The man scowled menacingly as he danced toward members of the crowd who watched him in fascination. Feathers adorned his headdress, and he clutched something that looked like a club in his right hand. Then, prancing just a few feet from the onlookers, he broke into a grin, took several more steps in time to the accompanying drumbeats and sashayed away.
The spectators viewing this colorful spectacle were reliving an ages-old American ritual, one that predates the arrival of the first European travelers to these shores. They were visitors at a Native American reservation watching a modern-day warrior re-create the moves—and moods—of his forebears.
Visits to Native American sanctuaries are a popular way to delve into a chapter of the nation’s past that is part tragic, part heroic, and at all times full of fascination and surprises. For example, did you know that more than half of the crops grown on American farms today come from plants that were developed and domesticated by Native Americans? That many highways throughout the country were built over native trading routes? Or that the names of 24 states have Native American origins?
The U.S. government officially recognizes 574 tribes. While many of their members reside outside of designated reservations, those who remain on their ancestral lands live in ways resembling how their ancestors did, and some invite guests to learn about their history, lifestyle, and culture.
In return, they ask only that those who come follow some basic rules of courtesy. Ask permission before taking photos or videos. Be respectful of their customs and practices. Remember that you are a guest, so act as you would like visitors to your home to behave.
The first step is to select a reservation to visit. Do you want to stay close to home or travel farther? A wide variety of settings, scenery and things to see and do await you.
Here’s a brief list that provides an introduction to a few of the available choices. Be sure to check in advance to make sure the destination you'd like to visit is open to guests at this time, what health or other restrictions might apply, and what advance booking requirements are necessary.
The Navajo Nation is the largest Native American reservation in the country, spanning an area in Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah slightly bigger than West Virginia. It encompasses a number of natural attractions that include Monument Valley, Antelope Canyon, and Horseshoe Bend and is known for its stunning red rock formations, ancient petroglyphs, and dinosaur tracks. Guests can observe tribal dances, powwows and other ceremonies.
The Standing Rock Sioux Reservation also covers a big area along the border of North and South Dakota. It is home to a number of old burial mounds, rock art, and the monument for which it’s named, a natural formation that resembles a mother and child. Chief Sitting Bull, the leader known for defeating Gen. George Custer at the Battle of Little Bighorn, is buried at Fort Yates.
Next door in Montana, the Blackfeet Reservation also is rich in natural beauty, including Glacier National Park, which lies within its borders. Several historic sites and cultural centers offer glimpses into aspects of native culture.
Between 1830 and 1850, the U.S. government forcibly displaced some 60,000 Native Americans from their ancestral homelands in the Southeast to areas west of the Mississippi. Descendants of some of those people who followed the “Trail of Tears” now live in Cherokee Nation.
They cling proudly to their long-established way of life, which is on display at a the reconstructed Diligwa Village (circa 1710), 19th century Rural Village and a moving and meaningful Trail of Tears exhibit.
A very different experience awaits at the Taos Pueblo, one of 19 such complexes dotted around northern New Mexico. That community of earthen structures is believed to be the oldest continuously inhabited place in the country, and life there goes on much as it has for some 2,000 years.
The pueblo’s residents continue to cling to the old ways in the original apartments. They make do without electricity or running water and bake bread in outdoor beehive-shaped ovens called hornos. Some dwellings double as shops selling handmade jewelry and paintings by native artists.
Elsewhere a very different culture is explored at the Big Cypress Reservation in Florida’s Everglades. Native American refugees from northern wars and the encroachment of European colonists migrated into Spanish Florida in the 18th century. Here they established a new culture called “Seminole,” adapted from Spanish for “wild” or “runaway.”
This story is told at a museum that holds more than 180,000 artifacts and archival items. Strolls over a mile-long boardwalk pass through a cypress wetland and lead to a Clan Pavilion, ceremonial grounds, hunting camp and Seminole Village, where artists demonstrate traditional arts and crafts.
