Welcome to Native American Heritage Month!
Each November, Native peoples are more prominent in the news. We can attribute this attention not only to Native American Heritage Month and school curriculum but also the anniversary of the first Thanksgiving and harvest’s end. With the broadcast of We Shall Remain on PBS stations this past April and May, students as well as library patrons may have even more questions about Native history and peoples today.
Read more >
Cultural conflict and the degradation of sovereignty sprang from the fact that Christian institutions are not focused on specific places and specific people. Religious leaders felt a need to spread the belief system to all peoples everywhere. They interpreted the absence of Christianity among Native Americans as an absence of all religion. However, Native peoples did have developed religious belief systems and rituals well before the time of contact with Europeans.
Although traditional Native American religions shared many attributes that set them apart from Christianity, there were also religious distinctions among the tribes. Native nations that relied on hunting and gathering for their sustenance used animal ceremonialism; agricultural nations featured rain and fertility rituals in their religions. Hunting groups focused on a male supreme being, while the agricultural societies worshipped both gods and goddesses. The agricultural nations saw creation coming out of the ground, and spirits returned to the earth after death and burial. For this reason burial places are of central importance. Hunting societies looked toward the sky as the source of both creation and heavenly afterlife.
Read more >
This Day in North American Indian History
November 21,
1817
After American forces attacked a fort held by black allies of the Florida Indians on July 27, 1816, the Indians realized they needed to fight the Americans. The Mikasuki Seminole village of Fowltown was located on the banks of the Flint River in Georgia. Fort Scott was on the other side of the river. Chief Neamathla (also called Eneah Emathla) warned the soldiers in the fort to stay off of the Seminoles' side of the river. Angered by an “order” from an Indian, 250 troops under Major David Twiggs crossed the river to arrest the chief. A fight broke out, and five Seminole, including one woman, were killed. The Seminole evacuated the village, and the soldiers burned some of it. This action was considered by many to be the start of the First Seminole War. (Also recorded as happening on November 20 and 30.)
November 21,
1836
A battle was fought on the Withlacoochee River in the Wahoo Swamp. American forces with Indian allies were led by General Richard Call. The Seminole were led by Chiefs Osuchee and Yaholooche. After chasing the Seminole across the river, the American forces called an end to their advance when they believed the river was too deep to cross in force. Creek David Moniac was killed in the Battle of Wahoo Swamp in central Florida by Seminole. Moniac graduated from West Point. Moniac was part of a force of almost 700 Creek warriors and white soldiers.