Good afternoon Blogger Friends, Today is the 30th of January.
This has been both a busy and profitable day so far. First I made a little trip to our very nice; All American Indian Center. Thought that might be a good place to get information about the Wichita Indians, but not so. The Curator of the Museum said they don't have information on the Wichita Indians because they didn't originate in Kansas, but had been moved here by the government in a resettling project. I also found out from this lady, (sorry, I don't remember her name), that the grass lodge that the Wichita Indians built on Mead Island burned down in the late 1920's. I believe she said 1929 and it was in bad shape by then as these lodges were only expected to survive six to eight years.
Leaving the Indian Center, I went a few miles west to the Old Cow Town Museum. I've always been a fan of Cow Town. After speaking to a very nice guy in the gift shop and explaining that I was there doing research for my term paper and what the subject is, he directed me to the man in charge of education at Cow Town. Didn't get his name either, but will probably see him again as I dig deeper into the story of the Wichita Indians that lived for a short time in the Riverside area. I did learn that they were here for a short 31/2 years. Their time here was hard and they were miserably poor, without food, clothes and horses. I will get into all of that later as I progress in my research. This very nice man was very helpful in giving me materials to read, even making copies of some W.S.U. student's essays. He game me a copied off book by H. Craig Miner titled; Wichita: The Early Years 1865-1880. This guy also told me about a book which is called; Hunting and Trading on the Great Plains, by James Mead. I'm really looking forward to reading that. Hopefully I will find it at the Wichita Public Library.
So far I've not found very much about the effect of the Civil War on the Wichita Indians, other than the fact that they sided with the Union. Maybe there will be more information in the essays and other materials which I haven't even come across yet.
Looks like I have a ton of reading to do, but it's going to be very interesting!
That's it for today guys and gals, I have so much going on that I have to move on to the next thing on today's agenda. Cheri
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Well, well, well, fellow bloggers, I'm still in the learning curve. Yesterday I thought I was writing on my blog, but today I discover that I wrote on the comment page. I hope my English professor will except that as one of my blog pages, as I need to have it for my weekly credit.
Oh well, today I want to tell you how the Wichita Indians built their lodges. It's pretty interesting, at least for people like me who find Indian and early American history fun.
Just a brief statement to bring us up to speed from where I left off yesterday. I told about it being the woman's job to build the lodge; the men were pretty much left out of the process. I also mentioned that if the wife got divorced, she put the husband and his stuff out of the house,but the home was her's.
The construction of the Wichita Indian lodge began with finding just the right cedar trees to make the frame work out of. The Wichita Indians felt that there was something sacred in the building of their home's. There their children would be born and grow up to be adult members of the tribe. It was home, family and community that gave the tribes their strength. When the trees were gathered, they would be turned into piers or rods. These piers were set in a circle with a 20 foot diameter. The rods had notches cut into one end where other rods would transverse the upright rods. Once the frame work was in place, long cedar saplings were placed around the framework. They went from the ground to above the top of the of the beams and tied together; creating a cone shaped structure. Willow branches were then worked over the saplings in a lacing fashion. After this was complete it was covered in long grasses that was laid in tiers like shingles.
There were two doors in the lodge, one on the East to let the morning sun shine in and give His blessing, (The Great Spirit) on the family. The other door was on the West so He could look in at night to check and see if the family was okay. There was also a window for the noon sun to shine in.
Going back inside the lodge, I need to tell you about a device that was placed at the apex of the frame. It looked something like the five fingers of a hand; I think is was also made of cedar. One of the fingers, as we will call them, went straight up into the sky and it was called; Man-Never-Known-On-Earth. The other four fingers pointed toward the four winds of Heaven. This was believed to make a way for the Man-Never-Known-On-Earth and the four winds to send their blessings on the people. A short distance East of the apex was a smoke whole and down on the ground below was a fireplace.
When the Wichita Indians came back to Wichita, Ks. to build the wigwam like Chief Kiowa's on Mead Island, it was a woman named Sooka who was in charge of the project. Because the Indian tribe was very poor, they needed the Wichita city fathers to pay for the lumber and it's transportation along with the transportation and food and lodging of the Indian party who came to construct the wigwam.
It took about two weeks to complete the building. Once done, Sooka lit the first fire for the lodge's fireplace. As this ritual was done, the members of the tribe entered the lodge, but no white men were allowed. James Mead's widow was such a good friend of the Wichita Indians, that they said she was welcome anytime. Sooka, bowed her head and prayed to the four winds to bless this new lodge.
The Indians stayed in the new lodge two day's, and Sooka cooked two meals there. The Indian's stayed two nights in the lodge so that it could be truthfully said that "real" Indians had slept in that lodge.
So there you have it my fellow history sleuths. We have such a long way to go on this journey, so come
back and join me again as I dig up more interesting morsels.
Oh well, today I want to tell you how the Wichita Indians built their lodges. It's pretty interesting, at least for people like me who find Indian and early American history fun.
Just a brief statement to bring us up to speed from where I left off yesterday. I told about it being the woman's job to build the lodge; the men were pretty much left out of the process. I also mentioned that if the wife got divorced, she put the husband and his stuff out of the house,but the home was her's.
The construction of the Wichita Indian lodge began with finding just the right cedar trees to make the frame work out of. The Wichita Indians felt that there was something sacred in the building of their home's. There their children would be born and grow up to be adult members of the tribe. It was home, family and community that gave the tribes their strength. When the trees were gathered, they would be turned into piers or rods. These piers were set in a circle with a 20 foot diameter. The rods had notches cut into one end where other rods would transverse the upright rods. Once the frame work was in place, long cedar saplings were placed around the framework. They went from the ground to above the top of the of the beams and tied together; creating a cone shaped structure. Willow branches were then worked over the saplings in a lacing fashion. After this was complete it was covered in long grasses that was laid in tiers like shingles.
There were two doors in the lodge, one on the East to let the morning sun shine in and give His blessing, (The Great Spirit) on the family. The other door was on the West so He could look in at night to check and see if the family was okay. There was also a window for the noon sun to shine in.
Going back inside the lodge, I need to tell you about a device that was placed at the apex of the frame. It looked something like the five fingers of a hand; I think is was also made of cedar. One of the fingers, as we will call them, went straight up into the sky and it was called; Man-Never-Known-On-Earth. The other four fingers pointed toward the four winds of Heaven. This was believed to make a way for the Man-Never-Known-On-Earth and the four winds to send their blessings on the people. A short distance East of the apex was a smoke whole and down on the ground below was a fireplace.
When the Wichita Indians came back to Wichita, Ks. to build the wigwam like Chief Kiowa's on Mead Island, it was a woman named Sooka who was in charge of the project. Because the Indian tribe was very poor, they needed the Wichita city fathers to pay for the lumber and it's transportation along with the transportation and food and lodging of the Indian party who came to construct the wigwam.
It took about two weeks to complete the building. Once done, Sooka lit the first fire for the lodge's fireplace. As this ritual was done, the members of the tribe entered the lodge, but no white men were allowed. James Mead's widow was such a good friend of the Wichita Indians, that they said she was welcome anytime. Sooka, bowed her head and prayed to the four winds to bless this new lodge.
The Indians stayed in the new lodge two day's, and Sooka cooked two meals there. The Indian's stayed two nights in the lodge so that it could be truthfully said that "real" Indians had slept in that lodge.
So there you have it my fellow history sleuths. We have such a long way to go on this journey, so come
back and join me again as I dig up more interesting morsels.
Friday, January 24, 2014
Hello Blogger Friends,
My name is Cheri and this is my first-ever blog. I am so excited to have a forum to write in and hope many other bloggers find me and leave messages for me. The main reason for this blog is because I am a student at Butler Community College. One of my courses is English Comp. II. When I took English Comp. I. last semester, I realized that I like to write, actually, I love to write. I may not be very good at it, but that's never stopped me for doing things I like or want to do. In any pursuit, you learn by doing, and doing, and doing again. There will be mistakes; but is it not by our mistakes that me truly learn?
From the options that the professor gave the class, I have decided to do my research essay on the topic of Writing History. The idea is to research the early days of Wichita, from it very beginning. I want to learn about the Wichita Indians, that gave Wichita it name. Where did they come from and where did they go. How about the people who settled Wichita and the Cow Town era. What happened in Wichita when the Civil War broke out? There is so much to learn about this City that has had so many ups and downs.
I have only begun to dig into the resources that are out there that tell about Wichita's beginnings. If any of you have books or web sites or just great ideas on this subject, feel free to jump onto my blog and write to your hearts content. One thing I found online is the (Kansas Historical Quarterly), from 1933 -1977. There are a few references to Wichita that I may pursue.There was one listing called "Ghosts Haunt Wichita's First Jail," by Mary Moore. The article was written in the Wichita Beacon on October 9, 1932. Another item that I ran across is called A two-column History of Chisholm Trail, by Sam P Ridings of Medford, Ok., from October 21,1932. Last on my list for today is an article call A Brief History of the Wichita Indians, from whom the city of Wichita derived it's name, by Victor Murdock and was published in the Wichita Evening Eagle on November 11, 1932. The name of Murdock is well known around Wichita. If you have been to Cow Town, you've no doubt gone through the Murdock house. I just may take an outing to Cow Town and do a little snooping around for information!
There are a number of places that I just may have to visit as I research this fun paper.
Come along with me on the dusty trails that will lead us to Wichita, Kansas.
Until next time,
Cheri
My name is Cheri and this is my first-ever blog. I am so excited to have a forum to write in and hope many other bloggers find me and leave messages for me. The main reason for this blog is because I am a student at Butler Community College. One of my courses is English Comp. II. When I took English Comp. I. last semester, I realized that I like to write, actually, I love to write. I may not be very good at it, but that's never stopped me for doing things I like or want to do. In any pursuit, you learn by doing, and doing, and doing again. There will be mistakes; but is it not by our mistakes that me truly learn?
From the options that the professor gave the class, I have decided to do my research essay on the topic of Writing History. The idea is to research the early days of Wichita, from it very beginning. I want to learn about the Wichita Indians, that gave Wichita it name. Where did they come from and where did they go. How about the people who settled Wichita and the Cow Town era. What happened in Wichita when the Civil War broke out? There is so much to learn about this City that has had so many ups and downs.
I have only begun to dig into the resources that are out there that tell about Wichita's beginnings. If any of you have books or web sites or just great ideas on this subject, feel free to jump onto my blog and write to your hearts content. One thing I found online is the (Kansas Historical Quarterly), from 1933 -1977. There are a few references to Wichita that I may pursue.There was one listing called "Ghosts Haunt Wichita's First Jail," by Mary Moore. The article was written in the Wichita Beacon on October 9, 1932. Another item that I ran across is called A two-column History of Chisholm Trail, by Sam P Ridings of Medford, Ok., from October 21,1932. Last on my list for today is an article call A Brief History of the Wichita Indians, from whom the city of Wichita derived it's name, by Victor Murdock and was published in the Wichita Evening Eagle on November 11, 1932. The name of Murdock is well known around Wichita. If you have been to Cow Town, you've no doubt gone through the Murdock house. I just may take an outing to Cow Town and do a little snooping around for information!
There are a number of places that I just may have to visit as I research this fun paper.
Come along with me on the dusty trails that will lead us to Wichita, Kansas.
Until next time,
Cheri
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