Ak-baa-tat-dia (n) God, "He Who made everything." In Crow language. Or, Ii-chihk-baa-hi-le (n) Crow name for God, "First Maker."

Warmest greetings to everyone! Thank you to those of you who have been asking about Crow language. Of the two names above for God, Akbaatatdia is the most common, with the accent being on the last part,'dia. Crow was my first language. After starting first grade off of the reservation I switched to primarily English. Today I can understand almost every word of Crow but have a very difficult time speaking and formulating the words. My goal is to become fluent again. I would love to hear about your language experience.

Thank you, also, to those who have requested articles about myths and legends. I am working on a collection from the Pacific Northwest and am very excited to share them with you soon! Please send me any other article topics you may enjoy!

I would love to know more about my readers! Who are you? I welcome your company in the forum where we can share and learn from one another. I look forward to meeting you there!



In the meantime, here's the latest article from the Native American site at BellaOnline.com.

Remain Close to the Great Spirit
The profound spiritual heritage of the Indigenous cultures of North America can provide insight, guidance, and comfort in a world full of stress and negativity.

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art21490.asp

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

To participate in free, fun online discussions, this site has a community forum all about Native American Culture 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 honor your feedback!

Please pass this message along to family and friends, because we can grow and expand our knowledge together!

May the Light of the First Maker clear your path ahead of you to make the crooked places straight.

Love, Jackie

Jacqueline Olivia Pina, Native American Editor
http://nativeamerican.bellaonline.com

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