History of Survivance: Upper Midwest 19th-Century Native American Narratives

Plum Stones

Indian War Dance at White Earth, Minn. June 14 '10

Reproduce only with permission of Northwest Minnesota Historical Center.

Indian War Dance Celebration at White Earth on June 14, 1910. White Earth is located within the White Earth Indian Reservation (Gaa-waabaabiganikaag) and is home to the White Earth Nation, also known as the Anishinaabe.

Northwest Minnesota Historical Center, 1104 7th Avenue South, Moorhead, MN 56563; http://www.mnstate.edu/archives/NorthwestMN/Home.htm

http://reflections.mndigital.org/cdm/ref/collection/mhd/id/148

http://54.245.164.12:3000/mdl/items/mhd4852-624.jpg

The current thriving state of culture in Native Minnesota owes a tremendous amount to the dedication of the Native ancestors and elders who struggled to keep it alive during the 19th century. The 20th century saw further challenges to Native lifeways, yet Indian people have always managed to make the best of a bad situation. The role of pow wows in this cannot be underestimated – its insistence on a flamboyantly manifest Native presence has resulted in the arts as a principal bearer of indigenous survivance.  Projects of reclamation of indigenous languages like the <a title="Ojibwe People's Dictionary" href="http://ojibwe.lib.umn.edu" target="_blank">Ojibwe People’s Dictionary</a>, the fight for recognition of Native sacred sites like the one at Coldwater Spring, and the agitation for basic human rights for Native Americans continues.

Survivance

Ancient Legacies

Colonization

Colonial Narratives

Conflict

Reservation Era

Smoking jacket given to Stafford King in the early 1920s at his induction into the White Earth Band of Ojibwa. Jacket is of chocolate brown velvet with a black velvet collar, a frog and cord front closure and "'The Hastings'/ BENEDICT & TURNER" label on interior. Applique includes floral beadwork and tin jingle cones on the collar, floral beadwork on the cuffs, and jingle cones and other tinwork stitched at the breast and hips.

White Earth Band of Minnesota Chippewa Tribe; Benedict & Turner

http://collections.mnhs.org/cms/display.php?irn=10440510

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Minnesota Historical Society

Minnesota Digital Library

New art forms among Native Americans followed the changes occurring in Western fashions at times, as well. This circa 1920 commercially made velvet smoking jacket has been beautifully embellished with beads and jingles – Anishinaabefied as a gift given to Euro-American Stafford King upon his adoption into the White Earth band of Ojibwe. Jingle Dresses made at the same time bear a striking resemblance to the slim lines of flapper-style dresses.

History of Survivance: Upper Midwest 19th-Century Native American Narratives

New Art Forms

New Art Forms