These blog posts usually address Native American and local history; I try especially to trace the pre-contact history and culture, and the early and continuing relationships of Indians and non-Indians in the Wallowa Country. But I also try to keep blog followers aware of new work in Native American history generally; I want people to know that the pope repudiated the Doctrine of Discovery, and to know what that Doctrine is and how it entered into American Indian Law, and how its impact can be followed right down to Nez Perce treaties.
We know about the Indian Boarding schools now, but it took Canadian school graves and our first Native American Secretary of the Interior to bring them to the attention of Americans. And we now know something of their immediate impact on Native Americans from the 1870s forward, and we can discuss the lingering generational impacts on families—and individuals—of these schools. Many of our Nez Perce friends have family stories that involve boarding schools and their consequences. Etc.Read Rich’s Post →