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.

Movie: Rhymes for Young Ghouls

Posted on April 19, 2015 by Stephen Carr Hampton

Rhymes for Young Ghouls is a 2013 film showing the struggles of Native youth against white authority, as personified by the reservation agent and the boarding school he runs. The setting is the Red Crow M’igMaq Reservation from 1969 to 1976. The film’s heroine … Continue reading →

Posted in news | Tagged cultural imperialism, Devery Jacobs, Kahnawake, movie, review, rhymes for young ghouls | 1 Comment

Night Birds Returning: Restoring Native Lands at Haida Gwaii

Posted on April 16, 2015 by Stephen Carr Hampton

Here’s a wonderful six-minute video about the restoration of Ancient Murrelets to some of the islands of Haida Gwaii (formerly called the Queen Charlotte Islands) in Canada. This project, eradicating non-native rats, was implemented by the Haida Nation and Parks … Continue reading →

Posted in news | Tagged ancient murrelet, eradication, gwaii haanas, haida gwaii, Haida Nation, rat | Leave a comment

Eduardo Galeano, 1940 – 2015

Posted on April 13, 2015 by Stephen Carr Hampton

Today Eduardo Galeano died. He is one of my favorite writers. A fierce advocate for the poor, the least, the indigenous, the woman, the child, some of his most famous works are: Open Veins of Latin America The epic Memory … Continue reading →

Posted in news | Tagged eduardo, galeano, indiginous, Memory of Fire, Mirrors, open veins of latin america, Teju Cole | 1 Comment

Could a Cherokee Woman Replace Andrew Jackson on the $20 Bill?

Posted on April 9, 2015 by Stephen Carr Hampton

The vote to replace Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill is down to the Final Four, and Wilma Mankiller is on the list! She wasn’t even on the original ballot, but advanced to the last round as a write-in candidate. You can … Continue reading →

Posted in news | Tagged $20, Andrew Jackson, bill, Indian Removal, Trail of Tears, vote, Wilma Mankiller, WomenOn20s | Leave a comment

Federal Court Victory for Oglala and Rosebud Sioux Children

Posted on April 1, 2015 by Stephen Carr Hampton

The Geneva Convention defines genocide as “…any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: (a) Killing members of the group; (b) Causing serious bodily … Continue reading →

Posted in news | Tagged children, Geneva, genocide, ICWA, Indian Child Welfare Act, Oglala, Rosebud, Sioux, South Dakota | 2 Comments

On this date… March 22, 1621 and 1622… Massachusetts and Virginia

Posted on March 21, 2015 by Stephen Carr Hampton

March 22 was a significant date two years in a row. In 1621, Massasoit, the Great Sachem of the Wampanoags, negotiated a mutual defense pact with the Pilgrims recently ensconced at Patuxet, which they called Plymouth. Though his people were … Continue reading →

Posted in On this date... | Tagged 1621, 1622, Jamestown, massasoit, Native American history, Opechancanough, patuxet, pilgrims, Plymouth, Powhatan | Leave a comment

Who discovered Mt. Kenya? A. David Livingstone, B. Johann Krapf, C. William Shakespeare, D. George Bush

Posted on March 13, 2015 by Stephen Carr Hampton

Who discovered Mt. Kenya? A. David Livingstone, B. Johann Krapf, C. William Shakespeare, D. George Bush This is the question, posed to Mharere Mkare on a school test, that spurred this satire: Kenyan Traveler Discovers Big River in Europe

Posted in reblogs | Tagged Mt Kenya | Leave a comment

On this date… March 10, 1957… Columbia River

Posted on March 10, 2015 by Stephen Carr Hampton

A mile across, Celilo Falls were the tenth widest waterfall in the world, the widest in the United States, and the largest along the Columbia River. Each year, millions of salmon, hundreds of sea lions, and thousands of Indians from … Continue reading →

Posted in On this date... | Tagged Celilo, Celilo Falls, Columbia River, dam, Edmo, Native American history, salmon, The Dalles, Tommy Thompson, Warm Springs | 2 Comments

On this date… March 3, 1832… Georgia

Posted on March 3, 2015 by Stephen Carr Hampton

The Supreme Court ruling granting tribal sovereignty was issued on this date. It still stands today. It all started with Samuel Worcester (left) and Elizur Butler, missionaries to the Cherokee. While the Supreme Court debated, they sat in a Georgia … Continue reading →

Posted in On this date... | Tagged Cherokee, Cherokee Phoenix, Elizur Butler, Georgia history, Native American history, Samuel Worcester, sovereignty, Supreme Court, Worcester v Georgia | Leave a comment

On this date… February 23, 1945… Iwo Jima, Japan

Posted on February 23, 2015 by Stephen Carr Hampton

On this date, the US flag was raised over Iwo Jima. Young Navajo men, once punished for speaking their language in the boarding schools, sent over eight-hundred messages during the battle. Here is a sample of the code: Ba-ah-ne-di-tinin, key, … Continue reading →

Posted in On this date... | Tagged code talkers, Iwo Jima, Native American history, navajo | Leave a comment