At The Water’s Edge, 1910. Edward S. Curtis photographed Piegan tepees at the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in northwest Montana. The Reservation is bordered by Canada to the north and Glacier Park to the west. Browning, site of tribal headquarters, has an average of 196 days per year with temperatures below freezing.
In Montana, Blackfeet is used as both the singular and plural designation for tribal members. The Siksika of Canada describe themselves as Blackfoot.
“it does not require many words to speak the truth.”
– Chief Joseph, of the Wallowa Band of Nez Perce
Indigenous Peoples’ Day is a holiday in the United States that celebrates and honors Indigenous Americans and commemorates their histories and cultures. It is celebrated across the United States on the second Monday in October, and is an official city and state holiday in various localities.
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credits: text and digital restoration of photo, gary coffrin, edward s. curtis, native american history site
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There was a lot of wisdom in indigenous people.
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so much wisdom
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Indeed. 👌🏽
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“We as Aboriginal people still have to fight to prove that we are straight out plain human beings, the same as everyone else’” – Neville Bonner
An elder of the Jagera people, Neville Bonner was the first Aboriginal Australian to become a member of Australia’s Parliament. An independent thinker, he often faced criticism from left-wing Indigenous activists. The pressure of being the first Indigenous person in Parliament was also challenging. In 1981, Bonner was the only vote opposing drilling in the Great Barrier Reef. He died in 1999.
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what a strong willed person he must have been to get there, and sad it took so long
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Indigenous everywhere have had their struggles … hopefully, attitudes are on the improve these days …
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it still has a long way to go, but at least headed in the right direction
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Yes …
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A lovely post, Beth.
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thank you, Robbie
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It saddens me to think of imposed national borders and reservations applying to Native Americans back then. They surely just considered it all to be ‘nature and land’.
Best wishes, Pete.
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yes, tragic to think of.
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Beth, thank you for this. I was watching a documentary on Swiss TV (which I can watch on my iPad), featuring amongst many others, a Swiss woman who got married and lived with an Indigenous American from Pablo and this man has an extra-ordinary depth and beliefs.
I also visited – a long time ago – the Hopi Indians and I still recall, after all those years, how impressed and awed I was by their ways of living, their art, their pride and knowledge.
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yes, to all of that, in spite of everything that’s happened to them, they are still proud people and carry their wisdom with them
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Ours was June 21st. The important thing is we acknowledge them all. In Manitoba, they elected the first Aboriginal premier. Finally.
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Good news and yes
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We also have, on Sept. 30, our Truth and Reconciliation day – to commemorate all those lost in the ugly residential schools..
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A great beginning
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Indeed. We have so uch to make up for
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How many people know there is an Indigenous Peoples’ Day? I may have know at the time but maybe not. It isn’t advertised well or maybe I don’t read the papers or watch for “Indigenous Peoples’ Day” sale ads.
Somehow the word indigenous has a (dirty meaning) and I don’t mean that at all!! And certainly not to everyone. But there is that certain attitude.
We enjoy/love learning about civilizations of other lands and visit them, but give little or no attention to the wealth of history we have right here.
In school we always sang, “Columbus the Gem of the Ocean”.
I’ve taken up more than my fair share of space. lol
Great post, Beth!
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That’s interesting
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Thanks
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Thanks for your thoughts and no worries about the space
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Indigenous people have a good lifestyle when it comes to sustainability. Thank you 🙏🌍
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That’s today, a worthy celebration
Thanks for this post. Enjoyed reading.
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Thank you, selma
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Always a pleasure. 🤗 🍂
Hey, Beth, a friendly FYI: I’ll be on a brief hiatus—Not sure for how long. I’ve been on the go for a while and now find the need to recharge: Regroup with my little self.
(And with the onset of another birthday, the need is strong)
But “I’ll be back!”
Will be doing more reading.
See you around sweet Beth.
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enjoy your time and see you on your return
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🤗
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Happy Indigenous Peoples Day, yes, Beth. In my part of our world, there’s a discussion going on about what best to do with the long-standing Columbus statue, and of course this past weekend both sides had groups had representatives at the location.
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what a wonderful idea: Indigenous Peoples Day: they were here first; they deserve honor and respect —
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All so true
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Oh awesome! A very important holiday!
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Yes, very!
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The photo is striking and Chief Joseph’s words are wise.
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I loved the photo too, and he was very wise
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😀
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That means today is a holiday in the US. I like the reason a lot.
It is interesting that they settled this much north.
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Yes, they covered most of the country
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Very cool!
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Nice
Sent from my iPhone
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Thank you
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I was going to say I wasn’t aware, but then I looked at my calendar. It’s right there, along with Columbus Day, which should soon be disappearing from our calendars (since everything I learned about him decades ago was wrong).
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Yes, I think it will replace it in many places
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Chief Joseph was right about a lot of things.
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Wise sage
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I love that image, the way the teepees reflect in the water. A few years ago, I saw an exhibit of Edward S. Curtis’ images in a nearby small town arts and heritage center. What a gift to be able to view those prints of his photos. Here’s a link to a blog post I wrote about that exhibit: https://mnprairieroots.com/2020/01/31/in-montgomery-historic-photos-of-native-americans-by-edward-curtis/
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Yes, I was really drawn to this photo. Thanks for sharing your link about the exhibit
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Beautiful and about time.
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They deserve everything
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The best we can do now is to learn and tell their stories
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We see these Indigenous people here in Nova Scotia…Anita
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wonderful
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An important day on the calendar. Thanks for this post, Beth.
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my pleasure to share
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A great article Beth. We have many indigenous people in So. Florida and through out. The Seminole and Miccosukee . They have maintained their cultures and prefer to live on their own lands. They receive subsidies from the federal government and they alone are allowed to own gambling sites here such as the Hard Rock , etc. still it must be very hard to be delegated to lands chosen by the original pilgrims long ago and enduring so much suffering. I’m part American Indian having a great great grandmother who had a Cherokee mother. Thanks for the tribute to Indigenous peoples day.
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my pleasure to share, it is a tiny baby step in the right direction
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💞
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It was a bad day for the people living on this side of the Atlantic when Columbus showed up. I said “Happy Indigenous People’s Day” to a dog groomer I met this morning. She replied “thank you from both me and my grandmother.”
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love her response
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That is great Beth, I love that there is an indigenous day, I wish there was something here for our indigenous people, but apparently in this country we like to keep them hidden and silence their voices. Thank you for your post.
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it’s been that way everywhere for far too long
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