An excellent thread that is so full of images and information, I am as ever impressed by the gentleness and wisdom of the Indian tribes.
One of my uncles was half Indian. He said his mother was Cree. He married into our family. I used to tell him our family was from the runsamok tribe. He had a good sense of humor and laughed a lot. He had a rough go during WW2. Was in the infantry and fought in the battle of the bulge and other fights.
Even though many of them were not even citizens, more than 8,000 Native Americans volunteered and served during World War I. Well over 24,000 served during World War II. One of the most notable contributions during World War II was the service of the Navajo Code Talkers, a special group of volunteers who did top-secret work using a secret code in Navajo that could not be broken. Indians were loyal in supporting the United States as shown by the high ratio of enlistment during the wars. Their work with the Signal Corps during World War II is an outstanding example.
Benjamin Franklin said that our idea of the federal government, in which certain powers are conferred on a central government, and all other powers reserved to the states, was borrowed from the system of government of the Iroquoian League.
< I can't get rid of the #1. It won't delete. It's a government conspiracy because I'm copying and pasting info from http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/nrcs141p2_024206.pdf "Indians also have contributed a great deal to farming methods. The white settlers in colonial America might have starved if they had not copied Indian farming methods. At least one tribe, the Pima, had a well- developed irrigation system."
Symbols such as totem poles, thunderbird, sun and teepees, as well as Indian's love of color had a prominent place in the development of modern design.
Good day my friends. I've been watching this thread as I am spending my days at the VA hospital with my brother. I am so surprised that there has been so much interest in my culture. Of course @Lara Moss tried to tell me that others would be interested. Part of our story has not had much exposure, and that is the part after the great wars, (not WWll), and so many 'white people' helped the Indians to survive. None of the different tribes would have survived into today's world if they had not had the help of so many white pioneers. I though it would be interesting and fun to hear from the descendants of those pioneers, and of how their families might of helped in those days and since. Many pioneer families helped the surviving Indians with shelter and food. They also protected them by hiding them until they could get to safety. I guess you could call the Indians the first 'street people' of this country. Many pioneers fought to help make vast portions of different lands available for the Indians to live. Although there were many terrible stories about reservations that were true, the Indian people would not have been able, (without help), to collect in areas to sustain what was left of their tribes. This was how Indians were able to continue their different cultures. I was hoping to hear the stories passed on down through the old pioneer's families of today. So far this thread has surpassed my expectations.