As is the case with many Roman Catholic Feasts celebrated by Indians, this one is a mixture of old tradition and a Roman Catholic Saint as well. The San Geronimo Feast Days are at 29th and 30th of September. They are held at the end of the harvest season, an important moment in the cycle of native ceremonies practiced by the people of the pueblos.<BR> They are part of a tradition that goes back to the time of trappers and traders. Trade fairs used to be held on the plaza of the pueblo when trappers, mountain men, Plains Indians and the pueblo peoples would meet to trade for goods, supplies and sometimes even slaves.<BR> At the same time it is the celebration of the day of Saint Jerome, a Catholic saint and the name of the Taos church. A church that has seen two Revolts and complete destruction.<BR> There are clowns, tshípunah, who are running around all day making jokes only members of the pueblo can understand. They run around on September the 30th and make fun Pueblo life, dace around with people and marry people in mock weddings.<BR> They are also the performers of certain rituals such as the morning foot races and the pole climbing at the end of the day.<BR> <BR> http://www.taosnews.com/fallfestivals/san_geronimo.htm (17-1-2007)<BR> <BR> Postcards<BR> Theme: Historical<BR> <BR> One of the first European nations that colonized North America was Spain. In 1539 Hernando the Soto reached Florida. With him he brought priests to missionize the Indian population. Most of the priests were killed, but it was the beginning of European influence in this part of America.<BR> Soon after the Spanish arrived two other main players in the history of North America would arrive at the continent: England and France. At first these two nations were more interested in trading with Indians than to make Christians of them in contrast to the Spaniards.<BR> In a lot of cases contact started with the fur trade. The trade had a huge impact on the way of life of the Indians. First of all tribes shifted from fishing and hunting to trapping bevers and otters. The most obvious change was contact with Europeans and their trade goods. Furs were traded for beads, ribbons and bells and later also for guns and other metal tools. Certain clothing acticles and designs were also adapted and copied by Indians. Altough Indians borrowed a lot from European traders they never fully shifted to European fashion and way of life. European designs, clothing styles and tools were simply adapted to traditional ways of life. Not everything European came to the Indians by trading. The horse for example was introduced by the Spaniards in the 17th century. Through the tribes of the Southwest they found their way through North America by trading and raiding. Especially for nomadic tribes this mobilization meant changes in living, hunting and warfare.<BR> Eventually tribes started to become more dependant on the tradingposts and started to live nearby. The numbers of groups around the tradingpost became so large, that diseases started to break out. The loss of certain skills caused even more problems when the fur trade started to decrease in the 1830s.<BR> Soon the French and English were interested in more than furs. Farmers, priests and other people from these countries came to America to settle permanently. In the beginning they were outnumbered by the Indian population, and the only way to settle somewhere was by gaining the trust of the local Indians. But soon more, especially English, settlers came and conflicts over land began. Treaties were signed and broken or Indians were forcefully removed from their land if they resisted. Finally a many tribes ended up on reservations. During the American Revolution most Indian tribes took the side of England, though not all. This caused intertribal warfare. After the American Independence all defeted Indians were driven away to the western side of the Mississippi River. Later other tribes were removed from their lands and were also sent westward. But colonization did not stop and eventually colonists crossed the Mississippi. By means of pacification of Indians and the killing of bison the colonists made the Indians more dependent on the government. By signing more treaties, their land was taken and they were once again put in reservations. In 1887 the Allotment Act ended collective landownership. Land was now owned individually by Indians. Land that was left went to white farmers. More poverty among Indians was the result.<BR> Meanwhile the European priests had started their missions throughout the country. Indians were seen as savages and the priests believed that they should become Christians and live in a European way. The goal of the missions was to educate Indian priests and eventually to create Indian churches. <BR> The missions also took the responsibility of teaching European agricultural methods and educating Indian children. Children were taken from their parents and put in boarding schools where they were forbidden to speak their language. They were educated in a European way and were mistreated very often. When they finished school they had to go back to their reservations. The result was that they could not adapt to the way of life in the reservations any more.<BR> The consequences of the European invasion for the Indians were many. Some improved their lives, most of them only made life harder. In any case life changed but Indians never fully adapted the European way of life. Mostly they tried to cope with it and inserted it in to their traditional way of life.<BR> <BR> <BR> Pieter Hovens: Indianen van Noord-Amerika (1977 Van Gorcum, Assen/Amsterdam) p. 52-56, 59-63, 65-67, 70, 72, 76-77, 81-82<BR> Wilcomb E. Washburn vol. ed.: “Handbook of North American Indians – History of Indian-White Relations” vol. 4 (1988 Smithsonian Institution Washington) p. 299-300, 396-403 <BR> Prentbriefkaart in kleur, voorstellende een scene van het feest van San Geronimo, de patroon van Taos Pueblo.