Confluence of the Two Rivers: Contact History and the Animal First Peoples
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World of Contact History - Example of the Schitsu'umsh
Schitsu’umsh
- “the ones that were found here” or French term, "Coeur d’Alene" - “heart of an
awl”
“History means disrespect for the ancestors” – Sitting Bull
For the
Schitsu’umsh,
their particular history certainly means "disrespect"
Pre-Contact: a Sovereign Thriving Peoples
On May 6, 1806 William Clark describes in his journals meeting three members at the confluence of Potlatch and Clearwater rivers.
Some 5,000 tribal members, from Palouse Prairie to Lake Pond Oreille to Rocky Mountains, totaling some 4 million acres.
Doctrine of Discovery
Established a spiritual, political, and legal justification for colonization and seizure of land not inhabited by Christians. Issued by Pope Alexander VI in the Papal Bull in 1493. Reaffirmed by the United States Supreme Court in a series of decisions, most notably Johnson v. M'Intosh in 1823.
The Horse and Gun by the 1760s
Mobility (e.g., buffalo hunting) and Conflict (e.g., with the Kootenai)
Disease by the 1770s
Smallpox waves (among other infectious diseases), beginning 1770s - 1850s - from a population of 5,000 to 500. If born in 1780 and lived to 70 (typical life expectancy) would see 1 in 10 relatives die. Today some 2,000 enrolled Tribal members.
Missionaries and Boarding Schools
Father DeSmet in summer of 1842, and the Jesuit mission to establish a "Wilderness Kingdom" - “Soldiers of the Sacred Heart” and “Sister of Charity” - relocation and farming, religion, dance, language, hair, "whippings," boarding schools - “everything we do a sin”
War and Defeat
Lieut. Col. Steptoe in May of 1858, an act of compassion, and Col. Wright’s reprisal, the burning and “Hangman Creek” the fall of 1858, e.g., an act of heroism.
Treaties and Reservation
Executive Orders (a.k.a. Treaties) of 1873 and 1889, went from 4 million acres (pre-contact) to a 345,000 acre Reservation today.
The agreements entered into were not grants of rights to Indians, but rather grants of rights from Indians to the United States, i.e., "reserved rights doctrine." Property should not be taken without consent of the Indian.
In exchange for the cession of vast tracts of land and resources, i.e. "ceded territory," the tribes would receive educational and health benefits, and other services. Such services and allocations are thus "purchased" and "contracted" services, and not "social entitlements" or "special rights."
Supreme Court ruling - Worcester v. Georgia (1832) - court recognized that Indian nations were "distinct political communities, having territorial boundaries, within which their authority is exclusive, and having a right to all the lands within those boundaries." The court also acknowledged the sovereign nature of Indian nations as established and recognized through "treaties" with the federal government.
Allotment Act of 1895 and Poverty
Given early farming success, the Allotment Act, implemented in 1909, resulted in only 70,000 acres of Tribal lands, which were divided into 160 acre allotments individually owned by Tribal members. Overnight "poverty" and dependence on Federal assistance.
Indian Reorganization Act of 1933 and "Dependent Sovereign Nations"
Re-established self-governance and independence, ended allotment process. Enrolled members are "dual citizens."
Termination and Relocation Policies of 1950s (e.g., Oakland)
Self-Determination Act of 1975 (e.g., Marimn Health Center)
Historical Trauma and "the Wounded"
Perseverance, Resilience and Revitalization
"We Shall Remain" by Coeur d'Alene Tribe 2014; "We Shall Remain - It Wasn't Taken Away" sung by Kalolin Johnson from Allison Bernard Memorial High School" in Eskasoni, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada 2017