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Native Fan Club, 89673995 Benny Bridge, Los Angeles, CA (2026)

02/18/2026

WHY WE WEAR GHOST BEADS: Juniper beads or Cedar beads--sometimes called "Ghost Beads"--are important to the Diné.And Why You Should Too...
“‘Ghost Beads’ are worn as beautiful jewelry, but there is so much more to the story.
These beads have a deep history with our people. They were first used medicinally after the first Europeans came to the southwest.
You see, they brought new diseases with them that our people were not immune to. This is the first time that cedar/juniper berries are mentioned in our stories.
Our people would make them into tea. The legend says that this kept them healthy in the face of new diseases.
Cedar/juniper berries have different phases as they grow and eventually fall to the ground.
They aren't really noticeable until they cover the trees. They have a bluish-gray, dusted color.
If the berries are on a female tree, they completely cover the tree. In some cases, there are so many that they almost look like bushels of grapes.
Once these berries fall to the ground, they disappear... to most people. But not the creatures.
Squirrels, chipmunks, and other creatures we share this earth with take these berries and make a gift for us (the five-fingered beings).
Once the critters peel the outside fruit from the fallen berries, they reveal the beautiful shell inside.
The critters also hollow out the bead from one side. The artist then only has to put a hole in one side of the bead. The jewelry is essentially made by the five-fingered being and nature’s creatures.
The design on the exposed juniper berry is so intricate and beautiful that only nature could have designed it.
Once the squirrel or chipmunk discards the berry. It is peeled, hollowed out the shell, and left as the perfect bead.
Because of the close contact with nature, these beads are held in high regard and seen as much more valuable than beads that can be manufactured or purchased.
Their value is said to be in their ability to offer protection to the wearer and keep them safe from the evil that may be lurking in everyday life.
At this point, our Navajo people gather what was once a cedar/juniper berry and is now a "Ghost Bead".
Local Navajo artists like Navajo Elder, 85-year-old Rena Whitehorse gather these beads and string them in the traditional way to create the most beautiful jewelry.
Sometimes mixed with colorful glass beads or beautiful shells, these Ghost Beads are perfect for anyone.
Anyone who is looking for something directly from nature. Anyone who is looking for an authentic Navajo creation. Anyone who is looking for added protection as they make their journey through life”.
— NavajoTraditionalTeachings
Photo Courtesy ~ NavajoTraditionalTeachings.
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02/18/2026

A legend of Devil's TowerBruleOut of the plains of Wyoming rises Devil's Tower. It is really a rock, visible for hundreds of miles around, an immense cone of basalt which seems to touch the clouds. It sticks out of the flat prairie as if someone had pushed it up from underground.
Of course, Devil's Tower is a white man's name. We have no devil in our beliefs and got along well all these many centuries without him. You people invented the devil and, as far as I'm concerned, you can keep him. But everybody these days knows that towering rock by this name, so Devil's Tower it is.
No use telling you its Indian name. Most tribes call it bear rock. There is a reason for that - if you see it, you will notice on its sheer sides many, many streaks and gashes running straight up and down, like scratches made by giant claws.
Well, long, long ago, two young Indian boys found themselves lost in the prairie. You know how it is. They had played shinny ball and whacked it a few hundred yards out of the village. And then they had shot their toy bows still farther out into the sagebrush. And then they had heard a small animal make a noise and had gone to investigate.
They had come to a stream with many colorful pebbles and followed that for a while. They had come to a hill and wanted to see what was on the other side. On the other side they saw a herd of antelope and, of course, had to track them for a while.
When they got hungry and thought it was time to go home, the two boys found that they didn't know where they were. They started off in the direction where they thought their village was, but only got farther and farther away from it. At last they curled up beneath a tree and went to sleep.
They got up the next morning and walked some more, still headed the wrong way. They ate some wild berries and dug up wild turnips, found some chokecherries, and drank water from streams. For three days they walked toward the west. They were footsore, but they survived.
Oh, how they wished that their parents, or aunts or uncles, or elder brothers and sisters would find them. But nobody did.
On the fourth day the boys suddenly had a feeling that they were being followed. They looked around and in the distance saw Mato, the bear. This was no ordinary bear, but a giant grizzly so huge that the two boys would only make a small mouthful for him, but he had smelled the boys and wanted that mouthful. He kept coming close, and the earth trembled as he gathered speed.
The boys started running, looking for a place to hide, but there was no such place and the grizzly was much much faster than they. They stumbled, and the bear was almost upon them. They could see his red, wide-open jaws full of enormous, wicked teeth. They could smell his hot, evil breath. The boys were old enough to have learned to pray, and they called upon Wakan Tanka, the Creator:
"Tunkashila, Grandfather, have pity, save us."
All at once the earth shook and began to rise. The boys rose with it. Out of the earth came a cone of rock going up, up until it was more than a thousand feet high. And the boys were on top of it. Mato the bear was disappointed to see his meal disappearing into the clouds.
Have I said he was a giant bear? This grizzly was so huge that he could almost reach to the top of the rock, trying to get up, trying to get those boys. As he did so, he made big scratches in the sides of the towering rock. But the stone was too slippery; Mato could not get up. He tried every spot, every side. He scratched up the rock all around, but it was no use. The boys watched him wearing himself out, getting tired, giving up. They finally saw him going away, a huge, growling, grunting mountain of fur disappearing over the horizon.
The boys were saved. Or were they? How were they to get down? They were humans, not birds who could fly.
Some ten years ago, mountain climbers tried to conquer Devil's Tower. They had ropes, and iron hooks called pitons to nail themselves to the rockface, and they managed to get up. But they couldn't get down. They were marooned on that giant basalt cone, and they had to be taken off in a helicopter. In the long-ago days the Indians had no helicopters.
So how did the two boys get down? The legend does not tell us, but we can be sure that the Great Spirit didn't save those boys only to let them perish of hunger and thirst on the top of the rock.
Well, Wanblee, the eagle, has always been a friend to our people. So it must have been the eagle that let the boys grab hold of him and carried them safely back to their village.
Or do you know another way?
- Told by Lame Deer in Winner, Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation, South Dakota, 1969.
Note. Matȟó Thípila, Bear Lodge in Lakota
The Great Mystery Wakan Tanka..
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02/17/2026

THE MUSICAL REBEL WHO CHANGED HISTORY: How One Native American Girl Turned Boarding School Oppression Into Musical Revolution!
Meet Zitkála-Šá, the incredible Native American woman who refused to let anyone erase her identity! In the late 1800s, she was sent to a boarding school designed to strip away her heritage and culture. But instead of giving up, this amazing woman used her talent to fight back in the most beautiful way possible - through music that would change American history forever.
THE GROUNDBREAKING ACHIEVEMENT
In 1913, Zitkála-Šá made history by co-composing the first-ever American Indian opera, "The Sun Dance." This wasn't just any ordinary musical work - it was a revolutionary fusion of traditional Native American melodies with European classical music forms. She didn't just create beautiful music; she created a powerful statement that Native American culture deserved recognition and respect on the world's biggest stages.
MUSIC AS RESISTANCE
What makes her story so powerful is how she turned oppression into opportunity. While boarding schools were trying to destroy Native American culture, Zitkála-Šá mastered classical music and then used it as a weapon of cultural preservation. Her opera was based on the sacred Sun Dance ceremony, which was actually banned by the U.S. government at the time. Through her music, she was secretly keeping her people's traditions alive and sharing them with the world.
BEYOND THE STAGE
But Zitkála-Šá's impact went far beyond music. She became one of the most important Native American rights activists of her time, using her platform and fame to fight for justice and recognition for her people. She co-founded the National Council of American Indians and spent her life lobbying for increased political power for Native Americans. Her music gave her a voice that couldn't be silenced.
LEGACY OF COURAGE
Today, Zitkála-Šá stands as a symbol of how art can be the ultimate form of resistance. She proved that you can honor your roots while mastering new skills, and that creativity can be the most powerful tool for social change. Her story reminds us that sometimes the best way to fight oppression is to excel so brilliantly that the world has no choice but to listen.
This is what happens when talent meets determination and cultural pride! Zitkála-Šá's symphony of resistance continues to inspire musicians, activists, and anyone fighting to preserve their identity in a world that tries to erase it..
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02/17/2026

Tokyo, 1964. The Olympic stadium was buzzing with anticipation.
The 10,000-meter final was stacked with giants—Ron Clarke of Australia, the world-record holder. Tunisia’s Mohammed Gammoudi. Ethiopia’s Mamo Wolde.
And then there was Billy Mills. A young man from Pine Ridge, South Dakota. A U.S. Marine. A Native American from the Oglala Lakota Nation. And to nearly everyone watching… a name they’d never heard.
The gun fired. Lap after lap, Mills stayed in the pack—quiet, steady, unnoticed. With one lap to go, the pace exploded. Clarke surged. Gammoudi moved wide. Mills was jostled, boxed in. His chance looked gone.
But Billy Mills found something deep inside himself.
He swung to the outside—lane four—and launched into a sprint that defied belief. He flew past Clarke. Then Gammoudi. And in a flash, he crossed the finish line in 28:24.4—an Olympic record, and nearly 50 seconds faster than he’d ever run before.
The stadium froze. The announcer shouted: “Look at Mills! Look at Mills!”
It was one of the greatest upsets in Olympic history.
No American had ever won the 10,000 meters. No one expected him to.
But Billy Mills didn’t stop at gold.
He dedicated the rest of his life to uplifting Native youth. He co-founded Running Strong for American Indian Youth, bringing clean water, food, housing, and hope to underserved communities. Diagnosed with diabetes, he turned his fight into advocacy—helping others live healthier lives.
He didn’t just break a tape at the finish line.
He broke barriers. He broke silence. He broke expectations.
And in doing so, he showed the world what it means to run with heart.
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02/16/2026

Just a twist-
Davy Crockett's older sister, Effie Crockett was invited to help some mothers in the Muskogee Tribe. Once she arrived in camp, Effie laughed at what she saw. The Muskogee Tribe had a custom of cradlng their pappooses among the swaying branches of birch trees. This protected their babies from ground insects, the sun, and wild animals.
After first finding it funny, she soon learned all the great reasons for this practice and marveled at the beauty of it.
Effie watched the swaying and soothing motion of the topmost branches of the trees. She loved how each baby enjoyed nature, how they listened to the songbirds, observed every ladybug, and smiled at the colors of a butterfly, every little breeze was felt and enjoyed by these young ones; each babe seemd perfectly content.
One of the Tribal mothers began to sing a song to the children in her native tongue. As the Muskogee mother sang, Miss Effie observed a small tear running down the mother’s cheek.
Lulu se pepe i le pito i luga o le laau,
A agi le matagi e luluina le moega pepe,
A gau le lala e paʻu ai le moega pepe,
Ma o le a sau i lalo pepe, moega pepe ma mea uma.
Effie translated the words and kept the tune. She shared it with everyone and it soon became a wildly popular nursery rhyme among the Colonies.
The English translation:
Rock-a-bye baby on the tree top,
When the wind blows the cradle will rock,
When the bough breaks the cradle will fall,
And down will come baby, cradle and all.
Why did the Muskogee mother cry?
A “bough” is simply a tree branch, and its breaking was used by the Muskogee mothers as an analogy of their little baby growing up.
Their little baby would soon outgrow his cradle. With each gently rocking wind, time was passing. One day, little baby would no longer need the protection of his mother. One day, the “branch” would break because her little baby had become too heavy. The “cradle” would fall to the earth – the child, no longer a baby, would dust himself off and grow into a man.
The now famous lullaby was first printed in Mother Goose’s Melody in London in 1765.
The actual origin and meaning of the rhyme has been subjects of various theories and folklore, but none of them have been conclusively provn..
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02/16/2026

In the harsh conditions of the 1700s, Indigenous healers played a life-saving role for struggling colonists. When scurvy — caused by vitamin C deficiency — ravaged early settlements, Native American tribes introduced settlers to a simple yet powerful remedy: spruce tea. Rich in vitamin C, the brew helped restore health and vitality at a time when European medicine offered few solutions for the disease.
Beyond curing scurvy, Indigenous botanical knowledge contributed tremendously to modern medicine. Remedies derived from plants like willow bark, the foundation for aspirin, and cinchona bark, critical for malaria treatment, trace back to these early teachings. Their wisdom, rooted in generations of observation and experience, not only saved lives but shaped the future of global healthcare..
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02/15/2026

Elsie Vance Chestuen was born in 1873, her Indian name was Chestuen. Her mother was Dilth-cley-ih, daughter of the Apache Chief Bidu-ya, Beduiat known as Victorio. Elsie's father is unknown, her mother married Mangus who was the son of Mangas Coloradas, Chief of the Chiricahua Apaches.Elsie was sent to the Carlisle Indian Industrial School on 4th November 1886 when she was 13 years old,she was enrolled as Elsie Vanci. Carlisle and other schools like this have been a contentious issue with the Native Americans, many say that children were forced to leave their families at very young age. They were forced to change their Indian names and give up their cultures, languages, and religion.
Elsie was only at Carlisle school for 3 years.On the 30th of May 1889, when she was 16 years old, she was sent to Alabama due to illness, she stayed with another Indian lady called Mollie. Elsie must have moved back to her home at some stage, as she died at Fort Sill on April 15th 1898, from tuberculosis. She was 26 years old, Elsie Vance Chestuen, is buried at the Beef Creek Apache Cemetery in Oklahoma..
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02/15/2026

THE REAL NORTH AMERICANS WERE INDIANS AND THEIR NAMES ARE NAMED AFTER THE PLACE OF THEIR TRIBE NAME
Half of all US states, 25 to be exact, are named after Native Americans.
We will take a look at some of the 25 states and the meaning of their names. They will be listed in alphabetical order.
1. Alabama: Named after the Alabama tribe, or Alibamu, a Muskogean-speaking tribe. Sources are divided between the meanings "clearers of the thicket" or "gatherers of herbs."
2. Alaska: Named after the Aleut word “alaxsxaq,” meaning “the mainland”
3. Arizona: Named after the O'odham word “al ĭ ṣonak,” meaning “little spring”
4. Connecticut: Named after the Mohican word “quonehtacut,” meaning “place of the long tidal river”
5. Hawaii: Original Hawaiian word meaning “homeland”
6. Illinois: Named after the Illinois word “illiniwek,” meaning “men”
7. Iowa: Named after the Ioway tribe, whose name means “gray snow”
8. Kansas: Named after the Kansa tribe, whose name means “people of the south wind”
9. Kentucky: Origins unclear, may have been named after the Iroquoian word “Kentake,” meaning “in the meadow”
10. Massachusetts: Named after the Algonquin word “Massadchu-es-et,” meaning “big-hill-little-place.”
11. Michigan: From the Chippewa word “Michigama,” meaning “big lake.”
12. Minnesota: Named after the Dakota Indian word “Minisota” meaning “white water.”
13. Mississippi: Named after the river that was named by the Choctaw, meaning “big water” or “father of waters.”
14. Missouri: Named after the Missouri tribe whose name means “those who have dug canoes.”.
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02/14/2026

Na’ashoo’ii Dich’ízhii - Horned Toad
In Navajo, the horned toad is not considered to be a reptile but rather he is believed to be a Cheii, maternal grandpa, of all Navajo’s. He is highly respected and is offered corn pollen with a splash of water for those to receive blessings in all aspects of life.
Upon being found, usually he’ll make a short dash and jog, making someone run after him until he’s caught. Doing this small act of running around allows our youth side to come out, running around, smiling and laughing as we attempt to catch him.
From there, he is then placed over our chests as we make him slide across our hearts in an “X” motion. They do this so that they will be protected by him, the same way he protected by the arrowheads that cover his entire body. His body is covered entirely of small arrows heads in which lightning could not pierce through his armor, he is used in ceremonies and has protection prayers/songs.
In one of the oral stories, he helped the Navajo Twins by giving them his skull to use as a helmet, which frightened the Giant.
After doing so, he then sprinkled with corn pollen from the top of his head all the way down to the end of his tail, doing so as an offering along with a prayer from an individual. Water is then sprinkled on them which is a way of asking for rain and moisture. Some people place him on a small cloth and cover him entirely with corn pollen, they collect the corn pollen and tie the cloth up into a bundle and keep it in their home. They saying doing this with the cloth will help protect your home from being struck by lightning.
After completing the offering of the corn pollen and water, he is then placed back outside to be released. He is not to be kept as a pet..
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02/14/2026

Primarily living on a 1.5 million-acre reservation in Arizona, the Hopi people have the longest authenticated history of occupation of a single area by any Native American tribe in the United States.
The Hopi Tribe, often referred to as the "Peaceful Ones," has a rich cultural heritage deeply rooted in their traditional lands in northeastern Arizona. They have resided in the region for thousands of years, with archaeological evidence indicating continuous occupation dating back to at least 500 CE.
The Hopi reservation, established in 1882, encompasses approximately 2,531 square miles (6,557 square kilometers) of land, much of which is located within the boundaries of the Navajo Nation. Despite sharing land with the Navajo people, the Hopi maintain a distinct cultural identity, language, and ceremonial practices.
The Hopi are known for their intricate and symbolic artwork, including pottery, basketry, kachina dolls, and mural paintings. Their spiritual beliefs center around the reverence for the land, the cycles of nature, and maintaining harmony with the natural world.
Central to Hopi religious practices are ceremonial rituals performed throughout the year to ensure balance, fertility, and prosperity. These ceremonies are often elaborate and involve intricate dances, songs, and prayers conducted by religious leaders known as kikmongwi.
The Hopi Tribe continues to preserve and protect their cultural heritage, passing down traditional knowledge and teachings from generation to generation. Despite the challenges of modernization and external pressures, the Hopi people remain committed to maintaining their ancestral way of life and spiritual connection to the land..
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02/13/2026

Every Child Matters
Upon the shell of Turtle strong,
Echoes rise, a healing song.
Three generations hand in hand,
Holding stories of this land.
Braided hair, a sacred thread,
Whispers prayers for those long dead.
Blankets bright with colors bold,
Carry truths the earth still holds.
The child, the mother, elder too,
Stand as one, their spirits true.
A promise carved in sky and stone:
No child forgotten, none alone.
Every step, through loss and pain,
Plants the seeds of life again.
For every child, through time that scatters,
The truth remains—Each Child Matters..
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02/13/2026

This map should be included in every history book...
History is not there for you to like or dislike. It is there for you to learn from it. And if it offends you, even better. Because then you are less likely to repeat it. It’s not yours for you to erase or destroy.
Why Isn’t This Map in the History Books?
By the age of 10, most children in the United States have been taught all 50 states that make up the country. But centuries ago, the land that is now the United States was a very different place. Over 20 million Native Americans dispersed across over 1,000 distinct tribes, bands, and ethnic groups populated the territory.
The ancestors of living Native Americans arrived in North America about 15 thousand years ago. As a result, a wide diversity of communities, societies, and cultures finally developed on the continent over the millennia.The population figure for Indigenous peoples in the Americas before the 1492 voyage of Christopher Columbus was 70 million or more.
About 562 tribes inhabited the contiguous U.S. territory. Ten largest North American Indian tribes: Arikara, Cherokee, Iroquois, Pawnee, Sioux, Apache, Eskimo, Comanche, Choctaw, Cree, Ojibwa, Mohawk, Cheyenne, Navajo, Seminole, Hope, Shoshone, Mohican, Shawnee, Mi’kmaq, Paiute, Wampanoag, Ho-Chunk, Chumash, Haida.
Below is the tribal map of Pre-European North America.
The old map below gives a Native American perspective by placing the tribes in full flower ~ the “Glory Days.” It is pre-contact from across the eastern sea or, at least, before that contact seriously affected change. Stretching over 400 years, the time of contact was quite different from tribe to tribe. For instance, the “Glory Days” of the Maya and Aztec came to an end very long before the interior tribes of other areas, with some still resisting almost until the 20th Century.
At one time, numbering in the millions, the native peoples spoke close to 4,000 languages.
The Americas’ European conquest, which began in 1492, ended in a sharp drop in the Native American population through epidemics, hostilities, ethnic cleansing, and slavery.
When the United States was founded, established Native American tribes were viewed as semi-independent nations, as they commonly lived in communities separate from white immigrants..
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