Click here for...  

Monday, February 8, 2010

During this week in 1983, the Inuit Circumpolar Conference was granted international status by the United Nations. Since its founding in the 1970's, the ICC has grown into a major international organization representing Inuit people from Alaska, Canada, Greenland and Russia.


ARCHIVES

While we look to each day’s events for our news coverage, we are aware of the unique relationship between Native histories and current events in Indian Country. We know that these histories are often misunderstood, misrepresented and even ignored. To bring a broader perspective to contemporary Native issues, we began to include one brief historical fact at the top of each newscast. These items will include significant and compelling bits of Native history.

Today in History ARCHIVES
Understanding the Present by Honoring our Past began November 1, 2002

History Archives 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
2008, 2009, 2010

JANUARY / FEBRUARY / MARCH / APRIL / MAY / JUNE / JULY / AUGUST / SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER / NOVEMBER / DECEMBER



Monday, February 8, 2010

During this week in 1983, the Inuit Circumpolar Conference was granted international status by the United Nations. Since its founding in the 1970's, the ICC has grown into a major international organization representing Inuit people from Alaska, Canada, Greenland and Russia.

Friday, February 5, 2010

During this week in 1854, Texas passed a law to allow the United States to pick sites for reservations in the state. There are three reservations in Texas today. The Alabama-Coushatta reservation in East Texas, the Ysleta del Sur reservation in El Paso and the Kickapoo reservation along the Rio Grande River on the US-Mexico border.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

During this week in 2007, then-13-year-old Akina Shirt made history at a National Hockey League game in Canada by singing O Canada in the Cree language. Shirt first started singing the anthem at Saddle Lake First Nation games before singing to the sold-out crowd and hundreds of thousands of TV viewers.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

During this week in 1917, the reservation for the Papago Indians, known today as the Tohono O'odham, was established in Sells, Arizona on the US-Mexico border. People live on four separate pieces of land that make up the Tohono O'odham Nation.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

On this day in 1925, the "mercy race" to get diphtheria serum to Nome, Alaska by dogsled in time to save the community from an outbreak of the disease ends. Native dog mushers participated in the run from Nenana.

Monday, February 1, 2010

On this day in 1834, the state of Georgia had begun the process of seizing Cherokee property. Many Cherokee people were forced out at gunpoint. They were sent to eastern Tennessee to be moved to Indian Territory in present-day Oklahoma.

Friday, January 29, 2010

During this week in 1838, Seminole leader Osceola died in a South Carolina prison. Known for non-surrender, the Seminole Tribe of Florida says Osceola masterminded successful battles against five U.S. generals and punished anyone who cooperated with the white man.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

During this week in 1925, Maria Tallchief, the first American prima ballerina was born in Fairfax, Oklahoma. The Osage woman started ballet at 15. She was the prima ballerina for the New York City Ballet in the late 1940's.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

During this week in 1863, hundreds of Northwestern Shoshone men, women and children died in the Bear River Massacre. U.S. forces slaughtered them at a site in present day Franklin County, Idaho. The Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation has acquired the massacre site and surrounding lands.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

On this day in 1949, Glenn Godfrey was born in Kodiak, Alaska. He was the first Alaska Native to rise to high ranking posts in law enforcement. He was a sergeant in the Alaska State Troopers and Public Safety Commissioner. The Aleut man was instrumental in the development of the Village Public Safety Officer program for rural Alaska.

Monday, January 25, 2010

During this month in 2009, the State-Tribal Collaboration Act was introduced in the New Mexico legislature. The bill's purpose was to improve the government-to-government relationship with the state's 22 tribes by appointing a tribal liaison to every cabinet level agency and requiring the governor to hold an annual summit with tribes. The bill was signed into law less than two months later.

Friday, January 22, 2010

During this week in 1907, Charles Curtis became the first Native American to serve in the U.S. Congress. The Republican from Kansas was a member of the Kaw Nation of Oklahoma. He fought for the rights of self-determination among tribes and later became Vice President to Herbert Hoover.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

During this week in 2007, Democratic Senator Byron Dorgan was elected Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Chairman. Dorgan has been a strong voice for Indian Country, especially in his work to improve health care. The North Dakota Senator recently announced he will not run for re-election this fall.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

During this week in 2008, the last traditional speaker of the Eyak language died. Honorary Chief Marie Smith Jones passed away in her sleep in Anchorage, Alaska. The 89-year-old was the last full-blooded person of the Eyak Nation. According to language experts, the Eyak language became extinct with her death.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

On this day in 2009, the first-known Native American conjoined twins were separated by doctors in Oklahoma. The twins were born joined at the chest. The operation took three hours to separate Preslee Faith and Kylee Hope Wells. About 15 doctors and medical staff took part in the surgery. The girls were nearly three-months-old at the time.

Monday, January 18, 2010

On this day in 1958, hundreds of Lumbee tribal members crashed a Ku Klux Klan rally in North Carolina. Armed with weapons, they chased the KKK from Lumbee country and stopped them from spreading their message of hate. The event made national headlines.

Friday, January 15, 2010

During this week 1972, Reverend Harold Jones was consecrated as suffragan bishop of the Episcopal Church. He was the first American Indian bishop of the church and worked in several tribal communities. He died at the age of 92.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

During this week 1945, Lieutenant Jack Montgomery was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. The Cherokee man was recognized for his actions in Italy during World War II.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

During this week in 1867, Benito Juarez started his fourth term as President of Mexico. He was the first full-blooded Indian to serve as the country's president. The Zapoteca man is considered one of Mexico's greatest heroes.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

On this day in 1923, Ira Hayes was born on the Gila River reservation in Arizona. The Pima man became famous after he helped raise the U.S. flag on Iwo Jima during World War II.

Monday, January 11, 2010

During this week in 2008, the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe announced it filed suit against then-Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne for rejecting its land into trust application. The tribe said the Interior Department could not apply new requirements to the tribe's long-standing application without fair notice and opportunity to comment. The New York tribe was one of some 20 tribes whose off-reservation gaming plans were squashed.

Friday, January 8, 2010

On this day in 1970, the Alaska Federation of Natives received its certificate of incorporation. The organization's mission is to enhance and promote the cultural, economic and political voice of the Alaska Native community.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

During this week in 2001, the Chinook tribe in Washington State gained federal recognition status under the Clinton administration. A few months later, the Bush administration denied the status saying the tribe did not meet all the criteria. The Chinooks continue to fight for federal recognition.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

During this month in 1975, President Gerald Ford signed legislation creating the American Indian Policy Review Commission. Its purpose was to review all aspects of policy, law and administration relating to affairs of the U.S. and tribes. One crucial recommendation by the Commission established the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

On this day in 1987, National Native News signed on the air in Anchorage, Alaska. It was the first nationally syndicated daily radio newscast to focus on the Native angle in every story. The show is produced today in Albuquerque, New Mexico. National Native News is carried by tribal and public radio stations across the U.S. and Canada.

Monday, January 4, 2010

On this day in 1974, Goldbelt Inc. became officially incorporated. The corporation was formed for urban Alaska Native shareholders in Juneau.