Biskinik

Native American newspaper

The Biskinik is the monthly newspaper of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. It is sent free to registered Choctaw Nation tribal members upon request.[1] It is published in Durant, Oklahoma by the Choctaw Nation.[2] It was first published in 1978.[3] The Library of Congress shows a record of its publication from 1978 to 1981 and from 1983 to the present.[2]

The publication shares the name Biskinik with the Choctaw word for the yellow-bellied sapsucker, a speckled, scissortail species of woodpecker.[4] According to Choctaw legend, the Bishinik was one of two birds to escape the Great Flood and was known as the "little Chahta news bird".[4] The bird was said to warn Choctaws when someone was approaching by tapping out messages on trees.[4]

References

  1. ^ Bishinik Archived January 5, 2010, at the Wayback Machine at Choctaw Nation Website (Retrieved April 8, 2010)
  2. ^ a b About this Newspaper: Bishinik at Library of Congress (Retrieved April 8, 2010)
  3. ^ Hughes, Bethany (2023). "Little Chahta News Bird: Indigenous Periodicals and the Performance of Nationhood". American Periodicals: A Journal of History & Criticism. 33 (2): 172–191. doi:10.1353/amp.2023.a911655.
  4. ^ a b c Bishinik, The Little Chahta News Bird[permanent dead link] (Retrieved April 8, 2010)