The Gin Rickey is a highball cocktail made with gin, soda water and lime juice.  It was invented in the 1880’s with bourbon, then became very popular with gin in the 1890’s.  The story goes that a Democratic politician named Colonel Joe Rickey made up the drink in a Washington DC bar with the help of the bartender there (here’s more on that).  The drink rose to worldwide popularity, and is even mentioned in books like the 1920’s novel Great Gatsby.  Though it’s a simple drink, the rickey connects to a centuries-long tradition of mixing booze and carbonated water.  Sonja and Alex Overhiser  Find recipe at https://www.acouplecooks.com/gin-rickey/  See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rickey_(cocktail)   

At the First Americans Museum (FAM), visitors will experience the collective histories of 39 distinctive First American Nations.  On September 18, 2021, the 175,000 square foot museum will showcase state-of-the-art exhibitions in First American history, culture, and art; live public and educational programs; a family discovery center with immersive family-friendly activities; a full-service restaurant presenting unique Native inspired cuisine; and a museum store featuring authentic one-of-a-kind hand-made items or products by premiere First American artists.  Only a few tribal Nations were indigenous to what is now the State of Oklahoma.  All others were removed from homelands across the contiguous U.S. to Indian Territory.  In 1907 Oklahoma became the 46th state to enter the union.  The State of Oklahoma’s name comes from two Choctaw words Okla and Homma.  Translated it means “Red People.”  https://www.visitokc.com/listings/first-americans-museum/5158/  https://famok.org/about-us/ 

Joy Harjo’s signature project as the 23^rd U.S. Poet Laureate is one of mapmaking:  gathering poems by 47 Native Nations poets in a cartography of voice.  Living Nations, Living Words: an Anthology of First Peoples Poetry, which was published in May 2021, is the print version of this project, which also lives as an online multimedia map hosted by the Library of Congress.  The online map bears no borders or labels; instead, its markers, shaped like small orange sunbursts hovering over the vivid topography, link to portraits and brief biographies of the poets, each of whom chose the location with which they are identified.  These biographical introductions link to pages with audio recordings and transcripts of the poets reading and then commenting on their poems.  The print edition maintains this emphasis on the poets themselves:  each of the 47 poems is preceded by a full page devoted to the poet’s portrait and brief biography.  https://blog.pshares.org/mapmaking-and-living-nations-living-words-an-anthology-of-first-peoples-poetry/ 

“To justify these breaches of the ‘permanent Indian frontier,’ the policy makers in Washington invented Manifest Destiny, a term which lifted land hunger to a lofty plane.  The Europeans and their descendants were ordained by destiny to rule all of America.  They were the dominant race and therefore responsible for the Indians—along with their lands, their forests, and their mineral wealth.”  Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown 

Dorris Alexander "Dee" Brown (1908–2002) was an American novelist, historian, and librarian.  His most famous work, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (1970), details the history of American expansionism from the point of view of the Native Americans.  Born in Alberta, Louisiana, a sawmill town, Brown grew up in Ouachita County, Arkansas, which experienced an oil boom when he was thirteen years old.  Brown's mother later relocated to Little Rock so he and his brother and two sisters could attend a better high school.  He spent much time in the public library.  Reading the three-volume History of the Expedition under the Command of Captains Lewis and Clark helped him develop an interest in the American West.  He also discovered the works of Sherwood Anderson and John Dos Passos, and later William Faulkner and Joseph Conrad.  He cited these authors as those most influential on his own work.  While attending home games by the baseball team the Arkansas Travelers, he became acquainted with Chief Yellow Horse, a pitcher.  His kindness, and a childhood friendship with a Creek boy, caused Brown to reject the descriptions of Native American peoples as violent and primitive, which dominated American popular culture at the time.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dee_Brown_(writer) 

Wounded Knee Creek is a tributary of the White River, approximately 100 miles (160 km) long, in Oglala Lakota County, South Dakota in the United States.  Its Lakota name is Čhaŋkpé Ópi Wakpála.  The creek's name recalls an incident when a Native American sustained an injury to his knee during a fight. 

The creek rises in the southwestern corner of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, along the state line with Nebraska, and flows northwest.  It borders the site of the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre, in which the 7th US Cavalry under Colonel James W. Forsyth massacred approximately 300 Sioux, mostly women and children, many unarmed.  Towns in this region include Wounded Knee and Manderson.  The Wounded Knee Creek flows NNW across the reservation and joins the White south of Badlands National Park.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wounded_Knee_Creek 

loop·​hole  noun 

1:  a means of escape especially:  an ambiguity or omission in the text through which the intent of a statute, contract, or obligation may be evaded

2 a:  a small opening through which small arms may be fired

2 b:  a similar opening to admit light and air or to permit observation

loophole  verb 

loopholed; loopholing  https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/loophole 

Your eye muscles move more than a hundred thousand times a day.  *  You have about 400 different kinds of odor receptors in your nose.  *  A newborm baby’s brain grows about 1 percent larger each day until the infant is about three months old.  *  Your skin, the largest organ in your body, weighs about eight pounds.  *  The word muscle comes from the Latin word for mouse.  *  On average, your heart beats one hundred thousand times a day, pumping two thousand gallons of blood through your body.  *  Your body holds about a gallon and a half of blood.  *  A newborn baby’s body holds only one cup of blood.  *  Wow in the World by Mindy Thomas and Guy Raz

A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg

Tammany  (TAM-uh-nee)  adjective  Relating to political corruption.  After Tammany Hall in New York City, former home of the New York County Democratic Party, which was known for corruption.  Earliest documented use:  1872.  Tamanend or Tammany was a wise and peaceful Delaware Indian chief who became known as the “patron saint” of America.  Many social clubs and societies were named after him.  Tammany Hall in New York was one such place that evolved into a political machine notorious for its corruption.  It was active from 1789-1967. 

Hawthorne effect  (HAW-thorn i-FEKT)  noun  An improvement in workers’ performance attributed to the special attention they received when singled out for a study.  After Hawthorne Works, a factory complex of the Western Electric Company, where this effect was observed.  The complex was named after the original name of the town where it was located.  Earliest documented use:  1958.   

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 2412  August 30, 2021