U & D

One of the media resources identified for middle and high school Native studies in Maine’s Wabanaki Studies – Suggested Curriculum Integration is a DVD (or video) called Homeland – Four Portraits of Native Action.  It was a new resource to me (how I did I miss it?), so I have checked it out – and [...]

[Read more]

There appears to be a somewhat warm and fuzzy understanding of what drives environmental sovereignty among the Wabanaki and other Nations and tribes. I understand that this vision goes back to the essential balance between the traditional Native community and the environment, a balance necessary for subsistence. However, it pains me that some teachers would [...]

[Read more]

News:
“Carcieri v. Kempthorne (Salazar) : which involved the Narragansett Indian Tribe’s petition to have land placed into trust by the Secretary of Interior.” (Turtle Talk, Feb. 24)
“The U.S. Supreme Court has limited the authority of the federal government to transfer land in trust for the benefit of Indian tribes.
The decision is a victory for states [...]

[Read more]

In case you missed it, Canada is offering reparations for boarding schooling and other abuses of the Native populations. Lucky for us, NPR was right on top of it. You can listen to the story, download a podcast, and post a Comment at their website: Marketplace: How far can money go toward healing?
That’s an interesting [...]

[Read more]

If you are like me, you might feel a little bit weird about GoogleEarth. This powerful application on the MLTI laptops (and freely available for download) allows you – anyone – to zoom in to look closely at just about anywhere on Earth. If you haven’t already, zoom in to find your own school or [...]

[Read more]

There have been at least three specific recent events that illustrate the complex issue of Native sovereignty in Maine: the ongoing debate over the proposed LNG facililty at Sipayik / Split Rock on the Pleasant Point reservation; the meeting between Penobscot (and other) tribal leaders with Tribal officials from Venezuela; and the participation of the [...]

[Read more]

Tracing history through its tellings can be more compelling, and more instructive, than reading it in a text or on Wikipedia.

[Read more]

This post owes a debt to Donna Loring, who said to me once, “It’s all about economics.” Economy is an important word on the Word Wall. Take a minute, if you have time, to read Loring’s blog posts on Tribal Economics and Part II. This is the ongoing story of the deliberate scattering – destruction [...]

[Read more]

The summer issue of American Indian, the member’s publication of the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, highlights Theresa Secord (Penobscot) on page 32. They include a photo of her and of her great-grandmother and teacher, Philomene Nelson. Theresa was a founder of the Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance. In the article, she [...]

[Read more]