By Cora Leland
Native Traditions
The fur trappers in America of the
1700’s began simply, but recognized that the job could be more efficiently
handled by the native population.
However, the tribes did not supply the number of skins needed.
Some fur trappers continued to work and live alone, but by the early 1800’s the vast majority of fur trappers and hunters accepted jobs from huge companies that hired hundreds of the emigrants at a time. They all lived close to nature, though, living from wild game and wearing clothes made from animal skins. This is a drawing from the Colorado Historical society of a fur trapper as imagined by Frederic Remington showing such “Mountain Men” years after they had disappeared.
In 1837, Alfred Jacob Miller remembered the difficulty trappers and hunters encountered when trying to learn to speak Native American languages. “The pronunciation was baffling –
the sound itself comes from the throat.”
Although the Métis culture is usually linked with Canada, it was also an important aspect of French-speaking, Irish, Scottish, and English emigrants to America. Many settled in border areas, such as the area that is now Michigan. The dancing of jigs done to the fastest music possible of fiddlers and guitarists, with the dancers wearing leather moccasins is one aspect of this surprising civilization. Improvisations in the footwork and fast jig dancing is also an important part of the fun.
The language, Michif, has but 800 speakers now in the US, most found in North Dakota at the Turtle Mountain Reservation. The Métis people of Canada and the United States, are the descendants of First Nations women (mainly Cree, Nakota and Ojibwe).
Pow wows have many names now, but Native American beliefs are tied to the dances, singing, and gatherings. Here is one link to a contemporary powwow. Nevada: https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=RJkkK3PG3qw
This National Geographic production is a Lakota dance and brief discussion by one of the dancers about what the basic dance step ‘means’ and how the dance progressed as times changed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=on9bnvuOLtE Oglala Lakota Nation Pow Wow | National Geographic
Here is an interesting quote from Prescott, AZ about the evolution of Native American dancing. "The original dances were held by members of elite warrior societies. They were frequently called Grass Dances and were held for the benefit of tribal members. There were a variety of names used by different tribes for these dances. Among them are Omaha Dance used by the Sioux, Hot Dance used by the Crow, Dakota Dance by the Cree and Wolf Dance from the Shoshone and Arapaho.
The Grass Dance gradually evolved into the Pow Wow. As Natives began to live on the reservations, they had more time to devote to non-survival activities, and dancing became increasingly important. These celebrations were strictly social events until the 1920's when "Contest" dancing became popular."
Another surprising aspect of emigrant life (to a person in the twenty first century) is the sheer number of calories needed per person every day during the nineteenth century. It amounted to three to four thousand calories. In this pre-leisure world, where both sexes worked hard, people simply expended a lot of calories in their work and play. People rode horses, walked, lifted, and everything was done manually.
I finally gave up and began to investigate this '19th century food situation' when reading Laura Ingalls Wilder’s novel, These Happy Golden Years. The protagonist speaks to his betrothed. “Tomorrow morning you’ll be frying my pancakes.” Then he shows her the kitchen in the house he’s built for them. He’d worked hard building pull-out bins to store all the grains and flours they’d eat, and he’d made a pantry and store room in the basement, as well.
Dee Brown notes that Army wives were a great source of nutrition information in the wilds, often passing along this information to frontier women. One example is that potatoes were served daily on board ships to prevent scurvy and lack of vitamin C.
Nowadays, we find that state fairs have evolved from the cooperation and finally the get-togethers of farmers and ranchers as they celebrated work accomplished. State fairs honor the importance of the best pies, cakes, meat dishes, animals, plants of all kinds and every aspect of a farm and ranch-based life.
This is all new information. I appreciate the opportunity to learn about the evolution of the dances and the language. Great post.
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