Monthly Archives: November 2013

Think before you tweet

The headline reads: Cher blasts Thanksgiving. The celebrity apparently tweeted the holiday signals the devastation of Indian peoples. So she doesn’t honor the holiday. When I was in high school I shared her feelings. I rejected materialism, capitalism, marriage—and anything … Continue reading

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Let’s get rid of the Redskins’ name

Talk about cognitive dissonance. A story circulating on Facebook lauds Dan Maffei, a democratic congressional representative from New York, who asks fellow legislators to rid the Washington Redskins of its name. American Indians and others detest the use of Redskins … Continue reading

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Race explained

A public exhibit on race invites you to examine your beliefs. The exhibit declares there is no real scientific rationale for the word race and then walks visitors through a series of videos and narratives describing how race has been … Continue reading

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Manufactroversy

Here’s a word to stitch into your vocabulary pocket. Manufactroversy. The word means a manufactured controversy. And what an elegant word to share with my propaganda, persuasion and framing students.

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Tribal rights

What would be a good elevator speech for my talk today? As I jet to Seattle to speak about science and public policy to a group of experts, I figure I’m not giving a lecture. I’m telling a story. The … Continue reading

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Justice? It depends

Scholars have long debated the tenets that underpin justice. Interesting that a word we take for granted—justice—would roll over like a tumbleweed, subject to interpretations. Definitions have emerged from many quarters—from St. Augustine, John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Emmanuel Kant, Jeremy … Continue reading

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When words aren’t what they seem

How fortuitous that Native American Heritage Month comes at a time when I’ve been invited to write a book chapter about my work in Native Science. Below I’ve woven together words that describe what I do for the book’s editors … Continue reading

Posted in american indian, authenticity, ethics, framing, human origin, Indian, Kennewick Man, NAGPRA, native american, Native Science, neuroscience, repatriation, salmon, science, science communication | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

It’s in the name

Beloved and I traipsed down to the county office this week to fill out the forms, show our identification cards and hand over 60 bucks for an Oregon marriage license. The clerk asked if I wanted to change my name. … Continue reading

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Depends where you look

I realize talking with relatives who live on the rez that it all depends on your perspective. The path differs from one intersection to the next. For example, elderly relatives were dissuaded in their youth from showing segments of their … Continue reading

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Return to tradition

We arrived just in time for the last few songs at a November gathering in Gray Horse under the scaffold of the newly built roundhouse. Drummers kept a beat while dancers circled under the arbor as a cool breeze invited … Continue reading

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