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The Maroons were a remarkable group of enslaved Africans who escaped the brutal conditions of colonial plantations to establish independent settlements in remote forest areas. These forest rebels not only resisted oppression but also harnessed the natural environment as their strategic ally. By transforming the wilderness into a fortress, the Maroons were able to sustain ...

Across North America, the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and Two-Spirit people has reached alarming proportions. Yet, mainstream attention remains woefully inadequate. For generations, Native communities have sounded the alarm about this national emergency, but systemic neglect and historical injustices continue to fuel the tragedy. Understanding the crisis requires more than statistics—it ...

Indigenous nations across North America have persisted in defending their sovereignty for centuries, despite colonization and ongoing challenges. Their enduring self-determination is rooted in ancient traditions, political philosophies, and legal principles that predate European contact. Today’s movements for Native sovereignty draw strength from historic treaties, landmark legal battles, and the revitalization of cultural identity. Understanding ...

by Mac Slavo, SHTF Plan: United States ruler, Donald Trump, is claiming that he’s “neutral” on Ukraine, after issuing an ultimatum tied to sanctions and tariffs to Russia, and agreeing to continue arms shipments to Ukraine. The bold-faced lies are becoming too obvious to ignore. On Monday, just two days ago, Trump said he was […]

Sunrise from Cape Royal, North Rim, Grand Canyon National Park. Source: Michael Quinn/U.S. National Park Service.   The Grand Canyon is one of Earth’s most incredible and iconic landmarks. But its sculpted stones and carved canyons aren’t just a geological timeline. Humans have inhabited, worshipped, and traversed the region for thousands of years. Read on to discover how the hidden histories of ancient civilizations, Native American tribes, and modern explorers come to life within the Grand Canyon.   The Earliest Inhabitants of the Grand Canyon Prehistoric stone granaries along the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park. Source: Mark Lellouch/U.S. National Park Service.   Nearly 12,000 years ago, the Grand Canyon was inhabited by nomadic hunters and the early stages of ancient communities. The oldest human artifacts found in the region date back to the Paleo-Indian Period, during which the Americas’ earliest inhabitants arrived following the last Ice Age.   Among these ancient artifacts are stone tools, charred hearths, and rock shelters, all of which reveal how the Grand Canyon’s first inhabitants adapted to the extreme terrain and desert climate. They followed migratory game animals, moved with the seasons, and told stories on stone in the form of pictographs and petroglyphs.   Sacred Lands and Enduring Voices: Native American Legacies The turquoise waters of Havasu Falls are part of the Havasupai Indian Reservation, located in a remote area of the canyon. Source: Wikimedia Commons.   To many Native American tribes, the Grand Canyon is more than ancient history—it is actually a living entity. Eleven federally recognized tribes maintain ancestral and spiritual ties to the Grand Canyon today, including the Havasupai, Hopi, Hualapai, Navajo, Zuni, and Paiute.   According to Hopi cosmology, the Grand Canyon is the place of Sipapuni, the spiritual emergence point where their ancestors rose from the third world into the present fourth world. This sacred spot, located at the confluence of the Little Colorado and Colorado Rivers within the Grand Canyon, remains central to Hopi beliefs and ceremonies.   The Havasupai, whose name means “people of the blue-green waters,” have lived in the Grand Canyon for approximately 800 years, primarily around Havasu Creek. The capital of the modern-day Havasupai Indian Reservation, Supai Village, is the most remote community in the contiguous United States, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It is accessible only by helicopter, on foot, or by mule.   Cities in the Cliffs: Ancestral Puebloan Sites The Tusayan Pueblo Site in the Grand Canyon was occupied by a small Ancestral Puebloan community approximately 800 years ago. Source: U.S. National Park Service.   Modern-day archaeology continues to uncover signs of human civilization within the walls of the Grand Canyon. Between 2007 and 2009 alone, more than 400 previously unrecorded archaeological sites were documented along the Colorado River. Among these discoveries are what remains of the Ancestral Puebloans, also known as the Anasazi.   Between approximately 800 and 1200 CE, the Ancestral Puebloans lived in multistory dwellings that they constructed into the cliff sides of the Grand Canyon. They left behind painted pottery, arrowheads, petroglyphs, and ceremonial kivas, reflecting a culture rich in ritual and trade. Many of these sites are located in extremely remote areas, yet they demonstrate how people managed to thrive, not just survive, in the Grand Canyon.   Kincaid’s Legend and Cold War Cave Secrets Colorful rock formations inside the Grand Canyon Caverns. Source: Wikimedia Commons.   Not all stories of the Grand Canyon are grounded in archaeology. Some originate from folklore and fringe theories, such as the alleged Kincaid Expedition. In 1909, the Arizona Gazette reported that explorer G.E. Kincaid had discovered a cave filled with Egyptian artifacts within the Grand Canyon. The so-called “Lost Egyptian Cave of the Grand Canyon” is widely regarded as a hoax. However, the story has since fueled conspiracy theories about hidden histories and government cover-ups.   Kincaid’s Cave may be a legend, but other caves in the Grand Canyon have been put to concrete use. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, the U.S. government designated the Grand Canyon Caverns—a dry cave system 210 feet underground—as a fallout shelter. Survival supplies for up to 2,000 people are still stashed deep inside the caverns.   Tracks in the Dust: Settlers, Tourists, and Transformation Tourists pause their ride to look over the canyon’s rim, c. 1906. Source: Library of Congress.   Ever since Spanish explorers reached the rim in 1540, endless streams of trappers, miners, missionaries, and homesteaders have headed to the Grand Canyon. In the late 19th century, railroad companies began promoting tourism in the region, connecting visitors to lodges, mule trails, and scenic overlooks via train. Traces of old copper mines and pioneer-era cabins still dot the desert landscape.   In 1919, President Woodrow Wilson designated the Grand Canyon as Arizona‘s first National Park. Today, the park welcomes about five million visitors every year. Beyond the popular viewpoints and well-trodden tourist trails, it also remains the ancestral home of the Havasupai and an important site for ecological conservation.   Indeed, the Grand Canyon is more than a geological wonder. It is an ever-evolving testament to human endurance, faith, and connection to the land. Its seemingly silent chasms are filled with hidden histories and surprising stories that continue to unfold today.

  The Arthurian legends introduce many fascinating characters, including the selfless King Arthur with his magical sword, the chivalrous Sir Lancelot with his scandalous love affair with Guinevere, and the magician Merlin, possibly a son of demons. As we focus on these lead characters and their fantastical lives, some more mundane characters fade into the background. But some of these background characters can be identified as real historical figures who lived in 6th-century post-Roman Britain. Which characters from the Arthurian legends can be identified as real historical figures in the sparse surviving sources for Dark Age Britain?   1. Sir Uriens of Gorre Map of Dark Age Britain showing Rheged, Urien’s kingdom. Source: Wikimedia Commons   Sir Uriens is one of the most popular characters in the Arthurian legends. In the most traditional version of the story, he leads a group of rebel kings who fight against a young Arthur when he first becomes king. After his defeat, he becomes a valuable ally to Arthur as one of the most powerful Knights of the Round Table. His name is also often spelled “Urien,” without the “s” at the end.   In line with his role in the legends as one of the most powerful of Arthur’s knights, Sir Uriens was a historically powerful king. He was King Urien of Rheged. Uriens seems to have ruled over a portion of northern England and southern Scotland, although his exact territory is uncertain. He probably ruled more on the western side of Britain than the eastern side. He is accepted as historical because he is mentioned in several Welsh poems, which most scholars agree date to about the year 600.   According to a later source, the Historia Brittonum (c. 830 CE), Urien had a decisive victory over the Anglo-Saxons in the north of Britain while leading an alliance of three other kings:  Rhydderch Hen, Gwallog ap Llênog, and Morgan. Unfortunately, he was later betrayed and murdered by Morgan. 2. Sir Ywain The Lion Sprang Upon the Giant, from the book The Old Tales of Chivalry, 1877, Source: University of Rochester   Closely associated with Sir Uriens is Sir Ywain, his son. This name is spelled in several different ways, such as “Yvain” and “Owain.” Like his father, he was one of Arthur’s allies, a knight of the Round Table. He was a very popular character in the Arthurian legends and one of the earliest characters associated with Arthur. He has a prominent role in numerous stories about the adventures of Arthur’s knights and the intrigues of his court.   Ywain features in the story Yvain, the Knight of the Lion, a 12th-century French Arthurian romance. He sets out to avenge his cousin after he is defeated by an otherworldly knight. Ywain defeats the knight and then falls in love with his widow, Laudine, and they wed. He is then lured off on a chivalric mission with the promise that he will return within a year. When he fails to do so, he is rejected by Laudine and sent mad. To win her back, he completes a variety of feats, including saving a lion from a dragon, which then helps him defeat a giant, three fierce knights, and two demons. He then saves a witch, Lunete, from being burned at the stake, and she helps him win back Laudine, who welcomes both Ywain and his lion.   A depiction of Sir Yvain fighting a lion in a 15th-century manuscript, MSS BNF fr. 112. Source: Wikimedia Commons   Like his father, Ywain can be identified as a historical figure. He was simply Owain, the historical son of Urien of Rheged. Along with his father, he fought against the Angles near the border of England and Scotland in the late 6th century. It appears that he fought alongside his father before succeeding him as king for a few years. However, his independent kingship does not appear to have lasted long. Like Urien, Owain’s historicity is confirmed based on Welsh poetry that seems to go back to about the year 600.   3. Taliesin The Finding of Taliesin, by Henry Clarence Whaite, 1876. Source: Artuk.org   The Welsh poems that mention Urien and his son Owain are attributed to a bard named Taliesin. At least some of these poems do appear, based on linguistic evidence, to date to the era in which Taliesin was alleged to have lived. He is also mentioned in the Historia Brittonum, a document written around two centuries after his death. For this reason, most scholars accept that Taliesin was a real person. He was a professional bard, singing the praises of the kings whom he served. Urien and Owain were two of those kings, but he also served others.   According to the Arthurian legends, Taliesin served King Arthur at one point in his career. He was also said to have been one of the few people who accompanied Arthur on his journey to Avalon, to be healed of his wounds. Some Welsh traditions also refer to the close connection between Taliesin and Arthur. According to a 16th-century account of his life, Historia Taliesin, he was originally named Gwoin Bach ap Gwreang and was helping the enchantress Cerridwen make a potion of inspiration. He accidentally drank some of the potion when drops sprang from the cauldron and burned him, and he put his finger in his mouth to soothe the pain. In anger, Cerridwen turned him into a piece of grain and ate him. She ended up pregnant, had the baby, and cast him into the ocean. He was found and named Taliesin.   Legend has it that Taliesin’s grave is near the village of Tre Taliesin near Llangynfelyn, called Bedd Taliesin, but archaeology reveals that this is an earlier Bronze Age burial chamber.   4. Constantine of Dumnonia Saint Constantine’s Church, possibly named after King Constantine, Kerrier, Cornwall, Source: Wikimedia Commons   Constantine of Dumnonia is traditionally presented as the successor of Arthur in the Arthurian legends. After King Arthur is mortally wounded at the Battle of Camlann, he designates Constantine as his regent while he is taken away to be healed on the Isle of Avalon. Arthur never returns, and Constantine continues ruling as king until his own death. Not all versions of the tale of Arthur agree with that, but most versions do. In the earliest version of this story, Geoffrey of Monmouth’s 12th-century Historia Regum Britanniae, Constantine is called Arthur’s kinsman. Later tradition makes him Arthur’s cousin.   This legendary character can be identified with King Constantine of Dumnonia, a historical ruler in 6th-century Britain. He is known to have been historical because he was mentioned by Gildas, a contemporary writer. Gildas criticized Constantine for killing two royal youths in a church. This same event appears in the later Arthurian legends concerning Constantine, the successor of Arthur.   5. Gildas Statue of Gildas, Saint-Gildas-de-Rhuys, France. Source: Wikimedia Commons   Speaking of Gildas, he also appears in the Arthurian legends as an associate of Arthur. For example, he appears in Culhwch ac Olwen, a Welsh tale from perhaps the 11th century. In that, he appears as one of Arthur’s many allies who join him before he sets off on a dangerous task. More famously, Gildas appears in a legend about Arthur killing Hueil, Gildas’ rebellious brother. Hueil refused to submit to Arthur and fought against him, so Arthur defeated and killed him. Gildas was in Ireland at the time, but he returned to Britain and mourned the loss of his brother. Yet, he made peace with Arthur afterward.   Gildas was a real person. He wrote a document known as De Excidio, which is the only surviving record from 6th-century Britain. However, we do not know anything for sure about his family, such as whether he really did have a brother named Hueil. In his own writing, Gildas does not provide any information about his background or his family.   6. Iona, King of France Statue of Saint Judicael, great-grandson of King Ionas, Paimpont, France, Source: Wikimedia Commons   Iona of France is a very minor character in the Arthurian legends. He appears just once, in the aforementioned Culhwch ac Olwen. Like Gildas, he is mentioned as one of Arthur’s numerous allies in a particular adventure featured in that story. No information is provided about him beyond his name and his status as “king of France.” Some commentators have dismissed this character as fictional, especially since France did not, as such, exist in the 6th century. However, this is almost certainly an anachronistic description of the part of France that was in British hands, that is, Brittany in the northwest corner. The rest of the tale attests to Arthur’s connection with that region.   In the 6th century, there was a ruler in Britanny named Ionas. He can certainly be identified with the “Iona, king of France” from Culhwch ac Olwen. Scholar Peter Bartrum, in A Welsh Classical Dictionary, hinted at this identification, although he did not pursue it. Ionas appears in the Life of St Samson, an early and historically valuable hagiography. This king was killed by Childebert I.   7. Budic of Brittany Statue of Gregory of Tours, Jean Marcellin, 19th century. Source: Louvre   In the 6th century, Brittany was split up into multiple kingdoms, just like Britain itself. Therefore, it is no surprise that multiple kings of Brittany appear in the Arthurian legends. As well as “Iona, king of France,” there was also Budic of Brittany. He is mentioned by Geoffrey of Monmouth in the Historia Regum Britanniae. Geoffrey refers to the fact that Budic had married Arthur’s sister, and that his son, Hoel, had become one of Arthur’s allies.   Gregory of Tours, a Gallo-Roman historian of the 6th century, refers to a king of Brittany named Bodic. He appears to be identical to a king of Brittany named Budic mentioned in several later medieval records (none of which are explicitly Arthurian). Incidentally, there is reason to believe that this historical Bodic, or Budic, was the father-in-law of the aforementioned Ionas of Brittany. In any case, the Budic of Brittany who appears in the Arthurian legends is identical to the historical King Bodic of Brittany.   The Historical Figures in the Arthurian Legends Illustration of King Arthur fighting the Saxons from the Rochefoucauld Grail Manuscript, c. 14th century. Source: Wikimedia Commons   In summary, despite their embellished and exaggerated nature, the Arthurian legends are full of real figures that can be identified in the historical record. While not all contemporary, they all lived in roughly the same era, which pins the stories of the Arthurian legends to the 6th century. Their presence also suggests that the Arthurian legends are not pure fiction, but rather an exaggerated and fantasized version of events that had happened hundreds of years earlier. This means that there is value in the ongoing scholarly attempts to find the real King Arthur in the historical record. Popular candidates include Athrwys of Gwent, Riothamus, and Ambrosius Aurelianus.

  In the 15th and 16th centuries, the Ottoman palace kitchens were places where delicious and innovative foods emerged. A sultan’s personal tastes, whether leaning towards savory or sweet, influenced the culinary culture of the court. Some of the sultan’s favorite foods, like Baklava, also found their way into wider Turkish cuisine.   Medieval Manners Nomadic Turks at their encampment, painted by Siyah Kalem in the late 14th-early 15th century. Source: Creazilla   The Ottomans emerged in late 13th century Turkey as a frontier-dwelling nomadic clan. Like other Turkic tribes, their culinary culture was suited to the realities of a pastoralist lifestyle. Animal products like meat and dairy were the staples of their diet, though unleavened flatbreads were also eaten daily. Nomadic warriors—such as the feared horse archers—who had an exalted status in the clans were also expert hunters. They provided their tribespeople with meat from wild animals like deer.   Like in medieval Mongol culture, the nomadic Turks also survived on fermented milk products like yogurt. In fact, the word itself derives from the Turkish word yoğurt, which in turn is related to the verb yoğurmak, meaning to thicken or curdle. Nomads not only ate these foods but also traded them for other goods in markets around the growing Ottoman principality. Soon, agricultural products like bulghur wheat became an important part of their cuisine.   As the Ottoman chiefs (called beys) transitioned into sultans in the 14th century, they also began to adopt the culinary features of sedentary life. Cooked fruits and nuts were incorporated into cooked meats for the sultans to enjoy. In the late 15th century, the Ottoman sultans also began to eat with finer materials like porcelain and silver, as opposed to the bone or wood that their tableware was made of in earlier times.   Today’s Menu! Baklava, photo by Encal Media. Source: Unsplash   The Topkapi Palace had several areas reserved for cooking. These included the helvahane, the imperial dessert kitchen, and the Kushane, the special kitchen where the sultan’s meals were prepared. Meals were cooked meticulously and punctually, as the royal eating schedule was strict. In the 15th century, food was prepared twice a day; breakfast was eaten in the early hours of the morning, and dinner around four to five pm.   The palace kitchens had a colossal number of staff to accommodate the sultan, his family, and other inhabitants and visitors of the palace. Approximately 800 kitchen staff were employed to cook for 4,000 people! Cooks were required to rise in the early hours of the morning to have food ready by sunrise when the morning prayers were held.   A variety of ingredients were used to make interesting combinations for the sultan. Plums and pomegranates were brought specially from cities like Bursa to make a sour paste or marmalade called Nardenk.   Unlike the Turkish populace, the Ottoman sultan also had access to a variety of spices like cumin, saffron, and cinnamon, which were put into pilav (rice), et (meat) or tatli (sweet) dishes. Lamb and beef stew were cooked with fruits like plums, apricots, and pomegranates. This also differed from the cuisine of the common folk, who did not mix sweet and savory ingredients.   The Conqueror’s Seafood Interior of Topkapi Palace, by Etienne Dayer. Source: Unsplash   Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror (r. 1451-1481) was an avid seafood eater. Some historians speculate that this may have been introduced to his court after his conquest of Constantinople in 1453. Mehmed incorporated many aspects of Byzantine culture into his court and the increasingly sedentarized empire. Seafood like prawns—which were eaten by the Greeks of Constantinople—are a recurring dish in the palace menus of the late 15th century. This signaled a change from the nomadic pastoralist diet of mainly meat and dairy.   In 1460, the Topkapi Palace was built in the new imperial capital of Constantinople (Istanbul). The palace was modeled on the old palace in Edirne, which had housed almost 800 people. The sultan’s food was cooked in a separate area from the main kitchen. At the entrance of the harem was a small cookery called the Kushane, where the sultan and royal family’s food was prepared. While he initially ate with courtiers, later in his life, Mehmed preferred to eat alone.   Food products were brought from all around the empire to accommodate the sultan’s tastes. Mehmed II enjoyed fish, and so, freshwater fish was brought from Terkos Lake (modern-day Durusu), an occasional recreation and rest spot for the sultan.   While on campaigns, however, the sultan’s diet changed once again. Instead of heavier products like meat and dairy, Mehmed consumed more fruit, vegetables, and bread. Soup was also a popular campaign meal—it was probably easier on the sultan’s stomach during hours of traveling on horseback!   Gluttony and Gout Buttery Halva, photo by Ilanit Ohana. Source: Unsplash   Although the official court records show that the kitchens operated twice a day, the sultan could technically request a meal whenever his heart desired. After a three or four-course meal, the sultan would usually have a sweet treat. This could be halva, a dessert made of flour and butter, or baklava, a layered pastry filled with nuts and covered in syrup. Şerbet, a sweet, cordial-like drink made of flowers or fruits, was also a staple of the sultan’s dinner table. Full of sugar and honey, Şerbet was always served, be it an official meeting with a vizier, or during the sultan’s recreational time in the imperial gardens.   Foods with high caloric and saturated fat levels were commonly cooked in court. Contrary to the average Ottoman citizen, the sultan had a large daily intake of ingredients like sugar and butter. As a result, many experienced rapid weight gain, and suffered from related diseases like diabetes and gout. Gout, also called the “disease of kings,” affected other early-modern kings like Henry VIII. Foods high in the chemical compound purine, such as red meat and seafood, along with alcoholic drinks, were the main culprits of gout amongst the sultans.   Mehmed the Conqueror was one of the sultans known to suffer from gout and diabetes. These illnesses affected his fitness levels and toward the end of his life, he gained an excessive amount of weight, which is evident from his portraits. His premature death at age 49 was likely related to organ failure due to these illnesses.   For the Love of the Drink Wine-drinking was a (secret) Ottoman pastime, painted by Levni, ca. 1732. Source: LiteraTurk Catalogue   Due to Islamic legal restrictions, alcohol was a taboo in early modern Ottoman Turkey.   Yet, many sultans were known to enjoy drinking, some to an unhealthy extent. Sultan Bayezid “the Thunderbolt” was noted by historians like Ahmedi (d. 1413) to have been an avid drinker. In the Iskendername, Ahmedi wrote that Bayezid’s love of drink was influenced by the latter’s Christian wife, Despina, whom he claimed had introduced alcohol to Bayezid’s court.   Selim II was another ruler addicted to the drink. To this day, he is known as “Selim the Sot” due to his alcoholism. Selim’s drinking habits eventually led to his death at age 50. While intoxicated, he slipped on a wet tile in the bathroom and fatally hit his head.   Interestingly, the Topkapi Palace registries have no records of alcohol being bought by the palace. This reveals that alcohol was bought and imported discreetly, to not cause a scandal amongst the ulema, or religious class.   The taboo nature of alcohol in Ottoman society influenced the consumption of other beverages, such as coffee and boza, a drink made of fermented wheat. Likely first introduced to the palace through the 1519 Egyptian expedition of Selim I, coffee soon became a loved drink in court and amongst high society in Istanbul.   Feasting With the Sultan Janissaries participating in the çanak yagma, or “pot raid,” 1720. Source: University Wisconsin   Food was not only an important aspect of the sultan’s life but also of the political culture of the Ottoman court. Courtiers and soldiers expected banquets to be held by the monarch. This was a deep-rooted tradition that derived from the Ottomans’ nomadic and tribal history. In Turkic tribal culture, the mark of a good chieftain was his ability to provide food and sustenance for the tribespeople.   Eating alongside the sultan had its own rituals that courtiers had to abide by. They had to be formally invited to dine with the sultan and were often seated on his right or left side. This, however, could be the cause of drama in the imperial court. In 1472, two esteemed scholars, Molla Hüsrev and Molla Gürani, were invited to dine with Mehmed II. Molla Gürani was seated on Mehmed’s right side, while Molla Hüsrev was seated on his left. Believing that the left seat was assigned to less favored individuals, Molla Hüsrev was so offended that he relocated from Istanbul to the city of Bursa!   In the court of Selim the Grim and his son Suleyman, a ceremony called the çanak yagma, or “pot raid” was essential for keeping both ordinary subjects and janissary troops happy. A “pot raid” would often be organized during ceremonies like royal weddings and circumcisions. It consisted of ceramic pots, filled with food like pilav (rice) and meat, placed into an area where the groups would scramble to grab as much as they could. This, like many other ceremonies, was inspired by nomadic Turkic traditions.