Category Archives: science

Justice? It depends

Posted on November 12, 2013 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

Scholars have long debated the tenets that underpin justice. Interesting that a word we take for granted—justice—would roll over like a tumbleweed, subject to interpretations. Definitions have emerged from many quarters—from St. Augustine, John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Emmanuel Kant, Jeremy … Continue reading →

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When words aren’t what they seem

Posted on November 10, 2013 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

How fortuitous that Native American Heritage Month comes at a time when I’ve been invited to write a book chapter about my work in Native Science. Below I’ve woven together words that describe what I do for the book’s editors … Continue reading →

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Anderson Cooper: 29 across

Posted on October 24, 2013 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

Combing the web earlier this week I was looking for squibs on Anderson Cooper. Cooper enlivened crowds in Portland, talking shop on news and reporting. My job was to introduce him to students and faculty for an informal question-and-answer session.

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Massaging the facts

Posted on September 23, 2013 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

I am awed and distressed at propaganda that envelopes us. Sure we recognize the obvious sales pitches: • The clerk pops your prescription pills into a paper bag festooned with an ad for a new medicine • The tennis champ’s … Continue reading →

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Writing, discovery, meaning

Posted on September 20, 2013 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

A comedian wrote that, while she was writing her book, her house was at its cleanest. Pounding away at the keyboard, I try to avoid distraction from the dirty dishes and dusty floors. I stew and fret over my book, … Continue reading →

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Rifle Report

Posted on September 9, 2013 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

I took a break from writing on the culture of science and American Indians with a retreat to a zen monastery in the Oregon countryside. Purpose was to clear my head and spend time with my beloved for an unplugged … Continue reading →

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McGillycuddy and Crazy Horse

Posted on September 5, 2013 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

Today—September 5—marks the day Crazy Horse was killed at Ft. Robinson by William Gentles in 1877. Writer Larry McMurtry says that a scuffle broke out while Crazy Horse was being led through the fort, with Little Big Man restraining Crazy … Continue reading →

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Rosie Red Top

Posted on August 30, 2013 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

My indatsay, John, shows me a sepia photograph of his family at their home on the Pine Ridge Reservation. The place bears the indelicate name of Stinking Water Creek. Relatives stare at the camera while a white-haired elder sits on … Continue reading →

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Crazy Horse: Tiyospaye

Posted on August 23, 2013 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

Larry McMurtry—who wrote Lonesome Dove, The Last Picture Show and Terms of Endearment—penned a biography of Crazy Horse that proved a solid summer read. McMurtry writes about my relatives in the book Crazy Horse (Penguin-Viking, 1999). He says Crazy Horse … Continue reading →

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Real Science. Really.

Posted on August 16, 2013 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

The mummy exhibit is billed as Real Science. Calling the Mummies of the World display Real Science legitimizes the practice of stuffing dead people under glass and taking them on the road for show-and-tell. Never occurred to me it would … Continue reading →

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