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Herero

(Encyclopedia)Herero hərārˈō [key], Bantu people, mainly in Namibia and Botswana. They number about 75,000. A pastoral tribe noted for their large cattle herds, the Herero probably migrated from the region of L...

Jebus

(Encyclopedia)Jebus jĕbˈyo͞osīt [key], in the Bible, a pre-Israelite tribe living in the hill-country of Canaan. They were perhaps the last tribal group to be defeated by Israel and are usually mentioned last i...

Avars

(Encyclopedia)Avars äˈvärz [key], mounted nomad people who in the 4th and 5th cent. dominated the steppes of central Asia. Dislodged by stronger tribes, the Avars pushed west, increasing their formidable army by...

Bears Ears National Monument

(Encyclopedia)Bears Ears National Monument, 201,876 acres (81,696 hectares), SE Utah; est. 2016. Named for prominent twin buttes, the national monument as proclaimed by President Obama was more than six times large...

Semite

(Encyclopedia)Semite sĕmˈīt, sēˈmīt [key], originally one of a people believed to be descended from Shem, son of Noah. Later the term came to include the following peoples: Arabs; the Akkadians of ancient Bab...

Tlingit

(Encyclopedia)Tlingit tlĭngˈgĭt [key], group of related Native North American tribes, speaking a language that forms a branch of the Nadene linguistic stock (see Native American languages). The 14 divisions of t...

euchre

(Encyclopedia)euchre yo͞oˈkər [key], card game, played usually by four persons (two sets of partners). The game originated among the Amish and was a popular card game in America in the late 19th cent. The pack h...

Kirkland, Samuel

(Encyclopedia)Kirkland, Samuel, 1741–1808, American missionary, b. Norwich, Conn. He visited the Oneida tribe in 1764 and in 1766 began living with them according to their customs, preaching to them, and becoming...

De Mézières y Clugny, Athanase

(Encyclopedia)De Mézières y Clugny, Athanase ätänäzˈ də māzyĕrˈ ē klünēˈ [key], c.1715–1779, explorer and Indian agent in Spanish Louisiana, b. Paris. He went to Louisiana c.1733. When France ceded ...

Hagen, Walter

(Encyclopedia)Hagen, Walter hāˈgən [key], 1892–1969, American golfer, b. Rochester, N.Y. Hagen won the U.S. Open championship in 1914 and again in 1919; he took the British Open title in 1922, 1924, 1928, and ...

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