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Featured Art - Cankpe Opi

Featured Art - Cankpe Opi
Frank Howell

Featured Video - Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee

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.

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

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.

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