The Bering Strait Theory

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Via VOA NEWS

It’s one of the most contentious debates in anthropology today: Where did America’s first peoples come from — and when? The general scientific consensus is that a single wave of people crossed a long-vanished land bridge from Siberia into Alaska around 13,000 years ago. But some Native Americans are irked by the theory, which they say is simplistic and culturally biased.

The first European explorers to reach the Americas looked to the Bible to explain the origins of the people they encountered and misnamed “Indians.” Biblical tradition holds that humans were created some 4,000 years ago and that all men descend from Adam — including indigenous peoples whom Europeans regarded as primitive. “Dominant science believed in a concept of superiority,” said Alexander Ewen, a member of the Purepecha Nation and author of the “Encyclopedia of the American Indian in the Twentieth Century.”

“And that created an idea that either people were genetically inferior or that there were stages of civilization, and Indians were at a lower stage,” he said. Since “primitives” weren’t sophisticated enough to have sailed the oceans, early scientists concluded Indians had reached North America by some unknown land route. They found their answer in the Bering Strait.

Ewen says that theory cemented into dogma and persists to this day, even in the face of new discoveries and technology that suggests Indians arrived much earlier and by different routes. “In the first place, it’s simplistic,” said Ewen. “The people in this hemisphere were -- and are -- extremely diverse, more than any other place in the world.”

THE SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE

In the 1930s, scientists examined a pile of mammoth bones in Clovis, N.M., where they found distinctive spear points. Since then, tens of thousands of “Clovis points” have been found across North America and as far south as Venezuela. Scientists decided the Clovis people must have been America’s first peoples, arriving 13,000 years ago.

Excavations in the 1970s pushed the date even further back, to as much as 16,000 years ago. Archaeologist James Adovasio dated artifacts found at Pennsylvania’s Meadowcroft Rockshelter to be up to 16,000 years old, to harsh criticism.

Other branches of science have weighed in: In 1998, University of California- Berkeley linguist Johanna Nichols argued that it would have taken up to 50,000 years for a single language to diversify into the many languages spoken by modern Native American groups. That meant ancient Indians would have to have arrived 19,000 years ago.

WHAT ELSE

Geologists have complicated matters by suggesting that the Bering Strait wasn’t passable until 10 or 12,000 years ago. This gave way to theories that early humans might have sailed down the Pacific coast into the New World. Meanwhile, in 2015, Harvard University geneticist Pontus Skoglund discovered DNA links between Amazon Indians and the indigenous peoples in Australia and New Guinea.

In the past decade, Smithsonian Institution anthropologist Dennis Stanford met scathing criticism for suggesting Stone Age Europeans paddled across the Atlantic thousands of years before Columbus. In April of this year, researchers in California analyzed crushed mastodon bones they said were butchered by humans 130,000 years ago, a theory the bulk of scientists, including Adavasio, rejects – not because it’s not possible, he stipulates, but because the data isn’t conclusive.

Should science consider the origin beliefs of tribes themselves? Montana’s Blackfoot tradition holds that the first Indians lived on the other side of the ocean, but their creator decided to take them to a better place. “So, he brought them over the ice to the far north,” the account reads.

The Hopi people of Arizona say their ancestors had to travel through three worlds, finally crossing the ocean eastward to a new and final new world. And Oklahoma’s Tuskegee people believe the “Great Spirit” chose them to be the first people to live on the earth. Stories like these aren’t given much weight by science, said Joe Watkins, supervisory anthropologist at the National Park Service and a member of the Choctaw Nation.

“They are generally believed to be anecdotal,” he said. “The deep time depth and the possibility of multiple interpretations seems to make scientists uncomfortable.”That isn’t to say Watkins believes every tribal tradition is “true.” “But I do believe most of them carry within them kernels of truth of use to researchers. It seems imprudent to dismiss any possible line of evidence," he said.

Our biggest question at ‘I know a Native’ is why. Why would the U.S. Government push a false narrative of Natives only being here a couple hundred years earlier than them? Is to delegitimize our claim to the land as its original inhabitants? Does it wash away the sins of genocide? What is wrong with admitting that Natives had been here for at least 12,000 years according to modern science, yet were annihilated by christian faith. Just some food for thought.

Aa always, If you don’t know now you know, a Native!

Largest Land Return in California’s History

Article via L.A. Times

 Gov. Gavin Newsom has set in motion the largest land return in California history, declaring his support for the return of ancestral lands to the Shasta Indian Nation that were seized a century ago and submerged.

The 2,800 acres in Siskiyou County are part of the Klamath River dam removal project, which will rehabilitate more than 300 miles of salmon habitat.

"This is a down payment on the state's commitment to do better by the Native American communities who have called this land home since time immemorial," Newsom said in a statement. The governor's announcement Tuesday marked the fifth anniversary of California's official apology to its Native American peoples for the state's historical wrongdoings.

Newsom said the move was part of "healing deep wounds and rebuilding trust."

The state has previously worked to return ancestral lands to the Fort Independence Indian Community, the Lone Pine Paiute-Shoshone Reservation, the Mechoopda Indian Tribe of Chico Rancheria and the Wiyot tribe. The Mechoopda tribe received more than 90 acres, and the rest of the returned lands were around 40 acres each, according to Lindsay Bribiescas, spokesperson for the governor's office of tribal affairs.

Returning the ancestral land to Shasta Indian Nation was also supported by Siskiyou County last year. In November, the county Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to send a letter of support to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Fish and Wildlife, along with the California Natural Resources Agency, will work with the Shasta Indian Nation on the legal return of the lands.

Shasta's ancestors inhabited the lands around Copco Lake near Bogus Mountain before there were formal records of the area, according to Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors meeting documents. Traditionally, the land was known as Kíkacéki.

After the Gold Rush, Shasta Indians worked to reclaim their historical community by purchasing or homesteading land parcels; some "squatted" on newly privatized lands they did not own. The document states that some Shasta women would strategically marry or cohabitate with non-Indian men who purchased parcels, with the women eventually gaining control of a significant portion of the land. 

But in 1911, the land was taken from tribal members by eminent domain on behalf of the companies that would construct Copco No. 1 Dam, forcing members to relocate.

Now, more than 100 years later, with the removal of Copco and other dams, the land has reemerged, and tribal members remain eager for its return.

"Having access to our ceremonial sites, including the site of our First Salmon Ceremony, is critical to the spiritual and emotional health of our people," said Janice Crowe, chairperson for the Shasta Indian Nation. 

Returning the land allows the Shasta Indian Nation to complete the Shasta Heritage Trail, an educational pathway whose design incorporates Native art along with informational placards that share the history of the Kíkacéki, Crowe said in a statement. 

This announcement is part of a larger effort to amend California's historical offenses against Native American communities.

 At the time of California's formal apology, Newsom also established the California Truth and Healing Council to clarify the historical record, he said, and provide an opportunity for collaboration between the tribes and the state.

Programs and initiatives that grew out of it include conservation of 30% of lands and coastal waters by 2030, a grant program to return lands to tribal ownership, and the establishment of agreements with tribes to ensure they have access to, or can co-manage, areas within state parks that have significance for them.

It's unclear when the ancestral lands will be officially returned to the Shasta Indian Nation.

Russell Means - Lakota

Russell Means, born on November 10, 1939, in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, was a prominent figure in the Native rights movement. As an Oglala Lakota, Means grew up experiencing the struggles and injustices faced by his people, which fueled his lifelong commitment to activism.

Means' early life was marked by challenges. His family moved to California as part of the federal government's Indian Relocation Program, which aimed to assimilate Natives into mainstream American society. This experience exposed him to different cultures but also deepened his sense of the injustices faced by his people.

In the late 1960s, Means became involved with the American Indian Movement (AIM), a grassroots group that sought to address issues like poverty, housing, treaty issues, and police harassment. His charisma and passion quickly elevated him to a leadership position. Means became a national figure in 1973 during the AIM-led occupation of Wounded Knee, South Dakota. This 71-day standoff against federal agents was a protest against both the U.S. government's failure to honor treaties with Tribes and the corrupt tribal leadership of Richard Wilson. While the siege was controversial, it brought significant attention to Native struggles.

Means' activism was not limited to protests. He sought to revitalize Native culture and promote self-determination for Native peoples. He worked to improve living conditions on reservations, advocated for sovereignty and land rights, and emphasized the importance of cultural heritage. In addition to his political work, Means also had a career in entertainment, appearing in several films and television shows. He believed that media representation was another avenue to educate the broader public about Native history and contemporary issues.

Throughout his life, Means faced legal battles and controversy, often stemming from his confrontational style of activism. Despite this, he remained a vocal and uncompromising advocate for Native rights. Russell Means passed away on October 22, 2012, but his legacy endures. He is remembered as a passionate and sometimes polarizing figure who played a crucial role in bringing Native issues to national and international attention. His life's work continues to inspire new generations of activists committed to justice and equality for Natives.

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