Posted at 06:39 PM in History | Permalink | Comments (0)
Tags: Lost Nation: The Ioway, Mae Murray Sine, Strode Funderal Home
Government policies that forcibly separate children from families are not new, as noted in this article by Deann Gayman of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln:
Near the end of the 19th century, the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs decided that the indigenous American people should be assimilated into Euro-American culture.
The best way to do so, they reasoned, was by educating Native American youths in boarding schools, where the students had to use English, were taught Christianity and were called European names. School administrators often tried to force the youths to abandon their culture.
By 1900, more than 150 of these schools had opened with more than 21,000 students enrolled — sometimes through force or coercion.
One of the schools was built in Nebraska. The Genoa Indian Industrial School opened in 1884 and enrolled students from more than 40 Native tribal nations. When the school closed in 1934 — much like the other American Indian boarding schools — little care was taken to keep records and materials together.
Now, through funding from the Council on Library and Information Resources, Margaret Jacobs, professor of history and director of women and gender studies, and Elizabeth Lorang, associate professor of University Libraries, have launched a project to compile, digitize and make accessible records and other materials from the Genoa school. They are working closely with Nancy Carlson and the Genoa U.S. Indian School Foundation in Genoa. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Center for Digital Research in the Humanities will host the Genoa Indian School Digital Reconciliation Project.
“Genoa was one of the largest American Indian boarding schools,” Jacobs said. “The records are dispersed all over the United States and are very difficult even for a trained historian and archivist to find. We want to recover that history.
"Finding materials that help us to understand and learn from what happened to children in the boarding school and the long-term implications of those experiences, is the first step in a truth and reconciliation project."
The project presents unique research questions for Jacobs and Lorang.
“Some of the records are of a very sensitive nature,” Jacobs said. “The student files might talk about disease and death or describe the student without the needed context.”
Deann Gayman's story continues HERE.
Three members of the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska visit Genoa U.S. Indian School Museum.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the one remaining building serves as an interpretive museum operated by a foundation as the Genoa U.S. Indian School Museum. It is located at 209 East Webster, Genoa, Nebraska. It is open Thursday through Monday 1pm-5pm, Memorial Day through Labor Day. Click HERE for more information.
A segment of Lost Nation: The Ioway 2 features Ioway Tribe members Lyle Kirlin, Annie Assefa, and Sarah James visiting Genoa Indian School. They discuss the life-changing and lingering effects of a U.S. government policy that separated children from their families--Assefa and James' mother was forcibly removed from her family and home to attend the boarding school.
Posted at 04:28 PM in History | Permalink | Comments (0)
Tags: children separated from families, family separation, Genoa, Indian Boarding School, Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska, Native Americans, Nebraska, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
The separation between the new hit film Les Misérables and the Ioway Indians isn't six degrees.
It's Victor Hugo.
Hugo's French historical novel Les Misérables was published in 1864 and the fictional story he told starts in 1815 and ends in 1832 with the June Rebellion in Paris.
But how and where do the Ioway and Victor Hugo intersect?
In 1844, fourteen Ioway Indians and an interpretor set sail for Eurpope. In England they ran into their old friend, artist George Catlin. Catlin was traveling with his Native American portraits and a group of Ojibwe. But the Ojibwe were gone and Catlin asked the Ioway to join his exhibition.
Hugo first met the Ioway after their arrival in France and later attended the funeral of the wife of Ioway Little Wolf. His baby son and his best friend Roman Nose also died while the Ioway were in Europe.
Catlin published a two-volume account of his European travels entitled Adventures of the Ojibbeway and Ioway Indians in England, France, and Belgium; Being Notes of Eight Years' Travels and Residence in Europe with his North American Indian Collection.
It's hard to watch Les Misérables without recalling similar depictions of extreme poverty observed by the Ioway during their time in Europe. Catlin documents the generosity of the Ioway who he said gave "...many pounds sterling..." to the poor they encountered on the streets.
More details regarding the Ioways' dramatic trip to Europe are featured in the new historical documentary films Lost Nation: The Ioway 2 & 3.
Preorder the new Ioway films here: http://iowaymovie.com/dvd.htm
Posted at 07:17 PM in History | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Posted at 06:02 PM in History | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Tags: history, Iowa, Ioway, Native American, Oklahoma, Perkins
We spotted this map in a Des Moines antique shop. It is fully illustrated, dated 1934, and seems to indicate the site of Ioway Chief Mahaska's death. He is also known as White Cloud.
Mahaska was assassinated in 1834 by Ioway warriors angered by his cooperation with the American goverment. The exact site of his death is a mystery, but it is thought to be near the Nodaway River in either Montgomery or Cass County Iowa.
Click on the map above to view a larger image.
Posted at 11:09 PM in History | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Tags: antiques, Des Moines, Iowa, Ioway, Mahaska, Native American
Lucas Countyan photo of the Iowaville cemetery.
The link below leads to an interesting meditation on the Iowaville village site near the Des Moines River. Some historians don't believe the attack mentioned in the article on the Ioway by the Sac and Fox ever happened.
I wonder if there are stories in Ioway oral history that confirm or deny the event?
Here is the link to the blog entry:
http://lucascountyan.blogspot.com/2008/07/view-from-iowaville.html
Posted at 01:14 PM in History, Ioway Links | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Tags: Fox, history, Iowa, Ioway, Sac, Sauk
Ioway leader Frank White Cloud (above) and others signed the treaty of 1836. Painting by George Catlin.
The Treaty of December 20, 1836 was also known as the "Platte Purchase."*
As an Ioway tribal member we interviewed for "Lost Nation: The Ioway" said, "We had our own trail of tears."
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1207/7470.html
More on the Treaty on the Ioway Cultural Institute's website.
*Source: Ioway Cultural Institute Website
Posted at 10:47 AM in Art, History, Weblogs | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Tags: American Indian, Andrew Jackson, History, Native American, Treaty
Joann Comer passed away on December 15, 2007. We knew her as a beautiful person who was devoted to her family and the Ioway people.
As a Tribal Elder and cultural advocate, Joann played an important role in our Ioway history documentary film project.
This video clip from her interview for "Lost Nation: The Ioway" captures the Joann we knew...and will miss. Thank you, Joann for telling us your portion of the Ioway story.
Posted at 06:02 PM in History, News, Video Clips | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Tags: American Indian, History, Ioway, Joann Comer, Native American, Native Culture