So, for the next couple of days, I will be out of contact--I'm going to Canada! While I'm there, I'm going to High Tea, lots of museums, and hanging with my buddy from Japan--Heather. I will be laptop-less as well to cut down on traveling weight, so you'll just have to wait for me to update my blog afterwards (not that you haven't already been doing that--curse you, unreliable internet connection, curse you!)
We're having a low count of whales. SoundWatch hasn't been out for over a week now. Where are they?!
Showing posts with label exposition. Show all posts
Showing posts with label exposition. Show all posts
Friday, August 2, 2013
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Post-Potlatch
Among the Southern Resident Killer Whales, there is a matriline that has become adopted by the Samish Indian Nation. This matriline is in J-pod and the newest member has been named today. J-49 has been named T’ílem Ínges (pronounced “tēēlem ēēnges”), which means "singing grandchild" in the Samish language.
This naming ceremony was part of a potlatch--which is basically a gift-giving festival practiced in the Pacific Northwest and Canadian coastal tribes. There is a long history of potlatches (and the subsequent banning by both the Canadian and American governments) among the native peoples of this area.
As the nicknames of the whales are given out by the Whale Museum, Whale Museum staff was invited to this ceremony--and I was lucky enough to be granted an invitation!
Before the potlatch there was a canoe blessing ceremony--the canoes were given names and were then paddled around by members of the tribe.
After the canoe ceremony, there was a big potluck (also part of the potlatch) and then the naming ceremony began. Despite being reassured that it was okay to take pictures, I only took a few (and none of them were too good).
The naming ceremony itself incited many emotions in me. For one, it was a fascinating look into the blossoming culture of the Samish. Though I fully admit, I did not do much research before the ceremony, throughout the entire event, it was mentioned how the Samish lost most of their culture and were slowly regaining it. It was really touching when the elders leading the ceremony mentioned that they hoped that their young ones would grow with T’ílem Ínges and bring new meaning and life into the Samish Nation. At times it did seem to drag on, and there definitely could have been more projecting of voices (sometimes it was a little hard to hear the speakers!), but all in all, it was a truly enjoyable and memorable expereience.
This naming ceremony was part of a potlatch--which is basically a gift-giving festival practiced in the Pacific Northwest and Canadian coastal tribes. There is a long history of potlatches (and the subsequent banning by both the Canadian and American governments) among the native peoples of this area.
As the nicknames of the whales are given out by the Whale Museum, Whale Museum staff was invited to this ceremony--and I was lucky enough to be granted an invitation!
Before the potlatch there was a canoe blessing ceremony--the canoes were given names and were then paddled around by members of the tribe.
After the canoe ceremony, there was a big potluck (also part of the potlatch) and then the naming ceremony began. Despite being reassured that it was okay to take pictures, I only took a few (and none of them were too good).
The naming ceremony itself incited many emotions in me. For one, it was a fascinating look into the blossoming culture of the Samish. Though I fully admit, I did not do much research before the ceremony, throughout the entire event, it was mentioned how the Samish lost most of their culture and were slowly regaining it. It was really touching when the elders leading the ceremony mentioned that they hoped that their young ones would grow with T’ílem Ínges and bring new meaning and life into the Samish Nation. At times it did seem to drag on, and there definitely could have been more projecting of voices (sometimes it was a little hard to hear the speakers!), but all in all, it was a truly enjoyable and memorable expereience.
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Settling In
Today, after a serious sleep in, I went exploring the island. There's no internet at my house right now, so I trekked twenty minutes to the library, while figuring out the layout of the town. It's pretty darn cute. And now I'm in the library typing this up. Oh man, what a library; it's stocked with some of my favorite books and I feel that I will become a frequent customer.
I am going to buy a bike--sometime. The cheaper shop doesn't open until Tuesday, but they make appointments over phone during the weekend, so that's an option.
So, what am I doing here on San Juan Island exactly?
I have been taken on as an education intern at the Whale Museum. What does this mean? It means that I get to work with educational programming especially for children. This is ABSOLUTELY PERFECT for me because I want to eventually go to some sort of grad school/certificate program for children's education in museums. In addition to this, I will also be working with the Marine Naturalist Certification program as both a student and instructor. I'm super pumped.
But as a recent graduate (and congratulations, by the way), don't you have to make some money, rather than go to an unpaid internship, you may ask. Well, the answer is quite simple. While I will not be making money off of this, a very generous grant from a former alum of my college provides for me while I'm here. I will not be making money, but I won't be losing money either. Starting this fall, I'll probably be looking for some sort of job (if not working in an archives--more on that later, as well).
Well, I need to be heading back, but please leave a comment if you want to hear anything in specific!
I am going to buy a bike--sometime. The cheaper shop doesn't open until Tuesday, but they make appointments over phone during the weekend, so that's an option.
So, what am I doing here on San Juan Island exactly?
I have been taken on as an education intern at the Whale Museum. What does this mean? It means that I get to work with educational programming especially for children. This is ABSOLUTELY PERFECT for me because I want to eventually go to some sort of grad school/certificate program for children's education in museums. In addition to this, I will also be working with the Marine Naturalist Certification program as both a student and instructor. I'm super pumped.
But as a recent graduate (and congratulations, by the way), don't you have to make some money, rather than go to an unpaid internship, you may ask. Well, the answer is quite simple. While I will not be making money off of this, a very generous grant from a former alum of my college provides for me while I'm here. I will not be making money, but I won't be losing money either. Starting this fall, I'll probably be looking for some sort of job (if not working in an archives--more on that later, as well).
Well, I need to be heading back, but please leave a comment if you want to hear anything in specific!
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