MAY 2021

BRITISH & TECUMSEH COMMENCE THE SIEGE OF FT. MIEGS DURING THE WAR OF 1812 In northwestern Ohio, a British force under Major General Henry Proctor and Shawnee Chief Tecumseh attempted to … Continue reading “MAY 1, 1813”

PRESIDENT OBAMA AWARDS MEDAL OF HONOR TO FAMILY OF NATIVE HAWAIIAN KOREAN WAR HERO ANTHONY T. KAHO’OHANOHANO Born on Maui in 1930, Anthony was one of six brothers who served in … Continue reading “MAY 2, 2011”

MAYAN AJAW (COPÁN) UAXACLAJUUN UB’ACH K’AWIIL REPUTEDLY DIED Known also as “18-Rabbit,” he was the 13th ajaw (ruler) of the Maya polity of Copán in modern Honduras.  On January 2, 695, … Continue reading “MAY 3, 738”

U.S. GOVERNMENT REMOVES THE DAKOTA FROM MINNESOTA The Dakota War of 1862 was the first violent engagement between the Sioux and the United States.  As a result of the war, the … Continue reading “MAY 4, 1863”

INUK THROAT SINGER-JUNO WINNER-TANYA TAGAK BORN From Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, Tanya was attending Nova Scotia College of Art and Design when she developed her style of Inuit throat singing.  Normally done … Continue reading “MAY 5, 1975”

JACQUES CARTIER SAILS FOR FRANCE WITH DONNACONA & NINE OTHER IROQUOIS Donnacona was chief of the Iroquois village of Stadacona, at the site of present-day Quebec City, when French explorer Jacques … Continue reading “MAY 6, 1536”

COPPER INUIT ARTIST KALVALADLAK (HELEN KALVAK) DIED Born in 1901 at Tahiryuak Lake, on Victoria Island and raised in the Prince Albert Sound area, Helen lived a traditional Inuit lifestyle most … Continue reading “MAY 7, 1984”

ALASKAN TLINGIT WRITER KEIX̱WNÉI (NORA MARKS DAUENHAUER) BORN Born in Juneau, Alaska, Nora spoke only Tlingit until age 8.  Working with linguist husband Richard Dauenhauer, she was highly influential in preserving … Continue reading “MAY 8, 1927”

MUSCOGEE AUTHOR/U.S. POET LAURIAT JOY HARJO BORN Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Harjo is a writer, academic, musician, and Native American and feminist activist.  Currently a professor at the University of Illinois … Continue reading “MAY 9, 1951”

U.S. V. KAGAMA, 118 U.S. 375 (1886)-U.S. SUPREME COURT GIVES FEDERAL GOVERNMENT JURISDICTION ON RESERVATIONS In a unanimous decision, Kagama upheld the constitutionality of a federal criminal statute specifically applicable to … Continue reading “MAY 10, 1886”

ADA DEER NOMINATED TO BE ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR FOR INDIAN AFFAIRS Born in Keshena, Wisconsin, August 7, 1935, Deer was the first Menominee to earn an undergraduate degree at … Continue reading “MAY 11, 1993”

MAⁿCHÚ-NAⁿZHÍ (STANDING BEAR) WINS U.S. ex rel. STANDING BEAR V. CROOK RECOGNIZING NATIVE AMERICAN PERSONHOOD STATUS This landmark decision gave Native Americans civil rights under U.S. law.  In 1877, the Ponca, … Continue reading “MAY 12, 1879”

YANKTONAI DAKOTA MODERNIST PAINTER OSCAR HOWE (MAZUNA HOKSHINA) BORN Howe was born on the Crow Creek Reservation of South Dakota.  In 1938, he graduated from Santa Fe Indian School.  Working for … Continue reading “MAY 13, 1915”

CHEROKEE BOATSWAIN’S MATE FIRST CLASS JAMES E. WILLIAMS RECEIVES MEDAL OF HONOR Born on November 13, 1930, in Fort Mill, South Carolina, Williams joined the Navy in 1947.  For his last … Continue reading “MAY 14, 1968”

CANADIAN MÉTIS INSURGENT LOUIS REIL SURRENDERS SELF IN SASKATCHEWAN Born October 22, 1844, in Saint-Boniface, Red River Settlement, in 1869, Riel led the Métis National Committee in forming a provisional government … Continue reading “MAY 15, 1885”

HOPI DIANE JOYCE HUMETEWA SWORN AS U.S. DISTRICT COURT JUDGE Born December 5, 1964, in Phoenix, Arizona, Humetewa, an enrolled member of the Hopi tribe, received her Juris Doctor in 1993 … Continue reading “MAY 16, 2014”

ALASKA NATIVE ALLOTMENT ACT OF 1906 ENACTED—RECOGNIZED ABORIGINAL RIGHTS With competition for Alaskan land increasing in the late 1800s, disputes between miners, resource developers, and Alaska Native people arose leading to … Continue reading “MAY 17, 1906”

TLINGIT WEAVER SHAXʼSAANI KÉEKʼ (JENNIE THLUNAUT) BORN Born in the Chilkat Territory, in southeast Alaska,Jennie, whose Tlingit name meant “Younger sister of the girls,” was 10 when she received her first … Continue reading “MAY 18, 1891 or 1892”

NAHAU MEXICAN REVOLUTIONARY ZAPATA & ARMY CAPTURE CUAUTLA During the Mexican Revolution, Emiliano Zapata Salazar (Zapata) formed and led the Liberation Army of the South.  Born August 8, 1879, in the … Continue reading “MAY 19, 1911”

KA’AHUMANU BECOMES QUEEN REGENT (KUHINA NUI) Born on March 17, 1768, on Maui, her father, advisor to Kamehameha I, arranged for Kaʻahumanu to marry the king when she was 13.  One … Continue reading “MAY 20, 1819”

NISGA’A SCULPTOR/TOTEM CARVER NORMAN TAIT DIED Born May 20, 1941, in Gingolx, British Columbia, Tait was son of noted carver Josiah Tait.  Trained as a millwright, he began to carve while waiting … Continue reading “MAY 21, 2016”

TLINGIT SCHOLAR AND PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER KHA’JAQ’TII (WALTER A. SOBOLEFF) DIED Born in Killisnoo, Alaska, November 14, 1908, Walter, whose Tlingit name meant “One slain in battle,” loved school.  His greatest lesson: … Continue reading “MAY 22, 2011”

MONTAUKETT-AFRICAN JOURNALIST/AUTHOR OLIVIA WARD BUSH-BANKS BORN Born in Sag Harbor, New York, to African American and Montauk parents, she grew up in Providence, RI, where she was raised by her aunt.  … Continue reading “MAY 23, 1869”

ARGENTINE CRISTINA CALDERON-LAST FULL-BLOODED YAGHAN-BORN Born at Robalo, Puerto Williams, on Navarino Island, Chile, Calderon (often referred to as simply Abuela, Spanish for Grandmother) and her sister-in-law Emelinda Acuña were the … Continue reading “MAY 24, 1928”

NUNAVUT LAND CLAIMS AGREEMENT (NLCA) SIGNED The NLCA, signed in Iqaluit by the Tunngavik Federation of Nunavut (now Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated), the Government of Canada, and the Government of the Northwest … Continue reading “MAY 25, 1993”

KING KAUMUALI’I DIED—LAST INDEPENDENT RULER OF KAUA’I & NI’IHAU Born in 1778 on Wailua, he was the son of Queen Kamakahelei, aliʻI nui (supreme ruler) of Kauaʻi and Niʻihau, and her … Continue reading “MAY 26, 1824”

OJIBWE HISTORIAN, INTERPRETER WILLIAM WHIPPLE WARREN BORN Born at La Pointe, Michigan Territory (now-Wisconsin), he was the son of an Ojibwe mother and a fur trader father of Ojibwe-French descent.  In … Continue reading “MAY 27, 1825”

LYDA CONLEY–1ST NATIVE AMERICAN WOMAN TO PLEAD BEFORE U.S. SUPREME COURT–DIED Born in 1869, in Wyandot Co., Ohio, Lyda went to Kansas City School of Law in 1902 and was the … Continue reading “MAY 28, 1946”

INUPIAT PARAOLYMPIC & BOSTON MARATHONER SHIRLEY REILLY BORN Reilly, who is half Inupiaq, was born in Anchorage, Alaska.  Paralyzed from the waist down at birth, her early life was marked by … Continue reading “MAY 29, 1985”

ONTARIO PREMIER APOLOGIZES FOR THE RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL SYSTEM Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne officially apologized for mistreatment of First Nations, Métis and Inuit people.  Wynne gave the province’s official response to the 2015 report from … Continue reading “MAY 30, 2016”

KICK-IS-OM-LO, OR WEWICK (PRINCESS ANGELINE), DAUGHTER OF CHIEF SEATTLE, DIED Born around 1820 in Seattle, Washington, Angeline was the eldest daughter of Duwamish Chief Seattle and the only child of his … Continue reading “MAY 31, 1896”