Here's the Latest Hands-on Book from Nan McNutt and Bruce "Subiyay" Miller

Nan's latest book - The Twined Basket  

The Twined Basket

Kaya is teaching her grandchildren, Josephine and Ralph, to weave baskets from the leaves of the cattail plant. But Kaya has planned much more! As Josephine and Ralph become entwined in Kaya's stories, they embark on an exciting adventure receiving their ancestral names.

Click here to view in the Amazon bookstore

Price: $9.95

 
 
Click the pages above to look inside

 

The Spindle Whorl

Sel'sel'eye, a Coast Salish girl, uses her spindle whorl to spin the clipped white hair from her little wooly dog. She teaches her younger sister how to prepared the wool for spinning. But, at her father's longhouse, Sel'sel'eye takes on the role of an adult. She gifts her yarn to an Elder and receives a special gift of her own.

Click here to view in Powell's online bookstore

Price: $9.95

  The Spindle Whorl
 
Click the pages above to look inside
 

 

Nan McNutt

I was eleven years old when my family moved to the island of Pohnpei (pon’pay)—one of the high volcanic islands of Micronesia filled with lots of jungle, from the mountains to the lagoons. Because there were no other Euro-American children my age, my parents enrolled me in the local school. I soon began learning the customs and language of the island. But when I was 16 years old, my parents sent me back to the “States” to attend a boarding school. As you might imagine, this was a difficult thing to do, because as a teenager I had become so familiar to the ways of Pohnpei.

When I look back now, I realize that my young years on Pohnpei gave me “different eyes” through which to understand and feel comfortable with people of different cultures. No wonder I ended up studying anthropology at the University of Washington. It was there that I began developing friendships with Native American students.

Since receiving my Masters in Education many years ago, I have lived and worked in Native American communities and schools. I now write children’s books, create instructional classroom materials, and lead workshops for teachers in partnership with elders, educators and artists from many Native American communities. It is the inspiration from these people, as well as the response from the teachers and students themselves, that motivates me to develop new ways to honor indigenous peoples, their languages and their cultures.

This site is a place of learning and understanding for students, educators, multi-cultural experts and persons interested in seeing another culture through "different eyes."

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