Native People of Wisconsin, Revised Edition

Native People of Wisconsin, Revised Edition — page 9
You will find several words used for the American Indian people you’ll meet in this book Native people tribal people tribe and nation The word nation appears in the book many times Native people are legally citizens of two governments the United States of America and their own Indian nation That’s because Indian governments existed before there was a United States When the US officials entered into treaties with Indian tribes they recognized the tribes as sovereign sah vruhn Indian nations still possess sovereignty sah vruhn tee today despite the fact that the US Congress has attempted to place limits on it If the relationship between Indian nations and the American government seems complicated that’s because it is As a member of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe I have not liked many of the history books about the Native Americans of this area Many of the histories rely on the written words of early European visitors to the Great Lakes area What these visitors learned is interesting but not complete and sometimes not even true Native people have different ways of telling history For example they use stories songs cave paintings and objects that help keep the past alive In this book I have attempted to use many of these different ways of telling history Native people do not view everyday life the same way that non-Indians do For example they do not separate things that are spiritual things that have to do with the soul and spirit from those that have to do with the natural world To Native people everything that the Creator has given is sacred say kruhd which means that deserves respect Thinking of our stories in a circle reflects that viewpoint This book has a few dates and timelines but it tries to pay more attention to the way Native people think about history That way it introduces you to many of the stories songs dances beadwork and other ways Native people remember the past In a history book like this one that contains true stories from the past the words that real people have said or have written appear in quotation marks This is to show that a real person actually said or wrote them Each chapter begins with a brief description of the past and present The Think About It sections ask important and interesting questions about the chapter that will be answered as x treaties Legal agreements between two nations sovereign Independent having the right to govern themselves sovereignty Independence