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Canku
Ota
(Many Paths) An Online Newsletter Celebrating Native America |
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May
2016 - Volume 14 Number 5
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"Wáa
sá iyatee?"
The Tlingit Greeting How are you? |
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![]() Pasque Flower (>Pulsatilla hirsutissima) |
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"Hotehimini
kiishthwa"
Strawberry Moon Shawnee |
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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
JOE Medicine Cr0w >Joe Medicine Crow, A War Chief, Historian And The Last Link To The Battle Of Little Big Horn, Dies At 102 |
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Our Featured Story: | Honoring | |
Medicine
Crow's Legacy Lives On In More Than His Name
When Joseph Medicine Crow wrote the important book, "From the Heart of The Crow Country: The Crow Indians' Own Stories," he lamented, "the traditional historians and storytellers are all gone now and I must work with their children and grandchildren, who have been exposed to their views and recitals of the old stories." He, of course, did not count himself among the traditional historians and storytellers then. But, he was, and now he's gone. |
President
Obama's Statement On The Passing Of Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow
In 2009, President Barack Obama presented Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor bestowed on any individual in the United States. Yesterday, Dr. Medicine Crow walked on at the age of 102. On Monday, April 4, the White House released President Obama's statement on the passing of Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow. |
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Honoring Students: | First Person History: | |
A
'Sliver' Of Hope
Deep within the genuine strengths of each individual, there often lies a shattered image of security, value, and hope. In the confines of every American Indian reservation, thousands of native males and females have felt that feeling of isolation after being diminished to the burdens of violence, domestic, emotional, and sexual abuse. A cry for help is sought in an attempt of desperation and rescue, but the biggest problems revolve around the ignorance of the subject matter, as well as native victims who choose not to confess about their own dilemmas. |
How
Linguists Are Pulling Apart the Bering Strait Theory
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Living Traditions | Living Traditions | |
Strengthening
Identity: The Cradleboard Project Instills History And Tradition
When Gavino Limon was 14 months-old, he began his professional career as a champion Grass Dancer, a mere five months after he began walking. Limon is now six years-old and continues his love for dancing as a member of the world famous Native Pride Dance Troop. His parents, Douglas and Rachel Limon believe that having him in a cradleboard during his infancy had a tremendous influence on his advanced large motor skills |
The
Science Behind Smudging: What Really Happens When We Burn Sage
The practice of smudging dates back to prehistoric times, and is still very much in use today worldwide for cleansing everything from dwellings to human spirits. However recent research has shed light on the popularity of this activity, revealing that burning certain plant matter actually clears harmful bacteria. |
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Cultural Learning | Cultural Learning | |
Why You Probably Shouldn't Say 'Eskimo' Confused about the word Eskimo? It's a commonly used term referring to the native
peoples of Alaska and other Arctic regions, including Siberia, Canada
and Greenland. It comes from a Central Algonquian language called Ojibwe,
which people still speak around the Great Lakes region on both sides
of the U.S.-Canadian border. But the word has a controversial history.
(Editor's note: And that's why it's not used in the stories on Greenland
that NPR has posted this week.)
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Native
American Mascot Commission A Model For Nation
Members of a commission that studied Native American mascots in schools on Monday reported success, blazing the way for a national effort. Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, last year announced the commission, which was charged with studying how communities can respect the culture of Native Americans while also maintaining traditions. |
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Preserving Language | Living Traditions | |
81-Year-Old
Native Woman Creates Dictionary Of Her Tribe's Language
At 81 years old, the great-grandmother is one of only 200 Wukchumni left living in the San Joaquin Valley of California and has taken it upon herself to revive the language. The process has taken seven years and required Wilcox to learn to use a computer. "I'm just a pecker, one word at a time," she said. "When I had all these words together, I thought it would be a good idea to try to make a dictionary." |
Native
Womens Sinew Art Exhibit Defies Stereotypes
1992 marked the quincentennial of Columbuss ruinous landfall. As state-sponsored anniversaries go, National pride and patriotic excitement was on a high that year. But, so was the critical voice. Natives did what theyve done since 1492 and resisted triumphant expressions of colonization. Curators and some artists looked to frame many exhibitions with meaning derived from a critical, Post-Colonial context. |
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Our History | Our History | |
The
Ancestors Of The Inupiat Were Technological Pioneers
About 1,000 years ago, Norse explorer Leif Ericson bumped into the New World at Newfoundland. The old world was filling up, with 300,000 people living in the Roman capital of Constantinople. At the same time, up here in Alaska, the ancestors of today's coastal Alaska Natives were quietly having one of the more successful runs in human history. |
Bowlegs
Town History, Artifacts Unearthed
Not far from the Suwannee River, historic Bowlegs Town rests almost like a whisper within a wide vista of North Florida high ground. The town is flanked by coastal mangroves and grassy plains with fingerlike waterways that slither west into the Gulf of Mexico and thick oak hammocks that shadow the Dixie County outback to the east. |
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Legends | Legends | |
A Dakota Creation Story There are several Dakota creation stories.There is a creation story that says the Dakota came into existence about the lakes at the head of the Rum River (near Mille Lacs Lake). Another related creation story says that after a flood some of the people entered into Mille Lacs Lake and lived underwater, and later emerged from the sacred lake as human beings into this world. The wisest of teachings came from the old white haired woman in the lakes, she was the mother of a sacred lake people.
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Ogima Kechewaubishashe Great Marten A Chippewa Legend |
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Legends | Legends | |
The Legend of Devil's Tower The Teton Lakota were great travelers, their journeys covering much of North America. They knew the location of salt deposits. They knew where to find pigments for their paints. They made journeys to the northern woods to gather the sweet juices of the maple tree. They lived by the hunt, so they followed the grazing herds of buffalo, and from early springtime to autumn they gathered fruit and edible vegetation. Thus, it is told, one time a caravan of Teton Lakota was slowly moving toward the Black Hills to harvest the many varieties of fruit abounding there. Such journeys were always leisurely, well-ordered and pleasurable. |
Mato
Tipila
Long ago, two young boys found themselves lost on the great prairie. They had played together one afternoon and had wandered far out of the village. Then they had shot their bows still farther out into the sagebrush. Then they had heard a small animal make a noise and had gone to investigate. They had come to a stream with many colorful pebbles and followed that for a while. They had come to a hill and wanted to see what was on the other side. On the other side they saw a herd of antelope and, of course, had to track them for a while. When they got hungry and thought it was time to go home, the two boys found that they didn't know where they were. |
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About
This Issue's Greeting - "Wáa
sá iyatee?"
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"How
are you?" is "Wáa sá iyatee?" in Tlingit. That is pronounced similar to
"wah sah ee-yah-te." But that is not generally used as a greeting. Modern
Tlingit people sometimes greet each other with "Yak'éi yagiyee" which
literally means "good day."
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Nature's
Beauty:
Pasque Flower |
This
Issue's
Favorite Web sites |
A
Story To Share:
The Origin Of The Rainbow |
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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.
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Canku Ota is a copyright © 2000
- 2016 of Vicki Williams Barry and Paul Barry.
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The "Canku Ota - A Newsletter
Celebrating Native America" web site and its design is the
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Copyright © 1999-
2016 of Paul C. Barry.
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All Rights Reserved.
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