Revival History

**A satyr and a nymph. ** Floor mosaic from cubiculum 28 of the **House of the Faun** in Pompeii, which portrays a mythological scene of intimacy between the two figures. In Roman art, scenes of satyrs and nymphs often wild nature, and human passions.  The erotic art of Pompeii and Herculaneum scandalized society greatly at the time of its discovery, and until relatively recently it was kept hidden, and only archaeologists could access it upon request.  However, many objects or artworks that might seem exclusively erotic imagery were also symbols recalling fertility, or superstitious good luck talismans.

God killed owner for ejaculating on the ground instead of impregniting his brother's widow So, the story goes that Judah told Onan, "Go in to your brother's wife and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your brother. But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his own. So whenever he went in to his brother's wife, he would spill it on the ground, to avoid begetting offspring for his brother. And what he did was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and he killed him also.          It's a stark example of divine judgment within that narrative, highlighting the importance of lineage and fulfilling familial obligations in that cultural context.          What are your thoughts on this passage? Is there a particular aspect you'd like to explore further, or perhaps a different direction you'd like the story to take from here? I'm all ears!     

he man in this photograph is not an “ancient figure.” He stands in the desert – where his ancestors lived, fought, and prayed – with a calm yet resolute gaze. Native American history is often told as a closed chapter. But the truth is: the indigenous people never disappeared. They lived on this land for thousands of years before borders were drawn, before history was written by the victors. They understood the land, the wind, the water, and the sky as one with their own being. This photograph is not about pain. It is about continuity. A bloodline that has never been broken. 👉 History is not just in books. History stands here – breathing, looking straight ahead, and asking no one's permission to exist.

I've done posting about 3 of the La Flesche siblings, so thought I would do one about their parents. We're fortunate to have pictures of them.  E-sta-mah-za “Iron Eyes” (Joseph) La Flesche (1822-1889), the last recognized chief of the Omaha Indians. His father was a French fur-trader and his mother was Omaha-Ponca. He was adopted by the Omaha chief, Big Elk, and became chief upon Big Elk’s death. He signed the last Omaha treaty that ceded land in the northern part of the reservation for the Winnebago Tribal reservation. Hin-nu-ags-nun “The One Woman” (Mary) Gale La Flesche (1827-1909). She was the daughter of Army physician, Dr. John Gale and his wife Nicomi, who was Omaha-Oto-Iowa. After the death of Gale, Nicomi married Peter Sarpy, a local trader. Sarpy paid for Mary’s education and she spoke both French and English.

**The evidence survived where stories did not.** In 2010, genetic analysis of Icelandic families identified a mitochondrial marker known as C1e, a lineage found almost entirely among Native American populations. In Iceland, its arrival can be traced to around 1000 AD, centuries before Columbus crossed the Atlantic. The timing matters. This period aligns precisely with Norse expeditions to Vinland, in what is now Newfoundland. Archaeology already confirms Viking presence there through remains at L’Anse aux Meadows, including Norse-style structures, ironwork, and tools dated to the same era. One detail reshapes the narrative. Mitochondrial DNA is passed through the maternal line, indicating that this genetic signature came from a Native American woman who entered the Norse world and whose descendants remained in Iceland for roughly forty generations. How she crossed the ocean is unknown. The genetic data does not explain whether her journey involved trade, alliance, or coercion. It only...

Victoria (Wishikin) Wacheno Howard (c. 1865-1930) Victoria (Wishikin) Wacheno Howard was the teller of Clackamas Chinook narratives and traditions transcribed by anthropologist Melville Jacobs and published by him as Clackamas Chinook Texts (1958-1959), one of the richest records of the Indigenous northwest Oregon storytelling art. While Jacobs referred to her invariably as “a Clackamas Chinook,” Howard’s origins were more complicated, though not unusually so for the tribally and linguistically diverse reservation community into which she was born and spent most of her life. Victoria (locally, Victoire) Wishikin was born in about 1865 on the Grand Ronde Reservation to William Wishikin, a Tualatin (Kalapuyan speaker), and Sarah, a daughter of gʷáyakʼiti, the Molalla tribal chief at Grand Ronde. In northwest Oregon, a person’s natal tribal affiliation customarily followed that of his or her father. Victoria Wishikin owed her knowledge of the Clackamas language and culture not to her nata...