Blackhawk Walters - Legends of the Chiefs: the True Legends Passed Down by Native Americans

Copyright 2006----Updat 2012

By Blackhawk Walters & Beth Shumway Moore

Book Design by Red Hawk

Original Artwork by Gayla Prince

Editing by Tammi Moran

ISBN: 9781483518930

Prologue

By

Blackhawk Walters

As a young boy, my grandfather and grandmother took me on a journey to learn of my heritage. We traveled to Oklahoma where I met many relatives and heard stories of my people. At this time my whole destiny and purpose began.

Aware that Geronimo was my hero, Grandfather took me to his grave. Only one who has been on a pilgrimage can understand how, to me, Geronimo was a god like figure. Only the true story helps understand what pain and misery he withstood. The power and connection as a medicine man, with Father Sky and Mother Earth, made him what he was. I knelt down at the site of his grave, vowing to Geronimo, in my heart, that one day I would be a great warrior. I promised I would learn the stories of our great warriors and I wouldnt let them die.

I was forty-eight years old before I achieved my other life goals: winning four World Title Kickboxing Championships, becoming a published author, movie maker and performer. Its now time I kept my other promise to Geronimo by putting into print the legends of my people.

My dear friend, Beth Shumway Moore, who is a successful author, suggested we do a book together.

All the history and stories have been written by the other side. My stories come from the myth keepers, Native Americans like myself, who pass along oral history. No apologies offered to any who find faults with these stories and legends. My coauthor, Beth, and I spent hours checking facts. If there was a contradiction we took my legends as they are closer to the truth.

In many tribes sex didnt matter because an Indian had to earn his position of authority by skills shown in daily life and in battle. There were medicine men, medicine women, and elders who held councils on tribal affairs. Often a vote was made to choose a peace chief to negotiate terms with another tribe. If, in council, war was decided, a war chief was chosen due to his proven leadership skills, or sometimes because he was wronged, or lost his decision to fight or not.

After a council and everyone had their opinion voiced, a warrior could choose the path he thought correct.

Many misconceptions still exist because our culture wasnt respected. Respect for, and gaining information, is essential to understanding. We continue to pass on the ceremonies and rituals of our people but many of our young do not make the effort to learn our history and legends. Many have never been written down, and they slowly die out with each generation. There are many sources---history records, missionary records, rare journals---that document one side of some legends. But they are told at our Council Fires from a different view point. As you read our stories, imagine an invasion of aliens from another planet. Then it is possible to understand.

An Indian acquaintance of mine commented that only the Lakota and Cheyenne, who defeated Custer were real warriors. The other Indians were Hold the Horse Indians. This friend had been convinced that they were the only Indians who engaged the white culture.

He, like most Americans, was totally ignorant of the facts. His 3.000 Cheyenne warriors had defeated Custers 239 men. They won the battle, but lost the war. From that point on, all Cheyenne warriors were defeated and put on reservations within three years.

The Eastern Indians, specifically my tribal heritage, Creek and Choctaw, had been fighting European encroachment from the 1500s. Our people fought invasions with such cunning it took European invaders 300 years to put us on reservations from 1830-1839. It took less than 50 years to defeat the western tribes. Yet they were remembered as the great warriors.

Why dont people know the truth? First, American Indians were considered to be Red Savages. Not until the white man had conquered everything east of the Mississippi, and built their cities, were the Americans interested in Indian culture. The white man now owned our land and reasoned that this was their home and their country. Secure and settled, interest turned to changing the Red Savages into the The Noble R ed Savage, but still the misnomer of savage.

Another misnomer is that only in the later stages of the Indian wars was the word massacre replaced with the word battle. In early history massacre was used only when large numbers of Americans were killed, or when the Indians won.

The second reason is, no Native American, at least none with success, has ever published our side of the story. History books basically tell the battles won by Americans neglecting the great battles won by the Indians.

The third reason is, Americans want to believe the story that makes the good guys wearing the white hat.

When I hear people say this country was founded on Christian principles I dont believe these principles involve lying, cheating, conquering and destroying.

The words of the first ordained priest in the New World describes the treatment Spanish soldiers gave to the American Indians written more than 500 years ago.

Overrunning cities and villages, where they spared no sex, nor age, neither would their cruelty protect women with children, whose bellies they would rip up, taking out infants to hew into pieces. They would lay wagers who could, with the most dexterity, either cleave or cut a man in the middle, or at one blow cut off this head. The children they would take by the feet and dash their innocent heads against the rocks. And when they were fallen into the water, with strange and cruel derision, they would call upon them to swim. Sometimes they would run a sword through a pregnant woman, killing both mother and infant. They erected gallows that were so broad but so low, that the tormented creatures might touch the ground with their feet, upon which they would hang thirteen persons, blaspheming, affirming that they did it honor of our redeemer and his apostles, and then putting fire under them. They burnt the poor wretches alive.

The European invaders wanted to wipe out all Indian people. The Spanish records in Mexico indicate the American Indian population at 15,000,000. By 1650 the number was reduced to 2,000,000. More than 13,000,000 had died by Spanish estimates.

Florida was once populated by American Indians. Within 150 years the Spanish had totally annihilated the complete Indian population.

They even had special words for their slavery in the name of God. Encomiendas and repartimientos meant the master race would save the savages with their Christian religion. In return the Indian would serve as slaves in the gold mines and raising crops on plantations. Native Americans would have none of this. Women would kill their own children rather than have them suffer torture and slavery.

It took the American Indians less than one hundred years to learn that you meet cruelty with cruelty. If they kill your women and children, then you kill their women and children.

Although I have told these stories orally for many years, the time has come to pass the stories on so they dont die. My people say someone lives as long as somebody remembers them. Let the memory of my people and our great chiefs live on forever.

Chapter 1

OPECANCANOUGH

Powhatan

1544-1644

If I had captured you, I would not have displayed you as a wounded dog to my people. I would have let you die as a warrior.