EXCITING BOOK EXPLORES CHEROKEE HISTORY

Following the earthquakes of 1811, false prophets appeared among The Real People. The Cherokee struggled to revitalize their ancient religion amidst witchcraft, missionaries, and white intrusion of every kind. The Myth Makers, a family saga, explores the resulting fractured myths. Set against the backdrop of Indian Removal, Comes Back at Night, the medicine man, Isaac Smoke, and Raincrow attempt to piece together a shattered world. Upon arrival in the new Indian Territory, 1839 Raincrow fulfills his destiny and a little girl named Quatie begins to embark on what will become hers.


A registered member of the Cherokee Nation and former high school English teacher, Judith Houston-Emerson studied four years at the Art Students League in New York City, worked for the National Museum of the American Indian, and was a consultant for the Cherokee and Philbrook Museums in Oklahoma. As a visual artist, she taught Art History of the American Indian at the University of Central Oklahoma.


J. Houston-Emerson is a writer, storyteller, painter, and teacher. Her inspiration comes from Cherokee cultural heritage and her creative work in the arts. Her debut novel "The Myth Makers" is at its core a family story, and yet its broader narrative engages the reader in the complex history of Indian Removal and the earlier days of Indian Territory. The author's series of paintings "The Shape Shift Series" is grounded in her understanding of this history and her own first-hand experiences in a similarly complex world.  - John Haworth (Cherokee), Director National Museum of the American Indian's Heye Center, New York City


The Myth Makers cover art painted by J. Houston Emerson. Order here.

ETHNOBOTANY EVENT FLOURISHES AT STATE UNIVERSITY

Ethnobotany Event Flourishes : Author discusses Apache use of native plants

(February 24, 2010 Stillwater, Okla.) – In her book Plains Apache Ethnobotany, Julia Jordan presents for the first time this tribe’s traditional knowledge of plants. Jordan will discuss her extensive fieldwork, conducted with elders of the Apache Tribe of Oklahoma, at the spring botany lecture hosted by the OSU Library.

The event will be held 4-5:15 p.m. March 26 in the Peggy V. Helmerich Browsing Room. It is free and open to the public. A reception follows.

In Plains Apache Ethnobotany, Jordan documents more than 110 plant species valued by the Plains Apache. The book details traditional Apache collection, preparation and use of these plants for food, medicine, ritual and material culture.

Jordan holds a master’s degree in anthropology from the University of Oklahoma. As a research anthropologist, she conducted extensive fieldwork among Indians of western Oklahoma as a part of the Doris Duke Indian Oral History Project at the University of Oklahoma. Later at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, she served as consultant and co–principal investigator for several anthropological projects.

Event sponsors include the OSU Library, OSU Botany Department, Oklahoma Native Plant Society-Cross Timbers Chapter, OSU Botanical Society and Native American Student Association.

This is the OSU Library’s second annual spring botany lecture. The first event in this series featured botanical illustrator, Bellamy Parks Jansen. For more information on this or other OSU Library events, visit www.library.okstate.edu/news.

Oklahoma State University is a modern land-grant system that cuts across disciplines to better prepare students for a new world. Oklahoma’s only university with a statewide presence, OSU improves the lives of people in Oklahoma, the nation, and the world through integrated, high-quality teaching, research and outreach. OSU has more than 32,000 students across its five-campus system and more than 19,000 on its Stillwater campus; with students from all 50 states and about 110 nations. Established in 1890, OSU has graduated more than 200,000 students who have made a lasting impact on Oklahoma and the world.
CREATE - INNOVATE - EDUCATE - GO STATE!

Source: Bonnie Ann Cain, APR OSU Library 405-744-7331 lib-pub@okstate.edu
Story by Marissa Chavez, OSU Library Communications Intern

THE LIFE OF LEAFORD BEARSKIN, CHIEF OF THE WYANDOTTE NATION

Kwa-hoo-sha-ha-ke (Flying Eagle) - American Indian Warrior Hero, A Glimpse Into the Life of Leaford Bearskin Chief of the Wyandotte Nation is a book whose time has come.

Through the efforts of the author, Fredrea Gregath Cook, this insightful look at the life of this dynamic personality, will be available in time for this year’s annual meeting and pow-wow of the Wyandotte Nation, September 11, 2009.

Deeply committed to preserving and promoting history of the region, Cook chose this biography as her latest project. Her published work spans preserving local records and families, several titles of lineage research, as well as college texts. A long time friend of Bearskin, personal knowledge, research in public and private collections, and a recent series of interviews serve to round out this glimpse into what makes the man.

An authorized look into this head of state’s life begins with his genealogical origins and sweeps forward in time to the present. This book is an eye opening tale for those who don’t know the Chief very well. For those who are counted as friends, it’s great to finally be able to get “the whole story” in one sitting. Though not a definitive work, at a little over 100 pages, it does handily re-cap his first career in the military, his second career in Civil Service, and his Tribal leadership to this point.

In preparing this work, the author uncovered many great things, with the help of many wonderful people, that a special website has been set up to share extra items, and color photographs, not included in this particular title.

It is at www.gregathcompany.com/wyandotte/flyingeagle, there is no charge and it is open to the public.

The book is available through the publisher, a local business, The Gregath Publishing Company. The author will also be at the Wyandotte pow-wow, where she will have copies on hand. Call the author at 918-542-4148 or visit the website for more information.

Submitted by: Gregath Publishing
PO BOX 505, Wyandotte, OK 74370 – 918-542-4148 – fredrea@gregathcomany.com