Category Archives: family values

Stuck to gorilla glue

Posted on April 10, 2019 by Cynthia Coleman Emery

LITTLE THEORIES I married a boy. I don’t mean a boy-boy. I mean a man-boy. You can find the evidence in the linen closet. There’s a shelf of light bulbs surrounded by boxes of batteries. I’m not talking cup-size when … Continue reading →

Posted in family values, marriage, nativescience, Silverback | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Kondo as a Verb

Posted on July 16, 2018 by Cynthia Coleman Emery

(We discovered a spoon with the Rous insignia) No one enjoys moving, do they? I am in awe that my mother moved us—sometimes once a year—when my step-father worked overseas on construction projects with oil companies. We moved every year … Continue reading →

Posted in allmyrelations, american indian, authenticity, communication, family values, framing, memory, native american, Native Science, press, writing | Leave a comment

Threading the Needle

Posted on July 8, 2018 by Cynthia Coleman Emery

Closing the Osage-Buddhist Circle We spent the last weeks—months—on a sewing project, creating a Rakusu: a garment worn when you become a practicing Buddhist. The Rakusu has a rich tradition. The garment is a rectangular cloth with straps that you … Continue reading →

Posted in allmyrelations, american indian, Buddhist, family values, journalism, Lakota, native american, native press, Native Science, nativescience, press, sioux | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

When Honor Meets Disrespect

Posted on March 24, 2017 by Cynthia Coleman Emery

Cultural Mores & Travel I gasped when I spotted a bloke on the river boat in Thailand. His baggy sleeveless top–sometimes called a muscle shirt–revealed a black-inked Buddha covering the whole expanse of the left side of his front torso, … Continue reading →

Posted in american indian, authenticity, Bangkok, family values, immigration, Indian, native press, Native Science, nativescience, Vacation, writing, zen | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Boycott Bandwagon

Posted on April 14, 2016 by Cynthia Coleman Emery

When Bruce Refuses We Listen In refusing to perform a concert in Durham, Bruce Springsteen is using age-old techniques to hit where it hurts: in the pocketbook. When news that North Carolina legislators approved a law that enables discrimination of … Continue reading →

Posted in american indian, family values, health, health insurance, journalism, race | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Where the state tree is a telephone pole

Posted on April 4, 2016 by Cynthia Coleman Emery

The state tree is a telephone pole, he joked. Zig Jackson (Mandan) began his story at the beginning: growing up in Fort Berthold, North Dakota. Few trees and a lot of telephone poles in that part of the state, he … Continue reading →

Posted in american indian, authenticity, family values, Geronimo, Indian, native american, native press, Portland Art Musem, Zig Jackson | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Coping

Posted on September 6, 2015 by Cynthia Coleman Emery

Family Gathering This week some of my sisters and I returned to Oklahoma to take care of paperwork–always best done in person on the Rez–and visit relatives at Greyhorse cemetery. Our ancestors’ headstones stand side by side by side: Relatives … Continue reading →

Posted in american indian, family values, Indian, Indian remains, memory, native american, native press, Native Science, Osage | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A stick of gum for Mother’s Day

Posted on May 10, 2015 by Cynthia Coleman Emery

My earliest memories of travel meant loading up at daybreak in the back of the family station wagon with three of my sisters and armloads of pillows stuffed in between. While our parents planted themselves in the front we bundled … Continue reading →

Posted in american indian, authenticity, family values, Mothers Day, Osage, writing | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Sounds deadly

Posted on February 27, 2015 by Cynthia Coleman Emery

I can see the scenario unfold: The desk sergeant asks the officer what happened. “Granola. Crunchy granola,” the officer states. Seems a couple had a fight and the husband was stabbed with a spoon. The wife couldn’t take it anymore. … Continue reading →

Posted in family values, misonphonia, native press, Native Science, writing | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

I didn’t grow up in your country

Posted on February 20, 2015 by Cynthia Coleman Emery

Sometimes my college students need to set me straight about schooling in North America. I didn’t grow up in your country, I confess. Students scratch their heads: how can you be part American Indian and be from somewhere else?

Posted in american indian, communication, Dutch, family values, Holland, native american, native press, Native Science, writing | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments