Australian Aboriginal Artist Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr-Baumann Recognised with Educational Foundation

Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr-Baumann

NT News reports that Australian Aboriginal artist and educator Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr-Baumann, "who has an honorary PhD in education, has been made the chair of the new Miriam-Rose Foundation."  The foundation has recently been established to "raise money to help remote indigenous children get better access to education and learning opportunities, including by boarding in cities."

Uniya.com writes that "in 1998, Miriam-Rose was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia, for her services to Aboriginal education and art, and for services to the Nauiyu community having been for many years a member of the local community council, often in the role of President."

"Despite never attending secondary school, Miriam-Rose became the NT's first Indigenous school teacher and principal of St Francis Xavier in her home community. Influenced by her bush-tracker uncle, Miriam advocates teaching both western and traditional ways in Indigenous communities" (105.7 ABC Darwin).

Maya Archaeological Expert to Speak in Asheville area TWICE this week!

Palenque. Image: INAH

George Stuart

Archaeologist George Stuart, former National Geographic vice president for research and exploration, will present "Recent Discoveries at the Maya City of Palenque,” twice this week in the Asheville, NC area.  Stuart will be speaking on Tuesday, October 22 at 7:00 p.m. at the Fairview Library, as well as at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, October 24, in UNC Asheville's Ramsey Library, Whitman Room. In both presentations Stuart will give an overview of Palenque, its importance as a Mayan city and recent discoveries made in the city’s ruins. Both events are free and open to the public.

During his career with the National Geographic Society, Stuart rose to the position of senior archaeology editor of National Geographic Magazine, and chairman of the Committee for Research and Exploration. He is the author of eight books and more than 40 articles, including his book Palenque: Eternal City of the Maya (Thames & Hudson, 2008), co-authored with his son David Stuart.

George Stuart also founded the Boundary End Archaeology Research Center (BEARC), a not-for-profit organization based on his Barnardsville property, which houses a 12,000 volume library on American archaeology. BEARC promotes research related to the archaeology, art, and writing systems of ancient America. Stuart’s many awards include the Tatiana Prokouriakoff Award from Harvard University and a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Fifth Annual Maya at the Playa conference.

Runestone of Harald Bluetooth, Jelling, Denmark

Jelling Runestone (replica). Erected by King Harald Bluethooth at Jelling in
Jutland, Denmark, 960-980 AD. This honors his parents who made the Danes Christian.

This deserves an extensive post, which I'll try to get to eventually.  In the meantime, feast your eyes on this colorized replica of the Jelling Runestone erected by King Harald Bluethooth at Jelling in Jutland, Denmark, 960-980 AD.  The crucifixion image is extraordinary!  This is a monument mentioned in the book I'm currently reading, Tree of Salvation: Yggdrasil and the Cross in the North by G. Ronald Murphy.   I can't wait to finish devouring it and start blogging about it!

More to come eventually...

Tree of Salvation: Yggdrasil and the Cross in the North

Tree of Salvation: Yggdrasil and the Cross in the North is a new book written by Father G. Ronald Murphy, Professor of German at Georgetown University.  It sounds fascinating and I can't wait to get my hands on my own personal copy (soon, my friend!).  I'm interested to read the author's angle on the subject since I've never read much about it, but I'm sure that there will be much to learn from it about contextualization (and/or syncretism?) of the Gospel.  The book is available in both a hardcover and Kindle edition.  You can read a short article about the book's content here.

Psalm 36:7-9

Yesterday I was reading Psalm 36 and verses 7-9 jumped out at me.  I think they are such a beautiful, poetic description of God's love for us:

How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
    The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
They feast on the abundance of your house,
    and you give them drink from the river of your delights.
For with you is the fountain of life;
    in your light do we see light.

I once painted a couple of versions of verse 7-9 on ceramic panels.  Here is the larger version:

"Travelling the Ancient Land" by Safina Stewart

Check out the latest wonderful painting by Aboriginal Christian Artist Safina Stewart, called "Travelling the Ancient Land"!

Safina writes:

I love the stain glass window effect, patch working and the mix of Aboriginal designs across the landscape. I painted it in honor of the many traditional owners of this diverse Australian continent. My hope is that when people see this painting they'll be prompted to appreciate the land, people, culture and history of the land they dwell on and travel. 

Native American Identity, Christianity, and Critical Contextualization by Eric Bates

I was just made aware of this new book (thanks to Paul Neeley at Global Worship): Native American Identity, Christianity, and Critical Contextualization by Eric Bates.  I haven't read it yet so if any of you do, let me know!

From Amazon:

The idea of being both ‘Native’ and ‘Christian’ has been especially challenging among American Indians. Indian people have endured five hundred years of colonial dominance and the results have left divisions between those who are traditionalists, keeping to the old ways, and those who are progressives, embracing the new. Since the mid-1990s there has been a resurgence among Indian evangelicals who wish to break down the ‘identity crisis’ related to being Native and Christian. Native Christians are encouraging other Natives to meet somewhere in the middle of traditionalism and progressivism. 

Eric Bates addresses the question of Native American identity, a question that has been problematic among both Native Americans and non-Indians. Blood quantum as an indicator of Indigenous identity has led to constructions of different levels of Indianness. Pan-Indianism has brought together Native peoples from a variety of tribal backgrounds and has formed a new sense of collective identity as Indians versus tribal affiliations. Using situational analysis, Bates examines contextualized ministry via a Native Christian conference which allows Christian Indians to express their Indianness by wearing Native regalia, using Indigenous instruments, and employing other forms of Native expression.

For more about the author, Eric Bates, check out his NKU faculty profile or page 31 of this alumni magazine.