Category Archives: authenticity

OK: Hokahey

The most prominent misunderstanding about native people living in North America is that we are all the same. Truth is, life at Rosebud is different from life at Gallup. We visited relatives in June in South Dakota, where we attended … Continue reading

Posted in american indian, authenticity, human origin, Indian, Lakota, native american, Native Science, writing | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

May your gander be proper

My propaganda students presented final projects in class yesterday, showing how propaganda can be subtle or overt. And always present. Students sliced through the veneer of million dollar campaigns that convince you to drink milk, vote Republican, quit smoking and … Continue reading

Posted in american indian, authenticity, ethics, film, framing, Indian, manifest destiny, milk campaign, native american, Native Science, news bias, Roosevelt, science, science communication, writing | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Curb that Testosterone

My hypothesis is that biking builds testosterone. Or is it watching killers on TV? One indication is the jerky behavior of the blokes who pass without warning. I reckon one false move and we’d crash.

Posted in authenticity, biking, journalism, native american, Native Science, Portland, writing | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

What you don’t know about the Boston Tea Party

Sometimes we approach history with doubt, especially when it comes to stories about Native Americans. In grade school I heard North America was largely unpopulated until settlers arrived: a story quite different than the ones my relatives told. Reading about … Continue reading

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Brain Full of Buckshot

In the Wild West soldiers could earn a dollar for every American Indian skull they collected. Skulls were then shipped back east so scientists could study them. One of the collectors, Samuel G. Morton, used skulls to extrapolate on personality … Continue reading

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Nip and Tuck for Your Brain

You can get a prescription to enhance your libido and lengthen your eyelashes, so why not a pill to help your memory? That’s the discussion around our dinner table: should doctors prescribe drugs that could improve cognitive skills?

Posted in authenticity, framing, journalism, Native Science, neuroscience, science, science communication | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Confined to a Wheelchair

Sometimes messages expand our thoughts and sometimes messages narrow them. A relative pointed out journalists are fond of saying, for example, Lady Gaga is “confined to a wheelchair,” as reported recently in the Huffington Post (UK). But a wheelchair is … Continue reading

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Remembering Maria Tallchief

When someone mentioned ballet my mother would chime in that a famous ballerina came from her American Indian community. Maria Tallchief. We learned this week that Tallchief passed on. She and her sister Marjorie came from a prominent Osage family, … Continue reading

Posted in american indian, authenticity, film, Indian, journalism, native american, Native Science, Osage, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Cookie Full of Arsenic

I’d hate to take a bite of you. You’re a cookie full of arsenic. That’s just one of the unforgettable quotes from the movie, The Sweet Smell of Success my students viewed this week. Set in 1950s against the backdrop … Continue reading

Posted in authenticity, cinema, ethics, film, framing, journalism, news bias, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Science & Lipstick

It’s the stories that draw my attention to the science and health sections of the New York Times. But what caught my eye this week was a full-page advertisement. The French cosmetics company L’Oréal honors women scientists and the ad … Continue reading

Posted in authenticity, framing, journalism, science, science communication, Uncategorized, writing | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment