Native American Encyclopedia Massasoit To Pamunkey
4 Massasoit Meet Massasoit Massasoit about 1581-1661 also known as Ousamequin meaning Yellow Feather the grand sachem of the Wampanoag lived at the time of the first English colonies in the New World Smallpox reduced the Wampanoag population by 75 percent and left them defenseless against enemy tribes In order to strengthen their numbers Massasoit meaning great sachem allowed the Plymouth pilgrims to live on Wampanoag land The Pilgrims who had come to depend on the tribe for survival invited the Wampanoag to their fall harvest celebration called the First Thanksgiving The Pilgrims later fulfilled Massasoit’s hope that friendship with them would help his own tribe when they joined the Wampanoag in a defense against an attack by the Narragansett As long as Massasoit lived the tribe kept the peace with the English colonists March 1621 Makes treaty with Pilgrims Fall 1621 Celebrates first Thanksgiving 1661 Dies sons Wamsutta then Metacomet become grand sachems 1632 Leads defense against Narragansett Mathews John Joseph 1894 1979 an Osage attended universities in Oklahoma England and Switzerland He words to know wrote books about Native American struggles and Osage life including Sundown and Talking to the Moon He also helped the Osage claim the rights to the oil and natural gas found on their land in Oklahoma historians hiss-TOR-ee-ihnz people who study old records in order to piece together the past history experts human sacrifice HEW-muhn SAK-ruh-fyes an offering of blood flesh or the life of a person to please or show respect for a god or supernatural being sachem SAY-chum a chief over several villages or bands sophisticated suh-FIHS-tuh-kay-tihd advanced for their time Matrilineal descent traces the kinship of a person through his or her mother and her female ancestors In a society that uses a matrilineal descent system children belong to the mother’s clan or family group
Maya 5 Maya descended from the ancient Olmec people lived in the rainforests of Central America for hundreds of years Historians divide this time into three periods the Preclassic Classic and Postclassic Preclassic Maya lived among the Olmec Classic Maya lived in what is now Guatemala Postclassic Maya lived in the Yucatán Peninsula of eastern Mexico Mayans divided their societies into classes including rulers religious leaders government workers craftspeople farmers and slaves Classic and Postclassic Maya built important religious and trade centers called city-states The ruins of some city states still exist including Tikal and Palenque The recent discovery of sophisticated Preclassic ruins show that they too had a flourishing culture Historians do not know the exact reasons for the Mayan decline but suspect war and crop failure Plains peoples actively managed the land for native plants and animals They set the Preclassic A D 300 Classic A D 900 Postclassic A D 1500 FACT FILE This temple shows the stone architecture of the Maya Mayan farmers built rectangular homes with rounded corners and thatched roofs Language They spoke the Mayan language Location They occupied Mesoamerica particularly the Yucatán Peninsula Guatemala Belize western Honduras and El Salvador Diet They planted corn beans squash chili peppers and cassava a kind of melon Housing The Maya built stone palaces and pyramid temples Farmers lived in simple pole and grass houses outside the cities Customs Priests performed sacred ceremonies Interesting Fact Mayan writings include history science and math The Maya developed their own calendars and even built observatories to study the stars and planets
6 McClellan Creek McClellan Creek flows near the site in Texas where in 1874 U S Army troops attacked Grey Beard’s Cheyenne in order to rescue two young nonnative captives Earlier that year Cheyenne warriors led by Chief Medicine Water killed members of a German family traveling through Cheyenne lands During the attack the Cheyenne took four children captive Chief Medicine Water traded two of the children to Grey Beard’s band Eventually the army reunited all four sisters after the Cheyenne surrendered in 1875 McClintock Walter 1870-1949 a Yale University graduate traveled west in 1886 and photographed and wrote about the daily life of the Blackfoot tribe for 15 years The Blackfoot adopted him into their community His books include The Old North Trail and Old Indian Trails McCulloch Benjamin 1811 1862 born in Tennessee joined Sam Houston’s Texas army and the Texas Rangers He fought in the Battle of Plum Creek in 1840 against the Comanche During the Civil War Confederate president Jefferson Davis made McCulloch words to know anthropology an-throh-PAHL-uh-jee the study of human cultures the commander of the Indian Territory He made alliances with the Cherokee Choctaw and Creek in his effort to win Indian Territory for the South He led troops at the Battle of Wilson’s Creek and the Battle of Pea Ridge where he died Benjamin McCulloch helped lead Texas Rangers at the Battle of Plum Creek He defeated Penateka Comanche leader Buffalo Hump and his warriors McGillivray Alexander 1759 1793 of Scottish French and Creek heritage led the Creek’s Wind Clan during and after the American Revolution After war broke out he sided with the British and became the spokesperson for tribes living in today’s Florida and Georgia In 1784 he signed an agreement with the Spanish to strengthen the Creek’s hold on their homelands In 1790 McGillivray met with George Washington and others to sign the Treaty of New York The treaty tried to settle disagreements with Southern frontiersmen and protect Creek territorial rights
Medal of Honor recipients 7 as a director in the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Washington D C and at American Indian Development Inc in Colorado He created and led the anthropology department at the University of Saskatchewan Means Russell 1939 an Oglala Lakota activist born on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota served as the first national director of the American Indian Movement an organization dedicated to Native American rights He speaks at universities and gatherings all over the world and has written an autobiography His outspoken views spark discussion among his listeners Medal of Honor recipients have distinguished themselves in military service by showing courage above expectations during combat Early Native American honorees fought on U S soil in the Indian Wars in the West Many of these recipients served as scouts in the army In the 1900s medals went to World War II and Korean War soldiers Ernest Childers was a Creek lieutenant in the army during World War II He received this medal after an act of bravery during a battle McIntosh William 1775-1825 son of a Scottish father and Creek mother led the Creek who believed in cooperating with the U S government He fought the British in the War of 1812 and sided with Andrew Jackson against the Creek Red Sticks in the Creek War of 1813 to 1814 Against Creek law he signed treaties including the Treaty of Fort Jackson and the Treaty of Indian Springs selling Creek land As punishment the tribe sentenced him to death William McIntosh of Creek and Scottish heritage led the Creek White Sticks in the First Seminole War McNickle D’Arcy 1904-1977 of French Irish and Cree heritage strengthened the development of Native American literature and anthropology He wrote many articles books and histories reflecting his views and experiences One book The Surrounded written in 1936 continues to be studied today He served
