BL A<KHHTORyMONTH 1999
FEBRUARY 10, 1999 • W ? » « 1
A DIALOGUE ON RACE SERIES
I Am A Native American Indian
B y D aryl E astman , R ose
H igh B ear and “S moke S IG
NALS”
Which is Correct: American
Indian or Native American?
Either term is generally ac
ceptable, although individuals may
have a preference. But, when I
describe myself, 1 use the term
native American Indian. It re
spects both preferences. Native
American is a term recently used
to describe American Indians.
Whereas American Indians un
der the laws of the United States
and the treaties is the correct
terminology used to describe our
indigenous people under this
country’s legal definition.
Where did American Indi
ans come from originally?
Many anthropologists believe
that Indians traveled about 35,000
years ago across a land bridge
spanning the Bering Strait from
Asia to North America. Most
tribes have their own creation
story. Many believe that Native
people originated on this conti
nent.
What is an Indian tribe?
It’s a body of indigenous na
tive American Indians bound to
gether by blood ties who were
socially, religiously and politically
organized to live together in a
territory where they speak the
same language or dialect. These
territories were seasonally inhab
ited for their purpose of gather
ing food/medicine, conducting re
ligious ceremonies, hunting, and
other reasons.
What powers do the tribes
hold?
They have nationhood status,
enjoying the powers of govern
ment, except those expressly
taken away by Congress or over
ruled by the Supreme Court. The
United States recognized the
tribes’ right to form their own
government, determine member
ship, administer justice, raise
taxes, establish business and have
the power to remove other Indi
ans or non-Indians from their
reservation due to tribal viola
tions.
In 1998, there were 554 feder
ally recognized tribes in the United
States, according to the Bureau
o f Indian Affairs. This includes
226 villages in Alaska. With a
1990 population o f 308,132,
Cherokees are the largest U.S.
tribe. Most live in Oklahoma,
though more than 5,000 Chero
kees live on their reservation in
North Carolina.
Are reservations and tribal
governments the same?
No. Tribal governments ex
isted long before reservations
were established. However, gov
erning authority on reservations
is the tribal council. In cases
where different tribes share a
reservation, they often separate
governments, as the Shoshone
and Arapaho do in Wyoming.
The term originates from the
federal government’s act of re
serving land for federal purposes.
well, have their own gaming com
missions, tribal police forces, and
court systems.
The federal law requires states
to enter into compacts with tribal
governments that plan to engage
in casino gambling, including slot
machines and black
jack. Gaming must
be conducted on
tribal land, and the
sta te ’s control is
limited to the terms
o f the com pacts.
Compacts are ap
proved by the Sec
retary of the Inte
rior.
Indian gaming is
growing at a rapid
pace, but represents
only 8 percent of the
rev en u e m arket
share, according to
the Nation Indian
Gam ing A ssocia
tion.
R oughly one-
third o f the 554
tribes have gaming
operations, and may
be limited to bingo.
Is there an
American Indian
religion?
M any N ativ e
Americans believe
in a Great Spirit that
rev e a ls
its e lf
through nature and
influences all life.
Indigenous religions also are
filled with lesser spirits that in
habit the everyday world. In the
19th century, Native Americans
lost many of their religious cus
toms as colonists forced them to
convert to Christianity, sent chil
dren to mission schools, and
banned some of their ceremo
nies.
In the United States, there are
two kinds of reservations: Indian
and military.
Who regulates Indian casi
nos?
The National Indian Gaming
Commission, established by Con
gress, oversees bingo operations,
casinos, and certain types of gam
bling on tribal land. It sets rules
for licensing, reviews yearly au
dits, and approves ordinances that
tribes develop to run gaming op
erations. The U.S. departments
of Treasury, Justice, and Interior
have authority over aspects of
Indian gaming. Indian nations, as
What is a Peace Pipe?
We look at the pipe as a sacred
object that has a great deal of
power and meaning to us. There
are two pieces: a bowl and stem.
The bowl side is the female and
the stem, the male. When we
place the pieces together and fill
it with herbs or tobacco, we
then make a prayer to reach out
to Spirit and ask for help.
Why is the eagle a sacred
animal to Native Americans?
Eagles soar through the sky in
a clockwise motion. We believe
that it doesn’t live here with the
rest of us. When we pray, the
eagle is able to send our prayers
skyward to the eagle’s home
with the Great Spirit. In ceremo
nies, we use the plume, feather
bone and talon.
What is a pow-wow?
Pow-wow comes from the
Narragansett word for Shaman.
It is a celebration and social gath
ering. It is a celebration and so
cial gathering, honoring sacred
Indian traditions through danc
ing, drumming, singing, and the
gathering of people. Pow-wows
may be held to honor an indi
vidual or a special occasion. Most
commonly, a pow-wow is a so
cial event. All non-Native Ameri
cans are welcome at these events.
What is a sweat lodge?
It’s a place to pray. We use
the red willow bark and make a
womb shape calling it the “Womb
of Mother Earth.” Sweat lodges
are used to induce sweating for
spiritual or medicinal purposes.
Sweat lodges are heated by fire
or by pouring water over hot
stones. A sweat ceremony is
very sacred for purification. We
release ourselves from unre
solved grief, fears, disease and
anger and give this negativity to
the elder spirits.
Our Meaningful Ties
B y R ose H igh B e a r
T h e re is a g re a t c o m m o n
a lity b etw een N a tiv e A m e ri
c a n s an d A f r ic a n A m e r i
c a n s b e c a u s e o f th e c o n
n e c tio n o f o u r h e a r t, th e
d e p th o f o u r s p ir it.
E ver
s in c e
A fric a n
A m e ric a n s c a m e to T u r tle
Is la n d ( th is c o u n tr y ) , we
w ere r e la te d . O u r s p ir itu a l
p r a c tic e s are a lik e in th e
o b se rv a n c e o f c e re m o n y
and r itu a l.
T h e r e ’s s im ila r ity in o u r
d ru m m in g , d a n c e , th e h o n
o rin g o f s p ir it g u id e s , th e
h o n o rin g o f th e fo u r le g g e d
a n im a ls ( lik e d e e r, e lk and
th e h o rs e ) o f th e w in g e d
n a tio n a n d a r e v e r e n c e fo r
a ll o f G o d ’s c re a tio n .
N a tiv e A f r ic a n s a re at
ris k to d a y b e c a u s e m an y o f
th e ir v a lu e d tr a d itio n s are
n o t b e in g p r a c tic e d . S om e
N a tiv e A m e ric a n tr ib a l n a
tio n s h a v e k e p t th e ir c u s
to m s a liv e . T h e y ’ve b e e n
p re s e rv e d fro m g e n e ra tio n
to g e n e ra tio n w ith in so m e
fam ilies.
W e r e c o g n i z e a ll f o u r
c o lo r s w ith in th e N a tiv e
A m e r ic a n W h e e l: B la c k
(fo r A f r ic a n s ) s ta n d to the
w e s t, R ed ( f o r N a tiv e
A m e r ic a n s ) s ta n d to th e
n o rth , Y e llo w ( fo r A s ia n s )
s t a n d to th e E a s t , a n d
W h ite ( f o r E u r o p e a n s )
sta n d s to th e so u th . We look
at o u r s e lv e s as in te r r e la te d
to a ll c o lo r s o f p e o p le . A nd
w ith o u t
th o s e
c o lo rs ,
w e ’re n o t c o m p le te .
N a tiv e A m e ric a n s s p i r i
tu a lly u n d e rs ta n d o u r c o m
m on tie s to life . W hen we
p ra y , we a lw a y s p ra y fo r
ALL P E O P L E - e v e ry o n e
o f e v e ry ra c e and n a tio n o f
m an k in d .
jZn celebration of
Black History Month,
Self Enhancement, Inc.
would like to salute the
In 1849, the Oregon Territorial Legislature passed
the Exclusion Act (repealed in 1926), which banned
“Negroes and Mulattoes from the Oregon Territory.
This year, one hundred and Fifty years later,
Oregon
Uniting
will
acknowledge
Oregon's
discriminatory history, condemn the attitudes that led
to that discrimination and acknowledge the people of
ALL races and ethnic backgrounds who have worked
for positive change.
“Whereas, situated as the people of Oregon
are, in the midst of an Indian population, it
would be highly dangerous to allow free
Negroes and mulattoes to reside in the
territory or to intermix with the Indians,
instilling into their minds feelings of
hostility against the white race, therefore:
Be it enacted by the Legislative
Assembly of the territory of Oregon
that it shall not be lawful for any
Negro or Mulatto to come into or
reside within the limits of this
^territory..
Territorial document # 3666
The Metropolitan Human Rights Center (MHRC) is a
member o f Oregon Uniting. For more information call
(503) 823-5136 Voice/TTY
schools, families and
community organizations
who bring hope to youth
while enhancing the
quality of community life.
I i I i I i i
i
i
i
3920 N. Kerby Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97227-1255
(503) 249-1721
fax (503) 249-1955
I i 1------I I I I I I I ' I J ï "¿“T