Mine go up for the family, the injured. Fran Chinkapin On Sat, Feb 15, 2014 at 7:58 PM, Blue Panther <Blue_Panther@otelco.net>wrote: > a friend of little mother fell. his wife has asked for prayers, so I put > this out to the prayer warriors please be in prayer for Grant Hill. > > blue panther > ======*====== > List archives > http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/index?list=cherokee > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > CHEROKEE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message >

Prayers are on the wind for the injured one & their family Alli On Sat, Feb 15, 2014 at 7:58 PM, Blue Panther <Blue_Panther@otelco.net>wrote: > a friend of little mother fell. his wife has asked for prayers, so I > put this out to the prayer warriors please be in prayer for Grant Hill. > > blue panther > ======*====== > List archives > http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/index?list=cherokee > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > CHEROKEE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > ======*====== List archives http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/index?list=cherokee ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to CHEROKEE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

How The Deer Got His Horns – Cherokee in the beginning the deer had no horns, but his head was smooth just like a doe's. He was a great runner and the rabbit was a great jumper, and the animals were all curious to know which could go farther in the same time. They talked about it a good deal, and at last arranged a match between the two, and made a nice large pair of antlers for a prize to the winner. They were to start together from one side of a thicket and go through it, then turn and come back, and the one who came out first was to get the horns. On the day fixed all the animals were there, with the antlers put down on the ground at the edge of the thicket to mark the starting point. While everybody was admiring the horns the rabbit said: "I don't know this part of the country; I want to take a look through the bushes where I am to run." they thought that all right, so the rabbit went into the thicket, but he was gone so long that at last the animals suspected he must be up to one of his tricks. They sent a messenger to look for him, and away in the middle of the thicket he found the rabbit gnawing down the bushes and pulling them away until he had a road cleared nearly to the other side. The messenger turned around quietly and came back and told the other animals. When the rabbit came out at last they accused him of cheating, but he denied it until they went into the thicket and found the cleared road. They agreed that such a trickster had no right to enter the race at all, so they gave the horns to the deer, who was admitted to be the best runner, and he has worn them ever since. They told the rabbit that as he was so fond of cutting down bushes he might do that for a living hereafter, and so he does to this day. Myths of the Cherokee by jams Mooney. From the nineteenth annual report of the bureau of American ethnology 1897-98, part I. [1900] and is now in the public domain.

a friend of little mother fell. his wife has asked for prayers, so I put this out to the prayer warriors please be in prayer for Grant Hill. blue panther

View this email online: http://org.salsalabs.com/o/2426/t/0/blastContent.jsp?email_blast_KEY=1292910 A buffalo struggles inside Yellowstone's Stephens Creek trap. National Park Service Photo Click here to view: http://buffalofieldcampaign.org/media/press1314/pressreleases1314/021314/pressrelease021314.jpg Buffalo Field Campaign is the only group working in the field, in the courts, and in the policy arena to protect America's last wild buffalo. Buffalo Field Campaign http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org Yellowstone Bison Update from the Field February 13, 2014 * Yellowstone Resumes Buffalo Slaughter * *TAKE ACTION!* Contact Yellowstone and Urge them to Stop the Slaughter. * The Buffalo Need You. Volunteer or Donate Today. * Submit Your Photos & Art Work to BFC's Wild Bison Calendar. * Buffalo in the News * By the Numbers * Last Words of Buffalo Inspiration ---------- Yellowstone Resumes Buffalo Slaughter: Update from the Field It's been a bad couple of days for America's last wild buffalo. On Tuesday the press was abuzz with news that Yellowstone National Park planned to slaughter as many as 800 buffalo this winter. What the journalists reporting the story did not reveal--because Yellowstone's public relations office kept it from them--was that Yellowstone was already actively engaged in capturing and slaughtering wild buffalo! Yesterday morning, February 12, BFC's Gardiner field patrol was startled to see a livestock trailer leaving the area of the Stephens Creek buffalo trap loaded with 20 previously wild buffalo. The truck and trailer, bearing Montana plates and likely belonging to the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT), was escorted by two Montana Department of Livestock trucks and a USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) truck. This convoy traveled north from Gardiner and then headed west on Interstate 90, en route to a slaughterhouse in Ronan, MT, where all 20 buffalo were (or are in the process of being) killed. BFC quickly contacted Yellowstone spokesman Al Nash, who informed us that 25 buffalo had been captured on Friday, February 7, and confined in the trap for five days. After shipping the 20 buffalo to the slaughterhouse, Yellowstone officials turned the remaining five buffalo over to APHIS, who will use them as subjects of an ill-conceived contraception experiment. Today our patrol reported that an additional 30 buffalo had been trapped by park rangers, who baited the Stephens Creek trap with hay to lure the buffalo in and closed the steel doors behind them. It is likely that the park plans to slaughter these buffalo as well. Yellowstone and its partner agencies have set an arbitrary limit of 3,000 to 3,500 buffalo on the size of the population. This "target," based more on politics than sound science, is meant to limit the range of wild buffalo and has no scientific basis. It does not reflect the carrying capacity of the buffalo's habitat in and around Yellowstone. The Park Service has even gone so far as to refer to any buffalo above this number as "surplus" animals, hence its plans to kill so many this winter. The current buffalo population numbers approximately 4,400 (1,300 in the Central Interior and 3,100 in the Northern range). Yellowstone estimated the population at 4,600 last summer but 100 have since been killed by hunters and an equal number have likely died due to winterkill and natural causes. The Central Interior subpopulation also migrates north into the Gardiner basin and has not recovered from the last Park-led slaughter in 2008 that killed over half of the Central Interior buffalo. The government's "population target" makes no distinction for conserving subpopulations in this very unique buffalo herd. The current slaughter operations have outraged hunters, including parties from the Nez Perce Tribe, who have traveled hundreds of miles to exercise their treaty rights only to find no bison on the landscape. Meanwhile, only a few miles away, Yellowstone captures buffalo by the dozens, holds them for days inside the trap, and ships them to slaughter. Please call Yellowstone Superintendent Dan Wenk during the day on Friday and urge him to stop slaughtering America's last wild buffalo. We want to flood Yellowstone's switchboards. His number is: (307) 344-2002. And keep reading for other ways you can help BFC help the buffalo. Read yesterday's press release [ http://buffalofieldcampaign.org/media/press1314/pressreleases1314/021314.html ]: http://buffalofieldcampaign.org/media/press1314/pressreleases1314/021314.html ---------- TAKE ACTION! Tell Yellowstone Superintendent Dan Wenk What You Think! Please call Yellowstone Superintendent Dan Wenk at (307) 344-2002, use the link below, and urge him to stop the 2014 buffalo slaughter that is currently underway. http://org.salsalabs.com/o/2426/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=12829 ---------- The Buffalo Need You. Volunteer or Donate Today. If you ever have dreamed of standing with buffalo and fighting for their rights to be wild, NOW IS THAT TIME! BFC is in need of caring people to make this sacred sacrifice to help the buffalo. Buffalo Field Campaign invites you to join us on the front lines, here on the edge of the world's first national park, to defend America's last wild, migratory buffalo. State, federal, and tribal governments are in the process of capturing and killing hundreds of wild bison. They aim to reduce the already vulnerable population of America's last wild, migratory buffalo to a mere 3,000 animals. We need more people to stand with us and protect the buffalo. Please, if you have ever thought about coming out we need help from now until the end of May. BFC provides room, board, gear, and training while the wildlife and wild lands provide incredible inspiration. Please visit our volunteer page [ http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/aboutus/volunteeringatcamp.html ] to fill out an application or email our volunteer coordinators [ mailto:volunteer@buffalofieldcampaign.org ] or 406-646-0070. Bring your passion and your ideas. See you on the front lines! If you can not join us in person we could still use your help. Please use the DONATE button below to make a tax-deductible contribution to our important work for the buffalo. Thanks for giving us the honor of standing with these sacred beings and please come experience it for yourselves, it will change your life. WITH THE BUFFALO, Mike Mease [ http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/aboutus/volunteeringatcamp.html ] [ https://org.salsalabs.com/o/2426/donate_page/forthebuffalo ] ---------- BFC's 2015 Wild Bison Calendar: *SUBMIT YOUR PHOTOS & ART [ https://org.salsalabs.com/o/2426/t/11564/shop/item.jsp?storefront_KEY=554&t=&store_item_KEY=4649 ] "*WE ARE NOW ACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS FOR 2015*", so if you have high resolution photos, artwork, poetry, quotes, or interesting natural facts about wild buffalo, please contact Stephany for details [ mailto:bfc-media@wildrockies.org ]. Don't miss out on BFC's *"2014 Wild Bison of Yellowstone Country Calendar"*! This is likely our best calendar yet, with absolutely stunning photos of wild buffalo in their native habitat, incredible artwork, and inspiring quotes, facts, and poetry. ORDER NOW [ https://org.salsalabs.com/o/2426/t/7926/shop/item.jsp?storefront_KEY=554&t=&store_item_KEY=4649 ] Thank you to everyone who has made our Wild Bison calendars such a huge success! This is one of our favorite projects as it allows all of us to celebrate wild buffalo 365 days a year! ---------- By the Numbers *The last wild, migratory buffalo populations are currently estimated at fewer than 4,500 individual animals, living in and around Yellowstone National Park. Wild, migratory bison are ecologically extinct throughout their native range in North America. * 2013-2014 Total Buffalo Killed: 117 Government Capture: 55 Buffalo Released from Capture: Government Slaughter: Held for Government Experiment: 5 Died in Government Trap: Died in Government Research Facility**: 1 Miscarriage in Government Trap: State Hunt: 16 Treaty Hunts: 81 Unknown Hunts: Sent to Quarantine: Sent to Research Facility: Shot by Agents: Highway Mortality: Cause of Death Unknown: Total Killed in Previous Years* 2012-2013: 261 2011-2012: 33 2010-2011: 227 2009-2010: 7 2008-2009: 22 2007-2008: 1,631 Total Killed Since 2000: 4,355 *includes lethal government action, trap-related fatalities, quarantine/experiments, hunts, and highway deaths **bison stolen from the wild and placed in research facilities (such as for GonaCon) have already been counted as being "eliminated from the population" so bison that have died in a government research facility are not reflected in the total. ---------- Last Words of Buffalo Inspiration "We're talking about the last free-roaming herd here. It does them a disservice and is a disrespect to them that they are being treated in this manner." --James Holt, Nez Perce Tribe and Buffalo Field Campaign board member Please send us your submissions for Last Words. [ mailto:bfc-media@wildrockies.org ] Thank you for all the poems, songs, quotes and stories you've contributed! Keep them coming! ---------- [ http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/actnow/takeaction.html ] [ http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/aboutus/volunteeringatcamp.html ] [ https://org.salsalabs.com/o/2426/t/11564/shop/shop.jsp?storefront_KEY=554 ] [ http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/bfcbenefitlicenseplate.html ] Drive the message home [ http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/bfcbenefitlicenseplate.html ] with a special Montana license plate! Join Buffalo Field Campaign [ http://org.salsalabs.com/o/2426/t/7926/signUp.jsp?key=3378 ] -- It's Free! Tell-a-Friend [ http://org.salsalabs.com/o/2426/tellafriend.jsp?tell_a_friend_KEY=3835 ]! WILD IS THE WAY ~ ROAM FREE! Click here to unsubscribe. [ http://org.salsalabs.com/o/2426/t/7926/p/salsa/supporter/unsubscribe/public/?unsubscribe_page_KEY=42 ] [ http://org.salsalabs.com/o/2426/t/7926/p/salsa/supporter/unsubscribe/public/?unsubscribe_page_KEY=42 ]

How The Crow Clan Became Also The Kachina Clan – Hopi ORIGINALLY, the home of the Crow Clan was somewhere in the forest at the foot of the San Francisco Peaks. There were seven families and they were a dark people. Now, often in the night they would hear something moving about far away in the woods, making a strange noise and they wondered who it was. The leader of the village wanted to find out about this strange sound, for he knew that no animal made that kind of a sound, like a deep growling (for in those days this person wore a bell made out of mountain sheep horn, which rattled and could be heard a long distance). So finally the Chief said he would send out a few boys who were good runners, to spy around and see who this person could be. And so one night he did send out seven of them into the forest. They wandered around and finally, away in the distance, they heard the strange noise, far up at the top of the peaks, coming down from point to point and they were frightened. The noise came on, passed them and came down on the flat and traveled on toward the village. The boys saw that it was someone, but they feared that it might be a man of great power who would kill them and they did not try to catch him. So this man, or whoever it was, came close to the village again and finally went away up the mountain. Now someone said to the Chief that this person, whoever he was, that came from the peaks must surely live up there, so that it would be well for him to hold the ceremony of the "Paho making." So he called the High Priest and had him make prayer offerings. After thinking it over the Chief decided to send one of his nephews with the offerings so that. if he found anyone on the peaks and harm should come to the youth, as he was a relative, there would be no trouble. So he called his nephew and gave him the pahos and told him to go up the mountain and give the pahos to anyone that he might find there. Now they got the youth ready next morning and painted him in reddish clay and tied a prayer plume on his head. Every man who had made a prayer offering went and placed it on a white buckskin and after they were all delivered there, they wrapped them up nicely and gave them to the youth together with a sack of sacred corn meal. Before the boy started, the Chief told him that if there were supernatural beings up there, to tell them that the Chief had sent them a message. He would like to ask if they were gods or other spirits and if they were, he would like to communicate with them. If they were spirits, then the people would worship them and accept their advice, because he knows himself, who must have control of the weather. So the youth started out, but before he commenced to ascend he came upon the old Spider Woman. The Spider Woman spoke to the youth, but he could not see her anywhere, so she peeped a little more out of her hole and she said to him, "Come in." But the youth looked down and said sadly, "How can I, the hole is too small." So she said, "Stick in your foot and wriggle it around a little." He did as she told him and the hole grew larger and he went down into her pithouse. The wise old Spider Woman said to the youth, "My poor boy, I am sorry for you. You have been sent up there on a difficult journey and I am afraid you are going to have a very hard time. You will have to do the best you can. There are four dangerous places that you must pass, guarded by 'terrible beings.' I will give you a charm which will make these creatures harmless and you can pass in safety." She handed him the root of a plant and told him how to use it. Whenever he came up one of these guards (it might be a mountain lion, a bear, or a terrible snake) the Spider Woman charged him to chew the magic root and spray it out upon the creature and he would immediately become mild and gentle. Then the old woman gave him a little fluffy feather and directed him how to use it, and told him which way to go. So the youth started out and traveled upward about three quarters of the way when he discerned a very faint trail and it was difficult to follow. All at once he thought of the little feather that the old Spider Woman had given him and how she had told him that it would go before him and show the way. So the youth took out his feather and let it go and it rose in the air and flew along before him, very slowly, so that he could easily follow it. No sooner had he started than he came to the first guard. A great mountain lion lay across his way and when he saw the boy he growled in his throat and crouched ready to spring upon him. The youth was frightened but he remembered the old Spider Woman's words and he quickly chewed the magic root and sprayed it out upon the angry lion and at once the beast lay down and it seemed as if he had never noticed the boy. Now all this time, the little feather danced along ahead of the youth and presently they came to the second guard, a giant grizzly bear. Of course you know, this animal is very fierce and the boy was even more afraid than he had been of the mountain lion, but he quickly chewed more of the magic medicine and sprayed it out over the bear and at once he became quiet and the youth passed on. Finally, with the feather going before he reached the top of the mountains and there he found a kiva. This kiva was guarded by two snakes, a great rattler, and a small rattler more deadly than the first. When they saw him approaching they coiled ready to strike and the boy stopped a long way off and felt very much discouraged and he forgot about his magic medicine. But the little feather had gone on ahead and stopped over the two snakes on top of the kiva. Now the snakes looked at the little feather and then at the youth and they thought that the feather was the boy's spirit. Then the youth remembered his charm and sprayed the snakes and they quieted down, uncoiled and crawled away from the entrance to the kiva. The feather entered the kiva and the youth followed. One lone man was sitting by the fire-place and he did not notice the youth. So the boy stood by the ladder and waited and presently the man saw him and asked him to be seated. The youth had a pipe which he filled with tobacco, lit it at the fire and passed it to the old man, who took four puffs and all the tobacco was used up; but the odor of the tobacco filled the room. Now he asked the youth where he had come from and who had sent him and the youth said that his uncle, the Chief, had sent him to find out who it was that visited the village and returned to the peaks each night. The old man said, "I know who you mean, he is my scout. He is away today, but he will soon come home. At any rate, I am the head man here." So the boy said, "If you are the head man here, I have brought you the prayer offerings the Chief and High Priest and the other head men have made for you." Well, the old man said that he was very glad that the offerings were made for him, because his people prized them very highly and he took the bundle and opened it and spread the plaques with the pahos on them out in front of him in the middle of the kiva. Then he said to the youth, "Watch me closely and see what I do. Do you see this paho? It was made by a man with a bad heart--I will cast it behind the ladder. But the maker of this paho has a good heart--I will place this in front of the ladder. Now I will call my people and pass these offerings around to them." So he opened the north, west, south, and east doors of the kiva and as he did this, many people came in and the youth saw that this was a large under-ground dwelling with only one opening through the kiva to the upper world. The youth was surprised to find that, as the head man handed around the pahos, there were certain ones for certain people and that there were just enough for every one. Finally, the head man asked the youth why his people down there had sent the offerings and what it was they wanted. Well, the boy said that his people wanted to find out who it was that lived up there and if they might be supernatural beings. And they answered him and said that they were the Kachinas, and being Kachinas they had control of the weather, like the rain and the storms. Now the Kachinas said that they would teach the youth the Kachina dances so that he could show his people down below how to hold Kachina dances and make them a part of their religion. So the youth was asked to stay for four days and during those four days and four nights he was shown the different dances and he was asked to study them so that he could paint the faces on the ceremonial masks when he returned. So the old man dressed the youth in full costume and they danced to the north, west, south, and east. Then the youth, who had heard about the Germ God (Muiaingwa ) now recognized the old man as the Germ God himself. Then the Germ God told the youth that if he would stay with them for awhile he would teach him how to make masks out of a white material and he told him that he must also learn how to make the costumes and belts and how to prepare the paint. The Germ God said that the youth must also learn their songs and then he said, "This ceremony will surely bring rain if you do as we do up here." Now after he had learned these dances and memorized the painting and the songs and all that was necessary, he was sent back to his home. Before he left the kiva, he was told that he and his relatives would now be a Kachina Clan. Well, the youth said that they were already the Crow Clan, but the head man said that they had a Crow Kachina and told the boy to tell his uncle, the Chief, that they must make pahos to the Kachinas whenever they held a dance. When they had told him all this he was sent back. While he was gone his people had been uneasy for four days, for they knew the forest was full of wild animals. When he returned, they were glad. The youth went to the kiva and the Chief was waiting for him there. The Crier was sent out to call the people to come to the kiva and when the men gathered in the kiva the youth told them how he had been taught the songs and the painting of the masks and how the Kachinas had control of the rain and wished the people to make prayer offerings for them whenever they prayed for rain and held a Kachina dance. And so the Crow and Kachina Clans brought these dances to the Hopi. Truth of a Hopi, by Edmund Nequatewa; Museum of Northern Arizona Bulletin No. 8. [1936, copyright not renewed] and is now in the public domain.

Manataka Smoke Signal News - Jan 2014 From: Manataka American Indian Council Sent: Wednesday, January 01, 2014 10:08 AM To: blue_panther@otelco.net Subject: Manataka Smoke Signal News - Jan 2014 Click to view this email in a browser Hi Blue, Let's Celebrate the New Year with American Indian spirit and joy! The January issue of Manataka's Smoke Signal News is full of inspiring stories, great teachings, beautiful art and pictures, and answers to your most intimate questions about life and love. The all-volunteer staff of the Manataka American Indian Council are thankful for your support and the opportunity to bring you gifts for an exciting New Year! Link to websiteRead the January issue - Manataka Smoke Signal News Now! Manataka is a sacred site where the People of the Land in North, Central and South America came to give thanks in prayer, dance with the Star People, witness miracles and love one another. Join with the thousands of modern day pilgrims at the sacred Manataka mountains and valleys this near year! Link to Manataka's website -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you no longer wish to receive these emails, please reply to this message with "Unsubscribe" in the subject line or simply click on the following link: Unsubscribe -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Manataka American Indian Council P. O. Box 476 Hot Springs, Arkansas 71901-9292 US Read the VerticalResponse marketing policy.

How The Crow Clan Arrived And Settled At Mishongnovi – Hopi LONG before this time the Crow Clan had made a little settlement at what is called the first Mishongnovi, on the west side of Quang-oufovi Mesa, or Bald Mesa. The leader of this clan was called Mishong, or Black Man, on account of his dark color. They lived there for awhile, but they were much troubled, for there was some sort of a great reptile that lived there, which seemed as if it had no end to it, and sometimes in the morning he would be all over the place, the great coils of him going round and round the little houses on the steep terraced mesa. He had one little pair of wings and Tok-chi-i, he was called. On account of that snake they were having great trouble. It was rather harmless, but they were afraid of it. When this great snake gathered himself together he formed a shape like a plaque and then he would take off into the air and was gone for a long time, and it might be months before he returned again, but when he did return he piled himself up on that little village again. On account of him the people left the place and went to Shung-opovi and settled down about three-fourths of the way to the top of the Mesa. When the Shung-opovi people found out that there were only seven families of them there they called their place the Seventh Point--Chung-ait-tuika. While living at this place they were constantly asking the Shung-opovi chief if they could join with his people, but he refused them every time, because they were a dark colored people. Of course, they didn't have any land to farm and what little gardening they did was on the bench where there was only a few inches of dirt on top of the rocks. Finally the Mishongnovi leader went to the Shung-opovi chief again.” Now about this time Walpi was established, and when the Shung-opovi people heard about it they decided they would let the Mishongnovi people go to guard the Corn Rock which was a very important shrine. So the chief of Shung-opovi said, "If you want to become a part of my people, I have a shrine by the Corn Rock and I need someone to take care of it. If you wish to be a part of my people you must settle there." The chief of Shung-opovi continued, "The eastern star has come up so that we are expecting the Bahana, our savior, a white man. We want to know him when he comes, so I delegate the Crow Clan to look for the Bahana. The Bahana, our savior, will do away with all evil people. But if the Bahana is not the true Bahana it will be your duty to make away with him." So Mishong and his people settled by the Corn Rock, founding Mishongnovi, and the Crow Clan has handed down the idea that they are the ones to look for the Bahana. Other clans joined this pueblo so the Crow Clan became the royal family of Mishongnovi. When Mishong's people were settled there they were given some land to the southeast. Now the chief of Walpi thought they were taking some of his land, so the Chief of the Shung-opovi went to Walpi and told the Chief that he had the right to give the people that much land as he was the first one to serve them. So then they made a boundary line from one of the points on the North Mesa to the South Mesa. The North Mesa is called Po-noteu-we (shrine that looks like a fat person). The South Mesa is called Aku-haivi (meaning "a little pool or deep rock tank" and here they could easily dip water with a ladle (aku) which always hung there.) This seemed to be satisfactory to both sides, so they settled on that question of the boundary line. About this time all the other villages were just beginning to be established, like Awatovi, and the others on the Jeddito, and it was found that the Awatovi people were speaking the same dialect as the Mishongnovi people. Of course at that time there was nobody at Shipaulovi. Truth of a Hopi, by Edmund Nequatewa; Museum of Northern Arizona Bulletin No. 8. [1936, copyright not renewed] and is now in the public domain.

How the Crow Came to be Black – Lakota / Brule In days long past, when the earth and the people on it were still young, all crows were white as snow. In those ancient times the people had neither horses nor firearms nor weapons of iron. Yet they depended upon the buffalo hunt to give them enough food to survive. Hunting the big buffalo on foot with stone-tipped weapons was hard, uncertain, and dangerous. The crows made things even more difficult for the hunters, because they were friends of the buffalo. Soaring high above the prairie, they could see everything that was going on. Whenever they spied hunters approaching a buffalo herd, they flew to their friends and, perching between their horns, warned them: “Caw, caw, caw, cousins, hunters are coming. They are creeping up through that gully over there. They are coming up behind that hill. Watch out! Caw, caw, caw!” Hearing this, the buffalo would stampede, and the people starved. The people held a council to decide what to do. Now, among the crows was a huge one, twice as big as all the others. This crow was their leader. One wise old chief got up and made this suggestion: “We must capture the big white crow,” he said, “and teach him a lesson. It’s either that or go hungry. ”He brought out a large buffalo skin, with the head and horns still attached. He put it on the back of a young brave, saying: “Nephew, sneak among the buffalo. They will think you are one of them, and you can capture the big white crow.” Disguised as a buffalo, the young man crept among the herd as if he were grazing. The big, shaggy beasts paid him no attention. Then the hunters marched out from their camp after him, their bows at the ready. As they approached the herd, the crows came flying, as usual, warning the buffalo: “Caw, caw, caw, cousins, the hunters are coming to kill you. Watch out for their arrows. Caw, caw, caw!” and as usual, all the buffalo stampeded off and away - all, that is, except the young hunter in disguise under his shaggy skin, who pretended to go on grazing as before. Then the big white crow came gliding down, perched on the hunter’s shoulders, and flapping his wings, said: “Caw, caw, caw, brother, are you deaf? The hunters are close by, just over the hill. Save yourself!” But the young brave reached out from under the buffalo skin and grabbed the crow by the legs. With a rawhide string he tied the big bird’s feet and fastened the other end to a stone. No matter how the crow struggled, he could not escape. Again the people sat in council. “What shall we do with this big, bad crow, who has made us go hungry again and again?” “I’ll burn him up!” answered one angry hunter, and before anybody could stop him, he yanked the crow from the hands of his captor and thrust it into the council fire, string, stone and all. “This will teach you,” he said. Of course, the string that held the stone burned through almost at once, and the big crow managed to fly out of the fire. But he was badly singed, and some of his feathers were charred. Though he was still big, he was no longer white. “Caw, caw, caw,” he cried, flying away as quickly as he could, “I’ll never do it again; I’ll stop warning the buffalo, and so will the Crow nation. I promise! Caw, caw, caw.” Thus the crow escaped. But ever since, all crows have been black. Told by Good White Buffalo at Winner, Rosebud Indian Reservation, South Dakota, 1964.

How The Coyotes Tried To Steal The Children Of The Sacred Dance – Zuñi In the times of the ancients, when our people lived in various places about the valley of Zuñi where ruins now stand, it is said that an old Coyote lived in Cedar Cañon with his family, which included a fine litter of pups. It is also said that at this time there lived on the crest of Thunder Mountain, back of the broad rock column or pinnacle which guards its western portion, one of the gods of the Sacred Drama Dance (Kâkâ)[1], named K'yámakwe, with his children, many in number and altogether like himself. [1. The Kâkâ, or Sacred Drama Dance, is represented by a great variety of masks and costumes worn by Zuñi dancers during the performance of this remarkable dramatic ceremony. Undoubtedly many of the traditional characters of the Sacred Drama thus represented are conventionalizations of the mythic conceptions or personifications of animal attributes. Therefore many of these characters partake at once of the characteristics, in appearance as well as in other ways, of animals and men. The example in point is a good illustration of this. The K'yámakwe are supposed to have been a most wonderful and powerful tribe of demi-gods, inhabiting a great valley and range of mesas some forty miles south of Zuñi. Their powers over the atmospheric phenomena of nature and over all the herbivorous animals are supposed to have been absolute. Their attitude toward man was at times inimical, at times friendly or beneficent. Such a relationship, controlled simply by either laudatory or propitiatory worship, was supposed to hold spiritually, still, between these and other beings represented in the Sacred Drama and men. It is believed that through the power of breath communicated by these ancient gods to men, from one man to another man, and thus from generation to generation, an actual connection has been kept up between initiated members of the Kâkâ drama and these original demigod characters which it represents; so that when a member is properly dressed in the costume of any one of these characters, a ceremony (the {footnote p. 229} description of which is too long for insertion here) accompanying the putting on of the mask is supposed not only to place him en rapport spiritually with the character he represents, but even to possess him with the spirit of that character or demi-god. He is, therefore, so long as he remains disguised as one of these demi-gods, treated as if he were actually that being which be personates. One of the K'yámakwe is represented by means of a mask, round and smooth-headed, with little black eyes turned up at the corners so as to represent a segment of a diminishing spiral; the color of the face is green, and it is separated from the rest of the head by a line composed of alternate blocks of black and yellow; the crown and back of the head are snow-white; and the ears are pendent and conical in shape, being composed of husks or other paper-like material; the mouth is round, and furnished with a four-pointed beak of husks, which extends two or three inches outward and spreads at the end like the petals of a half-closed lily; round the neck is a collar of fox fur, and covering the body are flowing robes of sacred embroidered mantles, which (notwithstanding the gay ornaments and other appurtenances of the costume) have, in connection with the expression of the mask, a spectral effect; the feet are encased in brilliantly painted moccasins, of archaic form, and the wrists laden with shell bracelets and bow-guards. When the long file of these strange figures making up the K'yámakwe Drama Dance comes in from the southward to the dance plazas of the pueblo, each member of it bears on his back freshly slain deer, antelope, rabbits, and other game animals or portions of them in abundance, made up in packages, highly decorated with tufts of evergreen, and painted toys for presentation to the children. In one band are carried bows and arrows, and in the other a peculiar rattle or clanger made of the shoulder-blades of deer. The wonder expressed by the coyote as the story goes on, and his excessive admiration of the children of the K'yámakwe may therefore be understood.] One day the old Coyote of Cedar Cañon went out hunting, and as he was prowling around among the sage-bushes below Thunder Mountain, he heard the clang and rattle and the shrill cries of the K'yámakwe. He pricked up his ears, stuck his nose into the air, sniffed about and looked all around, and presently discovered the K'yámakwe children running rapidly back and forth on the very edge of the mountain. "Delight of my senses, what pretty creatures they are! Good for me!" he piped, in a jovial voice. "I am the finder of children. I must capture the little fellows tomorrow, and bring them up as Coyotes ought to be brought up. Aren't they handsome, though?" All this he said to himself, in a fit of conceit, with his nose in the air (presumptuous cur!), planning to steal the children of a god! He hunted no more that day, but ran home as fast as he could, and, arriving there, he said: "Wife! Wife! O wife! I have discovered a number of the prettiest waifs one ever saw. They are children of the Kâkâ, but what matters that? They are there, running back and forth and clanging their rattles along the very edge of Thunder Mountain. I mean to steal them tomorrow, every one of them, and bring them here!" "Mercy on us!" exclaimed the old Coyote's wife. "There are children enough and to spare already. What in the world can we do with all of them, you fool?" "But they are pretty," said the Coyote. "Immensely fine! Every Coyote in the country would envy us the possession of them!" "But you say they are many," continued the wife. "Well, yes, a good many," said the Coyote. "Well, why not divide them among our associated clans?" suggested the old woman. "You never can capture them alone; it is rare enough that you capture anything, alone, leave out the children of the K'yámakwe. Get your relatives to help you, and divide the children amongst them." "Well, now, come to think of it, it is a good plan," said the Coyote, with his nose on his neck. "If I get up this expedition I'll be a big chief, won't I? Hurrah! Here's for it!" he shouted; and, switching his tail in the face of his wife, he shot out of the hole and ran away to a high rock, where, squatting down with a most important air and his nose lifted high, he cried out: Au hii lâ-â-â-â! Su Homaya-kwe! Su Kemaya-kwe! Su Ayalla-kwe! Su Kutsuku-kwe! [Listen ye all! Coyotes of the Cedar-cañon tribe Coyotes of the Sun flower-stalk-plain tribe Coyotes of the Lifted-stone-mountain tribe Coyotes of the Place-of-rock-gullies tribe!] I have instructions for you this day. I have found waif children many--of the K'yámakwe, the young. I would steal the waif-children many, of the K'yámakwe, the young. I would steal them tomorrow, that they may be adopted of us. I would have your aid in the stealing of the K'yámakwe young. Listen ye all, and tomorrow gather in council. Thus much I instruct ye: "Coyotes of the Cedar-cañon tribe! Coyotes of the Sunflower-stalk-plain tribe! Coyotes of the Lifted-stone-mountain tribe! Coyotes of the Place-of-rock-gullies tribe!" It was growing dark, and immediately from all quarters, in dark places under the cañons and arroyos, issued answering howls and howls. You should have seen that crowd of Coyotes the next morning, large and small, old and young,--all four tribes gathered together in the plain below Thunder Mountain! When they had all assembled, the Coyote who had made the discovery mounted an ant-hill, sat down, and, lifting his paw, was about to give directions with the air of a chief when an ant bit him. He lost his dignity, but resumed it again on the top of a neighboring rock. Again he stuck his nose into the air and his paw out, and with ridiculous assumption informed the Coyotes that he was chief of them all and that they would do well to pay attention to his directions. He then showed himself much more skilful than you might have expected. As you know, the cliff of Thunder Mountain is very steep, especially that part back of the two standing rocks. Well, this was the direction of the Coyote: "One of you shall place himself at the base of the mountain; another shall climb over him, and the first one shall grasp his tail; and another over them, and his tail shall be grasped by the second, and so on until the top is reached. Hang tight, my friends, every one of you, and every one fall in line. Eructate thoroughly before you do so. If you do not, we may be in a pretty mess; for, supposing that any one along the line should hiccough, he would lose his hold, and down we would all fall!" So the Coyotes all at once began to curve their necks and swell themselves up and strain and wriggle and belch wind as much as possible. Then all fell into a line and grabbed each other's tails, and thus they extended themselves in a long string up the very face of Thunder Mountain. A ridiculous little pup was at one end and a good, strong, grizzled old fellow--no other than the chief of the party--at the other. "Souls of my ancestors! Hang tight, my friends! Hang tight! Hang tight!" said he, when, suddenly, one near the top, in the agitation of the moment, began to sneeze, lost his hold, and down the whole string, hundreds of them, fell, and were completely flattened out among the rocks. The warrior of the Kâkâ--he of the Long Horn, with frightful, staring eyes, and visage blue with rage,--bow and war-club in hand, was hastening from the sacred lake in the west to rescue the children of the K'yámakwe. When he arrived they had been rescued already, so, after storming around a little and mauling such of the Coyotes as were not quite dead, he set to skin them all. And ever since then you will observe that the dancers of the Long Horn have blue faces, and whenever they arrive in our pueblo wear collars of coyote-skin about their necks. That is the way they got them. Before that they had no collars. It is presumable that that is the reason why they bellow so and have such hoarse voices, having previously taken cold, every one of them, for the want of fur collars. Thus shortens my story. Zuñi Folk Tales, by Frank Hamilton Cushing [1901]. Introduction by John Wesley Powell. and is now in the public domain.

---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Mon, Feb 3, 2014 at 10:53 AM Subject: A Cherokee site To: fwestpowe@gmail.com I hope it is okay with list manager to post the below link? It is something I found while browsing things Cherokee, and I can see that hours of my day will be spent learning about those things Cherokee. Checking the Archives has not been done. http://www.wcu.edu/library/DigitalCollections/CherokeeTraditions/LanguageAndLiterature/

How The Coyotes Had A Katcina Dance –Hopi At Squash Seed Point (Batángvoc Toika), lived the Hâ'ââ Katcina. North of there lived the Hotóto Katcina. At Pûtátokaovi lived the Söhö'ncomtaka Katcina, north of the village lived the Red Eagle (Palákway) Katcina, and at Katcínvala lived many Katcinas. At Íshmovala lived the Coyote and his wife. The Coyote used to see the Katcinas come and have their dances and processions, and one time said to his wife: "We are going to do that, too. People like to see this." In the morning the Coyote went out, and standing on the roof of his kiva he called out to his friends, the Coyotes, that they should assemble in his kiva. Soon they came from come from all sides, many of them. When they had all assembled he said to them: "I want to 'overtake' something, too, like these Katcinas do. To-morrow we shall have a Katcina dance. so you go to the village, and if you find something in the rear of the village such as feathers, pieces of skin, etc., bring it here." They all declared themselves willing. The Coyotes thus went out and went around the village hunting for pieces of skin, feathers, pieces of gourds, especially the necks of long necked gourds, and brought all these things to the Coyote's kiva. Here they sewed up kilts, made bunches of feathers for head-dresses, etc., thus working all day. Each one prepared a costume of a Katcina that he had seen. During the night they slept there. In the morning one of the Coyotes went to the place where the Hâ'ââ Katcina always dresses up; two others to the place where the Hotóto dresses up: one to the place of the Söhö'ncomtaka; one dressed up like the Palákwayo at the place where that Katcina lives; and a number of others went to Katcínvala. When all were ready the Hâ'ââ shouted four times and then went northward where he was joined by the two Hotótos, then by the next ones, and these by the Palákway, and finally by the Katcinas at Katcínvala. They all then went to the Coyote's house at Íshmovala. The Coyote and his wife, who lived here had not gone along but had remained with their children. Here the Katcinas now had a dance. The Oraíbi happened to have a Coyote hunt on this day. Some of them went southward, others northward, from the village, forming a large circle, and then proceeding towards the village. But they found no Coyotes because the latter were all assembled at Íshmovala. While they were still dancing, the Oraíbi came upon them and at once closed in upon them. When the Coyotes saw that they were surrounded they began to run, trying to escape, but as they had masks on they could not see so well, and many of them were killed at once; others threw down their masks, but as they had their Costumes on they could not run fast and so were also killed. Only the family that lived at Íshmovala, and who had not put on costumes or masks, escaped. When the Hopi had killed all the Coyotes they laughed at them and went to the village, being happy over their successful hunt. Footnotes: Told by Kwáyeshva (Oraíbi). Abstract: .--How The Coyotes Had A Katcina Dance. Coyote sees Katcinas, have dances and processions. Coyote calls to friends, Coyotes, and they come from all sides. He says they will have Katcina dance and tells them to go to village and bring feathers, and they go and hunt things. which they bring to Coyote's kiva. They prepare Katcina costumes, In morning Coyotes go to places where Katcinas dress up and all go to Coyote's house, where Katcinas have dance. That day Oraíbi have Coyote hunt. While Coyotes are still dancing, Oraíbi close in upon them. Their costumes prevent their running fast and all are killed, but Coyote and family, who have not put on costume or mask. Hopi laugh and return to village. Traditions of the Hopi, by H.R. Voth. Field Columbian Museum Publication 96, Anthropological Series Vol VIII. Chicago. [1905] and is now in the public domain.

How The Coyote Was Deceived By The Wren – Hopi Halíksai! A long time ago, when they were living in Oraíbi, the Coyote Woman lived at Íshmovala. She had four children. She always went hunting mice and other little animals, which she brought to her children and fed them to the latter. She went to the spring, Flute Spring (Lâ'nva) and Dawn Spring (Taláova), after water for her children, but as she had no water vessel she brought the water in her mouth. When she had given one of the children to drink she would run again and get some more for the other children until they were all satisfied. In that way she was feeding and watering her children. One time she again went after water to the Dawn Spring, filling her mouth very full. When she returned she saw a Wren sitting on a rock, and when she came near the bird, the latter was jumping up and down from one rock to another singing as follows: Calapongki, cholo, cholo, Calapongki, cholo, cholo, Riuw, riuw. When the Coyote saw it she had to laugh, and spilled the water from her mouth. "Now then, why are you dancing there that way that I had to laugh and spill my water; I shall have to get some more," whereupon she ran back to the spring to get some more water. When she came back with her mouth full she thought that this time she was not going to laugh, but when she arrived at the place where the Tû'chvo was dancing and saw the latter dance and heard him singing in the same manner, she again had to laugh, saying: "Poáh," by which she again spilled the water. But this time she was angry and said: "Why are you dancing and singing here that way that I have to spill this water? My children are thirsty and they will die. Now, I am going back to get some more water, and if you are doing that still when I return and I spill the water again, I shall devour you." Hereupon she returned to the spring to fill her mouth again. While the Coyote was gone the Wren slipped out of its skin and dressed up a stone with the skin so that it looked like a Wren. This artificial bird he put up where he had been sitting and he himself slipped under a rock, waiting for the Coyote. When the latter came along the Wren began singing the same song from under the rock. The Coyote began to laugh, saying: ''Poáh" and spilled the water. She was now very angry. "Now then," she said, "you are still singing that way here and I am going to devour you," whereupon she grabbed the stone dressed in the bird's skin and crushed it. She broke all her teeth so that the blood was streaming from her mouth. She ran back to the Dawn Spring in order to wash her face, but as she stooped over the water she saw some on-e with a bloody face staring at her. She at once left the spring without having drunk any water, and ran to Spider Spring, where she was scared away in the same manner. From here she ran to Dripping Spring (Shívukva), where she met with the same disappointment. Hereupon she ran to Hotvâl Spring (Hótvâlva). Here again she was scared away by the face staring at her, and without daring to drink she rushed away westward to the Grand Canyon. Arriving at the rim of the Canyon she jumped into the canyon and perished. Footnotes: Told by Tangákhoyoma (Oraíbi). Abstract: How The Coyote Was Deceived By The Wren. Coyote Woman has four children for whom she hunts mice and other little animals. She goes to spring after water for children, which she brings in her mouth. Once when she returns from spring with mouth full of water, she sees Wren jumping from one rock to another, singing. Coyote laughs and spills water. She goes again to spring and on return again laughs at Wren and spills water. She tells Wren that she is going again for water and that if Wren is still doing that on her return she will devour him. While Coyote is gone Wren slips out of his skin and dresses up stone with it so that it looks like Wren. Wren himself slips under rock and when Coyote returns begins to sing. Coyote laughs and spills water. He is very angry and grabs stone dressed as bird and crushes it. She breaks all her teeth so that blood streams from her mouth. She runs back to spring to wash her face and sees bloody face staring at her. She runs to another spring and is scared away in same manner. She visits several other springs with same result, and then rushes westward to Grand Cañon. She jumps into cañon and perishes. Traditions of the Hopi, by H.R. Voth. Field Columbian Museum Publication 96, Anthropological Series Vol VIII. Chicago. [1905] and is now in the public domain.

Hi Blue Panther, I received this from Graham Hancock who is an English author. He wrote "Fingerprints of the Gods" among others. It is an anthropology/archaeology book - a wonderful book:} I belong to his newsletter list. Take care Barbara in MA ----- Original Message ----- From: "Graham Hancock" <graham.contact@googlemail.com> To: hancock-announce@lists.grahamhancock.com Sent: Friday, January 31, 2014 5:44:39 PM Subject: [hancock-announce] 'How much more must the world endure...' I love this for how it sounds , for its magical imagery and for the thoughts it contains: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Htm7r4mHgS4 Give it a listen. Only 3 mins. Here's a brief extract from the lyrics::: How much more Must the world endure At the hands of so-called Civilized society Seven billion people Want to be loved Want to be heard And demand their identities Medicine man Seeks a vision from the sun The ghost of Geronimo Lives on through the years Hear those drums They're beating loud While the Cherokee nation Cries a trail of tears _______________________________________________ hancock-announce mailing list hancock-announce@lists.grahamhancock.com http://lists.grahamhancock.com/mailman/listinfo/hancock-announce

How the Coyote Got his Cunning – Karuk Kareya was the god who in the very beginning created the world. First he made the fishes in the ocean; then he made the animals on land; and last of all he made man. He had, however, given all the animals the same amount of power and rank. So he went to the man he had created and said: "Make as many bows and arrows as there are animals. I am going to call all the animals together, and you are to give the longest bow and arrow to the one that should have the most power, and the shortest to the one that should have the least. So the man set to working making bows and arrows, and at the end of nine days he had turned out enough for all the animals created by Kareya. Then Kareya called them all together and told them that the man would come to them the next day with the bows, and the one to whom he gave the longest bow would have the most power. Each animal wanted to be the one with the longest bow. Coyote schemed to outwit the others by staying awake all night. He thought that if he was the first to meet the man in the morning, he could get the longest bow for himself. So when the animals went to sleep, Coyote lay down and only pretended to sleep. About midnight, however, he began to feel genuinely sleepy. He got up and walked around, scratching his eyes to keep them open. As time passed, he grew sleepier. He resorted to skipping and jumping to keep himself awake, but the noise waked some of the other animals, so he had to stop. About the time the morning star came up, Coyote was so sleepy that he couldn't keep his eyes open any longer. So he took two little sticks and sharpened them at the ends, and with these he propped his eyelids open. Then he felt it was safe to sleep, since his eyes could watch the morning star rising. He planned to get up before the star was completely up, for by then all the other animals would be stirring. In a few minutes, however, Coyote was fast asleep. The sharp sticks pierced right through his eyelids, and instead of keeping them open, they pinned them shut. When the rest of the animals got up. Coyote lay in a deep sleep. The animals went to meet the man and receive their bows. Cougar was given the longest, Bear the next-longest, and so on until the next-to-last bow was given to Frog. The shortest bow was still left, however. "What animal have I missed? the man cried. The animals began to look about, and soon spied Coyote lying fast asleep. They all laughed heartily and danced around him. Then they led him to the man, for Coyote's eyes were pinned together by the sticks and he could not see. The man pulled the sticks out of Coyote's eyes and gave him the shortest bow. The animals laughed so hard that the man began to pity Coyote, who would be the weakest of them all. So he prayed to Kareya about Coyote, and Kareya responded by giving Coyote ore cunning than any other animal. And that's how Coyote got his cunning. A tale reported by E.W. Gifford in 1930.

Buffalo Field Campaign PO Box 957 West Yellowstone, MT 59758 http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org bfc-media@wildrockies.org Yellowstone Bison Update from the Field January 30, 2014 *You can view the HTML version of the Update from the Field, which includes photos and hyperlinks, on http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org Stunning Wild Bison 2014 Calendars -- Some still in stock -- ORDER TODAY! https://org.salsalabs.com/o/2426/t/11564/shop/item.jsp?storefront_KEY=554&t=&store_item_KEY=4649 * Volunteers Needed! Intense Field Season Expected in Wild Bison Country * Update from the Field * TAKE ACTION! Stop the War Against Wild Buffalo * SUBMIT YOUR PHOTOS & ART WORK to BFC's Wild Bison Calendar! * Buffalo in the News * By the Numbers * Last Words of Buffalo Inspiration ******************** * VOLUNTEERS NEEDED! Intense Field Season Expected in Wild Bison Country! If you ever have dreamed of standing with buffalo and fighting for their rights to be wild, NOW IS THAT TIME! BFC is in need of caring people who are willing to make this sacred sacrifice to help the buffalo. Buffalo Field Campaign invites you to join us on the front lines, here on the edge of the world's first national park, to defend America's last wild, migratory buffalo. State, federal, and even some tribal governments are planning to capture and kill hundreds of wild bison in the coming months. They aim to reduce the already vulnerable population of America's last wild, migratory buffalo to a mere 3,000 animals. We need more people to stand with us and tell, show and be here for the buffalo. Please, if you have ever thought about coming out we need help from now until the end of May. BFC provides room, board, gear, and training while the wildlife and wild lands provide incredible inspiration. Please contact our volunteer coordinators at volunteer[AT]buffalofieldcampaign[DOT]org or 406-646-0070. Bring your passion and your ideas. See you on the front lines! Thanks for giving us the honor of standing with these sacred beings and please come experience it for yourselves, it will change your life. WITH THE BUFFALO, Mike Mease ******************** * Update from the Field More than 90 of America's last wild, migratory buffalo have been killed by state and treaty hunters so far this season. Since our last Update, 18 more buffalo have been gunned down in the Gardiner Basin, at Beattie Gulch, barely having crossed over the boundary of Yellowstone National Park. The "fair chase" ethics so embraced by hunters appears to be non-existent; the buffalo haven't even had a chance to experience some of the new expanded habitat areas in the Gardiner Basin because hunters are literally waiting at the park boundary -- not far from their vehicles -- to shoot them. Three of these buffalo were killed by state tag holders, while 15 were killed by hunters with the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes (CSKT), one of the IBMP-affiliated tribes that have entered into buffalo slaughter contracts with Yellowstone National Park. The CSKT have killed more buffalo this season than any other hunting group. Of the 91 buffalo that have so far been taken, 68 have been killed by the CSKT, and should capture and slaughter operations take place this year, as we anticipate, the CSKT will acquire hundreds of wild buffalo to take directly to the slaughterhouse. Shooting an ecologically extinct wildlife species in a state that doesn't even have a resident population is not hunting; it is extermination. Please visit the Take Action page below to help end the war against wild, migratory bison. ******************** * TAKE ACTION! Please visit BFC's Take Action Page for a variety of action alerts that enable you to make your voice heard for America's last wild herds! http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/actnow/takeaction.html ******************** * SUBMIT YOUR PHOTOS & ART WORK to BFC's 2015 Wild Bison Calendar! WE ARE NOW ACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS FOR 2015, so if you have high resolution photos, artwork, poetry, quotes, or interesting natural facts about wild buffalo, please contact Stephany at bfc-media[AT]wildrockies[DOT]org for details. There are a few more of BFC's 2014 Wild Bison of Yellowstone Country Calendars still in stock! This is likely our best calendar yet, with absolutely stunning photos of wild buffalo in their native habitat, incredible artwork, and inspiring quotes, facts, and poetry. ORDER NOW: https://org.salsalabs.com/o/2426/t/11564/shop/item.jsp?storefront_KEY=554&t=&store_item_KEY=4649 Thank you to everyone who has made our Wild Bison calendars such a huge success! This is one of our favorite projects as it allows all of us to celebrate wild buffalo 365 days a year! ******************** * Buffalo in the News Biobullets not allowed on wild bison Outside Magazine http://www.outsideonline.com/news-from-the-field/Biobullets-Will-Not-Be-Used-on-Bison.html Brucellosis plan deadly to wild bison, elk Billings Gazette http://billingsgazette.com/news/opinion/mailbag/brucellosis-plan-deadly-to-wild-bison-elk/article_87bd07b9-0156-50f7-86b2-00608acd506f.html Farm bill provisions worry wildlife advocates Billings Gazette (originating in The Missoulian) http://billingsgazette.com/sports/more/farm-bill-provision-worries-wildlife-advocates/article_21a7068e-7fd8-57c7-9b83-70c26cd7c90a.html >From bison to birds, the National Park Service rethinks its approach to migratory species High Country News http://www.hcn.org/blogs/goat/from-bison-to-birds-national-park-service-rethinks-its-approach-to-migratory-species?utm_source=wcn1&utm_medium=email Bison unfairly cast as brucellosis villians (Todd Wilkinson, part 3) Jackson Hole News & Guide http://www.jhnewsandguide.com/opinion/columnists/the_new_west_todd_wilkinson/bison-unfairly-cast-as-brucellosis-villains/article_e18b693f-d695-5012-95a0-8c200997dfee.html ******************** *By the Numbers The last wild, migratory buffalo populations are currently estimated at fewer than 4,500 individual animals, living in and around Yellowstone National Park. Wild, migratory bison are ecologically extinct throughout their native range in North America. 2013-2014 Total Buffalo Killed: 91 Government Capture: Buffalo Released from Capture: Government Slaughter: Held for Government Experiment: Died in Government Trap: Died in Government Research Facility**: 1 Miscarriage in Government Trap: State Hunt: 16 Treaty Hunts: 75 Unknown Hunts: Sent to Quarantine: Sent to Research Facility: Shot by Agents: Highway Mortality: Cause of Death Unknown: Total Killed in Previous Years* 2012-2013: 261 2011-2012: 33 2010-2011: 227 2009-2010: 7 2008-2009: 22 2007-2008: 1,631 Total Killed Since 2000: 4,355 *includes lethal government action, trap-related fatalities, quarantine/experiments, hunts, and highway deaths **bison stolen from the wild and placed in research facilities (such as for GonaCon) have already been counted as being "eliminated from the population" so bison that have died in a government research facility are not reflected in the total. ******************** * Last Words of Buffalo Inspiration ~ Jim Bailey on Rewilding an Icon Where Does Nature Begin? Dedicated to the memory of the three bull buffalo murdered January 4, 2014, 50 yards from Yellowstone's "boundary." Tell the bison not to go where they have always been, instruct the elephants to read and give up their ancient memories of where the water is. Force wolves and bears to learn the boundaries that have never been- the ink that lies unseeable between this tree, that blade of grass. Teach them all to read the maps that are invisible. Make them know what is not real, does not exist for moon or stars, and stubborn as they are kill them for not learning what we will not share. ...for the bison and wolves of the Yellowstone and Northern Rockies ecosystem, for the trees and plants and rocks, the elephants and orangutans, for the bees and the gorillas, the butterflies and birds, for the voles and nematodes, for the frogs and salamanders and the bats, for the otters, dolphins, whales, and polar bears, for the turtles and the coral and the krill, for the plankton and the leopard and the wolverine, for the beetles and the worms, for the waters, earth, and air... (© February 3, 2010 Carol Snyder Halberstadt) Please send us your submissions for Last Words to bfc-media[AT]wildrockies[DOT]org. Thank you for all the poems, songs, quotes and stories you've contributed! Keep them coming! -- -- -- Click here to unsubscribe http://org.salsalabs.com/o/2426/t/7926/p/salsa/supporter/unsubscribe/public/?unsubscribe_page_KEY=42

HOW THE CORN-PESTS WERE ENSNARED – Zuñi In the days of the ancients, long, long ago, there lived in our town, which was then called the Middle Ant Hill of the World, a proud maiden, very pretty and very attractive, the daughter of one of the richest men among our people. She had every possession a Zuñi maiden could wish for,--blankets and mantles, embroidered dresses and sashes, buckskins and moccasins, turquoise earrings and shell necklaces, bracelets so many you could not count them. She had her father and mother, brothers and sisters, all of whom she loved very much. Why, therefore, should she care for anything else? There was only one thing to trouble her. Behold! it came of much possession, for she had large corn-fields, so large and so many that those who planted and worked them for her could not look after them properly, and no sooner had the corn ears become full and sweet with the milk of their being than all sorts of animals broke into those fields and pulled down the corn-stalks and ate tip the sweet ears of corn. Now, how to remove this difficulty the poor girl did not know. Yes, now that I think of it, there was another thing that troubled her very much, fully as much as did the corn-pests,--pests of another kind, however, for there wasn't an unmarried young man in all the valley of our ancients who was not running mad over the charms of this girl. Besides all that, not a few of them had an eye on so many possessions, and thought her home wouldn't be an uncomfortable place to live in. So they never gave the poor girl any peace, but hung round her house, and came to visit her father so constantly that at last she determined to put the two pests together and call them one, and thereby get rid, if possible, of one or the other. So, when these young men were very importunate, she would say to them, "Look you! if any one of you will go to my cornfields, and destroy or scare away, so that they will never come back again, the pests that eat up my corn, him I will marry and cherish, for I shall respect his ability and ingenuity." The young men tried and tried, but it was of no use. Before long, everybody knew of this singular proposition. There was a young fellow who lived in one of the outer towns, the poorest of the poor among our people; and not only that, but he was so ugly that no woman would ever look at him without laughing. Now, there are two kinds of laugh with women. One of them is a very good sort of thing, and makes young men feel happy and conceited. The other kind is somewhat heartier, but makes young men feel depressed and very humble. It need not be asked which kind was laughed by the women when they saw this ugly, ragged, miserable-looking young man. He had bright twinkling eyes, however, and that means more than all else sometimes. Now, this young man came to hear of what was going on. He had no present to offer the girl, but he admired her as much as--yes, a good deal more than--if he had been the handsomest young man of his time. So just in the way that he was he went to the house of this girl one evening. He was received politely, and it was noticeable to the old folks that the girl seemed rather to like him,--just as it is noticeable to you and me today that what people have they prize less than what they have not. The girl placed a tray of bread before the young man and bade him eat; and after he had done, he looked around with his twinkling little eyes. And the old man said,---Let us smoke together." And so they smoked. By-and-by the old man asked if he were not thinking of something in coming to the house of a stranger. And the young man replied, it was very true; he had. thoughts, though he felt ashamed to say it, but he even wished to be accepted as a suitor for his daughter. The father referred the matter to the girl, and she said she would be very well satisfied; then she took the young man aside and spoke a few words to him,--in fact, told him what were the conditions of his becoming her accepted husband. He smiled, and said he would certainly try to the best of his ability, but this was a very hard thing she asked. "I know it is," said the girl; "that is why I ask it." Now, the young man left the house forthwith. The next day he very quietly went down into the corn-fields belonging to the girl, and over toward the northern mesa, for that is where her corn-fields were---lucky being! He dug a great deep pit with a sharp stick and a bone shovel. Now, when he had dug it--very smooth at the sides and top it was--he went to the mountain and got some poles, placing them across the hole, and over these poles he spread earth, and set up corn-stalks just as though no hole had been dug there; then he put some exceedingly tempting bait, plenty of it, over the center of these poles, which were so weak that nobody, however light of foot, could walk over them without breaking through. Night came on, and you could hear the Coyotes begin to sing; and the whole army of pests--Bears, Badgers, Gophers, all sorts of creatures, as they came down slowly, each one in his own way, from the mountain. The Coyotes first came into the field, being swift of foot; and one of them, nosing around and keeping a sharp lookout for watchers, happened to espy those wonderfully tempting morsels that lay over the hole. "Ha!" said he (Coyotes don't think much what they are doing), and he gave a leap, when in he went--sticks, dirt, bait, and all--to the bottom of the hole. He picked himself up and rubbed the sand out of his eyes, then began to jump and jump, trying to get out; but it was of no use, and he set up a most doleful howl. He had just stopped for breath, when a Bear came along. "What in the name of all the devils and witches are you howling so for?" said he. "Where are you?" The Coyote swallowed his whimpers immediately, set himself up in a careless attitude, and cried out: "Broadfoot, lucky, lucky, lucky fellow! Did you hear me singing? I am the happiest creature on the face of the earth, or rather under it." "What about? I shouldn't think you were happy, to judge from your howling." "Why! Mercy on me!" cried the Coyote, "I was singing for joy." "How's that?" asked the Bear. "Why," said the Coyote, "I came along here this evening and by the merest accident fell into this hole. And what do you suppose I found down here? Green-corn, meat, sweet-stuff, and everything a corn-eater could wish for. The only thing I lacked to complete my happiness was someone to enjoy the meal with me. jump in!--it isn't very deep--and fall to, friend. We'll have a jolly good night of it." So the old Bear looked down, drew back a minute, hesitated, and then jumped in. When the Bear got down there, the Coyote laid himself back, slapped his thighs, and laughed and laughed and laughed. "Now, get out if you can," said he to the Bear. "You and I are in a pretty mess. I fell in here by accident, it is true, but I would give my teeth and eyes if I could get out again!" The Bear came very near eating him up, but the Coyote whispered something in his ear. "Good! yelled the Bear. "Ha! ha! ha! Excellent idea Let us sing together. Let them come!" So they laughed and sang and feasted until they attracted almost every corn-pest in the fields to the spot to see what they were doing. "Keep away, my friends," cried out the Coyote. "No such luck for you. We got here first. Our spoils!" Can't I come? Can't I come?" cried out one after another. "Well, yes,--no,-there may not be enough for you all." "Come on, though; come on! who cares?"--cried out the old Bear. And they rushed in so fast that very soon the pit-hole was almost full of them, scrambling to get ahead of one another, and before they knew their predicament they were already in it. The Coyote laughed, shuffled around, and screamed at the top of his voice; he climbed up over his grandfather the Bear, scrambled through the others, which were snarling and biting each other, and, knowing what he was about, skipped over their backs, out of the hole, and ran away laughing as hard as he could. Now, the next morning down to the corn-field came the young man. Drawing near to the pit he heard a tremendous racket, and going to the edge and peering in he saw that it was half filled with the pests which had been destroying the corn of the maiden,--every kind of creature that had ever meddled with the corn-fields of man, there they were in that deep pit; some of them all tired out, waiting for "the end of their daylight," others still jumping and crawling and falling in their efforts to get out. "Good! good! my friends," cried the young man. "You must be cold; I'll warm you up a little." So he gathered a quantity of dry wood and threw it into the pit. "Be patient! be patient!" said he. "I hope I don't hurt any of you. It will be all over in a few minutes." Then he lighted the wood and burned the rascals all up. But he noticed the Coyote was not there. "What does it matter?" said he. "One kind of pest a man can fight, but not many." So he went back to the house of the girl and reported to her what he had done. She was so pleased she hardly knew how to express her gratitude, but said to the young man with a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye, "Are you quite sure they were all there?" "Why, they were all there except the Coyote," said the young man; "but I must tell you the truth, and somehow he got out or didn't get in." "Who cares for a Coyote!" said the girl. "I would much rather marry a man with some ingenuity about him than have all the Coyotes in the world to kill." Whereupon she accepted this very ugly but ingenious young man; and it is notable that ever since then pretty girls care very little how their husbands look, being pretty enough themselves for both. But they like to have them able to think and guess at a way of getting along occasionally. Furthermore, what does a rich girl care for a rich young man? Ever since then, even to this day, as you know, rich girls almost invariably pick out poor young men for their husbands, and rich young men are sure to take a fancy to poor girls. Thus it was in the days of the ancients. The Coyote got out of the trap that was set for him by the ugly young man. That is the reason why coyotes are so much more abundant than any other corn-pests in the land of Zuñi, and do what you will, they are sure to get away with some of your corn, anyhow. Thus shortens my story. Zuñi Folk Tales, by Frank Hamilton Cushing [1901]. Introduction by John Wesley Powell. and is now in the public domain.

How the Conifers Show the Promise of Spring – Seneca In the mysterious days of long ago, when Ra-wen-io was fixing the earth so that mankind might have a happy place to live, all the trees had tongues and they talked. There was much to talk about, for terrible monsters roamed the world. None was so terrible as the stern warriors of Winter: Hadui, the storm wind, Hatoe, the frost God, and Gwenny-Oyent, the whirlwind. These monsters fought the trees and tried to tear them to bits because the trees loved Sun and his friends, Zephyr and Thaw, the kind chiefs of Spring. The first rumblings of Winter's storms brought the command that all the trees should drop their leaves so that there might remain no track, trace, or remembrance. Spring once ruled the year. To make obedience more difficult, Frost made Autumn paint the leaves with handsome colors so that the trees would hate to drop them. Hadui would come then and pluck every leaf from every tree. "No friend of Spring shall remain to flaunt his green robes in my face," shrieked Winter, as he drove Hadui against the forest. And Hadui always did his duty. Winter roared when he saw all the trees bleak and bare. "Ho, ho," he bellowed, "the world obeys me and sleeps at my command. Sun has no friends to greet him. Spring is banished, and no sign remains to promise his return. Ho, ho, Spring has no friends!" "I am the friend of Spring," spoke up White Pine. "That may be," answered Winter, " but when I give the order, away will go your green leaves, and I shall cover them with snow." "We'll see," said White Pine. White Pine called a council of all of his tribe, the wonderful tribe of Onetta, the tribe with beautiful green hair." Who will stand with me as Winter comes?" called out Pine. "Who will defy Winter and stand his blasts? Who as a friend of Spring will stand as an eternal promise that Spring will return?" "I will," said Red Pine. "I will," said Red Cedar. "I will," said Cypress. "I will," said Juniper. "I will," said Hemlock. "I will," said Spruce. "I will," said Balsam. "Where is Tamarack ?" shouted Pine. From a distant hill came a shout, and Tamarack called out, "Oak wants to come to our council, but he is not of our tribe. He wants the hill, and I want the hill also." "Will you defy the Winter God ?" called out Pine. "Yes, I will," answered Tamarack, "but I must finish my argument with Oak first." Then spoke Oak: "O Pine, I am not of your tribe, for I have broad leaves, but I am a friend of the Sun, of Zephyr, and of Spring. I will stand on the hill and defy the Winter's blasts, and I will rattle my leaves in his face." Well did all the trees know that Winter hated the sound of rustling leaves, and well did they know the friendship of Oak for Pine. Whenever Pine went away from a hill, up sprang Oak. And when Oak went away, up sprang Pine. Now Oak would be an ally of the Onetta tribe. Pine said it should be so, but Tamarack was jealous. "Oak cannot endure," sneered Tamarack. "Oak will yield to Hadui at the first demand." "I promise to hold my leaves, come what may," answered Oak with a sturdy tone in his voice. "I shall hold them, brown and torn though they may be, until new buds appear." "Fine," said Tamarack. "Watch me." Autumn came and at the first demand of Frost, Oak turned a brilliant scarlet. The Onetta tribe refused to obey. Hadui brought rain and then cold, but none faltered save Tamarack, who, because he had been envious, had forgotten to drink deep of the magic oil that kept green the rest of the tribe. Tamarack began to shed his hair and then shed more, for Hadui was cruel and insisted with his lash of storm whips. Oak, however, held onto his leaves, now dry and sere. "Off with those leaves !" shouted Hadui as Frost swooped down. But Oak only rattled his leaves in the very face of Frost. Frost grew angry indeed and spent his fury on Pine and his friends, Hemlock and the rest.” Frost chilled the air. He chilled the ground. He chilled the water, and he chilled the trunks of the trees until they resounded to the strokes of his war club when he struck them - hock, hock! "Off with the promise of Spring, " shrieked Frost. But only Tamarack of all the Onetta obeyed and lifted his head and body bare to the wind. Like the drop-leaf trees, he was stripped and naked, which made Frost laugh long and loud. "Have courage, be strong," called out old Pine. "Let us endure even though Tamarack has yielded." And the trees all called out, "We are brave and we are strong. Frost shall not blight the promise of Spring's return." The gods of Winter ruled long and harshly, holding the earth in a cold embrace. But they could not overcome Pine and his friends. Oak rattled in the face of Frost, and his rustling leaves made Frost wild with rage. And so all endured, except Tamarack. Round and round went the Moon. It grew full and waned five times before Spring conquered Winter and sent Frost and his evil allies back to the Northland. The warmth of Sun returned, and with this came Zephyr, who fanned the weary branches of the Onetta tribe back into the glow of growth. Sun warmed Oak and, rustling his leaves, though all dry and frayed, he prepared his new buds. At length Tamarack awoke and blossomed forth. The tall old Pine looked down at Tamarack and said, "Tamarack, you weakened in the storm, you obeyed the Frost. You are a vain braggart and have lost the hill. The hill is for Oak, our friend who held onto his leaves and rustled them in the face of the storm." Tamarack begged for the hill, where he might be admired by all for his long plumes and graceful wave when Zephyr tossed his branches, but old Pine would not hear. And so, forever afterward, the kinsmen of Pine hold forth the promise of Spring's return, and their green robes are the despair of Winter and all his furious hosts. Na ho. - As told by Gawaso Wane (Arthur C. Parker) in 1926

My questions is this. Isham Russell and Permedia Roberts Chisum is in my family line and Isham was called "orkenmnastata Mennwkalulu" and was the son of John and Margaret Chisum, and she was the daughter of William (1724) and Deborah Cooke Chisum. Or at least another family member traced this line back. How do I find what Native American Nation they were from. Isham Russell wa bor 1775 in VA and died in 1829 Covington Co, MS. Permedia was born 1780 KY and died after Dec 1852 and was the daughter of George and Ronda Walling Roberts. My thinking is they were Cherokee, but they could have been Chowtaw and as I've hit brick walls on those lists I am far from getting proof that I'm on the right line. I do know this that the Chisum was in Nacogdoches in the 1834 Republic of Mexico. Any help would be appreciated. Adiene

How the Cold Lost Its Power - Sanpoil Northern-Lights had five sons, -- Cold, Colder, Coldest, Extreme Cold, and Most-Extreme-Cold. The youngest son acted as scout. He seared the leaves and grass, and returned to report that he had gone as far as he dared. Then the eldest son would finish the work. The other sons staid in the north with their parents. They lived in an ice-lodge, and could not endure heat of any kind. They were jealous of Extreme-Cold and guarded him well. By and by Extreme-Cold became restless and travelled southward. His mother, Northern-Lights, warned him not to speak to any human being. He would kill every one he met. The Indians were much troubled by him, as he came at any season, whenever he wished. Therefore the great chief called a council to try and regulate the season. The people could not devise any way of reaching the lodge of Cold. Finally South-Wind (Cha-helt), a shaman of great power, was selected to attack him. He set out, and saw Extreme-Cold approaching. Everything perished before him. When he met South-Wind, he tried to exercise his power, but it did not avail him. Nobody had ever been able to withstand him. South-Wind held out his hand and addressed Cold as his nephew. He said that he lived in the south, and that Northern-Lights was his sister. He asked the way to his sister's house. Cold consented to take him there. When they reached the ice-lodge; Cold was full of steam. They went in, and South-Wind claimed to be the brother of Northern Lights. She said she did not remember him, and her husband declared that they had no relatives. They let him stay all night, and planned to freeze him while he slept. Then the Cold family went to sleep. South-Wind gathered pitch-wood and set it on fire. It thawed everything around it, and the Cold family perished in the flames. The shaman broke the power of the cold, and thus the seasons were regulated. http://www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-Legends/HowTheColdLostItsPower-Sanpoils.html