ON THE COVER
Two generations later, the dreams of
Pequot elder and matriarch Elizabeth George (right) have come true. The
$196 million Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center, the
largest of its kind in the nation, promises to become an important
source of information about Native peoples. George’s granddaughter,
Theresa Hayward Bell (center) is the institution’s executive director.
Two generations later, the dreams of Pequot elder and matriarch Elizabeth George (right) have come true. The $196 million Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center, the largest of its kind in the nation, promises to become an important source of information about Native peoples. George’s granddaughter, Theresa Hayward Bell (center, in photo by White Mt. Apache photographer Aaron Gooday) is the institution’s executive director. Composite by J. Carlos Peinado. Related story page 56.
FEATURES
Dinétah: Land of the Navajo
World-famous Navajo photographer LeRoy DeJolie sees spectacular color, texture and light in the land he calls home. Story and photos by LeRoy DeJolie (Diné).
Brothers of the Seals
Aleut
youth on Alaska’s Pribilof Islands save seals from lost fishermen’s
nets and ropes, and in the process, come closer to their culture. By
Yva Momatiuk. Photos by John Eastcott.
Nourishing a Culture
When the Pilgrims stepped ashore at Plymouth Rock, the Natives gave
food to help them survive a harsh winter. Nearly 400 years later,
Abenaki ancestors of some of those Natives are still helping, operating
the Franklin Food Pantry near Boston. By Robert L. Smith. Illustrated
with an oil on canvas by Murv Jacob (Cherokee).
Saving Yellowstone’s Buffalo
Official winter captures and shootings of buffalo as they leave
Yellowstone National Park threaten one of the last great wild buffalo
herds, as well as an entire culture. By Winona LaDuke (Ojibwe).
Pequot Museum
The largest Native-built and -operated museum and research center in
North America, opened in August, is changing perceptions of the First
Peoples in this hemisphere. By Ben Winton (Yaqui).
Pueblo Artists
Photographer Toba Pato Tucker puts faces on several generations of
Pueblo artists in a new book of beautiful black-and-white photos by the
Museum of New Mexico Press.
Taino Restoration
The first Native people Columbus encountered more than 500 years ago,
the Taino people of the Caribbean, are still here and they want the
world to know it. By Rick Kearns and Lynne Guitar.
DEPARTMENTS
Viewpoint
Damaged children grow into damaged adults, and in this regard Native
people are failing their heritage of planning and sacrificing for the
seventh generation. By Kevin Gover (Pawnee), director, Bureau of Indian
Affairs.
Spirit of the Harvest
Fernando Divina and his wife Marlene (Chippewa/Cree/Assiniboine), who
run Fiddleheads, Portland, Oregon’s best restaurant, dish up some tasty
juniper-scented venison with wild berry sauce. By Beverly Cox and
Martin Jacobs.
Collector’s Corner
Collectors may not be flocking to the harsh realities of contemporary Native life exposed in the current exhibition Savage Truths: Realities of Indian Life,
but it is a powerful, thought-provoking and occasionally even funny
body of work. By Suzan Shown Harjo (Cheyenne & Hodulgee Muscogee).
Photos by Walter Bigbee (Comanche).
NMAI Report
News on the development of the National Museum of the American Indian—New York benefit gala.
Book Reviews
Mixblood Messages: Literature, Film, Family, Place, by Louis Owens
(Choctaw/Cherokee/Irish); and Stories to Tell: Traditions of a Tlingit
Community, by Richard Nichols, with photos by D. Bambi Kraus. By Alan
Tack.
Audio/Video Reviews
In the Hand of the Raven, a video by Seaton Productions; and Gente de
Razon, a video by San Antonio Missions Historical Park. By David
Claudio Iglesias (Kuna).
Artist in Profile
Paralyzed from the shoulders down, Tyree Honga (Hualapai) creates
remarkable paintings and drawings in his hospital unit, directing his
strokes with his mouth. By Linda Martin (Diné).