Native Americans

17/07/2025

In this striking photograph from around 1885, William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody stands proudly at the heart of his Wild West show, surrounded by Pawnee Nation leaders Eagle Chief, Knife Chief, and Young Chief. These Native American performers were more than just entertainers—they embodied the complicated ties between Indigenous peoples and the myth-making of the American frontier. Buffalo Bill, once a buffalo hunter and Army scout, had transformed into a master showman, crafting a theatrical vision of the West that captivated audiences across the East and Europe.

The Pawnee men in this image brought a powerful authenticity to the performances. Unlike many of their time, Buffalo Bill compensated his Native performers and treated them with respect, though the show still portrayed them through a “noble savage” lens, blending admiration with stereotypes. Eagle Chief and Knife Chief were not merely actors but tribal leaders whose names carried the weight of resilience, courage, and survival passed down through generations—a rich history that extended far beyond the stage.

Preserved today in Steve Friesen’s *Buffalo Bill: Scout, Showman, Visionary*, this photograph offers a window into a world where entertainment, identity, and history intertwined. Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show shaped how millions imagined the frontier, balancing spectacle with real stories. Here, beneath the canvas of the Great Plains, the legacy of Native Americans and the spirit of the West were caught in a fleeting moment that continues to echo through time.

17/07/2025

By the middle of the 18th century, the Lakotas were primarily bison hunters. They hunted for food and hides. The surplus in hides was traded to other tribes or to Anglo-Americans for other things they needed. Women prepared the hides for trade by stretching and tanning the hides. They also decorated the hides in order to get the best advantage in trade. In the late summer or early fall, Lakotas traveled to the other villages to trade bison hides for corn which they needed for a good diet.

17/07/2025

A Hidatsa woman named Waheenee, born around 1839, made it her life’s goal to keep her tribe’s old farming traditions alive. 🌱
Between 1907 and 1918, she shared her deep knowledge of planting, cooking, and daily life with a researcher.
In 1917, this knowledge was published in a book called *Buffalo Bird Woman's Garden*, helping to protect a way of life that was slowly disappearing.

She wasn’t the only one doing this important work.
Around the same time, an ethnologist named Frances Densmore traveled across the U.S. with a wax cylinder recorder.
She recorded over 2,000 songs from many Native American tribes, saving their music forever. 📖

In Connecticut, a Mohegan woman named Gladys Tantaquidgeon spent her life writing down traditional medicine and healing practices.
Her careful work not only saved Mohegan culture but also helped her tribe gain federal recognition in 1994.

These women knew how valuable their heritage was.
They worked hard to make sure future generations could understand and connect with their history.
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16/07/2025

Native History

16/07/2025

16/07/2025

"The Watcher of the Painted Canoe" (Simplified)

Painted in red and blue so bright,
The canoe rests in soft, still light.
By golden trees and grassy shore,
It waits in peace, it moves no more.

A heron stands with calm, strong eyes,
Beneath the clouds and open skies.
He looks ahead and watches near,
Connecting past to now and here.

This boat once sailed through dreams and pain,
Through forest smoke and gentle rain.
It holds the songs of those before,
And every bird that flew once more.

To step inside is not to ride,
But feel a change from deep inside.
Each paddle, whisper, breath, or breeze,
Is felt by sky, the wind, the trees.

15/07/2025

Riders on their way to Wounded Knee for the memorial. Photo by Ken Marchionno. Native History

15/07/2025

We are not just stories of the past — we are the heartbeat of this land. Our elders still stand strong, our traditions still burn bright, and our spirit remains unbroken. 🌎🔥🪶

15/07/2025

When we, the Indian people, hunt animals, we eat everything — we don’t waste.
When we dig for roots or build homes, we make only small holes.
Even when we burn grass to catch grasshoppers, we don’t harm the land.
We gather acorns and pine nuts by shaking trees — we don’t cut them down.
We use only dead wood, not living trees.

But white people plow the earth, cut down trees, and destroy nature.
They don’t seem to care.
How can the Spirit of the Earth be happy with that?
Everywhere the white man touches becomes wounded.

This is the wisdom of our ancestors —
the ones who lived in a sacred and balanced way.
Bear Bull, a Blackfoot elder, photographed by Edward S. Curtis in 1926.
Tradition: Bear Bull is using an old Blackfoot method to style his hair.

15/07/2025

Crow Eagle, Fool Thunder, Iron Thunder, Slow White Buffalo. Dakota group. Seated, Iron Thunder, holding peace pipe. 1880s. Photo by D.F. Barry

14/07/2025

Ishi – The Last of His People
In 1911, a starving man walked out of the forest near Oroville, California. He was the last known member of the Yahi, a small group of the Yana people who once lived in the area. His tribe had been nearly wiped out by violence, disease, and loss of land during the California Gold Rush.

Because he could no longer survive alone, he was taken in by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley. When they asked his name, he said he didn’t have one. In Yahi tradition, a person’s name could only be shared by another member of the tribe — and he was the last one left. So, they called him "Ishi," which means “man” in the Yana language.

Ishi spent the rest of his life in San Francisco, helping at the university’s museum. He showed visitors how his people made tools, spoke their language, and lived their way of life. His life was both a rare chance to learn about the Yahi and a painful reminder of how Native peoples were treated.

Today, Ishi is remembered not as the “last wild Indian,” but as a symbol of strength, survival, and the deep loss caused by colonization.