Cate McDonoughI love a good sing-along just as much as the next person. Credentials for that include participating in lambrequins, the musical and outside of school singing groups years ago. But is now really the time for a sing along? I have fond memories of Thanksgiving. I think of it and I often imagine my family and the feeling of comfort but I also get that sickening feeling that spreads everywhere. I’m already a relatively grateful person. I was the kid parents liked in elementary school because every time I left a car it was like a reflex for me to say thank you. I say thank you to my teachers after almost every class (sometimes I get distracted) and I thank my parents often for all they’ve done for me. I don’t have a problem with thankfulness but I do have a problem with Thanksgiving. My credentials for that feeling are as follows: I’m Indigenous. That's actually one of the only credentials I really need in this situation. I have more feelings about Thanksgiving than many others. I appreciate what my family has turned it into and the excuse to see relatives I don’t get to see everyday but I dread the lessons in school leading up to it.
I fear the pictures flooding my social media of little children dressing as Indians and pilgrims remembering when I did the same. I had people around me questioning the appropriateness but eventually ignoring that feeling and moving on. My Aunt would roll her eyes at my own appropriation and remind my mother that she still loves us but does not love this. I remember feeling a sense of accomplishment when I made those paper headdresses because I was a real one. I was so proud. When teachers asked if anyone in the class was native my hand shot up and suddenly I was alone. I was still proud though because being the only one means you’re special. I would get asked questions varying from my tribal name to my language and I started to get embarrassed at that point. When teachers were looking at me genuinely wondering about my culture and I would have to tell them I’d get back to them. Our language is no longer spoken and every time I had finally learned an answer people just had more. I would text my brother and mom from class because they knew more than me and would get the simple one word answers that please. Looking back I’m hurt over the fact that this was one of my main experiences with my culture and that I couldn’t see the danger in the paper feathers. In middle school I attempted to explain my feelings to a classmate but lacking the vocabulary to properly express I was misunderstood and honestly mistreated. I said how I couldn’t enjoy holidays such as Thanksgiving and the 4 of July and instead of asking for further explanation my classmate paraded me around to tell all of this revelation. She said everything with such surprise and I couldn’t help but feel disgusted. Disgusted with the treatment and of myself because it’s my job to educate and I should’ve thought before I spoke if I didn’t want a reaction like that. I was paraded around like an alien with people poking and prodding at my traditions laughing at their ridiculousness. I could feel people pointing and jeering “look at the Indian!” and felt so alone. I felt as if I was creating unnecessary issues by attempting to share my feelings. The truth is I wasn’t wrong then and I don’t think I’m wrong now to at least bring my feelings into the conversation. I don’t want to hear about the peace of the first Thanksgiving, the kinship and respect. The pilgrims and colonizers were no friends to me. I don’t want to hear about the hard work it took to build this country because so much of it was already done and ignored. I don’t want to hear of the beautiful shining waters because they were supposed to be for everybody, not just big oil companies. This land is for everyone as given by the Creator but was instead taken selfishly. I don’t want to sing songs of God and his gift because too many of those beliefs were used to hurt my people. I don’t want to hear it or partake in it. So I won’t. I am all for thankfulness but that can’t be the only subject of the day, especially in an educational setting.
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Cate McDonough
As Native Americans our language has been colonized. My own tribal nation, Schaghticoke, does not have access to our language anymore, and I don’t know if we had our own language or spoke a local language like Algonkian. My family lives far from our reservation. Much of our history is lost due to familial problems and power struggles. Appreciation vs appropriation is always a large debate when it comes to BIPOC and mostly refers to clothes and hairstyles, but language can be appropriated in the same way. Language appropriation is another way that native languages are lost, because their meaning becomes diluted. Intent cannot always be over impact – while thought is important it cannot be placed above the actual effect. When phrases that are harmful to communities are continually used it downplays important things. This article will go over some basic terms that I feel people should stop throwing around. On this topic (specific to First Nations) I highly recommend the podcast Telling Our Twisted Histories with the host Kaniehti:io Horn. It focuses on decolonizing our language one word at a time. Powwow: A powwow is not a small group meeting, it's not a hangout with your friends, and it's not a conference and we should stop treating it as such. I’ve been to multiple powwows and they are full of important and spiritual music and dances and so much more. I don’t feel comfortable with people downplaying the meaning of the word and the existence of Native people everytime they use it to describe miniscule meetings. I have heard it used many times in many different places. I’ve heard in our own classrooms, when asked to talk in a small group a classmate responded with “yeah, let's have a powwow!” I remember that example so well because it was part of a week where I heard the phrase used in three different environments. Indian (in reference to Native Americans): Columbus made many mistakes and the one of first was believing he had landed in India. There is a lot of confusion with terminology because of this mistake. I personally prefer Native American or First Nations. First Nations is the best term because it accomplishes two things. First it states that we were here first, second it acknowledges indigenous people as a nation. Both are important points to be made as often as possible. Canada is the only place to truly adopt that term but I’m hoping the USA can also use it. The only problem is that because Canada was the first to truly adopt it, it has connotations that it is for Canadian natives only and doesn’t refer to other native people. Words like Native and Indigenous are awesome but they do not specify exactly where you are indigenous to. When I say I’m indigenous the word could also refer to the fact that I’m indigenous to Ireland. Everyone is indigenous to somewhere. Some people prefer Indian or American Indian because it’s what they're used to. I use the term when discussing myself or talking with my family but that doesnt mean I am ok with others referring to me as such. Try to use the terms Native American, Indigenous or First Nations. Spirit animal: Animals are very important to so many indigenous communities physically and spiritually and to use it for mundane things is disrespectful. I’ll own up to the fact that I went through my buzzfeed quiz phase. I took the quizzes to decide which Kardashian was my spirit animal and in middle school probably referred to my friends as my spirit animal when they did something funny but I’ve grown and now I want others to do the same. A spirit animal isn’t something you relate to; it's a guardian and a sign when needed. It's a deep connection that follows and travels with you. Blood quantum: Percentages were thrown into the mix by the government to discount native people and lower the amount in the world. Native people needed to be eliminated and the best way was to make them white so if you're under a certain percentage in some places you aren't actually native. Blood quantum is a harmful colonial construct. I am not X% native, I'm just native. Native blood courses through all of you, not just X%. Asking for someone's percentages further pushes the idea that there is an amount that makes you native and an amount that makes you not. It leads to a feeling of inferiority if your percentage is not “high enough”. It doesn't matter your percentage as long as you are working towards knowing your tribe and reconnecting with your heritage. This topic is not specific to First Nations, I’m simply writing about what I know. If you have other terms you would like to add feel free to do so in the comments below. However, please remember to be conscientious and empathetic when adding them, and keep in mind this platform is being monitored so please avoid leaving any hateful or discriminatory messages. By Ella Gillen
I think that we can all agree that this school year has been very unusual, and we have all faced challenges we never expected to. Whether you are a student or a teacher, remote or hybrid, this school year has been, for the lack of a better word, “unprecedented.” That does not mean that this year has been completely miserable, however. The newspaper club sent out a survey to ask students something that has made this school year better, and there were some amazing responses! A large portion of the responses said that friends were making this year better! This was heartening to hear, because it is so much more difficult to spend time with friends during a pandemic. But for Lincoln students, spending time with friends has improved this experience a lot. Some people are excited that they can see their friends and classmates in person. One student says that they “have more opportunity during the day when I am online to manage my time and see my friends outside of school.” That is certainly a bonus to being online! Some people are making new friends, which is also really cool! It is nice to see that even though we are separated, people are still able to make new friends. Remote students and in-person students found different perks to their learning situations. Remote students were happy that they get to spend more time in bed, as well as being relieved that they didn't have to wear a mask all day. In-person students were excited to be around their classmates and teachers again, and loved “warm lunches from Chef Emily and her fabulous team!” Also, seeing people’s pets on zoom is a great thing for everyone, whether you are in the building or not! Some people have found cool new activities that they are enjoying. A lot of people are happy that they can continue to participate in a theater program! Others are excited about their club period. One person even started journaling, and another person has been baking scones. This school year has been a challenge for everyone, but there are some amazing things that are coming out of it. Lincoln students and teachers alike are finding positive ways to handle this difficult situation. Additionally, the weather is getting warmer and teachers and students are beginning to get vaccinated! Despite all of the troubles, things are looking up this school year. Salma Alawi Every morning around 8 am, numerous students file into the yellow building located on 301 Butler Avenue and go from classroom to classroom, unaware of the sinister entities lurking just around the corner. I used to be one of these students, ignorant to what was hiding in plain sight, until one day, I had a suspicion that there was a secret to the school. I simply had to solve this mystery, so I decided to put my detective skills to use and start my search and uncover the secrets of Lincoln School. Before this search began, my only exposure to mysteries and paranormal entities was a couple of Buzzfeed Unsolved episodes I vaguely remember. Nevertheless, I was very eager to start my amateur ghost hunting adventures. However, as you might be able to tell, I was not educated enough on this topic to take on this search alone- I needed help from others. My first step was to find people who had already encountered ghosts at school, which led me to Anita, the head of the art department. I had heard that Anita had some ghost encounters at Lincoln, but nothing was able to prepare me for the story I heard from her. Before Anita came to Lincoln, she liked the concept of ghosts and thought they were fun for stories, but didn’t genuinely think they existed. However, that all changed at Lincoln. To set up the scene, it is important to know about the history of the art department. Almost all of the art classrooms are located on the third floor, but many years ago, the rooms were in the basement, a.k.a the garden level. Things were quiet in the basement, but the year the department moved to the third floor was when strange happenings started to occur. It started off small- random footsteps and items disappearing without any explanation. Anita was able to dismiss this as night maintenance and went on as normal. However, one day, she could hear one of the doors clicking open and shut. These doors were very heavy, so it’s impossible for the wind to move them. At this point, Anita was a bit wary of what was happening, but she was still skeptical when it came to ghosts. However, one occurrence in the Summer of 2010 changed all of that. She was the only person in the building, as the Middle and Upper school commencement ceremonies had occurred that morning. She was working on a piece for a faculty and alumni art show, and she had to keep the windows shut and the fan off so the painting wouldn’t get ruined. Her paintbrushes were set up so there were eight of them side by side (the black ones in the diagram below), with one paintbrush balanced on top (the red one). A separate paintbrush lay on the side, close to the right edge of the table (the blue one). Anita was looking away for a bit when she heard a peculiar sound, similar to a pencil rolling. She looked down and the table and saw the paintbrush that was close to the edge of the table was slowly rolling to the other edge of the table. This was very freaky, as there was no wind, and the tables in the art room aren’t slanted at all, so the brush shouldn’t have been able to roll. The paintbrush continued rolling and stopped right before it rolled off the left edge. Anita was a bit put off by this, but she decided to make a sarcastic comment and exclaimed, “is that really the best you can do?” All of the sudden, the singular paintbrush that was balanced on top of the other eight started spinning around super quickly in a circular motion, as if someone had flicked it. It continued to spin until it slowed to a halt, pointing directly at Anita. At this point, Anita packed up all of her stuff and went home. This experience was very unsettling, but she decided to try to form a friendship with the ghost, but with no success. When she told people about her experiences, they usually didn’t believe her at first. One day, one of these ghost skeptic students was sitting with Anita at her desk, which had a skull wearing a Viking hat on it. All of the sudden, the hat flew straight up off the skull, several feet in the air. The two of them sat in silent shock until the student, shocked, said “you really weren’t kidding about those ghosts.”
There were a couple of other minor incidents after this, but for the past couple of years, it has been quiet in the ghost department. A possible explanation to why the ghosts started stirring was because of the relocation of the art department. Ghost experts say that construction attracts ghosts, as the movement disturbs them and amplifies their presence. Could this be the case, or are the ghosts still among us? The next time you walk down the hallways of Lincoln, I invite you to think about who might share this building with us and to further ponder the mysteries of Lincoln. |
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