Good Morning!

Hope you are all having a fabulous April.  Did anyone get caught with some good ole April Fools jokes this year?  I’m afraid that I’m away from home and so missed the usual fun of April Fools this year.  And how are y’all doing on your taxes?  This is also Tax month.  Anyone planning to go to Washington DC this April 15th to join the protest against the IRS and the Federal Reserve?  That 16th Amendment, which was radified — or so it’s said — in 1913, after heavy lobbying by Rockefeller, seems to be more and more a burden on the average American citizen (thee and me).  There are some who are determined to shine the light of day on the IRS, which I think is very brave considering that the IRS has been known to treat objectors ofttimes with a bit of a rough hand.  So if you’re going to the rally, I wish you well.

 All right, so I thought we might spend the day talking about Native America and the child.  How was the child valued in Native America, how were they disciplined?  What would it have been like to grow up in Native America?

It is said that a culture that doesn’t value the child and the parents who raise that child, is a culture that will not exist for long.  And it’s probably true.  Children are our future and without a system of raising the child, so that he retains his natural dignity and curosity, is a culture that is most likely on its way out.  In Native America, before the advent of the Amero-European culture spreading around it, the child was adored.  From the moment a woman knew she was pregnant, she would eat certain foods, take long walks, sing, think happy thoughts and do little things that would encourage good growth of the child within her.  A child was born into the family, and that included the extended family — grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, etc.  In fact, in Native America, the child often called his aunts “mother” and his uncles, ”father.” 

A child was also welcomed by every member of the tribe.  The work-a-day world of Native America included the fact that every household — be that a tepee or a longhouse or other form of home — would have food (usually soup) cooking all day long.  A child, any child, was always welcome in any home.  He was always welcome to come in and eat, sit and talk, and literally be at home anywhere within the tribe.  Children were never hit or struck in Native America.  Sometimes, in the Iroquois Confederation, if a child continued to be naughty, someone might throw water on him, but most usually the form of discipline for the child was in the form of an elder who would tell the child a story, one that had a moral do to with whatever the child was doing that was naughty.

 In fact the Blackfeet had an interesting way of disciplining their children so that a child’s natural dignity was never destroyed, and yet he was brought into the tribe and its moral codes in a very natural way.  It went like this:  let’s say that a child was being naughty.  He’d picked up a stick with the intention of hitting his brother or something of that sort.  Some elder of the tribe might have seen him with the stick and the dialogue might have gone like this:

The elder:  “Aa, I see that you a good stick there.”

The child, looking around for the elder, cringes because his intention is to hit his brother.

The elder:  “Aa, what a good child you are.  I see that you have that stick there to help your father mend his arrows.  Your father is lucky to have such a good child as you.l”

Now the child knows he intended nothing of the sort, but to save face, the child nods his head in agreement, and goes off to help his father mend his arrows, forgetting all about wanting to hit his brother.

In Native America, a person who would hit a child in discipline was considered crazy and if it happened once too often, that person was often ostracized by the tribe.  Is it any wonder then, when met with those from a civilization that considered physical discipline important, that the Native American thought that person more than a little crazy?

Okay, I admit it, I keep cheating with this picture, but I really do like it!  What would it have been like to have been a little boy, growing up in Native America?  Well, according to those white men who grew up in Native America, there was nothing to compare with it.  What freedom!  The freedom to come and go whenever you wanted!  The freedom to explore anything you wanted!  Being coached and groomed by your elders, being told stories when you were acting in a way that wasn’t considered best.  Learning to track, to follow trails, to learn the movements of the animals, to be able to go out and stay outside and learn.  To watch the stars on a soft, summer night, to make friends with another boy who would remain your friend for life.  Indeed, those men who grew up in Native America usually stayed, or if they did have to leave, would often return as soon as they were able.   And those men, like George Catlin, who went amongst the natives to paint them, never really ever returned to civilization, except for occasional visits.

Sometimes, when I go to the reservations, I remember the things that I’ve read about the freedom of the Native Americans and I think that if I had a choice, what a pleasure it would have been to grow up in the old days of the Native American.  

So what do you think of child rearing?  Do you have any special tips that have made raising your children easier?  Come on in and let’s talk about our most natural instinct: that of being a parent.  Let’s share.  And don’t forget, THE LAST WARRIOR, my latest effort, has just been released to bookstores everywhere.  Please do pick up a copy.

Good Morning!

Soon, within a few weeks, my latest effort, THE LAST WARRIOR, will be hitting the stands (early March 2008).   Because this book is the last in a series that is set not only within historical times, but within the framework of Native American Mythology, I thought it might be fitting to talk about some of the legends of Native America.

The Thunder Being (or sometimes referred to as the Thunder Bird or Thunder God or Thunderer) is one of the main characters in this latest series of my books.   His anger has been stirred by acts of violence against himself and his children by a clan that is part of the Blackfoot Indians – The Lost Clan as they are called in these stories.  Interestingly, the Thunder Being plays a dominant role in most Native American tribes — perhaps because when one is living so closely to nature, the Thunderer, who can produce so much damage, would be a subject of much legend.  In this series of books, the Lost Clan has been  relegated into the “mist” by the Creator, who intervened on the people’s behalf when the Thunderer was bent on destroying every single member of the clan.  Imprisoned within that mist, each band within the clan is given a chance within every new generation to choose a boy to go out into the real world, who is charged with the task of undoing the curse, thus freeing his people from what would be an everlasting punishment (they are neither real, nor dead).  But, not only must the boy be brave and intelligent (there are puzzles to solve within every book), he must also show kindness to the enemy.

Let’s have a look at the Thunderer and some of the different lord about this being.  In Blackfeet lore, the Thunderer often steals women.  He also will often take the image of a very large bird — his wings creating the thunder and his eyes shooting out the lightning.  In Lakota lore, if one dreams about the Thunder god, he becomes a backwards person.   He must do everything backwards.  He washes in sand, become dirty in water, walks backwards, says exactly what he doesn’t mean, etc., etc.  The dream is so powerful that it is thought that if one fails to do these things, he courts certain death.  In THE LAST WARRIOR, because the last warrior has been adopted by the Lakota,  he believes this last to be true.  And so when our heroine dreams of the Thunderer, our hero is at once worried and seeks to protect her all the more.

There is also a legend of the Thunder Being in the Iroquois Nation.  In this legend, a young woman becomes the bride of the Thunderer and through him saves her village from a huge snake that burrows under her village, thus endangering the lives of everyone in her village.  There is still another legend about the Thunder which you can watch on the Movie called Dream Makers — well, I think that’s the name of the movie (if I am wrong about that name, please do correct me).   In this legend, which is also an Eastern Indian tribe, a young woman marries the Thunderer and goes to live with him in the above world, only to be returned to her own world when she becomes pregnant with his child.

What is very, very interesting to me is how many and how vast are the lores of Native America.  Though we often hear or even study the ancient lore of the Greeks, seldom do we read much our own lore — the mythology that belongs intimately with this land we call America — which by the way, to the Native Americans on the East Coast, it is what we know as America is Turtle Island.   Fascinatingly, there is a story for almost every creature on this continent, from the crow to the sparrow to the coyote (the trickster), the wolf and bear.  There are legends about the stars, the Big Dipper hosts legends about the Great Bear (Iroquois) and the Seven Brothers and their sister (Cheyenne and Blackfeet).  There are still other stories about the Morning Star and the Evening Star and marriages between the Gods and mortals.

So what I thought I’d ask, and what I thought I’d open up the discussion to, is not only what you think about myths (do you think they are stories about a past time or do you think, like many scientists of our day, that they are the works of imagination), but I’d love to know what is your favorite myth?  Do you like best the stories about the stars,  or the heavens, or the creation of human kind, or of love, or adventure?  So come on in, and let’s see if we can tell some of these wonderful stories from our not-too-distant past.

No, this isn’t a photo of Cochise.  It’s Jeff Chandler, the Brooklyn-born actor who played the great Apache chief in three different movies, winning an Oscar nomination for his portrayal in the 1950 film, BROKEN ARROW.  No photograph of the real Cochise exists.  But accounts of the time describe him as tall and handsome with a fiercely majestic presence.  At a time when Native Americans were commonly played by white actors, Chandler (who was 6’ 5” and Jewish) did a first class job.  The scene where James Stewart walks into the Apache camp and Cochise, played by Chandler, first steps into sight, is pure goose bump material.   

The real Cochise was born some time between 1812 and 1815, most likely in the Chiricahua Mountains of what is now southern Arizona.  By 1835 he was leading raids against the Apaches’ traditional enemies, the Mexicans.  His ferocity in battle and his chiefly bearing soon made him a leader among his people.

Cochise tolerated the growing presence of Americans in his territory until an incident in 1861.  A rancher had lost some cattle and his half-Mexican son.  The local army commander summoned Cochise to his tent.  Cochise came with his wife and son, his brother and several nephews.  Cochise, who was innocent, was accused of the crime.  When the soldiers tried to arrest him, he drew a knife, slashed the tent and escaped.The soldiers held Cochise’s family hostage.  To ransom them, Cochise kidnapped four men from a stagecoach station.  Believing that his family had been killed, Cochise tortured and killed his captives.  In retaliation, the soldiers killed his brother and nephews, who were still prisoners.  Cochise’s wife and son were released, but the damage was done.  Throughout the 1860’s Cochise made war on the Americans, raiding, killing, striking terror into the hearts of settlers and outwitting the army at every turn.  When his father-in-law, the great Mangas Coloradas, was murdered by whites, who removed his head and sent it back East, Cochise’s rage reached new heights.  By the end of the decade Cochise was the most feared Indian in America.

Enter a new player in this drama.  Mail supervisor Thomas Jeffords was the one white man Cochise respected and trusted.  Their friendship is one of the greatest legends of the West. Through a series of events, Jeffords managed to arrange a meeting between Cochise and General Howard, known for his fairness toward the Indians.  A treaty was arranged, which gave the Apaches a reservation in their beloved mountains and named Cochise’s friend Jeffords as the reservation agent. 

Jeffords, shown here, was played in the film BROKEN ARROW by James Stewart.  The romance between Jeffords and the Apache girl, played by Debra Paget, was entirely fictional.  But the rest of the story is mostly true.

Cochise honored the treaty to the end of his days and died in his sixties of natural causes.  His grave has never been found.  His eldest son Taza, who followed him as tribal leader, also walked the path of peace.  He died of pneumonia on a visit to Washington DC in 1876.  Cochise’s younger son Naiche and his warrior daughter Lozen continued the fight for freedom alongside another Apache leader who, in my estimation, was even more fascinating than Cochise.  But that’s a story for next time.

Who is your favorite Native American character, in film, fiction or history?  What do you think of the way Native Americans are portrayed in movies?  I’m very interested in your opinions.

Good morning!

With health concerns being in the news more and more these days, I thought it might be interesting to have a look at the average person’s state of health in the Native America of the past, as well as medicine, as defined by Native Americans, what it was – and medicine men — who were they?  What did they do?  And who were shamans?

Let’s begin with medicine.  In Native America, medicine meant the great mystery.  If one could cure the sick, that person had great medicine.  If a man could go to war and come home alive, he had great medicine.  Plants had medicine.  Animals had medicine.   And certain parts of  nature had medicine.  The word medicine did not mean a pill or even an herb or remedy.  It meant simply that a man or a woman had a special connection with the great mystery or with the Creator.  When the white man came with his boats and guns and various things that the Native Americans could not easily explain, the old time Indian called these things (not necessarily the person who used them – but the things used), medicine.

The Native Americans of North America  enjoyed great health and a physcial beauty that would rival the most beautiful of the ancient Greeks.  So writes George Catlin in the mid-nineteenth century, as well as Prince Maximillian and Bodner, Maximillian’s friend and artist, who travelled with the Prince to America.  The Native Americans of the past had no processed food, and, depending on the tribe, they ate many things raw or dried.  Many of the North American tribes were tall and firm of limb and body and as history tells us, a very handsome people.

Food, clean water and fresh air was their medicine.  True, there were herbs that the medicine men & women might use to help their people, but a medicine man’s stock and trade was not merely in herbs alone.  Indians of North America (before their diet was changed) were known for their straight teeth, which did not decay, even into old age in many cases.  There was a saying with the settlers — “teeth as strong as an Indian’s.”  There was little tooth decay, illness was not the norm amnong the people, and many of the diseases that plague us today were completely nonexistent.  People lived (if they weren’t killed in wars) to a grand old age.  There were many people who lived well into their hundreds, keeping hold of their facilities until death.

They lived in a land of beauty with fresh air, warm breezes, wholesome food and the love of family.  So what did a medicine man (or shaman) do if presented with illness?  Or physical problems due to injury?  Well, I can’t say exactly, since I have not this lifetime been trained in the Native American way of medicine.  I do, however, know this.  The stock and trade of the medicine man was his ability to drive out the evil spirits which inhabited the sick person’s body.  It was known by these men that illness was often caused by evil spirits that would make their way into a person’s body.  So a medicine man’s cures often had to do with driving these spirits away.  Thus, the rattles and drums of the medicine man.

How successful were these people?  According to legend, they were fairly successful.  While they didn’t keep statistics as we do today, their fame was only as good as they could cure those who were sick.  While using herbs collected and dried, they never forgot that their aim was to rid the person of the evil spirit which had taken over a part of the person’s body.

On a final note, since whole foods were the basis of their “medicine,” let me take a moment to tell you about corn, as prepared by the Native Americans.  The Iroquois built strong, tall and healthy bodies based on the three sisters, corn, beans and squash, with corn being their main staple.  The diet was augmented with meat when it was available, but corn was their main diet. 

However, it was a different kind of corn than what we know of it today.  Our corn has been altered, and cross-bred and genetically modified until it is almost completely a carbohydrate.  Not so Indian corn.  The Indians knew that corn had to be soaked for days in lime water before it could be used as a food.  Of course we know today that corn has many anti-nutrients — phytates — those things that protect the seed or grain, but are irritating and stressing to the human digestive system.  Soaking the corn in lime did two things:  1) it got rid of the phytates or anti-nutrients in the grain, and 2) it changed the nutrition of the corn into a per protein with all the amino acids present.  This tradition of soaking cornmeal or corn in lime before use is still with us in the southern part of the country — masa flour is often soaked in lime.   And on this sort of diet, the Iroquois built a confederation that was so strong, that it influenced a whole generation of our forefathers, who saw in the Five Nations Confederation, an organization of government that permitted every individual in the nation freedom of mind, freedom of spirit and freedom of body.

Well, that’s it for today.  So tell me, what do you think of the medicine’s stock and trade?  What do you think of their main medicine — whole foods?  If you had lived at that time, would you have taken the time to learn about their foods and how they prepared them? 

I’d love to hear from you.  And I should probably start letting you know, I have a new book coming out soon, called THE LAST WARRIOR.  March 2008 is the release date and I just happen to have a graphic of the cover.  So come on in and let’s talk.

I did my best for you.  Finding pics and info about this flick is nigh on impossible!

Adam Ruebin Beach is a Canadian actor of Saulteaux descent. He grew up with his two brothers on the Dog Creek Indian Reserve until the age of 8. He is best known for his role in the movie Smoke Signals, directed by Chris Eyre, which won the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival. Following the death of both his mother and father within a short period of time, Adam moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba, where he became involved in theatre and in the Black Sabbath cover band Lethic. After landing a part in the film Lost in the Barrens with Graham Greene, he decided to pursue acting as a career.  You remember him from HBO’s Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.

Enjoy!

Good Morning!

Because we have just celebrated Veteran’s Day on Monday, I thought I’d take a moment to post about something very American — fhe Native American influence on America, itself — how we are today and how we got here.

Long ago, after meeting and talking to many Europeans, I was struck by the fact that the American idea of freedom is much freer than that across the Atlantic.  I didn’t quite understand why since our roots go back to England and France and Holland (and others of course, but these three were here first).  But because my next book is set in the land of the Iroquois, I have been getting quite an education.

Did you know that Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine were greatly influenced by an ages old Confederacy of the Iroquois?  Did you know that much of our Constitution has very deep roots in the Iroquois Confederation?

If you didn’t, don’t feel bad.  I didn’t either.

Indeed long ago, before the white man ever set foot upon the North American Continent, five warring Native American Nations decided to ban war forever and to seek peace and to try to bring this peace to other nations, that war should be forever abolished.  They developed a set of laws to help them along this path and they “buried the hatchet” and by doing so established a long tradition of peace.  It was brought about by the man they call The Peacemaker, or Deganawida, and Hiawatha (the real man, not the legend of Longfellow’s poem).  They lived as hunters and farmers in villages with cleared fields that grew the three sisters, corn, beans and squash.

Did you know that when the white man came here, America was not a wilderness?  Land had been cleared for farming — and the forests were like gigantic parks — the under brush was burned off so as to produce a place for hunting that was much like our parks of today?  At least so writes Captain John Smith.

The Iroquois had a very definite sense of freedom.  Man was free.  He was not subject to a King — he did not abide by the “Devine Right of Kings,” and he was an independent being.  His elected officals were sent there by the elder women of the tribe and could be removed for not obeying the laws by the women of the tribe.  In fact, after 3 notices, a man was removed — and lived the rest of his life in shame.  No offical ever was paid for being on the council.  It was considered his duty to his people and to his tribe.

It was only after learning more and more about the Native American that I have come to realize that we owe the Natives of this country a debt.  Our sense of independence, our very thought of what it means to be free comes not from those who came to this country as serfs, but rather from those who lived on the American Continent in freedom.

So, since we have just observed Veteran’s Day, I’d love to hear your comments on freedom, veterans, and what it means to you to be a free people.  Do you have any experiences to tell me about?  If so, I’d love to hear them.  So come on in and let’s talk.

Good morning bloggers!

 Okay, did the title wake you up yet?  If not, stay tuned.  We’re going to have a look at some of those hunky men on the covers of our books.  As you might know already — or at least suspect — all of my books are about the historical American Indian.  And some of the men on those covers are incredibly good-looking.  And since I don’t have access to others’ covers, if you will bear with me, we will examine some of my own.

This is a past book — or as we like to say — an older title.  Orginally part of the Blackfoot Warrior series, this cover quickly became one of my favorites.  The model is Joseph Anselmo — and isn’t he delicious?

Then we have another cover — again with Joseph Anselmo and again part of the Blackfoot Warrior series — an older title.  The interesting thing about this particular cover is that when it first came out, I was touring in Montana and was on the Blackfeet reservation for their Indian Days Pow-wow.  There is a fellow on the reservation who looks exactly like Joseph here — and I was fortunate enough to meet him.  

This was again one of my favorite covers.                                                    

Then we have a couple of very older titles — these are covers of my first books — LAKOTA SURRENDER was #1 and LAKOTA PRINCESS was #2.

The model for LAKOTA SURRENDER was John D’Salvo and the lady is Cindy
Guyer.

And then we have the most recent favorite cover — however, I don’t know the name of the model for this cover.  If anyone knows who this model is, please let me know. 

Absolutely handsome.  Of course I have other favorites, too.  Here’s one of my most prized, most favorite hunks of all time.

Well, it’s my favorite, although the man is not Native American.  Instead, it’s my husband, Paul.

At the time period when I write, the men were not only handsome — George Catlin describes them in 1834 as rivaling a Greek statue in physique — but there were other romantic values in place, as well.   Integrity, honor, honesty, undying devotion to family and to the tribe were uppermost.  A Jesuit monk once described the Hurons as a tribe of saints.  While I don’t know that I would go so far as to say that, I will agree that at this time in history, there were values of life and liberty that at times seem to be lost in our world nowadays.  And so I write about this time period in history with the hope of not only entertaining the reader, but bringing back to mind as vividly as possible a time when honor was respected above all else; when money meant nothing and when the land and the creatures upon it were free as the wind.

What’s your favorite cover?  Your favorite model?  Your favorite title?  I’d love to hear about them, and even more so, why they are your favorites.  So come on in and let’s talk.

Before we leave for the evening, I wanted to thank you all for joining me here today in our discussion of pow-wows. A special thanks goes to Buffie, AndreaW., Mary Connelly, Debbie, Tanya Hanson, and Lew Gordon for joining me, and of course a special thanks goes out to my fellow Western authors, Linda Broday, Lorraine, Charlene, Pam Crooks, Elizabeth Lane and Pat Potter, who have made the day special. I’ve enjoyed chatting with you all.

Be sure to join us tomorrow for more fun. more stories, and more chatting.

Ah-ho!

Good Morning!

In July, my huband and I spent three weeks on the Blackfeet reservation. We were there with church volunteers and my friend, Patricia, where we were sponsoring some literacy and drug education programs. Plus, last week we were on the Crow reservation where we were again working with volunteers. Therefore, I thought you might like to hear something about the pow-wow, both the historical pow-wow and modern-day event.

The pow-wow — so much a part of the Western landscape and culture — attracts visitors from all over the world.

What are they all about?

Okay, let’s start first with the history of the modern pow-wow. Probably the early beginnings of the modern pow-wow has its roots in the summer/autumn gathering of the tribe. During the winter and spring months, the tribe would separate in their different bands to go their own way, to hunt and to prepare for the coming winter. Spring was of course devoted to gathering food and hunting. But in the late summer or early autumn the entire tribe would come together for ceremonials and religious renewal, as well as for cultural activities. It was a chance for young people to get to know other young people from other bands of the tribe, as well as for relatives and old friends to come together again. Often the Sundance was an part of the gathering, as well.

Today, at the modern pow-wow, you’ll see Indian and non-Indian people from all over the country enjoying the community and inspiring atmosphere of the pow-wow. Before we go any furhter, let me explain some terminology: there are some tribes (like the Navajo), who like to be referred to as Native Americans. But on the Northern Plains of North American, those tribes like the Blackfeet and Lakota, these people prefer to be called Indian. As one person put it to me, “I’m Indian and proud of it.”

Here in Los Angeles we have such a diverse and large American Indian population that if you were to ever attend one of our pow-wows, you’ll notice traditions being observed from all over the country. For instance, here in Los Angeles we have Aztec dancers, something one doesn’t see in the more northern pow-wows.

In the northern pow-wow, you’ll see the men’s Chicken Dance, something you won’t see normally in the Los Angeles Pow-wow.

There is much dancing and gift giving at the modern pow-wow. All ages participate and there is contesting within the different men’s and women’s forms of dancing. There are several different styles of men’s dances as well as women’s dances, as well. At many of the pow-wows in the west, you’ll also see the modern rodeo in action with some different aspects like the Indian relay race and the tepee raising contests.

There are food ventors — Indian fry bread is popular at all pow-wow’s that I’ve attended — and Native American jewelry of all kinds abounds. At the Blackfeet pow-wow there is the hand game and card games that continue well into the wee hours of the morning and at the Crow Fair pow-wow, one is treated to the sight of 500 or more tepees all set in the background of the beautiful Little Big Horn area.

Have you ever been to a pow-wow? If so, what are your observations? Are you thinking of attending a pow-wow? And if so, do you have questions you’d like to ask before attending? I will be checking into the blog all day long, so let’s start a discussion. I’d love to hear from you.

Here are three of us at an LA pow-wow, resting between dances. Patricia, on the left is a Traditional dancer, while Elaine and I are Fancy Dance dancers. As a note, each particular style of dance has its own regalia.

And for your info, all people are welcomed at the pow-wow, and many a romance has been sparked at pow-wow, both the historical, as well as the modern day pow-wow.

So come on in and leave a comment or two. See you later!

A very good afternoon to all you bloggers! I will be your hostess tomorrow on Petticoats & Pistols and, since my husband and I have only returned from the Crow reservation, I thought that you might like to hear a little bit about Pow-wow’s in general — how they started, what they are, what happens at them, who can attend, where they are, who you might see there, what do you eat, etc.

Here is a picture taken of my husband and myself the Blackfeet Indian Days pow-wow in July of this year. In the picture, I’m wearing the Women’s Fancy Dance regalia. I look forward to talking to you tomorrow, so come and join me for a discussion of this, or any other topic of your choice, as well as a Q & A of pow-wow’s.

Cover art for RED HAWK’S WOMAN