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page and follow it, use the BACK button on your browser to bring you back to
this page. On the "Tribes of the Indian Nation" picture,
click on a tribe underlined in blue and
it will take you to information and/or pictures concerning that tribe.
From
the far most Northwestern reaches of the Aleutian Islands to the Southern most
tip of present day Mexico, dogs have played a vital role in the lives and
cultures of the First Americans. As
transportation for family belongings when following their food supply, in the
hunt for food needed to help feed their families, being faithful watch dogs, and
even performing for the "Wild" Buffalo Bill Shows, the Native
Americans depended on their dogs to assist them in anyway they might need.
In
1719 Pachot observed that dogs, of which the Ottawa's had numerous... regarded
their dogs as a precious commodity as white man regarded sheep. When
villagers became ill, dog meat was the most medicinal healing meat there was to
be found.
In
1765 the Hidatsa was discovered by whites and documentation reveals that
the Hidatsa peoples still used the dogs and the dog travois as a mode of
transportation, not horses. In 1804 Lewis and Clark discovered them still using dogs as a sole
means of transportation.
The
Lemhi Shoshone were discovered in the mid 1800's as still using dogs for utility
work and beasts of burden...no horses were owned by these people. Each
family had upwards of 30 dogs each. The majority of the Lemhi had been
killed off by European disease and only a handful of these Shoshones' remained.
The Lemhi loved their dogs so much that when a family member died their favorite
dog was killed and buried with the individual.
“More importantly, though, my father-in-law spent some time growing up in a
Cree village and describes these exact dogs and would love to be reacquainted
with them. Anyway, I am writing to you from
Windsor
,
Ontario
Canada
.....”
____________________________
“Hello:
I live in
Nova Scotia, Canada
but have spent most of my life in Newfoundland. I am interested in your dogs. Fantastic Fred is very reminiscent of the
Montegnais dogs used in Newfoundland
to haul wood etc. My dog, now dead 21 years had the web paws, long coat etc.
Was a strong swimmer etc.”
___________________________
Sir John
Richardson, writing in 1829, observed that "the resemblance between the
North American wolves and the domestic dog of the Indians is so great that the
size and strength of the wolf seems to be the only difference. I have more than
once mistaken a band of wolves for the dogs of a party of Indians; and the howl
of the animals of both species is prolonged so exactly in the same key that even
the practiced ear of the Indian fails at times to discriminate between
them."
http://www.adogbreed.com/history.php
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Photo
c. 1897 of an Alaskan log cabin partially built and an Alaskan Native Dog
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Alaskan Indian with his Chinook mixed
Native Dogs - 2 bearing backpacks (c.1920's)
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| The Chinook Indians lived in the
U.S. North West along the Columbia River, in parts of Alaska and British
Columbia...
"Many times I have found out about animal husbandry as it relates
to the Chinook...
One was, of course, the pure blood line of the "Wool
Dogs". The ones with the best fur coats were bred to others of
fine wool fur
and they were kept in caves, special pens, or even holes in the ground, or
on islands in the river, just to keep the "other" dogs away...
Hair was woven into many a warm, waterproof garment of blanket..." |
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The Assiniboine Hunters (c.1900) used dogs for
hunting.
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Ben Kaquitts and the hunters, Banff, Alberta, Canada
c.1923
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An Inuit's harnessed dog pulls a seal from its breathing hole.
c.1860
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Dogs assist in a bison hunt.
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Hearding mountain sheep into a new blind.
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Micmac hunting camp using dogs to retrieve water fowl.
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The
Native Americans taught their dogs how to fish and hunt. The Pacific
Northwest Indians used their dogs to hunt bear, elk, deer, mountain sheep
and water fowl. Specially trained dogs would drive elk and deer into
snares. The Inuit dog helped in the hunting of seals and polar
bears. They were very
skilled hunters and very courageous and protective of their owners and
their families.
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Flathead Indians
near Jocko, Montana c.1900
Dogs were a traditional part of Indian encampments.
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Assiniboine
Camp...The tipi in the foreground was the dwelling of the Chief, has large
bear figures painted on it and is much larger than the other tipis. Karl
Bodmer painted this picture in 1833 and he depicts here, some of the
many dogs that shared their lives with the Indians.
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Mandan Lodge
Artist Karl Bodmer c. 1833
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The Pawnee Indians had spotted or broken pattern
dogs that lived in their lodges as did the Mandan Indians. Dogs were
a way of life and often slept just inside the family dwellings.
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Children, of a Comanche Tribe, and their dogs
await parents return.
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Hopi Children - 1918 - Arizona
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The
dogs were also very good baby-sitters as some of the dogs would remain in
the village with the younger children, while the men hunted and the women
gathered roots, berries and herbs.
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Many tribes of the Great Plains lived a nomadic existence following
their food supply.
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The
Native American was often a very nomadic people. They followed enormous
herds of Bison and Caribou and other large game as they grazed their way
across hundreds of miles of North American Wilderness. Dogs would pull a
travois packed with all of the family's belongings or carry heavy loads on
their backs.
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Native Americans using dog travois to move their
belongings.
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Native American women using dog travois to transport
water. c.1870
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Before
the introduction of the horse by the Spaniards to the New World, the
Native Americans' dogs were the sole beasts of burden for thousands of
years.
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| In 1541 the
Spanish observed hunting parties using large wolf-like dogs as beasts of
burden. The dogs carried 40 to 50 lbs. packs on their backs or
pulled a travois loaded with up to 250 lbs. of game and belongings per
large dog. |
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Sleds or toboggans are still an
integral part of winter travel in some far northern areas.
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Saulteaux (Ojibwa) family traveling near Lake Winnipeg
in Manitoba.
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Dog Train, Red River, Manitoba, Canada
c.1870's
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For winter travel, the
Thule Indians invented the first dog sled,
which was very crucial to their survival. The Chippewa used dogs for
hunting and to pull travois. In most tribes the women cared for,
bred and trained the dogs for drags and sled pulling. The toboggan,
introduced after the Conquest, soon became the universal form of winter
transport form the St. Lawrence to the Mackenzie River. |
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Nez Perce Dog Travois c.1900
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Sioux Indians cooking a dog 1910
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food and game were scarce, the dog served as a main reserve for the Native
Americans and White Man alike. Lewis and Clark bought or traded for
hundreds of dogs from the Native Americans. They were a high source of
protein and fat and more nutritious than Mule Deer or Antelope.
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Death Platform - Artist William Carey c. 1880
Human souls leave the body and go to immediately dance and rejoice with
those who keep the Milky Way or the road of the souls. Dogs have
immortal souls as well as reasoning souls and go there as well.
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Tehuelche tomb (conical structure). When Tehuelche hunters died
most of their horses and dogs were killed to accompany them to the
afterworld.
To appease evil spirits gifts of
piebald or splotched colored dogs were sacrificed to the angry gods.
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the final outcome of the United States government's involvement, forcing
the surrender of the Native American Nations to a life on designated plots
of land and reservations, the Native Americans not only lost their freedom
but their culture, their way of life, and all their possessions including
their dogs. c.1839
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Native American Indian Dogs born at
Majestic View Kennels with the same markings as the Hare Indian Dog.
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Merriweather Lewis
describes the dogs of one particular Indian Nation in this way...They
are party coloured [parti-colored; having patches of contrasting color;
pied]; black white brown and brindle are the most usual colours. The head
is long and nose pointed eyes small, ears erect and pointed like those of
the wolf, hair short and smooth except on the tail...
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Artist Charles Russell
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Little Chief White Eagle (Yaqui Indian) and Princess
Rainbow Sistesso (Sioux) with their dog. c. 1930
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Taos Indians
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Navaho girl with pup. c.1860
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Buffalo Dance
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Indian dog travois at Ft Walsh,
Saskatchewan, Canada c.1879
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Cree dog travois, Butte area, Montana
c.1906
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Setting up Camp
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An Assiniboine woman attaches a travois to her dog. A
loaded animal walks in the background while a child plays with a dog as
big as he is. c.1843 - Karl Bodmer
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Bartering time
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The Silk Robe Charles Russell circa
1890 Two women prepare a buffalo skin for tanning. An especially
fine buffalo robe required ten days of steady labor. It was called a
"silk robe" because of the softness of the leather and the sheen
of the fur. Note the dog travois and the sleeping Indian dog, who
undoubtedly pulled the buffalo hide while hooked to the travois.
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Comanche
Village
in
Texas
mid 1800's by George Catlin. Women dressing robes and
drying meat while children played and dogs lounged around the village.
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Cherokee on the Trail of Tears
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Cherokee youth with Whitney
look-a-like.
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Nooksack Indians - NW Washington
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Daily living
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Sled dog with decorative blanket.
Artist - Gray Wolf
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A couple of old postcards.
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Peru c. 600 B.C. - Food offerings were placed in central hole to go
with the dead to the afterlife.
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Ecuador whistling bottle on left made 2000 years before the weeping
eye dog pot from the Missippian period, right. Dogs and dog effigy
ceramic pots were buried with their human companions.
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This present day dog of the Mayans is identical to the
dogs of the ancient Mayan civilization. These dogs were regarded, by
the Spanish, as a threat and a hindrance to the conquering of the lands and
treasures it held and were often killed before the Spanish could get to the
Mayan villagers.
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