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93-577: The Crow Creek massacre occurred around the mid-14th century AD and involved Native American groups at a site along the upper Missouri River in the South Dakota area; it is now within the Crow Creek Indian Reservation . Crow Creek Site , the site of the massacre near Chamberlain , is an archaeological site and a U.S. National Historic Landmark , located at coordinates 43°58′48″N 99°19′54″W. An excavation of part of
186-557: A Cherokee ancestor on the Dawes Rolls, although all Cherokee Freedmen and their descendants had been members since 1866. As of 2004, various Native Americans are wary of attempts by others to gain control of their reservation lands for natural resources, such as coal and uranium in the West. The State of Maine is the only State House Legislature that allows Representatives from Indian Tribes. The three nonvoting members represent
279-465: A body of law, Jim Crow institutionalized economic, educational, and social disadvantages for Native Americans, and other people of color living in the south. Native American identity was especially targeted by a system that only wanted to recognize white or colored, and the government began to question the legitimacy of some tribes because they had intermarried with African Americans. Native Americans were also discriminated and discouraged from voting in
372-547: A broader set of groups, e.g. Native Hawaiians , which it tabulates separately. The European colonization of the Americas from 1492 resulted in a precipitous decline in the size of the Native American population because of newly introduced diseases , including weaponized diseases and biological warfare by colonizers, wars , ethnic cleansing , and enslavement . Numerous scholars have classified elements of
465-499: A chronic nature. According to Zimmerman's 1985 book, Peoples of Prehistoric South Dakota, the bones reveal several ailments related to chronic malnutrition. As stated in Zimmerman's book, "one of the most common characteristics was a pitting in the top of the eye sockets called cribra orbitalis. Associated with this on several skulls was porotic hyperostosis , a pitting on the back of the skull". Both of these conditions are caused by
558-498: A deficiency of iron in the diet. In addition to these ailments, Harris lines (an indicator of insufficient amounts of protein and other essential minerals, as well as truncated episodes of growth) were discovered while specialists examined radiographs of several individuals. The Crow Creek villagers were measured as being shorter than their Arikara descendants, with the females being significantly shorter; this could have been another effect of nutritional deficiencies and illness. In
651-495: A federal Indian trust relationship are based. Cultural activism since the late 1960s has increased the participation of Indigenous peoples in American politics. It has also led to expanded efforts to teach and preserve Indigenous languages for younger generations, and to establish a more robust cultural infrastructure: Native Americans have founded independent newspapers and online media outlets, including First Nations Experience ,
744-529: A journal article entitled "The Crow Creek Massacre: Initial Coalescent Warfare and Speculations about the Genesis of Extended Coalescent", Zimmerman and Bradley propose that the severe conditions faced by the Crow Creek villagers were not short term. Based on the evidence of "active and organizing subperiostial hematomas along with the other bony alterations" found while examining remains, they concluded that
837-470: A large degree of tribal sovereignty . For this reason, many Native American reservations are still independent of state law and the actions of tribal citizens on these reservations are subject only to tribal courts and federal law. The Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 granted US citizenship to all Native Americans born in the US who had not yet obtained it. This emptied the "Indians not taxed" category established by
930-724: A more collective basis than the culture which Europeans were familiar with. Most Indigenous American tribes treated their hunting grounds and agricultural lands as land that could be used by their entire tribe. Europeans had developed concepts of individual property rights with respect to land that were extremely different. The differences in cultures, as well as the shifting alliances among different nations during periods of warfare, caused extensive political tension, ethnic violence, and social disruption. Native Americans suffered high fatality rates from contact with European diseases that were new to them, and to which they had not acquired immunity . Smallpox epidemics are thought to have caused
1023-475: A resolution recommending that the federal and legislative branches of the U.S. government terminate tribal governments. In 2007, a group of Democratic Party congressmen and congresswomen introduced a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives to terminate Federal recognition of the Cherokee Nation . This was related to their voting to exclude Cherokee Freedmen as members of the tribe unless they had
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#17327719961081116-422: A total of 56,884 acres (23,020 ha) and drains an area just under 250,000 square miles (650,000 km ). South Dakota Highway 47 crosses over the dam, connecting Lyman and Buffalo Counties. Big Bend Dam is located approximately 17 miles (27 km) north of I-90 , and approximately 60 miles (97 km) southeast of Pierre . The next dam upstream is Oahe Dam , near Pierre , and the next dam downstream
1209-400: A variety of diseases, but in many cases this happened long after Europeans first arrived. When severe epidemics did hit, it was often less because Native bodies lack immunity than because European colonialism disrupted Native Communities and damaged their resources, making them more vulnerable to pathogens." After the thirteen British colonies revolted against Great Britain and established
1302-607: Is Fort Randall Dam , near Pickstown . The construction of the dam resulted in the dislocation of people on the Crow Creek and Lower Brule Reservations. The flooding of the land for the reservoir also resulted in the loss of limited plant life resources used by them for food and medicine. A monument at Big Bend Dam dedicated in 2002, the Spirit of the Circle Monument , honors the more than 1,300 people who died over
1395-488: Is 90%, but it could have been as high as 100%. This is based on skeletal remains that exhibit cuts on their skulls indicative of scalping. Men, women, and children were scalped; the only difference was that younger children were cut higher on the skull than other groups. The events leading to this massacre are unknown, but there are many hypotheses. The most plausible is that this was internecine warfare, and that "overpopulation, land-use patterns, and an unstable climate caused
1488-537: Is condescending for such lands to be considered "held in trust" and regulated in any fashion by any entity other than their own tribes. Some tribal groups have been unable to document the cultural continuity required for federal recognition. To achieve federal recognition and its benefits, tribes must prove continuous existence since 1900. The federal government has maintained this requirement, in part because through participation on councils and committees, federally recognized tribes have been adamant about groups' satisfying
1581-552: Is known as the " Kelp Highway ". The early inhabitants by land were classified as Paleo-Indians , who spread throughout the Americas, diversifying into numerous culturally distinct nations. Major Paleo-Indian cultures included the Clovis and Folsom traditions , identified through unique spear points and large-game hunting methods, especially during the Lithic stage . Around 8000 BCE, as the climate stabilized, new cultural periods like
1674-733: Is the largest tribe if only full-blood individuals are counted; the Navajo are the tribe with the highest proportion of full-blood individuals, 86.3%. The Cherokee have a different history; it is the largest tribe, with 819,000 individuals, and it has 284,000 full-blood individuals. As of 2012, 70% of Native Americans live in urban areas, up from 45% in 1970 and 8% in 1940. Urban areas with significant Native American populations include Minneapolis, Denver, Phoenix, Tucson, Chicago, Oklahoma City, Houston, New York City, and Los Angeles. Many live in poverty. Racism, unemployment, drugs and gangs are common problems which Indian social service organizations such as
1767-564: The American Indian Movement (AIM) drawing attention to Indigenous rights. Landmark legislation like the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975 recognized tribal autonomy, leading to the establishment of Native-run schools and economic initiatives. Tribal sovereignty has continued to evolve, with legal victories and federal acknowledgments supporting cultural revitalization. By
1860-543: The Archaic stage arose, during which hunter-gatherer communities developed complex societies across North America. The Mound Builders created large earthworks, such as at Watson Brake and Poverty Point , which date to 3500 BCE and 2200 BCE, respectively, indicating early social and organizational complexity. By 1000 BCE, Native societies in the Woodland period developed advanced social structures and trade networks, with
1953-518: The Census Bureau until 1930: American Indians and Alaska Natives as percentage of the total population between 1880 and 2020: Absolute numbers of American Indians and Alaska Natives between 1880 and 2020 (since 1890 according to the Census Bureau ): 78% of Native Americans live outside a reservation. Full-blood individuals are more likely to live on a reservation than mixed-blood individuals. The Navajo , with 286,000 full-blood individuals,
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#17327719961082046-664: The Dawes Act , which undermined communal landholding. A justification for the policy of conquest and subjugation of the Indigenous people emanated from the stereotyped perceptions of Native Americans as "merciless Indian savages" (as described in the United States Declaration of Independence ). Sam Wolfson in The Guardian writes, "The declaration's passage has often been cited as an encapsulation of
2139-791: The Hopewell tradition connecting the Eastern Woodlands to the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico . This period led to the Mississippian culture , with large urban centers like Cahokia —a city with complex mounds and a population exceeding 20,000 by 1250 CE. From the 15th century onward, European contact drastically reshaped the Americas. Explorers and settlers introduced diseases, causing massive Indigenous population declines, and engaged in violent conflicts with Native groups. By
2232-879: The Indigenous peoples of Canada are generally known as First Nations , Inuit and Métis ( FNIM ). The history of Native Americans in the United States began before the founding of the U.S., tens of thousands of years ago with the settlement of the Americas by the Paleo-Indians . The Eurasian migration to the Americas occurred over millennia via Beringia , a land bridge between Siberia and Alaska , as early humans spread southward and eastward, forming distinct cultures and societies. Archaeological evidence suggests these migrations began 60,000 years ago and continued until around 12,000 years ago. Some may have arrived even before this time fishing in kayaks along what
2325-625: The Mississippi River , in order to accommodate continued European American expansion. This resulted in what amounted to the ethnic cleansing or genocide of many tribes, who were subjected to brutal forced marches . The most infamous of these came to be known as the Trail of Tears . Contemporary Native Americans have a unique relationship with the United States because they may be members of nations, tribes, or bands that have sovereignty and treaty rights upon which federal Indian law and
2418-703: The Missouri River Basin . Located near Fort Thompson , South Dakota, just south of the Big Bend of the Missouri River , a large meander , Big Bend Dam creates Lake Sharpe , named after South Dakota Governor Merrill Q. Sharpe . The lake extends for 80 miles (130 km) up the course of the Missouri River passing through Pierre , the State Capitol, to Oahe Dam , another major power-generating and flood control dam. Lake Sharpe covers
2511-620: The Senate Indian Affairs Committee endorsed a bill that would grant federal recognition to tribes in Virginia. As of 2000 , the largest groups in the United States by population were Navajo , Cherokee , Choctaw , Sioux , Chippewa , Apache , Blackfeet , Iroquois , and Pueblo . In 2000, eight of ten Americans with Native American ancestry were of mixed ancestry. It is estimated that by 2100 that figure will rise to nine out of ten. The civil rights movement
2604-734: The United States Constitution , allowed Natives to vote in elections, and extended the Fourteenth Amendment protections granted to people "subject to the jurisdiction" of the United States. However, some states continued to deny Native Americans voting rights for decades. Titles II through VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 comprise the Indian Civil Rights Act, which applies to Native American tribes and makes many but not all of
2697-565: The first written accounts of the contact were provided by Europeans . Ethnographers classify the Indigenous peoples of North America into ten geographical regions which are inhabited by groups of people who share certain cultural traits, called cultural areas. The ten cultural areas are: At the time of the first contact, the Indigenous cultures were different from those of the proto-industrial and mostly Christian immigrants. Some Northeastern and Southwestern cultures, in particular, were matrilineal and they were organized and operated on
2790-502: The 1982 dissertation entitled Osteology of the Crow Creek Massacre by P. Willey, evidence of previous warfare is present in the skeletal remains of victims found in the mass burial. Two individuals had survived previous scalping incidents, and were in the process of healing, which was indicated by the bony re-growth of their skulls; a third individual had survived a head injury as indicated by "a healed depressed fracture in
2883-537: The 19th century, westward U.S. expansion, rationalized by Manifest destiny , pressured tribes into forced relocations like the Trail of Tears , which decimated communities and redefined Native territories. Despite resistance in events like the Sioux Uprising and Battle of Little Bighorn , Native American lands continued to be reduced through policies like the Indian Removal Act of 1830 and later
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2976-513: The 21st century, Native Americans had achieved increased control over tribal lands and resources, although many communities continue to grapple with the legacy of displacement and economic challenges. Urban migration has also grown, with over 70% of Native Americans residing in cities by 2012, navigating issues of cultural preservation and discrimination. Continuing legal and social efforts address these concerns, building on centuries of resilience and adaptation that characterize Indigenous history across
3069-455: The 48 states and Alaska. Native American population rebounded sharply from 1950, when they numbered 377,273; it reached 551,669 in 1960, 827,268 in 1970, with an annual growth rate of 5%, four times the national average. Total spending on Native Americans averaged $ 38 million a year in the late 1920s, dropping to a low of $ 23 million in 1933, and returning to $ 38 million in 1940. The Office of Indian Affairs counted more American Indians than
3162-647: The Americas , including Mesoamerican peoples such as the Maya , as well as Canadian and South American natives . In 2022, 634,503 Indigenous people in the United States identified with Central American Indigenous groups, 875,183 identified with the Indigenous people of Mexico , and 47,518 identified with Canadian First Nations . Of the 3.2 million Americans who identified as American Indian or Alaska Native alone in 2022, around 45% are of Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, with this number growing as increasing numbers of Indigenous people from Latin American countries immigrate to
3255-399: The Americas. According to the 2020 census, the U.S. population was 331.4 million. Of this, 3.7 million people, or 1.1 percent, reported American Indian or Alaska Native ancestry alone. In addition, 5.9 million people (1.8 percent), reported American Indian or Alaska Native in combination with one or more other races. The definition of American Indian or Alaska Native used in the 2010 census
3348-829: The Corps of Engineers and the University of South Dakota Archaeology Laboratory team consulted with the Crow Creek Sioux Reservation Tribal Council, as well as representatives of the Mandan and Arikara peoples, who now are based mostly on Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in North Dakota. The researchers agreed to the tribal council request that the remains stay within South Dakota for the entire period of study and that, after study,
3441-587: The Crow Creek victims may have been based on standard aboriginal butchering practices developed on large game animals". These are among the mutilations discovered at the Crow Creek site. In addition, scalping was performed, bodies were burned, and there is evidence of limbs being removed by various means. As stated in Willey's dissertation, many of the mutilations suffered by the victims of the Crow Creek massacre could have been traumatic enough to result in death. A conservative estimate of villagers who suffered scalping
3534-552: The Ghost Dance properly, the European American colonists would vanish, the bison would return, and the living and the dead would be reunited in an Eden ic world. On December 29 at Wounded Knee, gunfire erupted, and U.S. soldiers killed up to 300 Indians, mostly old men, women, and children. Days after the massacre, the author L. Frank Baum wrote: The Pioneer has before declared that our only safety depends upon
3627-579: The Indians were destined to vanish under the pressure of white civilization, stating in an 1886 lecture: I don't go so far as to think that the only good Indians are dead Indians, but I believe nine out of ten are, and I shouldn't like to inquire too closely into the case of the tenth. One of the last and most notable events during the Indian wars was the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890. In
3720-746: The Little Earth housing complex in Minneapolis attempt to address. Below are numbers for U.S. citizens self-identifying to selected tribal groupings, according to the 2010 U.S. census. There are 573 federally recognized tribal governments and 326 Indian reservations in the United States. These tribes possess the right to form their own governments, to enforce laws (both civil and criminal) within their lands, to tax, to establish requirements for membership, to license and regulate activities, to zone, and to exclude persons from tribal territories. Limitations on tribal powers of self-government include
3813-492: The Penobscot Nation, Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, and Passamaquoddy Tribe . These representatives can sponsor any legislation regarding American Indian affairs or co-sponsor any pending State of Maine legislation. Maine is unique regarding Indigenous leadership representation. In the state of Virginia , Native Americans face a unique problem. Until 2017 Virginia previously had no federally recognized tribes but
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3906-608: The Register was started in 1964. In 1978, South Dakota State Archaeologist, Robert Alex, and other members of his office attended a meeting hosted by the South Dakota Archaeological Society. They toured the Crow Creek site, which had been known and had some professional excavation in the 1950s as part of surveys and salvage excavations preceding construction of Big Bend Dam on the Missouri within
3999-511: The Secretary of State, rather than the Bureau of Indian Affairs . The Bureau of Indian Affairs reports on its website that its "responsibility is the administration and management of 55,700,000 acres (225,000 km ) of land held in trust by the United States for American Indians, Indian tribes, and Alaska Natives ". Many Native Americans and advocates of Native American rights believe that it
4092-478: The U.S. federal government's claim to recognize the "sovereignty" of Native American peoples falls short, given that the United States wishes to govern Native American peoples and treat them as subject to U.S. law. Such advocates contend that full respect for Native American sovereignty would require the U.S. government to deal with Native American peoples in the same manner as any other sovereign nation, handling matters related to relations with Native Americans through
4185-405: The US and more Latinos self-identify with indigenous heritage. Of groups Indigenous to the United States, the largest self-reported tribes are Cherokee (1,449,888), Navajo (434,910), Choctaw (295,373), Blackfeet (288,255), Sioux (220,739), and Apache (191,823). 205,954 respondents specified an Alaska Native identity. Native Hawaiians are counted separately from Native Americans by
4278-600: The United States was established, Native American tribes were considered semi-independent nations, because they generally lived in communities which were separate from communities of white settlers . The federal government signed treaties at a government-to-government level until the Indian Appropriations Act of 1871 ended recognition of independent Native nations, and started treating them as "domestic dependent nations" subject to applicable federal laws. This law did preserve rights and privileges, including
4371-458: The United States, President George Washington and Secretary of War Henry Knox conceived the idea of " civilizing " Native Americans in preparation for their assimilation as U.S. citizens. Assimilation, whether it was voluntary, as it was with the Choctaw , or forced , was consistently maintained as a matter of policy by consecutive American administrations. During the 19th century,
4464-495: The agreement at the time, "contending that new techniques would have allowed substantially more information to be gleaned from the remains if they had been curated for eventual restudy." At the request of the Arikara, the remains were placed in five burial vaults. In order to avoid disturbing the site, the vaults were buried in areas where earlier archeological excavations had taken place in the 1950s. The study took three years, and
4557-628: The area in competition for arable land and resources. The Crow Creek site, designated 39BF11 under the Smithsonian site numbering system, is located along the Missouri River in central South Dakota. The site is located on lands now under the control of the US Army Corps of Engineers due to its flood control and other projects on the river. It is surrounded by the territory of the Crow Creek Indian Reservation . The descendants of
4650-407: The census, being classified as Pacific Islanders . According to 2022 estimates, 714,847 Americans reported Native Hawaiian ancestry. The 2010 census permitted respondents to self-identify as being of one or more races. Self-identification dates from the census of 1960; prior to that the race of the respondent was determined by the opinion of the census taker. The option to select more than one race
4743-447: The colonization process as comprising genocide against Native Americans. As part of a policy of white settler colonialism , European settlers continued to wage war and perpetrated massacres against Native American peoples, removed them from their ancestral lands , and subjected them to one-sided government treaties and discriminatory government policies. Into the 20th century, these policies focused on forced assimilation . When
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#17327719961084836-522: The dehumanizing attitude toward Indigenous Americans that the US was founded on." Native American nations on the plains in the west continued armed conflicts with the U.S. throughout the 19th century, through what were called generally Indian Wars . Notable conflicts in this period include the Dakota War , Great Sioux War , Snake War , Colorado War , and Texas-Indian Wars . Expressing the frontier anti-Indian sentiment, Theodore Roosevelt believed
4929-645: The expanded village when an attack occurred that resulted in the massacre. The attacking group killed all the villagers. Archaeologists from the University of South Dakota , directed by project director Larry J. Zimmerman, field director Thomas Emerson, and osteologist P. Wille, found the remains of at least 486 people killed during the attack. Most of these remains showed signs of ritual mutilation , particularly scalping . Other examples were tongues being removed, teeth broken, beheading , hands and feet being cut off, and other forms of dismemberment . In addition to
5022-977: The first Native American television channel; established Native American studies programs, tribal schools universities , museums, and language programs. Literature is at the growing forefront of American Indian studies in many genres, with the notable exception of fiction—some traditional American Indians experience fictional narratives as insulting when they conflict with traditional oral tribal narratives. The terms used to refer to Native Americans have at times been controversial . The ways Native Americans refer to themselves vary by region and generation, with many older Native Americans self-identifying as "Indians" or "American Indians", while younger Native Americans often identify as "Indigenous" or "Aboriginal". The term "Native American" has not traditionally included Native Hawaiians or certain Alaskan Natives , such as Aleut , Yup'ik , or Inuit peoples. By comparison,
5115-407: The fortification ditch. They said that it is likely the canines were eaten by the villagers, and their remains were accidentally included in the burial when other parties collected the villagers' remains. It appears that even domesticated animals such as dogs were used as food sources during this time of famine. The skeletal remains of the villagers also showed evidence of earlier wounds. According to
5208-504: The frontal". Others showed evidence of being wounded by arrows, the points of which remained in the legs and were overgrown by bone. Many of the bodies are missing limbs; the attackers may have taken them as trophies, scavenger animals or birds may have carried them away, or some limbs may have been left unburied in the Crow Creek village. Authors Willey and Emerson state that "they had been killed, mutilated, and scavenged before being buried". "Tongue removal, decapitation, and dismemberment of
5301-525: The greatest loss of life for Indigenous populations. "The decline of native American populations was rapid and severe, probably the greatest demographic disaster ever. Old World diseases were the primary killer. In many regions, particularly the tropical lowlands, populations fell by 90 percent or more in the first century after the contact." Estimates of pre-Columbian population of the United States vary from 4 to 18 million. Jeffrey Ostler writes: "Most Indigenous communities were eventually afflicted by
5394-402: The guarantees of the U.S. Bill of Rights applicable within the tribes. Since the 1960s, Native American self-determination movements have resulted in positive changes to the lives of many Native Americans, though there are still many contemporary issues faced by them . Today, there are over five million Native Americans in the US, about 80% of whom live outside reservations. The states with
5487-561: The highest percentage of Native Americans are Alaska , Oklahoma , New Mexico , South Dakota , Montana , and North Dakota . Beginning toward the end of the 15th century, the migration of Europeans to the Americas led to centuries of population, cultural, and agricultural transfer and adjustment between Old and New World societies, a process known as the Columbian exchange . Because most Native American groups had preserved their histories by means of oral traditions and artwork,
5580-541: The ideology known as manifest destiny became integral to the American nationalist movement. Westward expansion of European American populations after the American Revolution resulted in increasing pressure on Native Americans and their lands, warfare, and rising tensions. In 1830, the U.S. Congress passed the Indian Removal Act , authorizing the federal government to relocate Native Americans from their homelands within established states to lands west of
5673-425: The indigenous peoples of North or South America. The United States Census Bureau publishes data about "American Indians and Alaska Natives ", whom it defines as anyone "having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America ... and who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment". The census does not, however, enumerate "Native Americans" as such, noting that the latter term can encompass
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#17327719961085766-421: The last attack. They also reveal other hardships of their lives: evidence of nutritional deficiencies and previous warfare, which suggest adaptations to the changes were more difficult. These were documented by paleopathologist John B. Gregg. The villagers' skeletal remains, as well as the fact that remains of canines (dogs) were buried with the villagers, provide evidence of extensive nutritional deficiencies of
5859-412: The lower portion of the site. Caddoan -speaking Central Plains people (Initial Coalescent variant) moved into the area from southern areas (present-day Nebraska) sometime around 1150 AD. (The present-day Arikara are a Caddoan people.) Whether they displaced the earlier group or moved on to an abandoned site is unknown. The Central Plains (Initial Coalescent) people built at least 55 lodges, mostly on
5952-415: The mid-14th century and covered with a small layer of clay from the river bottom. The bodies found in the fortification ditch were piled as deep as four feet in some areas. The bodies showed evidence of having lain out exposed to weather and scavengers for a period of time, becoming at least partly disarticulated before burial. A systematic or formal burial of individual bodies might have been impossible due to
6045-553: The mid-1990s, based on measurements, photographs, and radiographs of the remains taken during those three years. New (21st century) analyses of the dates on the massacre and the occupational history of the site are also being made, which may change some interpretations. Since the reburial, the US Congress and South Dakota legislature have passed laws governing consultation with tribes, and return of remains and artifacts of cultural importance. The most far-reaching federal legislation
6138-639: The people of the Middle Missouri and Central Plains/Initial Coalescent cultures now live in North Dakota as the Mandan and Arikara nations, respectively, of the Three Affiliated Tribes (together with the Hidatsa ). Some occupy Fort Berthold Indian Reservation , but many also live off the reservation in cities. Crow Creek is now a well-preserved archaeological site. It was listed as National Historic Landmark (number 66000710) when
6231-415: The people to compete for available farmland" and other resources. The malnutrition suffered by the Crow Creek villagers was most likely common for people in that region during this time period. Because of this, there is a strong chance that another Initial Coalescent group or several groups in the region attacked the Crow Creek village for its arable land and resources. Before the excavations could proceed,
6324-568: The problem was quickly resolved. King would later make trips to Arizona visiting Native Americans on reservations, and in churches encouraging them to be involved in the Civil Rights Movement. In King's book Why We Can't Wait he writes: Big Bend Dam Big Bend Dam is a major embankment rolled-earth dam on the Missouri River in Central South Dakota , United States , creating Lake Sharpe . The dam
6417-410: The problems of Virginia Indians in establishing documented continuity of identity, due to the work of Walter Ashby Plecker (1912–1946). As registrar of the state's Bureau of Vital Statistics, he applied his own interpretation of the one-drop rule , enacted in law in 1924 as the state's Racial Integrity Act. It recognized only two races: "white" and "colored". Plecker, a segregationist , believed that
6510-432: The reburial took place in late summer 1981. Several Christian ceremonies, a traditional Lakota ceremony, and a private Arikara ceremony were offered at the time. The reburial was controversial and one of the largest ever to have occurred in the United States. Some researchers thought the remains should have been preserved for more study. However, so much skeletal evidence was gathered that many studies were still made through
6603-421: The remains should be reburied on the Crow Creek site, the place where the families had lived and died. Particularly because of the scale of the reburial, the case attracted international attention. While Native American tribes had been requesting return of remains and artifacts held by museums and historic societies, this would be the largest reburial of remains. Some archeologists and human osteologists criticized
6696-444: The reservation boundaries. They discovered human bones eroding from the end of the fortification ditch. After they received permission to excavate the site from the reservation tribal council, following consultation about how to proceed and agreement to rebury remains on site, archeology teams recovered the skeletal remains of at least 486 Crow Creek villagers. These estimates were based on the number of right temporal bones present at
6789-511: The right to label arts and crafts as Native American and permission to apply for grants that are specifically reserved for Native Americans. But gaining federal recognition as a tribe is extremely difficult; to be established as a tribal group, members have to submit extensive genealogical proof of tribal descent and continuity of the tribe as a culture. In July 2000, the Washington State Republican Party adopted
6882-471: The same limitations applicable to states; for example, neither tribes nor states have the power to make war, engage in foreign relations, or coin money (this includes paper currency). In addition, there are a number of tribes that are recognized by individual states , but not by the federal government. The rights and benefits associated with state recognition vary from state to state. Many Native Americans and advocates of Native American rights point out that
6975-521: The same requirements as they did. The Muwekma Ohlone of the San Francisco Bay Area are pursuing litigation in the federal court system to establish recognition. Many of the smaller eastern tribes, long considered remnants of extinct peoples, have been trying to gain official recognition of their tribal status. Several tribes in Virginia and North Carolina have gained state recognition. Federal recognition confers some benefits, including
7068-400: The scene. The characteristics of the remains at the site show they were killed in an overwhelming attack, which has been called the Crow Creek Massacre. Discovery of this event has raised many questions in the archaeological community, particularly who attacked the village and why. The remains of the villagers of Crow Creek were discovered in a fortification ditch, where they were buried during
7161-470: The severity of the attack, most of the people showed signs of malnutrition and many had evidence of earlier wounds, likely from other attacks. This evidence has suggested to scholars that lives of people of the Initial Coalescent culture were under more stress than was thought; they have theorized that the people were attacked by another group or several groups of the Initial Coalescent culture in
7254-409: The site was done in the 1950s, at the time of dam construction on the river. Additional excavations were conducted in 1978 and later. Two groups occupied the site in prehistoric times. The Siouan -speaking Middle Missouri people (Initial Middle Missouri variant), ancestral to the present-day Mandan people , first occupied the site sometime after about 900 AD. They built numerous earth lodges on
7347-660: The south in the late 1950s after they reached out to him. At that time the remaining Creek in Alabama were trying to completely desegregate schools in their area. In this case, light-complexioned Native children were allowed to ride school buses to previously all white schools, while dark-skinned Native children from the same band were barred from riding the same buses. Tribal leaders, upon hearing of King's desegregation campaign in Birmingham, Alabama, contacted him for assistance. He promptly responded and, through his intervention,
7440-613: The southern and western states. In the south segregation was a major problem for Native Americans seeking education, but the NAACP's legal strategy would later change this. Movements such as Brown v. Board of Education was a major victory for the Civil Rights Movement headed by the NAACP , and inspired Native Americans to start participating in the Civil Rights Movement. Martin Luther King Jr. began assisting Native Americans in
7533-535: The state as "colored" and gave them lists of family surnames to examine for reclassification based on his interpretation of data and the law. This led to the state's destruction of accurate records related to families and communities who identified as Native American (as in church records and daily life). By his actions, sometimes different members of the same family were split by being classified as "white" or "colored". He did not allow people to enter their primary identification as Native American in state records. In 2009,
7626-500: The state had recognized eight. This is related historically to the greater impact of disease and warfare on the Virginia Indian populations, as well as their intermarriage with Europeans and Africans. Some people confused ancestry with culture, but groups of Virginia Indians maintained their cultural continuity. Most of their early reservations were ended under the pressure of early European settlement. Some historians also note
7719-481: The state of the remains by the time of later burial. It is not clear who buried the victims of the massacre, whether it was the attackers, escaped villagers, or members of an affiliated village. The layer of clay covering the bodies was coated by a "thin and scattered layer of bones," of which the purpose is unknown. Researchers thought that scavengers might have dug up these remains as a food source. The remains of these villagers reveal their untimely deaths and events of
7812-529: The state's Native Americans had been "mongrelized" by intermarriage with African Americans; to him, ancestry determined identity, rather than culture. He thought that some people of partial black ancestry were trying to " pass " as Native Americans. Plecker thought that anyone with any African heritage had to be classified as colored, regardless of appearance, amount of European or Native American ancestry, and cultural/community identification. Plecker pressured local governments into reclassifying all Native Americans in
7905-474: The total extermination of the Indians. Having wronged them for centuries, we had better, in order to protect our civilization, follow it up by one more wrong and wipe these untamed and untamable creatures from the face of the earth. In the 20th century, Native Americans served in significant numbers during World War II, marking a turning point for Indigenous visibility and involvement in broader American society. Post-war, Native activism grew, with movements such as
7998-507: The upper part of the site. There is no direct evidence that there was conflict between the two groups, and scholars have found evidence that both cultures changed gradually in relation to the other. There is evidence that the Central Plains/Initial Coalescent villagers built well-planned defensive works for their village. They were replacing an earlier dry moat fortification with a new fortification ditch around
8091-449: The villagers had long suffered malnutrition, in repeated episodes thought due to the unstable climate and drought, which reduced the crop yields and food supplies. The presence of animal bones within the fortification ditch suggests that villagers ate their dogs because of hunger. Willey and Emerson's article entitled "The Osteology and Archaeology of the Crow Creek Massacre" describes the presence of animal bones, specifically canine, within
8184-717: The years leading up to it the U.S. government had continued to seize Lakota lands. A Ghost Dance ritual on the Northern Lakota reservation at Wounded Knee, South Dakota , led to the U.S. Army's attempt to subdue the Lakota. The dance was part of a religious movement founded by the Northern Paiute spiritual leader Wovoka that told of the return of the Messiah to relieve the suffering of Native Americans and promised that if they would live righteous lives and perform
8277-677: Was a very significant moment for the rights of Native Americans and other people of color. Native Americans faced racism and prejudice for hundreds of years, and this increased after the American Civil War . Native Americans, like African Americans, were subjected to the Jim Crow Laws and segregation in the Deep South especially after they were made citizens through the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924. As
8370-519: Was as follows: According to Office of Management and Budget, "American Indian or Alaska Native" refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) and who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment. Despite generally referring to groups indigenous to the continental US and Alaska, this demographic as defined by the US Census Bureau includes all Indigenous people of
8463-739: Was constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as part of the Pick-Sloan Plan for Missouri watershed development authorized by the Flood Control Act of 1944 . Construction began in 1959 and the embankment was completed in July 1963. Power generation began at the facility in 1964 and the entire complex was completed in 1966 at a total cost of $ 107 million. The hydroelectric plant generates 493,300 kilowatts of electricity at maximum capacity, with an annual production of 969 million kilowatt hours, and meets peak-hour demand for power within
8556-635: Was introduced in 2000. If American Indian or Alaska Native was selected, the form requested the individual provide the name of the "enrolled or principal tribe". Censuses counted around 346,000 Native Americans in 1880 (including 33,000 in Alaska and 82,000 in Oklahoma, back then known as Indian Territory ), around 274,000 in 1890 (including 25,500 in Alaska and 64,500 in Oklahoma), 362,500 in 1930 and 366,500 in 1940, including those on and off reservations in
8649-567: Was the 1990 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) (Public Law 101–601). Native Americans in the United States Native Americans (also called American Indians , First Americans , or Indigenous Americans ) are the Indigenous peoples of the United States , particularly of the lower 48 states and Alaska . They may also include any Americans whose origins lie in any of
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