In San Pablito, a small village in Puebla, in southeast Mexico, the centuries-old tradition of amate paper — paper made from bark — is an important part of the local economy. It also used to part of the resistance to Spanish colonial rule.
Mas…In San Pablito, Puebla, they still make paper the old-fashioned way – from bark (video)
PREVIOUSLY IN ANCIENT TENOCHTITLAN:
Mas…La Cucaracha: In Tenochtitlan, Chepe y Pepe meet the neighbors
Yes, you can do Thanksgiving makeup without ripping off the 566 Federally-recognized American Indian tribes. Sailor J and the Center for American Indian Research & Native Studies explain in this NSFW (F-bomb) video.
A mountain of mashed potatoes, strange lights in the sky, and a mysterious five-note musical phrase mean life on Earth will never be the same after Close Encounters of the Latino Kind. [Video by Marlon Klug.]
Even if you didn’t know that the proper name for this waltz is Sobre las Olas — Over the Waves en Ingles — we bet you recognize the melody. Right? It’s the song they play on merry-go-rounds! And it’s not by Johann Strauss, the waltz king. It’s by Mexican classical composer Juventino Rosas, and performed here by the London Symphony Orchestra.
Mas…Mexico’s waltz gift to the world: ‘Over the Waves’ (videos)
Before the 16th Century, chocolatl only existed as a bitter, foamy drink in Mesoamerica. How did we get from there to today’s chocolate candy bars? Deanna Pucciarelli traces the fascinating and often cruel history of chocolate.
Tonia Jo Hall has some words of encouragement in She’s that kind of woman. “Shout out to all the beautiful strong native women,” she writes:
Mas…Tonia Jo Hall shout out to Natives: ‘She’s that kind of woman’ (video)
Are you brave enough? Strong enough? Willing to fight to protect the profits of the rich and powerful? Consider signing up with newest branch of the service: THE CORPORINES! Active combat deployments available now in Standing Rock, North Dakota.
Striking footage shot at San Diego’s Chicano Park sets the stage in the dramatic new music video Mexica, so that alt-goth-punk-Chicano-rap duo PRAYERS can decolonize your mind with music. [NSFW F-bombs, etc.]
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[/one_half_last]The Lord of Sipan may have died 2000 years ago, but 3D reconstructions revealed last week have shown he looked just like his descendants — the indigenous peoples of the Andes today.
The skull of one of the most famous archaeological finds of the twentieth century has been reconstructed using 3D imaging.
Mas…The face of Peru’s Lord of Sipán, 2000-year-old warrior-priest (video)
Decolonizing your diet is more than a trendy Chicanx meme, it’s a book, and a chingon idea.
If you want to just say “No!” to the comida of the Conquistadors and eat what Tlaloc intended — the authentic food of your ancestors — here are the Pocho Ocho Top Ways to Decolonize Your Diet:
8. Take the milk out of chocolate and put the chile back in
7. Honor the Aztecs and eat more of Moctezuma’s gold
6. Chihuahua on a stick
It’s that time of the year — Hatch Chile Season.
[You can see lots more from JAKE PRENDEZ — and buy prints — at his website.]
When the White Man’s medicine isn’t working,it’s time to see the Slapping Medicine Man. Video by The 1491s.
PREVIOUSLY ON THE 1491s
Mas…Ask your doctor if Slapping NDN Medicine Man is right for you (video)
Samuel W. Bennett’s GET DATA website features charts/graphs and infographics about current events, sports, news, culture, and history. We thought this log-scale graph of the native (in red, of course) and white population in the U.S. was fascinating, sad, and maybe, just maybe, encouraging.
His description:
After disease and war decimated the Native American population from an estimated pre-Columbian 5 million to a low of a few hundred thousand in the late 1800s, the American Native American population has recently approached the pre-Columbian population. The…figure shows that the population of American Native Americans from 1492 to present.
His chart that ranks Tolerance, Racism and Xenophobia in the United States shows we’re lots more tolerant than some other countries, but still have big-ass problems with gays, immigrants and “foreign languages,” not that this is news to us.
Mas…Native American population almost back to pre-Columbian levels
What happens when indigenous Star Fleet Captain James T. Kirk violates the Prime Directive? Will he create an alternative universe? (Caution: one “adult” word.) Let’s tune in….
PREVIOUSLY ON STAR TREK:
Mas…Star Trek Native America: The Prime Directive (mostly SFW video)
The Meso-American aguacate (renamed avocado by Spanish invaders) is a prehistoric fruit that shouldn’t even be around today, all because it’s a tough nut to swallow. The Science Show breaks it down.
PREVIOUSLY ON AVOCADOS:
Mas…The unlikely history of the aguacate aka avocado (video)
John Trudell, the activist, artist, actor, and poet who dedicated his life to Native American rights, land and language, walked on December 8. He was 69.
Mas…John Trudell, Native activist and poet, walks on (toon, video)
La Quirky, pocha shopping expert, discovers you can buy huaraches online. Who knew?
PREVIOUSY ON LA QUIRKY:
Mas…Who knew? La Quirky learns you can buy huaraches online (video)
The meaning of the intricate and striking hieroglyphs of the ancient Mayans have resisted decoding for centuries, but now some scientists claim the secrets will soon be revealed.
For hundreds of years, linguists have been trying to decode the ancient hieroglyphic script of the Mayans, left behind on monument carvings, painted pottery, and drawn in handmade bark-paper books.
Mas…Scientists: We’ve decoded more than 80% of Mayan hieroglyphs
