California Governor Opens the Door on Native Genocide in the State's Closet and Apologizes
In an unprecedented move in front of a gathering of tribal leaders, Gov. Gavin Newsom took responsibility for California's state-sponsored attempt to wipe out its Native peoples in the second half of the 19th-century. He went on to apologize for this atrocity and to establish a Truth and Healing Council to address the genocide's unresolved justice issues.
Video: The Genocide in California's Closet
Genocide isn’t a crime that happens only in distant realms ruled by dictators. In fact, Native Americans were the target of state-sponsored and -funded policy in mid-19th-century California. This sermon explores the dimensions of this horror, considers its continuing effects, and challenges people of faith to seek a path to justice.
Telling the Truth About the Modocs
Sometimes the book you set out to write differs from the book you finish. The truth may be other than what you imagined. Here's the backstory.
The Journalist and the Modoc Warriors
During the Modoc War, an intrepid correspondent raised the bar for reporting on Natives
Four More Heads for the Indian Trophy Room
The hanging at Fort Klamath, Oregon, was a great opportunity to expand the army's collection of Native crania.
Native History: Modocs Win Big at Sand Butte
In late April 1873 a small force of Modocs crushed a U.S. Army patrol almost three times their size. The difference was leadership.
Genocide on the California Frontier
Scholars argue about what label to apply to the fate that befell Natives. In California it's clear what happened.
The Nod and a Wink Slaughter: What California's Native Genocide Looked Like
In the 1850s more than 200 local militia campaigns set upon California's Indigenous people. Here's what one of those death squads looked like.
The Modoc Fighter Who Wasn't
A widely published photo by Edward Muybridge purporting to show a Modoc rifleman was an elaborate fiction. A rifleman, yes; but a Modoc, no.
Who Really Caught Captain Jack?
The story that a white cavalry officer caught Modoc leader was more than spin. It was flat-out false.
The Western Indians Wars' Only Foreign Correspondent
Britisher William Simpson made up a largely fictional version of what he witnessed.
The Indian Killer Dubbed "Knight of the Frontier"
The bloody career and poetically just end of the Pacific Northwest's most notorious instrument of genocide.
Video: Simply to Know Its Name
McNally reads a selection of his poems and explores how poetry creates awe and lends meaning to this gloriously mysterious cosmos.