10 Facts About Indigenous People and The Gathering of Nations
The Gathering of Nations (GON) Pow Wow has been a historic celebration for the past 36 years. It is a festival that celebrates culture, unity, and art of all the Nations and Tribes in North America. It’s a festival rooted in respect and admiration for Native people. Flint Carney, a long time friend and member of the Kiowa tribe said, “The greatest thing about the Gathering of Nations is the respect that is shown to all Native people of the world.” This is a 2-day event held in Albuquerque, New Mexico known best for creating “powwow fever”, a term used to describe falling in love with celebrating Native culture and the sense of community. In honor of the Gathering of Nations happening this month, here are 10 facts about Native culture.
The Native American Population is Growing
The Native American population rose by 1.1 million, or 26.7%, between the 2000 and 2010 census. That’s much faster than the general population growth of 9.7%. By 2050, the Native population is expected to increase by more than three million.
Rubber was created by Native Americans
Many inventions were appropriated by the Europeans, who had the trading networks and manufacturing infrastructure to commercialize them. Columbus took a ball of rubber back to Europe and manufactured it in mass quantities.
Native American healers pioneered pain relief.
Native Americans used jimson weed as a topical analgesic, grinding the root to make a plaster that they applied to external injuries such as cuts and bruises. They used a number of herbal and homeopathic remedies to cure pain, injuries, and more which paved the way for modern medicine.
The United States Constitution was modeled after the Great Law of Peace
The Great Law of Peace was the constitution of the Iroquois Confederacy. Our Constitution is believed to be closely modeled after it according to many historians. In 1988, the United States Congress passed a resolution to recognize the influence of the Iroquois League upon the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
The first kidnapping in America took place when Italian explorers kidnapped a Native American child to bring to France in July 1524.
Giovanni da Verrazano, an Italian explorer working for the French, attempted to kidnap some natives to take back to Europe. At Cape Fear, North Carolina, he encountered an old woman, two infants, a child and a young woman. He later wrote in his diary: “We took a child from the old woman to bring into France, and were about to take the young woman, who was very beautiful and of tall stature, but we could not for the great outcries that she made.”
Most of our sports and gaming hobbies came from the Native Americans
Canoeing, snowshoeing, tobogganing, lacrosse, relay races, tug-of-wars, and ball games are just a few of the games early Native Americans played and that we still enjoy today. The word Toboggan comes from the Algonquian word odabaggan, which was invented by Native Americans in the eastern part of the United States to carry game over the snow.
Native Americans fought for the British during the American Revolution
Iroquois tribes, including the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca, received nothing from England for their participation and the United States took their territory. In revenge, Americans destroyed 40 Iroquois camps and the survivors had to take refuge in Canada.
Native Americans developed Sign Language
A system of hand signals were developed to facilitate trade and communication between different tribal groups and later between Native Americas and trappers and traders. The same idea is used today for communicating through American Sign Language (ASL). Some of the signs are different, but the idea is the same.
Native Americans fought in all the World Wars
Even though many of them were not even citizens, more than 8,000 Native Americans volunteered and served during World War I. Well over 24,000 served during World War II. One of the most notable contributions during World War II was the service of the Navajo Code Talkers, a special group of volunteers who did top-secret work using a secret code in Navajo that could not be broken.
There are female warriors
Many warrior Native American women fight alongside men. The most famous of these was probably Buffalo Calf Road Woman, a member of the Northern Cheyenne tribe who fought in the Battle of the Rosebud and the Battle of Little Bighorn. Buffalo Calf Road Woman is just one of many incredible women you didn’t read about in history class.
