Big Bear's Den

Image of Shawnee Warrior from Osprey Men-At-Arms "American Woodland Indians" By M.G. Johnson Color Plates by R.Hook

For Boy Scouts and Reenactors
interested in 18th and early 19th century
Eastern Woodland Indians.

BE-ZO-NE'
(Shawnee for Hello)

The 2008 season at Boonesboro Village was magnificient!!!
Our second year of having campers with us in the village was a major success.
We are already making plans for the 2009 Season and you should too.
Already scouts are signing up for the program at
Boonesboro Village and Camp Daniel Boone.

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Wikipedia Wictionary

Interesting Fact - The term Indian actually comes from an English misunderstanding of a Spanish document. Columbus knew he was not in India. He actually thought he might be in islands off the Big Islands  of  Cipango (Japan). The Priest with Columbus referred to the people they met on those islands as  "In Dios," (of God). It was the English that misunderstood the term and began calling them  Indians.

Interesting Fact -  How did the "New World" come to be known as "America?"
From "Word Origins - An Exploration and History of Words and Language" Wilfred Funk, Random House(c)1950 
"Amerigo Vespucci, or Americus Vespucius, ... the Florentine navigator... In the year 1503... sent his old patrons, the then ruling Medici of Italy, an account of his four alleged voyages to the New World ... His narration of the supposed voyage of 1497 was translated by a young geographer and map-maker, Martin Waldseemueller ... The young author had been so deeply impressed by the writing of Americus Vespucius, ... that he labeled a piece of the land America, ... Ultimately the origin of the name Americus is Germanic. ... the connotations are heroism and leadership ..."

"God's Heroic Leaders ."

Read on!
You will find more tidbits like this
scattered throughout
Big Bear's Den.

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Note for All Users
The opinions expressed in this website are those of the author and do not represent the view of any particular tribe or other individual. Some of the pages in this website are quite large and may take a few moments to load, especially if you have a dial-up connection to the web. The two Wiki Links near the top of the page will appear on every page for further research. Both are excellent sources for information and words you may not understand.  If you think of things you would like to see added to this site, let me know and it will be considered. Throughout this site you will find numerous links to other sites with useful information. All of the text links will be in WHITE  and Underlined. While I cannot vouch for every site being up and running all the time, I do try to stay on top of the active and inactive sites. If you find any broken Links, please let me know. In addition to the sites linked in my text, please visit my LINKS page where you will also find an extensive Reading List. Many more useful links will be found there. We are under some limitations as to how big the site can be unless funds can be raised to support the project. If you are able to make a contribution to the cause, use the Contact Form to notify me of your intent and I will be in touch. I will not be available during the months of June and July. Your help in this regard will be greatly appreciated! Thank You!

Note for Parents
It is my desire to make this site as "Kid Friendly" as possible. The language I use is rated for an eighth to ninth grade reading level and may cause a mental stretch for some younger children. Hopefully they will come to you for things they do not understand. The mental stretch is intentional. I feel it is part of the educational process. I also wish to point out that some of the sites I have linked to deal with some contemporary "Indian Issues" and may be difficult for some younger children to comprehend. Please don't be afraid to discuss these issues with your children and please e-mail me if you need any help with talking points. While I have reviewed each of these sites myself and have not yet found any major problems, I  would like for you to e-mail me if you find any language on any of the sites that you find objectionable and the removal of that link will be considered.

Now that we've gotten all the instructions, advisories and disclaimers out of the way, we can get back to the business of having fun with learning. That is really what all of this is about. If you can't have fun while learning something new, what's the point in learning it anyway. I have always believed that learning should be fun. I just couldn't get some of my teachers to agree with me. I've also always believed that learning new things must start with the history of that thing. When learning Math you begin with the theories of Mathematicians that came before. You can't study genetics without knowing about Mendel's peas and you definitely can't learn about people without knowing their History. Our subject happens to be Eastern Woodland Indians, but the process is no different than it would be for any people anywhere in the world. The subject of this website centers on the 18th and early 19th centuries. If you wish to look into the ancient past of the indigenous people, it is an interesting story. I will begin things with only a cursory look at the post Columbian history of North America.

In 1492 "Columbus sailed the ocean blue," but he wasn't the first. In 1620, the "Pilgrims," or more accurately "Puritans," landed at "Plymouth Rock," but they weren't even the first English to arrive in the "New World." Throughout the 16th century, Englishmen and other Europeans had been visiting the coast of North America and, of course, the Spanish were already established in the Caribbean, Central and South America and they were making inroads into North America through Florida and the Gulf Coast. In 1607, the first permanent English settlement was established on the "James River" in a land they called "Virginia". They built a fort they called "Jamestown."( Jamestown 2007 Link, Jamestown Settlement Link) With this act the invasion of the land we know as the United States of America began in earnest.

It was the tribes of the Eastern Woodland Indians that met these English. At times the relationship was peaceful and at times it wasn't. I do think it is fair to say that relationships were always guarded on both sides.

By the middle of the 18th century, many wars had been fought between whites and Indians and between whites and other whites with both sides using Indians as auxiliary forces. The war we know as the French & Indian War (1754 - 1763) was actually the fourth such war between the English and the French, dating back to the previous century, both sides using Indians as auxiliaries. In Europe this fourth F&I War was known as the Seven Years War, but here in the colonies it actually lasted nine years.

In October 1753, George Washington was assigned by Governor Robert Dinwiddie of Virginia to warn the French to leave Virginia. At that time Virginia was laying claim to all the lands west of the Allegheny River in what is now western Pennsylvania. The French did not leave the region and in April 1754, Washington was sent back to the frontier with two companies of militia and defeated a small force of the French thus starting a war which really became the First World War as it ultimately involved all the major powers in Europe with theaters of combat all around the globe. The final treaty of peace did not come between the whites until 1763. For the Indians, while many treaties were signed at the time and many more have been signed since, the war continued, by some accounts, for almost another one hundred and fifty years. Some say the war continues to this day.

During the American Revolution, the Indians continued to play a role. The Mohawk and most of the major tribes sided with the British. The Oneida, Lenapi and Stockbridge, among others, played a role for the Americans. The Shawnee continued to raid frontier settlements somewhat independent of anyone, but almost all the tribes suffered at the hands of whites during and after the war. From the Revolution, in fact almost from 1607,  through the War of 1812 (which lasted from 1812 to 1815), up to the Indian Removals of the 1830's (see Links Below), war between the English colonies and later, the United States and one or more of the Eastern Woodland Tribes was continuous. Only after driving the tribes out of the Eastern Woodlands did the wars in the east end.  They then became The Indian Wars of the Old West, but that is another story.

Wikipedia - War of 1812     The Shawnee in the War of 1812     The Creek War     The Indian Removal Act     The Trail of Tears

Their are many, but most definitely not all, in the Native community that find reenacting this period of their history to be offensive. Their are many that even find the use of the term "Indian" offensive. While I don't agree with their point of view,on an intellectual level, I can understand it. Like the object of many impersonators, I feel that impersonation is the highest form of flattery if that impersonation is done well and, if you have read the Interesting Facts above, you already know my feelings on the term "Indian." In the course of your studies,portrayals,participation in dance or Scout ceremonies, should you encounter individuals that are offended by your actions, please do not argue with them. Politely state that it is not your intention to offend anyone and remove yourself from the situation.

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