Sacred Masks

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

Excellent insights into Native spirituality

fatherbrad1971's avatarDesert Spirit

Hopi Mask Hopi Mask

“The Sale of a sacred object cannot be dismissed with the wave of a hand as a mere commercial transaction”

Philip J. Breeden, US Embassy, Paris; quoted in NY Times 6-30-2014.

The ancient carved cottonwood mask, decorated with eagle feathers and earthen pigment paint stares blankly at an observer from a shelf in a Paris auction house. The display counter is cluttered with Hopi pottery, kachina figures and sacred altar decorations once hidden in the protective darkness of a kiva.

As I studied the photograph in the New York Times article, I imagined other sacred items that could be on another shelf: a silver pyxis containing hosts of the blessed body of Christ; a treasured Torah scroll from Jerusalem; a hand copied Quran from Kufa, Iraq; a revered scroll of the Rig Veda from India; and a Tibetan Buddhist Sutra from a monastery high in the Himalayas.  I…

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Sacred Masks

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

Sacred Masks.

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Redskins: bad for business

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

imageA new argument emerged this week when a pair of researchers claimed the name of the Washington DC football team, The Redskins, is bad for business.

Denizens from Indian Country say the name is offensive and denigrates indigenous North Americans.

But a recent New York Times opinion piece makes the argument the name is bad for business. Continue reading →

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A different kind of heirloom

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

Heritage corn and squash

Heritage corn and squash

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 a somatic fashion. Continue reading →

Posted in american indian, authenticity, human origin, Indian, Indian relocation, native american, native press, Native Science, Osage, science, science communication | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Wait: There’s jewelry?

Posted on May 31, 2014 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

CleopatraMy lung disease has a luscious nickname of Lady Windermere’s Syndrome, thanks to folks who snatched the character from an Oscar Wilde play.

And the syndrome even has its own website.

This is the first time I’ve ventured onto the internet labyrinth to see what news and materials are available for lay publics. Continue reading →

Posted in american indian, authenticity, health, journalism, micobacterium avian, native american, native press, Native Science, Osage, writing | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Dash it all: communication skills needed badly

Posted on May 28, 2014 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery
And now some advice for college grads

And now some advice for college grads

I’m boning up on what employers say they need from new workers.

Turns out communication skills are high on the list.

As a communication professor I want to share my findings with students to give them an edge in the marketplace. Continue reading →

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Okla-homeward bound

Posted on May 23, 2014 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

George Caitlin's Osage Warrior

George Catlin’s Osage Warrior

June marks the season when families return to Oklahoma and South Dakota.

I’m packing a suitcase in my mind, getting mentally ready for the journey.

Soon we will join our relatives in Grayhorse for the Osage dances: a time when families gather, eat home-cooked meals, and honor passages into adult-hood. Continue reading →

Posted in american indian, authenticity, Francis Parkman, Henri Chatillion, human origin, Indian, journalism, Lakota, native american, native press, Native Science, Osage, race, Redskins, writing | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Being Brave

Posted on May 9, 2014 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

Mother

Mother

I wish I was as brave as my mother.

She was the bravest person I know.

We were in awe of her job as a deputy sheriff for the County of Los Angeles, and, as her photo attests, she cut a figure in her uniform.

One day she took all four of us girls to the shooting range. Continue reading →

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Slack catchers

Posted on April 30, 2014 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

Richard Feynman

Richard Feynman

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. Continue reading →

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Rolling through time

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

Modern Times

Modern Times

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 if you twist the metaphor? What if you imagine that, rather than being passed over, we are the ones passing through time? Continue reading →

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