when Christopher Columbus thought he found India in 1492 there were about 600 distinct tribes spread across North America from the upper reaches of Canada to Central America some estimates put the total population of indigenous North Americans at 10 to 20 million that's a lot of diversity and a lot of people they had distinct cultures rituals and customs and a lot of the most interesting revolved around Love and Marriage from women making the rules to playing sports to win Hearts to famous historical figures and their lost or found loves here's what love and marriage was like for Native Americans [Music] thank you flute courtship [Music] music has always been a good way to someone's heart a decent love ballad can work wonders towards your goal of wooing the person you have your eye on ah yeah and it was no different from any Native American tribes tribes across the plains in particular knew their way around a flute and the men often use the instruments to convince women that they'd be a good fit for marriage the flute courtship ritual is a traditional courtship practice that was used by the Kiowa people a Native American tribe that historically lived on the southern Great Plains in what is now Oklahoma Texas and New Mexico the ritual has also been practiced by the Comanche the Navajo and the Sioux the ritual involves a man playing a wood flute to express his feelings to a woman he's into as Europeans introduce rifles and gunpowder to Native American tribes gun barrels were even sometimes repurposed into courting flutes an unlikely combination of Love and Death during the portrait ritual the man would play a series of songs on the flute each with a specific meaning some songs might Express the man's desire to court the woman While others might convey his love and Devotion to her the woman would listen to the songs and respond with her own song either accepting or rejecting the man's advances the flute courtship ritual was significant because it was an important way for young people to find romantic partners and start families it was also a way for people to express themselves creatively through music and to connect with the spiritual World there are not many specific examples of flute courtship among well-known Native Americans but one that is quite possibly true is during the courtship between a Navajo leader name manuelito and the daughter of a prominent Navajo Chief narbona manulito who lived from 1818 to 1893 was known for his resistance against both Spanish and American forces in the southwest including the Navajo Wars of the mid-1800s manolito cut his teeth in the 1830s fighting against the Mexican army during the invasion of Navajo lands he quickly Rose through the ranks and became a prominent leader among his people by the 1850s the U. S government had begun expanding their presence in the southwest and tensions between the Navajo and U. S military began to escalate in 1860 manuelito led a raid on a U.
S military fort in the New Mexico territory which resulted in the death of several Soldiers the U. S military responded by launching a campaign to basically Wipe Out the Navajo people and manuelito became one of the primary leaders of the resistance over the next few years manuelito and his Warriors engaged in a series of battles with U. S troops using hit and run tactics to destroy supply lines and raid settlements in 1864 the U.
S military launched a massive campaign against the Navajo known as the Navajo long walk manuelito and his people were forced to surrender and were marched over 300 miles to a reservation in Eastern New Mexico manolito spent quite a few years living on the reservation but he continued fighting this time more through politics than gunpowder in 1868 he was one of the signatories of the Treaty of boscardando which allowed the Navajo to finally return to their Homeland at the beginning of all this though was his courtship with the daughter of narbona narbona was a Navajo Chief with whom manuelito had joined up with early on manuelito was apparently attracted to the chief's daughter to whom he started playing his flute manolito seems to have been a pretty good flute player and narbona's daughter agreed despite her numerous suitors the daughter of narbona was wooed by manulito's plane and agreed to marry him the two were wed in a traditional Navajo ceremony and their marriage was said to have been a happy one that is Until you realize that later emmanuelito is said to have married one of his Mexican indentured servants a woman named Juanita later on in his life manuelito apparently owned quite a few people from all the rating he did on both Mexicans and other Native American tribes like the Utes and the Hopi the story here gets a bit murky some sources say narbona's daughter was also named Juanita though they were probably not the same person either way marrying someone you own is a bit less romantic than wooing them with a sweet sound of flute music Cherokee cording stickball just like today the Native Americans had jocks looking to impress women with their athletic prowess and skill on the court or field but for the Cherokee there was a sport that served that purpose for sure but also carried within a deeply spiritual side that was vital for maintaining peace within and among tribes Cherokee stickball also known as Ani Jodi or little brother of war is a traditional Native American game played by several Southeastern States including the Cherokee the game originated thousands of years ago and was played for a few different reasons including as a way to resolve conflicts between tribes to honor their creator and as a courtship ritual in Cherokee culture stickball was seen as a way for young men to prove their courage and skill to potential Partners the game was also associated with the Cherokee dualistic belief system which held that the world was divided into two forces the red Force representing War destruction and aggression and the white Force representing peace creation and cooperation basically all opposing Concepts like War versus peace passive versus active young versus old internal versus Eternal were represented through the white and red Duality stigball was seen as an embodiment of this Duality with the opposing teams representing one of the two forces before the game the Cherokee would hold an all-night dance known as saloli in which conjurers sang and danced until dawn during the dance men and women play different roles with the men singing and dancing to transfer power to their team and the women singing and dancing to weaken the power of the opposing team the dance was seen as a wage to prepare both the players and the community for the upcoming game and to honor the spirits that were believed to be present during the game itself the goal was to hit a ball made of deerskin or stuffed with hair through a goal post using a wooden stick the game was often played over large distances with teams from different Villages or even different tribes competing against each other the game could be quite violent with players using their sticks to hit each other in order to gain possession of the ball but the game also had strict rules and was seen as a way to resolve conflicts peacefully Cherokee stickball is still played today by many Cherokee communities as a way to honor their ancestors and preserve their culture it continues to serve as a symbol of strength athleticism and unity and it remains an important part of Cherokee courtship and matchmaking traditions women in charge the hot neshoni also known as the Iroquois Confederacy is a Native American tribe that lives in northeastern North America mainly in present-day New York State for the hotnessoni it's the women who are in charge women are basically the ones choosing their Partners as opposed to the more common practice of men choosing their wives in most other societies in hotnessaunee culture women wear the pants they're highly respected and whole positions of authority they have an important role in the clan and are responsible for nominating and selecting the male leaders who represent them in the council women are also responsible for the continuity of the clan lineage and because of this they have the power to choose their Partners when a woman is ready for marriage she first seeks the advice of her clan mother who then consults with the other female Elders of the clan they discuss potential suitors and evaluate their compatibility with the woman their choice takes into account factors like personality character reputation and what kind of car he drives okay maybe not the car part but the cool thing is that it's less of a status game and more about finding a good match that benefits the couple and benefits the entire Community the elders consider the needs of the clan and the importance of maintaining balance and Harmony within the community once a suitable match is identified it's the woman who takes the initiative to court the man she may offer him gift like handmade clothing or jewelry or start up some friendly conversation to get to know him better if the man reciprocates her interest then they'll most likely continue to court each other until they decide to marry the hot neshoni also have played an important role in the women's suffrage movement in United States the hotness on the influence on the movement started in the mid-19th century when prominent suffragus like Elizabeth Katie Stanton and Matilda Jocelyn Gage visited hot neshoni communities in New York state they were impressed by the matrilineal traditions of the culture and how much power and sway the women held these women were much more than Housewives who couldn't vote they were the ones doing the most important voting Stanton Gage used the hotnessoni as an example to argue that women were just as capable as men of holding leadership roles and making important decisions they also used the hotnessoni model to criticize the patriarchal structure of American society arguing that women's rights and leaderships should be recognized and supported in 1920 the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified granting women the right to vote and the hot neshoni played an important role in that fight [Music] geronimo's lost love Geronimo was one of the fiercest Native Americans of the 1800s his life was marked by tragedy yet despite this he became a symbol of resistance against American and Mexican forces that were encroaching on Southwestern Apache lands and you can't say that the loss of his first wife was the driving force behind his battles between both the Mexicans and the Americans Geronimo was born in 1829 in present-day Arizona and he grew up in a world of conflict as the Apache tribes fought to protect their land and way of life against Spanish Mexican and U. S colonizers as a Young Man Geronimo became known as a skilled Hunter and Warrior and was chosen to lead war parties against rival tribes in the 1850s he fought against the Mexican Army in a series of conflicts that became known as the Apache Wars it was during this time that he gained a reputation for his bravery and cunning and became an important leader of the Apache people in the 1870s the United States government began to expand Westward and the Apache tribes were forced to negotiate treaties and give up their lands but a lot of Apache refused to accept these terms and continue to resist Geronimo was one of the most vocal opponents of the U. S and he led a series of campaigns against the U.
S army and Geronimo was creative in his resistance he was known for his quick hit and run tactics and his ability to evade capture became the stuff of Legend he was a master of Guerrilla warfare and was able to adapt to the chaos of the battlefield despite being outnumbered and outgunned Geronimo and his followers were able to stand strong let's talk about geronimo's Quest against the Mexicans and the Americans which was most likely spurred by a tragic event early on in his life when Geronimo married alope he was 17 years old in Southern Arizona close to Clifton he and his wife settled down close to its mother Juanita's Wikia alope was Slender and fair loyal and dutiful according to Geronimo the two had been in a relationship for a while and he saw being married to her as the greatest joy offered to him in 1846 the couple were married and they moved into a Wikia made of Buffalo hides Spears bows and arrows as well as bear and lion robes were all throughout the interior of their house alope used intricate paintings done on Buckskin and beating to decorate their home her artistic abilities also extended to the wikiup's canvas walls in his autobiography Geronimo his own story Geronimo bragged about how wonderful his wife alope was they were exceedingly content and continued the customs of their ancestors alope gave birth to three kids for Geronimo in the early years of their marriage later when asked about his family Geronimo described them as children that played loitered and worked as I had done in 1851 Geronimo his wife and children and his mother were living in an Apache camp and yanos in the present-day Mexican state of Chihuahua on March 5th over 400 Mexican soldiers attacked the camp ending the lives of everyone they could including geronimo's wife alope their three children and his mother Geronimo was able to escape but the event obviously scarred him the attack on Janos became one of the main motivations behind his campaigns against both the Mexican and the U. S armies Geronimo would go on to have five other wives polygamy was an accepted practice among the Apache and marriages were more like a thing to do rather than an eternal Bond having multiple wives was actually seen as a sign of wealth and power in many Apache tribes at least before the impact of colonization and forced assimilation efforts eroded certain traditional Apache culture and values test runs the Apache and many other Native American tribes were much more liberal in line with today's modern standard of dating rather than the uptight Christian Europeans who started moving Westward and encroaching on their lands one example of this is the idea of trial marriages AKA shacking up trial marriages were practiced in many tribes across North America and were part of what was a generally more open and less demonized concept of sensuality and exploration among Native American tribes then the no intimate relations before marriage prudishness of their European counterparts let's look at the tribes of the Great Basin in the Western United States for example these tribes included the likes of the Shoshone the Paiute and the Ute these cultures were very much sensually egalitarian meaning that man and woman can explore in that category it was encouraged for younger people to have intimate relations with each other before marriage it was just a normal part of growing up if a young man and a young woman hit it off their families might initiate a trial marriage or the two would live together for some time to see if they were compatible the reason behind this practice was that sensual exploration and trial marriages allowed young men and women to gain experience and knowledge about relationships and physical touch and to learn how to form successful Partnerships it also allowed for a more egalitarian approach to courtship and marriage where both Partners at equal say in the decision-making process in the end trial marriages were a way for many North American cultures to celebrate and explore The Human Experience of love and partnership yeah Cynthia Ann Parker the white Comanche this next one is either a textbook case of Stockholm syndrome or one of the most bizarre Love Stories of the American West or maybe both the marriage of Cynthia and Parker a white woman and Peta nacona a Comanche chief was anything but traditional in 1836 when Cynthia Ann Parker was just nine years old a group of Comanche Warriors raided Fort Parker Texas a town that Cynthia and her family had moved to a few years earlier during the raid Cynthia was captured and most of her family lost their lives Cynthia Parker was taken by the Comanche and ended up being raised as a member of the tribe she was given the name and she learned to speak the Comanche language and adopted their customs and way of life she ended up marrying a guy named Peta nicona one of the most powerful Comanche Chiefs at the time he had already had a few wives but he was so enamored by Cynthia Parker that he apparently never took another one it was common at the time for Comanche men to have multiple wives so Cynthia Parker must have been a real catch the marriage was most likely arranged by Peta nicona's father Chief iron jacket who was another powerful leader among the Comanches in a traditional wedding ceremony the man would normally need to prove himself to the woman's family maybe gifts would be exchanged between families or the man would demonstrate how good he was at honey but seeing as how Parker was basically kidnapped that tradition could probably went out the window in some Southern playing stripes the Comanche included marriage was sometimes as simple as the man and the woman just deciding to live together and the rest of the community accepting that they were now married however it went down Cynthia Ann and petta reportedly had quite a happy marriage and had a few children including Quanah Parker who would go on to become one of the most famous Comanche Warriors of all time the marriage between the two could be seen as an important symbol for Unity between the Comanches and the white Settlers of Texas however it was a controversial union as some white settlers believe that Cynthia Ann Parker had been stolen from her family and forced into the marriage but it didn't seem like Cynthia was being held captive there were several attempts to rescue her over the years but she apparently refused to return to her family eventually in 1860 a group of Texas Rangers found out where neconus ban was after they raided Fort Parker again a town that by the way had been named in honor of Cynthia and her family after fleeing from the town the Rangers eventually figured out where nakona and his people were and attacked the Kona was killed trying to escape with Cynthia and their children Cynthia was eventually reunited with her family but after 25 years of life as a Comanche she didn't readjust well to White culture she had become a bit of a celebrity and was granted a bunch of land by the U. S government and given a monthly salary but she was torn up about the death of her husband two of her sons would end up dying while fighting against the U.
S army and she too died just a few years later at the age of 45 after struggling to reconcile her two identities as a white woman and a Comanche captive love on the Mississippi [Music] close your eyes and imagine traveling down the Mississippi River 1000 years ago what do you think you'd see some trees maybe a small Native American village or two will think again the Mississippi River was the thriving home to multiple cities and millions of people the native Mississippian culture lasted from around 800 to 1600 A.
