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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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May
1, 2011 - Volume 9 Number 5
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Favorite
Sites
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collected
by Paul and Vicki
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Kituwah
Preservation & Education Program
The Cherokee language is in danger of dying out in the near
future due to the loss of elders who speak it and the few
in younger generations who are fluent speakers. In an effort
to reverse this trend, Cherokee Preservation Foundation is
investing in language preservation programs that teach toddlers
to adults how to speak and read their native tongue.
http://www.cherokeepreservationfdn.org/languagerevitalization.html
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Welcome
to the Alutiiq Living Words Project Web Portal!
The Qik’rtarmiut Alutiit Language Program is dedicated
to documenting and revitalizing the Alutiiq Language of the
Kodiak Archipelago. Through this portal, language learners,
researchers, and interested public can access field research
conducted on the language and culture, find educational resources,
and keep up to date on the Alutiiq language community.
http://www.alutiiqmuseum.org/portal/
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Isabella
Blatchford’s cancer treatment fund
SUPERB! As of 8:21pm 4/27/11 we have reached our goal! I know
I can speak for my sister when I say that we are both so humbled
by all of the support she has received through this website.
So much gratitude! We will be providing a status update on
this website very soon. I’ve received 2 emails requesting
to add on to the fund, it is still available to do so. WE
ARE SO GRATEFUL today!!
http://www.bellasfund.org/
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The
University of Tulsa College of Law
The TU College of Law provides an academically rigorous, yet
congenial atmosphere where education goes beyond how to think
like a lawyer. Here you will also get the opportunity to practice
like a lawyer.
http://www.utulsa.edu/law
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Concord
Law School
Welcome to Concord Law School's website. Since 1998, Concord
has been the leader in the development of online law school
programs that are comprehensive, challenging, accessible,
and affordable. With over 1200 graduates and a dozen years
of experience, Concord faculty and staff continually work
to fulfill our mission: Concord Law School, using state-of-the-art
technology and the Internet, delivers a sound program of legal
education that is accessible and affordable. Concord's program
helps career-focused learners achieve their personal and professional
goals. In doing so, the program uniquely serves the needs
of the legal profession and the public interest.
http://info.concordlawschool.edu/Pages/Homepage.aspx
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Accenture
American Indian Scholarship - Graduate & Undergraduate
The Accenture American Indian Scholarship fund seeks high
achieving student leaders. This program meets a vital need
for American Indian and Alaska Native students seeking higher
education and requiring financial assistance. Accenture will
award American Indian and Alaska Native students seeking degrees
and careers in fields of study including: various engineering,
computer science, operations management, finance, marketing
and other business oriented fields.
http://www.aigcs.org/02scholarships/accenture/accenture.htm
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Native
Americans in Philanthropy
Native Americans in Philanthropy was formed in January 1990
when a group of Native people affiliated with philanthropic
institutions convened at a national meeting in Chicago to
discuss the socio-economic status of Native people and the
limited role philanthropy had played in helping this population.
http://www.nativephilanthropy.org/
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The
Hill-Snowdon Foundation
The Hill-Snowdon Foundation envisions a fair and just society
for low-income families, particularly youth of color and no-and
low-wage workers. Our mission is to:Work with low-income families
and communities to create a fair and just society by helping
them develop the capacity and leadership skills necessary
to influence the decisions that shape their lives. We believe
that it is essential for people to proactively define the
type of society in which they want to live and then work collectively
to achieve this vision. HSF seeks to accomplish this mission
by providing grants to organizations that work directly to
build the power of low-income families; leveraging our and
others' resources; and promoting opportunities for learning
and growth.
http://www.hillsnowdon.org/
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Birthday
Poems
Dedicated to all those who have struggled to come up with
a fun and unique way to pen a birthday greeting (and with
a tip of the hat to April's status as National Poetry Month)
this week's topic is birthday poems, sayings, wishes, quotes
and pithy messages.
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Birthday
Messages
In addition to short birthday poems ("Hope lovely surprises
are coming your way / To make your birthday a wonderful day!")
Birthday Messages has, well, birthday messages. These birthday
wishes are categorized as Belated, Funny, Inspirational, Love,
Religious and are also sorted by relationship such as Brother,
Dad, Friend, Mom, Sister, etc. These short messages are perfect
for signing a paper card, sending via SMS text message, or posting
on Facebook. "Birthdays are good for you. Statistics show
that people who have the most live the longest!"
http://www.birthdaymessages.com/
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Famous
Poets and Poems: Birthday Poems and Poetry
Although very few of these birthday poems are famous in their
own right, the poets include the likes of Jane Austen, Emily
Dickinson, Dylan Thomas and Sylvia Plath. Related poetry themes
(look for them in the left-hand menu) include Anniversary Poems,
Family Poems, Friendship Poems, and even April Poems. Popular
Poets are also listed in the left-hand nav, as are American
Poets, English Poets, Women Poets and Contemporary Poets.
http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/thematic_poems/birthday_poems.html
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Famous
Quotes and Quotations: Birthday Quotes
Although there is nary a birthday poem in sight here at Famous
Quotes and Quotations, these birthday quotes can also be used
to spice up a birthday card or birthday email message. The site
is formatted into lists of Top 10 quotes, but if ten is not
enough for you, there is second list of ten birthday quotes
(look for the link in the right-hand column, near the bottom
of the page.) And what is their number one birthday quote? This
one from Oprah Winfrey, "The more you praise and celebrate
your life, the more there is in life to celebrate."
http://www.famous-quotes-and-quotations.com/birthday-quotes.html
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Poems
for Free: Birthday Poems
Nicholas Gordon shares over 2000 of his original poems at his
Poems for Free site, and grants free use of them for personal
and non-commercial purposes. Which means you may add them to
greeting cards and birthday letters as you wish, as long as
you cite him as the author. "Happy Birthday, Grandma! /
All my love to you! / Pleased to have this chance to offer /
Praises that are due. / Years and years of love / Become an
unheard song, / Infiltrating every thought, / Righting every
wrong ..."
http://www.poemsforfree.com/birthdaypoems.html
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Poem
Source: Birthday Poems
Poem Source is a collection of poems written by Joanna or
Karl Fuchs. Personal use on individual birthday cards is allowed,
but be sure to read their Terms of Use, as there are some
electronic uses that are strictly prohibited. Here's a lovely
one written by Joanna Fuchs, titled Another Year. "I'm
wishing you another year / Of laughter, joy and fun, / Surprises,
love and happiness, / And when your birthday's done, / I hope
you feel deep in your heart, / As your birthdays come and
go, / How very much you mean to me, / More than you can know."
http://www.poemsource.com/birthday-poems.html
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Bogus
Websites
When evaluating an Internet site, how do you determine if
it is credible? How do you differentiate between truth, lies
and opinion? And what about satire? Can you always tell when
a site is just joking? Although a complete discussion of these
important questions goes beyond the space allotted this column,
today's sites are all examples of pranks, fabrication and
satire. A few were specifically created as educational tools.
Would you have been fooled by any of them?
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All
About Explorers
"Everything you've ever wanted to know about every explorer
who ever lived ... and more!" Maybe that promise about
"every explorer who ever lived" might be a small tip
off that this site is not all that it appears to be. Read the
explorers' biographies with a critical eye, and see if anything
strikes you as odd. To learn the whole truth, jump on over to
the About page. Teachers and parents will find lesson plans,
links, and a printable handouts. I like the first lesson: Just
Because It's Out There Doesn't Mean It's Good.
http://allaboutexplorers.com/home
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DHMO
Next up is a dangerous chemical compound. "Dihydrogen Monoxide
(DHMO) is a colorless and odorless chemical compound, also referred
to by some as Dihydrogen Oxide, Hydrogen Hydroxide, Hydronium
Hydroxide, or simply Hydric acid. Its basis is the highly reactive
hydroxyl radical, a species shown to mutate DNA, denature proteins,
disrupt cell membranes, and chemically alter critical neurotransmitters."
Have you taken high school chemistry? Can you figure out the
DHMO secret? For the rest of the story, read the Press Kit.
You'll find the username and password on the front page of the
site.
http://www.dhmo.org/
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Petite
Lap Giraffe
They are so cute! Tiny little giraffes that can sit on your
lap and fit in your hand. And you can buy them directly from
the only farm that breeds them, the "world wide famous"
Sokoblovsky Farms in Russia. On their front page there is a
live web cam of the Bull Vladimir walking around the barn. Hmmm,
I wonder what time it is in Russia right now? Is that daylight
coming in the barn door? To figure out the real story, watch
the two DirectTV commercials on the Photos page. What do you
think now?
http://www.petitelapgiraffe.com/
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Shards
O' Glass
"There is no such thing as a safe Shards O' Glass Freeze
Pop. We now agree with the overwhelming medical and scientific
consensus that eating glass freeze pops can be dangerous."
My mouth hurts just looking at these pictures of frozen pops
filled with shards of glass. Eww! Look at the sections titled
Health Concerns and Product Facts. As you browse through the
site, ask yourself the following questions. What is this website
really about? Does this remind you of another product or industry?
http://www.shardsoglass.com/
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Tree
Octopus
"The Pacific Northwest tree octopus (Octopus paxarbolis)
can be found in the temperate rainforests of the Olympic Peninsula
on the west coast of North America. Their habitat lies on
the Eastern side of the Olympic mountain range, adjacent to
Hood Canal." This website is beautiful, well-written,
and even has printable crafts and school activities. One of
the ways you can check out a website is to visit the index
page of the site (strip away all the folder and file names
after the ".net") and see what you learn. What else
is on the website? Who is the author? What is the nature of
the rest of site? See any patterns here?
http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/
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Freedom
Riders
The Freedom Riders were approximately 400 black and white
Americans who (at great personal risk) traveled on buses through
the Deep South in violation of Jim Crow segregation laws,
for six months starting May 4, 1961. Along the way, they were
met with violence and hatred. Eventually the country woke
up to the injustice of these laws. On September 22, 1961,
the Interstate Commerce Commission issued a federal order
to end segregation in bus and train stations.
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Facing
History: Freedom Riders
Created as a student portal for the PBS film Freedom Riders
(see site review below), Facing History offers a downloadable
student guide titled Democracy in Action, a gallery of film
excerpts, and a short intro to the film. "Says filmmaker
Stanley Nelson, 'The lesson of the Freedom Rides is that great
change can come from a few small steps taken by courageous
people. And that sometimes to do any great thing, it's important
that we step out alone.'"
http://freedomriders.facinghistory.org/
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Freedom
Rides: Recollections by David Fankhauser
1961, David Fankhauser was a nineteen-year-old chemistry major
at Central State College in Wilberforce, OH. On May 24, 1961,
after a haircut and a shave, he flew to Montgomery, AL to join
the Freedom Riders. Today, Fankhauser is a professor of Biology
and Chemistry at University of Cincinnati. Visit his site to
read his first person account of his experiences on the ride
including his arrest in Jackson, MS, and the time he spent in
the Maximum Security Unit of the Parchman State Penitentiary.
http://biology.clc.uc.edu/fankhauser/society/freedom_rides/freedom_ride_dbf.htm
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Mississippi
Department of Archives and History: Freedom Rides Revisited
"How Far Would You Go?" is an interactive lesson that
takes you step-by-step on a virtual Freedom Ride. "Your
goal is to integrate the stations and terminals throughout the
South, although you know you will face major resistance ahead."
For example, after being attacked by an angry mob in the Rock
Hill Greyhound station, will you continue the journey, or take
the next bus home?
http://mdah.state.ms.us/freedom/
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PBS:
Freedom Riders
Coinciding with the fiftieth anniversary of the bus rides, the
PBS film Freedom Riders premiers on May 16, 2011. The film tells
the "inspirational story of six months in 1961 that changed
America forever." Visit for short bios of the "Players"
which include the Freedom Riders, civic rights leaders, and
key government figures and a timeline of important events. "Explore
the Issues" explains Jim Crow laws, discusses the role
of the Cold War, and why this particular nonviolent dissent
was so effective.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/freedomriders/
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PBS:
The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow
"Jim Crow was not a person, yet affected the lives of
millions of people. Named after a popular 19th-century minstrel
song that stereotyped African Americans, 'Jim Crow' came to
personify the system of government-sanctioned racial oppression
and segregation in the United States." The story of the
"century of segregation" begins in 1863 with the
Emancipation Proclamation. This companion website to the PBS
four-part television series (of the same name) does not cover
the Freedom Riders themselves, but rather provides excellent
background to the times leading up to the Sixties.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/
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Reading
Games
With the advent of the Internet, reinforcing reading skills
does not have to be all about having your nose in a book.
These educational game sites run the gamut from introducing
phonics to preschoolers to fun online activities for middle
school readers.
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Earobics:
Game Goo
Earobics is a K-3 "reading intervention" product from
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. GameGoo is the free, online educational
practice game component. For a list of educational standards
addressed in each game (such as identifying the letters in words),
follow the Home button to the Teachers & Parents link. The
games (arranged on the menu from advanced to beginner) are colorful,
noisy, fun and just plain wonderful.
http://www.earobics.com/gamegoo/gooey.html
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Kabongo
Kabongo is both a free and paid learning environment, but the
free games are so good and the paid games so inexpensive (just
$4.95 each without any recurring membership fees) that Kabongo
easily earned its five stars. To access the free games, create
an account with your email address, and then click the link
in the confirmation email. Kabongo consists of three animated
gaming habitats (two of which were free when I visited) for
ages four to seven. The games build reading skills with practice
of letter and pattern recognition, listening comprehension and
phonetic awareness.
http://www.earobics.com/gamegoo/gooey.html
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Reading
is Fundamental: Leading to Reading
Reading is Fundamental's divides their online activity center
into two age groups: Reading Planet for ages six to fifteen,
and Leading to Reading for zero (zero?) to five years old. With
great graphics and fun game play, these colorful online reading
activities and interactive books are sure to please. To access
Reading Planet (for kids over five), look for the link in the
horizontal menu at the bottom of any page.
http://www.rif.org/kids/leadingtoreading/en/leadingtoreading.htm
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Scholastic.com:
Flashlight Readers
"Go inside your favorite reads" with online games
from Scholastic, along with author notes, photos and audio interviews.
Ten popular young adult books are featured, including "Because
of Winn-Dixie" by Kate DiCamillo, "Holes" by
Louis Sachar, and "Hoot" by Carl Hiassen. The site
includes teacher and parent guides with ideas on how to reinforce
"reading skills in fun and meaningful ways."
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/flashlightreaders/T_landingPage.asp
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Starfall
Starfall offers four levels of interactive reading resources
for pre-k through second-grade from ABC's and phonics to read-along
plays and short stories. "Every word on the site is clickable
and will read aloud. In this way, your child's speaking, reading,
and writing vocabulary can grow alongside his curiosity."
Although the interactive stories are the star of the show
at Starfall, don't overlook the printable downloads which
include a Reading and Writing Journal, Reading Awards, Phonics
Puzzles, and printouts to accompany many of the stories. They
can be accessed from the Download Center link at the very
bottom of the home page.
http://www.starfall.com/
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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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