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"Why Save a Language" (2006)

"Why Save a Language" (2006)
Related:  LanguageFirst North Americans

Mapping Metaphor: Home Native American populations descend from three key migrations, scientists say Scientists have found that Native American populations -- from Canada to the southern tip of Chile -- arose from at least three migrations, with the majority descended entirely from a single group of First American migrants that crossed over through Beringia, a land bridge between Asia and America that existed during the ice ages, more than 15,000 years ago. By studying variations in Native American DNA sequences, the international team found that while most of the Native American populations arose from the first migration, two subsequent migrations also made important genetic contributions. The paper is published in the journal Nature July 11. "For years it has been contentious whether the settlement of the Americas occurred by means of a single or multiple migrations from Siberia," said Professor Andres Ruiz-Linares (UCL Genetics, Evolution and Environment), who coordinated the study. Two striking exceptions to this simple dispersal were also discovered.

Native Intelligence - 2 clicks please On March 22, 1621, a Native American delegation walked through what is now southern New England to meet with a group of foreigners who had taken over a recently deserted Indian settlement. At the head of the party was an uneasy triumvirate: Massasoit, the sachem (political-military leader) of the Wampanoag confederation, a loose coalition of several dozen villages that controlled most of southeastern Massachusetts; Samoset, sachem of an allied group to the north; and Tisquantum, a distrusted captive, whom Massasoit had brought along only reluctantly as an interpreter. Massasoit was an adroit politician, but the dilemma he faced would have tested Machiavelli. About five years before, most of his subjects had fallen before a terrible calamity. Europeans had been visiting New England for at least a century. Over time, the Wampanoag, like other Native societies in coastal New England, had learned how to manage the European presence. "A Friendly Indian"

justenglish Paul V. Hartman (The Capitalized syllable gets the emphasis) alacrity a-LACK-ra-tee cheerful willingness and promptnessanathema a-NATH-a-ma a thing or person cursed, banned, or reviledanodyne AN-a-dine not likely to cause offence or disagreement and somewhat dull//anything that sooths or comfortsaphorism AFF-oar-ism a short, witty saying or concise principleapostate ah-POSS-tate (also: apostasy) person who has left the fold or deserted the faith.arrogate ARROW-gate to make an unreasonable claimatavistic at-a-VIS-tic reverting to a primitive typeavuncular a-VUNC-you-lar “like an uncle”; benevolent bathos BATH-ose an anticlimaxbereft ba-REFT to be deprived of something valuable “He was bereft of reason.” cynosure SIGH-na-shore (from the Greek: “dog’s tail”) center of attention; point to which all eyes are drawn. dilettante DILL-ah-tent 1. having superficial/amateurish interest in a branch of knowledge; 2. a connoisseur or lover of the fine arts Click to read: Like this: Related

9 Examples of Indigenous Sense in a Nonsensical Time By Rucha Chitnis / buzzfeed.com Sometimes it seems like we live in nonsensical times. Do you ever wonder what happened to good old common sense? Indigenous voices from around the world who are fighting for cultural survival and protection of nature in their homelands offer simple wisdom in the face of climate change, mining and other development projects. These voices are highlighted in Standing On Sacred Ground, a four-part film series airing on the PBS World Channel through May and June. 1. The first episode of the film series, Pilgrims and Tourists, shows the Winnemem Wintu Tribe in California resisting U.S. government plans to raise the height of Shasta Dam, which threatens their sacred sites and the ceremonies that have taken place on the McCloud RIver for over a thousand years. 2. 3. In episode two of the film series, Profit and Loss, First Nations in Alberta, Canada, fight threats from a mega-mining invasion—the tar sands—dubbed as the world’s largest development project. 4. 5.

Fight the Power: 100 Heroes of Native Resistance, Part 1 There were many Native heroes and many who resisted; here are a few from the 1700s and 1800s: Dragging Canoe, born around 1738, was a Cherokee war chief. The first battle he fought in was during the Anglo-Cherokee War (1759-1761), and that earned him the reputation of being a strong opponent against encroachment. He then led the Cherokee against white settlers in North Carolina with Abraham of Chilowee in 1776. During the American Revolution his forces were often joined by Upper Muskogee, Chickasaw, Shawnee, Indians from other nations, British Loyalists, French and Spanish agents. Dragging Canoe was a prominent Cherokee war chief. Tecumseh, born in 1768, was a Shawnee leader who not only resisted, he tried to unite all Native Americans so they could defend themselves against the growing United States. Tecumseh, a Shawnee leader, tried to united all Natives against the growing United States. A bronze bust of Cochise by Betty Butts is at Fort Bowie National Historic Site in Arizona.

20 words that once meant something very different Words change meaning over time in ways that might surprise you. We sometimes notice words changing meaning under our noses (e.g., unique coming to mean “very unusual” rather than “one of a kind”) — and it can be disconcerting. How in the world are we all going to communicate effectively if we allow words to shift in meaning like that? The good news: History tells us that we’ll be fine. Nice: This word used to mean “silly, foolish, simple.” We’re human. Watch Anne Curzan’s TED Talk to find out what makes a word “real”. American Indian Tribes Map Abenaki Acoma Algonquin Anishinaabe Apache Arapaho Assiniboine Athabascan Aztec Blackfeet Blackfoot Caddo Cayuga Cheraw Cheyenne Chickasaw Chicora Chinook Chippewa Choctaw Chumash Coeur d'Alene Comanche Costanoan Cree Creek (Muskogee) Crow Dakota Delaware Dene Edisto Euchee Flathead Gros Ventre Gwitchan Haida Haudenosaunee Havasupai Hidatsa Ho-Chunk Hopi Huron Iowa Iroquois Kaw Kawaiisu Kickapoo Kiowa Lakota Lenape Lumbee Maliseet Mandan Mattaponi Maya Menominee Metis MicMac Mojave Mohawk Mohegan Mohican Monacan Muscogee Nanticokes Narragansett Navajo Nez Perce Nipmuc Odawa Ohlone Ojibwe Omaha OneidaOnondaga Osage Paiute Pima Ponca Potawatomi Powhatan Pueblo Quapaw Sac Salish Seminole Seneca Shawnee Shinnecock ShoshoneSioux Tsalagi Tuscarora Ute Wea Wichita Winnebago Wyandot Yavapai Yokut Zuni " I was born upon the prairie where the wind blew free, and there was nothing to break the light of the sun. I was born where there were no enclosures, and where everything drew free breath.

Crimes against native culture and children The small state of Maine just took a big step towards statewide healing. In a new state report, The Pine Tree State owned up to the cultural genocide of indigenous communities, particularly the Wabanaki (“The People of the Dawn”) experience. Native Maine Children are “Five Times More Likely to Enter Foster Care” As reported in WCSH 6, the Maine Wabanaki-State Child Welfare Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) report focused on the practice of ripping Wabanaki families and communities apart for the greater good of the nation: white assimilation. In textbooks, American Indian history may talk about specific events, like a war or the first Thanksgiving dinner, or contain benign words like “contact” with non-Natives. But textbooks are less likely to reveal the more insidious side of colonization, such as Indian boarding schools. But the consequences of Indian boarding schools still impact native communities to this day. But cultural genocide is only one truth.

This is What Michael Jackson Sounds Like in Quechua Even the youngs think Quechua is cool. After the language was translated for a book, a song, and given a shoutout by a fútbolero, we started thinking that Quechua was having a sort of moment. Perhaps the biggest sign of this is that a 14-year-old girl named Renata Flores sang a Quechua version of Michael Jackson’s “The Way You Make Me Feel.”

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