Potlatch

European Exploration

Hundreds of years ago the north american continent wasn't nearly as populated as it is now. The land belonged to the Native people. Between 1500 and 1900 different European nations voyaged across seas and explored this land. People from France, Italy, and Britain were some of the early explorers.

It all started with Christopher Columbus who discovered that the earth was round when he reached new lands. For many years after that different people set out to find other lands. And when they reached the foreign lands they also discovered new people. The Native people had possessed the land for many, many years.

Meeting new people was sometimes a challenge for Europeans. They could not speak the same language. But they were still able to communicate in other ways. Trading began between nations. The Europeans had much greater technology than them. And because of this they had dominant power over them. The first nations lands were being taken away and used by strange people. They were sometimes forced to forget about their cultural identities and become like the European people. This was called assimilation. Residential schools began and native children were forced to speak a different language. They were often abused.

Today the North American world isn't this harsh. We can see that European influence has changed many of the lives of the Aboriginals. Many have adopted our cultures. But knowing that what was done to them in the past was wrong, the first nations have special rights. They have reserves just for them to help maintain their culture.

Secularism in France

I think that secularism is wrong. Every group of people should have the right to express themselves through their religions. It is a part of their identity. Making a law that separates state matters and religion takes personal identity away from a lot of people. They obviously don't realize some of the important values that different cultures have.

I don't think that the French government should worry about violence against minority religions. Unless the people in France are really psychos. Maybe it would be a good idea to do that in a place such as Iraq and other places where wars are going on right now. But that would be because it would be completely dangerous for someone to express themselves through religion. They really could get hurt. In Canada we all have the right to worship as we may. Lots of people wear clothing or accessories that represent their religions. And this has not caused very many issues.

In my opinion the French are really stupid. People should not be forced to live like that. They might as well become communists and take over everything else if they are going to take away religious freedom. People deserve to live the way their cultures do.

Lubicon

The Lubicon First Nations people can be located in northern Alberta. They had been happy in their land until the government decided they wanted to invade their territory to dig for oil. This became and issue because of Treaty 8 which failed to reach their people. The Lubicon people complained against the government, but were ignored. Much of their land was lost.

Around 1899 the government of Canada created Treaty 8. This treaty covered the large area of northern Alberta. When the treaty was issued the government visited first nations people located along the main rivers. The Lubicon people were missed because their location was harder to access. They would never have known that it would become an issue in the future.

Because of the government missing the Lubicon group, they didn't receive rights like the other first nations. Then the government decided they needed more locations for oil digging. The Lubicon people couldn't keep them from invading their territory. Had they been part of the treaty this wouldn't have been such a big problem for them. The government would have let them know their plans.

Since the Lubicon land had never been given a first nations title the government didn't realize that they were invading. Soon much of their land had been lost to oil digs. The people weren't happy. They have voiced their concerns to the government. They have opposed continual development of their land. And the people are serious about it, they will stand up for themselves until their concerns can be addressed.

A silly mistake was made many years ago. The Lubicon people were missed when Treaty 8 was issued. They have lost their land to large oil wells created by the government. They will continue to fight for their rights. They deserve to have their territory preserved.

National Sorry Day

In Australia there is a special day called National Sorry Day. It is a holiday celebrated nationwide. It has taken place on May 26 every year since 1998. So why do they have a National Sorry Day? It is because many years ago the Australian government forced the indigenous children in Australia to leave their homes and be separated from their families. People have different opinions to why these children were taken from their homes. It is possible that they wanted to preserve the black people by taking the children away and protecting them. Some may also say that the Aboriginals wanted to keep the white people pure. But nobody knows for sure. The stolen generations took place for about 100 years. So to apologize and help heal those who were affected by this, National Sorry Day was created.

On National Sorry Day there are many activities and events that take place. People are brought together through concerts, barbecues, speeches by leaders, and flag ceremonies. The flags raised would be those of the Torres Strait Islanders and the Aboriginals. These are only some of the things they do. There are special activities for children as well. It is all very important to the people.

My Opinion about Team Names

Offensive Team Names

Offensive Team Names:

1) After reading this article I have decided that it is a secondary source. The author referred to books written by other people and things they have heard from other people.

2)Facts:

*The NCAA has called an end to using American Indian names for team names

* American Indians aren't the only group that are offended by these names

* There are at least two teams that use the name "Vikings"

* Norwegians may be mocked by opposing teams, mascots are based on Hollywood interpretations of the culture

Opinions:

* "I have never found it offensive that teams use my ancestors names, I feel it to be more of a compliment"

* "If people really hated the Vikings they wouldn't be naming their teams after them"

* "We should replace the American Indian names with white people names"

3)The author of this article is of Norwegian decent. He gave some of his own opinions but it seemed that he was more interested in reporting other people's ideas. I think he would be a decent source to get information from because he used written references.

Team Names Offensive to Native Americans:

1)The author of this article reported a lot of information and opinions about this issue. I think that it is secondary because none of it appears to have been personal experience from him.

2)Facts:

*some people don't mind the use of their names, but to some it is offensive

*"my high school team name was the rebels"

*there are lots of teams named after valiant warriors who lost their battles

Opinions:

*"I wouldn't be offended if I was referred to as brave"

*"This name needs a change"

*"I suggest these changes to make the teams less offensive"

3)I don't think I would classify this author as a credible source. He gave facts about how Native Americans can be offended, but most of his article was just about alternate names and ideas he had.

Indian Psychologists Support Retiring of Offensive Team Mascots:

1)I have found the information in this article to be completely secondary. The author never wrote about personal experiences, but relied on other peoples words to express the issue.

2)Facts:

*The SIP wants sports teams to change their offensive names

*Mascots lead to misinterpretations of Native American cultures

*Dartmouth College and Stanford University are examples of institutions that have dropped their Native American names and mascots

Opinions:

none

3)There is pretty good credibility for this article. The author used a lot of quotes from people and provided a lot of facts.

My Opinion on Laura Dekker

I think that Laura should still be allowed to sail around the world, but not now. I think she needs to be older and have a little more experience. Traveling the seas is very dangerous and even though she wants to break the world record and be the youngest to sail solo it might not be worth it. I think she should experience life to the fullest and go when she is older so that if something happens to her she will have had a bit of a life before it.

Nobel Prizes

Alfred Nobel was the founder of the nobel prize. It has been presented annually since 1901. But what is a nobel prize? It is an award given to people around the world who have achieved great things in physics, literature, chemistry, medicine, and peace. The award consists of a medal, a personal diploma, and an award in cash.

Many people in the past have had the honor of receiving the nobel prize. These are the winners of 2009. Elizabeth H. Blackburn, Carol W. Greider, and Jack W. Szostak achieved the award in medicine for discovering how chromosomes protect their ends. In physics Charles K. Kao, Willard S. Boyle, and George E. Smith became the "fathers of fibre optics and digital imaging". In chemistry Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, Thomas A. Steitz, and Ada E. Yonath were awarded for uncovering the ribosome structure. Herta Muller was awarded for her literature. And the peace and economics awards are yet to be announced.

We Day and Free the Children

Free the children is a program that inspires young people everywhere to make a difference in the world. They provide all kinds of services to those in need. An example would be health and school kits sent to children that need them. There are special days for Free the Children called "We Day". This is a day that they hear from inspirational speakers and celebrate their "me to we" philosophy.

Moko versus Tattoos

1) I think Maniapoto wanted to make her message clear because most people just see the designs on their faces as tattoos. But to the Maori people they have deeper meanings. They tell stories of their ancestors, their ranks, and their accomplishments. These designs let everyone know who they are. The facts she gave about the moko strengthened her message because it tells exactly why mokos are not tattoos. I think that she was not just directing this message toward those who have tattoos and think that the Maori designs are the same, but to everyone so that we all can know how special the mokos are to her culture.

2) Maniapoto uses mainly facts in her argument. This makes her message much more effective because it firmly tells the truths of mokos. It is'nt just her opinion, it is what her culture believes.

3) I think Moana has some negative attitudes toward globalization. I am sure that she feels that the rest of the world is trying to force their ideas on her and she wants everyone to know that her culture is important too. Her song strongly represents how she feels about it.