December 2006

Inukshuk
The word ‘inukshuk’ means "something which acts for or performs the function of a person." and the Inuit make them of stones. The symbol was “designed as a directional marker, signifying safety, hope and friendship”. The plural of inukshuk is ‘inuksuit’. “The Inuit make inuksuit in different forms and for different purposes: to show directions to travellers, to warn of impending danger, to mark a place of respect, or to act as helpers in the hunting of caribou. Similar stone figures were made all over the world in ancient times, but the Arctic is one of the few places where they still stand. An inukshuk can be small or large, a single rock, several rocks balanced on each other, round boulders or flat. Inuit tradition forbids the destruction of inuksuit.”

Inuksuit with heather placed among the rocks (to appear as hair) were used to spook the caribou herd towards hunters. Near water, an open stone on an inukshuk may indicate a navigable channel. On open land, an inukshuk may suggest a direction. Near a lake, an inukshuk may point to a direction or distance - such as direction and the shoreline as being equidistant to the fish in the lake. Built out of respect for someone, some inuksuit are seen as memorials.

Controversy has erupted over the use of the use of a more recent incarnation of inukshuk - the inunnguaq (meaning "imitation of a person"). Meant to represent a human figure, these have become widely familiar to non-Inuit. However, it is not the most common type of inukshuk and is distinguished from inuksuit in general. There is an online, interactive Inukshuk creator at www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/images/inukshuk/game.html.
Sharon

March 2006

Say "Yes" To Cocoa and Chocolate
Farming cacoa, the tree that produces the raw ingredient for chocolate, was not always performed in an environmentally sustainable nor child friendly manner. Things have changed in some areas though. Now, cacoa production can be one of the most benign uses of the tropical rainforest. Instead of clear-cutting huge swaths of the rainforest, many farmers now often leave taller trees standing to provide the needed canopy and also plant cacoa alongside other crops such as bananas and corn. Slave labor is still used on some cacoa farms, but if you buy "Fair Trade Certified" chocolate the Fair Trade label guarantees not only fair prices, but also guarantees the principles of ethical purchasing including adherence to ILO agreements (such as those banning child and slave labour) and a fair price that covers the cost of production, supports social development, and facilitates protection and conservation of the environment. So, look for the "Fair Trade Certified" label and enjoy your chocolate!
Sharon

Nationally March Is American Red Cross Month & Women's History Month

The female founder of the American Red Cross , Universalist Clarssa "Clara" Harlowe Barton , was born on December 25, 1821, in North Oxford, MA. She was the youngest of five children and home schooled. Between 1836 and 1850, Clara taught at Elementary Schools in MA. She furthered her education at NY's Clinton Liberal Institute during 1850 , taught in NJ for the next three years., and established a free public school in Bordentown, N, in 1854. After being denied the job as schools Principal, she was appointed to the job of a US Patent Clerk in Washington, DC!

Clara's nursing career and humanitarian spirit sprung to life in 1861 when the 6th MA Regiment arrived in DC after the Baltimore Riots. She learned that medical supplies to treat wounded soldiers were lacking and decided to rectify this situation. Publicizing the need for donations and supplies in the Worcester Spy, she soon had a successful distribution operation and was given a pass to travel with Army ambulances. For three years Clara traveled with the Army in VA and SC and quickly became known as the "Angel of the Battlefield" for treating Union and Confederate soldiers. She became Superintendent of Nurses in Major General Butler's command. and started a program in MD that tried to locate soldiers who were listed as Missing In Action. This program continued after the end o the Civil War and grew to include the identifying and marking of the graves of over 12,000 of soldiers. Clara became the first American woman to run a government office when President Abraham Lincoln authorized her 'Office of Correspondence with the Friends of the Missing Men of the United States Army' . Busy with this program , on the lecture circuit and , involved with the suffragist movement. she established the National Cemetery and proposed the dedication of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. She eventually exhausted herself and under doctors orders went to Switzerland for a respite

Switzerland is where Clara learned of the International Red Cross which ad been formed in Geneva 4 years earlier. The IRC treaty guaranteed that hospitals would be neutral during all future wars. While in Europe, she helped relief efforts during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-7 , saw the IRC's work in action, and received the Iron Cross of Germany. Believing a Red Cross society would be good for the US, Clara began campaigning for the formation of one upon her return home. By giving public speeches, writing articles, and lots of traveling to and loying Washinton, she was able to show the public and politicians that the Red Cross could be beneficial in both wartime and peacetime. Neutrality would be guaranteed during wartime and , during peacetime, the Red Cross would help victims of forest fires, floods, and other disasters . Her hard work payed off and on May 21, 1881 , the American Association of the Red Cross was established.

Clara served as the first President of the American Red Cross and under her leadership the society aided the US military during the Spanish-American War, conducted domestic and international L disaster relief efforts, and campaigned successfully for the inclusion of peacetime relief work as part of the IRC. In 1904, Clara retired to her home in Glen Echo, MD. Clara Barton died on April 12, 1912 and was buried in her families plat in North Cemetery in Oxford, MA. Her humanitarian spirit lives on through the Red Cross.

Sharon