Borrowed Meanings: Case Studies of Katsina and Dreamcatcher Traditions

Every summer, thousands of climbers and nearly half a million other tourists flock to Devils Tower in Wyoming due to its spectacular views and challenging climbing conditions. And every summer, members of several different Native American tribes travel to the religious site known as Bear Lodge, their name for Devils Tower, to perform religious rituals such as the Sun Dance. The Cheyenne, Arapaho, Crow, Kiowa, and Lakota all recognize Devils Tower as a sacred religious site, grant it a prominent place in their mythology and oral histories, and in the past probably used it for individual religious observances (Brown 2003: 152). The result is a battle between the Native Americans who see and use the site for religious purposes and the non-Indians who see the site as simply nature at its best. While the main purpose of this essay is an analysis of the Hopi Katsina and the Ojibwa dreamcatcher, Devils Tower offers an interesting example that frames the key issues of this essay

Somatic VHL gene alterations in MEN2-associated medullary thyroid carcinoma

BACKGROUND: Germline mutations in RET are responsible for multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 (MEN2), an autosomal dominantly inherited cancer syndrome that is characterized by medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC), pheochromocytoma, and parathyroid hyperplasia/adenoma. Recent studies suggest a "second hit" mechanism resulting in amplification of mutant RET. Somatic VHL gene alterations are implicated in the pathogenesis of MEN2 pheochromocytomas. We hypothesized that somatic VHL gene alterations are also important in the pathogenesis of MEN2-associated MTC. METHODS: We analyzed 6 MTCs and 1 C-cell hyperplasia (CCH) specimen from 7 patients with MEN2A and RET germline mutations in codons 609, 618, 620, or 634, using microdissection, microsatellite analysis, phosphorimage densitometry, and VHL mutation analysis. RESULTS: First, we searched for allelic imbalance between mutant and wild-type RET by using the polymorphic markers D10S677, D10S1239, and RET on thyroid tissue from these patients. Evidence for RET amplification by this technique could be demonstrated in 3 of 6 MTCs. We then performed LOH analysis using D3S1038 and D3S1110 which map to the VHL gene locus at 3p25/26. VHL gene deletion was present in 3 MTCs. These 3 MTCs also had an allelic imbalance between mutant and wild-type RET. Mutation analysis of the VHL gene showed a somatic frameshift mutation in 1 MTC that also demonstrated LOH at 3p25/26. In the 2 other MTCs with allelic imbalance of RET and somatic VHL gene deletion, no somatic VHL mutation could be detected. The CCH specimen did neither reveal RET imbalance nor somatic VHL gene alterations. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that a RET germline mutation is necessary for development of CCH, that allelic imbalance between mutant and wild-type RET may set off tumorigenesis, and that somatic VHL gene alterations may not play a major role in tumorigenesis of MEN2A-associated MTC

The Paradoxes of Integration: A Case Study of the Black Student Movement at the University of Pennsylvania, 1965-1990

In 1954 in the Brown decision the Supreme Court ruled that in the field of public education the doctine of separate but equal has no place. The principle of desegregation was codified in the historic Civil Rights Act of 1964 which banned racial segregation and discrimination in public accommodations, public education, businesses, labor unions and agencies receiving federal funds. However in the thirty years since 1964 the meaning of integration has become the object of ideological and cultural contest. To simplify, integration has become the object of a tug of war between assimilationists and pluralists, between those who favor a non-racial or race-neutral public policy and those who favor a multi-racial, race-conscious public policy. This dissertation examines the paradoxes of integration in the context of a case study of the African-American student movement at the University of Pennsylvania, 1965-1990. It looks at the enduring impact of black nationalism since the Sixties, and the persistence of so-called separatism and the ideas of Malcolm X and Kwame Ture (Stokely Carmichael) into the Nineties. Specific chapters describe the impact of a significant increase in black admissions in 1969; the efforts of African-American students to establish a Black Studies program, black advising program and a residence and social center for African-American students; struggles over admissions policy; and efforts to combat incidents of racism. The latter include fraternity misconduct and the Dolfman incident, in which a lecturer referred to African-American students in his class as ex-slaves. The evolution of the University\u27s racial harassment policy (characterized by its critics as a speech code) and diversity education programs are also discussed. The issue of voluntary or self-segregation is examined in a chapter discussing the demand for a residence for black students, and the issue of reverse racism is discussed in a section describing the initial exclusion of a white student from the black student union in 1986. The dissertation concludes that important segments of the black community have rejected assimilationism. Instead, bi-culturalism and ethnic self-organization are an emergent norm within the African-American community

The Paradoxes of Integration: A Case Study of the Black Student Movement at the University of Pennsylvania, 1965-1990

In 1954 in the Brown decision the Supreme Court ruled that in the field of public education the doctine of separate but equal has no place. The principle of desegregation was codified in the historic Civil Rights Act of 1964 which banned racial segregation and discrimination in public accommodations, public education, businesses, labor unions and agencies receiving federal funds. However in the thirty years since 1964 the meaning of integration has become the object of ideological and cultural contest. To simplify, integration has become the object of a tug of war between assimilationists and pluralists, between those who favor a non-racial or race-neutral public policy and those who favor a multi-racial, race-conscious public policy. This dissertation examines the paradoxes of integration in the context of a case study of the African-American student movement at the University of Pennsylvania, 1965-1990. It looks at the enduring impact of black nationalism since the Sixties, and the persistence of so-called separatism and the ideas of Malcolm X and Kwame Ture (Stokely Carmichael) into the Nineties. Specific chapters describe the impact of a significant increase in black admissions in 1969; the efforts of African-American students to establish a Black Studies program, black advising program and a residence and social center for African-American students; struggles over admissions policy; and efforts to combat incidents of racism. The latter include fraternity misconduct and the Dolfman incident, in which a lecturer referred to African-American students in his class as ex-slaves. The evolution of the University\u27s racial harassment policy (characterized by its critics as a speech code) and diversity education programs are also discussed. The issue of voluntary or self-segregation is examined in a chapter discussing the demand for a residence for black students, and the issue of reverse racism is discussed in a section describing the initial exclusion of a white student from the black student union in 1986. The dissertation concludes that important segments of the black community have rejected assimilationism. Instead, bi-culturalism and ethnic self-organization are an emergent norm within the African-American community