November is National Native American Indian Heritage Month

Rock Art, or Petroglyphs are found across the United States and around the world. This ancient Rock Art predates the written word and is believed to be millions of years old. In Nevada's first state Park, Valley of Fire, rock art is found in several spots, and is well preserved as evidenced by this picture.

These petroglyphs are believed to have been made by the Anasazi (Ancient Pueblo Natives) from around 300 B.C. to A.D. 1150. You can read more about Valley of Fire and see more of these photos, and the area that these Original Peoples lived, hunted, and worshiped in.

Where did the Original Inhabitants come from? The most popular theory from the non Native Culture has it that during the last ice age the sea between Russian and Alaska dropped about 300 feet exposing a land bridge between the two continents. This bridge is purported to have been originally exposed 70,000 years ago, and disappeared anywhere from 14,000 to 11,000 years ago. It was during this exposure that migration from Asia occurred, but no one knows why these people migrated. It is speculation that they migrated over a period of many years, and generations possibly following Bison and other animals.

There are different creation stories depending on the Tribal Nation, but none that I have heard matches the Bering Strait theory.

Native American stories have typically been entertaining although not necessarily realistic or contemporary. Children need role models from their cultures in order to develop healthy self-esteems. As a young native child this little boy has a well stocked home library . Not everything he reads is culturally correct but with his parents guidance, extended family, and that of tribal elders he is able to learn the difference.

Native Americans typically are the least likely to go on to college, and only about 10% graduate. A high school diploma is typically the highest educational level of many Native people. There are many reasons for this, including prejudicial comments made by teachers and others like "dumb Indian" ingraining itself on a child's self-esteem. Thankfully we have come a long way, but there is an even longer way to go.

Everyone has to take some responsibility for education. This little boy will probably go to College as it is a family expectation. There are several Grants available to Native Students and many schools have advisers to help with the transition especially for students from rural reservations who might not be used to the different environment of a college campus.

State Grants: Find Your State Here

American Indian Scholarship Fund

Native American Scholarships

Native American Heritage Month

There are currently 565 Federally recognized Indian Tribes in the United States.. Tribes must meet Federal requirements before they can be federally recognized, which gives these tribes certain benefits that other tribes do not have. Some tribes have tried for years, unsuccessfully, to be recognized. There are many factors that make this seemingly simple process one of red tape and anguish for these tribes. It's not an easy process at all to become one of the Federally Recognized Tribes.

"The United States has a unique legal and political relationship with Indian tribes and Alaska Native entities as provided by the Constitution of the United States, treaties, court decisions and Federal statutes. Within the government-to-government relationship, Indian Affairs provides services directly or through contracts, grants, or compacts to 564 Federally recognized tribes with a service population of about 1.9 million American Indian and Alaska Natives" quoted from the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

In 1830 the Indian Removal Act was signed into law by President Andrew Jackson to remove the Cherokee Nation from the Southeastern States of Georgia, North Carolina, Alabama, and Tennessee. The Cherokee fought this Removal Law, but in 1838-9 after losing a Supreme Court appeal they were forced from their lands. They were forced to walk miles, some of them across 6 states from their homes to the newly designated Indian Territory, land set aside for Indians in what is now the state of Oklahoma. This 3 to 6 month journey claimed the lives of thousands of Cherokee due to starvation, disease, exposure, and exhaustion. This route became known as theTrail of Tears.

In 1987 Congress established the Trail of Tears National Historic Park. The original Historic Trail wasn't complete and in 2007 a National Park Service feasibility study was made to determine if parts of the trail that weren't previously included were in fact original, and documented. They determined they were, and in March 2009 President Obama signed the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act, which more than doubled the size of the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail.

This chapter in our history has been likened to ethnic cleansing, very similar to the Holocaust. One race tried to wipe out another, and they almost succeeded!

Indian Affairs is a Bureau of the United States Department of the Interior established in 1824 to oversee and manage different aspects of Indian Tribes. They are in charge of several things including the land that is held in "trust" by the the reservations; land put in trust back in the 1800's for Indians relocated from their home lands across the United States. They also have a responsibility for promoting economic and educational opportunities for Alaska Natives and Native Americans,

For American Indians their Reservation is a nation inside America: like if we took another country, for example Italy and stuck it inside America yet they retain their own laws, schools, customs and culture with the right to govern themselves. That is a Sovereign Nation.

UN Declaration on Rights of Indigenous Peoples -47 page Free ebook, just click the link.

UN Declaration on Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Sometimes people want to know more about who wrote the article/web page they are reading, so I decided to put this together and by clicking the Who is KathyMcGraw button you can see a bit of who I am.

I also showcase gifts and things I like on a site called Great Deals. Everyday there are new deals on there and each month a new artist is featured on the right hand side. Finding Deals Online is the site, and you can get there by clicking the button:

Besides writing about different issues and Making Native American Crafts I have been starting to use some of my photographs to make greeting cards and other customizable items in a store called SunsetArtWorks by KathyMcGraw.

Writing about issues that affect people, sharing some humor, and sharing different prospectives through photography are some of the activities I do.