Abstract
This paper describes the author's ancestral history, beginning with three hundred years ago when his ancestors lived in Senegal. The paper relates the entire saga of his family history from their lives in Senegal, to the kidnapping of one of the family members by another African tribe to be sold as a slave to a British slave trader, to the arrival of that slave to North Carolina. The paper continues by describing subsequent generations born in the US and ends with the writer's birth in 1925.

From the Paper
"Great-grandfather Louis was very intelligent - and had a talent for music. Maybe that was from old Mbiti, who was forbidden to play drums as a slave. Louis was trained to be what they called a "house negro" - sort of a butler for a highbrow family. Well, old Pete Devereaux was a drunk, and his affairs caught up with him. Eventually, everything was sold off - including my great-grandfather."

Tags:drummer plantation light-skinned, first freeborn black, ragtime

Abstract
This paper presents a comparison of Korean shamanism rituals and the Korean royal ancestral rite, Jongmyo Jerye. The paper explains that the main differences between the two have to do with the (1) spirits the ritual is addressing and (2) the actual purpose for performing the ritual.

From the Paper
"Korean shamanistic rituals revolve around the central figure of the ritual, namely the shaman. A shaman, focal point of our discussion, can be defined as "a person who mediates the relation between the natural world and an animated supernatural world (spirits) for the purpose of gaining some control over or knowledge of natural events" . The presence of a person that connected the mortals and their world to supernatural spirits can be seen present in almost all ancient civilizations. Whether called a priest, a shaman or an oracle, the functions they performed were somewhat similar and were requested by the necessity of the primitive peoples to feel protected and in a relationship with the supernatural."

Tags:north, east, asia, shamans, pyongyang, military, leader, heaven, prince, ancestors

Abstract
The paper introduces the Cherokee - one of the largest tribes of Native Americans in the United States. It shows how their survival is a tribute to their remarkable resistance since in the harsh winter of 1838 and 1839, the entire Cherokee tribe was threatened with extinction during an event that is known as "The Trail of Tears." The paper examines one of the darkest moments in American history, when the Federal troops under the orders of the United States government forcibly evicted the entire Cherokee tribe from their ancestral lands in Georgia to Oklahoma during a cruel 1000 mile forced journey. Out of a total of 16,000 Cherokee people, over 4000 men, women, and children died of hunger, disease, and exposure to the elements on the trail. The paper discusses how "The Trail of Tears" symbolizes the callousness with which the United States government treated the Native Americans due to greed and prejudice inherent in human nature. It covers the background, events and aftermath of the "Trail of Tears."

From the Paper
"The Cherokee tribe bravely suffered their ordeal on the Trail of Tears setting to work in their new home. They built homes, schools and churches. They set up a government and named their capital "Tahlequah" that is still the cultural center of the Cherokees and the source of documented evidence of their history. The Indians were on the way of recovery from their ordeal when another devastating event intervened: The American Civil War. The Cherokees aligned themselves with the Confederacy since the South had promised that when the war was over they would be permitted to form their own state. After having supported the British during the American War of Independence, the Cherokee had again chosen the wrong side. So when the North won the Civil War, the Indians, were duly penalized. Most of their lands guaranteed by previous treaties were taken from them and their sad plight continued."

Tags:Andrew, Jackson, Indian, Removal, Act, Davy, Crockett, Treaty, of, New, Echota, Tahlequah, Civil, War, American, Indians

Abstract
This paper briefly surveys three chapters and two corollary references are utilized to make the case that Mexican Americans are actually comprised of people of European, African, and Native American origin, just to name a few ethnic backgrounds. The paper asserts that the importance of such studies is that an accurate picture of these origins will help people of many races to identify with Mexican Americans as being comprised of people from all cultures.

From the Paper
"The phrase "Mexican Americans" describes individuals who were born in the U.S. but call Mexico as their land of ethnic origin. However, the composition of what truly constitutes a Mexican American ancestrally speaking is a far more complex definition. "Multiculturalism, as we define it today, came in response to movements for self-determination" (Hooks and..."

Tags:mexican, american, ancestry

Abstract
Terra Nullius ("Empty Land") was a law created in Australia in 1788, that denied recognition of land ownership prior to that date for anyone other than English and other white European settlers. This paper examines the rule from its implementation until 1992, when the Australian high Court handed down its infamous "Mabo" ruling which stated that the policy of Terra Nullius was not valid and that the Aborigines were the first true inhabitants of Australia.

From the Paper
"One example was that of John Koowarta, who obtained funds, partially through the Australian Federal government, to buy a cattle station in Central Cape York Peninsula. The owner of the station was willing to sell the property to him, but the Queensland government intervened to prohibit the sale. They refused to allow the transfer of pastoral lands, because their policy at the time was not to permit Aborigines to purchase land in isolation from the State government. Koowarta went to court, and won, with the court therefore pointing out that Queensland (and presumably other states) had valid racial discrimination laws."

Tags:Koori, Eddie, Mabo, Supreme, Court, racism, discrimination

Abstract
This paper provides a critical assessment to the book "Neanderthin : Eat Like a Caveman to Achieve a Lean, Strong, Healthy Body" by Ray Audette and the Paleolithic diet in general.

Abstract
This paper analyzes William Least Heat Moon's "Blue Highways", which is an account of his journey along the back roads of the United States. The papers relates that Heat Moon's writing style is so compelling that the reviewer feels as if he is riding along in the passenger seat. A central theme of the story is that, even in Heat Moon's search for his ancestral roots, the only thing that is constant is change.

Table of Contents:
The Adventure
Change: A Constant Theme Throughout
From Beginning to End and Past to Present

From the Paper
"It seems that the looming issues in Heat Moon's life were a major influence on his decision to set out on this journey. After losing his wife to another man and losing his job, he decided to head out on a search for forgotten parts of America and the American experience by traveling the old back roads through old towns. This is an attempt to see passed the superficial nature of modern American culture by connecting with himself and nature by admiring idyllic, and not so idyllic, landscapes."

Tags:change, ancestral roots, connections messages courage

Abstract
This paper explains that the Shinnecock Indians, stricken by poverty and cultural predation that stripped them of their ancestral lands and any economic hope for the future, have no hope for the future unless they establish a casino. The author points out that the Shinnecocks are controlled, and to some degree marginalized, by the local law and state government because they are not recognized fully as a tribe by the federal government and, therefore, do not have the same rights and privileges of self-determination that many federally recognized tribes enjoy. The paper relates that the opponents to this casino are the wealthy Hampton residents who seem to worry about property values and community morals, but are not concerned about denying self-reliance and determination to the tribal people.

From the Paper
"The Shinnecock have a proud and noble heritage, which predates their current impoverished state. However, historically the tribe has been taken advantage of by white Europeans and the new American government and settlers. They have consistently lost control of their native lands, in a series of unequal land swaps and hostile takeovers initiated by the white men and their government, which have also caused them to lose control of their economy. As one tribes spokesman says of the land swaps: "They built on our ancestors bones and we never really did anything to stop it." "

Tags:poverty, ancestral, marginalized, federal, priviledges

Abstract
This paper explains that, in the religion of the Shang civilization, which was based on the worship of ancestral spirits and Shang Di, the supreme God, important decisions were made in the ancestral temple through divination by the oracle bones. The author points out that oracle bones also were used to record astronomical events. The paper states that the character 'yue' appears quite often in the oracle bone inscriptions as a pictograph of one range of mountains above another and is the object of sacrifices.

From the Paper
"The exact political status of the Huanbei Shang City is unknown, however, the walled city is probably one of the Shang capitals due to its huge size and geographic location. From traditional accounts, it was believed that the 19th king, Pan Geng, moved the capital to Yin, however, the oracle bone inscriptions from Yinxu only details the period from the reign of the 22nd king, Wu Ding to the 30th and last king of the Shang dynasty, Xin. Therefore, Yinxu probably did not become the capital until the reign of Wu Ding and Huanbei most likely was the capital of Pan Geng and the two succeeding kings. Moreover, inscribed oracle bones discovered in the area have enabled researchers to reconstruct the Shang royal genealogy. For nearly a century now, scholars have been reading the oracle bones to detail Chinese history."

Tags:marchmounts, astronomical, decisions, inscriptions, yue

Abstract
This paper highlights difficulties with using sequence data to estimate parameters about human ancestral populations, particularly times of specification (when new species evolved). The Y chromosome has been analyzed to infer various parameters about human ancestral populations and to provide clues as to human origins. The paper argues that the individual properties of this data source combined with a burgeoning list of refutable assumptions make any and all of these results utterly spurious. The paper argues that molecular experts claim that the old and imprecise science of paleontology has been superseded by their far more mathematically precise methods. These experts sideline the fact that all their estimates are fundamentally based on paleontologically acquired data. The paper includes illustrations and table.

From the Paper
"The Y-linked SRY gene triggers mammalian male-determining processes when expressed in the embryonic bipotential gonad. Sex chromosomes are thought to have evolved ~300Mya, probably replacing a mechanism based on gestational ambient temperature. Current opinion is that the Y-chromosomal SRY gene and its X-chromosome homologue (SOX3) are variants diverged from an ancestral non-sex-determining gene. When the ancient SRY-precursor gene gained a dominant and penetrant male-determining function the homologues became sex chromosomes and the process of dramatic degeneration and specialization of the Y began. Pseudoautosomal regions (PARs) located at the tips of X and Y recombine at high frequency during male meiosis. Consequently, these regions are similar to autosomal sequences in base composition and gene diversity. PARs comprise 5% of the Y and the other 95% makes up the non-recombining region of the Y (NRY). Recombination deficiency of the NRY is thought to result from lack of homology with the X, due to several large inversions. Null mutations accumulate in NRY genes as they are "sheltered" by X-chromosome homologues."

Tags:biology, genetics, mitochondria, mtdna, nry, sry