1812: The war that we don't remember much about

History was not my forte when I was in school. Actually, I dreaded history as much as I did math. The teacher gave facts in such a mundane way that I lost interest early on.  I remember talking about the various wars, but I don't recall ever discussing the War of 1812. Not ever. But it could of happened on a day that I laid my head down on the desk and drifted off until the bell rang. 

I didn't really become interested in history until I started researching my family's lineage. Now I know a lot more than I ever did.  When a friend from work told me about the re-enactment that takes place in La Fontaine, Indiana every autumn, I jumped at the opportunity to learn something about a war that I knew little about.

In a nutshell this is the three main points of the war: 1) Americans would be kidnapped, the ones with English accents, and would be impressed to serve on the side of the British. 2) The British interfered with American trade and France. For some reason they wanted us to pay them a tax in order to trade with the French. 3) Finally, the English stirred up Indian warfare.  

One of the good things that the British did was that they blocked slave ships from coming to the United States and any slave who escaped to Canada was considered free.  

On June 1, 1812 war was declared, lives were lost, and the Indians were defeated. Then the move westward began.  

My nephews and I sat and watched as the re-enactment took place and I wondered if there could have been another way of settling the differences. 

For some reason each people group thinks that they are supreme and expect the rest to bow down to them, which causes a lot of strife. 

And yet, war is still prevalent in our world today.  

This reminds me of a quote many use from Rodney King, "Can we all get along?" 

My Native American Experience

Yesterday,  I took three of my nephews to witness a Powwow in a city nearby. Powwow means to dream or have vision. Each Powwow usually has a host drum with several guest drummers, all of which are men.  Women usually take part by singing only. The drum is considered sacred and is to be treated with great respect. And no one is to approach the drum who is under the influence of alcohol or drugs nor are you to reach across it. Once the drumming begins, one feels the need to dance. 

The beat of the drum makes our bodies, mind, and spirits, join together in harmony. It allows us to connect with Mother Earth and to each other. So, therefore, dancing to beat of the drum is not only healthy but is spiritual too. So, if you find yourself wanting to dance when you hear music, just remember you are doing what comes naturally.  

Compared to the women, the men were like peacocks, displaying their elaborate regalia. As I was observing the Circle Dance, I felt that my eyes were drawn to the men as they proudly displayed their tribes traditional clothing. 

 The term "Indian" originated with Christopher Columbus who thought that he had landed in the East Indies. Here in the U.S. we refer to them as Native Americans or American Indians while in Canada they are referred to as First Nations.

Many Indian words are now part of our main stream conversational usage such as: wigwam, moose, moccasin, caribou, chipmunk, squaw, tobaggan, totem, and woodchuck. 

Native Americans have been living on the American continent since about 12,000 BC and were not separated by tribes or nations but a variety of cultures, peoples, and languages. 

The average African-American genome is 73.2 % African, 24% European, and 0.8% Native American. Latinos have an average of 18% Native American ancestry, 65.1 % European ancestry, and 6.2% African ancestry. Most Mexicans do not believe that they are of the same race as Native Americans even though they lived here at the same time and do not label themselves as such.  

I had a wonderful time with my family observing a culture within a culture.  The audience was encouraged to participate along with the dancers and many did. Maybe, I will be brave enough to do that next year.