Stolen Continents: The Indian Story

HIST 404-504/ AIST 404MWF TLC 31

Professor: Ian ChambersOffice: History department, 315

Administration buildingPhone: (208) 885-6551

Office hours: MWF 2:00pm – 3:00pmAdditional office hours available by

appointmentE-mail: chambers@uidaho.edu

www.uidaho.edu/~chambers 

For those who are interested Next semester my History

404 will be the second half of this course

i.e. 1830 to present

Texts: The following books are required.

James Axtell, Natives and Newcomers: The Cultural Origins of North America

Peter C. Mancall and James H. Merrell, eds., American Encounters: Natives and Newcomers from European Contact to Indian Removal – 1500-1850

Weekly reading assignments are posted on my website www.uidaho.edu/~chambers

From the home page click on Course Links

 

Assignments/Grading: Class Participation/Presentation – (30%) Research Paper – (40%) – 2800 - 3000 words Final – (30%)

Class Rules and Regulations:Three-One SystemYou must wait ONE day before contesting any gradeYou must write ONE paragraph explaining why your grade should

be adjustedYou must challenge the grade within ONE week of receiving it.Plagiarism Plagiarism WILL NOT be toleratedLate PapersYou will lose one point per minute for any late work.

Any student who needs special accommodations should contact me as soon as possible

Week/ Date Important Notes1 25-29 August Native American - Intro2 1 – 5 September No Class Monday –Labor day Euro - Intro3 8-12 September Contacts4 15-19 September Contacts5 22-27 September Contacts6 29 Sept – 3 OctConsumption7 6 – 10 October Consumption8 13-17 October Consumption9 20-24 October Conversion10 27-31 October Conversion11 3- 7 November Conversion12 10-14 November Clashes13 17-21 November Paper Due Wednesday 19th ClashesX 24-28 November Fall Break14 1-5 December Clashes15 8-12 December Conclusion

15-19 December Exam Week

Groups: Class will divide in 13 groups 3 people per group Each group will present on the

articles assigned for that week Additional materials can also be

used The presentation should not only

recite the details of the materials but also pose questions to encourage class discussion

Research paper As an upper level class

the paper is a major component of your grade

You will be expected to produce a research paper of 2800 – 3000 words

Any topic up to 1830

Video Time America’s Stone

Age Explorers

Historic overviewThe west

Not horse mounted bison hunters

Soil-working farmers Battled and won the fight

against hunger over centuries Living for hundreds of years,

mostly, along tree-lined streams and rivers

People such as Mandan, Hidasta, Pawnee

Upper Missouri River

Present day North Dakota

Tight village unit for protection

Protection against possible threat of food theft

Primarily farmersVery efficient farmers

Occasional hunters – Buffalo Provided:

FoodClothingShelterImplements

But hunt was about more than supplies

Men worked together Hunt used to socialize

young Taught skills and

knowledge Highlighted group effort

above individual Leader of the hunt – major

figure in village leadership

Female role focused on cultivation of food in fields

Difficult conditions Long cold winters Spring and

summer Drought Heat Grasshoppers

Amongst other things challenged growing ability

Main crop Maize Short season Two stage harvest 1) green corn 2) fall collection Best of harvest saved for

seed or trade Rest eaten or stored

Primary ceremony for Mandan Okeepa Midsummer celebration

symbolized unity and prosperity for the forthcoming year

4 day ceremony Cardinal directions Began with the announcement

of the arrival of the Lone Man

Okeepa The lone man

Creator of earth for the Mandan Arrived in village Greeted by warriors Announced he had come to open the

Ceremonial Lodge Greeted in village by leaders Began to tell the story of the Mandan

from creation onward

Over the four days ceremonial dances also took place

8 buffalo dancers stressing the important place of the Buffalo in Mandan culture

4 others 2 representing day 2 representing night Other animal characters

surrounded the main dancers

A second ceremonial aspect of the Okeepa took place during the 2-4th day

Induction of men into the Buffalo Bull society

Knife cuts would be made in the legs, chests, backs and arms of men

They would then be suspended by by wooden thongs from the cuts

Ceremony was symbolic of the struggle that Mandan went through to obtain a living

Linked them to the animals and plants of their environment

Tied together the secular and supernatural

Created a sense of renewed strength and purpose

A second group, related linguistically to the Mandan, were the Hidasta

They had migrated to upper Missouri River country from the east

They gained knowledge of corn cultivation from the Mandan

Grew other crops such as beans Very efficient farmers Also detail another aspect of Plains life:

movement and change

Devils Lake Traditionally lived

under the lake Hunters found a

vine root Began to climb Vine broke as

pregnant woman was climbing Power of women

Half still live in the lake

Movement meant carrying not only physical but also mental and cultural baggage

Another example is the Oklahoma Kiowa story of Devils Rock Wyoming

Even after living for many centuries in the southern plains of Oklahoma the story of devils rock is still important

VIDEOThe West – PBS

“When Dogs could Talk”

Kiowa’s links with the stars shared by many other nations The dancers of the Mandan

Pawnees of the central plains Traced their beginnings to the nighttime

sky For the Pawnee the arrival of two stars The Swimming Ducks Announced the arrival of Spring Dictating the beginning of real and ritual

year

Swimming Ducks

Stinger in Scorpio

Spoke to the animals told them to awake

Followed by lightning and thunder

Announced time for creation ceremony was at hand

Creation tied to 12 sacred bundles Each representing star

First bundle – Evening Star Priests opened it placing contents on yellow

calfskin to symbolize Buffalo 2 ears of corn – food 2 owl skins – alertness Hawk skins – warriors Paint dictated four directions Flint for fire Sweet grass for incense

Priests sang as they opened it bringing world back to life in the correct order

Evening Star was female Morning Star male In Pawnee creation Morning star went on a heroic quest ended

at Evening Star He created the Sun The combination created a girl The first woman who went to earth and

joined with a boy Son of the moon and the sun Became the first humans

Morning Star’s importance was such that he was able to extract a significant price

A human sacrifice Periodically Morning star

appeared to a warrior during the fall

The warrior would then lead a party to capture a girl from an enemy camp

Sacrifice would not take place until the early spring

captive accompanied hunters on winter hunt

Upon return she would undergo ceremonial preparation Painted red, calfskin skirt, Buffalo robe, black

moccasins After a 4 day ceremony she was repainted

Red on her right Black on her left

Taken to a scaffold and shot through the heart

Blood dripping onto a buffalo tongue and heart which was then burnt in a ceremonial fire

Friday

Farther west in the Great Basin

3 groupings had emerged 1) Shosones 2) Utes 3) Paiutes Shoshones broad area Western Wyoming

to California and Nevada

Hunter gathers Travelled extensively to gather

necessary food What ever the land would provide

In the autumn they would hunt the Pronghorn antelope Children hunted rabbit

Played a similar role to the buffalo Highly mobile Led to limited fixed housing and

different kind of ritual

Utes Utah and western Colorado Greater rainfall led to more abundant plants

and animals Antelope and rabbits Buffalo, deer, elk mountain sheep, and

mouse Also took food from rivers and streams Estimated location of diet

1/3 from water 1/3 from gathering 1/3 from other

Paiute Composed of three broad groupings Northern

Eastern Oregon through western Nevada Southern

Southern Nevada southwest Utah / northwest Arizona

Owens Valley Small region east of the Sierra Nevada based

around Owens valley

Northern Again these people often gained a lot of

their sustenance from the water Not only from fish but also from water fowl

such a ducks As with all hunting and crop gathering not

only was skill and stealth needed but also supernatural power Religious leaders were needed to predict of

assist in ensuring a successful hunt or crop

Southern Lived in a harsh environment Forced them to be mobile More nutrition coming from

gathering than hunting Years of experience allowed

them to live in places where others could not

Owens valley The presence of water in the

valley allowed a degree of sedentary life style

Irrigation allowed for greater plant crops

Not planed growth – rather flooding the regions of natural crops

Increasing the size of naturally occurring crops

Region populated a long time before the arrival of Europeans

Also seen centuries of movement and relocation

Trade routes had been established Environments had been understood and

managed People had developed a relationship to

each other and to the region A relationship that exists to this day