Allison Bruning's Blog, page 22
May 27, 2014
To Be #Shawnee: Band of Brothers: The #Kickapoo #NativeAmerican #history
The Shawnee and the Kickapoo
Welcome back to my series on Shawnee culture and history. Last week we talked about the relationship between the Delaware and the Shawnee. Although the Delaware and Shawnee people shared a closed relationship, it is with the Kickapoo they resemble more closely in culture and language. Both the Kickapoo and Shawnee people assert that they are related. This comes from a shared myth describing how the Kickapoo and Shawnee had split from a larger tribe. The story is known as "Roasted Bear Feet".
The Shawnee used to be a part of the Kickapoo Nation. One day ten hunters went bear hunting together. They had killed the bear, taken it back to their camp and decided to celebrate their victory by roasting and eating the bear's feet. So the men placed the feet to roast. As the feet were roasting all the men fell asleep. Later three of the men awoke very hungry. They decided, instead of waking their comrades up, they would eat some of the meat. After they ate some of the meat, their friends awoke from their sleep only to find the hind legs had remained. The seven hunters were very upset. They drove the three hunters who had eaten the meat away telling them to get their families and leave them forever. The three hunters and their families became the Kickapoo.
When most people hear the tribe Kickapoo they often think of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Northern Mexico. The Kickapoo are not native to those lands but moved to those areas during the mid - nineteenth century. The descendants of the Kickapoo are scattered throughout regions I mentioned above. Their ancestors were members of a larger tribe that once inhabited the Great Lakes region. The French first encounter the Kickapoo in the early 1640's between Lake Michigan and Lake Erie. There is strong archaeological evidence to support that the Shawnee occupied the same area as the Kickapoo, Delaware and other groups along the Great Lakes region during the first French contact. When the Kickapoo had encountered the French, like the Shawnee, they were very independent and self-sufficient. At the time of contact the Kickapoo were members of a confederacy of tribes known as the Wabash Confederacy. Like the Shawnee's conservatism that sets them apart from other tribes the Kickapoo also had an attitude that set them apart. They were self-reliant. It is a characteristic that continues even to this day. And like the Shawnee, they established trade relations with the French. The Shawnee did not remain by the Great Lakes for long and moved southward.
The Kickapoo lived a transitory lifestyle that mirrored the lifestyle of the Shawnee. Both groups would move from village to village according to the seasons. The lifestyle suited the Kickapoo well.
By the 1660's the Beaver War with the Iroquois had driven the Kickapoo away from their ancestral homelands into Wisconsin. In Wisconsin they formed a loosely based alliance with other displaced Algonquians. Some of these may have been Shawnee. The Kickapoo had always enjoyed a close alliance with the Shawnee. The Kickapoo participated with the Shawnee and other Algonquian groups in Pontiac's Rebellion. They played a large role in aiding Tecumseh during the War of 1812. Their participation in these efforts not only affected their relationship with the white man but also splintered their own tribe. By the mid-19th century there were three distinct groups of Kickapoo, each living in different areas. These were the Oklahoma Kickapoo, Mexican or Texas Kickapoo and the Kansas Kickapoo.
Kickapoo women in Texas 1900
The Shawnee have always kept a close alliance with the tribe. In 1900, when the Shawnee chief Big Jim had led some of the Absentee warriors to scout for land in Mexico they had encounter an epidemic of smallpox. The Mexican Kickapoos offered to aid the Shawnee but Chief Big Jim decided he would return with his men to Oklahoma. After he left the Mexican authorities quarantined the Shawnee party. Big Jim and all but two of his men died from the disease in September of 1900.
Kickapoo Chief Babe Shkit ca. 1894 - ca. 1907One of the cultural aspects that the Shawnee share with the Kickapoo is a society known as "Miseekwaaweekwaakee." Unlike most Algonquin groups the Shawnee did not employ societies (secret men's clubs) into their organization. But there is one society that did exist. The Man Eaters. The Man Eaters were also found in the Kickapoo culture. The Man Eaters were a military society yet unlike any other military society membership was inherited and the group was led by four women. The Man Eaters would get rid of the body of a male captive by eating it.
Welcome back to my series on Shawnee culture and history. Last week we talked about the relationship between the Delaware and the Shawnee. Although the Delaware and Shawnee people shared a closed relationship, it is with the Kickapoo they resemble more closely in culture and language. Both the Kickapoo and Shawnee people assert that they are related. This comes from a shared myth describing how the Kickapoo and Shawnee had split from a larger tribe. The story is known as "Roasted Bear Feet".
The Shawnee used to be a part of the Kickapoo Nation. One day ten hunters went bear hunting together. They had killed the bear, taken it back to their camp and decided to celebrate their victory by roasting and eating the bear's feet. So the men placed the feet to roast. As the feet were roasting all the men fell asleep. Later three of the men awoke very hungry. They decided, instead of waking their comrades up, they would eat some of the meat. After they ate some of the meat, their friends awoke from their sleep only to find the hind legs had remained. The seven hunters were very upset. They drove the three hunters who had eaten the meat away telling them to get their families and leave them forever. The three hunters and their families became the Kickapoo.When most people hear the tribe Kickapoo they often think of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Northern Mexico. The Kickapoo are not native to those lands but moved to those areas during the mid - nineteenth century. The descendants of the Kickapoo are scattered throughout regions I mentioned above. Their ancestors were members of a larger tribe that once inhabited the Great Lakes region. The French first encounter the Kickapoo in the early 1640's between Lake Michigan and Lake Erie. There is strong archaeological evidence to support that the Shawnee occupied the same area as the Kickapoo, Delaware and other groups along the Great Lakes region during the first French contact. When the Kickapoo had encountered the French, like the Shawnee, they were very independent and self-sufficient. At the time of contact the Kickapoo were members of a confederacy of tribes known as the Wabash Confederacy. Like the Shawnee's conservatism that sets them apart from other tribes the Kickapoo also had an attitude that set them apart. They were self-reliant. It is a characteristic that continues even to this day. And like the Shawnee, they established trade relations with the French. The Shawnee did not remain by the Great Lakes for long and moved southward.
The Kickapoo lived a transitory lifestyle that mirrored the lifestyle of the Shawnee. Both groups would move from village to village according to the seasons. The lifestyle suited the Kickapoo well.
By the 1660's the Beaver War with the Iroquois had driven the Kickapoo away from their ancestral homelands into Wisconsin. In Wisconsin they formed a loosely based alliance with other displaced Algonquians. Some of these may have been Shawnee. The Kickapoo had always enjoyed a close alliance with the Shawnee. The Kickapoo participated with the Shawnee and other Algonquian groups in Pontiac's Rebellion. They played a large role in aiding Tecumseh during the War of 1812. Their participation in these efforts not only affected their relationship with the white man but also splintered their own tribe. By the mid-19th century there were three distinct groups of Kickapoo, each living in different areas. These were the Oklahoma Kickapoo, Mexican or Texas Kickapoo and the Kansas Kickapoo.
Kickapoo women in Texas 1900The Shawnee have always kept a close alliance with the tribe. In 1900, when the Shawnee chief Big Jim had led some of the Absentee warriors to scout for land in Mexico they had encounter an epidemic of smallpox. The Mexican Kickapoos offered to aid the Shawnee but Chief Big Jim decided he would return with his men to Oklahoma. After he left the Mexican authorities quarantined the Shawnee party. Big Jim and all but two of his men died from the disease in September of 1900.
Kickapoo Chief Babe Shkit ca. 1894 - ca. 1907One of the cultural aspects that the Shawnee share with the Kickapoo is a society known as "Miseekwaaweekwaakee." Unlike most Algonquin groups the Shawnee did not employ societies (secret men's clubs) into their organization. But there is one society that did exist. The Man Eaters. The Man Eaters were also found in the Kickapoo culture. The Man Eaters were a military society yet unlike any other military society membership was inherited and the group was led by four women. The Man Eaters would get rid of the body of a male captive by eating it.
#ExpressYourself: Genealogical Insights from an Unlikely Source #genealogy #history #research
This year I was the first year that I participated in the A to Z Challenge. I met some wonderful bloggers while participating. Unfortunately, I was unable to finish the challenge because I was moving. I really enjoyed reading the blogs that had to do with genealogy. To be honest, I had never heard of blogs for genealogical research. I have been researching my family's tree since I was nine years old. I still have some members of our family that are unknown to me and have been hard to track down. One of those members has been the woman Elva Russell. I never knew who she was until a few years ago. Her life's story inspired me to write Elsa and the other books of The Secret Heritage series.
One of the genealogical blogs that stuck out the most to me was the post H is for Hospital Records on the blog Anne's Family History. In all my years of conducting research I would have never thought of looking up hospital records. When I read her blog post it was like "Duh, why didn't I think of that before?" It was such a great moment.
May 26, 2014
#ArmchairBEA: Author Interaction/More Than Just Words
Author Interaction
I love all of my fans. One of the most memorable experiences I have ever had with a fan is when Sarita Love turned from fan into my personal cheerleader. She was so excited after reading Calico (Children of the Shawnee series) that she ask for book 2. I am currently working on the second book of the series. Every time I was on Facebook she would ask me "Are you writing? When is the next book coming out?" One day she told me, "Write! Write! Write! I need more." Sarita has become my number one fan. If I had a fan club she would more than likely be the president of it. She reminds me to never give up no matter how hard having a writing career can be.
More Than Just Words
Transmedia. I had never heard of the word until I was in graduate school working on my MFA in Creative Writing at Full Sail University. Our world has drastically changed since the Internet came online in the 90's. There use to be a time when a writer's story would only be in books. No longer. If a writer's story is to be successful then they must be able to present that same story as transmedia. Transmedia means the same story is told in game, television, screenplay, book and comic formats. Writers can no longer sit back and just write a novel if they want a successful writing career. They need to understand how to write in each of the formats. Every time you take a story and adapt it from one form to the other the story will change. Writers need to be flexible enough in their thinking to allow these changes to occur and for other people to make changes to their story. Agents, managers and publishers tend to favor the writer who can write effectively in all media formats because they know that a story is more likely to be profitable if it is presented in more than one market.
I am so grateful I learned how to write in all media forms with my MFA. The education I received at Full Sail has changed my writing process for the better. It has opened my mind to expressing my creativity in new forms that has opened new doors for my writing career. I am currently writing the screenplay for my book, Calico, and the novel form for my screenplay, Field of Grace. I want all of my stories to be transmedia. That takes hard work and stretches my mind. But I wouldn't have it any other way.
May 25, 2014
#ArmchairBEA: Introductions and #Literature
The Armchair BEA has finally arrived!I'm so happy!
This year is my first year attending the Armchair BEA and if you couldn't tell I'm very excited about it. The Armchair BEA is an annual online event for book bloggers and authors that is held at the same time as the Book Expo America and BEA Blogger Convention in New York. Hundreds of bloggers and authors from around the world are participating in the online convention. You can learn more by visiting the Armchair BEA website.
Every participant in the Armchair BEA has been given an agenda to follow. We will be posting topics based on the same theme. I will be doing this in conjunction with my normal posting routines.
So let's get the party started!
Introductions
I was given ten questions and asked to answer five of them. It was so hard to chose just one because they were all great questions. But after some thought I chose the following: 1) Who is Allison Bruning?
I am a historical fiction author who hails from Marion, Ohio but lives in Indianapolis, Indiana. Most of my novels take place in Ohio, especially in area of Marion County. My novels tend to have strong female protagonists with strong family values. My readers are taken into worlds that are usually not heard from in historical text. For example, my first book, Calico, is written from the Shawnee Nation's viewpoint not the white man.
I have been blogging for four years. I started my writing career in 2008 when my husband and I moved to Kentucky from Texas. Calico was published two years later. An author friend of mine had suggested that I start a blog and write about topics that pertain to my books. I have been writing interesting historical and cultural anthropological posts ever since.
2) How would I describe my blog in just one sentence?
Inside the Secret World of Allison Bruning is a journey into little known worlds of historical places, people and events.
Website:www.abruning.com
Twitter:https://twitter.com/emeraldkell
Facebook:http://on.fb.me/1tg2Rm1
Google+http://bit.ly/1n999SI
Pinterest:
http://www.pinterest.com/allisonb22/
3) What genre do I like to read the most?
I love to read historical fiction because I have a strong interest in history and cultures.
4) What does your ideal reading space look like?
I think this picture I found on Pinterest says it all except I would want to be deeper in the woods. It was created by English painter Sir Luke Fildes (1843-1927) and titled Reading in the Woods.
5) What book would you love to see as a movie?
I would love to see my book, Elsa, as a movie. Elsa is about a young woman in 1905 Marion County, Ohio who unconditionally loves a man with Aspergers Syndrome in a time when Aspergers had yet been discovered. All Elsa Garrett wants in life is to be Franklin’s wife. He’s asked her father for her hand and knows he has permission to ask her. Yet when and how would her boyfriend with Aspergers Syndrome ask the question?
When Franklin has a diabetic seizure all hope seems lost once Elsa learns Franklin can no longer marry her due to an obscure law in Ohio relating to his seizure. With the help of Franklin’s parents, Elsa has a plan. But will it work?
Lost in a society that doesn’t understand Franklin or why she would ever choose to be with him, Elsa comes face to face with death, destruction, and misfortune as she tries to clear her boyfriend’s name. With each step towards progress Elsa falls two steps behind. One simple task shifts her entire life towards a direction she could have never imagined. Alone, pregnant, and without her Franklin, is despair all she has to look forward to in her new life, or will fate finally bring them together?
Literature
What do I think about when I hear the world literature? Well first off, you have to understand one thing about me. Well, ok, maybe a few things about me.
1) When I was in school I was considered an accelerated reader because I was reading three grades higher than I should have been at.2) I took so many literature courses in college because I was obsessed with the written language that many of my professors thought I should become an English major. I did for a brief time but ended up obtaining a BA in Theatre Arts.
So when I think of literature my mind instantly goes back to the thick William Shakespeare book that I had fallen in love with in college. I also think about the classics like Mary Louise Alcott, Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, Laura Ingalls Wilder and Harriet Beecher Stowe.
But, now this is where the linguistic part of me comes in, you can't forget the ancient texts. I LOVE ancient texts. To me, the most amazing part of literature is how different cultures can tell the same story without having ever come into contact with each other. It's the same theme and/or circumstances but with different characters.
May 23, 2014
#AuthorSpotlight: Understanding #Autism
Hi! My name is Elsa Garrett and I have no idea how I came to be here. I went to bed last night in 1904, Wyandot County, Ohio and woke up to find I was in another state in 2014. Thankfully, a nice woman named Samantha found me wondering around her town. Everyone was looking at me as if I was strange. But I thought they were all strange by the way they were dressed. I mean, why don't the females wear dresses like me? My father would have never approved of the way men and women dress in this time.
Samantha graciously escorted me to her home and introduced her family to me. It took me awhile toeven notice them because I was in shock with everything in her home. It was nothing like my family's farm. I had been to the city of Marion before but even this city and these homes didn't compare to Marion.
After I was over the shock I realized there was something different yet familiar with her son, Jaime. Jaime acted much like my boyfriend, Franklin. I told her about my Franklin and how hard life was for him and his family. She was interested in how his life is like as an adult as much as I was interested in knowing how life is when your the parent of someone with Autism. I've always been close to Franklin's parents and had thought about how life must have been hard for them raising Franklin. Especially since Franklin is the eldest son and our society expects Franklin to head the family business someday. I was so delighted with Samantha agree to answer all of my questions.
ELSA: What is the hardest thing you have had to face with a child who has Autism?
SAMANTHA: The ridicule of the outside world. People who don’t understand Autism aren’t willing to look past my son’s Autism and I have to remind myself to be polite to those few people who act on their fears.
ELSA: How has your son changed the way you see life?
SAMANTHA: He has taught me to see the bigger picture in life. Jaime makes me think outside the box.
ELSA: If you could, would you ever cure your child from his Autism? Why or why not?
SAMANTHA: There’s nothing to cure. So my answer would be no, I would not cure my son of Autism. He has different ways of doing things that’s not a diagnose that is bad. It’s just how he thinks. That’s where in my opinion people get it wrong. Autism isn’t the enemy ignorance is.
ELSA: My boyfriend has a form of autism and I’m scared I will have a child with Autism. What advice can you give me?SAMANTHA: Be patient. Don’t treat them like they are stupid. Give them expectations just like any
other child. But most of all just love them.
ELSA: What is a blessing that having a child with Autism has given you?
SAMANTHA: A new outlook on things. Everything he experiences it’s new to him. And the joy on his face when accomplishes something is enough for me.
ELSA: It can be hard to see life through the eyes of someone with Autism. Have you ever tried to life through your son’s perspective? If so, how did it look?
see
SAMANTHA: I’m always trying to understand my son. That is the only way to help him in his time of need. His world is very logical and hands on.
ELSA: What’s it like to try to have relationship with a man when your child has Autism?
SAMANTHA: It can prove to be a challenge if the man is not willing to stick to a routine. But after a while everything smooth’s out. I remember when his father and I started dating again. Jaime had a hard time dealing with Jonathan being around. But once “we” found our groove it’s a great experience.
ELSA: What do you think your son’s life will be like when he’s an adult?
SAMANTHA: Full of order and preciseness. He will be a happy successful man because of how we are raising him now.
ELSA: How do you handle the moments when he is so overwhelmed but can’t express his feelings to you?
SAMANTHA: I have what’s called a talking stick. I got the idea one night watching an old western where the Indians were having a meeting and who ever had the stick could talk. It makes Jaime calm down and think.
ELSA: What is the worst fear you have for your son and what is the greatest blessing he can give to the world?
SAMANTHA: My worst fear would be that society not accepting him for him. But blessing, well he can show others that Autism is only a part of him. It doesn’t control him.
*****Elsa opened her eyes and stared at the familiar ceiling. It was all just a dream. But how could it be when it had felt so real.
"Elsa, Franklin's here to see you," her mother's voice echoed from the hallway behind her closed door.
Elsa smiled.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Alisha Guenzel, is a new author. Unspoken Dreams is her first book to be published. Besides writing her family is her passion, she lives on her five acre horse ranch with her husband and five children. When she's not writing or blogging she is spending time with her family or her horse, Peanut. Unspoken Dreams is just the beginning, since writing Unspoken Dreams she is working on a Cowboy series that has to do with a family of three son's and how they find their true love's, it's called "The McGregor Saga".
http://amzn.to/1f5WAAH
Finally! A Virtual Assistant!
Happy Friday. This week I have been blessed once again by my manager, Craig Michael Lewis. Craig introduced me to my personal assistant, Shantae Gonzalez. Shantae owns Virtual Care Assistance. She provides virtual and personal assistants to artists and companies.
Shantae is a wonderful person whom I look forward to having on my team. She will be working closely with myself, my manager and my blog tour coordinator with my writing career. Shantae will be helping me with checking my emails, social media marketing, maintaining my blog, calendar management, taking business phone calls for me and anything else that might arise in my writing career. Now that I have an assistant I can free up more time in my schedule to work on my writing projects.
One small blessing can turn into larger opportunities for this writer.
May 22, 2014
#MarionCounty, Ohio: What In The World Is A Township?
Marion County, Ohio: The History and CultureWelcome back to my blog. Last week I introduced you to a small village in the Green Camp Township of Marion County, Ohio known as Green Camp. Green Camp plays a vital role in my latest book, Field of Grace.
Whenever someone is learning about government we usually learn the hierarchy works like this:
NationalStateCountyCity
Most of the times, unless you are from an area that has them, you rarely hear about townships.
Townships are all over the place in Ohio and it's hard to forget if your from Ohio that some states don't have them. Marion County, Ohio has fifteen townships.
Big Island
Bowling GreenClaridonGrandGrand PrairieGreen CampMarionMontgomeryPleasantProspectRichlandSalt RockScottTullyWaldo
So what is a township?
It depends on the state. In the United States, there are two ways to define a township.
1) A survey of land within the county that is defined by the Public Land Survey System.
2) A unit of government. The township acts as a municipal corporations and is subordinate to the county they reside in. How much governing power a township has depends upon the state.
Marion County, Ohio's townships actually fit both of these definitions. The map above shows the location of the townships and the towns located in each one. There are some very interesting historic maps of each of the townships from 1878 located here.
Marion County, Ohio was a part of Delaware County until 1820 but wasn't officially recognized until 1824. The City of Marion was platted north of Jacob's Well in 1822 by Alexander Holmes with Eber Baker as his agent. Mr. Holmes sold lots of the city to settlers. My family was one of those who moved into Marion when it was established. The city and the county were named after the Revolutionary War hero, General Francis Marion (aka: The Swamp Fox).
A local legend claims Jacob Foos, a surveyor for General Harrison's army during the War of 1812, woke up in the middle of the night with a terrible thirst. He told his companions he was going to dig until he either found water or hell. Foos found a spring on top of a small hill. He established a well known as "Jacob's Well. The location was used as a stopover for soldiers along the trail between Fort Franklin (Columbus) and Toledo. Jacob's Well is located where the Marion Towers stand on Delaware Avenue.
Whenever someone is learning about government we usually learn the hierarchy works like this:
NationalStateCountyCity
Most of the times, unless you are from an area that has them, you rarely hear about townships.
Townships are all over the place in Ohio and it's hard to forget if your from Ohio that some states don't have them. Marion County, Ohio has fifteen townships.
Big Island
Bowling GreenClaridonGrandGrand PrairieGreen CampMarionMontgomeryPleasantProspectRichlandSalt RockScottTullyWaldoSo what is a township?
It depends on the state. In the United States, there are two ways to define a township.
1) A survey of land within the county that is defined by the Public Land Survey System.
2) A unit of government. The township acts as a municipal corporations and is subordinate to the county they reside in. How much governing power a township has depends upon the state.
Marion County, Ohio's townships actually fit both of these definitions. The map above shows the location of the townships and the towns located in each one. There are some very interesting historic maps of each of the townships from 1878 located here.
Marion County, Ohio was a part of Delaware County until 1820 but wasn't officially recognized until 1824. The City of Marion was platted north of Jacob's Well in 1822 by Alexander Holmes with Eber Baker as his agent. Mr. Holmes sold lots of the city to settlers. My family was one of those who moved into Marion when it was established. The city and the county were named after the Revolutionary War hero, General Francis Marion (aka: The Swamp Fox).
A local legend claims Jacob Foos, a surveyor for General Harrison's army during the War of 1812, woke up in the middle of the night with a terrible thirst. He told his companions he was going to dig until he either found water or hell. Foos found a spring on top of a small hill. He established a well known as "Jacob's Well. The location was used as a stopover for soldiers along the trail between Fort Franklin (Columbus) and Toledo. Jacob's Well is located where the Marion Towers stand on Delaware Avenue.
May 21, 2014
#Author Surprises: The @ArmchairBEA
I am so excited I just had to share the good news with all my fans today. This year, I have been asked to join the BEA Armchair Conference. I proudly accepted the offer and have posted the badge to the event on my blog.
The Armchair BEA is an annual conference that is held in conjunction with the Book Expo and the BEA Blogger Convention in New York City. It's a large event that draws hundreds of book bloggers/authors. I will be participating and sponsoring the event. I've never attended a virtual conference before. This should be fun.
Be sure to watch my blog all next week as I will be blogging daily with over 700 other bloggers on the same theme. The Armchair BEA blogging themes are an addition to my regular posts. Other events I will be participating in are Twitter Parties, Instagram Challenge, and more. The event keeps surprising us with activities. I never know what they may come up with.
I'm so excited! This is going to be great.
May 20, 2014
To Be #Shawnee: Our Grandfathers - the #Delaware #NativeAmerican #Heritage
To Be Shawnee:A Bond Between Brothers pt.1Before the white man ever set foot on North America the native inhabitants already had a complex system of trade, government and intertribal relations. The Shawnee were not any different. The Shawnee believed the red man had been spared in Noah's Flood by the Great Spirit (Moneto). All red men were descended by one woman and made the great tribe. This belief influenced the Shawnee and their relations with the other tribes.The Shawnee and the Delaware (Lenni Lenape)
Called the grandfathers by the Shawnee people, the Delaware (known as the Lenni Lenape) shared a close bond with the Shawnee. The Shawnee showed this group of people the utmost respect because they believed the Delaware had been the first tribe to be created after the flood.
"Curiously enough, Our Grandmother did not create the Shawnee first, but they began with the Delaware. When she completed a Delaware man and woman, she put them on the east side of a fire which she had kindled. Then she created one Shawnee division, in the form of an old man and an old woman. After this she created a young man and young woman who were expected to have children who would constitute three of the Shawnee divisions. Here, apparently her interest in creating people ceased..... (Told by Mary Williams, an absentee Shawnee in the book Shawnee by James H. Howard)There is a story that was once told by the Shawnee and Delaware in Pennsylvania of how the Shawnee and Delaware were once one people. The story is known as "The Grasshopper War" and is still told today at Native American PowWows.
Deep in the Pennsylvania wilderness, before any white man ever set foot on the land, were two villages. The inhabitants of each village liked to visit one another. The men would hunt together and the woman would share their work. Each village enjoyed the company of the other. One day while a boy was visiting he found a grasshopper near a river. He played with his little friend until a group of children came upon them. He showed the grasshopper to his friends and they were all happy playing with the insect together. But one of the boys wasn't happy with the visiting boy's discovery. He thought to himself, "Shouldn't the grasshopper be mine instead of his. This is my village after all." So the upset boy snatched the grasshopper from the visiting boy and ran away with the insect. The children and the boy gave chase. They soon caught up to the thief and the children began to fight, each siding with the boy of their own village. Now the women heard the fight and came out to see what the argument was about. Seeing the blood and bruises of their children they joined in the fight to defend their child and village. The screams grew in the air. Later that day, the men had returned from hunting when they found the females of their family and their children huddled on the ground injured and bloody. The chiefs of both villages wanted vengeance. They declared war upon each other and the men joined their wives and children in battle. After the battle was over, everyone was repulsed by what they had done. A simple argument between boys had led to a battle between friends. Quilt filled their hearts. They decided in order to keep the peace it was best if the two villages went their separate ways. Thus began the Shawnee and Delaware.THE DELAWARE
The Delaware originally lived along the Northeast Coast of the Atlantic between the Hudson and Delaware rivers. They were one of the first tribes to come into contact with the white man in the early 1600's.
A loose confederacy of clans, the largest villages at the time of contact had a population of two to three hundred people. Most of the villages, though, only consisted of 25-30 people. Like Shawnee divisions, the Delaware had three major groups. These were" Unalachtigo(Turkey)
Unami(Turtle) and Munsee (Wolf). Each group spoke their own dialect.
Like the Shawnee, the Delaware also has a clan system. Unlike the Shawnee, the Delaware were matriarchal. A child would inherit their clan identity from their mother. Hereditary leadership passed down from mother to child. If the women elders did not approve of any leader they could remove that leader from their office. Agricultural lands were controlled by the women but the Delaware did not recognize ownership of the the land. Land was collectively owned by whichever clan occupied that area. Unlike the Shawnee, the Delaware did not travel with the season from village to village.Whenever a young woman married the couple would reside with her family so her mother and sisters could help with the family. After she gave birth, the most important person in a child's life was his or her mother's eldest brother. The mother's brother would become the child's mentor and would be from a different clan.
The Shawnee and Delaware enjoyed a friendship from long ago. While the Shawnee were in Pennsylvania, they were closely associated with one another. Like the Shawnee, the Delaware were affected by the outbreak of Smallpox during the 17th century. After the Shawnee left Pennsylvania for Ohio, the Delaware stayed behind briefly. Conflicts with the Europeans and the Iroquois contributed to the Delaware abandoning their homelands. In 1766, through a peace treaty with the British, the Delaware moved west across the Allegheny Mountains into Ohio using Shawnee trails. This pattern would continue until the Delaware were removed by the United States to Oklahoma in the 1860's. The Shawnee would always move first, establish the trails then the Delaware would follow.
The two tribes often joined forces to fight a common enemy together. In 1776, the combined forces of Shawnee and Delaware forced the Cherokee to move deeper into the south. The Shawnee and Delaware fought together in the French and Indian War but not the American Revolutionary War. While the Shawnee were helping the British fight against the newly formed American army, the Delaware were one of the first tribes to sign a peace treaty with the leaders of the future United States. In the treaty, the Delaware promised they would aide the patriots by providing food and supplies. The future United States agreed to grant them a place of importance at the head of the new country in return. Although they fought on opposing sides, the Shawnee and Delaware never lost the close relationship. Even today, the Shawnee honor the Delaware.
#ExpressYourself: Grandma's Dorothy Lamour #family #creativity #Hollywood
Welcome back to the Express Yourself Weekly Blog Hop. This week I was asked the question if I have ever known someone or dated someone who could be a celebrity twin. That's a hard question because I rarely notice things like that. I'm not into fashion, makeup or stuff like that. Don't get me wrong I do wear makeup. LOL!
My grandfather had names for all the grandchildren. To him I was peanut. I have always cherished that but what I cherish more is the nickname my grandmother gave me. Grandma Carr didn't nickname her grandchildren but she did give me one. When I was little my grandmother use to compare me to
My grandmother always called me her little "Dorothy Lamour." When I was older she told me I not only sang like her but looked like her as well. It wasn't any surprise to her that I chose to pursue a theater arts degree in college nor that I was accepted into the National Honor Society for Theater Arts my senior year at Sul Ross State University. I had been singing and acting on stage since before I could remember. My grandmother recognized that I was a creative soul and she encouraged me to explore my creativity. I was her little Dorothy Lamour until the day she died.
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