JUNE 2023

CYPRUSS HILLS MASSACRE OF ASSINIBOINE In May 1873, two Assiniboine bands were camped in a valley along the Milk River on the Montana-Alberta border nearby small forts run by Abel Farwell … Continue reading “JUNE 1, 1873”

KEKAU’ONOHI DIED–WIFE OF KAMEHAMEHA II Born at Lahaina, Maui, circa 1805, Kekau’onohi was a granddaughter of Kamehameha I. She married her uncle, Kamehameha II. After his death in 1824, she went … Continue reading “JUNE 2, 1851”

LAKOTA QUILTER NELLIE STAR BOY MENARD BORN Menard, born on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota (SD), while at Indian School, won a robe for a Pendleton blanket design she submitted. … Continue reading “JUNE 3, 1910”

COLUMBIA CREATES TULENEGA SHIRE – GUNA AUTONOMOUS REGION The Colombian Act of June 4, 1870 established Tulenega Shire which stretched from the province of Colon to the Gulf of Urabá, Colombia. The law also … Continue reading “JUNE 4, 1870”

DENA’INA ATHABASKAN ALASKAN WRITER/STORYTELLER PETER KALIFORNSKY DIED Born on October 12, 1911, at Unhghenesditnu (Kalifornsky Village), on the Cook Inlet bluff north of Alaska’s Kasilof River, Peter’s interest in Dena’ina storytelling … Continue reading “JUNE 5, 1993”

STOCKBRIDGE-MUNSEE JIMMY JOHNSON BORN–COLLEGE HALL OF FAME QUARTERBACK & DENTAL SURGEON Born in Edgerton, Wisconsin, Johnson attended Carlisle Indian School from 1899-1903 and was an All-America quarterback in 1903. Small but … Continue reading “JUNE 6, 1879”

INUVALIUT OLEMAUN (MARGARET POKIAK-FENTON) BORN—CHILDRENS’ BOOKS AUTHOR Born on Baillie Island, Northwest Territories, Margaret’s name meant “Stone that sharpens an ulu knife.” Ate age 8, she left a migratory life to attend residential … Continue reading “JUNE 7, 1936”

DELAWARE SHAWNEE PEORIA ARTIST CHU-LUN-DIT (RUTHE BLALOCK JONES) BORN Ruthe, born in Claremore, Oklahoma (OK), became a student of artist Charles Banks Wilson at age 10. At age 13, she won … Continue reading “JUNE 8, 1939”

LAKOTA CHIEF MAȞPÍYA LÚTA (RED CLOUD) MEETS WITH PRESIDENT GRANT AT THE WHITE HOUSE TO HAVE FORT LARAMIE TREATY HONORED The 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie ending Red Cloud’s War (1866-68) … Continue reading “JUNE 9, 1870”

PENOBSCOT-MOHAWK POET, ARTIST, ACTIVIST SSIPSIS (EUGENIA T. THOMAS) BORN Thomas, whose mother was Mohawk and her father Penobscot, was raised on Indian Island, Maine, by Eugenia Mary Thomas. Eugenia’s Penobscot name … Continue reading “JUNE 10, 1941”

MEXICAN GUARANI WORLD CUP PLAYER GREGORIO GOMEZ ALVAREZ DIED Born on February 14, 1927, in Tepatitlán, Jalisco, Mexico, Gomez, better known as El Tepa Gómez,joined the C.D. Guadalajara team after being drawn … Continue reading “JUNE 11, 1988”

CHEROKEE POET RUTH MUSKRAT BRONSON DIED Born on the Delaware Nation Reservation, Indian Territory, October 3, 1897, Ruth attended Oklahoma Institute of Technology and several colleges & universities before graduating from … Continue reading “JUNE 12, 1982”

THE SHINNECOCK INDIAN NATION GETS FEDERAL RECOGNITION The Shinnecock Indian Nation of Southampton, Long Island, received final recognition from the Federal government as an official Indian tribe. The tribe, then comprised of 1,292 … Continue reading “JUNE 13, 2010”

LUCY KAOPAULU PEABODY FORMS MODERN KA’AUMANU SOCIETY The black holoku (gown) & yellow feather lei are the official garb of one of Hawaii’s prominent women’s groups, the Ahahui (or Society) Kaahumanu. … Continue reading “JUNE 14, 1905”

TSIMSHIAN PHOTOGRAPHER BENJAMIN HALDANE BORN Haldane, born in British Columbia, migrated in the late 1880s with 800 Tsimshian people to Metlakatla, Alaska, where they sought to secure land rights and religious … Continue reading “JUNE 15, 1874”

OSAGE HISTORIAN, NOVELIST, AVIATOR JOHN MATHEWS DIED Born November 16, 1894, in Pawhuska, Oklahoma (OK), John was a flight instructor with the 25th Squadron in World War I. Mathews later earned … Continue reading “JUNE 16, 1979”

REPUTED—MAYAN AJAW (TIKAL) YAX NUUN AHIIN I DIED Also known as “Curl Snout,” his name actually meant “First Crocodile.” Son of Spearthrower Owl, a lord of Teotihuacan in central Mexico, his installation … Continue reading “JUNE 17, 404”

INDIAN REORGANIZATION ACT (IRA) ENACTED Also called the Wheeler–Howard Act (Act), Pub. L. 78-383, the IRA aimed at decreasing Federal control of American Indian affairs while increasing Indian self-government & responsibility. In 1924, Congress … Continue reading “JUNE 18, 1934”

KOYUKON POET/STORYTELLER MARY TALLMOUNTAIN (MARY LOUISE RANDALL) BORN Tallmountain, born in Nulato, Alaska, was of Russian and Koyukon heritage. Adopted at age 6 by a non-Indian couple, she grew up in … Continue reading “JUNE 19, 1918”

NATIVE HAWAIIAN ETHNOBOTANIST ISABELLA KAUAKEA YAU YUNG AIONA ABBOTT BORN Isabella, born in Hana, Maui, and whose Hawaiian name meant “White Rain of Hana,” received her PhD in botany from the … Continue reading “JUNE 20, 1919”

NISGA’A CANADIAN ABORIGINAL LEADER SIM’OOGIT HLEEK (JOSEPH A. GOSNELL, SR.) BORN Gosnell, born in the Nisga’a village of New Aiyansh in British Columbia (BC), as a young man worked as a … Continue reading “JUNE 21, 1936”

SNOHOMISH FAMED BASKET WEAVER TSI-ZAK-GAY (BOEDA STRAND) DIED Born in Sultan, Snohomish County, Washington (WA) on June 22, 1834, Boeda was full blooded Snohomish. She was known by her tribe as … Continue reading “JUNE 22, 1928”

U.S. SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS TRIBAL JURISDICTION OVER NON-INDIAN DOING BUSINESS ON TRIBAL LAND In Dollar General Corp. v. Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, 136 S. Ct. 2159 (2016), Dollar General Corp. … Continue reading “JUNE 23, 2016”

ALEUT-SEMINOLE NATIVE FLUTIST MARY YOUNGBLOOD BORN Mary, born near Seattle & adopted as a baby, grew up in Tucson learning to play the classical flute, piano, guitar, synthesizer, marimba & slit … Continue reading “JUNE 24, 1958”

OKANAGAN LEONARD S. MARCHAND, SR. ELECTED-1ST STATUS INDIAN MEMBER OF CANADA’S HOUSE OF COMMONS Born November 16, 1933, in Vernon, British Columbia (BC), Leonard was the 1st status Indian graduate from … Continue reading “JUNE 25, 1968”

QUECHUA OLLANTA HUMALA BORN– FORMER PERUVIAN PRESIDENT Born in Lima, Humala joined the army in 1982. He commanded a 1990s counterinsurgency against revolutionary group Shining Path. In October 2000, Humana led … Continue reading “JUNE 26, 1962”

PENOBSCOT WRITER & WWII HERO CHARLES N. SHAY BORN Shay, born in Bristol, Connecticut, and raised on Indian Island, Maine (ME), served as an Army combat medic with the 1st Division … Continue reading “JUNE 27, 1924”

INUPIAQ POLITICAL LEADER EBEN NANAUQ HOPSON SR. DIED Born November 7, 1922, in Barrow, Alaska (AK), Eben was kicked out of school for complaining about the BIA school’s use of unpaid … Continue reading “JUNE 28, 1980”

OJIBWE CHIEF, TRANSLATOR, MISSIONARY KHKEWQUONABY (PETER JONES) DIED Born of a Mississauga mother on January 1, 1802, near current-Hamilton, Ontario, Peter’s Ojibwe name meant “Sacred waving feathers.” His father was legally … Continue reading “JUNE 29, 1856”

LA NOCHE TRISTE (“NIGHT OF SORROWS”)—AZTECS DRIVE SPANISH FROM TENOCHTITLAN Arriving at Tenochtitlan in late 1519, Conquistador Hernan Cortés, suspecting treachery from the Aztecs, took King Moctezuma II hostage. In June 1520, … Continue reading “JUNE 30, 1520”