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Canku Ota
(Many Paths)
An Online Newsletter Celebrating Native America

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December 2016 - Volume 14 Number 12
 
 
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"Hon Dah!"
The Apache Greeting
Welcome
 
 


Red Swamp Crawfish (Procambarus clarkii)

 
 
"Rvfo-rakko"
Big Winter
Creek
 
 
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"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~
 
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We Salute
Eloise Cobell Named Among Presidential Medal Of Freedom Recipients

Wednesday, President Barack Obama named 21 recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom and Eloise Cobell, Blackfeet, was named (posthumous) among them.

Cobell was a tribal community leader and advocate for Native American self-determination and financial independence. She used her expertise in accounting to champion a lawsuit that resulted in a historic settlement, restoring tribal homelands to her beloved Blackfeet Nation and many other tribes, and in so doing, inspired a new generation of Native Americans to fight for the rights of others. Cobell helped found the Native American Bank, served as director of the Native American Community Development Corporation, and inspired Native American women to seek leadership roles in their communities.

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Our Featured Artist: Honoring Students
'The Unextinguished Fire'
Chickasaw Artist Tops At Santa Fe Market

Chickasaw artist Dustin Mater feels as if his eclectic art creations are finding greater acceptance and he is on the cusp of an artistic breakthrough.

Mr. Mater's sculpture "The Unextinguished Fire" won First Place in the Sculpture Division at the Southwest Association of Indian Arts (SWAIA) Indian Market, one of the most prestigious Native American art shows in the nation. Artists from across the country vie to be juried into the competition each August.

 
Hopi High Broadcast Students Take Home Awards At Annual Media Conference

The Hopi High School broadcast radio program won three awards at the Arizona Interscholastic Press Association (AIPA) Conference Oct. 27 at Arizona State University.

The awards are based on work done during last year's school year, so the winners from Hopi High School have already moved on to college. Storm Tso, who is at the University of New Mexico, won two awards. Krienne "Crayon" Pahovama won one state award. They both also won radio awards at AIPA last year.

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Our Featured Story: First Person History:
The Beginning Is Near: The Deep North, Evictions And Pipeline Deadlines

Standing Rock is an unpredicted history lesson for all of us. More than any moment I recall since Wounded Knee, the Vietnam War, or the time of Martin Luther King, this moment stands as a crossroads in the battle for social justice. It is also an economic issue, in a time of economic system transformation, and profoundly a question of the future of this land. The world is watching.

 

History of the
Ottawa and Chippewa Indians
of Michigan

Chapter Nine
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Education News Education News
Tribal Members Make Mark At AISES

– Since 1977, the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) has worked to substantially increase American Indian and Alaska Native representation in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields — as students, professionals, mentors, and leaders.

The AISES National Conference is a three-day event convening graduate, under graduate and high school junior and senior students, teachers, workforce professionals, corporate and government partners and all members of the AISES family.

 

 
Hopi High Runners' Legacy Continues

The Legend continues to grow. Hopi High School Coach Rick Baker has been tagged with the nickname of The Legend after leading the Bruins to a national and state record 26 straight boys championships.

Make that 27 consecutive state titles after winning another trophy Nov. 5 at Cave Creek Golf Course in Phoenix. Adding to the folklore, Baker took over the girls cross-country team this season and led the young upstarts to a second place finish at state.

 

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Honoring Students Living Traditions
Jessica Cree Jock Receives Prestigious Award

Jessica Cree Jock, Executive Director of Akwesasne Boys & Girls Club (ABGC), has been selected as a recipient of the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development’s (NCAIED) “Native American 40 Under 40” award. The prestigious award recognizes 40 emerging American Indian leaders from across Indian Country who have demonstrated leadership, initiative and dedication, and made significant contributions in business and/or their community.

 
Seedkeepers First Bountiful Harvest In Hudson Valley

In early November several Akwesasronon traveled to the Hudson Valley to take part in a harvest grown between several communities: the Hudson Valley Farm Hub, the newly created Native American Seed Sanctuary and Akwesasronon programs. Located near Kingston NY, they grew Native American varieties of corn, beans, squash and sunflowers for the purpose of providing education, seed saving, ultimately preserving our rich agricultural and cultural heritage. Once harvested, the seeds returned to Akwesasne as well as other Haudenosaunee nations to keep these varieties and their stories alive.

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Honoring Students Living Traditions
Bacone College's Navajo Harrier Jackson Thomas Wins NAIA Meet

Bacone College senior Jackson Thomas captured the NAIA National Cross-Country Championship in Elsah, Illinois on Nov. 19 with a winning time of 23 minutes, 50 seconds. He is pictured here with the Navajo Nation flag in the background.

Thomas, a Navajo from Naschitti, New Mexico, toured the hilly 8K course in 23:50, well ahead of the second place finisher.

 
A Navajo Chef Gives A Glimpse Inside The Makeshift Kitchens At Standing Rock

At the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, as a Sioux tribe fights the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, the months-long standoff has raised a question: How do you feed the encamped masses?

For Navajo chef Brian Yazzie, the answer was clear: in a way that honors indigenous traditions.

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Living Traditions Education News
Crotty Blacksmithing At Young Age

In a small self-built shop outside his home, Cherokee Nation citizen Brendan Crotty turns a hand-crank blower as flames swell in his coal-fired forge. He then places iron in the fire. Not an odd sight to see a blacksmith do such acts. However, Crotty is no ordinary blacksmith. He's only 14.

It was after watching blacksmith re-enactments at age 10 that the craft sparked a fire in him."I saw some of the stuff they were making, and I thought it was really cool. They were making cookware and knives and all kinds of stuff, so I though it would be fun to try it," he said. "I started when I was almost 11. And the first thing I made was a little letter opener out of a horseshoe, and made it in my first blacksmith meeting, and I melted it in half the first time I ever tried to make anything."

 
How Should Thanksgiving Be Taught In Schools?

I’d like to offer my perspective as a Wampanoag Elder and as an educator on the subject of American Thanksgiving holiday. Each grade level opens the minds of students to greater understanding. I have never been invited to Thanksgiving dinner outside of my Native community so my comments are based on what I’ve read or seen on TV about how American people celebrate Thanksgiving. It is often depicted as an extended family gathering with a major feast. Sometime during the celebration members of the family express what they feel thankful for and about. Children attending are introduced to the idea of publically expressing thankfulness. I’m unaware if anyone in the families mentions my ancestors during their festivities.

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Living Traditions Living Traditions
Thanksgiving Holiday Echoes Centuries-old Fall Traditions For Citizen Potawatomi

The celebration of the Puritans' first Thanksgiving with the Wampanoag Indians, as a result of its status as an official national holiday, has become a time honored tradition for most Americans. While the focus of most Thanksgiving celebrations is to enjoy food and the company of loved ones, few recognize the holiday is a contemporary incarnation of post-harvest festivals common across human history. Since the first hunter-gatherer turned their spear into a plow, humans from cultures across the world have almost universally held celebrations commemorating the conclusion of the fall harvest.

 
Community comes Together At 18th Annual Eagle Feather Cleansing, Honoring And Feast

On Oct. 19-21, the Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture & Lifeways hosted another cultural event where the community came together for their 18th annual eagle feather cleansing, honoring and feast.

The more than 500 eagle feathers displayed are an example of honoring the life of the Anishinabe people, past and present, and an honoring of the life and the spirit of the eagle. This gives blessings and strength to Anishinabe people.

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Preserving Language Living Traditions
Mohawk Tribal Survey To Help Strengthen Kanien'ké:ha/Mohawk Language

The Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe's Historic Preservation Office has launched an online survey aimed at strengthening Kanien'keha (Mohawk language) in the Akwesasne community. The survey is being conducted online and gives individuals the opportunity to share their experiences and expectations to help improve how language classes are offered. "The Mohawk language is a direct reflection of our cultural values and traditions," said Kanien'keha teacher, Katsi'tsienhá:wi Carole Ross. Katsi'tsienhá:wi noted, "Once our language disappears; or begins to disappear; our efforts to maintain cultural values that are linked to our language become more difficult. You can't have one without the other; language=culture=language."

 
Tribal Employee Presents Art At Santa Fe Indian Market

The Santa Fe Indian Market is the largest Native American art market in the world and has been running for nearly 100 years. It includes a prestigious juried art show that attracts as many as 150,000 visitors from many countries. At the most recent event, a tribal employee and cultural teacher was on hand to sell some of her self-made products.

Muscogee (Creek) Nation tribal citizen Leslie Deer is the production assistant at the CPN Cultural Heritage Center. She started making apparel art for herself in 1990 and began producing items for others six years later. She makes women’s dresses, jumpsuits, skirts, tops and suits. Additionally, she creates her own designs to print on fabric to use for her garments.

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Living Traditions   Living Traditions
Researcher: Turkeys A Major Part Of Ancestral Pueblo Life

While the popular notion of the American Thanksgiving is less than 400 years old, the turkey has been part of American lives for more than 2,000 years. But for much of that time, the bird was more revered than eaten.

Washington State University archaeologists over the years have repeatedly seen evidence, from bones to blankets to DNA extracted from ancient poop, suggesting that the Pueblo people of the Southwest bred turkeys as far back as 200 B.C.

 
Standingcloud's Artistic Abilities Span Various Media

Creativity flows from Cherokee Nation citizen Nathalie Standingcloud's mind and fingertips as she creates artworks, whether they are temporary such as chalk or permanent such as tattoos. Through her creations she illustrates her calling in art.

Standingcloud said she started drawing as soon as she could hold a pencil.

 

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Living Traditions   Education News
Cochran Shares Booger Mask History

When a call went out looking for the Cherokee considered the most knowledgeable in gourd mask making, Cherokee National Treasure Wendell Cochran was agreed to be the "Yoda" of not only its history but how it's used today.

Cochran has made gourd masks for years and is said to be responsible for revitalizing the art in Oklahoma. "Masking is a tradition that's used by almost every civilization and culture. It's used for a number of purposes. In Italy you had the theater. England had the mummers. Mexico has this huge tradition from Spain of masking like they do for Halloween, Night of the Dead. And Africa, of course, has a huge contemporary tradition of masking with their rituals, their dances and their celebrations," he said.

 

Akwesasne Youth Launch "Mother Earth Eggs" Pilot Project

Nine Akwesasne youth recently launched the Mother Earth Egg Pilot Project at the Three Feathers Café on Thursday, November 3, 2016. They include: Tristan Cook-Hasty, Levi Herne, Jheri White, Mose McDonald, Daniel Thompson, Tisha Benedict, Ethan Pervais, Bailee Rourke and Clinton Atkins, all high school students currently attending the Akwesasne Freedom School, Cornwall Collegiate Vocational School, Massena Central School and Salmon River Central School. The Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe's Agriculture Program and the Office of Economic Development are sponsors of the Mother Earth Egg project and hosts of the evening.

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Living Traditions   Living Traditions
Here's What No One Understands About The Dakota Access Pipeline Crisis

In recent weeks, protests against the building of the Dakota Access Pipeline across North Dakota have escalated. Native American elders, families and children have set up tepees and tents on a campsite near the pipeline's path in the hope of stopping its construction.

Dave Archambault Jr., the chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe that is leading the efforts to stop the pipeline, summed up what is at the heart of the issue. In a two-minute statement before the United Nations' Human Rights Council in Geneva, he said that "oil companies are causing deliberate destruction of our sacred places.

 

Tribes Join Forces To Purchase Land At Bear Butte

The irony of purchasing land located at Bear Butte just outside of Sturgis, South Dakota isn't lost on most Native Americans.Originally the land belonged to Native Americans. The land was taken and sold to an individual. Now, almost a century later, Native Americans band together to purchase land they once owned at Bear Butte. Specifically, 270 acres of land.

"Jim Jandreau who works for the state park at Bear Butte was notified by the auction company that 260 acres of land was coming up sale. He in turn contacted Albert Old Crow and Albert sent the request into the executive office and Max Bear at Culture and Heritage. Max, in turn, contacted Economic Development to come in and help with the process of maybe purchasing the land," Nathan Hart, economic development director said.

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Living Traditions   Living Traditions
Miko's Native Cuisine Is Rolling Across Oklahoma

What do you do when you get laid off from a job you hated?

You open a business. Challenging? Yes. Rewarding? Absolutely.

At least that's what Miko Barber has found out since diving into Miko's Native Cuisine, his own mobile Native food truck.

 

Saving Seeds, To Spur Return To Indigenous Foods

Long before European settlers plowed the Plains, corn was an important part of the diet of Native American tribes like the Omaha, Ponca and Cherokee. Today, members of some tribes are hoping to revive their food and farming traditions by planting the kinds of indigenous crops their ancestors once grew.

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Living Traditions   Living Traditions
Remembering The US Soldiers Who Refused Orders To Murder Native Americans At Sand Creek

Every Thanksgiving weekend for the past 17 years, Arapaho and Cheyenne youth lead a 180-mile relay from the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site to Denver.

The annual Sand Creek Massacre Spiritual Healing Run opens at the site of the Sand Creek Massacre near Eads, Colorado, with a sunrise ceremony honoring some 200 Arapaho and Cheyenne people who lost their lives in the infamous massacre. This brutal assault was carried out by Colonel John Chivington on Nov. 29, 1864.

 

Osage Foundation Selling 2016 Collectable Buffalo Ornament

As the 2016 holiday season moves close, the Osage Nation Foundation is announcing the release of this year’s collectable Christmas tree ornament available for sale online.

This year’s ornament is a 24-karat gold-plated buffalo in celebration of the Nation’s recent purchase of the Bluestem Ranch, according to the Foundation. The buffalo ornament and past year ornaments are sold online for $20 each through the Foundation’s online store at www.osagefoundation.org

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Living Traditions   Living Traditions
Sundance Institute's Native Program Director Believes In The Power Of Stories

Wrong place, wrong time.

That's how N. Bird Runningwater describes turning points in a life that traversed three cultures and put him at the center of racial tensions as a University of Oklahoma student twenty years ago. Instead of setbacks, the wrongs added up to the right path for Runningwater to give voice to others as director of the Sundance Institute's Native American and Indigenous Program.

 

'Titan Of The West' Exhibition Opens Nov. 12 At Eiteljorg Museum

Western paintings and Native American artifacts collected by former NFL Tennessee Titans owner Kenneth S. "Bud" Adams go on exhibit Nov. 12 at the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art.

The "Titan of the West: The Adams Collection of Western and Native American Art" exhibition includes items from a multimillion-dollar collection bequeathed by Adams to the museum when he died in 2013 at age 90. It is one of the largest and most historically important bequests the museum ever has received.

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Living Traditions   Living Traditions
2016 Fall Mack Days Concludes With 17.5K Lake Trout Caught

Four hundred sixty nine anglers registered for the 2016 Fall Mack Days Fishing Event sponsored by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes on Flathead Lake with Up to $150,000 in Cash and Prizes. One hundred seventy eight anglers turned in a total of 17,527 lake trout entries in forty five days of lake trout fishing. The 2016 Fall Event ranked third highest in numbers entered for a Fall Event since the events began in 2002. The highest total of 19,525 were turned in in 2015 and second highest of 18,357 was turned in in the 2011 Fall Event.

 

Cherokee Nation Technologies Supporting NOAA-led Mission Utilizing NASA's Global Hawk

Cherokee Nation Technologies is working alongside the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and NASA to advance weather forecasting capabilities. The joint effort aims to harness the observational power of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) to form forecast models for the National Hurricane Center.

 

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About This Issue's Greeting - "HAN dO "
The Anglo theory is the Apache Indian migrated to the Southwest from Northern Canada in the 1500's. The Apache Indian history says it was the other way around, that most of the Athapaskan speaking people migrated to the North and a few stayed in their homeland. In any event, it is generally agreed that about 5,000 Apaches lived in the Southwest at the end of the 1600's.
Nature's Beauty:
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A Story To Share:
Shakchi And Other Imps
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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.
 
 
Canku Ota is a copyright © 2000 - 2016 of Vicki Williams Barry and Paul Barry.
 

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