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NLS is looking for people who speak Native dialects to help ensure accurate pronunciation of Indian languages in book narration. Narrators contact these authorities by telephone, and more than one source is desirable. If you know people who may be interested in providing this assistance in their languages, please forward their names and phone numbers to David Whittall (Potawatomi), network consultant, ( 202) 707-9258, or e-mail at dwhit@loc.gov.
Becky Ray McCain's Grandmother's Dreamcatcher was the December 2000 selection for the National Braille Press Children's Braille Book Club. In this story, a Chippewa grandmother shows her granddaughter how to make a dreamcatcher, while telling her about the power the talisman can hold. The print-braille book includes a Woodland Indian Dreamcatcher Kit. The kit has instructions in braille and large print and materials to make one dreamcatcher: hoop, feather, beads and string. The set is $15.95 and is available from National Braille Press, 88 St. Stephen Street, Boston, MA 02115, 800-548-7323, ext. 20, or orders@nbp.org.
The Canadian National Institute for the Blind's Mobile Eye Care Unit, known as the Eye Van, won the 2000 SHARE Award for Innovation. This $200,000 grant supports the state-of-the-art, vision-screening van in providing essential eye care services to people living in northern Ontario. It will enhance services to Native seniors in their own communities.
CNIB has initiated several projects across Canada in an effort to improve relationships with the Native population and expand outreach services to them. CNIB presented a report covering two recent projects at the Fifth Assembly meeting of the World Blind Union. The report, The Story of Discovery: Working in Collaboration with Canadian Aboriginal Communities was presented by Catharine McFee, assistant executive director, Alberta NWT Nunavut Division. It is available online at <www.cnib.ca/wbu_fifth_assembly/ speeches/story_of_discovery.htm>.
CNIB defines persons of Aboriginal descent to include all persons with Metis, First Nations, Indian, or Inuit backgrounds.
The Oregon State Library Talking Book and Braille Services recently compiled three bibliographies on Native Americans. They are Native American Fiction: Juvenile; Native American Fiction: Adult; and Native American Non-Fiction: Adult. Print copies are available from the Oregon State Library Talking Book and Braille Services, 250 Winter Street NE, Salem OR 97301, (503) 378-3849.
The Cradleboard Teaching Project is a program of the Nihewan Foundation to promote American Indian culture to Indian and non-Indian children. It was founded by Buffy Sainte-Marie in 1996 and provides curriculum and interactive media materials to teach Native American studies in grades 3-12. Science: Through Native American Eyes is the first curriculum CD-ROM and addresses the principles underlying sound, friction, and lodge construction. For further information and material, contact Cradleboard Teaching Project, 1191 Kuhio Highway, Kapaa, HI 96746, (808) 822-3111, (808) 821-1107 fax; or on the Internet at <www.cradleboard.org>.
The mission of the program, "If I Can Read, I Can Do Anything," is to assist libraries serving Native American children with increasing reading skills while preserving Indian identity through family literacy programs. Sponsors include the American Library Association, Pueblo of Laguna (New Mexico), the Tocker Foundation, and participating schools in Arizona, New Mexico, and Montana. For further information contact Dr. Loriene Roy, Professor, Graduate School of Library and Information Science, The University of Texas at Austin SZB 564, Austin, TX 78712: (512) 471-3959; (512) 471-3971 fax; or on the Internet at <http://www. gslis.utexas.edu/~ifican>.
NMAI Insight is a new semiannual newsletter for charter members of the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian. The first issue was published December 2000. For further information see <www.si. edu/nmai>.
The National Museum of the American Indian Commemorative Coin Act of 2000 was passed by the U.S. Senate in 2000. Sponsored by Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell and Representative Frank Lucas in the U.S. House of Representatives, the bill calls for minting a silver dollar that will carry a design interpreted from the original buffalo nickel. The
U.S. Mint is authorized to create up to 500,000 of the new silver dollars, and sales of the coins will benefit the NMAI. To purchase the coin contact the U. S. Mint at 800-USA-MINT or <www.usmint.gov>.
ABC-CLIO, <www.abc-clio.com>, has published several reference books on varied subjects dealing with Native Americans in print and electronic format. Two of the titles are:
Barry M.Pritzher, Native Americans: An Encyclopedia of History, Culture, and Peoples, 1998. 2v. $175 print; $235 eBook. (isbn 0874368367).
Gary A. Sokolow, Native Americans and the Law: A Dictionary, 2000. 278p. $55 print; $65 eBook. (isbn 0-874368774). For further information and a catalog contact: ABC-CLIO, P.O. Box 1911, Santa Barbara, CA 93116, 800-368-6868.
Facts on File. Inc., <www.factsonfile.com>, has updated and expanded its CD-ROM The American Indian History and Culture: An Online Encyclopedia. The CD-ROM includes search options for basic tribe, culture area, topic, biography, and era, as well as a timeline. For further information and price contact Facts on File Inc., 11 Penn Plaza, New York, NY, 10001, 800-322-8755.
Updated December 19, 2002
