Canku Ota

(Many Paths)

An Online Newsletter Celebrating Native America

May 22, 2004 - Issue 113

"Ka-hay Sho-o Dah Chi"

The Crow Greeting

Hello. How are you?

"Hotehimini kiishthwa"

Strawberry Moon

Shawnee

"A Warrior is challenged to assume responsibility, practice humility, and display the power of giving, and then center his or her life around a core of spirituality. I challenge today's youth to live like a warrior."
~Billy Mills~

We Salute
Delena Smith

When Delena Smith entered the coliseum in Albuquerque, N.M., for the Gathering of Nations Powwow, she found the drum beats, bells, jingles and rattle sounds of 5,000 dancers and 100 drum groups awesome.

Smith, 23, a Head Start teacher on Red Lake Reservation in Minnesota, walked out of the largest Indian event in the nation April 24 with the crown of Miss Indian World.

For the last 3 1/2 years, Paul and I have shared "Canku Ota" with you, at no charge.
To date, we've received no funding for our work, either.
But, we now have a dilemma, and we need your help.

Honoring Students

Honoring Students

Fischer named UTTC Student of the Year

Geri D. Fischer, a student in Office Technology, is Student of the Year at United Tribes Technical College. The daughter of James and Ramona Fischer of Bismarck, she is an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, Eagle Butte, SD.

Fischer graduates from UTTC on May 7 with a perfect record of attendance and a 4.0 grade point average. She is a single mother of two beautiful daughters Dakotah and Breanna.

A Day of Joy for Sanikiluaq

Four years of work paid off last Friday when seven women from Sanikiluaq became full-fledged teachers.

To a bilingual recording of "We are the world," Lucy Mary Qavvik, Isabel Takatak, Caroline Alariak, Mina Rumbolt, Mary Kavik, Dina Kavik and Lizzie Kavik, all wearing caps and gowns, proceeded to the stage at the school gym with Premier Paul Okalik, Education Minister Ed Picco and various Nunavut educators, as their friends and families looked on.

Our Featured Story:

Northwestern Wisconsin First Person History:

Taking on tribal campus issues

Diné College student Violet Tso attended her first American Indian Higher Education Consortium conference in Billings, Mont., this spring and returned to Tuba City as the group's Student Congress President.

The Indian Priest
Father Philip B. Gordon
submitted by Timm Severud (Ondamitag)

Chapter 5 - Murder and 'Buried Gold'

Education News

Education News

SMSC To Host Premier of Movie Black Cloud

The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community will host a premier by invitation only ofthe movie Black Cloud on Saturday, May 8, 2004, at the Shakopee Town Theater. A reception featuring singer Lorrie Church will be held immediately afterwards at Lake Casino Hotel. The movie's website describes it as, "A journey through the passions of a young Navajo who, in his search for his identity, discovers his true self, his destiny, nd his dreams."

Seminole filmmaker prepares to hit the silver screen

A small town boy and member of the Seminole Tribe of Oklahoma has been selected to participate in an elite cinema making opportunity.

Sterlin Harjo, 24, will travel to Utah to take part in the Directors Lab at Sundance Village in Utah.

Education News

Education News

Storybooks From '20s-'50s for Native American Kids Reviewed

There she is in a black-and-white photo on page 127, a woman with a soft smile looking up at the camera, taking a break from painting.

This is not just any artist. This is the famous Pueblo artist Pablita Velarde.

But author Rebecca Benes said in her new book "Native American Picture Books of Change," that Velarde was also a literary pioneer.

Loan boosts reservation Internet

A $4.2 million federal loan announced Tuesday will help spread high-speed Internet access to homes and businesses across the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation.

"We have some of the poorest counties in the country ... with a land area the size of the state of Connecticut," said J.D. Williams, manager of the tribe's telephone authority. "From Bridger to Blackfoot, we're going to provide the service."

Bridger is a small community on the southwest edge of the reservation in
west-central South Dakota, while Blackfoot is near the northeast
border.

Honoring Students

Honoring Students

Southern Ute teen finds solace in Classical Piano

Non-traditional Students set Example

Honoring Students

Education News

Nunavut Welcomes Its First Two Inuit Nurses

Indian Writers Bring Literature to Life for Students in Pablo

Living Traditions

Living Traditions

Navajo rugs' appeal transcends time and style

Entertainment lawyer Lawrence Rose spends his days fighting for his clients, and at night he retreats home to be watched over by nine dancing Yei-be-cheis. The figures, woven into a Navajo rug in the entryway, represent the protective grandparents of Native American gods.

"There's a calming quality about the Southwest style and a spirit to Navajo rugs," said Rose from his Adobe Revival house, which overlooks Beverly Hills, Calif. "People in my business need a peaceful place to inhabit, a vacation house in the city. Once I'm here, I can forget what happens outside."

Nunavut film crew aims to record every Nunavut elder

A team of Nunavut film producers are embarking on an ambitious mission to put the legends and stories of every elder in the territory on video.

A camera crew has already recorded the advice and stories of all the elders in Pond Inlet for archives being assembled by Inuit Communications System Ltd., the commercial branch of the Inuit Broadcasting Corporation. The group travelled to Pangnirtung this week, and plans to cover four more communities in the next year.

Living Traditions

Bitterroot tradition lives on

A line of cars can be seen from the two-lane highway cutting through Camas Prairie, a few miles from the schoolhouse. Cars, vans and yellow school buses litter the dusty field where the people are standing, preparing to dig bitterroot, the first edible plant food traditionally harvested by the natives of the area.

American Indian business burgeoning

American Indian businesses are the fastest growing in America, and they are not just gaming-related, but a diverse expansion of a wide range of businesses, said speakers at the Native American Business Alliance’s annual conference.

Living Traditions

A rousing success - Toonik Tyme 2004 draws hundreds of participants

Sun, blue skies, rousing competitions, hundreds of participants and a great turn-out marked events during Toonik Tyme 2004, Iqaluit’s annual spring festival.

After such a successful week, it was no wonder Toonik Tyme’s closing ceremonies turned out to be soft, fuzzy and full of good music and good cheer.

Star of Earth,' a Chippewa tale

Long ago, when the Earth was always lush and warm, a twinkling star traveling across the sky looked down on Earth. The star watched longingly as flowers bloomed and trees swayed in the gentle winds, and it watched the children playing happily, always laughing and enjoying their games. Seeing this, the star wished more than anything in the world that it too could live on Earth, inhaling the fragrances, frolicking in the warmth, enjoying all the beauty.

About This Issue's Greeting - "Ka-hay Sho-o Dah Chi"

In traditional and contemporary Crow culture, it is customary to greet each other with a quick glance away or a blink and nod of the head. If they are wearing a hat, they might tip the brim of the hat. Handshaking is a white man's custom and was only recently accepted as a greeting in Crow culture. You will rarely see Crow people embracing publicly. From: Vincent Goes Ahead, Jr., Museum Interpreter, Vice Chairman of the Crow Tribe

This Date In History

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Opportunities

"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.

Canku Ota is a copyright © 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 of Vicki Lockard and Paul Barry.

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