# Dancing the Way to Peace 1493—1872 > Briefs, arguments, decisions, and more. URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/tribal%3Aomaha_of_nebraska%3Abce8ea814dee926f ## Record - **Collection:** Tribal code - **Document type:** Tribal code ## Text Dancing the Way to Peace 1493—1872 Umonhon Tribal Government: Then and Now M’kaçi: Coyote and Te: Buffaloes Proposed Constitution for the Umonhon Nation: Nebraska - Iowa Omaha Tribal Historical Research Project, Inc. 501(c)(3) non-profit since 1992 PO BOX 279 ROSALIE, NE 68055 OTHRP on Facebook OTHRP@yahoo.org jacklopearts.org OTHRP on Pay-Pal OTHRP on Go Fund Me Umonhon Tribe traveling along the ridge next to Nishu'de Ke: Missouri River Smithsonian Front Cover photograph: Nishu’de Ke: Missouri River Jeff Mohr, OTHRP Archives OTHRP NOTE: The treaties, background information and discussion about them, were taken from the work of both Dr. Hastings and Dr. Coffey including their research and writing for their joint PhD dissertation: “Completely Illustrated: Grandfather Remembers — Broken Treaties/ Stolen Land: The Umonhon Land Theft,” unpublished, 2009. Other material has been taken from the following Hastings and Coffey’s manuscripts: “Umonhon Cultural Anthology,” 2017 ”Dancing the way to Peace Umonhon Government: Then and Now,” 2017, ”Mi’kaçi: Coyote and the Te: Buffaloes,” 2016, Omaha Tribal Historical Research Project, Inc. All Rights Reserved Dancing for Peace ©2019Omaha Tribal Historical Research Project, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the authors. Omaha Tribal Historical Research Project, Inc., PO BOX 279, Rosalie, NE 68055 402–846-5454, OTHRP.com, jackalopearts.org, OTHRP on Facebook 1 The n n Umo ho Nation (above) Bouquet, Dover, Cottonwood leaves, Coffey, OTHRP Archives, (below) Umonhon Woman Cooking Smithsonian Acknowledgements: Umonhon Nation: on and off the reservation The legacy of the Umonhon Nation that managed to survive through centuries of cultural genocide. Susette La Flesche Tibbles Dr. Francis La Flesche, Esq. Stephen E. Ambrose Louise Barry Brian Bull James O. Dorsey Clyde A. Milner, II Tamie Sawaged Ernest Widtsoe Shumway Thomas H. Tibbles Robert A. Trennert, Jr. Dr. John Bilorusky, President Western Institute for Social Research WISR’s Staff, Faculty, and Students Jeff Mohr, MSW Nebraska Wesleyan University Joseph Wetmore, MA, Autumn Leaves Used Books, Ithaca, NY Contributors on the Proposed Constitution: Charles Baxter Joe Harlan Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund Ecuadorian Constitution United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Dover Publications The many people who reached out to help OTHRP along this cultural journey. We couldn't have done it without you: family, friends, and complete strangers. Wi'bthahan Ewithe Wongithe Thank you all my relatives n Umonhon travois I shta-theamba: Bright Eyes: Susette La Flesche Tibbles Fannie Reed Giffen and Susette La Flesche Tibbles, with illustrations by Susette Oo-Mah-Ha Ta-Wa-Tha (Omaha City), published by authors, Lincoln NE, 1908, p. 23 3 Table of Contents Copyright Page 1 Dedication 2 Acknowledgements 3 Table of Contents 4 Illustrations 10 Section 1: Dancing the Way to Peace 1493-1872 Dancing the Way to Peace 1492-1872 15 n n Country Known to the Umo ho 16 Dancing the Way to Peace 1492-1872: Introduction 17 n n Umo ho Government Then: Development of Political Unity 21 Leader]ship 24 Orders of [Leaders] 24 n Wathi ’ethe: Performance of Certain Acts 24 [The Council of Seven [Leaders] 28 The Ceremonial Manner of Smoking the Sacred Pipes was as follows: 30 [Compensation] of [Leaders] and Keepers 32 Offenses and Punishments 33 Establishment of "The Council" 36 Robert Furnas 37 Joseph La Flesche 38 n n Umo ho Government Now: A Possible Model for the Future 42 Consensus 42 Alternative to Common Decision-making Practices 43 Agreement Vs. Consent 44 Blocking and Other Forms of Dissent 44 Dissent Options 45 Process Models 45 Blocking 46 Religious Society of Friends (Quaker) based model 46 n n Elements of [Umo ho ] Progressive Peace 47 n n Formatting the Traditional [Umo ho ] Progressive Peace 48 It is Time to Heal 48 Papal Bull Inter Caetera May 4, 1493, What are the "PAPAL BULLS"? 53 Historical Introduction 53 The Papal Bull "Inter Caetera," issued by Pope Alexander VI, 1493 55 Declaration of Vision 59 Pope Francis Takes a First Step Toward Revoking the Papal Bulls 59 Preliminary convention between the Kings of France and Spain for the cession of Louisiana to the latter, 1762 62 Definitive act of cession of Louisiana by the King of France to the King of Spain 63 Treaty of San Ildefonso: October 1, 1800 65 Louisiana Purchase History 68 The Louisiana Purchase, 1803 Treaty Between the U. S. A. 4 and the French Republic Lewis & Clark Taking a close look at Lewis and Clark History Lewis and Clark: a Native American Point of View, 1804 Background The Leaders John Evans' Map of the Upper Missouri River Area (1795) Detail from Clark's Map, 1814 Official Greetings to Native American Governments Sacajawea York Seaman Cruzatte and La Biche Cruzatte and La Biche: Multiple Languages Cruzatte and La Biche: Umonhon Background The Journey: The River The Journey: Umonhon Camp The Journey: Gifts of Alcohol The Journey: Teton Sioux Cloud-Shield's Winter Count, 1804-1805 The Journey: Cruzatte shoots Lewis Sex Lives of the Corps of Discovery Prairie Dogs Aftermath Summary Lewis and Clark Endnotes Umonhon Life Duties Assumed by Men and Women of all Ages Marriage, Reproduction, and Child-Rearing Social Status and Personal Property Material Culture Umonhon Treaties, 1815 — 1872 Umonhon Treaties, 1815 — 1872 Introduction Presidents of the Treaty Period Portage des Sioux Treaty History 1815 Portage des Sioux Treaty with the Omaha, 1815 Portage des Sioux Treaty Discussion, 1815 Treaty with the Mahas History, 1820 Treaty with the Mahas, 1820 Treaty with the Mahas, Discussion, 1820 Indian Commodities Fort Atkinson Treaty History, 1825 Fort Atkinson Treaty with the Omaha, 1825 Fort Atkinson Treaty Discussion 1825 Prairie Du Chien Treaty with the Sauk and Foxes, etc., History, 1830 Prairie Du Chien Treaty with the Sauk and Foxes, etc., 1830 Prairie Du Chien Treaty with the Sauk and Foxes, etc., Discussion, 1830 Half-Breed Tract Treaty with the Oto and Missouria, History, 1833 5 71 76 77 83 83 84 85 86 88 89 90 95 97 98 99 101 102 104 104 105 106 107 109 110 111 112 117 117 119 120 121 129 129 139 131 132 133 134 135 136 136 138 139 141 145 146 153 156 Half-Breed Tract Treaty with the Oto and Missouria, 1833 Half-Breed Tract Treaty with the Oto and Missouria, Discussion, 1833 Platte Purchase Treaty with the Oto, etc., History, 1836 Platte Purchase Treaty with the Oto, etc., 1836 Platte Purchase Treaty with the Oto, etc., Discussion, 1836 The Illegal Mormon Treaty 1846 The actual text of the Mormon treaty Brigham Young Illegal Mormon Treaty, 1846 The Mormon Situation Go West to the Indians Culture Clash Mormons face the Western Frontier St. Louis' Indian Affairs Jurisdiction Nauvoo arrives in Nebraska Illegal Mormon Treaty 40,000 Impact Prairie Ecosystem Umonhon dine on Mormon Cattle Young moves in and then asks the Government Harvey visits the Mormon Camp Harvey says, "NO." Mormons send Kane to Washington D. C. Hoses Stout describes a Sioux raid Trouble in Indian Country Mormons dig in for duration Mormons Hustle for Survival Young returns from success in Utah Mormons agree to move out of Umonhon lands Mountain Meadows Massacre Gatewood Treaty History, 1854 Preamble and Articles of the Gatewood Treaty Gatewood Treaty Discussion 1854 Treaty with the Omaha History1854 Treaty with the Omaha 1854 Treaty with the Omaha, Discussion 1854 Treaty with the Omaha, History 1865 Treaty with the Omaha, 1865 Treaty with the Omaha, 1865 Discussion Treaty with the Winnebago History, 1865 Treaty with the Winnebago, 1865 Treaty with the Winnebago Discussion, 1865 An Act to Confirm Agreements History, 1872 An Act to Confirm Agreements 1872 An Act to Confirm Agreements Discussion, 1872 Summary 6 158 160 160 163 165 167 168 169 171 171 172 172 174 175 176 178 179 179 180 181 182 182 183 184 184 186 187 187 188 190 191 193 195 198 201 205 209 212 214 215 216 219 220 223 225 Section Two: Mi’kaçi: Coyote & the Te: Buffaloes Mi’kaçi: Coyote and the Te: Buffaloes Section Two 232 Mi’kaçi: Coyote and the Te: Buffaloes Part One 233 Reservation Maze 241 Dr. Francis La Flesche, Esq.'s Pronunciation Guide 242 Help Mi’kaçi: [Coyote] find the Te: [Buffalo]! 244 Mi’kaçi: Coyote and the Te: Buffaloes Part Two 245 n n Umo ho : Omaha Vocabulary 252 Section 3: Constitution for the Umonhon Nation: Nebraska — Iowa Traditional Umonhon Hu'thuga 254 History of this Constitution 255 Introduction 257 n n Proposed Constitution for the Umo ho Nation: Nebraska — Iowa PREAMBLE 259 LAND 262 DIVISION 1: LAND 262 n n SECTION 1: Umo ho Territory 262 SECTION 2: Allotted and Heirship Lands 263 n n SECTION 3: Ancestral Tribal lands of the Umo ho Nation 264 SECTION 4: Exchange Assignment 264 SECTION 5: Occupancy 266 SECTION 6: Unassigned Land 266 SECTION 7: Acquiring Land for Tribe 266 SECTION 8: Final Decision 266 DIVISION 2: BIODIVERSITY AND NATURAL RESOURCES 266 SECTION 1: Nature and the Environment 266 SECTION 2: Biodiversity 268 SECTION 3: Natural Assets and Ecosystems 269 SECTION 4: Natural Resources 269 SECTION 5: Soil 270 SECTION 6: Water 270 SECTION 7: Biosphere, Urban Ecology, and Alternative Sources of Energy 270 THE PEOPLE 276 n n UMO HO PEOPLE 277 n n DIVISION 3: UMO HO BILL OF RIGHTS 277 OTHRP Note: Neuralink 278 n n DIVISION 4: UMO HO CITIZENSHIP RIGHTS 278 SECTION 1: Citizenship 278 SECTION 2: Water and Food 280 SECTION 3: Healthy Environment 281 SECTION 4: Information and Communication 282 SECTION 5: Culture and Science 282 SECTION 6: Education 283 SECTION 7: Habitat and housing 284 SECTION 8: Health 284 SECTOPM 9: Labor 284 7 SECTION 10: Rights of Priority Persons and Groups SECTION 11: Elderly Women and Men SECTION 12: Young People SECTION 13: Freedom of Movement SECTION 14: Pregnant Women SECTION 15: Children and Adolescents SECTION 16: Adoptions SECTION 17: Persons with disabilities SECTION 18 Persons with Disastrous Diseases DIVISION 5: THE GOOD WAY OF LIVING SYSTEM SECTION 1: Inclusion and Equity SECTION 2: Education SECTION 3: Health SECTION 4: Social Security SECTION 5: Habitat and Housing SECTION 6: Culture SECTION 7: Physical Education and Leisure SECTION 8: Media SECTION 9: Science, Technology, Innovation and Ancestral Wisdom SECTION 10: Risk Management SECTION 11: Population and Human Mobility SECTION 12: Human Safety SECTION 13: Transportation UMOnHOn GOVERNMENT, Proposed New HU’THUGA Traditional Umonhon Family Clan Names Proposed Umonhon Government Structure Proposed Transition Period DIVISION 6: FOUR BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT SECTION 1: Hu’thuga: Tribal Circle SECTION 2: Four Government Bodies SECTION 3. Ni'kagahi xu'de: Earth Leaders: Council SECTION 4: Keepers or Advisors of the Sacred SECTION 5: Governing Body SECTION 6 Ni'kagahi sha'be: Dark Leaders: Ombudsman SECTION 7 Enumerated powers SECTION 8: Ni’kagahi xu’de: Council Procedures SECTION 9. Duties of Umonhon Officers SECTION 10: Oath SECTION 11: Salaries and Expenditures of Umonhon Nation’s Funds SECTION 12: Umonhon National Assembly Meetings SECTION 13: Cooperation SECTION 14: Elections SECTION 15: Electoral Council SECTION 16: Referendum SECTION 17: Suspension, Removal and Vacancies 8 284 285 286 286 287 287 289 289 291 291 291 292 296 297 299 300 302 302 302 303 304 305 305 306 308 309 309 311 311 312 312 312 314 315 315 317 317 319 319 319 320 320 321 322 323 SECTION 18: Referendum SECTION 19: Common Standards for Political and Social Monitoring SECTION 20: Monitoring Government Action DIVISION 7: PARTICIPATION AND ORGANIZATION OF POWER SECTION 1: Habeas Data Proceedings SECTION 2: Proceedings for Failure to Comply SECTION 3: Special Proceedings for Protection SECTION 4: Principles of Participation SECTION 5: Community Organization SECTION 6: Participation in the Different Levels of Government SECTION 7: Umonhon Warrior: Police Force Progressive Peace DIVISION 8: Judicial Branch of Government SECTION 1: Principles of the Judicial Branch SECTION 2: Organization and Functioning SECTION 3: Alternative Means of Dispute Settlement SECTION 4. Office of the Prosecutor and Defense Lawyer SECTION 5: Tribal Lawyer’s Office SECTION 6: Notary Services SECTION 7: Social Rehabilitation SECTION 8: Office of the Comptroller DIVISION 9: Transparency and Social Reach of Government SECTION 1: Nature and Duties SECTION 2 Office of the Ni'kagahi sha'be: Ombudsman DIVISON 10: Public Administration SECTION 1: Public Sector SECTION 2: Public Administration SECTION 3 Public servants DIVISION 11: LABOR AND PRODUCTION SECTION 1: Forms of Organizing Production and Their Management SECTION 2: Types of Property SECTION 3: Forms of Work and Pay DIVISION 12: Umonhon DEVELOPMENT STRUCTURE SECTION 1: General Principles SECTION 2: Participatory Planning for Development DIVISION 13: ECONOMIC SOVEREIGNTY SECTION 1: Umonhon Economic System and Economic Policy SECTION 2: Umonhon Fiscal Policy SECTION 3: Public Borrowing SECTION 4: Umonhon General Budget SECTION 5: Umonhon Tax System SECTION 6: Umonhon Monetary, Foreign Exchange, Credit & Financial Policy SECTION 7: Umonhon Trade Policy SECTION 8: Umonhon Financial System SECTION 9: Strategic Sectors, Services and Enterprises 9 324 325 325 326 326 326 327 327 327 328 328 329 330 332 333 333 333 334 335 335 336 337 337 337 338 338 339 339 341 341 341 341 343 343 345 345 345 346 347 348 349 350 350 351 352 SECTION 10: Democratization of Inputs SECTION 11: Commerce and Fair Trade SECTION 12: Savings and Investment DIVISION 14: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS SECTION 1: Principles Governing International Relations DIVISION 15: SUPREMACY OF THE CONSTITUTION SECTION 1: Principles SECTION 2: Umonhon Constitutional Court SECTION 3: Amending the Umonhon Constitution SECTION 4:Transitory Provisions SECTION 5: Repeal Provision SECTION 6: Transition System SECTION 7: Adoption of Constitution and Bylaws CERTIFICATION Indian Police Force Umonhon and Winnebago Agency 1892-1902 Bibliography APPENDIX United Nations' Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples United States Endorses International Declaration On Indigenous Rights Dennis Hastings, BA, MA, Ph.D. Margery Coffey, BFA, MA, Ph.D. 355 355 356 356 357 358 358 359 361 362 367 367 368 368 372 374 377 379 390 395 396 “Eyonia,” Ilka Hartman, OTHRP Archives Illustrations Nishu’de Ke: Missouri River Umonhon Tribe traveling along the ridge next to Nishu'de Ke Dedication Bouquet, Cottonwood leaves, Umonhon Woman Cooking Umonhon travois Eyonia Unknown Umonhon boy and girl 10 Front Cover 1 2 3 10 14 Section One: Dancing the Way to Peace 1493-1872 Dancing the Way to Peace 1493—1872 Country Known to the Umonhon [MAP] Legal Signature, Waiting for Rent Money Gahi'ge, an Old Umonhon [Leader] Kaxe'nonba, Who frequently served as a "soldier" Rattlesnake heads and fangs Ni Shu’de Ke: Missouri River Robert Furnas Frank La Flesche, Henry Fontenelle, I'-ba'han-bi Ka'xe' thon-be, Inshta monze: Iron Eyes: Joseph La Flesche and La Flesche Trading Post Joseph La Flesche, 1854 Plowing on the reservation Consensus Flow Chart [CHART] Meadowlark Perch Original Umonhon Government in diagram form [DIAGRAM] Maize Unknown Umonhon baby, Home Starting at the beginning . . . ., Mu’xanonzhin Pope Alexander VI and Christopher Columbus Umonhon Earthen Lodge "Mission at Bellevue" Bison in the Snow Carlos IV, King of Spain and the Indies Thomas Jefferson, 1810, Map of the Louisiana Purchase [MAP] Thomas Jefferson 1803 United State’s Silver Dollar: Liberty Lewis & Clark, Missouri River Pilings Keelboat reproduction of those used by Lewis and Clark Pirogue boats reproductions of those used by Lewis and Clark Meriwether Lewis John Evans' Map of the Upper Missouri River Area (1795) [MAP] Detail from Clark's Map, 1814 [MAP] William Clark Sacajawea Bust of York, Clark’s Manservant York, Clark's Manservant Adult Newfoundland dog Bellevue Interior of the trading post at Bellevue, 1852 Snags on the Missouri River Umonhon Bull boat Bald Eagle Frontier alcohol as it was served in the 19th century Cloud Shield’s Winter Count Pictograph 11 15 16 20 21 32 34 36 37 39 40 41 43 44 45 48 49 50 51 52 54 61 64 66 67 71 75 76 77 83 84 85 86 87 89 90 91 95 97 98 100 101 103 104 105 Elk Daytime Smoker Sketch of Prairie dogs in traditional greeting Sketch of Bison with Prairie Dog on the Great Plains Crow Typical Prairie Dog eradication kill White Buffalo Four Leaders Home [A]Wehe: Pestle, [B] Uhe: mortar; Maize Umonhon tipi Umonhon home life around a tipi Umonhon Coming Home Umonhon Council, Umonhon Couple, Umonhon Children Portraits from the Res General William Clark Presidents of the Treaty Period [CHART] James Madison Spear and Shield James Monroe Fort Atkinson John Quincey Adams Language of the Robe: Watching for a Sweetheart View of the Great Treaty Held at Prairie du Chien, September, 1825 Andrew Jackson Language of the Robe: Old Man Walking Old House, Hastings place Language of the Robe: Hesitation Leaf Motif Andrew Jackson Umonhon beading on panel, Nishu'da Ke: Missouri River bluffs Home at a tipi American Flag Andrew Jackson Illegal Mormon Treaty 1846 James Knox Polk, Damage from the Mormon Trail — Iowa and Nebraska Brigham Young, Brigham Young when he was in Nebraska 21 of Brigham Young’s 55 wives [picture] James Knox Polk Joseph Smith, Jr. Mormon wagon train fording the South Platte River near Fremont’s Spring Mormons crossing the plains with Hand carts from Florence, Neb. Trail ruts in Nebraska’s Sandhills from the Mormon Trail Trail ruts from the Mormon Trail in Iowa Mormon camp, Wyoming, Nebraska 12 107 108 109 110 111 113 115 116 117 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 132 134 135 138 139 142 145 146 154 155 156 157 158 159 161 162 163 167 168 169 170 171 172 172 175 176 177 181 Gadsden Purchase of 1854 [MAP] Umonhon Gloves Franklin Pierce Umonhon moccasins Language of the Robe: Admonition — Change of Mind Language of the Robe: Addressing Tribe or Council Franklin Pierce Axe and hand ball catcher Language of the Robe: Walking Andrew Johnson, Yellowstone Steamboat Hin-na-gi” and “Mud Lodge Andrew Johnson, Language of the Robe: Anger Language of the Robe: Public Watching Ulysses S. Grant Language of the Robe: About to Run Sacred Medicine, Skunk Hollow [Old Macy] The era was ending Umonhon: Omaha Ewithe Wongithe Changing Times Canoe, Two Umonhon Women and baby Section 2: Mi’kaçi: Coyote and the Te: Buffaloes Section 2: Mi’kaçi: Coyote and the Te: Buffaloes Mi’kaçi: Coyote and the Te: Buffaloes Part One Reservation Maze Dr. Francis La Flesche, Esq.'s Pronunciation Guide Help Mi’kaçi: [Coyote] find the Te: [Buffalo]! Mi’kaçi: Coyote and the Te: Buffaloes Part Two Missouri River Ferry, Missouri River Section 3: Constitution for the Umonhon Nation: Nebraska — Iowa Traditional Umonhon Hu’thuga OTHRP Logo, Canoe and Sun Peyote Prayer Going Home, Snow Trillium Feathering the Four Hills Umonhon LAND, Reservation Hills Sacred Road Sacred Objects from the Peabody Museum Mrs. George Miller and baby in cradleboard, 1935 He’dewachi, Umonhon Moccasins, 1938 He’dewachi Crossing Culture 13 189 190 191 194 195 196 198 208 208 209 211 214 215 217 218 220 224 225 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 241 242 244 245 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 271 272 273 274 The People, He’dewachi, Umonhon family at He’dewachi ca. 1918 The People Tribal Council 1910 Umonhon Pipe Proposed New Hu’thuga James Blackbird Scraping a skin, Dressing Skins Tools A. We'bazhabe, B. We'uhi The Government Tribal Council with Thomas Sloan Bison The Weawan or Calumet pipe Oliver Turner, Howard Frost, Calvin Tyndall, Jr., Umonhon Tribal Council 1936 Migration of the Five Cognate Tribes Omaha: Umonhon Lieutenant Colonel Caryl L. Picotte, Sr. on his horse "Radar Umonhon voters, 1883-84, 1800 desk set Mrs. Harry Lyons with horse travois in front of the Old Macy school building, Presbyterian Mission School Louis Saunsoci, Ma-ha-nini-ga: No Knife, Joseph La Flesche, Inshta-monçe Reservation hills Arrow Release Umonhon Carpenters 1868, Umonhon Moccasins Umonhon Moccasins He’dewachi 1918, Anna Sloan 391 He’dewachi 1971 Ilka Hartman 392 Old Pier Pilings on the Missouri River 1 393 Old Pier Pilings on the Missouri River 2 394 Dennis Hastings 395 Margery Coffey 396 The Feeding, Umonhon Wau, Baby Mama 396 Jingle Dancer on the ridge 397 n n Umo ho Prayer 398 n Ewithe Wo githe Back Cover 275 276 305 305 306 307 308 310 311 367 368 369 370 371 376 377 378 388 389 390 390 Unknown Umonhon boy and girl, OTHRP Archives 14 1493 — 1872 “The Umonhon and Oglala made peace.” Cloud-Shield's winter count 1791-1792 The Umonhon and the Oglala danced their way into a peace treaty in 1791-1792 as depicted in this pictograph. The Umonhon is on the left and the Oglala on the right. OTHRP Archives Missouri River on the Reservation, Jeff Mohr, OTHRP Archives "Explanation: The extensive shaded area represents the country known to the [Umonhon]; the included area of darker shading (cross hatched), the country occupied by the [Umonhon]; and the small rectangle bounded on the east by the Missouri River, the [Umonhon] reservation." Dr. Francis La Flesche, Esq. and Alice Cunningham Fletcher. “Omaha Tribe” 27, Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1905-1906, Washington DC. 1911, Insert o Country Known to the Umonhon TRP has superimposed the outline of the states on this map, shading Nebraska (1), to place the lands in perspective; (2) corresponds to the country known by the Umonhon after they left the Ohio River valley. It was shared hunting territory with related nations and nations who were friends. It includes almost all of Nebraska; the "area of darker shading." The country exclusively used by the Umonhon is (3) and (4) is the Umonhon reservation. The date of the map is ca. 1906. The area known to the Umonhon was not recognized by the United States; arbitrary boundaries were drawn. The Umonhon claims of the lands in Iowa and Missouri were conceded in 1830 and 1836 treaties. The Umonhon rightful claim to a portion of South Dakota was totally ignored. Section (3) should cross the Missouri and include large portions of northern Iowa and parts of Kansas and Missouri as well. The Iowa portion was recognized in the 1830 treaty, Missouri 1836 treaty. Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas and South Dakota portions are still not recognized. Umonhon got their pipestone from Minnesota so there is a claim, too. 16 Dancing The Way To Peace 1493 — 1872 T Introduction n n he Umo ho , a sovereign Indigenous People of the Americas, are one of the most documented Aboriginal People of the North American Continent. Starting with French traders in the 17th Century and prominently noted in the 1804-06 Corps of Discovery, military expedition of Lewis and Clark, which documented the He'dewachi Harvest celebration now known as “Powwow”, the Umonhon have been consistently spoken of in both Euro-American scholarly and historic literature. While many rituals and much of the ancestral practice has been lost due to diseases, wars and cultural genocide, enough has survived to be able to restructure and rebuild a successful way of life from the past into a new modern, uniquely, Umonhon Nation of the 21st Century. The current mode of tribal government does not work for the people. A few tribal families dominate and the majority's needs are not addressed. Why? An imposed Federal system based upon and controlled by the United States Government, which, after a mere 240 years, is collapsing from the same problems that were built into both the U.S. and the "make-believe" tribal infrastructures. Flawed from the beginning, this system creates inequality. While both the Continental Congress and later U.S. Constitution itself used as a model the Law of Great Peace of the Six Nations Confederacy — the U.S. Congress acknowledged as such in 1988 — the Euro-Americans had left out two vital parts: abolition of slavery and equality for women. This tipped the balance to the Euro-American male landowners, who later provided landless Euro-American males parcels through the Homestead Act to move up the system and the middle class was born. All others were forced into poverty. In order to have value, there must be no-value as well. The U.S. Constitution also took much of its content from earlier European governmental and legal systems which date back to antiquity, dealing primarily with economic issues. This is how Capitalism originated upon the American continent, and the resultant practice and the inequitable policies it follows kept much of the failed concepts with it. Ultimately capitalism created class systems where a few become fabulously wealthy while the vast majority is forced into a peasant or poverty class. A system based upon creating "Value" automatically creates No-Value as a byproduct. A system based instead on “Nurture” serves all the people. It is the exact reverse of Capitalism. The second flaw “in the ways of governance” imposed by Euro-Americans upon tribal people is a small book called Robert's Rules of Order, which lays out a voting system presented “as the fairest way to make decisions.” It is not. The 17 structure is highly corruptible and leaves an unhappy minority who is not heard. A much older tribal system called Consensus is far more equitable and creates a united people with no disgruntled minority. That is often what ancestral tribal government used to solve problems rather than to make a profit off of creating problems. A major stumbling block for the Umonhon and several other tribes as well, is the constitution they were forced to accept in 1934. It is a “cookie cutter” document that does not reflect Native American wisdom but instead reinforces the corrupt Indian agent’s schemes of the 19th century by creating a paper chief system that has absolute power and no method to appeal a decision. This codified the government into looting the monies that came into the poorest Nations with a highway for officials to loot the treasury for their own personal gain complete with corrupt lawyers and government agents to assure that the system continues. Many Native Nations have rejected such a sloppy and nonproductive document for locally created ones. The Umonhon are working towards a similar solution to stop the massive corruption and to help heal their people. The first section of this book, Dancing The Way To Peace 1493 — 1872, is based upon OTHRP's Umonhon studies over its 40 year existence. It shows the possibility of returning to the original Umonhon government in 21st Century terms. The first article is drawn from La Flesche and Fletcher in 1911, [27th Annual Report] and has been changed from the original. Old-fashioned words and phrases have either been removed or modernized, such as "gens" and "gentes" replaced with "clan". This is because Euro-American scholars emphasize inheritance and distinguish "gens" as patriarchal — "clan entry" determined by the father's gens — and the term "clan" is then given to the matriarchal tribes who determine "clan entry" through the mother's clan. Umonhon are considered patriarchal by this thinking and therefore would be "gens." The Umonhon do not use the word "gens" at all but instead use "clan,” and their inheritance is not distributed according to Euro-American beliefs. The “proper” language used to describe another culture at the turn of the 19th century is no longer appropriate in the 21st century. Words like “squaw” and “chief” have become insults, logos and jokes, not respectful terms for either women or men. The use of “tribe” instead of “Nation” is also a put down. Even rendering the words of sacred songs are put in the terms “Christians” understand instead of understanding the real definitions of sacred items for Native Americans. The English language, certainly as Americans define it, is made up of many languages and most of them negative or overly dramatic terms. OTHRP takes care in finding alternative terms that will be readily understood that reflect the spirit of the beauty of simplicity of ancient songs. When we make such changes we put our choice in [brackets]. After the La Flesche/Fletcher section, there is a brief showcase of a pivotal point in history where the Indian Agent of record threw an Umonhon leader off his own reservation. Thus the beginning of agent approved leaders only and the term for it became “paper chiefs.” 18 This is followed by a discussion of the Consensus process which is how decisions were made prior to the Euro-American. There is a brief discussion as to how a new constitution can change the focus from self to community by using the ancient system as a blueprint. The first attempt to create a legal definition for stealing land came from Rome. Pope Alexander VI on May 4, 1493 created a Papal Bull at the urging of Christopher Columbus. This document gave Euro-Americans the “right” to take the lands of non-Christians for their own. A license to steal was what it became. We show the history and a copy of the document as well as the rescinding pronouncement from Pope Francis in 2015. This book then presents a copy of all the documents that were used to toss the Louisiana Territory back and forth between France and Spain ending up with the Louisiana Purchase. This sets up the Lewis and Clark’s famous “Corps of Discovery” which highlights major differences from the “official” point of view. After Lewis and Clark we have added portions from a Master Thesis by Tamie Sawaged in 2001 at the University of Nebraska. Sawaged created a nice overview of 19th century Umonhon life based upon James Owen Dorsey, Dr. Francis La Flesche, Esq. and Alice Fletcher. It gives a good contrast to the “Corps of Discovery” by understanding that there was an Umonhon Nation that functioned very well before the Euro-Americans invaded their lands. There were nine treaties that were signed officially with the Umonhon along with an illegal treaty created by the Mormons as they passed through Umonhon country. There was also a precursor to the 1854 treaty called the Gatewood Treaty which was never signed by either side and then finally the first Act, a form that replaced the treaties in 1872. The second section is an Umonhon traditional folk tale of Coyote and Buffalo. Umonhon words and their meaning are used in within the text and a pronunciation guide by Dr. La Flesche follows. There are games to play. The third section, Constitution for the Umonhon Nation: Nebraska — Iowa, contains a proposed constitution that OTHRP created at the request of some of the elders of the tribe. An appendix follows with the Declaration of Indigenous Rights created by the United Nations and passed September 13, 2007. The U. S. adopted it in December 17, 2010. The book ends with the listing of Indian Police Force at the Umo nhon and Winnebago Agency from 1892-1902. Many of these men also served in World War I, in spite of the fact that they were not U. S. citizens. The Umonhon people’s story lies unfolding across these pages. They are the reasons that Native Americans cannot let go of the genocide experienced at the hands of the Euro-Americans. It is the example as to why war will never solve problems, it only makes a bad situation worse. When people are wronged, they never forget. It is passed on both genetically and generationally. 19 If the United States is going to survive at all, it must end the current collapse of a failing capitalism that cannot succeed because its failure is built into the system. When fabulous wealth is created within a society, devastating poverty is also created. In order to define value, non value must exist. When this is applied to sexual orientation, gender, race, religion or even township, etc. its very destruction is built into the prosperity of a few. It has been a privilege to work with the historical record of a Native American Nation. The treatment of the Native Americans is the point where everything went wrong. It will not return to balance until this is faced and changed. It can never go back to what it was, but it will be able to at long last begin the ancient healing practice that will eventually spread throughout the world. Wi’bthahan Ine-çka [Dennis Hastings] Margery Coffey [Mi'onbathin] richard chilton His Mark [L. S.] Her Mark [L. S.] His Mark (L. S.] [L. S.] stands for “Legal Signature. Waiting for Rent Money OTHRP Archives 20 Umonhon TRIBAL GOVERNMENT: Then Development of Political Unity T he tribal organization of the [Umonhon] and [related nations], as it stood in the early part of the nineteenth century, shows that a tendency had existed toward disintegration because of a lack of close political organizations, and that various expedients for holding the people together had been tried. This weakness seems to have been especially felt when the people were in the buffalo country; groups would wander away, following the game, and become lost. Occasionally they were discovered and would rejoin the main body, as has been shown in the case of the Hon'ga utanatsi of the Osage tribe. The environment of the people did not foster sedentary habits, such as would have tended toward a close political union; therefore the nature of the country in which these [related nations] dwelt, added to rather than lessened the danger of disintegration. Some form of organization had long existed among the people, but the frequent separations that took place emphasized the importance of maintaining the unity of the tribe, and the problem of devising means to secure this essential result was a matter of serious concern to the thinking and constructive minds among the people. The Sacred Legend. . .says: And the people thought, How can we better ourselves? Gahi'ge an Old Umonhon [Leader] La Flesche/Fletcher, Ibid. insert between pp. 204-205 The ideas [are] fundamental to the tribal organization of the [Umonhon] and their [related nations connected] to the creation and perpetuation of living creatures. The expression of these ideas in the dramatic form of rites seems to have been early achieved and those which symbolically present the connection of cosmic forces with the birth and well-being of mankind seem to have persisted in whole or in part throughout the various experiences of the five cognate tribes, and to have kept an important place in tribal life. These rites constitute what may be regarded as the lower stratum of religious ceremonies — for example, in the 21 recognition of the vital relation of the Wind, as shown in the ceremony of Turning the Child, performed when it entered on its tribal life; in the names bestowed on females, which generally refer to natural phenomena or objects rather than to religious observances; in the ceremonies connected with Thunder as the god of war and arbiter of the life and death of man. There are indications that other rites relating to cosmic forces have been lost in the passage of years. Among the [Umonhon] certain articles still survive rites long since disused, as the Cedar Pole and the Sacred Shell, both of which were preserved until recently in the Sacred Tent of War in charge of the We'zhinshte [clan]. It is probable that the rites connected with the Sacred Shell were the older and that they once held an important place and exercised a widespread influence in the tribe, as indicated by the reverence and fear with which this object was regarded by the people of every [Umonhon] clan. Other [Umonhon] rites, as has been shown, have ceased to be observed — those connected with the thunder, the stars, and the winds. The disappearance of former rites may indicate physiographic changes experienced by the people, which affected their food supply, [job]s, and other phases of life, thereby causing certain rites to be superseded by others more in harmony with a changed environment. Thus life in the buffalo country naturally resulted in rites which pertained to hunting the buffalo finally taking precedence over those which pertained to the cultivation of the maize. There are indications that under these and other disturbing and disintegrating influences certain ceremonies were instituted to counteract these tendencies by fostering tribal consciousness in order to help to bind the people together. The Hede'wachi ceremony is of this character and seems to date far back in the history of the [Umonhon] tribe. It is impossible to trace as in a sequence the growth of the idea of the desirability of political unity, for there were many influences, religious and secular, at work to bring about modifications of customs and actual changes in government. The efforts to regulate warfare and to place it under greater control and at the same time to enhance the honor with which the warrior was to be regarded seem to have been among the first steps taken toward developing a definite governing power within the tribe. The act of placing the rites pertaining to war in charge of one clan was probably the result of combined influences. When this modification of earlier forms was accomplished a new name seems to have been given to the clan holding this office, and thus the present term We'zhinshte came into use. The former name of this kinship group is not known, but judging from analogy it probably had reference to one or the other of the lost ceremonies connected with the sacred articles left in its care. While the segregation of the war power may have tended to stay some of the disintegrating tendencies it did not have the positive unifying force that was desired. If other devices were tried to bring about this result nothing is known of them. 22 The Sacred Legend and other accounts tell the story of the way in which a central governing body was finally formed and all agree that it was devised for the purpose of "holding the people together." One version speaks of seven old men who, while visitors to the tribe, inaugurated the governing council. The Sacred Legend declares that the council was the outcome of "thought" and "consultation among the wise old men," their purpose taking form in the plan to establish a Nini'baton* subdivision in some of the clans, each subdivision to furnish one member to the council, which was to be the governing authority, exercising control over the people, maintaining peace in the tribe, but having no relation to offensive warfare. According to the Legend account of the formation of the Nini'baton, "two old men," one from the Hon'ga clan and the other from the Inke'çabe clan, were commissioned to carry out the plan of the "wise old men." The term "old" is one of respect and indicates that these men had gained wisdom from experience, and that their plan was the result of knowledge and thought concerning actual conditions in the past and in the present, rather than one based on speculative notions. The "two old men" were entrusted with the two Sacred Tribal Pipes; as they passed around the hu'thuga they would stop at a certain [clan], designating a family which was to become a Nini'baton and making this choice official by the presentation of a pipe. For some unknown reason in this circuit of the tribe the "old men" passed by the I ngthe'zhide [clan] and did not give them a pipe. Nor was a pipe given to the We'zhinshte [clan] or to the Hon'ga [clan]. It was explained concerning these latter omissions that the We'zhinshte had already been given the control of the war rites of the tribe, while the duties of the council formed from the Nini'bato n subdivisions were to be solely in the interest of peace, and to the Hon'ga [clan] was to belong the duty of calling together this governing council. The two Sacred pipes carried by the "two old men" were their credentials. The authority of these two pipes must have been of long standing and undisputed by the people in order to have made it possible for their bearers to inaugurate such an innovation as setting apart a certain family within a [clan] and giving it to a new class of duties — duties that were to be civil and not connected with the established rights of the [clans]. These new duties did not conflict with any of such rites, nor did they deprive the Nini'baton families from participating in them. A new class of obligations to Wakon'da and to all persons composing the tribe were laid upon the Nini'bato n and the new council. *The word nin'baton means "to possess a pipe." The origin of the significant use of the pipe lies in a remote past. Among the [Umonhon] and [related nations,] the pipe was regarded as a medium by which the breath of man ascended to Wakon'da through the fragrant smoke and conveyed the prayer or aspiration of the person smoking; the act also partook of the nature of an oath, an affirmation to attest sincerity and responsibility. The pipe was a credential known and respected by all. 23 [Leader]ship T he earliest tradition among the [Umonhon] as to the establishment of leaders is contained in the story already recounted concerning the formation of the Nini'baton and governing council, which was to be composed of hereditary leaders. How long the hereditary character was maintained and what had previously constituted leadership in the tribe are not known, nor is there any knowledge as to how the change from hereditary to competitive membership in the council came about. It may be that the change was the result of increasing recognition of the importance of strengthening the power of the governing council by making it both the source and the goal of tribal honors, thus enhancing its authority and at the same time emphasizing the desirability of tribal unity. All that [La Flesche/Fletcher] have been able to ascertain concerning the change in the composition of the council from hereditary to competitive membership has been that it took place several generations ago, how many could not be learned. Orders of [Leaders] T he period of the establishment of these orders is lost in the past, but internal evidence seems to point to their formation after the council with its Nini'baton membership had been fully established and accepted by the people. There were two orders of [leader]s, the Ni'kagahi xu'de and the Ni'kagahi sha'be. The name of the first (ni'kagahi, "[leader];" xu'de, "brown") has reference to a uniform color, as of the brown earth, where all are practically alike, of one hue or rank. The Ni'kagahi xu'de order was unlimited as to membership, but admittance into it depended upon the consent of the Ni'kagahi sha'be (ni'kagahi, "[leader];" sha'be, "dark"). The word sha'be does not refer to color, but to the appearance of an object raised above the uniform level and seen against the horizon as a dark object. Men who had risen from the Ni'kagahi xu'de into the limited order of the Ni'kagahi sha'be were regarded as elevated before the people. Wathin'ethe: performance of certain acts E ntrance into the Ni'kagahi sha'be was possible only when a vacancy occurred, and then only to a member of the order of Ni'kagahi xu'de after the performance of certain acts known as within'ethe (from wa, "thing having power;" thin, from thin'ge, "nothing;" the, "to make" or "to cause," the word meaning something done or given for which there is no material return but through which honor is received). Wathin'ethe stands for acts and gifts which do not directly add to the comfort and wealth of the actor or donor, but which have relation to the welfare of the tribe by promoting internal order and peace, by providing for the [leaders] and keepers, by assuring friendly relations with other tribes; they partook therefore of a public rather 24 than a private character, and while they opened a man's way to tribal honors and position, they did so by serving the welfare of all the people. Entrance into the order of Ni'kagahi xu'de was through the performance of certain wathin'ethe;in this instance the gifts of the aspirant were made solely to the Seven [Leaders]. The election of members to the order of Ni'kagahi xu'de took place at a meeting of the Ni'kagahi sha'be called by the leaders of the Hon'ga clan for this purpose. After the tribal pipes had been smoked the name of a candidate was mentioned, and his record and the number and value of his gifts were canvassed. The prescribed articles used in making these gifts were eagles, eagle war bonnets, quivers (including bows and arrows), [pipestone] pipes with ornamented stems, tobacco pouches, otter skins, buffalo robes, ornamented shirts, and leggings. In olden times, burden-bearing dogs, tents, and pottery were given; in recent times these have been replaced by horses, guns, blankets, blue and red cloth, silver medals, and copper kettles. It is noteworthy that all the raw materials used in construction, as well as the unmanufactured articles of the early native type, were such as required of the candidate prowess as a hunter, care in accumulating, and skilled industry. A man often had to travel far to acquire some of these articles, and be exposed to danger from enemies in securing and bringing them home, so that they represented, besides industry as a hunter, bravery and skill as a warrior. Moreover, as upon the men devolved the arduous task of procuring all the meat for food and the pelts used to make clothing, bedding, and [tipis], and as there was no common medium of exchange for labor in the tribe, such as money affords, each household had to provide from the very foundation, so to speak, every article it used or consumed. It will therefore be seen that persistent work on the part of a man aspiring to enter the order of [leader] was necessary, as he must not only provide food and clothing for the daily use of his family, but accumulate a surplus so as to obtain leisure for the construction of the articles to be counted as wathin'ethe. The men made the bows and arrows, the war bonnets, and the pipes; the ornamentation was the woman's task. Her deft fingers prepared the porcupine quills after her husband or brother had caught the wary little animals. For the slow task of dyeing the quills and embroidering with them she needed a house well stocked with food and defended from lurking war parties, in order to have time and security for her work. A lazy fellow or an impulsive, improvident man could not acquire the property represented by these gifts. There was no prescribed number of gifts demanded for entrance into the Xu'de order but they had to be sufficient to warrant the [leaders] in admitting him, for the man once in the order could, by persistent industry and care, rise so as to become a candidate for the order of Sha'be when a vacancy occurred. When a favorable decision as to the candidate was reached the [leaders] arose and followed the Sacred Pipes, borne reverently, with the stems elevated, by the two leading [leaders]. Thus led, the company walked slowly 25 about the camp to the lodge of the man who had been elected a Xu'de and paused before the door. At this point the man had the option to refuse or to accept the honor. If he should say" "I do not wish to become a [leader]," and wave away the tribal pipes offered him to smoke, thus refusing permission to the [leaders] to enter his lodge, they would pass on, leaving him as though he had not been elected. When the man accepted the position he smoked the pipes as they were offered, whereupon the [leaders] entered his lodge, bearing the pipes before them, and slowly passed around his fireplace. This act signified to all the tribe that the man was thenceforth a [leader], a member of the order of Ni'kagahi xu'de. He was now eligible to other honors — all of which, however, depended upon further efforts on his part. Eligibility to enter the order of Ni'kagahi sha'be depended upon the performance of certain graded within'ethe. Vacancies occurred only by death or by resignation of very old men. A vacancy was filled by the one in the Xu'de order who could "count" the most within'ethe given to the [leader]s or who had performed the graded acts of the within'ethe. The order and value of these graded acts were not generally known to the people, nor even to all the [leaders] of the Xu'de. Those who became possessed of this knowledge were apt to keep it for the benefit of their aspiring kinsmen. The lack of this knowledge, it is said, occasionally cost a man the loss of an advantage which he would otherwise have had. There were seven grades of within'ethe the performance of which made a man eligible to a place in the order of Ni'kagahi sha'be. They ranked as follows: First. Washa'be ga'xe (washa'be, "and official staff;" ga'xe, "to make"). This grade consisted in procuring the materials necessary to make the washa'be, an ornamented staff carried by the leader of the annual buffalo hunt. These materials were a dressed buffalo skin, a crow, two eagles, a shell disk, sinew, a pipe with an ornamented stem, and, in olden times, a cooking vessel of pottery, replaced in modern times by a copper kettle. The money value of these articles, rated by ordinary trading terms, was not less than $100 to $130. The performance of the first grade four times would constitute the highest act possible for a man. No [Umonhon] has ever accomplished this act so many times. Second. Bon'wakithe ("I caused the herald to call"). The aspirant requested the tribal herald to summon the Ni'kagahi sha'be together with the keeper of the ritual used in filling the Sacred Pipes, from the Inshta'çunda clan, to a feast. Besides providing for the feast, gifts of leggings, robes, bows and arrows, and tobacco were required as gifts for the guests. If it chanced that the aspirant for honors was not on friendly terms with the keeper of the ritual, or if from any other motive the keeper desired to check the man's ambition, it lay in his power to thwart it by allowing the pipes to remain unfilled, in which case the gifts and feast went for nothing. Third. U'gashkegthon ("to tether a horse"). A man would make a feast for 26 the Ni'kagahi sha'be and tie at the door of his [tipi] a horse with a new robe thrown over it. The horse and the robe were gifts to his guests. A man once gained renown by "counting" seven acts of this grade performing four in one day. Fourth. Gaçi'ge nonshton wakithe (gaçi'ge, "marching abreast;" nonshton, "to halt;" wakithe, "to make or cause", "causing the people to halt." This act was possible only during the annual hunt. As the people were moving, the Sacred Pole and the governing [leaders] in advance, a man would bring a horse or a new robe and present it to the Pole. The gift was appropriated by the Waxthe'xeton sub[clan] of the Hon'ga, who had charge of the Pole. During this act the entire tribe halted, while the herald proclaimed the name of the giver. This act should be repeated four times in one day. Fifth. Te thishke' wakithe (te, "buffalo;" thishke', "to untie;" wakithe, "to make or cause"), "causing the Sacred White Buffalo Hide to be opened and shown." During this ceremony of exhibiting the White Buffalo Hide a shell disk or some other article of value was presented to the Hide, the gifts becoming the property of the Waxthe'beton sub-[clan] of the Hon'ga, who had charge of this sacred object. This act had to be repeated four times in one day. Sixth. Wa't'edonbe (wa, "things having power and purpose;" t'e, "dead;" donbe, "to see"). This act consisted in taking gifts to the family of a [leader] when a death occurred. The costliest donation remembered to have been made under this class was on the occasion of the death of the son of old Big Elk, who died of smallpox in the early part of the nineteenth century, when a fine horse on which was spread a bearskin was offered in honor of the dead. Seventh. When a person had been killed accidentally or in anger the [leaders] took the Sacred Tribal Pipes to the kindred of the man, accompanied by gifts, in order to prevent any revengeful act. All those who contributed toward these gifts could "count" them as belonging to the seventh grade. If the aggrieved party smoked the pipe and accepted the gifts, bloodshed was averted and peace maintained in the tribe. All of the gifts constituting these seven grades were made to the [leaders] of the governing council in recognition of their authority. They were for a definite purpose — to enable the giver to secure entrance into the order of Ni'kagahi sha'be whenever a vacancy should occur in that body. It will be noticed that the act constituting the first grade differed from the other six in that it was not a direct gift made to the [leaders], but was connected with the ceremonial staff of the leader of the annual buffalo hunt. It was, however, a recognition of authority, an authority which held the people in order and made it possible for each family to secure its supply of food 27 and clothing. It was therefore, in its intrinsic character, in harmony with the purpose of the other six graded within'ethe. Waba'hon, designated an act not belonging to the regular within'ethe, but esteemed as a generous deed that redounded to the credit of the doer. The term means "to raise or push up," and refers to placing a deer, buffalo, or elk on its breast and putting bits of tobacco along its back, all of which signified that the hunter had dedicated the animal as a gift to the [leaders]. A [leader] could not receive such a gift unless he had performed the act of waba'hon four times. If he had not performed the acts and desired to receive the gift he could call on his near of kin to help him to "count." If he was able to "count" four waba'hon himself, he could then keep the entire animal for his own use. In admitting a man to either order of [leaders] his personal character was always taken in-to consideration. If he was of a disputatious or quarrelsome nature no amount of gifts would secure his election to the order of Ni'kagahi xu'de or make possible a place for him in the Ni'kagahi sha'be. The maxim was: "A [leader] must be a man who can govern himself." The Council of Seven [Leaders] T he origin of this governing council as given in the Sacred Legend and elsewhere has been recounted and the change from the early form of hereditary membership mentioned. The institution of a small body representing the entire tribe, to have full control of the people, to settle all contentions, and to subordinate all factions to a central authority, was an important governmental movement. The credential of this authority both for the act of its creation and for the exercise of its functions was the presence and ceremonial use of the two Sacred Tribal Pipes. The two stood for the fundamental idea in the dual organization of the hu'thuga. This was recognized also in the ceremonial custody and preparation of the Pipes. The keeping of them belonged to the Inke'çabe [clan] of the southern (earth) side of the hu'thuga; the office of ceremonially filling the Pipes, making them ready for use, was vested in the Inshta'çunda [clan] of the northern (upper) realm of the hu'thuga, representative of the abode of the supernatural forces to which man must appeal for help. Through the ceremonies and use of the two Sacred pipes the halves of the hu'thuga were welded, as it were, the Pipes thus becoming representative of the tribe as a whole. The prominence given to the Pipes, as the credential of the "old men," as their authority in the creation of [leader]s and the governing council, seems to indicate that the institution of the Nini'baton and the establishment of the Council, although a progressive movement, was a growth, a development of earlier forms, rather than an invention of arbitrary arrangement of the "old men." The retaining of the two Pipes as the supreme or confirmatory authority within the council rather than giving that power to a head [leader] was consonant with the fundamental idea embodied in the tribal organization! The number of the council 28 (seven) probably had its origin in the significance of the number which represented the whole of man's environment — the four quarters where were the four paths down which the Above came to the Below, where stood man. The ancient ideas and beliefs of the people concerning man's relation to the cosmos were thus interwoven with their latest social achievement, the establishment of a representative governing body. Whether the ornamentation of the two Tribal Pipes was authorized at this time is not known; but it is probable that in this as in every other arrangement there was the adaptation or modification of some old and accepted form of expression to meet the needs of newer conditions. It is said that the seven woodpecker heads on one of the Tribal Pipes stood for the seven [leader]s that composed the governing council, while the use of but one woodpecker head on the other pipe represented the unity of authority of the [leaders]. This explanation explains only in part. The reason for the choice of the woodpecker as a symbol lies far back in the history of the people, and it may be that it did not originate in this linguistic group. In myths found throughout a wide region this bird was connected with the sun. It was used on the calumet pipes, which had a wide range, covering almost the whole of the Mississippi drainage. It is not improbable that the woodpecker symbol was accepted at the time the calumet ceremony became known to the [Umonhon] and adopted as a symbol of peaceful authority, but a definite statement on the subject [in 1906] is impossible. The seven members of the council belonged to the order of Ni'kagahi sha'be, in fact they may be said to have represented that order in which each man held his place until death or voluntary resignation. Five other persons were entitled to attend the meetings of the council, being of an ex officio class: The keeper of the Sacred Pole; the keeper of the Sacred Buffalo Hide; the keeper of the two Sacred Tribal Pipes; the keeper of the ritual used when filling them; and the keeper of the Sacred Tent of War. None of these five keeper s had a voice in the decisions of the council, the responsibility of deciding devolving solely on the Seven [Leader]s who composed the council proper. At council meetings the men sat in a semicircle. The two [leaders] who could count the greatest number of within'ethe were called Ni'kagahi u'zhu (u'zhu "principal"); these [leaders] sat side by side back of the fireplace, facing the east and the entrance of the lodge. They represented the two halves of the hu'thuga, the one who sat on the right (toward the south) representing the Hon'gashenu, the one who sat on the left (toward the north), the I nshta'çunda. The other members sat in the order of their "counts" on each side of the principal [leaders], the highest next to those [leaders] and so on to the end of the line. The position assigned each member on entrance into the council remained unchanged until a death or resignation took place. In the case of a vacancy in the u'zhu, the place was taken by whoever could count the most within'ethe; he might be an old member of the council or a new man from the order of Ni'kagahi xu'de. Any vacancy occurring was likely to cause a 29 change in the places of the members, according to the "count" of the new member, but the place and position of u'zhu were affected only by death or resignation. An u'zhu held his rank against all claimants. The manner of deliberating and coming to a decision in the Council of Seven is said to have been as follows: A question or plan of operation was presented by a member; it was then referred to the [leader] sitting next, who took it under consideration and then passed it on to the next person and so on around the circle until it reached the man who first presented it. The matter would pass again and again around the circle until all came to agreement. All day was frequently spent in deliberation. No one person would dare to take the responsibility of the act. All must accept it and then carry it through as one man. This unity of decision was regarded as having a supernatural power and authority. Old men explained to the writers that the members of the council had been made [leaders] by the Sacred Tribal Pipes, which were from Wakon'da; therefore, "when the [leaders] had deliberated on a matter and had smoked, the decision was as the word of Wakon'da." A The Ceremonial Manner of Smoking the Sacred Pipes was as follows: fter the members of the council were in their places the keeper of the Sacred Pipes laid them before the two principal [leaders], who called on the keeper of the ritual to prepare the Pipes for use. As he filled them with native tobacco he intoned in a low voice the ritual which belonged to that act. He had to be careful not to let either of the Pipes fall. Should this happen, that meeting of the council would be at an end, and the life of the keeper would be in danger from the supernatural powers. After the Pipes were filled they were again laid before the two principal [leaders]. When the time came to smoke the Pipes in order to give authority to a decision, the Inke'çabe keeper arose, took up one of the Pipes, and held it for the principal [leader] sitting toward the north, to smoke. The assistant from the Te'pa sub[clan] of the Tha'tada [clan] followed, taking up the other Pipe and holding it for the principal [leader] sitting toward the south, to smoke. The Pipes were then passed around the council, the Inke'çabe keeper leading and carefully holding the Pipe for each member to smoke, the assistant following and serving the other Pipe in the same manner. The principal [leader] sitting toward the south was the last to smoke from the Pipe borne by the Inke'çabe keeper, who then laid the Pipe in the place from which he had taken it. When the Te'pa assistant reached the [leader] to whom he had first offered the Pipe he laid it down beside the other. The keeper of the ritual from the Inke'çabe clan then arose and cleaned the Pipes, after which he *All the other sacred articles used in tribal ceremonies have been turned over to [La Flesche/Fletcher] for safekeeping, but no arguments could induce the leading men to part with the two Sacred Pipes. The answer was always, "They must remain." And they are still with the people. La Flesche/Fletcher Ibid., p. 209 30 laid them back before the two [leaders], who then called the keeper from the Inke'çabe clan to take them in charge.* "The seven must have but one heart and speak as with one mouth," said the old men who explained these things to [La Flesche/Fletcher], adding: "It is because these decisions come from Wakon'da that a [leader] is slow to speak. No word can be without meaning and every one must be uttered in soberness. That is why when a [leader] speaks the others listen, for the words of a [leader] must be few." When a conclusion was reached by the council the herald was summoned, and he went about the camp circle and proclaimed the decision. No one dared to dispute, for it was said; "This is the voice of the [leaders]." Among the duties of the Council of Seven besides that of maintaining peace and order within the tribe were making peace with other tribes, securing allies, determining the time of the annual buffalo hunt, and confirming the man who was to act as leader, on whom rested the responsibility of that important movement. While on the hunt the Seven [Leaders] were in a sense subordinate to the leader, their duties being advisory rather than governing in character; and place the entire tribe under the control of one man, Wa'baçka, who led the people against the Pawnee. This exception to all tribal rule has been preserved in both story and song. When a man desired to perform the Wa'wan ceremony and carry the pipes to another tribe or to a man within the tribe, permission from the [leaders] had first to be obtained. The consent of the Seven [Leaders] was also necessary to the admission of a candidate to the Hon'hewachi. There were no other governing [leaders] in the tribe besides those of the council. No clan had a [leader] possessing authority over it, nor was there any council of a [clan], nor could a [clan] act by itself. There was one possible exception; sometimes a [clan] went on a hunt under the leadership of its [leaders], for there were [leaders] in every [clan], men who belonged to the order of Ni'kagahi xu'de or who had entered the ranks of the Ni'kagahi sha'be; but none of these men could individually exercise governing power within a [clan] or in the tribe. The [clan], as has been shown, was not a political organization, but a group of kindred, united through a common rite. The leading men of a [clan] were those who had charge of its rites; those who could count many within'ethe, and those who had been designated to act as "soldiers." Such men were invited on various occasions to sit with the Council of Seven, as in the communal tent when the ceremony of anointing the Sacred Pole took place, There was no tribal assembly or tribal council. All power for both decision and action was lodged in the Council of Seven. *All the other sacred articles used in tribal ceremonies have been turned over to [La Flesche/Fletcher] for safekeeping, but no arguments could induce the leading men to part with the two Sacred Pipes. The answer was always, "They must remain." And they are still with the people. La Flesche/Fletcher Ibid., p. 209 31 The old [Umonhon] men, who are the authority for the interpretations of tribal rites and customs contained in this memoir, have earnestly sought to impress upon [La Flesche/Fletcher] that peace and order within the tribe were of prime importance; without these it was declared neither the people nor the tribe as an organization could exist. War was secondary; its true function was protective — to guard the people from outside enemies. Aggressive warfare was to be discouraged; any gains made by it were more than offset by the troubles entailed. It was recognized that it was difficult to restrain young men; therefore restrictions were thrown about predatory warfare, and all who went on the war path should first secure permission, while the special honors accorded to those whose brave acts were performed in defense of the tribe tended to make war secondary to peace. Kaxe'nonba, Who frequently served as a "soldier" La Flesche/Fletcher Ibid. p. 210 "Plentiful food and peace," it was said, "are necessary to the prosperity of the tribe." In later years, under the influence of traders and of United States Government officials, the old order of [leader]ship lost much of its power. Men who were pliant were enriched by traders and became unduly important, and the same was frequently true of the men who were made "[leaders]" by United States Government officials. Some of these have been men who had no rightful claim according to tribal usage to that office. [Leaders] made by the Government were called "paper [leaders]." These men sometimes exercised considerable influence, as they were supposed by the people to be supported by the government, but their influence was that born of expediency rather than that growing out of the ancient belief that the [leader] was one who was favored by Wakon'da and who represented before the people certain aspects of that mysterious power. [Compensation] of [Leaders] and Keepers E ntrance into the order of [leader]ship was secured through certain prescribed acts and gifts called within'ethe. All of the gifts, except those belonging to the first and second grades, were made to the Seven [Leaders]. The two exceptions were contributions to ceremonies connected with the maintenance of order and the consequent welfare of the tribe. While all the within'ethe were in a sense voluntary, they were obligatory on the man who desired to rise to a position of prominence in the tribe. It was explained that "the gifts made to the [leader]s were not only in recognition of their high office and authority as the governing power of the tribe but to supply them 32 with the means to meet the demands made upon them because of their official position." It was further explained that — "[Leaders] were expected to entertain all visitors from other tribes, also the leading men within the tribe and to make adequate gifts to their visitors. Both [Leaders] and Keepers were often deterred from hunting by their official duties and thus were prevented from securing a large supply of food or of the raw material needed for the manufacture of articles suitable to present as gifts to visitors. The gifts made by aspirants to tribal office therefore partook of the nature of payment to the [Leaders] and Keepers for the services they rendered to the people." Not only did the within'ethe accomplish the purpose as explained above, but the custom stimulated industry and enterprise among the men and women, and thus indirectly served the cause of peace within the tribe. Beside their use as stated above, gifts were demanded as entrance fees to the various societies. Those requisite for admission to the Hon'hewachi were particularly costly. More over, the meetings of the societies made demands on the accumulated wealth, so to speak, of the family. Food was required for the "feasts" of the members, and gifts were expected as a part of some of the ceremonies. All these had to be drawn from the surplus store, a store that had to be created by the skill of the man as a hunter and by the industry of the woman. No one gave feasts or made gifts which left the family in want of food or of clothing. At the anointing of the Sacred Pole a supply of meats of the cut called tezhu' was expected from every family in the tribe except from those of the Ho n'ga sub[clan], that had charge of the Pole and its ceremonies. While there was no penalty attached to the non-fulfillment of this tribal duty, as it was considered, yet from a series of coincidences a belief had grown up that a refusal would be punished supernaturally. These customs in reference to gifts made as within'ethe show that the people had progressed to the recognition that something more was required of a man than merely to supply his own physical needs; that he had social and public duties to perform and must give of his labor to support the [leaders] and keepers, officers who served and promoted the general welfare of the people. Offenses and Punishments T he authority of the [leaders] and social order were safeguarded by the following punishment: Within the Tent Sacred to War was kept a staff of ironwood, one end of which was rough, as if broken. On this splinted end poison was put when the staff was to be used officially for punishment. In the pack kept in this tent was found a bladder, within which were four rattlesnake heads, and with them, in a separate bundle, the poison fangs. These were probably used to 33 compound the poison put on the staff. As men's bodies were usually naked, it was not difficult when near a person in a crowd to prod him with the staff, making a wound and introducing the deadly poison, which is said always to have resulted in death. This form of punishment was applied to a man who made light of the authority of the [leaders] or of the wain' waxube, the packs which could authorize a war party, such a person being a disturber of the peace and order of the tribe. The punishment was decided on by the Council of Seven [Leaders], which designated a trustworthy man to apply the staff to the offender. Sometimes the man was given a chance for his life by having his horses struck and poisoned. If, however, he did not take this warning, he paid the forfeit of his life, for he would be struck by the poisoned staff end and killed. Thieving (wamon'thon) was uncommon. Restitution was the only punishment. Assaults were not frequent. When they occurred they were settled privately between the parties and their relatives. In all offenses the relatives stood as one. Each could be held responsible for the acts of another — a custom that sometimes worked injustice, but on the whole was conducive to social order. Running off with a man's wife or committing adultery was severely punished. In this class of offenses the husband or his near relatives administered punishment. The woman might be whipped, but the heavy punishment fell on the guilty man. Generally his property was taken from him, and if the man offered resistance he was either slashed with a knife or beaten with a bludgeon, the revenge taken by a husband on a man making advances to his wife was called miwa'da. A wife jealous of another woman who was attentive to her husband was apt to attack her with a knife. An assault of this kind, called no n'wonçi, was seldom interfered with. If a man's wife died and left children, custom required that he marry his wife's sister. Should he fail to do so, the woman's relatives sometimes took up the matter and threatened the man with punishment. Rattlesnake heads and fangs La Flesche/Fletcher, Ibid., p. 214 The term wanon'kathe was used in reference to murder, or to any act which caused personal injury to another, even if it was unpremeditated. in the latter case the act would be condoned by gifts made to the injured party or his relatives. Deliberate murder was punished by banishment. When the knowledge of such a deed was brought to the notice of the [leaders], banishment was ordered, the offender was told of the decision and he obeyed. Banishment was four years, unless the man was sooner forgiven by the relatives of the murdered man. During this period the man had to camp outside the village and could hold no communication with anyone except his nearest kindred, who were permitted to 34 see him. He was obliged to wear night and day a close fitting garment of skin, covering his body and legs, and was not allowed to remove this covering during his punishment. His wife could carry him food but he was obliged to live apart from his family and to be entirely alone during the period of his exile. It was believed that the spirit of a murdered man was inclined to come back to his village to punish the people. To prevent a murdered man from haunting his village he was turned face downward, and to impede his steps the soles of his feet were slit lengthwise. The return of a spirit to haunt people was called wathi'hide, "disturbance." such a haunting spirit was supposed to bring famine. To avert this disaster, when a murdered man was buried, besides the precautions already mentioned, a piece of fat was put in his right hand, so that if he should come to the village he would bring plenty rather than famine, fat being the symbol of plenty. Even the relatives of the murdered man would treat the body of their kinsman in the manner described. The sentence being passed on a murderer, the [leaders] at once took the Tribal Pipes to the family of the murdered man and by gifts besought them to forego any further punishment upon the family of the murderer. If they accepted the gifts and smoked the pipe, there was no further disturbance connected with the crime. The offense of wathi'hi, that of scaring off game while the tribe was on the buffalo hunt, could take place only by a man slipping away and hunting for himself. By this act, while he might secure food for his own use, he imperiled the food supply of the entire tribe by frightening away the herd. Such a deed was punished by flogging. Soldiers were appointed by the [leaders] to go to the offender's tent and administer this punishment. should the man dare to resist their authority he was doubly flogged because of his second offense. Such a flogging sometimes caused death. Besides this flogging, the man's tent was destroyed, his horses and other property were confiscated, and his tent poles burned; in short, he was reduced to beggary. The punishment of a disturber of the peace of the tribe, by the exercise of washin'agthe, the placing of will power on the offender by the [leaders], was a peculiar form of chastisement by which the person was put out of friendly relations with men and animals. For a similar placing of the mind on an offender. White Eagle (Ponca) narrated the following as a showing the Ponca treatment of a murderer, even if the killing was an accident: A Ponca killed a man. It was not intentional, but nevertheless he was, by the consent of the people, punished by the father of the man who was killed. The father cut all the edges of the man's robe, so that nothing about him could flutter should the wind blow. The spirit of a murdered person will haunt the people, and when the tribe is on the hunt, will cause the wind to blow in such a direction as to betray the 35 hunters to the game and cause the herd to scatter, making it impossible for the people to get food. (The Umonhon have the same belief about ghosts scattering the herds by raising the wind.) After the man's robe was cut it was sewed together in front, but space was left for his arm to have freedom. He was then bade to say, as he drew the arrow from the wound and rubbed it over the dead man, "I did not kill a man, but an animal." Then his hair was cut short for fear it might blow and cause the winds to become restless. The covering about the heart of a buffalo was taken and put over the man's head, and he was banished from the tribe for four years. The man obeyed strictly all the directions given him, and, further than that, he wept every day for the man he had slain. This action so moved the relatives of the dead, it is said, that in one year they pardoned him, gave him his liberty, and he returned to the tribe and his family. La Flesche/Fletcher, Ibid., pp. 199-216 Establishment of "The Council" T he enforced abandonment of the annual hunt and the changes taking place in the life and habits of the tribe led to a modification in tribal government, one favored by the United States agency officials. Questions frequently arose the determination of which required cooperation between the tribe and the Agent. Tribal meetings were cumbersome and difficult to manage, so it came about that a "council" was formed from a small number of leaders and other cooperative men, who could be easily called together by the agent. Leadership in the old meaning of the term thereby lapsed. The council represented the people but all governing power had become centered in the United States Indian Agent. Nothing belonging to the past now seemed stable to the [Umo nhon]; only the familiar landscape remained to remind them that they were still in the land of their fathers. La Flesche/Fletcher, Ibid., p. 635 Ni shu’de Ke: Missouri River, OTHRP Archives 36 OTHRP Note: The following information comes from the Hastings/Coffey PhD dissertation ["Completely Illustrated: Grandfather Remembers -- Broken Treaties/Stolen Land: The [Umonhon] Land Theft," 2009] that helped to win unanimously the U.S. Supreme Court case Nebraska vs. Parker over the boundaries of the reservation. It reveals how the Umo nhon really lost their tribal government between 1864-1866 from the Indian point of view. It explains the terse and somewhat curt remarks at the end of the 27th Annual Report. After all, Joseph La Flesche was Dr. Francis La Flesche, Esq.'s father. Robert Furnas R Robert Wilkinson Furnas (1824-1905) 7-25-08 obert Wilkinson Furnas was born on May 5, 1824, to William and Martha (Jenkins) Furnas near Troy, Miami County, Ohio. His parents were of English Quaker stock and were natives of South Carolina. Robert was orphaned in 1832 when his parents died from cholera, and he went to live with his paternal grandparents in Troy. Later while still a youth, he left this home and worked as a tin and printing apprentice. In the late 1840's he became engaged in a number of business enterprises in the southern Ohio-northern Kentucky region, including book and job printing, publishing a newspaper in Troy, and various positions as a railroader, including station agent, conductor and engineer. In 1852, while still living in Ohio, he became involved in the insurance business which he continued until he moved to Nebraska Territory in April 1856. Furnas established the Nebraska Advertiser in Brownville and it soon became a newspaper of note, primarily because of his frank comments on contemporary issues. He participated actively in promoting the Territory, and wrote a number of pamphlets advertising the region to prospective settlers. He was also extremely interested in developing the full agricultural potential of the land and to this end founded the Nebraska Farmer, Nebraska's first agricultural periodical. Furnas attempted to be politically neutral when he arrived in the Territory, although he had been a Whig in Ohio. He soon found himself, however, aligned with the newly organized Republican Party. He served in the 3rd6th Territorial Councils which met during 1857-1860, and was a member of the Agriculture, Education and Horticulture committees. Furnas was an officer in the Territorial Militia when the Civil War started, and was soon appointed a colonel in the U.S. Army. He organized several Indian regiments prior to commanding the Second Nebraska Cavalry which participated in campaigns against the Plains Indians, most notably in the battle of White Stone Hill. He returned to civilian life after the Civil War and served from 1864 to 1866 as Agent for the [Umo nhon] Indians. He returned to Brownville in 1867, where he became actively engaged in a nursery business in which he had purchased half interest. Although he was 37 owner and editor of the Nebraska Advertiser from 1870 to 1871, his main vocation after his term as Indian Agent was the operation of his nursery business located on the outskirts of Brownville, where he resided until his death on June 1, 1905. In 1872 Furnas was elected governor of Nebraska on the Republican ticket even though prior to the election he was involved in a controversy when it was charged that he had accepted a bribe in voting against the removal of the capital from Omaha in 1857. His two years as governor were clouded with a number of problems including administrative questions and economic hardship, originating from Nebraskans being plagued by grasshoppers which necessitated various relief measures. Furnas did not seek reelection in 1874 and he never again held an elective public office. Later, he was interested in a number of appointive positions, particularly that of Commissioner of Agriculture. "Guide to the Microfilm Ediition of the Robert W. Furnas Papers 1844-1905," Nebraska State Historical Society. n. d. . . .Furnas' three year residence at the [Umonhon] Agency, [covered] the problems of the Winnebago removal to the reservation, the selection of a licensed trader, and Sioux attacks, caus[ing] considerable tension.* How much of these problems were caused by Furnas' manipulations needs to be addressed. Furnas' stay on the reservation, a scant two years, financed his career. Not likely on an Indian agent's salary. Joseph La Flesche I n 1866, for reasons which remain obscure, La Flesche had moved his family off the reservation because of a dispute with the [Umonhon’s] government agent. That agent, Robert W. Furnas, told the director of the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions that he had not ordered La Flesche to leave the reservation as some claimed. Yet Agent Furnas also stated that in order for La Flesche to return, "he must conduct himself properly, and be subordinate to the agent." Furnas called La Flesche "a shrewd, cunning, ambitious and aspiring Indian politician, who has never been willing to be subordinate to an agent, or even [to] the Hon. Comr. of Indian Affairs." Evidently Furnas and La Flesche had clashed over the issue of political authority, and the agent had won. When La Flesche returned to the reservation, he did not serve as a "paper chief" and his influence as a traditional [leader] may have been limited to some loyal followers among the *Tate, Michael L. The Upstream People: An Annotated Research Bibliography of the Oma- ha Tribe, The Scarecrow Press, Inc., Metuchen, New Jersey & London, 1991, p. 230. 821. Farb, Robert C. "Robert W. Furnas as [Umonhon] Indian Agent, 1864-1866" Nebraska History, 32 (September 1951), 186-203; (December 1951), 268-83 This article, largely based upon the Robert W. Furnas Papers at the Nebraska State Historical Society, offers a good view of Umonhon leaders, annuity distribution process, and an 1865 trip to Washington, D.C., to negotiate a treaty for the creation of a Winnebago Reservation from Umonhon lands. 38 [standing] Frank La Flesche [seated left to right] Henry Fontenelle, I'-ba'han-bi and Ka'xe' thon-be OTHRP Archives Cottonwood leaves, Coffey, OTHRP Archives Inshta monze: Iron Eyes: Joseph La Flesche [above] and La Flesche Trading Post [below] note the earth lodge behind it. Smithsonian "'make-believe' white men," or the "young men's party," as they came to be called. Whatever the case, La Flesche's leadership among the [Umonhon] had waned. The political role of the traditional [leaders] disappeared, and the agent's council of "paper chiefs" replaced the Council of Seven as the governing body of the society. Clyde A. Milner, II, With Good Intentions: Quaker Work Among the Pawnees, Otos and Omahas in the 1870s, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, 1982, p. 159 Whatever Mr. Furnas claimed, the truth of the matter was, that Joseph La Flesche was difficult for those who did not align themselves with his Young Men's Party. Joseph represented a political faction of the Umonhon. He was involved with land speculation and the La Flesche family sat in a unique position with their friendship with Alice Fletcher who was in charge of both enrollment and allotments for the tribe. Furnas' hands were not clean either. It is clear that he did, indeed, throw an Umonhon Indian off of his own reservation because he could not deal with him. Involved with both the railroads and the insurance business, Furnas was a speculator who Joseph La Flesche, 1854 settled in the Half Breed Tract area, became the Nebraska State Historical Society Indian Agent for the Umonhon area for a short term and then retired to the Half Breed Tract area when he left that post. He apparently made money in land speculation of some form and then invested it into his nursery business. The important significance of the Furnas/La Flesche argument was that at the end of it, the Nation was no longer governed by those representing the people but instead became a Nation governed by those representing the agent. Thus democracy died aborning in the hands of those who most aligned themselves with it. How valid are treaties when the Government controls the votes on both sides? "Completely Illustrated: Grandfather Remembers -- Broken Treaties/Stolen Land: The Omaha Land Theft," Ph D. dissertation, Western Institute for Social Research, 2009, unpublished manuscript, pp. 359-361 First the Americans refused to negotiate with the women of the tribe, eliminating half of the adults which laid the ground for patriarchy. Then they promised protection in exchange for a small piece of land, establishing the American concept of land ownership. Swift action occurred after the American Civil War. Railroads 40 were established along with the systematic elimination of the bison so that the food, clothing and housing source was broken. Restricting the remaining lands to a small acreage imprisoned the Tribe. Education was forced by literally stealing children and placing them into boarding schools where they were stripped their clothes, their names, their religion and culture. All decisions had to be approved by the appointed Indian Agents who favored the pioneers and profited off of the "deals" made to supplement their low salaries from the U.S. Government. Robert Furnas, a one term [1864 to 1866] Indian Agent, single handedly ended the "by the people government" of the [Umonhon] and created what are known as "Paper Chiefs" which are constructs of the U.S. Government. The Reorganization Act of 1934 codified it. If the Euro-Americans had not invaded this continent and Native Americans had been allowed to develop naturally, the Umonhon would have had a different government today than existed seven centuries ago. It is the nature of this planet that change is the one constant thing for all those who reside upon it, within it or above it. In the 21st century it is impossible to recreate the past no matter how hard one tries. That does not mean that the Umonhon are stuck with the miniature failed United States Government model that has been forced upon them. With the development of the Reorganization Act and its implementation, the Umonhon are now in a position to create their own version of government by studying what once was, as clearly as they can. They would be, not only, working with a past record, but also, with the fact that the reality that is being faced today is totally different than what existed even one hundred years ago. Plowing on the reservation OTHRP Archives 41 Umonhon Government Now: A Possible Model for the Future "A [leader] must be a man who can govern himself." A La Flesche/Fletcher, Ibid., p. 202 s the 21st Century gains momentum the Umonhon are in a position to study the model documented by Dr. Francis La Flesche, Esq. in order to create a new government based upon ancestral practice. After all, this worked for centuries, whereas the current government only benefits the few at the expense of the many. Hoarding value is the basic premise for the capitalistic system, just the opposite of ancestral Umonhon practice. In order to determine value capitalism must also determine no value. That sets up and institutionalizes inequality. Ancestral Umonhon tribal government was based on the spirituality of relationships carried out on a day-to-day basis. In other words, it is founded upon nurturing the individual, family, clan and Tribal Circle, while taking care of the plants, the wildlife, the land and the People that sat within this Circle. It is the way of Mother Earth. In 2016 the original Umonhon Reservation was officially defined by four courts, including the U. S. Supreme Court, which made its decision unanimously. Each upheld the 1854 Treaty, which created the boundaries of the Umonhon Nation's designated land. And in the center of this territory is a circle facing east: the Hu'thuga. The Hu'thuga contains the two divisions of the clans, the Hongashenu: Earth People, and the Inshta'çunda: Sky People. The divisions are separated by the Path of the Sun with the entrance set to the East, toward the sunrise. However, there are a group of Umonhon who have no defined place in this Hu'thuga. The people whose ancestry is "no clan." They are not disappearing over time, but are increasing in numbers, and in fact, they may be a larger group than some of the original clans today. In the past, there have been many clans that have come and gone. This action created the five related tribes. History notes that there may have been as many as 12 clans in the past and since it all started with a few clans, it is reasonable to assume that in ancient history there could have been far fewer. The simplest way to solve the large "no clan" problem is to create two "No Clan" clans: one in the Hongashenu and the other in Inshta'çunda. The Umonhon would then be twelve clans again, with every Umonhon included. The following article on Consensus, while not written for tribal members, describes in a non-tribal way a basis for consensus decision making. A Consensus s a decision-making process, consensus decision-making aims to generate as much agreement as possible. Collaborative: Participants contribute to a shared proposal and shape it into 42 a decision that meets the concerns of all group members as much as possible. Cooperative: Participants In an effective consensus process should strive to reach the best possible decision for the group, rather than competing for personal preferences. Egalitarian: All members of a consensus decision-making body are afforded, as much as possible, equal input into the process. All members have the opportunity to present, and amend proposals. Inclusive: As many stakeholders as possible are allowed to participate in the consensus decision-making process. The consensus process actively solicits the input and participation of all tribal decision-makers. [Knowledge]: The consensus should track the truth to the greatest extent possible. [Which means that the process examines each question from all possible positions instead of pushing an agenda.] C Alternative to Common Decision-Making Practices onsensus decision-making is an alternative to commonly practiced group decision-making processes. Robert's Rules of Order, for instance, is a guide book used by many organizations. This book allows the structuring of debate and passage of proposals that can be approved through majority vote. It does not emphasize the goal of full agreement. Critics of such a process believe that it can involve adversarial debate and the formation of competing factions. These dynamics may harm group member relationships and undermine the ability of a group to cooperatively implement a contentious decision. Consensus decision-making attempts to address the beliefs of such problems. Advocates of consensus believe that outcomes of the process include: • • Better decisions: Through including the input of all stakeholders the resulting proposals may better address all potential concerns. Better implementation: A process that includes and respects all parties, and gen43 Consensus Flow Chart grant horwood, aka frymaster 6-14-16 erates as much agreement as possible sets the stage for greater co-operation in implementing the resulting decisions. • Better group relationships: A cooperative, collaborative group atmosphere can foster greater group cohesion and interpersonal connection. G Agreement Vs. Consent iving consent does not necessarily mean that the proposal being considered is one’s first choice. Group members can vote their consent to a proposal because they choose to cooperate with Meadowlark Coffey, OTHRP Archives the intent and direction of the group, rather than insist on their personal preference. Sometimes the vote on a proposal is framed, “Is this proposal something you can live with?” This relaxed threshold for a “yes” vote can achieve full consent. This full consent, however, does not mean that everyone is in full agreement. Consent must be “genuine and cannot be obtained by force, duress or fraud.” The values of consensus are also not realized if "consent" is given because participants are frustrated with the process and wanting to move on. I Blocking and Other Forms of Dissent n order to ensure that the agreement or consent of all participants is valued, many groups choose unanimity or near-unanimity as their decision rule. Groups that require unanimity allow individual participants the option of blocking a group decision. This provision motivates a group to make sure that all group members consent to any new proposal before it is adopted. Proper guidelines for the use of this option, however, are important. The ethics of consensus decision-making encourage participants to place the good of the whole group above their own individual preferences. When there is potential for a block to a group decision, both the group and dissenters in the group are encouraged to collaborate until agreement can be reached. Simply vetoing a decision is not considered a responsible use of consensus blocking. Some common guidelines for the use of consensus blocking include: • Limiting the allowable rationale for blocking to issues that are fundamental to the group’s mission or potentially disastrous to the group. • Limiting the option of blocking to decisions that are substantial to the mission or operation of the group and not allowing blocking on routine decisions. • Providing an option for those who do not support a proposal to “stand aside” rather than block. Requiring a block from two or more people to put a proposal aside. 44 • Requiring the blocking party to supply an alternative proposal or a process for generating one. W Dissent Options hen a participant does not support a proposal, he or she does not necessarily need to block it. When a call for consensus on a motion is made, a dissenting delegate has one of three options: • Declare reservations: Group members who are willing to let a motion pass but desire to register their concerns with the group may choose "declare reservations." If there are significant reservations about a motion, the decision-making body may choose to modify or re -word the proposal. • Stand aside: A "stand aside" may be registered by a group member who has a "serious personal disagreement" with a proposal, but is willing to let the motion pass. Although stand asides do not halt a motion, it is often regarded as a strong "nay vote" and the concerns of group members standing aside are usually addressed by modifications to the proposal. Stand asides may also be registered by users who feel they are incapable of adequately understanding or participating in the proposal. • Object: Any group member may "object" to a proposal. In groups with a unanimity decision rule, a single block is sufficient to stop a proposal. Other decision rules may require more than one objection. Blocks are generally considered an extreme measure — only used when a member feels a proposal endangers the organization or its participants, or violates the mission of the organization (i.e., a principled objection). In some consensus models, a group member opposing a proposal must work with its proponents to find a solution that works for everyone. T Process Models here are multiple stepwise models of how to make decisions by consensus. They vary in the amount of detail the steps describe. They also vary depending on how decisions are finalized. The basic model involves: • collaboratively generating a proposal, • modifying the proposal to generate as much agreement as possible. After a concerted attempt at generating full agreement, the group can then apply its final decision rule to determine if the existing level of agreement is sufficient to finalize a decision. 45 Perch Coffey, OTHRP Archives Blocking G roups that require unanimity commonly use a core set of procedures depicted in the flow chart. Once an agenda for discussion has been set and, optionally, the ground rules for the meeting have been agreed upon, each item of the agenda is addressed in turn. Typically, each decision arising from an agenda item follows through a simple structure: • Discussion of the item: The item is discussed with the goal of identifying opinions and information on the topic at hand. The general direction of the group and potential proposals for action are often identified during the discussion. • Formation of a proposal: Based on the discussion a formal decision proposal on the issue is presented to the group. • Call for consensus: The facilitator of the decision-making body calls for consensus on the proposal. Each member of the group usually must actively state whether they agree or consent, stand aside, or object, often by using a hand gesture or raising a colored card, to avoid the group interpreting silence or inaction as agreement. The number of objections is counted to determine if this step's consent threshold is satisfied. If it is, dissenters are asked to share their concerns with proceeding with the agreement, so that any potential harms can be addressed/minimized. This can happen even if the consent threshold is unanimity, especially if many voters stand aside. • Identification and addressing of concerns: If consensus is not achieved, each dissenter presents his or her concerns on the proposal, potentially starting another round of discussion to address or clarify the concern. • Modification of the proposal: The proposal is amended, rephrased or noted in an attempt to address the concerns of the decision-makers. The process then returns to the call for consensus and the cycle is repeated until a satisfactory decision passes the consent threshold for the group. Religious Society of Friends (Quaker)-based model consensus is effective because it puts in place a simple, Q uaker-based time-tested structure that moves a group towards unity. It has been successfully used for over 360 years. The Quaker model has been employed in a variety of secular settings. The process allows the hearing individual voices while providing a mechanism for dealing with disagreements. 46 The following aspects of the Quaker model can be applied in any consensus decision-making process, and is an adaptation prepared by Earlham College of Illinois: • Multiple concerns and information are shared until the sense of the group is clear. Discussion involves active listening and sharing information. • Norms limit number of times one asks to speak to ensure that each speaker is fully heard. • Ideas and solutions belong to the group; no names are recorded. Ideally, differences are resolved by discussion. The facilitator ("clerk" or "convener" in the Quaker model) identifies areas of agreement and names disagreements to push discussion deeper. The facilitator articulates the sense of the discussion, asks if there are other concerns, and proposes a "minute" of the decision. • The group as a whole is responsible for the decision and the decision belongs to the group. • The facilitator can discern if one who is not uniting with the decision is acting without concern for the group or in selfish interest. Ideally, all dissenters' perspectives are synthesized into the final outcome for a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. Should some dissenter's perspective not harmonize with the others, that dissenter may stand aside" to allow the group to proceed, or may opt to "block". "Standing aside" implies a certain form of silent consent. Some groups allow "blocking" by even a single individual to halt or postpone the entire process. Key components of Quaker-based consensus include a belief in a common humanity and the ability to decide together. The goal is "unity, not unanimity." Ensuring that group members speak only once until others are heard encourages a diversity of thought. The facilitator is understood as serving the group rather than acting as person-in-charge. In the Quaker model, as with other consensus decision-making processes, by articulating the emerging consensus, members can be clear on the decision, and, as their views have been taken into account, are likely to support it. Adapted from 6-14-16 Elements of [Umonhon] Progressive Peace T he manner of deliberating and coming to a decision in the Council of Seven was said to have been as follows: “A question or plan of operation was presented by a member; it was then referred to the [leader] sitting 47 next, who took it under consideration and then passed it on to the next person and so on around the circle until it reached the man who first presented it. The matter would pass again and again around the circle until all came to agreement. All day was frequently spent in deliberation. No one person would dare to take the responsibility of the act. All must accept it and then carry it through as one man. This unity of decision was regarded as having a supernatural power and authority. Old men explained to the writers that the members of the council had been made [leaders] by the Sacred Tribal Pipes, which were from Wakon'da; therefore, "when the [leaders] had deliberated on a matter and had smoked, the decision was as the word of Wakon'da." La Flesche/Fletcher, Ibid., p. 208 The Umonhon have used this system for much longer than the Quakers have. Formatting the Traditional [Umonhon] Progressive Peace T he original Umonhon governmental design was one of checks and balances, so that power would not be corrupted. The format works. It can be used as the basis for a 21st century Umonhon Government that will pass the approval of the U. S. Government, since it is a form of Consensus that has already been recognized and approved by that Government as appropriate for signatories of the Indian Reorganization Act, of which the [Umonhon] are one. Since the original Umonhon government was based upon relationship with all relatives it would be, in 21st Century terms, an appropriate concept for adaptation as well. Ni'kagahi sha'be 5 Sacred Keepers Council of Seven Nini'bato The people wandered about the shores of the great water and were poor and cold. And the people thought, “What shall we do to help ourselves?” — Umonhon Sacred Legend Two old men n It is Time to Heal T wo old men, one from the Hon'ga clan and Ni'kagahi xu'de the other from the Inke'çabe clan, carried the two pipes to each of the selected seven clans and Original Umonhon Government asked a leader among them to serve their people. They were chosen because of the service in diagram form they had done for the community in order to betOTHRP Archives ter the community: Nurture. This was the origin n of the Nini'bato subclans. Perhaps this time an elder from each of those two clans (male and female this time?) would chose which people from each clan could be brought together to form the Ni'kagahi xu'de. They could be guided by clan elder meetings within each clan to nominate appropriate people. The key would be "What have you done for the people." Both males and females could be 48 chosen in this manner. Or it could be left open for the interested people to apply. Or both. Ni'kagahi sha'be would be taken from the Ni'kagahi xu'de for the next step. This organization would then chose which applications to the Ni'kagahi xu'de would be accepted. Originally this group would then choose the Council of Seven from their membership. In the 21st Century this could be reconfigured for the needs of today’s Umonhon. Instead of a Council of Seven, the Umonhon could enlarge it to a Council of 12, so that each clan — including the two no clans — are represented, and make it an elected office with four year staggered terms, with term limits of two terms, or eight years total. Keepers [Advisors] were originally those in care of the sacred objects. The Umo nhon could instead have the Keepers represent the sacred trust the people have given the Tribe in distributing services and have the actual Keepers elected by employees in each division. They too, would have an elected office of 4 year staggered terms and term limits of two consecutive terms. The following is a list of the Tribal industries that serve to help the people: 1. Agriculture 2. Business Growth 3. Education 4. Housing 5. Indian Child Welfare 6. Medical 7. Security & Fire 8. Social Services 9. Traditional Religion 10. Umonhon Culture 11. Utilities 12. Wildlife Maize Coffey, OTHRP Archives 49 This is one way of solving the problems with the current form of Umonhon tribal government. The Keepers are the advisory board, in their area of expertise, for the leadership of the Nation. There may be other ways that the Umo nhon can think of as well that are even better. It is time for the Umonhon Hu’thuga, consisting of more than 7,000 enrolled members both on and off the Reservation, to discuss such changes and to think carefully within the Umonhon community about what the future may hold. Remember these ideas are not carved in stone. It is up to the Umonhon people to decide. Unknown Umonhon baby Nebraska State Historical Society Ewithe wongithe: All my relatives Home Giffen & Tibbles, Ibid., p. 90 50 Mu’xanonzhin La Flesche/Fletcher, Ibid., Insert between pp. 170-171 Missouri River in the Winter, Jeff Mohr, OTHRP Archives The Papal Bull “Inter Caetera,” Issued by Pope Alexander VI May 14, 1493 3-31-2017 Christopher Columbus Sebastiano del Piombo 1492—1500 8-18-09> Papal Bull Inter Caetera May 4, 1493 issued by Pope Alexander VI What are the "PAPAL BULLS"? P apal Bulls are decrees or "solemn edicts" granted by the Vatican. The bulls we are concerned with essentially sanctioned 15th century Portuguese and Spanish genocide campaigns into Africa and the Americas. These decrees established Christian dominion and subjugation of nonChristian "pagan" peoples and their lands (Newcomb, 1992). The 1493 Bull "Inter Caetera" granted unlimited rights to Spain, and the subsequent 1494 "Treaty of Tordesillas" (inspired by the Bull "Inter Caetera") divided the world in half, everything 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde islands went to Spain, everything east went to Portugal (Gottschalk, 1927). Because the Bull "Inter Caetera" concedes rights of conquest to both Spain and Portugal, the movement has focused on revoking the 1493 document (Newcomb, 1999). On October 12, 1998, over 50 indigenous and human rights advocates gathered in Honolulu, Hawaii to demand the revoking of the 1493 bull and called for it to be revoked by the year 2,000. This response parallels Pope John Paul II's call that Christianity's 2,000 anniversary be "a year of mercy," saying "the church will seek forgiveness," "atonement," and that he "wants the church to enter the third millennium with a clear conscience". (Associated Press, November 28, 1998). For more information on the papal bulls movement and our annual burning event, please see our website: The Papal Bulls as Pertaining to the Americas The historical introduction below is taken from Paul Gottschalk, "The Earliest Diplomatic Documents on America: The Papal Bulls of 1493 and the Treaty of Tordesillas Reproduced and Translated," Berlin, 1927. The introduction and bull "Inter Caetera" of May 4, 1493 are provided by Frances Gardiner Davenport, ed., "European Treaties bearing on the History of the United States and its Dependencies to 1648," Washington, D.C., 1917. Historical Introduction. R Historical Introduction eturning from his first voyage, Columbus landed on the Portuguese coast and was at once invited to Court. He reached Lisbon March 4, 1493, upon the invitation of the King of Portugal. On hearing his report, King John II claimed the newly discovered lands for Portugal by virtue of the Treaty of Alcacovas of 1479, sanctioned by the Bulls of Pope Sixtus IV, dated June 21, 1481. The text of the Treaty and the Bull contain some slight variations and thereby allow of different interpretations. It is difficult to decide, therefore, whether this claim of the Portuguese King was justified. Contemporary as well as modern historians have always differed widely in their opinions. It is generally believed that, with his famous message on his discoveries, Columbus dispatched to the Spanish Kings, who were at Barcelona, a report on the difficulties raised by the Portuguese King, but it is questioned whether this was sent from Lisbon by land or from Palos after having reached the latter port, March 14, 1493. King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain reported the great news at once to 53 Pope Alexander VI. It is again doubtful whether this was done by a special messenger or by a courier sent to Cardinal Bernardin de Carvajal and to Ruiz de Medina, then Spanish ambassadors at the Holy See, and whether this was done in consequence of the Portuguese claims or according to a general custom of that period. Pope Alexander VI, himself a Spaniard, granted the request to confer the lately discovered lands on the Crown of Spain by three Bulls issued on May 3 and May 4 1493 (all much in favor of Spain, and depriving Portugal of nearly all privileges bestowed upon it by the Bulls of 1452 and 1454, issued by Nicholas V, and by that of 1481 of Sixtus IV and one of 1484 of Innocentius VIII). Some months later, on September 26, 1493, a fourth Bull was issued granting to Spain almost unlimited rights. But this act remained without consequence; for in the meantime, at the suggestion of the King of Spain, it was agreed that, to avoid complications already threatening, a conference should be held. Portuguese ambassadors were sent to Barcelona and, after many negotiations and some interruptions, a settlement was finally reached at the small Spanish town of Tordesillas and a treaty was signed on June 7, 1494. Obviously inspired by the corresponding passage in the second Bull "Inter caetera", but not referring to this or any other bulls or treaties, it was provided that there should be drawn a line running from North to South, 370 leagues west from Cape Verde Islands, and that everything west of this line should belong to Spain, everything east of it to Portugal. The sanction, which by the terms of the Treaty was to be asked, was never given by Alexander VI and not before the 24th of January, 1506, was a Bull to such effect issued by Pope Julius II. Although much disputed and very differently interpreted, this Treaty remained in force until January 13, 1750, when the Treaty of Madrid annulled the boundary line. It would seem, however, that this boundary line, first provided for in the second Bull "Inter caetera" and later corrected in the Treaty of Tordesillas, decided what parts of the western hemisphere as well as which regions of the eastern hemisphere were discovered, possessed Umonhon Earthen Lodge National Archives 54 and civilized by Spain and by Portugal respectively, and which still speak the language and show the influence of the culture of their first discoverers. Introduction to the Bull Inter Caetera — May 4, 1493 Like the bull "Eximiae devotionis" of May 3, the bull "Inter caetera" of May 4 is a restatement of part of the bull "Inter caetera" of May 3. Taken together the two later bulls cover the same ground as the bull "Inter caetera" of May 3, for which they form a substitute. The changes introduced into the bull "Inter caetera" of May 4, are, however, of great importance, and highly favorable to Spain. Instead of merely granting to Castile the lands discovered by her envoys, and not under Christian rule, the revised bull draws a line of demarcation one hundred leagues west of any of the Azores or Cape Verde Islands, and assigns to Castile the exclusive right to acquire territorial possessions and to trade in all lands west of that line, which at Christmas, 1492, were not in the possession of any Christian prince. The general safeguard to the possible conflicting rights of Portugal is lacking. All persons are forbidden to approach the lands west of the line without special license from the rulers of Castile. It is not probable that by this bull Alexander VI intended to secure to Portugal an eastern route to the Indies, as some writers have maintained. In the bulls of May 3, the earlier papal grants to Portugal are said to have given her rights in the region of Guinea and the Gold Mine, but the Indies are not mentioned. The bull of May 4 does not name Portugal and refers to her only in the clause which excepts from the donation any lands west of the demarcation line, which at Christmas, 1492, might be in the possession of any Christian prince. The Papal Bull "Inter Caetera," issued by Pope Alexander VI on May 4, 1493 T he Bull Inter Caetera (Alexander VI.) May 4, 1493 Alexander, Bishop, servant of the servants of God, to the illustrious sovereigns, our very dear son in Christ, Ferdinand, king, and our very dear daughter in Christ, Isabella, queen of Castile, Leon, Aragon, Sicily, and Granada, health and apostolic benediction. Among other works well pleasing to the Divine Majesty and cherished of our heart, this assuredly ranks highest, that in our times especially the Catholic faith and the Christian religion be exalted and be everywhere increased and spread, that the health of souls be cared for and that barbarous nations be overthrown and brought to the faith itself. Wherefore inasmuch as by the favor of divine clemency, we, though of insufficient merits, have been called to this Holy See of Peter, recognizing that as true Catholic kings and princes, such as we have known you always to be, and as your illustrious deeds already known to almost the whole world declare, you not only eagerly desire but with every effort, zeal, and diligence, without regard to hardships, expenses, dangers, with the shedding even of your blood, are laboring to that end; recognizing also that you have long since dedicated to this purpose your whole soul and all your endeavors — as witnessed in these times with so much glory to the Divine Name in your recovery of the kingdom of Granada from the yoke of the Saracens — we therefore are rightly led, and hold it as our duty, to grant you even of our own accord and in your favor those things whereby with effort each day more hearty you may be enabled for the honor of God himself and the spread of the Christian rule to carry forward your holy and praiseworthy purpose so leasing to immortal God. We have indeed learned that you, who for a long time had intended to seek out and discover certain islands and main lands remote and unknown and not hitherto discovered by others, to the end that you might bring to the worship of our Redeemer and the profession of the Catholic faith their residents and inhabitants, having been up to the present time greatly engaged in the siege and recovery of the kingdom itself of Granada were unable to accomplish this holy and praiseworthy purpose; but the said kingdom having at length been regained, as was pleasing to the Lord, you, with the wish to fulfill your desire, chose our beloved son, Christopher Columbus, a man assuredly worthy and of the highest recommendations and fitted for so great an undertaking, whom you furnished with ships and men equipped for like designs, not without the greatest hardships, dangers, and expenses, to make diligent quest for these remote and unknown main lands and islands through the sea, where hitherto no one had sailed; and they at length, with divine aid and with the utmost diligence sailing in the ocean sea, discovered certain very remote islands and even main lands that hitherto had not been discovered by others; wherein dwell very many peoples living in peace, and, as reported, going unclothed, and not eating flesh. Moreover, as your aforesaid envoys are of opinion, these very peoples living in the said islands and countries believe in one God, the Creator in heaven, and seem sufficiently disposed to embrace the Catholic faith and be trained in good morals. And it is hoped that, were they instructed, the name of the Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ, would easily be introduced into the said countries and islands. Also, on one of the chief of these aforesaid islands the said Christopher has already caused to be put together and built a fortress fairly equipped, wherein he has stationed as garrison certain Christians, companions of his, who are to make search for other remote and unknown islands and main lands. In the islands and countries already discovered are found gold, spices, and very many other precious things of divers kinds and qualities. Wherefore, as becomes Catholic kings and princes, after earnest consideration of all matters, especially of the rise and spread of the Catholic faith, as was the fashion of your ancestors, kings of renowned memory, you have purposed with the favor of divine clemency to bring under your sway the said main 56 lands and islands with their residents and inhabitants and to bring them to the Catholic faith. Hence, heartily commending in the Lord this your holy and praiseworthy purpose, and desirous that it be duly accomplished, and that the name of our Savior be carried into those regions, we exhort you very earnestly in the Lord and by your reception of holy baptism, whereby you are bound to our aposto [Text truncated at 120,000 characters. The full text is on the page linked above.] --- Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/tribal%3Aomaha_of_nebraska%3Abce8ea814dee926f. Public record. Not legal advice.