Forum Index > Pacific NW History > R.I.P. Floyd "Red Crow" Westerman
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Snowbrushy
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PostWed Mar 05, 2008 9:21 pm 
Remember him in Dances With Wolves and others? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floyd_Red_Crow_Westerman

Oh Pilot of the storm who leaves no trace Like thoughts inside a dream Heed the path that led me to that place Yellow desert stream.
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Bryan K
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PostThu Mar 06, 2008 1:42 am 
Nope, don't remember him. RIP though.

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Backpacker Joe
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PostThu Mar 06, 2008 1:54 am 
R.I.P. Ten Bears.

"If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen we must live through all time or die by suicide." — Abraham Lincoln
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kleet
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PostThu Mar 06, 2008 7:28 am 
Since his death last year, I've come to the conclusion that his place in Pacific NW History is at least as important as Madonna's.

A fuxk, why do I not give one?
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Snowbrushy
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PostThu Mar 06, 2008 7:32 pm 
I found out about his death recently from the Muckleshoot Monthly, a local Indian Tribe newspaper. There are two articles on page 8. He was a Sioux Indian. Kleet asks an interesting question - what does a Sioux born in 1936 have anything to do with NW history? Salish knows. And I'll say this: he (they) had a lot more to do with it than the thread about the 1940 Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapse! Red Crow played a Sioux indian in movies and wrote/sang songs. The Sioux and other plains tribes greatly influenced the geographical area now known as the NW. Does that make him a historical figure less than Madonna? Ask the Muckleshoot ..

Oh Pilot of the storm who leaves no trace Like thoughts inside a dream Heed the path that led me to that place Yellow desert stream.
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salish
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PostFri Mar 07, 2008 8:06 am 
I first read about his passing on Indian Country News, the nation's premier newspaper for Indian people: (http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096416291 "Urban" Indians have traditionally been forgotten living in large cities, and along with that comes a loss of culture and identity, which is why Bernie Whitebear's accomplishment of Daybreak Star and UI was so important for Indians living in the Pacific Northwest. Back in the day trade and commerce was important to Indian people no matter whether they were Puget Sound Salish or Lakota Sioux. There was always a link. My own grandmother, who was Montana Salish - more of a buffalo culture than anything else, would come to Washington to visit and trade with the Yakima people, and she used to go to Celilo Falls on the Columbia to celebrate the start of the fishing runs with those people, before the dams went up and flooded this ancient fishing site. That's a long way of saying that a Sioux person could have connection and impact with the Pacific Northwest now and in the past, at least in my opinion. The post-Wounded Knee and AIM days of the early 1970s were important to Indian people everywhere, and I believe Westerman played a role in that re-awakening here in the Pacific Northwest. I didn't see Madonna there. After I read of his passing I spoke with an older brother about Westerman. My brother was an actor and co-creater of an Indian theater group in the mid-1970's called Red Earth Performing Arts. The leader was a Nez Perce guy named John Kauffman, a wonderful actor and a great guy. I wasn't aware that my brother knew Westerman, but apparently they did hang out together in Eastlake before it became saturated with trendy shops and expensive condos. He said Floyd always came by with his guitar slung over his shoulder and would entertain everyone in the evenings, and he was a traditional man who paid attention to his culture and spiritualism. I never met him but he sounded like the genuine article. Cliff

My short-term memory is not as sharp as it used to be. Also, my short-term memory's not as sharp as it used to be.
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greg
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PostFri Mar 07, 2008 8:28 am 
That's fascinating Cliff, thanks for sharing up.gif Also, if my recollection of history is correct, after Native Americans acquired horses from the Spanish in the 1600s, the Sioux became traditional enemies of the Nez Perce and other tribes from the Columbia Plateau.

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salish
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PostFri Mar 07, 2008 8:49 am 
I think that's true, for the most part, Greg. The Nez Perce were friends and allies of our tribe and joined us twice a year for months-long buffalo hunts into eastern Montana and even western SD. Ditto with the CDA people. The Blackfeet confederation was probably more of an enemy. Cliff

My short-term memory is not as sharp as it used to be. Also, my short-term memory's not as sharp as it used to be.
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Phil
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PostFri Mar 07, 2008 10:06 pm 
salish wrote:
I think that's true, for the most part, Greg. The Nez Perce were friends and allies of our tribe and joined us twice a year for months-long buffalo hunts into eastern Montana and even western SD. Ditto with the CDA people. The Blackfeet confederation was probably more of an enemy.
Why was that so with the Blackfeet? I imagine I could check that in a textbook, but here we are. Guess I'm intrigued by the range of human interactions ... my limited reading of coastal peoples history shows the same breadth in terms of generations of collaboration with one group vs homicidal/gendocial relations with others. Or, how Lewis & Clark had easy times with some folks on their way west, but a devil of a time with others. I would say "that's human nature, chaos", but Im always interested if others know more about these things.

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Snowbrushy
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PostSat Mar 08, 2008 9:28 am 
Individual NW tribes would have their own oral histories about cultural and social connections to the more nomadic plains tribes. The english word Tipi comes from a similar Lakota word. Plains Indians first lived in them and some NW tribes also. http://www.tipis.org/university_of_washington_librari.htm It would be interesting to learn what other things these various societies shared - music, jewelry, art, customs, tools, language, foods, wives.

Oh Pilot of the storm who leaves no trace Like thoughts inside a dream Heed the path that led me to that place Yellow desert stream.
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salish
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PostSat Mar 08, 2008 7:47 pm 
Why was that so with the Blackfeet? I imagine I could check that in a textbook, but here we are. Guess I'm intrigued by the range of human interactions ... my limited reading of coastal peoples history shows the same breadth in terms of generations of collaboration with one group vs homicidal/gendocial relations with others. Or, how Lewis & Clark had easy times with some folks on their way west, but a devil of a time with others. I would say "that's human nature, chaos", but Im always interested if others know more about these things.[/quote] Phil, sorry I missed this earlier. The Montana plains is a huge place, but turf is important. In this case hunting lands, mostly. The Blackfeet bands were fairly close, geographically, especially when traveling over the continental divide to hunt buffalo. They were more numerous and by virtue of trade had firearms before the Salish. Generally speaking, I think you may already have the answer pegged in your statement "that's human nature". Cliff

My short-term memory is not as sharp as it used to be. Also, my short-term memory's not as sharp as it used to be.
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