Unbelievable Adventures of Native Americans in Russia

By Muravyev Vitaly

I was committed to finding some “artifact” which not only represented Native American culture but also came from or was connected to Russia in some way. Searching for such a thing proved to be difficult. Not surprisingly, there are very little allusions to Native Americans in Russian popular culture. However, I did find some poor advertisements. The majority of them isn’t worth mentioning at all, but one particular caught my eye.

This is a flyer promoting some mortgage bank in Khabarovsk. I can only speculate on the origin of the picture but the man wearing feather headdress and having face painting seems to be Native American. From top to bottom it says: “Mortgage. We know secret paths. We’ll show you the shortest route”.

It is ironic that a mortgage advertisement uses a picture of Native American. Everyone knows what happened to their immovable property; their land was taken away and they were forced to live in reservations. Honestly, I have no idea what the authors of this advertisement were thinking. They, probably, wanted to exploit the notion of natives as “pathfinders” and helpers, but forgot, in their pursuit for originality, that another connotation of “Indian” is lost land or lost property. As a result, we have a very counterproductive advertisement.

Since I couldn’t find any decent example of representation of Indians in Russian popular culture, I decided to look for shared history between Russians and Native Americans. Much to my surprise I discovered that there was a Russian settlement in California called Fort Ross. It still exists as a historical landmark. Fort Ross was established in 1812 in California by Commerce Counselor Ivan Kuskov of the Russian-American Company. “Kuskov spotted just about the ideal place for setting up a fort: a plateau inaccessible both from sea and land, surrounded by abundant timber, sea lions and pastures”. This land belonged to Kashaya-Pomo Indians but “for three pairs of pants, three hoes, three blankets, a pair of axes and several thread beads, the elders gave the Russians a mandate for the right to own the plateau around Fort Ross. Incidentally, the Indians never said the Russians deceived them. The colonists didn’t try to convert the natives to Christianity, respected their customs, defended against other pale-skinned peoples and took Indian women as their wives.” Furthermore, the fort was never attacked and never fought any battle - a remarkable example of peaceful coexistence. “Kind attitude of the colonists saved the Kashaya-Pomo Indians from annihilation”. Russian people have always sympathized with oppressed and persecuted Indians.

The most amazing part of this story is, however, that Kashaya still remember their good neighbors. At the end of July 2012 Fort Ross celebrated its 200th anniversary. Commemorating the anniversary a delegation from California traveled to Russia in September 2012. The Kashaya People were among the delegation members. One of their destinations was Saint Petersburg where they visited the Kunstkamera - the Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography where a number of Pomo artifacts, collected by Ilya Voznesenski in 1840 from Fort Ross area, is exhibited. According to a Russian news report their visit to the museum was very emotional because they finally had the opportunity to see some of their long lost artifacts. In the museum the delegation was asked to correctly identify and provide native language names for the objects which had been misnamed for more than 170 years. Apart from the Kunstkamera the delegation visited other points of interest in and around St. Petersburg. They later traveled to Moscow, Vologda and Tot'ma, the birthplace and final resting place of Ivan Kuskov. It is truly amazing that a settlement which lasted only about 30 years and its first curator are still remembered and respected by Koshaya people. These people definitely know how to honor their history and cultural heritage. It seems to me that, in general, it was a very interesting trip and a great cultural exchange which not only raised cultural awareness of the guests and hosts but also brought two completely different cultures closer together.

Russians mostly get their image of Indians from silly posters, tasteless advertisements, or, in best case, from books by Fenimore Cooper and Mayne Reid. And now, contrary to their expectations, they were introduced to modern people interested in both their own and foreign cultures, people who know, remember and love their history. Nothing revealed in these modern men and women their Native American ancestors.

Sources:
Mortgage flyer - http://www.nomos-regiobank.ru/assets/files/press-center/articles/2012/malish_10-09-2012.jpg

News report in Russian language - http://www.5-tv.ru/news/59674/

Independent Coast Observer about the upcoming delegation (July 6, 2012) - http://ico.stparchive.com/Archive/ICO/ICO07062012p04.php

Resolution of the Board of Supervisors of the County of Sonoma - http://sonoma-county.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=3&clip_id=272&meta_id=97520

Sonoma County group in Russia exploring North Coast roots (Sept 6, 2012) - http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20120907/ARTICLES/120909712?tc=ar

Russians in the Wild West (Oct 5, 2012) -http://www.russkiymir.ru/russkiymir/en/magazines/archive/2012/10/article0003.html?print=true

Kashaya / Fort Ross Russia Delegation Trip (Jan 11, 2013) - http://www.gualalaarts.org/Events/2013-01-Kashaya-Fort-Ross.html

The Dream Catcher - evil dreams had better stay outside!

By Victoria Förster

For many years I have been traveling across America. I drove of course through states such as Arizona, Montana, South Dakota and Utah where there are still Indian reservations and I have found at that time a, for me beautiful and valuable artifact, on which I will speak here in more detail. I didn’t know anything about the huge importance of the dream catcher when buying it, but then I found out that the legend of the dream catcher is one of the most beautiful in the mythology of Native Americans. This fact made the dream catcher for me even more valuable than it already was.

The Indians believed that they were surrounded by the mysterious forces of the unseen world. The magical beings and things could be good or evil. One of the best ways to make contact with the unseen world was to dream.

Fasting and reflecting on themselves and nature, the Indians were waiting for fantasy pictures, so- called visions that should show them a specific direction in their lives. Figures, animals and things that occurred in a dream or vision were messengers of the spirit world or guardian spirits. Every Indian had his personal guardian spirit, who possessed supernatural powers and thus strengthened his protege.

A magical dream could change the life of an Indian in a day completely. But in the night air was crowded not only the good but also the bad dreams. In order to protect themselves from such dreams, the Indian made dream catcher. Even today, there are many stories about the origin of the dream catcher. One is the following:

In ancient times, a child of a tribe had bad dreams every night. His mother worried so much and looked in her emergency assistance in old wise spider woman. She listened to the grief of the mother and showed her the secret of the dream catcher: She tied of willow twigs to the eternal ring of life, in which she was weaving a spider web with a hole in the center and decorated the dream catcher with feathers, healing and gemstones. The good dreams should find their way through the hole and get to the dangling feathers to the sleeping child. The stones should protect it. The bad dreams become entangled but should remain stuck in a spider web and to disappear with the first ray of sunlight in the morning forever. The Indian went with the dream catcher of the spider woman back to her village and hung the decorated tires on in her teepee. In the following night the child slept so calm and deep like it hasn't done in a long time. Since that time, the Indians keep the secret of the dream catcher and pass it on from generation to generation.

As it should be, the dream catcher is directly above my bed so that the intended effect is achieved. As you can see, I do not own a classic or traditional dream catcher, but a slightly different, perhaps more modern version. In this case, it does not consist of the usual web; the willow hoop still exists. Soft Leather is stretched over the hoop, on which an image is painted. It is a picture which led to dream with beautiful, mystical landscape with pine trees, a meadow, a creek and two teepees. In the background are gentle highlands with snow on the peaks. Leather, beads and feathers decorate the whole dream catcher and give it a light, almost weightless note.

I have several small and big things, like jewelry, figures or images that have been handmade by Indians; however, the dream catcher is one of my favorite pieces. I can tell you exactly why that's the case: Behind the dream catcher lies a great legend that has been carried from generation to generation and still exists today and this is really impressive to me.

Sources:
http://www.thewolfsdencreations.com/History%20of%20the%20Dream%20Catchers.htm

Intercultural exchange – is the traditional image of Native Americans changing in Germany?

By Christoph Huber

During my research for this individual project I was mainly looking for signs of Native American culture within a Central European or, more specifically, German context. What I originally had in mind was to find evidence that the traditional image of Native Americans in Germany has not really changed since Karl May’s published his famous books about the Native American Winnetou and his white friend Old Shatterhand in the late 20th century.

Indeed, this traditional image of Indians as a long-gone, no more existent culture and everything that was associated with them, such as myths and magic including peculiar ceremonies is still present to a certain extent. Especially as old Western movies still enjoy great popularity among the German audience, one can see that there is still a strong fascination about the Indian wars and the long-lasting conflicts between cowboys and Indians. Another aspect that Germans have always associated with Indians is definitely the aspect of the Plains of North America. Widespread, untouched nature is something very rare in a densely populated country such as Germany. This is probably why there has always been such a fascination about them. Ironically though, the movies about Karl May’s novels which built the framework for such imagination were never filmed in the Plains, but in parts of former Yugoslavia (today: Croatia) which is of course a country much closer to Germany than the “Wild West” or the Plains of the United States of America.

However, I wanted to find some evidence that the public image of Native Americans must have changed somehow, especially as many German people are quite well concerned with the social and political status of Aborigines in Australia for instance. I eventually came across the Youtube video above. The video is about a group of Native Americans who visited the Werner-Stephan-Highschool in Berlin in March 2009. A number of different Native American tribes were represented at this cultural exchange, organized by the US-embassy of Berlin with regard to their programme “Meet US” which supports constant cultural exchange between US citizens and German students. The Indians belonged to the tribes of the Seminole Tribe of Florida, the Navajo Nation, the Three Affiliated Tribes and the Keepers of the Sacred Tradition of Pipemakers. During their visit, the Indians tried to provide a sophisticated image of the many different cultures and traditions of Native Americans through story-telling, performing traditional dances and Q&As or interviews. A very interesting aspect of the exchange is that they actually involved the German pupils in their presentations. Not only that they taught them some basic Indian language words, but also that they integrate them in some of their traditional dances and performances. Additionally, the pupils get to know where the main reservations of Indians are situated within the US today and they receive information on some non-profit US organisations which support the rights of Native Americans nowadays.

I personally think that this sort of intercultural exchange is a great way of making the contemporary cultures of Native Americans more accessible to German pupils and breaking the habits of promoting an image of them that used to be stuck in the public’s mind. Indeed, traditional costumes and habits were represented during their performances, but not in the way they are represented in popular culture and the media. Just as Bud Johnson, a member of the Pipemakers tribe who is interviewed for the report, explains, this intercultural exchange is about breaking down stereotypes. There is no single homogenous Indian tribe (or the remains of it) who rides horses and still lives in teepees (a way of living, which was primarily lived by the Dakotas in the Great Plains anyway while other tribes used different forms of housing).

What could be criticized about the video is probably that it is hard to answer whether there actually was an increase of knowledge among the German pupils from that highschool and whether they really represent an ongoing change of the public image of Native Americans in Germany. My answer to that is that even though some of the aspects that were supposed to be represented by the Native Americans during their performances could not be understood by most of the pupils, unless they were familiar with contemporary Native American culture, which is rather unlikely, it must have been a great experience for all of them. To see how students from a Western European culture receive an insight into the culture of a minority through their dancing and storytelling is just fascinating. And even though one could argue that this does not represent the public’s image, it must be mentioned that education is the mirror of a society and that programmes and exchanges like this are a first step into the right direction in order the change the mythical image of Native American cultures in many German peoples’ minds.

Links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tDN3jbTiy4
http://german.germany.usembassy.gov/germany-ger/meetus.html
http://www.wso-berlin.de/

Dancing with the German Natives

By Sara Waldmann

The original task for our class was to go looking for indications or influences of the Native American cultures in our everyday life – and how they are presented. Well, to tell you the truth, I didn’t have to look very hard or walk very far…

This is a replica of an Indian hoof rattle of the Northern Plains around 1860, hanging at my chamber wall above two self-made pictures. A few years ago, I bought it from the Hudson’s Bay Indian Trading Post Company (see also: www.Hudsons-Bay.de if you’re interested). I usually only take it down once a year, at the end of July or the beginning of August, so that it – and I – may catch some much needed breath. For a little more than a week the air around us is full of wood-fire smoke, the earthy smell of leather, bird song, laughter and bickering, the clinking of beads and bells, the siirrrr of mosquitoes and the deep pulse of the drums. Grab your tepee and your loincloth - Welcome to the German Indian Week!

This photograph was taken by me in 2008, somewhere on a meadow in the woods near Triptis. At first glance you might believe it to be picture from a movie about Native Americans. It is, however, plain old Germany that offers you such appetizing sights, if only you know where to look.

A historical re-enactment camp



The first meetings of ‘German Indian Natives’ took place during the GDR regime in Eastern Germany. For some they offered a means to escape the socialist culture, for others the possibility to express individualism within a system that asked for conformism. The question as to why the Native American cultures appealed so strongly to the Germans has not been answered satisfactorily, nor will it probably ever be. Perhaps they felt as if their own life took place in a kind of reservation. Or maybe it was a way to identify with the West, without attracting too much disapproval from the authorities. The official explanation back then was that people wished to support and research the Indian struggle against capitalism, marking the Native Americans as one of the first victims of the Western imperialism.

There is, of course, more to it than just the political aspect. What motivates people from different social backgrounds to come together and “play Indian”? You might get as many answers as there are members to the Weekbund, the umbrella organization for Indian hobbyists. Most of them are organized in clubs, some are “without a tribe” attend the big annual meeting, our “Week”, as guests. Last year we celebrated an anniversary, the 40th Week, with a bison supper for all, proceeded by a symbolic bison hunt. You can see a short video of the occasion below.



In the following, I hope to provide you with some impressions of what it is like to attend a Week. Please note that I am relatively new to it and that my knowledge is limited. I have decided not to upload anything that could compromise people and you’ll therefore unfortunately not see a lot of close-ups.

The Week does not necessarily consist of only seven days, and I do not know how the name came to be. The camp is moved every other year, but it always takes place on a secluded meadow in the woods of East Germany. Whatever club is organizing the camp also takes pains to ensure that there is a possibility to go swimming. There are wash tents for women and men, a grocery van every morning, portaloos, a water pipe and a parking lot for our metal horses. Naturally, there is also one for the real horses.

At the opening ceremony we dance, listen to speeches, honour members who have done something special and watch the presentation of a bison skull that gets its horns reattached. Throughout the Week different activities are offered, such as a Lakota language crash course, a herbal class, or you can learn how to make a fire with nothing but flint stone and cooked mushrooms or birch tree bark. The modern Indian may also use stripes of singed jeans. But usually, we are anything but modern – it’s a historical re-enactment camp. Any influences and developments beyond a certain year are not welcome. (I forgot which year that was…) The clothes, the beadwork, the tepees and the weapons, some of the tools are either authentic or authentic replicas.

My brother in a loincloth.

Each day at the camp is dedicated to another theme. We’ve got the children’s day, where the young hobbyists carry blankets through the camp to collect gifts that will later be distributed amongst them. But first they have to prove themselves worthy in a range of games! Then there is the Bread and Coffee Day, one of my favourites. We gather in the middle of the camp, where the dance circle has been marked with young birch saplings, and listen to stories while being served honeyed bread, coffee and tea. In addition to that we’ve got the day where the Woodland tribes such as the Iroquois practice their dances, once we had a corn day… the list could go on and on.

The strange little construction next to the tepee is a backrest, some kind of equivalent to a chair... well, at least something to rest your back against. I had never heard of them before I came to the camp.

Storytelling

Stories are at the heart of our Camp. At around seven o’clock in the evening most of the children and a few adults are gathering for our Indian version of the “Sandmann”, where volunteers tell a bedtime story or two - or three, because the young German Indians can be very persuasive. Depending on the storyteller the children are either asked to act out parts and bits, to improvise the sounds of animals or to simply listen.

I had the chance to act as “Sandmann” and I hold the memories of those precious evenings close to my heart. My audience immediately reacted either pleased or disappointed, thus giving me uncensored feedback and quite a lot of inspiration. Below you will find one of my adaptations, in case you are interested.

Creation– Inuit: The Raven

In the beginning, there was only blackness. But even in the dark, the raven already existed. He felt the ground under his feet and walked a few paces. Behind him, water suddenly wetted the earth and mountains rose where his feet had fallen. As he flapped his wings he became aware of who he was: Tulugaukuk, the creator of everything. He flew into the air and the world came into being.

At the seashore he noticed a pea plant. With a loud bang one of the pods burst open and out fell the first human being: a man. “How strange!” the raven cried, “Though I made the pea plant I would never have imagined what might come out of it.” And he helped the man to gather nuts and created animals for him to hunt. But the man felt lonely. It was then that the raven took a handful of clay and the softest grass for the hair, forming him a companion. The man was overcome with joy. But soon enough the humans became greedy and arrogant and ignored the raven’s warning and advice. And so he left the earth, taking with him what had been his greatest gift: the sun. The humans cried and pleaded with him. “Alright,” he said, “I shall be merciful, yet I fear you will err again.” And he flapped his wings, sending the earth spinning and setting everything into motion. This was how day and night were born, as a warning not to forget that what has been given may be withdrawn if we do not handle it carefully.

At the Dance Circle everyone is hanging on the lips of the best tellers the camp has to offer, and the particularly good stories are followed by enthusiastic cries of “Ho!” Practically every ceremony during the Week makes use of the oral tradition, not only to entertain but to explain how and why we find ourselves to be here, doing what we are doing. The themes and origins of the tales range from actual Indian stories like those about Coyote to adapted fairy tales from other cultures or stories made up by camp people. And then there are of course the events that happened during our annual meetings.

During of the earlier Weeks the forest near the camp suddenly was aflame! As you can see on the canvas some hobbyists used very un-historical tools to fight off the blazing fire:

One year we had a most unpleasant surprise visit from some neo-Nazis. Our brave soldiers prevailed, protecting the women and children gathered in the middle of the camp.

Fortunately, there are also positive events that were most the important of some year’s annual meeting. Once, for example, the women met for a patchwork contest.

For each Week the most characteristic event has been painted on an immensely long canvas. Since I am unsure about the Copyright of the art I decided to only share this one picture.

Personal impressions and experiences

During the few Weeks that I have been fortunate to attend I learned quite a lot, not only about the Native Americans and their history but also about myself and my instincts. You rest differently in a tepee and next to the glowing embers of your fire place – you are more alert, as if part of you never really goes to sleep. This holds true for the night and especially if there are children in the tent. On some of the hotter days, however, my afternoon nap revealed nothing to me but my own deep exhaustion. The weather, too, is something that you have to accept during camp. You cannot hide in a comfortable house with a solid roof and central heating or air-conditioning. I have known the lulling pitter patter of rain against the canvas and the gentle breeze on my face, but more often than not we hastened to draw paths for the water on the tent poles, rushed outside to close the smoke flaps and hoped that our tepee would stay on the ground. The picture below shows one of the more impressing thunderstorms arriving at the camp.

Facing the heat of early August can also be a challenge, more so if you are wearing traditional leather outfits, blankets and animal furs. I thank the Great Spirit for the fact that some European clothes are allowed due to the trading history between the two cultures.

After a week of carrying your milk can full of water to your tent and collecting fire wood every day you come to appreciate the preciousness of water and warmth. Even if it is just for a short period of time you nevertheless cease to take hot tap water for granted.

Critique and Problems

This hobby is one that requires a lot of commitment, more so since the community has moved from the novels of Karl May to real, well-founded research and exact reproduction of bead patterns. To me it sometimes seems to become more and more exclusive. There are detail fanatics who will not regard you as an actual member unless you follow the historically established lifestyle. There are those who mean well in their advice but preach ostentatiously. There are, however, also those who think nothing of an inflated pink plastic swimming pool next to their tepee. The camp guards disabused them of the notion and proceeded to confiscate the nappies we had laid out to dry in the sun – until we told them what exactly those clothes of the white man had been used for. Necessary things such as wheelchairs or glasses are accepted, cameras and camcorders have become fashionable, but there can be a lot of discussion about a plastic bottle or a “wrong” outfit.

Moreover this is quite an expensive pastime occupation. It will either cost you a lot of money or a lot of time, and people who have neither therefore encounter problems in keeping up. I furthermore can imagine that vegetarians might have serious objections to using actual leather etc. Nowadays we need to have special certificates for some of the furs, in order to prevent the exploitation of endangered species.

We are living in a modern world for the rest of the year. It was perhaps unavoidable that a problem with the traditional gender roles would arise for those who do not wish to comply with the macho-culture of some of the tribes. This has apparently led to so much discontent that an all-women association was founded: The Crazy Women. The members live by their own rules, dance as they wish, and they have even found a historical precedent for their emancipation.

My last advice to you would be to bring your own supply of toilet paper. Oh, and you’ll need a flash light or something similar. There is no light at the portaloos, and you might need using them one night.

This is me in a Nez Perce dress made by an acquaintance. As my club focuses on Cheyenne we agreed that I was probably kidnapped and adopted into the tribe. I was very lucky to be able to purchase this beautiful outfit at such a low price. It is surprisingly soft, light and it does not hinder my moving most untraditionally to the pulse of the drums. There are some things that I and my rattle prefer to sticking to the old ways– and one of them is dancing. The men are enjoying a repertoire of creative moves (some alluding to certain creatures) which I envy whereas I am extremely bored by the dull step by step that women were allowed in the Plains. Some people object, others don’t mind, some agree. We have our disputes like everyone else. Nevertheless it is a wonderful little fantasy world – and I would be happy to introduce you to it in real life.


Further information

Press:

http://www.pnn.de/pm/667852/
http://www.tagesspiegel.de/kultur/literatur/indianer-in-der-ddr-das-rote-reservat/1823294.html

Others:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqWrgz4uNGE (A youtube video of the opening of the week in 2009, uploaded from another German hobbyist. Reading the comments below it has proven interesting – apparently some Native Americans failed to realize that this is a historical re-enactment camp and expressed their disapproval of us depicting them as “barbarians”.)