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New York Times
13 hours ago
- Politics
- New York Times
What if Everything We Know About Sacagawea Is Wrong?
In a conference room in the middle of the Great Plains, 50 people gathered to correct what they saw as a grave error in the historical record. It was July 16, 2015, on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in North Dakota, not too far upstream from the camp on the Missouri River where Meriwether Lewis and William Clark first met Sacagawea, the teenage girl who would accompany them to the Pacific Ocean and back. The story of that journey has been told many times: in the journals that Lewis and Clark kept; in more than a century of academic histories; and in countless more fanciful works that have turned the expedition, and Sacagawea's supposed role as guide to the Americans, into one of the country's foundational myths. The people in the conference room, members of three closely related tribes, the Mandans, the Hidatsas and the Arikaras, thought basically all of it was nonsense. Jerome Dancing Bull, a Hidatsa elder, took the microphone first. The day was warm enough that someone had propped the door open to the outside; the sun was blindingly bright, the prairie a labrador's scruff in the distance. 'They got it all wrong!' he told the people in the room, referring to the bare-bones, truncated life sketched out for Sacagawea by Lewis and Clark and the historians who followed them. In that telling, Sacagawea was born a member of the Shoshone tribe in present-day Idaho, was kidnapped by the Hidatsa as a child, spent most of 1805 and 1806 with the expedition and died in 1812, while she was still in her 20s. The Hidatsas insist that she was a member of their tribe all along and died more than 50 years later, in 1869. And not of old age, either: She was shot to death. History has always been a process; it has also long attracted partisans who insist that its judgments should be frozen in time. In March, the Trump administration released an executive order with the title 'Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,' which condemned the 'widespread effort to rewrite history' and called for 'solemn and uplifting public monuments.' It was a timeworn complaint turned into a wanton threat: Mess with our national symbols, and we'll pull your funding. Sacagawea long ago left the realm of the apolitical dead. Over the years, she has been pressed into service as an avatar of patient humility or assertive feminism, of American expansionism or Indigenous rights, of Jeffersonian derring-do or native wisdom. Her face is on U.S. currency, her name has been affixed to a caldera on Venus and there are statues of her spread throughout the nation, each incarnation seeming to pull her further out of context. The Trump administration has said it wants to include a sculpture of her in a planned National Garden of American Heroes, effectively claiming her as an honorary citizen — though to the federal government at the time, she was closer to being an alien enemy. 'The Hidatsas' portrait of Sacagawea is both richer and more ambiguous than the one found in standard histories.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
24-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
DNR to host informational meeting about low levels in Blue Lake
A beach area at Blue Lake in Lewis and Clark State Park. (Photo courtesy of Iowa DNR) Years of drought conditions on Iowa's western edge have lowered water levels at Blue Lake and impacted recreation at the lake. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is hosting a public meeting Thursday in Onawa to discuss the low water levels and the department's ongoing studies and lake restoration projects at Blue Lake. 200 years ago, when the Lewis and Clark expedition came through the region, the oxbow lake was an active channel of the Missouri River, but now it is fed by a small watershed off of the Missouri River, and is located in Lewis and Clark State Park just west of Onawa. According to DNR's annual lake restoration report, Blue Lake has a number of 'aesthetically objectionable conditions' like algal blooms, and low water clarity that contributed to decreased recreational use. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Since the early 2000s DNR has been working to restore the lake via chemical restoration, removal of 'rough' fish and selective dredging. Water levels in the Missouri River have been 'especially low' over the past five winters, which led to low groundwater levels in the region and impacted not only Blue Lake levels, but water in communities throughout western Iowa. The lake is currently about five feet below its crest elevation, or the fullest pool of the lake. Ben Wallace, a fisheries biologist who has worked on Blue Lake's restoration projects said drop means the lake has about one third of its full-pool volume. Wallace said the informational meeting Thursday will help address concerns within the community about the low lake levels and to explain DNR's work at Blue Lake. 'When we enter into these drought cycles, access gets tougher at these lakes, because the water starts to recede from the shoreline,' Wallace said. 'And yeah, some lakes get hit harder than others with the drought.' According to the DNR report, the Lake Restoration Program spent about $10,000 on a dredging and fish barrier project at Blue Lake in the 2023-2024 fiscal year and allocated $265,000 in fiscal year 2025 for well and pump assessment, fish renovation and containment site improvements at the lake. Wallace said some folks in the community have questioned if the DNR's dredging work contributed to the lake's low levels, but he said lake restoration work is done very 'systematically' with the 'entire picture' in mind. Iowans across the state asked to conserve water due to dry wells, high nitrate levels 'We just don't go into things blind,' Wallace said. 'We get a pretty good understanding of things before we execute large scale construction projects like this.' Plus, Wallace said this isn't the first time Blue Lake has had levels this low. He said historic maps of the region show levels just as low, if not lower in the 1930s. 'All of these lakes that I've had throughout my district have gone through drought cycles about once every 10 to 12 years, and sometimes those droughts are more severe and they're a little bit longer than other but in my experience, they all bounce back,' Wallace said. He said water levels in the lake are about on par with groundwater levels in the region. That type of drought takes more than just a good rain to replenish. 'Each year a successive drought just takes that much more to recharge the groundwater level,' Wallace said. 'It's going to have to be a return to average or above average precipitation levels for some time, because we're not just talking about bringing up the lake — we're talking about bringing up the water in the ground.' Restoration work at the lake has also addressed turbidity, or water clarity, by eliminating and blocking common carp from the lake. Wallace said these bottom-feeding fish continually stir up the sediment on the bottom of the lake which causes cloudy water, poor conditions for other fish and makes it easier for algae to bloom on the surface. Wallace said common carp are a problem at a lot of lakes in Iowa, but high densities in Blue Lake have impacted the water quality. DNR's lake restoration efforts included the installation of fish barriers and aggressive carp angling in the lake to help reduce the common carp populations. In addition to the work to restore the lake, Lewis and Clark State Park Manager Nathan Fylstra said his team has been working hard to improve the state park with updates to the visitor's center, improved drainage systems and a general clean up of ditches and fences. 'We've been changing a lot of stuff, revamping a lot of stuff,' Fylstra said. 'It should look a lot better.' The park is adjacent to the 250-acre Blue Lake, which typically hosts summer swimmers, boaters and anglers. Wallace encouraged anyone with an interest in Blue Lake to attend the informational meeting Thursday at the Onawa Community Center, 320 10th Street, at 5:30 p.m. 'Show up and ask questions,' Wallace said. 'I am looking forward to the opportunity to demonstrate the lengths that we went to in studying this lake and this lake system.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
One of state's oldest trees — tourist attraction ‘Old Wolf Oak' — has died
Nebraska's "Old Wolf Oak" tree, a burr oak that is more than 380 years old, has died after a long drought. (Courtesy of Nebraska Game and Parks Commission) LINCOLN — One of Nebraska's oldest trees has died, and officials are blaming drought conditions. The 'Old Wolf Oak,' a burr oak with a 9.8-foot circumference located along a hiking trail at Ponca State Park, was estimated to be more than 380 years old. The tree was a popular stop for park visitors, given that it was 223 years old when Nebraska became a state in 1867 and was a silent witness to the Lewis & Clark Expedition of 1804-06. But Nebraska Game and Parks Commission officials say drought conditions in eastern Nebraska have created large areas of dead or declining mature trees, including the stately oak. The past two years have seen extreme drought across Nebraska, officials said. While native species like the bur oak are drought-tolerant, prolonged drought causes dieback in the canopy and root systems, weakening tree defenses. This creates an opening for pests and pathogens, officials said, and makes a tree more vulnerable to infection. Game and Parks staff had been monitoring and, where possible, treating bur oaks for bur oak blight, which can weaken a tree. Officials also identified a new threat to trees, hypoxylon canker, a fungus that invades the vascular systems of drought-stricken trees and dooms a tree. The old oak will soon be cut down under a response plan developed after consulting with experts, Game and Parks announced. Infected material must be destroyed on-site, officials said, to avoid stressing the surrounding healthy trees. A sign at the Wolf Oak, erected in 1964, states that it 'began its life in 1644.' But more modern dating techniques later added another half century to its age. Ironically, it was not a state champion tree in its category. A registry kept by the Nebraska Forest Service lists a burr oak with a circumference of 18.7 feet near Peru as the state champion. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Chicago Tribune
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Today in History: Lewis and Clark expedition begins in Illinois
Today is Wednesday, May 14, the 134th day of 2025. There are 231 days left in the year. Today in history: On May 14, 1804, the Lewis and Clark expedition, organized to explore the Louisiana Territory as well as the Pacific Northwest, began its journey near present-day Hartford, Illinois. Also on this date: In 1607, Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in North America, was established by members of the Virginia Company. In 1796, English physician Edward Jenner successfully inoculated 8-year-old James Phipps against smallpox by using cowpox matter. (Smallpox would be declared the first fully eradicated human disease in 1980.) In 1948, the independent state of Israel was proclaimed in Tel Aviv by David Ben-Gurion, who became its first prime minister. In 1955, representatives from eight Communist bloc countries, including the Soviet Union, signed the Warsaw Pact in Poland. (The pact was dissolved in 1991.) In 1961, Freedom Rider civil rights activists were attacked by violent mobs in Anniston and Birmingham, Alabama. In 1973, NASA launched Skylab, the first American space station, from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In 2022, an 18-year-old white supremacist wearing body armor opened fire in a supermarket in a predominantly Black neighborhood in Buffalo, New York, killing 10 people before being taken into custody. (The gunman, Payton Gendron, was sentenced to life in prison without parole in February 2023.) Today's Birthdays: Baseball Hall of Famer Tony Pérez is 83. Filmmaker George Lucas is 81. Filmmaker Robert Zemeckis is 74. Musician David Byrne is 73. Actor Tim Roth is 64. Actor Cate Blanchett is 56. Filmmaker Sofia Coppola is 54. Former NFL running back Frank Gore is 42. Actor Amber Tamblyn is 42. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is 41. Former NFL tight end Rob Gronkowski is 36. Actor Miranda Cosgrove is 32.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Kelly Elementary teacher Emily Dawes named Grand Forks Public Schools' teacher of the year
Apr. 3—GRAND FORKS — A first-grade teacher from Kelly Elementary is Grand Forks Public Schools' Teacher of the Year. Emily Dawes was honored Wednesday afternoon at Kelly's April student assembly. Dawes has worked as an elementary school teacher in the district for the last 10 years, spending the last four years teaching first grade at Kelly. "Emily Dawes embodies what it means to be an outstanding educator," Principal Kelli Tannahill said, reading from a testimonial provided by one of her coworkers. "Her No. 1 focus is always her students, as well as the students of her teammates." Dawes, her coworkers also wrote, is a team player, a consummate professional, and has a genuine passion for teaching. Superintendent Terry Brenner visited Kelly to announce the award. "Today, we give her the recognition she so richly deserves, not just for her instructional talent but for the heart she brings to our schools and the difference she makes," Brenner said. Dawes was joined in Kelly's gymnasium by her husband and three of her four children as she was honored. She said she was still processing the award when asked for her reaction from the Herald. "I teach with so many wonderful teachers and to be picked, this is pretty amazing," she said. Every year, parents, students and district employees submit nominations for teacher of the year, which are reviewed by a committee of around a dozen principals, administrative staff, and a representative from the Grand Forks Foundation for Education. Assistant Superintendent Matt Bakke, who served on the committee for the first time this year, said committee membership was meant to reflect a "wide plethora" of views within the district. Dawes first worked as a teacher before leaving the classroom to raise her kids. She substitute-taught in the district while her kids were young, and later taught music and health classes to kindergartners and first- and second-graders as an instructional paraprofessional at Century Elementary School. In 2014, she applied for a full-time teaching position at Lewis and Clark Elementary. "I needed a class, I wanted a classroom," she said. "I wanted my own little people." Tannahill, then at Lewis and Clark, said Dawes was already well-liked as a parent and educator when the latter was hired to teach third grade. After six years at Lewis and Clark, Dawes moved over with Tannahill to Kelly, where she's worked as a first-grade teacher ever since. Dawes says she feels like she's "at home" in a first-grade classroom. Her first-graders seem to think so too: she was mobbed by her students in a dogpile as they returned to the classroom after the assembly. Tannahill said one of Dawes' best assets as a teacher is her ability to adapt and stay current with changing mores in elementary education. "In education now, with the way things change rapidly, you need to do that along with your students," Tannahill said. "She's willing to take risks and do that without hesitation, because she's willing to do what's best for kids." As part of the award, Dawes received a check for $500 from the Grand Forks Foundation for Education. Previous award recipients each received $1,000 in 2023 and 2024, according to Herald reporting and a district press release, respectively. Dawes will also be considered to be Grand Forks County's Teacher of the Year, a prerequisite for the statewide teaching award given by the Department of Public Instruction to one North Dakota teacher.
