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Go directly to the collection, American
Indians of the Pacific Northwest,
in American Memory, or view a Summary of Resources related to the collection.
American Indians of the Pacific Northwest supports chronological thinking
exercises that focus on the settlement of the West and introduce cyclical concepts
of time and history. A wealth of materials on the Nez Perces affords an opportunity
to practice comprehension, while an article on the history of photography in
the Northwest provides a basis for photo-analysis. Other materials support issue-analysis,
focusing on the U.S. reservation policy and legal issues such as fishing rights.
Finally, several compelling research topics are grounded in this collection.
Sections:
Chronological Thinking
Articles such as "Contributions
of Early Explorers and Traders to the Ethnography of the Northwest" and "Lawyer
of the Nez Perces" provide
a rough outline of the major forces and events that forever changed Native Americans
of the Pacific Northwest. Use the explanations and references in these and other
texts to create a timeline of the major events that had an impact on native
populations, from their first contact with explorers to their legal battles
of the twentieth
century. Alternately, conduct searches for materials pertaining to one tribal
group and piece together a chronology of events affecting that group.
Tlingit
women pick berries with a dog, Baranof Island Alaska |
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Several essays in the Special
Presentation discuss the cultures of specific tribal groups. Among other
things, they describe the cycles of migration and subsistence activities
that coincided with the seasons. Create a map that depicts the yearly round
of a particular tribal group. The collection's Maps
of the Region, may be helpful.
- Many Native American cultures embrace a cyclical rather than a linear
concept of time. Why do you think this might be?
- How did Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest think about and record history?
How are these records different from western historical records?
- How might a cyclical concept of time have contributed to the way Native Americans
felt about and dealt with the appearance of Euro-American people and culture?
- How might different concepts of time have contributed to misunderstandings between
Euro Americans and Native Americans?
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Tlakluit
Indian rock paintings, Wishram, Washington |
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Historical Comprehension: The Nez Perces
- According to J.F. Santee, how and why did the Nez Perces refrain from
joining in conflicts related to the murder of Elijah Hedding and the
Whitman massacre? Which tribes were involved in these conflicts?
- How did the Nez Perces feel about signing the treaty of 1855?
- Why might the Nez Perces have provided escorts for Governor Stevens
during the Yakima war?
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Nez
Perce man named Chief Lawyer |
Nez
Perce Chief Joseph |
The U.S. government sought subsequent treaties
with the Nez Perces that would require them to give up their lands in the
Wallowa Valley and relocate to Lapwai, Idaho. A contingent of Nez Perces,
known as non-treaty Indians, refused to comply and in 1877 the U.S. led
a campaign to force these Nez Perces onto the Lapwai reservation. The Subject
Index heading, Nez Perce Indians – Treaties, provides primary
sources. The heading, Nez Perce Indians – War, 1877, provides
primary and secondary sources such as "The
Nez Perce and Their War," "The
Last Stand of the Nez Perces," and "Chief
Joseph and the Nez Perce Warriors." (The latter includes a helpful
map.) |
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Nez Perce group known as "Chief Joseph’s Band" |
Nez
Perce man known as Steps poses for portrait |
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- Why did the U.S. government seek further treaties with the Nez
Perces?
- Why did Chief Joseph oppose leaving the Wallowa Valley in Oregon?
- Why did he change his mind and agree to join other Nez Perces on their reservation
near Fort Lapwai in western Idaho?
- Why did Chief Joseph, Looking Glass, and other chiefs end up fighting?
- According to Merle Wells, what is the proper way to think of the Nez Perces'
actions and objectives during the 1877 military campaign?
- When and where were the major military engagements of the campaign?
- What casualties did the Nez Perces and U.S. military each sustain?
- What happened to the Nez Perces who were engaged in this campaign?
- How would you assess Chief Joseph's role in the Nez Perce War?
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Nez
Perce Chief Joseph's medal (Grant side) presented by President Grant in
1871 |
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- How many times was Chief Joseph's band relocated after their surrender
in 1877?
- On what grounds did the U.S. government refuse to return Chief Joseph's
band to the Lapwai reservation? Why did they eventually change their minds?
- What problems and hardships did this band of Nez Perces endure in the
period between their surrender in 1877 and their return to the Northwest
in 1885?
- What were the causes and effects of these hardships?
- How did Chief Joseph continue to lead his people after their surrender
in 1877? What did he accomplish?
- Why wasn't Chief Joseph allowed to return to Lapwai?
- How do Chief Joseph's recollections compare to other histories of the
Nez Perces?
- What points does Chief Joseph make in the North American Review to
argue for the return of the Nez Perces to Lapwai? How do you think the
public might have responded to this article?
- Why do you think that the Nez Perce War and Chief Joseph have each
become so famous?
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Historical Analysis and Interpretation: Photographs and Symbols
Carolyn J. Marr discusses the history of photographing Native Americans
of the Pacific Northwest in "Taken Pictures: On Interpreting Native
American Photographs of the Southern Northwest Coast." She illustrates
a change in Native Americans' attitudes towards photography from the
late 19th to the early 20th century. At first, many Native Americans were
wary of having their photographs taken and often refused. They believed that
the process could steal a person's soul and disrespected the spiritual
world. Over time, however, some Native Americans came to cherish photographs
as links to ancestors and even integrated them into important ceremonies.
Duwamish
and Suquamish man named Chief Seattle
Skitswish
men James Nicodemus & Nickolas Campbell
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Marr defines five types of photographs taken in this period.
The first is the studio portrait. Marr explains that Chief Seattle had to
be coerced into having his portrait made. Once he had it, the photographer
made 100 copies to sell to curious easterners. Notwithstanding many Native
Americans' reluctance to have their picture taken, it's possible that some
sat willingly for their portraits and kept them for private use. Numerous
photographs are available by searching on studio
portrait.
- Is it possible to tell how much a photograph was influenced by
the photographer or by the subject?
- Can you determine if it was taken for private use or commercial purposes?
How does this change the meaning of the picture?
- If subjects sat willingly, what does the choice of clothes, pose, expression,
props, and backdrop suggest about how the subjects wanted to be perceived?
- If these choices were made by the photographer, what does it suggest about
how he wanted to portray Native Americans?
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Yakama woman named Mrs. Thomas Pearne and her children Lester and Ida
Nez
Perce men in ceremonial dress
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The fourth kind of photograph Marr discusses is a nostalgic portrait to be
sold as a postcard or for other commercial purposes. (A search on postcards yields a variety of images.) She writes:
"The popularity of picture postcards showing Indian women weaving
baskets or digging clams attests to a growing nostalgia relating to Indians.
Historians have demonstrated a conceptual link between the disappearing American
wilderness and a changing attitude toward Native Americas by looking at both
popular literature and the federal government's Indian policies. The
Indian came to symbolize America’s lost youth, and his image commemorated
that unspoiled past."
(Page 58, "Taken Pictures: On Interpreting Native American Photographs
of the Southern Northwest Coast")
Duwamish
and Suquamish Chief Seattle bust |
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- According to Marr, what symbolic value did photographs of Native
Americans acquire and why?
- How have Native Americans been portrayed over the twentieth century?
- Where have these images been found? Who made them? How were they used? What
was the symbolic meaning of these images?
- Why do you think that the image of Native Americans has remained a powerful
symbol in popular U.S. culture?
- What aspects of Native American cultures might be particularly appealing to
some people in the U.S. and why?
- Why do you think that some people are particularly fascinated by the history
of Native Americans? What parts of this history seem to intrigue people most
and why?
- Why have certain Indians, such as Chiefs Joseph and Seattle, become symbols
while others have not? (For more information see David
M. Buerge's essay.
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Historical Issue-Analysis and Decision-Making
A thorough examination of the collection makes it possible to assess the
United States' decision to create reservations. The article, "American
and British Treatment of the Indians in the Pacific Northwest," provides
a good starting point. Consider the following questions:
- What parties had a stake in how the U.S. would choose to relate
with Native Americans? What were these parties' interests?
- What problems did the U.S. hope to solve in creating an Indian policy?
- How do you think the creation of reservations addressed these problems and
responded to a variety of interests? What priorities does this policy reflect?
- What kind of policy would you have chosen and why? What steps would you have
taken to implement it? What resistance would you have met and how would you
have dealt with it?
Catholic
services, "Ceremony of Tears" commemorating loss of
salmon habitat to building of Grand Coulee Dam
Puget
Sound area men fishing from wooden platform |
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The article, "Rights
of the Puget Sound Indians to Game and Fish" examines the rights
of one Washington tribal group. The treaty
of Point Elliot guaranteed the Puget Sound Indians "'The right
of taking fish at usual and accustomed grounds and stations. . . in common
with all citizens of the Territory.'"
- Is Native Americans' equal right to fish denied if commercial fishing
depletes this natural resource? Should fishing by non-Native Americans
be controlled so as to insure that Native Americans may fish successfully?
- According to the author, how was the requirement to obtain a fishing
license discriminatory against Native Americans? Does this interfere
with their right to fish "in common with all citizens"?
- Should Native Americans' right to fish be regarded differently because
they depend upon fishing for their sustenance or because of the special
significance of fish to some native cultures?
- Do treaties give Native Americans a greater right to fish than other
people?
- Should citizens be required to allow Native Americans to hunt and
fish on their land because it was a "usual and accustomed" fishing
ground for Native Americans at the time a treaty was signed, even if
it is fifty or sixty miles from a reservation? Does this interfere with
property rights? Which is more important?
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The article, "Washington
State and Tribal Sovereignty: A 1979 Debate on Indian Law" explores
the scope of the power, or sovereignty, of a reservation government. For
example, do reservation laws apply to non-Native American inhabitants of
reservations? If a Native American breaks a law when off of reservation
lands, is he or she under the jurisdiction of reservation, state, or federal
laws?
The article records an extended argument made by the then Washington
state attorney general, Slade Gorton. He argues that the sovereignty of
a reservation government is, like city or county governments, subordinate
in some ways to state and national governments. He argues that the sovereignty
of reservation governments is not inherent, but for all intents and purposes
granted by the United States. He compares treaties with Native Americans
to the peace treaty made with Japan after World War II, in which the Allied
forces that had occupied Japan after its defeat recognized the sovereignty
of the Japanese people over Japan:
"The assertion of sovereignty by the United States effectively
eliminated all tribal powers. By treaty, some were restored, just as Japan's
sovereignty was effectively restored by its peace treaty."
(Page 101, "Washington
State and Tribal Sovereignty: A 1979 Debate on Indian Law")
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Nez Perce man named Richard Sandiville |
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- Do you think that Gorton's comparison is sound? When Native-American
tribes signed treaties, were they admitting defeat by a sovereign power and
looking to have their sovereignty restored?
- Do you think that this is how the U.S. government viewed the situation?
Do you think that this is how Native-American tribes viewed the situation?
- Do you think that the government officials who created treaties thought that
Native Americans would practice self-government on reservations? Do you think
that Native Americans had this expectation?
- Does the subjection of tribal sovereignty to state or federal sovereignty
interfere with Native Americans' right to self-government, which was
established in 1934?
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Two
Yakama couples outside a Seattle hotel |
Historical Research
Tlingit
people gather on beach for potlatch |
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Multiple essays in the Special
Presentation explain the potlatch ceremony and discuss its importance
to Native American cultures of the Pacific Northwest. A search on potlatch provides
materials that support research into this tradition, including scholarly
articles and images that testify to the persistence and eventual revival
of the ceremony.
Though the U.S. military fought numerous Native-American tribes in many
wars during the second half of the 19th century, the ordeal most often associated
with this time period is the Civil War. Researchers may use this collection
to explore the similarities and differences between these conflicts and
how they may have affected each other. The Subject
Index heading, Indians of North America--Wars, provides many
materials. Questions to consider include the following: |
Tlingit
dancers at potlatch, Klukwan, Alaska |
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- What were the motives, goals, strategies, and resources of the
U.S. government in each conflict?
- How did newspapers cover wars with Native Americans and the Civil War? What
may account for any differences?
- What was the public opinion of each kind of conflict? What may account for
very different attitudes towards these arenas of violence?
- What is the significance of the difference in location of these campaigns?
How did the location contribute to the nature, newspaper coverage, and popular
opinion of these campaigns?
- How might these conflicts have affected each other?
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Cowichan
men and boys having tug-of-war at potlatch |
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