Native American Archives – Page 41 of 341

Winnipeg, October 14th 1876 – Part C

To The Hon. Alexander Morris, Lieut. -Governor. Sir, –Referring to your letter of instructions under date of the 14th of July, relative to the payment of the Norway House and Cross Lake bands of Indians, I have the honor to submit the following report: — Having, in co-operation with the Hon. Thomas Howard, paid the Indians of Berens River and successfully secured the adhesion of the Island and Upper Berens River bands of Indians to Treaty Number Five, on the morning of Saturday, the 5th of August, I left for Norway House, which place, owing to stormy weather and strong … Read more

Lower Fort Garry, July 20th, 1871

Sir,–I have the honor to inform you that on Monday last I came to this Fort with the Commissioner to meet the Indians called here, with a view to negotiate a treaty, intending to open the business on Tuesday morning. It appeared, however, on inquiry, that some bands of Indians had not arrived on Tuesday morning, and we were therefore obliged to postpone the opening of the meeting till Thursday. On that day the Indians from all the sections of the country to which the invitation extended were found present to the number of about one thousand. A considerable body … Read more

The Selkirk Treaty

This indenture, made on the eighteenth day of July, in the fifty-seventh year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord King George the Third, and in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and seventeen, between the undersigned Chiefs and warriors of the Chippeway or Saulteaux Nation and of the Killistine or Cree Nation, on the one part, and the Right Honorable Thomas Earl of Selkirk, on the other part: Witnesseth, that for and in consideration of the annual present or quit rent hereinafter mentioned, the said Chiefs have given, granted and confirmed, and do, by these presents, give, grant … Read more

The Snake River Valley Reminiscences of the Early Days

In 1833 Captain Bonneville, an officer in the army, secured leave of absence and spent about two years here, mostly in the Snake river valley. He left his horses for the winter with some Indians at a camp near where St. Anthony is now located. He and his men made their way down Snake river in boats till they reached Black Rock canyon, where now is Idaho Falls, the thriftiest town in southeast Idaho: but they dared not venture in their boats through the canyon. Captain Bonneville found a desolate sage-covered valley, holding out no promise of ever being more … Read more

Historical Notes on the Work of the Catholic Church in Idaho

As the Catholic Church has ever been the pioneer in civilization, so that we find her name linked with the early history of all lands, so, too, is it true of Idaho. Long before the coming of the first settlers to our present “Gem of the Mountains,” we find the faithful Catholic priest, laboring not for earth’s golden treasures nor ambition’s honored guerdons, but for the upbuilding of that grand edifice whose comer-stone is Christ, for the elevating and saving of souls who, without the ministration of the “Anointed of the Lord,” would never have been drawn from the darkness … Read more

The Indians of Idaho Nez Percé and Shoshone Uprisings

Some notice of the original inhabitants of Idaho is due the reader of this book, even though that notice must necessarily be short and its data largely traditional. With-out a written language of any kind, unless it was the use of the rudest and most barbarous symbols, they have passed away and left no recorded history; without architecture, except that which exhausts its genius in the construction of a skin wigwam or a bark lodge, they have died and left no monuments. Traditions concerning them are too confused, contradictory and uncertain to satisfy any who desire reliable history. Any real … Read more

Condition of the North Carolina Indians in 1890

The statistics and condition of the Indians given in the present bulletin, as provided in the census law of March 1, 1889, show the status of the Eastern Band of Cherokees of North Carolina, with incidental mention of the Eastern Cherokees. These Indians are taxed, have developed into good citizens of the United States, and vote in North Carolina. They are almost entirely self-supporting, receiving only a small allowance from the United States for educational purposes. A few mechanics are found among them, but their chief occupations are farming, lumbering, and day labor. They are a moral, law-abiding, and industrious … Read more

Soldiers of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians

The following are the surviving union soldiers of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians of North Carolina. The names are correct, but the spelling may differ from that on the muster roll. John Going Welch Thomas Otter James Otter John Brown Owkwataga Mason Ratley Steve Johnson John Taylor John Canott John Igotpa David Patridge James Walkingstick Thomas Canott all of Company D, Third regiment North Carolina mounted infantry; R. B. Smith, company and regiment unknown. The following are the surviving widows of union soldiers: Nancy Brown, widow of Benj. Brown; no children. Ah-nu-yo-hi Walker, widow of John Walker; 1 child … Read more

Gallery of Six Nation Images

A large collection of images from the manuscript, including maps. These images can also be found on various pages in context with the information on the page.

Annuities of the Six Nations Reservations

The Six Nations, with the exception of the St, Regis Indians, who receive no annuities from the United States, draw from the United States and from the state of New York annuities on the basis of past treaties, which secured this fixed income on account of lands sold from time to time, and rights surrendered. This payment is: The annuities themselves bring small returns in visible benefits. The payments by the United States, which are theoretically paid in the early autumn, for the census year, were not completed until February 1891, through delay of the appropriation by Congress. The various … Read more

General Remarks About the Six Nations in 1890

The state and federal courts, as the former have recognized in several instances, should recognize the 64 “Indian common law title” of occupants of reservation lands, where such lands have been improved. They should assure such titles, as well as sales, devises, and descent, through courts of surrogate or other competent tribunals, wherever local Indian officials refuse just recognition of such titles or delay a just administration when conflicts arise. All statutes which offer the Indian a premium for dishonest dealing should be repealed, and the Indian should be held to his contracts to the extent of his personal holdings. … Read more

The Shinnecock, Poosepatuck, And Montauk Indians, In New York

The report of the special committee appointed by the assembly of New York in 1888 to investigate the Indian problem of that state, made February 1, 1889, contained the following in relation to the Shinnecock, Poosepatuck, and Montauk Indians: The Shinnecock Reservation The Shinnecock Reservation is located on a neck of land running into Shinnecock Bay, near Southampton, on Long island. When the whites discovered the island 13 Indian tribes occupied the land, one of which was the Shinnecock, claiming the territory from Canoe Place to Easthampton, including Sag Harbor and the whole south shore of Peconic Bay. All the … Read more

Six Nations Names, Traditions, And Reminiscences

Indian nomenclature almost invariably has a distinct and suggestive meaning, especially in geographical locations, relations, and peculiarities. Only a few of those, which relate to the accompanying maps are supplied. The location of Bill Hill’s cabin, near the foot of the Onondaga reservation, was called Nan-ta-sa-sis, “going partly round a hill”. Tonawanda creek is named from Ta-na-wun-da, meaning “swift water”. Oil spring, on the Allegany map, was Te-car-nohs, “dropping oil”. The Allegany River was O-hee-yo, “the beautiful river”, and the Geneseo was Gen-nis-he-yo, “beautiful valley”. Buffalo was Do-sho-weh, “splitting the fork”, because near Black Rock (a rocky shore) the waters … Read more

Six Nations Health and Race Admixture

An examination of the annual reports of the United States agents for many years indicates the classes of diseases heretofore most common among the Six Nations. The reluctance of the Indians to employ physicians springs from want of means, want of easy access to physicians, and, in some measure, to the fact that from time immemorial they have relied much upon the use of medicinal roots and herbs in ordinary ailments. The women are practical nurses. This lack of professional treatment and the ignorance of the names of diseases have almost, entirely prevented an accurate specification of the causes of … Read more

Education, Schools and Language on the Six Nations Reservations

The pagan element, as a general rule, is opposed to education. Exceptions are sometimes found. Families with small means, unwilling to make any effort to change their condition, claim that they need their children for homework. Even when they enter them at the beginning of the term, they do not enforce their attendance. The children, to a large extent, inherit careless, sluggish, indolent natures, and a lazy spirit. In some respects their capacities are above the average standard of the white people. They are more uniformly good penmen, good musicians, and excel in drawing, but the statements of the Indians … Read more

Industry and Home Life on the Reservations

Farming is the chief employment of the Six Nations Indians, and the products are typical of the varying soils of the different reservations. While more land is under cultivation than heretofore, the barns are mainly old and in had condition. This is largely true of similar buildings upon the adjoining farms of the white people, as farming has not of late netted an amount sufficient for repairs. The Indians, with no cash capital us a rule, have been compelled to lease their lands to the white people for cash rent or work them on shares. The death of influential men … Read more

Religion of the Six Nation Tribes

With the exception of the Tuscaroras, each of the Six Nations has one or more council houses, in which the people assemble for business or purely Indian ceremonies, religious or social. There is also a council house or town hall on the Mount Hope road of the Tuscarora reservation, but the pagan party has no footing among this people. The council houses, formerly built of logs, are practically in disuse, and frame buildings, about 40 by 80 feet, with fireplace or simple chimney at each end, which allows separate sittings for the sexes, have taken their place. A new building … Read more

Wampum Belts

The Iroquois League had its democratic and republican elements, but the separate national governments were essentially oligarchic. The only semblance of written law was the wampum. It was the duty of the “keeper of the wampums” to store all necessary facts in his memory and associate them with the successive lines and arrangements of the beads so that they could readily be called to mind. At general councils the wampums were produced and solemnly expounded. “Reading the wampums” became therefore a means by which to perpetuate treaties, and the exchange of wampums was an impressive occasion. Both the Canadian and … Read more

Tonawanda Reservation Map and Occupants, 1890

The Tonawanda Reservation, in the counties of Erie, Genesee, and Niagara, New York, as originally surveyed in 1799, and as reserved by the treaty at Big Tree, covered 71 square miles. Coincident with a treaty between the United States and this band of Seneca Indians, March 31, 1859, promulgated November 5, 1859, the claim of the Ogden Land Company was extinguished, and the present reservation limits embrace 7,549.73 acres, lying partly in each of the counties of Erie, Genesee, and Niagara. One heavy dirt road, almost impassable in the spring or an ordinarily wet season, runs out from the center … Read more

St. Regis Tribe

This article, written in 1890, provides a detailed account of the St. Regis Mohawk people, a group of Indigenous people residing on a reservation that straddles the border of New York and Canada. It examines their history, traditions, and current social, economic, and political realities. The article discusses their unique governance structure, the influence of French culture and Christianity on their way of life, and the challenges posed by their proximity to both the United States and Canada. It also highlights their engagement with the education system and explores the complexities of their identity and naming practices.