Counting Coups, an Eyewitness Account from the 1800s BY RICHARD IRVING DODGE All the religious dances embody the same idea, and are conducted upon much the same general principle as the great camp-meetings of some of our Christian denominations. The time and place are fixed by the medicine man, and ample notice given. The "scalp dance," is next to the medicine dance in … [Read more...]
Native Women Prior to the Settled West
Hard Lives of Male Domination for Female Indians BY RICHARD IRVING DODGE (Originally published in 1882) The life of an Indian woman is a round of wearisome labor. Her marriage is only an exchange of masters, and an exchange for the worse, for the duties devolved upon a girl in the parental lodge are generally of the lightest kind. She may be required to assist in the … [Read more...]
Secrets of Indian Religion
Records of Native Mysteries from the 1800s BY RICHARD IRVING DODGE We have elsewhere remarked that it is difficult for a Christian to draw the line between religion and morality, but unless he can do so, it will be impossible for him to understand the Indian. He must even go further; he must tone his mind to the consideration of a people not only without a code of … [Read more...]
The Honor of a Cheyenne Chief
“After I Got to Montana, My Sympathies Was With the Indians” BY TEDDY BLUE ABBOTT It was just about the time of the big chinook that came in March 1884, and a few snowdrifts still showed up, when a Cheyenne named Black Wolf and his immediate family of seven lodges came over from Tongue River to the Rosebud on a visit to the other Indians. They camped at the mouth of lame … [Read more...]
Charlie Russell and the Heroic Cheyenne
Also, Granville Stuart’s Desirable Daughters, and Teddy’s Infatuation With a Dusky Maiden BY TEDDY BLUE ABBOTT When I was with the N Bar there was a fellow working for their Powder River outfit by the name of John Green. He was from Texas like the rest of them, but he had been everywhere and seen everything, to hear him tell it. One morning at the ranch house they brought … [Read more...]
Legends of the Star People
Ancestors in High Places BY DAVID S. LEWIS For propriety’s sake, we will address the Native American Star People legends, what might be termed the folklore traditions of various Indian tribes, of having been in contact with extraterrestrials, or as being their ancestors, as a study of human societies and cultures, as anthropology, so that the more incredible aspects of this … [Read more...]
Remembering Native Actress Misty Upham
Her Body Found After She Went Missing Near Seattle BY BRIAN D’AMBROSIO 11-05-14 The body of missing actress Misty Upham was found in Auburn, Wash., near Seattle, on Oct. 16, according to police and published reports. Upham’s parents reported her missing Oct. 6, the Seattle Times reported. Her body was discovered at the bottom of a 150 foot embankment near the White … [Read more...]
Geronimo Surrenders
Last of the Fierce Chiricahuas Board a Special Train, Never to Return BY TOM HORN Originally published in 1904 (Life of Tom Horn) That night Geronimo wanted to talk to General Crook, but Crook told him if he wanted to go to [Fort] Bowie to the guard house to come on, and if he did not, that his talk was no good and for him to go on back to the mountains and he would … [Read more...]