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syncope at 02:08pm on 31/07/2009
syncope at 02:08pm on 31/07/2009Hm, I was going to do a whole post about Chief Joe Medicine Crow since he's getting the Medal of Freedom this year and so is sort of in the news (but not really), but I figured, what the hell, how about highlight a bunch of different people that you can fall down a googlehole or wikihole over and maybe accidentally learn things even I don't know?
Chief Joe Medicine Crow's basic story.
You probably think that the amazing part of this story is his war record and being a real life, alive today War Chief. No. To me the amazing part of this story is that he went to college and became an educator and came back to the Res. This is a hero.
Shawn Atleo is the new Chief of The Assembly of First Nations in Canada. Things work very differently in Canada—however, that border is a false construct when it comes to indigenous peoples, so this is as relevant to Americans as the horrific situation for Native peoples in the States is for Canadians. Before Atleo (who is brand new, as you can see), there was Phil Fontaine who looms epically large as a contemporary First Nations leader.
Wilma Mankiller was the First female Chief of the Oklahoma Cherokee. With a side order of this hilarious link I got when I googled her name: Why your great-grandmother wasn't a Cherokee princess.
John Bennett Herrington is the first Native American to walk in space.
Tom Cole is the only member of a First Nation in Congress right now. (However, I don't know if that means enrolled members only.) REPUBLICAN, I ask you, what is the world coming to?
A historical figure that you might have sort of learned of in school (if you're American or Canadian) who I think you need to actually know facts about and give some thought to: Tecumseh. I think if you read over some materials about him and put him and his movement into perspective it will give you a new way of looking at his period and what came after.
I welcome link dumping in the comments. This was a bit of an iceberg and I just went with whoever fluttered into my head rather than any kind of systematic approach. Although this did end up being pretty Political Figures/Officials 101.
Chief Joe Medicine Crow's basic story.
You probably think that the amazing part of this story is his war record and being a real life, alive today War Chief. No. To me the amazing part of this story is that he went to college and became an educator and came back to the Res. This is a hero.
Shawn Atleo is the new Chief of The Assembly of First Nations in Canada. Things work very differently in Canada—however, that border is a false construct when it comes to indigenous peoples, so this is as relevant to Americans as the horrific situation for Native peoples in the States is for Canadians. Before Atleo (who is brand new, as you can see), there was Phil Fontaine who looms epically large as a contemporary First Nations leader.
Wilma Mankiller was the First female Chief of the Oklahoma Cherokee. With a side order of this hilarious link I got when I googled her name: Why your great-grandmother wasn't a Cherokee princess.
John Bennett Herrington is the first Native American to walk in space.
Tom Cole is the only member of a First Nation in Congress right now. (However, I don't know if that means enrolled members only.) REPUBLICAN, I ask you, what is the world coming to?
A historical figure that you might have sort of learned of in school (if you're American or Canadian) who I think you need to actually know facts about and give some thought to: Tecumseh. I think if you read over some materials about him and put him and his movement into perspective it will give you a new way of looking at his period and what came after.
I welcome link dumping in the comments. This was a bit of an iceberg and I just went with whoever fluttered into my head rather than any kind of systematic approach. Although this did end up being pretty Political Figures/Officials 101.
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