HEROES HISTORY FORGOT
The purpose of the page, "Your Heroes Are Not Our Heroes," is to document in chronological order, an unbroken pattern of cultural exploitation that began in 1492 and continues to this day. The words and actions of those featured on the afore mentioned page were but the reflection of widely accepted beliefs that were representative of the larger society. While I readily welcome today's increased awareness, respect, and acceptance of the culture and contributions of America's First People, I recognize that there are those that defend the sins and attitudes of our forefathers by saying it is unfair to judge the actions of those of an earlier time against today's more enlightened standards and values. Following is a list of people that rose above the social influence of their day to embrace the ideals of justice, brotherhood, and compassion. The courage of their words and deeds are magnified a hundred-fold by the crucible of their time. These are truly heroes that history has forgotten.
BARTOLOME' DE LAS CASAS:
"God created these simple people without evil and without
guile. They are most obedient and faithful to their natural lords and to
the Christians whom they serve. Nor are they quarrelsome, rancorous,
querulous, or vengeful.... They neither possess nor desire to possess
worldly wealth. Surely these people would be the most blessed in the
world...." 64).
A Spanish adventurer, de las Casas became a plantation owner
under the economedia system introduced by Columbus. Disgusted and horrified by
the brutality of his countrymen, de las Casas freed his slaves, and immersed himself
in the priesthood. Through his unflagging efforts, Spain passed laws
that outlawed the enslavement of Native Americans. Although these laws
were routinely ignored and ineffective, they stand in stark contrast to the
actions of Columbus
. Bartolome' de las Casas, as a contemporary
of Columbus, perhaps is best qualified to remark on the legacy of
"The Olde Navigator,". His observation of Columbus and his legacy is as follows:
"How much damage, how many calamities, disruptions and
devastations of kingdoms have there been? How many souls have
perished in the West Indies over the years and how unjustly? How many
unforgivable sins have been committed? ......
What we committed in the West Indies stands out among the most unpardonable
offenses ever committed against God and mankind...."
1).
Where Columbus saw opportunity and riches to be plundered,
de las Casas recognized the humanity and dignity of the Taino People.
Where Columbus lusted after gold, power, and privilege, Bartolome' de las Casas
fought for the downtrodden and the oppressed.
JOSHUA PILCHER: As a catastrophic
smallpox epidemic swept across the Great Plains in 1837, Pilcher, a
47 year old from Virginia, that had been assigned head of the "Sioux"
Agency at Fort Kiowa, located just north of present day Chamberlain,
South Dakota, took bold action. Pilcher sent out messengers to warn bands of
Indians to avoid contact with camps and settlements along the Missouri. That
winter Pilcher pressured the War Department to supply him with $2,000.00 worth
of the smallpox vaccine developed by Edward Jenner in the 1790's. In April
of 1838, Pilcher and Dr. Joseph DePrefontaine set forth to inoculate the
Native People of the upper Missouri. Fearing that Native People may be
angry at Whites for having brought this devastation among the two men were
surprised to find thousands of Indians lining up for vaccination. So great
was the demand that the two men soon ran out of vaccine and had to procure more
vaccine on their own. It is estimated that this smallpox epidemic killed
in excess of 20.000 Indians on the Northern Plains. But without the
efforts of Joshua Pilcher, untold thousands more would have perished. 67).
JOHN G. BURNETT:
an interpreter for the U.S. Army on the "Trail of
Tears, the removal of the Cherokee, Burnett recorded these words,
"Murder is murder and someone must answer, someone must explain the
streams of blood that flowed in the Indian country in 1838. Someone must explain
the four-thousand silent graves that mark the trail of the Cherokees to their
exile. I wish I could forget it all, but the picture of six-hundred and
forty-five wagons lumbering over the frozen ground with their Cargo of suffering
humanity still lingers in my memory.
Let the Historian of a future day tell the sad story with its sighs, its
tears and dying groans. Let the great Judge of all the earth weigh our
actions and reward us according to our actions." -Recorded 1890-
77).
THE CHOCTAW NATION:
Certainly this entry runs out of step to the above mentioned intent
and focus of this page. But the selfless sacrifice and compassion of the
Choctaw People needs to be remembered by history.
The Choctaw People in 1847 were languishing in exile from their homelands in the
lower Mississippi River Valley. Sixteen years previous the Choctaw People
had been dispossessed of their land and induced onto a forced march of 500 miles
to Oklahoma. Amid their own suffering and starvation the Choctaw People
learned of the potato famine that had swept through Ireland, and resulted
in over one million Irish People starving to death. Recognizing the plight
of their fellow man, the Choctaw Nation, despite their own impoverishment,
took up a donation drive that produced the single largest contribution to come
from the America's to help alleviate Ireland's suffering.
On behalf of my father's family that emigrated to this land from Ireland in the
early 1900's I extend my gratitude and thanks to the Choctaw Nation. I
will not forget their compassion. 65).
JIM BECKWORTH:
Born in Virginia to an aristocratic English father and a slave.
Beckworth's father married his mother after his birth. The social
disapproval of this union forced the family westward and set in motion Jim's
venture into destiny. Jim became one of the West's most celebrated mountain
men of the early to middle 1800's. Beckworth watched in dismay as the
flood of gold miners to the Denver area in the late1850's resulted
in insult after insult to the Native People of Colorado. Beckworth
wrote to the "Rocky Mountain News," on April 18th, 1860, a warning
to the settlers of the Denver area: "The Indians are as
keenly sensible to acts of injustice, as they are tenacious of revenge,
and it is more humiliating to them to be recipients of such treatment
upon their own lands, which they have been deprived of, their
game driven off and they made to suffer by hunger, and when they pay
us a visit, abused more than dogs.... All of our Indian troubles are
produced by imprudent acts of unprincipled white men."
37). We are all the poorer that
the good citizens of Denver did not heed Mr. Beckworth's words.
After testifying against the ghastly atrocities committed by Colonel
Chivington and his soldiers at Sand Creek, Jim moved to live
the remainder of his life with his adopted people, the Crow. His
death came at age 71, while guiding a military column to a Crow village
in Montana. Complaining of severe headaches and suffering nosebleeds
(most probably a severe case of hypertension), Beckworth returned to
the Crow village where he died on October 29th, 1866.
The founder of the "Rocky Mountain News," a scalawag named William Beyers,
used the news of the death of Beckworth to publish a circulation-boosting,
baseless yarn stating that the Crow had poisoned Beckworth, a
falsehood that is repeated to this day.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SILAS SOULE: Born in the early 1840's Silas become
involved in the anti-slavery movement in his early teens. Soule became an
active member of the "Underground Railroad" that spirited runaway slaves
to freedom. At the age of 24, Silas belayed a maturity of that
of men twice his age. Now a Captain in the Calvary he was present with
the troops that surrounded the village of Southern Cheyenne and Arapaho
People under the leadership of Black Kettle on Sand Creek on November 29th,
1864. Soule pleaded with the commanding officer, the former
Methodist preacher
and fellow abolitionist, Colonel John M. Chivington. Silas begged
Chivington to abandon the assault upon the village. The vitriolic
and bigoted Chivington dismissed Soule's appeals and
unleashed the atttack. Captain Soule ordered the troops under his command
not to fire and at the height of the slaughter ordered his troops to move
between Chivington's butchers and the terrified Cheyenne, screening
the fleeing villagers and allowing their escape.
Due in part to the horrible mutilations and display of body parts at
the Denver Theater after the slaughter at Sand Creek an investigation and
hearing was held to ascertain responsibility for the slaughter of the Southern
Cheyenne. Silas Soule was steadfast in his desire to expose the butchery
committed by Chivington and his troops. Soule was not deterred by numerous
death threats. He was the first witness when the hearings proceeded
on February 15th, 1865. Soule was queried for two and a half days.. Chivington
himself then subjected Soule to three days of intense
cross-examination. Soule was resolute in his testimony which was supported
by the testimony of First Lt. James Cannon, Major Edward W.Wynkoop,
the scout Jim Beckworth and others. The hearings regarding the
atrocities at Sand Creek lasted for over 76 days.
During this time Soule survived two unsuccessful attempts on his life,
and although haunted by premonitions of death, Silas remained
in Denver, resolute in making sure the truth was given light. He
confided to his friend Captain George Price, that he was not afraid
to die but worried that in death his name and testimony would be besmirched
and sullied by Chivington and his supporters. On April 23rd, 1865,
Silas was lured out of his home and shot in the brain. Soule's fears were
confirmed the day after his burial. Chivington introduced spurious testimony
that depicted Soule as a drunkard. Chivington was never held accountable
for the atrocities committed under and by his command.
37).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FIRST LIEUTENANT JAMES CANNON:
Cannon served under the command of Captain Soule at the massacre
at Sand Creek. Cannon was mortified at the slaughter and mutilation
of the Cheyenne and Arapaho People and added his voice to the few
courageous souls that cried for an accounting of the atrocities. Denver was
rife with talk of "stringing up those that betrayed the boys of The Third"
yet in-spite of these threats First Lieutenant James Cannon
steadfastly stood by the testimony of Silas Soule and added to the testimony
against Chivington.
After Silas Soule was assassinated, Cannon pursued Soule's killer
, a soldier identified as Squires, to the state of New Mexico. Squires
was apprehended without resistance but he ominously warned Lieutenant
Cannon that he did not know what he was getting into.
Private Squires was returned to Colorado and jailed in the Denver City
Jail. On the morning of July 14th, 1865, the body of Lieutenant Cannon
was found in his hotel room. The victim of an apparent poisoning, his
life was ended at 24 years of age. The bushwhacker and assassin
Private Squires, "disappeared" from his jail cell and spent the
rest of his life in California. 37).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MAJOR EDWARD W. WYNKOOP:
Born in Pennsylvania to well-to-do parents Wynkoop made his way West like
many young men of his day. Along his journey westward Wynkoop absorbed
the tall tales of vicious, cunning, savages that populated the Plains. By
the time he arrived in Colorado Wynkoop was convinced that the Native People
of the Plains were less than human. Wynkoop was filled with fear, mistrust
and hatred for these people he had yet to meet.
Appointed Sheriff of Arapaho County in the Colorado territory in
1858, Wynkoop joined with 8 other claim jumpers and stole the claim
of Charley Nichols. By the time Nichols had won legal judgment
against the claim jumpers, Wynkoop had renamed the site Denver and the Nichols
claim was already over-run by gold crazy miners. And from this sorted history
sprang up the "Queen of the West," as Denver would come to be known.
The flood of miners, riffraff, outlaws, and bums, that overran
the traditional campgrounds of the Cheyenne and Arapaho People kept Sheriff
Wynkoop busy for the next few years. One night, in April of 1860, a pack
of drunken "bummers," raped and beat the wives and mothers of a band
of Arapaho warriors that had come to Denver to trade buffalo robes.
After beating and defiling the Arapaho women the "bummers" stole three mules
from the Arapaho traders. Relations between the two races
already strained, deteriorated rapidly after this incident and culminated in the massacre at Sand Creek
eight years later.
With the advent of the Civil War, Wynkoop joined the Union forces and
in 1864 wound up back in Colorado stationed at Fort Lyon as a Major in the
First Colorado Volunteers. The Plains had exploded in violence after soldiers
murdered the Cheyenne leader Lean Bear and a companion during a peace parley.
Under orders from Colonel John Milton Chivington, to kill any and all Indians, Wynkoop
was ready to act.
Fate interceded on September 4th, 1864. Three Cheyenne, two men, and
a woman were escorted to Fort Lyon by a contingent of soldiers under Wynkoop's
command. One of the Cheyenne men was a leader named
One Eye, accompanied by his wife and a warrior named Min-im-mei. They had come to relay an appeal for peace from
the leader Black Ketttle.
Major Wynkoop remembering all the stories of treachery and deceit by Native
People was skeptical of the message. Wynkoop told One Eye that he his
wife, and Min-im-mei were to be held as hostages and quickly executed
if the message of peace was a trick. One Eye calmly agreed,
and stated, that the Cheyenne never broke their word and
if they ever did he did not wish to live any longer. One Eye pointed out
to Major Wynkoop that the word "lie" did not exist in the Cheyenne
language.
Wynkoop would later relate, " I felt myself in the presence
of superior beings.... that I heretofore looked upon without exception as
being cruel, treacherous, and bloodthirsty without feeling or affection
for friend or kindred." 37).
From that day Major Wynkoop would walk a different path. He came to
know, respect and love these people, the Cheyenne.
Wynkoop's successful efforts in accepting the peace proposals of Black
Kettle made many enemies, among them Governor Evans and the vitriolic
and hate filled Colonel John Milton Chivington.
Wynkoop was removed of command of Fort Lyon shortly before the massacre
at Sand Creek. When Wynkoop heard of Chivington's plans for a "final
solution," he dashed off for Kansas to meet with authorities in a
desperate
attempt to stop the impending massacre. His efforts were in vain.
Wynkoop was among the first to telegraph and petition Washington
for an investigation of the atrocities committed at Sand Creek .Wynkoop's
efforts earned him the contempt and wrath of the citizens of Denver,
who made numerous death threats against him.
Wynkoop's stand of conscience was a fatal blow to his military career. In
1866, Wynkoop took the job of Indian agent for the Cheyenne and
Arapaho People . He helped issue in an era of peace, albeit a tragically
short one. After the United States signed a treaty with the Lakota
Nation in 1868, Wynkoop felt that peace, and justice were
finally within grasp of the Native People of the Plains. Thinking his
work over he resigned his job as Indian agent. He was not yet aware
that two days previous, on November 29th, 1868, George Armstrong
Custer had launched a sneak attack on a peaceful Southern Cheyenne
camp on the banks of the Washita river, killing his old friend
Black Kettle and 103 of the Cheyenne people that he had grown to love.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THOMAS HENRY TIBBLES:
While employed as assistant editor of the Omaha Daily Herald, Tibbles
learned of the plight of Ponca leader, Chief Standing Bear. The Ponca People
had been moved forcibly by the U.S. government from their
homeland in Nebraska to a reservation in Oklahoma. Standing Bear's son fell sick after the
forced removal and died. His dying wish to his father was that
his body be returned to the land of his birth. On the return to
Nebraska, the U.S. Army intercepted and arrested Chief Standing Bear for the
transgression of leaving his assigned reservation in Oklahoma.
Tibbles wrote of, and gave widely read coverage to the removal of the
Ponca from their homeland and of the tragic and heartrending attempt by Standing
Bear to bury his son in the homeland of the Ponca People. Tibbles gave aid and
support to Chief Standing Bear in a lawsuit that resulted in the historic legal
ruling of May 12th, 1879. that stated that American Indians have the same rights
as other Americans. 62.)
Tibbles was a voice of compassion and reason in an arena that was soiled by
sensationalism, outright ignorance and bigotry. He was among the
people that recorded the slaughter of 405 Lakota People at Canke Opi Wakpala,
the creek called Wounded Knee, on December 29th, 1890. His words,
his witness, stand along-side the testimony of the survivors of the
slaughter, so that we may never forget .
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ERNEST THOMPSON SETON:
Born in 1860 in South Shields , Durham, England, raised in the
backwoods of Canada and educated in the arts in Paris, France, Seton
would become a prodigious author, painter, and naturalist. Because
of his artwork and literary prowess Seton is well remembered by history,
but less well known are his views on Native American culture and
values.
Seton in "The Book Of Woodcraft," in 1912 wrote: "Our soldiers,
above all others, have been trained to hate the Redmen, and yet
the evidence of those that have lived with this primitive people is, to the
same effect as that of missionaries and travelers, namely, that
the high-class Indian was brave, he was obedient to authority. He
was kind, clean and reverent. He was provident, unsordid,
hospitable, dignified, courteous, truthful, and
honest. He was the soul of honor. He lived a life of temperance
and physical culture that he might perfect his body, and so he achieved
a splendid physique, he was a wonderful hunter, a master of woodcraft,
and a model for outdoor life in this country. He was heroic and
picturesque all the time. He knew nothing of the forgiveness of sin,
but he remembered his Creator all the days of his life, and was
in truth one of the finest types of men the world has ever known."
http://www.bluecorncomics.com/lamour.htm
In 1936 , at the age of 76, Seton wrote: "The Civilization
of the White-man is a failure; it is visibly crumbling around us. It
has failed at every crucial test.... Our system has broken down....
Wherever pushed to a logical conclusion, it makes one millionaire and
a million paupers....We offer you the message of the Redman, the Creed
of Manhood. We advocate his culture as an improvement on our own, if
perchance by belated repentance, remorse, restitution, and
justification, we may save ourselves from Divine vengeance, and
total destruction.... so that we may have a chance to begin again with
a better, higher thought."
31).
Seton's most enduring and perhaps unrecognized accomplishment was his work
in instilling values of honesty, integrity and service to others, in
the young boys of America. Seton would found the "Woodcraft League
of America" and eventually oversee the merging of this organization
with the Boy Scouts. Seton served as Chief Boy Scout from 1910
to 1915. Joining with others such as Dr. Charles Eastman (Ohiyesa),
the first Native American physician, Seton worked to preserve
the values of Native American culture through the Scouting movement.
Millions of young Americans have had their formative years influenced
by Seton's work, unaware that the inspiration for this work sprang
forth from an admiration for Native culture and moral values.
JOHN COLLIER:
Serving during the Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration, Collier
held the title of Commissioner of Indian Affairs, longer than any other
person. His record of regard and respect for Native culture began at
an early age but was perhaps fired by Collier's witnessing of the "Red Deer
Dance" of the Taos People. Collier wrote of the experience,
" ....a whole race of men, before my eyes, passed
into ecstasy through a willed discipline, splendid and fierce, yet
structural, an objectively impassioned discipline which was a thousand
or ten-thousand years old.... these were unsentimental men who could neither
read nor write, poor men who lived by hard work, men who were
told every day in all kinds of unsympathetic ways that all they believed
in and cared for had to die, and who never answered back. For
these men were at one with their Gods."
31).
In 1922 Collier became heavily involved in the successful fight against the
"Bursum Bill," which would have deeded 60,000 acres of Pueblo land
to White and Hispanic squatters. A direct result of this successful fight
was the resignation of the Secretary of the Interior, Albert Fall,
who was eventually charged and convicted of corruption.
During the fight over the "Bursum Bill," the Bureau of Indian Affairs
attempted to strengthen their argument for passage of the bill, by
denigrating the Pueblo People, their culture and religion. Their
ceremonies were incorrectly besmirched as being pagan practices
that encompassed obscene sexual practices. Charles Burke,
Commissioner of Indian Affairs, went so far as to publicly
assail the Taos culture and religion and told the Taos People that their
beliefs made them "half animals."
31).
Collier responded to these outrageous acts by helping form the "American
Indian Defense Association (AIDA)," and became its first director.
Collier founded the magazine "American Indian Life," which in conjunction
with the AIDA was dedicated to not just documenting Native belief and
culture but actually preserving it.
Collier became an influential lobbyist in Washington, D.C., and fought
the assimilationist policies of the BIA throughout the twenties. For
his efforts Collier was eventually appointed as Commissioner of Indian Affairs
by Franklin Roosevelt in 1932.
During his 11 years as Commissioner he reversed, for the first time
in United States' history, the declining land holdings of Native Americans.
Land holdings of Native Americans increased from 47 million acres
to 51 million acres during Collier's tenure. During the 11 years that
Collier held the title of Commissioner of Indian Affairs the government lent
over 12 million dollars to the Native American community. In that
time cattle herds increased by 105%, and over all agricultural output
of Native Americans during this period increased by over 47 million dollars,
an increase of over 2600%.
Collier would state that less than $4,000.00 in loans to Native
Americans had been written off as bad debt, a record that established
Native Americans as, "....the best credit risk in America."
31).
Collier's enthusiasm and zeal, and his autocratic style rubbed many
the wrong way. His legacy is not without controversy from within the
White as well as Native society. The Indian Reorganization
Act of 1934 (IRA), for example was forced upon Native communities all across
the United States. This act forced Native People to adopt the American
form of government and has a checkered history and has resulted in
bitter feelings of resentment that exist to this day. But when viewed
from the vantage-point of knowing the legacy of his successors, that
quickly reverted to assimilationist, repressive, and paternalistic
policies, the strength of his vision is apparent.
James Wilson, in his brilliant work, "The Earth Shall Weep,"
states, "In the end, perhaps Collier's biggest fault was
that he misjudged the enormous power of the interests ranged against
him....Collier underestimated the fundamental forces in the non-Indian world
which had always worked against the survival of distinct tribal
societies."
John Collier, for all of his human foibles, recognized the strength
of the Native spirit and tried to build upon it. And for that he should
not be forgotten.
BILL MAULDIN:
History has not forgotten Bill Mauldin or his unforgettable cartoons of life on
the front lines of WWII. The two main characters of his cartoon series,
Willie and Joe reminded us of the horrors and banality of war. Their laconic
banter stripped the gilding of glory and nobility from man's oldest profession.
But what history has forgotten is that the character of Willie was based on Sgt.
Rayson Billie -Choctaw-, who served with Bill Mauldin in the 45th Division
of Oklahoma's National Guard.
Considering the loss suffered by, and near extermination of America's First People, I
consider
Mauldin's literary use of an American Indian in his anti-war message as the
strongest irony and rebuke of man's inhumanity to our fellow man.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IndianComicsIrregular/message/81
THIS PAGE IS IN ITS EARLY STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT, THERE IS MORE TO COME.
11/5/2007