Tamastslikt Cultural Institute Blog

Today the last complement of 60 sixth graders from the Sunridge Middle School visited Tamástslikt and the Painted Metaphors Maya exhibit.  Teacher Paul Nolan led the classes in an exercise, analyzing the rollout painting of the Ratinlixul vase.  Mr. Nolan … Continue reading →

Today the last complement of 60 sixth graders from the Sunridge Middle School visited Tamástslikt and the Painted Metaphors Maya exhibit.  Teacher Paul Nolan led the classes in an exercise, analyzing the rollout painting of the Ratinlixul vase.  Mr. Nolan is very talented young teacher who apparentl

Allergies are causing me to think about the environment.  I’m wondering, did the old ancestors have allergies ?  I know they weren’t killing trees to wipe their noses.  Was it only with the proliferation of all kinds of vegetation that … Continue reading →

The Maya people portrayed in the current exhibit, Painted Metaphors, followed some interesting beliefs in their folklore.  In ancient times, for example, they solemnized their marriages by having the wedded pair ceremonially drink chocolate.  They have stories about Sisemite, a … Continue reading →

Have you ever seen a movie about American Indians that really rang true and authentic?  Tamastslikt has a year-by-year lease on “the Great Sioux Uprising” when our local Indians portrayed Sioux on the warpath at Deadman’s Pass in the 1950s.  … Continue reading →

There is much animal imagery in our current exhibit, Painted Metaphors:  Pottery and Politics of the Ancient Maya—jaguars, catfish, frogs, bats, hummingbirds, and a dog.  Like other indigenous people, the Maya ascribed desirable characteristics to certain animals.  The jaguar was … Continue reading

“We once enjoyed the freedom to inhabit all lands….The theory behind this act was that individual ownership of property would teach us how to live like the white man, but what it really did was divide our 1855 reservation for … Continue reading →

This story was published in an undated ‘The Indian Sentinel’ by the Society for Preservation of the Faith among Indian Children, Bureau of Catholic Missions.  Sounds like Tatathlíiya, the basket woman, who captured children to feed her own brood.  ‘Long … Continue reading →

At Tamástslikt’s first community academy last Saturday, February 11, John Bevis told why Indian people see a frog in the moon rather than the man-in-the-moon.  He told how a certain frog fell in love with Coyote’s seventh wife.  The frog … Continue reading →

It was around January 7, 2012, when Cass commented :    “I visited the museum years ago and sadly can’t find any of my journals or work from that period. I often think back to my time spent there. I am … Continue reading →