#nuxalk

[formlines]

Killer Whale Mask

Ses Saunders

[tenth-sentence]

In "How the Salmon Were Brought to This World", a Nuxalk (Bella Coola) story that describes the origin of food, the first two-spirit accompanies all the animals (including a Raven, cormorant, crane, osprey, hawk, and mink) on a long canoe journey in their quest for the first salmon.

"Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity" - Bruce Bagemihl

[panicinthestudio]

Nuxalk totem pole leaves B.C. museum to begin trek home, February 13, 2023

The Royal B.C. Museum in Victoria has repatriated a totem pole to the Nuxalk Nation on the central coast of B.C., after it was taken from their land more than 100 years ago. Members of the community say they hope the decision will make it easier to repatriate more of their items that are still in the museum.

 CBC

Further reading:

CBC: Hugs, smiles and tears greet Nuxalk totem pole as it leaves Victoria, B.C., museum, February 23, 2023

[corpus-incorporated]

my paper topic is so cool but i wish i didn’t have to write it right now cuz guys i’m just not feeling it i’m sorry but i’m not

[allthecanadianpolitics]

A totem pole removed from an Indigenous burial site more than a century ago and kept on display in a Canadian museum has been repatriated to the Nuxalk Nation.

More than 100 Nuxalkmc traveled more than 600 miles from Bella Coola, British Columbia, to Victoria to reclaim their totem pole from the Royal BC Museum on Monday and bring it back to its rightful home.

As the totem pole was lifted out of the museum and lowered to the ground, its first time returning to Mother Earth, Nuxalkmc sang the Thunder Song -- followed by women blessing and reawakening the totem's spirit.

"We all cried when it landed on the ground," Nuxalk Hereditary Chief Deric Snow told CNN. "It was the feeling when your emotions reach the highest point of your life. I've never dreamed we would be able to do this."

Continue Reading.

Tagging: @politicsofcanada 

[cognitivejustice]

From crab monitoring and bear patrols to rescue operations, the watchmen are the official eyes and ears of indigenous communities

It was started more than 15 years ago in response to heavy commercial crab fishing in an area where the federal government had done little independent monitoring to determine if a fishery was sustainable.

It is the quintessential guardian assignment: remote monitoring work of immediate importance to a small community, far beyond the gaze of administrators at understaffed government agencies.

The watchmen are the eyes and ears of their First Nation community on the lands and water of their territory, which spans about 18,000 sq km (7,000 sq miles, roughly the size of Kuwait) on the central coast of British Columbia around the town of Bella Coola, 430 mountainous kilometres northwest of Vancouver.

For Mack, being chosen to join the guardians was a godsend. “I had no idea what I was going to do with my life,” she says.

[talonabraxas]

“The deity is within you, not in ideas and books. Truth is lived, not taught.” ― Hermann Hesse

Among the Nuxalk, Sun is sometimes represented as being the master of sky world who, at the beginning of the world, placed four master carpenters on four separate mountain peaks to collectively create the world and found the Nuxalk clans. Some Salish cultures regard the Day, Daylight or the Sky to be the supreme supernatural being that will sometimes reveal itself to people disguised in human or animal form to bestow a great spirit power.

Kwakwaka'wakw Northwest Coast Native Sun Mask Talon Abraxas

[shro0msquid]

I always seem to get bogged down in phonology when I'm conlanging. I'm so indecisive because I love open syllable structure like in finnish or in greenlandic. But I also like more consonant heavy languages like Haida, Tlingit, or Nuxalk. I think Nuxalk especially has an elegantly maximalist approach to syllable structure.

I'm thinking of verbs being consonant heavy as I plan to make them dense with grammatical information and nouns to have a more open syllable structure.

[museeeuuuum]

Some repatriation efforts in my city:

The RBCM doesn't have the greatest track record but this was touching to see. Let's hope this work continues.

[scotianostra]

12th March 1820 saw the death of Alexander Mackenzie (Alasdair MacCoinnich), the explorer of western Canada.

Alexander Mackenzie is recognised as leader of the first European expedition to cross the North American continent from the Atlantic to the Pacific, north of Mexico. Because of Mackenzie’s success the rich coastal territory we know as British Columbia today, is part of Canada. If he had been unsuccessful, it could be argued that British Columbia would probably have belonged to another country.

Mackenzie was born in Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis in the Western Isles of Scotland in 1764. He emigrated with his father to New York at the age of 10 years. When he was 15 years old he entered the service of a Montreal firm engaged in the fur trade. Aged just 20, he obtained a share in the business and became a trader in the West, four years later he was put in charge of trade in the Athabasca region and settled at Fort Chipewyan on the South shore of Lake Athabasca, from here he staged two expeditions; one to the Arctic Ocean in 1789, and another to the Pacific Ocean in 1793.

When MacKenzie was 25 years old he set off to find the Pacific Ocean, but realised his lack of navigation skills was a massive handicap to an explorer, so decided to put this right by spending the following winter in England studying navigation, cartography and astronomy.

In 1792 Mackenzie set off a second time from Fort Chipewyan, crossing the Rockies through the pass that bears his name, with canoes and voyageurs (people who engaged in the transportation of furs by canoe), the party consisted of himself, his cousin Alexander Mackay, six voyageurs and two Indians as hunters and interpreters.

During the journey they came across Indians who had not previously seen white men, but had some iron which they had procured by trade with other natives who had journeyed a great length to the sea. The Indians told Mackenzie of the route from the Fraser River up the West Road River to the Bella Coola River and the sea, the first commercial overland route in British Columbia. Without the guidance of Indians, it is unlikely that Mackenzie would have been able to reach the Western Sea.

Mackenzie found the Natives dependent on the salmon runs and very superstitious so as not to displease the Salmon Gods. He was truly amazed with their boat handling techniques, they effortlessly poled their way down river through columns of water and the tallest trees Mackenzie had ever seen.

Mackenzie learned of hostile natives, but had quite a reputation for strength and fierceness which his crew respected and the voyageurs pleaded with Mackenzie to head back. “I have work to do here,” Mackenzie replied. “When it is finished we will go back, and not before.” Mackenzie, however was becoming apprehensive and commanded his men to load the canoe ready for an immediate departure. He managed to get an astronomic reading.

At four thirty the next morning they had paddled to Porcupine cove and a few hours later they pulled the canoe up on the beach at the Bella Coola village. The explorers proceeded up river, being received hospitably at the numerous villages.

The Nuxalk gave them all the smoked salmon they wished to carry and they set out on the trail up the mountain. Every man of Friendly village accompanied them for the first hour, then parted from them with signs of regret. That night the explorers were delighted in the feeling of being almost out of danger and well on their way homeward.

Mackenzie’s route to the Pacific proved too difficult for others to follow, but this does not diminish the value of his great 117 day expedition across Wild America.

In 1801 the journals of his exploratory journeys were published, he served in the Legislature of Lower Canada from 1804 to 1808.

In 1802 Mackenzie was knighted Sir Alexander Mackenzie by King George III, and recognized as leader of the first European expedition to cross the North American continent from the Atlantic to the Pacific north of Mexico. Had Mackenzie failed to complete his epic journey across the continent to the Pacific Coast perhaps this rich coastal territory we know as British Columbia would probably belong to a country other than Canada.

In 1812, he married and returned to Scotland. Mackenzie died in 1820 of Bright’s disease (kidney disease as we know it today), aged 56. He is buried in Avoch, on the Black Isle, Ross and Cromarty, as seen by the pic with the flags. Set into the wall of the memorial enclosure is a stone brought from Bella Coola and inscribed in red with the same words Mackenzie used to record his exploration success,

Alex Mackenzie From Canada by land 22nd July 1793.

[formlines]

Helping Hands

Ses Saunders

[dear-indies]

Hello, I was wondering if you could help me with three fc's? They are Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather from Sleeping Beauty, and I am for a variety of races. In my mind, Flora would be in her late 50's to early 60's, Fauna in her mid to late 40's, and Merryweather in her 30's. Thanks a bunch!

Flora:

Elaine Miles (1960) Cayuse and Nez Perce.

Joanna Scanlan (1961)

Thembsie Matu (1966) Xhosa South African.

Ruby Rodriguez (1966) Filipino [including Spanish] - has grey hair!

Fauna:

Kaliko Kauahi (1974) Kānaka Maoli and Japanese.

Ty Alexander (1974) African-American - has grey hair!

Brooke Elliott (1974)

Keala Settle (1975) Māori.

Lori Beth Denberg (1976)

Michelle Buteau (1977) Haitian [African, some Lebanese] / French, Jamaican [African, Indian, possibly other].

Frenchie Davis (1979) African-American.

Fortune Feimster (1980) - is a lesbian.

Chrissy Metz (1980)

Merryweather:

Beth Ditto (1981) - is queer - has spoken up for Palestine!

JB The First Lady / Jerilynn Webster (1984) Nuxalk, Onondaga.

Meghan Tonjes (1985)

Essie Golden (1986) African-American.

Nicole Byer (1986) African-American - "doesn't identify as straight" but is uncomfortable with the labels.

Da'Vine Joy Randolph (1986) African-American.

Amber Riley (1986) African-American.

Aidy Bryant (1987)

Gia Sinatra (1987)

Shay Neary (1987/1988) - is trans.

Brooke Markham (1988)

Brittney Spencer (1988) African-American.

Britney Young (1988) African-American / White.

Rosey Blair (1988)

Melanie Field (1988) - is queer.

Sharon Rooney (1988)

Cai Cortez (1988) Filipino.

Mary Lambert (1989) - is a lesbian - has spoken up for Palestine!

B.K. Cannon (1990)

Steph Tisdell (1990) Yidinji - has spoken up for Palestine!

Sophia Nomvete (1990) Black South African and Iranian - has period resources in The Rings of Power.

Megan Stalter (1990) - is bisexual.

Jessica Torres (1991) Ecuadorian - has spoken up for Palestine!

Thais Carla (1991) Brazilian.

Raven Goodwin (1992) African-American.

Raini Rodriguez (1993) Mexican.

Natasha Polis (1994) - Instagram is full of her in pretty dresses!

Hey anon! Here are some suggestions of all the fat/plus people I know in said age range. 💌

[cedarbeing]

Unconventional Plants and Herbs in Witchcraft:

Entry No. 2

Self-Heal (Prunella Vulgaris)

General Information and History:

General info:

Self-heal is common in most temperate climates, Native to North America, Asia, Africa and Europe. 

Grows readily in damp soils: roadsides, clearings, fields, lawns, forest edges. Common at low to middle elevations.

Suitable for use as a pot herb.

harvest young plants for eating, generally before flowering (unless planning to use for medicinal purposes).

Is a member of the mint family.

History:

The common name(s) Self-heal and Heal-all come from the plants medicinal use for a wide variety of ailments.

Different indigenous groups had varying uses for the plant. One example is: The Nuxalk, who boiled the entire plant and drank as a tea to ease heart related ailments.

Medicinal Information:

Note: use at your own risk. If pregnant/nursing, taking medications, or have medical conditions, contact a physician prior to use. Please be aware that medicinal herbs are meant to be used in moderation. This is NOT a guide to usage.

Possible Properties: Astringent, diuretic, antioxidant, anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, mild antiseptic, antiviral.

Traditional methods of use: Tea, poultice.

Used to treat: Sore throat, fevers, superficial wounds, gastrointestinal issues, colds, and much more!

Usage in Witchcraft:

Now, as for the usage in witchcraft there obviously isn’t much widespread information, in cases such as this I like to follow the lead from other information on the plant (name, medicinal properties, factors of growth, history, personal experience, etc). as well as combine with other practices, such as colour magic. This is why other information on the plant is important to know, even if it’s not directly related to witchcraft.

Please note: that this is a personal correspondence. As such, you may see it differently or have different ideas. That’s okay too! Your practice is yours alone, feel free to share your ideas :)

Correspondences: Healing, Protection, Spiritual growth.

I feel that prunella vulgaris would be a great addition to baneful work as a sort of “all over, encompassing” attack, specifically if it was rotted/molded first.

Other very important information

Some information is derived or cross referenced from: PLANTS OF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST COAST Washington, Oregon, British Columbia & Alaska. (Paul B. Alaback)

This is a SUPERB field guide if you live in the area(s) mentioned and it carries a wealth of information. I HIGHLY recommend it!

In regards to foraging:

Be safe, sustainable, and ethical when foraging.  (Click the link)

ALWAYS positively identify before use. If you’re not 100% sure, don’t use it!

Be prepared for a possible negative reaction or allergy. When trying new things, try a small amount first.

Know the local area/the dangers (terrain, wild animals, incoming weather, etc) be prepared!

DO NOT take more than you need/can use. (This does not apply to invasive species)

Harvest from different locations if possible.

Do as little damage to the plant and grounds.

Use a mesh bag to collect in the case of mushrooms.

Make an effort to spread seeds from plants when harvesting if possible. (This does not apply to invasive species)

This post is not a comprehensive guide to Self-Heal and it’s usage, it is a general overview of information that I have compiled, and not necessarily beginner friendly. Please treat it as such. Happy spell crafting! :)

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Elizabeth Weiss

Published: Dec 7, 2023

The American Museum of Natural History’s newest “revitalized” hall—the Northwest Coast Hall, which reopened in 2022 after five years and $19 million spent—includes a case with a warning label:

CAUTION: This display case contains items used in the practices of traditional Tlingit doctors. Some people may wish to avoid this area, as Tlingit tradition holds that such belongings contain powerful spirits.

Even if you disregard this caution, you’ll have difficulty seeing the items since “the case lighting has been darkened at the request of Tlingit advisors to reflect the cultural sensitivity of these items.” And just to be sure, the case bears a “no photography” sticker.

The case contains masks used by traditional Tlingit shamans, once referred to as witchdoctors; that term is no longer considered appropriate at the American Museum of Natural History, so they are now called simply “doctors.” According to the somewhat confusing text on the case, “By wearing masks that contained the spirits, doctors tapped into their power,” and presumably this power was what they believed helped heal people of diseases—both physical pathologies and spiritual ailments.        

Though some questioned whether the items should be displayed at all—the official story holds that these materials were stolen from graves—Tlingit advisors wished to keep the display. The “American Museum of Natural History staff, with support from Tlingit experts, concluded that displaying the materials honored Tlingit cultural history—but that it was crucial to acknowledge the sensitivity and ongoing power of these objects.”

The presentation and treatment of this display case epitomizes what has gone wrong in the remodeling of the Northwest Coast Hall: museum staff are allowing creation myths and other religious and supernatural beliefs to be depicted as historical facts and scientific truths.

Another example of the Northwest Coast Hall’s blurring of fact and fiction can be found in the text on the origin of the Northwest Indian tribes, provided by Iris (Nunanta) Siwallace, a cultural researcher for the Nuxalk Nation in Bella Coola, British Columbia. “Our first Ancestors who descended from the heavens down to Earth either came in the form of animals or on the eyelashes of the Sun,” she writes. This may be a beautiful creation myth, but exhibit designers should distinguish the tale from the factual story of human origins. Exhibit halls created earlier, such as the 1970 Hall of Mexico and Central America and the 1989 Hall of South American Peoples, do a far better job of telling visitors when something is believed, when something is true, and when something is unknown. By depicting these stories as factual, the museum is no different than a creationist museum portraying an Adam and Eve biblical story as empirical fact.

In some cases, the lines between fact and fiction seemed to be even more deliberately blurred, as in the case showing painted panels of the Nuu-chah-nulth, formerly referred to as the Nootka, which states:

The painted panel displayed above commemorates events experienced by Sin-Set, a Nuu-chah-nulth Chief of the Huupa’Chesat-h Nation, around 1850. While taking salmon from a trap on the cascading Sproat River, the Chief lost his balance and fell in a deep pool. Two supernatural Whales called out to him and took him on a journey. In the course of his travels, he entered the lake above the river, met a Thunderbird and a Lightning Serpent, and visited the House of Wolves.

This text depicts a supernatural event as a real occurrence, even providing a date. This is not the only example of such deceptive practices. In reference to a panel by the ‘Namgis of British Columbia, the accompanying text informs us:

According to ‘Namgis history, the supernatural Kulus, a down-covered Thunderbird, lived above the Sun. One such bird named Tlalamin came down to the human world and built a house near Nimpkish Lake decorated with clouds, stars, and the Sun. Then Tlamamin took off his Kulus clothing and became a man.

This is not history. It is mythology.

And the use of such folklore is not limited to the past; upon entrance to the exhibit, visitors are greeted with quotes from indigenous collaborators appealing to the supernatural to argue for repatriation of artifacts. For instance, Judith Dax̱ootsú Ramos, a professor at University of Alaska Southeast who is also Tlingit, states:

What we have in the Museum are not just works of art—they’re spiritual beings. And, when we see them, we know they’re calling to us, “We want to come home.” I’ll always remember an Elder who went to a museum, and she could see the mist of an object coming out of the drawer where it was contained. She said, “We’ll bring you back home.”

More simply, Morgan (Secəlenəxʷ) Guerin, a member of the Musqueam First Nation, noted that “There’s a lot of Ancestors’ souls within these pieces.”

When fact and fiction are blurred as in the Northwest Coast Hall, the museum fails at its stated mission: “To discover, interpret, and disseminate—through scientific research and education—knowledge about human cultures, the natural world, and the universe.” By allowing indigenous collaborators to set the terms, the museum fails to educate the public—both indigenous and non-indigenous. Five million people, including “hundreds of thousands of K-12 students and teachers,” visit the museum annually; they are being misinformed by arguably one of the nation’s finest public institutes of science.

Throughout the museum, one sees signs that New York State is making changes that will “address aspects of our history, colonialism, and the broader legacy of museum collecting.” These changes, we’re told, will “increase diversity of voices and perspectives” with the “goals to offer history and context and to enhance cultural understanding.” In short, the changes are motivated by a desire to atone for past wrongs and erase the racism experienced by indigenous people. A far better way to compensate for past mistakes is to educate people with historical and scientific information, rather than patronizing them with mythology masquerading as fact.

==

"Other ways of knowing" is what happens when your scientific institution succumbs to DEI activists.

Creation myths are not science. It shouldn't be necessary to explain that.

[vapidfirefly]

SLAPS THE TABLE ALRIGHT LISTEN UP Ferns are one of the most majestic creatures on this earth. They're older than dirt and some of them slowly give you cancer just by being in their MERE PRESENCE. The spores can be fatal as they are delicate and there's so many fucking variety's whose young fiddleheads are delicious to eat. Many have medicinal properties that are neat! Houseplant social media will tell you it's hard to grow them but fuck you I live in Seattle, we wine and dine in the under story of temperate rain-forests so I grow them like weeds in any east-north facing window that gets licks of sunlight and a full view of the sky Here's my growing collection of these marvelous creatures, I've only killed one (remember you always painted fern) and Ill probably accidentally kill a few more in pursuit of the perfect habitat but until THEN (ALSO YES MY NAILS IK IK LETS STICK TO WHATS IMPORTANT HERE) I prefer growing local varieties to north America and the PNW because that's where I'm located and it's just easier dude© but I'm not above buying Asian or European varieties if the photos upload in the right order... WE HAVE The Maidenhair Spleenwort (Asplenium Trichomanes) which is confusingly NOT the same genus as my latter Maidenhair ferns.. it just looks like it is. It's classed as a miniature fern and boy is it fucking -adorable-, I plan to propagate them into lil moss terrariums. Its been used as a diuretic and cough suppressant so idk if u got the flu and a piss fascination this fern is for you Next up is the Northern Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum Pedatum) and I love them, I would die for them, the delicate way they flit around in the gentlest breeze tickles the cockles of my heart. It's like looking at my gf on a summer day, ideal. Copypaste from OSU "Medical uses around the world for this plant has included bronchitis, whooping cough, chronic infections, hepatitis, snakebites, rheumatism, asthma, coughing, fevers, burns, and scalds. North Americans would chew the fronds and then apply them to wounds to stop bleeding."

Okay okay, ikik, so many maidenhairs but I can't help myself. What was I to do? this next one Adiantum hispidulum or, the 5 finger jack is from Australia, New zealand, and polynesia. It's got rosy colored young growth and more clover-like fronds. Couldnt find any specific medicinal uses I just like the cut of their jib So anyways I buy this next fern right, and the tag tells me 'ay, buddy, I'm an august fern' and for weeks I'm wondering where's the pretty orange streak? wheres the lil splash, why does the variegation look so different... well its NOT the marvel I thought it was! It's an East Indian Holly Fern! (Arachniodes Simplicior) and it's spores become big enough clusters they look like a bunch of baby spider nests! How neat! or terrifying, given your opinion on arachnids ig The next three pictures are of a Licorice fern, a Tassel fern, and an unknown variety I was given for free because it was unmarked and overwatered! The other two I bought from the clearance bin. They look rough, they look like they've been through the ringer, but I bet u a few months in one of my windows and all of em will have new fiddleheads and look happy as can be, give em a year and you'd never know they struggled. Kinda like people you love, treat em right and give em time, they'll probably start perking up too. I was explicitly excited about seeing the licorice fern as it's PNW native. The rhizomes are sweet and "..were chewed by numerous Native American groups, including the Squamish, Shishalh, Comox, Nuxalk, Haida, and Kwakwaka'wakw. The rhizomes were also usually used medicinally as a treatment for the cold and sore throats." FINALLY we got ourselves a Little lady fern (Athyrium filix-femina) and what is probably a Western sword fern (Polystichum munitum). We pulled them out of the ground and split them off, accidentally taking rhizomes from both plants on accident! They don't seem to mind and have different growth habits so hey, why not

congrats if you made it this far, cheers to ferns