Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is a group of conditions that can occur in a person when their mother drank alcohol heavily during pregnancy. Effects are not reversible and may include growth problems, brain damage, behavioral problems, and particular defects in the facial features.
tag
A tag is the signature or name of a graffiti artist. The artist may leave their tag across a number of locations to establish their presence, mark territory, or communicate a message.
premonition
A feeling that something, especially something unpleasant, is going to happen.
regalia
Official and traditional clothes and decorations, especially those worn or carried for special occasions or formal ceremonies.
Alcatraz
Alcatraz Island is a small island in San Francisco Bay. It housed a maximum-security federal prison from 1934 to 1963. From 1969 to 1971, almost one hundred Natives and allies occupied the island. The occupation was meant to demonstrate that the out-of-use federal land was now suitable for Native reclamation. The uprising was forcibly ended by the U.S. government. Today, the former prison on the island is a public museum and tourist attraction.
solipsism
The view or theory that the self is all that can be known to exist.
Powwow
A North American indigenous communal ceremony involving feasting, singing, and dancing.
3D printing
The 3D printing process builds a three-dimensional object from a computer-aided design model, usually by successively adding material layer by layer.
blood quantum
Blood quantum laws or Indian blood laws are historical laws in the United States that defined Native American identity by percentages of ancestry. These laws were enacted by the U.S. government, and many tribes and nations do not include blood quantum as part of their enrollment criteria.
depravity
Moral corruption; wickedness.
votive candle
A small prayer candle meant to be burnt as part of an offering or religious ceremony.
PCP
Phencyclidine, also known as angel dust (among other names), is a drug used for its mind-altering effects. PCP may cause hallucinations, distorted perceptions of sounds, and violent behavior. As a recreational drug, it is typically smoked, but it may be taken by mouth, snorted, or injected.
tomahawk
A tomahawk is a type of single-handed ax from North America, traditionally resembling a hatchet with a straight shaft, and used in indigenous culture.
coliseum
A large theater, cinema, or stadium.
gentrification
Gentrification is a process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more affluent residents and businesses.
magnum
A Magnum is a type of gun: The .357 S&W Magnum (9×33mmR), or simply .357 Magnum, is a revolver cartridge with a .357-inch (9.07 mm) bullet diameter.
reservation
An Indian reservation is a legal designation for an area of land managed by a federally recognized Native American tribe under the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs rather than the state governments of the United States in which they are physically located. Usually conceived of as rural.
variegated
Exhibiting different colors, especially as irregular patches or streaks.
peyote
Lophophora williamsii, or peyote, is a small, spineless cactus with psychoactive alkaloids, particularly mescaline. Considered a sacred hallucinatory plant by some indigenous cultures and by the Native American Church.
Native American Church
The Native American Church, also known as Peyotism and Peyote Religion, is a Native American religion that teaches a combination of traditional Native American beliefs and Christianity, with sacramental use of the entheogen peyote.
