Category Archives: Holidays

A New Year…Happy Beginnings!

O’siyo. Native people are known for their intricate ties to  Mother Nature and her animals. As 2012 comes to a close, and 2013 opens the new year, we decided on these wonderful photos of  new born baby animals from around the world (and a few closer to home) as the final Talking Feather post for 2012. The animal site ZooBorns.com posted photos of their most “adorable” exotic babies, who are also endangered species.  Indian Country Today  posted an article about this amazing site.

Arctic Fox Pup (ZooBorns.com)

Marmoset (ZooBorns.com)

Rare Sand Kitten (ZooBorns.com)

Excerpt:

“Arguably the cutest, most adorable publication to have ever been created, ZooBorns is a zoology website and educational book series that announces animal births born in zoos and aquariums around the world.

Last month, they released their latest book from their series, ZooBorns: The Next Generation, which features fascinating facts and endearing photos of exotic animals from all around the world.

No, these cuties are not from the Zoo, but from Wylie’s Horse Nation site

3 Wylie at The Horse Nation

 

Photo-Wylie at The Horse Nation

Wylie at The Horse Nation

“When the Earth is sick, the animals will begin to disappear,when that happens, The Warriors of the Rainbow will come to save them.” ~Chief Seattle~

“I think I could turn and live with animals, they are
so placid and self-contained,
I stand and look at them long and long.”  ~ Walt Whitman~

Wishing All of Our Readers a New Year Filled With Beauty, Happiness, & Prosperity!

 

Category: Holidays

The Meaning of Native Christmas

A Native Christmas by Looks for Buffalo and SandieLee

O’siyo. It’s that wonderful time of year again when we remeber all the good and wonderful things in our lives. Especially our family and friends (and special animals). This is a wonderful piece written by  Looks for Buffalo and SandieLee  who share their Native christmas with you…

 

Christmas Bulbs

“European Christmas for Native Americans actually started when the Europeans came over to America. They taught the Indian about Christianity, gift-giving , and St. Nicholas. There are actually two religious types of Indian people in existence. One of these is the Traditionalist, usually full-blooded Indians that grew up on the reservations. The second type is the Contemporary Indian that grew up in an urban area, usually of mixed blood, and brought up with Christian philosophy.

Traditionalists are raised to respect the Christian Star and the birth of the first Indian Spiritual Leader. He was a Star Person and Avatar. His name was Jesus. He was a Hebrew, a Red Man. He received his education from the wilderness. John the Baptist, Moses, and other excellent teachers that came before Jesus provided an educational foundation with the Holistic Method.

Everyday is our Christmas. Every meal is our Christmas. At every meal we take a little portion of the food we are eating, and we offer it to the spirit world on behalf of the four legged, and the winged, and the two legged. We pray–not the way most Christians pray– but we thank the Grandfathers, the Spirit, and the Guardian Angel.

The Indian Culture is actually grounded in the traditions of a Roving Angel. The life-ways of Roving Angels are actually the way Indian People live. They hold out their hands and help the sick and the needy. They feed and clothe the poor. We have high respect for the avatar because we believe that it is in giving that we receive.

We are taught as Traditional children that we have abundance. The Creator has given us everything: the water, the air

A Naive Christmas story.

we breathe, the earth as our flesh, and our energy force: our heart. We are thankful every day. We pray early in the morning, before sunrise, the morning star, and the evening star. We pray for our relatives who are in the universe that someday they will come. We also pray that the Great Spirit’s son will live again.

To the Indian People Christmas is everyday and the don’t believe in taking without asking. Herbs are prayed over before being gathered by asking the plant for permission to take some cuttings. An offer of tobacco is made to the plant in gratitude. We do not pull the herb out by its roots, but cut the plant even with the surface of the earth, so that another generation will be born its place.

It is really important that these ways never be lost. And to this day we feed the elders, we feed the family on Christmas day, we honor Saint Nicholas. We explain to the little children that to receive a gift is to enjoy it, and when the enjoyment is gone, they are pass it on to the another child, so that they, too, can enjoy it. If a child gets a doll, that doll will change hands about eight times in a year, from one child to another.

Everyday is Christmas in Indian Country. Daily living is centered around the spirit of giving and walking the Red Road. Walking the Red Road means making everything you do a spiritual act. If your neighbor, John Running Deer, needs a potato masher; and you have one that you are not using, you offer him yours in the spirit of giving. It doesn’t matter if it is Christmas or not.

If neighbors or strangers stop over to visit at your house, we offer them dinner We bring out the T-Bone steak, not the cabbage. If we don’t have enough, we send someone in the family out to get some more and mention nothing of the inconvenience to our guests. The more one gives, the more spiritual we become. The Christ Consciousness, the same spirit of giving that is present at Christmas, is present everyday in Indian Country.”

Have a Blessed and joyous Holiday Everyone, and thank you for reading our material!

 
Category: Holidays
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