"My life experiences have greatly expanded since I've accepted birding in my life. I stand gingerly before the altar of the prairie, and gaze upward ... . Unfortunately, I always seem to be looking directly at the white, bright sun.
I am thinking about my new birding life because Wednesday, Herald photographer Jackie Lorentz and I went to the Red Lake Indian Reservation for a tribal council story.
I write this in hopes that UND's Dave Lambeth, my birding class teacher, doesn't read it, because there were so many birds I couldn't identify. Oh, I knew the easy ones such as the mallards and eagles, but those darn little birds are tough.
One day in class, we looked for a particular sparrow only to learn there are a "gazillion" sparrows, and they all seem to look alike. That was when I decided that, to me, those birds all would be just sparrows for a while.
I like big birds - hawks, eagles, herons, egrets and geese - because they are stately, beautiful and easier to identify."
Get the Story:
DORREEN YELLOW BIRD COLUMN: Flu-free, but feverish about birds
(The Grand Forks Herald 5/6)
More Dorreen Yellow Bird:
Yellow Bird: School offers students a community
(5/1)
Yellow Bird: Lakota
horse a living link to Sitting Bull (4/26)
Yellow Bird: No going back to life without cell
phones (4/24)
Yellow Bird: Drive Inn a
community institution (4/19)
Yellow Bird:
The rising price of ... ethanol? (4/17)
Yellow Bird: Admire, but don't, pet the wild geese
(4/11)
Yellow Bird: Commitment to
multiculturalism lacking (4/10)
Yellow
Bird: An extraordinary day for bird-watchers (4/4)
Yellow Bird: Free press needed in Indian Country
(3/28)
Yellow Bird: Weighing in on
stomach stapling (3/27)
Yellow Bird:
Farewell to Pearl, my aunt and mother (3/21)
Yellow Bird: Importance of eagles in culture
(03/06)
Yellow Bird: It's time for tribes to
go smoke-free (2/28)
Yellow Bird:
Non-Indian gaming makes headlines (2/27)
Yellow Bird: Plant education began on reservation
(2/21)
Yellow Bird: The Westminster Rez
Dogs Show (2/20)
Yellow Bird: Names and
nicknames important (2/14)
Yellow Bird:
Film to explore tribe's young people (2/13)
Yellow Bird: My first time behind the wheel
(2/6)
Yellow Bird: Elders still deserve
to be respected (1/31)
Yellow Bird: The
suicides at Standing Rock -- Why? (1/30)
Yellow Bird: Tribal gaming is not Vegas gaming
(1/23)
Yellow Bird: Winter is the time
for storytelling (1/17)
Yellow Bird:
Forgot your PIN? It's not old age (1/16)
Yellow Bird: Close encounters with the wildlife
kind (1/10)
Yellow Bird: Graduate's long
path to success (1/9)
Yellow Bird: 2005
was a year of haunts, tragedy (1/4)
Yellow Bird: Why do young Indians come to UND?
(12/19)
Yellow Bird: Road rage and good
samaritans (12/13)
Yellow Bird: Blessed
with a crazy but good week (12/12)
Yellow Bird: Hope in woodpecker's survival
(12/6)
Yellow Bird: Non-Native views not
always accurate (12/1)
Yellow Bird:
Giving thanks and mourning loss (11/22)
Yellow Bird: Laughing is a gift from the Creator
(11/15)
Yellow Bird: Smoking a hard
addiction to break (11/14)
Yellow Bird:
The troll meets the trickster in Dakotas (11/8)
Yellow Bird: Some reservation nicknames a secret
(11/2)
Yellow Bird: Halloween way back
in the 'old days' (10/31)
Yellow Bird:
The importance of Indian names (10/25)
Yellow Bird: Elders taking more active role in
tribe (10/17)
Yellow Bird: Bridge
another page in tribal history (10/10)
Yellow Bird: All tribes have stake in 'Sioux' fight
(10/6)
Yellow Bird: Family opposes
tribe's oil refinery (9/27)
Yellow Bird:
Oil or ethanol? Another debate (9/26)
Yellow Bird: Howling, not dancing, with wolves
(9/19)
Yellow Bird: Clearing the air on
the 'Sioux' name (9/14)
Yellow Bird: A
black bear cub bit my finger (9/12)
Yellow Bird: Becoming a nation of cell phone
heads (08/29)
Yellow Bird: The wonderful
sound of the 'pop' (8/22)
Yellow Bird:
Paying tribute to corn, the sacred plant (8/16)
Yellow Bird: Summer is the season for wild berries
(8/9)
Yellow Bird: Summer ceremony for
the children (8/8)
Yellow Bird: Don't
study Kennewick Man remains (07/18)
Yellow Bird: Speeding through another summer
(7/11)
Yellow Bird: All men equal,
except for 'savages' (7/5)
Yellow Bird:
The growing pains of tribal leaders (6/28)
Yellow Bird: Driving while talking a new hazard
(6/27)
Yellow Bird: Winners became
losers after Bighorn (6/21)
Yellow Bird:
Horse ride against substance abuse (6/14)
Yellow Bird: Diabetes epidemic in Indian Country
(6/13)
Yellow Bird: Indian center at UND
should look Indian (6/7)
Yellow Bird:
New joys come with passage of time (05/23)
Yellow Bird: 'Fighting Sioux' doesn't honor Indians
(5/17)
Yellow Bird: Indian Health
Service has failed us (5/10)
Yellow
Bird: Talking with a World War II veteran (5/9)
Yellow Bird: The amazing Monarch butterfly
(5/2)
Yellow Bird: Whole-wheat fry bread
isn't so bad (4/26)
Yellow Bird: A visit
to the Sacred Heart Monastery (4/19)
Yellow Bird: Indian gaming profits for the few
(4/18)
Yellow Bird: UND powwow a
showcase of our culture (4/12)
Yellow
Bird: Tex Hall declares war on diabetes (4/11)
Yellow Bird: Messages of life during time of sorrow
(4/4)
Yellow Bird: Media interested in
getting the true story (3/30)
Yellow
Bird: Red Lake people are gentle warriors (3/28)
Yellow Bird: Red Lake community in deep pain
(3/24)
Yellow Bird Series: Suicide on
the reservation (03/16)
Yellow Bird
Series: Suicide on the reservation (3/14)
Yellow Bird: Use state budget surplus to fund child
care (3/8)
Yellow Bird: An excellent
adventure in the country (3/7)
Yellow
Bird: Another one of my excellent adventures (3/1)
Yellow Bird: I'll take long hair over curling iron
(2/28)
Yellow Bird: 'Fighting Sioux'
needs to be changed (2/21)
Yellow Bird:
Don't pull funding from 'Iron Horse' (2/14)
Yellow Bird: Accepting my mother's passing
(2/8)
Yellow Bird: Churchills make lost
Indians look bad (2/7)
Yellow Bird: A
nation cannot flourish without children (2/1)
Yellow Bird: New center gives birth to new ideas
(1/31)
Yellow Bird: Education system has
seen many changes (1/25)
Yellow Bird:
North Dakota shouldn't step on tribes (01/17)
Yellow Bird: Gaming only a temporary fix for tribes
(1/10)
Yellow Bird: New Year brings out
unusual traditions (1/7)
Yellow Bird:
Bridges tell history of North Dakota tribe (12/07)
Yellow Bird: Watch out for dirt in your sausage
(11/30)
Yellow Bird: Elders still
maintain influence (11/29)
Yellow Bird:
Worst fry bread served during NMAI (11/23)
Yellow Bird: Boarding schools forced assimilation
(11/22)
Yellow Bird: The most terrifying
snowstorm ever (11/16)
Yellow Bird:
Feeling guilty about your new car (11/15)
Yellow Bird: Remembering my brother, a Vietnam vet
(11/9)
Yellow Bird: Native voters make a
difference (11/8)
Yellow Bird: Are the
Pequots really a tribe? (11/2)
Yellow
Bird: A story for Halloween night (11/1)
Yellow Bird: Cell phones now a part of rez life
(10/25)
Yellow Bird: Tribal college
leaders overlooked (10/19)
Yellow Bird:
Let's settle dispute over Sakakawea (10/12)
Yellow Bird: Discovering the ancestral spirits
(10/11)
Yellow Bird: Riding the rails
across the country (10/4)
Yellow Bird:
First visit to NMAI proves exciting (9/28)
Yellow Bird: Support the troops, but not the
war (09/14)
Yellow Bird: Singing to
myself about a new highway (9/13)
Yellow
Bird: A Sasquatch story from the Nez Perce (9/7)
Yellow Bird: A worthwhile visit to Nez Perce
relatives (9/6)
Yellow Bird: Students
breathe life into community (8/30)
Yellow Bird: Family-run restaurants real jewels
(8/25)
Yellow Bird: Indian athletes
should strive for gold (8/23)
Yellow
Bird: Not all Native people are conservative (8/23)
Yellow Bird: John Kerry's hands tell different
story (8/16)
Yellow Bird: Indians
becoming a force at the polls (08/03)
Yellow Bird: Ceremony provided needed respite
(8/2)
Yellow Bird: A newbies guide to
North Dakota Indians (07/12)
Yellow
Bird: Are mourning doves on the Atkins diet? (7/6)
Yellow Bird: Off-reservation casino deserves chance
(6/29)
Yellow Bird: Tribes should be
models of government (6/28)
Yellow Bird:
Rosalynn Carter a down-to-earth woman (6/22)
Yellow Bird: Program brings students to nature
(6/21)
Yellow Bird: How low should those
jeans go??? (6/15)
Yellow Bird: A world
away at tribal pow-wow (6/14)
Yellow
Bird: Reflecting on Civil Rights Act of 1964 (6/8)
Yellow Bird: Diversity, women welcome in government
(6/7)
Yellow Bird: Bush made 'poor
decisions' on Iraq war (06/02)
Yellow
Bird: No outlet for North Dakota holy water (5/24)
Yellow Bird: First Lakota finishes UND nursing
(5/18)
Yellow Bird: A goodbye to
Friends and Frasier! (5/17)
Yellow
Bird: Prisoner abuse recalls Indian massacre (5/11)
Yellow Bird: Mothers' distant memories still
strong (5/10)
Yellow Bird: Foreigners
more interested in Indians (5/4)
Yellow Bird: Tribes and media must work together
(5/3)
Yellow Bird: Native people lost
advocate in Elbers (4/27)
Yellow
Bird: Think about Earth Day every day (4/26)
Yellow Bird: Strong flower like spirit of Native
people (04/13)
Yellow Bird: Drum
policy excluded local tribes (04/12)
Yellow Bird: The phenomenon of the 'hobby
Indians' (04/06)
Yellow Bird: A
tribute to the warrior women (4/5)
Yellow Bird: Indians the most misunderstood
(3/31)
Yellow Bird: Keeping our
ceremonies sacred (3/29)
Yellow Bird:
Awakening for Native and Christian (3/23)
Yellow Bird: Saying goodbye, the Native way
(3/16)
Yellow Bird: Human rights in
North Dakota (3/15)
Yellow Bird: Hard
to find Indian like Martha Stewart (3/9)
Yellow Bird: Is Big Foot wandering reservation?
(3/8)
Yellow Bird: Sound of birds
heralds arrival of spring (3/2)
Yellow Bird: Big market for 'isms' in the media
(3/1)
Yellow Bird: Tribal justice
program to bring good (2/24)
Yellow
Bird: Indian perspective on Lewis & Clark (2/23)
Yellow Bird: In large family, sisters are
special (2/18)
Yellow Bird: Atkins
diet worked for Indian friends (2/16)
Yellow Bird: Big-city ballet in a Northern
Plains town (2/10)
Yellow Bird:
'Fighting Sioux' is poor sportsmanship (2/9)
Yellow Bird: Lake outlet a tough sell for many
(2/3)
Yellow Bird: The magic of the
Spirit of the North (2/2)
Yellow
Bird: Providing Indian education to public (1/26)
Yellow Bird: Long hair can be hazardous
sometimes (1/20)
Yellow Bird:
Remembering Grandmother Philomene (1/19)
Yellow Bird: Wild animals have a right to exist
too (01/13)
Yellow Bird: Tribe has
made incredible journey (1/12)
Yellow Bird: 'DreamKeepers' breaks
stereotypes (01/07)
Yellow Bird: Gazing upward and looking for the birds
Monday, May 8, 2006
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2 'At this rate the entire tribe will be extinct': Zuni Pueblo sees COVID-19 cases double as first death is confirmed
3 Arne Vainio: 'A great sickness has been visited upon us as human beings'
4 Arne Vainio: Zoongide'iwin is the Ojibwe word for courage
5 Cayuga Nation's division leads to a 'human rights catastrophe'