One of my co-workers saved all the '97 Notes, although I had lost them in an NT conversion. Many thanks to Vaughn Girol for restoring them to us!
One of my co-workers saved all the '97 Notes, although I had lost them in an NT conversion. Many thanks to Vaughn Girol for restoring them to us!
1996 NOTES FROM NATIVE AMERICA
ARE YOU AN INDIAN?
How often have you heard or said "I'm part Indian"? If you have, then some Native American elders have something to teach you. A very touching example was told by a physician from Oregon who discovered as an adult that he was part Indian. This is his story. Listen well:
Some twenty or more years ago while serving the Mono and Chukchanse and Chownumnee communities in the Sierra Nevada, I was asked to make a housecall on a Mono elder. She was 81 years old and had developed pneumonia after falling on frozen snow while bucking up some firewood.
I was surprised that she had asked for me to come since she had always avoided anything to do with the services provided through the local agencies. However it seemed that she had decided I might be alright because I had helped her grandson through some difficult times earlier and had been studying Mono language with the 2nd graders at North Fork School.
She greeted me from inside her house with a Mana' hu, directing me into her bedroom with the sound of her voice. She was not willing to go to the hospital like her family had pleaded, but was determined to stay in her own place and wanted me to help her using herbs that she knew and trusted but was too weak to do alone. I had learned to use about a dozen native medicinal plants by that time, but was inexperienced in using herbs in a life or death situation. She eased my fears with her kind eyes and gentle voice. I stayed with her for the next two days, treating her with herbal medicine (and some vitamin C that she agreed to accept).
She made it through and we became friends. One evening several years later, she asked me if I knew my elders. I told her that I was half Canadian and half Appalachian from Kentucky. I told her that my Appalachian grandfather was raised by his Cherokee mother but nobody had ever talked much about that and I didn't want anyone to think that I was pretending to be an Indian. I was uncomfortable saying I was part Indian and never brought it up in normal conversation.
"What! You're part Indian?" she said. "I wonder, would you point to the part of yourself that's Indian. Show me what part you mean."
I felt quite foolish and troubled by what she said, so I stammered out something to the effect that I didn't understand what she meant. Thankfully the conversation stopped at that point. I finished bringing in several days worth of firewood for her, finished the yerba santa tea she had made for me and went home still thinking about her words.
Some weeks later we met in the grocery store in town and she looked down at one of my feet and said, "I wonder if that foot is an Indian foot. Or maybe it's your left ear. Have you figured it out yet?"
I laughed out loud, blushing and stammering like a little kid. When I got outside after shopping, she was standing beside my pick-up, smiling and laughing. "You know" she said, "you either are or you aren't. No such thing as part Indian. It's how your heart lives in the world, how you carry yourself. I knew before I asked you. Nobody told me. Now don't let me hear you say you are part Indian anymore."
She died last year, but I would like her to know that I've heeded her words. And I've come to think that what she did for me was a teaching that the old ones tell people like me, because others have told me that a Native American elder also said almost the same thing to them. I know her wisdom helped me to learn who I was that day and her words have echoed in my memory ever since. And because of her, I am no longer part Indian, I am Indian.
THIS STORY PROVIDED BY LES TATE OF THE TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY.
11/18/96
NATIVE LANGUAGE CLASSES
Tulsa, OK (AP)
Sapulpa High School's school board has voted to approve Creek and Cherokee language classes for their school district.
School Superintendent Charles Dotson said, "Our objective obviously is to have a rich variety of academic programs for our students, but you also have to look at cultural needs. ... With 12% of our students Native Americans we feel this meets some of those needs."
The district surveyed 185 upper division high school Indian students last fall. When asked if they would be interested in enrolling in an Indian language class, 86% responded yes. The search is beginning for instructors to teach Creek and Cherokee Language classes. The curriculum will be created in conjuction with the tribes. The school district will offer the classes first to Indian students and any remaining openings will be filled by non-Indian students.
Laura Hurd, the director for Indian Education in Sapulpa's schools said, "In a lot of homes their native language has been lost." "We're trying to get them back in touch with their native language."
Several Oklahoma school districts offer classes in American Indian languages. The state Dept. of Education says these Indian language classes will meet the high school foreign language requirements.
John Berry, Oklahoma State University
11/18/96
siyo from this tsalagi gramma in anishinaabe country,
this is in response to the many people who have e-mailed their moral and spiritual support to my husband, bernard, for speaking up and out about the traditional ways of our people and the reality of our people today. i thank you all.
my husband was born and raised in ponsford, minnesota on the white earth reservation. he is the grandson of wolf rock and a direct descendent of chief may-dway-aush, who the whitemen called flatmouth. he lived for a period of time with his maternal great-grandfather ahn-da-bi-tung in bravik, minnesota.
he was educated in the catholic mission school in ponsford where he was punished many times for speaking his first language, ojibwe. he and his first wife, geraldine stone, did not teach their children to speak ojibwe, because they did not want them to suffer in the school as they had.
my husband is a combat veteran who served two tours of duty in korea. during those two tours he was wounded 5 times in hand-to-hand combat and by mortar fire. he and pete spotted wolf of the sioux nation were m.i.a.(missing in action) surrounded by enemy soldiers they hid in a cave for two weeks where they both froze their feet.
in november of 1951, on the day after thanksgiving, a mortar exploded over the bunker he was sleeping in, causing the tons of rock and dirt over him to cave in, crushing his face. after being in a coma for monthes he had to be taught to talk again, in english.
he served his country proudly and although, he was discharged with a disability rating due to his combat wounds, he was not awarded purple heart citations from the united states government until 35 years later. he has never received credit from the u.s. government for single handedly capturing an enemy platoon. he was evacuated after getting the end of his thumb shot off, taking a rifle away from an enemy soldier in hand-to-hand combat. the powers that be assumed that when comrades stated that 'rock captured the platoon,' they were referring to a south korean soldier who were called 'r.o.k.' this is the same reason that the purple heart citations came 35 years late.
my husband suffers from post traumatic stress disorder from his combat experiences. he is haunted by the spirits of the warriors: thenorth koreans that he killed in combat and the comrades who died fighting beside him in the battlefields. for many years he drank alcohol to keep the nightmares away. when he quit drinking over ten years ago, the nightmares returned. in 1991 he graduated from the first all native american p.t.s.d. treatment program at american lake vets hospital in tacoma, washington. three years ago he completed veterans service officer training. he does outreach and advocacy for native american veterans suffering from war traumas, helping them and their families understand p.t.s.d. and to apply for the benefits and assistance that they are entitled to. he does not receive any pay to do this, this is how he honors the memory of the warriors who did not return from the battlefields.
bernard is enrolled on his mother's side in the leech lake pillager band. when we moved to the leech lake reservation four years ago, we were viewed as outsiders by many of the people who were raised here all their lives. this is one of the most damaging of the legacies of the american holocaust and the politics of u.s. federal indian policy, the divisions and separations between our own peoples.
between us, bernard and i have 33 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren; and although the domineering culture tries to define and catagorize our family, we are family. we are not blended; there are no half children (all our children are whole); and we never 'step' on or over any of our children... we are family. geraldine stone rock has passed on to the spirit world and i am the only gramma rock many of these children will know. as grandparents we watch over the 'education' of the children... our grandchildren, our nieces and nephews, all the children in our community... because that _is_ our job.
our family has been through much for many generations. we cannot go back and change the hurts of the past, but through our grandchildren we can heal by making life better for them. we believe that better life can be secured by honoring the struggle and the strength of our ancestors and returning to their traditional values and priorties.
our ancestors were resourceful and creative peoples. they made the most of what was available to them. they adapted to their environments in a way that was good for the people and respectful to the gifts of thecreator. this is how we view cyberspace and we chuckle at the mysterious coincidence that this tool of communication is available through an invisible entity called a world wide web.
it is not our intention to offend anyone and we apologize to those who take offense at any of our words. and to you non-native people who truly are empathetic and concerned about our people, we need to say, that sometimes the best support that you can give us is to stand back quietlyand let our voice be heard.
i thank you for listening to this gramma.
feather eaglerock, leech lake rez
english is a foreign language. reclaim the language of your people and send it to the future as your gift to your grandchildren's grandchildren. di-ka-ne'-tsv a'-qua-tse'-li ha-htv-gi, wa-do' do-da-da-go'-hv
(THANK YOU, FEATHER EAGLEROCK FOR ALLOWING US TO USE THIS STORY)
Chris Simon: Feature Profile
Place of Birth: Wawa, Ontario
Date of Birth: January 30, 1972
Curent Team: Colorado Avalanche, #12
Position: Left Wing
Ht/Wt: 6'3", 219
Chris Simon isnt your ordinary goon. Although he has earned the reputation as one of the toughest, if not THE toughest fighters in the NHL, he has really blossomed this season into a very valuable player. Although injuries kept him out of much of the playoffs, specifically a nagging ankle injury, he was able to get a few points. There has been speculation in Denver that Colorado will not try to retain Simon (He is a Type II free agent) due to a run-in with coach Marc Crawford early in the playoffs. However, Colorado Avalanche managment has stated they intend on trying to re-sign all their players. One thing for sure, he wil be a very valuable assest to whatever team he ends up on.
Although Chris missed the first several games of the season due to contract dispute, and sat out occasional games with back and shoulder injuries, he had 16 goals and 16 assists in the regular season. He has surprisingly good hands for such a big guy, and is so strong it is nearly impossible to move him in front of the net. Additionally, he is a hard worker and a team leader, as well as one of the most popular Avalanche among his teammates.
Since he broke into the league 3 years ago, Simon has been highly regarded by the Native American community, especially as a role model for Native youth. He is a recovering alcoholic, hopes that he is a positive example for Native kids to follow. Chris has said that he likes to spend his free time hunting and fishing, which he feels is much healthier than hanging out at a bar. Upon retiring from hockey, he would like to return to his home in Ontario and live a small town lifestyle.
(NOTE; IT IS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THE AVALANCHE DID NOT SIGN CHRIS UP FOR ANOTHER SEASON!)
11/06/96
Learning from the Ancestors
Traditional agricultural methods are being taught to help tribal families make use of their own land, increase self-sufficiency, and preserve cultural traditions.
The program for this was developed by the Thakiwa Foundation which is an independant non-profit group which maintains offices in Drumright and Prague Oklahoma.
The agricultural program, and projects, was started in the Springof 1996 near Cushing, Oklahoma. Dagmar Thorpe, director of Thakiwa, is the great-granddaughter of Olympic athlete Jim Thorpe. She said, "We want to perpetuate our way of life, our language and our culture. Our principal focus is our own community, the Sac and Fox, but we're also linking with people in other places and providing some assistance."
Thakiwa Deputy Director, Jacob Manatowa-Bailey has studied what types of plantings were done by tribal ancestors and how they were planted. Land management practices are also included, to help with wild life habitat.
Jim Wilson, a tribal member, experimented with different planting methods in his garden this year. He tried planting corn in single rows, and in another garden, planted with the traditional "three sisters" method.
In this method you plant corn in mounds and two weeks later plant pole beans on the mounds and squash and pumpkins in between the mounds. The squash and pumpkin's broad leaves keep weeds down, the corn acts like poles for the beans, and the beans fertilize the corn.
Comparing the harvest, Wilson said the row corn gave one ear per stalk, and the three sisters method gave three or four ears per stalk.The program participants are going to use their harvest in four ways, as their ancestors did. The harvest will be used to feed the family, to give away to others, to save some for ceremonial purposes, and for feasts.
(Thanks to John Berry, Oklahoma State University)
*******************end*********************Native Note #1***************
11/05/96
11/04/96
It's hard to imagine that it has been a year since I began sending you Notes from Native America during the month of November. Last year I was somewhat overwhelmed, but certainly gratified, by all the response they received. 1996 brings us an additional outlet, the American Indian Program Council (AIPC) homepage on the Internet, where the Notes will be posted for all the world to see.
For those of you unfamiliar with the Notes from Native America, last year, in an effort to raise awareness during Native American Heritage month with zero money, I put out e-mails on the office WAN (nearly) every day which presented, either historical or contemporary, "a glimpse into America as experienced by its indigenous people.
This year it may be somewhat intermittent, but there is still plenty to share, and a lot more to explore. I'm hoping that many more of you will have Internet capabilities and Netscape this year, so you can investigate Native websites of interest. If there is something you would like to see, let me know, and perhaps I can help find it and put it up to share. Sampling Native poetry and literature is something I look forward to doing.
The foremost thing in my mind at the moment is the one-day training seminar our AIPC has been busily planning for months. It will be held in Denver at the Tivoli Center on November 19. Elizabeth Homer, director of the US Office of American Indian Trust will be our keynote speaker, and we have many respected individuals presenting sessions. If you have Mosaic or Netscape you can read all about it at:
http://tipswww.osmre.gov/~lwindle/AIPC
Mitakuye Oyasin
(We are all related)
Lori
