Canku Ota Logo
Canku Ota
Canku Ota Logo
(Many Paths)
An Online Newsletter Celebrating Native America
 
 
 
pictograph divider
 
 
 
Favorite Sites
 
 
collected by Paul and Vicki
 

American Indian Graduate Center
The American Indian Graduate Center is a national organization headquartered in Albuquerque, New Mexico providing educational assistance to American Indian and Alaska native graduate students throughout the country. Since its founding in 1969, AIGC has awarded more than 15,000 scholarships totaling over $44 million to graduate students in all fields of study.
http://www.aigc.com/

About Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum
In our language, Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki means 'a place to learn' We invite you to come to the Big Cypress Reservation and learn about our exciting history and culture. The museum exhibits and rare artifacts show how our Seminole ancestors lived in the Florida swamps and Everglades. The museum film, 'We Seminoles,' tells our story in our own words, including our dramatic struggle to remain in Florida. Nature trails will take you throughout the beautiful 60-acre cypress dome to a living village. The museum also has interactive computers, and a Native American gift shop. See you at the museum." "Sho-naa-bish!"
http://www.ahtahthiki.com/index.cfm
pictograph divider
Gratitude
Sages throughout history have understood that giving thanks has immense spiritual benefits for both thanker and thankee. Take time during this holiday season to enrich your life and lift your spirits. Be grateful. Give thanks. Wishing you the happiest of holidays, filled with gratitude and warmth.

Kaboose: Thanksgiving Games and Activities
These games and activities from Kaboose are all about giving thanks. For example, the Gratitude Grab Bag for preschoolers and elementary grades, is a bag filled with cards that is passed around the table or a circle. "Each child takes a turn reaching into the bag and pulling out a card. If the card says 'THANKSGIVING' the child should express something or someone they are thankful for (parents, teachers, pet, favorite food, etc.) If they pull out a picture, they show it to all and then express why we should be thankful for that item (food, clothes, trees, grass, stores, cars, etc.)."
http://holidays.kaboose.com/thanks-party.html

Harvest Celebrations Around the World
Gratitude, gratefulness, and thanks giving are central themes not only of our American Thanksgiving holiday, but of many cultural celebrations including the Jewish Succot, the Yam Festival of Ghana and Nigeria, the Korean Chusok, and Pongal, the Rice Harvest Festival of India. This fabulous site from FamilyCulture.com explains the similarities and differences between eight such holidays around the world. Includes links to lesson plans for use in the classroom.
http://www.familyculture.com/

Thinkexist.com: Gratitude Quotes
"When you are grateful, fear disappears and abundance appears." Anthony Robbins. "Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it." William Arthur Ward. This searchable collection of quotes about gratitude is sorted by multiple keywords and author. Without a free membership, though, you are limited to the number of pages you can view. Membership also unlocks features such as saving favorite quotes, and voting on quotes.
http://thinkexist.com/quotations/gratitude/

Thank You in 465 Languages
From Abenaki (a native American tribe who say "wliwni") to Zulu (a South African tribe who say "ngiyabonga"), this just-for-fun page shows us how to give thanks in 465 languages! Additions are always appreciated, so if you know how to say "thank you" in a language not listed, Webmaster Jennifer Runner wants to hear from you. Once you've mastered "thank you," you can advance to learning greetings such as "Good morning" and "How are you?"
http://users.elite.net/runner/jennifers/thankyou.htm

Thank You Note Samples
Dozens of examples of thank you notes can help you find just the right words or tone for you own thank you letter. "You don't have to send the greatest note in the world or come up with clever phrases. Just let them know you appreciate it. When have you ever wished someone hadn't thanked you?" Categories of sample notes include birthday thanks, graduation thanks, hospitality thanks and so on.
http://www.thank-you-note-samples.com/

pictograph divider
What is Phishing?
Phishing is the act of fooling a computer user into submitting personal information by creating a counterfeit website that looks like a real (and trusted) site. It is a hacker technique of "fishing" for passwords and other secret financial info. According to WordSpy.com, the word was invented by computer hackers in the late 1990's, and it plays off a common hacker word play of changing the letter "f" to "ph", which was seen as early as the seventies with "phone phreaks."

Federal Trade Commission: Phishing eCard
This educational anti-phishing Flash game, created by the Federal Trade Commission, is also an ecard you can send to friends. Clicking on Printable Tips, will take you to a rather dry looking (but well-written) FTC page titled How Not to Get Hooked by a Phishing Scam. This set of tips is also available as a PDF download, to make printing and sharing as easy as point and click. "If you get an email or pop-up message that asks for personal or financial information, do not reply. And don't click on the link in the message, either. Legitimate companies don't ask for this information via email."
http://ftc.gov/phishing

OnGuardOnline: Phishing
Published by the Federal Trade Commission, "OnGuardOnline.gov provides practical tips from the federal government and the technology industry to help you be on guard against internet fraud, secure your computer, and protect your personal information." The phishing section starts out with helpful tips, but the best clicks are the anti-phishing games and videos listed in the right-hand column.
http://www.onguardonline.gov/topics/phishing.aspx

Security Cartoon
Developed in 2006 by security consultants Drs. Sukamol Srikwan and Markus Jakobsson, the Security Cartoon strip covers lots of cybersafety topics, but mostly focuses on anti-phishing education, or, as they put it: "Oops.. I clicked!" You'll find the various keyword tags (spoofing, malware, pharming, phishing) listed at the bottom of the page, but since they are all related to today's topic, I have sent you to the front page of the site. The cartoons are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works, which means students and teachers can use the cartoons in homework (or on non-commercial websites) along with attribution and a link back to this site.
http://www.securitycartoon.com/

Snopes.com
Snopes is my go-to site for checking out those annoying forwarded emails that get passed from one naive Internet newbie to the next. 99% of the time, Snopes tells me the emailed story is simply not true. But Snopes.com also has a phishing section, which lists many common phishing attempts, sorted by spoofed institution, such as eBay, Facebook and iTunes. But remember, just because your particular suspicious email is not listed here, does not mean that it is an authentic message from a trusted organization.
http://www.snopes.com/

Wombat Security: Anti-Phishing Phil
Developed by Carnegie Mellon, Anti-Phishing Phil is now a commercial product available for corporate licensing from Wombat Security. Lucky for us, however, a free, demo game is available. You are playing as Phil, a young fish learning how to find worms to eat and avoid danger. You are being taught by Phish Guru. As you approach a worm, hover over it to reveal its attached URL. Eat the worm, or discard it, depending on whether the URL is legitimate or not. At any time, Phish Guru is available to show you how to discern the difference between bonafide URLs and spoofed sites.
http://www.wombatsecurity.com/antiphishing_phil/index.html

pictograph divider
Mayflower Compact
Written in 1620 by the Mayflower passengers (who later were called Pilgrims), the Mayflower Compact was the first document of self-government in the colonies of the New World. Signed by all the adult male passengers of the Mayflower, it was based on the Covenant they lived by in Leyden, England before setting sail. It is hailed as the first democratic government created by voluntary agreement among men of equal rights.

Learning to Give: The Mayflower Compact
This research paper was written by Anne Marie London when she was a graduate student at Grand Valley State University, MI. Starting with the development of the Separatist religious movement, this paper tells the story of the Pilgrims and the development of the Mayflower Compact. It specifically addresses its historical importance, and notes similarities in goals to modern philanthropies. It includes an extensive bibliography and links to additional online resources. "According to the Mayflower Compact, a self-governing body rules for the greater good."
http://learningtogive.org/papers/paper32.html

Mayflower History: Mayflower Compact 1620
Because transcriptions of the Mayflower Compact are quite easy to find online, I did not include too many of those sites here. This Mayflower History site starts with a transcription (without any modernization to the punctuation or spelling) but also includes an annotative section about its history. "In a way, this was the first American Constitution, though the Compact in practical terms had little influence on subsequent American documents. John Quincy Adams, a descendant of Mayflower passenger John Alden, does call the Mayflower Compact the foundation of the U.S. Constitution in a speech given in 1802, but this was in principle more than in substance."
http://www.mayflowerhistory.com/PrimarySources/MayflowerCompact.php

Pilgrim Hall: Compacts and Contracts
"When the Mayflower reached Cape Cod, anchoring in today's Provincetown Harbor, in November of 1620, some passengers questioned the authority of the group's leaders. That authority had been granted by a patent (or charter) for a settlement in the northern part of the Virginia Colony. The patent was not valid in New England." Visit Pilgrim Hall to learn about the legal history of the Pilgrims, and how their authority to self-govern was granted by patents, charters and the Mayflower Compact.
http://www.pilgrimhall.org/compcon.htm

Rootsweb: The Pilgrims and Plymouth Colony: 1620
Although totally without any aesthetic appeal, this well-written history of the Mayflower journey and the Plymouth Colony deserves a visit. The link provided drops into the middle of this long page at the point in the story where the Mayflower makes landfall. "The Compact was an agreement signed by all the men on board - including the indentured servants - promising to abide by laws that would be drawn up and agreed upon by all male members of the community. The women were not allowed to participate in the governing process."
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mosmd/

Social Studies for Kids: The Pilgirims: Voyage to Freedom
Although it only briefly mentions the Mayflower Compact, this two-page illustrated story for elementary school students, does tell a short history of the Pilgrims, putting the Mayflower Compact into historical context. "The ocean crossing was long and difficult. Many of the Pilgrims wondered if they would ever see land. Two people died, and one baby was born. On November 9, they saw land. Two days later, they dropped anchor at Cape Cod, which is now in Massachusetts."
http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/articles/ushistory/pilgrims1.htm

pictograph divider
Claude Monet
Claude Monet (November 14, 1840 - December 5, 1926) was a French painter who inadvertently named Impressionism, when a title was quickly needed for one of his paintings in an 1874 exhibition. Monet named it simply "Impression" but the show's curator, Eduoard Renoir added the explanatory "Sunrise" to the painting's title. Throughout his long and prolific career, Monet was known for his nature landscapes, and paintings of Paris and the Normandy coast.

Art in the Picture: Claude Monet
"Monet was born in Paris, France. His family moved to Le Havre in Normandy when he was five. His father wanted him to go into the family grocery store business, but Claude Oscar Monet wanted to paint." Visit for a short biography, a page of Monet quotes ("Color is my day-long obsession, joy and torment.") and a gallery of thirty-five paintings. More impressionists (and an introduction to impressionism) are just a click away. "Impressionism was an art movement of the 19th century, which began as a private association of Paris-based artists who exhibited publicly in 1874."
http://www.artinthepicture.com/artists/Claude_Monet/Biography/

The Clark: The Unknown Monet
In 2007, The Clark Art Institute, of Williamstown, MA, hosted an exhibit that contradicted many assumptions about the way Monet painted. Long thought of as an "anti-draftsman" painter, Unknown Monet uncovered the importance of drawing in the development of his paintings. In this virtual exhibit, you can learn more about Monet's painting process and view an interactive gallery of his sketchbooks. "In public, Monet presented himself as an artist who painted spontaneously from nature. This exhibition tells a less familiar story, revealing his use of small sketches to define subjects for pictures and the role of line in his painting practice."
http://www.clarkart.edu/exhibitions/monet/

Claude Monet: Life and Art
Best clicks here are an English translation of an autobiographical memoir (published in a Paris newspaper on November 26, 1900), a look at the Japanese woodblock engravings that Monet collected and displayed in his home, and a discussion of the effects Monet's cataracts had on the colors of his paintings. "Avoiding black was so deeply anchored in Monet's manner that when he died, his friend Georges Clemenceau would not stand the black sheet covering the coffin. He exclaimed: "No! No black for Monet!" and replaced it by a flowered material."
http://www.intermonet.com/

Claude Monet: Works of Art
Although the introduction and biographical timeline were probably not written by a native English speaker, I am overlooking the minor grammatical errors because I enjoyed the layout and perusing the four gallery pages that house seventy-three Monet paintings. The annotation on each piece includes the year it was created, the size, the media, and the museum that owns the piece. " By the year of 1909, Claude Monet had already finished 48 of the Nympheas paintings (e.g., "Water Lilies", 1906). The size of these canvases did not exceed one meter in width at that time, however, after the year 1912, the format of these water sceneries was growing in size bigger and bigger."
http://www.claudemonetworks.com/about-painter.aspx

National Gallery of Art: Tour: Claude Monet
In the 1880's, Claude Monet began to paint the same subjects over and over again. These paintings are known as the Series Paintings. Some of the themes he returned to time and time again are poplar trees, the Rouen Cathedral, the Waterloo Bridge, and the Houses of Parliament. This online tour of seven such paintings from the National Gallery of Art is like walking through the museum with a guide. Just click "continue tour" to move from one object to the next. "In late January or early February 1892, Monet rented rooms across from Rouen cathedral. He remained until spring, painting its looming façade many times, most often as we see it here, close up and cropped to the sides. The next winter he returned to paint the cathedral again, making in all more than thirty views of it."
http://www.nga.gov/collection/gallery/gg85/gg85-main1.html

pictograph divider
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/
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/
pictograph divider
Home PageFront PageArchivesOur AwardsAbout Us
Kid's PageColoring BookCool LinksGuest BookEmail Us
 
pictograph divider
 
 
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.
 
 
 
Canku Ota is a copyright © 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 of Vicki Lockard and Paul Barry.
 
Canku Ota Logo   Canku Ota Logo
The "Canku Ota - A Newsletter Celebrating Native America" web site and its design is the
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 of Paul C. Barry.
All Rights Reserved.

Site Meter
Thank You

Valid HTML 4.01!