Quote:Here is the story of the Dream CatchersDream Catchers Dream catchers are one of the most fascinating traditions of Native Americans. The traditional dream catcher was intended to protect the sleeping individual from negative dreams, while letting positive dreams through. The positive dreams would slip through the hole in the center of the dream catcher, and glide down the feathers to the sleeping person below. The negative dreams would get caught up in the web, and expire when the first rays of the sun struck them. The dream catcher has been a part of Native American culture for generations. One element of Native American dream catcher relates to the tradition of the hoop. Some Native Americans of North America held the hoop in the highest esteem, because it symbolized strength and unity. Many symbols started around the hoop, and one of these symbols is the dream catcher. Dream Catcher Lore: Native Americans believe that the night air is filled with dreams both good and bad. The dream catcher when hung over or near your bed swinging freely in the air, catches the dreams as they flow by. The good dreams know how to pass through the dream catcher, slipping through the outer holes and slide down the soft feathers so gently that many times the sleeper does not know that he/she is dreaming. The bad dreams not knowing the way get tangled in the dream catcher and perish with the first light of the new day. How the Dream Catcher is made: Using a hoop of willow, and decorating it with findings, bits and pieces of everyday life, (feathers, arrow heads, beads, etc) the dream catcher is believed to have the power to catch all of a person's dreams, trapping the bad ones, and letting only the good dreams pass through the dream catcher.
How the Dream Catcher is made: Using a hoop of willow, and decorating it with findings, bits and pieces of everyday life, (feathers, arrow heads, beads, etc) the dream catcher is believed to have the power to catch all of a person's dreams, trapping the bad ones, and letting only the good dreams pass through the dream catcher.
A cowboy spends most of his days under western skies with horses and cattle. He is a tough individual who wears leather boots and a broad brimmed hat, and is a genuine legend of the “Old West.” The way of life and the history of cowboys lives strong in Custer Country. Today the cowboy as a serious rancher has replaced the colorful gambler and gunslinger. That doesn’t mean cowboys don’t know how to have fun. All of our rodeos are proof of that. With our rodeo events scattered throughout the year, anytime is a good time to cowboy up! Custer Country is the home of 2 Indian Nations--the Crow and the Cheyenne. A proud and colorful history lives throughout our region and is expressed through celebrations, Pow Wows, and Crow Fair. Also, every year in June, at Little Bighorn Days in Hardin, visitors come from all over the world to watch the Reenactment of Custer's Last Stand. Action, color, shooting and the best bareback riding you've ever seen await you at this event. Finally, be certain that you save some time to visit the breathtaking art centers and museums to fully absorb the rich Indian cultural heritage.
Flag
The Navajo Nation Flag, designed by Jay R. Degroat, a Navajo from Mariano Lake, New Mexico, was selected from 140 entries, and was officially adopted by the Navajo Nation Council on May 21, 1968 by Resolution CMY-55-68.
On a tan background, the outline of the present Nation is shown in copper color with the original 1868 Treaty Reservation in Dark Brown. At the cardinal points in the tan field are the four sacred mountains. A rainbow symbolizing Navajo sovereignty arches over the Nation and the sacred mountains. In the center of the Nation, a circular symbol depicts the sun above two green stalks of corn, which surrounds three animals representing the Navajo livestock economy, and a traditional hogan and modern home. Between the hogan and the house is an oil derrick symbolizing the resource potential of the Tribe, and above this are representations of the wild fauna of the Nation. At the top near the sun, the modern sawmill symbolizes the progress and industry characteristic of the Navajo Nation's economic development.
The small park near the Navajo Nation Administration Center features the graceful redstone arch for which the capital is named. The Navajo Nation headquarters and other government offices were built in close proximity to this mystical rock formation.
More recently, the Navajos have built a Veteran's Memorial at the base of Window Rock to honor the many Navajos who served in the U.S. military. Many Navajo soldiers are recognized in the annals of history for their role as Code Talkers, whereby they used the native language to create a code that was never broken by the enemy. Historians credit the Navajo Code Talkers for helping to win World War II. The park has many symbolic structures: a circular path outlining the four cardinal directions, 16 angled steel pillars with the names of war veterans, and a healing sanctuary that is used for reflection and solitude that features a fountain made of sandstone. Open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more info call 928-871-6647 or write to Navajo Nation Parks & Recreation Dept., P.O. Box 9000 , Window Rock, AZ 86515
Coordinates: 45°33′54″N 107°25′44″W
The Battle of the Little Bighorn, also known as Custer's Last Stand and, by the Native Americans involved, the Battle of the Greasy Grass, was an armed engagement between combined forces of Lakota, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho people against the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army. It occurred on June 25 and June 26, 1876, near the Little Bighorn River in eastern Montana Territory, near what is now Crow Agency, Montana.
The battle was the most famous action of the Great Sioux War of 1876–77 (also known as the Black Hills War). It was an overwhelming victory for the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho, led by several major war leaders, including Crazy Horseand Gall, inspired by the visions of Sitting Bull (Tȟatȟáŋka Íyotake). The U.S. Seventh Cavalry, including the Custer Battalion, a force of 700 men led by George Armstrong Custer, suffered a severe defeat. Five of the Seventh's companies were annihilated; Custer was killed, as were two of his brothers, a nephew, and a brother-in-law. Total U.S. deaths were 268, including scouts, and 55 were wounded.
Public response to the Great Sioux War varied at the time. The battle, and Custer's actions in particular, have been studied extensively by historians.[1]