APRIL 2021

REVOLUTIONARY GENERAL VINCENTE GUERRERO BECOMES PRESIDENT OF MEXICO Born August 10, 1782, in Tixtla, Guerrero was of African-Mestizo heritage.  In 1810, he joined José María Morelos‘s army during the Mexican War … Continue reading “APRIL 1, 1829”

OJIBWE ACTIVIST/EDUCATOR EQUAY ZAINCE (ELIZABETH BENDER ROE CLOUD) BORN Elizabeth was from the White Earth Reservation in Minnesota.  Graduating from Hampton Institute in 1907, she joined the Society of American Indians … Continue reading “APRIL 2, 1887”

CROW WAR CHIEF/HISTORIAN/BRONZE STAR RECIPIENT HIGH BIRD (JOE MEDICINE CROW) DIED Born October 27, 1913, on the Crow Reservation in Montana, Joseph heard from his step-grandfather, White Man Runs Him, a … Continue reading “APRIL 3, 2016”

FOUR NATIVE HAWAIIANS AMONG CHRISTIAN MISSIONARIES REACHING HAWAII Christian evangelists from Boston, led by Reverend Hiram Bingham and his wife, Sybil Mosely, arrived in Hawai’i on a ship named “Thaddeus.”  With … Continue reading “APRIL 4, 1820”

SALISH ARTIST SUSAN POINT BORN Born in Alert Bay, British Columbia, Point grew up on the Musqueam Indian Reserve.  In the early 1980s, she taught herself the Salish traditions and studied … Continue reading “APRIL 5, 1952”

CHEROKEE TRIBAL LEADER WILMA MANKILLER DIED Born in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, November 18, 1945, Mankiller grew up in San Francisco.  In the 1960s, she became active in Native American issues.  In the … Continue reading “APRIL 6, 2010”

CHILEAN MAPUCHE NOBEL POET HUMANIST GABRIELA MISTREL BORN Mistral was the first female Latin American poet to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature (1945).  Born Lucila Godoy y Alcayaga in Vicuña, … Continue reading “APRIL 7, 1889”

PENNSYLVANIA GOVERNOR ROBERT MORRIS ENACTS “THE SCALP ACT.” The Act, which legalized taking native scalps for money paid by the Pennsylvania government, was meant to get rid of the Lenape (Delaware).  … Continue reading “APRIL 8, 1756”

HAWAIIAN PRINCE KALAHOʻOLEWA (WILLIAM PITT LELEIOHOKU II) DIED Born on January 10, 1855, the day of Kamehameha III’s funeral, his name meant “Day of the funeral.”  Of the reigning House of … Continue reading “APRIL 9, 1877”

PEQUOT WRITER, MINISTER WILLIAM APESS DIED Apess was born January 31, 1798, in Colrain, Massachusetts.  With the Second Great Awakening, Apess embraced Methodism and considered Native Americans one of the Ten … Continue reading “APRIL 10, 1839”

HURON CHIEF TSAOUENHOHOUI (NICOLAS VINCENT) BORN Born in Jeune-Lorette (Wendake), Quebec, Tsaouenhohoui (“One who plunges things into the water”), or Tsawenhohi (“He who sees clearly”), was baptized “Nicolas Vincent.”  Named War … Continue reading “APRIL 11, 1769”

AMERICAN INDIAN MOVEMENT CO-FOUNDER NOWA CUMIG (DENNIS BANKS) BORN Born on the Leech Lake Reservation in Minnesota, Banks, whose Ojibwe name meant “In the Center of the Universe,” helped found the … Continue reading “APRIL 12, 1937”

YAQUI REVOLUTIONARY LEADER CAJEMÉ (JOSÉ MARIA BONIFACIO LEYBA PEREZ) CAPTURED Known as Cajemé, Yaqui for “One who does not stop to drink [water],”‘ Perez was born in 1835 at Pesiou, Sonora, … Continue reading “APRIL 13, 1887”

CANADIAN SUPREME COURT DETERMINES THAT “INDIAN” INCLUDES MÉTIS & NON-STATUS INDIANS In Daniels v. Canada (Indian Affairs and Northern Development), 216 SC 12, the Supreme Court of Canada clarified that the … Continue reading “APRIL 14, 2016”

FT. SILL APACHE TRIBAL LEADER EH-OHN (MILDRED CLEGHORN) DIED Born at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, on December 11, 1910, she was one of the few surviving Prisoners of War of the Fort … Continue reading “APRIL 15, 1997”

MOHAWK DIPLOMAT, COUNSELLOR KOÑWATSIˀTSIAIÉÑNI (MOLLY BRANT) DIED Born around 1736 either at Canajoharie, or, like brother Joseph, in Ohio, Brant’s grandfather was Mohawk leader King Hendrick [see July 9].  Molly, whose name … Continue reading “APRIL 16, 1796”

THE CONSTITUTION ACT, 1982 BECOMES EFFECTIVE. AFFIRMS ABORIGINAL TREATY RIGHTS The Act repatriated the British North America Act, 1867.  Section 35, addressing Aboriginal rights:  (1) recognizes existing aboriginal and treaty rights; … Continue reading “APRIL 17, 1982”

MAYAN AJAW (CARACOL) K’AN II REPUTEDLY BORN K’an II (Ruler V, Lord Stormwater Moon and Antenna Top II) was a Maya ajaw (ruler) of Caracol (in present day Belize) who reigned … Continue reading “APRIL 18, 588”

ONONDAGA COGWAGEE (TOM LONGBOAT) WINS THE 11TH BOSTON MARATHON-SETS RECORD Born on June 4, 1887, Longboat was one of thousands of indigenous children forced into Canada’s residential school system.  Refusing to … Continue reading “APRIL 19, 1907”

NATIVE HAWAIIAN SCHOLAR, DANCER, COMPOSER, EDUCATOR MARY KAWENA PUKUI BORN Born on the Island of Hawaiʻi, Kawena was raised in the hanai style, by her Hawaiian grandparents.  Her grandmother, Po’ai, a … Continue reading “APRIL 20, 1895”

KING PHILIP’S WAR–THE ATTACK ON SUDBURY, MASSACHUSETTS Kings Philip’s War (1675-76) was the bloodiest settler-Indian conflict in American history as measured by the percentage of the male population killed or wounded.  … Continue reading “APRIL 21, 1676”

1ST OKLAHOMA LAND RUSH OPENS NATIVE LAND FOR SETTLEMENT At high noon, settlers made a mad dash into the newly opened Oklahoma Territory to claim cheap land in Indian Territory.  Once … Continue reading “APRIL 22, 1889”

PERUVIAN INCA WRITER HISTORIAN GARCILASO DE LA VEGA, “EL INCA,” DIED Born Gómez Suárez de Figueroa on April 12, 1539, in Cuzco, Peru, Garcilaso was one of the great Spanish chroniclers … Continue reading “APRIL 23, 1616”

INUIT LAWYER ACTIVIST KIVIAQ (DAVID CHARLES WARD) DIED Born on January 23, 1936, in Chesterfield Inlet, Northwest Territories, David’s family moved in 1940 to Edmonton.  Given the Inuktituk name, Kiviaq, by … Continue reading “APRIL 24, 2016”

SPOKANE ARTIST/ACTIVIST CHARLENE TETERS BORN Born in Spokane, Washington, Teters earned a Master’s degree in Fine Arts from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  Her protest of a portrayal of a … Continue reading “APRIL 25, 1952”

HAWAIIAN STATESMAN JONAH PI’IKOI DIED Born circa January 1804, at Waimea on Kauaʻi, his Hawaiian name “Piʻikoi” meant “Lofty Aspirations.” He began public service as a tobacco lighter for King Kaumualiʻi of … Continue reading “APRIL 26, 1859”

INUIT WRITER, STORYTELLER MICHAEL KUSUGAK BORN Born at Qatiktalik, Northwest Territories, Kusugak writes children’s books based on Inuit life.  He co-authored A Promise is a Promise (1988), tales about the Qallupilluit, … Continue reading “APRIL 27, 1948”

NATIVE HAWAIIAN SLACK KEY GUITARIST-GRAMMY WINNER-DENNIS KAMAKAHI DIED Dennis David Kahekilimamaoikalanikeha Kamakahi was born on March 31, 1953, in Honolulu.  His father and paternal grandfather both played guitar in the slack-key … Continue reading “APRIL 28, 2014”

CHILCOTIN WAR BEGINS The Chilcotin War was a series of attacks by the Tsilhqot’in (Chilcotin) people in British Columbia on white workers building a gold road through Chilcotin land.  On April … Continue reading “APRIL 29, 1864”

NAVAJO-UTE NUCLEAR PHYSICIST CLEVER FOX (FRED BEGAY) DIED Born July 2, 1932, at Towaoc, Colorado, on the Ute Mountain Indian Reservation, Fred served in the US Air Force from 1951-1955.  From … Continue reading “APRIL 30, 2013”