Category Archives: science communication

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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

Posted in american indian, authenticity, health, native press, Native Science, neuroscience, science, science communication | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

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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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.

Posted in american indian, authenticity, framing, Indian, journalism, Native Science, science, science communication, Uncategorized, writing | Tagged | 4 Comments

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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Toys of Genocide

Posted on January 26, 2014 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

Michael Yellow Bird brings up a good point. You can still find packets of plastic cowboys and Indians and play shoot ‘em up to your heart’s content. “You can buy toys of genocide,” Yellow Bird told a standing-room-only crowd this … Continue reading →

Posted in authenticity, framing, Humboldt State University, Indian, journalism, Michael Yellow Bird, native press, science, science communication, writing | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Show me your indigenous people

Posted on December 29, 2013 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

We hoped our journey to Sri Lanka would find us within indigenous communities. We thought the best approach would be driving through the villages far outside the main cities. Earlier this week we walked through a village to the entrance … Continue reading →

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