![]() ![]() With a high percentage of Native people living in these states, the 45th's Indigenous ranks continued to grow. The act led to the formation of the 45th Infantry Divisions, which comprised of National Guard units from Oklahoma, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona. The legislation had far-reaching effects on the Oklahoma National Guard. It was an effective communication device and a practice that continued during World War II.Īfter the First World War, the National Guard was reorganized under the National Defense Act of 1920. They would translate them into Choctaw for transmission, after which the message would be retranslated into English. Bloor would give his orders to the Indians in English. Many of the Choctaw code talkers were members of the Oklahoma National Guard. Bloor, commander of the 142nd Infantry, 36th Division, tested and deployed a code, using the Choctaw language in place of regular military code. Since its inception, Native Americans from the tribes of Oklahoma have served in the National Guard with pride and honor. Courtesy of the 45th Infantry Division Museum. The lightning is the fire and smoke of their pipes.Īnother story is about a woman who marries a Thunder and bears a son that sounds like rolling thunder.Top Image: Oklahoma Native American Guardsmen dressed in their regalia at Camp Bowie, Texas, 1917. The thunder is the sound of the wings of the men who fly above. The Indians could also pick up a thunder bolt, as they were a type of stone. Native Americans believed that the thunder and lightning they heard and seen were caused by spirits known as Bed-dag yek (thunder). He told them how he had been playing ball with the Thunder-men yes, how he had been turned into a real Thunder himself." The Indians saw a great thunderstorm drawing near they heard such thunder as they never knew before, and then something in the shape of a human being coming down with lightning then they ran to the spot where he sat, and it was their long-lost So bidding him close his eyes till he should be on earth, they carried him down. Have his own way, and decided to carry him back again. They were all very sorry indeed to lose him, but because they loved him they let him Then he called all his people together, and said that their brother from the other world was very lonesome, and wished to return. Then he told the chief that he wished to see his family on earth, and the Chief So it went on for a long time, but it came to pass that the Indian began to tire of his strange friends. They made long journeys, and always took him with them. ![]() There is a big bird in the south, and this they are always trying to kill, but never succeed in doing so ( a Thunderbird or Wochowsen). When they return they carefully put away their wingsįor their next flight. Their great amusement is to play at ball across the sky. And he said that they always flew towards the south, and that the roar and crash of the thunder was the sound of their wings. So he flew about like the rest of the Thunders he became quite like them, and followed all their Then they brought him a pair of wings, and he put them on. Then they bade him go into a box, and while in it he lost his senses and became a Thunder. ![]() Together to see the ceremony of metamorphosis of the Indian. To which the man being willing, the chief soon after called all his people The great chief of the Thunders, hearing of the stranger's arrival, sent for him, and received him very kindly, and told him that he would do well to become one of them. He also tells them how long they are to be gone, and warns them not to go too low, for it is sure death for them to be caught in the crotch And from time to time their chief gives these Thunders orders to put them on, and tells them where to go. But these wings can be laid aside, and kept for The Thunders were like human beings, except they had wings. He was taken up in a thunderstorm, and set down again in the village of the Thunders. "Once an Indian was whirled up by the roaring wind. The story may have originated as an Inuit or Eskimo story. The Thunder-men chase a bird to the south, the legendary Thunder are spirits in the sky that we see and hear during storms. The following story is called An Indian Transformed into a Thunder, and is about a man that becomes a Thunder. The tribe still exists today with a population of about 800,Īnd they reside near Calais, Maine, at the Canadian border. They were friendly with the French and English, and relations were fairly good until the French and Indian War (1754). The Passamaquoddy tribe lived in Maine and New Brunswick. ![]()
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