These recordings are available for viewing on YouTube at: ECHOHAWKFAMILY
Roger Echo-Hawk: Pawnee Removal and the Echo Hawk Family Diaspora
2020-11-06 Roger Pawnee Removal (Part 01 Lecture)
Roger Echo-Hawk shares his reflections on Pawnee Removal (leaving Nebraska for Oklahoma in the 1870s) and the ensuing Pawnee and Echo Hawk family diaspora that followed. He gives an alternative view on the history of Pawnee Removal, emphasizing the autonomy and choice exercised by the Pawnee people and their leadership in deciding to remove to the south, away from their traditional homelands. He gives us a story from his research filled with the historical characters and the dire circumstances they faced, and how they came to terms with a forward-looking solution for the troubles of their times. There is much to learn here regarding the history of the Pawnee people and the Echo Hawk extended family.
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Speaking from Metlakatla, Alaska
2020-10-30 Johon EchoHawk Atkinson
Johon EchoHawk Atkinson speaks to the Echo Hawk Extended Family about his life and work in Metlakatla, AK. He is the cofounder and president of Liwaayda, a nonprofit that serves the community’s cultural and counseling needs. Johon is a storyteller, a counselor, a strong community member. He is Tsimshian and Pawnee and brings his cultural heritage into his life’s work dedicated to the healing of Alaskan people and Indigenous youth.
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Indigenous Archeology
2020-10-16 Carlton Gover Emily Van Alst Indigenous Archaeology
This is a two part presentation given by Carlton Gover (Pawnee) and Emily Van Alst (Lakota). Part one (29 minutes) is the presentation, giving us an overview of Indigenous archaeology, a new and emerging discipline. Part two (90 minutes) is a question and answer session, and an interesting discussion between Carlton and Emily and the family that I believe everyone in the family needs to hear. The discussion touches on many things of importance to the Echo Hawk extended family, and the Pawnee Nation.
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Roger’s Talk on Pawnee Cosmology and Women’s Status in the Pawnee World
2020 05 31 Roger on Female Elements in Pawnee Cosmology
Roger Echo-Hawk discusses the Pawnee cosmological context for understanding the history of women’s status in the Pawnee world. Who is the celestial figure behind the ideas of today’s Evening Star? Hear about the late 1800s Pawnee priests that passed this knowledge down. Roger’s view is that to understand Mother Corn one must first understand her context in Pawnee cosmology.
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Roger’s Two Part series: Pawnee Governance
Part One: 2020 05 17 Part One History of Pawnee Governance
Roger’s Part One of this two-part series is a sweeping view of Pawnee and Echo Hawk family history. — This series gives a panoramic view of Pawnee history through the lens of governance that encompasses our homelands from ancient times to the present. How and where did we live and govern ourselves? From the Mississippi River (The Dark River) to the Missouri River (The Mysterious River) to the Rockies (Where the Earth Touches the Sky) there are ancient Pawnee footsteps. — Part One falls into 4 sections: Section 1 uncovers the rich Pawnee meaning behind the English word, “Chief.” Section 2 reveals a 5th Pawnee band, The Little Kitkahakis, the play an important role in the times where forces were at work requiring the Pawnee band to consolidate into a confederation of stronger communities. Section 3 introduces changing views through the 1800s in Pawneeland and the ultimate removal decisions facing the Pawnee people. Section 4 ends on the final decades of the 1800s and life during times of deep transitions in Oklahoma. — Pawnee life was intensifying as we moved from the 1700s into the 1800s. The Sioux invasion and wars. Rolling epidemics. American settlers. The decline of the buffalo. Survival strategies that lead the Pawnee bands to consolidate into confederations and multiband communities. The very decline of the Pawnee population. The increase of American empire and a Pawnee/American alliance to fend off powerful enemies. The role that treaty-making played. Removal. A time of transitions in OK. Then the establishment of the city of Pawnee and Oklahoma statehood. Roger touches on all these issues. Pawnee governance played a vital role in the survival and wellbeing of the Pawnee people. The Echo Hawk family has had a hand in that process. This is the story behind understanding today’s Pawnee constitutional system of governance. Please listen and share this with others.
Part Two: 2020 05 24 Part Two Pawnee Governance Roger Echo Hawk Edited
Part Two of this two-part series is a sweeping view of Pawnee and Echo Hawk family history. — The story he tells is foundational to understanding the historical context of the Pawnee Nation in Oklahoma and some of the roles our family has played through those times to today. This series is one every family member should hear. — Topics include the removal story (leaving Nebraska for Oklahoma) followed by the years of hardships and disease in Oklahoma. He discusses the effects of allotments, the founding of the town of Pawnee, and Oklahoma statehood on the Pawnee nation and culture. These policies and events were forces that undermined traditional, ceremonially oriented Pawnee governance and made way for the rise of Pawnee constitutional governance. — There was much death and dying in this time of transition for the Pawnee Nation. Many things changed. Christianity, the Peyote religion, and the Ghost Dance religion swept aside some traditional religious and spiritual practices. These changes saw the traditional spiritual leaders losing some of their former roles in Pawnee governance, and being replaced by the Pawnee 1938’s implementation of a constitutional governance system. Roger talks about the pushback made by the federal and state governments, as well as internal resistance to changing old ways, as the Pawnee Nation sought autonomy in post-removal times. Roger observes that the first iterations of Pawnee constitutional governance included a requirement to live locally to be eligible to serve in an elected position, and that this right was reserved for men only. As these requirements were reexamined, Pawnee governance has continued to evolve through the 60s, 70s, 90s, and on to today.
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