Cpl. Henry Bake, Jr., and Pfc. George H. Kirk, Navajo code talkers, operate a portable radio set. (Official U.S. Marine Corps Photo)
When Your Hands Are Tied is a non profit educational film created to be freely distributed. This film explores the unique ways in which Native youth are finding to express themselves in the contemporary world while maintaining strong traditional lives. Since Native American youth do not often see reflections of themselves or their communities in mainstream media, this film was made which features contemporary youth and role models who are finding exciting and positive ways to direct their lives.
It’s Native American Heritage Month everyone. For those of you interested, ABC7, the City of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles City/County Native American Indian Commission is helping as we celebrate American Indian Heritage Month 2010. There are many events planned to highlight and celebrate the Month.
I’ll be going to both events listed on their website. And if you’re located near the L.A. area I strongly suggest you go too.
To find out about these and other events, please click the photograph above to link to ABC7’s website.
The Chippewa Indians, also known as the Ojibway and Anishanabea, lived mainly in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and North Dakota. They were part of the Algonquian language family. The Chippewa were closely related to the Ottawa Indians and Potawatomi Indians. According to Ojibwe prophecy, the Great Spirit told the Anishinaabe to move west from the Atlantic coast until they found the “food that grows on water. ” After a series of stops and divisions, the branch of Anishinaabe known as the Lake Superior Chippewa found the food that grows on water, wild rice, near Chequamegon Bay on the south shore of Lake Superior at the site of the present day Bad River Reservation, and found their final stopping place at nearby Madeline Island. The Bad River Band of Chippewa Indians is located on a reservation on the south shore of Lake Superior. The reservation, which has a land area of 192. 077 sq mi, is in northern Wisconsin straddling Iron and Ashland counties. The band has approximately 6,000 members, of whom 1,411 lived on the reservation during the 2000 census. Most people live in one of four towns: Odanah, Diaperville (Old Odanah), Birch Hill, or Frank’s Field. Odanah, the administrative and cultural center, is located five miles east of the town of Ashland. Over 90% of the reservation is wilderness. The Chippewa Indians participated in the fur trade with French merchants. And many Frenchmen found wives among Chippewa women. Chippewa warriors fought with the French against the British in the French and Indian War. Following France’s defeat, the Chippewa Indians assisted Pontiac in Pontiac’s Rebellion. Pontiac was a chief of the Ottawas, but his mother was Chippewa. During the American Revolution, the Chippewa Indians allied themselves with the British. The natives feared white Americans would continue to swarm over the Indians’ land if they did not receive assistance from the British. General Anthony Wayne defeated the Chippewa, who fought alongside other Indians of the Ohio Country, at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794. They gave up their claim to lands in Ohio with the signing of several treaties, including the Treaty of Fort Harmar (1789), the Treaty of Greeneville (1795), the Treaty of Fort Industry (1805), and the Treaty of the Maumee Rapids (1817).
