WE WILL NEVER FADE - Cháwna mun na'ámta*
With this day being filled with ever-crazy Trump news,
Erwin here has abandoned making sense of the nonsense.
We turn our attention toward history and to today too,
Indians of our nation, how we have clashed from the very start,
Likely my writing today will be new to the reader, it’s in our backyards,
Literally it involved thrusting our western ideas upon others.
Nation building upon the graves of many of our indigenous,
Erstwhile there is only so much I can really say beyond it,
Very clearly I benefited from the manifest destiny lusted for back then,
Erwin here is not about to make excuses for the past sins of my brethren,
Realistically all I can do is try to spur some communal self-reflection.
For today I only bring up three tribes affected by so much in the past,
America had people living here before we barreled our way in,
Democracy, for this we patted ourselves on the back so eagerly,
Even with our greediness and so-called religious fever.
*Saying along with the native language equivalent from the Tamástslikt Cultural Institute, near Pendleton, Oregon representing the Walla Walla, Cayuse, and Umatilla Indian peoples.
The ground says, It is the Great Spirit that places me here… The ground, water, and grass say, The Great Spirit has given us our names. We have these names and hold these names. The ground says, The Great Spirit has placed me here to produce all that grows on me—trees and fruit. The same way the ground says, It was from me man was made. The Great Spirit, in placing men on earth, desired them to take good care of the ground and to do each other no harm.—Young Chief, Cayuse.
“Perseverance catcheth the fish.”
— Wakatauki
Proverbs are very common in Māori of New Zealand. Whakataukī are proverbs that the person who first said it first, is not known.
“Perseverance and audacity generally win.”
— Mme. Deluzy.
Henriette Deluzy-Desportes (1813–1875) was a French governess who was the subject of a scandal with Charles Laure Hugues Théobald, duc de Choiseul-Praslin. The scandal played a role in bringing down the King of France. The story of her life in Paris was the basis for a book written by her great niece and made into the movie All This, and Heaven Too starring Bette Davis in 1940. On August 17, 1847, Fanny was stabbed and bludgeoned in her bedchamber in Paris, just a few hours after the duke and their children visited Henriette at her new residence. Fanny had thirty wounds from a poniard. She was found by their servants who heard a struggle. The duke said that their house was invaded by an intruder. He said that he fought to remove the person, but he did not have much information about the prowler. He had a pistol and looked like he had been in a fight. A servant saw him washing his hands of blood. He declared that he was innocent.
Some history that I hope you enjoy. Following are images of a letter sent to the president of the United States long ago from the territorial state of Oregon’s governor of the time. This provided me with some “non-Trump” material for today’s writing. It is in reference to Indian aggression of the time from one tribe, the Cayuse. I found it interesting and strictly from the European white’s perspective of the time. It might seem that this governor might have been considered fair in his assessment of the situation of the day and time. I found it interesting enough to include in its entirety. The letter can be found online, along with more letters to President Polk from the link below.
Sheets 1 through 3 reference site.
More quotes related to my theme.
“Perseverance subdues difficulties.”
— J. Kay
KAY, JOSEPH, born about 1713; an English author; died, 1788.
“Perseverance is continued firmness.”
— Bias
BIAS, called one of the seven wise men of Greece, born at Priene, a town of Caria, about 570 B. C. Though born to great wealth, he lived without splendour, expending his fortune in relieving the needy. On one occasion, certain pirates brought several young women to sell as slaves at Priene. Bias purchased them, and maintained them until he had an opportunity of returning them to their friends. This generous action caused him to be styled “ The Prince of Wise Men.”
“Whoever perseveres will be crowned.”
— Herder
Johann Gottfried von Herder (25 August 1744 – 18 December 1803) was a German philosopher, theologian, poet, and literary critic. He is associated with the Enlightenment, Sturm und Drang, and Weimar Classicism. He was a Romantic philosopher and poet who argued that true German culture was to be discovered among the common people (das Volk). He also stated that it was through folk songs, folk poetry, and folk dances that the true spirit of the nation (der Volksgeist) was popularized. He is credited with establishing or advancing a number of important disciplines: hermeneutics, linguistics, anthropology, and "a secular philosophy of history." Herder was influenced by his academic advisor Immanuel Kant, as well as seventeenth-century philosophers Spinoza and Leibniz. In turn, he influenced Hegel, Nietzsche, Goethe, John Stuart Mill, Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel, Wilhelm von Humboldt, Franz Boas, and Walter Rauschenbusch among others.
“Perseverance will accomplish everything.”
— A. Cruden.
Alexander Cruden (31 May 1699 – 1 November 1770) was the Scottish author of an early Bible concordance, a proofreader and publisher, and self-styled Corrector of the nation's morals. There were some primitive concordances before Cruden; however, they were unsystematic, popular aids rather than scholarly tools. Cruden worked alone and produced the most consistent and complete concordance until the introduction of computerised indexing. As well as compiling occurrences, he also invented a new method of presentation, which showed the surrounding sentence rather than just the verse reference. It provided the literary context and so made the concordance significantly easier to handle for false positives.
“Perseverance will overcome a diffident* manner.”
— P. Holland.
*diffident: hesitant in acting or speaking through lack of self-confidence. It has been used to refer to individuals lacking in self-trust since the 15th century.
Philemon Holland (1552 – 9 February 1637) was an English schoolmaster, physician and translator. He is known for the first English translations of several works by Livy, Pliny the Elder, and Plutarch, and also for translating William Camden's Britannia into English. Holland combined his teaching and medical practice with the translation of classical and contemporary works. His first published translation, The Romane Historie (1600), was the first complete rendering of Livy's Latin history of Rome, Ab Urbe Condita, into English. Thomas Fuller, writing in the mid-17th century, included Holland among his Worthies of England, terming him "the translator general in his age, so that those books alone of his turning into English will make a country gentleman a competent library for historians."
“Nothing is impossible to perseverance and exertion.”
— Mrs. Opie.
Amelia Opie (née Alderson; 12 November 1769 – 2 December 1853) was an English author who published numerous novels in the Romantic period up to 1828. A Whig supporter and Bluestocking, Opie was also a leading abolitionist in Norwich, England. Hers was the first of 187,000 names presented to the British Parliament on a petition from women to stop slavery. Encouraged by her husband to continue writing, she published Adeline Mowbray (1804), an exploration of women's education, marriage, and the abolition of slavery. This novel in particular is noted for engaging the history of Opie's former friend Mary Wollstonecraft, whose relationship with the American Gilbert Imlay outside of marriage caused some scandal, as did her later marriage to the philosopher William Godwin. Godwin had previously argued against marriage as an institution by which women were owned as property, but when Wollstonecraft became pregnant, they married despite his prior beliefs. In the novel, Adeline becomes involved with a philosopher early on, who takes a firm stand against marriage, only to be convinced to marry a West Indian landowner against her better judgement. The novel also engages abolitionist sentiment, in the story of a mixed-race woman and her family, whom Adeline saves from poverty at some expense to herself.
“Perseverance accomplishes more than precipitation.”
— Saadi.
Saadi Shīrāzī, better known by his pen name Saadi born 1210; died 1291 or 1292), was a Persian poet and prose writer of the medieval period. He is recognized for the quality of his writings and for the depth of his social and moral thoughts. Saadi is widely recognized as one of the greatest poets of the classical literary tradition, earning him the nickname "The Master of Speech" or "The Wordsmith" (ostâd-e soxan) or simply "Master" (ostâd) among Persian scholars. He has been quoted in the Western traditions as well. His book, Bustan has been ranked as one of the 100 greatest books of all time by The Guardian.[
“The god Indra* giveth wealth to him who perseveres.”
— Vasishtha.
*Indra is the king of the devas and Svarga in Hinduism. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war.
Vasishtha (lit. 'most excellent', IAST: Vasiṣṭha) is one of the oldest and revered Vedic rishis or sages, and one of the Saptarishis (seven great Rishis). Vasishtha is credited as the chief author of Mandala 7 of the Rigveda. Vasishtha and his family are mentioned in Rigvedic verse 10.167.4, other Rigvedic mandalas and in many Vedic texts. His ideas have been influential and he was called the first sage of the Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy by Adi Shankara. He is the subject of many stories, such as him being in possession of the divine cow Kamadhenu and Nandini her child, who could grant anything to their owners. He is famous in Hindu stories for his legendary conflicts with sage Vishvamitra.
“Perseverance and spirit have done wonders in all ages.”
— Washington.
George Washington (February 22, 1732 – December 14, 1799) was an American Founding Father, military officer, and politician who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Second Continental Congress as commander of the Continental Army in 1775, Washington led Patriot forces to victory in the American Revolutionary War and then served as president of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, which drafted and ratified the Constitution of the United States and established the U.S. federal government. Washington has thus become commonly known as the "Father of his Country"
“Victory belongs to him who has the most perseverance.”
— Napoleon I.
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French emperor and military commander who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led successful campaigns during the Revolutionary Wars. He was the leader of the French Republic as First Consul from 1799 to 1804, then of the French Empire as Emperor of the French from 1804 until 1814, and briefly again in 1815. His political and cultural legacy endures as a celebrated and controversial leader. He initiated many enduring reforms, but has been criticized for his authoritarian rule. He is considered one of the greatest military commanders in history and his wars and campaigns are still studied at military schools worldwide. However, historians still debate the degree to which he was responsible for the Napoleonic Wars, in which between three and six million people died.
“To the persevering mortals the blessed immortals are swift.”
— Zoroaster.
Zoroaster, also known as Zarathustra, was a religious reformer and the spiritual founder of Zoroastrianism. In about 1000 BC he founded the first documented monotheistic religion in the world and also had an impact on Plato, Pythagoras, and the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Zoroastrians believe that he was a prophet who transmitted God's messages and founded a religious movement that challenged the existing traditions of ancient Iranian religion, while in the minority Ahmadiyya branch of Islam and in the Baháʼí Faith, he is also considered a prophet. He was a native speaker of Avestan and lived in the eastern part of the Iranian plateau, but his exact birthplace is uncertain.
To come into the present day I’ve included below some information from the website for the reservation in northern Oregon of the Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla peoples from a list of topics from a few years ago. I thought it might be a good idea to hear from the people directly to try and get a taste of their culture. Native Americans are a close knit group and are careful in what they share. I found the concern for the environment prominent at the website.
Tamástslikt Cultural Institute
Permanent exhibits
The Tamástslikt Cultural Institute displays three permanent interconnected exhibits: “We Were,” “We Are,” and “We Will Be.” The guide introduced in the Coyote Theater, Spilyáy, is present throughout each exhibit, and progresses the historical storyline. In “We Were,” the “Seasonal Round” displays pre-contact artifacts. Additional displays feature a winter lodge, traditional regalia, artwork, and “a recreation of the 1855 Treaty Council of Walla Walla in the tribal language. The exhibits include “interactive multi-media presentations, horse dioramas, plus replicas of a boarding school and a church.”
“We Are” displays tribal people “as soldiers and warriors, players in tribal government and the economy, leaders in salmon recovery success, balancing the modern with tradition, and still abiding by the Law of the Salmon.”
“We Will Be” displays the future “visions, hopes and concerns” of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.
The Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla were confederated under the Treaty of 1855, yet each maintains a distinct heritage and unique dialect. Throughout history, several CTUIR dialects have been spoken.
Today, speakers of all levels speak Umatilla and Walla Walla. The Umatilla language is the southern Sahaptin dialect and the Walla Walla is the northeast dialect of Sahaptin.
Weyíiletpuu is a dialect of the Nez Perce language as used by the Cayuse people. A distinctive dialect of the Cayuse people has not been used since the 1940’s and is designated as extinct.
Posted on February 14, 2011 by talyunmy
“Would you like to learn the Indian language?” Of course! All Indians would like to learn the Indian language, whether the downriver Nez Perce dialect adopted by the Cayuse forebears, the NE Sahaptin known as Walla Walla or Ichishkíin, or the Columbia River Sahaptin “Umatilla,” the three Sahaptian dialects of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.
The last known speaker of the Cayuse language passed away before WWII. The Cayuse people knew themselves as ‘liksiyu’ and they later became known as “Weyíiletpuu”, a Nez Perce term. Cayuse may have been a distant cousin of Sahaptin, but not enough remains of the language to determine its origin. Dr. Rude wrote a paper suggesting that Cayuse could be related to Klamath. The anthropologist Melville Jacobs* came to Cayuse country and begged the last few remaining speakers to allow him to document the Cayuse language. They refused for their own good reasons, so the language has not been documented beyond a vocabulary of about 300 words.
Unfortunately, it’s not something one can absorb through one’s skin, or from the CD or cassette tapes placed like good luck charms beneath the pillow. It probably was like that for our primary speakers who picked up the tongue with ease as children when their brains were in the cognitive sponge stage. Now the primary speakers are ages 70-80-90. The youngest fluent speaker is in his latter 40’s.
We are all ruled by the tyranny of English, now hard-wired in our brains, structuring our very thoughts. The linguistic distance from English to our native tongues is like light years. If you loved drilling grammar and syntax in elementary school, you will love the grueling process of getting a handle on a second language. The young language apprentices have been trained in total physical response and accelerated vocabulary building, so they are using all new fangled teaching strategies at Nixyáawii high school. That is the prime audience of people younger than 18 years of age, before the hard-wiredness really sets in. The motivation is high. That’s how languages stay alive, from young peer-to-peer usage.
Ten years ago, our tribes were privileged to have resources of active generous elder teachers who extended themselves mightily in classes and one on one. Our reservation was wealthy in language resources at that time. Inevitably that cadre of elders has dwindled in number, so we do treasure the speakers that are among us today.
This past Saturday was the memorial celebration of ‘Á’a Tóhon, “Crow Leggins,” Eugene John, our late teacher of Nimiputimtki who passed away in 2010. He was fond of stating that he was “Laxáyu,” an enrolled Yakama Indian, but he was a deep speaker and prolific teacher of the upriver Nez Perce dialect, and he lived here much of his adult life because of his iwéepna, wife, and wéetes, land holdings here. Ironically, he first appeared at the language program as a potential student when they advertised Nez Perce classes. He was a brilliant natural teacher. He steadfastly taught at Tamástslikt four hours a week for about 9 years. His life experience was enough for two or three people. There was little talking at his memorial while I was there, but we were all thinking of his multitude of stories and his personal evolution. Seated at the front of the longhouse were several of the Idaho Nimiputimtki teachers who were his friends and consultants.
Tamástslikt was fortunate to have Nez Perce teachers ‘Á’a Tóhon, Priscilla Craig, Gordon Watters, Joan Burnside, and Kathleen Gordon; Walla Walla teachers, Edith McCloud, Lillian Hoptowit, and Celia Bearchum; and Umatilla teachers, Inez ‘Twaway’ Reves, Emily Littlefish, Mildred Quaempts, Joan Watlamet, Modesta Minthorn, Janice George-Hill, Fred Hill, and Thomas Morning Owl. Noel Rude, venerable master of all dialects, taught weekly linguistics classes here for as many years. It’s wonderful to say, we have known them all. It’s sad to say, there are no longer language classes at Tamástslikt. But there are more strategic vital pockets of language-learning going on around the reservation today so the language can live, the longhouse being one of them.
I wisht I woulda hung on to the old Arrowhead gas receipts that had printed on them, níixmash wáta thlkwíi, have a nice day.
*Melville Jacobs (July 3, 1902 – July 31, 1971) was an American anthropologist known for his extensive fieldwork on cultures of the Pacific Northwest. He was born in New York City. After studying with Franz Boas he became a member of the faculty of the University of Washington in 1928 and remained until his death in 1971. Especially during the earlier part of his career, from 1928 until 1936, he collected large amounts of linguistic data and text from a wide range of languages including Sahaptin, Molale, Kalapuya, Clackamas, Tillamook, Alsea, Upper Umpqua, Galice and Chinook Jargon. One method of collection was by working with indigenous storytellers such as Victoria Howard, born on the Grand Ronde reservation, and audio recording and transcribing their songs and stories.
Posted on October 3, 2012 by talyunmy
Bryson Liberty at ‘Reservation Round-Ups’
It was an honor for Tamástslikt Cultural Institute and the Confederated Tribes that inveterate horse people stepped forward to share their experiences. Some remarkable feats were described during ‘Reservation Round-Ups’ by those who experienced it: Bryson Liberty, Alphonse Halfmoon, Antone and Douglas Minthorn, Bill Burke, Jesse Jones, and Etta Conner. Thankfully, Dara Worden of the Tribes’ Cultural Resources Protection program recorded the event for posterity. Here are a few particles of stories as recalled from Saturday, September 29.
Alphonse Halfmoon, Cayuse nonagenarian, talked about how he attained his Indian name because of what his elders did after all the horse doings were over. The boys were shut in the corral and told to throw each other out. Halfmoon was the ‘Last One Standing’. Can you imagine what a feat it was. Mr. Halfmoon maintained his record through his youth and truly befits his name.
Bryson Liberty told about how they would ‘run the horses’ to get them to funnel into the corral without diverting, and the horses would circle in a big whirlpool pattern. He named off the nicknames of the guys he knew, including ‘Poots’ whose horse galloped beneath a tree with Poots lying backward on his saddle to avoid the tree branches, then once beyond the tree he sat back up, still at a full gallop. Pretty amazing horsemanship won the day.
Bill Burke related how he, cousin Richard ‘Summer’ Burke, and Leonard ‘Ma’uuts’ Cree missed the 4 a.m. convening because they stopped for breakfast. By the time they got there, somebody else had done their job. Willie Wocatsie summoned the boys to tell him what had happened. He listened. Then he drew out his quirt, and asked, ‘Who’s going to be first?’ Summer went first and took five licks of the quirt without crying. Wocatsie said, ‘five wasn’t enough? You need five more’. Summer finally busted out crying. At that moment, Bill resolved to start crying with the first lick. This sparked lifelong promptness among the three.
As a young man, Douglas Minthorn witnessed some spectacular horse athletes including a black bucking horse that he claimed for his uncle Joe Thompson. When he brought the horse to its owner, Joe said, “well, all the boys are gone now, so you can have him.” Douglas sold the horse to a rodeo stock supplier for $200, then later saw cowboy Jim Shoulders win the Pendleton Round-Up championship on that horse.
Jesse Jones shared that although he participated in the big McKay Creek doings, he felt he had missed the great horse round-ups of yesteryear. He too saw some great horses. He remembered how the former stallions would jump up and strut off to reclaim their harems, not knowing.
Some panelists addressed how they thought the wild horse problem should be handled. Mr. Halfmoon said, since these Tribes were known for their horses, they should remove all the cows off the reservation and pasture horses exclusively. Antone Minthorn thought since the tribes were made horseless virtually overnight, the wild horses should be rehabbed and made into saddle horses for families that want them. Douglas Minthorn weighed in stating since the government instituted range units, the horses are shutting other animals out of pasture; they should be disposed of, so families can collect their wheat and pasture income. Bryson Liberty said he wrote a letter to the government, advising them to emulate the Tribes’ traditional practice of ‘tying off’ the stallions to reduce populations. A few months later, he received a stock form letter as an acknowledgement.
‘Reservations Round-Ups’ was wonderfully rich in stories. The people that experienced those days are extraordinary. They are a breed apart. Their impromptu speaking skills kept the audience captive. It makes us modern ones feel rather meager in personhood.
Posted on January 9, 2013 by talyunmy
‘If you do not take good care of the land, then the land will not take good care of you’ –saying of the Elders, quoted by Jess Nowland
‘Payshnam chaw shi’ix anaknuwita tichamna kunam tichamnim chaw inaknuwita shi’ix.’ ‘If you do not take good care of the land, then the land will not take good care of you’ –saying of the Elders, quoted by Jess Nowland
A UN scientist recently forecast that by the year 2050 there may be no more edible fish in the oceans. Also under threat from climate change are future sources of chocolate, coffee, and wine. What about my carbon footprint? Is it Bigfoot or is it a fox? Are we a big blot on the land sucking up resources and spewing out waste, or have we made the utmost efficiency out of the resources granted us?
These were concerns to the facility staff of Tamástslikt back in 2003. Most commercial energy users in the region draw an average of more than 60 percent of total power from the Boardman coal-fired plant. Compare it with the 8.35% average draw on hydroelectric power. Today in 2013, the Tamástslikt facility staff have made solid progress toward their goal of counting 73 tons of carbon savings. From 2003 to 2013, they successfully reduced electrical usage by 55% and natural gas usage by 75%. Their dream is a net-zero balance between energy demands and energy costs.
Conservation came first. Next will come renewables.
Strategies of energy conservation and optimization are value-based with Mike Cooper, Tamástslikt Facility Engineer, and Jess Nowland, Assistant Facility Manager. Reducing Tamástslikt’s carbon footprint fulfills their values, that Tamástslikt not be a resource hog. Their holistic view is of systems. At the same time, they favor modules. They decentralized the facility’s original big overkill boilers, and configured a system of smaller units that respond to the differential needs of each section of the facility and handle air variably.
They started with energy conservation. They sealed up the drafty soffit vents. They installed micro data loggers that monitored energy usage night and day. They sought out state-of-the-art light bulbs and installed motion-activated fixtures. They addressed airflow and insulation problems. The beautiful redwood siding was a particular problem that called for the engineering of back-ventilated cladding in order to wick off moisture and eliminate mold, a huge project still underway.
“People, planet and profit” succinctly describes the triple bottom lines and the goal of sustainability. The phrase, “people, planet, profit”, was coined by John Elkington in 1995 and has become a full cost accounting standard for measuring organizational (and societal) success. Tamástslikt should produce not only a return on the Tribes’ investment, but achieve a sustainable environmental impact, and effect a livable happiness quotient. Nowadays being a facility engineer takes a different mindset, like a Phil Jackson zen, attuned to technology but with concern for every little thing and the big picture. It’s all about energy.
Now that the conservation steps have achieved better efficiency, the guys look forward to building in renewable forms of energy. ‘Small wind’ power is a prospect. Ted Rapasky of the Tribes’ Department of Science and Engineering (DOSE) set up an anemometer in the field next to Tamástslikt some time ago that measured average wind speed of five meters per second.
Capacity-building and technology transfer are also part of the plan. Tamástslikt has offered a series of certifiable training for other tribal plant personnel in order to spread the benefits of being knowledgeable about energy.
What is sustainability? –Meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.– United Nations Bruntland Commission.
The importance of salmon to the tribes of the Pacific Northwest can’t be over-stressed. I thought it worthwhile to include a page from Columbia Inter-Tribal Fish Commission.
Salmon Culture of the Pacific Northwest Tribes
Salmon have long been the symbol and lifeblood of the people who call the Pacific Northwest home.
Columbia Basin salmon play an important role in the ecosystem of the region, returning ocean nutrients to the rivers and streams where they were born, feeding wildlife and even the forests with their bodies. For thousands of years, salmon also shaped the lives of the people who have lived here since time immemorial. The cultures, intertribal interactions, fishing technologies, and very religions of the Pacific Northwest tribes were all impacted and influenced by salmon. These fish have been an important part of the economies of the region for thousands of years, from the ancient Indian trade routes to modern commercial fishing.
Salmon play an integral part of tribal religion, culture, and physical sustenance. Below is a short list of the many ways in which salmon are sacred to the Columbia River Basin tribes of the Pacific Northwest:
Salmon are part of our spiritual and cultural identity.
Over a dozen longhouses and churches on the reservations and in ceded areas still use salmon for their religious services.
The annual salmon return and its celebration by the tribes assure the renewal and continuation of human and all other life.
Historically, we were wealthy peoples because of a flourishing trade economy based on salmon.
For many tribal members, fishing is still the preferred livelihood.
Salmon and the rivers they use are part of our sense of place. The Creator put us here where the salmon return. We are obliged to remain and to protect this place.
Salmon are indicator species: As water becomes degraded and fish populations decline, so too will the elk, deer, roots, berries and medicines that sustain us.
As a primary food source for thousands of years, salmon continue to be an essential aspect of our nutritional health.
Because our tribal populations are growing (returning to pre-1855 levels), the needs for salmon are more important than ever.
The annual salmon harvest allows the transfer of traditional values from generation to generation.
Without salmon returning to our rivers and streams, we would cease to be Indian people.
Finally from the Tamástslikt website a little on the Montana artist Charlie Russell I found interesting.
“For all the credit Charlie has been given for his progressive sensitivity to Indians it must also be remembered that Indian pornography was one of his trademarks. The only erotica of Charlie’s that survives today—Cowboy Bargaining for an Indian Girl, Joy of Life, and Anticipation/Exasperation are anatomically vivid paintings of cowboys procuring and mounting Indian women, “ wrote John Taliaferro in Charles M. Russell: The Life and Legend of America’s Cowboy Artist. The Amon Carter Museum [Fort Worth, Texas] stores Joy of Life in its basement to protect the eyes of school tours. When Joy of Life was exhibited at the Mint saloon* in its heyday, viewers paid 10 cents to view the peepshow beneath the tipi flap.
*Located at 220 Central Avenue, Great Falls, Montana the Mint Saloon was one of Russell’s favorite hangouts and boasted one of the largest exhibits of original Russell paintings. Owned by Russell’s good friend Sid Willis, the Mint sold prints of his paintings. Due to urban renewal, the Mint and surrounding buildings were razed in 1967. However, because of its iconic status as a Great Falls landmark, the mahogany bar and back bar were saved and eventually found their way to the Montana Historical Society where they were displayed for a time in the basement of its museum in Helena. Currently, the bar is on loan to the Charles M. Russell Museum, Great Falls, Montana, where it represents an important part of Russell’s life – namely, holding court for his many friends at the brass rail of his favorite saloon. This information on Mint Saloon from a Facebook entry online.
“Like all things that happen that’s worth while, it’s a long time ago”– Rawhide Rawlins, Charles Russell’s* fictional narrator
*Charles Marion Russell (March 19, 1864 – October 24, 1926), also known as C. M. Russell, Charlie Russell, and "Kid" Russell, was an American artist of the American Old West. He created more than 2,000 paintings of cowboys, Native Americans, and landscapes set in the western United States and in Alberta, Canada, in addition to bronze sculptures. He is known as "the cowboy artist" and was also a storyteller and author. He became an advocate for Native Americans in the west, supporting the bid by landless Chippewa to have a reservation established for them in Montana. In 1916, Congress passed legislation to create the Rocky Boy Reservation.
And with my little rhyming poem to end on, today.
Dreading the Tomahawk Blow
Today I looked at people from long ago,
They were at that time despised and there was fear,
We have grown some over our time it seems clear,
As a culture we have learned somewhat to grow,
The Savage we feared became the folks we know,
Things were different on the wild frontier,
They were nobel Indians of the austere,
And we grew up to dread the tomahawk blow.
It’s a shame that the Cayuse language is gone,
Just more Indian culture which saw its day,
No skin off my back we most foolishly say,
Fearing these others we try not to act on,
Their culture we never really tried to know,
As real understanding has been very slow.
I hope you appreciated what I had to share today. I have an affinity with Native Americans although I grew up where I was prejudiced toward their culture. I suppose I saw too many westerns as a young boy.
182nd Posting, April 24, 2024.