A friend had brought her child to work this weekend, in connection with “Children’s Day Celebrations”, and had got her decked up as a Native American.

He was sharing photos of the event with me, last night. (Featured below, Cindy Amrita, posing as a Native American).

An interesting series of mini-discoveries, happened soon after, that I would like to share with you all.

The moment I saw this photo, I was reminded of the very beautiful and silently smart woman I saw in the “Night At The Museum“, the native American lady who comes alive from the exhibit..

The name was complex, was all I could remember, still Google was helpful – Sacagawea was the name, I knew in just seconds..

Googled for her further, and learnt that she was the famous guide who helped in the Lewis and Clark expedition.

Then, tried to learn a bit more of the connection between her and the movie. And, landed on this article about Mizuo Peck, the Japanese-Caucasian actress!

And, hidden, like the proverbial diamond in the rough, was this article by a learned woman with Native American origin, elaborating, among many things, the responsibility borne by media story-tellers.

I was amazed at her command over the language, her ability to express forcibly, politely, yet sternly, what the right thing to do was.

The best thing about the web is this. The ability to level the playfield, to provide each an equally loud mouthpiece, and the once-in-a-while discovery laden with serendipity where each turn around the corner provides a more interesting vista and a greater learning experience!

Jai Ho!

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Hello World! Hey! How ya doing!?
Today is Thanksgiving! Happy Turkey Day! I want to thank all my Native American chiefs and the Pilgrims for giving us such a wonderful holiday. I hope everyone stuffs their mouths with a lot of turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry, corn, etc. Mmmmmmm Yum! Well, since today is such a blissful day, I will enter your minds’ with a jubilant post.

Every school has that one class that every single student takes during one of their semesters because it is extremely easy and exciting. For Syracuse University, it is Human Sexuality. Once a week, you attend a lecture and the professor either puts up slides of body parts or brings in homosexual/transsexual speakers. The class is thrilling because we always see something that we have never seen before. Two weeks ago, the professor put up photographs of extremely hairy vagina’s and funky penises. Those pictures had me cringing in my seat like a Kindergartner looking at body parts for the first time! The class used to use the same exam every year so everyone would get an automatic A. However, they finally decided to change it but it is still quite easy. Finally, for a large portion of the grade, every student must either write an essay, attend a discussion every week, or attend six couple enrichment sessions if the student possesses a girlfriend/boyfriend. So what do you think I did? Hell yea babyyyyy. I do have a girlfriend. ;]

Let me take a quick moment to introduce her. Michelle Jeon loves to eat; she often brags that she can devour up to six plates of food at the dining hall. She also loves to take pictures and has an extraordinary talent in which she can look exactly the same in every single photograph. She is a very passionate girl who works fairly hard at what she wants (except weight loss) and is a girl of many thoughts. She is different from what she appears as and I’m glad that I saw it. And um… I can go into detail about all the other important traits and qualities of her but that’s only for me to know =).  Also, I was just kidding; she really is not fat at all. She is very good at being a girlfriend and should minor in it!

So here are the adventures of our couple enrichment sessions. We were able to shrink six sessions into four by making each one longer. You are lucky I am sharing!

Session 1:

Honestly, I was scared. Michelle was too. We had heard many rumors that couples would often break up because of these sessions. So with this terrified mindset, we both walked into our first session. The first day was slow. The activities were not very fun and Michelle refused to talk because she was nervous… Therefore, we had to rely on my smooth mouth. We had two counselors, Monica and Natasha: We were Monica’s last couple while also being Natasha’s first couple! So anyway, our first activity was a questionnaire. Michelle and I had to sit in a tiny room and answer questions about our relationship while the counselors waited outside; we had to circle a number from one to ten (Disagree-Agree) on questions like “Will you and your partner get married?” Sounds boring huh? It kind of was. We then proceeded to ‘Emotional Jenga’, which was a little bit more fun. Basically, it is the same as regular Jenga but under some of the blocks are adjectives that we would have to connect with our love life. So for example, if the word was “jealous,” whoever pulled it out would have to tell the significant other of a time when he/she was jealous in the relationship. What went on during the game will stay enclosed. It is a life between us two and it should stay like that. Don’t you think? But I did tell her that I will keep her safe forever when I pulled out “Safety.” Hehe.

Session 2:

This day was probably my favorite. By the way, we were in a larger room! Also, Michelle started to talk because she was now comfortable so it made our experience better. So when we walked in and settled down, the counselors whipped out a sandbox filled with sand. Then they also opened up three closets overflowing with toys. Our assignment was to use the toys to describe our relationship in the present, in the future, and how we view family. So we brainstormed together and built what was on our minds on the sandbox. The counselors took a picture of each situation but we liked the “Our relationship in the present” model the best so the counselors printed out a picture of that for us. Even though it is a bit embarrasing to say with my own mouth, I think the whole process was very cute; we tried really hard while giggling to closely translate whatever was in our brain to the sandbox. Our end product was this picture:

Michelle chose the treasure chest to portray that she treasures our relationship. She also decided that two little dogs would represent us and put us on a bridge to resemble that we will always be able to come together no matter the situation. I told her I should be a lion but she would not listen…She also picked two clay models, one with open arms and another crying, to say that we would always welcome each other with open arms at times of difficulty. I truly appreciated everything she did on that sandbox =). The first thing I did was place a snake and two devils under the bridge. From this, I tried to say that we would be able to be together even if there are obstacles. Then I placed a globe and made two soldiers point their guns at it. This means that we would be able to fight the world together and whatever it throws at us. The fire displays our love which will always be burning. The two empty books means that we will both write and live a beautiful story with each other. (It was really cute when Michelle placed just one book later on for the “Our relationship in the future” model and said that our life stories will become one). The open shell facing up means that we will always open up to each other without hesitation. On the other hand, the Spongebob hints that we will also be a joking couple in order to have fun at times. Finally, the genie means that I will try and fulfill all her wishes. Honestly speaking, when else would 19 year old college students play on a sandbox with toys? However, it was a very bonding activity and I hope others can experience it. I came to the conclusion that corny exercises help a lot in relationship building. Plus, if you are with the person you appreciate, everything should be fun.

Session 3:

We started off by drawing our family trees. This activity was good because we learned a lot about each others families. Obviously. One thing that I can tell you guys is that her family does not own a pet. On the other hand guys, I hope all you readers know about Yodi! Anyway, while I was figuring out my family tree, I realized that I did not know many names and ages of people in my family. But please forgive me, my mother has eight siblings. Somehow, I finished it and it was pretty accurate. As you can see, mine (top) is far more complicated than her family tree.

The activity that came after was probably the most meaningful activity out of everything. The counselors gave us blank white papers and told us to decorate a border. After we had borders, they told us to write each other a compliment. I told her that her smile brightens up my day and that all my stress goes away for a moment, and more. We then had to make another border and had to write each other a secret. I told her about a time in my life when I completely changed from a shy boy who had no friends to a confident young adult doing everything right. A story that may seem cliche, but how music saved my life (I will probably write about this in a future entry). It is a point in my life that not many know about, not even my parents. Anyway, with these two activities finished, we were dismissed. While walking out, Michelle and I told each other how happy these sessions make us; we would always walk out extremely joyful every time.

Session 4 (Last):

The last session =(. Although these sessions take up precious free time every Tuesday, I was really sad that it was soon ending. I liked it because I had fun but also because I knew that it made Michelle happy. Anyway, Michelle was in a bad mood this day; she felt sick and was feeling down because coffee sometimes does that to her. And to make everything better, one of the counselors (the fun and experienced one) was late. So we were stuck with an inexperience counselor working by herself which made it a bit boring. Our first activity was to draw a flower and write inside the pedals things that have changed within our relationship because of the sessions and what we should still fix. During this activity, Michelle was being very difficult: she sat down and did not do anything. LOL. Since I am such a nice guy and since I knew she was not feeling well, I did the whole activity by myself and acted as if nothing was wrong in front of the counselors. I made it seem like Michelle was contributing so that the counselors would not suspect anything.

After much hard work, we started the second activity. It was a game to find out how well we know each other. So for example, when the counselor said “favorite food” we would write our own answer on the bottom and what we thought the other person’s favorite food was on top. If you got it right, you would get a point. Another question was “What would you miss the most if you guys were long distance?” We both put “Everything.” You know what it is. Finally, when all the questions were asked, Michelle had more points than me and I had to give her a prize. She wanted me to make her dinner so I will have to do this once in the near future.

I am so glad I got a chance to attend these sessions. It was an opportunity in which Michelle and I were able to grow as a couple. We were able to look into what may happen in the future, how we could become a better couple, and learn stuff about each other that we did not know of. I really recommend couple enrichment to every couple, especially if you go to Syracuse University. I thank our counselors for leading us and hsowing us a great time. I asked them “Why did we have so much fun when other couples say it was intense and often break up?” They responded “We went easy on you. We sensed that you guy are really healthy and had no problems to bring up. You deserved to have a great time.” Michelle and I bought them chocolate and handed them a card each. They told us we were the first to ever do that. We ended our last session with a group hug. <3

Bottom: Monica
Top: Natasha, Michelle, Me

This is a day that I think should be for the Native Americans.  I choose to remember what my ancestors did.  Mass Genocide.  I choose it, not as a way to feel down, but a reminder that humans need to start treating eachother with respect.  We all need to try and work with eachother.  I myself have some boundaries on what that means.  I am all for humanity relearning to be human again.  The Native Peoples, are good folk, and we need to squelch the barriers from eachother.  There is no time left for this kind of junk anymore.  On this day, I will envision a different outcome, I defy the darker forces that led to it and I imagine a different world here with the Native Americans, with all the different tribes, living with the white man in harmony.  That’s the outcome I choose for my vision.

Let there be Peace in Humanity.

Until 1960, no one had diabetes because people ate traditional foods that helped prevent the disease. But with the introduction of foods high in fat and calories, diabetes became widespread among the Tohono O’odham tribe…. From VOA. Full story

This site may contain information about: food. The blog is also related to: food.

Sit proudly in the knowledge that you are a complete bad-ass.

I’ll explain why….. wait for it….ok, now.

First off, Thanksgiving is a day where we celebrate the harvesting of something. In this case, since we are Americans, we harvested a whole country from it’s natives, which technically makes us barbarians, which by default makes us fucking awesome.

Barbarian:

We also get to eat tons of food that was most likely harvested by a huge conglomerate and canned for our convenience. The reason companies can foods for us is because they don’t want us to rage on their pussy asses like the barbarians we are. Japanese people are the most gracious, offering canned food statues in the hopes that we will spare their lives.

You can also revel in the fact that you may possibly be eating this obscenely cute baby turkey for your Thanksgiving dinner.

Look, he is even wearing shoes just so that we know he wasn’t walking around in his own feces all day. What a trooper.

On the evenings of Wednesday, November 25 and Thursday, November 26, a series of film and still images will be projected onto Coit Tower to mark the 40th anniversary of the occupation of Alacatraz Island by a coalition of Native American activists. The project, called “Indigenous Renewal: Alcatraz Occupation Remembrance + Ohlone Presence Celebrated,”  represents a collaboration of San Francisco-based artists Ben Wood and David Mark. Wood and Mark developed the work in concert with a wide network of supporters, including local Ohlone and other Native people. In conjunction with the projection on Coit Tower, a running commentary about the images will be broadcast on KPOO San Francisco 89.5 FM.

On November 20, 1969, a coalition of Native Americans - many of them college students – took over Alacatraz Island in San Francisco Bay in an unarmed occupation that would last until June 10, 1971. At its height on Thanksgiving, 1969, as many as approximately 400 Native activists occupied the island. Alcatraz had been abandoned as a federal prison facility since 1963, and although the U.S. Coast Guard established a blockade of the island at the beginning of the occupation and the FBI were poised to land, the federal government withheld action until the numbers of activists dwindled to about 15 in 1971. The inital occupying party, calling itself Indians of All Tribes, demanded that Alcatraz be developed as a Native cultural center, including programs such as a museum and a center for Native studies. More broadly, the activists drew attention to a wide range of Native issues related to sovereignty, repatriation and civil rights.

Ben Wood described to me the variety of sources from which he selected footage and images that will be projected on Coit Tower. These include images of the occupation that archivist Alex Cherian of the San Francisco State University Special Collections & Archives helped Wood to find. Eric Blind, Presidio Trust Archaeologist, provided imagery related to his work in repatriating Native artifacts. Andrew Galvan, the curator at the Mission Dolores and himself an Ohlone, made it possible for Wood to shoot footage of the 1790s Ohlone mural hidden behind the reredos in the Mission.  In addition to these cultural heritage professionals, Wood has built relationships with a wide net of Ohlone and other Native people and their allies throughout the Bay Area, and has been grateful for the opportunity to reproduce images from their collections that will be part of the projection on Coit Tower this week.

“Indigenous Renweal” will take place on Wednesday, November 25 and again on Thanksgiving, Thursday, November 26, from dusk until the following morning. Wood and Mark have recommended Fisherman’s Wharf, Pier 31, and Washington Square as locations from which the images can be seen. Running commentary about the images from Ohlone and other Native participants in the project will be able to be heard on KPOO San Francisco 89.5 FM. For more information about the project and the artists, please go to Coit Live.

Many of the traditional foods eaten at Thanksgiving dinner have Native American roots but have been spiced up… From VOA. Full story

This site may contain information about: food. The blog is also related to: food.

During this session, we discussed the need for the patient to spend time within the wilderness. He is an avid hiker. As a nature adventurer, he recalls many stories that appear both natural and supernatural to us.

” I remember one particular moment within nature. I was in my canoe. During the entire day I had been travelling using my canoe against a very large, reckless and merciless river. Sometimes it was so hard to go through it that I would get out of my canoe, walking on the rocks that were standing out of the water, trying to move my boat using all the strengths that I had. Sometimes I would unload the canoe on the shore and walk on the borders of the lake in order to skip a very difficult part of the river. It was extremely hard physically. I wanted to go to a lake that my grandfather’s old friend had told me about. He showed me an old map of the area. He pointed a large, long lake shaped like the tail of a fox.

” If you get there, Rusty… Kid… You will find yourself. You will know who you are. ” he said.

I knew something was up, heh. That old indian never told us about his secret places. I thought he was joking and that map was fake. I had never heard about this lake and it seemed so large that I couldn’t believe no one had told me about it until then.

When I finally arrived at the lake, I searched for something. I did not know what it was exactly, but since I was told I would find myself, I was expecting something very special. Maybe something belonging to his old, almost forgotten tribe? Or maybe it was just some prank? Still, the lake was there… He wasn’t lying about that part…

I spent about forty-five minutes canoeing on the fox’s tail. After going to the limits of the lake, I turned around and prepared to go home. Then it struck me. When I came back, I saw it. I saw everything. The sun was setting and the lake was reflecting a golden honey light. The trees were green, strong, tall, massive. The water was completely calm. A mirror. That’s when I realized what he meant. That old indian was wiser than I had thought. He knew it would take me a complete day to get there. He knew I would go to the edge of the lake. He knew I would come back. He knew that when I would turn around, the time would be right for a sunset. And he knew, just like I knew at that moment, that you find yourself by turning around, going back to where you’ve been. I found myself. I found out that I was strong. Strong in my arms, yes, but also strong in my will to go to the end of things. I worked hard to get there. The river had been against me. This time, as I would go back, I would flow with it.

For I knew who I was. ”

Christians talking about love

Protestent christians expressed their love by the rampant killing of native americans, who were called not humans, but ‘red indians’, and usurping their lands and destroying their livelihood. This was quite in line with the way Catholic christians in Europe called native cultures ‘pagan’ and killed the natives, who were again, not called humans, but ‘heathens’. Catholic christians also expressed their universal love through Inquisitions in Europe, South America and in other former colonies such as in Goa. They burned women on stakes, calling them not humans, but, witches. Thus they demonstrated that it is very easy to love people without feeling remorse when labelled with an alternate term instead of calling them humans.

Christians also expressed their love in Africa by enslaving the natives, shipping them off to plantations to be made to work like animals, calling them, not humans, but ‘negros’ or ‘niggers’ .

They loved the natives of Australia and New Zealand so much that they killed them, displaced them, enslaved them, took away their small children and de-cultured them, calling them, not humans, but ‘aboriginals’.

Christian love for India was expressed in the rampant plunder of this country. They not only enslaved the indians, plundered the wealth, they also appropriated the scientific advancements made by the indians, used that to develop their industries and economy and called it ‘industrial revolution’. Concurrently, so much love christians had, that they destroyed the education system that produced that scientific knowledge, destroyed the culture that produced that scientific knowledge, deracinated the indians, shipped them off to far off Carribeans and Africas as bonded labourers calling them ‘hindoos’.

Christians loved the Jews and the Gypsies in Europe throughout the centuries so much that christian Nazis, continuing with such love, starved them to skeletons and incinerated them in gas chambers in millions.

Despite all these accomplishments, christians consider themselves full of love of the only true God and want to convert the remaining adherents of native cultures to this version of love. They call it God’s work. They also call such expressions of love as civilising the natives.

If the past is any indicator, how godly is this christian God ? how merciful ? how benevolent ? how loving is this entity ?
To some of the above victims, the entity God may appear indistinguishable from the other entity these christians bandy about, called Satan.

Muslims talking about peace

Since the death of Khadija, the aggrandizing instinct of muslims have been unleashed unbridled upon the world in such a violent manner that it matches that of christian inquisitions, at times even surpassing that. So ‘peaceful’ were the muslims that they enslaved and killed people following native customs calling them ‘kaffirs’, not humans. In the name of their merciful ‘Allah’, these people have been waging ‘jihad’ over a millennium upon human beings. These peaceful people have mercilessly butchered women and children and enslaved them brutally. Their peaceful acts still continue unabated, in India, in Pakistan, in Afghanistan, in Iraq, in Iran, in Saudi Arabia, in Bangladesh, in Indonesia, in Malaysia, in Sudan, in Palestine, in Libya.

To the victims of muslim’s peace campaigns throughout the centuries, the entity ‘Allah’ may seem anything but peaceful or merciful.

Communists talking about liberating the masses

If Cuba and China, let alone Stalinist Russia and Cambodia, are examples of liberating the masses, what would be imprisonment ?

The condition of the states of West Bengal and Kerala, that have repeatedly elected communists to power- the impoverishment, material as well as ethical and cultural, people having to work for capitalists outside those states and send money back home, the violence that underlies these societies becoming a fertile ground for exploitation by subversive ideologues -are indicators of how communists ‘liberate’ the masses in a democracy.

To the beneficiaries of such liberation, liberty may seem indistinguisable from incarceration.

Capitalists talking about environment

The way in which capitalists have rampantly and remorselessly looted the earth and destroyed her sustainability over the past few centuries, causing changes in climate and on the native flora and fauna, all to feed their aggrandizing drive, their new found concerns for environment and their pious endeavours towards ‘reducing carbon emissons’ and bringing in ‘green technology’ without discarding the unbridled greed that caused the damage in the first place, without recognizing that Nature is to be sustained for its own sake, not merely for continuation of human’s consumption levels, belie their claim and their intention.

To people living with Nature in a mutually nurturing way, the capitalists’ effort at greening the planet may seem mere continuation of the selfish project of grabbing yet another opportunity to increase bank balance at the cost of environment and ethics.

Indian liberals talking secularism

Secularism of the indian liberals is to demonstrate cronic intolerance towards bharatiya samskriti and to excessively indulge the relentless attack on indian psyche by the four groups- christians, muslims, communists and capitalists.

To the practitioners of bharatiya samskriti, such liberals may seem like puppets dancing to the tune of western imperialism that sprouts four heads- christianity, islam, communism and capitalism.

Maya

Despite the blatant inconsistencies, majority of people today end up buying the lemon sold by the four headed western imperialism.

maya

Natalia, a friend of FoodCycles and her sister Marcela are looking for volunteers to help develop a Community Garden Program at a homeless youth shelter in Scarborough (5 minutes from Kennedy subway station). Contact Marcela if you’re interested and read the details below.

See the full details at FoodCycles.org.

Today, I  suddenly had this realization.  I had been listening to Jessica of Jessicamystic.com and I had been listening to an interview of her.  Suddenly afterwards, I realized that I have always liked growing flowers.  And I allowed myself to value this dream instead of pushing it away as unvaluable or uninteresting or no way to make money at it.  Unless I wanted to become a florist or huge flower farm trade.  Even though, an organic flower farm, one of the first of it’s kind in the U.S.  was near me.  I felt that because it was just growing flowers, there was no place to fit it into the system.  Now I realize I let the view of the system , the status quo define my dreams.  Flowers I learned somewhere randomly, in nature, it turns out, contribute high levels of oxygen for the air for us to breathe.  Not just trees, flowers.  Wildflowers in meadows specifically as I recall.  As a child I used to dance in front of flowers.  I absolutely loved them.

Well, today, I remembered my love of flowers.  And I suddenly realized, why did I push that down?  I am allowing now this to flow back to me and see what comes of it.  Meaning, giving it room to manifest.

And then I fell on a kind of synchronicity if you will, I found a site that had these dome shape buildings that Native Americans, Hidatsa used to have along the Missouri river.  A dam misplaced all the peoples there.  I saw the very village I have longed to build.  I was shocked to see it.  Right there, allready done once.  Another thing I’d like to do.  Rebuild that village.  Create a village of domes that attracts skilled trades and artisans alike.  I’d really like to do it…….grocer/organic, bakers, clothes makers, oh so many things, like a village that is self sustaining.  Like an eco village somewhat.

Anyway, these things came to me today.  Affirming things for me.

aSf (asegi)¹, tl? Dcc` (taliquo didandan`)² , aSd ucT (asegi udanto)³, asf=sd` ucT(asgayusd` udanti)⁴, af=sd` ucT (ageyusd` udanti)⁵. These are all words and phrases that that the Cherokee two-spirits use to identify themselves. The concept of two-spirits is present in every North American tribes’ culture. After European colonization most indigenous cultures were Christianized and lost their two-spirit identities. It is up to today’s two-spirit generation to stand up and define what it means to be two-spirit.

Two-spirit is a term used to describe the wide variety of gender and sexuality in native cultures. It comes from the idea that there are two spirits in a person’s body, a male spirit and a female spirit. Two-spirits come in all genders and sexualities. The Cherokee people have a dance, the Stomp Dance, that is said to restore balance to the world. In this dance women shake shells and dance while the men sing. The male bodied two-spirits shake shells with women. In hir’s⁶ essay “Shaking our Shells: Cherokee Two-spirits Rebalancing the World” Qwo-Li Driskill calls for all Cherokee two-spirits to come together and claim their place in the tribe’s circle. “We are being called to take our place within our communities, to “shell shake” our traditions in order to restore duyuktv⁷.  The responsibilities we have as male-embodied Two-Spirit Cherokees—to sustain our lifeways and cultures—is like shell shaking.  We have the responsibility to restore and maintain duyuktv through practicing Cherokee lifeways and ending gender oppressions” (Driskill). Being two-spirited is about more than being gay or lesbian or transgender or intersex. It is about rebalancing the world by taking back the traditional two-spirit roles. It is about shaking shells and weaving baskets for male bodied Cherokee two-spirits. In most tribes the medicine person was a two-spirit. Two-spirits were looked towards for advice because it was thought that they could see both sides of situation easily.

Part of reclaiming the two-spirit identity is reclaiming a culture that was lost with colonization. The Cherokee in particular converted to Christianity early on in colonization. By the time of Andrew Jackson’s presidency, the Cherokee people were very westernized. The current generation of elders struggles with the idea of two-spirits. It is a part of their culture that they have forgotten in lieu of the religious principles of Christianity. This is one of the biggest challenges when it comes to reclaiming the two-spirit identity because Christianity, as it was brought to the Americas, has rigid gender roles and rules about sexuality that do not fit in to the roles of native people in indigenous cultures.

I have struggled with this essay because it has not been a reformation of ideas or concepts that I already knew and understood. It has been a long and tedious journey for me because before this essay I did not know where I stood. I did not know if I was two-spirit or if I could even claim the title. Now I know. I am a Cherokee two-spirit. It is my duty to reclaim my place in the circle, to define what it means to be two-spirit in a modern world. I am aSf(asegi).

__________________________________________________________________

WORDS.

What do they mean?

People speak all kinds of things into existence, every minute, hour, day. We create the world with the words we speak, hardly understanding that instead of creating turmoil, angst and chaos, we can create peace, harmony and prosperity, simply by changing the WORDS WE SPEAK.

My newsletter is a commentary on numerous subjects from spirituality to homelessness, racial profiling and the President of the United States.

Go there - WORDS WE SPEAK - pick one or more of the pages (93) and leave your comments here.

Thank you,

JC

Native Plant Species are species which have arrived in Ireland naturally without the assistance of people. These species were present in Ireland before the last Ice Age. They adapted to the environmental conditions in Ireland and therefore thrive here. Native Plant Species are very beneficial to wildlife providing both food and shelter. The fauna and insects of Ireland have adapted to live with native species over time.

Native Species of plants and trees sustain the greatest biodiversity. When landscaping around your home use native species where possible. Local nurseries and garden centres will have a range of native species in stock.

Non native or invasive species should be avoided. Suitable plants may include native and indigenous plants which may include;

Ash

Ivy

Blackthorn

Dog Rose

Holly

Crab Apple

Guelder Rose

AIFD's award-winning exhibit at the 2009 Show

“The landscape of South Africa is a lot like the Southwest,” says AIFD designer Ron Mulray.  “We thought we went too far, but our members that are from South Africa looked at the plans and said it was just right!”

Mulray is excited about the many ways he and the other designers will make the desert regions of South Africa come alive with red protea and leucadendrons.

There will be large tribal masks made of flowers, a life-sized lion made of natural materials like twigs and branches, and a tall hand-made giraffe gazing down over the exhibit. Mulray says although the AIFD designers have taken many creative avenues with the exhibit, they’re being very careful about maintaining authenticity.

“We’ll have mannequins dressed to represent three different Zulu tribes, 12-foot lion fencing, beehive huts with authentic-looking thatched roofs, and 90 percent of our materials are coming directly from South Africa.”

Mulray says live drummers will even play inside one of the huts, providing an auditory backdrop to help transport visitors from the winter weather of Philadelphia to the dry warmth of South Africa.   

For more information about the American Institute of Floral Designers, visit them online at www.aifd.org.

Tribal reservations can be found in a number of areas in Southern California, notably in areas such as in or near the cities of the Coachella Valley such as Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage, Indio and Coachella as well as in or near Anza, Cabazon, Temecula, San Jacinto, El Cajon, Pala, in the counties of Riverside, San Diego as well as in Santa Ynez in the county of Santa Barbara.

If you have a Tribal law issue not involving a casino, visit our law firm website at http://www.SebastianGibsonLaw.com for more information and call us at any of the numbers easily found on our website.

Unless you’ve been practicing Indian Tribal Law for some years, it is difficult for most attorneys in the United States to know how Tribal Law works, much less to find useful resources to help explain this unique area of law.

Most tribes vest their legislative authority in a tribal council. Some tribes call it by a different name, but the council members are usually elected and for a specific number of years.

Most tribal constitutions call for there to be a tribal chairman who is alternatively sometimes called president or governor. Some tribes elect the tribal chairman by a vote of their council. Others elect the tribal chairman by the voting tribal members.

Tribal bylaws often state that it is the chairman’s duty to preside over the tribal council. The role or power of the tribal chairman differs from tribe to tribe.

Indian tribes also have a long history of tribal courts. Today, most tribal courts administer tribal codes passed by the tribal council and which have been approved at some time by the Secretary of the Interior.

Tribal court systems can by highly structured with tribal prosecutors and defense advocates. Others are made up of informal single judges who work only part-time. Many tribes elect their tribal judges, commonly for a fixed set of years.

Indian tribes also often have a tribal attorney who often has a large influence on tribal affairs, particularly in dealings with non-tribal parties. The tribal attorney has responsibility to the entire tribe, not to its individual members.

Some tribes are incorporated under the provisions of the Indian Reorganization Act. Some tribes have voted to reject application of that Act.

Indian Tribes have sovereignty which means the inherent right to govern themselves. Tribes, however, have no authority over non-members on non-Indian fee lands, and no criminal authority over non-Indians anywhere.

Tribal sovereignty acts as a shield against state law intrusion onto Indian country. States may not directly tax reservation land or reservation Indians. Tribes enjoy sovereign immunity from suit except for suits by the United States. A tribe does not waive its immunity by bringing an action on its own. A tribe may however waive its sovereign immunity by contract. It is for this reason that we don’t handle cases against Indian Casinos in California.

If you have a Tribal or Native American legal issue not involving a casino in California, visit our law firm website at http://www.SebastianGibsonLaw.com and call the law firm of R. Sebastian Gibson for a consultation today.

“Transparency is related to openness. Openness is most often related to content. Transparency, in contrast, involves making our learning explicit through forums, blogs, presentations, podcasts, and videos.” ~ George Siemens, Week 8: Openness and Transparency

Participation in #CCK09, the entire course thrives on learners and educators who are open and transparent in the learning process. David White joined the #CCK09 class to discuss his ideas on how Visitor and Resident learners impact the online educational environment [session recording].

Visitors & Residents: Original Blog Post & Presentation

Much of this conversation was initiated with the JISC funded Isthmus project which was designed to bridge the gap between institutions and online learning, specifically how learners are utilizing technology. Instead of using the terms ‘digital native’ and ‘digital immigrant’ (coined by Marc Prensky in Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants 2001 publication), White sees learners as being a Visitor or Resident in their motivation for online education. Here is a quick Visitor vs. Resident comparison chart I created based on his presentation:

In thinking about my own experience, as an online learner, I seem to fall in the ‘Resident’ category. I am very transparent and open online, and I am comfortable sharing my learning experiences and social experiences digitally. Although I am a resident, I can recognize a few visitor experiences from time to time, i.e. learning new tools, online resources and expanding my personal learning environment perimeters.

In thinking of the Visitor vs. Resident comparison, it is critical to think of it as a continuum rather that distinct categories. Students should not be labelled definitely into these categories since it is fluid. Each learner may have boundaries and limitations, however possess a willingness to be an open, online learner. As an educator, it is critical to create a learning environment online that provides structure and purpose online, while allowing learners to expand their creativity and knowledge as they see fit.

A Roma per presentare il suo nuovo romanzo Solo per desiderio lo scrittore Richard Flanagan racconta come fede e ratio si allearonoper distruggere i “selvaggi” aborigeni della sua terra, splendida isola dell’Australia «Si parla di difesa dei valori occidentali, di infedeli, di islamofascisti. Cambiano le parole ma le persone sono ridotte a astrazioni come nel XIX secolo»

di Simona Maggiorelli

arte aborigena

Il pittore deve aver pensato che quei piedi nudi che spuntavano da sotto il vestito rosso poco si addicessero a un ritratto destinato a una casa inglese.  Così fece in modo che la cornice li escludesse dal quadro. Occhi grandi, pieni di infinita malinconia, «la ragazzina ritratta sulla tela era una delle poche sopravvissute al genocidio di aborigeni perpetrato in Tasmania dagli occidentali. L’ho saputo dopo un bel po’ di ricerche» racconta Richard Flanagan che ha costruito il suo nuovo romanzo, Solo per desiderio (Frassinelli) proprio intorno a quell’immagine. Venti anni fa lo scrittore vide  quel ritratto coloniale dello Hobart Museum  restandone profondamente colpito.  Poi la scoperta che la bambina si chiamava Mathinna e che, per “ghiribizzo”, un bianco aveva voluto prenderla con sé. Dietro a quel quadro, insomma, c’era una storia vera: quella di Sir John Franklin, governatore della Tasmania dal 1837 al 1843 che con la moglie decise di adottare la piccola. Salvo poi abusare di lei e mandarla in un orfanotrofio dove sarebbe stata avviata all’alcol e alla prostituzione. Pedofilo e sospettato di cannibalismo, al suo rientro in Inghilterra, Franklin fu al centro di uno scandalo. Ma il fatto che più ha colpito la fantasia dello storico e romanziere Flanagan è che Charles Dickens, già affermato e nel pieno della attività letteraria, si lanciò in sua difesa con un articolo su una rivista  ma anche rileggendone la vicenda nel dramma The frozen deep. Da un lato un colonialista colpevole di uno dei peggiori crimini al mondo, dall’altro uno scrittore sposato e in crisi che proprio in quel periodo cercava di resistere all’attrazione per una giovanissima attrice. Due storie che Flanagan sapientemente racconta in parallelo in questo romanzo storico letterariamente alto e che non vuole essere “solo” un testo di denuncia della ferocia del colonialismo europeo. Attraverso la storia dei coercitivi esperimenti pedagogici che i Franklin tentarono sulla bambina in nome dell’evangelizzazione e della “scienza” positivistica, nel romanzo Flanagan traccia uno spietato ritratto della razionale, pia e ordinata borghesia londinese che arrivava a trattare gli aborigeni come se non fossero esseri umani. «Il rifiuto delle emozioni, il tentativo di controllare il desiderio che raggiunge livelli macroscopici nella società vittoriana e nella vicenda personale di un grande scrittore come Dickens – dice Flanagan che abbiamo incontrato a Roma in occasione della presentazione del suo libro – mi è parso emblematico di un certa malattia e paura di vivere che in altri modi connota oggi la frenetica società occidentale». Così come la paura del confronto con culture diverse. «Viviamo in un periodo in cui tante stupidità e ottusità del passato si ripetono. E le persone – sottolinea Flanagan-  rischiano di trovarsi ridotte a un’astrazione, proprio come accadeva nel XIX secolo. Abbiamo solo cambiato le espressioni, i modi di dire: oggi si parla di  difesa dei valori occidentali, di infedeli, di islamofascisti ma la sostanza resta la stessa».
Nato in Tasmania nel 1961 da una famiglia di origine irlandese Flanagan ha il vantaggio di vedere la realtà sentendosi parte della cultura aborigena tanto quanto di quella occidentale. «Vivo in un’isola dove la gente non si affanna per scalare la società, anche perché c’è solo la pesca, ciò che offre la natura e poco più. Da noi quando si mangia in giardino c’è sempre qualcuno che si siede dicendo di essere un amico o un parente! Non dico che sia il migliore dei mondi possibili- abbozza  sorridendo- ma è un modo molto umano di stare insieme. Un modo che religione, psicoanalisi o aerobica sfrenata sicuramente non insegnano».

dal quotidiano Terra del 14 novembre 2009