September 20, 2011

Webcomic on Cherokee language

In an online comic, Sequoyah (via writer/artist Roy Boney Jr.) explains "How the Cherokee Syllabary Went from Parchment to iPad":

Exclusive:  Artist Roy Boney’s Special Graphic Feature on the Cherokee Language



Comment:  For more on the subject, see Comic Books Featuring Indians.

September 15, 2011

Yup'ik language rock

Bethel's Frozen Whitefish to release full-length rock album next year

By Kyle HopkinsFrozen Whitefish is a Bethel based Alaskan Native Yupik Rock band formed in 2010 and all lyrics are written in the Yupik Eskimo language. Frontman Mike McIntyre was raised in the small village of Eek and spoke Yupik as his first language before moving to Bethel as a young child.

Frozen Whitefish was first a project started by Mike after he returned from a trip to Greenland where he played drums for the Kuskokwim Fiddle Band in the Inuit Circumpolar Conference in 2010. He was inspired by the influence of their Native language in their own music and wanted to do the same here in Alaska. Soon after he started recording his music in his home studio, he got a request from a Native radio station in Washington to send his songs over to a TV producer with the Discovery Channel, which was gathering Native music for the "Flying Wild Alaska" TV show.

September 14, 2011

Ojibwe book is Minnesota's Best Read

AWESIINYENSAG, Wiigwaas Press, and the Minnesota's Best Read for 2011This is terrific news! Awesiinyensag, a book published by Heid and Louise Erdrich's Wiigwaas Press, was selected as Minnesota's Best Read for 2011. That means the book will represent the state of Minnesota at the National Book Festival in Washington D.C.

As you might glean from reading the title, the text is not in English. Here's the blurb:Awesiinyensag presents original stories, written in Anishinaabemowin, that delight readers and language learners with the antics of animals who playfully deal with situations familiar to children in all cultures. Suitable for all ages, this book can be read aloud, assigned to classes, shared at language tables, gifted to elders, and enjoyed by those curious about the language and all who love Anishinaabemowin.

Authored by a team of twelve and richly illustrated by Ojibwe artist Wesley Ballinger, Awesiinyensag will be the first in a series created to encourage learning Anishinaabemowin, the language of Ojibwe people.
(Excerpted from Debbie Reese's American Indians in Children's Literature, 9/7/11.)