A classic, purportedly authentic, account of the origins of Lenape (Delaware) Indians was exposed as a scholarly hoax perpetrated by Constantine Rafinesque in the 1830s. Rafinesque sought to reconcile American Indian origins with Biblical teachings and promoted the "Bering Strait theory" of Indian origins. Describes involvement of a…

Describes the career of Father Berard Haile (1874-1961), a Franciscan missionary and anthropologist who befriended Navajo Indians in Arizona and studied their culture. Haile's career spanned five decades, and he maintained a Navajo residence longer than any other Navajo ethnologist. Describes his writings, special fields, scholarly limitations,…

Describes the Blue Lake Ceremony of the Taos Pueblo Indians of New Mexico. Reproduces the 1906 account of the ceremony by anthropologist Matilda Coxe Stevenson and notes modern verification and change. Discusses the importance of this annual August pilgrimage and initiation rite to the preservation of Taos culture. (SV)

Interactions among Shawnees, Quakers, and Indian agent William Wells illustrate the frustrations of tribes that sought acculturation in the early nineteenth century. Although William Kirk and other Quaker missionaries established good relations with Shawnees eager to learn White agricultural practices, their successes were undone by bureaucratic…

Describes a new exhibit initiative at the American Indian Archeological Institute (Washington, Connecticut), which seeks to relate Algonkian peoples' historical and contemporary art forms to each other and to the ongoing cultural context from which they spring. Describes exhibit sections: land, exchange, clay, living spaces, corn, deer, and…

In "The Invented Indian: Cultural Fictions and Government Policies," pseudo-scholarly essays compiled by anthropologist James A. Clifton attack many recently emerged truths about Native America. Core essays dispute any legitimacy in Indian land claims, efforts toward self-determination, or attempts to publicize what has been done to…

Reviews the recent literature on John Eliot--seventeenth-century Massachusetts missionary, minister, and millenarian. Examines disagreements between Alden Vaughan's and Francis Jennings's interpretations of Eliot's missionary writings and Puritan-Indian relations. Discusses James Axtell's ethnohistorical interpretation of Eliot. Emphasizes the…

Carlos Montezuma, an Apache, was raised by whites, graduated from medical school, and worked as physician for the Indian Service and Carlisle Indian School. Montezuma's life as colonial surrogate advocating "civilization" of the Indians is compared to Kafka's story of the ape who studied to become a passable European because it was "a way out" of…

Characteristics of All-Indian Rodeos held on the Fort Apache Reservation (Arizona) clearly reflect the evolution of historical patterns of tribal warfare and raiding. Rodeos provide the means to preserve Apache rituals, the warrior ideal, and traditional relationships with neighboring Navajo and Papago tribes. (SV)

Describes the new archaeology merit badge of the Boy Scouts of America. Discusses the requirement that scouts recruit a "counselor" who is a hobbyist or working archaeologist, and outlines the duties and ethical responsibilities of such mentors. Includes the scout's requirements for earning the badge. (SV)

Provides a brief history of the Wampanoag Indians and the extinction of their language, Massachusett. Describes the Massachusett Language Revival Project and the sources underpinning its instructional materials: the 1663 "Indian Bible" and Massachusett grammar book by John Eliot, and early dictionaries and vocabularies. (SV)

Popular images of the Great Plains frequently portray horse-mounted Indians engaged in dramatic bison hunts. The importance of these hunts is emphasized by the oft-mentioned dependence of the Plains Indians on bison. This animal served as a source of not only food but also materials for shelter, clothing, containers, and many other necessities of…

This narrative describes the author's visit to Washington DC to attend the opening of the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI). As a member of the Chickasaw, the author pondered what he would find in the museum that would represent the Chickasaw Nation. Would the museum reflect his people in all their diversity? Would he see something of…

In this personal narrative, the author shares her experiences in Washington DC while attending the opening of the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI), and describes the events of the day as a life changing experience. She describes the mood surrounding the opening ceremonies as one of celebration. Never had so many people representing so…

During treaty negotiations with federal Indian agents in 1851, Taoyateduta (Little Crow), a Dakota representative, warned that the council members would "talk of nothing else" until conflicts related to the previous Treaty of 1837 had been resolved. His statement is surprising, given that government officials at the time, as well as subsequent…