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A striking feature of all Indigenous architecture was the consistent integrity between structural forms and cultural values. The wigwam, tipi and igloo were highly evolved building-forms perfectly suited to their environments and to the requirements of mobile hunting and gathering cultures. The longhouse, pit house and plank house were diverse responses to the need for more permanent building forms.
In addition to meeting the primary need for shelter, structures functioned as integral expressions of their occupants' spiritual beliefs and cultural values. In all six regions, dwellings performed dual roles — providing both shelter and a tangible means of linking mankind with the universe. Building-forms were often seen as metaphorical models of the cosmos, and as such they frequently assumed powerful spiritual qualities which helped define the cultural identity of a people over hundreds or even thousands of years.
Eastern Woodlands
Eastern Woodland Indigenous peoples belong to two unrelated language families, Iroquoian and Algonquian. At the time of European contact, Iroquoian-speaking peoples, including the Haudenosaunee and Huron-Wendat, occupied much of what is now southern Ontario, northern Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York, and the St. Lawrence Valley as far east as the present-day Québec City area. Algonquian-speaking peoples, including the Ojibwa and Mi'kmaq, extended from Lake Superior north of Lake Huron to the Ottawa Valley (see Ottawa River), and east through present-day New England and the Atlantic provinces.
Iroquoian Longhouse
The characteristic Iroquoian dwelling was the longhouse, a long and narrow structure that was home to several related families. The rectangular structure was constructed of a double row of saplings, driven into the ground, bent towards each other, and tied at the top to form a flexible barrel-vaulted (deeply arched) frame. Sheets of bark were fastened between the poles, and additional saplings were attached horizontally on the outside for reinforcement. Posts down the centre might provide additional support for the roof, with holes in the roof venting the smoke from hearths inside. Sleeping platforms were arranged along the long walls, with a space for storage and door at either end.
A number of hearths occupied a row down the centre, with each fire usually shared by two families, one living across from the other. The typical Huron-Wendat longhouse was about 24 by 8 m, with three hearths; lengths varied between 9 and 55 m, with as many as 12 fires. A family might have had eight members, meaning that the population of a single house would have been about 16 times the number of hearths.
The village consisted of a group of longhouses, often surrounded by a palisade of poles. Typically villages were located on defensible sites near water, wood and arable land. The Nodwell site near Southampton, Ontario, on Lake Huron, was inhabited in the mid-14th century. It had about a dozen longhouses surrounded by a double palisade. An estimated 500 people lived here for at least 20 years. Around the year 1500, the Iroquoian population expanded rapidly and villages became larger and more heavily fortified, with some villages accommodating more than 2,000 people.
The Iroquoian villages and their longhouses are known from archaeology and from the descriptions and drawings of early European visitors. Explorer Samuel de Champlain wrote in 1615 that one village had "two hundred fairly large lodges." The best known reconstruction of a Huron-Wendat longhouse is at Ste Marie Among the Hurons, near Midland, Ontario, at which Dr. Wilfrid Jury of the University of Western Ontario's Museum of Ontario Archaeology attempted to replicate the early-17th-century Jesuit mission. (See also: Lawson Archaeological Site; Mailhot-Curran Archaeological Site; Dawson Archaeological Site; McDonald Archaeological Site).
Life within the longhouse was communal, and the structure was a microcosm of Iroquoian society. The people used the longhouse as a metaphor for life. The League of Five (later Six) Nations called themselves the "people of the longhouse" (see Haudenosaunee). The westernmost nation of the confederacy, the Seneca, were known as the "keepers of the western door," the Mohawk were the "keepers of the eastern door," and the Onondaga in the centre were the "keepers of the fire." Although traditional building techniques were largely lost when the Huron-Wendat and other Ontario Iroquoians (see Neutral Confederacy) were dispersed and nearly destroyed by the Haudenosaunee, many of those who live on the Six Nations reserve near Brantford, Ontario still consider themselves to be the "followers of the longhouse."
Algonquian (Conical) Wigwam
The Algonquian peoples were hunter-gatherers whose lives depended on cyclical movement within their territorial ranges. Their accommodation needs were met by a transportable building-type known as the wigwam. Although there were differences among nations and regions, the wigwam was generally a one- or two-family dwelling with a round or rectangular floor plan about 3.5 to 4.5 m in diameter. It was framed with saplings or pliable poles which were inserted into the ground and lashed together at the top. A series of light horizontal members (stringers) was tied to the frame to strengthen it, and to support the outer covering of sheets of bark, animal skins or mats of reeds. When people moved from one place to another, they would remove the exterior sheathing and take it with them, leaving the poles standing, to be re-used later either by themselves or by others.
Mi'kmaq and other Algonquian peoples generally preferred a conical design to their wigwams. Typically four poles 4 m long were lashed together at the top, and the other ends were inserted into the ground. Additional poles were placed between the principal ones, converging at the top. The outer covering usually consisted of sheets of birchbark (see Birch) sewn together, but skins, woven mats, or evergreen boughs were also used. One or more rings of stringers reinforced the cone and held down the bark. The interior was a single space divided into several functional areas. The hearth occupied the centre, and cooking equipment hung from a rack below the smoke hole. The floor was covered with interlaced scented fir boughs, and furs were placed on top of these for sleeping. Possessions were stored around the perimeter.
The Mi'kmaq winter camp consisted of one or more wigwams in the occupants' family hunting or trapping territory. Summer settlements were arranged informally and may have extended along a section of coast or river bank.
Conical wigwams similar to this were built by Algonquian groups to the east, north and west. The groups who adopted this form include the Beothuk of Newfoundland, who built a polygonal mamateek, or winter wigwam. A mamateek is seen in a drawing of the 1820s by Shawnadithit, the last Beothuk. They also kept smaller conical summer mamateek, and rectangular smokehouses (drying houses) for venison.
The term "Subarctic peoples" describes a number of different and unique groups, including the Dene, Cree, Ojibwa, Atikamekw and Innu. The Subarctic region consists largely of a five million square kilometre zone of boreal forest extending from the arctic tundra south to the mountains, plains and deciduous forest in the mid-section of the country. West to east, it extends from the Bering Sea to Labrador.
Domed Wigwams
The Cree of the North, who inhabited areas from Great Slave Lake to Hudson and James Bay, made use of a similar house-form to the Algonquians in the Eastern Woodlands. So too did the Ojibwa, who lived between Lake Huron and in the eastern Prairies.
The difference was that they typically built circular, elongated and domed wigwams, usually as winter dwellings, and clustered in settlements. Cut saplings were set upright into the ground at intervals of about 60 cm. Opposite poles were bent towards the centre and their ends tied together with strips of wood. Horizontal members were added to strengthen the stressed frame. The lower portion might be sheathed with a row of mats woven from cattails, the upper part with sheets of bark. A smoke hole was left in the centre of the domed roof.
The wigwam was sometimes elongated into a structure whose plan resembled the Iroquoian longhouse. The Midewiwin, or Grand Medicine Society, of the Ojibwa and Lake Winnipeg Salteaux built lodges as long as 30 m, which shamans would use for initiation and instructional ceremonies.
These and some Algonquian groups developed modified variants of the wigwam to serve specialized purposes. These included the sweat lodge, a small conical tent in which water was thrown on hot stones to produce steam; the menstrual hut, a small wigwam used by women during their menses; and the smallest of the lot, the shaking tent. The shaking tent, used by a shaman in the course of his duties, was a circular, open-topped structure, perhaps 1.2 m in diameter, shaped much like a large barrel and usually covered with rawhide. The shaman would enter the tent after dark, and would summon his spirit helpers with his singing and drumming.
The Plains
The Canadian prairies mark the northern edge of the Great Plains, a vast region bounded on the west by the Rocky Mountains and extending southwards to the Texas panhandle (see Prairie West). Until their eradication in the mid- to late 19th century, the region was home to vast herds of North American bison, and to distinctive Indigenous cultures — such as the Siksikaitsitapi (Blackfoot), Cree, Ojibwa, Assiniboine and Dakota — that were shaped by a dependence upon these animals. (See Indigenous People: Plains).
Plains Tipi
Like other hunting cultures, the Indigenous peoples of the Plains lived nomadic or semi-nomadic lives, which involved seasonal movements in pursuit of food and safe wintering places. Each year was shaped by carefully organized seasonal rounds that entailed a return to familiar camp sites at specific times of the year, either for hunting, social gatherings or for winter shelter. The Plains peoples developed a unique portable house-form, which was perfectly adapted to their way of life. This was the tipi (or teepee), a conically shaped structure fashioned from wooden poles and coverings sewn from the hides of the bison. Until the arrival of the horse on the Prairies in the late 18th century, the poles and covers for these tipis were pulled from one camp site to the next by dogs, while their owners walked alongside (see Travois). Horses increased the mobility and hunting capabilities of the Plains peoples and replaced dogs as the principal means of transporting possessions from one encampment to another. Because horses could carry far heavier loads, tipis increased in size and their furnishings became more elaborate and decorative.
The precise origins of the Plains tipi are uncertain. Telltale rings of stones used to hold down the edges of skin tent covers mark the sites of ancient encampments dating back at least 5,000 years on the Prairies, and earlier still in regions to the north. All basic skin tents shared several common features: a central fire set beneath a smoke hole that was centred around the crossing point of the pole structure, an east-facing entrance, and a place of honour located opposite the entrance.
At some unknown date, Plains cultures made two innovations that transformed their skin tents into the tipi. The first of these was the development of a tilted conical form, in which the rear slope is steeper than that on the front (east-facing) side. As a result the floor plan of a tipi is egg-shaped, rather than circular. The tilted form permitted the smoke hole to be located beneath the crossing point of the poles, instead of at the centre point, making it possible to vary the size of the hole or close it entirely. The second innovation was the addition of two flaps (also known as wings or ears) that flanked the smoke hole and were supported by external poles. By moving these poles, the occupants could regulate the draft to improve ventilation and carry off smoke.
Tipi design varied among the Plains peoples, a major difference being the number of primary poles used for the structural frame. The Siksikaitsitapi and their allies favoured a four-pole system, while the Cree, Ojibwa and Siouan-speaking peoples (Dakota) typically used a three-pole method. The four-pole system resulted in a somewhat more circular form and required fewer supplemental poles, but was less stable than the three-pole form. The affiliations of a particular nation's encampment were easily identifiable at a distance by variations in profile, the shape of vent flaps and pole lengths.
All aspects of tipi construction were performed by women, who debarked, smoothed and dried the numerous poles required for each tipi. The number and length of poles varied among nations and individual owners, a primary consideration being the owner's wealth as judged by dogs or horses. A medium-sized Siksikaitsitapi tipi required about 20 poles averaging 7.5 m in length. Tipi covers were assembled from the tanned hides of bison cows that were killed in the spring or early summer when the fur was thinnest. These were cured then meticulously sewn with split sinew to achieve the precise semicircular shape dictated by the intended size and configuration of the tipi. Holes were cut along the outer perimeter of the cover to accommodate pegs which held the tipi close to the ground (stones were used in windy locations and for winter encampments). Smoking the interior of the finished tipi prevented it from hardening or cracking after a rain.
Tipis were erected with the entrance facing east, the direction of the rising sun and opposite the prevailing wind. The frame poles were lashed together, then supplementary poles were arranged at regular intervals to achieve the correct profile. The cover was raised onto the back side of the frame using a special pole, then draped around the circumference and attached at the front seam that extended from the bottom of the smoke hole to the entrance by means of wooden lacing pins. Adjustments in the position of the poles and stakes helped stretch the cover to achieve a taut, smooth fit. A liner, also sewn from bison hides, was then installed around the interior circumference to reduce drafts and dampness and to prevent the casting of shadows onto the outer wall. The liners were referred to as "ghost screens," because of this latter function. Bison robes were then arranged over a layer of freshly cut grass and a fire was lit within a ring of stones in the centre of the tipi. An altar for burning sweetgrass was placed directly behind the fire ring. The inhabitants sat and slept in locations that were established by social custom usually with the oldest man — the owner of the tipi — occupying the place of honour at the rear, western side of the tipi, behind the fire and facing the entrance. Sacred medicine bundles were hung on tripods within the tipi.
Plains peoples developed powerful symbolic associations between the tipi and the spiritual realm. The tipi floor embodied the earth and the Mother; the lodge cover represented the sky and the Father. The poles connected the earth to the sky and provided trails along which the peoples' prayers might reach the Great Spirit.
A few tipis — perhaps one in ten among the Siksikaitsitapi — were covered with painted images which transformed them into sacred lodges associated with specific rituals. The images painted on these tipis reflected the distinctive iconography of the owners' band or nation, and had both literal and cosmological meanings. Border designs at the base embodied the earth and things pertaining to the earth; those painted at the top depicted the sky and the spirit world. Between these two regions lay a zone that represented aspects of this world or another world that the principal occupant (or his direct ancestor) entered during a vision. Images in this area consequently ranged from depictions of human exploits to evocations of supernatural creatures that conveyed powers to the first owner of the vision. After the skins wore out, usually every year or two, they were replaced. The paintings on the old tipi cover would be transferred to the new one, and so the designs passed on from generation to generation.
Plains peoples spent the summer and fall on the plains hunting buffalo and attending social and cultural gatherings that climaxed with the annual Sun Dance ceremonies. As winter approached they dispersed into smaller groups and established camps in sheltered river valleys. The precise placements of occupants and their belongings within individual tipis were mirrored in an equally formal organization of tipis within an encampment. On important occasions, encampments were organized in a circular form, usually with an opening to the east. Tipis were arranged in a precise order within this circle, band by band and family by family. Occasionally, these subdivisions formed subsidiary circles. Often, painted tipis composed a small inner circle within the core of the overall circle, particularly during major gatherings such as Sun Dance ceremonies.
Although the Plains culture blossomed with the acquisition of horses and rifles, its survival was undermined by other aspects of European immigration. The loss of the bison herds, in the second half of the 19th century, had a devastating impact on the Plains Indigenous peoples. For a while they managed to cope, altering their diet and substituting canvas for buffalo hides for tipi covers. But they eventually lost their self-sufficiency, were forced to abandon their traditional semi-nomadic way of life and to move onto defined reserves (see Numbered Treaties). Gradually, the tipi gave way to imposed architectural forms associated with a sedentary existence.
The Plateau
The central plateau region of British Columbia is bounded by the Rocky Mountains on the east and the Coastal mountain range on the west. This broad area is characterized by sharp contrasts in both climate and terrain: scorching summers and harsh winters; vast forests of pine, spruce and fir alternating with semi-arid expanses of grass and sage. For thousands of years it has been home to various Salish-speaking peoples including the Tsilhqot'in (Chilcotin), Lil'wat (Lillooet), Nlaka'pamux (Thompson) and Shuswap. (See Interior Salish).
During summer months, people of the Plateau occupied light pole-framed shelters covered with woven reeds or grass mats which were well-suited to their seasonal movements to fishing, hunting and wild plant gathering sites. In the winter, however, they lived in permanent hamlets of semi-subterranean dwellings known as pit houses, which were typically located at the eastern flanks of river valleys where mountain slopes offered protection from the prevailing winds. These buildings represented a distinctive and highly effective architectural form that was widely used throughout this region for at least 3,500 years. (See Indigenous Peoples: Plateau).
Pit House
Pit houses were broadly characterized by a log-framed structure built over an excavated floor and covered with an insulating layer of earth. Some ethnologists (see Urgent Ethnology) have speculated that the prototype for semi-subterranean dwellings of this type originated in northeastern Asia. They believe that it was transferred to North America during migrations across the Bering land-bridge (see Beringia), then was gradually diffused throughout the continent, appearing first in the Arctic with the whale-bone house of the Thule peoples, then as the pit house of the plateau, and subsequently as the earthlodge of the American Plains and other pit house variants in the American southwest. Regardless of its origins, the pit house is regarded as perhaps North America's oldest house type, and it was widely used throughout the plateau region until its eventual disappearance in the late 19th century.
The most fully documented pit houses were those constructed by the Nlaka'pamux of the Nicola Valley in southern British Columbia. During the 1890s ethnologist James Teit carefully recorded the design, construction techniques and beliefs associated with the pit houses of these people. Construction began with the careful measurement of the pit circumference, which ranged from 7.5 to 12 m in diameter and was excavated to a depth of about 1 m with outward-sloping side walls. Four logs were then inserted in holes in the floor at an angle parallel to the excavation walls. Their tops were notched to support the four main roof beams, which were sunk into the topsoil at steep angles. A webbing of spaced rafters was then lashed in concentric circles from the outer circumference to the central smoke hole at the apex of the substructure. The rafters supported a snug layer of poles that was thickly padded with pine needles or grass. In the upper Plateau, where rainfall is heavy, cedar bark with the curved side up was laid at this stage. Finally, the excavated earth was spread over the roof and stamped down, and a notched-log ladder was lowered through the smoke hole. The following spring grass sprouted on the roof and, but for the protruding ladder, the dwelling seemed to be a living part of the landscape.
The pit house ladder was once the object of artistic attention. Its top might be carved into the head of a bird or animal and painted to represent the guardian spirit of the head of the household. A central hearth was located near the foot of the ladder — usually on its north side — and a stone slab protected the ladder from burning. When covered with a layer of snow, the insulating efficiency of the pit house meant that only a small fire was required to warm the interior.
Although pit houses had no interior wall partitions, they were nevertheless divided into four areas defined by the location of the four main posts. This division corresponded with the Nlaka'pamux's cosmological view of the world as a huge, circular lodge that was divided into four compartments; after death, the soul crossed a river to the afterworld, which was also conceived as a large, round dwelling.
The communities visited by Teit typically had three or four pit houses, with between 15 and 30 people occupying each one. Earlier pre-contact communities were frequently much larger, containing 100 or more individual houses. Pit houses varied considerably in size, configuration and construction methods among the various peoples of the Plateau. Some, like those of the Nlaka'pamux, were circular, others were elongated or square, and some had secondary entrances in the side of the roof. The Shuswap living in the Thompson River valley near present-day Kamloops, sometimes used six principal posts and beams rather than four, producing a more conical profile.
Northwest Coast
The First Nations cultures on the West Coast of present-day British Columbia were shaped by the unique combination of temperate rain forest and comparatively mild maritime climate. The architecture of the coastal peoples exploited the abundant supplies of western red cedar to produce a remarkable Indigenous architecture that accommodated highly developed cultural beliefs and social patterns of living.
The forests, coasts and rivers of the region offered diverse and abundant food sources. This abundance in turn permitted the development of complex social organizations that placed a premium on ancestry, status and wealth, which found expression through the architecture and artistic traditions of each coastal culture. (See Indigenous People: Northwest Coast).
Plank House
Most coastal peoples occupied permanent winter village sites from fall to spring and lived in either fixed or portable dwellings in the summer — sometimes taking the planks that covered the building frames from the winter houses to enclose the frames of summer houses — as they relocated to harvest sea mammals, salmon and other fishes, gather berries and hunt. The social structure of the larger villages included a wealthy elite composed of chiefs or nobles, a body of commoners, and slaves who were regarded as outside the social order. The plank houses, as their buildings are called, were integral expressions of these hierarchical cultures. Villages were dominated by the noble elites, who owned most of the houses. In addition to accommodating extended families, the houses expressed the ancestral heritage and social standing of their owners through elaborate totemic imagery in the form of carved posts, painted screens and painted facades (see Totem Pole).
Plank houses were regarded as living expressions of their owners' prestige, family history and supernatural ancestors. They were the repositories for crest carvings and inherited or acquired treasures. Their interiors became the stages for ritual dances and dramas during midwinter festivals, and for gift-giving rituals known as potlatches that enhanced the power of chiefs and reaffirmed social relations.
The principal groups inhabiting present-day British Columbia were the Coast Salish in the south; the Kwakwaka'wakw (Kwakiutl), Nuu-chah-nulth (Nootka) and Nuxalk (Bella Coola) on the central coast; and the Haida, Tsimshian, Gitksan and Nisga'a in the north. Each group developed distinctive variations on of the plank house.
As with most other architectural forms developed by Indigenous peoples, those on the West Coast were affected and modified through contact with Europeans. In this region, European contact provided iron tools that led to a dramatic flowering of artistic expression during the 19th century, particularly among the peoples of the central and northern areas of the coast.
Plank houses shared a number of structural characteristics, regardless of their builders. All employed varying forms of post-and-beam construction, which typically exploited the large lengths and dimensions of the red cedar. In the south, Salish-speaking peoples developed a shed-roofed variant that was characterized by a single roof pitch that sloped from front to back. The building's frame system consisted of massive roof beams, often more than half a metre in diameter, which spanned the width of the house and varied in length from 7.5 to 15 m. These beams were supported by two rows of posts placed about 3.5 to 4 m apart. These beams were often carved to represent important family ancestors or supernatural beings associated with the family's history. Overlapping roof planks were laid over pole rafters attached to the roof beams. Walls were clad with wide split-cedar planks tied horizontally between paired upright poles. In spring, these planks were usually removed and transported to standing frames at summer village sites.
Shed houses varied widely in size. Some Salish villages comprised numerous comparatively small individual structures. In other instances, entire villages were made up of plank houses attached lengthwise to create lines that could extend as long as about 46 m in length. This modular system created a stockade-like wall that may have offered protection against hostile intruders. Early European observers assumed that these vast assemblages were single residences that accommodated entire villages.
Archaeological research shows us that the Coast Salish occupied extensive settlements composed of large plank houses for many millennia, with numerous village sites spread throughout the Lower Fraser Valley (see Fraser River) and lower Vancouver Island areas. In contrast to the First Nations along the central and north coast, the Salish architectural form declined rapidly following European contact, possibly due to the ravages of smallpox.
Nuu-chah-nulth, who lived on the West Coast of Vancouver Island, built two variants of the plank house. Those in the north erected gabled structures with a single roof beam, while those in the south built shed-roofed houses that bore some resemblance to their Salish neighbours. Their houses occasionally reached 30 m in length and were typically set broadside to the beach.
Kwakwaka'wakw of the central coast lived in winter villages that often contained a dozen or more plank houses. These were arranged according to social rank in rows facing the ocean. Central coast peoples regarded winter houses as "spiritual associates" of family lines or lineages. The red cedar from which their houses were built was believed to be imbued with supernatural qualities which were conveyed through the plank houses and their furnishings. Ceremonial names and design motifs were carved and painted onto architectural elements to enhance the supernatural properties and prestige attributed to the family lineage.
The facades of important houses were frequently decorated with dramatic paintings and carved poles that depicted the crests of the owner. Related to the sacred lineage ancestry of the house, they portrayed mythical events and signified the transformation of the house into a symbolic being during the winter ceremonials. House entrances were occasionally rendered as devouring mouths which dramatized the houses' spiritual power to guests who entered during winter ceremonial gatherings.
The plank houses of the Kwakwaka'wakw were essentially square, with sides ranging from 12 to 18 m, and gabled roofs. The two principal roof beams were supported by pairs of posts at the front and rear. Two additional beams at the eaves connected the corner posts. Vertical wall planks and roof planks were laid over a subframe of poles which was lashed to the frames. The Kwakwaka'wakw typically covered the gable ends facing the waterfront with vertical plank facades that occasionally rose above the roof line to create a raised pediment effect.
Nuxalk occupied a territory of sheltered fiords on the central coast above the northern tip of Vancouver Island. Early European visitors described Nuxalk villages in which plank dwellings were elevated upon pilings. The Nuxalk occasionally built houses with a tripartite facade that reflected the internal division into three equal bays and incorporated an excavated central fire pit. Alternatively, their houses assumed a gabled-roof form that was dominated by a central entrance pole.
West Coast plank house architecture attained its greatest technical refinement in the harsher environment of the northern coast. The Haida, Tsimshian, Nisga'a and Gitskan built smaller, more tightly fitted houses than those of their neighbours to the south. Typically about 12 m2, Haida plank houses were constructed in two primary forms. The more common type was the six-beam house, so-called because the building was framed with six large, longitudinal beams which projected beyond the gable wall ends. The six-beam house displayed highly sophisticated joinery techniques. Posts were raised at the four corners, and grooves at their bases received the ends of the wall plates. Massive sloping roof plates, cut from cedar planks as large as 75 by 15 cm, were inserted through slots in the corner posts and supported at the centre by pairs of posts, against which the frontal post was placed. Six large beams spanned the depth of the house, while a seventh beam at the ridge was broken to permit an opening for the smoke hole.
The Haida also built a two-beam variant, as did the Tsimshian, who occupied the coastal area lying south of Haida Gwaii (formerly the Queen Charlotte Islands) and up the Nass and Skeena Rivers. Highly characteristic features of both Haida and Tsimshian plank houses were boldly carved house posts and frontal crest columns (totem poles). Unlike their counterparts on the central coast, exterior ornamentation on these plank houses was wholly confined to these sculptural elements. The houses of high-ranking people among both the Haida and the Tsimshian contained central fire pits, with steps leading down from the main floor level.
As in the buildings of many other Indigenous cultures, the houses of the Haida and the Tsimshian represented the cosmos, providing symbolic (as well as a literal) accommodation for the spirits of past ancestors as well as for living and making the universe more readily comprehensible. Houses were all known by their names, and their construction was regarded as an important event marked by ceremonial potlatches.
Nineteenth-century photographs of Haida villages offer glimpses of this unique architectural form towards the end of its high point, before the ravages of smallpox had decimated the population. They depict dramatically sited villages composed of rows of tightly spaced gabled houses, the horizontal thrust of their massive timbers boldly contrasted by ranges of lofty crest poles that celebrated the rich sculptural traditions and cultural beliefs of this vigorous culture.
The Arctic
The Canadian Arctic has supported habitation for many thousands of years, despite a climate and terrain that appear to southerners as remarkably hostile. It is a land with little tree growth, and one whose ground is generally subject to permafrost. Summers are warm but short, a season devoted to intense outdoor life, with constant hunting (for sea and land mammals) and fishing. Winters are long, dark and cold, a time characterized mainly by indoor life.
While the history of Arctic building may go back some 25 millennia, knowledge of early cultures and their dwellings remains scanty. More is known about the Thule, who began to occupy the Arctic, from Alaska to Greenland, about 1000 AD. The Thule adopted separate house types for winter and summer, each responding to the environmental and behavioural conditions of its season. (See Indigenous People: Arctic).
Thule Winter House
The Thule winter house was a sophisticated semi-subterranean structure, designed to provide comfort and warmth for prolonged periods of indoor living, often over the course of several years. It was built with whatever materials could be found: principally stone, earth, moss and whalebones, but sometimes also driftwood and sod. Typically the house was oval in shape, with the external diameters between about 3 and 9 m, and might be dug as much as 1 m into the ground. A narrow, underground entrance passageway, a few metres long, angled up into the floor, provided an effective cold-trap. Cold air would be displaced to the lower part of the passage, away from the living space. The floors and walls were lined with stones or other solid materials. The most impressive feature was the roof, supported by a structural frame which, in the central and eastern Arctic, was usually made from whalebones, which supported a variety of roof materials.
Brooman Point, Nunavut, in the Bathurst-Cornwallis Islands region of the High Arctic, was excavated in the late 1970s. The period of occupation was likely during the early 12th century AD. Each house was occupied for only a few years at most, with perhaps three to five houses in use at a single time, probably from autumn to spring.
Other Thule communities comprised single-family, two-family and communal dwellings, as at Cumberland Sound on Baffin Island, where roofs were covered with sod, stone and baleen (another whale product).
Inuit Snowhouse (Igloo)
The Inuit continued the habitation patterns of their Thule ancestors until early after contact, when whalebone houses were abandoned — perhaps because of the cooling climate during the Little Ice Age of the 17th to 19th centuries. The domed snowhouse (also called an igloo; iglu in Inuktitut) became the predominant winter dwelling form. The igloo form may well have been an old one: archaeologists have found snow knives among the Dorset people, the culture which preceded the Thule, suggesting that the Dorset may have built with snow prior to 1000 AD.
The Inuit snowhouse was remarkable in that a vault was constructed without a scaffold or external support. A row of snow blocks was laid in a circle, and the top trimmed to begin a spiral incline. Subsequent blocks were shaped with slanting edges and laid in a spiral, each row inclined further inward to producing a round, domed shape. Snow was packed into the cracks. The interior was often lined with skins (sometimes the same skins that covered the summer tent), to prevent interior heat from melting the roof. A small hole at the top provided ventilation. The igloo conserves heat superbly by means of the natural insulation of snow and the use of a tunnelled entrance with a cold-trap.
A large snowhouse would house a family through the winter. Typically these might be 3 to 3.5 m high and 3.5 to 4.5 m in diameter. Smaller snowhouses — perhaps about 1.5 m high and 2 m in diameter — were used as temporary dwellings during winter hunts or journeys, sometimes only as overnight shelter.
Details of design differed from one region to another. Some used skin linings, while others did not. Entranceways might be flat-topped (as among the Inuinnait (Copper Inuit)), rather than vaulted or domed. Igloos were sometimes arranged in clusters, with a number of living chambers sharing a common entry tunnel or a communal facility, such as a feasting room or a dance house. Some clusters, as among the Iglulingmuit of Hudson Bay, might have as many as 10 domed units, each with a discrete function (e.g., living unit, dog kennel, storage).
Summer Tent
As temperatures rose above freezing, in late April or May, the snowhouse would begin to melt. The dome would be removed and replaced with a superstructure of skins, supported on the snow base. This inter-seasonal dwelling was known as the qarmaq; the name is also used to describe a hut of stone, turf or whalebone that was roofed with skins, and which might be used in autumn as well as spring.
Summers are warm and a time for active hunting and fishing, which caused the community to become mobile. The Inuit lived in a simple tent (or tupiq), sewn from skins of seal, caribou or other animals. The skins were supported on poles, with the edges weighted down with rocks. Firepits were located outside. The tents' portability allowed hunters to follow their prey.
The Inuit along the Labrador coast, as well as some central groups, built tents with a conical rear portion and a triangular entrance area, with a horizontal ridge-pole between the two. This division into a longitudinal entrance and circular living space duplicates the plan of the snowhouse.
The form of the tent varied among groups. The Iglulingmuit tent was simple ridge-type structure, not unlike the pup tent of today. The tent of the Inuit of the Belcher Islands, in Hudson Bay, was conical with a central smoke-hole, similar to the Plains tipi.
See also Architectural History: the French Colonial Regime; Architectural History: 1759-1867; Canadian Architecture: 1867-1914; Architectural History: 1914-1967; Architectural History: 1967-1997.


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18 December 2012
day 18: snow
Front stalls, Row J, Seat 13, Slava's Snowshow*.
Indoor snow, but accompanied by lots of awe and laughter, dramatic music, a covering of filmy nylon, a snowstorm, and giant balls and balloons bouncing through the audience. Absolutely amazing. And to think I was dubious about whether I would enjoy a show that was all clowns. The secret, I discovered, was to surrender to the surrealism.
There's a snowshow in the bathroom now where little pieces of white snow- paper are littering the floor after falling out of my clothes as I got ready for bed.
*A gift from my quizzy mate J.
1 comment:
- Annie Cholewa said...
I adored Slava's Snowshow when we went a couple of years ago (Liverpool). And we were right at the front ... we got wet! Totally brilliant night :D
- 21 December 2012 at 23:27
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subset: commoncrawl


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WASHINGTON (CNN) - Just 20 minutes after the release of July's unemployment report, The Republican National Committe released a statement slamming President Obama for taking a "victory lap" over some better-than-expected economic indicators:
"While President Obama was taking a victory lap to celebrate the economy's performance, more Americans lost their jobs and the budget deficit soared to a record $1.3 trillion in July. In the month of July alone 247,000 Americans lost their jobs, which means more than 2.8 million Americans have lost their jobs since the president took office," said RNC Chairman Michael Steele in an e-mail. "The president said his stimulus bill would keep unemployment from rising higher than 8 percent. It hasn't. Now he expects Americans to believe his trillion-dollar health care experiment will improve their health care? It won't. America simply can't afford more of the president's costly experiments."
Twelve minutes later, House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio, reacting to the jobless numbers, criticized Democrats for what he called their "job-killing agenda":
"Today's unemployment report is yet another reminder that more spending, taxing, and borrowing does not mean more jobs for the American people. Instead of rewriting history on their 'stimulus' promises, Washington Democrats should abandon their job-killing agenda," said Boehner in a release. "Rather than pushing an increasingly unpopular government takeover of health care that will increase costs, drive up the deficit, raise taxes, and destroy jobs, Democratic leaders would be well-served to work with Republicans on real reforms that expand Americans' access to affordable health care and help small businesses create more jobs."
No matter what happens, these people are always going to find something wrong with something positive.
They are all immersed with their own pity party that they don't realize that life has more to offer than just "doom and gloom."
At what point will the American citizenry decide to put a halt to this oppressive piling on of debt by this administration? Apparently, a majority of voter last Nov thought Obama was smart, but he is proving that he doesn't have the faintest idea what to do about anything except weasel on all foreign relations, blame the US for all bad stuff, and pile on debt. Does he really think this is okay with Americans? (It's not!)
of course they do, they had nothing to do with it and can claim no credit so they bash the POTUS.
The GOP gave BIG business the power to destroy jobs, send jobs overseas, reduce wages, create fire-at-will. And now they are concerned about people's welfare. The GOP need to shut up and retire cause they have destroy the economy of this country.
What a joke. These buffoons must have a short memory.The GOP laid waste to our economy.Thank GOD for President Obama coming to Wakarusa Indiana the other day. George Bush visited our area only with an outstretched hand looking for donations. Obama brought us HOPE.
The Republicans before they criticize Obama should remember that the mess, such as recession and high unemployment, we are experiencing now are after effects of the bad decisions and "shock and awe" styles of management of a Republican president and Republican subordinates before our current president.
This president can bring the employment down to 5% they will still complain. These dam " sons of jerks" are still playing politic. They just don't want to give him any credit. They are acting stupidly.
Repubs in the latest episode of 'steel boner'.
CNN, please stop protecting the Rethuglican. I can't stand you site.
If I was bashing he Democrats my comment would be posted and now that I am telling the truth about the Rethuglican you won't print my commment.
I already stop watching CNN and now I will never return to you site again. You are in the pocket of the Rethuglican and I find you to be nothing more that a tabloid rag.
Republicans caused this mess. Why should we listen to them?
Excuse me? The unemployment rate was sky high and jobs were bleeding WAY before the President took office thanks to Republicans. If the jobless rate was zero or very low when he Pres. Obama took office and then it just Jumped up to 9.4 % then you would have an argument. But since the umemployment rate is a DIRECT consequence of the recession, almost depression, that the Republican leadership brought on this country I am thrilled that Pres. Obama's wisdom and forsight is helping us turn the economy around. We are not fooled. Be Gone! Your spin has no power here!
No matter what obama does it still isn't good enough for republicans. I say if you don't like the what's cooking in the white house get your boney arse out and stop whenning about it.
The party of no is obviously angry that President Obama's policies are WORKING. No one expected 8 years of Bush's mess to be cleaned up in 200 days. That's idiotic thinking. Congratulations President Obama on your excellent job so far!
why didn't they react when we went to Iraq in false pretext...ok how sad...GOP....GOP, for you....breaking pres. obama is not stopping health care...you think like this...ok..sad..sad...sad...it is not going to work....
It would have been much more effective if the republicans would have just said the unemployment numbers look promising. Instead they come back with nothing more than whining. They prove that they're really hoping for the worst, not a trend toward improvement. It's just more hooey from the nattering nabobs of negativity. I've tuned them out, I prefer to maintain my optimism.
Maybe the focus should not be on creating new jobs which are not neccessarily good jobs, but rather finding ways to reduce the huge layoffs from companies who are not even losing money and still paying huge bonuses to executives.
Amazing the lack of perspective the Republican party has...it is their former president, their deregulation of the financial services sector and their wars on two fronts that dragged down the economy and blew out our budget deficit...all while accomplishing virtually nothing over the course of 8 years in terms of a domestic agenda. Obama has been fighting Bush's uphill battle with the economy and would actually like to fix a system that future president's allowed to fall into its current state of disrepair. Enough partisan rhetoric – offer some solutions of your own you cowards.
What have the Republican congressional leaders done to help? Nothing!
At every turn they said no, yet, they find reasons to complain because the economic news is not as bad as expected.
Even if all unemployed person fund jobs this pass month, they would still complain. This group of selfish people should be voted out and many will during the midterm election.
Though there are too many ignorant people in this country; the Republicans think we are all stupid so they continue the fear tactics in the hope they will scare as many as possible.
Had they held the presidency, I hate to say the unemployment figures would have shown to be 15% by now. Just say no to everything except more wars and wasteful spending on the military machine, for weapons no longer needed or free give away to their friends in Haliburton.
What victory lap? Republicans are so full of crap. We continue to receive good news on the economy, and party of NO continues to be negative and pessimistic in wanting the President to fail. Unfortunately, if the President fails, the American people do as well.
What a bunch of sore losers.
Suddenly Republicans are all concerned about spending! Where were they during the great robbery of the Bush era?
Republicans, please please please! be quite! We lost jobs plenty of jobs under Bush and spent money, with all those tax cuts................your way did not work either....stop acting like you are the only party that has all the answers to fixing a mess that you created, by doing it your way. Go ahead American celebrate that the job loss this month is lower than expected. I am so tried of all these politics.
The party of NO is disappointed that the economy is picking up once more. The American people are wiser that all of you put together. Continue to arrange protesters to sabotage the economy your waterloo awaits you Republicans at the front.
he's still cleaning up the bush-republican mess he inherited. rational people know the unemployment rate doesn't go from 9.5 to 5 in one month.
If this doesn't truly explain just how negative and out of touch these crazed Republicans are, I don't know what does. What a bunch of losers.


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All questions marked 'Required' need to be answered in order to submit the application. It is important that your application show all of the relevant education and experience you possess. Applications may be rejected if incomplete. If rejected, you must reapply for the position in order to be considered. An attached resume or curriculum via, a cover letter outlining your qualifications and interest in the position, contact information for 3 current, professional references, as well as copies of transcripts (if required) with each application.
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text: Our MySQL Resource Center focuses on the vast amount of free MySQL content available online, plus some for-sale items. Start your search here for tools, downloads, tutorials, podcasts, wikis, documentation, conferences, FAQs, books, sample chapters, articles, newsgroups, forums, jobs, contract opportunities, and more that will help you develop MySQL database applications. Keep track of MySQL blogs from MySQL AB's team and others for the latest news and developments. Download free open-source projects. Check out the best job sites and set up alerts so that you are notified when new jobs are posted. Get started with the MySQL tutorials. You'll learn about data types and tables, manipulating the database, creating database tables, inserting data into the MySQL table and displaying MySQL data. Learn how databases work, how to back up and restore your MySQL database and more. Check out the tutorial entitled "Building a Simple Affiliate System in PHP/MySQL," by Roger Stringer. Read a comparison of Oracle, MySQL and PostgreSQL. Check out the new features in MySQL 5.0 including server-side cursors, information schema, instance manager, precision math, storage engines, stored routines, strict mode and error handling, triggers, views, XA transactions, performance enhancements and more. Find instructions for upgrading from MySQL 4.1 to MySQL 5.0. Check out the MySQL references including cheat sheets, libraries and gotchas. Check out MySQL 5.1. Download the latest tools. Learn about MaxDB—an open-source, SAP-certified database for OLTP and OLAP. Check out MySQL Cluster—a fault-tolerant database clustering architecture. Learn more about MySQL —a C wrapper for the MySQL C API. Learn about MySQL replication that allows you to maximize availability of your data. Find lots of great MySQL projects and tools including the MySQLicious tool that allows you to copy del.icio.us bookmarks into a MySQL database. Check out the MySQL security resources including books, tutorials and articles. Read the free MySQL sample chapters on the MySQL Query Browser, replication, MySQL system architecture, MySQL database design, record selection techniques and more. Find MySQL-related wikis. Check out the MySQL 5.0 FAQs. Subscribe to MySQL newsgroups—you'll find groups for general discussions and specific MySQL features like MySQL replication and MySQL Cluster. Check out the newsgroups from some of the international MySQL users groups. Get help from other MySQL developers in the MySQL forums. You'll find forums for newbies, MySQL tools, third-party applications, MySQL connectors, computer languages, MySQL storage engines, hardware, SQL standards, MySQL technology, MaxDB and more. Interested in migrating from your existing database to MySQL? Visit the MySQL migration forums and talk to other developers about migrating MySQL from Oracle, Sybase, IBM DB2, Informix, PostgreSQL and Microsoft Access. Read the experts musings on MySQL and related technologies in their blogs, including Mike Hillyer, Lenz Grimmer and Zack Urlocker of MySQL AB. Find Web-based, open enrollment and on-site MySQL training courses for all levels. Listen to Martin Mickos, CEO of MySQL AB, discuss MySQL 5.0. Check out the MySQL Users Conference.


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Six key areas where sales productivity can improve and business can be developed are identified:
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Participants Learn:
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Carol Craig is the Centre's Chief Executive. She is author of The Scots' Crisis of Confidence, Creating Confidence: A Handbook for Professionals Working with Young People, The Tears that Made the Clyde: Well-being in Glasgow and The Great Takeover: How materialism, the media and markets now dominate our lives. Her latest book is Hiding in Plain Sight: Exploring Scotland's ill health. She is Commissioning editor for the Postcards from Scotland series. Carol blogs on confidence, well-being, inequality, every day life and some of the great challenges of our time. The views she expresses are her own unless she specifically states that they reflect the Centre's thinking.
You can view Carol's tweets on Twitter and sign up to follow by using this link:
I had the good fortune to be invited to attend Thursday's Public Service Improvement Conference 2011 at the SECC and I really felt that things are beginning to turn in Scotland. I spent fifteen years working as a trainer/consultant in Scotland prior to setting up the Centre. Much of my time was spent in Scottish public sector organisations and I was often taken aback at the fear, inertia and complacency. However, at this event, attended by senior people across the public sector, the commitment, interest and motivation to large-scale improvement was palpable. And so were real, tangible results …
The plenary presentation on the 'Scottish Patient Safety Programme' by Derek Feeley and Jason Leitch was simultaneously witty, informative and inspiring. Indeed it was one of the best presentations I have seen for a long time.
Estimates from around the world suggest that ten to twenty five per cent of patients in hospital are damaged by their care. This can take the form of the wrong medication, falls, bedsores or hospital acquired infections such as C. Difficile.
Internationally there is now a growing interest in using an evidence-based approach to tackling such damage and bringing about quality improvement in hospital care. Scotland's NHS is the first in the world to 'adopt a systematic, nationwide approach to improving patient safety'. The Scottish Patient Safety Programme, as the initiative is called, is bringing together NHS Scotland, the Scottish Government, various professional bodies and patient representatives in a coalition which is designed to make our hospitals safer for patients. The project aims to reduce mortality by 15 per cent, and adverse events by 30 per cent.
Results so far have been extremely encouraging. All health board areas have shown improvements – some dramatic. The initial target to half C. Difficile rates has been exceeded as there has been a 71 per cent reduction.
At the conference we learned that behind this initiative is a particular methodology based on three steps:
Step I - 'Change the world'. This refers to the need to have a 'compelling vision' and story of change which will engage the workforce.
Step 2 - 'Create the conditions'. This refers to having a precise idea of what you specifically want to change as well as a clear idea of how to get there, how you will know you have been successful and how you will engage staff and deploy resources.
Step 3 – 'Make the improvement'. In other words, make the change happen and use your measurement tools to chart and demonstrate your progress.
Everyone I spoke to at the event was extremely taken by this presentation and inspired by the energy and commitment of those leading it. However, there was some questioning of its applicability to other settings.
In this instance (reducing hospital harm) no-one can be opposed to the compelling vision. Everyone is going to support wholeheartedly the goal of making hospitals safer for patients. In short, the leadership is guaranteed 100 per cent buy in. What's more, when it comes to delivering the results they are literally in the hands of the hospital staff as it is mainly their actions which are responsible for the harm in the first place.
But this is not true of many of the problems facing many public sector workers in Scotland. Indeed the problems many of them have to deal with are 'wicked'.
In the 1970s social planners coined the term 'wicked problems' to refer to complex problems which unlike 'tame problems' - such as how to win a chess game or find the answer to a mathematical puzzle - are very difficult to solve. Many contemporary social problems such as drug-taking, domestic violence, or worklessness are wicked in that they are highly connected, are not likely to be eliminated, and any solution is never right or wrong, simply better or worse. As there are no absolute solutions as such, what might work somewhere at a specific point in time may not be transferable to another area or context. This means that learning from others' good practice may be limited.
All contemporary societies are struggling with how to cope with wicked problems but, given some of our statistics on drink, drugs, teenage pregnancy, inequality and so forth we seem to have more than our fair share. Unlike hospital safety, progress is emphatically not in the hands of the professionals – indeed their actions may often unwittingly make the problem worse, not better.
The Public Service Improvement Conference 2011 was highly successful in inspiring people to be ambitious and embrace large-scale improvement. I found it extremely motivating to hear how our hospitals are being made safer and the methodology that is driving the changes. I sincerely hope there is a 2012 event which gives us more information on initiatives of this type in health care or other areas where improvement can be brought about through system changes or alterations in practice. But I'd also like to see some room on the plenary agenda for inspiring, insightful speakers on what we need to do to help us tackle the messier, wicked problems in our midst.
View list of all Carol's blogs | Leave a comment on this blog on the Centre's Facebook page


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Those who know me may know that I find a great many things very interesting. It's why I've put off study for so long; how could I choose a degree, when so much is so fascinating? And it's why I went for an Arts degree; it not only allows, but requires, a wide variety of subjects.
So, in the course of my general reading, wanderings, and study, I often come across things that make me go 'Wow!', and I often want to share those things with the world.
To that end, I have created a new Facebook page, Random Facts of Interest, to share all my 'Wow' moments! I would love you to pop over and 'like' it, and even share some of your own wows. Let's all go wow together, and marvel at the world!


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Teresa Woodcock
"This year was torture. I struggle with depression and dysphoria related to me being trans; so every day I get the ball rolling, getting something positive going and trying to keep the momentum. I met the man of my dreams at the beginning of this year and [it's nice to be] able to lean on each other, comforting one another when one of us needs to let go and be vulnerable. This year has been one of the worst for us, but it takes the edge off having someone to focus our positive energy on. Our first anniversary is next month, and I'm so happy we made it through all this."
"As far as resolutions for 2018, I'd like to travel somewhere cold and woodsy and see somewhere that isn't in the Southern U.S."
- Janie E.
Lithium Artist
"My friend from Japan had convinced me to open up about the worst thing that happened to me 2 months ago, which was clearly destroying me as I only kept it to myself. They would stay up late with me during panic attacks, listen to me cry and whine like a child--all via Skype. I don't know how to describe it, but this is like the epitome of most of my friendships, geographically. It's easy to assume that the brightest moment in my 2017 [had] to do with my romantic encounters, but looking back, I actually believe that it's with my platonic relationships."
"I thought I already knew what self-love was until I realized that I [was still] putting myself in situations I didn't deserve. So my goal for 2018 is to put my knowledge of self-love into action. Also, [I want to] save lots of money."
-Sam F.
Lithium Writer
"A moment that has left a positive impact on me this year is spending my summer in New York. I was able to get away and act as my true self without being afraid of how others would think of me. Since I've always lived in the same place, I always have felt the pressure to act the same as I've always been and not really be able to show how I've changed as an individual and the things I've discovered about myself. It was a really nice experience for me to be completely honest with others and myself for once."
"[My] resolution for 2018 is to not hold back my true self when I go off to college. I want to be more confident and not have to feel validated for being who I am."
- Alana J.
Lithium Writer
"A major highlight of this year for me was going to Outside Lands music festival in San Francisco this past August. I wasn't planning on going, but one of my close friends won some tickets by chance and offered me one, so we ended up being there for all three days. I saw a lot of my favorite musicians and discovered a few great new ones as well."
"Some resolutions I have for next year are to create more, get more in touch with myself, and stay studying strong through the rest of the school year."
- Arya N.
Lithium Music Writer
"The brightest moment I experienced happened a few days ago. My dad and I have never had a super close relationship. He is one of the hardest workers I know (besides my mom), and we've never had one of those 'let's-go-throw-a-ball-out-back' father-daughter relationships like you see in the movies.
About a month ago, my father screamed out from our basement that he was dying. I will never forget how loud he screamed or how I rushed downstairs to find him sprawled on the basement stairs. I couldn't tell what [had] happened. There was no blood, and he wasn't unconscious. My dad had open heart surgery a few years ago—I won't go into details, but he was put on over ten medications, one being Coumadin (a blood thinner). At this point, I was scared of two things: my dad either hurt himself and was going to bleed out on account that the blood thinners wouldn't allow his blood to clot up, or my dad was having a heart attack in front of my 16-year-old eyes. After a few minutes, he calmed down. He had no idea what happened; he just remembered fainting and screaming for help. We wrote it off as him fainting because he didn't eat all day. Then, a week ago, it happened again—this time at work. He was taken to the hospital shortly after, but everything the doctors checked out was fine. They couldn't find anything wrong with him. He returned back to work that day (again, he's a hard worker).
Upon research, we found out that my 57-year-old dad had experienced his first panic attack. I don't think we are often reminded that it isn't just teens who suffer from mental illness; adults do as well. It's a scary thought to think that my dad might have been suffering in silence [from] his mental illness, but now that it's in the open, we will do whatever we can to get him help. The bright moment that arose from this experience came when my dad asked me if I wanted to go grocery shopping with him. I hate grocery shopping—it gives me so much anxiety to think that there's a possibility of running into locals. I haven't gone grocery shopping with my dad since I was 7, but that day, I went. It's a simple moment, but I love my dad so much, and a month ago I didn't think I would've enjoyed a moment like this with him again."
"My 2018 resolution is to educate myself more on issues that surround the people in the world. I feel like being raised in a two-parent house and being a straight white female has sheltered me a lot. I want to use my platform to do as much as I can for people who don't have the same opportunities"
- Brooks S.
Lithium Writer
"2017 was definitely a hard year for me too. For me, it was moving to a new town. I was going to school in a town I hated, and I transferred to an amazing school in a city I love. I've met so many people who love art like I do, and I've been involved in more galleries and events then ever before."
"It's just finally finding my people that really made me love 2017. My goal for the new year is to continue loving myself and working on my art. I want to be a better friend and person than I was this year. "
- Allison B.
Lithium Photographer
"Back in October, my best friend Amelia and I went to see The Districts at a little venue in Ithaca, where we go to college. The whole show was fantastic. I got totally caught up in the moment getting knocked around in the pit to the song "Young Blood." I didn't have a care in the world, and I was totally lost in the music."
"In the next year, I am resolving to put myself first and to find time to take care of myself and my body. It is so easy to get caught up in work and other people that I often put myself last, and I want to get better at speaking up for what I need."
- Carly H.
Lithium Photographer
"What made this year a little brighter was the fact that I was able to be myself; I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to leave the comfort of my own home and study abroad, which definitely [gave me] a lot of new experiences, both good and bad. During this time, I managed to find myself through exploring the city (going to museums, attending local events, food hunting, etc.). Additionally, I felt more free and alive—one of the biggest highlights was attending my first concerts. The adrenaline I felt as the music blasted was on a different level!"
"My New Year's resolutions are to take better care of my skin, eat healthier (and exercise more!), work on my passion for photography, and to not procrastinate and stress out too much."
- Syahirah H.
Lithium Photographer
"My New Year's resolutions are to take better care of my skin, eat healthier (and exercise more!), work on my passion for photography, and to not procrastinate and stress out too much."
- Syahirah H.
Lithium Photographer
"My brightest moment from 2017 has to be summer. I really was able to vibe with my digital camera and start to know how I wanted my work to look [and] what I wanted to create. I learned more, and I expanded my views as an artist. Photography really changed the way I look at life itself."
"My New Year's resolution is to keep doing what I'm doing but to get even better at it. Also to not fall into my own traps. My mind can be my biggest motivator as well as my biggest enemy."
- Somiah Nettles
Lithium Photographer
Lithium Photographer
"My wish for 2018: to become less complacent! This past year, I moved to a new country and, having missed my home and family far too much, moved back. I then realized how much I had that I had previously taken for granted. I've learned that the world doesn't owe me anything, that every good opportunity or gift is something to be appreciated and not expected! And this, I believe, is the core of gratitude: once I began to look for what was good and constantly reminded myself of these good things, life felt a little lighter. So, in 2018, I'm making a promise with myself to remember: good things are everywhere, dancing right under my nose, just waiting to be noticed."
- Teresa W.
Lithium Graphic Designer
"This year [was] probably one of the worst years of my entire life. Not to exaggerate, but there were so many moments [in which] I felt like I couldn't be here anymore or that I was truly alone in my head with this all. My mental illness was the worst it's ever been, and my physical health really took a beating. Most days, I couldn't and wouldn't get out of bed. I also lost a few people I considered my 'true' friends, which also really brought me down. Through this all, the brightest moment for me was the amazing new people that came into my life. Through my love and admiration for music and art, I was able to meet so many amazing people this year. These friends I met are truly amazing and never ever gave up on me. Along with the friends that came into my life this year, the friends I've known for years now also really showed me what it's like to have hope in times when it seems impossible."
"For the year of 2018, my goal is to stop letting my thoughts and health control me. I would also like to become a healthier person by only being in situations I can handle. I also really want to become confident in myself and love myself: love the way I look, talk, feel, and am as a person. My biggest goal is to graduate and walk across the stage in June. That moment will show me it's been a long road, but I never gave up."
- Jada M.
Lithium Music Writer
By Jada Moore


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Elements of a Commission Plan – Plan Components
This is my second post on the topic of sales incentive compensation. I need to outline these basic elements of a commission plan to set the ground work for future discussions so please bear with me. Like a three legged … Continue reading
Software Sales Compensation Design
At least once every year we all need to create/review our incentive compensation strategy. It's all too easy to assume last year's plan will work again in the coming year and, even if it did work, there is evidence that some … Continue reading


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Mouse over map to magnify
|Class Ignition Potential
|Low fire intensity. Fire will spread slowly or be self-extinguishing. Grassland fires can be successfully controlled using hand tools.
|Moderate fire intensity in grass. Hand tools will be effective along the fire�s flanks, but water under pressure (pumps, hose) may be required to suppress the head fire in grasslands.
|High fire intensity in grass. Direct attack at the fire�s head will require water under pressure, and mechanized equipment may be required to build control lines. (e.g: bulldozer)
|Very high fire intensity in grass. Fire control will require construction of control lines by mechanized equipment and water under pressure. Indirect attack by back-burning between control lines and the fire may be required.
- The FWI values refer to the fire intensity and general fire danger across the landscape, after taking into account of Initial Spread Index and Build Up Index. This index is related to the difficulty of fire control based on the head fire intensity and fire-fighting capability.
- Image courtesy of the Malaysian Meteorological Department.


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This is becoming boring. How much more evidence do people need in order to realize what is happening?
As I pointed out in this prior post about Arar-vs-Ashcroft there comes a point when in order to insure its own survival, the state must willingly and deliberately trample the law.
Excerpts (emphasis added):
"The Obama administration does not support a nationwide moratorium on foreclosures at this time, Federal Housing Administration Commissioner David Stevens said Sunday in an e-mail response to questions. "We believe freezing foreclosures for all banks in all states, whether we have reason to believe them to be in error or not, is simply not the prudent step to take in this fragile housing market," he said."
Whether we believe them to be in error or not!!!
As in Arar-vs-Ashcroft where the state argued "[…] even if the government violated Arar's Constitutional rights as well as statutes banning participation in torture, he still has no right to sue for what was done to him. "
How much more clear can it be? The state is now above the law. Ergo, the rule of law has yet again been suspended.
We are now living in a dictatorship.
Dispute that if you can.
Tags: arar vs ashcroft, criminal government, dictatorship, fascism, government above the rule of law, government deception, government oppression, rule of law, white collar crime


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For many years, Berkeley High has earned a reputation for academic excellence. The school offers a wide variety of academic and co-curricular experiences to meet the needs of the student body. The college preparatory program meets the entrance requirements of all major universities. The curriculum is rich, offering a wide range of rigorous courses, including honors and advanced placement classes, and a wide variety of electives in the arts, five world languages, and specialized academic areas, such as computer science programming languages, biotechnology, and African American Studies. Ninety five percent of graduates plan to attend college. Average SAT scores consistently exceed both national and state averages, and BHS regularly produces students who qualify for National Merit Scholarships.
Berkeley High has more than 75 clubs and activities. Students can choose from Star Trek, Snowboarding, Asian-Pacific Students Club or Mock Trial—to name only a few—and all are encouraged to participate. "Joining a club or team connects you to the school," one student explains. "You make friends you might not have known otherwise." Among its many extracurricular activities, the school's Jazz Ensemble, award-winning newspaper, and literary magazine have all received national recognition; the school's varsity teams continue to excel in sports, with the only public school crew teams west of the Mississippi.
Berkeley High enjoys vibrant and active community support from the parent community and the larger city community. This commitment is demonstrated in several generous bond measures and special taxes the voters have passed to fund school improvement, as well as active parent fundraising with the Berkeley High School Development Group and the Athletic Fund. Many of the projects have been completed, including the new M building housing 16 classrooms, a new athletic complex with bleachers, changing rooms, and an athletic office, and the Administration Building–which houses a food court, library, College Counseling Center, and administration offices–a new gym and pool, and a campus green.
Tel: 510.644.6120
Fax: 510.548.4221
Erin Schweng, Principal
Jana Jandra, School Admin Asst III
Tonia Coleman, Vice Principal (AMPS)
Juan Raygoza, Vice Principal (CAS/AHA)
Carrie Berg, Vice Principal (AP)
Tammy Rose, Vice Principal (AC)
Kiernan Rok, Dean of Students
Aman Watson, Dean of Attendance
Jeffrey Snow, Operations Manager
Susannah Bell Fishman, Special Education Program Manager
Raymond Young, Custodian Supervisor
BHS Bell Schedule
School Information
Berkeley High's Website
Directory & Staff List
Choices Brochure 2017-18
(English or Español)
Course Catalog 2017-18
Handbook 2017-18
Safety Plan 2015-16
Site Disaster Plan 2015-16
Disaster Plan Appendices
School Site Plan 2019-20
School Site Plan 2018-19
SBA Spring Testing Letter 2017
Smarter Balanced Factsheet for Families:
English | Español
Family Guides to the Smarter Balanced Assessment (Bilingüe)
Berkeley High PTSA
School Accountability Report Card 2017-18
School Accountability Report Card 2016-17
Complaint Forms
Small Schools Guiding Principles (2003)
History of Berkeley High
Student Opt Out Form for Military, JAMRS, and Institutions of Higher Learning
Berkeley High is an amazing place. The vibrancy and energy, from the teachers to the students to all the support staff is incredible. There is so much going on, from academics to support structures to athletics to extracurricular activities — a very special place.
— Parent of Berkeley High students


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Solutions by Industry
What TSI Can Do for The Education Market...
Technologies for the 21-Century Classroom
When you're building the classroom of tomorrow, you have numerous users to please, a budget to meet and an exciting array of available technology options. TSI technology solutions, products and services for the 21st Century Classroom help you improve the teaching and learning environment by promoting collaboration and meaningful interaction between students and teachers. Whether you need to outfit one classroom or rollout a district wide technology initiative, TSI's experienced staff can help you meet your objectives. TSI can provide your school with solutions that are easy to use from a teacher perspective, yet provide robust capabilities from a district-wide management perspective. Contact one of TSI's AV consultants and we will assist you and your team with developing a winning AV solution that will meet both your technology needs and your budget.
AV Technologies for Higher Education
Institutions of higher education continuously seek ways to improve the quality of the education they provide to their students. Students must be prepared for an increasingly technological world they will encounter once their education is complete. TSI works very closely with both public and private colleges and universities to help them provide cutting edge technology for classrooms, auditoriums, lecture halls, cafeterias, distance learning centers, student unions, campus centers, visitor centers, sports arenas and other public spaces. TSI has the expertise and experience to design and integrate technology solutions like interactive whiteboards, audio systems, video display systems, videoconferencing and campus wide or classroom level control and monitoring systems that help institutions meet their missions of improved education and increased student enrollment.
Customers Include:
Clayton School District
Ferguson-Florissant School District
Jefferson College
Jennings School District
Lindbergh School District
Maryville University
Mehlville School District
Meramec Valley School District
Missouri Baptist University
Riverview Gardens School District
Special School District of St. Louis
St. Louis Community College
St. Louis Public Schools
St. Louis University
Vatterott Educational Centers
University of Illinois
University of Missouri - Columbia
University of Missouri - St. Louis
Washington University


text: Digital Newsweek Back in Print By Patrick Tutwiler|March 6, 2014 Share By Patrick Tutwiler|March 6, 2014 Share Newsweek will relaunch its print edition tomorrow with a cover story featuring a profile of the elusive man who invented the Bitcoin – Satoshi Nakamoto. The story is already up online here. Newsweek went to an all-digital format in January 2013, when then-Editor Tina Brown reinvented the brand as Newsweek Global. IBT Media subsequently bought the magazine in August of 2013 with plans to return it to a print format. Share http://adweek.it/2kYfUgF copy Adweek Adweek


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Christopher T. Westfall, M.D., FACS
Dean, College of Medicine
Dr. Christopher T. Westfall is a professor and chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) and the inaugural recipient of the Pat Walker Endowed Chair. He is the director of the Harvey and Bernice Jones Eye Institute.
Contact Dr. Westfall: firstname.lastname@example.com
Richard P. Wheeler, M.D.
Executive Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
Contact Dr. Wheeler: (501) 686-8499 | email@example.com
Richard H. Turnage, M.D.
Executive Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs
Contact Dr. Turnage: (501) 686-8135 | firstname.lastname@example.com
Richard P. Morrison, Ph.D.
Executive Associate Dean for Research
Contact Dr. Morrison: (501) 686-8599 | email@example.com


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17 Agnew Street
North Dunedin
Rent: $750
Rooms: 5
sound proof
shower pressure
About the house: Warm, sunny flat in a good location, however the landlord neglected to mention the house is unable to get internet, which as a student means the flat is a complete waste of time. There was no rent reduction, and little empathy from the landlord. If the internet issue is sorted, the flat would be a good 4/5. The flat is well insulated, and little environmental noise gets in, three of the rooms get good sun for the best portion of the day, one room gets morning sun (which is non existent in winter) and one gets evening sun.
Landlord/Property Manager: Usually quite good at sorting issues, very unempathetic towards reducing rent as there was no working internet which ruined the experience.
Best Thing: Warmth, modern furnishings, good sound insulation from the outside(not as good within)
Worst Thing: No internet
About the house: Very Warm flat, fully insulated and double glazed so gets nice and toasty when it is sunny. Modern Kitchen and Bathroom, with a nice warm heat pump. Modern accessories including washer and dryer and smallish fridge/freezer.
Landlord/Property Manager: Good bloke, replied promptly to any issues we had.
Best Thing: Warm and Very close to Uni
Worst Thing: Climbing up clyde st


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Edward Jones Co
Call (630) 636-6317Directions
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The Edward Jones approach in determining your goals, and developing tailored financial strategies, has been helping nearly 7 million clients for more than 90 years.
In fact, we like to think we became one of the largest financial services firms in the country by not acting that way. If you're ready to work with a different kind of investment firm — one that cares as much about why you're investing as what you invest in — you're ready to work with Edward Jones.


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Performance Driven Headgear
Windrush ® headbands counter wind noise so your ears tune directly into their environment. Perfect for all outdoor activities!
Great stocking filler for Christmas
- Reduce wind noise by 75%!
- Hear everything except the wind
- No muffling of voices or other sounds
- Breathable, waterproof and windproof
- Warm and comfy micro fleece lining
- iPod friendly, hear your music, not the wind!
what our customers are saying...
As one who has spent many hours straining to hear instructions from the opposite end of racing boat, only to often have the critical words carried away by the wind, I was keen to try this product & jumped at the opportunity to give on a "test drive". It was a blustery day with about 17-25 kts of wind as we sailed from Portsmouth to The Hamble for the boats winter lay-up.
How did it fare? Well I have to say I was impressed with the performance of the Windrush. It was comfortable, it kept my ears perfectly warm & I could easily hold a conversation from one rail of the (large) boat to the other.
- Editor - Beneteau UK Owners Association http://www.beneteau-owners-association.org.uk


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Google Trying to Re-Invent Wikipedia
December 16th, 2007 22:26 pm | by Ed |
I see that Google is now trying to get their finger into yet another pie. This time they're trying to create their own version of Wikipedia.
Like Wikipedia, the "Knol" project is going to allow people to contribute content and other users will be able to edit, comment, ask questions Etc. Of course, never let it be said that the big "g" did anything without managing to find a way to squeeze content relevant advertising into it.. At the author's discretion, an article may also contain Google advertising. Any bets on how long it takes for that to become "any article WILL contain Google advertising, the author gets no choice"?
Technorati Tags: google, wikipedia+copy, doomed+to+failure


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Saturday 27 October saw a very happy gathering of the Harris family, friends, Funeral Directors and members of the Honorable Artillery Company to celebrate the wedding of LAFD President Sarah Harris to HAC stalwart Henry Farrow.
Gathering at a Pledgdon Barn in Henham, Essex the weather was fabulous and the Bride looked wonderful in the afternoon sunshine. After a civil ceremony followed by a very personal blessing of the marriage a great party was had by all.
Sarah and Henry were supported by a great turn out of colleagues from the London Executive Committee who were last scene dancing the night away and having a great time!
Congratulations to Sarah & Henry and thanks for inviting us to share in your day! We wish you a long and happy married life together.


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Fox Sports scores with Quantel's generationQ
Fox Sports, an Australian subscription TV sports broadcaster, has installed a new server-based editing system built around Quantel's generationQ technology at its Sydney headquarters.
The new system features four QEdit Pro NLE machines supported by eight QCut editing seats. It also includes four Quantel sQServers providing 290 hours of storage at 30Mb iFrame.
Fox's server-based system is augmented by two sQfx live playout control panels, one for each studio. Fox purchased the QPaintbox Pro broadcast video design system in early 2003.
For more information visit www.quantel.com.