Cherokee legend -
When the first man (a s ga ya) was created and a mate was given to him, they lived together very happily for a time, but then began to quarrel, until at last the woman (a ge ya) left her husband and started off toward the Sun land (Nundagunyi), in the east.
The man followed alone and grieving, but the woman kept on steadily ahead and never looked behind, until the Creator, took pity on him and asked him if he was still angry with his wife. He said he was not, and Creator then asked him if he would like to have her back again, to which he eagerly answered yes.
So Creator caused a patch of the finest ripe huckleberries to spring up along the path in front of the woman, but she passed by without paying any attention to them. Farther on he put a clump of blackberries, but these also she refused to notice. Other fruits, one, two, and three, and then some trees covered with beautiful red service berries, were placed beside the path to tempt her, but she went on until suddenly she saw in front of her a patch of large ripe strawberries, the first ever known.
She stooped to gather a few to eat, and as she picked them she chanced to turn her face to the west, and at once the memory of her husband came back to her and she found herself unable to go on. She sat down, but the longer she waited the stronger became her desire for her husband, and at last she gathered a bunch of the finest berries and started back along the path to give them to him. He met her kindly and they went home together.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Featured Website: National American Indian Housing Council
NAIHC assists tribes and tribal housing entities in reaching their self determined goals of providing culturally relevant, decent, safe, sanitary, and quality affordable housing for Native people in Indian communities and Alaska Native villages.
Founded in 1974, the National American Indian Housing Council, a 501(c)(3) corporation, is the only national organization representing housing interests of tribes and tribal housing entities across the United States. We currently have 267 voting members, representing 428 Indian tribes and Alaska Native villages. NAIHC also has 30 associate and individual members, organizations and individuals who support our mission. NAIHC promotes, supports, and upholds tribes and tribal housing agencies in their efforts to provide culturally-relevant, decent, safe, sanitary, and affordable housing for Native people in American Indian communities and Alaska Native villages. Towards this end we provide training, technical assistance, research, communications and advocacy.
Want to know more? Click here: http://www.naihc.net/
Founded in 1974, the National American Indian Housing Council, a 501(c)(3) corporation, is the only national organization representing housing interests of tribes and tribal housing entities across the United States. We currently have 267 voting members, representing 428 Indian tribes and Alaska Native villages. NAIHC also has 30 associate and individual members, organizations and individuals who support our mission. NAIHC promotes, supports, and upholds tribes and tribal housing agencies in their efforts to provide culturally-relevant, decent, safe, sanitary, and affordable housing for Native people in American Indian communities and Alaska Native villages. Towards this end we provide training, technical assistance, research, communications and advocacy.
Want to know more? Click here: http://www.naihc.net/
Do you know...
Penny Singer (Dine′) continues to earn recognition as the Southwest’s premier designer of American Indian-themed garments and accessories for men and women.
Commanding a distinctive presence at the forefront of the Native American Arts scene, Singer is a true Fashion Designer – a title which describes the full scope of her creative ability. The finished products of her skilled hands are not simply clothes and handbags; they are true works of wearable fine art of the highest caliber, keeping her new and even previously worn works in-demand from collectors, celebrities, entertainers, and those "in the know." A leading voice among her fellow alumni of the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA), Singer's designs reflect traditional Native designs in contemporary form, while pushing the boundaries others find limiting.
Instantly recognizable world-wide, Singer's design themes continue to evolve and expand, as fresh ideas find realization in the form of her signature garments. A sought-after star at premier venues across the United States, her original PenSin™ line of clothing has amassed a long list of top awards and accolades at the Santa Fe Indian Market, Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair and Market, Eiteljorg Museum Indian Art Market, and scores of others.
Samples of her work can be viewed and purchased at: http://pennysinger.com/index.htm
Commanding a distinctive presence at the forefront of the Native American Arts scene, Singer is a true Fashion Designer – a title which describes the full scope of her creative ability. The finished products of her skilled hands are not simply clothes and handbags; they are true works of wearable fine art of the highest caliber, keeping her new and even previously worn works in-demand from collectors, celebrities, entertainers, and those "in the know." A leading voice among her fellow alumni of the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA), Singer's designs reflect traditional Native designs in contemporary form, while pushing the boundaries others find limiting.
Instantly recognizable world-wide, Singer's design themes continue to evolve and expand, as fresh ideas find realization in the form of her signature garments. A sought-after star at premier venues across the United States, her original PenSin™ line of clothing has amassed a long list of top awards and accolades at the Santa Fe Indian Market, Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair and Market, Eiteljorg Museum Indian Art Market, and scores of others.
Samples of her work can be viewed and purchased at: http://pennysinger.com/index.htm
Nike unveils shoe just for American Indians
Associated Press
BEAVERTON, Ore. - Nike on Tuesday unveiled what it said is the first shoe designed specifically for American Indians, an effort aiming at promoting physical fitness in a population with high obesity rates.
The Beaverton-based company says the Air Native N7 is designed with a larger fit for the distinct foot shape of American Indians, and has a culturally specific look. It will be distributed solely to American Indians; tribal wellness programs and tribal schools nationwide will be able to purchase the shoe at wholesale price and then pass it along to individuals, often at no cost.
“Nike is aware of the growing health issues facing Native Americans,” said Sam McCracken, manager of Nike’s Native American Business program. “We are stepping up our commitment ... to elevate the issue of Native American health and wellness.”
Check out the complete article here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20980046
BEAVERTON, Ore. - Nike on Tuesday unveiled what it said is the first shoe designed specifically for American Indians, an effort aiming at promoting physical fitness in a population with high obesity rates.
The Beaverton-based company says the Air Native N7 is designed with a larger fit for the distinct foot shape of American Indians, and has a culturally specific look. It will be distributed solely to American Indians; tribal wellness programs and tribal schools nationwide will be able to purchase the shoe at wholesale price and then pass it along to individuals, often at no cost.
“Nike is aware of the growing health issues facing Native Americans,” said Sam McCracken, manager of Nike’s Native American Business program. “We are stepping up our commitment ... to elevate the issue of Native American health and wellness.”
Check out the complete article here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20980046
Friday, September 28, 2007
Tribal water taps Bush
By: John R. Crane
The Ute Mountain Ute Tribe hopes to use a $1 million federal grant for water improvements on the reservation.
The grant is part of a proposed federal package of more than $120 million for water-related projects across Colorado. The Water Resources Development Act of 2007, which includes the grant monies, passed the U.S. Senate Monday.
"To the West and rural America, water is our most important resource," Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., said in a statement. "I am pleased that Congress has recognized the importance of authorizing these water projects for Colorado."
Tom Rice, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe's environment director, said the tribe has numerous water and wastewater issues, including water lines - in need of repair - running from Cortez's water-treatment plant to the reservation.
"We have a variety of infrastructure water and wastewater needs that we need to address," Rice said. "We have a long list of water and wastewater needs we'll look at."
The complete article is here: http://www.nativebiz.com/community/News,op=visit,nid=16607.html
The Ute Mountain Ute Tribe hopes to use a $1 million federal grant for water improvements on the reservation.
The grant is part of a proposed federal package of more than $120 million for water-related projects across Colorado. The Water Resources Development Act of 2007, which includes the grant monies, passed the U.S. Senate Monday.
"To the West and rural America, water is our most important resource," Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., said in a statement. "I am pleased that Congress has recognized the importance of authorizing these water projects for Colorado."
Tom Rice, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe's environment director, said the tribe has numerous water and wastewater issues, including water lines - in need of repair - running from Cortez's water-treatment plant to the reservation.
"We have a variety of infrastructure water and wastewater needs that we need to address," Rice said. "We have a long list of water and wastewater needs we'll look at."
The complete article is here: http://www.nativebiz.com/community/News,op=visit,nid=16607.html
Honoring the Ioway tribe
By: Mary Challender
One hundred and seventy years after they were forced from their ancestral homelands, the Ioway Indians are being welcomed back to Iowa.
The reunion starts Saturday and Sunday with Ioway Heritage Weekend at the Living History Farms.
It continues through October with a world film premiere, a statewide Native Ioway History Week and Ioway Archaeology Month - all honoring the Indian tribe from which this state gets its name.
As many as 150 Ioway from all over the nation are expected to converge on Iowa for the festivities.
That would be the largest tribal contingent in the state since 1837, the year the federal government pushed out the Ioway to make way for advancing white settlers, according to John Palmquist, a retired Montgomery County farmer who has developed close connections with tribe members living in Kansas.
Check out the full article here: http://www.nativebiz.com/community/News,op=visit,nid=16611.html
One hundred and seventy years after they were forced from their ancestral homelands, the Ioway Indians are being welcomed back to Iowa.
The reunion starts Saturday and Sunday with Ioway Heritage Weekend at the Living History Farms.
It continues through October with a world film premiere, a statewide Native Ioway History Week and Ioway Archaeology Month - all honoring the Indian tribe from which this state gets its name.
As many as 150 Ioway from all over the nation are expected to converge on Iowa for the festivities.
That would be the largest tribal contingent in the state since 1837, the year the federal government pushed out the Ioway to make way for advancing white settlers, according to John Palmquist, a retired Montgomery County farmer who has developed close connections with tribe members living in Kansas.
Check out the full article here: http://www.nativebiz.com/community/News,op=visit,nid=16611.html
Alberta Metis to defy provincial hunting restrictions this fall
Canadian Press
EDMONTON - Alberta Metis will defy provincial hunting laws this fall by holding traditional community hunts outside of government-designated harvesting areas, their leader says.
Audrey Poitras, president of the Metis Nation of Alberta, said that if her people are charged they will fight in court to draw attention to the province's "regressive Metis harvesting policy."
"This is about tradition. This is not about somebody deciding where we have the right to hunt," Poitras said Thursday.
"If this has to end up in court, then we are prepared to do that."
Earlier this year the government replaced an agreement that allowed Metis to hunt and fish without a licence throughout the province with new rules that restrict such harvesting to areas near eight Metis settlements and 17 communities in northern Alberta.
Want to know more? Click here: http://www.nativebiz.com/community/News,op=visit,nid=16615.html
EDMONTON - Alberta Metis will defy provincial hunting laws this fall by holding traditional community hunts outside of government-designated harvesting areas, their leader says.
Audrey Poitras, president of the Metis Nation of Alberta, said that if her people are charged they will fight in court to draw attention to the province's "regressive Metis harvesting policy."
"This is about tradition. This is not about somebody deciding where we have the right to hunt," Poitras said Thursday.
"If this has to end up in court, then we are prepared to do that."
Earlier this year the government replaced an agreement that allowed Metis to hunt and fish without a licence throughout the province with new rules that restrict such harvesting to areas near eight Metis settlements and 17 communities in northern Alberta.
Want to know more? Click here: http://www.nativebiz.com/community/News,op=visit,nid=16615.html
A new image of Native Americans is still emerging
By: Lynne Harlan
During most of the 20th century, Native People in America saw our image in popular culture as the conquered nation, as cartoons and as silent actors in our own history. Now in the 21st century, we have an opportunity to define our image and make our own statements about our lives. Undoubtedly this opportunity comes because of financial stability. The opportunity sounds, at first, like a chance for a new beginning, but a closer examination reveals that our picture of ourselves is quite varied.
For once, we have to determine which side of our family to portray. Do we show the destitute Native community of the last century, which has been used for countless charities designed to benefit our people? Do we show the proud warrior on the plains, which never really fit our culture or personality? Or do we show the way our community really is with all our frailties, strengths and quirks?
Our definition of ourselves is important, because it is how our youth expect us to behave and it is how our elders see themselves. It must also account for the mixed images we have of our community, like mascots, old and new western movies and contemporary cultural icons seen in pop phenomena like “The Simpsons.” Our new image must show us as contemporary people who understand contemporary issues.
We must examine our values and work to create a self-image which is positive, but leaves room for change and differing perspectives.
For years, our tourism industry has seen the dismay when our culture is not as the visitor perceived. Often we have been told that our genuine culture is not really “Indian.” Many visitors do not recognize our true culture because it is not one of feathers and beads or flashy dancing. The foods we eat are viewed with disdain because they are of a Euro-American fare, as though we should be shielded from cultural interaction, and even those who try our traditional foods are disappointed because they don’t like the bland flavor of a pre-contact menu.
Our image is inherently tied to the tourists who sustain our economy, but also must portray the community those visitors will find when they visit. We can no longer afford to have a generation which doesn’t see our people as contemporaries in modern America, and now is the time for the redefinition to begin.
During most of the 20th century, Native People in America saw our image in popular culture as the conquered nation, as cartoons and as silent actors in our own history. Now in the 21st century, we have an opportunity to define our image and make our own statements about our lives. Undoubtedly this opportunity comes because of financial stability. The opportunity sounds, at first, like a chance for a new beginning, but a closer examination reveals that our picture of ourselves is quite varied.
For once, we have to determine which side of our family to portray. Do we show the destitute Native community of the last century, which has been used for countless charities designed to benefit our people? Do we show the proud warrior on the plains, which never really fit our culture or personality? Or do we show the way our community really is with all our frailties, strengths and quirks?
Our definition of ourselves is important, because it is how our youth expect us to behave and it is how our elders see themselves. It must also account for the mixed images we have of our community, like mascots, old and new western movies and contemporary cultural icons seen in pop phenomena like “The Simpsons.” Our new image must show us as contemporary people who understand contemporary issues.
We must examine our values and work to create a self-image which is positive, but leaves room for change and differing perspectives.
For years, our tourism industry has seen the dismay when our culture is not as the visitor perceived. Often we have been told that our genuine culture is not really “Indian.” Many visitors do not recognize our true culture because it is not one of feathers and beads or flashy dancing. The foods we eat are viewed with disdain because they are of a Euro-American fare, as though we should be shielded from cultural interaction, and even those who try our traditional foods are disappointed because they don’t like the bland flavor of a pre-contact menu.
Our image is inherently tied to the tourists who sustain our economy, but also must portray the community those visitors will find when they visit. We can no longer afford to have a generation which doesn’t see our people as contemporaries in modern America, and now is the time for the redefinition to begin.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Historical reading...
"On our coming near the house, two mats were spread to sit upon and immediately some food was served in well-made bowls;
two men were also dispatched at once with bows and arrows in quest of game, who soon after brought a pair of pigeons which they had shot….
The natives were good people, for when they saw I would not remain, they supposed I was afraid of their bows and arrows, and taking the arrows they broke them into pieces and threw them into the fire."
Henry Hudson in 1609 sailed up the river that later would bear his name. The Indians he found living in circular bark lodges were friendly and hospitable.
From the novel "I have Spoken" (American History Through the Voices of the Indian),compiled by Virginia Irving Armstrong. Published by The Swallow Press
two men were also dispatched at once with bows and arrows in quest of game, who soon after brought a pair of pigeons which they had shot….
The natives were good people, for when they saw I would not remain, they supposed I was afraid of their bows and arrows, and taking the arrows they broke them into pieces and threw them into the fire."
Henry Hudson in 1609 sailed up the river that later would bear his name. The Indians he found living in circular bark lodges were friendly and hospitable.
From the novel "I have Spoken" (American History Through the Voices of the Indian),compiled by Virginia Irving Armstrong. Published by The Swallow Press
Featured Tribe - Cahuillas - California
The Cahuillas are Takic-speaking peoples who reside in Southern California in what are now Riverside and San Diego counties. Many, but not all, of the Cahuilla peoples live on reservations-Cahuilla, Agua Caliente, Santa Rosa, Torres-Martinez, Cabeson, Morongo, Los Coyotes, Ramona, and Saboba. These reservations were established after many years of conflict with local and federal authorities in the 1870s. Today the Cahuillas number about twenty-four hundred people. Prior to European intrusion, however, when they occupied the better part of Riverside County and the northern portion of San Diego County, they numbered from six thousand to ten thousand people.
Within their language-speaking group, the Cahuillas were divided into about a dozen independent clans containing five hundred to twelve hundred people each. These clans controlled separate territories of several hundred square miles each and maintained their own political authority. Each clan was allied through ritual systems that provided political stability and networks for economic exchange. Each clan was dialectically different from the others.
Community beliefs were clearly stated in various song cycles (epic poems) and historical accounts that described a clan's sacred and secular history and provided guidelines for behavior. These beliefs were reinforced on a regular basis, usually annually, in clan ritual centers where the texts of the song cycles were presented in their entirety-a process requiring several days to complete. The most important parts of these gatherings were the nukil ceremonies, which honored those members of a clan who had died since the last nukil ritual had been performed.
For the Cahuillas, cosmological values and concepts were established when the world was created by Mukat. The Cahuilla creation story tells of the origin of the world, the death of god (Mukat), and the consequences of that death for humans (e.g., the need for death, social roles, and so forth). It also describes the basic concepts of supernatural power and its proper use in the contemporary world.
Want to know more? Click here: http://www.manataka.org/page550.html
Within their language-speaking group, the Cahuillas were divided into about a dozen independent clans containing five hundred to twelve hundred people each. These clans controlled separate territories of several hundred square miles each and maintained their own political authority. Each clan was allied through ritual systems that provided political stability and networks for economic exchange. Each clan was dialectically different from the others.
Community beliefs were clearly stated in various song cycles (epic poems) and historical accounts that described a clan's sacred and secular history and provided guidelines for behavior. These beliefs were reinforced on a regular basis, usually annually, in clan ritual centers where the texts of the song cycles were presented in their entirety-a process requiring several days to complete. The most important parts of these gatherings were the nukil ceremonies, which honored those members of a clan who had died since the last nukil ritual had been performed.
For the Cahuillas, cosmological values and concepts were established when the world was created by Mukat. The Cahuilla creation story tells of the origin of the world, the death of god (Mukat), and the consequences of that death for humans (e.g., the need for death, social roles, and so forth). It also describes the basic concepts of supernatural power and its proper use in the contemporary world.
Want to know more? Click here: http://www.manataka.org/page550.html
Native American Week Kicks Off in Palm Springs
Monday, September 24th marked the beginning of Native American Week in Palm Springs. The city made a proclamation in support of the week and the Agua Caliente band of Cahuilla Indians.
Statewide, Friday is Native American Day but the Agua Calientes say they're celebrating their heritage for an entire week to promote and honor their past.
"What we're trying to do is make people in the Coachella Valley aware of the contributions that native populations have made to our way of life," Michael Hammond of the Agua Caliente Cultural Museum said.
The first event of the week was at Palm Springs High School where Olympic athlete Billy Mills, an Oglala Lakota Indian, spoke.
Also Thursday at Villagefest in Palm Springs, the tribe will have Native American dancers perform.
And Friday and Saturday, the public is welcome to the cultural museum for free.
For complete information on the Native American Week events, go to www.accmuseum.org.
Statewide, Friday is Native American Day but the Agua Calientes say they're celebrating their heritage for an entire week to promote and honor their past.
"What we're trying to do is make people in the Coachella Valley aware of the contributions that native populations have made to our way of life," Michael Hammond of the Agua Caliente Cultural Museum said.
The first event of the week was at Palm Springs High School where Olympic athlete Billy Mills, an Oglala Lakota Indian, spoke.
Also Thursday at Villagefest in Palm Springs, the tribe will have Native American dancers perform.
And Friday and Saturday, the public is welcome to the cultural museum for free.
For complete information on the Native American Week events, go to www.accmuseum.org.
Construction begins on Duwamish longhouse
By: Richard Walker
Recognition bill stalled in committee despite partnerships
SEATTLE - Construction was scheduled to begin the week of Sept. 17 on a Duwamish longhouse and cultural center, the first longhouse in the city since 1894.
''It's emotional for me,'' said Cecile Hansen, Duwamish chairman and great-great-grandniece of Si'ahl, the Duwamish/Suquamish leader for whom the city of Seattle is named.
''We've been working 30 years for [our] own place. In the last five years, people have gotten involved that said we need to have [our] own place, our people have suffered so much.''
Mary Lou Slaughter, a direct descendant of Si'ahl, added, ''I'm very excited. It will give a presence in the city which we haven't had, a place to show people what we do and teach our youngsters.''
The longhouse is being built on Duwamish-owned land along the Duwamish River. The site is just west of two ancestral village sites: Ha-ah'-poos, which means ''where there are horse clams,'' and Tohl-ahl-too, which means ''herring house.''
The two-story, carved cedar longhouse will consist of a greeting area featuring the names and representations of Duwamish leaders going back more than a century; a ceremonial space; a cultural resource center, where archaeological materials will be displayed; and a commercial kitchen specializing in preparing traditional Duwamish foods.
This article includes a piece regarding the struggles of the Duwamish for recognition. Click here: http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096415784
Recognition bill stalled in committee despite partnerships
SEATTLE - Construction was scheduled to begin the week of Sept. 17 on a Duwamish longhouse and cultural center, the first longhouse in the city since 1894.
''It's emotional for me,'' said Cecile Hansen, Duwamish chairman and great-great-grandniece of Si'ahl, the Duwamish/Suquamish leader for whom the city of Seattle is named.
''We've been working 30 years for [our] own place. In the last five years, people have gotten involved that said we need to have [our] own place, our people have suffered so much.''
Mary Lou Slaughter, a direct descendant of Si'ahl, added, ''I'm very excited. It will give a presence in the city which we haven't had, a place to show people what we do and teach our youngsters.''
The longhouse is being built on Duwamish-owned land along the Duwamish River. The site is just west of two ancestral village sites: Ha-ah'-poos, which means ''where there are horse clams,'' and Tohl-ahl-too, which means ''herring house.''
The two-story, carved cedar longhouse will consist of a greeting area featuring the names and representations of Duwamish leaders going back more than a century; a ceremonial space; a cultural resource center, where archaeological materials will be displayed; and a commercial kitchen specializing in preparing traditional Duwamish foods.
This article includes a piece regarding the struggles of the Duwamish for recognition. Click here: http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096415784
Monday, September 24, 2007
Spirit People Dance To Tribal Beat
By: Julia Ferrante, The Tampa Tribune
ODESSA - In the wild, the great horned owl and red-tailed hawk are known to compete for prey, most of the time keeping their distance from one another.
In a display at a powwow this weekend at the Starkey Ranch, the owl and the hawk shared a perch and a water dish, hardly seeming to notice they were supposed to be, more or less, enemies.
'They called a truce,' Deborah Larsen of the Sebring-based Wrede's Wildlife Rehabilitation Center said of the owl, snatched from its nest as a baby, and the hawk, unable to hunt because of an injury.
'I wish the world would take a lesson from nature.'
Larsen's group was among a couple of dozen vendors at the Spirit People Intertribal Family's September powwow, billed as a teaching and learning event. The nonprofit organization of about 45 people celebrates with music, dance, food, storytelling and educational displays three times a year, with proceeds going to the ranch owners, who allow the group to use their property for monthly meetings and other events.
Members of the Spirit People come from many different tribes, although American Indian heritage is not a requirement. Those who join simply must 'come in a good way' and promise not to indulge in drugs or alcohol, Chief Rob 'Buffalo Eagle' Lambert said. The Spirit People, part of the education program at the Starkey Ranch, also visit schools and hospitals. Although members celebrate their ancestry, they do not exclude others who want to participate in their traditions.
'It is a community event,' Lambert said. 'The dances are intertribal. We want people to feel free to come and dance and follow along even if they don't know the dances. To be a good student, you have to participate.'
Vendors at this weekend's powwow, which Lambert said drew a few thousand people between Friday afternoon and Sunday evening, sold dream catchers, walking sticks, buffalo burgers and kettle corn and gave demonstrations on woodcarving and arrow-making.
Falon Kitsmiller of Odessa, her 3-year-old daughter Gabby and other family members came to the powwow Sunday to learn more about American Indian culture.
'Her dad has some Indian in his family,' Kitsmiller said of her daughter.
Paula Hayducky was searching for pottery, dolls and other decorations for her home in Hudson.
'I usually check out some of the powwows,' she said. 'This one is smaller than we've been to, but it's nice.'
ODESSA - In the wild, the great horned owl and red-tailed hawk are known to compete for prey, most of the time keeping their distance from one another.
In a display at a powwow this weekend at the Starkey Ranch, the owl and the hawk shared a perch and a water dish, hardly seeming to notice they were supposed to be, more or less, enemies.
'They called a truce,' Deborah Larsen of the Sebring-based Wrede's Wildlife Rehabilitation Center said of the owl, snatched from its nest as a baby, and the hawk, unable to hunt because of an injury.
'I wish the world would take a lesson from nature.'
Larsen's group was among a couple of dozen vendors at the Spirit People Intertribal Family's September powwow, billed as a teaching and learning event. The nonprofit organization of about 45 people celebrates with music, dance, food, storytelling and educational displays three times a year, with proceeds going to the ranch owners, who allow the group to use their property for monthly meetings and other events.
Members of the Spirit People come from many different tribes, although American Indian heritage is not a requirement. Those who join simply must 'come in a good way' and promise not to indulge in drugs or alcohol, Chief Rob 'Buffalo Eagle' Lambert said. The Spirit People, part of the education program at the Starkey Ranch, also visit schools and hospitals. Although members celebrate their ancestry, they do not exclude others who want to participate in their traditions.
'It is a community event,' Lambert said. 'The dances are intertribal. We want people to feel free to come and dance and follow along even if they don't know the dances. To be a good student, you have to participate.'
Vendors at this weekend's powwow, which Lambert said drew a few thousand people between Friday afternoon and Sunday evening, sold dream catchers, walking sticks, buffalo burgers and kettle corn and gave demonstrations on woodcarving and arrow-making.
Falon Kitsmiller of Odessa, her 3-year-old daughter Gabby and other family members came to the powwow Sunday to learn more about American Indian culture.
'Her dad has some Indian in his family,' Kitsmiller said of her daughter.
Paula Hayducky was searching for pottery, dolls and other decorations for her home in Hudson.
'I usually check out some of the powwows,' she said. 'This one is smaller than we've been to, but it's nice.'
Native American $1 Coin Act signed into law
The Native American $1 Coin Act was signed into law by President Bush last Thursday.
The bill authorizes a new back for the Sacagawea dollar coin to honor Native Americans and their contributions to the United States. The front will still feature an image of the young Shoshone woman who helped Lewis and Clark on their journey to the West.
The designs for the back will be approved by the Department of Treasury in consultation with the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, the House Congressional Native American Caucus, the National Congress of American Indians, the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts and the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee.
“I was honored to introduce this bill. I can think of no better way to pay tribute to the Native American people than to cast in gold their contribution to the development of this nation and its history,” said Rep. Dale Kildee (D-Michigan). “The coin will preserve the memory of Sacagawea and guide Americans through the journey and experiences of Native Americans."
The bill authorizes a new back for the Sacagawea dollar coin to honor Native Americans and their contributions to the United States. The front will still feature an image of the young Shoshone woman who helped Lewis and Clark on their journey to the West.
The designs for the back will be approved by the Department of Treasury in consultation with the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, the House Congressional Native American Caucus, the National Congress of American Indians, the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts and the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee.
“I was honored to introduce this bill. I can think of no better way to pay tribute to the Native American people than to cast in gold their contribution to the development of this nation and its history,” said Rep. Dale Kildee (D-Michigan). “The coin will preserve the memory of Sacagawea and guide Americans through the journey and experiences of Native Americans."
Mann: AISES: Powerful medicine for the spirit and education
By: Henrietta Mann
American Indians are this country's first scientists, a fact that is often overlooked by contemporary America in general and the scientific community in particular. As indigenous peoples walked through history on their respective cultural roads of life, they formulated sophisticated bodies of traditional knowledge, some points of which converge with mainstream science. They were intimately familiar with their environment and knew where they stood in the universe. In indigenous thought, life is viewed holistically and for them science is but a strand that is interwoven into a vast, delicately balanced ecological system in which everyone and everything is connected and interdependent. For them, science did not stand separate from life.
Recognizing the paucity of American Indians in the fields of science and engineering, a small group of scientists, engineers and educators in the late 1970s began to address the issue of under-representation of American Indians in higher education and in the science and engineering fields with a focus upon improving graduation rates. If more American Indian students were to be recruited into the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines, strong support systems had to be created and implemented. With incredible foresight and drawing upon the experience and strength of the past, they sought to bridge intellectual aptitude and contemporary education, while simultaneously instituting culture-based support structures and networks that would lead to graduation and on to successful professional careers. Thus, the group organized the American Indian Science and Engineering Society to meet the academic goals and needs that were vital to students studying in the STEM fields.
There's more here: http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096415757
American Indians are this country's first scientists, a fact that is often overlooked by contemporary America in general and the scientific community in particular. As indigenous peoples walked through history on their respective cultural roads of life, they formulated sophisticated bodies of traditional knowledge, some points of which converge with mainstream science. They were intimately familiar with their environment and knew where they stood in the universe. In indigenous thought, life is viewed holistically and for them science is but a strand that is interwoven into a vast, delicately balanced ecological system in which everyone and everything is connected and interdependent. For them, science did not stand separate from life.
Recognizing the paucity of American Indians in the fields of science and engineering, a small group of scientists, engineers and educators in the late 1970s began to address the issue of under-representation of American Indians in higher education and in the science and engineering fields with a focus upon improving graduation rates. If more American Indian students were to be recruited into the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines, strong support systems had to be created and implemented. With incredible foresight and drawing upon the experience and strength of the past, they sought to bridge intellectual aptitude and contemporary education, while simultaneously instituting culture-based support structures and networks that would lead to graduation and on to successful professional careers. Thus, the group organized the American Indian Science and Engineering Society to meet the academic goals and needs that were vital to students studying in the STEM fields.
There's more here: http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096415757
Passamaquoddy suit to stop gas terminal finds new life
By: Gale Courey Toensing
BOSTON - A federal appeals court has ruled that a group of Passamaquoddy Indians can move forward with a lawsuit they hope will stop a liquefied natural gas terminal development on tribal land.
The three-judge panel's ruling Sept. 14 reversed a federal district court judge's decision last November that the group, Nulankeyutmonen Nkihtaqmikon (''We Protect Our Homeland''), lacked legal standing to sue the BIA for approving in 2005 a land lease between the tribe and Quoddy Bay LLC, an Oklahoma developer seeking to construct an LNG terminal on a three-quarter-acre parcel of tribal land at Split Rock.
Additionally, the appeals panel ruled that the group's claims were ripe for review even though the LNG terminal has not been approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The decision was written by 1st Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Juan R. Torruella.
In May 2005, the tribal government and Quoddy Bay LLC formalized a 50-year land lease agreement that included four distinct phases: permitting, construction, operations, and removal and remediation. The lease was sent off to the BIA May 19, 2005, for review, in accordance with the Indian Long Term Leasing Act of 1955.
The BIA approved the lease on June 1, 2005, ''solely for the site investigation required for the FERC permitting process in the development of an Environmental Impact Statement,'' according to the court document. The BIA said that the site investigation did not require an EIS before the lease was approved, and that continuing the lease would be contingent on FERC approval.
Want to know more? Click here: http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096415786
BOSTON - A federal appeals court has ruled that a group of Passamaquoddy Indians can move forward with a lawsuit they hope will stop a liquefied natural gas terminal development on tribal land.
The three-judge panel's ruling Sept. 14 reversed a federal district court judge's decision last November that the group, Nulankeyutmonen Nkihtaqmikon (''We Protect Our Homeland''), lacked legal standing to sue the BIA for approving in 2005 a land lease between the tribe and Quoddy Bay LLC, an Oklahoma developer seeking to construct an LNG terminal on a three-quarter-acre parcel of tribal land at Split Rock.
Additionally, the appeals panel ruled that the group's claims were ripe for review even though the LNG terminal has not been approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The decision was written by 1st Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Juan R. Torruella.
In May 2005, the tribal government and Quoddy Bay LLC formalized a 50-year land lease agreement that included four distinct phases: permitting, construction, operations, and removal and remediation. The lease was sent off to the BIA May 19, 2005, for review, in accordance with the Indian Long Term Leasing Act of 1955.
The BIA approved the lease on June 1, 2005, ''solely for the site investigation required for the FERC permitting process in the development of an Environmental Impact Statement,'' according to the court document. The BIA said that the site investigation did not require an EIS before the lease was approved, and that continuing the lease would be contingent on FERC approval.
Want to know more? Click here: http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096415786
Friday, September 21, 2007
Spirit People to Host 2ND Annual Fall Intertribal Powwow September 21-23
Odessa, FL – Spirit People’s early Fall Powwow is expected to continue the success of their first powwow held last September at J.B. Starkey Ranch in Odessa, FL. That event drew an estimated 2,500 visitors from 15 different tribes featuring: Cherokee, Mohawk, Apache, Lakota, Shawnee, Choctaw, Comanche, Seminole, Creek, Oneida, Seneca, and others.
This will be the 2nd annual fall powwow for Spirit People Intertribal, a multi-cultural organization which focuses on the teachings of our people. The three-day event will run from Friday, September 21 through Sunday, September 23.
“There is nothing that promotes understanding of my people throughout the general populace quite like a powwow. It builds a bridge to all non-Indian peoples where we can see each other in a sacred way,” claims Pam Davison, also known as Waterbird.
“The Powwow gives us the opportunity to expose the community to Indian culture and life, the living history that is still a part of American society.”
“To dance in offering of our gratitude to Great Spirit for this life, to celebrate our culture and ancestral traditions, to learn, and to grow,” Davison said.
Storytelling, flute playing, and other artists will be among the vendors and educators who will travel from as far away as Canada to visit Starkey Ranch off of State Road 54 in Odessa. The gate opens at 10 am with activities beginning around 1 pm each day. Everyone attending on Friday will receive a free hotdog and chips. Visitors are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and blankets.
This will be the 2nd annual fall powwow for Spirit People Intertribal, a multi-cultural organization which focuses on the teachings of our people. The three-day event will run from Friday, September 21 through Sunday, September 23.
“There is nothing that promotes understanding of my people throughout the general populace quite like a powwow. It builds a bridge to all non-Indian peoples where we can see each other in a sacred way,” claims Pam Davison, also known as Waterbird.
“The Powwow gives us the opportunity to expose the community to Indian culture and life, the living history that is still a part of American society.”
“To dance in offering of our gratitude to Great Spirit for this life, to celebrate our culture and ancestral traditions, to learn, and to grow,” Davison said.
Storytelling, flute playing, and other artists will be among the vendors and educators who will travel from as far away as Canada to visit Starkey Ranch off of State Road 54 in Odessa. The gate opens at 10 am with activities beginning around 1 pm each day. Everyone attending on Friday will receive a free hotdog and chips. Visitors are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and blankets.
Featured Artist - Jesse Hummingbird
Jesse T. Hummingbird, 3/4 Cherokee and tribal member of the Cherokee Nation, was born in 1952 in Tahlequah, OK. This well known Cherokee artist has won awards for his paintings at major shows across the country. He most recently won the best of division for painting at the Heard Museum Indian Market; second place in painting at the SW Arts Festival in Indio, CA.
Jesse won Best of division in two dimensional art at the Albuquerque Indian Art 2000 exposition; and 1st place in painting and etching categories at the SWAIA Indian Market in Santa Fe. Jesse was the Inter Tribal Ceremonial poster artist in 1992 and the Bien Mur poster artist in 1999. He has published three children's coloring books with The Book Publishing Company, Summertown, TN.
In 1996 he was named artist of the year by the Indian Arts and Crafts Association and received a fellowship from SWAIA that same year. Jesse was featured in an article in the 1999 fall issue of Native Artist magazine. Interviews and his images have been featured in several published books.
He recently was commissioned by Indian Motorcycle to complete one of his figures on the new Indian motorcycle...... a painting he titled "Spotted Dog and His Ride."
Jesse paints in the traditional flat style of the Oklahoma Natives with acrylic on canvas for his bright contemporary original paintings. The geometric faces in his paintings are an outgrowth of his popular mixed media masks.
Check it out! http://www.nativeart.net/artist.php?ucode=txiv2r
Jesse won Best of division in two dimensional art at the Albuquerque Indian Art 2000 exposition; and 1st place in painting and etching categories at the SWAIA Indian Market in Santa Fe. Jesse was the Inter Tribal Ceremonial poster artist in 1992 and the Bien Mur poster artist in 1999. He has published three children's coloring books with The Book Publishing Company, Summertown, TN.
In 1996 he was named artist of the year by the Indian Arts and Crafts Association and received a fellowship from SWAIA that same year. Jesse was featured in an article in the 1999 fall issue of Native Artist magazine. Interviews and his images have been featured in several published books.
He recently was commissioned by Indian Motorcycle to complete one of his figures on the new Indian motorcycle...... a painting he titled "Spotted Dog and His Ride."
Jesse paints in the traditional flat style of the Oklahoma Natives with acrylic on canvas for his bright contemporary original paintings. The geometric faces in his paintings are an outgrowth of his popular mixed media masks.
Check it out! http://www.nativeart.net/artist.php?ucode=txiv2r
Lumbees push for legislation
By: Venita Jenkins
WASHINGTON — Lumbee Tribal Chairman Jimmy Goins on Wednesday tried to convince a congressional committee that the administrative path to federal recognition is broken and that legislation is the only way his tribe will obtain that status.
The tribe has a long, unhappy history with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which oversees the recognition process, Goins said. He said the bureau has an institutional bias against nonrecognized tribes and should not be in charge of processing the petitions of groups seeking federal status.
“The mission of the BIA is to serve and protect the interest of federally recognized tribes,” he said. “This being so, it is not fair to either the BIA or non-federally recognized tribes to expect the BIA to also pass on the status of other Indian groups.”
Goins made his comments to the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. He suggested that an independent commission determine whether tribes receive recognition.
Want to know more? Click here: http://www.fayobserver.com/article?id=272789
WASHINGTON — Lumbee Tribal Chairman Jimmy Goins on Wednesday tried to convince a congressional committee that the administrative path to federal recognition is broken and that legislation is the only way his tribe will obtain that status.
The tribe has a long, unhappy history with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which oversees the recognition process, Goins said. He said the bureau has an institutional bias against nonrecognized tribes and should not be in charge of processing the petitions of groups seeking federal status.
“The mission of the BIA is to serve and protect the interest of federally recognized tribes,” he said. “This being so, it is not fair to either the BIA or non-federally recognized tribes to expect the BIA to also pass on the status of other Indian groups.”
Goins made his comments to the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. He suggested that an independent commission determine whether tribes receive recognition.
Want to know more? Click here: http://www.fayobserver.com/article?id=272789
Indian site sold to couple
By: James Buescher
YORK COUNTY, Pa. - "We're still here, and we're watching."
American Indian groups couldn't stop the auction Thursday of land that includes important archaeological sites related to the Susquehannock tribe. But the presence of about 20 Indians, some with homemade signs, sent a clear message to any potential buyers who might have plans to develop the parcel.
In the end, the 26-acre Leibhart property at 534 Boat House Road in York County's Lower Windsor Township was sold Thursday to a Dover couple, Teresa and Donald Grove, for $1.51 million.
The property, just across the Susquehanna River from Lancaster County, includes a historic three-story farmhouse and three dozen lots that are rented for riverside recreation, bringing in about $37,000 per year, according to auctioneer Bradley K. Smith.
There's more here: http://local.lancasteronline.com/4/209752
YORK COUNTY, Pa. - "We're still here, and we're watching."
American Indian groups couldn't stop the auction Thursday of land that includes important archaeological sites related to the Susquehannock tribe. But the presence of about 20 Indians, some with homemade signs, sent a clear message to any potential buyers who might have plans to develop the parcel.
In the end, the 26-acre Leibhart property at 534 Boat House Road in York County's Lower Windsor Township was sold Thursday to a Dover couple, Teresa and Donald Grove, for $1.51 million.
The property, just across the Susquehanna River from Lancaster County, includes a historic three-story farmhouse and three dozen lots that are rented for riverside recreation, bringing in about $37,000 per year, according to auctioneer Bradley K. Smith.
There's more here: http://local.lancasteronline.com/4/209752
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Quotes
"Of all the created things or beings in the universe, it is the two-legged men alone, who if they purify and humiliate themselves, may become one with —or may know— Wakan-Tanka." -
Black Elk - Oglala Lakota
Black Elk - Oglala Lakota
The Two Blind Old Women
Apache legend -
Two old women were once cooking a pot of mush which two mischievous boys were trying to steal. Both were blind, so one sat on each side of the fire.
They kept their sticks waving back and forth above the pot, to prevent any one from taking advantage of their blindness and taking the vessel or its contents.
The boys found an empty pot, which they substituted for the one on the fire. Finding that the pot now had an empty ring when struck by their sticks, the old women concluded that the water had boiled away, and the mush must be sufficiently cooked.
"Let us smoke while it cools," said one.
"Very well," said the other, and they began to smoke alternately the single pipe in their possession. As they smoked they kept the sticks waving to and fro above the empty vessel.
The boys took the pipe from the hand of one old woman as she was passing it to the other.
"You are smoking all the time," said the second woman.
"I gave you the pipe long ago," said the first.
"You did not," said the second.
Just then the boys struck the first woman in the mouth, and she, thinking it was the other woman, struck her companion, who, of course, retaliated, and they proceeded to belabor one another with their staves.
When they were tired of fighting they went to eat their mush; each thought the other had eaten it, which set them to fighting again.
Two old women were once cooking a pot of mush which two mischievous boys were trying to steal. Both were blind, so one sat on each side of the fire.
They kept their sticks waving back and forth above the pot, to prevent any one from taking advantage of their blindness and taking the vessel or its contents.
The boys found an empty pot, which they substituted for the one on the fire. Finding that the pot now had an empty ring when struck by their sticks, the old women concluded that the water had boiled away, and the mush must be sufficiently cooked.
"Let us smoke while it cools," said one.
"Very well," said the other, and they began to smoke alternately the single pipe in their possession. As they smoked they kept the sticks waving to and fro above the empty vessel.
The boys took the pipe from the hand of one old woman as she was passing it to the other.
"You are smoking all the time," said the second woman.
"I gave you the pipe long ago," said the first.
"You did not," said the second.
Just then the boys struck the first woman in the mouth, and she, thinking it was the other woman, struck her companion, who, of course, retaliated, and they proceeded to belabor one another with their staves.
When they were tired of fighting they went to eat their mush; each thought the other had eaten it, which set them to fighting again.
Do you know...
Robert Eugene Megginson -one of only about 12 Native Americans who hold a PhD in mathematics, Robert Megginson grew up in a family who was interested in math. His British father held a bachelor’s degree in physics and math and his maternal grandfather, an Oglala Lakota often gave the young Megginson math problems to solve.
Math was not Megginson’s first degree, however. He received his bachelor’s degree in physics and worked for a private firm for eight years as a computer systems software specialist. In 1977 he returned to college and received his master’s degree in statistics and his doctorate in mathematics from the University of Illinois. Dr. Megginson then joined the faculty of Eastern Illinois University and later the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. His field of study is the study of multi-dimensional (Banach) spaces.
For the past decade Dr. Megginson has spent his time working to solve the problem of the under-representation of minorities in the field of mathematics. In 1992 he developed a summer program for high school students at the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation in North Dakota. The purpose of the program is to keep the students interested in mathematics and related fields and encourage them to pursue college degrees in these areas.
Dr. Megginson has mentored many minority students and in 1997 received the U.S. Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring. The American Indian Science and Engineering Society awarded Megginson its Ely S. Parker Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999. In 2001 he was named to the Native American Science and Engineering Wall of Fame. He continues to live and teach in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
He's also listed in 100 Native Americans Who Shaped American History.
Math was not Megginson’s first degree, however. He received his bachelor’s degree in physics and worked for a private firm for eight years as a computer systems software specialist. In 1977 he returned to college and received his master’s degree in statistics and his doctorate in mathematics from the University of Illinois. Dr. Megginson then joined the faculty of Eastern Illinois University and later the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. His field of study is the study of multi-dimensional (Banach) spaces.
For the past decade Dr. Megginson has spent his time working to solve the problem of the under-representation of minorities in the field of mathematics. In 1992 he developed a summer program for high school students at the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation in North Dakota. The purpose of the program is to keep the students interested in mathematics and related fields and encourage them to pursue college degrees in these areas.
Dr. Megginson has mentored many minority students and in 1997 received the U.S. Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring. The American Indian Science and Engineering Society awarded Megginson its Ely S. Parker Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999. In 2001 he was named to the Native American Science and Engineering Wall of Fame. He continues to live and teach in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
He's also listed in 100 Native Americans Who Shaped American History.
Circle of healing: 'Wellbriety' movement finds traction within tribes
By: Jodi Rave
MILES CITY - Many stories start by introducing a living person. This story starts with what some describe as a living object - a sacred hoop.
The hoop is a willow branch rounded into a circle. One hundred eagle feathers have been tied around the circumference. Those who come across the hoop say it wields power. It is believed that each feather carries people's prayers to the Spirit World, to the Creator.
The hoop and its keeper, Don Coyhis, traveled last month to every tribal community in Montana, four correctional facilities and the state Capitol. At each of the 13 stops, Coyhis explained how to live a life of wellness through culture, including songs, language and ceremonies. People came to the Hoop to offer prayers.
"Being around this hoop changed me, innermost me," said Vince, a young man at the Pine Hills Youth Correctional Facility in Miles City.
Vince thanked Coyhis. He said recent events had taken a toll on him. He said he recently lost a friend. He felt alone, and he was losing hope. "I was left with no breath."Coyhis assured Vince he had just earned the respect of everyone in the room, he said. Coyhis reminded the young men at Pine Hills that they were loved and important."Our people want you back home," he said. "It's time to come back home."
Read this very interesting article here: http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2007/09/05/news/state/18-medicine.txt
MILES CITY - Many stories start by introducing a living person. This story starts with what some describe as a living object - a sacred hoop.
The hoop is a willow branch rounded into a circle. One hundred eagle feathers have been tied around the circumference. Those who come across the hoop say it wields power. It is believed that each feather carries people's prayers to the Spirit World, to the Creator.
The hoop and its keeper, Don Coyhis, traveled last month to every tribal community in Montana, four correctional facilities and the state Capitol. At each of the 13 stops, Coyhis explained how to live a life of wellness through culture, including songs, language and ceremonies. People came to the Hoop to offer prayers.
"Being around this hoop changed me, innermost me," said Vince, a young man at the Pine Hills Youth Correctional Facility in Miles City.
Vince thanked Coyhis. He said recent events had taken a toll on him. He said he recently lost a friend. He felt alone, and he was losing hope. "I was left with no breath."Coyhis assured Vince he had just earned the respect of everyone in the room, he said. Coyhis reminded the young men at Pine Hills that they were loved and important."Our people want you back home," he said. "It's time to come back home."
Read this very interesting article here: http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2007/09/05/news/state/18-medicine.txt
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Haskell's new president works to build school around cultural values
By: Mary Pierpoint
LAWRENCE, Kan. - When Linda Sue Warner, Comanche, returned to Haskell Indian Nations University this past spring as its new president, she determined that Haskell was a ''new'' school despite the history of the institution and began looking at how the university needed to change. Her goal is to build a school around cultural values.
''I'm not the same person I was when I was here before and I am guessing neither are the people who work here,'' Warner said. ''So now everything is fresh and new. When I see familiar faces it is like meeting them for the first time - all new.''
Warner said she was happy to see that Haskell had identified its core values: accountability, respect, cooperation and honesty.
''When I saw that those core values had already been identified, I knew I could build a school around that,'' Warner stated. ''I want those core values to permeate around the school. When people meet me and then walk away, I want them to know that I am going to be accountable, respectful, cooperative and honest with them.''
During her work with the Tennessee Board of Regents, she was an associate vice chancellor for academic affairs. What this means for Haskell is a president who has experience in literally all levels of the university. The normal career track for people in Warner's former position is to be named chancellor at a large university within the state of Tennessee. But for Warner, the chance to work with Indian people again was the real golden ring.
Read more here: http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096415680
LAWRENCE, Kan. - When Linda Sue Warner, Comanche, returned to Haskell Indian Nations University this past spring as its new president, she determined that Haskell was a ''new'' school despite the history of the institution and began looking at how the university needed to change. Her goal is to build a school around cultural values.
''I'm not the same person I was when I was here before and I am guessing neither are the people who work here,'' Warner said. ''So now everything is fresh and new. When I see familiar faces it is like meeting them for the first time - all new.''
Warner said she was happy to see that Haskell had identified its core values: accountability, respect, cooperation and honesty.
''When I saw that those core values had already been identified, I knew I could build a school around that,'' Warner stated. ''I want those core values to permeate around the school. When people meet me and then walk away, I want them to know that I am going to be accountable, respectful, cooperative and honest with them.''
During her work with the Tennessee Board of Regents, she was an associate vice chancellor for academic affairs. What this means for Haskell is a president who has experience in literally all levels of the university. The normal career track for people in Warner's former position is to be named chancellor at a large university within the state of Tennessee. But for Warner, the chance to work with Indian people again was the real golden ring.
Read more here: http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096415680
Native 'Rituals' displayed in Boehm Gallery
By: Michelle Caspole
Palomar College's Boehm Gallery is currently hosting an exhibit called "Rituals," featuring artwork of Native American dance and other aspects of Native American life. "
The recent remodel of the gallery has offered a relaxing space for the tone of the artwork," said Boehm Gallery Director Joanna Bigfeather.
Bigfeather, a descendent of the Apache tribe herself and hailing from New Mexico, has been the director since January and an instructor of American Indian studies for the past two years."
People have misconceptions about what Native American artists create, they think we only do traditional work like baskets or jewelry making," Bigfeather said. "[Artist] Gerald Clarke has combined the art he's used, the image of the basket mixed with new technology, to display and send a message."
There's more here: http://media.www.the-telescope.com/media/storage/paper749/news/2007/09/17/Entertainment/Native.rituals.Displayed.In.Boehm.Gallery-2972365.shtml
Palomar College's Boehm Gallery is currently hosting an exhibit called "Rituals," featuring artwork of Native American dance and other aspects of Native American life. "
The recent remodel of the gallery has offered a relaxing space for the tone of the artwork," said Boehm Gallery Director Joanna Bigfeather.
Bigfeather, a descendent of the Apache tribe herself and hailing from New Mexico, has been the director since January and an instructor of American Indian studies for the past two years."
People have misconceptions about what Native American artists create, they think we only do traditional work like baskets or jewelry making," Bigfeather said. "[Artist] Gerald Clarke has combined the art he's used, the image of the basket mixed with new technology, to display and send a message."
There's more here: http://media.www.the-telescope.com/media/storage/paper749/news/2007/09/17/Entertainment/Native.rituals.Displayed.In.Boehm.Gallery-2972365.shtml
Two Tribal Exhibitions At National Museum Of American Indian
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian opens two new tribal community exhibitions in the “Our Peoples: Giving Voice to Our Histories” exhibition; the Blackfeet Nation of Browning, Mont., and Chiricahua Apache of Mescalero, N.M.
Both exhibitions were developed in collaboration with tribal community curators and National Museum of the American Indian’s curator Emil Her Many Horses (Oglala Lakota). This is the first time that new tribes have been rotated into the permanent galleries since the museum’s opening.
More than 30 objects will be displayed, including the actual 1855 Treaty of Lame Bull on loan from the National Archives to be displayed for six months and then replaced with a replica for preservation purposes and a porcupine-quilled shirt, the type that might have been worn at the time of the signing of the 1855 Treaty. Featured objects from the museum’s collections include items from a lodge (tipi), such as a parfleche bag made of rawhide and used for storing clothing, a woman’s beaded dress from 1890 and several other historic and contemporary objects.
To read more about it click here: http://www.huliq.com/34508/two-tribal-exhibitions-at-national-museum-of-american-indian
Both exhibitions were developed in collaboration with tribal community curators and National Museum of the American Indian’s curator Emil Her Many Horses (Oglala Lakota). This is the first time that new tribes have been rotated into the permanent galleries since the museum’s opening.
More than 30 objects will be displayed, including the actual 1855 Treaty of Lame Bull on loan from the National Archives to be displayed for six months and then replaced with a replica for preservation purposes and a porcupine-quilled shirt, the type that might have been worn at the time of the signing of the 1855 Treaty. Featured objects from the museum’s collections include items from a lodge (tipi), such as a parfleche bag made of rawhide and used for storing clothing, a woman’s beaded dress from 1890 and several other historic and contemporary objects.
To read more about it click here: http://www.huliq.com/34508/two-tribal-exhibitions-at-national-museum-of-american-indian
Atakapas say culture still alive
By: Mike D. Smith
BEAUMONT, Texas — Thousands of years before Southeast Texas was even a concept, strong men and women fished its waters, hunted its game, walked its forests and thrived off raw nature. They were the Atakapas, the group that history says traded with colonists and helped them fight wars before vanishing in the early 1900s.
But Texans and Louisianans claiming to be of Atakapan descent who say the culture is alive and well are mounting an effort to scratch their ancestral name off the federal government's extinct cultures list.
The Atakapas were hunters and gatherers who occasionally roamed from present-day southern Louisiana, through Southeast Texas to Matagorda Bay, said Pam Wheat, executive director of the Texas Archaeological Society.
"What's pretty amazing is that they did what they did and survived as long as they did by using their natural resources," Wheat said.
The Smithsonian Institute sent linguist Albert Gatschet to the Gulf Coast during the late 1800s to write an Atakapan language dictionary before the last known native speakers died, McNeese State University history professor Ray Miles said.
Gatschet found a native speaker in Lake Charles, La., but gave up after he couldn't trace the language's origin. The project stalled until anthropologist John Reed Swanton came along in the 1930s.
"By the time he (Swanton) came here, he claimed there was only one person left that could speak the Atakapan language," Miles said.
Swanton finished the dictionary that today is in the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.
"He basically said they were an extinct people," Miles said. "That was the perception in Washington, D.C., and that perception is going to be very difficult to break down."
The whole story can be found here: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/5139005.html
BEAUMONT, Texas — Thousands of years before Southeast Texas was even a concept, strong men and women fished its waters, hunted its game, walked its forests and thrived off raw nature. They were the Atakapas, the group that history says traded with colonists and helped them fight wars before vanishing in the early 1900s.
But Texans and Louisianans claiming to be of Atakapan descent who say the culture is alive and well are mounting an effort to scratch their ancestral name off the federal government's extinct cultures list.
The Atakapas were hunters and gatherers who occasionally roamed from present-day southern Louisiana, through Southeast Texas to Matagorda Bay, said Pam Wheat, executive director of the Texas Archaeological Society.
"What's pretty amazing is that they did what they did and survived as long as they did by using their natural resources," Wheat said.
The Smithsonian Institute sent linguist Albert Gatschet to the Gulf Coast during the late 1800s to write an Atakapan language dictionary before the last known native speakers died, McNeese State University history professor Ray Miles said.
Gatschet found a native speaker in Lake Charles, La., but gave up after he couldn't trace the language's origin. The project stalled until anthropologist John Reed Swanton came along in the 1930s.
"By the time he (Swanton) came here, he claimed there was only one person left that could speak the Atakapan language," Miles said.
Swanton finished the dictionary that today is in the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.
"He basically said they were an extinct people," Miles said. "That was the perception in Washington, D.C., and that perception is going to be very difficult to break down."
The whole story can be found here: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/5139005.html
Friday, September 14, 2007
Featured website: Red Ink Magazine
Red Ink is a student-run publication at the University of Arizona under the auspices of the American Indian Studies Program. Red Ink has published the works of writers and artists representing Native Nations from across the United States and the North American hemisphere including the Apache, Cherokee, Lakota, Navajo, Havasupai, Hopi, Micmac, Mohican, Maya, Oneida, Seneca, Chemehuevi, Paiute, Walpole Island Ojibway, Choctaw, Creek, Nez Perce, Northern Arapaho, Acoma Pueblo, Tohono O'odham, Yaqui, Menominee, and many others.
Red Ink's primary mission to highlight Native American intellectual and creative expression through the media of poetry, short stories, creative non-fiction, scholarly articles, original artwork and photography, and book, music and film reviews. Red Ink promotes an ongoing discourse with all persons and organizations who are interested in Native American issues and topics. Interdisciplinary in focus, visionary in content, and intergenerational in participation, Red Ink Magazine provides a vital forum for both students and non-students to engage in an open dialogue with other Native American researchers and writers in their respective fields.
Red Ink is designed to promote both scholarly and grassroots publishing by and for Native and non-Native members of--as well as advocates for--indigenous communities. Our goal is to provide a journal that is accessible to non-academics, while also providing a forum for serious scholars. By showcasing a variety of topics as well as literary, scholarly and artistic genres, we hope to appeal to a broad spectrum of people with diverse interests. Red Ink has published several special theme issues, including ones dedicated to Indian gaming, Native children, Native language revitalization and development, and tribal governance and economic development. In addition to scholarly works, Red Ink also publishes an altogether unique mix of poetry, photographs, artwork, short stories, first-person essays, political and social commentaries, cartoons, and reviews of recent books, films and music. And no one could ever forget Red Ink sage Watt Scraper, the 166-year-old Cherokee author of the popular "Unegadihi Speaks."
Check out the website: http://www.redinkmagazine.com/index.html
Red Ink's primary mission to highlight Native American intellectual and creative expression through the media of poetry, short stories, creative non-fiction, scholarly articles, original artwork and photography, and book, music and film reviews. Red Ink promotes an ongoing discourse with all persons and organizations who are interested in Native American issues and topics. Interdisciplinary in focus, visionary in content, and intergenerational in participation, Red Ink Magazine provides a vital forum for both students and non-students to engage in an open dialogue with other Native American researchers and writers in their respective fields.
Red Ink is designed to promote both scholarly and grassroots publishing by and for Native and non-Native members of--as well as advocates for--indigenous communities. Our goal is to provide a journal that is accessible to non-academics, while also providing a forum for serious scholars. By showcasing a variety of topics as well as literary, scholarly and artistic genres, we hope to appeal to a broad spectrum of people with diverse interests. Red Ink has published several special theme issues, including ones dedicated to Indian gaming, Native children, Native language revitalization and development, and tribal governance and economic development. In addition to scholarly works, Red Ink also publishes an altogether unique mix of poetry, photographs, artwork, short stories, first-person essays, political and social commentaries, cartoons, and reviews of recent books, films and music. And no one could ever forget Red Ink sage Watt Scraper, the 166-year-old Cherokee author of the popular "Unegadihi Speaks."
Check out the website: http://www.redinkmagazine.com/index.html
Court: Navajo Nation owed money for bungled lease
The Interior Department breached its trust to the Navajo Nation and must pay damages for mishandling a coal mining lease, a federal appeals court ruled on Thursday.
In a unanimous decision, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals said the "undisputed facts" prove Interior breached its fiduciary duties to the largest tribe in the country. Swayed by a lobbyist, the Reagan administration approved a coal mining lease for a less than a "reasonable" royalty rate, the three-judge panel concluded.
That action violated common trust law, as well as a "network" of federal laws and regulations aimed at protecting the tribe's coal resources and keeping the tribe informed about its assets, the court said.
"Accordingly, this court holds that the nation has a cognizable money-mandating claim against the United States for the alleged breaches of trust and that the government breached its trust duties," Judge Arthur J. Gajarsa, a Reagan nominee, wrote in the 39-page ruling.
Want to know more? Click here: http://www.indianz.com/News/2007/004906.asp
In a unanimous decision, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals said the "undisputed facts" prove Interior breached its fiduciary duties to the largest tribe in the country. Swayed by a lobbyist, the Reagan administration approved a coal mining lease for a less than a "reasonable" royalty rate, the three-judge panel concluded.
That action violated common trust law, as well as a "network" of federal laws and regulations aimed at protecting the tribe's coal resources and keeping the tribe informed about its assets, the court said.
"Accordingly, this court holds that the nation has a cognizable money-mandating claim against the United States for the alleged breaches of trust and that the government breached its trust duties," Judge Arthur J. Gajarsa, a Reagan nominee, wrote in the 39-page ruling.
Want to know more? Click here: http://www.indianz.com/News/2007/004906.asp
Stay on the path, Navajo leader urges UA students
By: Eric Swedlund
In a message emphasizing the resiliency of the Navajo people, tribal President Joe Shirley spoke to about 200 UA students Thursday, urging them to move on with determination to succeed in their studies and become leaders for the tribe.
Shirley spoke eight days after Mia Henderson was fatally stabbed in her dorm room and her roommate, Galareka Harrison, was arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder. Both were 18-year-old freshmen from the Navajo Nation.
"We cannot continue to dwell on it. We have to move on," Shirley said. "This is a great teaching from our elders, from our medicine people. What happened has happened and it is unfortunate. It hurts, it makes us cry, it makes us think about a lot of things. But to the best of our ability, spiritually speaking, we must move on."
Without mentioning either woman by name or specifically talking about the homicide and arrest, Shirley talked about how the Navajo people approach the hurt and sorrow of losing loved ones and how to honor them by moving on with life's work.
There's more here: http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/201177
In a message emphasizing the resiliency of the Navajo people, tribal President Joe Shirley spoke to about 200 UA students Thursday, urging them to move on with determination to succeed in their studies and become leaders for the tribe.
Shirley spoke eight days after Mia Henderson was fatally stabbed in her dorm room and her roommate, Galareka Harrison, was arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder. Both were 18-year-old freshmen from the Navajo Nation.
"We cannot continue to dwell on it. We have to move on," Shirley said. "This is a great teaching from our elders, from our medicine people. What happened has happened and it is unfortunate. It hurts, it makes us cry, it makes us think about a lot of things. But to the best of our ability, spiritually speaking, we must move on."
Without mentioning either woman by name or specifically talking about the homicide and arrest, Shirley talked about how the Navajo people approach the hurt and sorrow of losing loved ones and how to honor them by moving on with life's work.
There's more here: http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/201177
United Nations moves to adopt indigenous declaration
By: Valerie Taliman
NEW YORK - After three decades of drafts, deliberations and delays, the United Nations General Assembly voted Sept. 13 to adopt the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The majority, 143 countries, voted in favor. As expected, the only countries opposing the adoption were the United States, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. The main objections of these countries centered on indigenous peoples' control over land and resources, their right to self-determination, and that the declaration might give indigenous peoples veto authority over development on their lands and territories.
Its adoption marks the first time in history that indigenous peoples' collective rights to self-determination and control over their lands and natural resources will formally be recognized by the United Nations.
''The international community is finally recognizing that indigenous peoples have a permanent right to exist as distinct peoples, and that we have a right to be self-governing,'' said Robert Tim Coulter, one of the original authors of the declaration who worked with chiefs from the Iroquois Confederacy to draft the first 10 points in 1976.
''The world is taking a formal stand that indigenous peoples have the right to be free from all forms of discrimination and to maintain our cultures, societies, languages and spiritual practices,'' said Coulter, executive director of the Indian Law Resource Center in Helena, Mont., and Washington, D.C.
Want the whole story? Click here: http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096415761
NEW YORK - After three decades of drafts, deliberations and delays, the United Nations General Assembly voted Sept. 13 to adopt the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The majority, 143 countries, voted in favor. As expected, the only countries opposing the adoption were the United States, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. The main objections of these countries centered on indigenous peoples' control over land and resources, their right to self-determination, and that the declaration might give indigenous peoples veto authority over development on their lands and territories.
Its adoption marks the first time in history that indigenous peoples' collective rights to self-determination and control over their lands and natural resources will formally be recognized by the United Nations.
''The international community is finally recognizing that indigenous peoples have a permanent right to exist as distinct peoples, and that we have a right to be self-governing,'' said Robert Tim Coulter, one of the original authors of the declaration who worked with chiefs from the Iroquois Confederacy to draft the first 10 points in 1976.
''The world is taking a formal stand that indigenous peoples have the right to be free from all forms of discrimination and to maintain our cultures, societies, languages and spiritual practices,'' said Coulter, executive director of the Indian Law Resource Center in Helena, Mont., and Washington, D.C.
Want the whole story? Click here: http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096415761
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Ghost of the White Deer
A lore of the Chickasaw People of Oklahoma.
A brave, young warrior for the Chickasaw Nation fell in love with the daughter of a chief. The chief did not like the young man, who was called Blue Jay. So the chief invented a price for the bride that he was sure that Blue Jay could not pay.
" Bring me the hide of the White Deer, : said the chief. The Chickasaws believed that animals that were all white were magical. "The price for my daughter is one white deer." Then the chief laughed. The chief knew that an all white deer, an albino, was very rare and would be very hard to find. White deerskin was the best material to use in a wedding dress, and the best white deer skin came from the albino deer.
Blue Jay went to his beloved, whose name was Bright Moon. "I will return with your bride price in one moon, and we will be married. This I promise you." Taking his best bow and his sharpest arrows Blue Jay began to hunt.
Three weeks went by, and Blue Jay was often hungry, lonely, and scratched by briars. Then, one night during a full moon, Blue Jay saw a white deer that seemed to drift through the moonlight. When the deer was very close to where Blue Jay hid, he shot his sharpest arrow. The arrow sank deep into the deers heart. But instead of sinking to his knees to die, the deer began to run. And instead of running away, the deer began to run toward Blue Jay, his red eyes glowing, his horns sharp and menacing.
A month passed and Blue Jay did not return as he had promised Bright Moon. As the months dragged by, the tribe decided that he would never return.
But Bright Moon never took any other young man as a husband, for she had a secret. When the moon was shinning as brightly as her name, Bright Moon would often see the white deer in the smoke of the campfire, running, with an arrow in his heart. She lived hoping the deer would finally fall, and Blue Jay would return.
To this day the white deer is sacred to the Chickasaw People, and the white deerskin is still the favorite material for the wedding dress.
A brave, young warrior for the Chickasaw Nation fell in love with the daughter of a chief. The chief did not like the young man, who was called Blue Jay. So the chief invented a price for the bride that he was sure that Blue Jay could not pay.
" Bring me the hide of the White Deer, : said the chief. The Chickasaws believed that animals that were all white were magical. "The price for my daughter is one white deer." Then the chief laughed. The chief knew that an all white deer, an albino, was very rare and would be very hard to find. White deerskin was the best material to use in a wedding dress, and the best white deer skin came from the albino deer.
Blue Jay went to his beloved, whose name was Bright Moon. "I will return with your bride price in one moon, and we will be married. This I promise you." Taking his best bow and his sharpest arrows Blue Jay began to hunt.
Three weeks went by, and Blue Jay was often hungry, lonely, and scratched by briars. Then, one night during a full moon, Blue Jay saw a white deer that seemed to drift through the moonlight. When the deer was very close to where Blue Jay hid, he shot his sharpest arrow. The arrow sank deep into the deers heart. But instead of sinking to his knees to die, the deer began to run. And instead of running away, the deer began to run toward Blue Jay, his red eyes glowing, his horns sharp and menacing.
A month passed and Blue Jay did not return as he had promised Bright Moon. As the months dragged by, the tribe decided that he would never return.
But Bright Moon never took any other young man as a husband, for she had a secret. When the moon was shinning as brightly as her name, Bright Moon would often see the white deer in the smoke of the campfire, running, with an arrow in his heart. She lived hoping the deer would finally fall, and Blue Jay would return.
To this day the white deer is sacred to the Chickasaw People, and the white deerskin is still the favorite material for the wedding dress.
Do you know...
Leslie Marmon Silko, an accomplished Native American contemporary writer, was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1948. She has a mix of Laguna Pueblo, Mexican, and White ancestry. Silko grew up at the Pueblo of Laguna, located in west central New Mexico. She attended a Catholic school in Albuquerque, commuting from Laguna. In 1969 she received a bachelor's degree in English from the University of New Mexico. She later taught creative writing and a course in oral tradition for the English department at the University.
Silko reveals that living in Laguna society as a mixed blood from a prominent family caused her a lot of pain. It meant being different from, and not fully accepted by either the full blooded Native Americans or white people. Silko, despite her pain, was able to overcome the lack of acceptance and identify with the Laguna culture Despite her keen awareness of the equivocal position of mixed-bloods in Laguna society, she considers herself Laguna. As she puts it : "'I am of mixed-breed ancestry, but what I know is Laguna'"(Velie 106).
As a child Silko became familiar with the cultural folklore of the Laguna and Keres people through the stories passed down to her by her grandmother Lilly and her Aunt Susie. These women both had a tremendous effect on Silko, "passing down an entire culture by word of mouth" (Velie 106). While still in college Silko wrote and published a short story "The Man to Send Rain Clouds." For this story she was awarded with the National Endowment for the Humanities Discovery Grant. In 1974 she published Laguna Woman, a book of poetry. In 1977 she wrote her novel Ceremony. The novel received high praise from critics and its readers. She has in fact been called the most accomplished Native American writer of her generation, as well as an "American Indian Literary Master"(Velie npg).
Silko's additional literary works include Storyteller, Almanac of the Dead, and Yellow Woman + the Beauty of Spirit . She has also published several articles dealing with literature as well as other pertinent social issues. Examples of these articles include "In the Combat Zone" and "Race + Racism- Faces Against Freedom."
She is also listed in 100 Native Americans Who Shaped American History.
Want to know more about her? Click here: http://www.ipl.org/div/natam/bin/browse.pl/A75
Silko reveals that living in Laguna society as a mixed blood from a prominent family caused her a lot of pain. It meant being different from, and not fully accepted by either the full blooded Native Americans or white people. Silko, despite her pain, was able to overcome the lack of acceptance and identify with the Laguna culture Despite her keen awareness of the equivocal position of mixed-bloods in Laguna society, she considers herself Laguna. As she puts it : "'I am of mixed-breed ancestry, but what I know is Laguna'"(Velie 106).
As a child Silko became familiar with the cultural folklore of the Laguna and Keres people through the stories passed down to her by her grandmother Lilly and her Aunt Susie. These women both had a tremendous effect on Silko, "passing down an entire culture by word of mouth" (Velie 106). While still in college Silko wrote and published a short story "The Man to Send Rain Clouds." For this story she was awarded with the National Endowment for the Humanities Discovery Grant. In 1974 she published Laguna Woman, a book of poetry. In 1977 she wrote her novel Ceremony. The novel received high praise from critics and its readers. She has in fact been called the most accomplished Native American writer of her generation, as well as an "American Indian Literary Master"(Velie npg).
Silko's additional literary works include Storyteller, Almanac of the Dead, and Yellow Woman + the Beauty of Spirit . She has also published several articles dealing with literature as well as other pertinent social issues. Examples of these articles include "In the Combat Zone" and "Race + Racism- Faces Against Freedom."
She is also listed in 100 Native Americans Who Shaped American History.
Want to know more about her? Click here: http://www.ipl.org/div/natam/bin/browse.pl/A75
Featured artist - Tha Tribe
The origin of Tha Tribe is unique in itself. It all started in January 1997 when a bunch of young college students, from different parts of Indian Country, enrolled at Haskell Indian Nations Universtiy. These individuals just sort of clicked together with one basic common interest............Pow-Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Soon after, they decided just to get together for a jam session to pass the time. After that first song was cracked out, each and every person's face just lit up with excitement for they knew that something extravagant was in the making. It was only a few weeks until these individuals started traveling together, as a group, to pow-wows. During the midst of this beginning, two of the founding members started composing songs left and right for this group.
Another distinctive feature about Tha Tribe is the tribal diversity within the group. Native American Indian Nations are represented within this group from all of the four sacred directions of Indian Country. This allows them to possess capabilities of composing and singing songs in many various Native languages. This key factor is probably what makes this group of young singers so popular. The nations represented by members of Tha Tribe include: Menominee, Oneida, Pueblo, Navajo, Blackfeet, Ojibway, Sioux, Ho-Chunk, Cherokee, Sac&Fox, Cheyenne, Apache, Crow, Potowatomie, and Kickapoo.
Tha Tribe has made many great accomplishments and strive to continue on this path for many years to come. They have completed three professional recordings with Canyon Records and and contributed on three compilations recordings as well with Soar Records entitled Gathering of Nations 1998, 1999, and 2000. The three recordings with Canyon Records are titled T2K, Live from Tornado Alley, and their latest one set for release in Summer 200l called In Action. Just recently, they were awared with a Grammy for the Best Native American Album along with several other groups for their contribution to the compilation recording previously listed entitled Gathering of Nations.
Check out their website: http://www.geocities.com/thatribe2001/
Soon after, they decided just to get together for a jam session to pass the time. After that first song was cracked out, each and every person's face just lit up with excitement for they knew that something extravagant was in the making. It was only a few weeks until these individuals started traveling together, as a group, to pow-wows. During the midst of this beginning, two of the founding members started composing songs left and right for this group.
Another distinctive feature about Tha Tribe is the tribal diversity within the group. Native American Indian Nations are represented within this group from all of the four sacred directions of Indian Country. This allows them to possess capabilities of composing and singing songs in many various Native languages. This key factor is probably what makes this group of young singers so popular. The nations represented by members of Tha Tribe include: Menominee, Oneida, Pueblo, Navajo, Blackfeet, Ojibway, Sioux, Ho-Chunk, Cherokee, Sac&Fox, Cheyenne, Apache, Crow, Potowatomie, and Kickapoo.
Tha Tribe has made many great accomplishments and strive to continue on this path for many years to come. They have completed three professional recordings with Canyon Records and and contributed on three compilations recordings as well with Soar Records entitled Gathering of Nations 1998, 1999, and 2000. The three recordings with Canyon Records are titled T2K, Live from Tornado Alley, and their latest one set for release in Summer 200l called In Action. Just recently, they were awared with a Grammy for the Best Native American Album along with several other groups for their contribution to the compilation recording previously listed entitled Gathering of Nations.
Check out their website: http://www.geocities.com/thatribe2001/
Featured Tribe - Avoyel of Louisiana
Avoyel, Avoyelles (Fr. dim. of avoie, 'small vipers'). A tribe spoken of in the 18th century as one of the nations of the Red River, having their villages near the mouth of that stream, within what is now Avoyelles Parish, La. They probably belonged to the Caddoan family, the tribe representing a group that had remained near the ancient habitat of its kindred.
The country occupied by the Avoyelles was fertile and intersected by lakes and bayous, one of the latter being still called by their name. The tribe lived in villages, cultivated maize and vegetables, and practiced the arts common to the tribes of the Gulf region. Nothing definite is known of their beliefs and ceremonies. Like their neighbors, they had come into possession of horses, which they bred, and later they obtained cattle, for Du Pratz mentions that they sold horses, cows, and oxen to the French settlers of Louisiana.
During the general displacement of the tribes throughout the Gulf states, which began in the 18th century, the Avoyelles country proved to be attractive. The Biloxi settled there and other tribes entered and took possession. Under the influences incident to the advent of the white race the Avoyelles mingled with the newcomers, but through the ravages of wars and new diseases the tribe was soon reduced in numbers. Before the close of the century their villages and their tribal organization melted away, their language became extinct, and the few survivors were lost in the floating Indian population. In 1805, according to Sibley, the tribe had become reduced to two or three women.
The country occupied by the Avoyelles was fertile and intersected by lakes and bayous, one of the latter being still called by their name. The tribe lived in villages, cultivated maize and vegetables, and practiced the arts common to the tribes of the Gulf region. Nothing definite is known of their beliefs and ceremonies. Like their neighbors, they had come into possession of horses, which they bred, and later they obtained cattle, for Du Pratz mentions that they sold horses, cows, and oxen to the French settlers of Louisiana.
During the general displacement of the tribes throughout the Gulf states, which began in the 18th century, the Avoyelles country proved to be attractive. The Biloxi settled there and other tribes entered and took possession. Under the influences incident to the advent of the white race the Avoyelles mingled with the newcomers, but through the ravages of wars and new diseases the tribe was soon reduced in numbers. Before the close of the century their villages and their tribal organization melted away, their language became extinct, and the few survivors were lost in the floating Indian population. In 1805, according to Sibley, the tribe had become reduced to two or three women.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Today in history...
1836: Alexander Le Grand is appointed by Texas leader David Burnet as Indian Commissioner. He is charged with negotiating a peace treaty with the Comanches and the Kiowas. 1850: The "Robinson Treaty with the Ojibewa Indians of Lake Huron Conveying Certain Lands to the Crown" is signed in Canada.
1772: Whites can now buy Indian land in Indian territories without government approval in New England. 1884: A woman, identified by local missionaries as Sacajawea, dies today in Wyoming. If this is the Sacajawea of the Lewis and Clark expedition, she would be almost 100 years old.
1772: Whites can now buy Indian land in Indian territories without government approval in New England. 1884: A woman, identified by local missionaries as Sacajawea, dies today in Wyoming. If this is the Sacajawea of the Lewis and Clark expedition, she would be almost 100 years old.
Quotes
"When it comes time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with the fear of death, so when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song, and die like a hero going home." -
Chief Aupumut - Mohican
Chief Aupumut - Mohican
Abenaki Creation Story
The Great Spirit, in a time not known to us looked about and saw nothing. No colors, no beauty. Time was silent in darkness. There was no sound. Nothing could be seen or felt. The Great Spirit decided to fill this space with light and life.
From his great power he commanded the sparks of creation. He ordered Tôlba, the Great Turtle to come from the waters and become the land. The Great Spirit molded the mountains and the valleys on turtle's back. He put white clouds into the blue skies. He was very happy.He said, "Everything is ready now. I will fill this place with the happy movement of life."He thought and thought about what kind of creatures he would make.
Where would they live? What would they do? What would their purpose be? He wanted a perfect plan. He thought so hard that he became very tired and fell asleep.
His sleep was filled with dreams of his creation. He saw strange things in his dream. He saw animals crawling on four legs, some on two. Some creatures flew with wings, some swam with fins. There were plants of all colors, covering the ground everywhere. Insects buzzed around, dogs barked, birds sang, and human beings called to each other. Everything seemed out of place. The Great Spirit thought he was having a bad dream. He thought, nothing could be this imperfect.
When the Great Spirit awakened, he saw a beaver nibbling on a branch. He realized the world of his dream became his creation. Everything he dreamed about came true. When he saw the beaver make his home, and a dam to provide a pond for his family to swim in, he then knew every thing has it's place, and purpose in the time to come.
It has been told among our people from generation to generation. We must not question our dreams. They are our creation.
From his great power he commanded the sparks of creation. He ordered Tôlba, the Great Turtle to come from the waters and become the land. The Great Spirit molded the mountains and the valleys on turtle's back. He put white clouds into the blue skies. He was very happy.He said, "Everything is ready now. I will fill this place with the happy movement of life."He thought and thought about what kind of creatures he would make.
Where would they live? What would they do? What would their purpose be? He wanted a perfect plan. He thought so hard that he became very tired and fell asleep.
His sleep was filled with dreams of his creation. He saw strange things in his dream. He saw animals crawling on four legs, some on two. Some creatures flew with wings, some swam with fins. There were plants of all colors, covering the ground everywhere. Insects buzzed around, dogs barked, birds sang, and human beings called to each other. Everything seemed out of place. The Great Spirit thought he was having a bad dream. He thought, nothing could be this imperfect.
When the Great Spirit awakened, he saw a beaver nibbling on a branch. He realized the world of his dream became his creation. Everything he dreamed about came true. When he saw the beaver make his home, and a dam to provide a pond for his family to swim in, he then knew every thing has it's place, and purpose in the time to come.
It has been told among our people from generation to generation. We must not question our dreams. They are our creation.
Kenewick Man back in the news
By: Knute Berger
Five years ago this July, an ancient skeleton was found on the banks of the Columbia River during a hydroplane race near Kennewick, Washington. When the bones turned out to be a major archaeological find, the remains of a 9,000 year-old prehistoric man, a political, legal, cultural, and racial battle ensued. Just who was Kennewick Man, who owned his bones, and what should be done with them?
The Indians and Federal government have argued that the law -- specifically, the 1990 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act -- gives local tribes, including the Umatilla, Colville, Yakama, and Nez Perce, the right to have the bones, and the right to dispose of them in any way they choose.
The Indians have dubbed Kennewick Man "the Ancient One" and claim the right to rebury him according to their traditional practices with or without further study. But a group of prominent scientists has disagreed, choosing instead to challenge the law in Federal court, where arguments are being heard this week and a ruling is expected later this summer.
There's a lot more to this interesting story. Click here: http://www.aaanativearts.com/article1498.html
Five years ago this July, an ancient skeleton was found on the banks of the Columbia River during a hydroplane race near Kennewick, Washington. When the bones turned out to be a major archaeological find, the remains of a 9,000 year-old prehistoric man, a political, legal, cultural, and racial battle ensued. Just who was Kennewick Man, who owned his bones, and what should be done with them?
The Indians and Federal government have argued that the law -- specifically, the 1990 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act -- gives local tribes, including the Umatilla, Colville, Yakama, and Nez Perce, the right to have the bones, and the right to dispose of them in any way they choose.
The Indians have dubbed Kennewick Man "the Ancient One" and claim the right to rebury him according to their traditional practices with or without further study. But a group of prominent scientists has disagreed, choosing instead to challenge the law in Federal court, where arguments are being heard this week and a ruling is expected later this summer.
There's a lot more to this interesting story. Click here: http://www.aaanativearts.com/article1498.html
Friday, September 7, 2007
Quotes
"We are taught to believe that the Great Spirit sees and hears everything, and that he never forgets: that hereafter he will give every man a spirit-home according to his deserts....This I believe, and all my people believe the same." -
Chief Joseph - Nex Perce
Chief Joseph - Nex Perce
Do you know...
Joy Harjo, Muscogee poet & musician
Born May 9, 1951 in Tulsa, Oklahoma and an enrolled member of the Muscogee Tribe, Joy Harjo came to New Mexico to attend the Institute of American Indian Arts where she studied painting and theatre, not music and poetry, though she did write a few lyrics for an Indian acid rock band. Joy attended the University of New Mexico where she received her B.A. in 1976, followed by an M.F.A. from the University of Iowa. She has also taken part in a non-degree program in Filmmaking from the Anthropology Film Center.
She began writing poetry when the national Indian political climate demanded singers and speakers, and was taken by the intensity and beauty possible in the craft. Her most recent book of poetry is the award-winning How We Became Human: New and Selected Poems. It wasn't until she was in Denver that she took up the saxophone because she wanted to learn how to sing and had in mind a band that would combine the poetry with a music there were no words yet to define, a music involving elements of tribal musics, jazz and rock. She eventually returned to New Mexico where she began the first stirrings of what was to be Joy Harjo and Poetic Justice when she began working with Susan Williams. Their first meeting occurred several years before in Blues Alley in Washington, D.C., a hint of things to come.
She is also listed in 100 Native Americans Who Shaped American History.
Read more about Joy here: http://www.nativewiki.org/Joy_Harjo
Born May 9, 1951 in Tulsa, Oklahoma and an enrolled member of the Muscogee Tribe, Joy Harjo came to New Mexico to attend the Institute of American Indian Arts where she studied painting and theatre, not music and poetry, though she did write a few lyrics for an Indian acid rock band. Joy attended the University of New Mexico where she received her B.A. in 1976, followed by an M.F.A. from the University of Iowa. She has also taken part in a non-degree program in Filmmaking from the Anthropology Film Center.
She began writing poetry when the national Indian political climate demanded singers and speakers, and was taken by the intensity and beauty possible in the craft. Her most recent book of poetry is the award-winning How We Became Human: New and Selected Poems. It wasn't until she was in Denver that she took up the saxophone because she wanted to learn how to sing and had in mind a band that would combine the poetry with a music there were no words yet to define, a music involving elements of tribal musics, jazz and rock. She eventually returned to New Mexico where she began the first stirrings of what was to be Joy Harjo and Poetic Justice when she began working with Susan Williams. Their first meeting occurred several years before in Blues Alley in Washington, D.C., a hint of things to come.
She is also listed in 100 Native Americans Who Shaped American History.
Read more about Joy here: http://www.nativewiki.org/Joy_Harjo
Eastern Pequots' land yields colonial-era clues
By: Gale Courey Toensing
LANTERN HILL, Conn. - Archaeologists working on Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation land this summer uncovered four pits of cultural material - a trove of 18th century artifacts that will help tell the story of how the tribe's ancestors lived during the colonial era before the United States self-generated as a nation-state on what had been indigenous peoples' land for millennia.
The Eastern Pequot Archaeological Field School, which conducted the dig, is a collaborative project between the tribe and the University of Massachusetts Boston. The project began five years ago and was created by tribal member Kathy Sebastian Dring, the tribe's historic preservation adviser, in partnership with Stephen Silliman, associate professor of anthropology and director of the historical archaeology master's program in the university's anthropology department.
''We got the project started in consultation with the tribal council. We discussed it probably for about six months to a year before it actually got off the ground because it was the first project of this sort that we had ever done. We've really established a pretty strong educational program and developed good relationships. It's been very rewarding,'' Sebastian Dring told Indian Country Today.
Want to know more? Click here: http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096415643
LANTERN HILL, Conn. - Archaeologists working on Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation land this summer uncovered four pits of cultural material - a trove of 18th century artifacts that will help tell the story of how the tribe's ancestors lived during the colonial era before the United States self-generated as a nation-state on what had been indigenous peoples' land for millennia.
The Eastern Pequot Archaeological Field School, which conducted the dig, is a collaborative project between the tribe and the University of Massachusetts Boston. The project began five years ago and was created by tribal member Kathy Sebastian Dring, the tribe's historic preservation adviser, in partnership with Stephen Silliman, associate professor of anthropology and director of the historical archaeology master's program in the university's anthropology department.
''We got the project started in consultation with the tribal council. We discussed it probably for about six months to a year before it actually got off the ground because it was the first project of this sort that we had ever done. We've really established a pretty strong educational program and developed good relationships. It's been very rewarding,'' Sebastian Dring told Indian Country Today.
Want to know more? Click here: http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096415643
Nations continue to 'fight for the line'
The short distance between the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol and the Canada Border Services Agency can seem like no man's land to many Native North Americans who attempt to pass freely across the border. Forced by U.S. law to show identification issued by a country from which one does not accept citizenship is one thing. It is outright humiliating to be told that one's tribal or First Nations-issued identification means ''nothing'' to a border agent. A recent incident at an Ontario border crossing sparked controversy in Canada, but with the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative requiring passports for all travelers entering the states imminent, the story should have raised more eyebrows here in the midsection of Turtle Island.
Brandon Nolan, a professional Ojibway hockey player (and son of Ted Nolan, a well-known National Hockey League playmaker and coach), said he was harassed and denied entry into his native Canada in August by a pair of customs officials. According to media reports, Nolan presented a New York state driver's license and a First Nation status card. The license, said one officer, did not provide proof of U.S. residence, and the status card meant ''nothing'' to him. Nolan was sent back to the United States and it was suggested he try another port of entry, specifically the crossing at ''Cornwall.'' The guard referred to the only customs house in Canada located on Native territory, on Cornwall Island, Ontario (known locally by its Mohawk name, Kawennoke). Nolan was offended by the comment, aware that the port at Akwesasne is often associated with drug smuggling and other illegal activities. ''I was treated like a criminal,'' the young man said.
This sentiment is common among residents of the Akwesasne territory. Mohawks comprise three-quarters of the border crossers there, according to a study conducted by Transport Canada, and often experienced similar incidents. Despite a traffic lane designated specifically for Akwesasne Mohawks, complaints of harassment by customs officers continue. Efforts by nation and tribal governments to improve relations between the community and the CBP have increased in importance since the proposal of the WHTI.
Click here to read full article: http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096415690
Brandon Nolan, a professional Ojibway hockey player (and son of Ted Nolan, a well-known National Hockey League playmaker and coach), said he was harassed and denied entry into his native Canada in August by a pair of customs officials. According to media reports, Nolan presented a New York state driver's license and a First Nation status card. The license, said one officer, did not provide proof of U.S. residence, and the status card meant ''nothing'' to him. Nolan was sent back to the United States and it was suggested he try another port of entry, specifically the crossing at ''Cornwall.'' The guard referred to the only customs house in Canada located on Native territory, on Cornwall Island, Ontario (known locally by its Mohawk name, Kawennoke). Nolan was offended by the comment, aware that the port at Akwesasne is often associated with drug smuggling and other illegal activities. ''I was treated like a criminal,'' the young man said.
This sentiment is common among residents of the Akwesasne territory. Mohawks comprise three-quarters of the border crossers there, according to a study conducted by Transport Canada, and often experienced similar incidents. Despite a traffic lane designated specifically for Akwesasne Mohawks, complaints of harassment by customs officers continue. Efforts by nation and tribal governments to improve relations between the community and the CBP have increased in importance since the proposal of the WHTI.
Click here to read full article: http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096415690
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Today in history...
1785: Georgians continue to trespass on Creek lands. Chief Alexander McGillivray writes Congress demanding that they protect his people from the settlers which previous treaties has promised.
1814: Today sees the start of the two day battle of Credit Island, near present day Davenport, Iowa. Major Zackary Taylor, and 334 American soldiers are making their way up the Mississippi River attacking British positions with considerable success. They encounter a force of 1000 Indians and British. The allied army forces Taylor to withdraw to safety in Saint Louis.
1814: Today sees the start of the two day battle of Credit Island, near present day Davenport, Iowa. Major Zackary Taylor, and 334 American soldiers are making their way up the Mississippi River attacking British positions with considerable success. They encounter a force of 1000 Indians and British. The allied army forces Taylor to withdraw to safety in Saint Louis.
‘Indian’ summer
Locally produced film explores hidden history of Haskell
By: Jon Niccum
The camera slowly dollies in on the stern face of actor Kevin Geer. About 30 cast and crew members crammed into the third floor of the Watkins Community Museum of History look on.
“This is not a prison. There are no walls. No fences. But there is a clock,” Geer scolds. “You will learn to respect time.”
“Respect” and “time” are key words on the set of “The Only Good Indian,” a film that takes place in the early 1900s when respectful treatment of American Indians was at an all-time low.
Today, the filmmakers are shooting a scene in which the Haskell superintendent (Geer) is addressing the Indian children who have just been pulled off the reservation. The story focuses on one such Kickapoo youth (played by newcomer Winter Fox Frank), who is taken from his family and forcibly sent to Haskell under government orders to integrate into white society.
After being assigned a new name and religion, Frank’s character escapes and attempts to return home, only to be pursued by an American Indian bounty hunter (Wes Studi).
“What we know of the Indian boarding schools all across the country is that they were almost like concentration camps,” says Steve Cadue, the Kickapoo tribal chairman who is on the set at the invitation of the filmmakers.
Check out the website for more information: http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2007/aug/31/indian_summer/
By: Jon Niccum
The camera slowly dollies in on the stern face of actor Kevin Geer. About 30 cast and crew members crammed into the third floor of the Watkins Community Museum of History look on.
“This is not a prison. There are no walls. No fences. But there is a clock,” Geer scolds. “You will learn to respect time.”
“Respect” and “time” are key words on the set of “The Only Good Indian,” a film that takes place in the early 1900s when respectful treatment of American Indians was at an all-time low.
Today, the filmmakers are shooting a scene in which the Haskell superintendent (Geer) is addressing the Indian children who have just been pulled off the reservation. The story focuses on one such Kickapoo youth (played by newcomer Winter Fox Frank), who is taken from his family and forcibly sent to Haskell under government orders to integrate into white society.
After being assigned a new name and religion, Frank’s character escapes and attempts to return home, only to be pursued by an American Indian bounty hunter (Wes Studi).
“What we know of the Indian boarding schools all across the country is that they were almost like concentration camps,” says Steve Cadue, the Kickapoo tribal chairman who is on the set at the invitation of the filmmakers.
Check out the website for more information: http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2007/aug/31/indian_summer/
Pow wow dancer offers children a future through art and culture
By: Renee Fajardo
LAKEWOOD, Colo. - Carrie Howell, prevention services specialist at the Denver Indian Family Resource Center, is dedicated to ensuring that the youth of Denver have a chance to grasp a piece of the American dream. She believes that dream can happen with a little help from the spirit of community and the power of art.
Howell has been dancing up a storm as a pow wow dancer since she was a young adult. She has been the troupe leader for the past 21 years of the exhibition group Seven Falls Indian Dancers, which performs in Colorado Springs during the summer and in Denver year-round.
''I think that involvement in one's culture is the key to success here,'' Howell said. ''If the kids are involved in activities that teach the traditional values like honesty, respect, wisdom, generosity, etc., it is easier for them to connect to their education. There are a lot of children who are not graduating. I want to be able to offer them some hope. In the two decades that I have been dancing with children from the metro area, I have seen the power of art and culture. It gives the children and teens a sense of belonging and purpose.''
Want to read more? Click here: http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096415633
LAKEWOOD, Colo. - Carrie Howell, prevention services specialist at the Denver Indian Family Resource Center, is dedicated to ensuring that the youth of Denver have a chance to grasp a piece of the American dream. She believes that dream can happen with a little help from the spirit of community and the power of art.
Howell has been dancing up a storm as a pow wow dancer since she was a young adult. She has been the troupe leader for the past 21 years of the exhibition group Seven Falls Indian Dancers, which performs in Colorado Springs during the summer and in Denver year-round.
''I think that involvement in one's culture is the key to success here,'' Howell said. ''If the kids are involved in activities that teach the traditional values like honesty, respect, wisdom, generosity, etc., it is easier for them to connect to their education. There are a lot of children who are not graduating. I want to be able to offer them some hope. In the two decades that I have been dancing with children from the metro area, I have seen the power of art and culture. It gives the children and teens a sense of belonging and purpose.''
Want to read more? Click here: http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096415633
Florida Indian Youth Program celebrates 27th year
By: Petra Solimon
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The Florida Indian Youth Program celebrated its 27th year July 7 - 21. Native students from Florida and Georgia came to Tallahassee for the annual event, which features a two-week-long educational experience.
Classes during the program consist of math, writing, financial literacy, computers and tribal government. The students stayed in Florida State University dorms, while the classes were held at the Leon County Civic Center in downtown Tallahassee. Sponsored by the Florida governor's Council on Indian Affairs, the youth program is a nonprofit organization.
As part of the tribal government class, Travis Trueblood, Choctaw, of Trueblood Law Group, gave students a unique opportunity to explore the issues of tribal sovereignty as they relate to tribal government. After studying various tribes' constitutions, the students created their own tribal constitution and bylaws. FGCIA Executive Director Joe A. Quetone, Kiowa, assisted students with their tribal elections and this year was the first in which an all-female council was voted in.
Read more here: http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096415686
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The Florida Indian Youth Program celebrated its 27th year July 7 - 21. Native students from Florida and Georgia came to Tallahassee for the annual event, which features a two-week-long educational experience.
Classes during the program consist of math, writing, financial literacy, computers and tribal government. The students stayed in Florida State University dorms, while the classes were held at the Leon County Civic Center in downtown Tallahassee. Sponsored by the Florida governor's Council on Indian Affairs, the youth program is a nonprofit organization.
As part of the tribal government class, Travis Trueblood, Choctaw, of Trueblood Law Group, gave students a unique opportunity to explore the issues of tribal sovereignty as they relate to tribal government. After studying various tribes' constitutions, the students created their own tribal constitution and bylaws. FGCIA Executive Director Joe A. Quetone, Kiowa, assisted students with their tribal elections and this year was the first in which an all-female council was voted in.
Read more here: http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096415686
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