Quantification and Comparison of Calcium in Juniper Ash and Soil Used in Traditional Navajo Foods

In order to achieve healthy bone formation and structure, the human body needs an adequate source of calcium in their diet. A calcium deficiency can cause multiple bone-related disorders such as osteoporosis and rickets in children. Although most Native Americans, due to being lactose intolerant, are unable to consume dairy products, previous research has demonstrated that elderly Native American women had fewer hip fractures than elderly Caucasian women. This suggested that they are receiving an adequate non-dairy based source of calcium in their diet on a daily basis.A potential source of calcium is traditional Navajo foods, specifically blue corn-based dishes that contain juniper ash which comes from branches from a juniper tree that are burned until only an ash is left. Previous work done by Christensen quantified calcium in juniper ash collected on the Navajo reservation and suggested juniper ash as an adequate source of calcium comparable to milk. The focus of the present research was to expand on this previous research by (1) quantifying calcium in different segments of the juniper tree, (2) comparing two different ashing techniques (laboratory and traditional Navajo ashing process), and (3) establishing a relationship between calcium concentration of the juniper tree and the soil beneath the tree.During sample collection, 20 sampling sites were selected for analysis, along with five juniper samples collected from a flea market as well as a blue corn meal sample; a total of 27 samples were collected. Quantification of calcium was done via flame atomic absorption spectroscopy utilizing external calcium calibration standards. Results suggest the following: (1) there is a greater average concentration of calcium in the juniper branch (309 mg/g) compared to the juniper leaves (279 mg/g). (2) The type of ashing process will determine the amount of calcium in juniper samples. Samples ashed via muffle furnace had a greater average concentration of calcium (289 mg/g) compared to traditional Navajo process (242 mg/g). (3) Compared to the calcium concentration in a juniper tree, the soil collected beneath had an extremely low amount of calcium (11.8 mg/g)

Spiritual Care within Oncology Care: Development of a Spiritual Care Program at an Indian Health Service Hospital

Spiritual care is essential in providing quality health care for patients and their families and is supported in the mission of the Indian Health Service (IHS). Their mission is to raise the physical, mental, social and spiritual health of American Indians and Alaska Natives to the highest level. This paper will describe the spiritual care programs at the Phoenix Indian Medical Center, an IHS hospital located in Phoenix, Arizona. Two hospital committees, the Volunteer Chaplains’ Association and the Traditional Cultural Advocacy Committee, provide spiritual care for the medical center and work to sustain a presence of spiritual and cultural awareness and well being. In this paper, particular attention is focused on the ways in which these committees have worked collaboratively with community agencies, tribes in Arizona, and academic institutions, through National Cancer Institute funded grants to raise awareness of how spiritual and cultural understandings of American Indians play an essential role in cancer care

The Modern Sheep Keeper; A Comparative Analysis Utilizing Spatial Storytelling Techniques

If you take care of the sheep and the land, then the sheep and land will always take care of you. This was what my grandfather told me as I left for college. It was a saying from his mother, my great-grandmother Dorothy. These days, I have been able to visit the sheep camps of my friends. I have become fascinated with the day-to-day workings and that is why I have become interested in the modern-day sheepherder. In this spatial storytelling project, I interviewed two Native sheepherders. These men raise and look after sheep camps in two similar, but very distinct communities: Zuni Pueblo and the To\u27hajiilee Navajo community. The sheepherder from my community of To\u27hajiilee has been vital in the protection of the Navajo Churro sheep, bringing the species back from the brink of extinction. The sheepherder from Zuni takes care of sheep because it\u27s been his family\u27s tradition since before he was born. The comparative analysis of the two sheepherders focuses on various components of sheep camp including the sheep species, the traditional grazing routes, proximity to available water, sheep camp maintenance and overall sustainability. Mind mapping and asset mapping techniques were used for the visual mapping component of the project. I conclude this analysis with questions about sustaining the future of sheep camps and uses for the sheep in each community. Then I look into the roles outside of sheep camp that the sheepherders take on to help them sustain. Some final thoughts: my great-grandma Dorothy was not allowed to attend school, she was the one that stayed behind to watch over the sheep and livestock in To\u27hajiilee. Although she did not obtain a formal western education, she gained years of traditional Navajo knowledge of how to raise and take care of her sheep camp. In the end, her words resonate with me and also rings true across the To\u27hajiilee Navajo reservation and transcend boundaries. My great-grandma Dorothy\u27s sheep camp is now long abandoned and all I have are stories from the past

Historic and Demographic Changes that Impact the Future of the Diné and Developing Community-Based Policy

The history and legacy of Native American relationship with the U.S. government has been marred with policies on termination, assimilation, annihilation, and displacement of Indian communities. The Dawes Act, also known as the General Allotment Act of 1887, was the starting point of enrolling tribal members for land allotments (Spruhan, 2006-2007, p. 2). The act required a population survey of individual persons residing on allotted lands. This, in turn, required Indian agents to conduct census rolls (see glossary). The purpose of the Dawes Act was to turn Indian people into Jeffersonian farmers by breaking up communal landholdings and allotting parcels to individual owners\u27 (Deloria & Lytle, 1983, p. 104). The ongoing changes and the push to create a formal tribal government led to some of the tribal policies that are still in effect today. Most of the Indian1 policies missed a crucial step throughout Native America and that missing link is the connection to Indigenous worldview. In 1953 the Navajo Nation adopted the one-quarter blood quantum standard for tribal enrollment. The official application process was finalized in 1955. Since then, the tribal viii enrollment policy has been in place for 57 years and is in need of reevaluation by reflecting contemporary population changes and evaluating the policy from the Navajo worldview. The customary process of acknowledging the individual as Diné is in total opposition of the concept of \u27ako tao Diné nishli\u27 (I am Navajo) and obtaining the Certificate of Indian Blood for tribal enrollment. The Diné are in the midst of contemporary population changes, which is evident through evaluating quantifiable population data. As of December 2010, the Diné have 293,864 enrolled members (Navajo Office of Vital Records 2010). The data paints the picture of an increasing population but with changing population dynamics. In light of those changes, how does that reflect on the existing policy? I write this thesis from the standpoint of understanding where we have been, where we are now, and where we are going. This study focuses on the human dimensions aspect of community planning for Native communities by evaluating the Navajo population dynamics from the standpoint of the current tribal enrollment policy. The current policy for the Navajo Nation is based on satisfying the one-quarter blood quantum requirement, but what about cultural considerations for Navajo identity? At the core of Diné2 identity is K\u27é, a network of clans that interweaves the individual to community and to relations with all things in terms of time and space. K\u27é is the essence of an individual and establishes one\u27s identity at birth

Designing Children’s Interactive Pop-up Books: Creating enhanced experiences through the incorporation of animation principles and interactive design.

This thesis, Designing Children’s Interactive Pop-up Books: Creating enhanced experiences through the incorporation of animation principles and interactive design, created by Michael Begay, explores how interactive design and computer graphics can be used to create enhanced user experiences in children’s book design. Key factors taken into consideration during the creation of this thesis include children’s book design, typography, storytelling, animation principles, and interactive design principles. In order to explore the effect computer graphic design has on creating an enhanced user experience in pop-up book design, this project starts with research on writing a compelling, age appropriate story for children between the ages of three and six. After the story is complete, the next step of this project is the creation of a traditional printed pop-up book. This printed pop-up book is then used to inform design decisions around the creation of the interactive pop-up book, such as the types of interactions to use (e.g., pull tabs, drag and drops, and simple clicks) as well as how the pages animate. The interactive pop-up book uses full-screen display and sound to help further create an immersive environment and enhanced reading experience. After finishing the creation of the traditional printed pop-up book and the interactive pop-up book, both books are tested with a group of participants (consisting of parents, caretakers, older siblings, and teachers) who interact with children between the ages of three and six. The tests contain questions related to the story’s comprehensiveness, the overall aesthetic of the illustration style, ease of use, and format preference—printed versus digital. While the findings from these tests suggest that there is a still a wonderment for watching folder paper come to life in three-dimensional forms, the interactive pop-up book has more potential in creating an enhanced reading experience