Post by karankawa on Jun 25, 2013 14:03:31 GMT -5
I am a white man with *no* native heritage or background.
I spent nearly 30 years recreating, reenacting, studying and interviewing WWII German and Allied veterans and French and Vietnamese veterans (French Indochina and Vietnam War). In 2009, a kindly native American lady (Anna) in Houston introduced me to a Native American veteran, Pearl Harbor survivor (who was on the USS California, who has since passed away), at a Vietnam War veterans event in Houston. I spoke with him and although I was interested in his story about Pearl Harbor I was more intrigued by his growing up on a reservation, his indian culture and heritage, something I knew absolutely nothing about. Like most young kids I grew up playing cowboys and Indians and would always choose to be the cowboy (or the cavalry) because Indians were "the bad guys." Hollywood proved that, right? Since that meeting, I have been studying and researching. The more I do, the more I shake my head. Jerry Ellis' Walking the Trail of Tears was a powerful introduction to Native culture.
I was born in Texas, served in the military and law enforcement and am currently studying the Karankawa and Caddo (Texas), the Osage (OK, Missouri, Arkansas) during the F&I War and through the trapper's period. I am very interested in meeting others in Texas and the surrounding Gulf Coast who share an interest in these tribes as well. With the information I have gleaned thus far, I hope to start a website to share it with other.
Regards.
Mike
I spent nearly 30 years recreating, reenacting, studying and interviewing WWII German and Allied veterans and French and Vietnamese veterans (French Indochina and Vietnam War). In 2009, a kindly native American lady (Anna) in Houston introduced me to a Native American veteran, Pearl Harbor survivor (who was on the USS California, who has since passed away), at a Vietnam War veterans event in Houston. I spoke with him and although I was interested in his story about Pearl Harbor I was more intrigued by his growing up on a reservation, his indian culture and heritage, something I knew absolutely nothing about. Like most young kids I grew up playing cowboys and Indians and would always choose to be the cowboy (or the cavalry) because Indians were "the bad guys." Hollywood proved that, right? Since that meeting, I have been studying and researching. The more I do, the more I shake my head. Jerry Ellis' Walking the Trail of Tears was a powerful introduction to Native culture.
I was born in Texas, served in the military and law enforcement and am currently studying the Karankawa and Caddo (Texas), the Osage (OK, Missouri, Arkansas) during the F&I War and through the trapper's period. I am very interested in meeting others in Texas and the surrounding Gulf Coast who share an interest in these tribes as well. With the information I have gleaned thus far, I hope to start a website to share it with other.
Regards.
Mike