Jessica Crabtree

Red Jacket (1750-1830), or Sagoyewatha, was a chief of the Seneca Nation of the Iroquois Confederacy who is famous for his role as diplomat between his people and British and American authorities during the period of the Revolutionary War.

The majority of the Iroquois had allied with the British during the war in order to avert the increasing expansion of the American colonies. After the American victory, however, the Iroquois faced a double threat, both as defeated opponents in the previous war and as targets of the quickly expanding new country already eager to absorb their land. In the years following the establishment of the new republic, whites continued to use alternative methods of warfare in order to to minimize Native culture. Societies already under pressure from the aftermath of warfare struggled to remain intact with these renewed assaults of colonialism. The close-knit social structure of the Iroquois splintered as traditional ways of life were challenged, conventional livelihoods were no longer possible, and disease and alcoholism devastated families. Under these conditions, white missionaries proselytized relentlessly where distraught populations were most vulnerable to assimilation.

It was to a missionary delegation at an Iroquois council in 1805 that Chief Red Jacket delivered this brilliant apologetic speech. Oratory was a much-cultivated skill throughout Native America, but nowhere more than among the nations of the Iroquois, where clear and considerate communication is a fundamental building-block of their traditional culture. While Red Jacket related to the problems endemic in his society on a very personal level, his compelling speech, delivered according to traditional Iroquois model, expresses his firm belief in the sovereignty and relevance of the Native American spiritual perspective with an eloquence that still resonates today.

Click continue to read the speech > (continue reading…)

Courtesy of National Geographic.

“Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen.” (Leonardo da Vinci)

This is a fascinating site about the physical properties of light and the causes of color. Some of it’s quite technical – but the webpage is beautifully done and worth seeing at least on that account!

Click the screenshot below to enter.

The oasis of Havasupai near the Grand Canyon is (in my opinion) one the the world’s most beautiful spots. It takes its name from the Havasu ‘Baaja nation (“people of the blue-green waters”) who make their home there. The minerals in the water cause its stunning color, which stands out even more against the glowing reds and oranges of the surrounding desert. The area is extremely remote and still relies on mule-pack for mail delivery!

Unfortunately its isolation has not been able to preserve its pristine condition entirely; the waters are polluted with radioactive runoff from local uranium mining – in fact tourists are advised not to swim in the lakes or drink from the water. Fortunately the united effort of many Indian nations of northern Arizona and New Mexico have be able to to put a temporary ban on uranium mining in the area in order to halt the further contamination of surface and ground water.

In 2008 the small town of Supai was briefly evacuated after a minor deluge caused by a combination of heavy rains and artificial diversions of flow water to the north. The event altered the courses of much of the source water for the falls, stopping the flow of some and creating others.

Below: Navajo Falls, one of the most-visited of Havasu’s water features, no longer flows after the 2008 flooding.

Click on the photo for a 1200 x1600 version (makes a great desktop background!)

Read more:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Havasupai

http://www.havasupaitribe.com/

“The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.” (Aristotle)

http://www.indiancountrytoday.com/opinion/63264152.html

Remembering Columbus: An Essay by Julianne Jennings

Departing from the port of Palos Aug. 3, 1492, Columbus sailed his maiden voyage of the Niña, Pinta and the Santa Maria. On Oct. 12, Columbus reached the “New World” and the Bahamas archipelago was spotted. However, the “New World” concept only applies to Europeans as Native Americans had been living on this Great Turtle Island (what we now call the United States of America) for at least 12,000 years. (continue reading…)