summertime fun

Was your vacation as great as mine? For three weeks in July I sat in a public school desk chair being attentive [mostly] and when not in 'the chair' was reading/writing, reading/writing and reading/writing. It's a 2 yr. Master of Education program that will continue through full time work or otherwise. If I get the job I've applied for this time, I'll be driving an hour to and from work daily, but hopefully it will be rewarding and the winter weather will be kind to me [we'll be doing 6 Saturdays/Sunday for 2nd term of M. Ed. also :-!]

The family reunion weekend at Wildwood Camp was a hit, even thru the rain ;)... lots of kids biking and playing around. The Hallowe'en theme was a great hit and tho' we weren't aware of it til we got there, we dug around the RV and found bristol board for crown-making and used bingo dabbers for painted "dot/jewels" ... one smart little girl made Mickey Mouse ears from black cardboard which her friend had to then make too! Wow, it sure paid off in candy! ;D
[note to self: keep glitter 'n' glue on board]

As we can see, been busy with the "Last Wedding West of Here" ... was a beautiful day, beautiful site and beautiful people. The neat thing shown here besides the couple is the two logs tucked up in between the rocks behind the newlyweds. They're at a height of over 20' in the surge channel where the Japanese tsunami waves set them during the high tide. Yes, that means that when the water was at its height, this whole area where we're standing would have been under water! Lots of other big logs were brought in at that same time and were very useful for seating and building a stairway up the hill which both sides of the families helped construct. ... all in all, a great time tho' much too short ;)

These started from sticks I purchased at the market a couple Saturdays ago. Just for fun, I stuck them in a glass vase and filled it with colourful plastic beads so they would stand nicely on the kitchen table ... don't know why I put water in as I recall now when as a youngster we had dry pussywillows on the buffet. Anyway, it's been cool to see the changes as they sprouted roots, winding around and through the beads. Then came the greenery, so now I have to decide if I want to plant them around the yard. This is a great classroom visual for youngsters to watch how roots and buds change ... realizing the pussywillows are alive. Latiy^thos/Planting time ;)

This is the guide I use to teach the Kanuhelatuksla/Thanksgiving Address on the felt board. The felt pictures are colourful and I use Oneida language just as we do when speaking it at gatherings. Students and teachers enjoy hearing the language and usually try to say some of the picture words.
We begin with:
Akweku uska tsi ^twahwe'nu:ni: ukwa'niku:la' /Everyone as one, we will wrap our minds, thoughts.
T^twatanuhela:tu: k^tyohkwa/we will thank the people
tsi' sheku ^wa:tu: ska:n^:/we can have peace
^twanuhtunyuhe'ke/we will all be happy.
Ta:ne:tho n^yotuha'ke: ukwa'niku:la/so be it the way it will be, our minds, our thoughts.
Then Yukhinulha'/Mother Earth and move on to the plants, trees, animals, waters, birds, thunderers, sun, moon, stars, 4 messengers, Skanyataliyo/Handsome Lake and finally, Shukwaya'tishu/Creator.

I've been working with wampum beads lately; going into the schools to show students the 2Row. They've been very cordial and interested in the stories as well as the beadwork itself. We make string wampum with the 2Row pattern as it's easiest to do in the short time available. I usually start with introductions in the Oneida language, interpreting as I go. Then I do the short form Kanuhelatuksla/ga-new-hey-law-duke's-law ... Thanksgiving address. The French immersion students especially enjoyed the language aspects and the part about how the word Iroquois came to be what we're called as a people rather than our own name of Hotenoshone/hoe-den-o-show-nay or Longhouse People. Iroquois is from the French, who, when they experienced the tenacity and guerrilla-like warfare of our warriors as 'we' sprung up from the grasses, bushes or down from the trees, they called us snakes ... specifically adders. It may seem like an insult, but after learning more about our history, I am proud of that name tho' I use it only in the context of teaching. The French and British both realized the value of having our warriors on their side tho' most of our people wanted to stay neutral in their disputes. Only fighting for our survival was necessary. One good read is Pierre Burton's The Invasion of Canada 1812-1813.

Now that K^kwi:te/Spring is here I think of the Medicine Wheel which serves to remind me when I give thanks to the 4 directions; beginning in the east: thanking Ethwatsiha/our older brother the Sun ... that he shine his healing rays on those in Japan, the Middle East and all there to be in peace. Then the south to those in Australia, South America and all there to have peace of mind. Next the west, where California sits on a fault line with it's nuclear plants; and also the north, where the ice caps are shrinking, tar sands are polluting and too many oil wells exist. When I burn the 4 medicines

I ask Sonkwaiy^tisu/Creator for balance and peace in the hope that we will make better choices for humankind.

She:koli ... this is the moon time of Wahta/Maple when we tell the story of how maple sugar was 'discovered'. There are a variety of versions as one might expect for something as ancient as maple. One storybook I like is MAPLE MOON by Connie Brummel where a little boy goes walking in the woods and watches a squirrel sipping sap from a branch. When he also tastes it, he finds it sweeter than any water he's ever drank. He races back home to get a hatchet to try getting more water from the tree. ... I'll leave the story there for you to find out more on your own ;) ... so this photo shows the felt storyboard I've made to go with the story. Maple sap is the first medicine of the new year; it's our 'spring tonic.' We make mention of it in our Thanksgiving Address to acknowledge it as the leader of the trees.