The Voice of my People beats strongly; the Fire in our Souls Burns Brightly.  After all, our Passion for who we are is Written in the Stars. Wilwilaask, All My Relations

NIIT, WELCOME TO A COMPREHENSIVE LOOK AT TURTLE ISLAND'S INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
Knowledge is Freedom, Run With It!

RETURN OFTEN: This website is an ever evolving process and updated on a regular basis

The following pages are Vital, Valuable & Accurate Educational Tools about North America's Indigenous People. Browse through the many subject areas and learn, from a Native Perspective, about the rich cultural diversity, history, cultural & spiritual practices of North America's 'INDIAN' People.

Students Don't Forget to Acknowledge Your Source. Plagiarism is serious business particularly at the post-secondary level.

 PRE-EUROPEAN CONTACT & OTHER THINGS

Columbus Rant  (Honest Injun! It's not our fault we're called "Indian!")
Facts and Fantasy About Turtle Island's Indigenous People  ("Just the facts, ma'am, just the facts", Pre & Post-European contact, & yes, a lot of us actually pay taxes!!)
Indigenous History  (Off-beat & not so off-beat walk along Memory Lane: Here Come the Vikings and the Missionaries, Foreign Diseases, Germ Warfare, Alcohol, That Bogus & Boring Bering Strait Theory. Horses, Warfare and Conquering, John Wayne)
Shannon Thunderbird's Thoughts  (The World in 2012, Commitment to Arts Education, Indigenous Work & the Workplace; Native Casinos/Gambling, When Native Cultures are Postcards, To Heal or Not to Heal, If you are going to Talk the Talk, then you'd better Walk the Walk, Indigenous Oral Narrative, What it is to be a Leader, the Strength of Shared Leadership, Native Identity)

POST EUROPEAN CONTACT  

Canadian Constitution (English Colonial Law, Ethnocentrism, Constitutional Timeline)
Indian Act  (Facts, Evolution, Amendments, Powers of Indian Agents, Meech Lake & Charlottetown Accords)
Indigenous Women  (Place in Society, place in ceremony, Women's Moontime, History, Challenges in Modern Times; Bill C-31, 'Ghost People', Non-ownership of On-reserve land)    
Justice, Indigenous Rights & Restorative Justice (Is law justice? What does it mean? Indigenous Nation Building, Women's Rights, Sentencing Circles, Haudenosaunee Great Law.....)
Modern 'Indian' Wars  (OKA, Ipperwash, Gustafson, Burnt Church, Caledonia...the beat goes on)
Residential Schools  (Canada's Shame and and finally THE Apology, did it help?)
Royal Proclamation  (Where it all began...."At the Pleasure of the King....")
Self-Government, Sovereignty & Land Claims  (Is it self-determination or sovereignty? Issues & concerns, Theft of Land, Terms & Definitions, Tribal Environment: Asserting Indigenous rights, conflict between Native & non-Native land claims, supporting traditional lifestyle)

TRIBAL SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE & WORKSHOPS

Beliefs, Supernatural & Ceremonies  (Anishinaabe, Blackfoot Confederacy, Cree, Haudenosaunee (including Great Law), Lenape/Delaware, Masks, Mi'Kmaq, Plains, Smudging & the Four Sacred Plants Sweatlodge, Sun Dance, Powwow, Spirit Doctor, Universe, Visionquest, Wampum)
Colours & Their Meanings  (Colours when combined with Nature's gifts have special meanings)
Drum Teachings  (Drum is Female; Moonstone & K'oolgyet Na Hool Big Drums; Messages from the Drum....)
Elder 'Speak' - In Their Own Words  (Past & Present Tribal Elders, Leaders & Traditional Teachers speak their truths)
Medicine Wheel Teachings (What goes around comes around. Mindfulness + Courage + Wisdom + Accountability = Emotional, Spiritual, Mental and Physical Resilience)
Pacific Northwest Coast  (My proud heritage: Art, Beliefs, World of the Spirit Doctor, Land of the Totems, Button Blankets, Feasts, Culture Hero Raven)
Prayers, Mantras & Sacred Thoughts  (A Message of Hope from Me, "The Eye of God" (wondrous photos from space), Divine Discontent, Emotional Healing, Great Spirit Prayer, Journey of Life, Memories, Peace of Wild Things....)
Prophecies & Teachings (Hopi, Seven Fires (Ojibwa), Lakhota, Cherokee, Onandaga, Inuit, Internet)
Sacred Symbols & Meanings  (Ancestors, Animals, Circle, Drums, Four Elements, Land, Medicine Shields, Parfleche, Pipes & Effigy Pipes, Plants, Pottery, Power or Guardian Animals/Spirits; Rattles/Shakers; Sand Painting, Smudging (Sage, Cedar, Sweetgrass, Tobacco); Talking Stick; Talking Circles)
Spirituality  (When we are victims...Five Native Ethics, Five Native Beliefs, Respect, Spirit, Soul, Balance/Harmony, Wisdom, Healing, Sins of Spirit, Memory and Powerful Song of Divine Discontent, Remembering Your Dreams, Four Agreements)
Warriors  (Dedicated to historical & contemporary Warrior Heroes who continue to impact the world with their wise words & brave acts. Visionaries, Warrior Chiefs, Orators, Singers, Athletes, Dancers, Actors)
Women (The power of Humanity lies in its Matriarchy - A page for women of all ages, cultures and interests)
Women & Ceremony  (Patriarchal, patently predictably pathetic!!)

INDIGENOUS ORAL NARRATIVE, ART, MUSIC,
THEATRE, DANCE 

Aboriginal Art  (The importance of Native Art, its meaning, how it helps define Native culture. Also Thunderbird's Art - Not a lot of time to do it, but painting is my peaceful pursuit)
Animal Stories A-M  (Wide variety of animal stories & their meanings)
Animal Stories N-Z  (Wide variety of animal stories & their meanings)
Little Bear Recording Studio  (Sandy & Jeff's domain)
Magic & Wisdom of the Indigenous  Oral Narrative  (Native Stories are not "once upon a time" yarns or myths - they are the cultural grounding of wondrous people, About our Culture Heroes and much more)
Music, Dancing, Theatre, Scripts (Why the arts are important to the cultural grounding of Indigenous people, Indigenous Theatre; A few stories adapted to script form for Drama Teachers)
Other Performers  (This page features some of the wonderful performers that I've met and had the pleasure of performing with)
Poetry  (Me and my Mom, 98 year-old Tsimshian Elder, Gandoox)
When Science & Native Stories Merge (Cosmos, Creation Stories (Tsimshian, Haudenosaunee, Anishinaabe, Mi'kmaq, Plains), Four Elements, Planets, Ocean, Sun, Rainbows, Fire, Air, Earth, Water, Milky Way, Moon, Aurora Borealis)

TRIBAL LIFESTYLE   

Environment  (Asserting Indigenous rights to hunt, trap and fish; conflict between Native & non-Native land claims; supporting traditional lifestyle)
Housing & Transportation  (Plank House, Longhouse, Tipi, Hogan, Chickees, Brush Shelters, Adobes, Wattle, Wigwam, canoes, sleds, dogs, horses)
Language & Cultural Groups  (Who's Who in Moccasin Country!)
Lifestyle, Gender Roles, Elders  (Pacific Northwest Coast, Haudenosaunee, Anishinaabe (including description of the 7-point star Clan system, Blackfoot, Cree, Lenape/Delaware,  Mi'Kmaq, Plains, Inuit, Warfare, Social Systems)
Native Contributions I  (Settlement of Canada, transportation, people, wealth, government, military service, language, sports)
Native Contributions II  (Food, Lifestyle, Medicine, Earth Wisdom, Healing properties of trees and plants)
Powwows, Protocol, Behaviour & Celebration  (Conduct & Etiquette; Powwows: Grand Entry, Descriptions of songs, dances, regalia, interaction with Elders, when money is a gift or a fee)
Two-Spirited People  (No Shame, No Blame, Magic people back before recorded time)

TEYA PEYA PRODUCTIONS

Shannon Thunderbird, Sandy Horne Two of the Moccasin Trail's most Talented, Eclectic and Hilarious Performers for Children, Youth, Adults.
School Shows Three great shows with Prologue to the Performing Arts
Teya Peya's Workshops and Seminars  (Wisdom of the Ages Medicine Wheel themes that cross all cultural boundaries. Mindfulness + Courage + Wisdom + Accountability = Emotional, Spiritual, Mental and Physical Resilience, Life Coaching for Teens, Secondary School Tutoring in the Humanities and Social Sciences)
Speakers Bureau  (Inspirit Talks that elevate the soul and increase the Hope Factor; Lectures/Seminars on a variety of Indigenous topics)
Music, Theatre & Drums, Drums, Drums! (Teya Peya`s fabulous, interactive shows + Rogue's Gallery
Affirmations  Ceremonies that unite, lift spirits - marriage (including same sex), birth, white veil, anniversaries and more...
Life Coaching and Secondary School Tutoring  (Kate's bailiwick - she is a champion of teens!)
McKhool and Thunderbird  (Two dynamic songwriters working with kids on a school project basis!)
FAME Touring in the United States Bringing Aboriginal Education to Schools in Indiana
Wind Centre Teya Peya' fabulous new CD of contemporary and traditional Native Music with Shannon Thunderbird and Sandy Horne (Spoons)
Interesting Links  This and That, including a website that has an article of mine printed on Mother Earth.