Chapter 6
George Catlin: 1830s painter devoted himself to preserving the Indians. He denounced the trae in buffalo robes: to cater to �white man�s luxury,� the �Indians of the great plains� would be �left without the means of supporting life.� Catlin did record a great many encounters with American Fur Company personnel. At Yellowstone, he met Mr. M�Kenzie who seemed to have charge of all Fur Companies in region. Traveled on the first steamboat to ascent the farther reaches of the Missouri River for free with American Fur Company. Catlin found Indian�s religious Sun Dance to be �shocking and disgusting.� He took his paintings of Indians on a tour of US and Europe. Found Indians either contaminated or uncontaminated but all a dying race.
Paul Kane: Between 1845 and 1848 Canadian Paul Kane traveled in the Northwest to observe and record Indian habits. He stayed with the Chinook Indians and studied their language and their common salutations is �Clak-hoh-ah-yah.� Supposed to mean �Clark, how are you?�
Kenry Schoolcraft: 1828 he was the Western traveler and Indian expert. Legislation in Indian affairs, Schoolcraft said, is �only taken up on a pinch� Nobody knows what to do.�
Dawes General Allotment Act (1887): Reformers got their victory. This meant breaking up of the reservations into multiple tracts of land, owned by individuals; land left over after allotments was to be sold to whites. Liberated Indians also meant liberated land. The Indians faced �this stern alternative: extermination or civilization.� The act provided for an economic opportunity and civilization to come in (Christianity). Henry Dawes is the sponsor of the Dawes Act. In 1887 Indians held 138 million acres. In the next 47 years, 60 million acres were declared, after allotment, to be surplus land and sold to whites. Also, 27 million acres left Indians� possession to individuals and then sales to whites.
John Collier: 1920, he met Taos Indians and was impressed. He grew up in Georgia: his mom died young and father committed suicide. Since then, he studied in New York, traveling to Europe. Collier saw Indian strengths as a counterpoint to white weakness. In 1920s, he helped fight off a plan to take Pueblo lands, took up the cause of religious freedom, fighting the efforts of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. He went from bureau�s main critic to being its director. Set about cutting federal support for church-run Indian schools in favor of �paganism�.
Indian Reorganization Act (1934): submitted by Collier. Under IRA, the Indian New Deal was made to reverse the loss of Indian land set off by the Dawes Act. The program was voluntary; tribes had to vote in favor of participation before the act applied to them.
Juan Antonio: with aid of Cahuilla Indian allies, he sought revenge in 1846 at S. CA, when Luiseno Indians killed 11 Californios (Hispanic CAs) who appeared to be intruding into their territory. Luiseno Indians, along with other Californios captured 18 � 20 Luiseno prisoners and gave them to the keeping of Antonio. Antonio killed all the prisoners.
Antonio Garra: In 1851 he�s a chief (of Cupenos) who chose rebellion, creating a pan-Indian alliance to drive Americans (not Hispanic) out of CA. The coalition failed, and Garra was captured by an Indian leader, turned over to the whites, tried, then executed. He �courageously resisted the American colonization of S. CA and who bravely gave his life in the process.�
Alan Slickpoo: director of Nex Perce tribe�s History and Culture Project. In 1974 he delivered a speech called �Genocidal Aims toward Our Culture.� Within the speech, he denounced the errors and �poor interpretation� of much Indian history written by whites. He stated, �too many books have been written without the expressed consent and endorsement of the Indian tribes concerned.�
�The Well Baked Man�: an Indian tale in collection of myths and legends assembled by Richard Erdoes and Alfonso Ortiz.
