by Rich Wandschneider | Apr 12, 2026 | Colville Reservation, Colville tribes, Indian religion, Indian Relocation, Indian removal, Indian survival, Indian Territory, Josephy Library, Nespelem, Nex Perce history, Nez Perce War, Treaty of 1855, walwa’ma
When we arrived at the Head Start building that is now used by the walwa ma Nez Perce for Longhouse services, an elder I have known for over thirty years came to say hello and remind me again that the distance from Joseph to Nespelem is the same as that from Nespelem...
by Rich Wandschneider | Jan 17, 2026 | African Americans, Alvin Josephy, American Indian history, assimilation, bureau of Indian Affairs, Civil Rights Movement, Civil War, Depression, Donald Trump, Eisenhower, expulsions, German immigrants, ICE, immigration, Indian assimilation, Indian boarding schools, Indian Relocation, Indian reservations, Indians and fire, Nixon on Indians, Termination, Termination act, termination policy
I thought about this as the president rampaged against the “garbage” people and country of Somalia. When he asked why we couldn’t get more people from Norway, Sweden, or Denmark. And a year ago, when he and the Veep went on about Haitian immigrants eating pets in...
by Rich Wandschneider | Nov 5, 2023 | American Indian history, American Indians, Arab, Arab-Israeli War, Indian assimilation, Indian history, Indian Relocation, Indian removal, Indian reservations, Israel, Palestine, Unworthy Republic
When I am talking with non-Native audiences, and even when talking with Tribal friends, I sometimes say that I feel like I am body-surfing on a wave of pro-Indian sentiment in the country. I say that a big part of this is based on recognition of non-Native—read...
by Rich Wandschneider | Oct 5, 2022 | Alvin Josephy, Deb Haaland, Indian Relocation, Indigenous cuisine, Joe Biden
It’s something new—and mostly good—every day. Today, in Native News Online, we learn that: “600 people attended the Tribal Language Summit at the Oklahoma City Convention Center to hear from leading educators and policymakers in Indian Country on how to protect,...
by Rich Wandschneider | Nov 12, 2021 | Alvin Josephy, American Indians, Appomattox. Robert E. Lee, assimilation, Bing Crosby, buffalo, Cour d'Alene Tribe, demise of buffalo, Indian agriculture, Indian history, Indian Relocation, Indian removal, Indian reservations, Indian slavery, Indian survival, Indians and salmon, Indians in unexpected places
“Rumble” is a 2017 Canadian documentary film that I’d missed until it hit public television. I watched it twice, taking notes the second time, wanting to get in my mind the names of Rock n’ Roll, jazz, and blues musicians I’d listened to—and many I had not heard or...
by Rich Wandschneider | Aug 22, 2018 | Braceros, Chinese railroad workers, Dawes Act, indentured servants, Indian boarding schools, Indian Relocation, picture brides, slave markets, slavery, Termination
One of the earliest stories of white-Indian interaction in North America is that of Squanto, a Patuxet Indian taken captive by English explorer Thomas Hunt in 1614 and sold as a slave in Spain. Tisquantum—his real name—escaped and made his way back to Cape Cod through...