Weds., Nov. 17, 2004

native american arts daily news, presented by
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Minority students flocking to UNM
Native Times - USA
... part of the development of a new degree in Native American studies ... leadership, education and language, environmental and cultural studies and arts and literature ...
See all stories on this topic

In Bejeweled Splendor, the Tribes Have Spoken
New York Times - New York,NY,USA
... American ethnology at the American Museum of Natural History, and currently a co-curator of "Totems to Turquoise: Native North American Jewelry Arts of the ...

Mark DeCou: A creator for the Creator
Hillsboro Free Press - Hillsboro,KS,USA
... Native American flutes, Native American art called a ceremonial pipe, walking canes-both decorative and folk art-and custom furniture that has arts and crafts ...

NY stage beckons Trinity Rep's Eustis
Providence Journal (subscription) - Providence,RI,USA
... During troubled times for arts organizations, Trinity has ended the past eight ... and a play about a May-December romance by Native American playwright Drew ...

GPAC Gets Into Holiday Season Spirit
Up & Coming Magazine - Fayetteville,NC,USA
... will present 'Tis The Season at the Givens Performing Arts Center beginning Nov ... a Toby Keith inspired number, a lyrical dance (set to Native American music and ...

Local News
Ashland City Times - Ashland City,TN,USA
... English, science, math, foreign language, social studies and the arts -- must be ... percent last year -- while the numbers of Asian, Native American and Pacific ...

Community Calendar
Ipswich Chronicle - Ipswich,MA,USA
... Her designs are also on display at the Ipswich Arts Cooperative on South Main ... A small area will be set aside for Native American display called "We Were Here ...

Nationally renowned comedian to headline fundraiser for Berkeley ...
Onlypunjab.com (press release) - Punjab,India
Nationally renowned Native comedian, Charlie Hill performs Thursday ... Julia Morgan Center for the Arts in Berkeley ... Hill has won the American Indian Entertainer of ...

Holly Festival and craft fair
Wakefield Daily Item - Wakefield,MA,USA
... the proceeds from ticket sales will benefit the schools' arts programs ... made America so diverse, including African, Caribbean, Irish, Native American and African ...

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Web Sites:
Indigenous Peoples Literature

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

While both Young and Bunzel agree on the religious importance of the images and the lack of a determinate naming process, they disagree on the role of the individual in interpretation[24] and whether the interpretive process is sensual or rational.  This disparity may be related to the different methodologies involved, for Bunzel worked through an interpreter and sought to evoke images in the use of names, often receiving diverse groupings within clusters while Young relied more so on ostensive definition, perceiving the images as having the power to evoke narrative, using the term “metonymic” to describe the power of images to evoke where ambiguity is present in both meaning and form[25].  The one most notable aspect of Young’s study in regard to the individuating function is the observance that Zuni interpreters “included the entire environmental setting of the rock art in discussions of meaning rather than focusing on the image alone…and not only placed individual images in the context of the whole corpus of rock art figures at the site, but also included other features of the landscaping, such as springs, plants, birds, and so on”[26].

[24] Bunzel,does note that new masks and dances are not uncommon and do allow for aesthetic expression; however, all new dances must be approved by the head priest of the kiva, and the masks must be defined and absorbed by society.  Any new creation is completely integrated. In this is evident that aesthetics can provide for epistemic fulfillment in diachronic development.

[25] Op. cit. Young, 1988: 159.

[26] (Ibid, xvii, italics mine)

Notices:

Exhibit: Precious Cargo -- Cradle Baskets and Childbirth: California Indian Traditions, opens Nov. 26

In the last couple decades, it has become common to see modern parents carry babies in back packs or slings. It is thought to be good for babies to feel the body warmth and closeness of a parent. Interestingly, this was exactly the approach taken by California Indian groups for many generations. Carrying her infant in a basketry cradleboard allowed the mother to keep the baby close and respond to its needs, while at the same time continuing the cooking and collecting needed to provide the necessities of life for the family. As with many Native American artifacts, the objects of daily use became an art form, reflecting both the Indian aesthetic and the habits and belief systems of the various Indian groups. A new exhibit at the Maidu Interpretive Center in Roseville depicts and explains the many characteristics of Native practices relating to childbirth and childcare. The exhibit shows the varying cradle basket styles, some of which had pointed designs at the bottom, allowing the mother to stand the cradleboard in the ground while she tended to some brief task. Others were designed to be temporarily attached to a tree, letting the baby look around. Some cradleboards kept the infant swaddled tightly, others allowed the baby to be in a sitting position. Some were constructed with hoods to protect and give shade to the baby. Throughout California, mothers and grandmothers made model cradles for their children and grandchildren to play with. It was more than a toy, it was a model for the girl’s future role. The child might also make her own, representing her first attempt at weaving a cradle basket. The cradle design varied from group to group, so an infant was instantly placed in a device that gave it a sense of cultural identity as well as security. While the exhibit displays cradle boards from the Pomo, Chumash, Yurok, Miwok, Washoe, Mojave, and 22 other native groups, it also covers other aspects of birth and childrearing. It explains how the father also changed his lifestyle while awaiting the birth of the child, how he might entrust the child briefly to a fast runner, hoping to transfer that skill to the youngster. Child naming practices are also described in the exhibit, as are the use of ‘touchstones’ and rituals to help women achieve conception. Fertility was believed to be under the control of the supernatural, and spiritual considerations were embedded into childbirth and child raising practices. This unique exhibit, opening November 26, is called Precious Cargo: California Indian Cradle Baskets and Childbirth Traditions. It explores traditional beliefs and practices concerning childbirth and the use of cradle baskets, both historically and today, The traveling exhibit was assembled by the Marin Museum of the American Indian and will be on tour for three years. The Maidu Interpretive Center will have community activities and demonstrations related to the exhibit. The center is at 1960 Johnson Ranch Drive in Roseville. For further information, call the center at 916.774.5934 or 772-4242

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"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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Betty Brown's Dream - Yana
[Obtained in July and August, 1907, a few miles to the north of the hamlet of Round Mountain (or Buzzard's Roost), Shasta county. The informant was Betty Brown (Indian name Ts!i'daimiya), since dead. There are now not more than seven or eight Indians that are able to speak the dialect. In some respects Betty was an inferior source of text material to Sam Bat'wi, as evidenced by the very small number of myths it was found possible to procure from her. Her method of narrative was peculiar in that she had a very marked tendency to omit anything, even the names of the characters involved, that was not conversation; this has necessitated the liberal use in the English translation of parentheses in which the attempt is made to arrive at a somewhat smoother narrative.] I dreamt. I went off towards the east across a dried-up creek; the creek bed was all covered with moss, it was green with moss. Now I went to the north along the trail. Now I stood on the outside (of a house). "Enter!" said to me a man whose hair was all white. There was also a woman who was blind in one eye. She offered me as a seat a chair of ice. I looked from one thing to another. Everything was made of ice, and it hung down in icicles. "It is near dinner-time," she said. "He will pull the bell," she said. "Now you will be seated, and he will pull you up." "I seated myself, Now he had pulled me up. There was a medicine-man sitting there, talking. The medicine-man was made of rock, he had on a net-cap of white down; he was all white-haired, even his eye-lashes were white. I was afraid. I sat down to eat. (She said to me,) "Go and see your mother! She is sitting inside there yonder." So I went into the next room to the south. "So it is you, my daughter!" she said, and hugged me. "Go and eat!" she said, and I sat down. Everything was of ice. "So it is you who have come here, cousin!" (said another woman that I recognized as Mary). "We are living in a good place. The place we lived in before was bad. This place here is very good, it is all covered with flowers and it is green. It is very good." And then someone overtook me. "Let us go back!" I slipped down on the left side to the north. Then I started to go back, but I did not go back home by the way I came.
Yana Texts by Edward Sapir University of California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology Vol. 9, No. 1, pp. 1-235 [1910]
From Blue Panther Keeper of Stories

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Bird Origin Myth - Winnebago

The first birds created by Earthmaker were the Thunders, who can make themselves invisible. As the Thunderbirds traversed the heavens, they would occasionally lose a feather. From such feathers, the visible birds sprang into existence. From the largest quill feathers of the Thunders there came into being the race of eagles; from other large feathers came the race of hawks and their kind; from the small feathers came such birds as partridges; from the down feathers came the small birds like robins and pigeons; and from the mere fuzz of down feathers emerged the very smallest of birds, such as sparrows and hummingbirds. All birds, therefore, are descended from the Thunders.
Thomas Foster, Foster's Indian Record and Historical Data (Washington, D. C.: 1876-1877) vol. 1; #1, p. 4, coll. 1, 4.
From Blue Panther Keeper of Stories

I N T R O D U C I N G REDNATION, Inc.

http://www.rednation.net/
My name is Principal Chief Giti Equa Yonv Smith (translation) Principal Chief Keith Big Bear Smith, and as the Principal Chief, I am very honored to introduce to everyone, our Tribal Nation known as RedNation, Inc.. A Nation comprised of both mixed-blood and full-blood Native American Indian Descendants that was initially formed by People of Cherokee Ancestry, it now includes Indigenous People from all Nations of Native American Ancestry and Descent. RedNation, Inc. is a Teaching and Learning organization, whose goals are to educate youth and adult alike, in Traditional Native American Cultures and Values. With Spiritual ideals focused on Spiritual Self Growth. Living the "First Peoples" way of life and following the "Red Road" in our daily practices allow us the means to pass these traditions along to future generations. We do not practice nor do we recognize the "New Age" concepts. RedNation, Inc. has expanded daily throughout this Country since its formation on August 28, 2002. As has been discussed among the leadership, there is a needed goal for the preservation of our various Native American Languages, Religious Beliefs and Practices, Cultures and Heritages. RedNation, Inc. is a young organization, and we realize that we have much to accomplish. But with the dedicated support of our ever growing membership, we feel our goals can easily be accomplished. We welcome all with open arms to join us in the journey to teach and learn the ways that make the First People, a proud and honorable nation. We are a 501(c)(3), tax-exempt, non-profit Tribal Nation of mixed-blood and full-blood people that will continually need donations. All donations to us are Tax Deductible. We don't believe in dividing our blood into fractions to determine whether we are an "Indian" or not, and we do not depend on the "BIA" to make any kind of determination concerning us. Federal Rolls, a Federal Enrollment Card, or a Membership Card from our "Nation", does not make a person "Indian." Only you and the Creator know what is in your heart. This is what determines being a true "Native American." Anyone that casts any negativity towards us…. May the Creator be with you, for we don't have the time to waste on you. For the ones that are like-minded with us, you are welcomed with open arms. Come join us and be a part of the inevitable "Nation". Sgi (Thank you),
Principal Chief Giti Equa Yonv Smith
For further information, e-mail me at:
moreinfo@rednation.net