Category Archives: native american

Bring Back the Bones

Posted on November 1, 2014 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

November marks National Native American Heritage Month, and I pledge to write a blog a day. Here’s the first. Heritage Month was inaugurated in 1990 by President George H. W. Bush, the same year he signed NAGPRA. While National Native … Continue reading →

Posted in american indian, Geronimo, Indian, Indian relocation, Indian remains, manifest destiny, native american, native press, Native Science, Redskins, repatriation, rhetoric, writing | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Reconciling Faith

Posted on October 31, 2014 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

Is it true? One of my students asked me if it’s true that American Indians don’t believe in the land bridge hypothesis. The student is enrolled in a critical race theory class, taught by an American Indian scholar, who told … Continue reading →

Posted in american indian, authenticity, ethics, human origin, Indian, Indian relocation, Indian remains, Kennewick Man, native american, native press, Native Science, Osage | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Because we have no government

Posted on August 25, 2014 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

We spent last week visiting Maine, where a relative recently moved into assisted living. My father-in-law combed through papers, photographs, trinkets, cabinets and boxes at our relative’s house, while neighbors sorted through memories to save and give away. We found … Continue reading →

Posted in american indian, framing, human origin, Indian, Indian relocation, manifest destiny, native american, native press, Native Science, propaganda, race, Redskins, repatriation, rhetoric, writing | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

You name it, you own it

Posted on July 28, 2014 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

When a 9200-year-old skeleton was uncovered along the Columbia River in 1996 scientists and journalists dubbed the ancestor Kennewick Man. Local tribes bristled at the naming, preferring to call the skeleton The Ancient One, or Oyt.pa.ma.na.tit.tite, according to scholar David … Continue reading →

Posted in american indian, authenticity, framing, human origin, Indian, James Chatters, Kennewick Man, NAGPRA, Naia, native american, native press, Native Science, rhetoric, science, science communication | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

About face on Kennewick Man

Posted on July 24, 2014 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

Turns out American Indians were right all along. A bitter conflict of values, race, sovereignty and politics began two decades ago when a pair of Washington State college students unearthed a skeleton in the Columbia River. Local Indian tribes wanted … Continue reading →

Posted in american indian, authenticity, human origin, Indian, Kennewick Man, NAGPRA, native american, native press, Native Science, race, science, science communication | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

A different kind of heirloom

Posted on June 18, 2014 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

My relative Leaf gave us an heirloom while we were visiting Oklahoma. It’s the sort of heirloom whose value unfolds in a material way. I’m not talking about materialism—the need to acquire stuff. Rather, this heirloom recalls the past in … Continue reading →

Posted in american indian, authenticity, human origin, Indian, Indian relocation, native american, native press, Native Science, Osage, science, science communication | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Wait: There’s jewelry?

Posted on May 31, 2014 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

My lung disease has a luscious nickname of Lady Windermere’s Syndrome, thanks to folks who snatched the character from an Oscar Wilde play. And the syndrome even has its own website. This is the first time I’ve ventured onto the … Continue reading →

Posted in american indian, authenticity, health, journalism, micobacterium avian, native american, native press, Native Science, Osage, writing | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Okla-homeward bound

Posted on May 23, 2014 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

June marks the season when families return to Oklahoma and South Dakota. I’m packing a suitcase in my mind, getting mentally ready for the journey. Soon we will join our relatives in Grayhorse for the Osage dances: a time when … Continue reading →

Posted in american indian, authenticity, Francis Parkman, Henri Chatillion, human origin, Indian, journalism, Lakota, native american, native press, Native Science, Osage, race, Redskins, writing | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Slack catchers

Posted on April 30, 2014 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

Turns out Richard Feynman was irresponsible. Maybe just irrepressible. Feynman, who earned the Nobel Prize in physics in 1965 for work in quantum electrodynamics, said his success was due, in part, to being irresponsible.

Posted in authenticity, ethics, Indian, journalism, native american, native press, Native Science, science, science communication, writing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Think like a saw

Posted on April 21, 2014 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

Sometimes you just know in your gut you’re right. But how do you separate guts from science? German researchers tried to do just that. They wondered how the effects of physical exercise would stack up against new-fangled computerized programs.

Posted in american indian, Indian, journalism, Luminosity, memory, native american, native press, Native Science, neurology, neuroscience, science, science communication, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments