This Week in Native American News (9/21/18): Restoring Homelands, Righting Past Wrongs, Preserving History
September 21, 2018
How one tribe got their coastal California lands returned
Members of the Kashia tribe on the dance grounds of the Kashia Coastal Reserve
The Kashia Band of Pomo Indians has called the coast along what is now Sonoma County, California, home for thousands of years. There, the ‘People from the Top of the Land’ occupied lands that stretched about 30 miles along the coast near Fort Ross and about 30 miles inland.
Like many Californian tribes, the Kashia were violently removed from the best portions of their lands during the formation of the US. In 1915, the Kashia were allocated just 41.5 acres of land for their reservation. But in 2015 – 100 years later – the Kashia regained ownership of the heartland of its culture: 688 acres of land on the Pacific coast.
Read the Full Story Here
Offensive place name to be stricken from Alaska town code
A place name deemed offensive to Alaska Natives who live there is being stricken from the municipal code of a small town in western Alaska after local officials took official action.
The section of Bethel long known as Lousetown was noted in the municipal code since 2001, despite its connotations of parasitic lice.
The nickname will be removed after the Bethel City Council agreed it should be stricken and the area renamed East Avenue for the road traversing that part of the town of about 6,000.
“It’s a positive improvement within our community,” Williams said Wednesday. “And it will be known as East Avenue from now on instead of known as a deplorable word.”
Read the Full Story Here
In Similar News…
Governments apologize to Alaska Natives for banning migratory bird harvests
In an admission of wrongdoing, state and federal governments on Thursday apologized to Alaska Natives for a decades-long ban on spring migratory bird hunting that overlooked the value of the hunts in villages but wasn't overturned until 1997.
Finding The Hidden Hawaii Through The Eyes Of Ukulele Virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro
Ukulele wizard Jake Shimabukuro plays his favorite instrument at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival last April. VAN FLETCHER
Hawaii, the only state outside of North America, is comprised of eight main islands: Oahu, the Big Island (Hawaii), Maui, Kauai, Molokai, Lanai, Niihau and uninhabited Kahoolawe. Shimabukuro was raised on Oahu and has spent lots of time on the Big Island and Molokai.
“Molokai is a special place for me, because my grandparents are from there,” he says. “It’s my favorite place to get off the grid and relax."
Molokai is where visitors can "experience old Hawaii," says Shimabukuro who has revolutionized playing the ukulele by delving into jazz, blues, rock, funk, bluegrass and classical music. "To me, it’s the only place in the world where time truly slows down."
Read the Full Story Here
Preserving History…
Haskell University to celebrate Native American veterans of World War I
Haskell University’s Cultural Center and Museum is planning to celebrate Native Americans who served in World War I.
The center’s director, Jancita Warrington, said 415 Haskell students, faculty and alumni enlisted in the war, even though they could not claim citizenship until six years after the war ended.
The celebration, “Keeping Legends Alive,” will be held Sept. 21 and 22, hosted by the center and the city of Lawrence.
Story of Native American persecution told in Marlborough, Mass.
343 years ago on Aug. 30, the Massachusetts Bay Colony issued an order that resulted in the incarceration of Native-Americans. Some want to make sure that blot on Massachusetts history is never forgotten.
Riders Visit Bentonville To Raise Awareness of the History of Native Americans
Visitors are riding to Northwest Arkansas to raise awareness of the history of Native Americans.
Two different groups are shedding light on the trail of tears.
The Muscogee maintained independence against colonizers for 200 years
Since prehistory, the Muscogee (also known as the Creek, and sometimes spelled Mvskoke), lived in Alabama, as well as parts of Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee. In the 1830s, they were forcibly relocated to Oklahoma alongside the Cherokee and others on the Trail Of Tears. They were a complex society that built cities and massive monuments, fought off Spanish conquistadors, and adopted European cultural norms, thinking (incorrectly, sadly) that doing so would help keep their place in the newly established United States.
It's hard to fit so much news in such a small space.
To read all of this week's news, visit the LIM Magazine.
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