Glossary of Lesson Terms
Learn about the historical and theoretical terms that guide the Native History Project lesson plans and find easy definitions to share with students about unfamiliar terms, events, or groups during a lesson.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
A
Act for the Government and Protection of Indians
Facilitated removing California Indians from their traditional lands, separating at least a generation of children and adults from their families, languages, and cultures (1850 to 1865). This California law allowed “apprenticing” or indenturing Indian children and adults to Whites and also punished “vagrant” Indians by “hiring” them out to the highest bidder at a public auction if the Indian could not provide sufficient bond or bail.
Act
A bill which has passed through the various legislative steps required for it and which has become law
Activism
The policy or action of using vigorous campaigning to bring about political or social change (Oxford); a doctrine or practice that emphasizes direct vigorous action, especially in support of or opposition to one side of a controversial issue (Merriam Webster)
Ad Hoc Basis
For the particular end or case at hand without consideration of wider application (Merriam Webster)
Agenda
A list of items or things that need to be considered (Webster Dictionary)
Allotment
The allotment was the division of Osage land into lots, which were then given to individual Osage who were listed on the Osage Nation’s roll.
Alphabetic Text
A form of language that uses letters and combinations of letters that are used to represent speech sounds to communicate.
American Indian
Some Native Americans are referred to as “Indians” due to Columbus’ misconception that he was in India upon first landing in the Americas. Despite this fact, some Native Americans, especially in the U.S., still refer to themselves as “Indians” as a way to reclaim this term. While this is normally seen as acceptable for Native Americans to do, the same cannot be said for those with different ethnic identities.
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was the seventh president of the United States, serving from 1829 to 1837. Before his presidency, he was a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses of the U.S. Congress. (Adapted from Wikipedia)
Apprentice
A person who is learning by practical experience under skilled workers for a certain period of time. They are compensated.
Assimilation To change behaviors, beliefs, or customs to match another person's culture the belief that it was God's will for white Americans to control land from the Atlantic to Pacific coasts. Or the process by which a person or persons acquire social characteristics of a particular group of people. (www.dictionary.com) Or the process of one conforming to another person/nation’s culture or society, adopting their norms, traditions, and beliefs.
Author
The person who writes a text (e.g. book, article, story) (Webster's Dictionary)
Aztec Empire
“The Aztecs, who probably originated as a nomadic tribe in northern Mexico, arrived in Mesoamerica around the beginning of the 13th century. From their magnificent capital city, Tenochtitlán, the Aztecs emerged as the dominant force in central Mexico, developing an intricate social, political, religious, and commercial organization that brought many of the region’s city-states under their control by the 15th century. Invaders led by the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés overthrew the Aztecs by force and captured Tenochtitlán in 1521, bringing an end to Mesoamerica’s last great native civilization.” (Aztecs 2018)
B
Bartolomé De Las Casas (c1484-1566)
He was a Spanish priest who went to the Americas shortly after Columbus’ first voyage. Though Las Casas owned Native slaves, he eventually came to advocate for better treatment of Native Americans and freed his slaves. His protests resulted in the passage of the New Laws (see below) and created a space for Native Americans to have their own government. Sometimes, he is referred to as “Fray,” meaning “Friar,” because he was a Spanish Catholic monk.
Battle
A general encounter between armies, ships of war, or aircraft
Beaver War
"(1629-1701) Continuous fighting over control of Beaver trade between French colonists and the Iroquois over control of Beaver trade between French colonists and the Iroquois Tribe in Ohio Country and Great Lakes region. Iroquois sought to expand land control in the region while French wanted total control of lucrative beaver trade. Brutal fighting continued for decades."
Bias
Prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair or partial in that it does not tell the whole story that may be unconscious.
Black Legend
"Julián Judería (1877-1918), a Spanish historian and conservative official of the Spanish crown, coined the term “Black Legend” to convey a politicized idea that Spain during the height of its colonial powers was unfairly portrayed as cruel and intolerant by Protestant, anti-Catholic critics. Although the truth of colonial violence is well documented, the Black Legend reminds us to question the motivation behind our sources. For example, some of the most-well known artistic depictions of Spanish colonization were done by Theodor De Bry, a 16th century Dutch Protestant with his own agenda. De Bry’s illustrations which have been reproduced to accompany translations of las Casas’ writing emphasize the cruelty of Spanish colonizers. For more information about De Bry’s art and its relationship to the Black Legend, see the article below:
Bumas, E. Shaskan. “The Cannibal Butcher Shop: Protestant Uses of Las Casas’s ‘Brevísima Relación’ in Europe and the American Colonies.” Early American Literature 35, no. 2 (2000): 107–136. "
Black Seminoles
African slaves who escaped from slavery and intermingled with Native Seminoles.
Blood Quantum
Percentage one has “full” Native blood due to ancestry; laws were created to examine this of individual Native Americans and determine if they are “Indian” or not
Boarding School Schools which provide education for the students that live and eat on campus (housing and meals are included with their education)
Boldt Decision
United States v. Washington in 1974, a decision made by George Hugo Boldt and enforced by the Supreme Court; Ruled that Native American tribes in Washington had reserved the right to fishing in the Medicine Creek Treaty, reaffirmed Native rights to their own, culturally significant, land and traditions
Bureau Of Indian Affairs
The B.I.A was an institution implemented by the U.S. Government that allowed them to control the relationship that Native Americans had within the social, political, and economic features of the United States.
Bureau Of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering U.S. federal lands. (Wikipedia)
Burke Act Of 1906
Amendment to the Dawes Severalty Act to further assimilate Native Americans into US culture by forcing tribes to divide up allotted land based on individual households; they were not able to receive citizenship or “free simple patents” to their households to own their property until after a 25-year period; included the Five Civilized Tribes.
C
Carlisle Indian Industrial School
Established by Richard Henry Pratt who served as its superintendent, Carlisle is the first off-reservation FIBS established in the U.S.
Cartographer
A person who draws or produces maps.
Case Study
A research method involving an up-close, in-depth, and detailed examination of a subject of study (the case) (www.dictionary.com)
Certificate Of Degree Of Indian/Alaska Native Blood (CDIB)
The Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood (CDIB) is an official U.S. document, issued by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), which certifies an individual has a specific degree of Native American blood of a federally recognized Indian tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village or community. (Chickasaw Nation)
Christopher Columbus
An Italian explorer in the service of Spain who reached the Americas (1492) in attempting to sail west from Europe to Asia. Making three subsequent voyages to the Caribbean in his quest for a sea route to China, Columbus began a new era of European exploration and colonization in the Western Hemisphere. (YourDictionary) In addition, Columbus was funded by the Spanish crown and therefore had to report his journey through his diary entries. Yet, his original diary was lost and the version we know now is edited by Las Casas.
Citizenship
Citizenship is a legal status that establishes a relationship between an individual and a state, and grants specific rights and obligations. (Wayne Center for the Study of Citizenship)
Civil War
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies. (Wikipedia)
Civilization
The society, culture, and way of life of a group of people. This can include elements of technology, language, culture, and government (Note: In Western Culture, in many cases the concept of “civilization” is applied to the advancements of Europeans anything else is perceive as less advanced as not civilized). Or the act or process of civilizing, as by bringing out of a savage, uneducated, or unrefined state, or of being civilized (www.dictionary.com)
Colonialism “Establishment of foreign rule over a distant territory and the control of its people” (Oxford Bibliographies)
Colonization
Colonization is a process of establishing occupation of or control over foreign territories or peoples for the purpose of cultivation, trade, exploitation or settlement, setting up coloniality and often colonies, such as for agriculture, commonly pursued and maintained by, but distinct from, imperialism, mercantilism, or colonialism. (Wikipedia)
Colorado War
As a consequence of rising tensions between settlers and Native American tribes, sustained conflict broke out between the tribes, settlers, and the Colorado militia. One central issue for the Colorado Plains tribes was to maintain control over the bison migration grounds of the Great Plains. The conflict went on from 1863-1865.
Columbia
A symbolic figure representing the "civilized" community brought to North American land by her namesake, Christopher Columbus
Compare And Contrast
Pertaining to a written exercise about the similarities and differences between two or more people, places, or things (www.dictionary.com)
Confluence
Where two rivers meet.
Conquistador
The Spanish word for “conqueror.” Again, after Columbus’s voyage, the Spanish began to colonize these Western lands. While this word is of Spanish descent, it began to be used to describe other Europeans (Portuguese, Dutch, French, etc.) that came to the West for purposes of expansion and colonization.
Corroboration The process of comparing different pieces of evidence/different sources to evaluate what is reliable. Historians do this when they find evidence from lots of different sources so that they can form a balanced opinion
Corruption
“dishonest or illegal behavior especially by powerful people (such as government officials or police officers)”; “inducement to wrong by improper or unlawful means (such as bribery)” (Merriam Webster)
Counternarrative
A counternarrative offers another side of the story that is untold either in a text or in speech.
Cross-cultural exchange
Knowledge, perspectives, and artifacts that are shared when different cultures interact.
Culture
“The customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group” (Webster Dictionary 2011)
D
Dade Massacre
Major Francis Dade led 110 soldiers through Seminole lands, they were ambushed by the Seminole Army, which resulted in the death of all but three U.S. soldiers.
Dakota Access Pipeline
The Dakota Access Pipeline is a pipeline that was proposed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and would be funded by Dakota Access LLC, part of a larger oil company; Crude oil pipeline beginning in North Dakota and traveling down south, crossing into sacred land in the process
Dakota People Of The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
Members of the tribe included: Chief Arvol Looking Horse— Chief of Standing Rock Sioux and at the forefront of much of the movement; David Archambault II— Chairman for the tribe. Led the legal lawsuit against the creation of the pipeline; LaDonna Brave Bull Allard- Dakota and Lakota tribes historian, very involved with the water protection movement and helped create the Sacred Stone Camp, which served as base camp for much of the protests
Dawes Act/General Allotment Act
Act in which the President had the power to survey Native American tribal land, reclaim the land, and allot a certain fraction of land to each tribal member in exchange for citizenship for the Native American
Dawes Roll
Native Americans from the Five Civilized Tribes who became “citizens” in between 1898 and 1914 after making negotiations with the US government to be allotted property in exchange for becoming citizens of the US
Die-In
A demonstration in which people lie down as if dead so as to occupy space and draw attention to the cause they are fighting for by showing how serious it is (www.dictionary.com)
Disenrollment
Tribal disenrollment is a process by which a Native American individual loses citizenship or the right to belong within a Native American tribe. (Wikipedia)
Displacement
The enforced departure of people from their homes, typically because of war, persecution, or natural disaster. (Oxford Languages)
Dominant Historical Narrative
“An explanation or story that is told in service of the dominant social group’s interests and ideologies” (Pabdoo); A dominant narrative typically involves “the silencing of alternative accounts” (Pabdoo)
E
Editorial
An editorial, or leading article (UK) or leader (UK), is an article or any other written document, often unsigned, written by the senior editorial people or publisher of a newspaper or magazine, that expresses the author(s)'s opinion about a particular topic or issue. (Wikipedia)
Encomenderos
Leaders and owners of encomiendas.
Encomienda
A tribute system and system of slave labor in which Spanish colonizers profited and dominated over Native peoples. After Christopher Columbus’s voyage to the Americas and Caribbean, the Spanish began to colonize these lands. While Spanish conquistadors attempted to enslave Native peoples, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella made laws against this action shortly after Columbus’s first voyage. However, conquistadors still felt they deserved some form of tribute for their supposed “discoveries.” Under the encomienda system that arose, conquistadors and other leaders were awarded tribute in the form of land; however, this land was often already occupied by Natives. The Crown allowed for conquistadors to exact “tribute” in the form of gold or labor from Native populations living on this land. While encomenderos were supposed to protect and Christianize Native Americans given to them through this system, this system was mostly used to enslave Natives and take their land.
Equality
The state of being equal, especially in status, rights, and opportunities. (Oxford)
Equity
Fairness or justice in the way people are treated. (Oxford)
Ethnocentrism
Evaluation of other cultures according to preconceptions originating in the standards and customs of one's own culture. (Oxford)
Executive Order
In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. (Wikipedia)
Exploitation Colonialism
The abuse and extraction of the natural resources and wealth of a colony; ie — mining, timber, oil, and fishing.
F
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. (Wikipedia)
Federal
Relating to a central government and separate from individual governments (ex. central government) (www.dictionary.com)
Federal And Tribal Membership
Tribal enrollment requirements preserve the unique character and traditions of each tribe. The tribes establish membership criteria based on shared customs, traditions, language, and tribal blood. (U.S Department of Interior)
Federal Indian Boarding Schools
Schooling institutions were developed by the American federal government in the late 19th and early 20th century to facilitate the forced assimilation of American Indian children.
Federally Recognized Tribe
A federally recognized tribe is an American Indian or Alaska Native tribal entity that is recognized as having a government-to-government relationship with the United States, with the responsibilities, powers, limitations, and obligations attached to that designation and is eligible for funding and services from the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Furthermore, federally recognized tribes are recognized as possessing certain inherent rights of self-government (i.e., tribal sovereignty) and are entitled to receive certain federal benefits, services, and protections because of their special relationship with the United States. (U.S Department of Interior)
Felipe Guaman Poma De Ayala (b. c. 1535; d. c. 1615)
They were an Inca author who wrote The First New Chronicle and Good Government: a long, illustrated History (1,188 pages with 398 pen-and-ink drawings) of Ancient Andean times, Inca rule, and Spanish rule (Source: Adorno 2000).
First Peoples
A collective term to describe the people native to Canada.
Forced Removal And Relocation
Forced displacement (also forced migration or forced relocation) is an involuntary or coerced movement of a person or people away from their home or home region. The UNHCR defines 'forced displacement' as follows: displaced "as a result of persecution, conflict, generalized violence or human rights violations". (Wikipedia)
Fort Laramie Treaty
An 1851 treaty which did three important things: 1)Recognized the Cheyenne and Arapaho's right to vast territory, which included parts of Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, and Colorado; 2) Imposed European-American ideas about property ownership on the landscape (strict territorial boundaries; 3) Allowed white settlers to move through their territory peacefully and the tribes agreed they would not disrupt any forts that settlers built along the way.
Fort Wise Treaty
This 1861 treaty reduced the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribal land to a small piece anchored on the Arkansas River in SE Colorado (see map). This new land was mostly sand fields and was not suitable for agriculture, fishing, or buffalo hunting.
Framing
How an event is portrayed and contextualized.
Fugitive
A person who has escaped from a place.
G
Gap In History/Knowledge
Most of Native American history is not included in state curricular standards, so it is left out of curricula.
Gender
Gender includes the social, psychological, cultural and behavioral aspects of being a man, woman, or other gender identity.[1][2] Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social constructs (i.e. gender roles) as well as gender expression. (Wikipedia)
Generation
A generational group, often referred to as a cohort, includes those who share historical or social life experiences, the effects of which are relatively stable over the course of their lives. These life experiences tend to distinguish one generation from another (Jurkiewicz & Brown, 1998).
Generational Trauma
The effects of a traumatic experience endured during childhood or as an adult that is transferred or passed on from parent to child and further generations.
Geological
Relating to the Western scientific classification and study of rocks.
Gold Rush
In 1848 James Marshall found gold nuggets in the Sacramento Valley (On Jon Sutter’s Land). News spread and brought hundreds of thousands of men to California looking for gold.
Government Institutions
Governmental institutions mean hospitals, clinics, medical schools, medical research institutes, and related institutions that are governmentally owned and operated. (Law Insider)
Government Structure
“The organization, machinery, or agency through which a political unit exercises authority and performs functions and which is usually classified according to the distribution of power within it ” (Webster Dictionary 2011)
Guardianship
The process by which Osage who were considered incompetent were forced to have a white guardian who would oversee their spending and “protect” their money.
H
Haudenosaunee (Iroquois)
Confederacy made up of Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca Nations. Named properly the Haudenosaunee, pronounced Ho-den-oh-show-nee. (https://www.haudenosauneeconfederacy.com/who-we-are/)
Headrights
A share of any money made on resources that you own.
Hernan Cortez
“Born around 1485, Hernán Cortés was a Spanish conquistador and explorer who defeated the Aztec empire and claimed Mexico for Spain. He first set sail to the New World at the age of 19. Cortés later joined an expedition to Cuba. In 1518, he set off to explore Mexico. There he strategically set some Native peoples against other Native peoples to overthrow them. King Charles I appointed him governor of New Spain in 1522. Cortés died in Spain in 1547.” (Hernán Cortés Biography 2017).
Historical Memory
"The concept of “historical memory,” often expressed as “collective memory,” “social memory,” or for political scientists, “the politics of memory,” refers to the ways in which groups, collectivities, and nations construct and identify with particular narratives about historical periods or events. Historical memories are foundational to social and political identities and are also often reshaped in relation to the present historical-political moment."
- Katherine Hite
Homestead Acts
Passed on May 20, 1862, the Homestead Act accelerated the settlement of the western territory by granting adult heads of families 160 acres of surveyed public land for a minimal filing fee and five years of continuous residence on that land. (National Archives)
Hudson River School
The Hudson River School was a mid-19th-century American art movement embodied by a group of landscape painters whose aesthetic vision was influenced by Romanticism. Early on, the paintings typically depicted the Hudson River Valley and the surrounding area, including the Catskill, Adirondack, and White Mountains. (Wikipedia)
I
Identity
Identity is the set of qualities, beliefs, personality traits, appearance, and/or expressions that characterize a person or a group. (Wikipedia)
Identity Classification
How individual people are identified as Native American or not, while the collective is based on the tribes, Native communities, and whether they are federally recognized as a tribe. (Native American Identity Lesson 3)
Indentured Servant
Historically, a person works for someone for approximately 4-7 years in exchange for passage, room, board, loading, and freedom dues. While the life of an indentured servant was harsh and restrictive, it wasn’t slavery and it was temporary, and somewhat voluntary (though often chosen out of a need for money and hope for a better life in America); there were laws that protected some of their rights.
Indian Citizenship Act
The Indian Citizenship Act of 1924, (43 Stat. 253, enacted June 2, 1924) was an Act of the United States Congress that declared Indigenous persons born within the United States are US citizens. (Wikipedia)
Indian Removal Act
In 1830, the Senate passed the Indian Removal Act by a vote of 28-19 and the House of Representatives passed it by a vote of 101-97. As a result, notable tribes in the Southeast, like the Cherokee, Choctaw, and Seminole, experienced a forced “resettlement” of land. The Tribes were then removed from their lands in the Southeast and resettled in agriculturally fertile lands west of the Mississippi River.
Indian Reorganization Act Of 1934
The main act involved in the Indian New Deal following the Great Depression; meant to repeal assimilation laws enforced by the government: gave Native Americans management/control over their land and the means to build economic infrastructure for their communities.
Indigenous Peoples
People defined in international or national legislation as having a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory and their cultural or historical distinctiveness from other populations that are often politically dominant. (Retrieved from http://www.indigenouspeople.net/)
Indirect Consequences
An indirect result or effect is not caused immediately and obviously by a thing or person, but happens because of something else that they have done. (Collins Dictionary)
Individualism
A political and social philosophy that emphasizes the moral worth of the individual (www.dictionary.com)
Infer
To derive a conclusion from facts or premises
Injustice
The lack of fairness or justice or an unjust act or occurrence. (Oxford Languages)
Institution
A society or organization founded for a particular purpose (education, social, religious, professional) OR an established law practice, or custom (i.e. Institution of marriage) (www.dictionary.com). Examples: universities, banks, municipal buildings, churches, the federal government, professional, educational, religious, and social associations, and organizations.
J
Justice
The maintenance or administration of what is just especially by the impartial adjustment of conflicting claims or the assignment of merited rewards or punishments. Or the quality of being just, impartial, or fair. (Merriam-Webster)
K
King Philip’s War (1675-1676)
One of the last major efforts by Native Americans to drive colonists out of Southern New England Territory. Native Americans had become increasingly frustrated with the English presence in this region since the 1660’s- ultimately led to them taking up arms to try and expel English colonists from the region. Recognized as the deadliest war in colonial times with over 7,000 casualties accruing in total between both sides.
King Phillip II
The king of Spain during 1556-1598. This is who Guaman Poma wrote his chronicles for, to ensure that the king (person in power) understood the Inca culture and the effects and consequences of the conquest.
Knowledge Framework
Conceptualizations of the world and what is known about the world from the perspective of a certain culture
L
La Malinche
“An indigenous woman that was a slave, interpreter, secretary, mistress, mother of the first ‘Mexican.’ Her very name still stirs up controversy...She saved thousands of Indian lives by enabling Cortés to negotiate rather than slaughter.” (Lenchek 1997).
Land Allotment
Breaking up reservation land, dividing it and distributing it to individuals
Las Casas
A Spanish Catholic missionary who influenced and was the author of Columbus’ diary. Las Casas was first and foremost interested in the evangelization of the Indigenous and copied the diary of Las Casas and what we read today is his edition of Columbus's diary. Or he was a Spanish priest who was sent to the Americas to convert Indigenous populations to Catholicism. Through some of his writings, Las Casas denounced the atrocities that Europeans did to Indigenous populations. In addition, he was able to describe in detail the behaviors of the Spaniards towards Indigenous populations. In addition, he fought to make challenges in 1542 regarding the encomienda system, where Indigenous were trapped in a slavery system. In addition, he is known for fighting for Indigenous rights (Arias 1993).
Ledger Art
Ledger art is narrative drawing or painting on paper or cloth, predominantly practiced by Plains Indian, but also from the Plateau and Great Basin. (Wikipedia)
Legislation
The exercise of the power and function of making rules (such as laws) that have the force of authority by virtue of their promulgation by an official organ of a state or other organization (Miriam-Webster)
Lineal Descendant
Someone with a direct familial connection to a Native American tribal member.
Little Arkansas Treaty Of 1865
An 1865 treaty resulted in $38,000 in reparations (in today's money that equals approximately $562,124). All major provisions were ignored by both sides and warfare continued until 1867. The reservations promised in the treaty were never created and the treaty was abrogated by Washington less than two years later.
M
Maidu Indians
A Tribe of Native Americans who resided on an area of land that was said to have Gold. Their tribe was severely impacted when the 49’s came.
Mainstream/Liberal Feminism
The pursuit of women’s and gender issues and progress through legal means includes a high proportion of white women and often overlooks women of color.
Manifest Destiny
The 19th-century doctrine or belief that the expansion of the US throughout the American continents was both justified and inevitable. (Oxford Languages)
Massacre
The act or an instance of killing a number of usually helpless or unresisting human beings under circumstances of atrocity or cruelty
Media
The main means of mass communication (broadcasting, publishing, and the internet) regarded collectively. (Wikipedia)
Mesoamerican
This term, in most recent scholarship, is used to refer to people Indigenous to Latin American and Central America
Miwok Indians
A tribe of Indians that were kidnapped by John Sutter and forced to work on his “Mill.”
Moctezuma
“Born 1466—died c. June 30, 1520, Tenochtitlán, within modern Mexico City, ninth Aztec emperor of Mexico, famous for his dramatic confrontation with the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés.” (Montezuma II 2018)
N
Narrative
The act of someone telling a story (Webster's Dictionary)
Native American
Indigenous peoples and cultures of the United States. A member of any indigenous peoples of the western hemisphere; especially a Native American of North America and especially the U.S.
Native American Reservations
An American Indian reservation is an area of land held and governed by a U.S. federal government-recognized Native American tribal nation, whose government is autonomous, subject to regulations passed by the United States Congress and administered by the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs, and not to the U.S. state government in which it is located. (Wikipedia)
Native Feminism
Contributions to women’s and gender studies from the Indigenous perspective, combining forces of settler-colonialism and patriarchy
New Laws (1542-1552)
These laws declared that the encomienda system was not a hereditary grant, meaning that no person could be born into slavery (E.g. If a woman were a slave on an encomienda and had a child, her child would be born free, not a slave). With this law, the Crown declared that Native slaves be freed after a single generation.
New York Associated Press (1846)
The Associated Press was formed in May 1846 by five daily newspapers in New York City to share the cost of transmitting news of the Mexican–American War. (Wikipedia)
Newspaper Indian
According to John M. Coward, the "Newspaper Indian" is a one-dimensional character stripped by the press of humanity and demonized as a bloodthirsty monster that constituted one of the
more influential and pervasive 19th-century white constructions of Native Americans.
Non-Native Knowledge
How the world and knowledge are conceptualized from the non-Native perspective in the West.
O
Oil
An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface-active. Most oils are unsaturated lipids that are liquid at room temperature. (Wikipedia)
One Drop Rule
A legal and social concept that established that a person with a small percentage of African heritage was considered black/African American.
Oppression
Oppression is malicious or unjust treatment of, or exercise of power over, a group of individuals, often in the form of governmental authority. (Wikipedia)
Oral And Written Language
The means by which people communicate. (Webster)
Oral History
The collection and study of historical information using sound recordings of interviews with people having personal knowledge of past events. (Oxford Languages)
Osage
The Osage are an American Indian tribe whose ancestral domain included much of Oklahoma.
P
Pequot War (1636-1638)
First sustained conflict between Colonists and Native Americans in Northeastern North America
Perception
The ability to see, hear, or become aware of something through the senses. (Oxford Languages)
Pictographic Text
A form of language (images, pictography, graphic, or any form of visual) that is used for communication used in many civilizations or groups.
Pipe Ceremony
A sacred ritual for connecting physical and spiritual worlds (http://www.native-americans-online.com)
Plains Region
The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flatland in North America. The region is located just to the east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, and grassland. (Wikipedia)
Pocahontas
Pocahontas was a Native American woman belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. (Wikipedia)
Policy
A course or principle of action adopted or proposed by a government, party, business, or individual. (Oxford Languages)
Post-Removal
The period after the mass displacement of native Americans falls from the 1850s to the present day.
Power Dynamic
Refers to the balance of power between two or more people when they engage with each other. Depending on cultural and other relevant contexts, this can look very different.
Powwow
An American Indian social gathering or fair usually including competitive dancing (www.merriam-webster.com)
Pre-Removal
The period before the mass displacement of native Americans falls from the colonization of the Americas to the 1840s.
Primary Source
“Primary sources are documents, images or artifacts that provide firsthand testimony or direct evidence concerning an historical topic under research investigation.” (UC-Irvine Libraries) Or a source of information that was created at the time under study and provides direct or firsthand evidence. Or an artifact, document, diary, manuscript, autobiography, a recording, or any other source of information that was created at the time under study. (www.dictionary.com)
Proportion
An object's relative size compared to the things around it
Protest A statement or action expressing disapproval of or objection to something (www.dictionary.com)
Public History
Public history is the use of historical skills and methods outside of the traditional academic realm of history. (University of Louisiana)
Q
Quechan Indian Nation
The Quechan (Quechan: Kwatsáan 'those who descended'), or Yuma, are a Native American tribe who live on the Fort Yuma Indian Reservation on the lower Colorado River in Arizona and California just north of the Mexican border. (Wikipedia)
R
Racial Integrity Act (1924)
A law passed in Virginia declaring that all children at birth were categorized as white or “colored” (any race that was not white) and made interracial marriages illegal.
Reign Of Terror
A period of remorseless repression or bloodshed, in particular the period of the Terror during the French Revolution. (Oxford Languages)
Reparations
The making of amends for wrong or injury done. Usually, reparations take the form of compensation in money, material, labor, etc. and are often paid by one country to another as a result of war.
Resettlement
Resettlement is the transfer of refugees from an asylum country to another State, that has agreed to admit them and ultimately grant them permanent residence. (UNCHR)
Resist
To fight against something or someone that is attacking you or to refuse to accept or be changed by something. (Cambridge Dictionary)
Resistance
The act or power of resisting, opposing, or withstanding; refusal to accept or comply with something.
Royalties
A sum of money paid to a patentee for the use of a patent or to an author or composer for each copy of a book sold or for each public performance of a work. (Oxford Languages)
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Sacred Land
To the Western ear, “sacred” may be synonymous with “sacrosanct” — inviolably holy — but to an indigenous culture, a place labeled as “sacred” may instead mean something spiritually alive, culturally essential, or simply deserving of respect. (Sacred Land Film Project)
Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site
On November 7, 2000, the United States Congress authorized the establishment of the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site so that the impacts of this pivotal episode in America’s history may be understood and never forgotten
Scale
An object's relative size on a map compared to its size on earth.
Secondary Source
“Secondary sources were created by someone who did not experience first-hand or participate in the events or conditions you’re researching.” (Harvard Libraries Research Guides)
Seminole Indians
A Native American people originally from Florida.
Seneca
“The largest of six Native American nations in New York State” according to https://sni.org/culture/.
Seneca Falls Convention Of 1848
A gathering of women's rights activists in Seneca Falls, NY. Important actors included abolitionist activists Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, and Matilda Joslyn Gage, who had a vision that men and women ought to be created equal, and have the right to vote. Out of the gathering came an important feminist document called the Declaration of Sentiments.
Settler Colonialism
An ongoing system of power that perpetuates the erasure and repression of an indigenous group and its culture (Oxford Bibliographies); Replacement of an indigenous group by new settlers (the colonists).
Sit-In
A demonstration in which people occupy a location to draw attention to the cause they are fighting for by showing how serious it is. (www.dictionary.com)
Slavery
The condition in which one human being was owned by another. A slave was considered, by law, as property (chattel), and was deprived of most of the rights ordinarily held by free persons. Though there is no general consensus by historians on the institution of slavery, most agree on the following characteristics: The slave was a type of property, the slave had few rights, there was no limit to the extent of abuse done onto a slave, and the slave was removed from their family, due to the fact that slaves were often sold and sporadically moved plantation to plantation. (Encyclopedia Britannica)
Social Construction
A social construct or construction is the meaning, notion, or connotation placed on an object or event by a society, and adopted by that society with respect to how they view or deal with the object or event. (Wikipedia)
Sourcing
The act of questioning a piece of evidence and trying to determine if it is reliable. How do biases and perspectives shape the source?
Spanish Conquest
Cortés’ conquest of the Americas and unethical defeat of the Aztec Empire. The unethical aspect came from Cortés taking advantage of the cultural differences and misinterpretations to overthrow Moctezuma and seize the Aztecs.
Speculators
Speculators bought western lands in large quantities and land companies organized and entered great tracts embracing entire townships. At the same time, land grants given the railroad companies to encourage the building of transcontinental lines attracted a great deal of speculative purchase. (State Historical Society of North Dakota)
Standing Rock
Standing Rock is a reservation on the border between North and South Dakota and the site of massive protests against the construction of the Dakota Access Oil Pipeline.
Stereotype
A widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a person or thing.
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Technology
The practical application of knowledge especially in a particular area.
Tenochtitlán
The Aztec capital city with a population of about 400,000 people, was one of the largest residential Mesoamerican communities. The Spaniards destroyed the place when Hernán Cortes and his group came to the Americas.
The Five Civilized Tribes
The Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Seminole tribes, who lived on the Southeastern land in the US known as Indian territory; were also seen as being “civilized” Native American tribes due to being more “assimilable” and having more connections to US white culture (had written languages, had written publications, made own constitutions, etc.)
The Spanish Crown
King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, financed Columbus’ journey to the Americas. They were known as the “Catholic Monarchs.”; King Charles I, the King of Spain, was who Cortes directed his letters to during the conquest of Tenochtitlán.
Timeline
"A table listing important events for successive years within a particular historical period." (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)
Tone
The tone is the speaker’s attitude towards his subject. The tone is generally conveyed through the choice of words or the viewpoint of a writer on a particular subject.
Topographical
A type of map that follows mathematical conventions of scale to try and depict the land as it is from a scientific perspective. Or a type of map that shows useful information and relationships between places, but is not always to scale or very detailed.
Tragedy
A disastrous event.
Trail Of Tears
The Trail of Tears was the forced displacement of approximately 60,000 people of the "Five Civilized Tribes" between 1830 and 1850, and the additional thousands of Native Americans and their enslaved African Americans within that were ethnically cleansed by the United States government. (Wikipedia)
Trauma
An emotional response to a terrible event like a life-threatening accident, or natural disaster.
Treaty
“A contract in writing between two or more political authorities (such as states or sovereigns) formally signed by representatives duly authorized and usually ratified by the lawmaking authority of the state.”
Treaty Of Fort Pitt
The newly formed United States Government signed an official, six article, treaty with the Lenape Tribe (commonly known as the Delawares) in Fort Pitt, Pennsylvania on September 17, 1778.
Treaty Of Moultrie Creek
A treaty that allowed the Seminoles to live on a reservation within Florida and give up all claims to Florida lands to the government.
Treaty Of New York
A 1790 treaty between Seminole Indian Chiefs and Government Officials that stated Seminole Indians would return all fugitive slaves to their owners; most of which were Maroon Seminoles.
Treaty of Payne’s Landing
A treaty that called for the removal of Seminoles from Florida land to relocate west of the Mississippi River.
Tribal Downsizing
Indian termination describes United States policies relating to Native Americans from the mid-1940s to the mid-1960s. It was shaped by a series of laws and practices with the intent of assimilating Native Americans into mainstream American society. (Wikipedia)
Trope
A common or overused theme or device.
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United States Vs. Joseph
In a case where a non-Native American person trespassed on Pueblo territory and the tribe filed a complaint; the Court ruled that the man did not have to pay the mandatory fine for trespassing on Indian land because they were not “really Indian” because they were independent and had complete control over their land.
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Vagrant
One who has no established residence and wanders idly from place to place without lawful or visible means of support.
Valley Of The Shields
Valley of the Shields is the largest polychrome pictograph site in North America with 110 panels discovered so far. It is the Pryor Mountains in Carbon County, Montana. According to Leon Secatero, a Navajo Elder, this glyph named Changing of the Worlds is read from right to left and represents the story of the first three worlds.
Velazquéz
The Governor of Cuba “In his mandate to Cortés to undertake the exploration of Tierra Firme [the land in Mexico]...encharged his former secretary to submit a [very detailed letter] of all that he saw, discovered, and learned” (Merrim 1986). Then, we see that Cortés did not obey Velásquez's orders and therefore Cortés continued the expedition and communicated to the King directly, skipping Velásquez’s authority.
Voyage
A long journey involving travel by sea or in space. (Webster Dictionary)
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Warrior
An ever-evolving role in Native American communities that involves both protecting and providing. Warriors may be skilled in fighting, but traditionally warriors are service-oriented members of a community who defend and care for others. Helpful PBS article: https://www.pbs.org/wned/warrior-tradition/features/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-warrior/
Washington Football Team
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. Formerly named the Washington R*dskins, and were renamed in 2020 following outcries that the team was named after a slur for Native American people.
Western
Of the geographic West, including America (and all American individuals, both Native and non-Native).
Whitestream Feminism
An understanding of feminism absent the consideration of settler-colonialist forces. Delegates issues and products of feminism to privileged and white women.
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Zuni Tribe
The Zuni are Native American Pueblo peoples native to the Zuni River valley. The Zuni people today are federally recognized as the Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico, and most live in the Pueblo of Zuni on the Zuni River, a tributary of the Little Colorado River, in western New Mexico, United States. (Wikipedia)