Book title: The Native American Mascot Controversy: A Handbook

Editor: C. Richard King

Book Description:
Sports mascots have been a tradition for decades. Along with the usual lions and tigers, many schools are represented by Native American images. Once considered a benign practice, numerous studies have proved just the opposite: that the use of Native American mascots in educational institutions has perpetuated a shameful history of racial insensitivity. The Native American Mascot Controversy provides an overview of the issues that have been associated with this topic for the past 40 years.

The book provides a comprehensive and critical account of the issues surrounding the controversy, explicating the importance of anti-Indian racism in education and how it might be challenged. A collection of important primary documents and an extensive list of resources for further study are also included. Expounding the dangers and damages associated with their continued use, The Native American Mascot Controversy is a useful guide for anyone with an interest in race relations.

Source: Amazon

Shacknasty Jim (c1851 – 1881) was a Modoc warrior and the leader of the Hot Creek band. His nickname is a corruption of a Modoc name meaning Left-handed Man. His brothers, Jake and Shacknasty Frank, fought under him during the Modoc War. After the plot to assassinate the peace commissioners was carried out, Shacknasty surrendered, and his band went onto the Quapaw Agency Lands. Shacknasty then served as a scout who helped the United States Cavalry hunt down the remaining Modoc warriors.

Shacknasty Jim died of tuberculosis at the Quapaw Agency.

His great-granddaughter is the author Cheewa James.

Source: wikipedia

Book title: American Indian Medicine (Civilization of the American Indian Series)

Author: Virgil J. Vogel

Book Description:
The purpose of this book, says the author, is to show the effect of Indian medicinal practices on white civilization. Actually it achieves far more. It discusses Indian theories of disease and methods of combating disease and even goes into the question of which diseases were indigenous and which were brought to the Indian by the white man. It also lists Indian drugs that have won acceptance in the Pharmacopeia of the United States and the National Formulary.

The influence of American Indian healing arts on the medicine and healing and pharmacology of the white man was considerable. For example, such drugs as insulin and penicillin were anticipated in rudimentary form by the aborigines. Coca leaves were used as narcotics by Peruvian Indians hundreds of years before Carl Koller first used cocaine as a local anesthetic in 1884. All together, about 170 medicines, mostly botanical, were contributed to the official compendia by Indians north of the Rio Grande, about 50 more coming from natives of the Latin-American and Caribbean regions.

Impressions and attitudes of early explorers, settlers, physicians, botanists, and others regarding Indian curative practices are reported by geographical regions, with British, French, and Spanish colonies and the young United States separately treated.

Indian theories of disease—sorcery, taboo violation, spirit intrusion, soul loss, unfulfilled dreams and desires, and so on -and shamanistic practices used to combat them are described. Methods of treating all kinds of injuries-from fractures to snakebite-and even surgery are included. The influence of Indian healing lore upon folk or domestic medicine, as well as on the “Indian doctors” and patent medicines, are discussed. For the convenience of the reader, an index of botanical names is provided, together with a wide variety of illustrations. The disproportionate attention that has been given to the superstitious and unscientific features of aboriginal medicine has tended to obscure its real contributions to American civilization.

Source: Amazon

Native American Stories – Firebird

“The Native American Story of the Firebird
The Red Indian Fairy Book by Frances Jenkins Olcott
A Whullemooch Story”

Very long ago the Indians of Puget Sound had no fire. They had heard of fire but they had never seen it. They ate all their food raw, and on cold days sat shivering and unhappy. And they had no pleasant lodge fire to gather around on wet nights.

It happened one day, while the people were sitting on the grass eating raw meat, that a beautiful bird suddenly flew above their heads. It had shining feathers, and bright eyes like jewels, and its long, waving tail gave out rays like the Sun. It hovered over the heads of the people, and flew in circles around and around.

“Pretty Bird, what do you want?” said the people.

“I come,” replied the bird, “from a beautiful country far away. I am the Firebird, and I bring you the blessing of heat. The rays you see shining about my tail are tongues of flame.”

“Oh, pretty Bird,” cried the people, “give us the fire, so that we may cook our food and warm ourselves!”

“If you wish the fire,” said the bird, “you must earn it. I cannot give it to any one who has done a bad deed or a mean action. To-day let each of you get ready some pitch pine. To-morrow I will return, and then you shall see who will get the fire.” So saying, the bird flew away.

The next day it returned. “Have you the pitch pine ready?” asked the bird.

“Yes! yes!” said all the people.

“Very well,” said the bird. “Here I go! Catch me if you can. Whoever puts some pitch pine on my tail shall get the fire to warm himself by, and cook his meals on, and to be a blessing to the Children of Puget Sound forever.”

Then away flew the bird close to the ground. And away went all the people running after it, braves and squaws, youths and maidens, boys and girls, and little children. Helter-skelter they ran laughing and shouting. Some tripped on stones, others caught in bushes and scratched themselves on thorns, and others fell into water-holes. By and by some of the people went back angrily to their lodges, but the rest kept up the chase.

But no one could catch the Firebird. When one man tried to grasp its tail, the bird cried out, “You are too selfish, you cannot have the fire.” And to another man it cried, “You are a thief,” and to still another, “You tell lies.”

At last the bird flew toward a lodge. In the door was a poor woman taking care of a sick old man.

“Pretty Bird! Pretty Bird!” called she. “I cannot follow you now. Will you not come here and give me your fire?”

“What good have you done?” asked the bird.

“I have done no good,” answered the woman sadly. “I have had no time for that. I must stay here and care for my sick father, and look after my little children.”

“Kind woman,” said the Firebird, “you do your duty, so you are doing good. Bring some wood and put it on my tail, and take the fire.”

The woman hastened joyfully to fetch some wood, and when she laid it on the Firebird’s tail, the flames blazed up. Then all the other women of the tribe brought wood and got fire from her, and ever after they were able to cook their meat and warm themselves.

As for the Firebird, it flew away and they never saw it again.

That is how the Indians of Puget Sound say they got fire.

Source: warpaths2peacepipes

Since 1999, Native American and Alaskan communities have been participating in NACA sponsored regional and national trainings to improve their response to the needs to children who have been victims of child sexual abuse. NACA’s work helps to inspire and support the development, growth, and maintenance of Children’s Advocacy Centers (CACs) and Multi-Disciplinary Teams (MDT) in Indian Country.

NACA was formed in April of 1999 and held its first formal meeting on September 26, 1999 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It received its non-exempt tax status is June, 2001 and shortly there after became a chapter of the National Children’s Alliance. It has a close partnership with National Indian Child Welfare Association. The Native American Children’s Alliance was formed in response to the need for tribal Child Advocacy Center development. Child Advocacy Centers (CACs) bring together a multi-disciplinary team (MDT) that includes prosecutors, law enforcement and child protection.

investigators, mental health and medical professionals, victim advocates and more to coordinate response and service to victims of child abuse. Many professionals did not believe it was possible to develop CAC’s in Indian Country given the challenges involved in multi-jurisdictional coordination, lack of sustainability of current child abuse program initiatives, facility–based programming, and lack of community resources to sponsor the “mainstream” funding model for CAC’s. NACA was formed to support existing tribal CAC programs and to promote the development of CAC’s and MDT’s in tribal communities.

NACA is committed to protecting Native children and eliminating children’s physical, sexual, psychological and spiritual abuse by providing awareness, training, building partnerships in a respectful way which honors tribal sovereignty, empowers communities, and develops tribal readiness for Seven Generations.

NACA was established to enhance the safety and well-being of all Native/Alaskan Native children and is well known for providing annual trainings to develop CACs for Indian Country. NACA can assess a community’s abilities to provide services regarding:

NACA has been expanding outreach to urban Indian populations and has developed Native-specific guides/materials to support development of CACs.

Source: nativechildalliance

Book title: The Girl Who Helped Thunder and Other Native American Folktales (Folktales of the World)

Author: James Bruchac

Adapter: Joseph Bruchac Ph.D.

Illustrator: Stefano Vitale

Book Description:
Welcome the second book in the Folktales of the World series! Engaging, inspirational, and above all entertaining, these legends come from Native American peoples across the U.S. Richly illustrated with original art, they capture a wide range of belief systems and wisdom from the Cherokee, Cheyenne, Hopi, Lenape, Maidu, Seminole, Seneca, and other tribes. The beautifully retold tales, all with informative introductions, range from creation myths to animal fables to stirring accounts of bravery and sacrifice. Find out how stories first came to be, and how the People came to the upper world. Meet Rabbit, the clever and irresistible Creek trickster. See how the buffalo saved the Lakota people, and why the Pawnee continue to do the Bear Dance to this very day.

Stefano Vitale’s art showcases a stunning array of animal figures, masks, totems, and Navajo-style rug patterns, all done in nature’s palette of brilliant turquoises, earth browns, shimmering sun-yellow, vivid fire-orange, and the deep blues of a dark night.

Source: Amazon

In 2008, the Sovereign Nation of the Coushatta Indiana Tribe of Louisiana was the first Native American tribe to establish a formal relationship with Israel, hosting an affirmation of friendship event with Israeli consular officials and issuing a proclamation that May 14 would be “Stakayoop Yanihta Yisrael” or “the day to honor Israel.”

The following year the tribe took a delegation to Israel which resulted in their first Israel-related venture, becoming the exclusive distributor of Aya Natural, an Israeli start-up skincare company based in the Druse community of Beit Jann in the Galilee. David Sickey, the head of the tribe, has made a number of visits here since as well to promote additional cooperative business activity.

In late 2009 Virginia Native American leader Chief Annie Richardson met with Minister of Infrastructure Uzi Landau and told him the American Indians support the State of Israel and its right to the land of Israel. In presenting Landau with a traditional Indian headdress at that time she said, “We believe that God has given you this land and we want you to fight for it.”

More recently, Navajo Nation President Ben Shelly and his wife Martha visited Israel to learn about issues from agriculture to tourism. On his arrival here on December 8 he said, “We set out on this mission to look at how Israel has advanced in growth in some of the same areas we face in the Navajo Nation.” The trip, funded by Navajo faith-based organizations with non-governmental ties, was designed to draw inspiration from Israeli methods in agri-tech, tourism, capital infrastructure and offering government services to rural areas, according to Shelly’s adviser, Deswood Tome.

But the criticism of Shelly’s visit and one by Indian literary diva Joy Harjo (who was scheduled to speak at Tel Aviv University) was anything but supporting of Israel. In truth there has been an upsurge of anti-Israel sentiment by a very small but very vocal contingent in “Indian country” within the past two weeks, most notably in opposition to both visits.

The response has included very negative, vitriolic letters to The Navajo Times against President Shelly’s visit and a similarly negative and vitriolic op-ed piece in Indian Country Today opposing Joy Harjo’s visit, sponsored by supporters of the BDS (boycott, divest, sanction) movement.

Janene Yazzie, CEO of Sixth World Solutions in Lupton, Arizona, writes in the Navajo Times: “It should not shock or surprise us that our Navajo Nation President Ben Shelly has taken an unexpected trip to visit Israel, a government that has committed itself to carrying out genocidal practices against its population of indigenous Palestinian peoples. To hear that our president believes the apartheid government of Israel has more to offer than the Diné people in his homeland fighting against his policies is hurtful and unbelievably ignorant. I stand in solidarity with the people of Palestine and those indigenous nations and non-indigenous peoples fighting against continued corporate, religious, and political exploitation.”

Or how about this piece by Dina Gilio- Whitaker in the largest circulation weekly, Indian Country Today: “This week Muscogee Creek scholar and literary diva Joy Harjo ignited a firestorm of controversy when she announced on Facebook that she was leaving for a trip to Israel where she was scheduled to perform on Monday, December 10 At Tel Aviv University.

The controversy came when friends and fans challenged her decision to go in light of the US Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (USACBI) and the Palestine Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI), as part of a larger boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement.

“Critics contend that her actions are equivalent to crossing a picket line and are tantamount to tacit support of the Israeli apartheid state. It is hard to know what Harjo is thinking and where her loyalties lie in the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. It is also hard to know how President Shelley would justify his alliance with Israel in light of its ongoing genocide and theft of Palestinian lands.

“The problem with someone as high profile as Joy Harjo collaborating with an institution like Tel Aviv University (which is built on top of an ethnically cleansed Palestinian village) is that it sends a message that she as a Native American represents all Native Americans in support of apartheid Israel’s domination of Palestinians. I, for one, don’t want to be associated with that.”

Dr. Harjo received so much vile commentary on her Facebook page that she considered shutting it down. However, she did take the opposition into account, writing both an eloquent response to her critics and taking an overnight visit to Ramallah. As a result, she now opposes the security fence.

Oftentimes when the subject turns to “the whole world is against us” people tell me that the core problem of maintaining such a perspective is that it often becomes an excuse for eschewing self-evaluation and introspection.

Yet when it comes to self-evaluation and introspection, there is probably no nation on earth that engages in these two activities more than Israel as these traits are ingrained in us with our mother’s milk. After all, most of us grew up being constantly evaluated by our parents, encouraged to achieve more, to do better, to be a mensch and to remember who we are and where we came from.

Internalizing those traits has made us question everything we do, both individually and communally, and is probably one of the major reasons this society is as dynamic as it is, in spite of the continuous threats to our survival. So while there is, of course, always a risk that thinking that the whole world is against us will cause us to act a bit irrationally, given the facts as we know them, who could blame us?

As far as American Indians are concerned, that nation certainly knows the risks of yielding land for peace. It has itself been discriminated against and confined to “reservations” to the eternal shame of both the United States and Canada, and, as such, they should be the last ones to accuse Israel of being an apartheid state. But then again, why let facts get in the way of emotions? To insure against that one also has to think.

The writer, a 29-year resident of Israel, is president of Atid-EDI Ltd., a Jerusalem-based economic development consulting firm and a former national president of the Association of Americans and Canadians in Israel.

Source: thejerusalemconnection

Book title: Three Strangers (Native american romance)

Author: Ann Graham

Book Description:
This is one of my favorite Ann Graham books. If you love drama,native american romance, comedy this book is for you—-By familyguy

Well Ann Graham has done it again. This book is about one of life’s challenges and fate. It is filled with hope, love and faith. Well written and really good—–By MichelleReyolds

Gina is in a world of trouble, as usual. She lives on the edge of danger as a professional thief with a solid reputation. As word spreads about her skills she has been receiving more and more jobs. Weary from one, Gina is ready to take a few days off and enjoy her latest companion. At twenty-five, Gina had an issue with commitment. None of the men she was with seemed to mind. She did not believe in love any more than she believed in family. Raised in the foster care system since she was two years old, there was no such thing as bedtime stories or kisses goodnight. She had been on her own since she was sixteen. She did whatever it took to survive and did not apologize. When she is requested to do a job for one of the most powerful criminals in the area Gina has no choice, the option to decline is not given. She is instructed to head to tiny Indian reservation called Celilo Village and steal an ancient mask that is believed to be hidden there. It is the last thing she wants to do, as she knows one mistake will mean she will suffer some dire consequences. When she arrives she receives aid from an unlikely source, a young man about her age who is part of a family who takes care of the Village. At first Gina thinks she has had a stroke of luck, but as he stirs sensations within her she never expected to feel, she wonders if she has stumbled into a nightmare.

Aiyana’s love for her heritage goes far beyond her decorative taste or her choice of dress. She feels as if the very land that Celilo Village, a Native American reservation, is built on, is asking her to protect it. At twenty-three Aiyana has spent most of her life on the reservation, though her family lives just outside of it. They offer help and support to the people that live within the village. Aiyana’s deep connection with tradition and her desire to honor her culture keeps her occupied day and night. What some might see as an obsession, Aiyana feels is her one true purpose. So when her brother invites a stranger to take a tour of the reservation, and on the same day she is given a haunting message to beware the hawk, she is feeling even more protective of the sacred place. She does not trust the woman her brother insists is only rough on the surface. She suspects that someone else has been sneaking on to the reservation as well. Aiyana feels as if she is the only one struggling to protect the people she loves so deeply. Everywhere she turns there are new mysteries blossoming, from her mother’s attempt to hide old photographs, to the presence of a man clad in black who appears on the reservation, and again within her dreams. For the first time she is feeling the awakening of the potential for falling in love. Aiyana knows that her instincts are trying to tell her something, will she be able to figure it out before it is too late? Great native american romance

Kai’s life has been a swirl of determination and mystery. She knew from the time she was a young child that she wanted to be a police detective. She was raised in a foster home that took care of her needs, but did not offer her much of a family life. No matter how much she tried to focus on her education and future, her mind was constantly drawn to the past. A small part of her knew that she was forgetting something very important. She was often haunted by the sounds of children crying, though at twenty-seven she was not a mother herself. She had achieved her dream of becoming a well respected police detective. She would often grab on to a case and not let go until she solved it. The Mystery continues….

Source: Amazon

Native American Stories – Coyote Proud

“The Native American Story of the Coyote Proud
The Red Indian Fairy Book by Frances Jenkins Olcott
A Pima Story”

In old days Coyote was bright green, and how he came to be the colour of dust, was this way

One day he was walking along looking for something to eat, and he came to a lake. And there he saw a little bird with ugly grey feathers. It was bathing in the lake, and when it came out on the bank, all its feathers fell off and left its skin bare.

After that, the little bird jumped into the lake again, and came out covered with beautiful bright blue feathers! It hopped about and sang

“This water is blue!

And blue I am too!”

“Little Bird,” cried Coyote, “you are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen! Tell me how you changed your ugly feathers for these bright blue ones.”

“I went into the lake four times in four days, and sang a magic song,” said the little bird, “and the fourth time, my feathers all fell off. Then I jumped in a fifth time, and these beautiful ones grew all over me.”

“Little Bird,” said Coyote, “teach me your song, for I also wish to be blue.”

So the bird taught Coyote its song, and he jumped into the lake and bathed four times in four days. The fourth time all his hair dropped off. Then he jumped in again, and his hair came back a beautiful bright blue.

Well! He was proud! And as he walked along he looked about on all sides to see if any one was admiring him. He even examined his shadow to see if it was blue. And of course he did not look where he was going, and suddenly he hit a stump, and rolled over into the dust.

He rolled and rolled, and when he got up he was all dust-coloured! And that is the reason why ever since that day all Coyotes have been the colour of dirt.

Source: warpaths2peacepipes

Native American clothing prior to the arrival of Europeans was different depending on the tribe and the climate where the tribe lived. However, there were some general similarities.

What materials did they use?

The primary material used by Native Americans in their clothing was made from animal hides. Generally they used the hides of the animals they hunted for food. Many tribes such as the Cherokee and Iroquois used deerskin. While the Plains Indians, who were bison hunters, used buffalo skin and the Inuit from Alaska used seal or caribou skin.

Some tribes learned how to make clothing from plants or weaving thread. These included the Navajo and Apache, who learned how to make woven blankets and tunics, and the Seminole of Florida.

How did they make the clothes?

All of their clothes were made by hand. The women would generally make the clothes. First they would tan the animal skin. Tanning is a process that would turn the animal skin into leather which would last a long time and not decompose. Then they would need to cut and sew the leather into a piece of clothing.

Decorations

Often times clothing would be decorated. The Native Americans would use feathers, animal fur such as ermine or rabbit, porcupine quills, and, after the Europeans arrived, glass beads to decorate their clothes.

What clothing did the men wear?

Most Native American men wore a breechcloth. This was just a piece of material that they tucked into a belt that would cover the front and back. In many areas, especially areas with warm climates, this was all the men wore. In cooler climates, and in the winter, the men would wear leggings to cover up and keep their legs warm. Many men went shirtless throughout much of the year, only wearing cloaks when it got very cold. The Plains Indian men were known for their elaborate and decorated war shirts.

What clothing did Native American women wear?

The Native American women generally wore skirts and leggings. Often they wore shirts or tunics as well. In some tribes, like the Cherokee and the Apache, the women wore longer buckskin dresses.

The Moccasin

Most Native Americans wore some kind of footwear. This was usually a shoe made of soft leather called a moccasin. In the cold northern areas like Alaska, they wore a thick boot called a mukluk.

Later Changes

When the Europeans arrived many of the American Indian tribes were forced into contact with each other. They began to see how others dressed and took the ideas that they liked. Soon many tribes began to dress more alike. Woven blankets, fringed buckskin tunics and leggings, and feather headdresses became popular among many tribes.

Fun Facts about Native American Clothing

Source: ducksters

Book title: The Wisdom of the Native American Indians

Author: Sankhya Shana

Book Description:
Native American Indian philosophy. This book looks at different legends, and ways of life of the Native American Indians. The author personally attended a ceremony with an Indian Chief, who told tales and prophecies, sitting by a lake, whilst in a circle smoking a peace-pipe.

The sacred connection between these people and the earth is looked at as the guiding reason for their way of life.

Source: Amazon

Native Americans lived in a wide variety of homes. Different tribes and peoples built different types of homes. What kinds of homes they lived in depended on the materials that they had available where they lived. It also depended on the kind of lifestyle that they lived as well as the environment.

Lifestyle

Some tribes were nomads. This meant that the entire village would travel from place to place. This was common for tribes living in the Great Plains where they hunted buffalo for food. The tribe would follow the large buffalo herds as they roamed the plains. These tribes built homes that were easy to move and build. They were called Teepees.

Other tribes lived in one place for a long time. This was because they had water and food nearby. These tribes built more permanent homes like the pueblo or longhouse.

Wigwam Home

Wigwams were homes built by the Algonquian tribes of American Indians living in the Northeast. They were built from trees and bark similar to the longhouse, but were much smaller and easier to construct.

Wigwams used poles from trees that would be bent and tied together to make a dome shaped home. The outside of the home would be covered with bark or other material that was available where the natives lived. The frames were not portable, like the teepee, but sometimes the coverings could be moved when the tribe moved.

Wigwams were relatively small homes that formed a circle around 15 feet wide. However, these homes still sometimes housed more than just one Native American family. It was a pretty tight squeeze, but probably helped keep them warm in the winter.

A home similar to the wigwam was the wikiup which was built by some tribes in the west.

Native American Hogan

The hogan was the home built by the Navajo people of the Southwest. They used wooden poles for the frame and then covered it in adobe, clay mixed with grass. It was generally built in a dome shape with the door facing the east toward the sunrise. There was also a hole in the roof for the smoke of the fire to escape.

Other Native American Homes

Fun Facts about Native American Homes

Source: ducksters

Book title: Native American Heritage

Author: Merwyn S. Garbarino, Robert F. Sasso

Book Description:
This well-respected volume provides readers with a broad overview of the diverse peoples known as Native Americans plus insights into the daily life of individual tribes. Part I, Prehistory, reflects the many new discoveries in dating that have occurred recently. Part II employs the construct of culture areas to facilitate an understanding of the relationship between culture and adaptation and also to aid in sorting out the diversity of American Indian cultures. Part III covers various culture traits, including technology, art, religion, and political systems. Part IV explores the interactions between Native Americans and non-natives and includes discussions of current issues and controversies as well as additional information on Canadian Indians. Native American Heritage, Third Edition, features a useful format, many photographs and illustrations, and up-to-date maps and charts.

Source: Amazon

Native American Stories – The Brother and Sister

“The Native American Story of the Brother and Sister
The Red Indian Fairy Book by Frances Jenkins Olcott
An Arapaho Story”

There were three streams all flowing east, and near them a tribe of Indians was camping. A brother and sister were playing at a distance from the camp, and a Chief passed by them. The children called him saucy names and he was very angry. Going to the camp he bade all the people pack up, and move to another camping-ground. Before moving away, the people took the two children who had been saucy to the Chief, and tied them each to a pole. They leaned the poles against some trees, and leaving the children to die, they took their goods, and went to another place.

Well, the poor children suffered hunger and thirst, and wept bitterly. At last an old Wolf, the Chief of all the Wolves, saw them, and he said to himself, “How pitiful these children are!” Then he cried out to the pack, “Come, all ye Wolves, from all directions!”

In a minute Wolves and Coyotes came running from every part of the Earth, and the old Wolf said to them:—

“I pity these children. Seize the poles and lower them slowly. Then chew off the ropes and free the children.”

The Wolves and the Coyotes did as he told them to do, and loosed the children. But when the boy and girl saw all the wild animals running about them, they were terribly frightened, for they thought that they would surely be eaten. But the old Wolf said:—

“Do not be afraid! Stay with us, and we will care for you.” After that he called four big Wolves from the pack, and said: “You, Clouded Wolf, who are above all others in daring deeds, provide food for this boy and girl. White Wolf, I want you also to look for food for them. Black Coyote, go out and find meat. And you also, Black Wolf, who are brave and cunning, provide meat for them.”

Immediately the four big Wolves ran away, and soon came back laden with the best parts of a Buffalo; and piled all the meat in front of the children.

The brother and sister ate, and were made strong again. Then the old Wolf told them to go into the timber near by, and live there; and he said that he would stay with them.

It was now Winter. The boy got together some poles and made a frame for a brush house; while his sister gathered long reeds, and with them thatched the house. She made a door of brush and sticks, and inside she put brush for two beds. They then made a nice comfortable bed near the door where the old Wolf might sleep.

When the house was finished, it began to snow. They all went in, and the old Wolf said, “I am feeble, and suffer much from cold. I have no strength, no swiftness, no warmth. If it were not for your kindness I should be out in the snow. Therefore I thank you for letting me live with you in this comfortable house.”

So that night the Wolf slept by the door, the girl slept on the north side of the house, and the boy at the back.

Well, in the morning the boy was the first to get up to make the fire; and he looked out, and the snow was over all the land. And what was his surprise to see great herds of Elk near by. The whole snow was yellow with them as far as he could see. In the timber, on the banks of the rivers, and everywhere, the Elk were standing, walking, or lying down.

The boy shut the door quickly, and said to his sister, “Get up! There are herds of Elk close by.”

“Why should I get up?” said she; “I can’t do anything.”

But the boy answered, “Just get up and look at them anyway.”

“I can’t do anything by looking at them,” said she.

“My Grandchild,” called the old Wolf, “get up and look at the Elk.”

So she rose, and opened the door; and as soon as she looked at an Elk, it fell down dead. Then she gave her brother a flint knife with a bone handle, and he ran out into the snow, and skinned the Elk as easily as if he had always known how to do it.

As soon as he had skinned the animal, he threw its hide into the house, and the girl folded it three times, and sat on it. Immediately the hide became a soft and beautiful skin, all dressed ready for use. Then the girl looked at more Elk, and they fell down dead; and the boy skinned them; and so she did until they had thirty-six skins. They next sliced the meat, and hung it to dry on the trees near the three streams.

After that the girl took some of the thirty-six skins, and piling them one on the other, she sat on them, saying, “I wish that all these skins may be sewed together for a tent.” And when she got up, and spread them out, they had become a tent with a bird ornament on top, and four round ornaments on the sides, and rattles over the door.

Then the girl said, “I wish for twenty-nine straight tent poles.” And when she went outside, there were the tent poles made of otter-weeds. Soon the tent stood covered, and was very handsome.

Then the girl folded three skins, and sat on them, saying, “I wish for a wall-hanging embroidered with Porcupine quills of every colour.” And it was so, for when she got up the Elk skins were changed into a beautiful hanging, which she fastened behind her brother’s bed. Then she folded three more skins, and sat on them, and wished for an embroidered hanging for her bed, and she got it. After that she did the same to more skins, and wished for an embroidered and ornamented blanket, and she gave that to the old Wolf.

Well, after seven days it snowed again, and when the boy got up to make the fire, he looked out and saw the snow over all the land. And what was his surprise to see great herds of Buffalo near by. The whole snow was black with them.

He waked his sister, and bade her get up, but she said: “What can I do? You have broken my sleep. Let me sleep longer.”

“My Grandchild,” called the old Wolf, “get up and look at the Buffalo.”

So she rose, and opened the door, and as soon as she looked at some of the Buffalo, they fell down dead. The boy skinned the animals, and brought in their hides. The girl took one, and folded it three times, saying, “I wish this to become a robe with bird ornaments.” Then it became an embroidered robe, and she gave it to her brother. Then she took another skin and did the same, saying, “I wish this to be a painted robe for myself.” And it turned into a robe; and when she spread it out the painting was seen bright and beautiful. Then she took another skin, and, in the same manner, made it a robe with red and yellow embroidery at the four corners, and eight lines of embroidery across it, and between them black lines painted with charcoal. This she gave to the old Wolf.

After that she made three pillows for the beds. On the one for her brother was the picture of an animal embroidered in yellow quills. The eye was dark with yellow quills around it. On the throat were a hundred bars of yellow quills. The ear was a yellow cross of quill-work. The head was round, and the tail and nose were bars of yellow quills. All around the edge of the pillow were fifty bars of yellow quills. The pillow for the girl was white, embroidered with an animal made of black and white bars of quill-work; while the pillow for the old Wolf was very beautiful, embroidered with red and yellow quills.

Well, after seven days it snowed again, and when the boy got up in the morning to make the fire, he looked out and saw the snow covering the land. And what was his surprise to see more herds of Elk near by. The snow was yellow with them. He called his sister, and the old Wolf bade her rise and look at the animals, and she did. Immediately some of them fell down dead. Then as before, the girl folded, and sat on their skins, and wished for a fine hunting-shirt for her brother, embroidered in circles of red and yellow quills, with fringes along the edge, and tufts of long hair hanging between the fringes. Then she wished for leggings for him, and a pair of moccasins embroidered with birds. For herself she wished for a woman’s dress handsomely embroidered, and with four rows of fringes, also for leggings and moccasins. As the old Wolf could not wear clothes, she of course did not wish for any garment for him.

Then the boy said, “I wish I could have for a Dog a Panther of yellow colour with white sides.” His sister went outside the tent, and called, “Come, Panther of yellow colour with white sides!” And immediately the Panther came walking through the timber, slowly twisting his tail. He entered the tent, and lay down by the boy, and put his head on the boy’s knee.

Then the boy said, “I wish you could have for a Dog a Bear with white streaks down his fore legs, and whose claws are white with black streaks.” So his sister went outside the tent, and called, “Come, Bear with white streaks down your fore legs, and with claws white with black streaks.” And immediately the Bear came pacing through the timber, and sat down at the foot of the girl’s bed.

After that the brother and sister lived very happily with the old Wolf, the Panther, and the Bear. They had plenty to eat, for the dried meat was piled up before the door of the tent, and there was meat still hanging from the trees.

One day two Indians from the tribe that had deserted the children, happened to be hunting by the streams, and they saw the handsome tent in the timber. They went toward it, and, lo, there were the boy and girl beautifully dressed; while on one side of the tent sat the Panther, and on the other side the Bear, and the old Wolf was lying just in front of the door.

Well, when the animals saw the men, the old Wolf rose up growling, the Panther crouched to spring, and the Bear stiffened his hair. The men were very much frightened, but the boy told the animals to lie down, and he invited the men into the tent. The girl bade them be seated, and gave them pemmican in wooden bowls.

Now the men saw the wonderful tent and all its fine furnishings, and they looked at the great pile of dried meat before the door, and said to the children that they would return at once to the tribe, and tell the people to come and see them. But the girl said that if they came, they must camp down by the streams, and not approach the tent, or the animals would kill them.

So the men went back to the people, and the tribe came to the streams, and made their camp. And though they could see the beautiful tent in the distance, they dared not approach it for fear of the animals.

But the brother and sister gave some of their meat to the people, and after that the two continued to live happily in their tent, guarded by the faithful old Wolf, the Panther, and the Bear.

Source: warpaths2peacepipes

Medlin was a Montauk Indian of Eastern Long Island. The Montauk’s continue to exist today as they intermarried with the Daytons and several other prominent New England families.

The land was four acres next to a lot owned by William Harker, and was probably inherited by Medlin Dayton, and may be a clue to her identity. Medlen was said to be a Montauk Indian whom Samuel met during those times he treated and translated with the Indians. (Other sources claim her name was Medlen HARCRE (HARKER)). (The Montauks apparently were on land that they had leased to the Harkers). A third explanation of her name shows that Wilhelmina was a Christian name given to her by the Dutch. And yet another version has her born in England. When Ralph Dayton wrote his will in 1658, Samuel was living in North Sea and inherited his father’s house next to his. Samuel sold this inherited house and land to John Scott before 6 Mar 1659/1660. On 28 Dec 1663, he mortgaged his house in North Sea. On Christmas Day 1664, Samuel “disposed” his son Jacob to Thomas and Alice (Dayton) Baker for fourteen years and son Caleb to Joshua and Elizabeth Garlick for sixteen years. But on 26 Aug 1668, Thomas Baker and Robert Dayton, at Samuel’s behest, “Disposed” Caleb to John and Mary Jessup of Southampton for twelve years and four months. Apparently, Samuel was in financial trouble and had lost his first wife by 1666. He is known to have been interested in the whale fishery but was usually called ‘cordwainer’.

Source: geni

Book title: Native American Clothing: An Illustrated History

Author: Theodore Brasser

Book Description:
More than five centuries of native peoples’ artistry.

Native Americans crafted beautiful clothing out of skins, pigment, quills and sinew. The collection of photographs in this outstanding reference celebrates this decorative genius. Many of the 300 photographs from more than 60 leading museums and private collections have never been published previously.

The book describes the clothing in fascinating detail, from moccasins and tunics to sashes, bags and ceremonial and burial costumes. Theodore Brasser explains who made what and how, as well as the meanings of the different kinds of decoration, such as beadwork, embroidery, appliqué, patchwork, weaving and dyeing. There are also many examples of native pottery and other historic artifacts that depict themes used in the clothes.

Native American Clothing provides a thorough historical background of the many influences on this clothing, including:

The book covers the entire North American continent and is organized by tribal groups and regions:

Numerous maps show the ranges of the tribes and convey how trade and travel spread cultural themes.
With authoritative text and art-quality color reproductions, Native American Clothing will be important to collectors and historians and will also appeal to general readers.

Source: Amazon

Book title: Native and Christian: Indigenous Voices on Religious Identity in the United States and Canada

Author: James Treat

Book Description:
Native and Christian is an anthology of essays by indigenous writers in the United States and Canada on the problem of native Christian identity. This anthology documents the emergence of a significant new collective voice on the North American religious landscape. It brings together in one volume articles originally published in a variety of sources (many of them obscure or out-of-print) including religious magazines, scholarly journals, and native periodicals, along with one previously unpublished manuscript.

Source: Amazon

Native American Stories – Boy in Jug

“The Native American Story of the Boy in Jug
The Red Indian Fairy Book by Frances Jenkins Olcott
A Hopi Story”

Once, long ago, in a Hopi village, a beautiful maiden lived with her old father. They had no one to hunt for them, or provide them with food, so the good people of the tribe gave them what they could spare.

One day the maiden saw the women making earthen jugs, and she said to herself, “I will make one too.” So she took some clay, and kneaded it, and shaped it into a beautiful jug with two handles. Then she put it to bake. But when she went to fetch it home, she heard something cry inside it. She looked in, and what did she see but a little boy no bigger than her thumb.

She tried to take him out of the jug, but it was a magic one, and she could not do so. She took the boy in the jug home, and fed him on bits of food, and made him some pretty little clothes, saying, “Now I am your mother, and my old father is your grandfather.”

The days passed and the boy grew bigger until his head reached the top of the jug, and when he wished to move about the house, he spun the jug around and around, and that is the way he walked.

Well, a Winter came when it was very cold, and the people had nothing to eat. So the young men of the tribe took their bows and arrows and started out to hunt. When the boy saw this, he said to his grandfather, “Give me a bow and arrows, for I want to hunt.”

So his grandfather made him a fine red bow, and tied bright feathers to the arrows, and fastened them to the handles of the jug. Then he lifted up the boy in the jug, and carrying him outside the village, set him on the ground. “Now you may hunt,” said he, “and you will soon see many Rabbit tracks.”

The boy began to spin his jug, and he spun so fast that he left his grandfather far behind. Sure enough, in a little while he saw some tracks, and there was a Rabbit running away. The boy spun his jug harder, and it moved so fast that its mouth whistled like the wind.

Soon the boy in the jug caught up with the Rabbit, and the little creature, springing into the air, leaped into a bush. The jug, also, rose in the air, to spring into the bush, but fell to the ground with a crash. It split in two, and out bounced the boy—a full-grown Hopi lad!

He unfastened the bow and arrows from the handles of the jug, and following the Rabbit, killed it. Then he shot a dozen more, and tying them together, carried them back to the village.

When his mother saw him coming, she could not believe her eyes for joy. She ran out to meet him, and took the Rabbits, saying, “Now that I have this full-grown son, I shall never be hungry again!”

The grandfather, too, came hurrying to the door, as fast as his old legs could carry him. And when he saw the Rabbits, he said: “Thank you, thank you! Now you may hunt with the young men, and your mother and I will be glad!”

So after that, the boy hunted with the others, and his mother and his old grandfather always had plenty to eat.

Source: warpaths2peacepipes

Birth: May 22, 1888
Death: Mar. 28, 1953

Olympic Athlete, Major League Baseball Player. A Sac and Fox Indian, he was born in a cabin on the North Canadian River near Prague, Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). He was a rough, tough youngster while growing up with his twin brother, Charlie on a farm located in the Indian Territory. He honed his athletic skills on his father’s homestead, where the entire village would gather each Saturday for a picnic and participate in running events, jumping and wrestling. Thorpe first attended the Sac and Fox Indian Agency school near Tecumseh, Oklahoma before being sent to the Haskell Indian School near Lawrence, Kansas. When Thorpe was 16, he was recruited to attend the vocational school for Native Americans, The Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania.

He joined the football team, playing left halfback coached by Glen ‘Pop’ Warner. In his last year at Carlisle, Thorpe took part in the 1912 Olympic Summer games held at Stockholm, Sweden. He won the broad jump the 200-meter and 1,500-meter runs of the pentathlon. Jim won the shot put, the 1,500-meter run, and the hurdle race of the decathlon; and was the runner-up in the other events of the pentathlon and decathlon. In 1913, however, Thorpe surrendered his awards, at the request of the Amateur Athletic Union and the insistence of Glenn Warner, to the Olympic headquarters in Switzerland. It had been discovered that Thorpe had played (1909-10) semi-professional baseball with the Rocky Mount, N.C., team of the North Carolina Eastern League. However, duplicate medals were restored posthumously in 1982 after a long fight to rectify this wrong. Fifteen years later, the medals were stolen from an Oklahoma State Capitol exhibit allegedly by a janitor who later turned himself in along with the medals.

The career biography of Jim Thorpe, beside the Olympics, reads like an encyclopedia of sports, encompassing virtually every major athletic event available. He led his Carlisle Indian School team to the national collegiate championship, scoring 25 touchdowns and 198 points. Following the college football season, Thorpe went on to play 6 years of Major League Baseball. He received $6,000 per year with the New York Giants, managed by John J. McGraw. Meanwhile, in the off season, he played professional football with the Canton Bulldogs receiving $250 a game. He managed to lead the Bulldog football team to unofficial world championships in 1916, 1917 and 1919. He eventually finished his playing days in 1928 at age forty one with the Chicago Cardinals. Out of sports, Jim was not very successful. During the depression, he did bit parts in Hollywood movies and worked as a day laborer in Los Angeles.

He had a ghost-written book published during the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics, ‘Jim Thorpe‘s History of the Olympics. He regularly gave lectures on his athletic career. Late in World War II, he joined the Merchant Marines. In the postwar, he became a member of the recreation staff of the Chicago Park District. His personal life was dismal. His twin brother, Charlie, died at nine, his mother died of blood poising while he was still a teen and his father soon followed. He was married three times, the first two ended in divorce. His first son died at the age of four from polio. Jim suffered a heart attack while eating his dinner at his trailer located in a park in Lomita, California and he was gone at age 64. A monument was to be erected in his home state of Oklahoma. His body was placed in a vault in Tulsa waiting for a final resting place. Approval of a plan was nixed by the State. The town of Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania came forward with a plan. It changed its name to Jim Thorpe, Pa and erected a marble tomb on a site outside of the city. Awards honors and legacy…In 1950, the nations’s press selected Jim Thorpe as the most outstanding athlete of the first half of the 20th Century.

In 2001, he was named ABC’s Wide World of Sports, the Athlete of the Century. He was named All-American for two consecutive seasons at Carlisle. In 1920, he was appointed president of fledgling American Professional Football Association, forerunner of the National Football League. He is enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton. In 195l, the motion picture starring Burt Lancaster, ‘Jim Thorpe – All American’ was filmed. The Postal Service honored him with a commemorative stamp in 1998. Jim received a life-size bust of King Gustav V of Sweden and a Viking Ship encrusted with semi-precious jewels from Nicholas II, the last czar of Russia at the Stockhom games. Both items are currently housed at the International Olympic Committee Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Source: findagrave

Book title: Grandmother’s Dreamcatcher

Author: Becky Ray McCain

Book Description:
While Kimmy’s parents look for a house close to Daddy’s job, Kimmy stays with her Chippewa grandmother. The bad dreams she has had still bother her. But with her grandmother’s help, she learns about dreamcatchers.

Source: Amazon

Book title: American Indian Literature: An Anthology

Author: Alan R. Velie

Book Description:
Along with the traditional, primarily oral, literature of tales, songs, memoirs, and oratory, this revised anthology offers a large selection of poetry and fiction by American Indian women, including an excerpt from Louise Erdrich’s Love Medicine and poetry by Paula Gunn Allen, Rayna Green, Joy Harjo, nila northSun, and others. There is also a rich array of works by contemporary Indian men from different regions, such as N. Scott Momaday, James Welch, Gerald Vizenor, and Maurice Kenny.

Source: Amazon

Native American Stories – Ahneah Rose Flower

“The Native American Story of Ahneah Rose Flower
The Red Indian Fairy Book by Frances Jenkins Olcott
An Iroquois Story”

Once in a forest there gushed from the hollow of a rock, a wonderful spring known to all Red Men. It possessed mysterious power and was watched over by two Spirits.

From sunrise until noon Ohsweda the Spirit of the Spruce Tree was its guardian. And during those hours, all who drank of its sparkling water were cured of sickness, and filled with a nameless joy.

But when the slanting shadow of the afternoon touched the spring, Ochdoah the Bat swooped down on his leathery wings and brooded over its water. Then the sparkle died out of its tide, and a sluggish poison ran forth from the rock, killing all men and beasts who drank.

Ahneah the Rose Flower, the loveliest of Indian maids, went, one Summer morning, from her lodge to the spring to fetch water in her elmwood bowl. She set the bowl down by the rock, and, sitting in the cool shade of the trees, wove sweet-smelling grass into baskets. And while she braided the strands, she sang the Firefly song of her people. She was as happy as she was lovely, and forgot the passing hours. She did not see that the slanting shadow of afternoon was nearing the spring. It glinted on the rock just as she finished her weaving.

Then leaning over the spring, she plunged her elmwood bowl into the sparkling water. But something held the bowl fast, and the beautiful face of a youth smiled up at her from the ripples. It smiled and nodded as it floated from side to side. Then it vanished for a moment, only to return, and with its enchanting smile woo the fast-beating heart of the maid.

And while she was gazing entranced, lo, the slanting shadow of afternoon passed over the spring. Then the beautiful face of the youth faded away, and Ochdoah the Bat, who had been hovering in the shadow, swooped down and seized the trembling maid. He bore her swiftly upward, and with fast wing left even the wind behind. Onward he flew, then suddenly descended and plunged into a roaring cataract. And there Ahneah the Rose Flower was nearly lost in the swirl of the mad torrent. And there she saw near her a face terrible and frowning. And as she turned from it with a shudder, the fierce water cast her up on the shore.

The horrible face appeared again, and led her down beneath the Earth. Into a cavern it led her, glaring with flames, around which danced many Witches. Something pushed her into the circle of dancers, and she fell fainting to the ground.

But suddenly she felt herself breathe new air, and she opened her eyes. And, lo, it was sunrise, and she stood by the spring in the hollow of the rock. And by her side was a young warrior clad for the hunt. He bore in his hand a branch of the Spruce Tree, and on his head were two wings,—one of the Eagle and the other of the Owl.

And as Ahneah gazed on the young warrior, she saw the face of the beautiful youth who had smiled at her from the spring. He took her hand, and told her his story. He was Ohsweda the Spirit of the Spruce Tree, who guarded the spring from sunrise to noon. With his Eagle wing he could fly to the Sun, and with his Owl wing he wandered through the whole forest in the night. He had seen the evil Ochdoah the Bat hovering in the shadow, as he waited to seize the maid. So Ohsweda had held fast her bowl, and tried to warn her. But all too late, for the slanting shadow of afternoon had passed over the spring, and Ochdoah the Bat, swooping down, had borne away the trembling maid.

Then Ohsweda the Spirit of the Spruce Tree, on his Eagle wing, had followed swiftly after. He had entered the dread cavern beneath the Earth, and snatched Ahneah the Rose Flower from the Fire Dance of the Witches. In his arms he had carried her back to the spring, and at sunrise, with the healing water, had caused her to open her eyes.

All this did Ohsweda the Spirit of the Spruce Tree relate to the maid. Then with a happy heart she filled her elmwood bowl, and sped quickly to her lodge.

But as day by day passed, Ahneah the Rose Flower faded. And one Summer morn, at the vanishing of the dew, her lodge was empty. When her people entered its door, they heard the rustle and whirr of wings, then a strange silence filled the lodge. And by the side of the couch, where Ahneah the Rose Flower had lain, were two fallen feathers. One was of the Eagle, and the other of the Owl.

Source: warpaths2peacepipes

Fluent Navajo speakers have been invited for a casting call in Window Rock in northern Arizona on Friday and Saturday to dub the roles of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia and others, tribal officials said.

Manuelito Wheeler, the director of the Navajo Nation Museum, said he first came up with the idea 13 years ago as a way to preserve the consonant-rich Navajo language, believed to be spoken by about 170,000 people, according to government figures.

“We thought this would be a provocative and effective way to help try to preserve the language and at the same time preserve the culture,” Wheeler told Reuters. “What better movie to do this than ‘Star Wars?’”

Wheeler said he believes the popular science fiction movie will resonate with the Navajo people with its universal theme of good versus evil.

The project was given the go-ahead about 18 months ago.

A team of five Navajos then spent 36 hours translating the original script, hampered by the many words in English that do not translate word for word into Navajo. Instead, several words in Navajo are sometimes needed to convey the proper meaning.

For example, he said there is no direct translation for “May the force be with you,” one of the most recognizable lines in the movie.

Wheeler declined to reveal the Navajo words used for that and other catch-phrases, as a way to “build momentum” leading up to the movie.

“What we want to avoid is like the Kung Fu movies of the past where the lips didn’t match up with the words they were speaking,” he said.

Casting for the voices of the movie’s major roles will be held at the museum in Window Rock. About 75 people have registered to audition.

The finished movie, which will include English subtitles, will be shown during the tribe’s Fourth of July celebration in Window Rock and again in September at the Navajo Nation Fair.

Source: articles

Book title: Restoring Hope (Native American Romance Series Book 1)

Author: Ruth Ann Nordin

Book Description:
Fleeing from a marriage she didn’t want, Woape is caught by a Sioux Indian who abuses her. One night, she manages to escape and nearly loses her life when Gary Milton shows up and rescues her.

Not knowing where else to go, she follows him home. In their time together, she falls in love with him and is determined that he will be her husband. But the Sioux Indian is not far behind, and he’s going to claim her as his, even if he has to kill Gary to get her.

Books in the Native American Romance Series include:
Restoring Hope (Book 1)
Brave Beginnings (Book 2)
Bound by Honor, Bound by Love (Book 3) due out Summer 2012
A Chance In Time (novella)–main characters show up in Restoring Hope and Bound by Honor, Bound by Love

Source: Amazon

Book title: Native American Flute DECODED

Author: Dick Claassen

Book Description:
PLAY THAT FLUTE! Suppose you are at a craft show and you happen to see a booth where Native American flutes are sold. Hot dog, you think, you’re gonna buy one! The flute builder has the flutes nicely displayed, and you choose the biggest flute with the most beautiful finish festooned with the most extraordinarily tasteful leather binding, beads, and feathers. You lay down your money, the flute builder smiles, wraps it up for you, gives you a few instructions, and you take it home. When you get home your heart hammers with anticipation as you take the flute out of the package. With trembling fingers you pick up the flute, put it to your lips…and blow…and no sound comes out! What! Oh, yeah, now you remember. The builder gave you printed instructions that showed you how to adjust the totem, that sliding button already tied onto the flute. You find the folded up instructions in the package, unfold and study them, and then move the totem to the approximate position shown on the diagram. The builder had adjusted the totem for you, but he warned that the totem might slide out of adjustment when he wrapped it up. It had, but you’re sure you have it back in place now. You remember one more thing you must do — you remember that the builder told you to tightly tie the totem down with its leather thongs so it wouldn’t shift out of adjustment the next time you take out your flute to play it. You do that now. The tension is killing you, so without further fussing you put the flute to your lips and blow again. SQUAWK! Oh, no! What have you done! The flute sounds like a barking seal! Don’t worry. You most likely got that awful squawk because you blew too hard. Unlike a trumpet where you have to blow fairly hard to get a good tone, the Native American flute requires almost no wind at all. Quickly realizing this, you blow more gently (all the holes are open as you blow), and you are instantly rewarded with a beautiful high tone. Encouraged, this time you close all the holes and blow again. Another squawk! Too hard, too hard, you think frantically! You blow again, only this time much, much more gently. An ethereal low tone groans deliciously from the barrel. You’re so thrilled you swear you can feel the bottom of your feet vibrating! What do you do next? Surely, you think, you must have had some experience back in your past with playing some kind of instrument like this. How hard can this be?

And so begins many a beginner’s exploration of the Native American flute. The Native American flute is easy to play, but it plays differently than probably any flute or whistle you might have played before. Many would-be flute musicians become discouraged quickly, and this book is meant to save you from that frustration. What kind of flute should you buy? How can you find a good flute builder who will meet your special needs? Do you need a music background before taking up the flute? Will you have to learn to read notes? Will it take you years to learn? Where can you find music for the Native American flute? Can you play any kind of music on the flute? Can you really play the blues? Folk? Classical? Children’s ditties? Romantic tunes? Meditative tunes? All these questions are answered plus many more.

Source: Amazon

Native American Stories – Tecumseh

“The Native American Story of Tecumseh
America First—One Hundred Stories from Our Own History, by Lawton B. Evans”

Tecumseh was probably the greatest American Indian that race has ever produced. He was the most eloquent orator ever known among the Indian tribes. When he spoke, his voice was deep and full, like an organ, his face shone with emotion, and his words were remarkable for their poetic beauty.

His father was a Shawnee warrior, and was killed in battle with white settlers, when Tecumseh was a mere child. This impressed him with a great resolve to keep the white men out of the Indian lands, and to fight them whenever he could.

He possessed a sensitive dignity, as is shown by the following incident. Upon one occasion, when he came with his warriors to hold a conference with General Harrison, he looked around, after he had finished his address, to find a seat. Seeing that none had been reserved for him, he appeared offended.

A white man, seated near General Harrison, arose and offered him his seat, saying, “Your father wishes you to sit by his side.”

“The sun is my father, and the earth is my mother. I shall sit in his light and rest on her bosom,” said Tecumseh. Whereupon, he sat down on the ground, in the full light of the sun.

Tecumseh was a noble soldier, and never allowed any prisoners to be tortured. He promised General Harrison that, in case of war between the Indians and the whites, he would not permit his warriors to massacre women and children. He faithfully kept his word. At the siege of Fort Meigs, the Indians began murdering their prisoners. Tecumseh ran in, and, brandishing his tomahawk, bade them stop at once. Turning to General Procter, who stood looking on, he cried out,

“Why do you permit this outrage? Why did you not stop those men, and save those wretched prisoners?”

Procter replied that the Indians could not be restrained, and that he could not prevent the massacre.

Tecumseh was furious at this, and said, “Begone, you coward. You are not fit to command men. Go and put on a petticoat, and sit with the women, where you belong.”

Procter was not a brave soldier, and, at one time, burned his stores and abandoned his fort, even though he had a thousand men and three thousand Indian allies. Tecumseh was so disgusted with his cowardice, that he compared him to a fat dog, who barked and held his tail high, when there was no danger, but who howled, and dropped his tail between his legs and ran, whenever any one attacked him.

When Tecumseh went to Alabama to stir up the Creek Indians against the whites of that section, he found them unwilling to rise against their neighbors and friends. All his eloquence failed to move them, and, to all his appeals and threats, they merely shook their heads. Finally, in a burst of anger, he cried out,

“Your blood is white, and no longer runs red like the rising sun. You do not fight because you are cowards and are afraid to fight. You do not believe the Great Spirit has sent me, but you shall believe it. I am going back to Detroit. It will take me many days, but when I reach there, I shall tell the Great Spirit, and I shall stamp my foot on the ground, and shake every house in your village.”

So saying, he left, and journeyed northward. The Indians counted the days until he should reach home. Strangely enough, about the time he was due there, an earthquake shook the village. The Indians rushed wildly for their dwellings, crying out,

“Tecumseh has arrived in Detroit; he has told the Great Spirit; we feel the stamping of his foot!”

The last battle in which this warrior was engaged was that of the Thames. The Americans had been pursuing the British and their Indian allies for some time, until Tecumseh was tired of the disgraceful state of affairs, and told the British officer, Procter, that he would retreat no longer. “We will stand here and give battle,” said he. “I and my warriors were not made for running away from our enemies.”

The result was the battle of the Thames. At the opening of the conflict, Tecumseh turned to his friends, and said,

“Brother warriors, I shall never come out of this battle alive. I go there to die, but I go. My body will remain on the field, I know it will be so.

He unbuckled his sword, and handed it to one of his Chiefs, and said, “When my son becomes a great warrior, give him this sword, and tell him his father died like a brave Chief and a hero. Tell my people I died for their rights.” With that, he also took off the British uniform, which he had been wearing, and put on his own savage dress and war-paint.

The battle raged for a while with fury. Procter at last fled through the swamps and wilderness, escaping with a few followers. Tecumseh, however, brandishing his club, rushed upon his pursuers, and fell, pierced with many wounds.

Source: warpaths2peacepipes

Native American actress Misty Upham never dream she would be walking the red carpet at Cannes to showcase a film shot on her reservation.

Upham features in “Jimmy P. Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian”, focused on the relationship between World War Two veteran Jimmy Picard, a Native American Blackfoot, and Georges Devereux, his psychoanalyst.

Upham said like Picard, played by Puerto Rican actor Benicio Del Toro, she is Blackfeet, the largest tribe in Montana state. She said she was a direct descendant of the last chief and grew up on the reservation where much of the movie was filmed.

“I had no dreams and no way to make a dream. I had to leave the reservation,” Upham, 30, told a news conference on Saturday ahead of the premiere of the film’s premiere by French director Arnaud Desplechin.
“So 18 years later (I am) coming a full circle to the reservation I left to fulfil my dream.”

Upham says and another “Jimmy P.” actress, Michelle Thrush, a Cree from Canada, are the first Native American women in the official selection at Cannes, although organisers of the festival, now in its 66th year, were unable to confirm it.

One of 20 films competing for the main prize at the 12-day event on the French Riviera, the movie was inspired by a true story in Devereux’s 1951 book “Reality And Dream”.

Set in 1948, the film follows Jimmy as he checks into a military hospital in Topeka, Kansas, that specialises in mental illness for war veterans to be treated for numerous symptoms, including temporary blindness, hearing loss and dizzy spells.

The doctors are baffled by his psychological problems and decide to call in anthropologist and psychoanalyst Devereux (Mathieu Amalric) a specialist in Native American culture who spent two years living with the Mojave Native Americans.

Del Toro, who won the best actor award at Cannes in 2008 for “Che”, said it was important for him to understand the history of Native Americans to get to grips with his character.

The oppression of Native Americans remains a stain on the history of the United States following the seizure of land, removal of children from families, and violation of treaties.

The 2010 census found 5.2 million people in the United States identified themselves as American Indians and Alaska Natives, while government figures this year showed they had the highest poverty rate in the country, at 27 percent, from 2007 through 2011.

Upham, who plays the mother of Jimmy’s daughter, said the film recognised the different approach needed to treat psychological illness among Native Americans.

“We believe in spirits. We believe in ghosts. We believe in shape shifting. We believe in medicine and curses. We are very spiritual people,” said the actress, best known for the 2008 film “Frozen River”.

“What somebody else would call delusional, to us it is normal. That is why they had to create a new way to see what is going on in our minds without confusing the spirituality.”

“Jimmy P.” is Desplechin’s fourth film selected for the main competition at Cannes, with the prestigious Palme D’Or for best picture to be awarded on the festival’s final day, May 26.

Source: brecorder

Book title: Native American Recipes

Author: Mary Ruth Hughes

Illustrator: Gina Cruz-Rider

Book Description:
Thirty North American Indian tribes are represented in this compilation of unusual native recipes. Traditional, as well as, modern versions are preserved in this cookbook.

Source: Amazon

Mary Ruth Hughes

The Missouri Indians were part of the Southern Sioux tribes who lived along the Missouri River near the present-day border of Missouri and Nebraska. They were buffalo-hunters and farmers who lived in oven-shaped, earth-covered houses grouped into towns.

Smallpox had depleted their numbers, so the surviving Missouri Indians lived with the neighboring Oto Indians. Combined, these bands included about 250 people.

Many of the Missouris and Otos were away hunting buffalo when the Lewis and Clark expedition encountered their towns in July 1804. The Corps sent out two men to search for the Indians but came up empty. The captains decided to proceed up the river.

On August 2, a small group of Missouris and Otos arrived at the Corps’ camp site, which Clark had named Council Bluff – across and downriver from what is now Council Bluffs, Iowa. The leading chiefs were still away hunting, but Lewis and Clark invited six or seven lesser chiefs to a council the next morning.

On August 3, with great ceremony, Lewis and Clark held the first formal meeting between representatives of the United States and western Indians. The Indians observed as the soldiers marched in full regalia and demonstrated their skills with weaponry. The Corps’ show of decorum and military strength would establish the routine for subsequent councils.

During the council, the Indians were told they were the “children” of a new “great father” who would provide them with trade and protection in place of their unreliable commerce with the French and the Spanish. It was a speech Lewis would deliver to numerous tribes throughout the journey.

The Missouris were advised to make peace with other Indian tribes in order to bring the trade Lewis promised. He also urged the chiefs to send a delegation east to visit President Jefferson. When Lewis concluded, each chief received gifts including a peace medal and face paint.

On August 18, the leading Missouri chief, Big Horse, and main Oto chief, Little Thief, met with the Corps. Lewis gave his speech, but Big Horse responded with pointed requests for goods and whiskey. The Corps gave them tobacco, paint and beads, but the Missouri warriors were not satisfied and went away unhappy. Before departing, Little Thief indicated he would go to Washington in the spring.

In March 1805, a delegation including one Missouri chief and Little Thief met in Washington, D.C., with President Jefferson, who promised trade goods and told them he hoped for peace.

Source: pbs

Book title: The Native American Flute: Understanding the Gift

Author: John Vames

Book Description:
A comprehensive step by step guide for learning how to play Native American Flute as well as the “basics” of making music. Interactive with 39 track audio CD demonstrating all instruction. You will learn: Proper finger and breath control, how to ornament melodies, how to understand Pitch and Rhythms, How to practice successfully, How to creat your own songs, Useful scales to develop technique and How to read printed music and Nakai Flute Tablature

Source: Amazon