Chief Joseph. I bow my head to you. He is honored with this stamp issued in 1968. Chief Joseph (1840-1904) was a leader of the Wallowa band of the Nez Perce Tribe, who became famous in 1877 for leading his people on an epic flight across the Rocky Mountains. ... Chief Joseph took over for his father, the elder in 1871. Settlers were inhabiting the area occupied by Nez Perce tribe but they did coexist peacefully until a few of his tribe ambushed and killed some settlers. The heat and battle was on. He deftly led his tribe in retreat trying to reach Canada. Unfortunately he had to surrender just short of his intent. He was admired by his enemies for his principled resistance and deft fighting skills. He became renowned as a humanitarian and peacemaker. Obviously there is a lot more to the story and it took me on an interesting and fun educational ride.
The stamp above, and not a good picture, is to keep with the Indigenous people theme. To my eyes, it is not at all a pretty stamp but that is on me. On October 14-15, 1948, Native Americans of the Five Civilized Tribes of Oklahoma - Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee and Seminole - would gather in Muskogee, Oklahoma to commemorate the centennial of their forced move [the Trail of Tears] by the United States government from their tribal lands on the East Coast to Indian Territory [later Oklahoma]. The Trail of Tears was started and in 1848, ten years later, all the Five Civilized Tribes were moved by force to the Indian Territory which is now Oklahoma." Obviously more to this story as well including some last minute political maneuvering.
On another planet and to be sure we were on the right side of history, Manager Ron and me made sure in our current ASTI Championship Series, The Cleveland Indigenous people played in one series of games followed by the Atlanta SIps, (Southern Indigenous people). Please feel free to ask about all that. Ain't no denying, we are woke as shit and proud to be.
No comments:
Post a Comment