Tag: nmai
A Conversation on Culture and Change Regarding the Washington Slurskins

A Conversation on Culture and Change Regarding the Washington Slurskins

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The call to change the team’s moniker isn’t an isolated issue and it’s not, as many opponents callously bawl, “a bunch of PC bull.” It’s part of a broader issue in how we, as humans on this planet, relate and respect each person’s beliefs, culture, and ideals. How is it that this crude and racist epithet continues to exist on the fourth-most valuable sports franchise in the world? It’s an issue that goes beyond the misguided use of a word; it’s the taint of a past that many refuse – or ignore – exists.
Happenings…

Happenings…

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Quick update, I suppose. Update 1: I recently had the chance to interview one of the museum curators at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, as well as tour their latest exhibit “A Song for the Horse Nation.” You can find both articles in the links provided. I rather enjoy blending interviews, history, …

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NMAI: Hear the Song of the Horse Nation

NMAI: Hear the Song of the Horse Nation

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To walk the exhibit’s path is to walk side by side with the conjoined path of Native and horse. Though horses were introduced to the Native Americans relatively late in North American history—the early 1700s saw the initial widespread explosion of the horse from captured Spanish mounts in the southwest—the image of Indians astride these graceful animals is one that is common to modern Americans.
The Song of Emil Her Many Horses

The Song of Emil Her Many Horses

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Among the Lakota, horses were a measure of wealth, but not in the traditional European sense. To the Lakota—and many other tribes—a more important demonstration of wealth came from giving away horses or other items in honor of a family member. Possession was not as important as generosity. Horses could be given away at naming and memorial ceremonies, or at giveaways, which celebrated anything from the return of a war veteran, honoring a graduating student, or the marriage of a daughter.
American Indians, American Presidents…and a Heritage

American Indians, American Presidents…and a Heritage

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Native American history is a subject very close to me, for starters, and is an era of history I feel is mostly glossed over in classrooms. The struggle of Native Americans during this country’s formation and rise to power is something that cannot be ignored and, I believe, contains lessons for our future as a nation and as a people.
Scribblings: Paul Chaat Smith

Scribblings: Paul Chaat Smith

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To understand the author is to understand the book that much more. It’s less a cohesive treatise on any particular point – and if you’re looking for a “top ten” list based on the title, you’ll be sorely disappointed. As Paul stated, “It’s a book title, folks, not to be taken literally. Of course I don’t mean everything, just most things. And ‘you’ really means we, as in all of us.”

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