Post by blackcrowheart on Apr 4, 2007 13:21:38 GMT -5
Gladstone speaks, sings historical information regarding Native Americans
Jack Gladstone provided historical information about Native Americans during several presentations to Sidney Middle School students Monday.
Gladstone grew up immersed in the rich oral tradition of the American West. His great-great-grandfather Red Crow, legendary chief of the Blood Tribe, was a great warrior and orator. Another grandfather was William Gladstone, a carpenter, who helped build Montana's Fort Benton and Alberta's Fort Whoop Up.
Gladstone's mother was born in Williston, N.D., and was a full German.
He instructed local students that a person's skin color is a very small detail. He said his Indian studies' professor told him that, "There is no such thing as race."
Gladstone said people's DNA is 99 percent similar regardless of skin color.
"What makes us different is what we learn," he said. "There's only one race. That's the human race."
Gladstone, who came to Sidney as part of Montana's required Native American Education for All program, sang several of his songs during the presentation including "The Hudson Bay Blues," which spoke about fur trading and featured the lyrics, "We didn't go shopping until the Hudson Bay Company."
Gladstone said Indians traded furs for items such as coffee, sugar, flour and alcohol. "With that powerful drink, we were becoming civilized," he said.
He noted how cultures and nations were influenced most by watersheds and mountain ranges, because they led to transporting cargo with the use of small boats and canoes.
editor@sidneyherald.com
Jack Gladstone provided historical information about Native Americans during several presentations to Sidney Middle School students Monday.
Gladstone grew up immersed in the rich oral tradition of the American West. His great-great-grandfather Red Crow, legendary chief of the Blood Tribe, was a great warrior and orator. Another grandfather was William Gladstone, a carpenter, who helped build Montana's Fort Benton and Alberta's Fort Whoop Up.
Gladstone's mother was born in Williston, N.D., and was a full German.
He instructed local students that a person's skin color is a very small detail. He said his Indian studies' professor told him that, "There is no such thing as race."
Gladstone said people's DNA is 99 percent similar regardless of skin color.
"What makes us different is what we learn," he said. "There's only one race. That's the human race."
Gladstone, who came to Sidney as part of Montana's required Native American Education for All program, sang several of his songs during the presentation including "The Hudson Bay Blues," which spoke about fur trading and featured the lyrics, "We didn't go shopping until the Hudson Bay Company."
Gladstone said Indians traded furs for items such as coffee, sugar, flour and alcohol. "With that powerful drink, we were becoming civilized," he said.
He noted how cultures and nations were influenced most by watersheds and mountain ranges, because they led to transporting cargo with the use of small boats and canoes.
editor@sidneyherald.com