GOLDEN HILLS RC&D
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Job Openings
    • Who We Are
    • What We Do >
      • Community Partnerships
      • Arts and Culture
      • Water Resources
      • Local Foods
      • Outdoor Recreation & Tourism
      • Land Stewardship
    • Where We Work
  • Events
    • Grant Writing 101
  • News
  • Donate

News

November is Native American Heritage Month

11/15/2020

0 Comments

 
November is recognized across the U.S. as Native American Heritage Month. "America is a vast land of many cultures dating back thousands of years to the original inhabitants of the land. History, heritage, or culture of Native Americans, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians are part of every national park and communities across the country today. Every November during Native American Heritage Month and throughout the year, the National Park Service and our partners share history and the continuing culture of America's indigenous peoples."

The area of western Iowa, where Golden Hills works, includes ancestral lands of the Báxoje Máyaⁿ (Ioway), Očhéthi Šakówiŋ; Umoⁿhoⁿ tóⁿde ukʰéthiⁿ (Omaha), Washtáge Moⁿzháⁿ (Kaw/Kansa), and Yankton peoples. Many place names in the region, including Pottawattamie, Missouri, Mondamin, Neola, Nishnabotna, Nodaway, Sioux, and Waubonsie, come from native languages.
 
European colonizers led the forced removal and genocide of native peoples across the continent, including here in Iowa. Still, more than 16,000 indigenous people call what is now the state of Iowa (a native word for the Ioway tribe) their home. 

 Find out which tribes lived in your area with this map:
Picture
Many foods, medicines, and other products, and even the the political system we call federalism, originated with indigenous people. Learn more about these contributions.

​While many people think of native people living off the land without impacting it, they actually managed and stewarded the land sustainably for thousands of years. Native people grew crops, hunted animals, built homes, made tools, clothing, and supplies, and started regular fires that helped prairie and savanna ecosystems thrive. 


Because indigenous peoples here before colonization did not have written language, most of what we know about them comes from archaeological research and early Europeans' writings. 

In southwest Iowa, much research has been dedicated to the Glenwood Culture, centered around the confluence of the Platte and Missouri rivers south of Omaha (a native word meaning "upstream"). 
Golden Hills helped develop The Immense Journey: Loess Hills Cultural Resources Study, which is available for free download. 
Picture
Today, the Meskwaki Nation is the only indigenous settlement in the state but small slivers of the Omaha and Winnebago reservations in Nebraska extend across the Missouri River into Iowa. These sites offer opportunities to learn about the tribes' cultures through events such as powwows. 
Picture
Bureau of Indian Affairs map of Indian reservations in the contiguous United States. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Indian_reservations_in_the_United_States
Although the land and people have changed drastically in the last two centuries, contemporary Iowans owe much to the native peoples who lived here first and should recognize that indigenous people do still live here. 

Visit the Bureau of Indian Affairs website to learn more about how to celebrate Native American Heritage Month. Additionally, many states including Iowa recognize Indigenous People's Day in October. ​
​Learn more
University of Iowa Press also has several books available to purchase online, including:
  • The Archaeological Guide to Iowa​ by William Whitaker, Lynn Alex, & Mary De La Garza
  • Indians of Iowa by Lance Foster
  • The Worlds Between Two Rivers: Perspectives on American Indians in Iowa by Gretchen Bataille, David Gradwohl, & Charles Silet

The Office of the State Archaeologist has more information about Iowa's native peoples on their website. 
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018

    Categories

    All
    Arts & Culture
    Community Partnerships
    Hiking The Byways
    Land Stewardship
    Local Foods
    Outdoor Recreation & Tourism
    Water Resources

    RSS Feed

      Newsletter sign-up

    Subscribe to Newsletter

Address

712 South Highway Street 
P.O. Box 189
​Oakland, IA 51560

Contact

Phone: 712-482-3029
General inquiries: info@goldenhillsrcd.org
Visit our Staff Page for email addresses and office hours.
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Job Openings
    • Who We Are
    • What We Do >
      • Community Partnerships
      • Arts and Culture
      • Water Resources
      • Local Foods
      • Outdoor Recreation & Tourism
      • Land Stewardship
    • Where We Work
  • Events
    • Grant Writing 101
  • News
  • Donate