Civilizations by ldvhl

Shawnee
History
The Shawnee are an Amerindian people who live in the United States. They speak an Algonquian language. During their recorded history, the Shawnee were never united into a single society.
Geography and Climate
If the Shawnee can be associated with a specific area in the US, it is southern Ohio. Most of the people lived here during the second half of the eighteenth century. It is likely that this region was their precontact homeland. In the seventeenth century, Shawnee were reported in various locations, such as in Illinois, on the Ohio River, in Maryland, and on the Savannah River. During the late 1600s and early 1700s, the majority of the Shawnee assembled in eastern Pennsylvania and gradually moved westward into the upper Ohio drainage. The American Revolution and warfare led to the dispersal of the Shawnee and bands started to cross the Mississippi. Ultimately, the Shawnee all settled in Oklahoma. Due to these movements, the Shawnee cannot be associated with any one type of environment.
Pre-Contact
It has been determined by scholars that the Shawnee homeland was in the upper Ohio river valley. The most likely archaeological culture to be associated with the pre-contact Shawnee is Fort Ancient. Clear evidence of the link between Fort Ancient and the Shawnee has not been found so far. There is another proposed location for the pre-contact Shawnee homeland, the Cumberland Valley. Due to the Algonquian affiliation of the Shawnee language, it is to be assumed that there was a relationship between the Shawnee and other Indian groups which spoke Algonquian languages in the past.
Post-Contact: Dispersal
Accounts between 1662 and 1673 give a picture of Iroquois attacks, which ultimately drove the Shawnee out of the Ohio valley. Their movements during the rest of the 1600s are rather obscure. They seemingly split into smaller groups that moved in different directions. In 1683, several hundred Shawnees went to La Salle’s post at Starved Rock in Illinois, staying there until 1688 or 1689. Other Shawnee bands reached the Savannah River around 1674. In 1692, a band of about 172 Shawnee appeared in Maryland and settled near the mouth of the Susquehanna River. Another Shawnee group came into eastern Pennsylvania with Aernout Viele in 1694. In the next century, the Shawnee group on the Susquehanna River moved into Pennsylvania and settled among the Delaware and Susquehannock Indians. The Shawnee along the Savannah River dwindled as many migrated to Pennsylvania. After 1715, some of these Shawnee moved to the Chattahoochee, settling among the Upper Muscogee. By 1720, the Pennsylvania Shawnee were moving west because of the depletion of game and sale of land by the Delaware and Iroquois. In 1731, about 1,200 Shawnee lived on the headwaters of the Ohio, with others on the Juniata, the Susquehanna and in the Wyoming valley. The Wyoming group moved west about 1743, founding Logstown on the Ohio. At the mouth of the Scioto, a settlement later called Lower Shawnee Town was founded sometime before 1739.
Impact of the Fur Trade
Unlicensed fur traders used rum to obtain furs at cheap prices, leaving many Shawnees impoverished and in debt to the licensed traders who had provided goods on credits. Shawnee chiefs asked the Pennsylvania government to regulate trade and enforce the anti-rum laws. However, these requests were ignored, leading to a minor uprising in 1745. Several unlicensed traders were pillaged and the Shawnee left Pennsylvania with a half-Shawnee trader named Peter Chartier. There movements were complex. The main body founded a new settlement in northern Kentucky, but it was abandoned when the Shawnee there left south and settled among the Muscogee. By 1752, a large group had returned to the Lower Shawnee Town. Another group moved to the Cumberland, settling near the site of Nashville. The Chickasaw drove them out in 1756 and these Shawnee moved to the lower Ohio. During the French and Indian War, the Shawnee were first allied to the English, but switched sides. They attacked frontier settlements in Pennsylvania and Virginia. The English presence in the area was eventually restored. The Logstown Shawnee joined the rest of their people in the Scioto valley. They embraced Pontiac’s movement, but made peace with the English in 1765.
More Conflict
The Treaty of Fort Stanwix in 1768 with the Iroquois opened Kentucky to settlement, thus depriving the Shawnee of their main hunting lands. In 1774, frontiersmen killed 13 Shawnees and Mingos in a brutal series of unprovoked murders. Relatives of the victims joined a group of Mingos to kill 13 settlers. This precipitated Lord Dunmore’s War. The Virginian army destroyed a Shawnee town in the Muskingum valley. The Shawnee made peace and accepted the Ohio River as their southern boundary. At the time of the American Revolutionary War, the Shawnee adopted a policy of neutrality and moved from the Scioto to the headwaters of the Miami River and its tributaries. In 1777, the Shawnee joined the Mingo in attacking American settlements. They devastated Kentucky and other frontier areas, while their own settlements were repeatedly destroyed by the Americans. In 1795, the Shawnee made peace with the United States at the Treaty of Greenville.
From the End of the Revolutionary War to the End of the War of 1812
The Shawnee who originally desired peace with the Americans moved across the Mississippi to Spanish territory. The remaining Shawnee in Ohio eventually settled at Wapakoneta on the Auglaize River and Hog Creek on the Ottawa. Others joined the Ohio Seneca at Lewiston. Yet another group withdrew to the Wabash drainage. This group moved to Greenville, Ohio in 1805, but returned to the Wabash area in 1808. The village of Tippecanoe was established. Its leader, Tecoomse, created an intertribal movement to resist American expansion. Encouraged by the English, he tried to form an alliance which would sell no more land to the US. His brother, Tenskwatawa, preached a nativistic movement supporting Tecoomse’s aim. Although Tecoomse’s clan and divisional affiliation qualified him for the position of war chief, the Ohio Shawnee refused to join him. Most of his followers came from other Indian groups, such as the Kickapoo, the Potawatomi, and the Delaware. The Miami remained distant, but the peoples farther west, like the Sauk and Winnebago, were strongly attracted. Viewing Tecoomse’s movement as a threat, the governor of Indiana Territory, William Henry Harrison, led an army to Tippecanoe in 1811 while Tecoomse was on a mission to the southeastern Indian nations. The battle that followed was a draw, but it destroyed Tenskwatawa’s credibility and the movement disbanded. Those Shawnee who followed Tecoomse withdrew to Ontario with him. Tecoomse would be killed at the Battle of the Thames on October 5, 1813. Shortly after, most of the allied groups in his confederacy surrendered to Harrison at Detroit.
Three Peoples
In the period after the War of 1812, three groups of Shawnee were formed: the Absentee Shawnee, the Cherokee Shawnee, and the Eastern Shawnee. The Absentee Shawnee were the peaceful faction that left Ohio during the Revolution and settled in southeast Missouri, where they were granted land in 1793 by the Spanish administration. After 1797, the Shawnee who lived among the Muscogee joined them, along with others from Ohio. In the early 19th century, most of the peace party moved away to Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. The Texas Shawnees were expelled in 1839 and moved to central Oklahoma. In 1854, they were designated the Absentee Shawnee, meaning that they were not residents of the Shawnee reservation in Kansas when it was allotted. They received official recognition as a separate group in 1872. The second group, the Cherokee Shawnee, are descended from some of the people who remained in Ohio. They moved to the Kansas reservation between 1832 and 1835. The Black Bob band in Missouri went to Kansas, which created conflict with the other Shawnee. American pressure forced them both to Oklahoma. The Ohio Shawnee formally joined the Cherokee Nation in 1869, while the Black Bob group merged with the Absentee Shawnee. In 1831, the Mixed band of Shawnee and Seneca moved to a reservation in northeast Oklahoma. The Shawnee component separated from the Seneca in 1867, taking the name Eastern Shawnee. By 1950, the Shawnee numbered 2,252, with the Cherokee Shawnee being the largest group. The Eastern Shawnee gave up more of its traditional culture than the other Shawnee. The Cherokee Shawnee have also abandoned much of the traditional culture. The Absentee Shawnee are the most culturally conservative of the three, maintaining rituals like the War Dance, and the Spring and Fall Bread Dances into the 20th century.
The Present and the Future
In 2000, the Cherokee Shawnee finally received federal recognition independent of the Cherokee Nation as the Shawnee Tribe. Today, most members of the three nations of the Shawnee reside in Oklahoma. Far away from their original homeland in the Ohio River valley and split into three groups, the Shawnee have persisted into the 21st century despite losing much of their traditional culture and language.
Shawnee Factoids
Planting was associated with important rituals sponsored and carried out by the town and was organized by female officials belonging to the town government
Vision quests were prescribed for children after the age of seven, as opposed to other Central Algonquians, who undertook the quests around the time of puberty.
The supreme being of the Shawnee was a woman usually called Our Grandmother or the Creator.

Tecoomse
1768-1813
Leader of the Shawnee
History
Tecoomse was a leader of the Shawnee and of a large Indian confederacy which opposed the United States during Tecoomse’s War and became an ally of Britain during the War of 1812.
Early Years
Tecoomse was born about March 1768 somewhere along the Scioto River or on one of its tributaries. His name meant “Shooting Star” or “Panther Across the Sky” in Shawnee. Tecoomse’s father was named Puckshinwa and he was a minor war chief of the Kispoko band and Panther Clan of the Shawnee people. Puckshinwa’s ancestry is a subject of dispute, with some sources saying his father was a Muscogee and others claiming he was British. Tecoomse’s mother was named Methotaske and she was Puckshinwa’s second wife. She is believed to be Shawnee, though several traditions hold that she was Creek or Cherokee. Some claimed she was a white captive. Regardless, Methotaske’s maternal great-great grandfather was a prominent chief of the Pekowi and the Turtle Clan. Due to Shawnee lineage being recorded paternally, Tecoomse was considered a member of the Kispoko. When he was a boy, his father was killed at the Battle of Point Pleasant by white frontiersmen during Lord Dunmore’s War in 1774. Tecoomse resolved to become a warrior like his father. In 1779, the town his family lived in was destroyed by Kentucky militia in retaliation for Chief Blackfish’s attack on Boonesburough. They fled to another Kispoko village, which was destroyed in 1780 by the forces of George Rogers Clark. The third settlement they moved to, Sanding Stone, was attacked by Clark in November of 1782. They moved to a new Shawnee town near modern day Bellefontaine, Ohio. At the age of 15 after the end of the American Revolutionary War, he joined a band of Shawnee who wanted to halt the intrusions of white settlers into their lands by attacking their boats traveling the Ohio River from Pennsylvania. The large Wabash Confederacy attempted to repel Americans from settling the region. Tecoomse fought alongside his older brother Chiksika, an important war leader who basically raised the youth after his parents’ early deaths. Tecoomse’s older sister, Tecumapese, also helped in his upbringing. In early 1789, Tecoomse traveled with Chiksika south to live and fight alongside the Chickamauga faction of the Cherokee. They stayed at Running Water (modern Marion County, Tennessee), where Chiksika’s wife and daughter lived. There, the young man met the famous Indian resistance leader Dragging Canoe. Eventually, Tecoomse became the leader of his own band of warriors. This happened when his older brother was killed leading a raid, making him the successor. He returned to Ohio in late 1790, and took part in several battles, including that of Fallen Timbers in 1794. The natives were defeated by the Americans, ending the Northwestern Indian Wars in their favor. Despite losing, Tecoomse refused to sign the Treaty of Greenville, in which the Indians ceded great portions of their territory for goods valued at $ 20,000.
Brother of a Prophet
Tecoomse settled in present-day Greenville, Ohio, the home of his younger brother Lalawethika. Lalawethika took the new name of Tenskwatawa or “The Open Door”. He once suffered alcoholism as a young man, but now became a religious leader called the “Shawnee Prophet”. Tenskwatawa advocated a return of the Shawnee and other American Indians to their ancestral lifestyle and a rejection of the American colonists. They were to reject firearms, liquor, European style clothing, and ceding any more lands to the United States. His views attracted the following of Indians who already suffered major epidemics and dispossession of their lands. These beliefs were based off of the earlier teachings of the Lenape prophets, Scattamek and Neolin, who predicted a coming apocalypse which would destroy the Euro-American settlers. The Shawnee leader Black Hoof opposed Tenskwatawa due to his desire to maintain a peaceful relationship with the United States. In 1807, Tecoomse and other Shawnee leaders met the US Indian agent William Wells. He assured him that his band intended to remain peaceful and only wanted to follow the will of the Great Spirit and his prophet. Tecoomse also said that his prophet brother intended to move his followers deeper into the frontier. By 1808, Black Hoof demanded that Tenskwatawa and his followers leave the area due to rising tensions with the settlers. They established the settlement of Prophetstown near the confluence of the Wabash and Tippecanoe rivers (in present day Indiana). This land was Miami territory and their chief Little Turtle warned the group not to settle there. They moved in despite the warning, but the Miami left them alone. Tenskwatawa’s teachings attracted members of other Indian peoples to the settlement, with his brother Tecoomse emerging as the primary leader of the nascent confederation.
Rise in Resistance
Several treaties gave and recognized American possession of most of southern Indiana. In September 1809, William Henry Harrison, the governor of the newly formed Indiana Territory, negotiated the Treaty of Fort Wayne. The Indian delegation ceded 3 million acres of Native American lands to the United States. The treaty was questionable due to not being authorized by the President, and involving the offering of large subsidies to the natives and the distribution of alcohol before the negotiations started. Tecoomse was alarmed by the sale of land due to the sellers being Piankeshaw, Kickapoo and Wea, peoples who made up many of the Prophet’s followers. He revived an idea once advocated by the Shawnee leader Blue Jacket and the Mohawk leader Joseph Brant, that Indian land was owned in common by all. Tecoomse traveled widely, urging warriors to abandon the accommodationist chiefs and to join him in resistance of the treaty. Tecumseh is quoted as saying, "No tribe has the right to sell [land], even to each other, much less to strangers.... Sell a country!? Why not sell the air, the great sea, as well as the earth? Didn't the Great Spirit make them all for the use of his children?" And, "....the only way to stop this evil [loss of land] is for the red man to unite in claiming a common and equal right in the land, as it was first, and should be now, for it was never divided." He met with Harrison to demand the rescission of land purchase treaties the US had forced on the Shawnee and others, but the Governor refused. In August of 1810, Tecoomse led 400 armed warriors from Prophetstown to confront the governor at his home in Vincennes. Harrison rejected the leader’s demand and argued that individual tribes could have relations with the US and that his interference was unwelcome by the Indians in the area. Tecoomse incited his warriors to kill the governor and fighting would have broken out had not the Potawatomi Chief Winnemac intervened and urged the warriors to leave in peace. While leaving, the Shawnee leader informed Governor Harrison that he would seek an alliance with the British unless he rescinded the treaty. Tecoomse traveled south on a mission to recruit allies among the Five Civilized Tribes. His efforts were rejected by most of the southern Indians, particularly Choctaw Chief Pushmataha. Despite this, a faction among the Muscogee, called the Red Sticks, answered his call to arms. A comet appeared in March 1811. Tecoomse told the Muscogee that it signaled his coming, due to the meaning of his name. His confederacy took it as an omen of good luck.
Battle of Tippecanoe
Governor Harrison, hearing from intelligence that Tecoomse was far away, sent a report to the American Department of War, telling them that he intended to demolish the “work” of the Shawnee leader. He moved from Vincennes on September 26, 1811, with about 1,000 fighting men and marched on Tippecanoe. On November 6, 1811, Harrison arrived with his army outside Prophetstown. Tenskwatawa sent a messenger to meet with the governor and request a meeting to be held the next day. Harrison encamped his army on a nearby hill. During the early dawn hours of November 7, the confederacy launched a sneak attack on the camp. During the Battle of Tippecanoe, Harrison’s force held its ground and the Native Americans withdrew from the village after the battle. Victorious, the Americans burned Prophetstown and returned to Vincennes. This defeat was a severe blow for Tenskwatawa, who lost both his prestige and the confidence of his brother. Returning, Tecoomse secretly began to rebuild his alliance. The Americans went to war with the British in the War of 1812 soon after. On the 16 of December 1811, the New Madrid earthquake shook the South and the Midwest. For many natives, it meant that Tecoomse and his brother should be supported.
Involvement in the War of 1812 and Death
Tecoomse rallied his confederacy, allying with the British army invading the American Northwest Territory from Upper Canada. He joined Major-General Sir Isaac Brock in the siege of Detroit, forcing the city’s surrender in August 1812. In honor of his role in the Detroit siege, Major-General Henry Procter gave the Shawnee leader a sash, basically offering him the rank of brigadier general in the British army. However, Tecoomse refused the commission and gave the sash away. The British found themselves in an indefensible position at Fort Detroit after Harrison’s successful defense of Fort Meigs. All the public buildings in Detroit were burned and the British forces retreated into Upper Canada along the Thames river valley. Harrison led an invasion of Canada. The next year, the British under Procter and the natives led by Tecoomse besieged Fort Meigs unsuccessfully. The Native American warriors began killing American prisoners until Tecoomse arrived, shouting at Procter for not stopping the massacre. The Shawnee leader and General Procter disagreed over tactics. The British leader favored withdrawing into Canada and avoiding battle while the Americans suffered from the winter. Tecoomse was eager to launch a decisive attack on the American army, which would allow his men to retake their homes in the northwest. When Procter’s forces failed to appear at Chatham, Ontario, Tecoomse reluctantly moved his men to meet up with the general near Moraviantown. He informed Procter that he would withdraw no farther and that they should await Harrison’s army there. On October 5, 1813, the American troops attacked and won a victory over the British and Native Americans at the Battle of the Thames, near Moraviantown. Tecoomse was slain, with the Americans claiming he was killed by Colonel Richard Johnson during a cavalry charge. According to natives who took part in the battle, Tecoomse was shot in the breast through his buckskin hunting coat. His friends buried his body within the vicinity of the battle site. Ultimately, the ultimate fate of Tecoomse is unclear due to multiple differing accounts of his death during the battle. Shortly after, most of the confederacy he created surrendered to Harrison at Detroit. During the Treaty of Ghent which ended the war, the British called for the US to return lands in Ohio, Indiana and Michigan to the Native Americans. Their intention was to create a buffer state to block American expansion. This proposal was dropped after the Americans refused to consider this action.
Legacy in History
Tecoomse’s ideas of resisting the American expansion into native lands was not accepted by all of the Indian nations to which he preached too. Despite, his efforts and speeches are still remembered to this day. He honored in Canada and even in the United States, the country of his enemy, William Henry Harrison. Several towns still bear his name. His death in the War of 1812 played a role in the expansion of American settlers into the lands of the Shawnee and the other Indian nations which took part in his confederacy.

Squamish
History
The Squamish are an American Indian people who live in the Pacific Northwest Area of North America. Their traditional language is Squamish, considered a member of the Salishan language family by linguists.
Geography and Climate
Squamish territory included the shores of Howe Sound, the drainage of the Squamish River (except possibly the Upper Cheakamus, which may have been Lillooet hunting territory), and most of Burrard Inlet (at least since the middle of the 19th century). In the early 19th century, there were 16 or more Squamish villages on the Squamish River, all within about 25 miles of its mouth. Most of the settlements had summer sites on Howe Sound or Burrard Inlet. Squamish parties were also making journeys up the Fraser River in the late 1820s. Annual rainfall in the area could be 80 to 100 inches. The vegetation in the Squamish valley is classified as the Coast Forest type. Characteristic trees include the Douglas fir, the Western hemlock, the Western red cedar, the big-leaf maple, the red alder, and the black cottonwood.
Pre-European Contact
Archaeology has revealed a long history of human occupation in the lands which include the Squamish homeland. It is generally difficult to identify archaeological cultures with specific cultural or linguistic groups, so that will not be done here. The Salishan peoples, of which the Squamish are a part of, are believed to have lived in this area for quite some time. They shared the region with speakers of the Wakashan languages. The Squamish have their own oral history accounts of their origins. These involve the “founding fathers” of their people. An aged Squamish man named Mel̓ḵw’s was interviewed by Charles Hill-Tout in 1986. He recited oral history on the origins of the world, talking about how “water was everywhere”. Then, the tops of the mountains came out of the sea, forming land. The first man to appear was X̱i7lánexw, who was given a wife, an adze, and salmon trap. He and his wife populated the land and the Squamish are descendants of them. Oral history also recount about a Great Flood at Cheakamus in the Squamish valley. There is also another account of the first ancestors, two men.
Post-European Contact
The Strait of Juan de Fuca was “discovered” by the fur trader Charles Barkley in 1787. During the next several years, other traders may have sailed as far as Coast Salish territory. However, they generally kept to the outer coast due to a belief in the scarcity of sea otters in the area. Exploration began in 1790 when Manuel Quimper explored both shores of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. In 1791, Francisco de Eliza explored the southern end of the Strait of Georgia. In 1792, a British expedition under George Vancouver charted most of the region, but missed the Fraser River. The existence of this river was not known to the Whites until 1808, when North West Company fur trader Simon Fraser made a descent into its canyon, thinking it was the Columbia River. The Spanish and British explorers and Fraser noticed that the indigenous people of the area had some goods of European origin. These were likely obtained through Native middlemen from maritime fur traders on the outer coast. In the early 1820s, the Hudson’s Bay Company began exploring the area, and they established Fort Langley on the Fraser River in 1827. The Kwantlen people welcomed the traders, providing materials, labor and wives. This fort became a center of European influence in the area. In 1843, the company founded Fort Victoria in Songhees territory, drawing people from all over the area to trade.
Treaties
The Treaty of Washington split Central Coast Salish country into British and American portions in 1846. Two different systems developed. The Canadian system made every large Indian village into a band with one or more tiny reserves, while the American system combined villages into “tribes” and gave some larger reservations. Under the American system, some Indian ethnic groups were left landless. James Douglas began to designate some land as reserves in the Canadian side, but the process was not completed until the 1880s. The non-Indian population did not really grow until 1858, with the discovery of gold on the Fraser. Thousands of miners moved into the region. The whole region was affected, especially the Songhees, Lummi, Nooksack and Stalo peoples. The Squamish and the other Amerindian peoples in the area were outnumbered from then on.
Population Decline, the Coming of Missionaries and Lifestyle Changes
From the late 1700s, the Native American population in the region was declining due to epidemics of smallpox and other diseases. During the 1770s, smallpox eradicated at least 30 percent of the indigenous population in the Northwest coast of North America, including the Squamish. During the 80 year period from 1770 to 1850, smallpox, measles, influenza and other diseases killed off many villages and communities. Lekwiltok Kwakiutl raiders also accounted for some losses. The first Christian missionary to reach the area was Catholic priest Modeste Demers. He was warmly welcomed by the Lummi, Kwantlen and other Indian groups at Fort Langley in 1841. A school was established at St Mary’s Mission on the Fraser by Father Leon Fouquet in 1863. Protestant churches also made converts in the area. Methodists and Anglicans were active among the natives there. By the 1860s, many Central Coast Salish worked as loggers, mill-hands and stevedores. Some continued selling fish, shellfish, cranberries, and other native foods to White people. By the 1870s, canneries employed men as fishermen and women and children in the canning process. By the 1880s, some of the Indians were successful farmers while others worked seasonally picking berries and hops for non-Indian farmers in the Fraser Valley and on Puget Sound. Much of the indigenous material culture changed during this period. However, a large amount of the old social relations and ceremonies survived, with potlatches still being held. Potlatches were eventually banned in British Columbia in 1884, but some groups resisted the law until 1912.
20th Century
In 1906, a delegation of chiefs from British Columbia, traveled to the British capital of London to seek an audience with King Edward VII. They wanted to discuss with him about the land confiscated by the Canadian government under the reserve system. This delegation included Joe Capilano or Sahp-luk of the Squamish people. However, their efforts to meet with the King resulted in no immediate changes in the policies concerning the British Columbian natives. Economic opportunities for the Native Americans declined in the early 20th century, especially with the Depression. Suppression of Native languages in residential schools resulted in their decline. The influence of the mission founded churches lessened as that of the Shaker Indian Church grew. Spirit dancing was revived with aspects of potlatches. By the 1980s, greater autonomy allowed the Squamish to lease valuable urban land, which generated income for housing, community buildings, and education. The Squamish is one of the two largest Central Coast Salish bands in British Columbia, along with the Cowichan.
The Present and the Future
Despite being in a different system than the Coast Salish in Washington State, the Squamish people take part in a social network involving summer festivals with canoe racing, games, and winter dancing. Squamish communities were seriously affected by the 2005 CN Rail Cheakamus River derailment, when about 40,000 litres of caustic soda were accidentally released into the Cheakamus, killing about 500,000 fish. The Squamish Nation engaged in negotiations with the Provincial Government of British Columbia prior to the 2010 Olympic Games. Agreements were signed involving the use of Squamish land for hosting the games. The Nation has ties to the Tsleil-Waututh First Nation, who reside on Burrard Inlet, and the Musqueam who live in the southern edge of Vancouver city. During their history post European contact, the Squamish lost lives to disease and land to settlers. The Squamish language has declined due to residential schools. However, the Squamish people are now trying to revive their language and traditional culture.
Squamish Factoids
A distinctive form of weaving was practiced in the area which included Squamish territory. It included the use of wool from a special breed of dog, the wool dog (extinct as separate breed by the middle of the 19th century, and Pomeranian-like).
In the region where the Squamish lived, a flattened head use to be a sign of a free (nonslave) status, except for among the Upper Stalo.
Babies were not formally named by their parents, but were referred to by pet names. Some of the pet names lasted into adult life.

Sahp-luk
1840/or 1854-1910
Leader of the Squamish
History
Sahp-luk, also known as Joe Capilano, was a leader of the Squamish people. During his life, he fought for the recognition of native rights and lifestyle.
Early Life
Sahp-luk is believed to have been born during the early 1850s. The exact birth year is uncertain with some sources saying 1854, while others claim 1840. Growing up in a reserve near the Capilano River, he spent his youth fishing and hunting. Later, he went to work in the sawmill in Moodyville, a settlement in the present-day Lower Lonsdale area of the City of North Vancouver. Prior to the influx of Roman Catholic missionaries to the area in the 1860s, Sahp-luk was raised in traditional Squamish teachings. He eventually became Catholic and was baptized by the time he married Mary Agnes Lixwelut in May 1872. His wife was a celebrated genealogist, with her grandfather said to have welcomed George Vancouver to the Burrard Inlet in 1792. Sahp-luk was viewed as a prime candidate for leadership by Roman Catholic officials in the region, due to his unique mix of Catholic and indigenous education. They believed he would help spread Catholicism across other Native communities. In 1895, Sahp-luk succeeded Chief Lawa as leader of the Squamish.
Visit to London
Negotiations with the Provincial government of British Columbia about settling land claims ended in failure. In 1906, Sahp-luk journeyed to Ottawa with Cowichan Chief Charley Isipaymilt and Secwepemc Chief Basil David. They are sought to improve Native-White relations in British Columbia. After visiting Prime Minister Sir Wilfred Laurier in the Canadian capital, they visited London to meet with the current King of Canada, Edward VII, to discuss the need to settle land claims in British Columbia. In addition to the land claims, they desired a lift on the potlatch ban, hunting and fishing restrictions, and various imposed regulations that limited self-sufficiency and inhibited their cultural and socio-economic traditions. The three leaders felt their autonomy and titles had been severely challenged by white settlers. In preparation for the trip, Sahp-luk was given a new name, Kiyapalanexw (Capilano). This was an hereditary title meant to emphasize his high status to the king. In London, the three men were given 15 minutes of the British King’s time, but their petition was not formally presented to Edward VII. The document mentioned how after Sir James Douglas was no longer governor, white settlers moved into their lands and titles were issued to them by the British Columbian government. An excerpt of this petition reads: “We have our families to keep the same as the white man, and we know how to work as well as the white man; then why should we not have the same privileges as the white man?” Despite their efforts to meet with the King, no discernable changes were implemented. Sahp-luk was sent away with autographed portraits.
Later Life and Death
Sometime after his meeting with King Edward VII, Sahp-luk severed ties with the Catholic Church and banned them from his settlement. He felt that the Church did not support his mission for equality and land rights. In return, the Catholic officials felt that the Squamish leader became too radical. Sahp-luk died of tuberculosis in the year 1910. Non-Native critics had pegged the chief as a “troublemaker” for his attempts to organize the native peoples of British Columbia. On the other hand, Native leaders and communities celebrated him as a powerful leader and icon.
Legacy in History
Government inaction led to the creation of province-wide political organizations including the Indian Tribes of the Province of British Columbia. Sahp-luk’s efforts to address the land issues and the restrictions toward his people’s culture were unsuccessful. However, he inspired new generations of First Nations people to take charge of their political agency. Several landmarks in the North Shore of Vancouver share the last name of Sahp-luk’s other name, Joe Capilano. These include Capilano Indian Reserve No. 5, Capilano River, Capilano Lake, Capilano Mountain, Capilano Road, and a neighborhood called Capilano Highlands. There is a collection of Squamish stories by Canadian poet Pauline Johnson, called “Legends of Vancouver” which were based on tales told by Sahp-luk. The legacy of the Squamish leader lives on.

Samala
1822-1884
Leader of the Chumash
History
Samala, also known as Rafael Solares, was a Chumash chief who served as an informant for the French anthropologist Leon de Cessac in 1874-1876.
Early Life
Samala was born sometime during the spring of 1822 to Vitaliano Samuyata and Nicolasa. He was baptized at birth as Rafael Solares. Samala was to be a faithful Catholic for the rest of his life. His ancestors had moved to Santa Inez. Sadly, his father died the preceding October and his mother passed away in August, just three years later. His brother, Gregorio Ayehuiva, was baptized at Soxtonokmu the same year the Santa Inez mission was founded. Samala eventually helped the construction of the mission in Santa Inez.
Life as a Dancer
Samala became a dancer, being initiated as an antap and becoming knowledgeable in astronomical, pictographic, and datura lore. He took part in Maria Pomposa’s famous fiesta at Saticoy in 1869. The first dance was the Blackbird dance. During the fiesta, Samala imitated a frightened bear. Then he pointed his feather staff to the east. In his left hand, the Chumash man held a headdress ringed with feathers and topped by long magpie plumes. Three singers accompanied him with turtle shell rattles with asphaltum and filled up with pebbles. Samala’s face was painted and he wore a short grass skirt. A bear paw hung from a cord around his neck. He circled the dance area and shook his staff in all the corners. If anyone got out of order, he lunged at them, sometimes even biting them on the shoulder.
Informant for an Anthropologist
In 1874, Samala met Leon de Cessac and Alphonse Pinart, joining them at an archaeological excavation at Tajiguas and at Soxtonokmu near Santa Barbara. During the years 1874-1876, the French anthropologist Leon de Cessac conducted research among the Chumash. Samala became an informant. De Cessac asked him to help gather a collection of Chumash tools and other cultural artifacts for the Museum of Man in Paris. The Chumash man searched his relatives for heirlooms that they were willing to part with. Understandably, few would cooperate, so Samala offered larger sums of money. He bought three wooden bowls in good condition, in addition to several baskets and stone artifacts.
Later Life and Death
During the late 1800s, Samala served as the chief of the Santa Ynez Band of the Chumash people. One of his sons, Manuel, married Maria Ysidora del Refugio Solares (1842-1923), who later served as an informant to linguist and ethnologist John P. Harrington. For sixty years, Samala attended his church and served mass. His wife and thirteen children all predeceased him. He died at the age of 62 and was buried with a Catholic Church ceremony in the Santa Inez mission cemetery on September 6, 1884.
Legacy in History
Samala, or Rafael Solares, lived two lives. He took part in Chumash traditions and was still a devout Catholic. The Chumash chief helped to practice traditional culture and served as an informant to an anthropologist. This was an age in which white anthropologists took traditions and native knowledge from Amerindians without giving it back. The Chumash people were thought to be on the way to extinction. However, Samala seemed to believe he was helping his people by contributing information and native artifacts to De Cessac. Eventually, the data accumulated by anthropologists from informants like Samala would be used to help the revival of Chumash culture in the 20th century. Today, a life-sized portrait of the man is on display at the Stagecoach Inn Museum in Thousand Oaks. The original portrait is in the Museum of Man (Musee de l’Homme) in Paris, France.

Selocta
C 1765-1835
Leader of the Muscogee
Chief of the Muscogee
History
Selocta was a leader of the Muscogee people during the time of the War of 1812.
Early Years
Selocta was born circa 1765 in the Talladega area. His father was Moss Chinnabee, a principal chief of the Muscogee, and his brother was Salarto. He eventually became a warrior, taking the name Selocta Fixico. Fixico was a warrior rank meaning “Heartless One”. Selocta has two possible meanings. One is “screamer” (Selakketa). The other is “crawler/slitherer” (Solotketa), which could refer to his action of crawling through the lines of the hostile Red Stick forces at Fort Lashley to seek help from General Jackson’s army during the Muscogee Civil War. If the second meaning is true, Selocta must have had a different name before the War.
Involvement in the Muscogee Civil War and Serving General Jackson
The Muscogee was divided into pro- and anti-American factions around the time of the War of 1812. Selocta led the warriors who favored the Americans, and who opposed the Red Sticks. Their group became known as the White Sticks. Selocta met General Andrew Jackson during his first advance into Muscogee territory. He wanted his men to fight under the American banner and for his aid to his fort, which was surrounded by the Muscogee war faction. Jackson gave the Muscogee some light infantry, helping to lift the siege on his fort. Thereafter, Selocta became Jackson’s principal guide and Indian adviser, serving as the government interpreter when Red Stick leader William Weatherford surrendered to the American general. He was also General John White’s guide and interpreter during the Tallapoosa and Hillabee campaigns and at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. His knowledge of Muscogee, Natchez, and English made him ideal for a translator. Please with Selocta’s service to the American cause, Jackson gave him an American officer uniform and silver mounted rifle. It is believed that Selocta’s oldest son, Arbiahiah (Ya)Hola, carried the rifle with him when he went into Arkansas during the Muscogee migration to the west.
Life After the Muscogee Civil War and Death
Selocta would serve with Jackson once again during the First Seminole War in 1818. He was among the party of principal White Stick chiefs who visited Washington, DC during the winter of 1825-1826 to protest the Treaty of Indian Springs. He signed the new treaty on January 24, 1826. In this treaty, the Muscogee ceded much of their lands in the state of Georgia to the American federal government. President John Quincy Adams presented Selocta with a silver medal during his trip. On February 10, 1835, the Muscogee leader journeyed to Mardisville, near Talladega, to buy some supplies. He was said to have drank too much whiskey in the local tavern and raced off into the night to return home. Unfortunately, he ran his horse under a large tree limb along the path, falling off and suffering fatal injuries. Selocta was buried near the junction of McElderry and Twin Churches Roads on the old McElderry farm, 9 miles east-northeast of Talladega, under a slab of granite. Buried with him was his silver medal. Thomas McElderry was a friend of Selocta, and he honored the man’s granddaughter to protect his grave. It would be his son Hugh, who erected the grave monument to Selocta after the log cabin which he was buried under rotted away.
Legacy in History
Selocta is remembered for his role in helping General Andrew Jackson defeat the Red Sticks during the Muscogee Civil War. Despite his service to the Americans, he was still pressured into signing a treaty which gave away Muscogee lands in Georgia to the United States. Ultimately, his people would be forced to move west as a result of American expansion, with the majority ending up in Oklahoma. Nonetheless, his bravery even caught the attention of Andrew Jackson, who became President of the United States and played an important role in the forced removals of Southeast Indian peoples to the west.

Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt
1840-1904
Leader of the Niimiipuu
Leader of the Wal-lam-wat-kain (Wallowa) band of Nez Perce
History
Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt, better known as Chief Joseph or Young Joseph, was the leader of the Wal-lam-wat-kain (Wallowa) band of the Nez Perce during a tumultuous period of their history.
Early Years
Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt was born on March 3, 1840 in the Wallowa Valley of north eastern Oregon. His name means “Thunder Rolling Down the Mountain” or “Thunder traveling to higher areas” in the Nez Perce language. His father was Tuekakas (aka Chief Joseph the Elder). The older Joseph was initially hospitable to the region’s newcomers. However, tensions grew when the settlers appropriated more and more traditional Nez Perce lands for farming and grazing livestock. In 1855, Joseph the Elder and other Nez Perce chiefs signed a treaty with the United States, establishing a 7.7 million acres Nez Perce reservation in present-day Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. Wallowa Valley was included in the reservation. An increase of settlers led the American government to call a second council in 1863. The government asked the Nez Perce to accept a new, much smaller reservation of 760,000 acres, around the village of Lapwai in Idaho. This new reservation would exclude Wallowa Valley, Joseph the Elder’s lands. In exchange, the Nez Perce would be given financial rewards, schools and a hospital. Chief Lawyer and one of his allied chiefs signed the treaty on behalf of the Nez Perce Nation. Joseph the Elder and several other chiefs opposed the treaty and never signed it. Those Nez Perce whose leaders signed the treaty moved to the new reservation, while the others stayed in their lands. Joseph the Elder demarcated Wallowa land with a series of poles, proclaiming, "Inside this boundary all our people were born. It circles the graves of our fathers, and we will never give up these graves to any man."
Leadership of the Wallowa Band
Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt succeeded his father as leader of the Wallowa band in 1871. Before dying, his father requested to him that he never sell the reservation lands of the Nez Perce, and that he protect and guard his father’s grave site. Years later, Joseph commented: "I clasped my father's hand and promised to do as he asked. A man who would not defend his father's grave is worse than a wild beast." The non-treaty Nez Perce suffered many injustices at the hands of white settlers and prospectors. The Nez Perce chief never allowed any violence towards the whites, due to fear of reprisal from the militarily superior Americans. Instead, he made concessions to them in the hopes of securing peace. In 1873, Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt negotiated with the American government to ensure his people could remain in their lands in the Wallowa Valley. However, the government reversed its policy in 1877, sending Army General Oliver Howard to threaten the Wallowa band into relocating to the Idaho Reservation. General Howard held a council at Fort Lapwai to attempt convincing the Wallowa into relocating. Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt finished his address to the general, which focused on human equality, by expressing his "[disbelief that] the Great Spirit Chief gave one kind of men the right to tell another kind of men what they must do." Howard reacted angrily, interpreting the statement as a challenge to his authority. On the day following the council, the non-treaty Nez Perce leaders accompanied Howard to look at different areas. The general offered them a plot of land which was inhabited by whites and Native Americans, promising to clear out the current residents. Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt and the other chieftains refused, sticking to their custom of not taking what did not belong to them. Howard informed the Wallowa leader that his people had 30 days to collect their livestock and to move to the reservation. He would considered their presence in the Wallowa Valley beyond the 30-day mark as an act of war. Returning home, Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt called a council among his people. He favored abandoning the land where his father was buried over war with the Americans. The Wallowa band then met with other Nez Perce at Rocky Canyon. Many of the leaders urged war, while the Wallowa chief argued for peace.
Nez Perce War
Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt’s band was among the 750 or so Nez Perce and a small allied band of the Palouse people who fled toward freedom. They hoped to take refuge among the Crow nation in Montana territory but the Crow refused to help them. The Nez Perce then went north in an attempt to reach asylum with the Lakota band led by Sitting Bull, who had fled to Canada in 1876. The US Army pursued the fleeing Nez Perce in the so-called Nez Perce War. For over three months, the Nez Perce outmaneuvered and battled their pursuers, traveling 1,170 miles across Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana. General Howard, who led the opposing cavalry, was impressed with the skill with which the Nez Perce fought. They used advance and rear guards, skirmish lines, and field fortifications. After a devastating five-day battle during freezing weather with no food or blankets, and with the major war leaders dead, Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt surrendered to General Nelson Appleton Miles on October 5, 1877 in the Bear Paw Mountains of the Montana Territory, less than 40 miles south of Canada. The words “I will fight no more forever” are popularly attributed to the chief. His apparent speech earned him the praise of General William Tecumseh Sherman and he became known in the press as “The Red Napoleon”.
Aftermath of the War
General Sherman forced the Wallowa leader and his 400 followers to be taken on unheated rail cars to Fort Leavenworth, in eastern Kansas, to be held in a prisoner of war campsite for eight months. Towards the end of the following summer, the surviving Nez Perce were taken by rail to a reservation in the Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma), staying there for seven years. Many died of epidemic diseases during their stay. In 1879, Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt went to Washington, D.C. to plead his people’s case with President Rutherford B. Hayes. Opposition in Idaho prevented the US government from granting his petition to allow his return to the Pacific Northwest. In 1885, the chief and his followers were permitted to settle on the reservation around Kooskia, Idaho. However, they were actually taken to the Colville Indian Reservation, which was far from their homeland in Wallowa Valley and from the rest of the Nez Perce in Idaho.
Later Life and Death
Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kakt continued to lead his people in the Colville Reservation, coming into conflict with the leaders of the 11 other Indian peoples living on the reserve. In the last years of his life, he spoke out against the injustice of US policy toward his people and hoped that America’s promise of freedom and equality would one day be fulfilled for Native Americans as well. He pleaded his case again in the US capital in 1897. In 1903, the Wallowa chief visited Seattle, where his met the photographer Edward Curtis, becoming the subject of one of his most famous photographs. He also visited President Theodore Roosevelt in Washington that year. Sadly, his pleas for his people to return to their ancestral homeland in the Wallowa Valley. Still in exile, Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt died on September 21, 1904. According to his doctor, he died “of a broken heart”. Edward Curtis helped the chief’s family in burying him near the village of Nespelem.
Legacy in History
The descendants of the Wallowa band of the Nez Perce still reside in the Colville Reservation, far from their homeland in Wallowa valley. During his life, Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt sought peace with the Americans, even preferring to abandon his father’s grave to move to the reservation in Idaho. When other Nez Perce leaders advocated for war, he took part in their attempt to reach Canada. Despite failing to convince the US government to return his people’s lands, Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt will be remembered for his eloquent speeches about the injustices perpetrated towards his people and Native Americans in general.

Richard Arthur Hayward
1947-
Leader of the Pequot
Tribal Chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot
History
Richard Arthur “Skip” Hayward was the tribal chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe for 23 years, from 1975 to 1998.
Early Years
Richard Arthur Hayward was born on November 28, 1947 in New London, Connecticut. He had nine siblings and graduated from high school. Hayward never attended college. He married Aline Aurore Champoux. He worked as a pipefitter and lived in Stonington, Connecticut. Skip Hayward continued to hold various jobs before running a clam shack called the Sea Mist Haven, near the Mystic Seaport.
Becoming Tribal Chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot and Federal Recognition
In May of 1973, Hayward’s grandmother Elizabeth George died. She was the last member of the Pequot Tribe who still lived on the 214 acre reservation held in trust by the state government. With her passing, the reservation land passed in the hands of the state. Viewing the land as belonging to his family, Skip and his family members decided to take action to reclaim it. In 1994, the University of Connecticut awarded Hayward an honorary degree. Working with the Connecticut Indian Affairs Council (CIAC) and Pine Tree Legal Assistance, the Hayward family founded the Western Pequot Indians of Connecticut, Inc. Skip was elected chairman on August 10, 1975. In 1976, Hayward worked with the US Department of Housing and Urban Development to get the Western Pequots recognized as an India organization that would qualify for revenue sharing. In March 1976, they were recognized by then Governor of Connecticut Ella Grasso as a unit of Connecticut local government. In 1979, the Western Pequots won a $ 12,000 grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development for the writing of an economic development plan for the reservation. They also received a $ 1.2 million loan from the department for the construction of 15 houses. Skip’s cousin John Holder was made executive director of this new housing project. In 1982 Pine Tree Legal Assistance, Thomas Tureen, and Skip Hayward draw up a settlement bill which was proposed to congress. This proposed bill would allow the Western Pequots to gain instant federal recognition through congress. This approach allowed the Pequots to avoid going through the longer Bureau of Indian Affairs method, which would almost certainly not pass them due to a lack of a complete historical record and a way to be sure of “blood quantum”. At the congressional hearing, the Western Pequots were represented by Tureen, Hayward, and a lawyer named Jackson King. On February 24, 1983, the Pequot settlement bill was approved by the Senate. However, President Ronald Reagan vetoed the bill. His reasoning was that if the Pequots were granted federal recognition, a dangerous precedent would be set for other Native American groups. Also, he stated that Connecticut was not paying its fair share of the settlement. Through intense lobbying and with the aid of Senator Lowell Weicker and Indian lobbyist Susan Harjo, the Western Pequots were able to gain enough votes to threaten to override the veto. Rather than suffer the embarrassment of being overridden on such a small bill, President Reagan made a compromise with the Western Pequots. The group was granted federal recognition as the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe of Connecticut.
Casino: Origins and Opening
Shortly after the tribe was granted federal recognition, Thomas Tureen became Skip Hayward’s chief business advisor. Their first order of business was to set up a high-stakes bingo operation. Hayward had no previous experience in running a gambling business, so he was helped by Penobscot Howard Wilson, a veteran bingo operator. The Pequot bingo hall opened on July 5, 1986. By 1988, the bingo operation generated as much as $30 million a year in revenue. The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed and Skip and Tureen decided that starting a tribal casino would be highly profitable. Obtaining backers, the Foxwoods High-Stakes Bingo & Casino Resort opened its doors in 1992. By 1998, Foxwoods was generating over a $1 billion in revenue, making Skip Hayward a multimillionaire. He no longer lived on the Mashantucket Pequot reservation most of the time, spending time at Foxwoods. Since 1983, his tribe grew from 125 members to over 300.
End of Chairmanship
On November 1, 1998, Skip Hayward was replaced by Kenneth M. Reels as tribal chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot after losing an election. He had been chairman of the tribe for 23 years. Hayward ran for the position of tribal chairman again in 2002, but lost to Michael J. Thomas. After this, Skip Hayward has largely divorced himself from tribal matters.
Legacy in History
How to discuss the legacy of one who is still alive? Richard Arthur Hayward was able to get his tribe, the Mashantucket Pequot, recognized by the federal government. Before, they were a people assumed to have no longer existed since colonial days. Under his leadership, the Pequots built a successful casino. Perhaps, their success gives hope to other Indian nations seeking a casino enterprise.

Essie Pinola Parrish
1902-1979
Leader of the Pomo
Spiritual Leader and Basketweaver of the Kashaya Pomo
History
Essie Pinola Parrish was a Kashaya Pomo spiritual leader and an expert basketweaver.
Early Years
Essie Pinola Parrish was born in 1902. Her people, the Kashaya Pomo, live at Stewart’s Point in northwestern Sonoma County. At the age of 6, she was acknowledged as a “dreamer”, which meant she had a great ability to prophesy and interpret dreams. The word can also mean “doctor”, “healer”, “priest” or “prophet”. Parrish was recognized by the Kashaya as the last of four promised leaders sent by the spirits to guide their people. The federal government bought the 42 acres Nobles Ranch, establishing the Kashaya Reservation in 1920. Essie became a mother, raising thirteen children. She also managed an apple cannery and was an accomplished basket weaver.
Conflict with Mormon Missionaries
Pomo cultural traditions thrived at Kashaya up to the mid-20th century. The Roundhouse was full of dancers and people still spoke the language. In the 1950s, Mormon missionaries started converting members of the community. They demanded that the Kashaya give up their “Indian religion”, which they characterized as “devil-worship”. Families were turned against each other. Kashaya Pomo who had been Roundhouse singers and dancers were convinced to denounce the old ways. This period was a painful time for Essie Parrish. Mormon converts would yell “Devil!” when they saw her. It was hard to gather people to carry out ceremonies. Despite this, a small group of supporters helped Parrish maintain Kashaya traditions. This included Mabel McKay, another master basket weaver, who was from the Long Valley Cache Creek Pomo. Her great uncle Richard Taylor founded the Bole Maru religion in 1870 at a time when traditional Pomo culture was threatened with destruction. She became a Dreamer at childhood. Mabel became an adopted sister to Essie Parrish.
Contributions to Kashaya Pomo Cultural Preservation and Revival
Essie Parrish educated Kashaya children in the Kashaya Pomo language, culture and laws in the reservation school. When Robert Kennedy visited the Kashaya reservation to investigate conditions in Indian schools, she presented the politician with a hand-woven basket. Parrish also compiled a Kashaya Pomo dictionary with the Berkeley scholar Robert Oswalt. Her work is still in the California Language Archive. In addition to her contribution to Kashaya Pomo language revival, she also helped create over twenty anthropological films documenting Pomo culture and ceremonies. Anthropologists such as Alfred Kroeber and Samuel Barrett worked with her.
Later Life and Death
In March 14, 1972, Essie Parrish and Mabel McKay spoke at the New School in New York City. Before her passing in 1979, Essie Parrish predicted that on the day of her burial, there would be rain and thunder, and after that there would be red lightning. These events did come to pass. There was rain and thunder on her burial day. A month after the burial, there was red lightning over the Kashaya reservation. Mabel McKay continued the Strawberry and Acorn feasts after Essie’s death, as well as basket weaving and doctoring. One of Essie’s daughters, Bernice Torrez, also practiced traditional Pomo healing.
Legacy in History
For seventy years, Essie Parrish provided spiritual focus for her people and was the religious, political and cultural leader of her tribe. She faced challenges to her religion and way of life when Mormon missionaries threatened to divide her people. Despite this, Essie contributed to the education of Kashaya Pomo children in the traditional culture and languages, as well as continue to practice ceremonies. This is her legacy.

Mo'ohtavetoo'o
c. 1803-1868
Leader of the Tsehestano
Leader of the Southern Cheyenne
History
Mo’ohtavetoo’o, or called Black Kettle in English, was a prominent leader of the Southern Tsehestano or Cheyenne people, who led efforts to resist American settlement.
Early Life
Believed to be born around the year 1803, little is known of Mo’ohtavetoo’o’s life prior to 1854. In that year, he was made a chief of the Council of Forty-four, the central government of the Tsehestano people. The Council met regularly at the Sun Dance gatherings. After 1850, Tsehestano-US relations were conducted under the Treaty of Fort Laramie. The American government was unwilling to regulate white expansion into the Great Plains, especially after the Pike’s Peak Gold Rush began in 1859. Euro-Americans displaced the Tsehestano from their lands in violation of the treaty. Tensions between the two peoples were brewing. In 1861, Mo’ohtavetoo’o and the Arapaho surrendered to the commander of Fort Lyon under the Treaty of Fort Wise. He believed he could gain protection for his people, but the treaty was highly unfavorable to the Southern Tsehestano. They led their bands to the Sand Creek Reservation, located in a small corner of the southeastern Colorado about 40 miles from Fort Lyon. The land there was not arable and located far from the major source of meat for the Tsehestano, buffalo. Many Tsehestano warriors, including the Dog Soldiers, would not accept the terms of the treaty. They started to attack white settlers. Whether Chief Mo’ohtavetoo’o opposed their actions, tolerated it, or encouraged them is a matter of controversy among historians.
Outbreak of War: the Sand Creek Massacre
Southern Tsehestano hardliners would join the Kiowa and Arapaho in raiding American settlements for livestock and supplies. On July 11, 1864, a family of settlers, the Hungates were killed by Indians. Whites decried the massacre and the bodies of the family were displayed in Denver to arouse anger towards the Native Americans. Colorado Governor John Evans issued a proclamation ordering all “Friendly Indians of the Plains” to report to military posts or be considered “hostile”. He gained permission from the US War Department to establish the Third Colorado Cavalry, led by John Chivington. Mo’ohtavetoo’o decided to accept the governor’s offer and enter negotiations. On September 28, he concluded a peace settlement at Fort Weld, located outside of Denver. The agreement assigned the Southern Tsehestano to the Sand Creek reservation and required them to report to Fort Lyon. On November 29, the Third Colorado Cavalry led by Chivington attacked the Sand Creek reservation. Most of the Tsehestano warriors were out hunting. Mo’ohtavetoo’o flew an American flag and a white flag at his tipi, but this signal was ignored. The cavalry killed 163 Tsehestano by shooting or stabbing, burning down the village. The majority of the victims were women and children. For months afterward, militia members would display trophies of their “battle” in Denver, including body parts of the victims. Mo’ohtavetoo’o managed to escape the massacre and returned to rescue his severely injured wife. The chief continued to believe in pacifism. The majority of the Southern Tsehestano chiefs disagreed. Allied with the Comanche and Kiowa, they went to wage war against the American settlers and forces.
Post-Sand Creek
Mo’ohtavetoo’o moved south and continued negotiations with US officials. The Treaty of Little Arkansas River was created in October 14, 1865. The US government promised “perpetual peace” and lands in reparation for the Sand Creek massacre. However, the Tsehestano were required to move again, this time to Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma). Mo’ohtavetoo’o’s influence waned as Tsehestano leader Roman Nose and his Dog Soldiers continued the war against the Americans. His dwindling band proclaimed their desire to live peacefully alongside Euro-Americans. The chief signed another treaty, the Medicine Lodge Treaty on October 28, 1867. The relationship between his band of Tsehestano and the hostile Dog Soldiers is a matter of historical dispute. The second-in-command of Mo’ohtavetoo’o’s village, Little Rock, said that most of the warriors came back to their camp after attacking the Americans. White prisoners, including children were held there. It is unclear whether Mo’ohtavetoo’o could have stopped the actions of the younger warriors, due to his decreasing influence among his people.
Death
In response to the continued raids and massacres perpetrated by the Dog Soldiers, General Philip Sheridan devised a plan of punitive reprisals. Tsehestano winter encampments were to be attacked by troops, destroying both supplies and livestock. Anyone who resisted was killed. At dawn on the morning of November 27, 1868, George Armstrong Custer led soldiers to attack the village of Mo’ohtavetoo’o, encamped along the Wahorsehockya River. More than 100 Native Americans were killed, mainly Southern Tsehestano. While trying to cross the Wahorsehockya River, Mo’ohtavetoo’o and his wife were shot in the back and killed.
Legacy in History
Mo’ohtavetoo’o strived for the cause of peace with the Americans. He signed numerous treaties which had the effect of forcing the Southern Tsehestano to move from their lands. However, his influence among his people waned as other chiefs called for military action against the white settlers and soldiers. The actions of the Dog Soldiers would lead to his death. Today, Mo’ohtavetoo’o is remembered as a peacemaker by the Tsehestano. Despite this, there is dispute over his connection to the Dog Soldiers and whether he could have convinced them to end their attacks on the Americans.