Category: News

15 Twitter Accounts Every Native Should Follow

 

Source: ICTMN, August 9, 2013

It’s Friday, a day also known in Twitterland as FollowFriday, when many faithful Tweeters take a moment to give a shoutout to the accounts they think others should follow. We hang out on Twitter quite a bit as @indiancountry (and there’s @ICTMN_Arts as well, kind of a kid-brother feed) and we could go on and on about all the great people Tweeting news, views, humor and miscellanea relevant to Native readers. But on this occasion we’ll keep it to 15 — here are our must-reads and must-follows:

1. Sherman Alexie @Sherman_Alexie

FILE UNDER: Native Cognoscenti

Indian country’s master Tweeter, Sherman Alexie has a ratio of original tweets to retweets-of-others that is off the charts — this is some real talk from a guy who has something to say every day and it’s often provocative. The fact that he’s a phenomenal, award-winning author helps. You know — the words thing.

RECENT TWEET: “Santa Fe leads the world in White People Trying to Look a Little Bit Indian.”

2. Wab Kinew @WabKinew

FILE UNDER: Native Cognoscenti

Just your average award-winning journalist who’s also an award-winning hip-hop artist. He hosted 8th Fire on CBC and has a degree in economics.

RECENT TWEET: “I am going for a long run now. I hope when I come back Canada will be a country which respects Anishinaabe people. A long run indeed”

3. Gyasi Ross @BigIndianGyasi

FILE UNDER: Native Cognoscenti

Lawyer, author, filmmaker, father, and the mad genius behind ICTMN’s Thing About Skins — Gyasi tweets a mixture of Native calls to action, political insight, banter with his influential friends in Indian country, and fond memories of growing up rez.

RECENT TWEET: “Our communities used to raise kids and shame parents that didn’t contribute to that uprbinging. Now we pretend we don’t see it.”

4. Lisa Charleyboy @UrbanNativeGirl

FILE UNDER: Native Cognoscenti

Toronto-based Lisa Charleyboy is the jet-setting maven of Native style, cool and entertainment. If it’s hip, hot, and Canadian-indigenous, she’s on it, and she never stops working. She’s the Native… Oprah-Gwyneth Paltrow-Martha Stewart? Something like that. Arch-enemy: Gluten.

RECENT TWEET: “So all you need to be a successful fashion blogger is to look like a model, have $ like a billionaire, and have a photog boyfriend? Easy.”

5. Jeff Corntassel @JeffCorntassel

FILE UNDER: Native Cognoscenti

Corntassel, a college professor, follows the news and sends out important links with thoughtful commentary. A walking and talking — and tweeting — cheat sheet.

RECENT TWEET: “Decolonization starts w realization: your vision for the future is radically different from those encroaching on your homelands”

6. Michelle Shining Elk @mshiningelk

FILE UNDER: Native Cognoscenti

She calls herself “a casting director for film, television, dance + print w/focus on American Indian talent only,” — her tweets keep you posted on current events in the entertainment industry, and much more. You get a little bit of everything with Michelle — which is the whole point of Twitter.

RECENT TWEET: “Seriously? The news is reporting on the outrage over Suri Cruise wearing heeled shoes. Why is this news?”

7. Idle No More @IdleNoMore4

FILE UNDER: News of the Struggle

Idle No More… you have heard of this, right? Tweets are a mixture of news links and networking — if you’re doing something Idle-No-More-ish in your community, the women behind this feed want to know about it and help spread the word.

RECENT TWEET: “If there are ACTIONS or events in your area related to: Indigenous issues, Environmental protection, Nation2Nation (treaty) etc. let us know”

8. Abiyomi Kofi @TheAngryIndian

FILE UNDER: News of the Struggle

Abiyomi Kofi tweets a smorgasbord of news and views on racism, colonialism, and injustice from his Afro-Indigenous perspective. These tweets serve as a reminder that the cause of indigenous rights and racial equality is a global effort.

RECENT TWEET: (sparring with another Tweeter) “Again, you assume that ‘truth’ is of European origin. That is cultural arrogance in spades. Europe is not the world.”

9. Indigeneity @Indigeneity

FILE UNDER: News of the Struggle

Straight-up news feed of stories of interest to Natives and indigenous peoples everywhere.

RECENT TWEET: “Mummified Maori head to be returned to NZ”

10. Adrienne K. @NativeApprops

FILE UNDER: Culture Watcher

The Native Appropriations blogger is always on the lookout for cultural wrongdoing in the public square. High-minded criticism you don’t need a Ph.D. to understand.

RECENT TWEET: “I’m trying to write a post that combines 200 million things I’ve been thinking about lately and it’s already not working. Trimming back.”

11. APACHE Skateboards @apachesk8boards

FILE UNDER: Culture Watcher

Douglas Miles is a gifted artist, and you’ll get a lot of that from his Tweets (which link to his Instagram and Tumblr blog) — but you’ll also get plenty of tough talk on issues of art, culture, and society. Everyone is fair game — if you’re Native and you’re doing it wrong, he’ll let you know.

RECENT TWEET: “Since when did Natives resort to using ‘authentic’ as some stamp of approval, are we sides of beef?”

12. Dee Jay NDN @DeeJayNDN

FILE UNDER: Culture Watcher

The voice of Turtle Island’s EDM heroes A Tribe Called Red doesn’t suffer fools — bring your half-baked ideas about race and culture onto his timeline and he will nail you for it. Repeatedly. You can practically hear him giggling as he demolishes ingrained bigotry and false equivalencies.

RECENT TWEET: “You’re right. Having to argue what’s important to your culture from someone NOT of the culture is a DUMB battle.”

13. Whiteskins.org @WhiteskinsOrg

FILE UNDER: Culture Watcher

Tirelessly fighting against the Washington NFL team’s racist name — an operation that may have begun as an effort to sell a few parody t-shirts is now the Twitter standard-bearer of a grassroots movement that is a topic of national debate.

RECENT TWEET: “can’t wait to see who’s the next high-profile personality to speak up against the Redskins racist name, quite an impressive list so far”

14. Ryan McMahon @RMComedy

FILE UNDER: Comedy

Actually, since Ryan dove head-first into Idle No More, he’s not only about the funny-haha. But there’s still plenty of funny-haha. Plus he used his feed to publish “Pow Wow Shades of Gray,” a novella, delivered in installments, about people fooling around at pow wows. Delivered in tiny, tiny installments.

RECENT TWEET: “I smell like camp fire, hot dog water & bug spray. And, no, Cree women, that’s not a pickup line. I just got home from camp.”

15. Robohontas @robohontas

FILE UNDER: WTF?

Part indigenous woman, part robot, part golden Barbie doll — we are not quite sure we understand what Robohontas is or wants to be, but she tweets good links and daily wise quotes from her blog. And we hope there is a Robohontas movie someday, with lots of action and ass-kicking. And we hope it is not produced by Jerry Bruckheimer.

RECENT TWEET: “Robohontas’ Facebook Page – Can she get to 200 page “likes” by the end of the week? Currently at 192…”

 

Read more at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2013/08/09/15-twitter-accounts-every-native-should-follow-150811

7 Choices for the Back of the Next Dollar Coin: What’s Your Favorite?

Source: ICTMN

According to the coin collecting news site CoinUpdate.com, the Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) has reviewed seven proposed designs for the 2014 Native American one dollar coin and made its recommendation to the Secretary of the Treasury. The Native American one dollar coin has a portrait of Sacagawea on its obverse (heads) side, and features a different themed design each year on its reverse (tails). The 2013 Native American one dollar coin commemorates the Delaware Treaty of 1778.

The theme for the 2014 coin is the cooperation among Natives and the Lewis and Clark expedition of 1804-06. Of the seven designs below, the CFA chose the sixth, a depiction of Chief Cameahwait recommending the alternate route to Captain Lewis. Which is your favorite?

The Secretary of the Treasury will consider the CFA’s recommendation, as well as that of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, the Congressional Native American Caucus, the National Congress of American Indians, and the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee, before making a final selection. For more details, see the original story at CoinUpdate.com.

 

Read more at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2013/08/09/7-choices-back-next-dollar-coin-whats-your-favorite-150801

National Park Service Historic Preservation Grants go to Indian tribes, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Groups

Source: National Park Service

WASHINGTON – National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis today announced more than $645,000 in historic preservation grants to 17 American Indian tribes, Alaskan Natives and Native Hawaiian organizations.

“These grants will be used to help preserve the rich heritage of human experience from architectural and intellectual achievements to cultural identities,” said National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis. “Whether used to create oral history programs, operate museums and cultural centers, or develop training and education programs, the grants will help all Americans can gain a greater appreciation of our nation’s rich traditions and cultures.”

The competitive grants can be used to fund projects such as nominations to the National Register of Historic Places, preservation education, architectural planning, historic structure reports, community preservation plans, and bricks-and-mortar repair to buildings.

Congress provides these grant appropriations each year with revenue from Federal oil leases on the Outer Continental Shelf. The National Park Service administers the grants through the Historic Preservation Fund.  This year’s appropriation was decreased by about five percent as a result of sequestration.

For more information about the National Park Service tribal preservation programs and grants, please visit: http://www.nps.gov/tribes/Tribal_Historic_Preservation_Officers_Program.htm.

 

HISTORIC PRESERVATION FUND APPORTIONMENT TO
INDIAN TRIBES, ALASKA NATIVES AND NATIVE HAWAIIANS
Burns Paiute Tribe $39,211
Chilkat Indian Village $39,935
Confederated Tribe of Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon $40,000
Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes $40,000
Hula Preservation Society $39,610
Karuk Tribe $37,628
Keweenaw Bay Indian Community $24,210
Koniag, Inc. $39,402
Makah Nation $39,568
Organized Village of Kake $39,779
Pedro Bay Village Council $33,548
Penobscot Nation $32,897
Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians $40,000
Pueblo of Laguna  $39,622
Santo Domingo Pueblo – Tribal Housing Authority $39,946
Sun’aq Tribe of Kodiak $40,000
Ute Mountain Ute Tribe $39,995
TOTAL $645,351

 

Moapa Paiute Sue Over Coal Plant Contaminants

JULIE JACOBSON/AP File PhotoThe Reid-Gardner coal-fired power plant, just outside Las Vegas, will be closed down by 2017 but there is no cleanup plan in place, a new lawsuit by the Moapa Paiute and the Sierra Club alleges.

JULIE JACOBSON/AP File Photo
The Reid-Gardner coal-fired power plant, just outside Las Vegas, will be closed down by 2017 but there is no cleanup plan in place, a new lawsuit by the Moapa Paiute and the Sierra Club alleges.

Source: ICTMN

The Moapa Band of Paiutes and the Sierra Club have filed suit in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas to ensure that when the Reid Gardner Generating Station closes down, the area around it will be cleaned up.

The lawsuit filed on Thursday August 8 claims that the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and the Clean Water Act have both been violated over the years by dumping that has compromised the health of nearby residents and threatens the drinking water of millions.

Governor Brian Sandoval in June signed legislation to close the coal-fired power plant, which sits next to the Moapa River Reservation. Nevada Senate Bill 123 provides for closure by 2017 but does not address cleanup, the Sierra Club said in a statement announcing the lawsuit, which seeks a court ruling to ensure that plant owner NV Energy Inc. cleans up as it pulls out. The company was bought in May by investor Warren Buffet’s MidAmerican Energy Holdings.

“We are all looking forward to the retirement of the Reid Gardner coal-fired plant that has for decades polluted our Reservation,” said Vickie Simmons, a leader of the Moapa Band of Paiutes’ committees for health and the environmental, in the Sierra Club statement. “And for the sake of our families’ health, we must ensure that the toxic waste from the power plant is fully cleaned up. The safety of our community and the future of our children depend on it.”

The plaintiffs allege that for years the power plant has illegally dumped contaminants into the Muddy River, which feeds the Lake Mead reservoir in back of the Hoover Dam. That reservoir provides drinking water to more than two million people, the Associated Press noted.

Related: Moapa Paiute March 50 Miles in Anti-Coal Protest

The Moapa Paiute have been protesting the coal plant and its adverse health effects for years, and has made inroads into solar power that paved the way for this closure.

Related: Moapa Paiutes Find Solar Solution Amid Coal Ash Plague

“Now, we have to find out what kind of remediation they’re going to do — a complete restoration, a conversion to gas or some other type of project,” Tribal President William Anderson told the Associated Press. “To us, the ultimate goal would be to remove everything and put the land back the way it was. We’ll be able to come to come closure after almost 50 years.”

 

Read more at https://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2013/08/09/moapa-paiute-sue-over-coal-plant-contaminants-150806

Native History: Chief Joseph Leads Nez Perce in Battle of Big Hole

Source: ICTMN

This Date in Native History: On August 9, 1877 the Nez Perce fought in the third battle of what’s been called the Nez Perce War. The Battle of Big Hole did not leave the small band of Nez Perce defeated, but they lost about 90 warriors, women and children in the battle.

Explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark were the tribe’s first contact with Europeans and their dealings with white people had been mostly friendly. Even when settlers were coming into their territory en masse, many of the Nez Perce moved to the reservation, but about a quarter refused. Increased government pressure to force them onto the reservation is what led to the Nez Perce War of 1877.

Even General William Tecumsah Sherman, who was anything but sympathetic to Indians, was impressed with the Nez Perce, saying: “the Indians throughout displayed a courage and skill that elicited universal praise… [they] fought with almost scientific skill, using advance and rear guards, skirmish lines, and field fortifications.”

The band of about 700, of which less than 200 were warriors, fought more than 2,000 U.S. soldiers in four major battles—Big Hole was the third—and a number of smaller skirmishes.

The Nez Perce were determined to get to safety for their families in Canada, some 1,400 miles away; they would have to travel through what would become Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming and Montana. And they nearly made it.

Chief Joseph was not seen as a war chief but he was a strong leader throughout this campaign. He felt betrayed by the government when it took back almost six million acres of his people’s land after a gold rush in 1863. He finally surrendered on October 5, 1877 after the Battle of Bear Paw. They were just 40 miles south of Canada.

A 136th commemoration of the Big Hole Battle will be held on Saturday, August 10. Nez Perce elders and veterans will honor those who fought and died, and pay tribute to those who survived. All are welcome. Events will be held at the Big Hole National Battlefield, 10 miles west of Wisdom, Montana on State Highway 43.

Read more at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2013/08/09/native-history-nez-perce-fight-battle-big-hole-150787

Marysville sanctuary offers hope for neglected horses

Sean Ryan / The HeraldWarren Lewis, a volunteer from Seattle, strokes Otto, a Belgian draft horse, at the All-Breed Equine Rez-Q center near Marysville during the center's horse adoption and foster day last month.
Sean Ryan / The Herald
Warren Lewis, a volunteer from Seattle, strokes Otto, a Belgian draft horse, at the All-Breed Equine Rez-Q center near Marysville during the center’s horse adoption and foster day last month.

By Eric Stevick, The Herald

MARYSVILLE — Many of the lodgers have come a long ways to get here.

They’re refugees towed north and east beginning their journeys along country roads and ribbons of highway in Idaho, Oklahoma and Oregon.

Others are homegrown, uprooted for whatever reason from pastures and farms around Snohomish County and Washington state.

Some are big, some are small. Some are old. Many have been neglected.

All needed a place to stay and they’ve found that spot on an 18-acre spread on the Tulalip Indian Reservation. All-Breed Equine Rez-Q operates on property west of the Tulalip outlet malls and Washington State Patrol district headquarters. The land is owned by the Marysville School District, which leases it to the non-profit horse rescue center.

“We focus on the need, not the breed,” said Dale Squeglia, Rez-Q’s president and executive director, repeating the slogan on her business card. “We don’t pick and choose.”

That much becomes apparent during a tour of the grounds which is now home to thoroughbreds, quarter horses, miniatures, ponies, a pack horse, a retired carriage horse and even a donkey.

Rez-Q is a sanctuary for homeless, abandoned, abused and donated horses. It also tries to help people learn more about being better horse owners.

Some of its horses are placed into foster care and eventually adopted. Equine Rez-Q is careful how it screens potential new owners and caretakers, Squeglia said.

“If the adoptions don’t work out, we will take them back,” she said.

Many of the horses were saved from other rescue operations that could no longer make it financially, said Jeanie Esajian, a California woman who often visits Snohomish County and likes to help out at Rez-Q.

Seven horses were brought from an Oregon farm last year when their owner died and her husband couldn’t care for them.

Two Rez-Q horses have notable bloodlines, said Sharon Peck, a retired teacher who volunteers there. They are great-great-great-grandchildren of Seabiscuit, the undersized, rags-to-riches champion racehorse from the 1930s whose story was told in an Academy Award-nominated film.

Rez-Q hosted an open house and bake sale late last month, giving dozens of people tours while answering questions about adoption, foster care and volunteer opportunities as well as how people can donate to an operation that gets by on a shoestring budget.

“I’m always wheeling and dealing and looking for help,” Squeglia said.

Typically there are between 18 and 22 horses there at any given time.

Many are expected to live out their remaining days on the grounds, including Blacky, a spunky 30-year-old miniature gelding who once was a birthday party pony. Blacky has become the rescue center’s mascot.

“He’s going to be here forever,” Squeglia said.

Over the years, volunteers from their teens to their 70s have helped out. Some initially were looking to fulfill community service requirements from school or brushes with the law; others just love being around horses.

Squeglia said she has seen some young socially awkward volunteers blossom as they gain more knowledge and skills taking care of horses.

“It’s extremely good therapy for any kid with troubles,” Squeglia said.

How to help

All Breed Equine Rez-Q, a horse rescue center west of Marysville, is looking for homes for some of the horses it has taken in. The non-profit organization, 2415 116th St. NE, Marysville, also needs volunteers and donations.

For more information, call 425-263-6390 or go to allbreedhorserescue.com.

Organizers ask that visitors call ahead.

International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, August 9

2013 Theme: “Indigenous peoples building alliances: Honouring treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements”

Tadodaho Sid Hill, Chief of the Onondaga Nation, at the opening of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues' twelfth session. UN/Rick Bajornas
Tadodaho Sid Hill, Chief of the Onondaga Nation, at the opening of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues’ twelfth session. UN/Rick Bajornas

Source: un.org

The International Day of the World’s Indigenous People (9 August) was first proclaimed by the General Assembly in December 1994, to be celebrated every year during the first International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People (1995 – 2004).

In 2004, the Assembly proclaimed a Second International Decade, from 2005 – 2014, with the theme of “A Decade for Action and Dignity.” The focus of this year’s International Day is “Indigenous peoples building alliances: Honouring treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements.”

The theme aims to highlight the importance of honouring arrangements between States, their citizens and indigenous peoples that were designed to recognize indigenous peoples’ rights to their lands and establish a framework for living in proximity and entering into economic relationships. Agreements also outline a political vision of different sovereign peoples living together on the same land, according to the principles of friendship, cooperation and peace.

A special event at UN Headquarters in New York will be held on Friday, 9 August, starting at 3pm, featuring the UN Secretary-General, the Chairperson of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, a delegate of Panama, a representative of the Office of the UN High Commissioner of Human Rights, and an indigenous representative. The event will be webcast live at webtv.un.org.

Also on 9 August, hundreds of indigenous and non-indigenous rowers are scheduled to arrive at Pier 96 at 57th Street in Manhattan at 10am, after having collectively travelled thousands of miles on rivers and horsebacks to honour the first treaty -– the Two Row Wampum -– concluded between Dutch immigrants and the Haudenosaunee (a confederacy of six nations, with capital in the Onondaga nation, in NY State) 400 years ago, in 1613. They will gather with members of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza at 1:30pm.

Sun Devil Women’s Basketball to Honor No. 21 Jersey of Hall of Famer Ryneldi Becenti on Dec. 21

sun-devil

Courtesy: Sun Devil Athletics

TEMPE, Ariz. – Ryneldi Becenti, a member of the Arizona State University Sports Hall of Fame who twice earned honorable mention All-America notice as a member of the Sun Devil women’s basketball team, will have her No. 21 jersey honored and displayed from the rafters of Wells Fargo Arena on Sat., Dec. 21 when the Sun Devils host the University of Miami, Sun Devil head coach Charli Turner Thorne announced on Monday.

“As we started to evaluate the stars of our distinguished past, it quickly became apparent that no player was more celebrated or had more of an impact – both in her community and within our own Sun Devil community – than Ryneldi Becenti,” said Turner Thorne. “While already in our Hall of Fame for her achievements as a student-athlete, we felt a program-specific tribute like this was fitting for a special individual whose influence went beyond the basketball court.

“The incredible work ethic and desire that led her to our program galvanized the Native American community. Her outstanding contributions as a Sun Devil enhanced her legendary status and remain an inspiration for many. I am so proud to be announcing that we will be hanging Ryneldi Becenti’s No. 21 jersey from the rafters of Wells Fargo Arena on Dec. 21. We hope all our fans and basketball enthusiasts alike will mark the date in their calendars to come out and help us pay tribute to this Sun Devil icon.”

Becenti was a two-time honorable mention All-America honoree while also becoming one of only three Sun Devils (at the time) to earn All-Pac-10 first-team honors twice in a career.

Following two successful seasons at Scottsdale Community College, Becenti joined ASU where her outstanding all-around play was pivotal in helping the Sun Devils earn a NCAA Tournament berth in 1992, the program’s first tournament invite since 1983.

By the conclusion of her two-year Sun Devil career, Becenti would accumulate 396 career assists, which at the time represented the second-highest career total in program history. Her career average of 7.1 assists per game remains a Pac-12 record to this day, while her 17-assist outing vs. Marquette in 1992 still sits atop the team’s list for most assists in a single game. With 15 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists in a Jan. 25, 1992, game against Oregon State, Becenti became the first player in school history to record a triple-double and was the lone player in the NCAA – men or women – to record the feat that season.

Becenti’s enormous popularity in the community and the Navajo Nation received national acclaim in March 1993, when she was featured in a Sports Illustrated article written by award-winning journalist Gary Smith.

As a member the 1993 USA team at the World University Games, Becenti became the first Native American female to earn a medal at the event. She would also go on to earn the distinction of becoming the first Native American to play in the WNBA as a member of the hometown Phoenix Mercury.

In 1996, she became the first woman inducted into the American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame adding to her list of enshrinements, which includes the Scottsdale Community College Hall of Fame, Arizona State University Hall of Fame and the Arizona High School Sports Hall of Fame.

A native of Fort Defiance, Ariz., Becenti earned high school All-America honors playing for Window Rock High School. Her stellar play continued at Scottsdale Community College where she earned junior college All-American recognition.

Turning the Tide on Early Childhood Obesity

usda-my-plate-kidsDr. Janey Thornton, Native News Network

WASHINGTON – Here at USDA, we’re on a mission to help all of our nation’s children have the best possible chance at a healthy life. So, we’re very encouraged by some recent news from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: the rate of obesity among low income preschool children appears to be declining for the first time in decades.

The declining rates show that our collective efforts are helping to gain ground on childhood obesity, particularly among some of the more vulnerable populations in our country. Low income children are often at a disadvantage when it comes to getting the food they need to grow up healthy, which is why USDA’s nutrition programs and resources are so vital.

USDA programs like WIC, with its new, healthier food package offerings, and CACFP, with its increasing emphasis on nutrition and physical activity are making a difference in the lives of millions of children. In addition, educational materials like Healthy Eating for Preschoolers and Nutrition and Wellness Tips for Young Children can help adults get children off to the right start in life.

Our efforts don’t stop there. School aged children are now getting healthier and more nutritious school meals and snacks, thanks to changes implemented under the historic Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. Our Team Nutrition initiative provides nutrition education to help schools serve healthier meals and motivate kids to form healthy habits. We’re supporting healthy, local foods in schools through our Farm to School grant program. And we’re improving access to fresh produce and healthy foods for children and families that receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.

Don’t get me wrong, we still have a long way to go before America’s childhood obesity epidemic is a thing of the past. Far too many, 1 out of every 8 preschoolers are still obese. And, obesity in these early childhood years sets the stage for serious health problems throughout the entire lifespan. But we at USDA are proud of our ongoing efforts to ensure the health of America’s next generation, and we know that these efforts are playing a vital role in turning the tide on early childhood obesity. Learn more about USDA’s efforts to improve child nutrition or visit choosemyplate.gov » for quick, easy nutrition and diet tips for families.

Dr. Janey Thornton is the Deputy Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services at the USDA.

Material collection and preparation big part of basket weaving

Quileute-Cathy-working-on-basket-post-218x300Source: Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission

If you aren’t in the mood, don’t weave. It shows up in the work.” That’s one of the many things Quileute tribal member Cathy Salazar has learned after 16 years of basket weaving.

“The weave will get too tight or sloppy if you aren’t in the right frame of mind,” said Salazar.

Despite years of weaving, Salazar didn’t fully appreciate the traditional ways of preparing materials for some time because others provided the cedar and grasses ready to use in baskets. “It was all ready to go and Grandma Lillian Pullen or my other instructors would weave the basket bottoms for me to get the basket started,” said Salazar. Lillian was her first teacher and everyone called her “grandma.”

However, there came a time when the raw materials weren’t as easily available, so Salazar went out with a group of tribal members to strip cedar bark and learned all the days of hard work behind preparing it for weaving. “When people look at a basket and grumble about the price, they usually don’t’ understand that the weaving is the fastest part for accomplished basket-makers. The preparation takes the most time,” Salazar said.

Once the cedar bark is stripped from the tree, the outer bark must be separated from the inner bark. Then it is dried indoors to prevent mold. It is either stored or soaked in water if it will be used in the near future.

Salazar chuckles that her sister Anne Walker, who lives in Arizona, can have cedar harvested in May ready to use by July because of Arizona’s hot and dry climate. In the rainforest, “I’m probably not able to use it until November,” she said.

Properly preserved, the weaving materials can be stored for many years. “Some weavers have cedar that was their grandmother’s that they use in baskets,” Salazar said. “When folks are looking at baskets, they always comment they can smell the cedar when they are holding those old-growth baskets. The color is darker, too.”

Salazar’s sister, who is three years older, also pushed her to learn all the aspects of basket weaving. “She just wasn’t going to let me keep having others start baskets for me or fix my problems when I got stuck,” Salazar said, laughing.

Quileute Natural Resources now organizes collection of the cedar bark each year as part of a cooperative agreement with Rayonier. A unit is identified and natural resources employees mark the way to the grove for collection and provide transportation, if necessary. Cedar is also collected and distributed to those who aren’t able to collect it themselves. “I think we had the most requests that I can remember for materials this year,” Salazar said.

Salazar knows the value of the materials and gives prepared cedar to relatives and friends who weave as presents for birthdays and other holidays. “They appreciate it because they know how much work it takes to get it ready. For me, I would trade it ounce for ounce for gold.”