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Canku Ota |
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(Many Paths) |
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An Online Newsletter Celebrating Native America |
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November 1, 2003 - Issue 99 |
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"Tatsgwiik" |
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The Haida Greeting |
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Welcome here is the place of honor for you |
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"KASKATINOPIZUN" |
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The Moon When the Rivers Begins to Freeze |
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Cree |
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"Somewhere a good
man must rise from the young ones among us." |
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We
Salute Claudeen Bates Arthur started her law career on the Navajo Reservation as a law clerk at DNA People's Legal Services during the 1970s. Fast forward to 2003 and she finds herself as the head of the largest tribal court system in the United States. On Tuesday during the fall session, the Navajo Nation Council confirmed the appointment of Arthur as chief justice of the Navajo Nation Supreme Court. |
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Our Featured Artist: |
Health and Wellness |
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Marietta King Blackfeet tribal member Marietta King watched her mother and father die after being debilitated by poor health. That's when she vowed to make lifestyle changes and help others do the same. "When my parents passed away I began to look at my own health," she said. "I realized I was going right down the same path." Instead of becoming another tragic statistic, King, now 50, embarked on a journey to learn all she could about healthy living, especially through diet. The journey became a trek through the largely unwritten history of traditional American Indian foods and the well-documented onslaught of afflictions that continue to devastate Native peoples today. |
Enterprising Schoolteachers Win BDC's Young Entrepreneur Award for Nunavut The Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) today acknowledged the success of Jeanne Scarfe and Russ Sheppard with its 2003 Young Entrepreneur Award for Nunavut. Schoolteachers Jeanne, 26, and Russ, 28, founded The Grizzly Den Inc., a non-profit organization to promote sports, team building and extra-curricular activities for Kugluktuk's youth. "With increasingly limited entertainment options, it wasn't surprising that the children were bored and getting into trouble," explained Jeanne. |
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Thunderhawk - Our Featured Story: |
Northwestern Wisconsin First Person History: |
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Thunderhawk
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Myths
and Legends of Wisconsin's Waterfalls - Part Two It was the belief of the old Indians of Wisconsin that the waterfalls, which occur in some of its streams, were the creations of powerful spirits. Some falls were the dwelling places of spirits, the water forming a curtain to hide their secret medicine making and incantations from the eyes of man. Nenibozho, hero-god of the Chippewas of the old northwest, constructed the waterfalls in northern Wisconsin to prevent the beavers, upon whom he was waging war, from obstructing the flow of some of the rivers. |
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The information here will include items of interest for and about Native American schools. If you have news to share, please let us know! I can be reached by emailing: Vlockard@aol.com |
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Living Traditions |
Living Traditions |
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Fond
du lac Follies Ezigaa and I went ricing. It was his first time on Perch Lake as a ricer; we could call it a rite of passage for this young Anishinaabe boy. I am proud of my 13 year-old son. I remembered back to when I was his age when I went ricing for the first time. We loaded up the truck with the tools we would need. The aluminum canoe was first, then the tamarack pole with the diamond willow fork. I gave him my cedar knockers to use. I checked and made sure we had water and a lunch. I also brought a paddle. The day was sunny with a slight wind from the west. |
'Bring Our Songs Out' It was like a giant family reunion Saturday night when about 400 Native Americans from 19 canoe nations from Canada to Oregon converged on the Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribal Center. They had come to witness a historic moment as the tribe "brought out" its songs and accepted two long-lost canoe paddles. After an enormous feast of salmon, venison and crab, the mood became somber as the sacred ceremony began. Many dressed in traditional regalia of woven cedar vests, feathered hats and red button shawls and listened as Tribal Elder Oliver Jones and a large circle of drum-beating singers summoned ancestors in song. |
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Preserving Language |
Preserving Language |
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Arizona
Indian Living Treasures Elda Butler is a woman of many words, many Mojave words. Butler worked with high security clearance as a stenographer at the Pentagon in Washington. But when it was time to go home to her Mojave people, she did so, and helped rescue their language from extinction. |
Learn How to Say Cake in South Slavey and Eat it too According to the kitchen of Elaine Tambour, the best way to get rid of the gamey flavor of beaver is to boil the rodent in coffee. Such is a traditional recipe included in a soon-to-be-released cookbook that will be incorporating the dishes of the Northwest Territories. Besides the accumulation of a variety of northern meals, the publication is also a project to preserve the South Slavey dialect. |
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Living Traditions |
Living Traditions |
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Acorns: Native Staff of Life Many of us may think of acorns as annoying, crunchy things that are hard to walk on in your bare feet. But the acorn was, and still is, a central staple of the indigenous peoples of California, revered by them, and, in a local vein, the Ukiah Valley and its environs are obviously rich with oak groves while the recollections of the Pomos figure prominently in literature and ethnographic material dealing with oak trees, acorns and their main by-products of acorn soup and acorn bread. |
With Honor and Respect October 5, 2003 was a cloudless, warm day on the northern fringe of the Bear Paw Mountains, unlike that same date in 1877 when snow blanketed the ground and a bitter wind blew. Nez Perce children were crying from the cold and lack of food when Chief Joseph made his famous speech: "From where the sun now stands I shall fight no more forever." After a trek of 1,300 miles in an attempt to reach safety in Canada and after numerous battles with army soldiers, he had to stop just 40 miles from the border in order to save the youngsters and keep his people together. |
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Celebrating Traditions |
Essay - Commentary |
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Autumn is Upon Us Now Autumn is a time of change -- a time to prepare for the up coming winter. The land, the animals, the plants all make ready for a time of rest that will soon sweep the land. It is a time for us to also settle conflicts inside ourselves so we too may bring some rest to our tired souls. In the beginning of spring we are refreshed and as new leaves -- green, shiny, with sharp clean edges. By fall we are faded, scarred, and worn from spring storms and summer heat and humidity that have crept into our spirits. For myself -- squalls over land issues, sovereignty struggles, and illness are but a few that have raced across my home and heart. |
Indian Sovereignty Governmental relations between the European settlers in North America and the Original American people were at times ambiguous. If there was a need for alliances, land or treaties Tribes were recognized as being sovereign Indian Nations. Most experiences are the opposite; the English colonies and the American state launched an all-out assault on the native sovereignty, culture, religion and population. Following the impeachable behavior of Andrew Jackson and the 1830 Removal Policy it is largely an outlaw belligerent self-serving government and legal policy. |
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Entertainment News |
Entertainment News | |
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Benefit Concert 4th
Annual Benefit for Project Offstreets
Friday
November 7th Keith
Secola - Annie Humphrey - Jim Boyd - |
And the Nominees Are... The Sixth Annual Native American Music Awards will be held Saturday, November 15th, 2003 at the Isleta Casino Resort Showroom in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Tickets are on-sale now through www.tickets.com & www.nammys.com and will be priced at $25.00, $50.00 and $100.00 for special VIP Tickets, which provide preferred seating and admittance into the post show VIP Party at Isleta's Tiwa Steakhouse. Since 1999, the Native American Music Awards has previously held three highly successful Awards ceremonies in Albuquerque including at the Popejoy Hall and the Sandia Casino's outdoor amphitheater. |
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Honoring Nations |
Honoring Elders |
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Harvard's Kennedy School Announces 2003 Finalists for American Indian Tribal Governance Awards A tribal telecommunications company that brings affordable phone lines and internet service to an underserved Indian reservation, a tribal government injury prevention program that encourages healthy habits, reduces health care costs, and saves lives, and a tribal court in Alaska that uses peacemaking circles to address juvenile crime are among the 16 finalists in Harvard's 2003 American Indian tribal governance awards program. |
Honoring Elders The Alaska Native Heritage Center (ANHC) will be presenting special programming to honor Elders on Saturday, November 1, 2003 from 10am to 5pm at the ANHC. This is one of the continuing series of Celebrating Culture Saturdays sponsored by BP, which presents a unique cultural program each week. Complimentary refreshments will be provided starting at 11:30am. The Alaska Native Heritage Center recognizes the importance of honoring Elders for the contributions they have made to our families and communities. Within Native culture, children were taught to give their "first" bird or animal kill, a bucket of berries or something that they made to an Elder. |
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Preserving Languages |
Living Traditions |
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Campers Learn About Their Tribal Language "We're to always teach our children, so they will know our Indian ways." "Taa minwa na sapskiwata naami miyanishma Kupa shugwata naami tananawit." The program opens with this song and images of children in regalia projected onto a screen. Children point at their images and giggle as they snack on pizza and cake. Few are aware they created a tool for future generations to learn the Imatalam (Umatilla) language, one spoken by only about 17 people. |
Standing Rock Reservation Horses Part of Tribe's Teaching Leaders of the Standing Rock Indian Reservation hope six new horses will help strengthen Native American culture and values on the reservation that straddles the border of North Dakota and South Dakota. "They will start using these horses to help children and give the children something meaningful," said Len O'Hara, a representative of Clements Group LC. "We'll parlay that later into riding lessons for natives and non-natives and a breakfast for those who come through the area." |
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Preserving Languages |
Living Traditions |
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Navajo Interpreters Foster Communication Many elderly Navajo patients have long withstood pain or hesitated to see a doctor because they feared that what they said wouldn't be understood. Compounding the language barrier problem is that these same patients couldn't understand what the doctor was telling them. Last month, the Tuba City Regional Health Care Corporation took a huge step in remedying this problem when 23 employees in 10 departments, all women, received training as Navajo medical interpreters. |
Monacan Tribe Holds Homecoming and Repatriation Ceremony Thelma Branham spent several days canning snap beans, relish, jams and pickles to prepare for the Monacan Indian Fall Homecoming Festival. For the past 33 years, Branham and other women in Amherst County have sold their homemade wares at this annual Monacan Indian festival. This year's event, held Oct. 3, drew a large crowd and brought in relatives from other states; many participated in a repatriation ceremony held at the Monacan ancestral cemetery on Bear Mountain Oct. 4. |
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Preserving Languages |
Living Traditions |
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Celebrating Their Culture, Byte by Byte The legends, songs and history of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe are finding a new high-tech life in the hands of the tribe's young people. The first Intel Computer Clubhouse in southern Arizona opened on the reservation this month giving children ages 10 to 18 the opportunity to learn how to use audiovisual equipment and other electronics to preserve the culture of the tribe. |
Carrying on Cherokee Tradition Qualla Arts & Crafts is taking advantage of a recent grant to teach traditional crafts to a new generation of Cherokee. Since 1946, the non-profit Qualla Arts & Crafts Mutual has provided a place for Cherokee artists and craftspeople to market their creations. It was the first co-op ever managed on a Native American reservation. |
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About This Issue's Greeting - "Tatsgwiik" |
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There
are numerous people, mostly elders that still actively speak the language
and in both Massett and Skidegate. |
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This Date In History |
Recipe: Hot Breads |
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Story: How Ducks Got Their Colors |
What is this: Mallard Duck |
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Craft Project: Autumn Bookmark |
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Opportunities |
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"OPPORTUNITIES" is gathered from sources distributed nationally and includes scholarships, grants, internships, fellowships, and career opportunities as well as announcements for conferences, workshops and symposia. |
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| Canku Ota is a free Newsletter celebrating Native America, its traditions and accomplishments . We do not provide subscriber or visitor names to anyone. Some articles presented in Canku Ota may contain copyright material. We have received appropriate permissions for republishing any articles. Material appearing here is distributed without profit or monetary gain to those who have expressed an interest. This is in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107. | ||
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Canku Ota is a copyright © 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 of Vicki Lockard and Paul Barry. |
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The "Canku Ota - A Newsletter Celebrating Native America" web site and its design is the |
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Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 of Paul C. Barry. |
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All Rights Reserved. |
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