Category Archives: Native American Heritage Month

November Welcomes Native American Heritage Month

But Can We Really Celebrate? Native American Heritage Month has been officially celebrated—at least as an idea–for nearly 30 years. The first official announcement occurred when President George Herbert Walker Bush declared November as National Native American Heritage Month in … Continue reading

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Honoring Ancestors

  My heritage—in addition to being a North American native–is English, French, Osage and Lakota. Turns out, I know more about my Indian ancestors than my English or French relatives. It’s not because my relatives kept good records: they didn’t. … Continue reading

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The fight for environmental sanity

Yet another oil spill Bill McKibben, a college professor and environmental scholar, writes eloquently in the New Yorker that objections to oil pipelines—actual and proposed—that cut through North America (from Canada through the Dakotas and end in Texas) are a … Continue reading

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Dread: locked and loaded

When Paralysis Takes Hold I am filled with dread as November comes to a close. November should have been cause for celebration: Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by a substantial margin and American Indians brought attention to craven injustices … Continue reading

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Time to Move the Pipeline

Today’s New York Times Editorial A major shift in news coverage occurred this summer as citizens gathered in North Dakota to protest construction of a 1,134-mile oil pipeline. And, for once, mainstream news media witnessed and reported on the events. … Continue reading

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How to be authentic

National American Heritage Month   November comes on the heels of several events that focus attention on North American Indians. That’s good news. And bad news. The good news is that the spotlight reminds us that critical, life-changing events impact … Continue reading

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My mother: the cop

An enduring memory of my mother was her sheer authority. She literally packed a pistol. As a deputy sheriff for Los Angeles County, she carried a purse that had a built-in holster for her gun. One day, she clearly and … Continue reading

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Is there a doctor in the house?

National Native American History Month: Less than one percent First daughter broke through a chunk of the glass ceiling in November—a tribute to her passion and persistence—and an important event tucked in the shadow of National Native American History month. … Continue reading

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Indians under glass

The Indian exhibit currently underway at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City takes an unexpected turn. The Plains Indians: Artists of Earth and Sky assumes a soft approach. There’s an Osage pipe, a beaded dress from the … Continue reading

Posted in american indian, authenticity, framing, Indian, Indian relocation, Metropolitan Museum of Art, native american, Native American Heritage Month, native press, Native Science, Osage, Plains Indians: Artists of Earth and Sky, propaganda, repatriation | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Pie Five Days

We started a new tradition in November. I call it Pie Five Days. My symbol for Pie Five Days is an open hand: the symbol Osages use to adorn clothing and blankets, and the same symbol school children use to … Continue reading

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