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

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February 2017 - Volume 15 Number 2
 
 
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"Wáa sá iyatee?"
The Tlingit Greeting
How are you?
 
 

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Aurora Borealis, Northern Lights - Photo by Thomas Koidhis

 
 
"Powamuya"
The Cleansing Moon
Hopi
 
 
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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
SaNoah S. LaRocque

SaNoah S. LaRocque '19 is a traveler. Before arriving at Harvard last fall, she had attended 13 different schools and lived in towns, cities, and Native-American reservations across the United States. When I ask why, she jokes: "My mom was always a bit of a rebel, you could say."

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Our Featured Artist: Honoring Students
Morgan (The Z.Y.G.) Peters II An Amazing Tribal Talent

The talents of one tribal youth, Morgan (The Z.Y.G.) Peters II, moved his 8th grade teacher to write and post the following essay as a spotlight on the Mashpee Public School website. Linked below is a copy of the article.

 
Tuba City High School Exceeds Most Arizona High Schools In Math

Tuba City High School students exceeded expectations, scoring 50 percent higher than the state passing rate for the latest Arizona State mathematics testing under the nurturing guidance of two math teachers from the high school.

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Our Featured Story: First Person History:
The First Humans Arrived In North America A Lot Earlier Than Believed

The earliest settlement date of North America, until now estimated at 14,000 years Before Present (BP) according to the earliest dated archaeological sites, is now estimated at 24,000 BP, at the height of the last ice age or Last Glacial Maximum.

 

History of the
Ottawa and Chippewa Indians
of Michigan

Chapter Eleven
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News and Views Banner
Education News Education News
Hopi High Students Get Pointers From Cronkite School Of Journalism

After attending Tribal Nations Day, five Hopi High media students went to Arizona State Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication where they learned about digital, print, broadcast and photography programs by working with ASU students.

Hopi High video student Greta Quotskuyva said she received tips that will help her in the future.

 
Yurok Tribe, CR Partner To Bring New Classes To Klamath

For the first time, College of the Redwoods is offering classes in the Del Norte County town of Klamath after forming a partnership with the Yurok Tribe over the last several months.

Yurok Tribe Education Department Director Jim McQuillen said the college will now offer an early childhood education course as well as courses on career and college foundations, Native American studies, basic English and a GED course.

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Education News Education News
Medical School Grant Makes College Transition Easier For Native American High School Students

A University of South Dakota's Sanford School of Medicine program, which was created to encourage Native Americans to pursue higher education and careers in the healthcare sector, is seeing success so far in its first year.

The Native American Healthcare Scholars Program (NAHSP) provides mentoring and assistance to students as they work their way toward and through a medical education.

 
"Reading Fun Night" Impacting Osage County Youth

Debra Atterberry, a former educator, sat down to read a book to a small group of children Monday night in Barnsdall, Okla. The Osage Nation in collaboration with the national non-profit organization, Reach Out Read, sponsored the reading time. The purpose of the program is to educate parents about the importance of reading, talking and singing to their children. Each school district in Osage County is scheduled to have a Reading Fun Night sponsored by the Osage Nation at or near their school at least once during this school year.

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Honoring Students Honoring Students
Local Paiute Youth Performs At Governor's Speech

One Moapa youth proudly brought the heritage and culture of the southern Paiutes to the Nevada State Capitol last week. Sierra Reel, 17, was asked to perform a special song at a program leading up to the State of the State address by Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval on Sunday, January 15 in Carson City.

 
Wildcat Takes Home Tulsa Battle Of The Belt

Eight-year-old Vann Wildcat has sports in his blood. He plays baseball in the summer, football in the fall, and wrestles in the winter. He is a natural athlete and tries his best at whatever sport he is playing.

Wildcat is a youth wrestler for the Pawhuska Elks Lodge wrestling team coached by Bruce Cass and his father, Beaushee Wildcat.

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Education News Education News
Native Learning Center Moves Into Future With Facility Upgrades

When Tribal citizens attend the first homeownership training classes of the New Year on Feb. 24-25 at Native Learning Center (NLC) in Hollywood, they might believe that the center has a new home of its own.

The two-level facility, supported by the Tribe and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Office of Native American Programs, recently wrapped up a $2.1 million HUD-funded makeover.

 
Vanderbilt Student Writes Anti-Smoking Book For Native Children

Logan Brown, a junior majoring in business at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, has written "Denali Dreams," a book that promotes a positive anti-smoking message geared toward Native children, reports the Lawrence Journal-World.

Denali, the book's title character, is an Alaska Native elementary student who draws inspiration from the mountain after which she was named—a name that means "the high one" or "the great one" in Koyukon Athabascan—to work hard as a student and soccer player. Denali keeps her goals in mind and resists her friend's offer to share a cigarette while visualizing the damage it would do to her lungs.

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Living Traditions Education News
One Man's Passion Becomes Osage Nation Museum Treasure

Assistant Principal Chief Raymond Red Corn comes from a family of collectors. His mother and father both enjoyed collecting. His father collected old bottles and books, and many covered the history of the Osage. His mother was a collector of Osage dishes and cooking tools and many remember that if she was at a local auction and she had her mind set on something, she was going home with it.

 
Ahfachkee Kids Till Land, Dig Into Roots

Students from Ahfachkee School culture classes are digging so deep into their roots that they can almost taste it – almost.

On a recent Wednesday afternoon inside the perimeter of a Seminole camp at Billie Swamp Safari, ninth-grader Zoey Puente tilled lines of edible aloe plants while classmates raked dirt around fledgling vegetables in a garden about a dozen rows deep.

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Living Traditions Living Traditions
Milkweed Is Delicacy For Monarchs, Tribal Members Alike

The Citizen Potawatomi Nation, along with the monarch habitat rebuilding initiatives, is working with six other Oklahoma-based Native American tribes, the Euchee Butterfly Farm and the University of Kansas’ Monarch Watch to help restore the monarch population. CPN members and employees have learned that milkweed is a very important plant to monarch butterflies. The plant, native to many areas in the tribe’s jurisdiction in Pottawatomie County, it is the only plant that monarch caterpillars can eat, so it is typically where they lay eggs.

 
Big Splash Opening For
New Aquatic Centre In
Nunavut Capital

"We're here!" said a little girl as she climbed the steps of Iqaluit's brand new aquatic centre in a remark that seemed both excited and relieved that the wait was finally over.

Indeed, after four years without a pool in Nunavut's capital, many in Iqaluit can collectively celebrate the end of a sometimes agonizing countdown to the big day.

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Living Traditions   Healthy Living
Hundreds Turn Out For Celebration Of Bears Ears National Monument

"This is what we all did," Begaye went on to say, "This is what working together is all about. We are a powerful voice."

Elected leaders from the five Tribes of the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition were met by cheers from a diverse audience of Native and non-Native people of all ages, who traveled through the first snow of the new year to celebrate the historic designation of Bears Ears National Monument.

 
"Traditional Is Healthy," A Rekindling 7 Generations Program Update

For the month of November, Rekindling 7 Generations (R7G) youth celebrated Native American Heritage Month with several events centered around the theme, "Traditional is Healthy." Rekindling 7 Generations partnered with the Etem Omvlkusen UNITY Council (EOUC) to host an NB3FIT Day event. NB3FIT Day is a national event led by the Notah Begay III Foundation. Their goal was to engage 10,000 Native youth in physical activity for a minimum of one hour on one day throughout the country. With 115 registered events across the United States, the Notah Begay III Foundation was able to reach their goal!

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Living Traditions   Healthy Living
Rare Cape Dorset Textiles Find Their Way To Trendy Toronto Hotel

When art curator Mia Nielsen visited Dorset Fine Arts' Toronto office for the first time, she describes being "blown away" by what she saw.

"It was very urgent and real and a window into a culture I hadn't seen before," Nielsen said of the pieces she saw, all produced at the West Baffin Eskimo Co-operative's Kinngait Studio in Cape Dorset.
 

Entomologist Fashioned Army Career Protecting Troops From Disease

The 2017 Chickasaw Nation calendar features 12 Chickasaw veterans who served during World War II and the Korean War. This month, 79-year-old Korean War veteran U.S. Army Colonel Gene Thompson (ret.), of Ada, Okla., is profiled. Col. Thompson served for over 20 years, specializing in an area of service that is rarely recognized, but vital to every soldier's survival - entomology.
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Living Traditions   Healthy Living
Eagle Update

The holiday season always seems to be hectic, and this season the aviary was no exception. November is National American Indian Heritage Month and with so many relatives coming in to visit their families over the holidays, we had a surge in calls for appointments to visit the aviary and our calendars filled up quickly. With all the extra hustle and bustle, we completely missed the deadline for December’s paper. But there has been much to share when it comes to Wadasé Zhabwé.
Our last article ended as Wadasé left September 20 after being here for eight days. Until that visit she had only been at the aviary seven days since the beginning of 2016. We were thrilled to see her but when she left we couldn’t help but wonder if there would be eight months before her next visit. However, we weren’t left wondering that for too long.
 
USDA, Cheyenne And Arapaho Tribes Restoring Grazing Land

The Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes are teaming up with the U.S. Department of Agriculture on a research and demonstration project to help restore grazing land.

Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes Gov. Eddie Hamilton signed an agreement Tuesday with the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service for the two-year soil health project, The Journal Record (http://bit.ly/2kjze5f ) reports. Hamilton says the project will help re-establish the tribes' relationship with state agricultural departments.
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Living Traditions   Healthy Living
Standingwater Passes On Archery Knowledge

Since he was 8 years old, Cherokee Nation citizen Dave Standingwater has had an interest in archery and been fascinated by the flight of the arrow.

Growing up in the Snake Creek Community near Locust Grove, Standingwater learned about hunting from his grandmother, Maggie Whitekiller Standingwater.

 
Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Donate $2,500 To Akwesasne Veteran's Memorial Fund

The Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe announced today the volunteer committee of the Akwesasne Veteran's Memorial Monument Fund (AVMMF) received a $2,500 grant from the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC) to purchase flag poles, flag pole bases and benches.

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Living Traditions   Living Traditions
OKC Thunder Mascot 'Rumble' Represents During Native American Night

It was Native American Heritage Night at the Oklahoma City Thunder game November 16 when the Thunder hosted the Houston Rockets. The highlight of the evening was the beloved bison mascot 'Rumble.' His name became a roar when he came out sporting a traditional Native American ribbon shirt as part of the month long observance of Native American Heritage Month. Chris Smith (Kiowa/Creek) who works for the Fox Sport Oklahoma broadcast crew kicked off some social media chatter about what Rumble should do or wear out of respect for his Native American friends.

 
Before Stanford: The Muwekma Ohlone People

It was spring of 1922. Just west of where Oak Creek is today, Stanford student Bruce Seymour '24 uncovered a human skull. The human being who had inhabited these bones was male, Native American and over 4,000 years old.

At least 5,000 years before Spanish soldiers first set foot on California soil, the ancestors of the present-day Muwekma Ohlone tribe lived, fished and buried their dead on the land that was to become Stanford University.

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Living Traditions   Living Traditions
Ancient Earthworks Society Of Wisconsin Surveys Newly-Dscovered Group Of Effigy Mounds

To receive full protection under the law, effigy mounds in Wisconsin must be cataloged by the State Historical Society. If they are left uncatalogued, the mounds remain subject to disturbance at the hands of commercial development. So in the hopes of getting the State Historical Society to catalog the site, the Ancient Earthworks Society of Wisconsin (AES) surveyed a recently discovered mound group near Nekoosa late last summer and throughout the fall.
 
Tara Houska
Discusses The R-Word And Historical Trauma

Near the end of the year, the production team for Dodging Bullets was given the opportunity to sit down with Tara Houska, Anishinaabe and a member of Couchiching First Nation, is an attorney from Washington D.C. and founding member of Not Your Mascots. Being from a Native American heritage, Houska was an excellent source of information and credibility behind the debate over the use of the Washington Redskins name and mascot. She was able to concisely and passionately explain the harms that have come from the use of this particular mascot, and helped paint a vivid portrait of how this mascot does not honor Native American culture, rather how it is damaged it.
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About This Issue's Greeting - "Wáa sá iyatee?"
"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."
Nature's Beauty:
Aurora Borealis
 
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Favorite Web sites
 
A Story To Share:
Coyote Rides A Star
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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 - 2017 of Vicki Williams Barry and Paul Barry.
 

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