Category Archives: american indian

And one for Wakonta

Posted on October 10, 2013 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

You just can’t find good coffee outside Portland. That’s a fib. We found tasty java in New York. But Istanbul? Paris? Rapid City?

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Java tales

Posted on October 9, 2013 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

Returning to Portland after a jaunt to the East Coast put coffee in perspective. Our hunt for New Jersey java focused our activities. Each morning we watched as the beach denizens, robed in shorts and sweatshirts, bellied up to the … Continue reading →

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Massaging the facts

Posted on September 23, 2013 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

I am awed and distressed at propaganda that envelopes us. Sure we recognize the obvious sales pitches: • The clerk pops your prescription pills into a paper bag festooned with an ad for a new medicine • The tennis champ’s … Continue reading →

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Identity quest

Posted on September 21, 2013 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

It is a common quest, this search for identity. And I’m not an orphan. I knew my parents and grandparents. I should know who I am, right?

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Have a doughnut

Posted on September 12, 2013 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

You know the routine. Homer Simpson is barely paying attention to his wife, Marge, and the cartoon bubble alerts us to his thoughts: Blah, blah, blah, blah. Homer perks up when he hears something that grabs his attention: Blah, blah, … Continue reading →

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The Contrarian Sioux

Posted on September 4, 2013 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

I’ve had to release the notion that all Indians are community-minded. While anthropologists correctly note cultures are classified by their communitarian versus individualistic values, there’s plentiful evidence that indigenous folk have an independent streak. The Sioux, for example, tolerated individuals … Continue reading →

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Trickster names

Posted on August 31, 2013 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

Naming has power. Studying framing, propaganda and public relations—and watching Mad Men—helps strip the artifice created when naming things. Corn syrup becomes corn sugar.

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Rosie Red Top

Posted on August 30, 2013 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

My indatsay, John, shows me a sepia photograph of his family at their home on the Pine Ridge Reservation. The place bears the indelicate name of Stinking Water Creek. Relatives stare at the camera while a white-haired elder sits on … Continue reading →

Posted in american indian, authenticity, Francis Parkman, Henri Chatillion, Lakota, native american, Native Science, science, science communication | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Crazy Horse: Tiyospaye

Posted on August 23, 2013 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

Larry McMurtry—who wrote Lonesome Dove, The Last Picture Show and Terms of Endearment—penned a biography of Crazy Horse that proved a solid summer read. McMurtry writes about my relatives in the book Crazy Horse (Penguin-Viking, 1999). He says Crazy Horse … Continue reading →

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Being Tonto

Posted on August 19, 2013 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

Finally got up the nerve to see The Lone Ranger. The movie earned jibes from Indian Country and was slammed by the critics all summer. My Facebook pals panned the film so I figure I can’t critique it without viewing … Continue reading →

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