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

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February 2013 - Volume 11 Number 2
 
 
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"Yá’át’ééh"
The Navajo (Dine) Greeting
Hello. How are you?
 
 


Osprey (pandion haliaetus)

 
 
"Cannapopa Wi"
Moon of Popping Trees
Lakota
 
 
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"You are the messengers of time. You are the prophets of the time. You carry forth the Word through your own behavior. If you are into the world of materialism and that is your message, then that is the world you portray…."
~Little Crow~
 
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We Salute
Billy Mills

Billy Mills, who rocketed to the world stage when he won a gold medal in the 1964 Olympics, will be a medal winner again this week when he meets with President Barack Obama.

On Friday, February 15, the Pine Ridge native will be in Washington, D.C., to receive the Presidential Citizens Medal, the nation’s second highest civilian award.

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Our Featured Artist: Giving Back
Renowned Indian Artist
George Flett dies at 66

Nationally recognized artist and Spokane Tribe member George Flett died Wednesday afternoon (January 30, 2013) at the age of 66.

Flett was skilled in sculpture, beadworking and silversmithing, but was perhaps best known for his ledger art.

Ledger painting is a traditional American Indian art form dating to the mid-1800s when Plains Indians drew pictographic representations of heroic deeds and sacred visions on pages torn from U.S. Army ledger books.

 
Simply Outdoor Experiences

My name is Joanne Zacharias and I am a member of the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community. I volunteer my time for an amazing nonprofit Organization called Simply Outdoor Experiences (SOE). They are based out of St. Cloud, MN but travel all over the state of Minnesota to do their events.

The concept for SOE started in 2007 because of Woody Sankey’s passion for sharing the great outdoors with others. Woody is the Executive Director and I am a Pro-Staff Member /Event Coordinator for Simply Outdoor Experiences. SOE is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization which creates opportunities for families, veterans, and people with special needs.

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Our Featured Story: Northwestern Wisconsin First Person History:
38: The Dakota-U.S. War

In 1862 Mankato, Minnesota was the sight of the largest mass execution in American history. What followed was an exile of the Dakota people from their ancestral tribal lands; an exile that is still legislatively in force today. This new play explores the events leading up to the Dakota-U.S. War – invasions of indigenous sacred lands, cultural genocide, and starvation – through the court trials of the 38 Dakota warriors who were prosecuted as war criminals and executed by the United States government. Drawing on articles, letters, and diaries, this provocative new play personifies the famous, infamous, and nameless people who were caught up in this tragic moment in our country’s history. It is a story that has been waiting one hundred fifty years to be told.

 

Place of Lac du Flambeau in Early Wisconsin History

Green Bay and Chequamegon Bay region have long been associated in popular knowledge with the earliest white settlement in Wisconsin, due to the attention they have received from the writers for the magazines and newspapers, and from organizations interested in marketing of historical site and the commemoration of historic events. But at Lac du Flambeau, inland northern Wisconsin also had a community, which in relations to the fur trade of more than a century ago has historic and romantic interest not inferior to its splendid natural attractions.

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Education News Education News
OLC Teacher Maps Out Lakota Culture, Past, Present, and Future

Oglala Lakota College teacher Jim Sanovia has proven that there is a lot more to maps than finding your way from Point A to Point B. Sanovia has taken the concept of mapping and used it to identify abandoned uranium mines, sacred sites and even areas of creation stories such as the red racetrack, which really does circle the Black Hills, and the Salamander and Turtle.

"We always felt like we were already scientists," Sanovia said with obvious excitement about his finds. "Now this stuff helps us explain things, like why the wind blows and like oh, there is the race track, we have these satellite images!"

 
A day with Jacoby

The plush manicured grounds inside the Salt River Fields at Talking Stick in Scottsdale, Ariz., was overrun with Native American kids between the ages of 8 to 16 on Saturday.

They took part in the Second Annual N7 Jacoby Ellsbury Baseball Camp on the same complex that is used by the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Colorado Rockies during the spring training session in Major League Baseball.

Ellsbury, who is a registered member of the Colorado River Indian Tribes and centerfielder for the Boston Red Sox, conducted his baseball camp to the tune of 130-plus kids, which included a few athletes from the Navajo reservation.

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Education News Education News
Arkansas School of Law launches 'Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative'

The University of Arkansas School of Law scheduled to launch the "Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative" on Jan. 15, making it the nation’s first law school initiative focusing on tribal food systems, agriculture and community sustainability.

The initiative will draw on the nationally recognized expertise of Janie Simms Hipp, who leaves her post as the senior adviser for tribal relations to Thomas Vilsack, secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and on that of Cherokee Nation citizen Stacy Leeds, currently the only Native American law school dean in the country. Hipp will serve as director of the initiative and as visiting professor of law.

 
"BDOTE MEMORY MAP"

In the Dakota language bdote is generally defined as a place where two bodies of water meet. One particular site, at the junction of the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers in the middle of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, is sacred to the Dakota people, since for them it is the center of the world – the place where, according to some, Dakota life began.

A unique educational tool intended for all ages, but especially targeted toward educators and students, the Bdote Memory Map is a unique partnership between the Minnesota Humanities Center and Allies: media/art, a Dakota-owned and award-winning private company located in Minneapolis that specializes in media art production and research and writing services

 

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Honoring Students Giving Back
For One Chickasaw Doctor, to Serve Her Native American Community is a Calling

A state of the art medical facility, clinics, pharmacies, wellness centers and nutrition training are just some of the ways the Chickasaw Nation is addressing the health care needs of its citizens. But these opportunities also provide inspiration for Native Americans to pursue an education in medicine and related fields. For one Chickasaw doctor, returning to serve Native Americans is a calling she says is important for her and for the Native community.

 
Kansas State Representative Ponka-We Victors Is a Political Warrior

Wichita Democrat Ponka-We Victors was elected to the Kansas House of Representatives in 2010 in the face of a wave of Republican victories that swept across the state. As a young, first-term legislator, Victors, the first American Indian woman elected to the Kansas legislature, garnered state headlines in 2012 when she urged colleagues to reject proposals for strict immigration-enforcement laws during a hearing of the House Federal and State Affairs committee. “Personally,” said Victors, “my people have been fighting immigration since 1492. It doesn’t get any better.”

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Living Traditions Living Traditions
Using Art to Save Lives

Yellow dots circle about the woman, framing her against a murky background. Her arms rest idly by her sides as she gazes askance. The portrait "Grandmother," by artist Hulleah Tsinhnahjinnie (a member of the Seminole, Muscogee, and Diné tribes), is one of many pieces created by well-known Native American artists featured on public health posters throughout the nation.

 
Cherokee Artist honored by 'Women in Tyler' Organization

Award-winning Cherokee beadwork artist Martha Berry is one of eight women being honored by the "Women in Tyler" organization.

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Living Traditions Living Traditions
Beaded Indian Vest Donated to Goodwill is a Treasure

A Native American vest donated to Goodwill was passed on by sharp-eyed staff to Seattle’s Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, where it is now in the museum’s permanent collection.

You just never know what you might find at your local Goodwill store: something old, something new — and sometimes, treasures worthy of a museum collection.

 
Eight Cherokees to be in Hominy Indians Documentary

Eight Cherokee Nation citizens will portray members of the Hominy Indians football team from the 1920s in the documentary “Playground of the Native Son,” which was expected to begin filming in December.

All actors portraying football players held their first meeting and practice on Dec. 2 at Veteran’s Park.

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Preserving Language Preserving Language

Revival of Nearly Extinct Yurok Language is a Success Story

"Pa'-ah," she tells her Eureka High School class, gesturing at a bottle of water. She whips around and doodles a crooked little fish on the blackboard, hinting at the dip she's prepared with "ney-puy" — salmon, key to the diet of California's largest Native American tribe.

For thousands of years before Western settlers arrived, the Yurok thrived in dozens of villages along the Klamath River. By the 1990s, however, academics had predicted their language soon would be extinct. As elders passed away, the number of native speakers dropped to six.
 
Sleeping Language Gets Help From Rosetta Stone

The Chitimacha tribe on Louisiana's coast endured for century after century — surviving war, settlement and assimilation. Its language did not. The native tongue of the Chitimacha people disappeared, seemingly forever, when its last two fluent speakers died in 1934 and in 1940. One generation, then another, grew up not knowing the words of their ancestors, the rich language of the bayous of the Mississippi Delta. But now, with a curious mix of historical, scholarly and technological effort, the language is being reborn. Rosetta Stone Inc., a global language-learning software company, has agreed to subsidize software development in the tribal tongue as part of its Endangered Language Program.
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Preserving Language   A Healthy Recipe
Sequoyah's Numeric System Makes Comeback

A visit by linguist Michael Everson of Dublin, Ireland, in September set in motion an effort to revisit and study Cherokee linguist Sequoyah's numeric system.

During his visit, Everson met with Cherokee linguists and other language specialists to discuss making a font for Sequoyah's numeric system for printing and computers, Cherokee Nation Translation Specialist John Ross said.

 
Anasazi Vegetarian Chili

Last fall, Paul and I went on a low-fat, low-sodium, reduced calorie diet. The results have been amazing. One of the best is that Paul is no longer taking two of his blood pressure medicines!! So, from now on, I'll be sharing some of our favorite "new" recipes with you. I'll also give you the nutritional values.

This recipe is Gluten Free, High Fiber, Lactose Free, Low Fat, Soy Free, Vegan, Vegetarian.

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About This Issue's Greeting - "Yá’át’ééh"
 
Yá’át’ééh
Literally: it is good (alternatively: it is well).
This is considered the Navajo ‘hello,’ so it can be used to greet people.
It can also be used with ‘shil’ as in ‘shil yá’át’ééh’ to mean ‘I like it.’
Nature's Beauty: Osprey

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A Story To Share:
Fish Hawk and Sun's Daughter

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Opportunities
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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 - 2013 of Vicki Williams Barry and Paul Barry.
 

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