Native Village
Youth and Education News
January 1, 2007 Issue 174 Volume 1
"In school, I learned that my people were savages. But now I see I come from people who were beautiful and intelligent. I see the sacredness of being Indian." Carol Welsh, Sisseton-Wahpeton
Rare white buffalo
calf born in Farmington zoo
Pennsylvania: A white male buffalo calf was born November 12 at the Woodland Zoo
in Farmington. Sonny Herring, who owns the zoo with his wife, Jill, found the
calf when he went out to feed two female buffaloes. At first, he thought a goat
from the petting zoo had gotten into the pen. As he got closer, he realized that
the calf was a buffalo. "Buffalo usually breed in the fall and give birth in the
spring," said Mr. Herring, who has no explanation as to why this calf was born
in November. The calf lives in a large, fenced enclosure with his mother and
another buffalo cow. The calf's father was shipped to a large buffalo farm
"because he was getting too hard to handle and was tearing up his enclosure,"
Mr. Herring said. The two cows stay close to the calf, keeping a wary eye on
people, including the Herrings, who feed them.
Woodland Zoo: www.woodlandzoo.net
photo courtesy of Jill Herring.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06344/745017-85.stm
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Kenahkihine'n |
American Indians
Name Rare White Buffalo Born in Pa. Zoo
Pennsylvania: American Indians from several tribes gathered at the naming
ceremony for a rare white baby buffalo born in Farmington. The calf was named
Kenahkihine'n, a Lenape word meaning "watch over us." About 2,500 people, many
of them American Indians, attended the 2 1/2-hour ceremony that included
singing, prayers, a healing service and dance.
Associated Press
2.5 MILLION YOUTH
VOLUNTEER FOR GLOBAL YOUTH SERVICE DAY
This year's Global Youth Service Day honored 2,500,000 youth in 118 countries
for participating in service-learning and civic programs that help strengthen
their communities. Among those projects honored:
Afghanistan: Exchange students
Eshaaq Mohtasebzadah and Selahaddin Ibrahimy and ten friends organized “A Happy
Day for Orphans." This all day event offered orphan children in Herat Province a
day full of art activities, a scavenger hunt, a general knowledge contest,
sports and dance, and prizes and refreshments. Four hundred children benefited
from this service project.
EGYPT: In a similar project, Mahinour El-Badrawi enlisted the help of friends to
raise funds to cover their "Orphan Day" expenses. They also located and
negotiated fees with a site to host the event and organizing games and
activities. The children enjoyed a day filled with craft-making, puppet and
magic shows, music, and even a soccer game. Mahinour was especially proud that
the children’s supervisors were impressed that the whole event had been planned
by teen volunteers. It changed the adults’ perception of what young people can
accomplish.
GERMANY: Candy Glas and the organization, Rockt den Schuppen, organized a
benefit concert for more than 400 young people. Also in Germany, Johanna
Schmidt and the organization, Youth Group, gathered 23 youth volunteers to build
an outdoor picnic oven for a local church.
MALAYSIA : Foo Che Zhu and the Recycle Guys recycled more than 2,000 pounds of
newspapers, and collected more than 200 aluminum cans and bottles. The
volunteers honed their persuasion skills as they convinced people in their
community to recycle.
PAKISTAN: Seven teen girls, led by exchange student Farida Karim Chagan,
organized fun activities for children and adults with mental and physical
disabilities. Participants enjoyed art activities, blowing up balloons, playing
with balls, and making crafts. “The audience enjoyed coloring and face painting
the most”, says Farida. “We all learned that small acts of kindness might not
cost us anything, but might be a whole world to someone else.”
RUSSIAN FEDERATION: Maria Semina and five student volunteers organized an HIV/
AIDS presentation at her school. They contacted health experts, doctors, and
local authorities to learn accurate information, then shared their findings
about HIV/AIDS issues and prevention with fellow students. “The whole team had
an unforgettable experience being together”, said Maria. “For some people it
was the first experience to be a volunteer, so I believe it was a good start for
them.”
TAJIKISTAN: Led by Bahrom Ismoilov of the Future Leaders Exchange, volunteers
served food, donated toys, taught English, and played sports with children
living in rural orphanages. The day’s activities forged new friendships and
demonstrated the potential impacts of volunteerism to the community. “The
volunteers learned how important it is to help the community, and how pleasant
it is to see orphanage children smiling”, says Bahrom.
A project coordinated by the U.S. State Department was “IT Partners” -- online
dialogues between American and overseas youth leaders about GYSD and sustainable
service. Twelve youth from the US (ages 16-22), and 38 youth from different
countries (ages 14 to 23), were paired up and held email conversations about
GYSD.
Begin planning for GYSD 2007:http://www.ysa.org/nysd/
DNA Ties Together
Scattered Peoples
California: DNA from the tooth of a 10,300-year-old man discovered in Alaska
links tribal people from California to Chile. The man descendants were found
among present-day Chumash in California, the Cayapa of Ecuador and Natives in
Chile. "It's mind-boggling," said Ernestine De Sotos, whose DNA matches those
from the ancient remains. "I've always known I was Chumash, but this is
something else." John Johnson, anthropoligist at the Santa Barbara Museum of
Natural History, led the research. He believes the Pacific Coast was a primary
corridor for migration from Alaska to South America.
The Associated Press
Libraries in the Sand Reveal Africa's Academic Past
Mali:
Researchers in Timbuktu are fighting to preserve ancient texts that prove Africa
had a written history at least as old the European Renaissance. Libraries in
Timbuktu have already collected 150,000 brittle manuscripts. Some date to the
1200s, and many more could be buried under the sand. The texts were hidden by
proud Malian families whose ancestors feared the texts would be stolen by
enemies, explorers and colonialists. Timbuktu's leading families have only
recently started to give up their ancestral heirlooms to share with the
community. "These manuscripts are about all the fields of human knowledge: law,
the sciences, medicine," said Galla Dicko, director of the Ahmed Baba Institute,
a library housing 25,000 of the texts. Written in ornate calligraphy, some
manusripts were used to teach astrology or mathematics. Other told tales of
everyday life in Timbuktu during its "Golden Age," when it was a seat of
learning in the 1500s. "It is through these writings that we can really know
our place in history," said Abdramane Ben Essayouti, Imam of Timbuktu's oldest
mosque, Djingarei-ber, built from mud bricks and wood in 1325.
View the Manuscripts:
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/mali/
http://articles.news.aol.com/news/_a/libraries-in-the-sand-reveal-africas/20061110045409990012?ncid=NWS00010000000001
Looters Ravage
Ruins To Sell Pottery, Heirlooms On Black Market
Looters are
destroying and desecrating sacred Indian ruins. An estimated 80% of America's
ancient archaeological sites have been plundered or robbed. The motive is money
-- Indian artifacts are coveted worldwide by wealthy collectors. Looters,
however, are only the first link in a black-market chain that includes
collectors, galleries, trade shows and Internet sites such as eBay. Stopping
the black- market business is impossible; legal loopholes and lack of policing
manpower makes it hard to convict the guilty. The result is a scientific and
spiritual loss. "They're changing history," said Vernelda Grant, a San Carlos
Apache as she stood amid 800-year-old ruins transformed into a crater field.
"They're killing us. They're killing the existence of who we are." Warren
Youngman, a BIA special agent, shrugs when asked how many looters are working
tribal lands. "There's a lot of wide-open spaces, and we don't have the
manpower to cover it." he said. "We'll never know." The BIA polices oversees
sites for 561 recognized tribes nationwide.
www.examiner.com
An Unbreakable
Spirit in WWII
Their
exact numbers are unknown, and dwindling fast... Sixty years after serving
their homeland, the Navajo Code Talkers are superstars who earned no riches for
their deeds. More than 400 young Navajo men - whose federal government had tried
to wipe out their language - used their native tongue to pass messages among
troops during World War II. The original 29 Navajo Marine Code Talkers
developed a code with various tones, glottal stops and complexities within the
Navajo language. And, unlik all other codes, theirs could be transmitted quickly
and accurately. No one but the Navajo could translate the message, and their
code was never broken. But the Code Talkers' contributions remained a
government secret until 1968. Then, in 2001, President Bush presented
Congressional Gold Medals to the original 29 Code Talkers, five of whom were
still alive. Today, up to 30 surviving Code Talkers attend monthly meetings in
Gallup, N.M, but no one knows where all the codetalkers are today. Code Talker
Jimmy Begay estimates that 75-80 of the 420 Code Talkers still live. Others
believe the figure remains more than 100. "They don't want to be famous. They
just are," said Virginia June for her husband, who is in good health except for
a failing memory.
Denver Post
Iditarod
legend, Herbie Nayokpuk, remembered
Alaska: Hundreds of people across Alaska turned out to honor Herbie Nayokpuk,
the Iditarod legend, who passed away in December. Known as the "Shishmaref
Cannonball, Herbie was loved by people through Alaska. That love is one reason
his family decided to broadcast his memorial statewide. "What a life...He's
always said that. What a life...life is good. And his million-dollar smile. He's
always had that persona about him," said Shirley Newberg, Nayokpuk's oldest
daughter. Though his last race was almost 20 years ago, Nayokpuk's time on the
trail remained close to his heart. He was involved in every Iditarod since the
Last Great Race started over 30 years ago. Even when he wasn't racing, Nayokpuk
was at every start and every finish. "Even there in those early years, people
flocked to Herbie. Let's face it, some people have it and some people don't. And
Herbie had it," said Dan Seavey who mushed with Nayokpuk. This year, Nayokpuk's
family will take his place at the race he loved so much.
http://www.ktva.com/topstory/ci_4792658h
Keeping the Legends
Alive:
British Columbia: Ellen White, 84, has written down her nation's ancient
stories for future generations. A respected elder of the Snuneymuxw First
Nation in Nanaimo, White is also known as Kwulasulwut, meaning "Many Stars."
While Ellen began writing children's books in 1981, her new book, Ellen White
Legends and Teachings of Xeel's, The Creator, is her first book aimed at teens
and adults. She began the meticulous process of telling the stories in her
native tongue to her daughter, Vicki White, who helped translate into English.
At the end of each story, White encourages readers to draw their own
conclusions: "What did the story tell you? Did it give you something new to
think about? How did the story make you feel?" Ellen says the stories are as
relevant now as they were hundreds of years ago. People have the same issues;
it's only the forms that have changed.
H-Amindian Listserve
Bush Signs `Esther
Martinez' Bill
Washington DC: The Esther Martinez Native Languages Preservation Act has been
signed into law by President Bush. The bill creates more language immersion and
restoration programs for Native American youth. The bill was named for Esther
Martinez, an Ohkay Owingeh storyteller and linguist killed in a car crash as she
returned from being honored in Washington D.C.
http://www.abqjournal.com/abqnews/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1914&Itemid=2
Language
revitalization efforts bloomed in 2006
In 2006, language retention became a top priority for many American Indian
nations. For many decades, Native communities have faced an increasing loss of
languages. But 2006 became a turn-around year, with more community members
involved in preserving their languages for the future.
History
The
traditional Native ways have been threatened since European invasion in the
1400s. The crucial turning point for language loss occurred from the 1800s
-1950s when Native children were sent to non-Native residential schools and
forbidden to speak their Native tongue.
As
those children became adults, their new language was English. Instead of their
own language, the passed English onto on their children, believing it was best.
Threat of extinction
In
some places, it took only one generation of residential-school children for the
entire community to almost lose their Native language. In 2000, Native
communities throughout the Americas faced complete language extinction. In some
cases, only a handful of elders knew the language; with their deaths, the
language died, too.
Immersion programs
''National
studies on language learning and educational experience indicate the more
language learning, the higher the academic achievement,'' said Ryan Wilson,
president of the National Indian Education Association. ''Solid data from the
immersion school experience indicates that language immersion students
experience greater success in school..."
Oneidas
in New York have contracted with an education company to teach the Oneida
language to community adults. Fluent speakers were located in Canada and flown
to central New York to teach the Oneida language.
An
immersion program for PreK-4 students in New York's Akwesasne community teaches
children the traditional Mohawk language by schooling them in a homelike
environment.
Other
communities have modeled ''language nest' immersion programs after the Maori of
New Zealand. In these programs, adults and children study the language for up
to 8 hours a day. This commitment to learning time is preserving their Native
tongues.
Early
studies show that students in such programs excel in school.
Technology
Cutting-edge
technology called "Phraselators" will help the The Eastern Band of Cherokee (NC)
expand their language revival. The handheld computers enable students to have
English translated into Cherokee (and vice versa) with the touch of a button.
Other tribes have also purchased the device.
Apple
Computer Inc. has been asked to put language learning software on its popular
iPod.
Smaller-scale
technology such as CDs and Internet databases is flourishing in language
classrooms,
Legislation
The
Mohawk Council of Kahnawake has enacted a law requiring the Mohawk language to
be used in all education and business settings. Other tribes have taken similar
approaches.
On
Dec. 14, 2006, President Bush signed into law the Esther Martinez Native
American Languages Preservation Act, H.R. 4766.
http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096414216
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