"We did not think of the great open plains, the beautiful rolling hills, and winding streams with tangled growth as "wild". To us it was tame. Earth was bountiful and we were surrounded with the blessings of the Great Mystery."

Luther Standing Bear - Rosebud Sioux

Guardian of the Water Medicine

Guardian of the Water Medicine
Dale Auger

Dale Auger

Dale Auger: On Art, Blood and Kindred Spirits
by Terri Mason

Defining Dale Auger in one sentence is akin to releasing the colours of a diamond in one cut. It can’t be done. It’s the many facets that release a diamond’s true brilliance, as it is the many facets of Auger’s life, education, ancestry, experiences and beliefs that have shaped and polished his work into the internationally acclaimed and collected artist that he is today.

Born a Sakaw Cree from the Bigstone Cree Nation in northern Alberta, Auger’s education began as a young boy when his mother would take him to be with the elders. “I used to say to myself, ‘Why is she leaving me with these old people?’ – but today I see the reason; I was being taught in the old way.”

Auger’s respect for traditional teachings led him on a journey to study art, opening the door to a doctorate in education. He is a talented playwright, speaker and visual artist whose vividly coloured acrylics have captured the attention of collectors that reads like an international ‘Who’s Who’ spanning English to Hollywood royalty. The essence of his work is communication, and now Dr. Auger has come full circle, interpreting the life of his culture – from the everyday to the sacred - through the cross-cultural medium of art.

Read the rest here:

http://www.daleauger.com/printversionbio.cfm

Friday, May 16, 2008

Southampton to preserve sacred Shinnecock land

By: Mitchell Freedman

Southampton Town is getting ready to buy 9.3 acres of waterfront land in Water Mill for $5 million, land that includes the site of an ancient summer village and burial ground for the Shinnecock Tribe.

Once the sale is completed, the tribe will hold a special ceremony to bury the skull of an Indian taken from a grave as part of an archaeological study about two years ago.

Rubin Valdez, a Shinnecock Indian, remembers how disquieting it was when he was called to Water Mill after the skull - believed to be between 2,000 and 3,000 years old - was found on a parcel of land a few miles from the tribe's reservation. The area had been a traditional summer village during the time when the tribe followed the food supply and lived closer to the water each summer. The skull has since been kept at a secret location.

"We looked into the face of this young man pulled out of the ground after 3,000 years," he said. "Now we have the opportunity to restore this young man back to his original grave site ... the rest of his remains are still at that site," he told the Southampton town board at a public hearing Tuesday, urging them to buy the waterfront land where the skull was found.

Get the whole story here: http://www.newsday.com/services/newspaper/printedition/thursday/longisland/ny-lishin155686325may15,0,299658.story
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