Although the bald eagle has served as a symbol of American freedom and values for upwards of two centuries, it, along with its close relative the golden eagle, have held sacred religious and cultural significance for members of federally recognized Indian tribes since time immemorial. Continue reading
Verdigre, Nebraska.
We stood in the tiny mud-room with the door open, smoking and shivering. It was freezing, about zero degrees with the wind howling. In the distance we could see the overlapping hills of my people’s ancestral homelands, the bare skeleton of a perfect tree hanging tough on the topmost point, touching the sky. Continue reading
Many portraits of Indigenous people by non-Native artists romanticize, stereotype, or appropriate Native people and cultures. Contemporary Native artists are actively deconstructing these myths and preconceptions about their culture through the use of art. In fact, many modern-day artists use a dynamic combination of materials, methods and concepts that challenge traditional boundaries and defy easy definition. Continue reading
Sundance is coming up and I’m feeling pretty excited. (I wonder how many others in New Orleans are on this wavelength? I bet a couple…)
I remember visiting my brother down in Lawrence, KS one summer in my twenties when he was teaching at Haskell. We went to the track and crossed paths with this guy he knew and, in his car, looking a bit sad, he said, “Yeah, it’s tree day tomorrow back home. I wish I was there.” I was Sundancing back then, all gung-ho, and I thought to myself, “What could possibly be going on important enough for him to miss Sundance?” It was a missing-out I thought I’d never inflict upon myself. Boy, have we got a lot to learn when we’re young and in our twenties. Continue reading
A lack of holding pools in the South Fork Nooksack River continues to limit the recovery of spring chinook salmon populations.
The Lummi Nation will soon begin the second phase of a restoration project near Skookum Creek to improve habitat complexity, connectivity and climate change resilience for threatened salmon species. Continue reading
