Category Archives: my own thoughts

Reflections of a Native birder: The one Indian killer bird name I really have trouble with

Posted on June 6, 2021 by Stephen Carr Hampton

As a citizen of Cherokee Nation and a birder for nearly fifty years, I offer these thoughts on the burgeoning discussion to re-name birds that are named after people. When people say they are used to the current bird names … Continue reading →

Posted in my own thoughts | Tagged Abert, aos, bird names, bird names for birds, Cherokee, Clark, Couch, Native birders, Scott's Oriole, Sibley, Townsend, Trail of Tears, winfield scott | 51 Comments

Erasure, white fragility, and the verbal monuments of bird names: Should we hold people in the past accountable to present-day mores?

Posted on June 4, 2021 by Stephen Carr Hampton

When addressing historic wrongs, and especially memorials that honor people that perpetrated historic wrongs, a common challenge is: Should we be holding these people accountable according to modern values and mores? There are two big problems with this question. Almost … Continue reading →

Posted in my own thoughts | Tagged accountable, aos, aou, bird names, bird names for birds, Cherokee, honorific, indians, mcCown, memorials, mores, native american, parisorum, Scott's Oriole, statues, Trail of Tears, verbal monuments, white fragility, winfield | 2 Comments

The rise and fall and rise of the buffalo

Posted on January 24, 2021 by Stephen Carr Hampton

The story of the American buffalo (Bison bison; formally known as American bison) is steeped in legend, mythology, and controversy. Recent research has shed light on the full history, affirming portions of most stories. The first rise: evolution with Native … Continue reading →

Posted in my own thoughts, news | Tagged antiquus, atlatl, bison, buffalo, clovis, extinction, folsom, history, indian, Native American history, restoration, trade, white hunt, Yellowstone | 2 Comments

Not always but mostly: Native Americans living in harmony with nature

Posted on December 11, 2020 by Stephen Carr Hampton

It’s often said that Native Americans have always lived in harmony with nature, understanding how to live sustainably with Mother Earth. This is partially a myth, but one that we embrace, because it is very much our goal today to … Continue reading →

Posted in my own thoughts | Tagged buffalo, climate, columbia, harmony with nature, Karuk, manifest destiny, Mother Earth, native americans, noble savage, restoration, Yurok | Leave a comment

Patuxet (Plymouth) 400 years on: Massasoit the statesman masterfully played the Plymouth Colony

Posted on November 26, 2020 by Stephen Carr Hampton

While the Pilgrims moved into the abandoned village of Patuxet and planted their fields, the Great Sachem Massasoit called together a council to hammer out policy toward the wayward colonists. Hammered by plague and pestilence, his Wampanoag Confederacy was vulnerable. … Continue reading →

Posted in my own thoughts | Tagged massasoit, patuxet, pilgrims, Squanto, thanksgiving, treaty, wampanoag | Leave a comment

Patuxet (Plymouth) 400 years on: Prisoner, slave, guide, ambassador — Meet the real Squanto, Tisquantum

Posted on November 20, 2020 by Stephen Carr Hampton

When we last left the Pilgrims and other settlers (see previous blog post), they had arrived at the abandoned village of Patuxet, but stayed huddled onboard the Mayflower, freezing and dying thru the winter. Finally, in March 1621, the weather … Continue reading →

Posted in my own thoughts | Tagged john smith, massasoit, mayflower, pilgrims, Plymouth, Squanto, tisquantum, wampanoag | Leave a comment

Intergenerational supremacy: The straight line from pioneers to poor white support for Trump

Posted on November 8, 2020 by Stephen Carr Hampton

While I’m tremendously relieved that Biden won the election, I remain terrified. Why did 71 million people vote for Donald Trump in 2020, even more than in 2016? By now, we all knew that the draft-dodging, pussy-grabbing, bankrupt, tax cheating, … Continue reading →

Posted in my own thoughts, news | Tagged 2020, Bacon's Rebellion, Chivington, Custer, de Tocqueville, election, ethnic cleansing, genocide, grant, intergenerational trauma, manifest destiny, massacres, Metzl, mound builders, moundbuilders, pioneers, racism, Sand Creek, sheridan, socialism, Trail of Tears, trump, wedge, white supremacy | Leave a comment

Columbus’s second voyage was the real killer

Posted on October 7, 2020 by Stephen Carr Hampton

September, 1493, barely six months after Columbus returned to Castile (Spain) from his first voyage, the harbor at Cádiz was abuzz with activity. An armada was assembling. Colombo’s second voyage was no reconnaissance expedition, no “exploration”. It was an invasion. … Continue reading →

Posted in my own thoughts | Tagged Columbus, Columbus Day, ethnic cleansing, genocide, haiti, Hispaniola, second voyage, Spain | 3 Comments

White supremacy and Dungeness crab: The long history of blaming Indians for poor resource management

Posted on August 28, 2020 by Stephen Carr Hampton

“The Indians have wiped out Dungeness crab in south Puget Sound.” This is a common line among white people in the Pacific Northwest. The story, besides racist, is factually wrong and biologically impossible. Here’s the real story: This explanation was … Continue reading →

Posted in my own thoughts | Tagged climate change, crab, Dungeness, fisheries management, fishing rights, indian, John Cotton, Native, puget sound, the blog, wdfw | 2 Comments

Paha Sapa, Custer’s Last Stand, Mt. Rushmore, and Wounded Knee: A history of the Black Hills in one diagram

Posted on July 2, 2020 by Stephen Carr Hampton

A lot of stories are linked to the Black Hills; a lot of dots connect there. Here’s a very abbreviated history. CLICK TO ENLARGE See this blog post for more background on the Great Sioux Nation, both past and present. … Continue reading →

Posted in my own thoughts, news | Tagged Black Hills, Crazy Horse, Custer, custer's last stand, grant, greasy grass, great sioux nation, Great Sioux Reservation, Hearst, kkk, lakota, Mt. Rushmore, Paha Sapa, peltier, Sioux, Sitting Bull, six grandfathers, the black hills are not for sale, treaty of 1868, Wounded Knee | Comments Off