Between Buffalo and Man

When the Buffalo first came to be upon the land, they were not friendly to the people. When the hunters tried to coax them over the cliffs for the good of the villages, they were reluctant to offer themselves up. They did not relish being turned into blankets and dried flesh for winter rations. They did not want their hooves and horn to become tools and utensils nor did they welcome their sinew being used for sewing. "No, no," they said. We won't fall into your traps. And we will not fall for your tricks." So when the hunters guided them towards the abyss, they would always turn aside at the very last moment. With this lack of cooperation, it seemed the villagers would be hungry and cold and ragged all winter long. 

Now one of the hunters' had a daughter who was very proud of her father's skill with the bow. During the fullness of summer, he always brought her the best of hides to dress, and she in turn would work the deerskins into the softest, whitest of garments for him to wear. Her own dresses were like the down of a snow goose, and the moccasins she made for the children and the grandmothers in the village were the most welcome of gifts.

But now with the hint of snow on the wind, and deer becoming more scarce in the willow breaks, she could see this reluctance on the part of the Buffalo families could become a real problem.

Hunter's Daughter decided she would do something about it. She went to the base of the cliff and looked up. She began to sing in a low, soft voice, "Oh, Buffalo family, come down and visit me. If you come down and feed my relatives in a wedding feast, I will join your family as the bride of your strongest warrior."

She stopped and listened. She thought she heard the slight rumbling sound of thunder in the distance. Again she sang, "Oh, Buffalo family, come down and visit me. Feed my family in a wedding feast so that I may be a bride."

The thunder was much louder now. Suddenly the Buffalo family began falling from the sky at her feet. One very large bull landed on top of the others, and walked across the backs of his relatives to stand before Hunter's Daughter.

"I am here to claim you as my bride," said Large Buffalo.

"Oh, but now I am afraid to go with you," said Hunter's Daughter.

"Ah, but you must," said Large Buffalo, "For my people have come to provide your people with a wedding feast. As you can see, they have offered themselves up."

"Yes, but I must run and tell my relatives the good news," said Hunter's Daughter. "No," said Large Buffalo. No word need be sent. You are not getting away so easily."

And with that said, Large Buffalo lifted her between his horns and carried her off to his village in the rolling grass hills.

The next morning the whole village was out looking for Hunter's Daughter. When they found the mound of Buffalo below the cliff, the father, who was in fact a fine tracker as well as a skilled hunter, looked at his daughter's footprints in the dust.

"She's gone off with a Buffalo, he said. I shall follow them and bring her back."

So Hunter walked out upon the plains, with only his bow and arrows as companions. He walked and walked a great distance until he was so tired that he had to sit down to rest beside a Buffalo wallow.

Buffalo by Val Warner

Along came Magpie and sat down beside him. Hunter spoke to Magpie in a respectful tone, "O knowledgeable bird, has my daughter been stolen from me by a Buffalo? Have you seen them? Can you tell me where they have gone?"

Magpie replied with understanding, "Yes, I have seen them pass this way. They are resting just over this hill."

"Well," said Hunter, would you kindly take my daughter a message for me? Will you tell her I am here just over the hill?"

So Magpie flew to where Large Buffalo lay asleep amidst his relatives in the dry prairie grass. He hopped over to where Hunter's Daughter was quilling moccasins, as she sat dutifully beside her sleeping husband. "Your father is waiting for you on the other side of the hill," whispered Magpie to the maiden.

"Oh, this is very dangerous," she told him. These Buffalo are not friendly to us and they might try to hurt my father if he should come this way. Please tell him to wait for me and I will try to slip away to see him."

Just then her husband, Large Buffalo, awoke and took off his horn. "Go bring me a drink from the wallow just over this hill," said her husband.

So she took the horn in her hand and walked very casually over the hill. Her father motioned silently for her to come with him, as he bent into a low crouch in the grass. "No," she whispered. The Buffalo are angry with our people who have killed their people. They will run after us and trample us into the dirt. I will go back and see what I can do to soothe their feelings."

And so Hunter's daughter took the horn of water back to her husband who gave a loud snort when he took a drink. The snort turned into a bellow and all of the Buffalo got up in alarm. They all put their tails in the air and danced a Buffalo Dance over the hill, trampling the poor man to pieces who was still waiting for his daughter near the Buffalo wallow.

His daughter sat down on the edge of the wallow and broke into tears.

"Why are you crying?" said her Buffalo husband.

"You have killed my father and I am a prisoner, besides," she sobbed.

"Well, what of my people?" her husband replied. We have given our children, our parents and some of our wives up to your relatives in exchange for your presence among us. A deal is a deal."

But after some consideration of her feelings, Large Buffalo knelt down beside her and said to her, "If you can bring your father back to life again, we will let him take you back home to your people." So Hunter's Daughter started to sing a little song. "Magpie, Magpie help me find some piece of my father which I can mend back whole again."

Magpie appeared and sat down in front of her with his head cocked to the side. "Magpie, Magpie, please see what you can find," she sang softly to the wind which bent the grasses slightly apart. Magpie cocked his head to the side and looked carefully within the layered folds of the grasses as the wind sighed again. Quickly he picked out a piece of her father that had been hidden there, a little bit of bone. "That will be enough to do the trick," said Hunter's Daughter, as she put the bone on the ground and covered it with her blanket.


And then she started to sing a reviving song that had the power to bring injured people back to the land of the living. Quietly she sang the song that her grandmother had taught her. After a few melodious passages, there was a lump under the blanket. She and Magpie looked under the blanket and could see a man, but the man was not breathing. He lay cold as stone. So Hunter's Daughter continued to sing, a little softer, and a little softer, so as not to startle her father as he began to move.

When he stood up, alive and strong, the Buffalo people were amazed. They said to Hunter's Daughter, "Will you sing this song for us after every hunt? We will teach your people the Buffalo Dance, so that whenever you dance before the hunt, you will be assured a good result. Then you will sing this song for us, and we will all come back to live again."

Tribe unknown

Buffalo dancers

How the Crow Came to be Black – Lakota / Brule

In days long past, when the earth and the people on it were still young, all crows were white as snow. In those ancient times the people had neither horses nor firearms nor weapons of iron. Yet they depended upon the buffalo hunt to give them enough food to survive. Hunting the big buffalo on foot with stone-tipped weapons was hard, uncertain, and dangerous. The crows made things even more difficult for the hunters, because they were friends of the buffalo. Soaring high above the prairie, they could see everything that was going on. Whenever they spied hunters approaching a buffalo herd, they flew to their friends and, perching between their horns, warned them: “Caw, caw, caw, cousins, hunters are coming. They are creeping up through that gully over there. They are coming up behind that hill. Watch out! Caw, caw, caw!” 

Hearing this, the buffalo would stampede, and the people starved. The people held a council to decide what to do. Now, among the crows was a huge one, twice as big as all the others. This crow was their leader. One wise old chief got up and made this suggestion: “We must capture the big white crow,” he said, “and teach him a lesson. It’s either that or go hungry. ”He brought out a large buffalo skin, with the head and horns still attached. He put it on the back of a young brave, saying: “Nephew, sneak among the buffalo. They will think you are one of them, and you can capture the big white crow.” 

Disguised as a buffalo, the young man crept among the herd as if he were grazing. The big, shaggy beasts paid him no attention. Then the hunters marched out from their camp after him, their bows at the ready. As they approached the herd, the crows came flying, as usual, warning the buffalo: “Caw, caw, caw, cousins, the hunters are coming to kill you. Watch out for their arrows. Caw, caw, caw!” and as usual, all the buffalo stampeded off and away - all, that is, except the young hunter in disguise under his shaggy skin, who pretended to go on grazing as before. Then the big white crow came gliding down, perched on the hunter’s shoulders, and flapping his wings, said: “Caw, caw, caw, brother, are you deaf? The hunters are close by, just over the hill. Save yourself!” 

But the young brave reached out from under the buffalo skin and grabbed the crow by the legs. With a rawhide string he tied the big bird’s feet and fastened the other end to a stone. No matter how the crow struggled, he could not escape. Again the people sat in council. 

“What shall we do with this big, bad crow, who has made us go hungry again and again?” “I’ll burn him up!” answered one angry hunter, and before anybody could stop him, he yanked the crow from the hands of his captor and thrust it into the council fire, string, stone and all. “This will teach you,” he said. Of course, the string that held the stone burned through almost at once, and the big crow managed to fly out of the fire. But he was badly singed, and some of his feathers were charred. Though he was still big, he was no longer white. 

“Caw, caw, caw,” he cried, flying away as quickly as he could, “I’ll never do it again; I’ll stop warning the buffalo, and so will the Crow nation. I promise! Caw, caw, caw.” Thus the crow escaped. But ever since, all crows have been black.

Told by Good White Buffalo at Winner, Rosebud Indian Reservation, South Dakota, 1964.

an Arapaho Medicine Man

How Medicine Man Resurrected Buffalo – Arapaho


The Arapaho tribe were unusual as they occupied many different regions while migrating westward. They lived for some time in the Red River Valley of Minnesota and North Dakota territories before they crossed the Missouri River and settled in Wyoming. There they divided into the Northern Arapaho and Southern Arapaho. The latter settled on a reservation in Oklahoma, while the Northern Arapaho joined the Shoshones on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming. In the early 1800's, the Arapaho were famous for raiding other tribes and white settlements on the Great Plains.

At one time an Arapaho Medicine Man named Black-Robe wanted very much to be able to make magic because his people were very hungry. How could he lure the buffaloes back to the Arapaho hunting grounds? Buffalo meat was their principal food.

Black-Robe decided to ask Cedar-Tree for his help. "Go west and hunt buffalo for our people. Try very hard to find at least one buffalo." Cedar-Tree hunted hard as he was asked to do. After a long time, he saw some black objects at a distance. "Could they be buffaloes?" he wondered.

Encouraged, he walked faster, but as he drew closer he was less sure the black objects were buffaloes. Suddenly, he saw the black things fly toward the sky. By then, Cedar-Tree seemed certain the objects were over sized ravens.

Disappointed, he returned to his village, reporting to Black-Robe what he had seen. The Medicine Man scolded him for not believing that what he had seen were buffaloes.

"If you had only believed strong enough, the buffaloes would not have changed to ravens," said Black Robe.

By now the Arapahoes were desperately hungry. One woman on the verge of starving made soup from the soles of her moccasins. The next day her uncle, Trying-Bear, set out early to hunt for anything edible. He had no weapons. Fortunately, on the way he met Black-Robe who loaned him a bow and some arrows.

"Tomorrow morning, I will come to your tent to learn of your success," said Black-Robe. "You must even try to find a dried buffalo, if not a live one."

After hunting a long time to the northwest, Trying-Bear finally found a dried buffalo. He ran home swiftly to tell his people. Black-Robe painted his white pony black and wrapped a black buffalo robe about himself. He stuck his lucky eagle-feather in his hair, mounted his black pony, and took off in a rush to find the dried buffalo.

"Follow me. Trying Bear," Black-Robe called.

Because he wanted to see what Black-Robe would do with the dried buffalo, Trying-Bear followed rapidly. Medicine Man arrived about midday at the place of the dead buffalo. He dismounted, took aim with his magic eagle-feather, and threw it straight at the carcass. Immediately, a live buffalo jumped to its feet!

Black-Robe turned and saw Trying-Bear. "Shoot it!" commanded Medicine Man. Trying-Bear shot it dead.

"Let's skin it and carry everything eatable back to our people," said Black-Robe.

A feast of thanksgiving and rejoicing followed. Black-Robe had saved his people from starvation. Arapahoes still love to tell this story of how their Medicine Man resurrected the dead buffalo with his magic eagle-feather-medicine!

H. R. Voth, The Origin of the Buffalo, Journal of American Folklore 
25, 1912 pages 44-45

BUFFALO

A Man

~~~~~~~~~~~~Song for the Buffalo~~~~~~~~~~~~

When the Buffalo first came to be upon the land, they were not friendly to the people. When the hunters tried to coax them over the cliffs for the good of the villages, they were reluctant to offer themselves up. They did not relish being turned into blankets and dried flesh for winter rations. They did not want their hooves and horn to become tools and utensils nor did they welcome their sinew being used for sewing. "No, no," they said. We won't fall into your traps. And we will not fall for your tricks." So when the hunters guided them towards the abyss, they would always turn aside at the very last moment. With this lack of cooperation, it seemed the villagers would be hungry and cold and ragged all winter long.

Now one of the hunters' had a daughter who was very proud of her father's skill with the bow. During the fullness of summer, he always brought her the best of hides to dress, and she in turn would work the deer skins into the softest, whitest of garments for him to wear. Her own dresses were like the down of a snow goose, and the moccasins she made for the children and the grandmothers in the village were the most welcome of gifts.

But now with the hint of snow on the wind, and deer becoming more scarce in the willow breaks, she could see this reluctance on the part of the Buffalo families could become a real problem.

Hunter's Daughter decided she would do something about it. She went to the base of the cliff and looked up. She began to sing in a low, soft voice, "Oh, Buffalo family, come down and visit me. If you come down and feed my relatives in a wedding feast, I will join your family as the bride of your strongest warrior."

She stopped and listened. She thought she heard the slight rumbling sound of thunder in the distance. Again she sang, "Oh, Buffalo family, come down and visit me. Feed my family in a wedding feast so that I may be a bride."

The thunder was much louder now. Suddenly the Buffalo family began falling from the sky at her feet. One very large bull landed on top of the others, and walked across the backs of his relatives to stand before Hunter's Daughter.

"I am here to claim you as my bride," said Large Buffalo.

"Oh, but now I am afraid to go with you," said Hunter's Daughter.

"Ah, but you must," said Large Buffalo, "For my people have come to provide your people with a wedding feast. As you can see, they have offered themselves up."

"Yes, but I must run and tell my relatives the good news," said Hunter's Daughter. "No," said Large Buffalo. No word need be sent. You are not getting away so easily."

And with that said, Large Buffalo lifted her between his horns and carried her off to his village in the rolling grass hills.

The next morning the whole village was out looking for Hunter's Daughter. When they found the mound of Buffalo below the cliff, the father, who was in fact a fine tracker as well as a skilled hunter, looked at his daughter's footprints in the dust.

"She's gone off with a Buffalo, he said. I shall follow them and bring her back."

So Hunter walked out upon the plains, with only his bow and arrows as companions. He walked and walked a great distance until he was so tired that he had to sit down to rest beside a Buffalo wallow.

Along came Magpie and sat down beside him. Hunter spoke to Magpie in a respectful tone, "O knowledgeable bird, has my daughter been stolen from me by a Buffalo? Have you seen them? Can you tell me where they have gone?"

Magpie replied with understanding, "Yes, I have seen them pass this way. They are resting just over this hill."

"Well," said Hunter, would you kindly take my daughter a message for me? Will you tell her I am here just over the hill?"

So Magpie flew to where Large Buffalo lay asleep amidst his relatives in the dry prairie grass. He hopped over to where Hunter's Daughter was quilling moccasins, as she sat dutifully beside her sleeping husband. "Your father is waiting for you on the other side of the hill," whispered Magpie to the maiden.

"Oh, this is very dangerous," she told him. These Buffalo are not friendly to us and they might try to hurt my father if he should come this way. Please tell him to wait for me and I will try to slip away to see him."

Just then her husband, Large Buffalo, awoke and took off his horn. "Go bring me a drink from the wallow just over this hill," said her husband.

So she took the horn in her hand and walked very casually over the hill. Her father motioned silently for her to come with him, as he bent into a low crouch in the grass. "No," she whispered. The Buffalo are angry with our people who have killed their people. They will run after us and trample us into the dirt. I will go back and see what I can do to soothe their feelings."

And so Hunter's daughter took the horn of water back to her husband who gave a loud snort when he took a drink. The snort turned into a bellow and all of the Buffalo got up in alarm. They all put their tails in the air and danced a Buffalo Dance over the hill, trampling the poor man to pieces who was still waiting for his daughter near the Buffalo wallow.

His daughter sat down on the edge of the wallow and broke into tears.

"Why are you crying?" said her Buffalo husband.

"You have killed my father and I am a prisoner, besides," she sobbed.

"Well, what of my people?" her husband replied. We have given our children, our parents and some of our wives up to your relatives in exchange for your presence among us. A deal is a deal."

But after some consideration of her feelings, Large Buffalo knelt down beside her and said to her, "If you can bring your father back to life again, we will let him take you back home to your people." So Hunter's Daughter started to sing a little song. "Magpie, Magpie help me find some piece of my father which I can mend back whole again."

Magpie appeared and sat down in front of her with his head cocked to the side. "Magpie, Magpie, please see what you can find," she sang softly to the wind which bent the grasses slightly apart. Magpie cocked his head to the side and looked carefully within the layered folds of the grasses as the wind sighed again. Quickly he picked out a piece of her father that had been hidden there, a little bit of bone. "That will be enough to do the trick," said Hunter's Daughter, as she put the bone on the ground and covered it with her blanket.

And then she started to sing a reviving song that had the power to bring injured people back to the land of the living. Quietly she sang the song that her grandmother had taught her. After a few melodious passages, there was a lump under the blanket. She and Magpie looked under the blanket and could see a man, but the man was not breathing. He lay cold as stone. So Hunter's Daughter continued to sing, a little softer, and a little softer, so as not to startle her father as he began to move. When he stood up, alive and strong, the Buffalo people were amazed. They said to Hunter's Daughter, "Will you sing this song for us after every hunt? We will teach your people the Buffalo Dance, so that whenever you dance before the hunt, you will be assured a good result. Then you will sing this song for us, and we will all come back to live again."

The story

HUMAN SPIRIT

It was a Powerful direction, and HE thought about where to place it, for HE did not want it to be easy for humans to find. So HE called a great Gathering of all the Animals and asked them where to place HUMAN SPIRIT, and Buffalo said to HIM, "Give it to me, and I will bury it under the grasses of the Great Plains, where it will never be found."

But Creator, who could see all times, looked, and was saddened. "I am sorry, Buffalo, but a time will come when Man will build on the Plains, and dig it up and he would find HUMAN SPIRIT there."

Then Bear spoke, "Creator, give it to me, and I will bury it so far under the Black Hills that it will never be found!” Creator looked into the future, and was saddened, "Bear, I see a time to come where man will find a yellow metal that will make him foolish, he will price it above the directions, He will uncover the bones of the earth, dig deep into the Black Hills and would find HUMAN SPIRIT if it were hidden there"

So Eagle spoke, "Creator, You have made me the most powerful of your children, give HUMAN SPIRIT to me and I will fly it high into the sky, I will take it and bury it on the surface of MOON where it will never be found"

Creator again looked into the future, and was saddened. "Eagle, I have looked and I have seen there will come a time when Man will reach MOON, and I see footprints there and he would find HUMAN SPIRIT if you bury it there."

Thru all the discussion, Mole had been trying to catch Creator's attention. Though all knew mole did not see well, he had great inner vision in its place, and was able to see inside many things. Finally Mole was able to reach Creator and spoke to Him: "Creator, I know where to place HUMAN SPIRIT where it will never be easily found" and Creator smiled and asked Mole where that might be, and Mole answered: "I would place HUMAN SPIRIT deep within the human heart, for unless one truly looks deeply within himself, it will never be found" and Creator was pleased with this, and placed HUMAN SPIRIT deep within man.  That unless man looks deep within himself, he will never find this most important, this most powerful direction, and there it remains to this day.  AHO! 

Shared by Brother_to_Horse 

BUFFALO WARRIOR

The Story of the Origin of the Arapaho People

(Part 2)

The following is the second part of a transcript of stories told by Dr. Pius Moss, an Elder of the Arapaho Tribe on the Wind River Reservation. We have tried to preserve word usage and terminology as much as possible. --The Editors

Indians depended on the buffalo which roamed the vast North American plains area. That was his way of life....the buffalo. Complete dependency on this animal. Wherever the animal was, that's where the Arapaho was. If the animal moved, he moved. He didn't wait to send scouts out to see where the animals were. At a moment's notice, he was notified that the animals were moving, he moved and that is the reason why the structure that we call a tipi was adopted by the plains Indians. It was easily taken down and easily put up in no time at all. Because of the buffalo's migration, the Arapaho had to be nomadic, in quest of the buffalo from time to time. Now, the Arapahos moved all over the plains area, eastern slope of the Rockies, into Canada, how far into Canada...there's no boundaries....east to the Mississippi River and south to the Mexican border...wherever the grass allowed the buffalo to roam in. So, in so doing, they ran into other tribes that also were in quest of this particular animal for their way of life. Often times, skirmishes...small battles....took place and that was understandable. The Arapaho did not look for trouble, but then, didn't run away from it when it came upon him. He took care of his family...protected them the way anyone in the family, as far as a man was concerned, would do.

Now, when we say they depended on the animal entirely, that is just what the Arapaho did. We have supermarkets in this contemporary era of living. This was known also as the supermarket of the Arapaho and of all the Plains Indians. The Arapaho....everything that he needed came from this animal. Now, when an animal is depended on so greatly as the buffalo was, when that animal is annihilated -- rubbed off by the buffalo hunters from the face of the plains area -- the Arapahos and the Plains Indians were at a loss. Their area of living...their way of life...was taken away. They had to go into another area to find a way of life that would take care of them and when that began, there were changes coming in quite regular.

They started looking for the buffalo, but it just wasn't there. A few scattered...but not as plentiful as they were when they really were dependent on the animal just about every day. Now, after the animal was annihilated, the government went into the procedure of starting to herd the Indians toward Oklahoma, to situate them in a central place. Now, the Arapaho were moving all the time. Chief Black Coal, the Chief, was moving his tribe constantly. Maybe not trying to get away from the soldiers, but in quest of the buffalo. Always moving and maybe that is the reason why we are not down in Oklahoma.

The reservation days started in 1878 for the Arapaho when the U.S. Army soldiers caught up with them. But in the meantime, Chief Black Coal had his people going back and forth...Eastern Wyoming, Western South Dakota, Western Nebraska, Western Kansas. Back and forth through that area. In due time, Chief Black Coal summed the fact up that he had to have a place for his tribe. So when they were in the area of Glenrock, Wyoming (not necessarily at that town, but in the area -- that's where the camp was) Chief Black Coal called a meeting. An assembly was had and he informed the Arapahos there that he was going west to approach Chief Washakie, if he could have his tribe live there in the same area. He wanted 10 or 12 volunteers...no women, no children.

Now, I will go back here a little bit. The reason for his nomadic status and migrating. The home base of the Arapahos is Ft. Collins, Colorado....that whole area. Because of what happened in the State of Colorado...the Sand Creek Massacre...the Arapahos left the area. Their belief and custom is that wherever death occurs, they do not go back. I have realized that in my growing up years in my own family. Now, after the San Creek Massacre, they never went back to this area no more. They stayed completely away from it because of the massacre. As far as history tells us and what the Arapahos say...the women, children old men and those men that were in camp were just about completely wiped out. The U.S. Army opening fire on a camp that had the American flag and the flag of truce flying in camp. Now, just whatever happened, why it happened that way has not been actually or really determined. Because of that happening, the Arapahos did leave and never return...but that was their home country.

The Arapahos were roaming back and forth, finally winding up, like I said in the Glenrock area. Chief Black Coal got his volunteers and the number he called for...and they prepared for the trek west to the Wind River country.

Dr. Pius Moss was a direct descendent of Chief Black Coal. The Wyoming Companion continues the story of the origins of the Arapaho in the future with the story of how the Arapaho came to live on the Wind River Reservation in Part Three.

Powhatan Renape Nation story

Please click here to sign the petition http://www.powhatan.org/

In the words of the late Chief Roy Crazy Horse...

We are the native natural people of this land, descendants of an ancient confederation that at one time included over thirty nations. Our people were placed here by the Creator, and have maintained an unbroken history of thousands of years of settlement along the coastal areas of the mid-Atlantic. Although most of our lands are now occupied by others, many of the nation of the original Powhatan Confederacy still survive. The oldest treaty written in this land is between the Powhatan Nations in the year 1646.

Since the time we met the Europeans in the 1500's, our history has been characterized as a struggle to survive war, disease, prejudice, and cultural disintegration. Foreign disease alone probably accounted for halving the Powhatan population by the end of the 17th century. Many of the survivors of those early epidemics were largely decimated by war and starvation. Yet, against all odds, we the Renape (human beings) have survived. Essentially the term Renape refers to us as an ethnic group, a people speaking a common language. However, we were not all united in one Nation. Our people governed themselves freely and harmoniously as independent republics, which sometimes came together in alliances or confederations, such as the Powhatan Confederacy. Thus Powhatan refers to our political identity, while Renape refers to our ethnic/language identity.

Preservation

History shows that New Jersey's efforts to create a European society to the exclusion of the Original Peoples resulted in an ethnic cleansing which eliminated almost the entire Native population in the early 19th century.

Despite systematic attempts to destroy our Confederation and our culture, the Powhatans have endured, proving our Peoples' strong will to preserve our heritage. Tribal affinities remain strong, distinctive religious beliefs and economic traditions continue to be practiced, and in spite of efforts to force our people to speak only English, the Powhatan language is still alive!

Powhatans Today

Today, most of the descendants of New Jersey's Original People are in Oklahoma and in Canada.

The Powhatan Renape Nation's origins were in the late 19th century, where one by one, our people came in to settle a tiny subdivision known as Morrisville and Delair in Pennsauken Township.

Our forefathers were mostly Rappahannocks from Virginia and Nanticokes from Delaware. Although they had taken tremendous losses in culture as the result of the racist society which surrounded them, they were able to retain their identity. They know who they were and they sought people like themselves as spouses for their sons and daughters. They were quiet, put down deep roots, brought in new members, consolidated their community. At one point, almost 90% of the population of Morrisville were Powhatan Renape people - some 42 homes.

In the 1960's, we "went public" by establishing a center in Philadelphia and later in Moorestown....but we always kept quiet about our home neighborhood. In 1976 we moved to larger quarters in Medford. In 1980, the State of New Jersey, by Resolution of its Senate with the concurrence of the General Assembly, recognized the Powhatan Renape Nation. The resolution also called upon the Congress of the United States to recognize the Powhatan Renape Nation.

IN 1982 the Powhatan Renape Nation negotiated an agreement with the State of New Jersey to take over 350 acres of state owned land in the town of Westampton. The property is now recognized by the state of New Jersey and the general public as the Rankokus Indian Reservation. The Nation's administrative Center is located here to manage its community, educational, cultural, social and other programs and services.

We take on the responsibility of helping the people of the State of New Jersey - particularly school children - to understand our people, our ways, our history, and in the process, to help them understand their own history and their responsibility as Human Beings in the Creation. Thousands of school children visit the Reservation annually to tour its museum, art gallery, and the many exhibits and nature trails on the grounds.

Annual events such as the Juried American Indian Arts Festival, the largest of its kind east of the Mississippi River, are held at the Reservation. As such, the Reservation serves as a focal point not only of the Powhatan Renape Nation, but for American Indians` of other nations located in the region.

For additional information, we recommend A Brief History of the Powhatan Renape Nation, by Chief Crazy Horse. This publication available directly from the Rankokus Indian Reservation. To order, please send $3.00 plus $1.21 for shipping and handling to:

Powhatan Renape Nation
Rankokus Indian Reservation
PO Box 225
Rancocas, NJ 08073

http://www.powhatan.org/new/