“If you want to know America–if you want to see it for what it was and what it is–you need to look at Indian history and at the Indian present.” “It has always bothered me that the very idea of paying attention to or knowing Indian history is tinged with the soft compassion of the do-gooder, as a kind of voluntary public service.” David Treuer in The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee Both of these quotes are from the epilogue of this very good book. Can… Read More »Do-Gooders
On June 2, 1924 American Indians were granted full citizenship by an act of the US Congress.It wasn’t until 1948 that Arizona allowed Indians to vote. From The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee by David Treuer An embarrassed “no comment” is all I can muster. For 24 years Arizona delayed and obfuscated. Shame. The question we need to ask is: What are we doing today that a hundred years from now will appear so awful? The photo is of some petroglyphs on Shaw Butte in north… Read More »Shame on Arizona
The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee by David Treuer If you care about fairness and justice this is a disturbing book. It is also a book about hope. The Native Americans were totally defeated by 1900 their number were down to about 300,000 people. Now 120 years later there are over 3 million Native Americans and they have lots of success stories. The book includes a very good short history of the Native American experience. It is eye opening. That story about deliberately spreading smallpox did… Read More »Worth Reading
Senescence Noun: The natural changes in a cells ability to reproduce. Aging is one form of senescence. Example: “Wrinkles are a form of age related senescence in all humans.” The photo is a detail of the mural by Thomas Breeze Marcus at S’edav Va’aki Museum. If you look at the white bracelet it appears to be three dimensional. It is not. It’s just the way Breeze did the shading behind it. Very cool. See the entire mural here.
In Cornwall, England they find iron age stones very similar to the stone donuts found in the Hohokam ruins around the Salt River. The royal Museum of Cornwall has identified them as loom weights. The purpose of the stone donuts in the Southwest have not yet been identified. There are a lot of stone donuts at S’edev Va’aki Museum. Some are grooved and some are more bagel like. At the beginning of this month they were taken out of the artifact carts because they might… Read More »Stone Donuts
The Indian Market at S’edav Va’aki is on December 9 and 10, 2023. Here are four reasons you should attend: -Purchase unique gifts from the creators in the market and in the updated gift shop. -Meet Native American craftspeople. -See the new huge Mural by Breeze -Learn how to pronounce S’edav Va’aki. I’ll be around to teach you. -Bonus reason: Be one of the first to buy the new postcards as shown above.
“The universe is under no obligation to make sense to you” Neil deGrasse Tyson The image above is the new mural by Thomas “Breeze” Marcus at the S’edav Va’aki Museum. Which is why we need artists. The museum had a very nice ceremony on Monday to celebrate the new name and to ritually unveil the mural. They gave out swag bags with a new postcard and a very nice pen and many other things that say S’edav Va’aki.
Provenience Noun: In Archeology Provenience, refers to he actual place or findspot of an object, while provenance refers to its modern (post-excavation) history. Example: “The photo shows beautiful examples of spindle whirls that were given to the museum but their provenience is uncertain.” Pronounciation clue: Rhymes with “convenience.” Provenience is often confused with provenance. They are “tell” words for archeologists. If you misuse them you are letting on that you are not well trained in the field. Sherds vs Shards serve the same purpose. The… Read More »Words Seldom Seen: Provenience
“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” William Shakespeare in Romeo and Juliet The Pueblo Grande Museum has changed its name to S’edav Va’aki.
“It is likely that the unlikely will happen.“