Turkey Day, Nov. 25, 2004

native american arts daily news, presented by
amerindianarts.us

Gaming Tribes and Associations Across the Country Observe National ...
U.S. Newswire (press release) - Washington,DC,USA
... Holiday Arts and Crafts Festival. To celebrate National American Indian Heritage Month, the Pueblo of Acoma will also host an outdoor Native American music and ...

Students dig in to learn the ABC's of Thanksgiving
Montrose Daily Press - Montrose,CO,USA
... Hovde also uses the arts to help educate her students about the holiday, with lessons that focus on pottery, poetry, and Native American traditions. ...

11/25 entertainment list part 1
MLive.com - MI,USA
... portrait photography, at the Healing Arts Gallery, MidMichigan ... American Heritage ART, featuring work by Darlene Peltier, as part of Native American Month, at ...

The first Thanksgiving - An interview with the Martha Stewart of ...
Portsmouth Herald News - Portsmouth,NH,USA
... Speaking with arts writer Jeanné McCartin from another plane -- obviously -- she set ... Marta: We survivors, plus Squanto, a native American as you refer to ...

Grand Falls artist adds native touch to Flag fine craft exhibit
Navajo-Hopi Observer - Flagstaff,AZ,USA
... region, was held at the Coconino Center for the Arts. This year, Grand Falls artist Kim Lohnes distinguished herself as the only Native American displaying in ...

Weekly Exhibitions
TheDay - New London,CT,USA
... Gallery, Pequot Museum, Mashantucket; 18 Native American artists fuse ... prints and photographs by American artists, runs ... Mystic Arts Center, 9 Water St., Mystic ...

Family Calendar
Athens Banner-Herald (subscription) - Athens,GA,USA
... jewelry, sculpture and fiber works by 20-25 artists; Native American music and ... 4; UGA University Theatre, Fine Arts Building, Lumpkin and Baldwin streets; new ...

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Navajo artist Teddy Draper Workshops
Chinle, Arizona (Canyon DeChelly)- Seminars and workshops have limited capacity and usually require enrollment months in advance.

Workshop information for 2005

March 15-19, instructor Elmer Yazzie, "cut yucca brush" watercolor technique.

May 16-20, instructor Teddy Draper, Jr., pastel techniques, insights into art, culture, and connecting to nature.

June 7-11, Indian Jewelry Basics (class limited to 4 students).

June 7-11, instructor Teddy Draper, Jr., pastel techniques, insights into art, culture, and connecting to nature.

Contact Teddy Draper at
dechelly2000@yahoo.com

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Web Sites:
Indigenous Peoples Literature

Essay on the Zuni World View
Excerpt (Complete article is available in PDF)

The duties of the Bow Society, and latter the Tribal Council, was enforcement as a secular institution despite religious evaluations.  It would not do to punish or fend witchcraft through religious rite and ceremony, for to do so the canonical rite would paradoxically expose itself to the dangerous simply by reference to it, and would be akin to ‘fighting fire with fire’, a very undesirable prospect to the Zuni.  Thus, attanni is negated by observance ( teshkwi) and violations are reflections upon the individual, and dealt with by secular enforcement, which collectively, may include gossip, criticism, and public ridicule [111].

The underlying dialectic of the beautiful and the dangerous is evident in distinct dialogues, even in the absence of aesthetic expression, for attanni is proper to secular dialogue and is pertinent to religious dialogue only in the sense of observance where ‘if you have been living rightly, then attanni is not an issue’ ( Ko’na to’ tewanan ateyaye ).  Non-verbal expression is not meaningless nor is a deviant utterance meaningless where the objective is the immersion of the subject into the social structure in order to eliminate causes of behavior conducive to the anti-structure of a social hierarchy where the collective consciousness of the people is to “pray to become one” [112].

[111] Op. cit. Dutton, 1983: 13.

[112] Eggan, Fred and T.N. Pandey.  “Zuni History, 1855-1970”.  Handbook of North American Indians, Southwest.  Vol.9.  Ed. By Alfonso Ortiz.  Pp. 474-481.  Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1979.

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Notices:

"Honor Your Spirit, Protect The Children"
Winter & Christmas 2004 - Request for Donations
http://www.geocities.com/honoryourspirit/home.html

If you wish to make a difference and help children and elders through the harsh winter months in Montana, please take the time to read our request. On behalf of reliable Northern Cheyenne contacts from Lame Deer, we are once again collecting donations for those in need on the Northern Cheyenne reservation.
There is a large need especially for new and good quality used warm items, as well as toys.
List of useful donations :
- warm clothing such as knitted items for children of all ages from babies to teenagers, and for elders - jeans and T-shirts, all sizes - socks, gloves, boots, hats and scarves - blankets - toys for Christmas
Donations should be sent to the following address:
Honor Your Spirit - Protect the Children
% Sue Buck
PO Box 901
Great Falls, MT 59403-0901 (USA)
Please contact suemontana@mcn.net for mailing information other than regular US Mail service. (Also please include your name and address if you would like for us to acknowledge/confirm receipt of your donations.)
The toys will be distributed during the Christmas give away but the warm clothes and blankets will be distributed right away. During Montana winters, the temperature can drop to 30 or 40 degrees below zero so warm winter clothing and blankets can be lifesaving.
Our goal is to help the children, the elders, the single parent families, or families unable to make ends meet due to the high unemployment rate, the difficult conditions and the extreme poverty on the reservation.The children need all the help and encouragement they can get!
Other items that would also be appreciated: grooming supplies like toothpaste, tooth brushes,soaps and shampoos, combs, hair brushes, hair barrettes, rubber bands or other types of hair or pony tail holders. Last but not least : pampers diapers or pull-ups.
Thank you for being a part of this project and supporting it."
Respectfully,
Manuel Redwoman,
Northern Cheyenne/Lakota/Arapaho
Our heartfelt thanks to everyone for your support !

Haidu Language Project
Did you know that before Christopher Columbus arrived in the new world, the "Indians" in North America spoke over 300 indigenous languages? Today, roughly 20 of these languages have speakers of all ages. Unfortunately, the Haida language of Kasaan, Alaska is not among them.
Currently, only seven Kasaan Haidas speak the Kasaan Haida dialect with varying degrees of fluency--all elders over the age of 75. I know this because my dad grew up in Kasaan, 25 miles from my birthplace of Ketchikan, Alaska. We belong to the Haida tribe. This summer, I urged the Kasaan Haida Heritage Foundation (KHHF) to allow me to utilize the foundation's nonprofit status to seek funding and conduct projects that preserve our elders' knowledge.
In September, we created the position of Media Specialist in which I intend to raise money and interview our elders, especially in regards to the Haida language. I will produce, direct, and coordinate a video documentary to raise awareness and archive the language. I plan to make the results available in digital formats on the KHHF website.
If given the chance, I believe people would rally to this cause. We need to get the word out. So, I call on friends like you to get the ball rolling and join "The Grassroots Founders Campaign" Grassroots because the idea is to reach out to many individuals on a personal level; Founders because you will underwrite the beginning of our preservation effort.
Donations received from now until December 31, 2004 will earn the donor a Grassroots Founder designation. I ask for a relatively small gift of 25 to 100 dollars. Donor's names will appear in the KHHF newsletter and donations will be eligible for a tax deduction for this year. Grassroots Founders get special on-screen mention in the documentary.
Please send checks (payable to "KHHF") to:
Kasaan Haida Heritage Foundation
600 University Street, Suite 3010
Seattle, WA 98101-1129
Write in the memo area on your check or include a note designating funds for "Media Specialist/Projects".
Very importantly, SPREAD THE WORD. Please pass this on to 5 to 10 friends, or more. You will multiply your donation exponentially and play a vital role in preserving the Haida language for future generations. We appreciate anything you can do to help us preserve our language and heritage.
Sincerely,
Frederick Olsen, Jr.
For more information, email me or go to
http://kavilco.com/pages/
aboutkhhf.html
KHHF is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (EIN 92-0169568).

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Blue Jay and Sweat-House - Thompson
Blue Jay is related to Sweat-house. He was the greatest joker of the ancients, and was always poking fun at the people. If any one made fun of him, or imitated him, his mouth became twisted. He was the originator of the twisted-mouth disease, and introduced it into the world. Before that persons with twisted mouths were unknown. Blue Jay and Sweat-house lived among the people, and slept in a corner of the house. Sweat-house took the form of the bent stick of a sweat-house, and slept by day. At night he changed into an old man, and wandered about, while Blue Jay slept in his place. The people did not know that Sweat-house was a man. Finally the people became tired of Blue Jay's mockery, and fearful of his magic, and made up their minds to desert him. They kept away for four years, living in a different place each summer and each winter. At the end of that time Blue Jay was still alive, and continued to live in the same place. Then they agreed to leave for food, and settled in another country. At last a transformer came along and transformed Blue Jay, saying, "Henceforth you will be a bird, and a chatterer and mocker forever, able to talk incessantly, and to imitate the cries of the eagle and other birds and animals." This is the reason why the blue jay is able, at this present day, to imitate the cries of all kinds of birds and animals. Then he transformed Sweat-house, saying, "You, old man, will be the spirit of the sweat-house, and, until the world ends, people, by sweat-bathing, and praying to you, will lose their lice, and become healthy, clean, successful, and rich. You will be very powerful, and able to help the people, and grant their prayers." Footnotes 311:1 As far as one can see. The distance varies, of course, with the position of the spectator and the nature of the country.
Taken from: Myths and Tales from Nicola Valley and Fraser River collected by James Alexander Teit, 1911

From Blue Panther Keeper of Stories