Native Village
Youth and Education News
October 1, 2006 Issue 172 Volume 4
"The use of
American Indian mascots as symbols in school and university athletic programs is
particularly troubling. Schools and universities are places of learning. These
mascots are teaching stereotypical, misleading and, too often, insulting images
of American Indians. And these negative lessons are not just affecting American
Indian students; they are sending the wrong message to all students.”
Ronald F. Levant, President, American Psychological Association
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Earth Headed
for Warmest Temps in a Million Years
NASA's James Hansen and colleagues are signaling the approach of temperatures
that humans have never experienced. In about 45 years, temperatures on Earth
will average about 59 degrees Farenheit, believed to be earth's temperature
1,000,000 years ago. "Humans are now in control of the Earth's climate, for
better or worse," Hansen said. Hansen warned we can't wait that long to cut
greenhouse gas pollution, because it takes decades for our climate to respond to
changes. "We need to get started now," he says. "We can't wait another decade or
two to take this seriously." And in a highly unusual move for a scientific
paper, the authors rip apart assertions from science fiction writer Michael
Crichton that Hansen's climate change calculations were "wrong by 300 percent."
Hansen says Crichton distorted his scientific work in public, in testimony
before Congress, and in a meeting with President Bush -- even though he is not a
climate expert. The report was published in the Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences.
ABCNews.com
Mayans Occupy Canadian-Owned Mine In Campaign For Farming Land
Guatemala: About 2,000 Q'eqchi Indians have moved into a large, Canadian-owned,
mining complex. They have set up camps and are demanding their lands be
returned for subsistence farms. In 1996, the UN-sponsored Truth Commission
determined that indigenous communities have the right to oversee their
historical lands. The demand was part of a peace agreement that ended
Guatemala's brutal civil war. But a recent report by Oxfam about the El Estor
Mayan community said: "Rigorous strip mining has already degraded the fragile
ecosystem, eroding the thin top-soil in mountain passes inhabited by Mayan
communities. The mountainsides have been deforested, causing landslides and a
litany of environmental hazards. In addition to the environmental threat, there
is a long history of political violence between the mining companies and the
indigenous communities who resist."
H-Amindian Listserve
N.W.T. caribou herd drops by 60,000 since 2003
Northwest Territories: The largest caribou herd in the Northwest Territories has
shrunk to less than a third of the size it was 20 years ago. There are 128,000
barren ground caribou in the Bathurst herd now, compared to 186,000 in 2003 and
472,000 in 1986. The herd lives between Yellowknife and Bathurst Inlet where
roads and diamonds mines have sprung up in the last couple of decades. The
Bathurst herd does not include the Cape Bathurst herd which lives in the
Beaufort Delta region and is also suffering a decline.
Animated map of caribou historic and current range:
http://www.sightline.org/maps/animated_maps/Wildlife-Caribou-CS06anim
H-Amindian Listserve
l
National Eagle Center Receives $500,000 Donation
Minnesota: The Prairie Island Indian Community recently presented a $500,000
check to the National Eagle Center in Wabasha. The NEC is the first
nationally-recognized center dedicated to honoring and preserving the eagle.
With close spiritual ties to the eagle, the Prairie Island Indian Community
hopes its support will help ensure that future generations can learn about and
appreciate this important piece of their culture. "The eagle and its feathers
are sacred and highly revered in our traditions, culture and religion," said
Audrey Bennett from the Prairie Island Indian Community. "They represent
balance, truth and strength as well as courage, wisdom and freedom." The
tribe's donation nearly completes the National Eagle Center's fund-raising goal
of $4,300,000. The center, which has a 2007 completion date, will feature an
observation deck overlooking the Mississippi River. It will also offer
exhibits and educational programs about the importance of the eagle to Naive
American culture.
Indian Country Today
Wild mustangs in South Dakota are in danger of starving
South Dakota: South Dakota is experiencing the worst drought in its history.
This year's rainfall has been only 4" instead of the normal 17." And the
drought is worse where the International Society for the Protection of Mustangs
and Burros has its headquarters. The horses there usually receive food
supplements beginning in November. But because of the drought, the ISPMB began
feeding horses in July. Now they are out of money and need cash donations or hay
delivered to the ranch. Each truckload of hay now costs $2,500.00. Sixty
truckloads are needed. “We are down to the bare bones,” said Karen Sussman,
president of ISPMB. “We will run out of hay by next week, and the price has gone
up.” Like many Native people, Sussman believe horses are sacred. Another
believer is Harry Charger from the Sand Arch Band of Lakota. While
archaeologists say horses were extinct from North American until they returned
with Spanish invaders, Charger says they have always been here. “As long as
there were thunderstorms on this continent, the Thunderbeings were mounted on
‘The dog that was mysterious' [referring to horses].” The Lakota people are
close to the horse. Many tribes even had “medicine” for their horses. “I
remember seeing a horse get hurt when I was three years old,” said Charger. “A
truck ran into it. You could hear that horse scream a mile away. My grandfather
was a visionary (medicine man) ... [He] got some herbs and weeds and put it in
his mouth ...and chewed it up. He said something to Someone up there and put
[the medicine] on the horse and said ‘Grandson, stand up.’ The horse stood up.
The horse was perfect yet there was blood all over him. The Creator gave my
grandfather the vision or the authority to use the gift.”
Learn more about International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and
Burros and help save the horses: www.ispmb.org
www.nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=8212
Symbols on Skin Connect Hearts to History Alaska
Alaska: Traditional Inupiat tattoos are part of the ongoing effort by Alaska
Natives to revive their language, dancing and art. Tattoos were common
throughout Alaska until the practice faded out in the 20th century due, in part,
to rejection by Christian missionaries. The practice nearly died out when
children were forced to attend boarding schools during the times they would have
received their first tattoos. Now some Barrow residents are honoring their
ancestors by returning to the tattooing traditions. Some women have chin
markings of family and ancient traditions. One whaler plans a tattooed
whale-tail necklace to commemorate his whale kills. Lars Krutak has studied the
Alaskan customs and says traditional tattooes were made using bird-bone needles,
sinew thread and soot to decorate human canvasses. For women who bore elaborate
designs across faces and necks to enhance beauty or fertility, it was a painful
rite of passage. For hunters, the etchings - usually dark blue - boosted
bravery and could ward off evil spirits. While skin-stitched tattoos are
extremely rare today -- perhaps possessed by only a few elders -- some people
are embracing the old designs. "We need to be proud of what we are," said
educator Jana Harcharek, who wears a discreet blue stripe on her chin.
Mask: Carved walrus tusk with tattoo designs.
Anchorage Daily News
Never forget SuAnne Big Crow!
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The gym where SuAnne scored 67 points in one game. |
South Dakota: In the fall of 1988, the Pine Ridge Lady Thorpes traveled to Lead
for a basketball game. Freshman player SuAnne Big Crow and her teammates could
hear the Lead fans yelling fake-indian war cries and words like "squaw" and
"gut-eater." Some were waving food stamps, referring to the reservation's
federal food aid. The Lead high school band played fake-Indian drumming and a
fake-Indian tune. SuAnne quickly offered to enter the gymnasium first. "Don't
embarrass us," said one teammate. When SuAnne led the team onto the court, she
didn't run the usual full lap but instead stopped in center court. Then she
stepped into the jump-ball circle, draped her warm-up jacket over her
shoulders, and began to do the Lakota shawl dance. "I couldn't believe it --
she was powwowin', like, 'get down!'" Doni De Cory recalled. Then SuAnne began
to sing in Lakota, and the crowd went completely silent. "All that stuff the
Lead fans were yelling it was like she reversed it somehow," a teammate said.
In the sudden quiet, all you could hear was her Lakota song. When SuAnne
finished, she took the ball from Doni and ran a lap around the court dribbling
expertly and fast. The fans began to cheer and applaud. She sprinted to the
basket for a lay-up, and the fans cheered even louder. Pine Ridge went on to
win the game. "It was funny," De Cory says, "but after that game the
relationship between Lead and us was tremendous. When we played Lead again ...
and we got to know some of the girls on the team. Later, when we went to a
tournament and Lead was there, we were hanging out with the Lead girls and
eating pizza with them ... What SuAnne did made a lasting impression and changed
the whole situation with us and Lead. We found out there are some really good
people in Lead." SuAnne Big
Crow was 17 years old when she died Feb. 9, 1992.
SuAnne Big Crow Girls and Boys Club:
http://suannebigcrow.org/
www.honorhouse.com/SuAnneBigCrow.php+gym+%2267+points%22+crow&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=10&ie=UTF-8
Golfers control ancient lunar observatory
Ohio: Newark's earthworks were built 2,000 years ago by indigenous people.
Today, Moundbuilders Country Club golf course sits on these earthworks -- the
world's largest mound complex. This ancient site includes grass covered
sculpted earthen walls and freestanding mounds. Portions of the vast area align
with important lunar events - including the most northern and southern sunrises
and sunsets of our moon's 18.6-year cycle. Walled roads as long as 60 miles
connect it with other central Ohio mound complexes. Denison College professor
Michael Mickelson called Newark Earthworks site ''an ancient solid-state lunar
computer,'' and a British publication places it among the wonders of the ancient
world. The Ohio Historical Society owns the tract and has leased it to the
country club for nearly 100 years. The first leases required that the earthworks
be ''restored and preserved'' and that non-club members be allowed entry. These
requirements disappeared in later leases. The country club dug into the mounds
to install tees, putting greens, sidewalks, a sprinkler system, memorial plaques
and more. ''The first clubhouse destroyed 100 feet of the circle,'' said Richard
Shiels, OSU-Newark history professor. ''Who knows what was lost when the pool
went in.'' And now people who are not members of the country club are refused
access to the mounds. In 2002, Barbara Crandell, a Cherokee elder, was praying
at the site. She was arrested for refusing to leave and was convicted of
criminal trespass. This year, on Oct. 14, the OSU-Newark campus will hold
Newark Earthworks Day to draw attention to indigenous people's concerns about
use of the site. "Seeing the treatment Native people are subjected to has
shocked non-Native people who've gotten involved,'' said Marti Chaatsmith,
Comanche/Choctaw. ''Ohio is a state where removals occurred, so a lot of Native
history has not been told, and Native voices have not been heard.'' Mark Welsh
agrees. "Native people in Ohio are trying to talk sense into the general
population - to help them understand what a gift we have here and how it honors
God," he said. "Someday we'll take it back, and the golf course will go away.''
[Editor's note; Octagon Mound, Ohio was named among 2007's most endangered
sacred sites.]
www.sacred-sites.org/.../endangered_most.html
http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096413601
Finding Beauty in Usefulness
New York:The Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian houses more than
800,000 artifacts in New York and Washington. The new Diker Pavilion for Native
Arts and Cultures recently opened at the George Gustav Heye Center. The
6,000-square foot area can seat 400. The marble floor was replaced with sprung
maple suitable for dance performances. The walls are cherry paneled and slope
gently inward. Tall glass exhibit cases are placed in the window niches, and
behind the performance area is a curving wall of jade-green translucent glass.
But it was the 77 objects inside the glass cases that grabbed one's attention
during a recent exhibition called "Beauty Surrounds Us." "Beauty" offered
insights into the variety and vitality of native life among those in the Western
Hemisphere. Cultures throughout the Western hemisphere were represented. Among
the items displayed:
Clothing:
A 1915 dress of a girl from the Crow People. The dress is black wool and
cotton cloth with red borders on the sleeves and hem. It is covered with elks'
teeth which symbolizes long life, wealth, status and the hunting skills of the
family’s male provider. Only eyeteeth were used; it took influence to cover an
entire dress with them. Elk-tooth dresses are still worn today, but the teeth
are plastic.
An Aleut sea otter hunter's (1820-1860) wide brimmed hat from Kodiak Island,
Alaska. Made of bright-blue weathered wool cloth with a painted design, beads
and dentalium shells luxury trade items. Also decorating the hat were sea
lion whiskers from past successes.
Games and sports:
A Sioux child’s sled made of buffalo ribs with
a hide seat.
A huchuwish tray: a flat basket with upturned edges made of woven grass and
roots by made
women from California. (Both objects are circa 1900.) Huchuwish
was played with huge dice (or “bones”) made from stones, nuts, beans, sticks,
bones, and animal teeth.
Symbols of Respect:
An intricate Tlingit frontlet headdress (circa 1870) from
British Columbia. The headdress is made of wood, hide and ermine skins. It's
adorned with the image of a beaver (an ancestral crest animal) inlaid with
abalone shell. A chief might wear it while hosting a social gathering.
Elements that Move:
A Karuk woman’s two-piece skirt (circa 1890) from
California. It's made of hide decorated with clam and abalone shells that clink
as a dancer performs.
A pair of Seminole women's leggings made from box turtle shells. It was worn for
the Stomp Dance during the Green Corn Ceremony, an important religious and
social affair.
Musical instruments:
A beautifully carved conch shell trumpet (A.D. 900-1500)
from the Huastec culture near Vera, Mexico. To make the trumpet, the snail was
removed, and the shell's top was fashioned into a mouthpiece. Tones were
achieved by the player's hand position inside the shell’s opening.
View the "Beauty Surrounds Us" online exhibit:
newsdesk.si.edu/photos/heye_beauty.htm
PHOTO: Nuwukmiak Eskimo Football
http://travel2.nytimes.com/2006/09/22/arts/design/22dike.html
Inuit Historical Film Opens Toronto Fest
Ontario: A historical film about Canada's Inuit, The Journals of Knud Rasmussen,
opened this year's Toronto International Film Festival. The Canadian-Danish
production was set in Igloolik (in what is now Nunavut) in the 1920s. It tells
Inuit history through the eyes of aging shaman Avva (Pakak Innukshuk) and his
daughter Apak (Leah Angutimarik). Aboriginal actors speak their native Inuktitut
language in the movie. "I think the important thing is that there are some
people who told their story in their own words for the first time," said Jakob
Cedergren, who plays Therkel Mathiassen. Tanya Tagaq, an Inuk throat singer who
lent her voice to the film, said she hoped the project would dispel some myths
about Inuit culture.
H-Amindian Listserve
Cheechoo Gets Set to Defend Trophy
Ontario: Jonathan Cheechoo continues to bring pride to Moose Factory, population
2,700. The San Jose Sharks star winger and member of the Moose Cree First
Nations led the NHL last season with a magical 57-goal season. A few years ago,
this probably seemed like an impossible dream for anyone Moose Factory, which
didn't even have an indoor arena. In fact, the community raised $10,000 when
Jonathan was 15 years old so he could attend a power-skating school in Toronto.
Ten years later he became a 50-goal scorer in the NHL. Now the First Nation
kids in Moose Factory know dreams can come true. "It's very positive," said
Cheechoo, who interacts with Cree youth when they attend his Canadian games. "I
set aside some time usually after our morning skates to talk with them. They're
pretty excited when they meet me, and I take that as an honour. I must be doing
something right if the kids are looking up to you. In the same vein, you want
to do your best in your life, not just in hockey. You want to live a clean life
so they have a positive role model to look up to."
H-Amindian Listserve
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