Native Moon Names:

Historically, the Native Americans who lived in the area that is now the
northern and eastern United States kept track of the seasons by giving
distinctive names to the recurring full Moons.

Each full Moon name was applied to the entire lunar month in which it
occurred.

These names, and some variations, were used by the Algonquin tribes from
New England to Lake Superior.

The Native American names below are linked to the months in the Gregorian
calendar to which they are most closely associated.

 Full Wolf Moon

January is the month of the Full Wolf Moon. It appeared when wolves howled
in hunger outside the villages. It is also known as the Old Moon. To some
Native American tribes, this was the Snow Moon, but most applied that name
to the next full Moon, in February.

This full Moon appeared when wolves howled in hunger outside the villages.
It is also known as the Old Moon. To some Native American tribes, this was
the Snow Moon, but most applied that name to the next full Moon, in February.
                 
Full Snow Moon

Usually the heaviest snows fall in February. Hunting becomes very difficult,
and hence to some Native American tribes this was the Hunger Moon.
February's full Moon is traditionally called the Full Snow Moon because
usually the heaviest snows fall in February.

Hunting becomes very difficult, and so some Native American tribes called
this the Hunger Moon.

Other Native American tribes called this Moon the "Shoulder to Shoulder
Around the Fire Moon" (Wishram Native Americans), the "No Snow in the Trails
Moon" (Zuni Native Americans), and the "Bone Moon"
(Cherokee Native Americans). The Bone Moon meant that there was so little
food that people gnawed on bones and ate bone marrow soup.

March    Full Worm Moon
At the time of this spring Moon, the ground begins to soften and earthworm
casts reappear, inviting the return of robins. This is also known as the Sap
Moon, as it marks the time when maple sap begins to flow and the annual
tapping of maple trees begins.

The Full Worm Moon was given its name by the Algonquin tribes from New
England to Lake Superior.

At the time of this spring Moon, the ground begins to soften and earthworm
casts reappear, inviting the return of robins. In some regions, this is
also known as the Sap Moon, as it marks the time when maple sap begins to
flow and the annual tapping of maple trees begins.
April Moon      Full Pink Moon
This full Moon heralded the appearance of the moss pink, or wild ground
phlox—one of the first spring flowers. It is also known as the Sprouting
Grass Moon, the Egg Moon, and the Fish Moon.

May Moon   Full Flower Moon

Flowers spring forth in abundance this month. Some Algonquin tribes knew
this full Moon as the Corn Planting Moon or the Milk Moon.

May's Full Flower Moon, also called Mother's Moon, Milk Moon, and Corn
Planting Moon, marks a time of increasing fertility with temperatures warm
enough for safely bearing young, a near end to late frosts, and plants in
bloom.

June Moon

Full Strawberry Moon 
The Algonquin tribes knew this Moon as a time to gather ripening
strawberries. It is also known as the Rose Moon and the Hot Moon.

Full Moon Names
The month of June's full Moon's name is the Full Strawberry Moon. June's
Full Strawberry Moon got its name because the Algonquin tribes knew it as a
signal to gather ripening fruit.

It was often known as the Full Rose Moon in Europe (where
July Full Buck Moon 
Bucks begin to grow new antlers at this time. This full Moon was also known
as the Thunder Moon, because thunderstorms are so frequent during this month.

July is the month of the Full Buck Moon.

Bucks begin to grow new antlers at this time. This full Moon was also known
as the Thunder Moon, because thunderstorms are so frequent during this month.

August Full Sturgeon Moon 

 Some Native American tribes knew that the sturgeon of the Great Lakes and
Lake Champlain were most readily caught during this full Moon. Others called
it the Green Corn Moon or the Grain Moon.

Full Moon Names
August is the month of the Full Sturgeon Moon. Some Native American tribes
knew that the sturgeon of the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain were most
readily caught during this full Moon. Others called it the Green Corn Moon
or the Grain Moon.

September Full Corn Moon 
This full Moon corresponds with the time of harvesting corn. It is also
called the Barley Moon, because it is the time to harvest and thresh the
ripened barley. The Harvest Moon is the full Moon nearest the autumnal
equinox, which can occur in September or October and is bright enough to
allow finishing all the harvest chores.

The Full Corn Moon corresponds with the time of harvesting corn. It is also
called the Barley Moon, because it is the time to harvest and thresh the
ripened barley.

This month, we also celebrate what we call a Harvest Moon, which is the full
 Moon nearest the autumnal equinox. It can occur in September or October and
is bright enough to allow finishing all the harvest chores.

The Full Harvest Moon is different than all our other full Moons. Around
this date, the Moon rises at almost the same time for a number of nights in
our northern latitudes.
October Full Hunter's Moon 

This is the month when the leaves are falling and the game is fattened.
Now is the time for hunting and laying in a store of provisions for the
long winter ahead. October's Moon is also known as the Travel Moon and the
Dying Moon.

This was the time to hunt in preparation for winter. This full Moon is also
called the Travel Moon and the Dying Grass Moon.
November Full Beaver Moon 

For both the colonists and the Algonquin tribes, this was the time to set
beaver traps before the swamps froze, to ensure a supply of warm winter furs.
This full Moon was also called the Frost Moon.

November's full Moon was called the Beaver Moon because it was the time to
set traps, before the waters froze over. This Moon was also called the Full
Frost Moon.
December Full Cold Moon 
This is the month when the winter cold fastens its grip and the nights
become long and dark. This full Moon is also called the Long Nights Moon by
some Native American tribes.

Full Moon Names
December's Full Moon is called the Full Cold Moon. It is the month when the
winter cold fastens its grip and the nights become long and dark.

This full Moon is also called the Long Nights Moon by some Native American
tribes.

Sacred Spirit Music Videos . Please watch

 

 

 

 

 

 

Slavery, disease, death: the dark side of the Christopher Columbus story

 

                                      Christopher Columbus arrives in the New World.

On Monday, the United States will observe Columbus Day, schools and banks closing and parades marching in honor of the man who, as we all learned in school, discovered America in 1492.
And according to The Oatmeal’s Matthew Inman, Columbus Day is a dangerous farce.
Inman contends in his current strip on The Oatmeal, a humor/political commentary website, that the legends we believe about Columbus are not only misleading but grossly unfair. He cites primary sources and journals recounted in Howard Zinn’s “A People’s History of the United States” and James Lowewen’s “Lies My Teacher Told Me” to dispel the traditional narrative of Columbus as brave traveler who connected the Old World and the New.

Here are a few of The Oatmeal’s conclusions about Christopher Columbus:

• In 1492, no one actually thought the earth was flat. “Pretty much anyone with an education knew the earth was round. The Greeks had proved it 2,000 years before Columbus was born.”

• Columbus didn’t actually “discover” the New World. Not only were there natives living in the Americas for 14,000 years, Leif Ericson found the same territory 500 years before Columbus.

• Columbus wanted gold, and lots of it. His initial ideas for a new trade route to Asia fell by the wayside as he realized how much gold was available in the New World.

• The natives would provide little resistance. According to his own journal, Columbus believed the indigenous Lucayans would not be a significant challenge. “I could conquer the whole of them with fifty men,” he wrote, “and govern them as I pleased.”

• For his second visit, Columbus armed for war. When Columbus returned to the New World, he brought 17 ships and 1,500 men.

• Columbus treated the natives brutally. Columbus demanded treasure, food and sex for his men, and when the Lucayans refused, he ordered their noses and ears cut off to serve as a warning.

• Columbus treated his conquered people harshly. When the Lucayans rebelled, Columbus crushed the rebellion and carted off 500 Lucayans to be sold into slavery in Europe.

• Columbus disrupted the entire economy of three continents. Post-Columbian disease and starvation killed three to five million people over the next fifty years. And the influx of gold disrupted the global economy to the point that African slaves became a dominant commodity.

Via The Oatmeal

 

In short, The Oatmeal contends, Columbus “discovered the New World much like a meteorite discovered the dinosaurs,” and yet is still honored with a federal holiday. Making the point impossible to miss: “The father of the transatlantic slave trade is honored on the same level as Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr.”

As a replacement, The Oatmeal suggests Bartolome de los Casas, a wealthy plantation owner who sold off his holdings, freed his slaves, turned to the priesthood, and fought for the dignity of native Americans.

In other words, The Oatmeal suggests, Columbus Day might be worth celebrating if it were named for someone else.

 

Kids Videos And Fun Facts

Within traditional Native American cultures the drum was the primary musical instrument. Even today, if you visit a powwow or other event hosted in a traditional Native American setting, drumming will be prominent in the festivities. While the drum was important throughout nearly all Native American tribes, how it was made, how it was played and the function of the drum varied from one society to another. Within some societies, the beat of the drum represented the heartbeat of the earth and of the people and playing the drum brought the world back into balance. When the drum first became a part of Native American societies is not known, but the drum as a part of ritual, ceremony and daily life was an integral part of traditional Native American culture.

 

 

What were Algonquin homes like in the past

 

 

 

Nearly every Native American tribe had its own distinctive style of dress and the people could often tell each tribe by looking at their clothes, headdresses and ornamentation. The commonly shared pieces of attire however, were; breechcloths, leather leggings, a short kilt or fur trousers, buckskin shirts, skirts and leggings for women, one piece dresses, moccasins for their feet and others.

 

 

 

Wigwam in Ontario

The Algonquins didn't live in tepees. For most of the year they lived in settled villages of birchbark houses, called waginogans or wigwams. During the winter, the village split up to go to hunting camps, and each Algonquin family built a smaller cone-shaped wigwam like this for their camp, also made from birch bark.

 

 

 

 

 

What was Algonquin food like in the days before supermarkets? 

The Algonquins were semi-nomadic hunter-gatherers. That means they didn't do much farming, and moved around a lot as they collected food for their families. Besides fish and meat, the Algonquins gathered berries and wild plants to eat. They also traded with neighboring tribes to get corn, and made maple syrup from tree sap.

 

 

 

Algonquin words: animosh	pejòshkwe	pijakì
mahìngan	makwa	pijiw
esiban	mikiziw	mikinàk
wàbòz

 

 

 

 

 

Toboggan

Toboggan comes from the Algonquian word odabaggan. The toboggan is an invention of the Eastern First Peoples. Indian hunters first built toboggans made of bark to carry game over the snow. The Inuit (sometimes called Eskimos) used to make toboggans of whalebone, otherwise a toboggan is made of strips of hickory, ash, or maple, with the front ends curved back.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Moccasins

Moccasins originated with the Eastern North American tribes, traditionally referred to a shoe with a puckered u-shaped 'vamp' over the instep. The name of the Great Lakes Ojibway tribe means 'people of the puckered moccasin'. The southern New England Narragansett word for shoe is 'Mocussinass' or 'Mockussinchass'.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A totem can be the symbol of a tribe, clan, family or individual. Native American tradition provides that each individual is connected with nine different animals that will accompany each person through life, acting as guides. Different animal guides come in and out of our lives depending on the direction that we are headed and the tasks that need to be completed along our journey.

 

 

 

 

 

The Sky Girl.. An Algonquin Legend

The Sky girl legend from the Algon wuin people says that a long time ago, There used to live a great hunter, his name was Algon, in one of his regular walks to the prairie, he found a strange circle in the grass. He decided to hide on some bushes to watch and find out what was the cause of it.

After some time he saw a big willow basket with twelve maidens came down from the sky. The maidens got out and started to sing and dance. But Algon was captivated by the beauty of the youngest. He then ran towards them, in hope to steal the girl away, but when they saw him, got into the basket, which flew back to the sky.

Algon tried to do this three more times, and three times he failed. Then he came up with a plan: He put a hollow tree trunk in which a family of mice lived near the circle, then using some charms from his medicine charm transformed himself into a mouse. When the basket arrived, Algon and the other mice ran among the girls.

The girls stomped in all the mice killing them, but not on Algon, who became human again and carried off the girl. He took her to the village, and after a while she felt in love with him, having a son together, but their happiness did not last forever.

The sky girl became home sick, spending all day just looking at the sky thinking about her family, and finally she could not stand it. So she built a willow basket and taking her son and some presents for her people, she left to the sky, staying there many years.

Algon was very sad for his family, and for the next years he used to sit on the magic circle, waiting for them. In the mean time in the sky country, Algon's son grew to be a handsome man, and every day asked his mother about his father. For all these questions, the sky girl started to miss Algon really bad. One day she and her son spoke to the chief of the sky people.

He agreed to let them go back to Earth, but only if they return with Alegon, and an identifying feature of each animal that lived on earth.

Algon was so happy when he saw his family coming back, and as soon the sky girl told him about what the sky chief wanted, he did not wasted time and started to gather the gifts, some of them were:

• A claw from a bear.
• A feather from a falcon, a hawk and an eagle.
• The teeth from a raccoon.
• From the deer, its horn.

He put all the items inside of his medicine bag and with his family, went up to the sky-country.

There, Algon gave all of the gifts to the chief, who divided them among his people, and Algon and the sky girl, they both took the falcon feather. Looking the love between them, the chief said they should always be free to travel between sky and land.

Then he turned them both into falcons. Even on these days, their descendants are falcons, who fly high and low on the forests.

Native Art

 

 

Why Is Stephen Harper Ignoring the UN's Push to Investigate Missing Aboriginal Women?

By Joel Balsam


The scene from a recent Missing Women's Memorial March. via Flickr.

Over the last thirty years—according to investigations by the Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) and the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)—668 aboriginal women have gone missing or were murdered in Canada. And yet, instead of launching a national inquiry, the Canadian government is biting the head off of anyone who suggests they should lift a finger and figure out how to fix this grave epidemic.

Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the Liberals, NDP, Green Party, the country’s premiers, the UN General Assembly—in both 2009 and 2013—and plenty of NGOs have all pressed the government to investigate, but Stephen Harper and Co. are plugging their ears.

The most recent UN report, and rallying cry to investigate this matter, was part of the Universal Period Review (UPR)—meant to “promote and protect human rights in the darkest corners of the world.” The review was met with support from not-so-humane nations like Cuba and Iran, and in response, Canada blasted the UN for allowing Fidel and Mahmoud to criticize Canada at all. How productive.

Perhaps the Tories need a refresher on debating 101: personally attacking your opponent to evade a topic is a fallacy.

But sure, I’ll accept that Iran is pretty bad with human rights and stuff even if their issues are completely unrelated to Aboriginal issues. And Cuba is Cuba. Let’s not even get into that.

But hold on a minute. Besides Iran and Cuba, Mexico, Switzerland, Slovakia, Slovenia, New Zealand, Norway, Belarus, Ireland, and Australia all suggested a national action plan or inquiry into missing Aboriginal women in Canada was necessary. So, why aren’t we listening?

What’s more, the UPR was led by a troika of Brazil, the Philippines, and Ireland—not Iran or Cuba—and was compiled with consultation from 48 Canadian NGOs including First Nation’s groups like the NWAC. But Canada has maintained that this is a national issue that the international community should basically butt out.

Not surprisingly, Canada has towed this line since before the UN even existed. Back in 1922, the Iroquois confederacy came hat in hand to apply for sovereignty at the League of Nations—because hey, First Nations are literally nations too—in hopes that the League could settle land disputes. But Canada made a fuss and convinced the League to let the issue remain domestic. Not much has changed.

In their response to the UPR, Canada highlighted a pretty good-looking list of plans to address Aboriginal issues in this country in an attempt to prove that a costly inquiry is unnecessary. I mean, what’s so great about public inquiries in the first place?

When an $8 million 1500 page inquiry into missing and murdered Aboriginal women in British Columbia was published last year—focusing particularly on the impoverished Vancouver Downtown Eastside and the brutal murders of 26 women by the infamous serial killer Robert Pickton—Vancouver police, the RCMP, and even some of the victims’ families blasted it for being ineffective.

The daughter of one of the victims, Angel Wolfe, said at the final report hearing: “I think today has been a total sham, just like the whole inquiry has been.”

With unimpressive inquiries leading to very little progress, perhaps an investigation (external or otherwise) is necessary—if for no other reason than to confirm the exact number of murdered or missing women. The only national organization that compiled information about it has been the NWAC and their Sisters in Spirit project, but the government slashed its funding in 2010. Cash flow or not, with all respect to the NWAC, their numbers don’t hold as much sway as a federally-mandated inquiry would, especially when the RCMP says they can’t confirm the number based on their databases.

Speaking of lacking credibility, when Human Rights Watch came out with their report in February that concluded the RCMP and Vancouver police used torture, intimidation and rape against aboriginals in BC, the RCMP said the findings were useless unless the anonymous sources came forward. If I were one of those victims, I probably wouldn’t come to the RCMP either if they were the ones who brutalized me. But still, if a transparent public inquiry was done federally, perhaps these women could be given more protection than what Human Rights Watch can offer.

What is clear is that the issues facing aboriginal women in Canada—dubbed by Amnesty International as a “grave human rights crisis”—are not going away anytime soon. There is most certainly something to be said about the issue of violence against women in Canada in general, but when you look at the facts that Aboriginal women report sexual or violent abuse almost three times more than non-Aboriginal women, have more than twice the unemployment rate, and have the highest suicide rate in the world it’s hard to not immediately focus on First Peoples women. Unless, of course, you’re Stephen Harper.

In 2005, Paul Martin’s party was about to sign the Kelowna Accord, pledging $5 billion over five years to help fight the massive social inequalities gap between aboriginal and non-aboriginal people, but Harper scrapped it as soon as he got elected. According to Terry Mitchell, a psychology professor at Wilfred Laurier University and Lori Curtis, an economics professor at the University of Waterloo, the Kelowna Accord would have saved taxpayers a whopping $115 billion by 2026 due to the load taken off of government programs that aboriginals rely on so heavily.

All of this is, unsurprisingly, generating a new wave of dissent amongst aboriginal communities in Canada. A paper by Douglas Bland of the Macdonald-Laurier think tank compiling research from Oxford warned that with the growing population of aboriginal youth—Canada’s fastest growing population, half of which live in poverty—could spur an insurrection that would cripple the Canadian economy from coast-to-coast.

Currently Idle No More is a peaceful and cultural protest movement, but while the government is busy spying on Idle No More activists, visiting pandas instead of meeting with Idle No More leaders on hunger strike and complaining about the UN—including an Ontario MP who suggested we “review” our membership— instead of taking action, aboriginal anger is mounting.

On October 7^th, the UN will send Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples James Anaya to Canada to lead another investigation into Aboriginal human rights issues in this country. Idle No more has scheduled a nation-wide protest for the same day, hoping to get the attention of the government while they are on an extended summer vacation before the Throne Speech on October 16^th. Perhaps then the Harper government will listen to calls for an inquiry, but I wouldn’t bet on it.

 

The Tragedy Of Wounded Knee, Ghost Dance Video

Keepers Of The Circle

Friend foul by following this path, that is, whatever you do in life, do the best you can with both your heart and mind.

If you do it this way, the power of the universe will come to your assistance, if your heart and mind are united.

When one sits in the circle of people, must be 
responsible, because all of Creation is related.

And the pain of one is the pain of all, the honor of one is the honor of all.

And whatever we do has effects in the universe.

If you do it this way, which is to unite the heart and mind as if it were all one, whatever you ask for, it will make sense to be. 

(White Buffalo Calf Woman)

Teachings For Life

                                   

I am poor and naked, but I am the chief of the nation.  We do not
want riches but we do want to train our children right.  Riches
would do us no good.  We could not take them with us to the
other world. We do not want riches.  We want peace and love.

Red Cloud

It was our belief that the love of possessions is a weakness to be overcome.  Its appeal is to the material part, and if allowed its way, it will in time disturb one's spiritual balance.  Therefore, children must early learn the beauty of generosity. They are taught to give what they prize most, that they may taste the happiness of giving. Ohiyesa

MANY HAVE ASKED HOW DO YOU TELL AN AUTHENTIC SWEAT LODGE CEREMONY FROM A FAKE. THATS EASY............. OUR PEOPLE DO NOT CHARGE FOR IT.

Lakota Indians: Sweat lodge

While the sweat lodge benefits the participants directly, the rite also helps all the people. It is done as a purification ritual to prepare for the help of Wakan Tanka, either for themselves personally or on behalf of others. 

Sweat lodge is used for purification before other ceremony as well, such as a vision quest or the Sun dance. 

The lodges are generally constructed close to the home, so they can be used frequently and easily, even in bad weather.

The sweat lodge is made from willow poles, 12 to 20, bent in arcs over each other and stuck in the ground at either end to form a dome shape. The dome is then covered with blankets or hides. Representative of the universe, the lodge door usually faces west, where the clouds and rain come from.

Inside, a round fire pit is created at the center of the universe. Rocks are heated in a fire made outside the sweat lodge and bought in with forks. Sage is sprinkled over the entire floor inside, and a path that leads out from the door leads to a small mound of dirt where the sacred pipe is kept.

At the beginning of a sweat, the participants enter and offer a prayer to Wakan Tanka for all provided and help in the past, present and future. Everyone sits on the sage, in a circle, silently watching as the hot rocks are brought in and placed in the fire pit. Once the pit is filled, whoever is leading the ceremony offers the pipe to the four directions, to the sky and to the earth. The pipe is then lit and passed among those in the circle. When everyone has smoked, the pipe is placed in the outside altar with its stem facing west.

Then the flap is pulled shut, the inside darkens and the leader pours water on the hot rocks, filling the entire lodge with steam. The leader prays to the west, asking for the Great Spirit to look upon them all and offer help with all they need to live.

In awhile, the flap is lifted and water is passed around for everyone to drink. Then the pipe is brought in again. This is repeated until the leader has prayed to all four directions, which represent many things (see Four Directions). Each time the pipe is brought in for smoke, when put back in the outside altar its stem is placed in one of the other directions until the ceremony is finished.

After the prayers to the four directions are complete, the leader speaks about Wakan Tanka, how blessed the people are and how they depend on Wakan Tanka for all things.
Then the flap is opened and everyone prays once again to Wakan Tanka, this time in a spirit of thankfulness. As each person leaves the lodge, they say All my relatives.

Lakota Indians: Sweat lodge

While the sweat lodge benefits the participants directly, the rite also helps all the people. It is done as a purification ritual to prepare for the help of Wakan Tanka, either for themselves personally or on behalf of others. 

Sweat lodge is used for purification before other ceremony as well, such as a vision quest or the Sun dance. 

The lodges are generally constructed close to the home, so they can be used frequently and easily, even in bad weather.

The sweat lodge is made from willow poles, 12 to 20, bent in arcs over each other and stuck in the ground at either end to form a dome shape. The dome is then covered with blankets or hides. Representative of the universe, the lodge door usually faces west, where the clouds and rain come from.

Inside, a round fire pit is created at the center of the universe. Rocks are heated in a fire made outside the sweat lodge and bought in with forks. Sage is sprinkled over the entire floor inside, and a path that leads out from the door leads to a small mound of dirt where the sacred pipe is kept.

At the beginning of a sweat, the participants enter and offer a prayer to Wakan Tanka for all provided and help in the past, present and future. Everyone sits on the sage, in a circle, silently watching as the hot rocks are brought in and placed in the fire pit. Once the pit is filled, whoever is leading the ceremony offers the pipe to the four directions, to the sky and to the earth. The pipe is then lit and passed among those in the circle. When everyone has smoked, the pipe is placed in the outside altar with its stem facing west.

Then the flap is pulled shut, the inside darkens and the leader pours water on the hot rocks, filling the entire lodge with steam. The leader prays to the west, asking for the Great Spirit to look upon them all and offer help with all they need to live.

In awhile, the flap is lifted and water is passed around for everyone to drink. Then the pipe is brought in again. This is repeated until the leader has prayed to all four directions, which represent many things (see Four Directions). Each time the pipe is brought in for smoke, when put back in the outside altar its stem is placed in one of the other directions until the ceremony is finished.

After the prayers to the four directions are complete, the leader speaks about Wakan Tanka, how blessed the people are and how they depend on Wakan Tanka for all things.

Then the flap is opened and everyone prays once again to Wakan Tanka, this time in a spirit of thankfulness. As each person leaves the lodge, they say All my relatives.

Native Canadian women sold on U.S. ships, researcher says

CBC News August 21, 2013
An American researcher says First Nations women from Thunder Bay, Ont., have been sold on ships in the harbour at Duluth, Minn.

Christine Stark said the port at Duluth is notorious among First Nations people as a site for trafficking women.

The masters student at the University of Minnesota Duluth said she has anecdotal reports of women, teenage girls and boys, as well as babies being sold on ships for sex.

"The women and children — and I've even had women talk about a couple of babies brought onto the ships and sold to the men on ships — are being sold or are exchanging sex for alcohol, a place to stay, drugs, money and so forth.," Stark said. "It's quite shocking."
Stark said the sex trade on ships has been going on for generations, and includes Indigenous women from Canada.

"I have spoken with a woman who was brought down from Thunder Bay on the ships and talks about an excessive amount of trafficking between Canada and the Duluth-Superior harbor," Stark said. "There is a very strong link between Thunder Bay and Duluth."

Her current research is an offshoot of a 2007 report on prostitution in Minnesota, in conjunction with the Minnesota Indian Women's Sexual Assault Coalition. That report included interviews with 105 indigenous women in Minnesota who have been trafficked in the sex trade.

Stark said the stories that "women get brought out onto the boats and never come back" that she heard as part of that study begged further exploration. She's currently conducting interviews with 15 people to learn more about what happens on the ships.

The Ontario Native Women's Association (ONWA) said it also has anecdotal reports of women being trafficked across borders,or provincial boundaries, into the sex trade.

"We know that it's happening between Winnipeg and Thunder Bay, and there have been reports of it happening in southern Ontario across the U.S. border," said Kezia Picard, the director of policy and research with ONWA.

But Picard said more funding is needed for more formal research into how women are being spirited away.

"Another thing we're really trying to advocate for is additional research to understand what's happening and what sort of programs help women in this sort of situation to prevent it from happening," Picard said.

However, Picard said some of the reasons First Nations women are vulnerable to sex trafficking are all too familiar in indigenous communities.

"The reason that indigenous women and girls are sometimes trafficked has to do with all of these ongoing issues like poverty," she said. "Another one of the large risk factors for indigenous women and girls is the lack of housing ... women will sometimes engage in survival sex, not of their choice, in order to have somewhere to live."

Picard said the ONWA hopes to work with organizations in Minnesota and Manitoba to learn more about the cross-border sex trade, and explore ways of keeping indigenous women and their children safe.