A dugout canoe was made from a single cypress log using axes and adzes. A long pole with a triangular blade was the used to propel the canoe trough the Everglades.<BR> In the 18th century the canoes were sometimes also used to travel to the Bahamas or to Cuba to trade for liquor, sugar, tobacco and coffee.<BR> In the beginning of the 19th century other groups of Indians decided to leave Florida, to stay away from the slave hunters. Some 150 people made the crossing to the Bahamas, motivated by the emancipation in the British colonies and the second Seminole War of 1835 that was going on in Florida.<BR> <BR> Raymond D. Fogelson (vol.ed.) (2004) "Handbook of North American Indians - vol. 14 Southeast", Smithsonian Institution Washington (p. 432, 433, 468)<BR> <BR> Postcards<BR> Theme: Present-day (20th century)<BR> <BR> Before European contact most North American tribes had little or no contact with other tribes. They were seen as outsiders and not regarded as humans. This started to change when the Europeans set foot in North America. Around 1700 alliances and confederations of different tribes were formed in the East. They began to see the European invaders as different from themselves. On the Plains the mobility of the horse increased contact between the different tribes. This was the begining of Pan-Indianism. Soon a new identity of “Indian” was created.<BR> With it also came Pan-Indian religion such as the Native American Church and the Shaker Religion. This Pan-Indianism would be an important factor in the Indian resitance of the 1960s when several different groups would join together in action.<BR> In 1934 the Indian Reorganisation Act replaced the Allotment Act. Collectively holding of land was restored and tribes were treated as equal partners. The Act also provided better education, healthcare and freedom of religion. Unfortunately the start of World War II ended funds necessary for these projects. <BR> During World War II Indians began to migrate to the cities hoping to find work there in the war industries or as a soldier in the army. In the 1950s the government started assimilation, termination and relocation policies. By terminating reservations the government tried to assimilate the Indian population. The Termination Bill of 1953 failed and development programs like those of befor World War II replaced the termination. Relocation was an other policy. Migration to cities was seen as a positive factor in the assimilation of Indians. The BIA started a program to speed things up. Indians were trained and helped with finding employment. But because of discrimination and failing to adjust to the city many Indians returned to the reservations.<BR> On the reservations unemployment continued to increase. Education levels were low and education was mostly provided by non-Indian schools. Their education programs focused on the savageness of Indians, giving Indian students a low self esteem.<BR> Housing was bad; there was no electricity, water or gas. Healthcare was also a problem. Indians were disciminated in hospitals and had bearly enough to eat. Alcohol abuse increased and with that also criminality. Indians were more often send to prison for drunkness than non-Indians. They were often abused in jail and suicide was not uncommon.<BR> The 1960s were marked by Indian resistance. They wanted the responsibility for education and tried to get attention for the broken treaties. In 1972 members of several tribes marched to Washington. The “Trail of Broken Treaties” ended with the occupation of the BIA. <BR> Urban Indians were by now well settled in the cities and started their own Indian centres. These organisations wanted the Indian cultural and legal status acknowledged. Especially young people were involved in organisations, like AIM. In 1973 AIM occupied Wounded Knee to draw the attention to several murders of Indians that were not investigated by the FBI. The occupation ended with a promise from the government that they would investigate the treaties more carefully and allow more Indian involvement in Indian policy.<BR> Indians today want more autonomy in education, healthcare and housing. They want to continue living in ways that best suit them by using non-Indian institutions and technology the way they see fit.<BR> <BR> Pieter Hovens: Indianen van Noord-Amerika (1977 Van Gorcum, Assen/Amsterdam) p. 88-94, 100-107, 111-117<BR> Alan L. Sorkin: The Urban American Indian (1978 D.C. Heath and Company, Lexington, Massachusetts Toronto) p. 1-4<BR> Deward E. Walker Jr.: The Emergent Native Americans – A Reader in Culture Contact (1971 Little, Brown and Company, Boston) p. 739-742<BR>