Camp Totem Poles, Tepees, And Other Misrepresentations

[Scouter99 265]

In Danieal Beards, shelters shacks and shanties he provided multiple native (and european) designs specific to the different areas. Some of these were included in older bsa publications. Boys love to make forts in the woods, what a fantastic patrol activity either as a day trip or on a campout to make a shelter based on the natives designs of the area. Outdoors and fun...learning to do things fir themselves. thats is what scouting is all about.

And then tear it immediately down.  We have a great little forest behind our CO and I've tried doing just that.  A mother hen is always there to say "alright, now leave no trace."  Boys have no interest in sweating it all day, or for a few days, to immediately rip it all up and toss it to the wind, and I haven't got any interest in that, either.

 

HC (historically correct) not PC, which leads to grumpiness. 

 

We can't blame the scout camps or scouting for the historical inaccuracies - we need to look to the 1800's for that.  While some of the blame can be laid at the feet of Buffalo Bill Cody and his Wild West shows bringing folks on the east coast their first real life encounters with plains indians, it's not all him either.  Some of the blame might be laid at good ol' Abe Lincoln's feet, since his Transcontinental Railroad (pushed for and started under the Lincoln administration) helped open the west to tourism.  Some of the blame has to go to the reporters of the time that traveled around sending dispatches to their home offices from the west, with their vivid descriptions of the Indians of the plains, and of the illustrators that did the same thing.

 

That said, Scouting has not done a very good job of maintaining historical accuracy.  Look at pictures of OA ceremonies - the vast majority show the Chiefs dressed in Plains Indian, and specifically Sioux-style, warbonnets.  The legend suggests the Order is closely tied to the Lenape, who never wore these headdresses, yet, with the exception of a few Lodges, most wear Sioux warbonnets.

 

Can we do better?  Maybe - but it's going to be hard to reverse the images of teepees, totem poles and plains warbonnets that have been ingrained through media and tourism for over 150 years.  Anyone who followed the fight over University of Illinois's Chief Illiniwek portrayal, in his Sioux-style warbonnet, looking like almost every Allowat Sakima out there, goose stepping around the field with his arms crossed in front of his chest, can tell you how hard it is to convince people that historically inaccurate portrayals are not doing a service to the Native Americans you are claiming you're honoring.  The Illini (and the University teams are known as the Fighting Illini) controlled most of the territory we now know as Illinois - and they did not wear warbonnets.

 

The fact is that the US is just bad at getting history right - talk to someone about the fur trade in the Northwest Territories and they'll more often than not be thinking of Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon and Washington and not Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota which is where people like Astor really made their wealth from furtrapping.  

 

It probably also has a lot to do with the fact that Greenbar Bill's handbooks contained instructions for how to make war bonnets and chaps, but no other kinds of dress.  And why should it have?  The point is not history, but inspiration of ideals and adventure.

 

The idea of costumes is a little off in itself.  If we're completely honest, in the temperate and hot parts of the country, the Native American dress looked pretty much the same regardless of tribe: Bare butt.

http://books.google.com/books?id=jsuwk3gy8lwC&lpg=PA1&pg=PA14#v=onepage&q&f=false

http://books.google.com/books?id=qMsi_tVhJXUC&lpg=PA1&pg=PA12#v=onepage&q&f=false

http://books.google.com/books?id=wfUIHchKA94C&lpg=PA1&pg=PA38#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

Greenbar Bill's idea of an Indian weekend looks like a load of fun, and several of my scouts think it would be a load of fun, but we couldn't have any skin—the boys aren't allowed to camp alone anymore, and the adults might be predators.  Cutting down all that green growth for wicker beds and authentic shelters?  You ought to be ashamed, Earth-killer!

Wide swaths of a Pioneer weekend would look pretty much the same  Too racy even for New York. But not too racy for British Scouts of the 1950s (warning: hiney)

 

We also have to keep in mind that boys of past generations dressed up like Indians for fun, not because they were interested in Native culture.  And the most fun thing to dress up in are the flashy giant headdresses of the plains Indians.  Boys today don't seem to really give much of a rip about Indians at all, so it matters even less.  Yes, yes, we can use the OA to educate them about the rich history of local natives, if the locals will help or allow it.  Many refuse on both counts.  Many can't help if they'd like to; Native tribes are losing their own cultures to themselves.  Many use the same inaccurate Plains stuff that we use for the same reasons we do (they don't know what their own people wore, they simply prefer the flashy plains stuff, too)

 

And as for the offense of misrepresentation, the natives don't seem to mind as long as money is involved.  Go into any every shop in Cherokee, NC and you will find those irksome totem poles, headdresses, chaps, etc.

 

It's just not that big of a deal.

[DuctTape 1231]

"And then tear it immediately down. We have a great little forest behind our CO and I've tried doing just that. A mother hen is always there to say "alright, now leave no trace." Boys have no interest in sweating it all day, or for a few days, to immediately rip it all up and toss it to the wind, and I haven't got any interest in that, either."

 

With permission on private land it need not be torn down. I have a few acres of woods which I allow the boys to build primitive shelters.

[Stosh 3452]

"And then tear it immediately down. We have a great little forest behind our CO and I've tried doing just that. A mother hen is always there to say "alright, now leave no trace." Boys have no interest in sweating it all day, or for a few days, to immediately rip it all up and toss it to the wind, and I haven't got any interest in that, either."

 

With permission on private land it need not be torn down. I have a few acres of woods which I allow the boys to build primitive shelters.

 

Same here.

[Eagle94-A1 2687]

Current SM has a few acres and lets us do whatever we need to do, except cut the pine trees down. He harvests those. Goal in November is to do wilderness survival in the old troop campsite on the property.  going to re-clear the area after almost 10 years to not only build survival shelters, but also re-establish the campsite.

[Gone 435]

Current SM has a few acres and lets us do whatever we need to do, except cut the pine trees down. He harvests those. Goal in November is to do wilderness survival in the old troop campsite on the property.  going to re-clear the area after almost 10 years to not only build survival shelters, but also re-establish the campsite.

We have similar land. The best shelter is allowed to stand until someone builds a better shelter. This gives the boys incentive to out do not only each other, but last year's winner as well. The boys vote so the result is theirs to own. Had one shelter stay up two years. Real Robinson Crusoe shelter. Could have been moved to Disney World and put on the Swiss Family Robinson island.

[Rick_in_CA 401]

We have similar land. The best shelter is allowed to stand until someone builds a better shelter. This gives the boys incentive to out do not only each other, but last year's winner as well. The boys vote so the result is theirs to own. Had one shelter stay up two years. Real Robinson Crusoe shelter. Could have been moved to Disney World and put on the Swiss Family Robinson island.

Very cool!