#native press

[The Wasco and Wishram lived along what is now called Hood River in Oregon, and lost their territory to settlers in the 1800s. Edward S. Curtis captured an image of a Wishram girl in 1909. Photo from the Library of Congress, in the Public Domain.] A Postcard Tradition Picture postcards in the US have long presented an affordable way to share beach vacations with relatives, and offer a quick…

Taking Steps to Recognize Indigenous Peoples

Let’s Start with Names Seek-Seek-Qua by C. Coleman Emery When I returned home from a September camping trip, I opened my book (Night of the Living Rez) and found a plastic knife holding my place. I had used the knife as a bookmark while reading during a rainstorm in a cabin in the woods. We rented a two-room shack at Lake Olallie Resort, which is sequestered in what is now called the Mount…

Call Out the Lies

  Artwork by Nicola Jennings of The Guardian Resist Time to call out the lies. You can still be gracious. But there’s no need to tolerate stupidity in the face of bigotry, misogyny and dishonesty. So: write, text, tweet, and follow the folks whose aim is to halt the threats to democracy and pluralism. Resist. Watch Samantha Bee, Trevor Noah and John Oliver. Support Planned Parenthood, the…

Casting Light on the Dark Side of Politics

How to Create Doubt Tonight marks the final formal debate between the two presidential candidates and I’m asking my students to consider the question: How do we create doubt? When you listen to the debate and hear arguments about “truths,” how are the truths created? Some filmmakers examine the question in Merchants of Doubt, a 2014 documentary that peels away the layers of…

What is your American dream?

Our local public broadcasting service is asking folks to share their vision of the American Dream. They ask: What is your American Dream? How have your experiences shaped and changed your concept of the American Dream? How, if it all, do you see your version of the American dream changing under our next president? This is a terrific topic: good for a conversation with your friends, family,…

High gloss won’t restore the sheen on the warty toad

Standard Oil’s John D. Rockefeller and the planet POLITICAL NEWS: Part 3 (Earlier this week I wrote that the comb-over candidate’s spinmeisters are redoubling their efforts to curb the candidate’s runaway tongue by having him stick to a carefully scripted playbook. Today’s New York Times confirms the prediction. The first headline you see announces the candidate is trying a new tactic: “Sticking…

Ginsburg’s got guts

Just finished reading a wrap-up of news in a magazine that offers a passel of newsworthy stories in tightly written packages from many corners. You get to hear folks ranging from CBS anchors to Slate pundits nattering about events following a brief cooling period. So the news isn’t as quick as instant coffee: it takes time to mellow. A surprise package came in the form of analysts mocking (and in…

When the Invisible becomes Visible

American Gothic by Gordon Parks, 1942 We found visible the invisible on our recent trip to Chicago. An exhibit of forgotten black-and-white images by photojournalist Grant Parks is on display at the Art Institute of Chicago through August. Parks is famous for his shots of Black denizens in American cities, especially Harlem (New York) of the 1940s and 1950s. He shot for Life magazine at a time…