Author Archives: Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

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About Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

Professor and researcher who studies science communication, particularly issues that impact American Indians. Dr. Coleman is an enrolled citizen of the Osage Nation.

Navigating tropes

Posted on September 20, 2010 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

What informs us? Close your eyes for 30 seconds: what comes to mind when I ask you to think about American Indians and their colonizers? The word “colonizer” is loaded right up front, and you probably envision explorers—what some would … Continue reading →

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Bridging streams

Posted on September 17, 2010 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

Telling stories This week I’ve been writing about the atomistic nature of Western science which I argue isn’t a bad thing: in fact it’s a useful tool for problem solving. Problem is scientists often believe this is the only problem-solving … Continue reading →

Posted in authenticity, framing, Indian, Osage, science, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Holism and the Big Cheese

Posted on September 15, 2010 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

Comparing lenses Thinking about Native science means thinking about western science, and forces you to examine holism and reductionism. Once a student told me about a course she took on time management, and said the instructor recommended the Swiss cheese … Continue reading →

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The identity dialectic

Posted on September 14, 2010 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

How is identity formed? In the past few months I’ve been consumed with writing about identity. Often it seems the more I read the less I know, but I carry on despite my deficits.

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Owning the past

Posted on September 9, 2010 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

“And the scientists cannot accept the fact that just because it’s not written down in a book, it’s not fact. It’s fact to me, because I live it every day.” Continue reading →

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When some values prevail and others fail

Posted on September 7, 2010 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

Scientific supremacy Writing a book chapter on mass media and American Indians brings sharply into focus our western love of science.

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News and the scientific approach

Posted on September 5, 2010 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

Objectivity Journalism textbooks take writing seriously and promote an objective style of reporting information. The concept makes perfect sense when, as a reader, you want to make your own judgments about an event—an election, a soccer game, a police shooting—rather … Continue reading →

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Writer’s block

Posted on September 3, 2010 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

Taking aim at writing My book chapter is due. Even though I write every day the chapter is creeping around my feet, nibbling at my toes, and reminding me to get crackin’.

Posted in Indian, journalism, Uncategorized, writing | 2 Comments

Dreams

Posted on September 2, 2010 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

The intersection of values in science and culture I dreamt that I was at an Indian gathering and began to tell a story. The story was to be a humorous tale about one of the women in the group, someone … Continue reading →

Posted in authenticity, Indian, Native Science, science, Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Filmmaking

Posted on September 1, 2010 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

Native Americans, cinema and framing Great news feed forwards articles about native issues worldwide and I scour the site for notices about science. But today I want to focus on cinema because I read on the feed, Indigenous Peoples Issues … Continue reading →

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