Category Archives: Native Science

Indian People’s Time

Visiting the reservation reminds me that I’m a poster child for the folks who tried to integrate Indians into the mainstream version of settler life—what Robert Warrior calls a Judeo-Christian viewpoint fueled by material capital. When I return to the … Continue reading

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Coping

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

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Is there a horn in your purse?

Is this your bag, lady? I was searching through my purse for a strip of paper to wrap around my chewed gum and found my bicycle horn buried at the bottom. Who else carries around a bike horn? When I … Continue reading

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Critters that watch over us

Bee Keeper You can take the ski lift to the top of Mount Washington in the summer-time on Vancouver Island. A quick trip aboard a jump-seat places you at 5200 feet (1590 meters) and presto: you can see 360-degrees in … Continue reading

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Forget science: return the bones

Science, Blood & Bones One of my many Lakota uncles, John, casually referred to himself as mixed-blood. John grew up around Pine Ridge and Mission, South Dakota, and went to school with the Deloria clan. “I gave Vine a bloody … Continue reading

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Can a walk change your brain?

When reporters write garbage science How do we learn about health? Science? Medicine? Risk? Most of us still learn from our schooling or from the news. Even though traditional journalism has transformed ink to pixels, newspapers and television news get … Continue reading

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Defying the Supreme Court

Ted Cruz Channels Andrew Jackson Although I don’t always agree with Supreme Court decisions I respect the authority of the country’s highest court. When Ted Cruz told NPR this week the court ruled incorrectly on marriage equality and national health … Continue reading

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When images harm

The Mascot Ruling in Oregon One lesson I’m learning is that conflict requires you to get inside the head of your opponent. And while this perspective presumes you’re wearing battle fatigues, the point is to understand someone else’s viewpoint in … Continue reading

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Drinking a cup of tea, I stop a war

Memorial Day We learned that freedom of speech is sacrosanct: that you should always allow someone the courtesy of saying something idiotic and extreme for fear that anything that quashes freedom could sanction yours. That sort of freedom was always … Continue reading

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How gaze affects our behavior

Researchers are looking at how someone’s gaze affects our behavior. For example, researchers in England placed posters with staring eyes near bicycle racks and found fewer bikes were stolen. My colleagues figure we respond viscerally to a pair of watchful … Continue reading

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