| Below are excerpts of articles that have been published on Powwows.com over the last couple of weeks that you may have missed!
Be sure to check our site often for new articles!
How To Make Your Own Bead Loom
By Robyn Rokar, I just made myself 4 looms over the weekend and had the foresight to take some pics. It’s a very simple loom…no need to mess with screws,nails, etc…. Supply list: 1″ x 4″ board, wide Strapping tape.
I bought a 8 foot board and had the lumber yard cut it in half to fit in my car. Here’s a pic of the strapping tape I used and one of the spacer blocks I cut out.
Of course the lumber yard didn’t cut my board EXACTLY in half, so I took the longer side and cut in 3 equal pieces about 18 inches long.
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Beaded Moccasins – eBay Find of the Week
From eBay: For sale is a wonderful pair of beaded Sioux (Lakota) moccasins, first half of the 20th Century, from the Zehner Collection. Uppers made of native tanned hide, rawhide soles. Hide is in a very good condition. Beadwork is lane stitched and sinew sewn in traditional designs. Bead colors are white, medium blue, dark blue, tomato red, some bright-red-white-heart and pea green. Metal danglers with red chicken feathers. Size of the moccasins is circa 9″ x 4″. Minor bead loss at heels. Overall very good condition.
Collected by Dr. Luther R. and Frances T. Zehner at the Standing Rock Reservation in 1949/1950.Dr. Zehner started working in 1949 as a physician in the reservation hospital at Standing Rock Reservation near Fort Yates, ND, while Mrs. Zehner was a teacher in the Standing Rock reservation school. Dr. and Mrs.
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2014 PowWows.com Princess – Alexa Winona Mary Gabbard
My name is Alexa Winona Mary Gabbard from Moorhead, MN. My Dakota name is Unki Maka Akan Waci Win which translates as ‘She Walks On Mother Earth. I am Dakota oyate from Sioux Valley, Manitoba, Canada and Ojibway from North West Angle, Ontario, Canada. I was born in British Columbia, Canada and lived there for five years before I moved to the United States. I am 13 years old and I am in seventh grade at Horizon Middle School in Moorhead, Minnesota. My parents are Mike and Delores Gabbard. My grand parents are Alden and Elsie Pompana from Manitoba.
I travel all over the United States and Canada with my family, going to pow-wows all year long. I have been dancing since I was able to walk and pow-wows have become a very big part of my life. I also enjoy going to ceremony in my home community and other communities. Along with pow-wows and school, I also enjoy theater, choir and playing trombone in my school band. When I get older I want to finish high school and get a scholarship to Harvard University to be a lawyer.
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Quincy Afraid of Lighting, Lakota Warrior
Quincy Afraid of Lightning’s striking name makes an indelible impression on everyone who hears it. So does his stunning presence in powwow regalia, as this mighty Lakota dances at many powwows. Yet, it is his indomitable spirit that stands out as a steady, strong example of traditional Lakota values and his personal faith beliefs. Recently, this powwow dancer took a break from serving his community to speak with us about the fire that fuels his way of life.
Q) You are amazing! Each time we visit, you’re doing something remarkable! What are you into these days?
A) I’m 38 and growing stronger as I get older . I’m drug, alcohol, and smoke free. I do teaching presentations on our Lakota culture and music. I pastor a church in Rapid City SD called The Miracle Center. Before all of that I had a very troubled life of addiction. I have also been to state and federal prison. I am also an author. I wrote a book called “The Blue Road” which is going all over the U.S. and helping many people get free of the same obstacles I had in my life.
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Protecting Native Seeds
According to a report by KRQE out of Albuquerque, NM, a bill has been introduced in the Senate and House in New Mexico which would protect Native American seeds used for cultural, religious, medicinal, ceremonial and agriculture purposes. The proposal would permit tribes to work alongside public research institutions to encourage education and training programs preserving the purity of the seeds.
Currently there are several organizations throughout Indian Country dedicated to seed conservation such as Native Seeds in Arizona, Upon request, Native Seeds will provide free seeds to Native Americans in the Greater Southwest region.
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Moapa Band of Paiutes Break Ground on Solar Power Plant
Last Year members from the Moapa Band of Paiutes led a 16-mile walk to highlight plans to close a coal-fired power plant and build a solar energy plant in Southern Nevada.
This year they’re starting construction on a 250MW solar power plant. As reported by Lucy Woods with PV Tech, The Moapa Southern Paiute Solar project is to be built by Moapa Southern Paiute Solar, a subsidiary of First Solar Electric. The plant is scheduled for completion in 2015, powering 93,000 homes and creating 400 construction jobs.
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Pow Wow Trail – The Fancy Dance
“The Fancy Dance” is the sixth episode of an eleven part television series from 2001 known as “The Pow Wow Trail”. Over the course of 2 years producer Jeremy Torrie and film crew traveled to over 40 reservations, ceremonies and Pow Wow celebrations.
Their travels brought them all over the United States and Canada shooting and interviewing the best Pow Wow singers, dancers, the most respected elders, songwriters, traditional teachers and the various perspectives of people living, traveling and competing on the Pow Wow circuit.
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Pamunkey Woman to Portray Pocahontas in Re-enactment
It’s been 400 years since Pocahontas wed John Rolfe, and folks at the Historic Jamestowne will be holding an re-enactment of the wedding. Steve Vaughan with the Virgina Gazette reports that Wendy Taylor, a member of the Pamunkey Indian Tribe who says she’s a descendant of Powhatan, will portray the famous leader’s daughter, Pocahontas, in the re-enactment.
“I live on the Pamunkey Reservation. We have good relations with Jamestown,” Taylor said in a telephone interview Friday. “They asked me if I wanted to do it, and I said I would be happy to.”
Taylor, a 25-year-old mother of two, said there have been no rehearsals for the wedding yet.
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Indigenize the World: Indigenous Rights Activist Raps His Way to Justice
Indigenize the World! One Indigenous activist hopes to do just that by using his Navajo culture and lyrical talent. Hip hop artist Indigenize plans to fire up and motivate Native America through his music. Nothing is off limits in this talented performer’s interview with Powwows.com.
Q) Indigenize the World! That’s a mighty message! Who is the man behind such a powerful phrase?
A) I’m towering house people clan and red house people clan. I am a Hip Hop emcee from the Dine’h ( Navajo) territories. I am a Indigenous rights activists with a message of rekindling our warrior societies.
Q) Such passion for Indigenous rights must have a story behind it?
A) My journey with music started when I was young. The power of music didn’t come to my understanding until I got shot at the age of 17 in my home town of Gallup, New Mexico in 2008. What kept me sane was a Tupac Album titled “Me Against the World”. After my experience with death, I NOW understood what Tupac and what ALL great musicians talk about when Speaking on the struggles of people instead of exploiting the issue and expose the issue at its core. Then, I came to realize we as Indigenous here on Turtle Island have become part of this systems history.
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The Sisters Schimel – HBO Real Sports
The Schimmel sisters will be featured in a segment tonight on HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel!
Straight from the HBO press release:
The Sisters Schimmel. A force in women’s basketball, the University of Louisville hopes to return to the Final Four for the second straight year after earning a three-seed in this year’s tournament. The Cardinals are led in part by two sisters who hail from a little-known basketball hotbed in the United States: Native American reservations. The older sibling, All-American senior guard Shoni Schimmel, is widely expected to be a top pick in the WNBA draft next month. Junior guard Jude Schimmel is the team’s reliable sixth woman.
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Mural Helps Raise Awareness : #ItEndsHere
The mural was inspired by the #ItEndsHere campaign poster, designed by Jaque Fragua. Fellow artists Owee, Keir1, Dan Tullie, and Tom Greyeyes helped paint the mural during the PAINT PHX event held in Phoenix, AZ. Via Decolonizing Media tumblr The #ItEndsHere campaign, organized by Nations Rising, aims to confront the crisis of violence against Indigenous women and girls, by declaring: #ItEndsHere.They are committed to eliminating all forms of violence within Indigenous communities, including violence based on gender and sexual identity and orientation.
Read about the full series of articles on the #ItEndsHere campaign at Nations Rising
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Native American Night in Louisville
Even though the game was two weeks ago, people are still buzzing about the energy that was inside the KFC YUM! Center where the Schimmel sisters of Louisville women’s basketball team took on a still undefeated Connecticut. The recent snowstorm that cut across the country didn’t deter the thousands of Native American fans who traveled from all over Indian Country to attend the game. They waited hours before the game to show their support for Shoni Schimmel on her Senior Night, and waited hours after the game to get her autograph.
How many of you attended the game? Don’t worry if you weren’t able to make it, Charlie Perry of The Indian Leader has a great recap of the game.
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Scalps on Display at Karl May Museum
It’s no secret that many Europeans have been infatuated with Native American culture for quite some time. Karl May, a German novelist during the late 1800s, has been credited with creating the German fascination with all things “Wild West”. A museum dedicated to the man is now under fire for displaying Native American scalps and refusing to return them. British newspaper The Guardian reports, the Karl May Museum in Radebeul near Dresden is in possession of 17 scalps, 3 on display, that were given to the private collection by a friend of the novelist.
For the last four years, activists have been calling for the return of the scalps, whose display in American museums has been illegal since 1990. Yet in spite of these requests the Karl May Museum has made no moves to return the items.
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Dan Snyder Creating Washington Redskins Original Americans Foundation
Are you buying what he’s selling?
In a four-page letter yesterday, Dan Snyder, owner of the Washington Redskin’s football team, announced that he was creating the Washington Redskins Original Americans Foundation.
The mission of the Original Americans Foundation is to provide meaningful and measurable resources that provide genuine opportunities for Tribal communities. With open arms and determined minds, we will work as partners to begin to tackle the troubling realities facing so many tribes across our country. Our efforts will address the urgent .challenges plaguing Indian country based on what Tribal leaders tell us they need most. We may have created this new organization, but the direction of the Foundation is truly theirs.
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Spirit In Action 