Migration Memorials - Native Americans

Mantle Rock

makvnna@unc.edu — Mon, 19 Oct 2020 14:13:31 +0000

Description:

Mantle Rock - 1/2 mile. During winter of 1838-1839, the Cherokees were forced to leave their Smoky Mountain homes for Oklahoma territory. Mantle Rock, a 40-foot sandstone arch, was used for shelter on their "Trail of Tears." Since the icy Ohio River had no ferry traffic, the Indians sought cover beneath the arch. Many died there. Mantle Rock was also campsite for ancient Indians

LocationMem:

Smithland, KY

Institution:

Commonwealth of Kentucky

Official/Unofficial:

Official

Group Acknowledged:

Native Americans

Historical Subject:

Native migration

Physical Aspects:

Black

Place Location:

Themes:

Native Americans

migration

Trail of Tears

Comanche Springs

makvnna@unc.edu — Mon, 19 Oct 2020 14:09:20 +0000

Description:

Site of Comanche Springs. Used as a watering place and camping ground by Indians since Pre-Columbian times, the Springs were possibly visited about 1536 by Spaniard Cabeza de Vaca on his wanderings through Texas. The expedition of Juan de Mendoza, with his party of Spaniards and Jumano Indians, camped near the waters in 1684. The six major, gushing springs and the beautiful river they formed resulted from water seeping up through geological faults to the earth's surface. The reservoir which supplied them was located in the formation known as "Trinity Sand." The Springs, among the largest in all Texas, were one of the few good watering places in this arid region. They supplied Indians raiding into Mexico on the nearby Comanche war trail and also gold seekers traveling to California on the southern route, 1849 and later. Butterfield Overland Mail stage stopped here as well, and after 1859 the Springs provided water for Fort Stockton, which was founded both to protect the mail and stop the Comanche raids. The Springs began to be tapped for irrigation as early as 1875, but today irrigation projects to the north and west have reduced the underground water supply so much that the Springs no longer flow

LocationMem:

Fort Stockton, TX

Institution:

State Historical Survey Committee

Official/Unofficial:

Official

Group Acknowledged:

Native Americans, Spaniards

Historical Subject:

Native Americans & Spanish Inquisition

Physical Aspects:

Black

Date of Dedication:

1968

Place Location:

Themes:

The Mantle

paeron@unc.edu — Mon, 19 Oct 2020 03:38:00 +0000

Description:

The Mantle was commissioned in recognition of the legacy and contribution by Native American tribes in Virginia. The monument is in the shape of a Nautilus. There is a footpath and a stonewall that form the spiral shape. This shape is supposed to represent the circular dance formations that are a common theme in the American Indian culture. Native plant species are used around the memorial. The monument is embedded into the natural world and honors the significance of nature in the culture. There is a meditation area and infinity pool in the center of the memorial. The sculpture is decorated with life-size reliefs of corn, squash, and beans, and other objects significant to the region and the Native Americans. The memorial serves as a gathering spot where groups can come together and celebrate their heritage and culture.

Institution:

Virginia Capitol Foundation and Virginia Indian Commemorative Commission

Official/Unofficial:

Official

Group Acknowledged:

Native Americans

Historical Subject:

Made to honor and represent the Native American tribes in Virginia

Physical Aspects:

Spiral shaped monument resembling the shape of a Nautilus. A five-foot wide path outlines the monument. There is also a stone wall that can be used as a bench. The monument is surrounded by wildflowers and other native plant species. There is a meditation area and infinity pool located at the center of the spiral monument.

Date of Dedication:

April 2018

Place Location:

Files:

Themes:

Native Americans

Legacy

Native American History

Chesapeake

National Natives American Veterans Memorial

mlm0123@unc.edu — Sun, 18 Oct 2020 19:20:48 +0000

Description:

The memorial was established by the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian after taking up the charge given by Congress in 1994 authorizing the NMAI a National Native American Veterans Memorial. The Memorial sits on the grounds of the museum on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Its purpose is to honor the military service of the American Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native veterans, who served in the armed forces.

LocationMem:

National Museum of the American Indian

Washington D.C

Institution:

the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian

Official/Unofficial:

Official Government Memorial

Group Acknowledged:

Native American veterans

Historical Subject:

Honoring the Military Service of Native Americans.

Physical Aspects:

An elevated stain-less steel circle on an intricately carved stone drum. Also, the memorial incorporates water from sacred ceremonies, benches for gathering and reflection, and four lances where veterans, family members, tribal leaders, and others can tie clothes for prayers and healing.

Date of Dedication:

November/2020

Place Location:

Themes:

Native Americans

Nisipowinan Village Site

ffitch@unc.edu — Mon, 04 Mar 2019 18:09:20 +0000

Description:

This is the site of one of the largest Indian villages and cemeteries in the Central Valley. No physical structures remain.

LocationMem:

Sutter's Fort State Historic Park

Institution:

California State Parks

Official/Unofficial:

Official

Group Acknowledged:

Nissenan People

Historical Subject:

This is the site of a major California Indian village. The Nissenan tribe occupied the land upon the arrival of John Sutter, the Swiss immigrant who built a fort and working plantation-style ranch adjacent to the tribe. Sutter made deals with the Nissenan leaders in exchange for labor.

While Sutter's Fort was reconstructed and made into a California State Park, nothing remains of the Nissenan village and their graveyard is unmarked.

Physical Aspects:

Near Sutter's Fort and within the borders of Sutter's Fort State Park in Sacramento, no plaque or obvious marker exists for this site. It is a field with scrub bushes.

Date of Dedication:

June 1976

Place Location:

Files:

Themes:

State Indian Musuem

ffitch@unc.edu — Mon, 04 Mar 2019 00:45:22 +0000

Description:

California's first Indian museum. Opening in 1940 and updated in 1984, this museum is still in use.

LocationMem:

State Indian Museum, Sacramento CA

Institution:

California State Parks

Official/Unofficial:

Official

Group Acknowledged:

California Indians

Historical Subject:

This was the first museum in the state of California dedicated to the California Native Americans. The museum focuses on the history and culture of California native tribes. Beginning with the history prior to the arrival of the Spanish, through the Mission system, the Gold Rush, to the modern day. The Museum has exhibits on culture past and present. Most popular is the display of woven basketry.

Physical Aspects:

This small stone building, washed white in keeping with Mission era architecture, is a functioning museum. Inset into the door of the museum is a bronze plaque.

The plaque reads:

"The State Indian Museum was built fifty years ago as California's first state-run museum devoted to Indian cultures. It continues to serve the same purpose today, displaying an updated (1984) major exhibit on California's Indian peoples."

Date of Dedication:

August 1990

Place Location:

Files:

Themes:

California Gold Discovery Site: Sutter's Mill

ffitch@unc.edu — Mon, 04 Mar 2019 00:33:23 +0000

Description:

This site marks the spot where gold was discovered by John Marshall at Sutter's Mill in 1849.

LocationMem:

Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park, Coloma CA

Institution:

California State Parks

Official/Unofficial:

Official

Group Acknowledged:

Gold Miners

Historical Subject:

In 1849, workers at Sutter's Mill in California discovered gold in the river, sparking the California Gold Rush and causing one of the major migrations in U.S. history. The original building fell into ruin and a memorial was eventually built using stone remains. Sutter's Mill is a part of Gold Discovery State Park.

Physical Aspects:

The monument itself sits on the shore of the American River and is constructed out of layered stone. The stone is laid in a traditional manner, but smaller stones of a lighter color have been inlaid to read "Sutter's Mill". A bronze memorial plaque is set in the middle of the stone monument.

The plaque reads:

"This monument marks the site of John A. Sutter's sawmill. In its tail-race, on January 24, 1848, James W. Marshall discovered gold and started great rush of Argonauts to California. The Society of California Pioneers definitely located and marked the site in 1924 - additional timbers and relics, including the original tailrace unearthed in 1947, were discovered after the property became a state park. The State erected the Marshall Monument overlooking this spot in 1890 through efforts begun in 1886 by the Native Sons of the Golden West."

Date of Dedication:

March 1955

Place Location:

Files:

Themes:

Donner Memorial State Park

ffitch@unc.edu — Sat, 16 Feb 2019 00:31:51 +0000

Description:

This California State Park is located by Donner Lake and centered around the Pioneer Monument. This bronze memorial depicts three settlers looking West, and stands atop a 22 foot stone pedestal erected on the on the site of one of the cabins used by the infamous Donner Party during the winter of 1846. The park has recreational activities and a visitor's center with a museum chronically the history of the area from the time of the Native Americans to the modern day.

LocationMem:

Truckee, California

Institution:

California State Parks

Official/Unofficial:

Official

Group Acknowledged:

The Donner Party, Pioneers, Native Americans

Historical Subject:

The Donner Party were a group of pioneers bound for California during the first wave of Westward expansion but prior to the Gold Rush. The Donner Party deviated from the establish Oregon Trail, opting for a more southernly route that took them through the Sierra Nevada. They became trapped in the mountains beside what is now called Donner Lake during one of the worst winter's in the history of the region. Trapped for months with little food and no chance of rescue, members of the party eventually resorted to cannibalism to survive. Rescue eventually arrived in early spring, and the surviving members of the party settled across the state. Although the rescue parties had burned what remained after the winter, the story spread, and eventually a memorial was erected on the site of one of the cabins.

Physical Aspects:

Upon entering the part, there is a large parking lot, campsites, and a large visitor center with a museum. The monument itself stands beyond the visitor's center. The entrance to the monument site is a paved walkway that leads to a low wall. While nearing the entrance, the visitor passes a plaque

At the entrance, a stone is engraved: "'No one knows the strength of kindred love until it is tried.' - Elizabeth Keegan, 12 years old, 1865."

The monument is 22 feet high and built from local granite, with a solid base and bricked body. Atop this tower sits a bronze statue of a man, woman, and child - all dressed in pioneer attire, the man's arm raised to shied his eyes from the sun - facing West towards Donner Pass. Two bronze plaques are set into the base of the monument.

The front plaque reads: "VIRILE TO RISK AND FIND; KINDLY WITHAL AND A READY HELP. FACING THE BRUNT OF FATE; INDOMITABLE,—UNAFRAID."

The back plaque reads: "NEAR THIS SPOT STOOD THE BREEN CABIN OF THE PARTY OF EMIGRANTS WHO STARTED FOR CALIFORNIA FROM SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS, IN APRIL 1846, UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF CAPTAIN GEORGE DONNER. DELAYS OCCURRED AND WHEN THE PARTY REACHED THIS LOCALITY, ON OCTOBER 29, THE TRUCKEE PASS EMIGRANT ROAD WAS CONCEALED BY SNOW. THE HEIGHT OF THE SHAFT OF THE MONUMENT INDICATES THE DEPTH OF THE SNOW, WHICH WAS TWENTY-TWO FEET. AFTER FUTILE EFFORTS TO CROSS THE SUMMIT THE PARTY WAS COMPELLED TO ENCAMP FOR THE WINTER. THE GRAVES CABIN WAS SITUATED ABOUT THREE-QUARTERS OF A MILE TO THE EASTWARD, THE MURPHY CABIN ABOUT TWO HUNDRED YARDS SOUTHWEST OF THE MONUMENT, AND THE DONNER TENTS WERE AT THE HEAD OF ALDER CREEK. NINETY PEOPLE WERE IN THE PARTY AND FORTY-TWO PERISHED, MOST OF THEM FROM STARVATION AND EXPOSURE. IN COMMEMORATION OF THE PIONEERS WHO CROSSED THE PLAINS TO SETTLE IN CALIFORNIA. MONUMENT ERECTED UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE NATIVE SONS AND THE NATIVE DAUGHTERS OF THE GOLDEN WEST. MONUMENT DEDICATED JUNE 6, 1918."

Date of Dedication:

June 1918

Place Location:

Files:

Themes:

Trail of Tears Memorial

maryae@unc.edu — Wed, 13 Feb 2019 20:56:45 +0000

Description:

The Trail of Tears Memorial was built by Larry Baggett to memorialize the plight of the Cherokee Nation’s forced march and relocation from the southeastern United States to Indian Territory in Oklahoma. Most of the concrete work is encrusted with local stone. Mr. Baggett studied Indian culture, astrology and numerology, and told visitors he created the monument to memorialize the plight of Native Americans, to whoms' ghosts he could speak with.

LocationMem:

Jerome, Missouri Heading west on I-44, exit 172 (Jerome). Turn immediately north, then right at the T-intersection at Hwy D toward Jerome. The Trail of Tears Memorial is a few hundred yards on the left.

Institution:

Larry Baggett

Official/Unofficial:

Unofficial

Group Acknowledged:

Native Americans forced to relocate

Historical Subject:

The Native Americans forced to relocate, specifically during Andrew Jackson's presidency, and those before/after

Physical Aspects:

The entrance to the site is marked by a stone archway. The site itself consists of concrete figures: a seated man, wishing well, man with water pouring from his mouth, and white buffalo. It also has a number of rock gardens. The memorial has began to deteriorate after Baggett's death in 2003, but has since been bought and reopened to the public

Place Location:

Files:

Themes: