Math & Natives (education)

Mathematics Used by American
Indians North of Mexico
For the American Indians north of Mexico, we may say that although their bonds of superstition and lack of an adequate number symbolism limited their mathematical progress, number still played an important role in their religious beliefs. In addition, they used many geometric figures in ornamentation and construction.

Full article: 

Wannabi Clan? (humor)

Top Ten Ways to tell if you are from the Wannabi (want to be) Clan
By Dr. Coyote (borrowed and adapted from an earlier posting)

10. You were born white but just realized that there was a possibility that you are native, you just don't know what tribe, and so you joined AIM or you know you are native because of your cheekbones or feel it in your soul.  And dang I just enjoy buffalo burgers or jerky so I must be….

9. You think Russell Means is a god, and he can do no wrong, or support Leonard even though you are not quite sure if he is innocent or guilty or what exactly the particulars are of that case?

8. You think Fry Bread is traditional food and smoking a cigarette or using commercial tobacco outside your tipi/tent counts as a prayer.

7. Protesting for Indian rights (doesn't matter what tribe) means a sit in or holding a sign while trying to wear your new ribbon shirt you bought from the white guy at the local "trading post".  Well only if it fits in your schedule and you happen to be in the area (within a 10 minute drive and there is free parking)

6. You go to the local Indian bar and buy the ndns drinks cuz you want to talk about their customs and "culture” and sing pow wow songs like the old times and just hang with the skins, but cant stand the idea of a warm tall bud at 10 AM on the side of the road after sawing up firewood or being up all night hunting or fishing

5. You try to date an ndn girl but you decide she's too round and rugged for your tastes (and her name wasn’t Running Deer) and her hair wasn’t jet black anyway and it was short so you decide to date the hippie wannabes with the hemp jewelry and long hair instead, plus she has a dog that is part wolf and your think you are wolf clan ennit. 

4. You get the pre-requisite tribal tattoo placed where everyone can  see it, so they can ask you what tribe you are, but no one ever  does OR your car is carefully calculated to look “NDN” (i.e. dream catchers or safety pin headdresses on the mirror or bumper stickers bought from a vendor at a pow wow) OR the more tacky beadwork the better and  you wear your hair long for no particular reason and braid it because it looks cool, and hey doesn’t the smell of burning sage in your clothes make you smell Indian?

3. You find your beadwork for your regalia in a pawnshop and  proudly wear it at every powwow not knowing that everyone who is a  serious powwow person knows where you got it from and you've only been to contest powwows and no traditional powwows  because they don't run them on time and every one shows up late.  (ndn time) Besides going to every Pow Wow in every small town is what it really means to be on the red road right?  Traditional ceremony, isn’t that a pow wow?

2. You had a vision or sweat and found out you were Indian all along but just separated from the people and need to reconnect with the blood…What live on a reservation(or urban relocation area)  with no electricity and get paid $9 an hour if you can find a job , commodity cheese what is that?  Get all my health care from the IHS Clinic????

And the Number 1 way to tell if you are from the Wannabi (want to be) Clan DRUMROLL…

1. You use phrases like ennit and NDN cause you are a true skin and you are easily offended and whine about this post because while some of it is true about others….HEY, who in the hell does that Dr. Coyote thinks he is judging me as a Native if he ain’t walked in my moccasins… 

(just laugh!)

Living With Terror (musings)

Notes from Indian Country
By Tim Giago (Nanwica Kciji)
© 2003 Lakota Media, Inc.

February 24, 2003
 Indians have Lived with Terrorism for 500 Years

There is a terrible fear sweeping across America. Since 9/11 the American people have had to face their own vulnerability.

The threat of terrorism hangs in the air. Sudden death can strike anywhere at anytime. There is no timetable nor is there a country America can strike in the event of another horrible attack by the terrorists.

After 9/11 the question was asked; why do they hate us? Perhaps that question should be rephrased to ask, "What have we done to them to make them hate us?"

America is now experiencing the fear American Indians have felt for more than 500 years. Our ancestors never knew what act of violence or terror would befall them from the American invaders. But death did come. It came in the form of biological warfare when small pox tainted blankets were distributed to the unsuspecting victims.

It came to them from the muzzles of guns that did not distinguish between warriors, women, elders or children. It came to them in the ruthless name of Manifest Destiny, the American edict that proclaimed God as the purveyor of expansion Westward.

Indian people were often slaughtered like animals often under a flag of truce and often while waving the American flag in pitiful efforts to convince their killers that they were not bad people.

At Wounded Knee in 1890, a slaughter took place that the white man often called the last great battle between Indians and the United States Army. It was not a battle. It was the last heinous action against innocent men, women and children. Their bodies were strewn across the valley known as Wounded Knee under the barrage set down by the Seventh Cavalry.

They died not knowing why. They died in fear. They died in the frozen snow of that bitterly cold December day while fleeing to find safe harbor amongst the Oglala Lakota. These Lakota experienced terrorism heaped upon them by a government that did not consider them to be human beings.

When human beings can be publicly acknowledged as less than human, their deaths become meaningless. By portraying all Indians as murdering savages, rapists, kidnappers and worse, the national media of the day laid the groundwork for Wounded Knee. The media laid the groundwork for the expansion West that would claim thousands of lives. Horace Greeley wrote, "Go West, Young Man, Go West."

And they did. By the thousands they came seeking land, gold and all of the natural resources that were out there for the taking. The only thing standing in their way was the Indian people. It was their land and it was their natural resources.

Just as the Christian Crusaders believed it was their Manifest Destiny to conquer and kill those Arabs they considered as sub-humans and heathens, so did the American Army duplicate their horrible actions. The difference is the Arabs defeated the Crusading invaders.

Oftentimes Missionaries were sent out to soften up the resistance of the Indians by converting them to Christianity. Many of the Indians slaughtered in the massacres that followed were converted Christians.

And right behind the missionaries followed the treaty makers. They used the treaties as temporary documents of appeasement. A treaty would gain them a firm foothold on Indian land and more control over the people. The treaties were quickly broken and the United States then took total control over the land and the people. The people were herded on to small reservations and treated like caged animals.

The Indian people fought back as best they could, but having been portrayed as savages without human thought or feelings, they were slaughtered by the thousands. Mercenaries such as the infamous African American Buffalo Soldiers were even used to kill, rape and pillage.

Just as many books and later movies about Arabs portrayed them as less than human, so to do the media treat the American Indian.

The fear and anxiety felt by the Indian people did not end at Wounded Knee. In many ways that was just the beginning. For the Lakota, Arapaho and Cheyenne it started in 1876.

When the warriors of the Great Sioux Nation and their allies stood up against George Armstrong Custer at the Battle of the Greasy Grass, they were punished by having their beloved He’ Sapa (Black Hills) confiscated from them without compensation. In 1981 a pitiful monetary award was made to the people of the Great Sioux Nation. Compared to the billions of dollars in timber and gold that had been extracted from the He’ Sapa, the award was pathetic.

And in this year of 2003, the Sioux people, amongst the poorest people on this planet, have refused to accept this token payment for their Sacred He’ Sapa. And guess what; America just doesn’t give a damn. It like, "Hey, we offered them the money and therefore it’s settled." It is a long way from settled and maybe someday someone in a position of power will come along who will recognize this fact. And maybe someday, America may actually recognize that it spread a path of fear and terror amongst the Indian people that is still not resolved.

With each passing day, there is still fear and anxiety in Indian country. We never know when or if the United States will take away what little we have remaining. Our language, our culture, our traditions, and our spirituality have all been under constant attack for 500 years.

The American Indian knows what it is to live in the shadow of terrorism. And now the rest of America is learning.

(Tim Giago, an Oglala Lakota, is editor and publisher of the weekly newspaper Lakota Journal. He is the founder and first president of the Native American Journalists Association. He can be reached at editor@lakotajournal.com or P.O. Box 3080, Rapid City, SD, 57709)

Motivating American Indian Students in Science and Math (education)

ERIC Identifier: ED296812 
Publication Date: 1988-01-00 
Author: Cajete, Gregory A. 
Source: ERIC Clearinghouse on Rural Education and Small Schools Las Cruces NM. 

Motivating American Indian Students in Science and Math. ERIC Digest.

Many American Indian students tend to drop high school math and science courses which are not specifically required for graduation, with the result that they do not acquire the necessary skills to enable them to pursue scientific or technical careers. This digest will summarize the major characteristics of American Indian student needs in the disciplines of science and math and then offer constructive ways in which students can be motivated for greater achievement.  

Full Article: 

Yurok Items Returned (culture)

Yuroks celebrate items’ return

Written by Anthony Skeens, The Triplicate August 17, 2010 01:44 pm
Smithsonian had displayed tribal regalia 

The Yurok Tribe held a celebration Friday for the homecoming of 217 ceremonial regalia items returned by the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian.

Speakers shared stories about the regalia’s importance and journey home, and some of the items were placed on display. In addition, there was a slide-show presentation for the visitors who filled the Yurok Indian Housing Authority building.

“I thought about the items being back home and I cried,” said Yurok Chairman Thomas O’Rourke, addressing the audience.  full story at: http://tinyurl.com/24j63aq

Snowbowl Peak (cultural appropriation)

IMPORTANT: We have a critical opportunity to stop Snowbowl's attempt to desecrate the Holy San Francisco Peaks on August 30th.
Please join us for a VERY IMPORTANT public meeting on August 30th at 5:30PM at Sinagua High School in Flagstaff, AZ. The Flagstaff City Council will be voting on whether or not they will amend Snowbowl's contract to sell drinking water for snowmaking.

Sinagua High School is located at 3950 East Butler Avenue Flagstaff, AZ.

Visit www.truesnow.org for more info.

If you cannot make it to this meeting (even if you can) please TAKE ACTION NOW:

To contact members of the City Council:

 To email all: council@flagstaffaz.gov

 For more information about your Mayor and Councilmembers or to contact individually click on one of the names below:

  Mayor Sara Presler                      spresler@flagstaffaz.gov
Vice Mayor Celia Barotz              cbarotz@flagstaffaz.gov
Councilmember Art Babbott        ababbott@flagstaffaz.gov
Councilmember Karla Brewster    kbrewster@flagstaffaz.gov

Councilmember Coral Evans        cevans@flagstaffaz.gov

Councilmember Scott Overton     soverton@flagstaffaz.gov

Councilmember Al White             awhite@flagstaffaz.gov

To make an appointment with the Mayor or a Councilmember call (928) 779-7600.

Send Letters to the Editor of the Arizona Daily Sun:

 Randy Wilson                               rwilson@azdailysun.com

Native American Jobs (opportunity)

Nation 2 Nation – Native 2 Native

“Native American Jobs” (NAJ) Launches New Job Search Engine at http://www.nativeamerican.jobs

Native American Jobs today announced the launch of a new job search engine that enables Native American job seekers to find jobs from across the Internet at www.nativeamerican.jobs. Native American Jobs envisions a job portal active on each and every Educational Web Site and every Tribal web site.  Creating equal opportunities for Native Americans to look for and obtain employment without boundaries. 
Native American Jobs purpose is providing an online job data bank available to Native American Job Seekers, Native American Tribes, Tribal Organizations and Tribally Owned or Controlled Casino’s. 

More specifically NAJ will provide unlimited job posting FREE of charge to all Educational facilities located within the boundaries of a reservation or whose enrollment is primarily Native American’s.  Any Educational facility outside of the reservation boundaries dully recommended by the Tribal Council will as well receive said services.  Tribal College’s and/or Universities will be granted FREE Access regardless of there locations.  All Educational Institutions will be provided with an HR Assistant Plug-in that is installed directly on their respective web sites.  Allowing them to provide an online application process directly on their own web portal with an administrative backend that captures the data for inter office usage.   As well other tribally operated 501c3 organizations can provide all active job listings on their websites, free of charge.  NAJ has partnered with Native American Owned Businesses and Native American Media companies as there preferred source for job postings.

Native American Jobs was incorporated in 2010, and is 100% Native American Owned and operated.  Native American Jobs has applied for their 501c3 status.  The board of Native American Jobs is comprised of Tribal Members from across the Nation. 

The new job search engine was developed to provide the most comprehensive job search experience online, for both Native American Job Seekers, and Native American Companies looking to hire the most qualified Tribal Members. 

For more information, contact:

Kelvin Lawrence
Native American Jobs
605-370-3310
866-888-6626
Info @ nativeamerican.jobs (take out spaces)
http://www.nativeamerican.jobs