Category Archives: Native Science

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.

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Rolling through time

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

Typically we think of time as passing us by. We are standing still while time whizzes past. Imagine standing still on a city corner while the cars and pedestrians, perambulators and bicycles roll by. Makes me feel stuck. But what … Continue reading →

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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.

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Smells like vinegar

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

Easter smells like vinegar and wood shavings. The reason is the dyes for the hard-boiled eggs require vinegar to set the color. So, as a kid and as a mother-acting-like-a-kid, we dyed hard-boiled eggs rainbow colors like pink, green, yellow … Continue reading →

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Spoonful by spoonful

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

Calling myself a weekend Buddhist seems to fit. I’m afraid to stray too far from my Indian upbringing. And I’m afraid to commit to a single way of knowing. Truth is, my spiritual upbringing was obscure: difficult to discern.

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Pass the fat, bring the science

Posted on March 19, 2014 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

A new study on fat and heart-health is bringing out the worst in journalism. Open up the New York Times or turn on CBS news and you’ll see a meaty burger loaded with cheese, bacon and a fried egg. The … Continue reading →

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How to be a lady, Oscar Wilde style

Posted on March 17, 2014 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

I owe a debt to Oscar Wilde in my transformation to being a lady. The term lady is heavy with meaning. As children my sisters and I were encouraged to be ladies. When we got rambunctious or rude our mum … Continue reading →

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Return the bones

Posted on March 3, 2014 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

You would probably get upset if someone wanted to remove your grandparents’ bones from their graves and put the skeletons on display in a museum. That’s a no-brainer. So it’s no surprise that Native American tribes have tried to protect … Continue reading →

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Practicing invisibility

Posted on March 2, 2014 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

I’m practicing my invisibility. Working with coyote—who hides objects from me when I need them the most—lets me meddle in indigenous ways.   Once I asked my friend Ann, who has aged so gracefully that 60 seemed a minor blemish, … Continue reading →

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Skip the mammogram? Not so fast

Posted on February 17, 2014 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

A study just published found no difference in deaths among women who had an annual mammogram and women who had none over 5 years, from 1980 to 1985, in Canada. Problem is, some women may think they should now skip … Continue reading →

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