Canku Ota - A Newsletter Celebrating Native America July 1, 2000 - Issue 13

"Che Hun Tah Mo"

Seminole

In the Miccosukee tongue, the phrase means "welcome."

KELMUYA"

Fledgling Raptor Moon

Hopi

"There is nothing more I can do for you, be strong, and educate my children." The last words of Chief Little Priest, Winnebago, our last great Warrior Chief ...

We salute- The Warrior Tradition For over 200 years, American Indians have served in the United States military. Their courage, determination, and fighting spirit have been recognized by military leaders since the 18th century. Now, at the end of the 20th century, almost 190,000 Native Americans are recognized military veterans. Compared to other ethnic groups, inside the US borders, Natives have the highest record of service per capita. The reasons are deeply rooted in traditional Indian cultures and values. One value is the proud warrior tradition.

Peace Party "Peace Party takes you back to the comic books of the old days, where the story had as much weight as the drawings. They went hand in hand as they took the reader through the struggles the superheroes were going through without the cursing, sex and violence which is mainstream in today's society. The cultural benefit is tremendous! Our Native youth have few people to look up to. Many of us as children wanted to be like the superheroes that we saw on TV or read in comics. For those of us who are Native, it never occurred to us that we weren't the right color or that our lives weren't like those of the hero's."

Artist: Donald D. Ruleaux DONALD D. RULEAUX is a registered tribal member of the Oglala Band of the Lakota Nation (Sioux). He was born in Martin, South Dakota, in 1931 to an English mother and French/Indian father. His early childhood was spent on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, which is reflected in his portrayal of the Lakota people.		The Traditional Cherokee Belief System In a search for order and sustaining that order, the olden Cherokee devised a simple, yet seemingly complex belief system. Many of the elements of the original system remain today. Although some have evolved or otherwise been modified, the traditional Cherokee of today recognize the belief system as an integral part of day-to-day life.

Camp Aims to Help Indian Youths Beneath the oak trees at Powwow Arena, the tepees rose with the morning sun. Omaha tribesman Wilfred Lovejoy Sr. directed a group of Omaha Indian children and Creighton University students as they raised pine poles and stretched canvas to create six massive tepees Wednesday.		Ho-Chunk Try to Save Their Language Experts say half of the 6,000 languages spoken worldwide are nearly extinct. And in the United States, spoken languages are becoming even more endangered. Some 87 percent of the 155 languages that remain could soon be extinct. But some groups, like Wisconsin's Ho-Chunk Indian Nation, have vowed to preserve their heritage.
American Indian Library Association The American Indian Library Association is a membership action group that addresses the library-related needs of American Indians and Alaska Natives.Members are individuals and institutions interested in the development of programs to improve Indian library, cultural, and informational services in school, public, and research libraries on reservations. AILA is also committed to disseminating information about Indian cultures, languages, values, and information needs to the library community.		Seminole School Embraces Tribal Culture n the heart of the Everglades, in a place some call "the middle of nowhere,'" Seminole Indian children are thriving at a small reservation school. Isolated by an ocean of sawgrass, the school has 142 students _ seven graduates this year _ and a budget that would make most educators swoon. And following an intense effort to improve student performance, the Seminole tribe's Ahfachkee School earned a Title I Distinguished School award, the only Indian-run school to win the honor. Appropriately, the school's name means "happy'' in the Seminole language.
A Test of Faith American Indian Youths Learn about Teamwork and Survival Coloma, where James Marshall discovered gold in 1848, is ground zero for California's Indians. Within a decade, bullets, disease and starvation would kill off as many as 100,000 Indians. On Saturday, Tashina Taylor viewed ground zero from a plywood platform dangling 35 feet in the air. She didn't like what she saw. "I'm scared of heights," Taylor announced, although it was too late for that.		Native Youngsters Share Experiences A group of Native American teens walked from their Nova Southeastern University dormitory to a Dairy Queen in Davie this week. They saw an owl perched on a fence, and it sparked conversation about the variety of beliefs among the tribes they represented. "We believe that all owls are a death omen,'' said Alex Sagataw, 17, of the Potawatomi tribe. For others, the owl was just an owl. "It's just a bird,'' said Louis Montclair, 17, of the Sioux tribe. "Now, if it was a white owl, it would mean death.''
Mountain is a Sacred Place and a Home NAVAJO MOUNTAIN -- The sacred mountain, its base gouged by red rock canyons and its top decorated with communication towers, guards expanses of southern Utah. It is a landmark for travelers. Boaters on Lake Powell use it to navigate. Hikers in Four Corners gauge distances by its familiar, rounded profile off in the haze. A dusty and rugged 20-mile dirt road connects the isolated little community on the Navajo Reservation to the rest of the world.		Runners Log In April of 1999 ATS Solutions, Inc launched RunnersLog.com. This website allows runners to track their progress online. Since then, more than 6000 runners have signed up to RunnersLog.com. Members have found RunnersLog.com user friendly and fun. RunnersLog.com is a website for runners who can log their own distance online for FREE, log cross-training and watch and compare their personal results over time. This includes keeping track of how many miles they have run in their favorite shoes, their favorite running locations, and who they ran with. Runners can at any time find their PR from search criteria the runner determines.
Test Your Knowledge Can You Pass This Grade 8 Exam?		Marine Hymn in the Navajo Language

About This Issue's Greeting - "Che Hun Tah Mo"

The Seminole Indians have two languages still in use today, neither of which is traditionally written. Muscogee (Creek) and Miccosukee are related but not mutually intelligible. Both languages contain sentence structures and sounds that do not exist in English and are difficult to pronounce using the English language.

This Date In History		Recipe: Salads
Story: American Indians and Hummers		What is this: Ruby-throated Hummingbirds
Project: Tie-Dye		This Issue's Web sites

Opportunities "OPPORTUNITIES" is from sources distributed nationally and includes scholarships, grants, internships, fellowships, and career opportunities as well as announcements for conferences, workshops and symposia.

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Canku Ota is a free Newsletter celebrating Native America, its traditions and accomplishments . We do not provide subscriber or visitor names to anyone. Some articles presented in Canku Ota may contain copyright material. We have received appropriate permissions for republishing any articles. Material appearing here is distributed without profit or monetary gain to those who have expressed an interest. This is in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107. Canku Ota is a copyright of Vicki Lockard and Paul Barry. The "Canku Ota - A Newsletter Celebrating Native America" web site and its design is the Copyright © 1999 of Paul C. Barry. All Rights Reserved.