♪ ♪ TALES FROM ARKANSAS' PAST HAVE
BEEN AS RICH AND VARIED AS ITS
PEOPLE. FAMILY STORIES, HISTORICAL
ACCOUNTS, FOLKLORE AND SCHOLARLY
EVALUATIONS ALL PLAY A PART IN HISTORY.
OUR EARLIEST ANCESTORS HAD NAMES
NOT EASILY RECOGNIZED, NOT EASILY SPOKEN: THE PALEO,
ARCHAIC, WOODLAND, AND
MISSISSIPPIAN INDIANS. THEIR STORIES START WITH THE
OBJECTS AND ARTWORK THEY LEFT
BEHIND INGENIUS TOOLS AND UNIQUE POTTERY SURFACE AFTER BEING
BURIED FOR CENTURIES.
SKY-REACHING MOUNDS DOT THE ARKANSAS LANDSCAPE.
CURIOUS PICTURES PAINTED AND
PECKED ON TO ROCK SURFACES REVEAL THE INTELLIGENCE AND
HUMOR OF ARKANSAS' FIRST PEOPLE.
>> [SINGING]. ARCHEOLOGY IS THE STUDY OF
MATERIAL THINGS, AND PLACES
WHERE THE MARK OF MANKIND IS VISIBLE.
IT DISCOVERS TRACES OF
STRUCTURES FROM VILLAGES AND IMAGES LEFT ON ROCKS.
ARCHEOLOGISTS SEARCH FOR
PATTERNS THAT SPEAK OF ANCIENT PEOPLE'S LIVES.
VERY FEW THINGS FROM THE PAST
CAN, WITHOUT QUESTION, IDENTIFY A SPECIFIC TRIBE OR CULTURE.
EXPERTS SAY THEY CAN ONLY FORM
HYPOTHESES. "UNFORTUNATELY, THE HISTORIES
THAT HAVE BEEN WRITTEN AND THE
AVERAGE CITIZEN'S UNDERSTANDING OF WHO CAME BEFORE THE
ANGLO-EUROPEAN SETTLERS AFTER
THIS, THE UH, LOUISIANA PURCHASE, AND WHAT THEIR LIVES
WERE LIKE IS STILL PRETTY VAGUE,
AND UNFORTUNATELY, IN THE PAST HAS SUFFERED FROM SOME
IMAGINATION RATHER THAN SEARCH
OF ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS OR ENCOUNTERS WITH THE DESCENDANTS
OF THOSE PEOPLE.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, AVERAGE CITIZENS HAVE A NUMBER OF
STEREOTYPES IN THEIR HEAD ABOUT
AMERICAN INDIAN PEOPLE. AND SOME OF THAT GETS MIXED UP
WITH THEIR EXPECTATIONS OF THE
NATIVE PEOPLE WHO ONCE LIVED IN ARKANSAS.
STORIES OF AMERICAN INDIAN
CULTURE IN ARKANSAS BEGIN WITH ANCIENT PEOPLE WHO SPREAD OUT
ACROSS THE NORTH AMERICAN
CONTINENT; SOME FILTERING DOWN INTO THE MID-SOUTH AS THEY
FOLLOWED WILD GAME ALONG THE
RIVERS AND PLATEAUS. THE ONLY NAME WE KNOW THESE
PEOPLE BY IS PALEO.
>> "PALEO MEANS OLD AND PALEO-INDIAN REFERS TO A
SPECIFIC TIME PERIOD FROM 13,500
YEARS OR SO AGO, UP UNTIL ABOUT 10,500 YEARS AGO."
"THEIR DAY-TO-DAY ACTIVITIES
PROBABLY CONSISTED OF A GREAT DEAL OF PREPARATION AND
MANUFACTURING THINGS, NOT SO
MUCH THE STONE TOOLS BECAUSE THEY DON'T TAKE SO LONG TO MAKE.
BUT THINGS LIKE THEIR SPEER
SHAFTS, CLOTHING, WE KNOW THEY HAD VERY WELL-TAILORED CLOTHING
BECAUSE THESE PEOPLE CAME FROM
AN AREA IN ASIA WHERE IT WAS EXTREMELY COLD AND WE KNOW THEY
PROBABLY HAD REALLY
WELL-PREPARED CLOTHING THAT WAS TAILORED, NOT JUST SOME BUNCH OF
SPANISH MOSS THROWN ON THEIR
BODIES. WE KNOW THEY HAD KIDS AND HAD TO
RAISE THEIR KIDS.
AND THEY'RE TEACHING THEIR KIDS ALL THE TIME HOW TO DO THINGS,
JUST LIKE WE DO TODAY.
>> CHILD, OR ADULT, IN ORDER TO DO A JOB, TOOLS PLAY A PART.
ARKANSAS HAS PLENTY OF RESOURCES
AND THE OUACHITA MOUNTAINS ARE FULL OF STONE USED IN THE EARLY
TECHNOLOGY OF ARKANSAS' FIRST
PEOPLE. THE COOL, GLASSY SURFACE OF
NOVACULITE WAS CHIPPED AND MAKED
INTO EVERYTHING FROM SPEER POINTS TO AX HEADS, USED FOR
HUNTING AND EVERY DAY CHORES.
>> WELL, FLINT KNAPPING IS A WORLDWIDE PHENOMENON.
IT HAPPENED EVERYWHERE THAT
THERE WAS A ROCK AND ROCK THAT WOULD BREAK IN THE RIGHT WAY TO
PRODUCE A SHARP EDGE.
AND IT WAS PROBABLY DISCOVERED VERY QUICKLY THAT THE SHARP
EDGES OF FLINT COULD CUT MEAT,
VEGETABLE MATTER, PLANTS, AND OTHER THINGS THAT HAD TO BE CUT
PROBABLY BEFORE WITH A BONE OR
JUST BY SMASHING OR GRINDING OR SOME OTHER PRIMITIVE METHOD.
BUT WHEN YOU FLINT KNAP, YOU'RE
TAKING A ROCK THAT'S HIGH IN SILICA, WHICH IS MUCH LIKE
GLASS, AND YOU'RE REMOVING SMALL
FLAKES AND LARGE FLAKES FROM IT IN A STRUCTURED WAY TO SHAPE IT.
>> MAKING TOOLS FOR CHORES ISN'T
THE ONLY THING WE HAVE IN COMMON WITH OUR EARLY ANCESTORS.
IMAGES ARE UNIVERSAL FORMS OF
SELF-EXPRESSION. HERE IN THE ARKANSAS RIVER
VALLEY, SYMBOLS HAVE BEEN FOUND
IN CAVES AND ON ROCK LEDGES. SOME EXPERTS AGREE THAT THE
OZARK PLATEAU MAY HOLD IMPORTANT
SYMBOLS OF PAST CULTURES AND EVEN THE DOODLING OF ANCIENT
ARTISTS.
>> SOME PEOPLE THINK ROCK ART IS THE DESIGN AND ARTWORK THAT'S ON
RECORD ALBUMS PRODUCED BY ROCK AND ROLL ARTISTS, BUT
ANTHROPOLOGISTS AND
ARCHEOLOGISTS USE THE TERM TO DESCRIBE IMAGES THAT PEOPLE
PAINT ONTO NATURAL ROCK SURFACES
OR CARVED IN OR ENGRAVE ON NATURAL ROCK SURFACES.
THE PAINTED IMAGES ARE CALLED
PICTOGRAPHS AND THIS CARVED OR ENGRAVED OR PECKED IMAGES ARE
CALLED PETROGLYPHS.
>> THE TECHNIQUE DOESN'T LEND ITSELF TO VERY FINE ARTISTIC
APPLICATION.
MANY OTHER NATIVE AMERICAN ART FORMS ALLOW FOR MUCH FINER
DETAIL.
ROCK ART PAINTING OR CARVING IS A SOMEWHAT CRUDER MECHANISM.
SO THE IMAGES ARE MORE
GENERALIZED. THEY'RE OFTEN QUITE NOT AS
ATTRACTIVE, BUT THEY'RE VERY
IMPORTANT BECAUSE THEY DO REFLECT SOME VERY INTERESTING
MOTIFS THAT PROVIDE GLIMPSES
INTO THE WORLDS THAT ANCIENT PEOPLES SAW OR IMAGINED.
SOME OF THOSE WORLDS HAD SMALL
RISES OR OBVIOUS TOWERING HILLS POPPING UP ALONG THE FLAT
EXPANSE OF THE GRAND PRAIRIE AND
MISSISSIPPI DELTA. MOUNDS BUILT BY ARKANSAS'S FIRST
PEOPLE, ARE EARTHEN PYRAMIDS,
NEWER GENERATIONS HAVE WONDERED IF THEY WERE USED FOR PRACTICAL
REASONS OR TO REACH A HIGHER
POWER. "HI EVERYBODY, MY NAME IS AMY
AND I'M A PARK INTERPRETER HERE
AT TOLTEC MOUNDS ARCHEOLOGICAL STATE PARK. THE FIRST THING YOU
NEED TO KNOW IS THAT TOLTEC IS A
MISNOMER. THE TOLTEC INDIANS FROM MEXICO DID NOT COME UP HERE
AND BUILD THESE MOUNDS.
THE PEOPLE WHO DID BUILD THESE MOUNDS WE CALL THE PLUM BAYOU
CULTURE. THEY BUILT EIGHTEEN
MOUNDS IN TOTAL. TODAY, YOU WILL ONLY SEE THREE ORIGINAL
MOUNDS."
"THE PLUM BAYOU CULTURE PRIMARILY LIVED AT THE TIME OF
THE LATE WOODLAND PERIOD.
AT THIS TIME, NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURES STARTED MAKING POTTERY,
BUILDING BURIAL MOUNDS,
DOMESTICATING WILD PLANTS AND MAKING CEREMONIAL AND SOCIAL
CENTERS, SUCH AS THIS ONE AT
TOLTEC." >> NATIVE BUILDERS USED BASKETS
OF DIRT TO FORM THE LAYERS OF
MOUNDS. OVER TIME NEW LAYERS WERE ADDED.
IT'S BELIEVED THAT THE NEW
LAYERS MAY HAVE BEEN USED TO BURY THEIR DEAD, COVER UP LEFT
OVER SCRAPS FROM MEALS OR WORK,
OR SOME SEEM TO MARK A SPECIFIC POINT INSIDE THE SITE WITH A
SPECIFIC PURPOSE.
MOUNDS AT TOLTEC AND OTHER SITES ARE UNIQUE IN HEIGHT, SHAPE, AND
USE.
>> THERE'S DIFFERENT KINDS OF MOUNDS. THE FIRST TYPE ARE VERY
LARGE MOUNDS THAT ARE FLAT ON
TOP. MOUNDS THAT THEY HAD LIVED ON OR HAD CEREMONIAL STRUCTURES
BUILT. THE SECOND TYPE ARE
CEREMONIAL MOUNDS. MOUNDS SUCH AS S AND H.
H IS A KEY MOUND IN THEIR
CALENDAR SYSTEM. IF YOU WERE TO STAND ON MOUND H AND THE SUN SET
IN A CERTAIN PLACE, THEY KNEW
WHEN TO PLANT AND HARVEST THEIR CROPS. IF YOU WERE TO STAND ON
MOUND H AND THE SUN SET OVER
MOUND B THAT WOULD BE THE SUMMER SOLSTICE. IF THE SUN SET OVER
MOUND A, THAT WOULD BE THE FALL
OR SPRING EQUINOX. AND IF THE SUN SET OVER MOUND S, THAT IS
THE WINTER SOLSTICE. NOT ONLY
DID THEY HAVE THE SUNSETS, THEY ALSO HAD THE SUNRISES. IF YOU
STAND ON MOUND A AND THE SUN
ROSE OVER MOUND B THAT WOULD BE THE SUMMER SOLSTICE. IF THE SUN
ROSE BETWEEN C AND G, THAT WOULD
BE THE WINTER SOLSTICE. AND IF THE SUN ROSE OVER MOUND H, THAT
WOULD BE THE FALL OR SPRING
EQUINOX. E IS ALSO AN IMPORTANT MOUND. IF
YOU WERE TO STAND ON MOUND E AT
NIGHT AND LOOK OVER MOUND A, YOU WOULD FIND THE NORTH STAR.
THE THIRD TYPE OF MOUND IS LIKE
MOUND C. IT HAS BEEN KNOWN TO BE A BURIAL MOUND. BURIAL MOUNDS
ARE ROUND OR CONICAL ON TOP.
HERE AT TOLTEC, MOUND C IS MORE LIKE A MYSTERIOUS MOUND. WE HAVE
FOUND HUMAN REMAINS AROUND MOUND
C, BUT NOT ON MOUND C. YOU MAY BE THINKING, "WHY DON'T YOU
EXCAVATE MOUND C AND FIND OUT?"
THE ANSWER IS, CONGRESS PASSED A LAW CALLED THE NATIVE AMERICAN
GRAVES PROTECTION AND
REPATRIATION ACT. SINCE THEY PASSED THIS LAW, ARCHEOLOGISTS
CAN NO LONGER DIG FOR HUMAN
REMAINS. TOLTEC MOUNDS IS A SITE FOR REPATRIATION. ONE OF THE
ONLY ONES IN ARKANSAS."
>> REPATRIATION IS THE REBURIAL OF HUMAN REMAINS IN A SACRED OR
PROTECTED PLACE. BECAUSE OF
LAND DEVELOPMENT AND FARMING, AMERICAN INDIAN REMAINS SURFACE
AND ARE AT RISK OF BEING
"FARMING WAS THE LARGEST COMPONENT OF THE MISSISSIPPIAN
PERIOD. THESE PEOPLE PRODUCED
HUNDREDS OF ACRES OF CORN AND SQUASH AND BEANS AND SOME TOOLS
THAT THEY USED WERE THESE
MASSIVE CHERT HOLES BEHIND ME HERE, AND IT'S ALSO
WELL-REPRESENTATIVE OF THE TRADE
NETWORK. WE HAVE MILL CREEK CHERT REPRESENTED HERE FROM
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS; WE HAVE DOVER
CHERT FROM WESTERN TENNESSEE. ALSO, REPRESENTATIVE IS SIDE
NOTCHED HOLES AND GRINDING
STONES; THEY ALSO MADE EFFIGY VESSELS NOT ONLY OF HUMANS BUT
ALSO REPRESENTING AGRICULTURAL
PRACTICES, AS WELL AS, EFFIGY VESSELS OF ANIMALS AND FISH;
FLORA AND FAUNA THAT WAS
IMPORTANT TO THEM IN THEIR EVERYDAY LIVES.
OTHER ASPECTS OF THE TRADE
NETWORK THAT EXISTED WERE ITEMS OF PERSONAL ADORNMENT. WE HAVE A
WONDERFUL COLLECTION OF SHELLS
FROM THE GULF COAST, UH, COPPER BRACELETS, STONE GORGETS,
THIS WAS ALL AN IMPORTANT PART
OF MISSISSIPPIAN LIFESTYLE." THE MOUND BUILDER SETTLEMENTS
ARE SCATTERED ACROSS EASTERN
ARKANSAS. THESE ARTIFACTS ARE TRACES OF PAST LIVES THAT GIVE
MORE CLUES TO THE KIND OF PEOPLE
WHO LIVED ALONG THE RIVERS. NODENA, A LATE MISSISSIPPIAN
SITE, IS FAMOUS FOR ITS RED AND
WHITE SWIRLED CLAY POTTERY. HUMAN HEAD EFFIGIES, FOUND IN
THIS AREA, MAY BE ANCIENT
PORTRAITS. "HUMAN EFFIGY VESSELS, EFFIGY
VESSELS IN GENERAL, IS A
LIKENESS OF A PERSON OR AN ANIMAL OR A MYTHOLOGICAL
CREATURE OR DIETY. THEY WERE
VERY IMPORTANT TO THE MISSISSIPPIAN PERIOD PEOPLE.
IT'S LIKE PAYING TRIBUTE TO WHAT
WAS IMPORTANT TO THEM IN THEIR CEREMONIAL OR RELIGIOUS BELIEFS
OR CULTURAL BELIEF SYSTEMS AND
IT ALSO GOES BACK AND TIES INTO ARCHEOLOGISTS HAS TWO
INTERPRETATIONS, MOST COMMON
INTERPRETATIONS WITH WHAT THIS EFFIGY VESSEL REPRESENTS: ONE IS
THAT THIS COULD HAVE BEEN
CERTAINLY SOMEONE OF STATUS UH, POSSIBLY IN THE CHIEFDOM OF THE
VILLAGE, THE HEREDITARY RULE,
THE HIERARCHY. THE OTHER INTERPRETATION IS THAT THE
EFFIGY VESSEL COULD REPRESENT
THAT OF A WAR TROPHY. IN THE DE SOTO CHRONICLES IT INTERPRETS
FOR US UM, HIS ENTRADA COMING
INTO DIFFERENT VILLAGE SITES AFTER WARFARE OR BATTLE THAT
ENEMIES' HEADS WERE ON POLES. SO
THOSE ARE TWO COMMON BELIEFS. THIS IS RECOGNIZED AS ONE OF THE
PREMIERE EFFIGY HEAD VESSELS
KNOWN TO EXIST ON PUBLIC DISPLAY."
THERE IS EVIDENCE OF SPANISH
EXPLORER HERNANDO DE SOTO AND HIS MEN ENCOUNTERING ONE OF
THOSE VILLAGE SITES ALONG THE
BANKS OF THE ST. FRANCIS RIVER. "PARKIN WAS A NATIVE AMERICAN
VILLAGE SITE THAT WAS OCCUPIED
FROM AT LEAST ABOUT 1000 A.D. UP UNTIL AFTER THE TIME OF DE SOTO,
AND IT'S THE FIRST PLACE IN
ARKANSAS WHERE WE HAVE THE NAME OF A NATIVE AMERICAN FROM
ARKANSAS, WHICH WAS CASQUI. IT'S
ALSO THE FIRST PLACE IN ARKANSAS WHERE WE HAVE DEFINITE CONTACT
BETWEEN EUROPEANS AND NATIVE
AMERICANS. ALSO, THE FIRST PLACE IN ARKANSAS WHERE WE HAVE RECORD
OF A CROSS BEING CONSTRUCTED AND
ERECTED AND OF CATHOLIC MASS BEING SAID."
"WHEN THE DE SOTO EXPEDITION
LANDED IN FLORIDA IN 1539, THEY HAD ABOUT OH, SIX HUNDRED OR SO
MEMBERS OF THE EXPEDITION AND
THEY ENDED UP TRAVELLING AROUND THE WHOLE SOUTHEASTERN U.S. FOR
A NUMBER OF YEARS. AFTER TWO
YEARS, THEY MADE IT ACROSS THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER AND THERE'S A
LOT OF DEBATE ABOUT WHERE DE
SOTO WENT AT DIFFERENT TIMES AND WE'LL PROBABLY NEVER KNOW FOR
SURE THE EXACT ROUTE, BUT WE
KNOW VERY CLEARLY WHEN THEY CROSSED THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER
BECAUSE BY FAR IT WAS THE
LARGEST RIVER THEY CROSSED AND IT WAS A REAL HEADACHE FOR THEM
TO GET ACROSS IT. AFTER THEY
CROSSED THAT RIVER, WE'RE CERTAIN THAT THEY WERE IN WHAT
IS NOW ARKANSAS... AND ALSO, WE
HAVE ARTIFACTS THAT WE ARE CERTAIN CAME FROM THE
DE SOTO EXPEDITION. THEY
COULDN'T HAVE COME FROM ANYWHERE ELSE. "
JOURNAL ENTRIES FROM THE DESOTO
EXPEDITION SHOW THAT THEY MAY HAVE CONSIDERED CASQUI'S VILLAGE
TO BE AN ADVANCED CIVILIZATION
WHERE PEOPLE LED ORGANIZED, ABUNDANT LIVES.
"THE MISSISSIPPIAN CULTURE WAS
BUILT UPON THE FOUNDATION OF RIVERS AND RIVER TRADE, AND HERE
AT PARKIN, THE CASQUI VILLAGE
WAS NO DIFFERENT. EVERY ASPECT OF THEIR DAILY LIFE WOULD HAVE
INVOLVED WITH THE RIVER. WHETHER
IT BE HUNTING AND FISHING, UM, SENDING A SCOUTING PARTY FOR
DEFENSE, AGRICULTURE, WATERING,
BATHING, POTTERY, EVERY SINGLE THING THEY DID REVOLVED AROUND
THE ST. FRANCIS RIVER. AND THE
ST. FRANCIS RIVER WAS VERY IMPORTANT NOT JUST TO THE
VILLAGE OF CASQUI, BUT TO MANY
OTHER PEOPLE AS WELL. WHEN DE SOTO VISITED THIS SITE IN 1541,
HE COMMENTED THAT THE ST.
FRANCIS RIVER WAS THE MOST CRYSTAL CLEAR RIVER HE HAD SEEN
IN ALL OF THE SOUTHEASTERN
UNITED STATES. AND TODAY, IT MAY NOT LOOK LIKE THAT WAY, BUT AT
THE TIME, IT WAS PRISTINE AND
WITH THIS RESPONSIBILITY THAT THEY HAD OF LIVING HERE IN THIS
AREA, CAME A LOT OF NEGATIVE
ATTENTION, AS WELL. THEY DID RECEIVE THE BENEFITS OF HAVING
SUCH AN EXCELLENT RIVER, BUT
OTHERS WANTED IT AND THAT CAUSED DECLINE."
WHETHER IT'S ENCOUNTERS WITH
VISITORS FROM ANOTHER LAND OR NEIGHBORING VILLAGES, WHEN
CULTURES COLLIDE, NOT ALL
EVIDENCE OF HUMANITY DISAPPEARS. IT STAYS BEHIND IN THE PUZZLE
PIECES LEFT FOUND IN THE DIRT
AND IN THE HEARTS OF THE DESCENDANTS OF ARKANSAS'S FIRST
PEOPLE. >> [INDIAN DRUMS AND
SINGING].
>> A CIVILIZATION REACHING BACK AS FAR AS 800 A.D. ROAMED THE
OUACHITA MOUNTAINS AND SPREAD
INTO THE RED RIVER VALLEY. SEVERAL TRIBES KNOWN AS ONE: THE
'CADOHADACHO' BECAME WHO WE NOW
KNOW AS THE CADDO. "PEOPLE ARE ALWAYS ASKING ME,
YOU KNOW,
WHO ARE THE CADDO AND WHERE DID THEY COME FROM AND WHERE ARE
THEY NOW?"
"THERE ARE NOW ABOUT 5000 ENROLLED MEMBERS OF THE CADDO
INDIAN NATION OF OKLAHOMA.WE
HAVE TO HAVE THE OKLAHOMA IN THERE BECAUSE ORIGINALLY, THE
CADDO NATION RECOGNIZING THAT IN
THE OLD TIMES YOU DIDN'T HAVE STATE BOUNDARIES, YOU DIDN'T
Y
O U
D
I D
N
'T HAVE NATURAL BOUNDARIES, YOU HAD
NATURE BOUNDARIES, RIVERS,
STREAMS, MOUNTAIN, WOODS LIKE THE CROSSTIMBERS THAT RUN ACROSS
THIS PART OF THE COUNTRY.
IN THOSE DAYS, THE CADDO TERRITORY COVERED A VAST AREA
THAT WOULD NOW BE CALLED
SOUTHWESTERN ARKANSAS, NORTHWESTERN LOUISIANA, NORTHERN
TEXAS, AND SOUTHEASTERN
OKLAHOMA. SO YOU HAVE THIS BIG OVAL OF AN
AREA THAT COVERED LAND FROM
HUNTING GROUNDS AND VILLAGE SITES AS FAR UP AS
NATCHITOCHES, LOUISIANA, ALMOST
HOT SPRINGS ARKANSAS
NATCHITOCHES, LOUISIANA, ALMOST
OVER TO WACO, TEXAS, THEN UP AND AROUND OKLAHOMA ON THE
SOUTHEASTERN CORNER THERE AND
BACK UP." "CADDO PEOPLE AND OTHER TRIBAL
PEOPLE BUILT MOUNDS, FOR MORE
THAN ONE PURPOSE. ONE WAS TO USE THE MOUND AS A PLACE FOR
SPIRITUAL COMMUNICATION.
WITH THE CADDO. FOR INSTANCE, THERE WAS ALWAYS
A BELIEF IN WHAT OTHERS MIGHT
CALL A GOD. WHAT THE CADDO PEOPLE CALLED THE GREAT LEADER,
UH, THE CADDO... [CADDO WORD].
AND, BECAUSE OF THAT BELIEF, THEN THERE WAS THIS, WAS AND
STILL IS, A VERY STRONG BELIEF
THAT AFTER YOU DO NOT LIVE ON THIS EARTH, YOU GO AND YOU GO
AND YOU LIVE IN ANOTHER PLACE."
>> THEIR SPIRITUAL BELIEFS HEAVILY INFLUENCED THEIR
CULTURE. THE CADDO MADE THE MOST
OF THEIR SURROUNDINGS AND SKILLS. CADDO POTTERY WHETHER
ANCIENT OR MODERN IS DISTINCT,
UNIQUE AND TELLS US A LOT ABOUT THE TRIBE'S SKILLS.
"IN 1992, I WENT TO SOME
MUSEUMS, AND I SAW CADDO POTTERY, AND IT, AND IT
BASICALLY IT WAS FOR THE FIRST
TIME AMD I HAD IT IN THE BACK OF MY MIND, THAT WE, UH, DID
POTTERY, WAY BACK IN TIME AND I
DIDN'T SEE HOW IT RELATED TO ME. BUT WHAT I FOUND OUT WAS THAT
THE, THE CADDO PEOPLE HAD
WONDERFUL CLAY SOURCES. THEY, THERE WAS AN AMAZING VEIN OF
CLAY THAT RAN THROUGH
NATCHITOCHES UP THROUGH IDABEL, OKLAHOMA, INTO ARKANSAS. AND WE
REALLY HAD THE BEST CLAY
PROBABLY IN THE UNITED STATES." JERI REDCORN, MEMBER OF THE
CADDO NATION, HAS SPENT MANY
YEARS PRACTICING AND PRESERVING HER ANCESTORS' ART FORM.
"THE CADDO, AT THAT TIME, WERE
MAKING, AS THEY MADE CLAY, AS, A, AS THEY DEVELOPED THIS CLAY
ART, THEY USED IT FOR
CEREMONIES, THEY USED IT FOR DAILY, EVERYTHING DAILY, TO
STORE SEEDS, TO STORE FOOD, TO
COOK, AND, BUT AS A PART OF THEIR LIFE AND THEY MADE SOME,
DEVELOPED SOME BEAUTIFUL,
BEAUTIFUL DESIGNS. UM, THEY PROBABLY HAD THE MOST INTRICATE
DESIGNS OF ANY TRIBE IN THE
UNITED STATES AT THE TIME. AND THAT WOULD PROBABLY BE FROM 500
TO 700 YEARS AGO."
JERI'S TRADITIONAL REPRODUCTIONS COULD BE USED TO STORE GARDEN
SEEDS, BUT HER CREATIONS INSTEAD
STORE 'MEMORIES'. "WHEN I FIRST CAME DOWN HERE, I
JUST, I DID, I STOOD ON THE
BANKS AND I FELT LIKE CRYING, BUT I ALSO FELT LIKE IT WAS A
SIGNIFICANT STEP BECAUSE I
COULD, I WAS STANDING ON THE LAND THAT MY GREAT-GREAT-GREAT
GRANDMOTHERS HAD STOOD ON AND
THEY HAD GATHERED CLAY, AND THE HAD MADE IT, AND, AND IT'S
IMPORTANT. EARTH IS IMPORTANT.
AND WATER IS IMPORTANT. AND THOSE TWO THINGS FORM THAT CLAY
AND MAKE OUT OF IT A UTILITARIAN
VESSEL THAT WE USED IN CEREMONIES, THAT WE USED IN OUR
FUNERAL PRACTICES AND...JUST IN
MANY WAYS. IT HAS BEEN SUCH A, UM, SUCH A
WONDERFUL THING THAT I AM ABLE
TO DO THIS." >> BESIDES POTTERY, THE CADDO
WERE KNOWN FOR THEIR BOW MAKING,
WHICH USED NATIVE BOIS D'ARC OR OSAGE ORANGE WOOD.
>> [SAWING SOUND].
"YEAH, THIS WOOD IS FAIRLY >>
"YEAH, THIS
CROOKED HERE, SO I, I'M GETTING WOOD IS FAIRLY
CROOKED HERE, SO I, I'M GETTING
SOME SPOTS HERE THAT ARE DIGGING IN SO BADLY, I MIGHT HAVE TO
[SCRAPING]
THIS, THIS TOOL HERE IS, IS WONDERFUL IN BEING ABLE TO WORK
WITH WOOD LIKE THIS."
"IN THE FAR OLD DAYS, THEY'D USE FLINT, AND I'M SURE THERE'S ALL
KIND OF TRICKS IN BEING ABLE TO
SET IT JUST RIGHT AND, AND USE, UH, LITTLE WEDGES AND SO FORTH
TO TAKE OFF PIECES OF THIS. BUT
THAT'S A HARD WAY TO GO. OBVIOUSLY THEY, THEY KNEW HOW TO
DO IT, BUT WITHOUT THIS DRAW
KNIFE, IT MUST HAVE BEEN, A, A WHOLE LOT HARDER TO DO."
PHIL CROSS, JERI REDCORN'S
BROTHER, WORKS EVERYDAY TO PRESERVE CADDO TRADITION.
"IT'S ALL I'VE DONE ALL MY LIFE,
YOU KNOW, WOULD BE DOING THIS 24/7 ALMOST, IN FACT, THAT'S
IN FACT, I SHOT A DEER THIS
MORNING WITH, UH, ONE OF MY OTHER BOWS LIKE THIS, AND A
THIS IS A, THIS IS A WONDERFUL
WAY TO TAKE A NATURAL RESOURCE, PUT SOME HUMAN ENERGY AND
KNOWLEDGE AND TALENT INTO IT,
AND GO DO A USEFUL EXERCISE, I SAY, IN HUNTING AND, UH,
HARVESTING GAME, AND UH, BEING
BACK CLOSE TO NATURE, OUR, OUR CADDO WAYS."
DESPITE THE INEVITABLE PUSH TO
REMOVE INDIAN TRIBES TO MAKE WAY FOR WHITE SETTLERS, THE CADDO
MAINTAINED THEIR CUSTOMS BEYOND
GENERATIONS OF FORCED ASSIMILATION TO MODERN-DAY PRIDE
AND A MUCH DESERVED PLACE IN
ARKANSAS AND AMERICAN HISTORY. >> TO THE NORTH OF THE CADDO,
THE OSAGE THRIVED.
THIS WARRIOR TRIBE HUNTED AND CAMPED ALONG THE RIVERS AND
STREAMS ACROSS THE OZARK
PLATEAU. >> WE HAVE A CLOSE CONNECTION TO
THE NORTHERN HALF OF ARKANSAS,
IN THE NORTHERN HALF OF ARKANSAS, YOU'RE GOING TO FIND
THOSE WATERWAYS, THE WATER THAT
FEEDS, UH, EUREKA SPRINGS, THE WHITE RIVER, BUFFALO RIVER.
THOSE WATERWAYS, THE ARKANSAS
RIVER, THAT, THAT FLOW IN, FLOW IN THROUGH THERE."
THE OSAGE, LIKE THE CADDO, KNEW
THAT THEIR LIVES DEPENDED ON WHAT NATURE PROVIDED.
>> IT'S THOSE WATERWAYS WHICH
WE, WHICH WATER MEANS, IS LIFE, AND THAT'S WHERE WE, WE, OUR
PEOPLE SITUATED THEMSELVES AND
PROTECT THEMSELVES AROUND THOSE AREAS.
SO, THE NORTHERN HALF OF
ARKANSAS BEING WOODLANDS AND COVERAGE, COVER, UH, TO SOME
DEGREE, OUT OF THE, THE BARE
ELEMENTS OF A PRAIRIE, UH, THE ABUNDANCE OF FOOD IN THE
WOODLANDS, UH, HAD
SUSTAINABILITY FOR THEM. AND THEY, THEY COULD STAY IN THAT
ENVIRONMENT." >> THE OSAGE, STAYING CLOSE TO
RIVERS AND STREAMS, WERE
FRIENDLY TOWARD EUROPEAN TRAPPERS WHO PASSED THROUGH
THESE AREAS.
TRUE OF MANY AMERICAN INDIAN NAMES, THE WORD OSAGE IS THE
EUROPEAN VERSION OF WHAT THE
NATIVE PEOPLE CALLED THEMSELVES. >> THE OSAGE NAME ITSELF IS, IS
NOT OUR ORIGINAL NAME. THAT WAS,
UH, EVOLUTION OF THE WAY THEY IDENTIFIED US, THE EARLY
TRAPPERS, INTO THE LOUISIANA
PURCHASE. THEY IDENTIFIED US UNDER, UH, THE NAME WAH ZHA ZHI,
AND THAT GOT, UH ANGLICIZED
NUMEROUS TIMES, TO WHERE IT WAS, UH, OUCHAGE AND THEN EVENTUALLY
DOWN TO OSAGE. BUT OUR ORIGINAL
NAME GOES BACK TO, AGAIN, THOSE WATERWAYS.
ORIGINAL NAME, THE NI-U-
KON-SKA, AND THAT AGAIN, THAT'S A REFERENCE TO THE WATER. THEY,
THEY TRY TO TRANSLATE THAT,
NI O GAH SKAH INTO, UM, CHILDREN OF THE MIDDLE WATER, AND THAT'S
A GOOD TRANSLATION FOR IT.
BEFORE THE NI-U-KON-SKA BECAME THE OSAGE, THEY WERE ONE PART OF
A LARGE TRIBAL FAMILY.
>> THOSE PEOPLE, THAT ONE PERSON, THAT ONE PEOPLE BROKE
INTO FIVE DIFFERENT TRIBES, AND
THAT'S WHERE THE OSAGE, KAW, QUAPAW, PONCA, AND OMAHA WENT
THEIR SEPARATE WAYS. THAT EVENT
PUT THE OMAHA AND THE PONCA; THEY WENT UP THE MISSOURI TO THE
NEBRASKA AREA, UP ON THE, THAT
AREA THERE. AND, AND, UH, THE KAW AND THE OSAGE WENT TO THE
WEST INTO WHERE WE WERE
MISSOURI, ARKANSAS, KANSAS AND THAT, THAT ROAM. AND THE QUAPAW
WENT SOUTH INTO ARKANSAS, AND SO
THEY WERE DOWN IN THAT, THAT AREA, BUT WE DID BREAK APART.
OF THAT PART, ONE PART OF THAT,
WE BECAME THE OSAGE. AND WE KNOW WE WERE ONE PERSON OR ONE BODY
AT ONE TIME BECAUSE OF OUR
LANGUAGE. TO THE EAST OF THE OSAGE WERE
THEIR COUSINS THE QUAPAW, THE
DOWNSTREAM PEOPLE. THESE ARE THE PEOPLE FROM WHICH OUR STATE GETS
ITS NAME ARCANSA, ARKANSAS,
PEOPLE OF THE SOUTHWIND. THE QUAPAW BEGAN A RELATIONSHIP WITH
THE EUROPEANS THAT WOULD RESULT
IN THE BUILDING OF A SHARED HISTORY.
CARRIE WILSON, DAUGHTER OF
CHARLES BANKS WILSON, AND THE MODEL OF WILSON'S 'PLAINS
MADONNA', KNOWS THAT HISTORY
WELL. "ARKANSAS POST WAS, IT'S THE
ARKANSAS POST NATIONAL MEMORIAL
DOWN AT, NEAR GILLETTE AND DUMAS, ARKANSAS, AND IT WAS THE
FIRST STATE CAPITAL OF ARKANSAS,
WHICH WAS THE FIRST STATE CAPITAL OF ARKANSAS BECAUSE IT
WAS DOWN THERE WITH THE QUAPAW
TRIBE. BUT IT WAS ALSO, UM, THE AREA WHERE TONTI SETTLED
ARKANSAS. IT'S THE FIRST
SETTLEMENT WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER.
AND THE IMPORTANT THING ABOUT
THAT IS IT'S STILL THERE. THE REMAINS OF THAT CULTURE, THAT
HISTORY, IS STILL THERE.
AND WORKING WITH THE QUAPAW GRANT THROUGH THE NATIONAL PARK
SERVICE TRIBAL HISTORIC
PRESERVATION PROGRAM, AND WE ARKANSAS POST. AND WE THINK WE
FOUND IT." (00:24:05)
THE SITE IS LOCATED ON U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE LAND. IT'S
MAINTAINED BY BOTH U.S. FISH AND
WILDLIFE, AND THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE. TOGETHER THEY ARE
WORKING TO DEVELOP A PRESERVE IN
THAT AREA. >> I THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT
FOR ARKANSANS TO BE, UH, AWARE
OF IT, TO PROTECT IT, TO POSSESS IT, TO APPRECIATE IT, AS WELL AS
SO I REALLY HOPE THAT,
YOU KNOW, SITES ARE BEING DESTROYED, THAT MAYBE WE CAN GET
A LITTLE BIT MORE INTEREST IN,
IN WANTING TO PRESERVE AMERICAN INDIAN PAST. BUT OUR AMERICAN
INDIAN PAST IN ARKANSAS IS
ARKANSAS'S PAST, TOO. "THE QUAPAWS WERE
CONTROLLING THE MISSISSIPPI
RIVER. THEY WERE A POWERFUL PEOPLE. NOW, IN THE LATE 1600S,
AN EPIDEMIC WENT THROUGH, AND
THEY FIGURE PROBABLY OVER 80% OR MORE OF THE POPULATION DIED WITH
JUST IN A MATTER OF A FEW YEARS.
SO IF YOU HAVE OVER 80% OF A CULTURE DIE, NOT ONLY DO YOU
HAVE THE DEATHS OF THOSE PEOPLE,
BUT YOU HAVE THE DEATH OF A CULTURE.
YOU'RE IN SURVIVAL MODE. YOU'RE
NOT ABLE TO REMEMBER THOSE, THOSE TRADITIONS, THOSE AREAS,
THOSE THINGS. YOU KNOW, AND IT'S
JUST LIKE WHAT WE SEE IN AFRICAN COUNTRIES."
"WHEN YOU HAVE A LARGE
POPULATION DECLINE AND EVERYBODY'S WORRIED ABOUT WHERE
THEIR NEXT MEAL IS COMING FROM
EVERYBODY'S WORRIED OR IF THEY'RE JUST GOING TO LIVE
THROUGH ANOTHER YEAR, YOU DON'T,
THOSE TRADITIONS, THOSE RICH TRADITIONS THAT SHOULD BE PASSED
TRADITIONS THAT SHOULD BE PASSED
ON, DON'T. AND I THINK THAT'S, THAT HAPPENED WITH THE AMERICAN
INDIAN IN A LOT OF WAYS."
THOUGH THE QUAPAW CONTRIBUTED A GREAT DEAL TO THE BUILDING OF
ARKANSAS, THEY WERE PUSHED TO
OTHER LANDS BECAUSE OF THE SWIFT ENCROACHMENT OF WHITE SETTLERS.
THE FIRST REMOVAL, OR WHAT SOME
WOULD CALL PURGE, WAS TO NORTHWEST LOUISIANA, WHERE A
THIRD OF THE TRIBE DIED FROM
STARVATION. ARKANSAS GOVERNOR GEORGE IZARD
PETITIONED THE FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT TO INTERVENE AND SAVE THE REMAINING QUAPAW.
"IT WAS AT THAT POINT THAT THE
QUAPAWS ACTUALLY ASKED ON BEHALF, ASKED THE UNITED STATES
GOVERNMENT ON THEIR BEHALF TO BE
TERMINATED AS A TRIBE. WE DON'T WANT TO BE INDIANS ANYMORE. WE
WOULD RATHER LIVE IN OUR BELOVED
ARKANSAS THAN WE WOULD BE TO BE MOVED SOMEPLACE ELSE. SO WE JUST
DON'T WANT TO BE INDIANS
ANYMORE. WE WOULD ACTUALLY LIKE TO JUST
GIVE US, WE'LL. WE'LL LOSE OUR
RECOGNITION AS A TRIBE AND JUST LIVE HERE LIKE REGULAR PEOPLE.
AND ACTING GOVERNOR CRITTENDEN
SAID, NO, WE HAVE LAND FOR YOU IN OKLAHOMA, SO THE QUAPAWS WERE
REMOVED TO OKLAHOMA."
THOUGH THESE NATIVE PEOPLE WERE FORCED TO MOVE FROM ARKANSAS
LONG AGO, THEY STILL REFER TO
THE NATURAL STATE AS HOME. IN 2009, ALL THREE TRIBES WERE
WELCOMED BACK WITH THE OPENING
OF THE HISTORIC ARKANSAS MUSEUM'S EXHIBIT "WE WALK IN TWO
WORLDS: THE CADDO, OSAGE AND
QUAPAW IN ARKANSAS." THE STORIES IN THE EXHIBIT ARE TOLD FROM THE
NATIVE PRESPECTIVE AND SHARE THE
CONTINUATION OF RICH CULTURES. "IMAGINE IF A GROUP OF PEOPLE
THAT HAD A CULTURE SO DIFFERENT
THAN YOUR OWN, JUST CAME AND SETTLED AMONGST YOUR PEOPLE. AND
THEN THEY TOLD YOU TO LEAVE AND
MOVE TO LANDS YOU HAD NEVER SEEN BEFORE.
THIS IS NOT ONE OF THE HAPPIER
MOMENTS IN AMERICAN HISTORY, AND IT NEEDS TO BE REMEMBERED. THOSE
PEOPLE THAT LOST THEIR LIVES AND
LOST THEIR LIVELIHOOD AND LAND SHOULD BE RESPECTED."
THE FOLLOWING IS AN EXCERPT FROM
"ON A SPRING DAY" BY ROY BONEY, JR.,
CHEROKEE ARTIST
>> [CHEROKEE DIALOGUE] INDIAN REMOVAL BEGAN HAPPENING
LONG BEFORE THE HISTORIC TRAIL
OF TEARS IN THE 1830S. WHITE SETTLERS WERE TAKING OVER
TRIBAL LANDS IN THE SOUTHEAST,
FORCING NATIVE PEOPLE TO DECIDE IF THEY COULD BEGIN A NEW LIFE
IN A NEW LAND.
FOR THE CHEROKEE PEOPLE, THEIR JOURNEY BEGINS WITH A GROUP
KNOWN AS THE "OLD SETTLERS" WHO
RELOCATED TO NORTHERN ARKANSAS ON THEIR OWN.
"THE INFORMATION THAT I HAVE AS
TO THE MIGRATION OF MY PARENTS, WHO CAME WEST FROM GEORGIA, CAME
ON THEIR OWN FREE WILL, PAID
THEIR OWN EXPENSES AND SETTLED AROUND THE PRESENT TOWN OF COAL
HILL, SOUTH AND EAST OF THE
PRESENT TOWN OF FORT SMITH, ARKANSAS. THIS REMOVAL FROM
GEORGIA TO ARKANSAS WAS ABOUT
THE YEAR OF 1815. THEY REMAINED THERE ABOUT THIRTEEN YEARS THUS
AND MOVED TO THE INDIAN
TERRITORY IN 1828•" - BIRD DOUBLEHEAD, CHEROKEE
"FEDERAL POLICY, YOU KNOW, FROM
1785 WITH THE FIRST TREATY WAS THE HOPE TO, UH, CIVILIZE
INDIANS, OR MAKE THEM IN THE WAY
OF THE CURRENT FRONTIERSMAN OR-OR PLANTATION OWNERS. WHEN
THAT HAD LIMITED SUCCESS, AND
THERE WAS GROWING RACISM AND GROWING DESIRE FOR CHEROKEE
LANDS THAT WERE UNSEATED AT THE
TIME, THE IDEA IS, IF WE MOVE THE INDIANS PAST SOME GEOGRAPHIC
BARRIER THAT WHITE FOLKS
WOULDN'T FOLLOW, MAYBE THE QUOTE 'INDIAN PROBLEM' WOULD BE
MOUNTAINS AND RIVERS TO THE WEST
PROVIDED THOSE NATURAL BARRIERS. BUT EACH PROVED NOT TO HOLD BACK
WHITE SETTLERS.
THE CHEROKEE WERE OFFERED INCENTIVES TO MOVE TO LAND IN
ARKANSAS THAT HAD BEEN CHOSEN
FOR THEM. THIS IS REFLECTED IN THE TREATY OF 1819.
"WELL, IF YOU LOOK AT THE
TREATY, IT'S QUITE FASCINATING. THEY OFFERED A KETTLE AND TRAPS
AND A GUN, BLANKETS, UH, PAYMENT
ON THE, UH-T-TO MAKE THE TRIP. IF YOU CONVERTED THAT TO PRESENT
DAY, IT'S LIKE, WE'LL BACK UP
THE U-HAUL TO YOUR HOUSE, WE'LL GIVE YOU A MICROWAVE AND A-AND A
DOUBLE-BARREL SHOTGUN, AND WE'LL
HAVE GARTH BROOKS THERE FOR A CONCERT FOR YOU WHEN YOU GET TO
ARKANSAS. AND THAT WAS REALLY
WHAT WAS HAPPENING. AND A NUMBER OF CHEROKEES TOOK THE DEAL
BECAUSE THEY WERE BEING
ENCROACHED UPON BY, UH, UH, OUTSIDERS, AND THEY WANTED THE
WAY OF LIFE THAT THEY HAD.
BASICALLY, HUNTING AND FISHING SUBSISTENCE AND GARDENING."
"MY MOTHER WAS ABOUT TWELVE
YEARS OLD WHEN THEY WERE FORCED TO LEAVE GEORGIA AND I HAVE
HEARD HER SAY THAT BEFORE THEY
LEFT THEIR HOMES THERE, THAT THE WHITE PEOPLE WOULD COME INTO
THEIR HOUSES AND LOOK THINGS
OVER AND WHEN THEY FOUND SOMETHING THAT THEY LIKED, THEY
WOULD SAY, "THIS IS MINE, I AM
GOING TO HAVE IT"•" - SUSIE BECK, CHEROKEE
AS THE UNITED STATES WAS
GROWING, SO WAS THE PRESSURE TO REMOVE THE ENTIRE POPULATION OF
SOUTHEASTERN TRIBES. TREATIES
CONTINUED TO BE MADE. "SO THE UNITED STATES, WHEN THEY
TRIED TO REMOVE THE BALANCE OF
THE CHEROKEES IN THE OLD COUNTRY, FOUND THAT
THEY WERE GOING TO HAVE TO MAKE
A PLACE FOR NOT ONLY THE OLD SETTLERS WHO REMOVED IN-PRIOR TO
1819, UH, FROM ARKANSAS, BUT
ALSO MAKE A PLACE FOR THOSE THAT THEY WANTED REMOVED FROM NORTH
GEORGIA. AND SO IT'S QUITE
FASCINATING THAT SOME, UH, NINE YEARS LATER IN 1828, ANOTHER
TREATY WAS, UH, DRAFTED TO
REMOVE THE CHEROKEES JUST, UH, A FEW MILES OVER ACROSS THE
ARKANSAS TERRITORIAL LINE INTO
INDIAN TERRITORY. SO BASICALLY THEY SAID TO THE CHEROKEES•, YOU
JUST GOT OFF ONE EXIT OF I-40
TOO EARLY. YOU JUST NEED TO GO ON DOWN ACROSS THAT ARKANSAS
LINE, GET ON INTO INDIAN
TERRITORY." "MY GRANDFATHER TOLD ME, HE MADE
THE TRIP BAREFOOT AND OFTEN LEFT
BLOODY FOOTPRINTS IN THE SNOW. HE CARRIED A LITTLE BUNDLE OF
CLOTHING AND AN OLD FLINTLOCK
J.W. STEPHENS, MUSCOGEE (CREEK) ANOTHER OF THE SOUTHEASTERN
TRIBES, THE MUSCOGEE (CREEK),
HAS A SIMILAR STORY TO THE CHEROKEE. THEY ALSO WOULD HAVE
MULTIPLE JOURNEYS DURING
REMOVAL. THE FIRST TOOK PLACE IN 1828.
"THE GROUP THAT WAS REMOVED WERE
MAINLY LOWER CREEKS, WHAT THEY WOULD CALL LOWER CREEKS. THEY
WERE THE MORE CHRISTIANIZED
MOVEMENT IN 1832 THAT WAS A FORCED REMOVED, WHAT I WOULD
CALL THE FORCED REMOVAL.
AND THIS WAS MOSTLY THE UPPER TOWNS. THEY WERE THE MORE
TRADITIONAL
DURING THAT PERIOD OF TIME. THE FIRST ONE WAS MORE KIND OF
A-HOW WOULD YOU SAY THAT OF A-
THEY HAD MORE CONVENIENCES, I GUESS. BUT THE FORCED REMOVAL
WAS THE HARDEST BECAUSE THEY
WERE ACTUALLY MOVED IN THE MIDDLE OF WINTER, AND THAT'S
WHEN WE LOST A LOT OF OUR
PEOPLE. PROBABLY CLOSE TO-THINK THE ESTIMATE WAS AROUND EIGHT
THOUSAND." MEMPHIS LANDING BECAME THE
GATHERING PLACE FOR THE
CHICKASAW PEOPLE TO START THEIR TREK ACROSS ARKANSAS.
"THE CHICKASAWS, THEIR FIRST,
UM, STOP, SO TO SPEAK, WAS LITTLE ROCK DEPOT.
AND THERE, THEY WERE GOING TO,
UH, PICK UP, YOU KNOW, FOOD SUPPLIES, REORGANIZE AND BEGIN,
UH, A WALKING ROUTE TO FORT
TOWSON. NOW, THERE WERE ELDERLY FOLKS, AND THERE WERE PEOPLE WHO
WERE SICK THAT COULD NOT TAKE
THE WALKING ROUTE TO FORT TOWSON, SO THEY TOOK A STEAMER
DOWN THE ARKANSAS RIVER TO FORT
COFFEE. AND SO THERE WAS SORT OF A SPLIT IN THE TRIBE AT THAT
POINT.
UM, IT WAS HERE AT LITTLE ROCK DEPOT THAT ORAL TRADITION TELLS
THAT ONE OF OUR BELOVED CHIEFS,
CHIEF TISHOMINGO, UM, PASSED AWAY. HE WAS OVER A HUNDRED
YEARS OLD. AND, UM, HE, UH,
SUCCUMBED TO AN ILLNESS, AND IS BURIED SOMEWHERE NEAR LITTLE
ROCK DEPOT. AND SO, UH, WE LOST,
UH, A GREAT MAN AT THAT TIME, BUT WE'RE STILL, UM, MOVING
TOWARDS, YOU KNOW, INDIAN
TERRITORY WHERE WE WERE GOING TO HAVE OUR NEW HOME. NOW MOVING
ALONG THE ROUTE, THE WALKING
ROUTE, IT BEGAN TO RAIN." THE ROADS IN ARKANSAS AT THAT
TIME WERE PRETTY PRIMITIVE. AND
SO, UH, IT BECAME VERY MUDDY VERY QUICKLY, AND THEN, UM, MOST
OF THE WAGONS GOT MIRED IN THE
MUD UP TO THEIR AXLES, COULDN'T MOVE VERY FAST, AND UH, PEOPLE
GOT WET. AND BECAUSE OF THE
RAIN, IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO START FIRES TO, UM, DRY OUT BEDDING OR
CLOTHING, OR JUST TO GET WARM,
AND SO PEOPLE CAME DOWN WITH PNEUMONIA AND OTHER ILLNESSES
ALONG THE WAY, AND UH, PEOPLE
BECAME VERY SICK, AND UH, YOU BEGIN TO SEE PEOPLE, UH, PASS
AWAY, PEOPLE WHO DIED ON TH
TRAIL. UM, THIS SLOWED THE PROGRESS EVEN FURTHER BECAUSE,
UM, PART OF THE REASON WHY THEY
CALL IT THE TRAIL OF TEARS, UM, IS THAT INDIAN PEOPLE BEGAN TO
LOSE GREAT NUMBERS OF
FAMILY MEMBERS." "THE FOOD ON THE TRAIL OF TEARS
WAS VERY BAD AND VERY SCARCE AND
THE INDIANS WOULD GO FOR TWO OR THREE DAYS WITHOUT WATER, WHICH
THEY WOULD GET JUST WHEN THEY
CAME TO A CREEK OR RIVER AS THERE WERE NO WELLS TO GET WATER
FROM. THERE WERE NO ROADS TO
TRAVEL OVER, AS THE COUNTRY WAS JUST A WILDERNESS. THE MEN AND
WOMEN WOULD GO AHEAD OF THE
WAGONS AND CUT THE TIMBER OUT OF THE WAY WITH AXES." - WASHINGTON
LEE, CHEROKEE "MY GRANDFATHER DIED ON THIS
TRIP. A HASTILY CUT PIECE OF
COTTON WOOD CONTAINED HIS BODY. THE OPEN ENDS WERE CLOSED UP AND
THIS WAS PLACED ALONG A CREEK.
THIS WAS NOT THE ONLY TIME THIS MANNER OF BURYING WAS HELD NOR
THE ONLY WAY. SOME OF THE DEAD
WERE PLACED BETWEEN TWO LOGS AND QUICKLY COVERED WITH SHRUBS,
SOME WERE SHOVED UNDER THE
THICKETS, AND SOME WERE NOT EVEN BURIED BUT LEFT BY THE WAYSIDE."
MARY HILL, MUSCOGEE (CREEK)
>> AS THE SOUTHEASTERN TRIBES TRAVELED THROUGH ARKANSAS, EACH
GROUP STOPPED AT SIGNIFICANT
PLACES ALONG THE WAY IN ORDER TO REASSESS THEIR SUPPLIES, HEALTH,
AND AREA CLIMATE. THE SICK AND
ELDERLY USUALLY TRAVELED BY BOAT AND THE ABLE-BODIED BY LAND.
"WE ARE A NATIONAL TRAIL OF
TEARS SITE, AND WE'RE IMPORTANT ALONG THE TRAIL OF TEARS BECAUSE
WE-WE'RE A KEY STOP ON THE WATER
ROUTE. LAKE DARDANELLE WAS A KEY
DECISION POINT FOR THE CHEROKEE
AND OTHER INDIAN TRIBES THAT WERE REMOVED BECAUSE THEY HAD TO
CHOOSE WHETHER THEY WERE GOING
TO CONTINUE ON WATER OR CONTINUE ON LAND TO INDIAN TERRITORY."
ALL OF THE SOUTHEASTERN INDIAN
PEOPLE FOLLOWING THE VARIOUS ROUTES TO THEIR NEW HOMES IN
"INDIAN TERRITORY," GATHERED AT
THE SAME PLACE TO END THEIR >> WE'RE HERE AT FORT SMITH
NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE, AND
SPECIFICALLY, WE'RE HERE AT THE TRAIL OF TEARS OVERLOOK. NOW
THIS IS SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE ALL
FIVE TRIBES CAME THROUGH THIS AREA BEFORE GOING INTO INDIAN
TERRITORY. AND THEY RECEIVED
THEIR SUPPLIES ON THE TRAIL OF TEARS BEFORE GOING INTO INDIAN
TERRITORY.
THE CHOCTAW NATION OF OKLAHOMA CALLS THEIR REMOVAL 'THE LONG
WALK'. THEIR CURRENT VIEW OF
THAT TIME PERIOD IS OF MOVING FORWARD.
"THE PHILOSOPHY THAT WE HAVE
NOW. UH, WE HAVE A-UH, WE KEEP REPEATING THE- THE TRAIL OF
TEARS LIKE YOU KNOW, WE'RE-WE'RE
A VICTIM OF A HISTORICAL EVENT. WELL, THAT WAS THEN. AND SINCE
THAT TIME, THE CHOCTAW, UH, HAS
MOVED ON. AND, UH, WHAT I TRY TO DO, WHAT I TRY TO
TELL THE YOUNG PEOPLE IS TALK
ABOUT THE COURAGE, THE RESILIENT SPIRIT OF THE CHOCTAW, YOU KNOW,
BECAUSE AS LONG AS WE KEEP
REPEATING, WE KEEP BRINGING THAT PORTRAIT OF THE INDIAN ON
HORSEBACK, YOU KNOW, WE-WE'RE
JUST REALLY STEREOTYPING OUR SELF AGAIN."
OLIN'S GRANDMOTHER WAS A BASKET
WEAVER AND SHE USED HER ART TO TEACH YOUNG OLIN ABOUT LIVING
AMONG DIFFERENT PEOPLE.
"SO, I WAS ABOUT MAYBE SIX YEARS OLD, AND, UH, SHE SAT DOWN WITH
ME. AND SHE WAS WEAVING A
BASKET, AND UH, SHE WANTED TELL ME ABOUT OUR PEOPLE, AND THE
OTHER PEOPLE THAT WE LIVE WITH
TODAY. SHE SAID THAT THE BASKET HAS
DIFFERENT COLORS, JUST LIKE
SOCIETY HAS DIFFERENT PEOPLE. BUT IT-THEY'RE ALL WOVEN, YOU
KNOW, UH, UNDER, OVER. BUT
IT'S-IT'S WOVEN BY A BASKET WEAVER, SOMEBODY THAT KNOWS THE
DESIGN, SOMEBODY WHO
ALSO-AL-ALREADY HAD THE PICTURE IN THE MIND BEFORE THEY EVEN
START."
"THE ROAD THEY TRAVELED, HISTORY CALLS THE "TRAIL OF TEARS". THIS
TRAIL WAS MORE THAN TEARS. IT
WAS DEATH, SORROW, HUNGER, EXPOSURE, AND HUMILIATION TO A
CIVILIZED PEOPLE•" -
ELIZABETH WATTS, CHEROKEE THE INDIAN REMOVALS OF THE
NINETEENTH CENTURY ARE STILL
MAKING AN IMPACT TODAY. REMEMBERING THE RESILIENCY AND
STRENGTH OF THE SOUTHEASTERN
TRIBES IS THE KEY TO MOVING FORWARD.
ONE OF THE MANY SUBJECTS OF
HISTORY IS WAR. THERE IS A WARRIOR TRADITION IN MOST
AMERICAN INDIAN TRIBES. THE
REASONS FOR BATTLE DIFFER BUT THE AIM HAS ALWAYS BEEN FOR
SURVIVAL AND HONOR.
IN TIMES OF MILITARY COMBAT, NATIVE PEOPLE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN
AT THE FOREFRONT OF VOLUNTEERING
FOR THE UNITED STATES MILITARY, REGARDLESS OF PAST AGGRESSION.
>> OVER THE COURSE OF HISTORY,
EVER SINCE THE UNITED STATES, YOU KNOW, CAME INTO BEING, WE
HAVE NEVER SHIRKED OUR DUTY AS
FAR AS, UH, ANYTHING THAT INVOLVED, YOU KNOW, WITH THE
UNITED STATES HAS, YOU KNOW,
HAS-HAS HAD THEIR, UH, CONFLICTS, SO. AND PROBABLY
THE-NATIVE AMERICANS PROBABLY BE
THE FIRST TO VOLUNTEER FOR ANYTHING LIKE THAT•"
"MY FATHER WAS IN THE ARMY. MY
UNCLE WAS IN THE ARMY. AND I CHOSE TO BE IN THE NAVY. AND
THEN MY, UH, BROTHER WAS IN THE
ARMY ALSO. SO THAT-YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST SOMETHING I FELT LIKE
I NEEDED TO DO. AND BACK IN THE
'70S WHEN I WENT IN, VIETNAM WAR, IT WAS, UH, DIFFERENT
ANYWAY FOR THE MILITARY BECAUSE
OF THE, UM, DEMONSTRATING THAT THEY WERE DOING•
BUT I-YOU KNOW, I WAS VERY PROUD
OF MY SERVICE TO THE COUNTRY, AND THAT I WAS ABLE TO GIVE BACK
TO WHAT, YOU KNOW, TO THIS
COUNTRY BASED ON MY SERVICE." FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE UNITED
STATES TO THE PRESENT, NATIVE
PEOPLE HAVE FOUGHT FOR DIFFERENT REASONS AND ON
DIFFERENT SIDES.
"IN OUR HISTORY, YOU KNOW, THE INDIANS HAVE ALWAYS, UH, FOUGHT,
YOU KNOW A LOT OF TIMES JUST FOR
HUNTING RIGHTS NOT-NOT, UH, TO SAY TO CONQUER SOMEBODY, I MEAN,
WE DIDN'T WANT TO GO OUT AND
CONQUER YOU AND GET THE BEST OF YOU. WE JUST FOUGHT OVER
THE-THE RIGHTS TO-A PLACE FOR-TO
HUNT, YOU KNOW. >> [DRUM MUSIC].
DURING THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR,
TRIBES TOOK SIDES BASED ON TRADE ALLIANCES.
FOR INSTANCE, AT ARKANSAS POST
DURING JAMES COLBERT'S RAID, THE QUAPAW FOUGHT BESIDE THE
SPANISH, WHO COMMANDED THE FORT
DURING THAT TIME. THE CHICKASAW TOOK THE SIDE OF THE BRITISH,
WHO WANTED TO CONTROL THE
WESTERN BORDERS OF THE FRONTIER. AFTER THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR,
SKIRMISHES BETWEEN AMERICAN
INDIANS AND WHITE SETTLERS CONTINUED INTO THE WAR OF 1812.
NORTHERN TRIBES AIDED BRITISH
TROOPS IN DEFENDING CANADA FROM AN INVASION OF UNITED STATES
TROOPS. IN THE SOUTH, THE CREEK
WERE ENCOURAGED BY THE BRITISH TO ATTACK SETTLERS. TECUMSEH,
THE GREAT SHAWNEE LEADER, WAS
KILLED IN HIS PAN-INDIAN REVOLT TO STOP THE EXPANSION OF THE
UNITED STATES. TERRITORIAL
CONFLICT SURROUNDING INDIAN REMOVAL CARRIED ON INTO THE WAR
BETWEEN THE STATES.
AMERICAN INDIAN PARTICIPATION DURING THE CIVIL WAR WAS
INFLUENCED BY GEOGRAPHY. TRIBES
ALONG THE KANSAS AND MISSOURI BORDERS TENDED TO BE UNION
LOYALISTS. THE INFLUENCE OF
GOVERNMENT INDIAN AGENTS AND THE NEED FOR PROTECTION FROM
NEIGHBORING SECESSIONIST TRIBES
WERE THE DECIDING FACTORS. THE CONFEDERACY HAD MILITIAS
MADE UP OF DIFFERENT TRIBES
WHOSE LANDS BORDERED SOUTHERN STATES. THE SO-CALLED CIVILIZED
TRIBES, FORMERLY OF THE
SOUTHEAST, HAD ADOPTED PLANTATION AGRICULTURE AND
SLAVERY. ECONOMIC TIES TO THE
NEW ORLEANS BUSINESS MARKET MADE IT DIFFICULT NOT TO SIDE WITH
SECESSION.
THE CHEROKEE NATION WAS DIVIDED IN ITS SYMPATHIES.
PART OF THE TRIBE WANTED TO
REMAIN NEUTRAL, BUT THAT WAS SOON BROKEN BY PRESSURE AND
PROMISES MADE BY THE
CONFEDERATES. CHEROKEE RENEGADE COLONEL STAND
WATIE LED THE OTHER FACTION INTO
WAR, SUCH AS THE BATTLE OF PEA RIDGE OR ELK HORN TAVERN IN
ARKANSAS.
"ONE OF THE UNIQUE THINGS ABOUT THE BATTLE OF PEA RIDGE, IT WAS
THE, LARGEST FORCE OF, UH,
INDIANS TO SERVE IN THE CONFEDERATE ARMY AT ANY ONE TIME
WAS HERE.
WE HAD, UH, BOTH THE FIRST AND SECOND ROUND OF CHEROKEE RIFLES,
UH, ONE OF THEM-REGIMENTS NO
LONGER MOUNTED. THEY HAD TO GIVE UP THEIR HORSES. AND THEN WE
HAD OTHER REGIMENTS OF INDIANS
ALONG THE WAY TO SUPPORT THE SOUTHERN CAUSE.
THEY FOUGHT ON THE LEETOWN SIDE
OF THE BATTLEFIELD, WHICH IS ABOUT THREE MILES FROM HERE ON
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE PARK.
THEIR FORCES UNDER STAND WATIE INSTRUMENTAL IN CAPTURING TWO
GUNS OF A MISSOURI BATTERY.
THE-THEY WERE, UM, VERY SURPRISED THAT THEY'D NEVER SEEN
A CANNON BEFORE AND DID NOT
QUITE KNOW WHAT TO MAKE OF IT BUT, YOU KNOW, THEY JUST
REALIZED THAT THEY WERE BEING
SHELLED AND WERE CHARGED WITH A LARGE NUMBER OF TEXAS TROOPS
TOWARDS THE GUNS AND DROVE OFF
MISSOURIANS AND WERE ABLE TO CAPTURE THE CANNONS." AFTER THE CIVIL WAR, THE UNITED
STATES CONGRESS PASSED THE ARMY
REORGANIZATION ACT OF 1866 TO EXPAND CAVALRY AND INFANTRY
REGIMENTS.
THIS INCLUDED THE UNITS FOR BLACK ENLISTED MEN, SUCH AS THE
"BUFFALO SOLDIERS" AND THE
ASSEMBLY OF UNITS FOR INDIAN SCOUTS. AMERICAN INDIANS WOULD
TYPICALLY ENLIST AS ARMY SCOUTS
TO STAY NEAR AND DEFEND THEIR HOMELANDS FROM OLD ENEMIES. THE
ARMY, ON THE OTHER HAND, SAW IT
AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO GAIN STRENGTH IN HOSTILE AREAS AND TO
ASSIMILATE THE ENLISTED AMERICAN
INDIAN MEN. >> [MUSIC].
THE SAME GOVERNMENT THAT DIDN'T
ALLOW AMERICAN INDIAN SCHOOL CHILDREN TO SPEAK THEIR TRIBAL
LANGUAGES IN THE NINETEENTH
ADULTS TO USE THOSE LANGUAGES DURING WORLD WAR I. FOR THE SAKE
OF DEFEATING GERMANY AND SAVING
LIVES, AMERICAN INDIAN SOLDIERS BECAME CODETALKERS.
WORLD WAR I WAS THE FIRST MODERN
LARGE SCALE WAR AND THE FIRST TIME AMERICAN INDIAN BOYS FROM
FARMS, RANCHES, AND RESERVATIONS
CROSSED THE ATLANTIC TO FIGHT. "NOW, AS FAR AS
THE CODE TALKERS [ARE]
CONCERNED; I WAS ACQUAINTED WITH FOUR OF THEM, PERSONALLY
ACQUAINTED. ONE OF THEM WAS MY
UNCLE, JAMES EDWARDS." THE UNITED STATES MILITARY ASKED
MEN FROM SIX AMERICAN INDIAN
TRIBES TO MEMORIZE CODE, BASED ON THEIR TRIBAL LANGUAGES, TO
TRANSMIT MESSAGES ABOUT TROOP
MOVEMENTS IN THE FIELD. THE CHOCTAW LANGUAGE CONFUSED
GERMAN INTERCEPT OPERATIVES AND
THE TACTIC BROUGHT A QUICKER END TO A BRUTAL WAR.
CHOCTAW ELDER AND WORLD WAR II
NAVY VETERAN BERTRAM BOBB TELLS OF HIS UNCLE'S MILITARY SERVICE
IN "THE GREAT WAR."
"WHENEVER A GROUP OF CHOCTAWS GET TOGETHER, THEY HAVE A GOOD
TIME. THEY JUST TALK AND TALK
IN THEIR OWN LANGUAGE, AND LAUGHING, PLAY AROUND AND KID
EACH OTHER. AND UH, THE OFFICER
SAW THEM OUT THERE AND SAYS WHAT ARE YOU T-WHAT ARE YA'LL
TALKING? AND JAMES EDWARD SAYS,
UH, WE'RE TALKING CHOCTAW. THAT'S OUR LANGUAGE.
HE SAYS HOW MANY HAVE YOU GOT IN
THE COMPANY HERE? OH, GOTTEN OUR WHOLE COMPANY HERE,
M-EIGHTEEN, TWENTY. AND, UH,
AND SO, UH, THE OFFICER THERE GOT THE IDEA THAT THEY COULD,
UH, USE THEM MAYBE SOMEPLACE.
SO THEY, UH, ASKED THEM TO COME AND-AND TO TALK, UH, CHOCTAW TO
THEM, AND TO TRAIN THEM TO TALK
ON THE PHONES, AND, UH, RELAY MESSAGES•"
THE U.S. INVOLVEMENT OVER THERE,
IN WORLD WAR I, WAS BRIEF COMPARED TO ALLIED FORCES,
THOUGH NOT WITHOUT TREMENDOUS
IMPACT. AMERICAN INDIAN CODE TALKERS BECAME A SURPRISE SECRET
WEAPON.
IN OCTOBER 1918, THE U.S. ARMY'S THIRTY-SIXTH DIVISION
TRANSMITTED OPEN VOICE MESSAGES
ABOUT TROOP MOVEMENTS IN FRANCE. THE MESSAGES, IN SEVERAL TRIBAL
LANGUAGES, CONFUSED THE GERMANS
AND HELPED GET AID TO FRENCH FORCES.
NEARLY A CENTURY LATER IN 1989,
FRANCE HONORED THE CHOCTAW CODE TALKERS WITH FRANCE'S CHEVALIER
DE L'ORDRE NATIONAL DU MERITE
FOR THE IMPORTANCE OF THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS TO ENDING THE WAR.
CODE TALKER UNITS CONTINUED TO
BE USED INTO WORLD WAR II WITH THE ADDITION OF ELEVEN MORE
TRIBAL LANGUAGES.
PRIOR TO THE KOREAN CONFLICT, THE MILITARY WAS SEGREGATED.
EXAMPLES OF THIS ARE THE ALL
AFRICAN-AMERICAN TUSKEGEE AIRMEN THE JAPANESE-AMERICAN 100TH
INFANTRY BATTALION AND THE 442ND
REGIMENTAL COMBAT TEAM, AND THE AMERICAN INDIAN CODE TALKERS.
IN 1948, PRESIDENT TRUMAN
DESEGREGATED THE MILITARY BY SIGNING EXECUTIVE ORDER 9981
ESTABLISHING THE PRESIDENT'S
COMMITTEE ON EQUALITY OF TREATMENT AND OPPORTUNITY IN THE
ARMED SERVICES. INTEGRATION WAS
SET IN MOTION ALLOWING RACES TO MIX WITHIN BASIC TRAINING AND
UNITS.
ONE COMMON TRAIT THAT AMERICAN INDIANS SHARE IS PERSEVERANCE.
NATIVE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN DRIVEN
TO SURVIVE AND TO DO SO WITH HONOR. IT IS NO SURPRISE THAT
THE VOLUNTEERISM FOR MILITARY
SERVICE ACCELERATED WITH EACH CALL TO DUTY.
>> [DRUM MUSIC AND
INDIAN SINGING]. THESE PATRIOTS ARE CELEBRATED
AND REMEMBERED WITH CEREMONY.
"I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'VE SEEN, BUT, UH, RIGHT SOUTH OF THAT
BUILDING WE HAVE A MONUMENT, AND
IT'S THE, UH, IT'S THE, UH, SERVICES, UH, MEN AND WOMEN THAT
WERE SERVED IN THE ARMED FORCES.
AND THERE'S TWO PARTS OF THE MONUMENT, FRONT AND BACK, THAT
ARE COVERED WITH A LOT OF NAMES
OF PEOPLE THAT ARE, ARE STILL HERE TODAY AND SOME THAT HAVE
PASSED ON.
WE HAVE A LOT OF TRADITION IN CARRYING ON OUR SERVICE TO OUR
COUNTRY."
THE NEW MUSCOGEE (CREEK) NATION VETERANS MUSEUM MIXES UNITED
STATES MILITARY TRADITION WITH
THAT OF TRIBAL SYMBOLISM IN THE DESIGN OF THIS SPECIAL BUILDING.
THE EXHIBIT PORTION OF THE
MUSEUM SURROUNDS A PENTAGON-SHAPED CENTER THAT HAS
AN OPEN ROOF SIMILAR TO A SMOKE
HOLE IN AN ANCIENT DWELLING. ON THE FLOOR OF THIS
COURTYARD-OF-SORTS ARE THE SEALS
OF THE FIVE BRANCHES OF THE MILITARY.
IT'S A PLACE FOR VETERANS AND
THEIR FAMILIES TO REFLECT. "IF YOU NOTICED, AS YOU CAME
INTO THE -- TO THE MUSEUM, YOU
SAW A BRONZE STATUE OUT THERE SYMBOLIC OF THE PAST AND THE
PRESENT, THE WARRIOR STANDING
BEHIND THE PRESENT SOLDIER. YOU KNOW, WE ALWAYS LOOK AT THE PAST
AND THE FUTURE, AND WE NEVER DO
ANYTHING WITHOUT FIRST SOMETIMES LOOKING AT WHERE WE CAME FROM.
AND WHEN WE CAN GO BACK TO LOOK
AT WHERE WE COME FROM, IT REALLY IS-GIVES US A STRONG DIRECTION
OF WHERE WE'RE GOING AS WELL.
AND IT NEVER HURTS OUR PEOPLE TO LOOK BACK ON WHERE WE'VE BEEN,
WHAT WE'VE DONE, THE
ACCOMPLISHMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN DONE, AND EXPERIENCED BY-BY
VETERANS AND THEIR FAMILIES, AND
EVEN OUR NATION. SO WE HAVE A LOT TO BE THANKFUL FOR.
"IN THE BRIGHTEST DAY, IN THE
DARKEST NIGHT, NO EVIL SHALL ESCAPE MY SIGHT,
FOR I AM THE SHADOW WOLF."
SERVICE TO THE UNITED STATES COMES IN MANY FORMS. SINCE THE
EARLY NINETEEN SEVENTIES,
A SPECIAL UNIT OF U.S. IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS,
NOW IN THE DEPARTMENT OF
HOMELAND SECURITY, HAS PROTECTED THE BORDER BETWEEN THE UNITED
STATES AND MEXICO. ORIGINALLY
DEVELOPED TO CONTROL THE TRAFFICKING OF MARIJUANA FROM
MEXICO INTO AND ACROSS
RESERVATION LAND. THE SHADOW WOLVES AS THEY ARE
CALLED, ARE A SELECT GROUP OF
AMERICAN INDIAN TRACKERS. REPRESENTING EIGHT DIFFERENT
TRIBAL NATIONS,
THESE BORDER PATROL OFFICERS TRACK DRUG SMUGGLERS USING A
TRADITIONAL METHOD CALLED
"CUTTING FOR SIGN." USING A WOLF PACK-STYLE
APPROACH, OFFICERS LOOK FOR
THREADS OF CLOTHING, FOOTPRINTS, TIRE TRACKS,
ANYTHING ODD THAT STANDS OUT IN
THE ARIZONA DESERT. THOUGH THIS UNIT HAS THE LATEST HIGH TECH
GEAR, THEY RELY HEAVILY ON THE
METHOD OF PAYING ATTENTION TO DETAIL.
THE SHADOW WOLVES HAVE TRAINED
BORDER GUARDS AND CUSTOMS AGENTS AROUND THE WORLD TO USE THE SAME
TECHNIQUES. RECENTLY, THIS UNIT
TRAINED REGIONAL BORDER GUARDS IN AFGHANISTAN AND PAKISTAN TO
TRACK TERRORISTS.
"IT IS WELL RECOGNIZED THAT, HISTORICALLY, NATIVE AMERICANS
HAVE THE HIGHEST RECORD OF
SERVICE PER CAPITA WHEN COMPARED TO OTHER ETHNIC GROUPS. THE
REASONS BEHIND THIS
DISPROPORTIONATE CONTRIBUTION ARE COMPLEX AND DEEPLY ROOTED IN
TRADITIONAL AMERICAN INDIAN
CULTURE. IN MANY RESPECTS, NATIVE AMERICANS
ARE NO DIFFERENT FROM OTHERS WHO
VOLUNTEER FOR MILITARY SERVICE. THEY DO, HOWEVER, HAVE
DISTINCTIVE CULTURAL VALUES
WHICH DRIVE THEM TO SERVE THEIR COUNTRY. ONE SUCH VALUE IS THEIR
PROUD WARRIOR TRADITION."
NO ONE HATES WAR MORE THAN A SOLDIER. BUT WITH WARRIORS,
THERE IS A NEED TO PROTECT AND
THE CALL OVERRIDES THE FEAR. A BLURRY COMBINATION OF FACT,
FICTION, AND THEORY BREEDS
MISINFORMATION. STEREOTYPES CONCERNING AMERICAN
INDIANS ARE PERPETUATED DUE TO
LACK OF KNOWLEDGE. NATIVE PEOPLE HAVE STRUGGLED TO MAINTAIN
CULTURAL IDENTITY WHILE BEING
FORCED TO FIT INTO A ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL MOLD.
PRESERVATION OF CULTURE IS PART
OF COUNTERACTING MISCONCEPTIONS AND MAINTAINING TRIBAL
INDIVIDUALITY WHILE BEING PART
OF THE GROUP CALLED AMERICAN INDIANS.
>> [INDIAN SINGING].
GENERATIONS OF PEOPLE HAVE VISITED HOT SPRINGS TO BATHE IN
THE THERMAL WATERS OF THE
OUACHITA MOUNTAINS. ADVERTISING FOR THE BATHES RELIED HEAVILY ON
THE LEGEND THAT THIS WAS A
SACRED AMERICAN INDIAN MEETING PLACE.
"OH, THE GRANDDADDY OR CHAMPION
MYTH IS THAT THIS WAS NEUTRAL GROUND FOR ALL OF THE INDIANS,
UM, THE VALLEY OF PEACE AND
THAT, YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY WHO CAME HERE WOULD LAY DOWN THEIR
TOMAHAWK AND BATHE TOGETHER
PEACEABLY, HERE IN THE VALLEY, NO MATTER WHAT THEIR GRUDGES
MIGHT HAVE BEEN AGAINST EACH
OTHER ELSEWHERE•" IS IT TRUE OR NOT?
ALTHOUGH A VALLEY OF PEACE IS A
PLEASANT IDEA, THERE IS NO ARCHEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE OR
RELIABLE SOURCE TO BACKUP THE
STORY. MODERN TRIBES SHARE NO ORAL TRADITION OF THESE EVENTS
IN HOT SPRINGS. THEORIES AND
MYTHS ARE THE ONLY RESULTS. "THE INDIAN TRIBES HAVE A
SPECIAL EXPERTISE WHEN IT COMES
TO, INTERPRETING THEIR OWN CULTURE, AND THIS EXPERTISE CAN
ONLY COME FROM, BEING RAISED
WITHIN THAT CULTURE, BEING RAISED WITHIN THAT TRIBE. AND
TH-THIS INFORMATION CANNOT BE
LEARNED IN SCHOOL OR GLEANED FROM THE ARCHEOLOGICAL RECORD.
AND IN MANY CASES, THESE
TRADITIONS MAY, SPAN, UH, SPAN CENTURIES, MAY GO BACK INTO
PREHISTORIC TIMES. SO BY TAPPING
INTO THIS-THIS, BY CONSULTING WITH THE TRIBES AND BY TAPPING
INTO THIS, UH, THIS KNOWLEDGE
BASE, UH, IT MAY GIVE ARCHEOLOGISTS, THE-THE
INFORMATION THAT THEY NEED TO AT
LEAST BETTER INTERPRET SOME OF THESE THINGS THAT WE CAN REALLY
ONLY SPECULATE ABOUT NOW•."
MODERN AMERICAN INDIAN TRIBES HAVE MORE THAN THEIR ANCESTORS'
ORAL TRADITIONS TO GUIDE THEM
THROUGH THE PAST. MANY HAVE HISTORIC PRESERVATION
OFFICES THAT
WORK WITH VARIOUS AGENCIES, SUCH AS THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, TO
PROTECT TRIBAL AND ANCESTRAL
LANDS. THESE AREAS OFTEN HAVE CULTURAL AND RELIGIOUS
SIGNIFICANCE.
THE NATIONAL HISTORIC PRESERVATION ACT WAS CREATED IN
1966 FOR THE CARE OF THREATENED
CULTURAL RESOURCES ACROSS THE UNITED STATES. OVER THE YEARS,
AMENDMENTS HAVE BEEN MADE TO
GIVE INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY AND CONTROL TO AMERICAN INDIAN
NATIONS, LIKE THE CADDO.
"WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF, UH, REPATRIATING OUR ANCESTORS FROM
ARKANSAS FROM AROUND LAKE
MILLWOOD, THROUGH, UH, THE LITTLE ROCK CORPS OF ENGINEERS.
UH, WE HAVE 82 CADDO ANCESTORS,
ALONG WITH THEIR, UH, FUNERARY ITEMS THAT WERE REMOVED BACK IN
THE '50S, WHEN THE LAKE WAS
BEING BUILT, A, AN AREA HAS BEEN LOCATED THERE AT LAKE MILLWOOD
FOR A, A RE-INTERNMENT AREA.
AND HOPEFULLY, UH, SOMEDAY SOON WE CAN RE-BURY OUR ANCESTORS
BACK IN AN AREA THAT THEY WERE
REMOVED FROM AND, AND BE PROTECTED, UH, LIKE ANY OTHER,
UH, YOU KNOW, ANY OTHER
INDIVIDUAL OUT THERE IN, THAT WOULD WANT THEIR GRANDMOTHER OR
GRANDFATHER OR BROTHER OR SISTER
PROTECTED, YOU KNOW, AND, AND PUT THEM BACK IN A RESPECTFUL
WAY."
>> IN 1990, THE NATIVE AMERICAN GRAVES PROTECTION AND
REPATRIATION ACT, OR NAGPRA, WAS
INTRODUCED INTO FEDERAL LAW AS A WAY TO PROTECT ANCESTRAL HUMAN
REMAINS AND BURIAL OBJECTS.
ARKANSAS HAS ITS OWN LAW GIVING THE SAME PROTECTION TO PUBLIC
AND PRIVATE LAND AND WATER.
"NAGPRA, UH, IS A VERY, VERY IMPORTANT LAW THAT WAS PASSED
FOR NOT JUST THE CHOCTAW, BUT
ALL INDIAN PEOPLE. RIGHT NOW, TODAY, I THINK WE HAVE CHOCTAW
REMAINS, UH, OVER TWO THOUSAND
THAT'S STILL IN THE MUSEUMS. THEY ARE IN PAPER SACKS,
CARDBOARD BOXES ON SHELVES.
IT'S REALLY A SAD DEAL. AND THAT'S JUST THE CHOCTAWS.
THEY'RE-THEY'RE ALL OTHER TRIBES
HAVE THE SAME, UM, ISSUES THAT THEY'RE-THEY'RE DEALING WITH."
>> SOME AMERICAN INDIAN HISTORIC
PRESERVATION OFFICERS HAVE TRIED TO FORM MULTI-TRIBAL GROUPS TO
MAKE THE NAGPRA PROCESS MORE
EFFICIENT. UNFORTUNATELY, THOSE EFFORTS HAVE BEEN DENIED, BUT
THE WORK CONTINUES.
LITTLE BY LITTLE, ANCESTORS AND SACRED OBJECTS ARE REBURIED IN
KEEP-SAFE CEMETERIES ON
PROTECTED LAND. "OUR FIRST, UH, REBURIAL THERE
WAS A MUSEUM THAT,
HAD ONE OF OUR CHOCTAW WARRIORS ON DISPLAY BACK BEFORE THE LAW
COME ABOUT. IN FACT, THEY-THEY
TITLED THE, DISPLAY AS "A CHOCTAW WARRIOR."
SO WE, UH, WE BROUGHT HIM HOME
AND REBURIED HIM. HAD A NICE CEREMONY FOR HIM."
>> PRESERVING CULTURE DOESN'T
JUST MEAN FINDING ARTIFACTS AND REBURYING ANCESTORS. AMERICAN
INDIAN IDENTITY IS SURVIVING BY
TEACHING OTHERS THROUGH TECHNOLOGY AND WORKING IN
COMMUNITIES.
CULTURE CAMPS, NEWS ORGANIZATIONS, AND LANGUAGE
PROGRAMS ARE STRENGTHENING
INDIVIDUAL TRIBES. EVERY YEAR THE UNITED KEETOOWAH
BAND OF CHEROKEE INDIANS IN
OKLAHOMA HAS A CULTURE CAMP DURING SPRING BREAK.
CHILDREN FROM AREA COMMUNITIES
IN NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA PLAY TRADITIONAL GAMES, LISTEN TO
STORIES, AND MAKE BASKETS AND
CORNHUSK DOLLS. CHEROKEE ELDERS SHARE HISTORY, CULTURE, AND
PERSONAL EXPERIENCES.
SHARING AND PRESERVING INFORMATION ON A LARGER SCALE
BEGAN WITH THE FIRST TRIBAL
NEWSPAPER, THE CHEROKEE PHOENIX, WHICH STARTED CIRCULATION IN
1828.
MANY AMERICAN INDIAN TRIBES HAVE NEWSPAPERS THAT PRINT A WIDE
RANGE OF STORIES AND IMPORTANT
INFORMATION. SEVERAL OF THESE NEWSPAPERS ARE COLLECTED BY THE
AMERICAN NATIVE PRESS ARCHIVES
AT THE SEQUOYAH NATIONAL RESEARCH CENTER IN ARKANSAS.
OTHER OUTLETS INCLUDE
TELEVISION. THE MUSCOGEE (CREEK) NATION COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT
BROADCASTS A WEEKLY PROGRAM
CALLED NATIVE NEWS TODAY. THE STORIES RANGE FROM POLITICS
TO TRIBAL ENTERPRISES TO HIGH
SCHOOL EVENTS. PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS ABOUT CONTINUING
EDUCATION LECTURES AND
STOP SMOKING CAMPAIGNS RUN BETWEEN STORIES.
>> [SINGING].
>> ALL OF THIS INFORMATION SHARING IS PART OF PRESERVATION.
LANGUAGE SHARING THROUGH WRITING
AND SPEAKING KEEPS HISTORY AND CULTURE ALIVE.
"CHOCTAW IS ONE OF OUR LARGEST
MEMBER OF OUR MUSCOGEAN SPEAKING PEOPLE, OUR MUSCOGEAN LANGUAGE
PEOPLE. AND BACK IN HISTORY, I
GUESS THEY CAN GO BACK AS FAR AS 2000 B.C. WHEN, UH, UH, CHOCTAWS
WERE IN THE SOUTHEAST. UH, I
GUESS THE MOUND BUILDERS, I DON'T KNOW IF THEY-IF IT WAS THE
CHOCTAWS, BUT IT WAS THE
MUSCOGEAN SPEAKING PEOPLE. BUT, UH, WE SHARE THESE LANGUAGE
WITH, UH, CHOCTAW, CHICKASAW,
CREEK, SEMINOLE, ALABAMA, COUSHATTAS, HOUMA, AND TUNICA,
BILOXI. YOU KNOW, THEY'RE ALL
IN THE SOUTHEAST, UH, UNITED STATES. SO, UH, I THINK THE
EUROPEAN, WHEN THEY CAME THROUGH
THERE AROUND 1600 TO 1500, UH, THIS IS WHAT THEY WERE HEARING,
AND, UH, THEY, UH, FIXED A BOOK
OUT WHERE THIS IS WHAT THEY HEARD, AND IT'S-I THINK IT'S A
TWELVE-HUNDRED WORD DICTIONARY,
WHAT THEY CALL MOBILIAN DICTIONARY. AND I THINK WE HAVE
A TWELVE-HUNDRED FIFTY WORD, AND
EIGHTY PERCENT ARE CHOCTAWS. BUT THE SPELLING ARE IN
EUROPEAN, ARE-THE ENGLISH, YOU
KNOW, LIKE A PHONICS-WHAT-THIS IS WHAT THEY HEARD. AND SO
AREA IS IN, UH, MISSISSIPPI,
LOUISIANA, ALABAMA, GEORGIA, FLORIDA. YOU CAN SEE ALL THE
CHOCTAW WORDS ALL THROUGH THERE.
I CALL IT CHOCTAW, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, IT'S STILL A MUSCOGEAN."
"CHEROKEE CULTURE IS, UH-IT
MEANS A LOT OF THINGS TO-TO A LOT OF DIFFERENT PEOPLE. UM, I
THINK, UH, IT'S MOST READILY
SEEN IN THE LANGUAGE AND HEARING, UH, HEARING THE PEOPLE
THAT, UH, REMEMBER CHEROKEE AS A
FIRST LANGUAGE, AND STILL USE IT. UM, AND THAT'S WHERE YOU
SEE THE CULTURE, THROUGH THESE
PEOPLE MOST EVIDENT. UM, BUT CULTURE IS ALSO THE HISTORY.
UM, THERE IS A RICH AND LONG
HISTORY OF, UH, CHEROKEE CULTURE THAT GOES BACK, UM, WELL BEFORE,
UH, THE ARRIVAL OF EUROPEANS
HERE. UM, BUT CERTAINLY IT'S-BEGINS BEING RECORDED IN,
YOU KNOW, THE 15-UH-40'S, UH,
WHEN, UH, THE S-SPANISH EXPLORERS ARE FIRST
ENCOUNTERING, UH, SOUTHEASTERN
"I WORK AT THE CHEROKEE NATION'S EDUCATION DEPARTMENT. AND WE
MAKE, UH, MULTIMEDIA WORK IN THE
CHEROKEE LANGUAGE. UM, SO WE'VE, STARTED DOING, UM-GETTING
THE ABILITY TO PUT WEBSITES ALL
IN CHEROKEE, UM, DOING, INTERACTIVE MEDIA SUCH AS,
VERSIONS OF FACEBOOK, AND, MY
SPACE, BUT IT'S ALL, UM, IN >> AMERICAN INDIAN LANGUAGES ARE
DISAPPEARING EVEN THOUGH TRIBES
LIKE THE CHEROKEE NATION HAVE LARGE NUMBERS OF NATIVE
SPEAKERS. THE CHEROKEE IMMERSION
SCHOOL IS TEACHING THE CHEROKEE LANGUAGE BY USING EVERYDAY
TECHNOLOGY AND ACTIVITIES.
"WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS GIVE IT THE ABILITY TO USE
TECHNOLOGY. AND IF A KID'S
WANTING TO, UH, BE ON THE INTERNET AND SOCIAL NETWORK WITH
EACH OTHER, THEY CAN DO THAT,
BUT THEY CAN DO IT IN CHEROKEE NOW. AND, UM, THE DEPARTMENT I
WORK WITH, ROY BONEY, JR. AND
MYSELF, AND WE'VE BEEN, DEVELOPING WITH APPLE AND CHRIS
HARVEY FROM CANADA LANGUAGE
GEEK, TO MAKE TEXT MESSAGING IN CHEROKEE. AND THAT WAY OUR KIDS
WILL BE ABLE TO TEXT MESSAGE
JUST LIKE EVERY OTHER KIDS ARE ABLE TO DO, BUT IT CAN BE IN OUR
>> SHARING CULTURES WITH
COMMUNITIES ELECTRONICALLY OR FACE-TO-FACE CAN PLANT THE SEEDS
FOR WIDER UNDERSTANDING.
THE LEARNING GOES BEYOND A TEXTBOOK.
WORKSHOPS AND EXHIBITS CAN
FOSTER A SENSE OF KINSHIP. NATIVE WEB MEDIA GIVES IMMEDIATE
CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE AND
OPINION. "SO THE INDIAN COUNTRY
COMMUNICATIONS BUSINESS HUB IS
ABOUT, UH, COMMUNICATION, UH, EDUCATION, LITERATURE
ENHANCEMENTS OF, THE NATIVE
PERSPECTIVE, AND TRYING TO GET THAT INFORMATION OUT TO THE
WORLD AND RESPOND TO THE NEED
FOR INFORMATION ABOUT, AMERICAN INDIANS, AND ACTUALLY INDIGENOUS
PEOPLE IN THE WESTERN
HEMIS-HEMISPHERE FOR THE MOST PART. THE RANGE OF INFORMATION
IS TREMENDOUS.
>> PAUL HAS ADDED SHORT, ONE- ON-ONE INTERVIEWS ABOUT AMERICAN
INDIAN ISSUES TO INDIAN COUNTRY
NEWS. THESE PIECES ARE THEN POSTED
ONLINE UNDER THE LINK "INDIAN
COUNTRY TV." LOCALLY, THE SEQUOYAH NATIONAL
RESEARCH CENTER AT THE
UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS AT LITTLE ROCK HOLDS ANNUAL SYMPOSIA TO
GIVE NATIVE PEOPLE A FORUM, TO
NETWORK AND FOR THE PUBLIC TO LEARN ABOUT AMERICAN INDIAN
ISSUES.
"WE, UH, INVITE ABOUT TWENTY INDIGENOUS SPEAKERS FROM THE
U.S. AND CANADA EACH YEAR TO
COME IN AND, UH, TALK TO THE PUBLIC. AND-AND ALL OF OUR-OUR
EVENTS ARE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
UM, THIS IS-THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL OP-UH,
ACTIVITIES THAT WE'VE PERFORMED.
AND WHAT WE WANTED TO DO WITH THIS WAS TO, UM, HAVE A-A FORUM
THAT WOULD BE OPEN TO INDIGENOUS
SPEAKERS WHO WOULD COME IN AND AND TALK ABOUT WHAT ISSUES THEY
WANTED TO, WHAT THEY THOUGHT
WAS, YOU KNOW, IMPORTANT IN INDIAN COUNTRY."
>> SOME NON-NATIVE PEOPLE ARE
HESITANT TO ASK NATIVE PEOPLE ABOUT THEIR BACKGROUNDS. IN
DIFFERENT GROUPS AND IN
DIFFERENT REGIONS OF THE UNITED STATES, NATIVE PEOPLE ARE
REFERRED TO AS AMERICAN INDIAN,
NATIVE AMERICAN, INDIGENOUS PEOPLE, NATIVE PEOPLE AND
UNFORTUNATELY, RACIAL SLURS. IF
YOU WONDER HOW TO ADDRESS SOMEONE WHO IS AMERICAN INDIAN,
RESPECTFULLY ASK ABOUT THEIR
BACKGROUND. TRIBAL IDENTITY IS IMPORTANT AND
USING STEREOTYPES IS RIDICULOUS.
"ALMOST EVERYDAY SOMEBODY WILL ASK ME IF I'M NATIVE AMERICAN,
AND I'LL TELL THEM, YES, I'M OF
THE CHOCTAW NATION. AND, UH, A LOT OF TIMES THE QUESTION IS, DO
YOU LIVE IN A TEEPEE? UM, AND,
UH, I SAY, NO. I'VE GOT A LOG HOUSE THAT, UH, RESEMBLES A
TEEPEE. IT'S GOT CATHEDRAL
CEILINGS, BUT, UH, IT'S NOT A TEEPEE. AND, UH, SO I
APPRECIATE THE AETN IN DOING
THESE, UH, VIDEOS, EXPLAINING TO NOT ONLY THE CHILDREN, BUT THEIR
PARENTS, EVERYBODY IN ARKANSAS
THAT, UH, IT'S NOT THE WAY IT WAS IN THE 1800'S WITH THE
NATIVE AMERICANS. THAT, UH, WE,
TOO, HAVE CHANGED, AND WE'RE PART OF THE COMMUNITY AS FAR AS,
UH, HELPING WITH OTHER PEOPLE."
>> APPROXIMATELY ONE PERCENT OF THE POPULATION OF THE UNITED
STATES IS LISTED AS AMERICAN
INDIAN. ONE THIRD LIVE ON RESERVATIONS OR IN NATIVE
COMMUNITIES. THE MAJORITY OF THE
POPULATION LIVE ACROSS THE COUNTRY, WORKING IN EVERY
INDUSTRY AND LIVING IN EVERY
KIND OF NEIGHBORHOOD. "AMERICAN INDIAN IDENTITY IN THE
TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY IS
EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE STILL HERE, YOU
KNOW. WE'RE STILL HERE. AND WE
DO A MYRIAD OF THINGS, YOU KNOW. UH, YOU KNOW, INDIAN COUNTRY,
THERE'S-THERE'S REALLY NO SUCH
THING AS INDIAN COUNTRY, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE THERE'S NOT ONE
PLACE YOU CAN GO TO AND SAY THIS
IS HOW INDIANS ARE. YOU KNOW? UH, WE'RE ALL OVER, YOU KNOW.
AND WE'RE A PART-WE'RE WOVEN
INTO THE FABRIC OF DIVERSITY THAT IS THE UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA. WE'RE THE-I THINK
WE'RE PROBABLY ONE OF THE FIRST THREADS." >> [INDIAN DRUM MUSIC
].
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