Greetings to all from Northern Nevada.

Well, it has come up fast and now election day is over. This is a historical time in our country and will go down in history as a "First" in many ways. I pray that Barack Obama, our new President, will give our country what we need. This has been a hard-fought campaign on both sides and Barack Obama and John McCain gave it all they had. They both have to be admired and respected for their courage and spirit. May Great Spirit bless our Nation and bring us together in Harmony.
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November is Alaska Native and Native American Heritage Month. Celebrate your heritage! Do something memorable with your families, clans, and tribes. One great idea is to create a family or tribal heritage quilt with historical memories, names, dates, pictures, symbols. Give each person a square of cotton muslin and have them decorate it. Sew trim around each square, sew all the squares together, add trim around the entire quilt. For a wall hanging, sew a tube of cloth to the top of the quilt and insert a long wooden dowel to hang the quilt by. Get everyone involved and create an heirloom to cherish.

For family dinners and get togethers, get your children involved in the planning by making special name tubes to sit around the tables. With an empty roll of toilet paper, scissors, glue, crayons, printable picture templates from the internet or their own drawings, they can create darling place name tubes to sit on the table. Cover the tube with paper that the kids decorate themselves and glue this on. Draw heads, hands and feet to glue on the tube and stand them upright. Write a name on each tube and set it on the plate. The kids will love being involved.
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Family is dear to us, especially at times of celebrations and seasonal ceremonies. But, do not forget friends this winter and keep in touch.

Friendship is held to be the severest test of character. It is easy, we think, to be loyal to family and clan, whose blood is our own veins. Love between man and woman is founded on the mating instinct and is not free from desire and self-seeking. But to have a friend, and to be true under any and all trials, is the mark of a man!

Charles Alexander Eastman (Ohiyesa)
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And from the CherokeeLink Newsletter:

It's never too early to start planning for the Cherokee Nation Angel Tree. It is always great to help those less fortunate in the spirit of ga du gi, and Christmas is always a time providing ample opportunities to intentionally seek out to fulfill that spirit. Please consider donating your money and/or time. For more information on how you can help out, please call (918) 453-5000 ext. 7720 or (918) 458-6900. http://www.cherokee.org/NewsRoom/PublicNotices/4878/Default.aspx If you know of anyone needing to apply for the Angel Tree, deadlines for applications are limited, so please click below for more information: http://www.cherokee.org/NewsRoom/PublicNotices/4859/Default.aspx
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Till next time, my friends, may your heart and moccasins always follow a happy path. Blessings and may you walk in Harmony and Beauty.
Phyllis
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Here's the latest article from the Native American site at BellaOnline.com.

Tribute To Tony Hillerman
A beautiful and heartfelt tribute to author Tony Hillerman by Sandi Ault, author.

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art17550.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