21 Celebs You Didn’t Know Were Native American

November is Native American Heritage Month, when the United States officially celebrates the culture and traditions of Native American people. With more than five million people of Native American descent living in the United States, it’s no surprise that many famous people (or their ancestors) in the arts and entertainment industries are members of one of the many tribes on record.

Researching ancestry and claiming official enrollment in a Native American tribe can be a challenging process. While investigating what famous people claim Native American blood, it’s clear that you have to go on self-reporting, for the most part. It’s pretty widely known that Elvis was directly descended from the Cherokee Nation, for instance (and who was going to argue with Elvis, anyway?). Other celebrities who claim Native American origin have caused more controversy. Cher, for instance, said that she had 1/16 Cherokee blood after releasing her single, “Half Breed,” in the 1970s. Her claims were widely disputed, and her choice to wear a typical Native American headdress while performing the song on Sonny and Cher didn’t win anyone over.

There are many actors and musicians whose Native American ancestry may be less obvious. Jimi Hendrix, Tori Amos, and Chuck Norris were surprises to me. So was Angelina Jolie, for that matter. It didn’t really occur to me to wonder where these people were from, or from whom they were descended, so there ethnicity isn’t shocking. I’d just never considered it.

My favorite Native American cinematic experience was Smoke Signals, one of my favorites movies, based on Sherman Alexie’s book Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven. It’s hard to believe the book was published 20 years ago this summer, but the dates don’t lie, I guess.
“When The Lone Ranger was published, I was being fêted by the publishing world while I was back living on the rez, after college,” Alexie told the New Yorker. “I was called ‘one of the major lyric voices of our time’ while I was sleeping in a U.S. Army surplus bed in the unfinished basement bedroom in my family’s government-built house.”

This quote from Alexie’s book sums up everything I’d hope wouldn’t happen to people of Native American descent in Hollywood or anywhere.

“… but I know somebody must be thinking about us because if they weren’t we’d just disappear just like those Indians who used to climb the pueblos. Those Indians disappeared with food still cooking in the pot and air waiting to be breathed and they turned into birds or dust or the blue of the sky or the yellow of the sun. There they were and suddenly they were forgotten for just a second and for just a second nobody thought about them and then they were gone.”

The history and contributions of the people are far too rich to forget. Let’s take a look at 21 celebrities you may not have known were Native American.

Benjamin Bratt



Jimi Hendrix





Tori Amos




Will Rogers





Lou Diamond Phillips





Ben Harper




Kid Cudi




Angelina Jolie




Rosario Dawson




Johnny Depp





Heather Locklear




Jessica Biel




Jennifer Tilly

Cameron Diaz

Mandy Moore




Miley Cyrus




Joe Jonas




Elvis Presley




Anthony Kiedis




Chuck Norris




Burt Reynolds



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Playground of the Native Son: An all Native American professional football team (VIDEO)

This is a one-hour documentary about the 1920s Hominy Indians football team that defeated the defending National Football champions, New York Giants in 1927.

There was an All-Native American Professional Football team in Oklahoma during the 1920's and early '30's. Consisting entirely of Native blood to form a team called 'The Hominy Indians'. 

Twenty-two different tribes were represented, some played for one game, some for years. 

Founded and financed by two Osage brothers, Ira and Otto Hamilton. They had a 22 game winning streak and had the chance of a lifetime to play against the World Champions, the New York Giants, in 1927. John Levi, was their star player and then coach. Jim Thorpe called him the greatest athlete he had ever seen. 

Adam Beach is seen in a publicity photo for upcoming films based on the Hominy Indians, an Oklahoma-based, semi-professional football team of the 1920s. Fully Funded Films/IndieInFilms - 

What happens during the pre-game speech by the Coach to inspire this team to dig deep is a speech so motivating that it will be used in locker rooms for generations to come. This is their story.

- Written by Executive Producer Celia Xavier 

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Chickasaw Chief Tishomingo

Tishomingo

     Tishomingo in 1836 lived on the place in Lee county, known in 1870 as the Larkin Gambrell place, and was the chief of that district.  From map sent me in 1904 by Miss Janie Agnew, Bethany, Lee county, Miss., and by one or more members of Larkin Gambrell’s family I learn that Tishomingo’s house was on S. W. 1-4, Sec. 13, Town 7, Range 5, Lee Co., Miss.;  Larkin Gambrell’s home in 1849 was on N. W. 1-4 of same section.

     From Edwin G. Thomas, May 10, 1880:

“In 1834, before I moved to Pikeville, I made a trip through the Indian nation. I first made my way to Cotton Gin, on the east side of the Tombigby, across which was the Indian nation. By night of one of the days when traveling in the Chicksaw nation, we reached the settlement of an Indian, Tishomingo. On this day we were guided by an Indian, and passed several Indian huts. Some Indians run their horses by us during the day—drunk. The guide talked with the sober Indian, and learned that they had been at a trading place and gotten spirits. Tishomingo lived on the south side of a traveled road running a little north of east. He had a right smart sized farm and a good many negroes. He had a large spring across the road from his house, and below, a few hundred yards, there was a natural rock bridge, the branch running under it. The distance from the T. C. Stuart mission was 35 or 40 miles.” 

     Tishomingo was then (1836) a hundred years old, his wife seventy or eighty, and his mother (who lived with him) one hundred and twenty. He had been living at that place sixty one years. He had come from the Chickasaw Old Fields. 

     The Creeks and Chickasaws had had a fight sixty-one years before.  The Creeks came to the Chickasaw Old Fields and killed the Chickasaws, and the latter scattered out from this place, which had been up to that time the head-quarters of their tribe. 

     Tishomingo was a good, clever man, and very infiuential. The chief seems to have possessed some property in 1834; for we are told that in that year, Edwin G. Thomas, traveled in the Chickasaw Nation and that Tishomingo “had a right smart size farm and a good many negroes.”

     In personal appearance the chief was big, tall, and rawboned,
so described by one who knew him and who had visited his house many times, Wm. Henry Gates, Prentiss County, Nov 9, 1880:

“I have heard Brother [T. C.] Stuart and the first settlers speak in high terms of Tishomingo, as a noble-spirited chief, distinguished for his high sense of honor and virtue.”” In one of the treaties he is spoken of by the Chickasaws “as their old and beloved chief.”

Narrative of Berry Hodges, Union county, Miss., June 8, 1880:.

“While I was living near Ripley I visited the neighborhood of Tishomingo. Tennessee wagoners got me to sell their stock to the Indians, because I understood their language. I found no whites in Tishomingo’s neighborhood. Tishomingo was a noted Indian, an old man, very old. I saw him at Ripley several times. The Indians knew me very well. At Indians’ houses men would lie on bear-skins, covered with blankets if they had them. Their eating was poor stuff. I have eaten tom-fulla (hominy) beat and boiled, a little lye dropped in it, and turned a little sour) with Tishomingo. Tom-fulla was a common diet among the Indians.” 

     Tishoming died at Little Rock, Ark., on his way to the Territory, and was buried there.  It is supposed that he died about 1841. A county in Mississippi and a town in the Indian Territory perpetuate the name of this old minco.



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Sitting Bull

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FIRST NATIONS LEADERS URGE NATIVES AND NON-NATIVES TO UNITE AGAINST NORTHERN GATEWAY

A Protest sign hangs from a building in the town of Kitimat, British Columbia, April 12, 2014. Residents of the town voted against the Northern Gateway pipeline project in a blow to Enbridge Inc’s efforts to expedite the flow of crude from Canada’s landlocked oil sands to high-paying markets in Asia. Photo taken April 12, 2014.

Globe and Mail Jun. 17 2014

The federal government’s decision to go ahead with the Northern Gateway pipeline brought chiefs and elders to tears when news reached them at a scientific conference on ocean health in the Great Bear Rainforest.

Shaking with anger, their voices trembling with emotion, native leaders brought the conference to a standstill Tuesday as they spoke of their dismay over the decision – and of their commitment to fight to stop the project from ever getting built.

“Pretty shocking … it’s a tough, tough piece of news,” said Wigvilhba Wakas, a hereditary chief of the Heiltsuk Nation.

“We see this all over the world, where corporate interests are overriding the interests of the people,” said Guujaaw, past president of the Council of Haida Nation and one of the top political leaders among native people in B.C.

“It’s way out of control and it’s probably going to take decisions like this for people to stand up [together]. I think this is a test of humanity now to stand up and fight back,” he said.

Wickaninish, former president of the Nuu-Chah-nulth Tribal Coucil, said the federal government had made “an ominous decision” that he hoped would unite native and non-native people in a common cause, as the battle over Clayoquot Sound did in his traditional territory on Vancouver Island, where mass arrests stopped logging near Tofino.

“This is not just an Indian fight … it’s all the people,” he said.

Wahmeesh, vice-President of the Nuu-Chah-nulth, said he felt an emotional blow when he heard the decision, which spread around the conference as participants read the news bulletins on their smartphones.

“My heart kind of sank, like I’d lost somebody. Like a death in the family,” he said.

Wahmeesh said he was going to return to the Nuu-Chah-nulth, a large collection of 14 tribes on the west coast of Vancouver Island, for an urgent meeting on the pipeline project. And he promised that the chiefs would be united in pledging support to those tribes along the pipeline route across Northern B.C.

“This is probably the biggest decision this government will ever make in my lifetime [affecting First Nations],” he said, struggling to find a way to describe the magnitude of the decision.

Wahmeesh echoed those who urged a coalition between native and non-native people to fight the pipeline.

“We’ll stand together as Canadians,” he said.

Margaret Edgars, an elder from the Haida Nation, was in tears as she spoke to the gathering of scientists and native leaders from Alaska, B.C., Washington, Oregon and California who had gathered for a conference to discuss the resurgence of sea otters on the West Coast.

“I was hurt a bit when I heard it,” she said of the news of Ottawa’s support for the project. “But with everyone speaking out about it here I’m feeling a little stronger. … I think we’ve had enough of what they’re doing. It’s time to stand together united. … We have to continue with the fight.”

After Alaskan delegates had reminded the gathering of the long, enduring impacts of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, Ms. Edgars said tankers pose too great a risk to coastal B.C.

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The Chickasaw Migration Story

The Chickasaws and Choctaws once were one people, according to the Chickasaw migration story. This understanding is common to the accounts of English trader James Adair in 1775 and the 20th century Chickasaw activist, Jess Humes.

There are other versions in between. They all involve people making a lengthy journey from the west, following a sacred leaning pole, and a complication that resolves when the people split into two groups.

In the Chickasaw versions, one group stays put at the behest of a leader named Chata. The other, much smaller group, follows his twin brother, Chikasa, as they continue heading east. Was this a simple yet profound difference of opinion on this one matter? A case of sibling rivalry? Or had the seeds for the split already been planted, possibly through differences among clans?

Before these highly spiritual people separated, a prophet may have foreseen the eventual warfare between them, and warned that it would be caused by a greedy and hateful alien race. Such a premonition would have added even more distress to the parting.

Whatever, that moment of separation marked the emergence of two distinct peoples. Before they split up, the migrants had a name we will never know. Afterward, they adopted the names of their respective leaders and became the Choctaws and Chickasaws.

When the division occurred is a mystery that will never be solved. But the point is that the break up was permanent.

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10 of the Cutest Kids in Pow Wow Regalia

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Pow Wow Etiquette: 10 Rules to Follow in and Out of the Arena

Whether you’re a novice or veteran attending a pow wow, certain behaviors are expected while you’re on the grounds or in the arena. Although customs may vary from tribe to

tribe—and even from year to year—some basic rules remain the same.

Some breaches of etiquette are simply considered disrespectful while others may result in the offender being removed from the arena. Here are some tips to make sure your behavior is appropriate and your visit is memorable.

Dress modestly.

It is not appropriate to wear hats, swimsuits, extremely short skirts or shorts or halter tops. Do not wear T-shirts or other items of clothing with profanity or inappropriate slogans.

If you plan to participate in dances that are open to the public, keep in mind that some tribes require women to wear a shawl or cover their shoulders.

Always listen to the master of ceremonies or announcer

“The MC will tell you when you can photograph [and] he will tell you when you can dance,” said Leonard Anthony, a Navajo gourd dancer and MC. “Usually visitors or outsiders can dance during the inter-tribal dance, but you need to listen for an announcement before you participate.”

Stand up during the grand entry

Unless you are physically unable to stand, you are expected to show respect for the dancers and rise as they enter the arena.

The seats nearest the dancing circle are reserved for singers, dancers and drummers

If you’re a spectator, do not sit here.

“A first-time visitor looks for the best seats possible,” said Dennis Zotigh, cultural specialist at the National Museum of the American Indian. “The seats closest to the arena seem to be the best seats, but that’s because the dancers stand up and immediately begin dancing.”

Pow wow grounds should be considered sacred places

A blessing is performed ahead of time and your actions should show respect for this religious and sacred ceremony.

United Tribes International Pow Wow Facebook

“It’s like going to a church,” Anthony said. “If you’re going to a pow wow, you need to honor where the dances came from, the traditions and story behind them.”

Refrain from negative thoughts or comments

The blessing that takes place beforehand sets the tone of the event and sanctifies the area, Zotigh said. Although the blessing is usually not open to the public, its spiritual nature should be taken seriously.

“Our elders have taught us not to dance or sing with negative karma,” he said. “That karma will expand and affect others.”

Do not bring alcohol, drugs or firearms to a pow wow

An exception is tobacco used for blessings or as gifts. Smoking is considered disrespectful, Zotigh said.

Follow protocol and common sense when it comes to taking photographs

Never shoot photos during prayers, gourd dances or flag songs, or when the Master of Ceremonies has prohibited it. Additional rules apply in specific circumstances, Zotigh said. For example, spectators should not take photos of dancers in regalia without first asking permission.

“This is especially true for professional photographers standing in the arena,” he said. “Often dancers are wearing something special or personally spiritual to them. A lot of

dancers don’t like their beadwork photographed because someone can see that and copy the design.”

Another rule of thumb is to never shoot photos of a dancer being initiated or receiving a plume or feather. Doing so can disrupt the spiritual process, Anthony said.

“There’s a prayer being said for that person and by taking pictures, you’re disrupting the connection,” he said.

Pow wows are colorful and high-energy events

Spectators should have fun but also keep in mind that participants are not simply entertainers. Especially during contest pow wows, dancers, singers and drummers may be performing for money.

“There are individuals who do this as a way of life,” Zotigh said. “They take it seriously because it’s their income.”

Finally, be flexible

The most important rule is to be willing to change your expectations and adapt to new situations.

(Smithsonian Flickr page)

“I think the main rule of every pow wow is that each one is different,” Zotigh said. “There is no standardization. Do as the host committee directs you to do. It may be against what you’ve been taught, but if you’re a visitor, do what they want.”

As younger participants join pow wows, some of the old rules are changing.

“The old rules are being redefined each year,” he said. “Things are changing, so be flexible with it.”



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J. D. Challenger - A brilliant artist who told the story of the Native Americans with a paint brush.

J. D. Challenger was born in Oklahoma and his artistic talent was obvious from a very early age. Although he took his gift seriously as he developed it, he was also very humble about it. He was quoted as saying, "The thing I do best is paint. I prefer to look at it as 'not me' doing it, I'm just the instrument... The Creator, the brush, the paint, and then me."

In order to be in the good company of other artists, he moved to Taos, New Mexico which is known as a mecca for artistic spirits and for it's beautiful landscapes. It was here that J.D. started his career doing just that - painting landscapes. But privately, he felt compelled to learn about and do paintings of Native Americans. These paintings he kept secret though because he was afraid of offending a people that he greatly admired.

One day however, when he was witnessing a Ghost Dance scene being made for a movie, J.D. Challenger had a spiritual revelation of what was to become his life's mission. He became convinced that he was to paint the story of the Native Americans. After being encouraged by his wife, Denise, to show his work to his Native American friends, he received their blessing and was told by a holy man, "There has to be a messenger and he doesn't have to be one of our People. The Creator chooses His own messengers. Your path is to tell our story and educate people about the past and about what is still happening today."

From then on, he painted his portraits of the Native Americans whose past and present was rich in heritage and traditions. His goal was to paint the truth and each portrait had it's own story to tell. Sometimes the story would be one filled with anger as there was much anger felt about the injustices that had been done to the first peoples of North America by the European explorers and later the founders of the Government of the United States.

But through it all, J.D. Challenger just considered himself to be the messenger of these amazing stories. As you enjoy his paintings, you will also see for yourself, the vivid details of their stories as they unfold before you.

JD Challenger pictures

Official Site: http://www.jdchallenger.com/

Video: JD Challenger Native Am. Artwork

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Native American Youngest Drummers: How to Become a Drummer (VIDEOS)

The magic of the Drum and its relation to Mother Earth's heartbeat moves one's consciousness into the inner worlds of vision, experience, and learning.

It is often a time and place for Medicine Wheel teachings, of power animals and spirit guides of inner reflection and connection or re-connection to those things that really matter.

The Drum takes us to that special place where we can reconnect to those things that truly matter to our spirits, minds, emotions and body.

In other words, Spiritual and Physical integrity follows nerve, blood flows according to deepest cell needs, our spirits are fed, we are in rhythm with the Earth Mother.

When you hear the rhythm of the group drumming and contribute your beat, you are listening and playing, receptive and creative at the same time.  

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5 Reasons Natives Have Lustrous Locks: Ancient, Indigenous Hair Remedies

Have you ever wondered why Native Americans had resilient hair? Or ever asked why, when you see the old pictures of their ancestors, not too many of the older people had gray hair? Or why their hair was so long? Or why even the men had such healthy hair?

The answer is pretty simple and applies to every aspect of their life, which us as American Indians and Alaska Natives who we are. As a people, our ancestors saw their hair as a part of their identity. It was an embodiment of how they lived, just like everything that surrounded them. They gave respect to everything in nature, as you probably already know from history lessons.

For one they never used all these so-called “modern” hair care gadgets and products on their hair. They took pride in their hair and different hair styles represented different things in their life. Their hair was of great spiritual importance to them, and they took great pride in it. They had many natural hair care practices that kept their hair strong, thick, shiny and long. These include herbs, roots, teas, oils and infusions. Some of these are as follows:

1. Aloe Vera

Aloe Vera is a great natural moisturizer that was used in every day Native life for protecting the hair and the body from the sun and other harsh weather conditions, and also keeping the hair soft and silky. This was one of the main ways that they used to keep their hair healthy. Aloes are also edible and very good immune boosters and toxic cleansers. They also ate this in their daily life to help them stay fit. These are just a few of the benefits of using aloe vera, but for an even longer list of uses… there is a pretty good article here that list some 40 different uses. Although that article is pretty current, it seems that many Native Americans were already with familiar with many of them.

2. Saw Palmetto

This herb is Indigenous to the Native lands and it formed part of their nutritional diets and also has very good medicinal value. The fruit Saw Palmetto is a scarlet red berry; they would dry it in the sun for days then grind it and infuse it into tinctures, teas and ointments which were applied to their hair to help strengthen it and also prevent scaly scalp – dandruff. Saw Palmetto also has properties that suppress the hormone that causes baldness, so taking it orally and as a topical application is one of the ways the Native Americans hair was kept so beautiful.

3. Stinging Nettle 

Most male pattern baldness is caused by testosterone being converted into DHT. The Stinging Nettle has been found to have properties that stop testosterone from being converted into DHT; this is the hormone which is responsible for hair loss in many men and some women. This plant grows wild and in abundance in America. The Native Americans used it a lot which is why you don’t see too many Native Americans with hair loss problems or having to get hair transplants. Since it grows in the wild, they would just hand pick it, (of course paying attention to the stinging, because it has a spiny stem) and infuse it into oils to moisturize their hair. They would also brew it as a tea for drinking. Stinging Nettle has K, B, and C vitamins and it also has a lot of amino acids and iron. Amino acids help with protein formation in your body and the hair needs protein to grow strong and healthy. Vitamin B and C are also important for healthy hair.

4. Washing & Protective Styling

They didn’t wash their hair and mess with their hair everyday so this allowed their hair to relax which is very important for hair growth. If you are constantly messing with your hair can hinder the growth. Their hair is also always braided. This is a form of protective styling that helps to keep your hands out of your hair. They would take it out and dress and decorate their hair for different occasions but, you would normally see one big braid or a French braid in most Native Americans hair and this helped to protect their hair. This is another one of those simple things that can have a pretty drastic influence on healthy hair that so many people overlook, yet many Native Americans have been aware of it for centuries. When visiting a hair doctor, or getting a consultation at one of the companies that specialize in hair loss and hair restoration like Bosley Medical… aside from genetic and pattern baldness, time and time again that hair loss is often caused by people “exhausting” their hair by doing too much to it too often.

Danielle Ta'Sheena Finn, Lakota Hunkpapa and Assiniboine Sioux from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe (Courtesy Danielle Ta’Sheena Finn)

5. Rosemary

This spice is known worldwide and used in many culinary delights; just like many other spices Rosemary has great benefits for the hair. It helps to promote hair growth by stimulating blood circulation in your scalp thus allowing the hair follicles to breathe and function well. Rosemary has also been known to reduce early graying. The herb was infused in oil, and the oil was rubbed into the scalp and then roots, and then the rest of the hair. Apart from the Native Americans, every part of the world has plants with natural properties that are medicinal and good for their health and once we realize that as humans we will value what we have and use what we have naturally growing around us to prevent us from the many common diseases that were unheard of back in the day.

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