Author Archives: Stephen Carr Hampton

About Stephen Carr Hampton

Stephen Carr Hampton is an enrolled citizen of Cherokee Nation, an avid birder since age 7, and a former resource economist for the California Department of Fish & Game, where he worked as a tribal liaison and conducted natural resource damage assessments and oversaw environmental restoration projects after oil spills. He writes most often about Native history and contemporary issues, birds, and climate change.

Land acknowledgement: Covington Catholic High School, Park Hills, Kentucky

Posted on January 27, 2019 by Stephen Carr Hampton

I said I’d do a land acknowledgment for every place I stayed this year. I started with my home. I’m adding one more: Covington Catholic High School, located on Dixie Highway in Park Hills, Kentucky, a wealthy suburb of Cincinnati, … Continue reading →

Posted in land acknowledgments, news | Tagged Cherokee, CovCath, covington, Covington Catholic, Kentucky, land acknowledgement, maga, Ohio River, Shawnee, Tecumseh | Leave a comment

The smug face of white privilege

Posted on January 20, 2019 by Stephen Carr Hampton

That smug face that brims with confidence. It has a smirk that says I will win. I’ve already won. I cheat to win. I can buy the judge, buy the cops, write the rules, make the laws. I create alternative … Continue reading →

Posted in my own thoughts, news | Tagged covington, Covington Catholic High School, elder, maga, Nathan Phillips, Omaha, protest, taunting, trump, Washington, white privilege | 2 Comments

America, meet the real Pocahontas

Posted on January 19, 2019 by Stephen Carr Hampton

These facts are well-documented: Pocahontas was kidnapped by the men of Jamestown. Then, while in captivity, she was impregnated by and married to one of her captors, John Rolfe. Like one of the Boko Haram girls. He took her to … Continue reading →

Posted in my own thoughts | Tagged disney, history, john smith, kidnapped, native american, Pocahontas, rolfe, the real Pocahontas | 9 Comments

What do Native Americans think about Elizabeth Warren?

Posted on January 16, 2019 by Stephen Carr Hampton

It’s complicated. Two white politicians are in conflict. One, virulently racist and anti-Native in thought, word, and deed, verbally ridicules the other, who is an ally of Natives on most policy issues. Let’s start with the ally, Elizabeth Warren. To … Continue reading →

Posted in news | Tagged bendery, Cherokee, DNA, identity, nagle, Native, sovereignty, trump, warren | Leave a comment

Land acknowledgment: North Davis, Yolo County, California

Posted on December 31, 2018 by Stephen Carr Hampton

My 2019 new year’s resolution is to do a “land acknowledgment” for every place I stay during the year. I’m starting with my home in Davis. Land acknowledgments began recently with First Nations in Canada and are simply a public … Continue reading →

Posted in land acknowledgments | Tagged california, chiles, Davis, davisville, history, land acknowledgment, land grant, mexico, missions, native american, patwin, putah, Rancho Laguna de Santo Calle, Vaught | 13 Comments

Science, myths, and alternative histories: An overview of what we know about the peopling of Turtle Island

Posted on December 2, 2018 by Stephen Carr Hampton

Migration across the Bering Land Bridge is a controversial subject among Native Americans, kind of like creation and evolution with Christians. It’s also a hot topic among archaeologists and anthropologists. The science behind the peopling of the Americas in still … Continue reading →

Posted in my own thoughts | Tagged bering land bridge, clovis, deloria, homo sapiens, human migration, migration, monte verde, mound builders, native americans, north america, peopling, pre-Clovis, red earth, Solutreans, white lies | 3 Comments

Voter suppression led to unusually high voter turnout by Native Americans in North Dakota

Posted on November 17, 2018 by Stephen Carr Hampton

After a last-minute court decision required Native Americans in North Dakota to have street addresses instead of PO boxes, the affected tribes and other organizations mobilized to created the needed documents. Election returns from the 2018 midterms show that the … Continue reading →

Posted in news | Tagged #standingrock, 2018, address, election, heitkamp, midterm, native american, North Dakota, senate, Standing Rock, turnout, turtle mountain, voter suppression, voter turnout | Leave a comment

Supreme Court’s ruling against North Dakota Natives may decide the Senate

Posted on October 10, 2018 by Stephen Carr Hampton

In a critical decision that may very well effect control of the US Senate, the US Supreme Court today rejected an emergency appeal by Native Americans in North Dakota regarding their ability to vote in November. Control of the Senate … Continue reading →

Posted in news | Tagged address, echohawk, election, Gorsuch, heitkamp, North Dakota, off the reservation, PO box, registration, senate, Standing Rock, Supreme Court, turtle mountain, voting | Leave a comment

Vote– except if you’re a Native in North Dakota

Posted on September 26, 2018 by Stephen Carr Hampton

After Standing Rock, Republicans in the “Deep North” are taking no chances. In April, the Republican-dominated North Dakota legislature passed, and the Republican governor signed, a bill that required voter identification to include a residential street address. As the Native … Continue reading →

Posted in news | Tagged #standingrock, court of appeals, disenfranchised, eighth district, election, hovland, North Dakota, residential address, Standing Rock, trump, turtle mountain, voter fraud | 4 Comments

The Native women in the Capitol Rotunda

Posted on September 1, 2018 by Stephen Carr Hampton

In the center of the US Capitol, under the iconic white dome, is a large round room called the Rotunda. There are eight niches in it, circling the room, each with an oil painting twelve feet tall and eighteen feet … Continue reading →

Posted in my own thoughts | Tagged Capitol Rotunda, Columbus, de Soto, Native, native american, Native American history, paintings, Pocahontas, rape, women | 2 Comments