieber's tent, and Pierce ordered Kid and the others to the guardhouse to be locked up until further action could be decided upon. They were about to comply when a shot was fired from the crowd, and soon the firing became widespread.
In the melee that followed, the disarmed Kid fled, Sieber's tent was shredded by bullets, and a massive .45-70 bullet smashed Sieber's left ankle, crippling him for life. It has never been determined who fired the shot that struck Sieber, but it is known that neither Kid nor the four scouts ordered to the guardhouse with him did the shooting. They ran for cover, managed to secure horses, and with perhaps a dozen other Apaches fled for wilderness. The Army reacted swiftly, and soon two troops of the Fourth Cavalry were following the fugitives up the banks of the San Carlos River.
Telegrams were sent from San Carlos to San Francisco, Headquarters Division of the Pacific, and to Washington, D.C., as the Territories braced for another Apache outbreak. Territorial newspapers in Arizona and New Mexico were quick to pick up the story, and the Army began to feel the heat of irate editorials. For two weeks the errant Apaches led the cavalry a good chase, until, aided by Indian scouts, Kid and his band was located high in the Rincon Mountains. The troopers surprised the Indians and captured their mounts, saddles, and equipment. Kid and his followers escaped into the rocky canyons and ravines, but faced the prospect of survival without horses while pressure from the Army increased daily.
After some negotiation, Kid got a message to General Miles stating that if the Army would recall the cavalry he and his band would surrender. Miles called off further pursuit, and on June 22, eight of Kid's band gave themselves up. Kid and seven others surrendered on June 25. Miles decided to try Kid and four others by a general court-martial, despite the fact that they did not, in all probability, understand the charges pending against them.
The trial was concluded, and to no one's surprise the men were found guilty of mutiny and desertion, and each was sentenced to death by firing squad. General Miles, upset with the verdict, ordered the court to reconsider its sentence. The court reconvened on August 3 and the convicted men were resentenced to life in prison. Miles, still not satisfied, reduced the sentence to ten years. The sentence began with the men in the San Carlos guardhouse until such time as the Army decided where to send them. The Army decided, on January 23, 1888, to send the prisoners to Alcatraz Island, California, rather than Fort Leavenworth Military Prison. Taken to Alcatraz under heavy guard, the five began what was to be a brief incarceration.
In reviewing the trial, the Judge Advocate General's office had become convinced that prejudice existed among the officers on the court-martial, thus precluding a fair trial. On October 13, 1888, Secretary of War William C. Endicott authorized the remission of the remainder of the sentences of the five prisoners, and by November they were back at San Carlos. Meanwhile, the Indian Rights Association, concerned that the incarceration of Apaches as federal inmates in state prisons was the result of federal usurpation of territorial jurisdiction, had sued on behalf of two incarcerated Apaches. The court agreed to the release not only of the two named in the suit, but to the release of all the Apaches held as federal prisoners in Illinois and Ohio. Eleven murderers were to be returned to San Carlos as free men, and the outrage in the Southwest was immeasurable.
By the middle of October 1889, Sheriff Glenn Reynolds of Gila County had arrest warrants for most of the freed Apaches, and among them was Apache Kid. The trial of Kid and three others for assault to commit murder in the wounding of Al Sieber was set for October 25, 1889. The four were found guilty, and on October 30, each was sentenced to seven years in the Territorial Prison at Yuma. On November 1, along with five other prisoners, they began what was to have been a stagecoach journey to incarceration in a prison notorious for its brutal living conditions, a prison aptly called "Hell-Hole."
The journey was to have been a two-day trip by stage from Globe to Casa Grande and from there by rail to Yuma. Sheriff Reynolds chose a deputy, W. A. "Hunkeydory" Holmes, as guard, and Gene Middleton, the stagecoach owner, as driver. All three were armed. Except for Kid and Hos-cal-te, considered to be the most dangerous and shackled at both wrists and ankles, the Apaches were shackled by twos, leaving each man with a free hand. A Mexican horse thief, Jesus Avott, was unshackled.
On the second day, after a night at Riverside, the coach had to make a steep ascent at Kelvin Grade, and all prisoners but Kid and Hos-cal-te were put out to walk. As the coach made the grade and disappeared from view, the prisoners over-powered Reynolds and Holmes. Holmes died of fright, and Reynolds was killed with Holmes' rifle. Middleton was also shot and horribly wounded with Holmes' rifle, but survived. The prisoners unlocked their shackles with keys taken from the dead bodies of Holmes and Reynolds and disappeared into a developing snowstorm. Jesus Avott cut a horse loose and rode into nearby Florence with the grim news.
By a strange course of events, Apache Kid was no longer an admired and honored scout, but a fugitive with a price of five thousand dollars on his head. It was widely believed that Kid used the San Simon Valley in Arizona and Skeleton Canyon in New Mexico as his avenue for travel to and from Old Mexico. Into the 1920s and 1930s, rumors circulated along the border that Kid had been seen, men had talked to him, he was alive on a ranch in Sonora, and on and on. Who knows? As our Mexican neighbors say, "Solo Dios sabe, Señor, solo Dios!"
Subsequently, many groups of Southwest peoples were labeled "Apache," resulting in a considerable array (40+) of "Apache" groups, often with tragic consequences. The various groups usually hunted and gathered in the more mountainous regions, but also practiced some gardening or trade for cultivated plant products (CBS).
Today, the major Apache groups include the Jicarilla (New Mexico), the Mescalero (New Mexico) and Western Apache (Arizona. 15 reservations). The Chiricahua Apache were removed from their own reservation in 1876 and sent to prison in 1886. Subsequently, some Chiricahua relocated to Oklahoma and some joined the Mescalero Apache in southern New Mexico.
Today, Apache groups have been very successful in ranching and recreational facilities; especially ski resorts in some of their beautiful mountain areas.
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