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MARK TRAHANT Austerity |
The Associated Press, MSNBC and other news media are sticking to the story that Obama is only the fourth president to visit a reservation. I say at least seven, more likely eight.
So one by one here goes the documentary evidence (for those who care).
President Chester Arthur's visit to Wind River, Wyoming, 1883. Picture from Frank Jay Haynes collection, Smithsonian. The trip was on horse back and included a senator and the Secretary of War. (I love the umbrellas in the picture above.)
The second visit is President Warren Harding’s trip to Alaska in 1923. The first port of call was Metlakatla. (As Stephen Conn points out: Any presidential visit before the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act would be a visit to Indian Country.)
Third. President Calvin Coolidge’s visit to South Dakota.
A trivia question: How many US Presidents have been photographed wearing headdresses? (It went badly for Coolidge.) Answer: At least one, Jimmy Carter.
Fourth. Franklin Roosevelt visited at least three reservations, only once speaking on Indian Affairs. He traveled to Quinault in Washington state, Blackfeet, Montana, and Cherokee, North Carolina. (He was also photographed with a chief in North Dakota.)
Here is a film from the Montana trip. (The meeting was in Glacier National Park, but he traveled from the town now called East Glacier.) (more…)
