Tag Archives: literacy

Thanksgiving: what’s the point?

Posted on November 27, 2014 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

Sometimes folks who know my Osage and Sioux ancestry ask if we celebrate Thanksgiving. Sure, I say. My family, my mother’s family, her mother’s family—all through the generations—have shared supper with friends and relatives, thanking the creator for the harvest … Continue reading →

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Let’s start from the beginning: Indigenous voices in climate change

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

Perhaps we need to take a step back and re-think what we mean by climate change. And global warming. Let’s start with the row about science. After many fits and starts, science is finally being heeded in public discourse. In … Continue reading →

Posted in american indian, authenticity, Climate change, framing, global warming, Indian, Native Science, science, science communication | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Every Month is Native American Heritage Month

Posted on November 21, 2014 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

Some critics rail against ersatz holidays. Grandparents’ Day. Valentine’s Day. Labor Day. They argue we should recognize grandparents, lovers and laborers every day. Native American Heritage Month produces cognitive dissonance: it’s great to focus attention on American Indians, but the … Continue reading →

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The Sound of Seed

Posted on November 12, 2014 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

I’ve settled on the couch in our warm living room near the gas fireplace, a hot cup of tea beside me along with a fistful of reading. There’s a sudden POP and I hear a sound like beads dancing on … Continue reading →

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Black Hawk’s Skull

Posted on November 8, 2014 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

Science is often deployed to meet political ends but we don’t always recognize when. Phrenology emerged as a pseudo-scientific way to define race through empirical means. Scientists used painstaking measurements to show how the landscape of the skull—its ridges and … Continue reading →

Posted in american indian, authenticity, Black Hawk, framing, Indian, journalism, Native Science, phrenology, science, science communication, Uncategorized, writing | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

All in Your Head

Posted on November 6, 2014 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

I’ve been exploring how science has affected policies and attitudes regarding American Indians. We know that reservation life and boarding schools weighed heavily on Native peoples. Few, however, have spent time uncovering how science has been deployed to serve political … Continue reading →

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Science and Trust: What’s Rational?

Posted on November 5, 2014 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

The disenfranchised among us have a history of distrusting science. Some scientists just don’t get it: how can you overlook evolution? Climate change? Diabetes? Native Americans—and African-Americans and Hispanics—can point to specific examples when the mantle of science caused harm.

Posted in american indian, authenticity, framing, Indian, journalism, Native Science, science, science communication, Uncategorized, writing | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Choose the wide lens

Posted on September 5, 2014 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

Students will stand on their heads when they enter my class in three weeks. I will be urging them to view communication through a wide lens. Most of us find it more fun to examine life through the prism of … Continue reading →

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Because we have no government

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

We spent last week visiting Maine, where a relative recently moved into assisted living. My father-in-law combed through papers, photographs, trinkets, cabinets and boxes at our relative’s house, while neighbors sorted through memories to save and give away. We found … Continue reading →

Posted in american indian, framing, human origin, Indian, Indian relocation, manifest destiny, native american, native press, Native Science, propaganda, race, Redskins, repatriation, rhetoric, writing | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Wait: There’s jewelry?

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

My 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 … Continue reading →

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