Osiyo (greetings) to all from Northern Nevada in beautiful Washoe County. I hope you and yours are coping well with this winter. Some places in the country are pretty cold right now. We have been have clear, sunny days with fairly warm temps up until about 2:00 PM. Overnight, the temps are really cold and early mornings make our feet and noses freeze!

I have begun taking Cherokee language lessons and am really serious about learning well. I think the Native American languages need to be kept alive and I encourage all who can to take some language lessons. The Cherokee Nation offers free classes online at http://www..cherokee.org/ClassInfo.aspx

Yesterday we drove over to Fallon, Nevada to Grimes Point. The Northern Paiute tribe were the first inhabitants of this area. They lived on the cliffs above the ancient Lake Lahontan, which is all dry desert now. The caves they lived in and stored their foods and other possessions in are still there and can be seen on guided tours. There are over 1000 petroglyphs in the area that you can see on a marked trail. These petroglyphs are 5000 to 8000 years old and you can still see them clearly enough to get good pictures. It is a hauntingly beautiful area.

Further down the highway from Grimes Point, we stopped at Sand Mountain. Sand Mountain is probably the largest sand dune in north America. The shape of it resembles a snake. The Northern Paiute call it "Kwazi" for the "snake that resides in the dune". The crest of the dune looks like the backbone of the snake. Each day will find Kwazi in a different position due to the shifting sands that the wind sculpts. The sands sing, sometimes quite loudly, when the drifts are moving. We stood in the quiet of the desert and heard the song Kwazi was singing. It was quite amazing!
*******
You can read my article about "Eagle Of The Comanches" at http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art23358.asp
I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it.
*******

Around the Nation:

Witness list for Senate hearing on tribal economies Wednesday, January 14, 2009

You can get the full information at
http://www.indianz.com/News/2009/012688.asp

>>>>>>>

January 13, 2009
Prohibition on Use of Indian Community Development Block Grant

Read the full article at:

http://www.indianz.com/FederalRegister/
>>>>>>>

Confirmation hearing for Interior pick Salazar
Wednesday, January 14, 2009

For more information, see:
http://www.indianz.com/News/2009/012689.asp
*******

Native Americans and Alaska Natives have always honored, respected and held the Wolf sacred. This is a plea to save these majestic spirits of the wild:

Gray wolves are being slaughtered at alarming rate in Alaska, because they are interfering with human hunting of moose and elk. "Defenders of Wildlife" are doing all they can to stop this insanity and the inhuman actions. Please, to read more about this and to sign a petition to help put a stop to this, go to:

https://secure.defenders.org/site/Advoca...ubsrc=C3Welcome

Your support will be greatly appreciated.
*******

Get your Hornos (outdoor oven) fired up and bake some wonderful Pueblo breads. I will bring some stew to go with it!

Till next time, may your heart and moccasins always find a happy path. Walk in Peace and Beauty.
Phyllis
*******


Here's the latest article from the Native American site at BellaOnline.com.

Wild Sorrow Book Review
Wild Sorrow is the third book in the adventures of Jamaica Wild and her wolf, Mountain. Sandi Ault has given us even more thrilling adventures to read!

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art24057.asp

Please visit nativeamerican.bellaonline.com for even more great content about Native American.

To participate in free, fun online discussions, this site has a community forum all about Native American located here -

http://forums.bellaonline.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=postlist&Board=140

I hope to hear from you sometime soon, either in the forum or in response to this email message. I thrive on your feedback!

Have fun passing this message along to family and friends, because we all love free knowledge!

Phyllis Doyle Burns, Native American Editor
http://nativeamerican.bellaonline.com

One of hundreds of sites at BellaOnline.com