A Voice from the Eastern Door
A Voice from the Eastern Door
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By Paul Hetzler Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland was chock-a-block full of whimsical characters such as a hookah-smoking caterpillar and a bloodthirsty Queen of Hearts playing-card. Although animals and some objects in the story are able to speak, somehow the idea of a talking mushroom was too far-out even for Carroll’s rich imagination. The book depicts a colorful hallucinogenic Amanita muscaria mushroom on which Alice dines (without so much as a parental warning) to become large or small. But while the Cheshire cat is chatty, the mus...
By Doug George-Kanentiio. John Fadden Kahionhes was a legend in the most profound sense of the word. Over the past seven decades he, more than any other person, gave a visual sense to the resurgence of Mohawk culture. His thousands of etchings, illustrations and paintings marked our emergence from decades of oppression and humiliation to a greater understanding of our identity as complex, creative and highly intellectual human beings whose scientific, technological, political and ecological wisdom has affected the world. Working with his...
by Melinda Myers Pansies have long been a fall and winter garden favorite. These cheery flowers are sure to brighten landscapes and containers and add a smile to any occasion. Look for fun and new ways to add them to your garden and fall celebrations. You will find these cool weather favorites at your local garden center. Pansies thrive in the cooler temperatures of fall and during mild winters when your summer annuals fade or succumb to frost. They make great fillers in garden beds and...
By Paul Hetzler From palm-reading to watching Fox News, humans throughout the ages have sought knowledge through some decidedly irrational means. But every now and then, superstition pays off. For example, studying the pattern of coffee grounds in the bottom of one’s cup, a practice known as tasseomancy, will nearly always reveal that someone forgot to put a filter in the coffeemaker basket. And haruspicy, the study of the fresh entrails of a gutted animal, is consistently right in concluding the animal is dead. The reading of tea leaves, a c...
by Melinda Myers Preserve a few memories of this summer’s garden or create gifts to share with family and friends. Pounding flowers onto fabric or paper is a fun and easy way to preserve the beauty of garden flowers. Use watercolor or other rough surface paper when pounding on paper. Purchase ready to dye (RTD) or prepared for dying (PFD) fabric or prepare the fabric yourself. You’ll find supplies and directions at most craft stores. Prepare a space for pounding flowers onto paper or fab...
By Paul Hetzler As a kid, many a June twilight was spent trailing the beacons of fireflies in the deepening dusk to try and catch them in my hands. I was endlessly enthralled. Endlessly until Mom called to clean up for bed, at least. It pleases me that my own two children went through this phase, presenting me with Mason jars of flashing green magic before they released “their” fireflies outdoors. For the longest time, I remained enchanted by those shimmering, summer-night faerie lights. These days I’m charmed only by the memory of such. They’r...
by Melinda Myers Keep enjoying your homegrown herbs all year round. Harvest throughout the growing season and include them in garden-fresh meals. Then preserve a few for the winter ahead. Snip a few leaves or leaf-covered stems as needed. For the same intensity of flavor, you generally need two to three times more fresh herbs than dried except for Rosemary which has an equally strong flavor fresh or dried. So, if the recipe calls for one teaspoon of dried parsley use one Tablespoon (3...
By Doug George-Kanentiio Our group, the Akwesasronon Shonataten:ron, were not involved in the planning of the visit by Pope Francis. I was concerned that our concerns would be ignored or filtered through others, so I raised this issue to the organizers at the Assembly of First Nations. We did not want a repeat of the April 1 session with the Pope in Rome, Italy since we wanted direct access to the Papacy but were excluded by design. When it was announced the Pope would come to Canada to specifically address the residential school issue we...
By Paul Hetzler If you believe we’re the master of our actions, think again. Better yet, have a fungus, bacterium, or protozoan tell you what to think. Jedi mind tricks are nothing compared to what microbes can do to animals, human and otherwise. You’ve likely heard that mice and rats infected with Toxoplasma gondii, a protozoan parasite that causes toxoplasmosis, lose their fear of cats because the pathogen initiates “epigenic remodeling.” In other words, T. gondii changes the expression of rat DNA to its advantage. As a result of this “r...
By Paul Hetzler Apparently, if you suck face for too long, you can become part of that visage, fused forever. And by “you” I mean all the Demodex folliculorum skin mites that read this essay. It was news to me that our faces are like high-rise condos for microscopic skin mites which live in our hair follicles and suck out the yummy, gummy skin flakes that accumulate within. I guess they’re like remoras for people. As if that was not unsettling enough, these tiny critters haul themselves out of our greasy pores at night to crawl across our s...
by Melinda Myers Poor flowering and misshapen or a lack of fruit on tomatoes, peppers and squash may be due to the weather, not your gardening skills. Temperature extremes can interfere with flowering and fruit set on these and other vegetables in your garden. We watch for and can't wait to taste that first red ripe tomato. It is certainly frustrating when we see flowers drop or the plant fails to form fruit. Tomatoes thrive in warm sunny conditions; but temperature extremes can prevent fruiting...
by Melinda Myers Cilantro is a favorite ingredient in guacamole, tacos, rice dishes and of course salsa. But as summer temperatures climb, the cilantro quickly goes to seed. This can be frustrating but using all parts of the plant or growing a heat tolerant cilantro-flavored substitute can help. Gardeners in cooler climates can sow seeds every three to four weeks throughout the summer for continual harvests. Those with hotter summers will have the best results growing cilantro in the cooler...
By Doug George-Kanentiio. The US is now being consumed by a powerful anti-life movement, one which cloaks itself as “pro-life” even as it qualifies the natural rights of women and the environment. The extremists have control of the US Supreme Court which defies logic and the will of the great majority of the American people when it eliminated the ability of women to control their bodies by undermining the option of abortion, then followed that decision by gutting the power of the federal government to regulate pollutants, then concluded by res...
by Melinda Myers Fill your gardens with color from spring through summer and even into fall with a variety of pollinator-friendly phlox. The beauty, diversity, and usefulness in the garden of this group of plants had the National Garden Bureau declare 2022 Year of the Phlox. Start out the growing season with creeping phlox (Phlox subulata). This low growing phlox is perfect for rock gardens, as a groundcover or planted at the front of a perennial garden. Grow it in full sun with well-drained...
By Doug George-Kanentiio. One of the intents of the Canadian and US governments in creating the boarding-residential schools was to alienate indigenous people from their ancestral lands. Taking of children central to all relations with the settlers has been land and its resources. No other compulsion has been as powerful as the possibility of possessing land which in Europe was beyond the reach of most people, the “peasants” and “serfs” bound to a lifetime of servitude to their “lords” who wielded the power of the state and church in actively...
by Melinda Myers Keep your garden looking its best with a bit of deadheading. Removing faded flowers can promote repeat bloom on some plants, encourage fuller, more compact growth, and tidy up the garden. Use a bypass pruner or deadheading snips to remove faded flowers. These tools have two sharp blades like scissors. This results in a clean cut that closes quickly, leaving your plant looking its best. The type of flower will influence how and where to make the cut. In general, remove the stem...
By Paul Hetzler Although the Grimm Brothers’ tale of Hansel and Gretel surviving alone in the woods after being abandoned by their parents is based on a grim reality – the famine of 1315 -1317 – there are compelling reasons to take kids into a forest today. As long as they are kept out of the clutches of evil witches and are brought to their respective homes right afterward. Research on the health benefits of being in a forest environment is so compelling that urban daycares in Finland “built” forests for kids to use. As part of a study on...
By Paul Hetzler First your car catches fire, and then your house. Worse yet, your date kills you and devours your flesh without so much as an apology. Yeah, spiders are creepy (I’ll explain). Arachnophobia, the fear of spiders, reportedly affects from three to six percent of us worldwide. In fact, it’s the most common phobia among humans (I assume the fear of humans is the most prevalent phobia among other animals, spiders included). Experts aren’t sure why we’re so scared of web-spinning arachnids, although evolutionary selection and family...
Alison Kiawenniserathe Benedict, Peaceful-Living.ca A good mind forms the foundation of our culture and way of life. The history of the Peacemaker is about the restoration of the good mind and how a good mind influences all aspects of life including self, family, clan and community. The teachings help us to identify what distorts our thinking, such as trauma and grief, and shows us that we can return to having a good mind. It’s embedded in every aspect of our culture including ceremonies. Attending to our mental health is normal and ongoing i...
by Melinda Myers Every garden season is filled with beautiful and tasty surprises along with a few challenges. One challenge gardener's face each year is managing insect pests while keeping the pollinators safe. Fortunately, only a very small percent of insects in our landscapes are harmful. The rest help pollinate plants, feed upon or parasitize bad insects, or help decompose plant debris. Proper identification of the plant-damaging culprit is the first step in managing problems. Often the...
By Melinda Myers Don't toss those imperfect lettuce leaves, onion tops and strawberry tops into the trash. Instead, convert them into compost right in the garden. Worm and pile composting are great ways to manage these scraps. But if these methods aren't for you, try trench composting. This century old technique is low effort and effective. The process is basically invisible, eliminates the need to turn a pile of plant debris, requires minimal space and doesn't smell. Simply dig a 12-inch-deep...
By Doug George-Kanentiio Six years ago, I wrote a column in response to the plans by an oil pipeline company to build across the sacred territory of the Lakota people at Standing Rock. I cited a Mohawk teaching regarding the extraction from beneath the earth of the remains of long deceased animals and plant-the oil from which all nations have now come to rely upon. Our ancestors warned that releasing the remains would cause havoc on this earth. It would be unleashing the black serpents and the destructive power they wield. We are told that the...
by Melinda Myers Create long lasting beauty and pollinator appeal in your landscape with the help of perennials. With a little bit of planning, you can have flowers, foliage and seed heads that add interest to your garden year-round. Select perennials including native plants that thrive in the sunlight, soil, and moisture conditions in your garden. Incorporate several inches of compost or other organic matter into the top eight to 12 inches of soil to improve the soil so your perennials will be...
By Paul Hetzler The vast majority of people have no dental coverage, or at best have a less-than-stellar plan which only pays if you use their provider in the Outer Hebrides who works on alternate Tuesdays in April, although you're still on the hook for a $5,000 deductible. Given a few recent discoveries, however, it looks like insurers could give us perfect teeth and yet save piles of money in the long run by taking cues from nature. With a single up-front procedure, we could get...
By Leslie Logan, Seneca. Two weekends ago in Buffalo’s Black-populated Masten district, a heavily armed, 18-year-old White male, dressed in fatigues, tactical gear, and Kevlar, shot 50 rounds of gunfire, killing 10 and injuring three; 11 of the victims were Black. The young man had driven more than three hours from Conklin, New York, and specifically targeted the supermarket that serves the inner-city Black community. Buffalo is a little more than 40 minutes north of my home on the Cattaraugus territory, one of the two residential land bases o...