Tuesday, November 30, 2010
THE COAST MIWOK
THERE ARE OVER 600 VILLAGE SITES IN THE COAST MIWOK LOCATED ALONG FRESH WATER STREAMS. MORE THAN 100 VILLAGES AND SITES ARE IN THE POINT REYES AREA BY TOMALES BAY. THEY HUNTED GAME ANIMALS AND BIRDS WERE ABUNDANT. HUNDREDS OF DEER, ELK, BLACK AND GRIZZLY BEARS WERE HUNTED AS WELL AS CONDORS WITH 12 INCH WING SPREADS. THEY COLLECTED NUTS, SEED BERRIES, AND NATIVE PLANTS SIMILAR TO THE POMO. SOME OAKS WERE PRIVATELY OWNED. THEY ATE OCEAN FISH AND SHELLFISH. THE MIWOKS HAD TO PAY ATTENTION TO SOME OF THE LANDOWNERS WITH CLAM SHELL MONEY TO FISH IN SOME PLACES.
SOME OF THEIR VILLAGES WERE RETURNED FOR 100S -1000'S OF YEARS. THIS INFORMATION COMES FROM ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE, EARLY EXPLORERS JOURNALS, AND ETHNOGRAPHIC RECORDS, AND MIWOK ELDERS.
SOME MIWOK VILLAGES HAVE BEEN DATED TO 3500 YEARS AGO. IN ANCIENT TIMES THE WATER LEVEL OF THE OCEAN WAS MUCH LOWER, SO MANY SITES HAVE BEEN BURIED. THESE SHELL MOUNDS CONSIST OF BROKEN SHELL BITS AND ASHY CHARCOAL SOIL, MIXED WITH SMALL FLAKES OF OBSIDIAN AND FISH AND ANIMAL BONE, STONE, AND BONE TOOLS AS WELL.
AT LIMATOUR BEACH THERE WAS A SITE REPRESENTING A SHELL BEAD MONEY INDUSTRY. THE SITE HAS MANY UNDRILLED BEAD BANKS AND SOME PERFECTLY ROUND SHELL BEADS, DRILL BITS, AND BONES OF WATER BIRDS. ALSO MANY STONE MORTARS AND PESTLES FOR PROCESSING ACORNS. OTHER ACTIVITIES THAT WERE INDICATED HERE INCLUDE LARGE GAME AND BIRD HUNTING, FISH, SHELLFISH COLLECTING, ACORN PROCESSING, ADHESIVE PREPARATION FOR USE AS ADHERING POINTS TO ARROW SHAFTS. THEY USED EARTH OVENS AS DID MANY TRIBES IN CALIFORNIA.
THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT BERKELEY ARCHAEOLOGISTS EXCAVATED MANY SITES ON POINT REYES PENINSULA IN 1900 - 1910. THE SOUTHERN VILLAGES AT POINT REYES INDICATE A DIFFERENT CULTURE AND THEY USED FIRED CLAY BALLS TO SLING AND HUNT WATER BIRDS. NATIVE CHERT CORES WERE FLAKED ONTO TOOLS.
AT LIMANTOUR BEACH NEAR DRAKE'S ESTERO SIR FRANCIS DRAKE, THE ENGLISH SAILOR, LANDED IN THE 16TH CENTURY. THEY MADE RECORDS IN 1579 OF MEETING THE MIWOK. HIS BOAT HAD BEEN LEAKING. HIS EXPEDITION LEFT CHINESE PORCELAIN LEFT CHINESE PORCELAIN AND OTHER ARTIFACTS. HIS ASSISTANT NOTED IN THEIR DIARY THAT THE MIWOK WERE A GENTLE AND LOVING PEOPLE.
BAPTISMAL AND BURIED RECORDS FROM THIS MISSION DELORIS AND OTHERS IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA INDICATE THAT 90% OF THE INDIANS LIVING TODAY AT MISSIONS DIED FROM MALNUTRITION, DISEASES FROM EUROPEANS, AND CULTURAL LOSS AND DEPRESSION DURING 1975 - 1830'S.
IN 1810 RUSSIAN SEA OTTER HUNTERS CAME TO THE BODEGA COAST. SOME EARLY EXPLORERS EVICTED INDIANS FROM THEIR TRADITIONAL LANDS, HOWEVER, MOST CONTINUE TO LIVE ON THEIR ORIGINAL LANDHOLDINGS. BY EARLY 1900'S ALL COAST MIWOKS HAD MARRIED INTO OTHER CULTURAL GROUPS. THE INFORMATION HERE IS LARGELY ELDER MIWOK INTERVIEWS. CONDUCTED BY ISABEL KELLY FROM BERKELEY IN 1932. MANY COAST MIWOKS ARE KNOWLEDGEABLE OF THEIR ANCESTRY. THEY ORGANIZED THEMSELVES IN 1992 TO SECURE TRIBAL LANDS AS THEIR OWN. THE PROCESSED ACORN MUSH SIMILARLY AS DID THE POMO, BUT USED TAN OAKS (SEE ACORN PREPARATION BLOG). THEY SOMETIMES MIXED THE ACORN MUSH WITH PINOLE. THE WOMEN BUILD A FIRE AND THROW COOKING ROCKS INTO IT FOR HEATING THEIR MUSH. THEY HAVE WOVEN A TIGHT BASKET THAT HOLDS WATER. THE WOMAN USES A GREEN HAZELWOOD STICK TO ADD A ROCK TO THE MUSH IN THE BASKET WHEN THE ROCK IS COOLED SHE REPLACES IT WITH ANOTHER HOT ROCK UNTIL THE MUSH IS THICKENED. IT MAY BE EATEN WARM OR COLD.
IN SUMMER THEY ATE SEAWEED OR KELP AND IT WAS ROASTED OR FRIED. DUCKS AND MUDHENS, QUAIL AND OTHER GAME WAS PLENTIFUL. BASKETS WERE WOVEN AS EASILY AS THE POMO WOVE BASKETS. THEY USED THEM FOR ALL KINDS OF REASONS. THERE ARE NO COAST MIWOK BASKETS LEFT IN MUSEUMS TODAY. THEY WERE BURNED AFTER THE DEATH OF THE MAKER.
ROLES AND OCCUPATIONS
MEN WERE THE HUNTERS, WOMEN WERE THE GATHERERSOF SEEDS, BERRIES, NUTS, AND PLANTS. A VILLAGE HEADMAN WAS CALLED HOYPU WHO MEDIATED DISPUTES. A YOUNG HOYPU WAS TRAINED BY AN OLD HOYPU AND FOUR OLD WOMEN. THE HEAD WOMAN WAS CALLED MAAYEN. SHE HELD CONSIDERABLE POWER.REGARDING DECISIONS, DANCES, CEREMONIES, AND HEADED THE WOMAN'S DANCE HOUSE. THE MEN MADE CLAM SHELL DISC BEADS BOTH MEN AND WOMEN HELD DOCTOR POSITIONS TO CURE MIND AND BODY. THEY CURED BY PRAYER, DANCE, CURING SONGS AND HERBAL REMEDIES. SOMETIMES THEY SUCKED FOREIGN OBJECTS THROUGH A BONE TUBE. SOME DOCTORS TALKED TO SPIRITS. CHILDREN TOOK CARE OF THE ELDERLY.
A NARCOTIC PLANT CALLED MONOY WAS BROUGHT FROM SANTA ROSA AND USED BY DANCERS TO PRODUCE VISIONS! THEY HAD AN IMPORTANT DANCE WHERE THE MAN AND WOMAN HEADS PEOPLE INVITED NEIGHBORS TO COME. ONLY MEMBERS OF THE DANCE HOUSE WERE INVITED TO DANCE. THEY HAD AN EARLY SUMMER DANCE WITH DANCERS DRESSED IN TULE.
SYLVIA THALMAN
Monday, November 29, 2010
JEMEZ TRIBE
NAVAJO WERE NOT A PROBLEM TO THE PUEBLOS DURING SPANISH CONQUEST. THE JEMEZ WERE INDUCED TO ABANDON THEIR PUEBLOS ONE BY ONE, WITH 1622 WHEN THEY CONSOLIDATED INTO TWO SETTLEMENTS. THEY HAVE 11 CLANS. IN 1890 THEIR POPULATION WAS 428. IN 2000 THERE POPULATION ROSE TO 1900! THEY ARE PART OF ALBUQUERQUE AREA.
JEMEZ RUNNERS
RUNNING IS AN OLD JEMEZ PASTIME AND CEREMONIAL ACTIVITY. IT GREW POPULAR BEFORE WORLD WAR II. DURING WINTER NIGHTS RUNNING WAS A SPIRITUAL EVENT. THEY ASSISTED THE MOVEMENT OF THE SUN AND MOON AND HASTENED CROP GROWTH. IN 1959 THEY SAW THE FIRST ANNUAL JEMEZ ALL INDIAN TRACK AND RUNNERS COMPETITION. THE JEMEZ WON DURING 7 YEARS OUT OF 10 YEARS THAT IT WAS HELD. ONE RUNNER RAN TO THE TOP OF PIKE'S PEAK IN JUST 2 HOURS!
WWW.ACCESSGENEOLOGY.COM
MADRONE BERRIES
THEY HAVE A HIGH TANNIN CONTENT AND ARE ASTRINGENT. THE BERRIES WERE POUNDED INTO A COARSE MEAL. THEN THE MEAL WAS PLACED INTO A STRAINING BASKET AND WAS PLACED OVER ANOTHER BASKET SO TIGHTLY WOVEN THAT IT HELD WATER. ROCKS HEATED IN A FIRE WERE ADDED TO THE BASKET AND CONSTANTLY STIRRED. THE HEATED WAS POURED OVER THE MEAL UNTIL THE FLAVOR WAS EXTRACTED FROM THE BERRIES.
THE BERRIES WERE USED ALSO AS BAIT TO CATCH STEELYARD. MIWOK AND OTHER TRIBES CHEWED THE LEAVES TO TREAT STOMACH ACHES AND CRAMPS. POMO MADE A TEA FROM THE BARK THAT WAS USED TO WASH SORES. BARK TEA WAS DRUNK TO TREAT COLDS AND SORE THROATS.
MANY BIRDS LOVE THESE BERRIES. THE TREES CAN RESPROUT AFTER A BURN AND PREVENT EROSION.
USDA NATIONAL PLANT DATA CENTER
Sunday, November 28, 2010
ARAPAHO INDIANS
THE NORTHERN ARAPAHO HAD ABOUT 6000 PEOPLE IN WYOMING ARE CONSIDERED THE NUCLEUS OR MOTHER TRIBE AND RETAIN THE SACRED TRIBAL ASSOCIATIONS. THE NORTHERN ARAPAHO MAKE LODGES ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE MOUNT AT THE HEAD OF NORTH PLATTE. AROUND 1840 THEY MADE PEACE WITH THE SIOUX, KIOWA, AND COMANCHE, BUT THEY ALWAYS WARRED WITH SHOSHONI, UTE, AND PAWNEE UNTIL THEY WERE CONFINED IN RESERVATIONS. IN 1867 THE TREATY OF THE MEDICINE LODGE PLACED THE SOUTH ARAPAHO WITH SOUTHERN CHEYENNE TO A RESERVATION IN OKLAHOMA. THIS RESERVATION WAS OPEN TO ANGLOS AS WELL THE NORTHERN ARAPAHO WERE PLACED ON WIND WIND RIVER RESERVATION. IN 1876. THERE WERE ABOUT 2200 IN 1904. THESE FOLKS ARE KIND AND ENJOY CEREMONIES AND THEY ARE BRAVE. THEY HAVE AN ANNUAL SUN DANCE. THEY DO BURY THEIR DEAD VERSUS CREMATION. THEY HAVE A MILITARY ORGANIZATION BUT NO CLANS. THEY DID NOT FIGHT ANGLOS.
THE ARAPAHO, AS DID MANY TRIBES, HAD MYTHOLOGIES ABOUT EARTH'S CREATION AND THE CREATION OF PEOPLE. THE FIRST PIPE KEEPER PUT DIRT IN HIS PIPE AND BLEW IT OFF IN FOUR DIRECTIONS. HE CREATED EARTH, SUN, MOON, AND MAN, WOMAN, ANIMALS AND PLANT LIFE. HE TAUGHT THE PEOPLE THE RELIGIOUS RITES THEY WOULD NEED.
THE ARAPAHO THANK THEIR PAST HEROES FOR SHOWING THEM HOW TO THRIVE. THEY WERE TAUGHT HOW TO MAKE AN ENCLOSURE TO TRAP BUFFALO, MAKE AND USE, BONE AND STONE TOOLS AND HOW TO HUNT. THEIR LIVES CYCLED THROUGH FOUR STAGES AND THEY WERE RESPONSIBLE AT EACH STAGE THEY BELIEVED IN REINCARNATION.
UNTIL 1730 THE ARAPAHO USED DOGS TO HELP TRANSPORT THEIR BELONGINGS AS THEY MIGRATED WITH THE BUFFALO HERDS. THE DOGS PULLED A TRAVOIS WITH THEIR RESOURCES. AFTER 1730 THEY RACED ON HORSEBACK SPEARING THE BUFFALO. THEY TRADED WITH VARIOUS TRIBES IN MISSOURI. BY THE LATE 1700'S THEY MET ENGLISH TRADERS IN CANADA.
BY 1820 THEY MADE AN ALLIANCE WITH CHEYENNE TO FIGHT THE SIOUX NORTH OF THE PLATTE RIVER. THEY MOVED THE KIOWA AND COMANCHE SOUTH OF ARKANSAS RIVER. THE TRADERS IN THE FOOTHILLS OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS CALLED THEM PEOPLE OF MANY TATTOOS, AS THEY HAD MANY CIRCULAR TATTOOS ON THEIR BODY.
THEY TRADED PEACEFULLY WITH ANGLOS AT TRADING POSTS IN THE TERRITORY. IN THE WINTER SMALL BANDS WENT INTO THE WINTERING AREA. IN THE SPRING THEY WOULD GATHER WITH THEIR VILLAGES.
ETHEL TAYLOR
Saturday, November 27, 2010
THE KIOWA TRIBE
THEY CARRIED ON A CONSTANT WAR WITH THE COMANCHE ALONG THE ARKANSAS. THEIR LAST OUTBREAK WAS IN 1874. THEY HAVE BEEN GREATLY REDUCED IN POPULATION BASED UPON DISEASES AND WAR. IN 1892 MEASLES AND FEVER DESTROYED MORE THAN 300 OF THREE TRIBES.
THEIR LANGUAGE IS NASAL AND DOES NOT HAVE A RHYTHMIC COMPOSITION. THEY MADE THEIR FIRST TREATY WITH THE GOVERNMENT IN 1837 AND WERE PUT ON A RESERVATION IN 1868.
WWW.ACCESSGENEOLOGY.ORG
THE 1940'S RADIO HOUR
THE PLAY IS REALLY A SERIES OF SONGS AND SOME FUNNY COMEDY ROUTINES WITH VERY LITTLE OF A PLOT. SOME OF THE SONGS WERE POPULAR - AIN'T SHE SWEET, BOOGIE WOOGIE BUGLE BOY, JINGLE BELLS, HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS. THE COSTUMES WERE VERY RELEVANT TO THE 40'S. THE STAGE SET HAD A NUMBER OF OLD FASHIONED TELEPHONES AND GADGETS THAT MADE NOISE FOR THE RADIO PERFORMANCES. THEY ALSO HAD A LARGE APPLAUSE SIGN THAT BLINKED ON AFTER EACH SONG. IT WAS SORT OF LIKE LISTENING TO A GAME SHOW OF SORTS. EVERYONE KEPT MOVING QUITE RAPIDLY ACROSS AND BEHIND THE STAGE. ONE OF THE YOUNG LADIES DID SOME TAP DANCING AS SHE SANG AND THE DIRECTOR USED SOME DANCE SHOES THAT TAPPED DURING OTHER SONGS TO MAKE VARIOUS NOISE. EVEN THE MICROPHONE IN THE CENTER OF THE STAGE WAS AN OLD FASHIONED LOOKING ONE. EVERYONE HAD A GOOD TIME.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
REFORESTATION OF FOREST LANDS WITH SOUTHEASTERN POMO
WE REPLANTED MOSTLY DOUGLAS FIR AND SOME PONDEROSA PINES. AT THE END OF THIS EVENT THE ELDER POMO MAN BROUGHT A SPECIAL PRAYER STICK AND SAID A PRAYER TO BLESS THIS LAND. HE BURIED THE PRAYER STICK UNDER A LIGHT LAYER OF SOIL.
WE WENT HOME FEELING GOOD ABOUT OUR DAY OF HELPING THE EARTH HEAL.
RESTORATION OF PINE MOUNTAIN LOOKOUT
IT WAS APPROVED. AND I GOT MOST OF THE MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES AND HAD A HELPER FROM THE HORSEMAN'S CLUB HELP LIFT ALL THE LUMBER AND GLASS UP TO THE HILL ON ROUGH ROADS ABOUT 18 MILES FROM UPPER LAKE. THE CLUB HELPED PUT IN NEW GLASS PANES ON SEVERAL WEEKENDS, AND THEY CLEARED OUT THE TRASH FROM INSIDE THE HOUSE (IT HAD BEEN USED BY HIPPIES FOR CAMPING). WE ALSO REMOVED A LOT OF BRUSH AND DEAD FALL FROM THE SURROUNDING VICINITY TO PREVENT FOREST FIRE PROBLEMS. SEVERAL FOREST SERVICE EMPLOYEES AND I AND A CLUB MEMBER RIPPED OFF SOME OLD ROOF SHINGLES AND NAILED ON NEW SHINGLES. WE ALSO REPLACED THE BOARDS ON THE SIDING AND PUT ON A LOCK TO KEEP VANDALS FROM ENTERING THE BUILDING.
IT LOOKED QUITE NICE AFTER ALL WORK WAS DONE. THIS STATION IS NOT USED TODAY AS A LOOKOUT AS THERE ARE TOO MANY TALL TREES SURROUNDING IT, BUT IT HAS A GREAT VIEW OF THE FOREST.
PALYNOLOGY
ARCHAEOLOGICAL POLLEN CAN BE USED TO IDENTIFY CLUES TO PREHISTORIC CLIMATE (WHAT KIND OF PLANT GROWS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF A SITE), THEIR DIET, AND THE TYPES OF PLANTS AND VEGETATION COLLECTED DURING PREHISTORY. THERE ARE SOME ISSUES REGARDING POLLEN ANALYSIS SINCE NATURAL BEHAVIOR MAY AFFECT THE TYPES OF POLLEN BURIED AT A SITE.
THIS TYPE OF RESEARCH IS USED WIDELY IN THE SOUTHWEST AS THERE ARE MANY DRY CAVES AND POTTERY FRAGMENTS WHICH CONTAINED PLANTS. EACH LAYER OR SEDIMENT EXCAVATED CAN BE RESEARCHED TO GIVE ONE THE TYPES OF PLANTS EATEN PER PERIOD OF TIME.
POLLEN IS DISCHARGED FROM A MALE PLANT AND RELIES ON WIND PARTICULARLY IN SUMMER THE AIR IS FILLED WITH POLLEN DUST. POLLEN GRAINS ARE DISTINCT TO EACH PLANT SPECIES AND THEIR DENSE STRUCTURES SURVIVE IN MANY SOIL TYPES FOR 1000'S OF YEARS.
PALYNOLOGISTS EXTRACT POLLEN FROM THE SOIL THAT HAS BEEN EXCAVATED, OR GET SAMPLES FROM AN AUGER CARE IN A SITE. EACH LAYER IS ANALYZED SEPARATELY. RADIO CARBON DATES OF EACH ARCHAEOLOGICAL LAYER CAN DATE THE LAYERS IF CARBON IS AVAILABLE.
GRASS, WOOD, CEREAL, AND WEED POLLENS ALL HAVE A STORY TO TELL ABOUT THE LAND USE. SITE ABANDONMENT, AND CULTIVATION CAN BE DETERMINED. POLLEN ANALYSIS CAN PROVIDE SOME GREAT INFORMATION ABOUT PREHISTORY.
BY KRIS HIRST
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
UTE INDIANS BY B. BEATON
UTE INDIANS LIVE IN NORTHERN COLORADO BEGINNING IN AT LEAST 2000 YEARS AGO. UTE COMES FROM UTAH AND IN UTE IT MEANS HIGH LAND OR LAND OF THE SUN. THEIR LANGUAGE IS SOUTHERN NUMIC OF UTO-AZTECANS, AND MOST GREAT BASIN TRIBES SPOKE THIS LANGUAGE. THE UTES INCLUDED MOUNTAIN DWELLERS AS WELL AS DESERT NOMADS.
THE BANDS IN THE EASTERN UTAH HUNTED LARGE GAME, FISHED AND COLLECTED VARIOUS RESOURCES. IN DIFFERENT ECOTONES. THE NORTHERN UTE LIVE ON THE UINTAH RESERVATION. THE SOUTHERN UTES INCLUDED MOUNTAIN DWELLERS AS WELL AS DESERT NOMADS
BANDS IN THE EASTERN PART OF UTAH HUNTED LARGE GAME FISHED AND COLLECTED VARIOUS RESOURCES IN DIFFERENT ECOTONES. THE NORTHERN UTES LIVE ON THE UINTAH RESERVATION. THE SOUTHERN UTE LIVE ON THE RESERVATION NEAR SAN IGNACIO. THE UTE MOUNTAIN UTES ARE DESCENDANTS OF THE WEMIMUCHE BAND WHO MOVED TO THE SOUTHERN UTE RESERVATION..
PRIOR TO HAVING HORSES THEY WERE HUNTERS AND GATHERERS. MEN HUNTED DEER, ANTELOPE, BUFFALO, RABBITS, AND SMALL ANIMALS AND BIRDS. WOMEN GATHERED SEED GRASSES, PINON NUTS, BERRIES, ROOTS, AND GREENS IN WOVEN BASKETS. THEY STORED MEAT AND SEEDS FOR THE WINTER. THEY BUILT BRUSH WIKIUPS IN THE EASTERN TERRITORIES AND THEY USED HIDE TEPEES. THE UTES BECAME IMPORTANT WARRIORS AND PARTICIPATED IN SOUTHWEST SLAVE AND HORSE TRADE, ONCE THEY HAD SPANISH HORSES. MORMON SETTLERS PRESSURED THEM TO SETTLE DOWN AND FAR. THEIR ENTIRE RESERVATION WAS 56 MILLION ACRES.
AN UTE LEGEND
POKOH, OLD MAN, CREATED THE WORLD. HE HAD MANY BLANKETS. HE CREATED EVERY TRIBE OUT OF SOIL WHERE THEY USED TO LIVE. POKOH DID NOT WISH MEN TO WANDER FAR FROM WHERE THEY WERE BORN. LONG AGO SUN WAS A MAN AND WAS BAD. MOON WAS GOOD. SUN HAD A QUIVER FULL OF DEADLY ARROWS. SUN HAS TWO DAUGHTERS AND TWENTY MEN. BUT AFTER 50 DAYS RETURNED TO LIFE AGAIN.
RAINBOW IS THE SISTER OF THE POKAH. LIGHTENING STRIKES THE GROUND AND FILLS THE FLINT WITH FIRE. THAT IS THE ORIGIN OF FIRE. SOME SAY BEAVER'S TAIL HAS NO HAIR ON IT. LIGHTENING STRIKES THE GROUND AND FILLS THE FLINT WITH FIRE. THAT IS THE ORIGIN OF FIRE. PERHAPS IN OUR WORLD TO COME INDIANS MAY WALK ON ALL FOUR LEGS OR THEY MAY CRAWL LIKE SNAKES OR SWIM LIKE FISH.
THE UTE ARE ACTIVE IN THE NATIVE AMERICAN CHURCH AND ARE ACTIVE IN PEYOTE CEREMONIES. THEIR HEALERS USE PEYOTE CEREMONIES. THEIR HEALERS USE PEYOTE TO TREAT INFECTIONS, THEY USE ELK ROOT, TOBACCO SAGE, BEAR ROOT. THERE IS EVIDENCE THAT THE ANCIENT UTES PREDECESSORS ALSO USED PEYOTE.
A BRIGHT SPOT IS THAT THE SOUTHERN UTE STORY BEGAN IN THE 1950'S WHEN FAMILIES BEGAN TO MOVE ONTO WHITE MESA. THEY BUILT FRAME HOUSES. TODAY THEY HAVE 100 HOMES AND 350 PEOPLE. MANY PEOPLE WORE TATTOOS - USING DIFFERENT COLORS FOR WAR PAINT. THEY WERE UNIQUE ARTISTS IN MAKING BASKETS. THEY ALSO MADE INTERESTING HEADDRESSES.
TRAIN RIDE IN MEXICO
THESE INDIANS ARE KNOWN FOR THEIR LONG DISTANCE RUNNING ABILITY. APPROXIMATELY 50,000 ARE IN THE SIERRA MADRE OCCIDENTAL MOUNTAINS. THEY SPEAK THE UTO AZTECAN LANGUAGE. COPPER CANYON IS THE LOCATION WHERE THIS TRAIN GOES THROUGH AND IS A BEAUTIFUL TERRACED MOUNTAIN OF ABOUT 1000' HIGH. THE TARAHUMARA PRACTICE A TRADITIONAL LIFESTYLE. THEY INHABIT NATURAL SHELTERS SUCH AS CAVES OR CLIFF DWELLING.
SOME OF THE TRIBES ALONG THIS TRAIN RIDE LIVE IN ABANDONED TRAIN CARS THAT THEY HAVE CONVERTED TO HOUSES FOR THEIR FAMILIES.
DEDROCHRONOLOGY
THERE IS AN INTERNATIONAL DATA BANK.. IT CONTAINS MEASUREMENTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD. YOU CAN SEARCH BY SITE NAMES, TREE SPECIES, CHRONOLOGY TYPE AND GEOGRAPHIC COORDINATES. INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE TO HELP YOU CONTRIBUTE TO YOUR TREE RING DATA SETS.
HENRI'S DATABASE PROVIDES INFORMATION REGARDING KEY TREE AND SHRUB SPECIES USED IN TREE RING RESEARCH. HIS WEBSITE IS ONE OF THE MOST USEFUL WOOD SCIENCE WEBSITES FOR EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH. IT LISTS MAJOR UNIVERSITIES THAT HAVE SET UP THEIR OWN DENDROCHRONOLOGY LABORATORIES.
TREE RING CHRONOLOGY DEPENDS UPON A SERIES OF MEASURED TREE RING PROPERTIES, SUCH AS TREE RING WIDTH, MAXIMUM DENSITY, THAT HAS BEEN CONVERTED TO DIMENSIONLESS INDICES.
Monday, November 22, 2010
VIDEO OF DR. EDWARD'S SPEECH AT PANORAMA OF TRUTH 2010
PASTORAL MODEL - THE LORD IS MY SHEPARD - THE SOVEREIGN, HERD, FOLLOW, PRAY, CONSTANT ATTENTION. THIS MODEL HAS LITTLE TOLERANCE FOR DIFFERENCES.
THE VISION CASTER MODEL - I HAVE A DREAM. I LET YOU GIVE ME WHAT YOU NEED. EQUIPPER, LEADER OF LEADERS, SERVANT LEADER.
THE MOVIE STAR MODEL - COMMUNICATES POSSIBILITIES, FANS ADORE, LOOSE INTEREST IF NOT ENTERTAINED. LOOKING FOR THE NEXT BRIGHT STAR.
THE SUPERHERO - THEIR MISSION IS TO EMPOWER PEOPLE. THIS CHURCH'S MISSION IS TO SEE THAT PEOPLE BECOME EMPOWERED.
CHURCH OF SPIRITUAL LIVING
HE SAID MY ABILITY IS TO GIVE THANKS AND CONNECT WITH MY COMMUNITY. IN OTHER WORDS REDECORATE YOUR AWARENESS, THEN STRETCH YOUR IMAGINATION. ASK YOURSELF CAN I BE MORE PATIENT? JUST IMAGINE WHAT YOU TRULY WOULD ENJOY DOING WITH YOUR NEXT DAY. IT'S EASY TO START OVER EACH DAY AND BEGIN A NEW PROJECT.
SANTA ROSA SYMPHONIC CHORUS
ROPE MAKING BY NATIVE AMERICANS
CORDAGE IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ITEMS OF EVERYDAY LIFE. OTHER THAN SINEW THE NATIVES USED THE ABOVE PLANTS FOR MAKING ROPE AND STRING. CERTAIN PLANTS AND FIBERS WERE ABLE TO STAND UP TO WATER IMMERSION, AND WERE MUCH MORE ABUNDANT TO PROCURE THAN ANIMAL.
CORDAGE CAN BE MADE FROM MANY MATERIALS. EACH OF THE PLANTS ABOVE HAVE A SPECIAL WAY OF BEING PREPARED FOR USING CORDAGE. THE TWO WAYS OF MAKING A CORD ARE BRAIDING OR TWINING. BRAIDING USED FLAT SPLIT MATERIALS. ONCE THE MATERIALS ARE PREPARED THERE ARE TWO METHODS FOR MAKING FIBER INTO CORDS. FINGER TWINING OR A LEG ROLLING METHOD WHICH WAS USED BY THE WAPPO. FOR MAKING DOGBANE ROPE FOR CATCHING DEERS IN NETS.
STRING AND ROPE IS INDISPENSABLE IN A SURVIVAL SITUATION - BOWS, FISHING LINES, SNARES AND TRAPS. JUST STRIP OFF THE BARK FROM DEAD TREES AND WRAP THEM TOGETHER. DAMPEN YOUR SKIN TO ROLL THE FIBERS BETWEEN YOUR PALMS AGAINST YOUR LEG. THIS CREATES A STRAND. TO SECURE THE TWIST TAKE THE MIDDLE IN YOUR TEETH AND BRING THE TWO ENDS TOGETHER. THE STRAND WILL TWIST AROUND ITSELF NATURALLY WHEN YOU LET GO. KNOT THE END TO KEEP IT FROM UNRAVELING, AND THEN YOU WILL HAVE A STRONG CORD FOR ROPE OR TWINE. I LEARNED THIS METHOD FROM A YOUNG WAPPO LADY. WE USED SOAKED INDIAN HEMP. IT IS A LITTLE TRICKY TO MAKE AS OUR GROUP DISCOVERED. HOWEVER, SHE WAS AN EXPERT.
IT IS EASIEST TO USE THE BARK FROM THE CAMBIAN LAYER IN THE SPRING. AND IT'S IMPORTANT NOT TO CUT AROUND THE ENTIRE TREE SO IT WILL LIVE. IF YOU USE NON PITHY PLANTS - NETTLES AND RUSHES - JUST POUND THESE FIBERS ON WOOD WITH A ROUNDED ROCK. YOU CAN SPLICE THE FIBERS TOGETHER WITH ALMOST ANY PLANT.
ANIMAL SINEW IS FROM EXCEPTIONALLY STRONG ROPE. A STRAND CAN HOLD THE WEIGHT OF A MAN. SINEW IS THUS GOOD FOR BOW STRINGS, FISHING LINES, SNARES, WRAPPINGS AND THREADS. IT DRIES VERY STIFF VS. PLANT STRINGS.
HOW TO SPLICE - TO MAKE A LONG ROPE YOU NEED TO SPLICE TOGETHER MANY SHORTER PIECES. FIRST TWIST AND KINK THE BUNDLE SO THAT ONE END IS TWICE AS LONG AS THE OTHER. THEN USE THE REVERSE TECHNIQUE AND WRAP TO WITHIN AN INCH OR TWO OF THE SHORT END. SEPARATE THE FIBERS OF THE SHORT END WITH YOUR FINGERS. NOW ATTACH A SECOND BUNDLE OF EQUAL THICKNESS BY SPREADING AND FITTING IT'S FIBER ENDS INTO THOSE OF THE FIRST BUNDLE. KEEP A UNIFORM THICKNESS OF CORDAGE AND CUT OUT HALF OF THE FIBERS BEFORE PUSHING THEM TOGETHER. CONTINUE TO TWIST AND WRAP AS BEFORE, BUT DO NOT PULL THE STRANDS APART. WHEN YOU COME TO THE END OF THE ORIGINAL STRAND, ADD A THIRD PIECE AND SO ON. NEVER HAVE TWO PIECES IN THE SAME PLACE.
AFTER WRAPPING AND SPLICING IS DONE THERE WILL BE A LOT OF LOOSE FIBERS STICKING OUT. RUN THE PIECE THROUGH A FLAME. AND THEY WILL BURN OFF.
TO KEEP THE ENDS FROM FRAYING EITHER WEAVE THEM BACK INTO THE TWISTED CORD AND SECURE THEM WITH OVERHAND KNOTS AND LASH THEM TO THE TOOL OR MATERIAL YOU'RE WORKING WITH OR WHIP THE ENDS BY WRAPPING CORDAGE. TRY THESE SKILLS BEFORE YOU NEED THEM IN A WILDERNESS SITUATION. YOU'LL FIND THEY ARE A WAY TO RECLAIM YOUR HERITAGE.
WWW.SSRSI.ORG
PINE POLLEN COLLECTION
FLOWER POLLEN IS AN ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE ACCORDING TO NUTRITIONAL NEWS AND IT PROMOTES LONGEVITY AND IMMUNITY. IT PROMOTES CLEANSING , REDUCES INFLAMMATION, AND CLEANS TOXINS AND REPAIRS TISSUES.
P AND C LAWSON
HARVEST OF PINE NUTS
USE A LADDER TO PICK PINE CONES BY HAND . DON'T BREAK OFF THE LIMBS.KEEP UNRIPE OR CLOSED CONES IN PLASTIC OR CLOTH BAGS. PUT A TARP BENEATH THE TREE AND SHAKE THE BRANCHES - SOME OF THE NUTS WILL FALL OUT OF REOPENED CONES. OR TRY KNOCKING THE CONES WITH A SLICK TO LOOSEN THE NUTS.
YOU CAN USE HEAT TO OPEN THE CONES UP THAT ARE CLOSED, OR YOU CAN LET THEM DRY NATURALLY. OR YOU CAN ROAST THEM OVER COALS. TO PREPARE THE NUT THEY CAN BE ROASTED LIKE PUMPKIN SEEDS; YOU CAN ROLL THEM WITH A ROLLING PIN. THEN PLACE THEM ON A FLAT SURFACE, COVER WITH A TOWEL, AND ROLL OVER OVER THEM AS THOUGH ROLLING OUT DOUGH. KEEP THEM REFRIGERATED. UNSHELLED NUTS HAVE HIGH OIL CONTENT AND LAST FOR MONTHS. THESE NUTS WERE THE STAPLES OF THE DIET IN THE GREAT BASIN - SIMILAR TO THE BUFFALO IN THE PLAINS. THE WASHO, SHOSHONE, PAIUTES, HOPI, AND THEIR ANCESTORS ATE AND TRADED PINE NUTS. IT HAS 20 AMINO ACIDS AND WAS A LIFE -LINK FOOD WITH GATHERING CELEBRATIONS, CREATION STORIES, AND TEACHINGS ALL ACCOMPANYING THE YEARLY HARVEST.
FOR 10,000 YEARS THE PEOPLE HARVESTED THE PINON AND OTHER NUTS. PINE NUTS WERE COLLECTED INTERMEDIATE ELEVATIONS. GRASS SEEDS AND PLANT ROOTS WERE EVEN MORE IMPORTANT THAN GAMES FOR THE FOLKS IN UTAH AND NORTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA. HUNDREDS OF SPECIES OF GRASS SEEDS WERE STORED. THE FIRST FRUIT CELEBRATIONS CONFIRMED THE SACREDNESS OF THE PINE NUT AND GAVE RESPECT TO THE FOREST. THEY STORED THEIR NUTS IN A LARGE BASKET. THEY DRIED THE PINE NUT AND GROUND IT UP WITH A METATE AND GRINDSTONE. THEY MADE PINE NUT MUSH.
NATIVE AMERICAN RED PAINT
KARL GRONING STUDIED WHY INDIANS USE PAINTS OF DIFFERENT COLORS. THE COMBINATION OF PAINT AND COLOR WAS IMPORTANT TO THE INDIVIDUAL WHO VIEWED IT AS THEIR MEDICINE OR PERSONAL SPIRIT. THE BLACKFEET WARRIORS WHO HAD PERFORMED HEROICALLY PAINTED BLACK ON THEIR FACES. THE TETON SIOUX USED BLACK FOR VICTORY AND WHITE FOR MOURNING.
DURING WAR THE CATAWBAS OF THE SOUTHEAST PAINTED ONE EYE BLACK IN A CIRCLE AND THE OTHER ONE IN A WHITE CIRCLE. THE FLORIDA SEMINOLES USE RED PAINT TO SIGNIFY BLOOD AND GREEN PAINT NEAR THEIR EYES TO HELP THEM SEE BETTER AT NIGHT. YELLOW PAINT IS THE COLOR OF DEATH AND MEANS A MAN HAS LIVED HIS LIFE AND WILL FIGHT TO THE FINISH.
TRIBAL ELDERS WORE DIFFERENT PAINTS THAN THEIR INFERIORS. THE ASSINIBOINE PAINTED THEIR FACES RED AND BLACK BUTTE CHIEF PAINTED HIS FACE YELLOW. DIFFERENT TRIBES HAD DIFFERENT GENDER RULES ABOUT PAINTING THEMSELVES. SEMINOLE WOMEN IN FLORIDA WERE FORBIDDEN TO USE FACE PAINT. THEIR NEIGHBORS TIMIUCANS ALLOWED BOTH SEXES TO USE BODY PAINT. PAINT IS ONE OF THE MOST INTERESTING THING ABOUT INDIANS. GEORGE CATLAN, THE PAINTER OF AMERICAN PORTRAITS, DETAILED FACE PAINTING OF 48 TRIBES IN 500 PORTRAITS IN THE 1800'S.
PAINT MARKINGS ON THE FACE MAY SERVE AS A STATUS SYMBOL. FOR EXAMPLE, LAKOTA MEN DREW 2 BLACK LINES ON THEIR RIGHT CHEEK FOR A WAR PARTY. IF HE HAD ONE BLACK STRIPE ON HIS RIGHT CHEEK HE WAS MARSHALL OF A CAMP ACCORDING TO THEIR HISTORIC CORE WRITINGS.
MUSCOGEE LEADERS USED FACE PAINTING TO SEPARATE THEMSELVES FROM OTHER LEADERS. A PEACE TIME LEADER WOULD PAINT HIS FACE BLACK. MANY NATIVE AMERICANS BELIEVED PIGMENTS COULD ENHANCE THEIR INNER POWERS. MOHAVE MEN USED RED PAINT FOR SPIRITUAL DANCES WITH SHAMANS. RED REPRESENTED BLOOD, A LIFE FORCE.
SEMINOLES HEADING INTO BATTLE USED YELLOW FACE PAINT. YELLOW MEANT A PERSON WAS READY TO DIE. IN SOUTH CATAWBA WARRIORS HAD A FEARSOME REPUTATION AND AN APPEARANCE - THEY WORE A PONYTAIL WITH WAR PAINT ON ONE EYE IN A BLACK CIRCLE, THE OTHER IN A WHITE CIRCLE AND THE REST OF THEIR FACE WAS PAINTED BLACK. SOME OF THEIR ENEMIES MUST HAVE DIED FROM SHEER FREIGHT. THESE TRADITIONS ARE ALIVE AND ARE EVOLVING THROUGH TIME.
ED STINE
WINNEBAGO INDIANS
THERE ARE TWO FEDERALLY RECOGNIZED HO CHUNK TRIBES OF THE NATION - ONE IN WISCONSIN AND THE TRIBE IN NEBRASKA. WINNEBAGO TRANSLATES AS "PEOPLE OF FILTHY WATER'. THIS REFERRED TO THEIR PLACE OF ORIGIN NOT THEIR PRESENT VILLAGES. IT WAS BELIEVED THAT THEY ORIGINATED ON THE EAST OAST.
HO-CHUNK IS THE TRIBE'S NAME FOR ITSELF WHICH HAS MANY OTHER SPELLINGS. CURRENT ELDERS SAY IT MEANS PEOPLE OF THE BIG VOICE. BY 1634 THEY PRACTICED CORN AGRICULTURE, HUNTED GAME COLLECTED WILD GRASSES, AND FISHED. AT THIS TIME THEIR POPULATION WAS ESTIMATED TO BE BETWEEN 8 TO 20,000.
THEY BATTLED BETWEEN SOME TRIBES SUCH AS THE FOX AND LOST MANY OF THESES WARS. THEY ALSO SUFFERED FROM EUROPEAN PLAGUES LIKE SMALLPOX. BY THE 19TH CENTURY THE GOVERNMENT MOVED THIS THIS TRIBE TO RESERVATIONS IN WISCONSIN, SOUTH DAKOTA, AND NEBRASKA. HOWEVER, MANY MEMBERS RETURNED TO WISCONSIN AND WERE REPEATEDLY MOVED AGAIN. THEY FINALLY ALLOWED WISCONSIN WINNEGAGOS TO HOMESTEAD LAND THERE IN WISCONSIN. IN 2001 THERE WERE 6000PEOPLE. THE NEBRASKA TRIBE IS NOW COMPLETELY SEPARATE.
ANCESTRY.COM
Friday, November 19, 2010
NATIVE AMERICAN DEADFALLS TO CATCH ANIMALS
NATIVE AMERICANS TRAPPED ANIMALS WITH PITS, DEADFALL AND OLD FASHIONED SNARES. A DEADFALL IS A HEAVY ROCK ON LOG TILTED ON AN ANGLE AND HELD WITH SECTIONS OF BRANCHES, AND ONE OF THEM SERVES AS A TRIGGER. WHEN AN ANIMAL TOUCHES THE TRIGGER WITH BAIT THE ROCK OR LOG CRUSHES THE ANIMAL. THE PAUITE DEADFALL HAS THREE LONG STICKS PLUS A SHORTER STICK ALONG WITH A CORD OR FIBER MATERIAL TAKEN FROM THE BUSH TO INTERCONNECT THE MUCH SHORTER STICK.
EUROPEANS LEARNED HOW TO TRAP ANIMALS FROM NATIVE AMERICANS. BEAVER WAS ONE OF THE MAIN ANIMALS OF INTEREST TO THE TRAPPERS AS THE FUR WORE WELL INTO COATS AND HATS. BEAVER HATS BECAME POPULAR IN THE EARLY 19TH CENTURY, AND THEN THE BEAVER BECAME SCARCE. THE BEAVERS WERE OVER HARVESTED. SO THE GOVERNMENTS PUT A REGULATORY LAW ABOUT OVER HUNTING CERTAIN ANIMALS. MANY NATIVE AMERICANS AND EUROPEANS HUNTED BUFFALOES AND THEY TOO BECAME SCARCE.
NATIVE AMERICANS TRAPPED ANIMALS TO EAT THEIR FLESH AND USED EVERY PART OF THE ANIMAL. FUR FOR CLOTHING OR TIPIS AND NAILS FOR CEREMONIAL DECORATIONS. MANY ANGLO FUR TRAPPERS TRAPPED ANIMALS ONLY FOR THEIR FUR. AND THEY TRADED BETWEEN NATIVE AMERICANS AND OTHERS SETTLERS. TRAPPING CONTINUES TO BE A PROFESSION IN MANY AREAS AROUND THE WORLD, PROBABLY ON A PART TIME PROFESSION. COMPETITION FROM FUR FARMING HAS DECREASED MANY WILD ANIMALS AND TRAPPING IS A MINOR INDUSTRY,
WIKIPEDIA
SEMINOLES ON A TRAIL OF TEARS
MANY TRIBES IN FLORIDA HAD BEEN DECIMATED IN THE 1700'S BY THE SPANISH EITHER IN BATTLES OR DISEASE. ORIGINALLY 100,000 NATIVE AMERICANS WERE PRESENT AND BY 1500 THERE WERE 50,000. THE CHOCTAWS, AND CHICKASAWS, CREEKS, AND CHEROKEES, AND SEMINOLE WERE CALLED FIVE CIVILIZED TRIBES. THEY ADOPTED WHITE WAYS AND OFTEN BECAME CHRISTIANS. MANY OF THE NATIVE AMERICANS ACQUIRED SLAVERY. THE SEMINOLES ENJOYED PLAYING BALL GAMES, SINGING, AND DANCING.
MANY BLACK AFRICANS ESCAPED FROM SLAVERY AND CAME TO FLORIDA. THEY UNIFIED WITH THEY FEARED SLAVERY. THEY INTERMARRIED AND WERE KNOWN AS BLACK SEMINOLES. THE SEMINOLES HUNTED DEER, TURKEY, ETC. AND FISHED. THEY GATHERED FRUITS, NUTS, AND BERRIES. LATER IN THE 1700'S THEY BECAME EXCELLENT FARMERS. THEY GREW CORN, SUGAR CANE, AND BANANAS. THEY RAISED STOCK AND HORSES AND CATTLE.
THE SEMINOLE WARS
THE PROSPERITY OF THE SEMINOLES DISTURBED FORMER SLAVE HOLDERS IN THE U.S. IN 1812 THEIR PROSPERITY DISTURBED FORMER SLAVE HOLDERS IN THE U.S. IN 1812 SEMINOLES LEARNED THAT A GROUP OF GEORGIANS WHO CALLED THEMSELVES PATRIOTS WERE PLOTTING TO ATTACK THEM. INSTEAD THEY PLANNED AN ATTACK ON THE PLANTATIONS. AMERICAN TROOPS LED BY JACKSON CROSSED INTO FLORIDA AND DESTROYED TOWNS. IN 1816 ARMY FORCES ATTACKED FORT NEGRO. THE SEMINOLES REFUSED TO SURRENDER. A CANNONBALL HIT THE FORT'S MUNITION'S STORAGE SHELTER KILLING 300 SOME MEN, WOMEN, CHILDREN. THEY WERE DRAGGED THEN INTO SLAVERY. IN 1817 ANGLOS ARRESTED A SEMINOLE CHIEF AND THIS LED TO THE 1ST SEMINOLE WAR. JACKSON AND HIS TROOPS BURNED THEIR VILLAGES AND CAPTURED SPANISH TOWNS.
IN 1819 SPAIN CEDED FLORIDA TO THE U.S., ALLOWING AMERICANS TO SETTLE THERE. THE SEMINOLES AGREED TO MOVE TO A RESERVATION IN THE CENTER OF THE STATE. IN 1930 THE SETTLERS WANTED THE U.S. GOVERNMENT TO PASS THE INDIAN REMOVAL ACT. THEY REMOVED ALL FIVE CIVILIZED TRIBES TO A TERRITORY IN ARKANSAS AND OKLAHOMA. THOSE WHO DID NOT GO PEACEFULLY WERE FORCED TO GO. THE CHOCTAWS LEFT IN 1831, THE CREEKS IN 1835 AND CHICKASAWS IN 1837. THE CHEROKEES SUED THE GOVERNMENT. THE SUPREME COURT AGREED WITH THEM. PRESIDENT JACKSON DISAGREED AND THE CHEROKEES WERE FORCED ONTO A TRAIL OF TEARS IN WHICH MANY LIVES WERE LOST - ABOUT ONE FOURTH OF ALL CHEROKEES. ONLY ONE GROUP OF INDIANS RESISTED THE REMOVAL AND THEY WERE FIERCE.
THE FAMOUS SEMINOLE LEADER OSCEOLA, CAME WITH 250 WARRIERS AND DEFEATED 750 ARMY MEN IN A BATTLE. THERE WERE MANY MORE BATTLES.
TODAY THE SEMINOLES ARE CREATING ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY AND PRESERVING THEIR HERITAGE.
DREW MURRAY/H MERRILL
Thursday, November 18, 2010
THE MAYAN
THE MAYAN FARMERS WERE LED BY MAYAN PRIEST KINGS THE PEASANTS USED SLASH AND BURN AGRICULTURE AND LIVED IN SMALL VILLAGES ON THE OUTSKIRTS. OF THE TEMPLE AREAS. THEIR PRIESTS WERE GENTLEMEN DEVOTED TO TEMPLE BUILDING AND PRAYERS.
IN STUDYING TIKAL THEY FOUND 1000'S OF SMALL STRUCTURES SURROUNDING THE MAIN PYRAMID COMPLEX. THEY WORE BUSY MAYAN CITIES. BASED UPON DECIPHERING THE HIEROGLYPHICS. THE PRIESTS WERE EGOMANIACS AND WARRED ALL THE TIME. THEY SACRIFICED PRISONERS TO BUILD PRESTIGE.
BY 600 A.D. THE POPULATION IN BELIZE, GUATEMALA, AND MEXICO HAD REACHED 600 PEOPLE PER SQUARE MILE WITHIN THE 36,000 SQUARE MILE AREA! TO FEED ALL THESE PEOPLE THEY DEVELOPED TERRACING AND CULTIVATED WETLANDS AND SHORTENED THE CYCLE OF GROWING CROPS.BY 850 A.D., TWO THIRDS OF THE PEOPLE WERE GONE AND MOST FOLKS DISAPPEARED BY 1100 A.D. - PERHAPS DROUGHT, EROSION, OR SOCIAL DISORDER TRIGGERED THEIR DECLINE. THEY HAD A MIDDLE CLASS OF SPECIALS WERE ABOVE F/T FARMERS.
SOME OF THESE CITIES WERE THOUGHT SERVE AS CENTERS OF REGIONAL STATES. THE VERY LARGE CENTERS WERE CITY-STATES WITH AREAS OF POLITICAL CONTROL. CALAKMUL ATTACKED TIKAL IN THE 7TH CENTURY AND DIMINISHED IT'S POWER. THE NEXT RULER OF TIKAL BEGAN TO RECOVER THE CITY AND BUILT TEO MORE GIANT TEMPLES.
COPAN IN WESTERN HONDURAS, HAS BEEN RESEARCHED FOR 30 YEARS. THE VALLEY PERHAPS UNDERWENT ECOLOGICAL STRESS. THE INSCRIPTIONS TELL ABOUT THE LIFE AND HISTORY OF VICTORIES AND DEFEATS. THEY BUILT TUNNELS UNDER THE TEMPLES OF HIEROGLYPHICS AND ACROPOLIS.
WAR WAS COMMONPLACE IN THE CLASSIC PERIOD (ABOUT 750 A.D. AND WAS EVIDENCED BY CAPTURE OF PRISONERS AND THEIR SACRIFICE! AGAIN EROSION OF THE HILLSIDES MAY HAVE RESULTED TO THE AREA'S ABANDONMENT. BENEATH THE ACROPOLIS ARCH FOUND THE 5TH CENTURY RULER YAX-K'UK MO'. THEY MAY HAVE LEFT MAY HAVE LEFT FROM MISMAGEMENT OF THEIR ENVIRONMENT COPAN HAS FREE STANDING SCULPTURES, INSCRIBED OBJECTS, STELAE, AND ALTERS.
TO DAY COPAN, WHICH IS A VERY COMPLEX SITE, COVERS 15 ACRES AND IS AN ARCHEOLOGICAL PARK. THERE ARE TOMBS IN VARIOUS ENCLAVES. THEY USED LIME PLASTER FOR SEALING THE FLOORS AND ROOFS. THEY CARVED LARGE SCULPTURES OF HEADS WHICH DEPICT MYTHOLOGICAL EARTH BEARERS. JAGUARS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH MAYA WARRIORS. ONE ANIMAL WAS SACRIFICED FOR EACH OF THE RULER'S ANCESTORS.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
WINTU AND THEIR NEIGHBORS
ALL THE PEOPLE TRADED LONG DISTANCE. MANY RESOURCES WERE MOVED BETWEEN GROUPS OVER 100'S OF KILOMETERS. THEY DID NOT INTERACT WITH PEOPLE WHO HAD LARGE COMPLEX CHIEFDOMS OR STRATIFIED SOCIETIES. THE ATHABASKAN TRIBES - HUPA, KAROK, YUROK, AND OTHERS PROBABLY MIGRATED FROM THE NORTH . THEIR TRADE STRETCHED TO CANADA. THE WINTU TRADE CENTER WAS LINKED TO CENTRAL CALIFORNIA. THEY SPOKE PENUTIAN. 1) THEY MADE PROCUREMENT TRIPS TO GATHER FOOD, RAW MATERIALS, TO VISIT NEIGHBORS, AND TO OBTAIN SPIRITUAL POWERS; 2) THEY HAD EXCHANGE EVENTS SUCH AS TRADE FEASTS, MIDWAY TRADE, AND COLLECTIVE HUNTING AND GATHERING EVENTS; 3) THEY HAD CONFLICT EVENTS - DISPUTES, RAIDS, WARS, BATTLES, AND RETALIATION; 4) THEY HAD CELEBRATIONS, WAR DANCES, DREAM DANCES, BIG TIMES, PUBERTY CEREMONIES, AND CULT GATHERINGS; 5) SETTLEMENT PATTERNS - BOUNDARIES BETWEEN LINGUISTIC GROUPS. THERE VILLAGES HAD ABOUT 250 PEOPLE AND THEIR ENTIRE POPULATION AT CONTACT WAS AT 5300 PEOPLE. THEY HUNTED BOTH SMALL AND BIG GAME, GRUBS, AND GRASSHOPPERS. THEY REALLY RELIED ON THE SALMON. VILLAGES WERE LOCATED NEAR ONE ANOTHER ALONG THE RIVERS AND CREEKS. THE POPULATION WAS QUITE HIGH COMPARED TO OTHER HUNTERS AND GATHERERS.
SOME OF THEIR BASKETS WERE SO TIGHTLY WOVEN THEY WERE USED FOR CARRYING WATER AND COOKING. THESE FOLKS PROBABLY FIRST SETTLED NEAR THE PRESENT TOWN OF REDDING. THEY USED HOPPER MORTARS LATER FOR GRINDING ACORNS. THEIR SOCIAL LIVES WERE ORGANIZED INTO TRIBELETS. HEADMEN OR LEADERS COULD MARRY MORE THAN ONE WIFE , FREQUENTLY A SISTER OF HIS WIFE! TEMPORARY LEADERS WERE APPOINTED FOR COORDINATING HUNTING PARTIES OR LEADERSHIP IN A LARGE WAR.
THE WINTU USUALLY BURNED SHELL BEAD MONEY, BASKETS, AND PROPERTY OF A DECEASED DURING CREMATION. OBSIDIAN AND SEA SHELL BEADS WERE TRADED TO DISTANT NEIGHBORS PREHISTORICALLY. AFTER 1500 A.D. THEY TRADE CLAM SHELL BEADS AS A MAJOR ACTIVITY. THEY WERE PART OF A LARGER INTER SOCIETAL PRESTIEGE GOODS GROUP THAT LINKED THEM TO OTHER TO OTHER DISTANT TRIBES. THEY HAD MULTI - VILLAGE HUNTING, FISHING, AND GATHERING EVENTS.
CHRISTOPHER DUN/KELLEY MANN
Monday, November 15, 2010
THE INUIT
THEY WERE NOMADIC AND MOVED FROM ONE LOCATION TO ANOTHER AND ADAPTED TO THE EXTREMELY COLD TEMPERATURES. FOR THE NEXT 4000 YEARS THEY MOVED THROUGHOUT THE ARCTIC - A DISTANCE OF 3000 MILES. THESE PREHISTORIC PEOPLE MIRACULOUSLY SURVIVED THESE COLD CLIMATES. AND ENJOYED THEIR LIVES. THE FIRST INUIT SOCIETY WAS THE ARCTIC SMALL TOOL CUTTER. THIS GROUP CAUGHT SEA MAMMALS, WHALES, WALRUSES AND SEALS. THEY MADE TOOLS AND LEFT CARVINGS OF ANIMALS. THEY MOVED FROM ALASKA TO CANADA. THE NEXT CULTURE BUILT SNOW HOUSES AND INVENTED THE KAYAK. AFTER THE 1000 A.D. THEY USED DOGSLED AS THEY CONTINUED TO REACH GREENLAND. POSSIBLY 50 TO 100 THOUSAND INUITS LIVED THERE UNTIL THE ANGLOS CAME IN. THEY EVOLVED INTO ONE OF THE MOST DISTINCT CULTURES. THE INDIANS TO THE SOUTH CALLED THEM ESKIMOS MEANING PEOPLE WHO EAT RAW FLESH. THEY THOUGHT IT WAS INSULTING. EACH COMMUNITY DEVELOPED IT'S OWN LIFESTYLE AND HUNTING ADAPTATIONS. THE YUPIK LIVED IN RUSSIA, JUST NORTH OF THE BERING STRAIT. INUITS DID NOT GO TO WAR WITH THE ANGLOS. BY THE 16TH CENTURY MISSIONARIES AND OTHER ANGLOS CAME INTO THEIR REGION. THEY LIKED THE GOODS THEY BROUGHT AND THEY BECAME MORE LIKE THE ANGLOS. BY THE 20TH CENTURY INUITS WERE FORCED TO MOVE. THEY WERE TAKEN FROM HOMELANDS AND RELOCATED TO PERMANENT VILLAGES. AND TOWNS. THIS CAUSED MAJOR CHARGES TO THEIR CULTURE, AND THEY LOST MANY OF THEIR OLD WAYS. TODAY THEY ARE OPTIMISTIC. THE INUIT CONTINUE TO BE LEADERS AS THEY GAIN NEW RECOGNITION AS THEY BECOME MORE EDUCATED. THEY ARE SPREAD FROM FOUR COUNTRIES - GREENLAND , ALASKA, CANADA, SIBERIA. OUR HISTORY THEY SAY IS ABOUT OUR RELATIONSHIP TO THE ENVIRONMENT. THESE PEOPLE WERE AMONG THE TOUGHEST AND MOST RESOURCEFUL PEOPLE IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD!
INUIT CLOTHING
THEY MADE THEIR CLOTHING FROM THE SKINS OF THE CARIBOU - LEGGINGS, HOODED COATS, SOCKS, BOOTS, AND MITTENS - ALL HAND SEWN, THE SKIN IS LIGHTWEIGHT AND HAS HOLLOW HAIR TO TRAP WARM AIR. THEY WORE TWO LAYERS DURING WINTER. CLOTHING FOR A FOUR PERSON FAMILY REQUIRED ABOUT 20 DIFFERENT SKINS.
THE ORIGIN OF THE WIND
THEY USE STORIES AND MYTHS TO EXPLAIN THE MYSTERY OF THE WORLD. THE STORIES ARE PASSED DOWN FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION. LONG AGO THEIR WAS AN ICE BEAR WHO HAD A SACK IN WHICH HE KEPT ALL THE WIND IN THE WORLD. HE WOULD NOT PERMIT ANYONE TO OPEN HIS SACK. A HUNTER WAS CURIOUS ABOUT WHAT WAS IN THE BEAR'S SACK. THE BEAR SAID "IT'S JUST A BIG LOAD OF POOP!". THEY ASKED "WHY CARRY IT?" THE BEAR SAID HE MIGHT GET HUNGRY. WHEN THE BEAR FELL ASLEEP THE HUNTER OPENED THE SACK. AND OUT CAME THE WIND. IT KNOCKED THE HUNTER DOWN. HE SAID TO THE BEAR, YOU CAN HAVE MY WIFE FOR A MONTH IF YOU'LL GET RID OF THE WIND! BEAR JUST SHOOK HIS HEAD. WING ENTERED THE WORLD.
FOOD PREPARATION
WHEN ANIMALS WERE BROUGHT TO THE VILLAGE THE WOMEN HAD THE CHORE OF CUTTING UP THE MEAT; THEY WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR PRESERVING THE MEAT YEAR ROUND EATING. THEY DRIED SOME MEATS ON OUTDOOR POLES OR KEPT THEM UNDERGROUND IN A HOLE ONE FOOT DEEP . THEN IT WAS COVERED WITH MOSS, SOD OR SKINS TO PROVIDE INSULATION. DURING THE WINTER THEY ALWAYS HAD FOOD THAT WAY. THE INUIT KILLED ONLY THOSE ANIMALS THAT THEY NEEDED TO FEED AND CLOTH THEMSELVES. IN 1909 THE U.S. BANNED THE KILLING OF WALRUS. TODAY THE INUIT MAY HUNT THEM IN LIMITED NUMBERS.
VISITING AND FEASTING WERE IMPORTANT TO THESE FOLKS IN THEIR COMMUNITIES. SOMETIMES BOTH SEXES ATE TOGETHER WHILE AT OTHER TIMES THEY ATE SEPARATELY. THE GUESTS WERE SERVED THE BEST PIECES OF THE MEAT.
CRAFTS
BY THE 1950's MOST VILLAGES HAD DEVELOPED CO-OPS OR MULTI PURPOSE OPERATIONS THAT SOLD THEIR CRAFTS TO DISTANT PLACES. THE CO-OP ALSO MANAGED HOTELS AND FISHING LODGES, THEIR TAXIS AND CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES. ALL OF THE MONEY GOES BACK INTO THE COMMUNITY. THEY CARVED WOODEN SCULPTURES, MADE DECORATIVE IVORY TUSKS OF WALRUS, BASKETS, DOLLS, AND MOCCASINS, AS WELL AS FINGER MASKS.
FUR TRADING
DURING THE 17TH CENTURY THEIR WAS A GREAT DEMAND FOR FUR BEARING ANIMALS EUROPEANS AND RUSSIANS SOON BEGAN A BRISK HUNTING AND TRAPPING EXPEDITIONS FOR MINK, SEALS, FOX, WOLF, BEAR, SEALS AND CARIBOU. THESE TRADING POSTS BEGAN THE CLOSE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE INUIT AND EUROPEANS AND THE INUITS BECAME EXPOSED TO DISEASES TO WHICH THEY HAD NO IMMUNITY. TUBERCULOSIS, SMALL POX, WHOOPING COUGH, MEASLES, AND COLDS SPREAD TO VARIOUS VILLAGES. AS A RESULT NEARLY HALF OF THE INUITS DIED!
IN THE 1800'S THE WHALERS CAME NEXT. THEIR OIL WAS NEEDED FOR LAMPS. THERE WERE HUNDREDS OF SHIPS HUUNTING WHALES DURING THE SUMMER. THE INUIT DID NOT GET ALONG WITH THE WHALERS, AND THEY DID NOT LIKE THE INUIT EITHER. THEY SLAUGHTERED WHALES BY THE THOUSANDS FOR MONEY NOT FOOD. THE WHALERS HAD KILLED ALMOST ALL THE ANIMALS THE INUIT RELIED UPON BY THE 1900'S. AND MANY WERE STARVING! MISSIONARIES DID MORE HARM TO THEIR CULTURE THAN ANYONE ELSE. THEY SET UP SCHOOLS AND CHURCHES AND DID NOT ALLOW THEM TO SPEAK THEIR LANGUAGE NOR PRACTICE THEIR TRADITIONS. THEY THOUGHT THE NATIVES WERE BACKWARDS. IN THE 50'S THE GOVERNMENT DECIDED TO MOVE THEM AGAIN FOR LACK OF FOOD AND MEDICAL REASONS. ONE INUIT DESCRIBED THE MOVE LIKE LANDING ON THE MOON - THE TOWNS THEY WERE MOVED TO WERE VERY FOREIGN TO THEM THIS CAUSED GREAT SOCIAL UPHEAVAL AND MADE THE INUIT LOSE THEIR SELF ESTEEM. AND FAITH IN THEIR CULTURE. THEY WERE FORCED TO ADOPT THE WHITE MAN'S WAYS.
IN 1971 THE NATIVES WERE GIVEN 1 BILLION DOLLARS FOR SELLING THEIR TITLE TO THE ARCTIC LANDS THAT WERE NEEDED FOR THE TRANS-ALASKAN PIPELINE. IN THE 70'S AN INUIT ORGANIZATION WAS ESTABLISHED TO PROTECT INUIT CULTURAL AND INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS. IN 1998 THE MINISTER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS MADE A SPEECH WITH AN APOLOGY FOR EXPRESSING DECADES OF GOVERNMENT ABUSE RACIST POLICY MAKING.
ANNE SHARP
MY EXPERIENCE WITH BUFFALOS
GLASER CENTER FRENCH TRIO
TOGETHER THEY PLAYED ABOUT TEN SONGS AND HAD A GOOD TIME, THE
ACCORDIAN PLAYER LOOKED SIMILAR TO MY DAD. THEY WERE IN A GOOD MOOD AND THE AUDIENCE SEEMED TO UNDERSTAND THE FRENCH DIALECT SOMEHOW .
CALIFORNIA INDIAN ECOLOGY
INDIAN ECOLOGICAL ZONES:
FACTORS AS LANDFORM, TEMPERATURE, PRESCRIPTION, AND SOILS ARE RELATED TO THE DESCRIPTION OF NATURAL VEGETATION. THESE CLIMATIC ZONES ARE BASED ON A SERIES OF NATURAL VEGETATION. THESE CLIMATIC ZONES ARE BASED ON A SERIES OF LIFE ZONES RELATED TO THE DISTRIBUTION. OF PLANT AND ANIMAL LIFE FORMS.
HOME RANGE IS A TERM APPLIED TO THE CULTURE'S USE OF THEIR TERRITORY THAT WOULD BE DEFENDED AGAINST THE INVASION. IF A YEAR HAD A GREAT FOOD ABUNDANCE THE RANGE USED MIGHT BE A SMALL TERRITORY. OR AS IN THE CASE WITH THE HUPA, THEY USED THEIR ENTIRE SMALL VALLEY AS THEIR HOME RANGE. THE HUPA WERE A SALMON CULTURE. A GROUP ORDINARILY DID NOT ENTER ANOTHER'S TERRITORY TO EXPLOIT RESOURCES.
RALPH BEALES /JOSEPH HESTER
MY EXPERIENCE IN HEARING A VOICE FROM THE PAST
AS I WALK AT NIGHT GOD GIVES ME THOUGHTS ABOUT WHAT I WILL BE DOING IN THE FUTURE. I SOMETIMES TAKE NOTES AND SOMETIMES I DON'T TAKE NOTES. I KNOW I HAVE BEEN BLESSED TO HAVE BEEN A HEALER FOR MORE THAN JUST THIS LIFETIME FOR FOR MANY FUTURE LIFETIMES. I HAVE BEEN PAST LIFE REGRESSED AND FUTURE PROCESSED AS WELL.
CENTER FOR SPIRITUAL LIVING
HIS FATHER PASSED AWAY A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO. HE WAS NOT CLOSE TO HIS DAD. HOWEVER, ONE DAY HE SAW AND HEARD HIS DADA TELL HIM YOU MUST WRITE A BOOK. AND HE ASKED WHAT WOULD THE BOOK BE ABOUT. HIS FATHER ANSWERED IT WILL BE ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCES ASA PSYCHIC. HE HAS BEEN MARRIED FOR 30 YEARS AND HE DID NOT TELL HIS WIFE ABOUT THIS. HE HAS DIALOGUE WITH FOLKS WHO HAVE PASSED AWAY - HIS GRANDMOTHER, HIS FATHER AND HIS IN LAWS. SO HIS BOOK IS ABOUT THESE EXPERIENCES. WHEN HE FINISHED HIS BOOK HE PUT IT UNDER HIS BED I GUESS HE WAS AFRAID TO LET OTHERS KNOW ABOUT THE FACT THAT HE WAS PSYCHIC. HE DISCUSSES HOW WE HAVE AN INTUITIVE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT US AND THERE IS A PROCESS TO UNLEASH YOUR INTUITIVE ABILITIES.
WE CLOSED WITH A GREAT BAND AND SINGING.
SANTA ROSA SOUTH ARTS ALLIANCE
THERE WERE ABOUT 6 GALLERIES, AND ONE HAD A MAZE OF SMALLER GALLERIES LEADING TO A THEATRE WITH AN OUTDOOR COURTYARD WHERE A SMALL ROCK BAND WAS PLAYING. IN THE WINDOW OF THIS GALLERY THERE WAS A SMALL PUPPET THEATRE FOR CHILDREN. THE PUPPET MAN USED SMALL CARDS WITH WORDS THAT THE PUPPETS WERE SAYING. I MET SEVERAL OLD FRIENDS BUT COULD NOT LOCATE MY FRIEND WHO I WAS SUPPOSED TO MEET THERE.
THEY HAD AN OLD TIME WOODEN BARREL ABOUT 25 FEET IN DIAMETER WHERE TEENS RODE THEIR BIKES AROUND AND AROUND FOR MNY TIMES. IT WOULD MAKE ME DIZZY. NEARBY SOMEONE HAD BUILT WITH METAL AND 5 FOOT TALL WHEELS A LARGE 10 FOOT TALL OLD FASHIONED LOOKING BICYCLE - AND IT WAS IN WORKING CONDITION. THERE WERE AN AMAZING AMOUNT OF PEOPLE THERE OF ALL AGES. IT WAS INTERESTING TO LOOK AT THE PEOPLE AS WELL AS THE ART.
SOME OF THE ART WAS ACRYLIC PAINTINGS, SOME OIL PAINTINGS OF DOGS, PEOPLE, LANDSCAPES, HOUSES AND FARMS, AND OTHER COUNTRY SCENES. THERE WAS AN OLDER CHINESE MAN TEACHING KIDS HOW TO MAKE ORIGAMI FOLDING ART. HE WAS AN EXPERT AND THE KIDS WERE MYSTIFIED ABOUT THE PROCESS. ONE ARTIST MADE FRAMED PIECES WITH VARIOUS FORMS OF BEESWAX THAT LOOKED LIKE WOOD. ANOTHER NEAT GALLERY ARTIST HAD BEAUTIFUL COLORED GLASS PIECES THAT WERE FUSED AND TRANSLUCENT. THEY WERE FRAMED IN BLACK METAL STICK FRAMES. THE ARTIST WAS A CHINESE LADY. THERE WERE SEVERAL BANDS IN DIFFERENT LOCATIONS.
A NUMBER OF ARTISTS WERE JEWELERS. SOME FOLKS MADE MINIATURE BOXES OF REPLICA OF A LIVING ROOM WITH GUITAR, ALBUMS, TV, CHAIRS, DRAPES, AND A COUCH. OTHERS WERE FOOD ARTISTS. IT WAS A BALMY NIGHT. I LISTENED TO THE PEOPLE CRITIQUING THE ART. ONE ARTIST HAD EMBROIDERED BOOTS ON FROM ISTANBUL! ONE WOMAN LIVING THERE SAID SHE ATE THE DELICIOUS FRUITS OF HER PRICKLY PEAR CACTI THAT WERE ALL OVER HER FRONT YARD.
A QUOTE THAT WAS OF INTEREST TO ME WAS ON A WALL WITH AN ACRYLIC PAINTING: ETHNOMETHODOLOGY BY KRISTEN THROOP
"THIS IS THE STUDY OF WHAT PEOPLE ACTUALLY THINK THEY ARE DOING WHEN THEY ARE IN THE PROCESS OF DOING WHATEVER THEY DO."
Friday, November 12, 2010
CULTURAL RULES
MOST TRIBES HAD LEGENDS THAT VIVIDLY TOLD OF THE CONSEQUENCES THAT WOULD BEFALL HUMAN IF THEY TOOK NATURE FOR GRANTED OR VIOLATED NATURAL LAWS.
KAT ANDERSON
SONOMA HORTICULTURAL NURSERY
I HAVEN'T BEEN THERE IN YEARS BUT WOULD LIKE TO GO BACK. NEARBY THERE ARE BED AND BREAKFASTS THAT HAVE ORGANIC GARDENS.
RECONSTRUCTION OF COMPOSITION OF HISTORIC PLANTS
IN SOME CASES SPECIES COMPOSITION OF HISTORIC PLANTS WERE RECORDED AND COLLECTED IN HERBARIA OR MUSEUM COLLECTIONS. THEY CAN BE DISCOVERED BY RECORDING HISTORIC LAND SURVEYS OR READING ETHNOGRAPHIES, OR INTERVIEWING ELDERS. NEARBY AREAS MAY HAVE REMAINED UNCHANGED .
ETHNOGRAPHERS SUCH AS HARRINGTON IN THE 30'S INTERVIEWED MANY ELDERS IN MANY TRIBES THROUGHOUT CALIFORNIA BETWEEN 1907 AND 1957. HE NOTED VERY DESCRIPTIVE PLANTS AND ANIMAL LIFE IN VARIOUS REGIONS, INCLUDING THEIR LOCATIONS. HE NOTED HUNTER AND GATHERING PRACTICES, THE PREPARATION OF USES OF THESE SPECIES. BOTANISTS HAVE TAKEN GOOD NOTES AS WELL. FOR INSTANCE THE WESTERN MONO TRIBE HAD USED UNDERSTORY BURNING TO ENRICH THEIR SOIL AND REDUCE THE POSSIBILITY OF LARGE FOREST FIRES.
THERE ARE STILL AREAS THAT HAVE NATIVE PLANT POPULATIONS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN DISTURBED . INDIANS ELDERS CAN PROVIDE VALUABLE INFORMATION THAT SUPPORT SCIENTISTS TO RECONSTRUCT MICROENVIRONMENTS. THE MUSHROOMS MAY HAVE BEEN BENEFICIAL TO THE IMPORTANCE OF THE HEALTH OF THE OAKS. INVENTORIES OF PLANT SPECIES NOT ONLY MANIPULATED THEIR ENVIRONMENT TO ENHANCE THE QUALITY OF THEIR PLANTS AND THE QUANTITY BASED ON THEIR SIZE,SHAPE, COLOR, TASTE, NUTRITION AND OTHER VARIABLES.
KAT ANDERSON
Thursday, November 11, 2010
LESSON FROM CHURCH
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
CHINESE IN AMERICA
IN CHINA THEY HAD A HIGHLY DEVELOPED SYSTEM OF CIVILIZATION, HOWEVER THEY HAD A PROBLEM WITH DRUGS. THEIR LIVES WERE CONTROLLED AND STRUCTURED BY A HEAD EMPEROR. MOST OF THE PEOPLE WERE PEASANTS. CHINA MADE EVERYTHING THEY NEEDED LUXURIOUS PRODUCTS. FOREIGN MERCHANTS TRADED THROUGH LARGE COMPANIES. THEY WEREN'T ALLOWED TO GATHER IN GROUPS OF MORE THAN 10 PEOPLE. THE CHINESE WEREN'T INTERESTED IN PRODUCTS FROM EUROPE OR AMERICA. IT WASN'T GOOD BUSINESS FOR THE FOREIGN MERCHANTS TO BUY CHINESE WITHOUT SELLING THEM SOMETHING.
THE PORTUGUESE FOUND THAT THE CHINESE LIKED OPIUM, A POWERFUL DRUG MADE FROM POPPIES. WHEN SMOKED IT MAKES THE PERSON DREAM HAPPY AND WONDERFUL THOUGHTS. IT MADE THEM FORGET THEIR TROUBLES. IT BECAME VERY POPULAR. THIS TRADE GREW. ALL THE WESTERN COUNTRIES, INCLUDING ENGLAND, BOUGHT OPIUM TO CHINA. THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT SAID THIS MADE PEOPLE SICK AND WEAK AND UNABLE TO WORK. AND IT WAS ADDICTIVE. THERE WAS TOO MUCH SILVER LEAVING THE COUNTRY. THEIR GOVERNMENT PASSED A LAW IN 1796 TO STOP THE SALE OF OPIUM, BUT THE CHINESE SMUGGLED IT INTO THEIR COUNTRY.
IN 1838 THEY PASSED A LAW THAT ANYONE CAUGHT WITH OPIUM WOULD BE KILLED. THE GOVERNMENT SEIZED AND DESTROYED THE SHIPMENTS. THEY HAVE A NATIONAL MONUMENT WHERE TENS OF THOUSANDS OF POUNDS WERE SEIZED.
INDIA BECAME THE CHIEF OPIUM TRADERS AND THE ENGLISH OWNED THIS PART OF INDIA. THERE FINALLY WAS A SEA BATTLE OFF THE COAST OF CHINA IN 1839. THIS WAS THE BEGINNING OF THE OPIUM WAR. CHINA DID NOT KEEP UP WITH TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES. IT'S GOVERNMENT HAD BECOME CORRUPT AND WEAK. FINALLY BRITAIN WON THE WAR AND GAINED THE ISLAND OF HONG KONG. THEY FORCED CHINA TO OPEN 4 MORE PORTS FOR TRADE. EUROPE BEGAN USING MACHINES TO WEAVE CLOTHING AND CLOTH. THEIR PRODUCTS WERE CHEAPER THAN CHINESE HAND MADE GOODS. THE CHINESE PEOPLE BOUGHT THE CHEAPER PRODUCTS. THEIR INDUSTRIES WERE DESTROYED, MORE OPIUM WAS IMPORTED AND THE CHINESE MONEY BECAME WORTH LESS.
THEY ALSO HAD ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS - THEY HAD YEARS OF DROUGHT, FOLLOWED BY FLOODS. THE PEASANTS HAD LITTLE TO EAT. INSTEAD OF HELPING THEM, THE GOVERNMENT FORCED THEM TO PAY HIGHER TAXES. THERE WERE REBELLIONS.
A SECOND OPIUM WAR BEGAN IN 1856 -1860. CHINA LOST AGAIN. IN THE 1940'S THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT SAID NO MORE OPIUM WOULD BE ALLOWED IN THEIR COUNTRY! FOREIGNERS RECRUITED CHINESE LABORERS OVERSEAS. MANY CHINESE PEASANTS LEFT IN GREAT NUMBERS TO WORK IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES. BRITAIN WAS INTERESTED IN THEIR LABOR. THEY FREED THEIR BLACK SLAVES AND HIRED THE CHINESE. THEY SIGNED CONTRACTS FOR SEVERAL YEARS. DURING 1860 TO 1870 LARGER NUMBERS OF CHINESE LEFT TO FIND WORK IN MANY DIFFERENT COUNTRIES. THE SHIPS THEY TRAVELED ON HAD HORRIBLE CONDITIONS. THEY WERE TREATED LIKE SLAVES. SOMETIMES 500 PEOPLE LIVED IN THESE CROWDED SHIPS. OVER 1/4 OF THE PEOPLE WHO TRAVELED DIED.
THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT DID NOT LIKE THE WAY SOME OF THE COUNTRIES TREATED THEIR PEOPLE. SO THEY HAD AN INVESTIGATOR GO TO PERU AND CUBA. THEY FOUND THAT THEY HAD BEATEN THEM BADLY. SO THEY NO LONGER ALLOWED THEIR PEOPLE TO GO TO THESE COUNTRIES. THE CHINESE CAME TO SAN FRANCISCO IN BOATS THAT WERE PACKED - SO TO SPEAK LIKE SARDINES!
IN 1848 GOLD WAS FOUND NEAR COLOMA, CALIFORNIA. A SAW MILL WAS BUILT FOR JOHN SUTLER PIECES OF GOLD WERE IN THE MILL POND - THE NEWS TRAVELED WORLDWIDE. AMERICANS FROM THE EAST COAST POURED INTO CALIFORNIA, THEN HAWAIIANS, AND THEN SOUTH AMERICANS. NEXT YEAR EUROPEANS CAME. IN 1850 CALIFORNIANS ASKED THE STATE TO PASS A FOREIGN MINER'S TAX. IT FORCED ALL MINERS TO PAY A VERY HIGH PRICE FOR A MINING LICENSE. AFTER A SHORT A FIGHT EUROPE, MEXICO, SOUTH AMERICA LEFT THE MINERS FIELDS. THEN IN 1852 20,000 CHINESE ARRIVED IN SAN FRANCISCO AND THE MINERS WERE UPSET. THE CHINESE MOSTLY HELPED OUT WITH THE LAUNDRIES, RESTAURANTS, AND GENERAL STORES. THE MINER'S EXPELLED THE CHINESE FROM THE MINING CAMPS, SOMETIMES BEATING THEM UP AND SHOOTING THEM. THE STATE COLLECTED OVER 5 MILLION DOLLARS FROM MINING TAXES PER YEAR. MANY CHINESE MINERS WERE EXPELLED FROM THE MINES. HOWEVER SOME STAYED AND BUILT SOME EQUIPMENT FOR THE MINERS USING TEAMWORK.
AS THE AMERICAN MINERS LEFT THE CAMPS IN 1870'S THE CHINESE MOVED IN. THEY ALSO WORKED THE QUICKSILVER AND BORAX MINING INDUSTRIES. THE CONDITIONS RUINED THEIR HEALTH. THE RAILROADS IN CALIFORNIA IN THE 1870'S WERE ANOTHER BIG PROJECT. IRISHMEN HELPED IN THIS DANGEROUS AND EXHAUASTING AND EXHAUSTING WORK. IT TOOK THE PACIFIC RAILROAD TWO YEARS TO LAY 50 MILES OF TRACK., AS MANY MEN LEFT AFTER PAY DAY. THEY TRIED HIRING A GROUP OF CHINESE MEN AND FOUND THAT THEY WORKED SO WELL , THEY HIRED ANOTHER 3000 IN 1865. SOON CONSTRUCTION MOVED ALONG QUICKLY.
DURING 1860 - 1890 ALL PARTS OF CALIFORNIA HAD CHINESE IN THE FIELDS. SOME WERE IN THE VINEYARDS AS WELL. SOME OF THE IMMIGRANTS BECAME FISHERMEN IN CALIFORNIA. THEY GROUPED TOGETHER A SMALL FISHING VILLAGE. THEY DISCOVERED ABALONE AND THEY SENT IT TO CHINA.
AGAIN FISHERMEN FROM THE EAST COAST WANTED THE CHINESE OUT OF CALIFORNIA AND A FISHING TAX WENT INTO ACTION IN 1860. IT MADE IT DIFFICULT FOR CHINESE TO BE IN THE FISHING INDUSTRY. THEY COULD WORK IN THE SHARK AND SALMON CANNERIES. HUNDREDS MOVED TO CHINA CAMP ON THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY TO TRAP SHRIMP USING NETS. THIS BECAMEW A STATE PARK WHERE SOME CHINESE FOLKS STILL WORK. THE SHRIMP WERE SENT BY BOAT BACK TO CHINA.
AFTER 1865, THE CALIFORNIA CHINA MEN ENGAGED IN WOOLEN MILLS, CIGAR FACTORIES, AND SLIPPER FACTORIES. AFTER THE CIVIL WAR , THERE WERE SO MANY UNEMPLOYED PEOPLE THAT THE EAST COAST MANUFACTURERS EMPLOYED EUROPEAN IMMIGRANTS. THE AMERICAN UNION ON THE WEST COAST FORCED MANUFACTURERS TO LAY OF CHINESE IMMIGRANTS AND HIRE AMERICANS. BUT THE AMERIANS WENT ON STRIKE BECAUSE OF LOW WAGES. THE FIRMS REHIRED CHINESE TO BREAK THE STRIKE. SOON CHINESE MADE UP 3/4THS OF THE TOTAL WORK FORCE IN THE MILL AND MANUFACTURING BUSINESSES IN CALIFORNIA. AFTER 1941 THE U.S. WAS AN ALLY OF CHINA. THE CHINESE EXCLUSION ACTS WERE REPEALED SO THEY COULD BECOME NATURALIED AMERICAN CITIZENS.
RUTHANNE MCCUNN
CHINATOWN IN SAN FRANCISCO
THEIR LANGUAGE IS VERY DIFFERENT THAN OURS AND THEIR HISTORY IS ALSO VERY DIFFERENT. IT SEEMS THAT THE CHINESE ALL HAVE COOKING SKILLS THAT THEY BROUGHT WITH THEM FROM CHINA AND THEY IMPORT MANY VEGETABLES AND FISH FROM CHINA THAT ADDS TO OUR CARBON FOOTPRINT.
WE VIEWED MANY OFFICES OF ACUPUNCTURISTS AND MASSAGE OFFICES. THEIR MARKETS BAR B QUE THE DUCKS AND CHICKENS AND THEY HANG THEM IN THE WINDOWS. IT SEEMS THAT THEIR ELDERS ARE KEPT BUSY IN THEIR FAMILIES AND HELP THE CHILDREN UNDERSTAND THEIR OLD TRADITIONS. THEY HAVE A NUMBER OF CHILDREN'S PLAYGROUNDS WHERE MY SON HAS PLAYED. AND EVERY BLOCK SEEMS TO HAVE SEVERAL RESTAURANTS.
GLASS MOUNTAIN IN KLAMATH NATIONAL FOREST
SOME OF THE FLAKES WERE MAN MADE AS WE COULD DISTINGUISH CERTAIN BULBS OF PERCUSSION AND PRESSURE FLAKING. THIS LAND IS IN A PINE AND MIXED WOODLAND FOREST WHERE THE NATIVE AMERICANS (MODOC AND KLAMATH) INDIANS LIVED DURING PREHISTORIC TIMES. THERE APPEARED TO BE MANY SMALL CAMPFIRE S LOCATED NEARBY. THE MOUNTAIN PROBABLY SHIELDED THEM FROM WINDSTORMS AS WELL.
IN SOME PARTS OF THIS COUNTRY THERE WERE LAVA TUBES OR CAVES MADE DURING MANY MILLENIA AGO. SOME ANGLOS FOUND THESE AS WELL AS THE NATIVES. THE MODOC WAR WAS FOUGHT IN THIS LOCALITY AND THE NATIVES AVOIDED BEING CAUGHT BY STAYING IN SOME OF THESE LAVA CAVES UNDERGROUND. IT IS VERY RUGGED LAND TO WALK ON AS IT IS ALL CINDERS AND LAVA. DURING THE WINTER THE TUBES HAD SOME WATER FROM RAINFALL OR SNOW THAT THE NATIVES COULD USE.
KLAMATH NATIONAL FOREST
MY THESIS WAS ABOUT THE EFFICIENCY OF SURVEYING AND RECORDING SITES IN HEAVILY FORESTED AREAS. I FINISHED WRITING MY THESIS IN SOUTH DAKOTA WHERE MY HUSBAND AND I HAD OUR OWN ARCHAEOLOGY BUSINESS. I COMPARED THE EFFICIENCY OF USING AERIAL PHOTOS, PREFIELD RESEARCH AND PLANNING SURVEY AREAS FOR LOCATING BOTH PREHISTORIC AND HISTORIC SITES. MY SUPERVISOR WAS VERY PICKY ABOUT REVIEWING MY THESIS. HOWEVER, I WENT TO PHOENIX TO DEFEND IT AND IT WENT WELL.
WE LIVED IN A SMALL HOUSE IN TENNANT THAT WAS BROUGHT TO THIS TOWN WITH OTHER HOUSES THAT WERE LOADED ON A RAILROAD CAR. IT HAD ONLY A WOOD BURNING STOVE FOR HEAT AND FOR COOKING. WE KEPT OUR DOG ON A CHAIN AND SHE RAN ALONG OUR CLOTHES LINE.
MY HUSBAND AND I MOVED BACK TO PHOENIX WITH OUR DOG. I FINALLY WORKED WITH THE BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT AND HE STUDIED COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY. WE LOST OUR DOG!