About Buffalo’s Fire and why this blog is for you
Dear Reader:
Welcome to Buffalo’s Fire, a blog about American Indian communities.
My name is Jodi Rave and this is my new blog site as of May 2009. That’s when I quit working as a daily news reporter for Lee Enterprises to work on a book about the management of Native lands. I will continue to journal daily life in Indian Country right here on Buffalo’s Fire.
The name, Buffalo’s Fire, comes from the Nu’eta word for tiger lily.
I will use this blog site to stay in touch with readers as I do my book research about Native lands. In 1996, Elouise Cobell, a former treasurer of the Blackfeet Nation in Montana, filed suit against the Interior Department. I first became familiar with the Cobell story while working as a news reporter at the Lincoln Journal Star in Lincoln, Nebraska. I’ve been reported on the Cobell case for about the last 10 years. My writing on Indian land management is included in the book, “The Authentic Voice: The Best Reporting on Race and Ethnicity,” by Arlene Notoro Morgan, Keith Woods and Alice Pifer.
After 13 years of daily news reporting, I have received national recognition for my writing on Native issues. I’ve won several first-place awards from mainstream, military and Native press organizations. I am also a first-place column writer with awards from the Montana Newspaper Association and the Society of Professional Journalists Pacific Northwest. I’m a Peter Jennings Fellow of the National Constitution Center and a 2004 Nieman Fellow of Harvard University.
Even though I’m no longer in the newsroom, I will stay in contact with Native communities throughout the United States. I look forward to sharing news about American Indians through the Buffalo’s Fire blog. I expect this site to provide a conversational forum among readers. I am specifically looking forward to using this space to provide information and post it regarding language revitalization concerns. I embrace the opportunity to have blog conversations with all people. I plan to use the Buffalo’s Fire to regularly post words from the Mandan language. Without our languages, who are we? I invite readers to learn with me. And share language tips with me, too.
I am a Mandan and Hidatsa from the Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota. I named this blog in memory of my mother, the late Janet Gunderson, the daughter of Larry Spotted Bear and Ollie Benson. The Mandan word for tiger lily is pti ta waraari, which means the buffalo’s fire. I grew up on the Northern Plains prairie where the landscape in spring is dotted with orange tiger lilies.
Speaking of my relatives, I want to honor all my relations from the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota. I would also like to learn Lakota, the language of my father, Carlin Rave, a fluent speaker.
So, here we are.
Thanks for reading. This Web site is a site you will want to read every day if you’re interested in an authentic voice from Indian Country.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Jodi Rave
Hi jodi, I love reading your website news. please keep up the good work. I am the owner of square butte trading post. a native american beadwork and clothing store in box elder, montana. please check out my website and perhaps you may want to purchase something. thank you, luane belcourt
Thanks Luanne:
I will be coming up your way soon. I’ll stop in! Thanks for reading.
I am a new fan of your writings. I hope to stay connected to my Indian community. There is much to say and read about the many issues that are current in our Indian communities and governments. Not all good however in order to make wise decisions about our Sovereign Nations and our futures we must be informed.
I am from the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes. My Government is struggling with Gaming Funds and all that it brings. At present we have many non-functioning programs being funded and no one accountable for millions. Thats just a start. I didn’t want to start off crying about this or that however being watchful is getting harder. You know the ole shell game follow the pea if you can.
Glad I found your site.
Eleanor Lefthand
Thanks for linking to the site Eleanor. Please continue to share your comments here about your concerns for your community.
I am impressed with your site. A unique gathering place for the Indian voice. I am relieved that we will still be hearing yours. And we wish you well on your book – something that needs to be done.
I am Northern Cheyenne, Oglala Sioux and Little Shell. I am VERY interested in genealogy and presently share a site at http://www.spanggenealogy.com. Dave Spang is the webmaster and is happy to make additions and corrections. We plan shorlly to do a site on the Northern Cheyenne Tribe as well. It is important for our young ones to know where they came from.
Thank you for all of the years you spoke in our behalf and educated the non-Indian world about what we really are. I will visit this site often.
Thanks
Sandy
I have Always enjoyed your article and I look forward to reading more from. Thank you for everything, you are inspiration.
james
jodi,
do you know that the society of environmental journalists will be having its annual conference in missoula in fall 2010? i’m a co-chair. i’d like to get in touch with you. jim
You can give me a call Jim or reach me at jodirave@yahoo.com.
You know about this but here is a site to look at for your information. http://www.elbowoods.com
hello my friend,
i came across your blog and after reading your blog you made my day.
i am so proud of youraccomplishments today, you keep up the inspiration you give
mary redshirt