Articles

Training in oratory was a crucial part of Roman education; it was associated with a young boy's transition into adult life. As Athens was considered the intellectual centre of the eastern Mediterranean, many students undertook long journeys...

Wihio and Coyote is a tale of the Cheyenne nation featuring the trickster figure Wihio in the dual role of villain and victim. The trickster figure appears in the stories of many different Native American nations as an often unwilling or...

The Capture of Fort Ticonderoga (10 May 1775) was a military operation that occurred early in the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783). A small colonial expedition jointly led by Benedict Arnold and Ethan Allen surprised the British garrison...

In Colonial America, women were discouraged from taking an interest in politics and were instead expected to focus only on traditionally 'feminine' matters, such as homemaking and childrearing. However, such gender roles were challenged during...

Black Elk (l. 1863-1950) of the Oglala Lakota Sioux was twelve years old at the Battle of the Little Bighorn on 25 June 1876. He gives his account of the famous conflict in the work Black Elk Speaks (1932), and, even at a distance from the...

On the eve of the American Revolution (1765-1789), the Thirteen Colonies had a population of roughly 2.1 million people. Around 500,000 of these were African Americans, of whom approximately 450,000 were enslaved. Comprising such a large...

The Battle of Guilford Court House (15 March 1781) was one of the last major engagements of the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783). Fought near Greensboro, North Carolina, it was a pyrrhic victory for the British army under Lord Charles...

The Sioux stories known as Iktomi tales concern the trickster figure Iktomi (also known as Unktomi) who appears, variously, as a hero, sage, villain, clown, inept buffoon – or in other roles – but always serves to illustrate some important...

Iktomi (also known as Unktomi) is a trickster figure of the lore of the Lakota Sioux nation similar to tricksters of other nations, such as Wihio of the Cheyenne, Nanabozho (Manabozho) of the Ojibwe, Coyote of the Navajo, or Glooscap of the...

Eastman's biography of Red Cloud (l. 1822-1909) is the first narrative of his Indian Heroes and Great Chieftains (1916), and it sets the tone for those that follow, including the pieces on Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, in explaining the motivation...