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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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April
1, 2009 - Volume 7 Number 4
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Favorite
Sites
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collected
by Paul and Vicki
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Down
To A Whisper
The first languages of Wisconsin, the vessels bearing ages of
American Indian history, song, medicine and prayers, could be
as little as a generation away from an all-abiding silence.
Languages that are grafted to the land and that together once
counted tens of thousands of native speakers in the state, now
have only an aging few here.
http://www.madison.com/wsj/spe/language/ |
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WAYANAY
INKA
Perú, heart of the Inka culture, has presented us with
a priceless gift: the musical group WAYANAY INKA. Founded July
4, 1984 in Lima, WAYANAY INKA has established a firm international
reputation for being among the finest ambassadors of Andean
music.
http://www.wayanay.com/ |
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We
Shall Remain Teacher's Guide
We Shall Remain is a groundbreaking mini-series and provocative
multi-media project that establishes Native history as an essential
part of American history. Five 90-minute documentaries spanning
three hundred years tell the story of pivotal moments in U.S.
history from the Native American perspective.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/weshallremain/beyond_broadcast/teach_and_l |
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“Walking
into the Unknown”
“Walking into the Unknown” traces the intimate journey
of a middle aged American Indian male through the health care
system as he gains a deeper understanding of himself and the
health risks he faces. Dr. Arne Vainio is an Ojibwe physician
who works on the Fond du Lac Reservation in northern Minnesota.
Frustrated by middle-aged Native men not coming in for health
screenings, he came to the realization that he was also avoiding
the necessary screenings. The program is based on Dr. Arne
Vainio’s 49th and 50th years of life, a critical turning
point in the lives of many American Indian males when it is
important to become earnestly involved in finding out more
about the ways in which their health and well being are at
risk and developing ways to practice healthier choices.
http://www.walkingintotheunknown.com/
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Easy
Origami
Origami is the ancient Japanese art of paper folding. Today's
tour includes hundreds to easy-to-learn models. You can start
with regular copy paper, but as you progress you may be interested
in buying a package of special origami paper, which is thinner,
easier to crease, and available in many cool colors and prints.
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Kids
Web Japan: Let's Make Origami
"According to Japanese tradition, one way to pray for good
health is by folding a thousand origami cranes." Published
by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kids Web Japan
introduces Japan to schoolchildren around the world. This section
of the site includes instructions for thirteen origami models
such as Dog, Cup, Piano, Balloon and Box. Click Next to visit
the Download Center, where you'll find printable origami patterns
with fold marks, and colored printable origami paper.
http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/virtual/origami2/exploring01.html
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Origami
Club
Wow! What I love about the Origami Club is that the instructions
are available both as a printable diagram and as an animation.
And the animation can be sped up, or slowed down depending on
your skill level. Other reasons to visit include their newspaper
origami section, holiday collections (Halloween, Christmas and
Valentine's Day), and their big page of fifty-one really easy
origami models. Just one note of caution, this Japanese site,
although written in English, uses A4 and B5 paper sizes, not
the standard American 8.5" x 11".
http://www.origami-club.com/en/ |
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Origami
Fun
Origami Fun is chock-full of projects rated by difficulty, available
in printable PDF format and video, along with lots of origami
tips. "Be patient. If you are just learning how to make
origami, you have to realize that it is a contemplative and
relaxed activity, that is, you can't go rushing through the
instructions as fast as you can!" For the easiest models,
look for those rated one or two pelicans, or go directly to
the kids section. Sign up for the Origami Fun newsletter, and
you'll get a sample copy of their Ultimate Origami e-book.
http://www.origami-fun.com/ |
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Origami.org.uk
"Paper, of course, is mushed up plant material. Plants,
as you know, grow through photosynthesis (energy from sunlight)
so looking on t he bright side, origami is like playing with
sunlight." Derek Stancombe started folding paper when he
was nine or ten, "mainly because he was asthmatic and ran
out of breath when trying to play sport." His beautiful
site features creative, animated shorts starring origami figures,
and a selection of origami games, all built in Flash.
http://www.origami.org.uk/ |
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OrigamiTube
Yup, you guessed it. OrigamiTube is the YouTube of origami
paper folding. "Watch, Fold, and Show Off!" Because
all the videos are user-submitted, the quality varies greatly,
but it's still a great source of origami how-to. Remember,
you can pause and replay as often as you like, making these
videos a great way to learn. To find a specific model, use
the search function, or navigate through the categories such
as animals, flowers, money, or kirigami (which include cutting
in addition to folding.)
http://www.origamitube.com/
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Whooping
Cranes
The endangered North American whooping crane has a remarkable
story. Starting in 2001 (using a method pioneered by Bill
Lishman and Joe Duff with Canada Geese) a flock of baby whoopers
raised in captivity in Wisconsin was trained to follow an
ultralight aircraft to their winter home in Florida. Learn
more about whooping cranes and their amazing comeback story
at the following sites.
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ARKive:
Whooping Crane
The ARKive project has taken on the goal of gathering films
and photographs of the world's species to preserve them for
future generations. Their whooping crane collection includes
twelve stunning photos and nine videos, as well as species
quick facts such as Range & Habitat, Biology, and Threats
& Conservation. "Today, cranes remain at risk from
human development; collisions with power-lines are now a serious
cause of mortality."
http://www.arkive.org/whooping-crane/grus-americana/
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International
Crane Foundation: Whooping Cranes
This species field guide includes links to a photo gallery,
a table of whooping crane numbers from 1938 to 2006, and a
migration map. Unfortunately, the links are not underlined,
so you'll really need to hunt for them. Be sure to visit the
Kids page for instructions on building an origami crane, a
printable Field Guild to Crane Behavior, and answers to commonly
asked questions. "Q: How many kinds of cranes are there?
A: There are 15 species in the crane family Gruidae. According
to the conservation status designations assigned by International
Crane Foundation, six of the species are considered endangered."
http://www.savingcranes.org/whoopingcrane.html
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Journey
North: Whooping Cranes
Meet the Western Flock (the only wild migratory flock of whooping
cranes) and the Eastern Flock (a reintroduced flock seeded with
eleven chicks bred in captivity.) " With no wild parents
to teach the way, new captive-bred chicks added each fall learn
their migration route by following ultralight aircraft on their
first journey south, and a few are also released to follow older
cranes south. Each spring we eagerly wait to see if, when, and
how the youngest crane-kids return north – unaided, wild
and free. The goal: 25 breeding pairs from 125 birds released
in the Eastern Migratory Flyway by 2020, with 18-20 chick introductions
each year."
http://www.learner.org/jnorth/crane/
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National
Geographic: Whooping Crane Profile
"Whooping cranes nearly vanished in the mid-20th century,
with a 1941 count finding only 16 living birds. But since then,
these endangered animals have taken a step back from the brink
of extinction." This whooping crane overview from National
Geographic includes an audio of the whoopers' loud shriek (you
might need to turn your speaker volume down a tad!), and a short
video describing their miraculous comeback.
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/whooping-crane.html
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Operation
Migration: Whooping Crane Reintroduction
Operation Migration is my whooping crane pick of the day.
It includes photos, field journals, lots of sound files, population
counts, and a kids section. The site navigation, however,
is not up to par, so use the site map to find your way around.
"What is aircraft-led migration? This technique relies
on the birds' natural instinct called imprinting. Imprinting
means the just-hatched waterfowl chick immediately trusts
the first object it sees and follows the object. As soon as
the chicks hatch, they bond with their parents and become
inseparable. The OM team acts as surrogate parents, helping
the birds imprint on the aircraft and conditioning them to
fly with it."
http://www.operationmigration.org/
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Environmental Science
Environmental science (also called ecology or bionomics)
is a branch of biology that studies the relationship between
organisms and their environment. It encompasses topics such
as climate change, energy, endangered species, land use and
more. Today's website picks cover a wide range of environmental
issues, and offer lessons and activities for all grade levels.
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EcoKids
Designed to inspire elementary and middle-school kids to become
"life-long environmental stewards," EcoKids from
Earth Day Canada uses interactive media to teach kids about
their impact on the environment. The Games & Activities
section is divided into topics such as Wildlife, Energy and
Climate Change. And then further segmented by grade and difficulty
level (primary, junior or intermediate.) Unfortunately the
EcoKids Challenge is limited to entrants in Canada, but the
rest of the site is universal.
http://www.ecokidsonline.com/pub/kids_home.cfm
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Environmental
Literacy Council
The Environmental Literacy Council website is a huge library
of K-12 lessons, articles and news about environmental studies,
including subjects such as global climate change, biodiversity,
energy, and land use. Topics can be accessed via the subject
menu on the left-hand side, from the site map, or via the
site search. Each article concludes with an outstanding collection
of Recommended Resources, making this site a terrific first
stop for further research and my pick of the day for middle-school
and high-school students writing papers or doing science fair
projects.
http://www.enviroliteracy.org/
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Franklin
Institute Science Museum: Community Science Action Guides
These sixteen Community Science Action Guides (some for primary
grades and others for secondary grades) were created by teachers
to support student investigation into local science issues.
They include planning resources, activities and ready-to-use
material in topics such as water, energy and life science.
For example, SWISH (Student Water Investigators Showing How)
is a project outline for investigating water usage during
toilet flushes and includes two separate tracks: one for middle
school and another for high school.
http://www.fi.edu/guide/
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HippoCampus:
Environmental Science
HippoCampus (from the Monterey Institute for Technology and
Education) is a collection of educational videos arranged
not by popularity (as on YouTube) but by topic as a outline
for a high-school science class. In fact, the site contains
a complete AP Environmental Science class, covering all the
material outlined by the College Board as necessary preparation
for the AP exam. In addition to the videos, there are labs,
discussion questions, and chapter tests with answer keys.
http://www.hippocampus.org/AP%20Environmental%20Science
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LiveScience:
Environment
LiveScience is an online magazine with an extensive Environment
section. Visit for articles, videos, image galleries, and
quizzes. Here's a sample question from the "What's Your
Environmental Footprint" quiz. "Is going vegetarian
better for the Earth? Meat-eaters who switch to a plant-based
diet save: 1) A few animals' lives, but not much else. 2)
Over one hectare of land per ton of food . 3) Over 10 hectares
of land per ton of food."
http://www.livescience.com/environment/
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STAR
Students And
Teachers Against Racism announces their new website that offers
insight into the Native American perspective to teachers and
educators.
http://www.racismagainstindians.org/
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Changing
Winds Advocacy Center
Through presentations, classroom sessions, curriculum, fund
raising, charitable works, and multi-media efforts, we seek
to raise public awareness of the stereotyping, discrimination,
racism and other unique situations facing Native Americans.
http://changingwinds.org/
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