questions re: Native Americans

[Liberal]

Spoke

Okay, I see your point, and it’s a good one. It’s just hard for me, hearing my grandmother’s stories and whatnot, and having been immersed in this for so many years, to see more objective points of view, I guess. There are so many parallels to the Jewish holocaust, and now you’ve made me aware of another, namely the festering buildup to inevitable tragedy that goes much deeper than its prima facie cause. Thanks.

[Liberal]

And by the way, it is a remarkable testament to Jackson’s cultural ignorance that he would have thought the Cherokee might consider the offer of other land to be a quid pro quo.

[Spoke]

Well, Jackson was in many ways an ignorant and bigoted fellow, no question. And there’s also no question he took a hard line, nay a brutal line, with all of the Eastern tribes, even those who had been his allies in time of war.

(And hey, I have some Cherokee ancestry, too, via Young Tassel.)

[Liberal]

Ho Wa!

[sub]All right![/sub]

[Liberal]

Damascene

If I had vast herds of large and tasty flightless birds roaming the plains (similar to ostriches, or larger) instead of the standard buffalo, would this be a viable and stable source of meat for my fictional tribe?

Don’t forget their eggs! And don’t forget to use the whole bird. Animals could be vessels of the spirits, and so using them, whether eating them or making headdresses from feathers, was done with reverence for the creature and with an appreciation for its bounty. Even the bones were used to make everything from soups to ornaments.

Quite frankly, I recommend that you spend some time with Indians, and I mean on a personal level, before writing your book. Spend a month at least. Once you’ve gotten the knack for the culture, you can even “think like an Indian”, which I believe might add considerable zing to your work.

[jmizzou]

*Originally posted by Damascene *
Another question for you all - If I had vast herds of large and tasty flightless birds roaming the plains (similar to ostriches, or larger) instead of the standard buffalo, would this be a viable and stable source of meat for my fictional tribe? Is there anything about the real-life biology or habits of such birds that would make such a proposition unrealistic or unfeasible? **

Here’s a FAQ you might like about emu ranching (and the benfits of): http://user.cavenet.com/neisz/emufaq99.htm. It does seem possible that herds (flocks?) of these birds could replace the more “standard” buffalo. However, I don’t think any of these large, flightless birds (such as the ostrich, emu and rhea) ever existed on North America. I could be wrong, though.

[erislover]

I wonder how many “whites” have AmerIndian ancestry. My great grandmother was Cherokee.

The whole tale of America’s settling of borders is truly appalling.