|
|
THE FIRST
AMERICAN Culture
Cherokee The Cherokee economy, like that of the other southeastern tribes, was based on intensive agriculture, mainly of corn, beans, and squash. Deer, bear, and elk were hunted. The Husk, or Green Corn Ceremony, was a time of thanksgiving, rekindling of sacred fires, and spiritual renewal. The tribe was divided into seven multilineal clans that were dispersed in war and peace moieties (half-tribes). The people lived in numerous permanent villages, some of which belonged to the war moiety, the rest to the peace moiety. In the early 19th century, the Cherokee demonstrated unusual adaptability to Western institutions, both in their governmental changes and in their adoption of Western methods of animal husbandry and farming, including the plantation system. Public schools were established and in the 1820s, Sequoya, a tribal member, invented an 85-character syllabify script for the Cherokee language. Widespread literacy followed almost immediately. In 1828 the first Native American newspaper, the Cherokee Phoenix, began publication. CONTEMPORARY LIFE Traditional Cherokee culture, in Oklahoma, was severely weakened. The old ways, including traditional crafts, are most strongly preserved by the Eastern Band, some of whom continue to live on the Qualla Reservation in North Carolina. The quality of North Carolina Cherokee basketry is considered being equal to or better than that of earlier times. In Oklahoma the Cherokee live both on and off the reservation, scattered in urban centers and in isolated rural regions. Their occupations range from fishing to industrial labor to business management. In North Carolina, farming, forestry, factory work, and tourism (about 5 million tourists annually) are sources of income. The Cherokee language has about 10,000 modern speakers. In 1990 there were 308,132 Cherokee descendants in the United States.
Many Native Americans were displaced from their lands as more
white settlers moved into the Oregon country. The Modoc people,
refusing to stay on a reservation, fought the United States
Army, but were forced to surrender in 1873, an event depicted
in this newspaper illustration. There was considerable trouble between the Modoc and the early white settlers, with atrocities being committed on both sides. The Modoc were finally constrained (1864) to go on the Klamath Reservation in Oregon, but most of the tribe was dissatisfied. In 1870, Chief Kintpuash, or Captain Jack, led a group back to California and refused to return to the reservation. The attempt to bring them back brought on the Modoc War (1872-73). After the Modoc War, the Modoc people were divided; some were sent to Oklahoma (where a few remain), and some to the Klamath Reservation in Oregon. The Modoc in Oregon share lands with the Klamath and Snake. See V. F. Ray, Primitive Pragmatists: The Modoc Indians of Northern California (1963), R. H. Dillea, Burnt-Out-Fires (1973).
Captain Jack, subchief of the Modoc and leader of the hostile group in the Modoc War (1872-73), whose Modoc name was Kintpuash, had agreed (1864) to leave his ancestral home and live on a reservation with the Klamath. He found it impossible to live on friendly terms with his former enemies, and after killing a Klamath medicine man, Jack and a group of followers left the reservation. They resisted arrest (Nov. 1872) and fled into the lava beds in California. Their strong defensive position frustrated numerous attempts by US troops to dislodge them. In April 1873, a peace commission headed by Gen. Edward Richard Sprigg Canby met with Jack and several of his men. At a prearranged signal, Jack shot Canby dead. The army renewed its efforts to capture them and forced the Modoc to take refuge elsewhere. The Modoc, who were tired of fighting, began to give themselves up, and on June 1, Captain Jack was captured. He was taken to Fort Klamath, where on Oct. 3, 1873, he and three of his warriors were hanged for the murder of Canby. Even though Captain Jack was the leader of the Modoc Indians who fought the US Army for several months in 1872, he didn't have complete control over the band. The Modocs stressed individual choice but worked as a group. Jack would accept the decisions of the whole band even if he didn't agree. He argued against killing General Canby, but the majority of the warriors believed it would send the Army away, so Jack went along with the plan. Jack had two wives, at least one daughter, and a sister, Queen Mary. They lived with him during the entire Modoc War. See biography by D. P. Payne (1938). THE MODOC WAR The Modoc War, 1872-73, a series of battles between the Modoc and the US Army was fought as a result of the attempt to force a group of the Modoc to return to the Klamath Reservation in South Oregon. Beginning in Nov. 1872, US soldiers were engaged in sieges against the Modoc who were encamped in the lava beds near Tulle Lake, Calif. The soldiers, after losing battle after battle, increased their forces to 1,000 by March 1873. During peace negotiations Gen. E. R. S. Canby and Eleazer Thomas were killed. The soldiers intensified their efforts to subdue the Modoc and finally, in late May 1873, Captain Jack and his much reduced force of 30 warriors were captured. Captain Jack and five other leaders were hanged in October. The Modoc War proved costly to both sides: 87 soldiers were killed and 83 were wounded. Although the Modoc lost only 8 warriors and an unknown number of women and children in the fighting, they were thereafter divided as a people. The Modocs called themselves the Maklaks and were part of the Lulacas coast tribe before 1800. Their language is part of the Lutumanian linguistic group. At about 1800 they broke away from the Lulacas because of an argument about tribute to the chief. Chief Moadacus led his new tribe to the area near Lost River.
Boston Charley, the miners in Yreka called him Boston because he had a light complexion and appeared almost Caucasian, was one of the four Modocs hung on October 3, 1873. He shot Rev. Thomas on April 11th, 1873.
Scarfaced Charley got his name because of a disfiguring scar on his face reportedly caused when he fell off a wagon when he was a young man. Scarfaced Charley was one of the more militant of the Modocs and may have shot the first shot of the Modoc War at the Battle of Lost River. JOHN SCHONCHIN John Schonchin was the brother of Old Schonchin, one of the Chiefs of the Modoc Tribe. He was hung with Captain Jack on October 3rd, 1873 for his part in the killing of General Canby and Rev. Thomas. BLACK JIM Black Jim was one of the four Modocs to hang on October 3rd. He shot and tried to scalp Meacham when General Canby was shot. After the Second Battle of the Stronghold, he and a few of the other Modocs left the two main bands of Modocs and tried to escape the US Army. Oregon Volunteers captured them. HOOKER JIM Hooker Jim was one of the most violent and independent members of the Modoc Tribe. After the Battle of Lost River he and a small group of Modocs took revenge on the settlers and killed 17. When he was captured after the Second Battle of the Stronghold, he agreed to help the Army find Captain Jack in return for escaping the hangman's noose. BARNCHO AND SLOLUCK Barncho and Sloluck were at the scene when General Canby and Rev. Thomas were killed. President Grant commuted their death sentences, but they were sent to prison on Alcatraz. Barncho died of tuberculosis in prison, but Sloluck was released and sent to his tribe in Oklahoma in February 1878.
A Notable Woman of Native America
|
|
