CONNECTICUT

Here we are in the East for the first time investigating Connecticut, one of the states that was in the original colonies. But way back 12,000 years ago there were Paleo-Indians inhabiting the region.  They were thought to be semi nomadic, moving their habitations during the year to use resources that changed with the seasons.

These earlier people eventually evolved into several Indian tribes of the ALGONKIN INDIAN FAMILY.  This included the Pequot and the Mohicans who we know from the classic novel THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS written by James Fenimore Cooper in 1826.  The book was later made into several movies.  This is a trailer for the latest made in 1996 starring Danial Day Lewis, THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.   HERE is a link to the 1936 version with Randolph Scott. This one I saw as a child.  It made a big impression on me.  I think I saw it on TV in the early days of television or maybe at the Keswick Theatre where there was a children's matinee every Saturday afternoon.  Because it was in black and white it seemed to come from the distant past and be a fascinating peep hole into what went on in the early days of our country.

ARKANSAS

It's April.  Time to travel to the next state which is Arkansas.  Located in the South, bordering Missouri, Oklahoma, a bit of Texas, Louisiana, Missisppi, and the tip of Tennessee.

The original inhabitants of Arkansas were the Caddo, Osage, and Quapaw Indians.

Here are some paintings of the Osage done by the painter George Catlin.  

George Catlin, painted by William Fisk

Catlin was a fine painter who had a brief career as an attorney before he began his life's work recording Native Americans.  He was inspired initially by his mother who told him stories of her capture by an Indian tribe as a girl, and later by the artifacts brought back by Lewis and Clark.  He visited several tribes and did portraits over a period of many years.

I know George Catlin from his appearance in several Larry McMurtry books.  He was a character in the Berrybender Narratives.  He is also spoken of in the historical novel The Children of First Man, by James Alexander Thomre.  In the 1970 film A Man Called Horse his work is cited as one of the sources for its depiction of Lakota Sioux culture.  His works also figure repeatedly in the 2010 novel Shadow Tag by Louise Erdrich.  There he is the subject of the unfinished doctoral dissertation of character Irene America.

During his lifetime he was unable to sell his work to the US Government but now it resides in the Smithsonian among other places including the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archeology and Anthropology.