Category Archives: Indian

OK: Hokahey

Posted on June 27, 2013 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

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

Posted on June 14, 2013 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

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

Wrapping your Head around Sovereignty

Posted on May 28, 2013 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

A dinner party conversation turned to Indian sovereignty. The diners knew little about policies, and asked me how tribes can exist as nations within nations. The answer is sovereignty—a pretty hard concept to wrap your head around. A tribe can … Continue reading →

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What you don’t know about the Boston Tea Party

Posted on May 17, 2013 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

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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Mind Different from Brain?

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

Consider the mind, rather than the brain. I asked readers in the last blog to think about the mind rather than the brain because Samuel Morton’s skull measurements in the 1860s asserted that American Indians have smaller skulls, hence smaller … Continue reading →

Posted in framing, Indian, journalism, Native Science, neuroscience, science, science communication, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Brain Full of Buckshot

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

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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Remembering Maria Tallchief

Posted on April 14, 2013 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

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

Maggots for Medicine

Posted on March 22, 2013 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

Maggots—the offspring of flies—are making their way to the modern medicine chest, according to this month’s Scientific American. The wee young of flies—larvae—munch on dead skin, cleaning bacteria from wounds. Science writer Carrie Arnold notes the FDA approved medical use … Continue reading →

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Making Memories

Posted on March 17, 2013 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

Exploring how we invent stories—and then stick to them—confounds journalists and scientists alike: how can we separate fictions from fact? I am keenly interested in how we make decisions—especially decisions built on information we gather from media that affect how … Continue reading →

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Defining Race

Posted on March 8, 2013 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

The conversation turned to race. My talk Wednesday at the Newberry focussed on Native and scientific perspectives, particularly over Kennewick Man–the 9300-year-old skeleton discovered in the Columbia River. During the question and answer session one guest asked if Kennewick Man … Continue reading →

Posted in american indian, authenticity, ethics, framing, human origin, Indian, journalism, Kennewick Man, native american, Native Science, news bias, repatriation, science, science communication, Uncategorized, writing | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment