Friday, December 17, 2010
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Reconsider Columbus Day
This is a fabulous PSA that was originally put together in 2009, entitled "Reconsider Columbus Day." The project is associated with ReconsiderColumbusDay.org, which is another fabulous resource.
NativeAppropriations.blogspot.com
Pamunkey - Federal Acknowledgment
Pamunkey Indian Tribe Files for Federal Acknowledgment
October 14, 2010
Contact: Chief Robert Gray, 804.339.1629; Tribe's legal counsels: Mark C. Tilden, Tilden McCoy, LLC at, 303.323.1922, or David Gover, Esq. and Kim Gottschalk, Esq. at Native American Rights Fund at 303.447.8760.
Boulder, CO - After years of preparing the necessary historical, legal, genealogical and anthropological evidence to fully document its petition for federal acknowledgment, the Pamunkey Indian Tribe, located on the Pamunkey Indian Reservation, Virginia, filed its petition with the Office of Federal Acknowledgment, Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) on October 14, 2010. It is the only Indian Tribe located in the Commonwealth of Virginia to have filed a fully documented petition. Established no later than 1646, the Pamunkey Indian Reservation is located next to the Pamunkey River, and adjacent to King William County, Virginia. The Reservation comprises approximately 1,200 acres and is the oldest inhabited Indian reservation in America.
The history of the Pamunkey people is rich and well documented. In the course of collecting evidence for the federal acknowledgment petition, researchers compiled more than a thousand documents recording their existence from the period of first European contact through the present. These documents comprise official censuses, correspondence between the Pamunkeys and officials of the Commonwealth and U.S. governments, numerous newspaper stories, church and school records, books by prominent scholars, popular authors, and federal officials, memoirs and much more. Because of these rich resources, continuous, detailed genealogies have been created for the Pamunkey Tribal members, which trace their lineage back over two hundred years.
Notably, documents have been preserved both in the United States and England that show the continual existence of the Pamunkey Indian Tribe as an independent sovereign since the first visit of Capt. John Smith in 1607, when the English settled Jamestown. At this time, Powhatan, father of Pocahontas, ruled a vast empire which included the great and powerful Pamunkey Indians who were at the core of his empire. A Treaty relationship between the Pamunkeys and Great Britain in 1646, followed by the Treaty of Middle Plantation in 1677, is still honored between the Pamunkeys and the Commonwealth of Virginia. One expression of this continuing relationship is the annual tribute ceremony at Richmond, Virginia where deer and other wild game are presented to the Virginia Governor by the Pamunkey Chief and members of Tribal Council.
The Tribe has survived intact as an identifiable Indian tribe, although they are not yet federally acknowledged. Tribal existence does not depend on federal acknowledgment. It is, however, necessary to establish a government-to-government relationship between the Tribe and the Federal government, which allows the Tribe access to federal services and benefits. The Tribe’s petition documents their continued existence from 1789 to the present and their self-governance throughout this time, which meets the federal acknowledgment regulations.
The Pamunkey Chief and Tribal Council state that “Current Pamunkey Tribal members respect and appreciate what our ancestors have accomplished since first European contact, especially their sustained and successful efforts to maintain the lands, identity and sovereignty that have belonged to the Pamunkey Indians for thousands of years. We believe that federal acknowledgment is the natural means to continue those traditions and honor the ancestors who have given us our birthright. We look forward to the day our existence as an Indian Tribe is formally acknowledged by the United States.”
The Native American Rights Fund (NARF) has represented the Pamunkey Indian Tribe in this effort since 1988, joined by the law firm of Tilden McCoy, LLC this year. For any questions, please contact Robert Gray, Chief, Pamunkey Indian Tribe, 804.339.1629 or RGray58@hughes.net; Tribe's legal counsels: Mark C. Tilden, Tilden McCoy, LLC at mctilden@tildenmccoy.com, 303.323.1922 or 1942 Broadway, Suite 314, Boulder, Colorado 80302, or David Gover, NARF, dgover@narf.org, 303.447.8760 or 1506 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80302.
The Shinnecock Indian Nation
October 11, 2010
Contact: Mark C. Tilden, Tilden McCoy, LLC at 303.323.1922 or Kim Gottschalk, Native American Rights Fund at 303.447.8760.
Boulder, CO - The Shinnecock Indian Nation (Nation) and the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) are celebrating the October 1, 2010 decision by the U. S. Interior Board of Indian Appeals (the “IBIA”) dismissing two requests for reconsideration of the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Final Determination for Federal Acknowledgment of the Nation (the “FD”), because the requesters failed to demonstrate that they were interested parties under the federal acknowledgment regulations. With the ruling, the FD is immediately effective, thereby rendering the Nation the 565th federally recognized Indian nation in the United States. NARF is proud and honored to have represented the Nation in its federal acknowledgment petition efforts during this time, along with Mark C. Tilden of the law firm Tilden McCoy, LLC.
The decision ends a 32-year saga initiated by the Nation and NARF when NARF filed the Nation’s initial petition and litigation request in 1978 with the U. S. Department of the Interior. The events in the following years finally culminated in the Department issuing a FD dated June 13, 2010 concluding that the Nation met the seven mandatory federal acknowledgment criteria under 25 C.F.R. § 83.7. (See 75 Fed. Reg. 34,760 (June 18, 2010)). The FD was challenged in the IBIA by the requesters who claimed to be interested parties. But, the IBIA rejected their challenges.
Chairman Randy King of the Nation's Board of Trustees eloquently stated, "After 32 years, the Shinnecock Indian Nation has finally obtained formal federal acknowledgment, thus closing a long chapter on the Nation's epic struggle. The Native American Rights Fund was part of this effort and the Nation is grateful that it crossed the finish line with NARF by its side.”
John Echohawk, NARF Executive Director, reflected on the long fight by his modern day warriors, the NARF attorneys, lamenting “It took forever to achieve federal acknowledgment for Shinnecock, but with the persistence of the Nation and the expertise of former NARF attorney Mark Tilden and NARF attorney Kim Gottschalk, we finally got it done.”
The Shinnecock Indian Nation is located on the Shinnecock Indian Reservation, adjacent to Southampton, New York.
NARF's 40 Years of Indian Law Forum
Native American Rights Fund Celebrates 40 Years of Defending Native Rights
On October 29, 2010, the Native American Rights Fund will hold its 40th Anniversary Celebration hosted by the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma and the WinStar World Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma. This unique gathering will include NARF's 40 Years of Indian Law Forum and NARF's 40th Anniversary Dinner. NARF is honored to celebrate four decades of standing firm for justice.
NARF's 40 Years of Indian Law Forum will highlight four decades of Indian law and NARF's role. We will examine current concerns and challenges within each of NARF’s priority areas and their impact on Indian law. Utilizing the tribal leaders and attorneys attending, in each priority area we will craft a shared vision for the future direction for that issue of Indian law. Each session will end with strategic outlines for how NARF can address each issue for the next 40 years.
The NARF's 40th Anniversary Dinner -- "40 for 40" -- will highlight the 40 tribes, individuals and organizations that have helped shape the 40 years of NARF. We will spotlight Native clients, past board and staff members and funding partners. This will be a celebration honoring the impact that NARF has had in Indian Country.
Registration for the NARF's 40 Years of Indian Law Forum and 40th Anniversary Dinner is $125.00. NARF is also offering a limited number of registration fee waivers. For more information, please go onto our website for a registration fee waiver form. Please visit our website, www.narf.org, to register for these events.
NARF would like to thank the following tribes, organizations and individuals for their sponsorships: Seminole Tribe of Florida, Wayne and Nancy Starling Ross, Seven Cedars Casino, Bridget K. Stroud, Barbara Bastle, Rev. William Wantland, Lyle A. Dethlefsen, the Ponca Tribe of Oklahoma, and Americans for Indian Opportunity.
To learn more about sponsorship opportunities or registration information, contact Jennifer Redbone at (303) 447-8760 or jennifer@narf.org.Tuesday, October 5, 2010
NARF article: Supreme Court denies Alaskas Appeal
October 5, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Natalie Landreth, Staff Attorney and Counsel for Kaltag, (907) 276-0680
Yesterday, the United States Supreme Court declined to hear the State's appeal in the case of Hogan v. Kaltag Tribal Council, thus effectively ending the case and clearly reinforcing the rule that tribal courts have authority to initiate and fully adjudicate children's cases.
The Kaltag Tribal Council had taken emergency custody of one of its member children due to allegations of abuse and neglect and, after conducting hearings and finding a suitable home, it terminated the rights of the birth parents and issued an order of adoption to the adoptive parents in Huslia. Kaltag then notified the State of Alaska Bureau of Vital Statistics about the adoption and requested a new birth certificate reflecting the names of the adoptive parents and the new last name of the child. The State refused, claiming that it did not owe full faith and credit to the decision of the Kaltag Tribal Court because Kaltag did not have jurisdiction to initiate the case at all.
In the fall of 2006, NARF filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Kaltag Tribal Council and the adoptive parents to enforce the full faith and credit provision of the Indian Child Welfare Act (IWCA). In February 2008, the United States District Court rejected the State's claims and held that Tribes have jurisdiction to adjudicate adoptions and child-in-need-of-aid (CINA) type cases over their member children, and that the Tribal Court's decisions are entitled to full faith and credit by the State. In a detailed and thoughtful opinion, the Court reaffirmed what the United States Supreme Court stated in the Holyfield case that the IWCA created "concurrent but presumptively tribal jurisdiction in the case of children not living on a reservation". The Court also noted that denying tribal jurisdiction in CINA-type cases would leave Tribes "powerless to help children in their own villages at the most critical time." The Court's decision was then summarily affirmed by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
This case reaffirms the rule that when Tribes adjudicate domestic matters of their own member children, whether it is a simple voluntary adoption or a CINA-type case, their decisions are entitled to full faith and credit.
Counsel for Kaltag, Natalie Landreth, said "The fact is that the Kaltag Tribal Court was doing what it, and the 561 other tribes in this country, has been doing since time immemorial: taking care of their own children. This case never should have been appealed to the United States Supreme Court, and the Plaintiffs are very glad that their victory stands." Moreover, the Native American Rights Fund and plaintiffs Kaltag Tribal Council and Hudson and Selina Sam call upon Governor Parnell and Attorney General Sullivan to rescind the Renkes Opinion issued in October 2004 and instead take this opportunity to work with tribes and tribal courts to ensure the protection of all children, no matter which court their case is in.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Indian Country Wins
Indian Country Wins Power to Fight Sexual Assault
President Obama signs the Tribal Law and Order Act at the White House on July 29. Photo: Creative Commons/National Congress of American Indians Congress has just given Indian Country greater authority to police its own, and that may be good news for women. the Tribal Law and Order Act, which was signed by President Obama last week, expands the authority of tribal criminal justice agencies to prosecute crimes within their own territory, rather than relying on the notoriously spotty federal authorities. While the emphasis is on policing, advocates have hailed the bill as a step toward alleviating the often hidden epidemic of sexual and gender-based violence against Native women.
Native communities generally face higher risks of violent crime, but violence against women is especially devastating. Amnesty International reported in 2007 that the risk of rape and sexual assault was 2.5 times higher for indigenous women than for other women. Moreover, nearly 9 out of 10 perpetrators were non-native*--a damning reminder of how racism continues to expose women to abuse and exploitation.
After the passage of the bill, Amnesty stated that the measure would eventually "decrease the high levels of rape and finally provide Native women with effective recourse if they are sexually assaulted. In short, this legislation stands to curtail the impunity that allows rapists to prey on Native women like vultures."
Under the bill, tribal court systems are allowed to raise the maximum sentence from one year to three. Along with that authority comes a responsibility to provide court-appointed defense counsel.
The bill specifically addresses sexual assault by mandating that that tribal and federal officers receive special training for dealing with victims and investigating sexual assault.
Historically, the lack of protection from law enforcement has woven a cloak of silence around many native women. According to a 2004 report from the National Research Center on Domestic Violence:
Some problems with the criminal justice system are common to many victims, especially victims from other U.S. minority groups. These include: fear of stigma following public charges, fear of being accused of a crime themselves, and hesitation to accuse a fellow tribal member and make him confront a racist legal system in addition to his crime. The complicated relationships among tribal, state, and Federal laws create unique issues, however. For example, if the perpetrator is non-Indian and the assault was committed on reservation land, jurisdictional problems may arise because reservation authorities cannot prosecute a non-Indian and off-reservation authorities are often reluctant to get involved in all but the most severe reservation crimes (Snyder-Joy, 1995). Multiple legal jurisdictions complicate many offenses, including sexual assault and rape, that occur on reservation lands and can hamper the legal process even beyond what is usually seen in other jurisdictions (Millian, 2000).
From a human-rights perspective, Amnesty has highlighted the racial justice dimension to the issue: in addition to empowering tribal authorities to check sexual violence, it will provide more resources and training for victim services. Charon Asetoyer, chair of Amnesty International USA's Native Advisory Council and longtime advocate on women's issues in Indian Country, pointed out the ongoing need for sexual assault nurse examiners to help investigate sexual violence incidents: "Currently there are no standardized sexual assault protocols within the Indian Health Service, meaning that victims of sexually violent crimes may not be given rape kits that obtain critical evidence to prosecute perpetrators."
But ramping up the local police presence in Indian Country won't make a dent in the underlying crisis--a vacuum of adequate social supports for survivors. They're typically isolated by rural geography, poverty and chronic social and economic problems, on and off the reservation, according to a recent Urban Indian Health Institute Report. Meanwhile, Native women overall are disproportionately impacted by federal and state restrictions on abortion, since they tend to be more dependent on publicly funded health programs such as Indian Health Services and Medicaid.
There's often a subtle tension between enforcing the law and protecting survivors. Cangleska, an advocacy organization for native survivors of abuse and assault, has pioneered a holistic service model, profiled in the 2009 Colorlines Innovators issue, prioritizing collective healing for both victims and perpetrators within tribal communities.
The Department of Justice has offered grant money to tribes to strengthen resources for sexual assault survivors, emphasizing not policing but rehabilitation initiatives like "housing, childcare services, transportation, renovation of emergency shelters and hiring personnel to provide and support the direct services to victims."
More effective prosecutions can help alleviate the most regressive aspects of the tribal government system. Activists can now look to the other systemic changes needed to treat and prevent gender-based violence--a paradigm shift in Indian country that moves women out of the box of victimhood gives them a real voice in how they, and their violators, are treated.
*Note: change in terminology for crime statistics: For perpetrators, nine-in-ten refers to non-natives, and the victimization rate is also a comparison between native and non-native women, according to Amnesty.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Native Themed Banksy St. Art San Francisco
NATIVE APPROPRIATIONS BLOG click here
I'm a huge fan of the street art movement, I love art that incorporates social commentary and appears in unexpected forms and places. UK artist Banksy is arguably the leader of the movement, with his pieces appearing all over the world, in galleries and sold-out shows, but also on everything from nondescript alleys to the wall between Gaza/the west bank and Jerusalem.
I love the image above, from the Mission district in San Francisco, playing with the whole immigration debate. I like when artist's juxtapose historic and modern, I think it calls into question some of the preconceived notions the public holds about Native peoples.
Similarly, though not exactly the same, I really like the work of Apache Skateboards' founder Douglas Miles, because (clearly) I love anything that subverts stereotypes and allows Natives to exist as contemporary beings, instead of being situated in the pepetual past. Miles' bio describes his art as:
Love it. "...reasserting and affirming Indian youth's presence in the mainstream culture of today." Miles is also active in engaging Native youth in art and the art making process, which is even better."Graphic imagery of Apache warriors and contemporary “Rez” portraits brings a Native aesthetic and sensibility to the skateboard culture. The Apache skateboards break through a seemingly closed mainstream boundary, reasserting and affirming Indian youth’s presence in the mainstream culture of today."
Here are some of his pieces:
For those of you interested in the Street Art Movement, I saw Banksy's awesome documentary last week called "Exit Through the Gift Shop" about street art and the emergence of controversial artist "Mr. Brainwash"--a would-be filmmaker and friend of Banksy/Shepard Fairey/etc turned artist. Really calls into question the art world and the strange boundaries we as a society draw around what is deemed "art." Definitely recommend it!
If anyone has any other cool Native street art, send it over!
Native Appropriations is a forum for discussing the use of Indigenous cultures, traditions, languages, and images in popular culture, advertising, and everyday life. For background on Cultural Appropriation, read:
Cultural appropriation is the adoption of some specific elements of one culture by a different cultural group. It describes acculturation or assimilation, but can imply a negative view towards acculturation from a minority culture by a dominant culture.[1][2] It can include the introduction of forms of dress or personal adornment, music and art, religion, language, or social behavior. These elements, once removed from their indigenous cultural contexts, can take on meanings that are significantly divergent from, or merely less nuanced than, those they originally held.
Land Jurisdiction
Native American Tribes Say They Won't Enforce Immigration Law
Evan Wyloge, 2010
As the July 29 enforcement date for Arizona’s strict new immigration law nears, Native American tribes are charging that the law was written without considering their unique circumstance and that it will violate their sovereignty and their members’ civil rights.
Despite a request by Gov. Jan Brewer’s office to comply with the new law, Native American tribes will continue to oppose it and seek ways to avoid its implementation, said John Lewis, executive director of the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, which represents 20 tribes in the state.
“Tribes have jurisdiction within their land, and state law doesn’t apply,” Lewis said. “And the law just doesn’t work in the interests of the American Indian population.”
A resolution passed by the tribal council on June 4 states that the new law would lead to disproportionate stops and detentions for tribal members, violate their sovereignty and negatively impact the tribal economy.
In their resolution, the group says long-accepted standards of tribal life would suddenly be incongruous with the new law.
Enforcement of the law would force many law officers to reach the “reasonable suspicion” of illegal status for a large portion of Native Americans, whose legal presence within the U.S. has never been in question, the resolution states.
The resolution points out that English is a second language for many tribal members. And although each tribe has different laws, members of the tribes have not been required to carry their tribal membership documents, and some don’t possess a birth certificate or proper documents.
Navajo Nation Councilman Delegate Kee Allen Begay, Jr. said Arizona’s new law violates the civil rights of members of the Navajo Nation, the largest Native American tribe in the U.S. He said tribal members will be disproportionately targeted because some police might conclude that they are Hispanic.
“In a way, the immigration bill is an attempt to harass Native Americans,” Begay said. “When we are pulled over or stopped we are usually pulled over and asked for our IDs. Sometimes we do not carry those things, and perhaps at that time we will have difficulty proving we are Native American.”
Read the rest of the article in the Arizona Capitol Times.
Republished with permission
Friendship House Association of American Indians
The Friendship House Association of American Indians brought together youth and leaders to discuss problems affecting their community and possible solutions March 29-30, 2010.
Friendship House Association of American Indians, Inc. of San Francisco is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) community-based organization that provides residential substance abuse treatment for American Indians. Since its founding in 1963, Friendship House has maintained a strong track record of providing holistic prevention, treatment, and recovery services that are culturally-relevant to American Indians.
Friendship House operates two residential treatment facilities: an 80-bed four-story healing center for adults located in the Mission District of San Francisco, and the Friendship House American Indian Lodge located in Oakland for American Indian women with their children. Both residential treatment facilities are licensed and certified by the State of California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs. Additionally, Friendship House is nationally accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities. (CARF)
Our Mission: The mission of Friendship House is to promote healing and wellness in the American Indian community by providing a continuum of substance abuse prevention, treatment, and recovery services that integrate traditional American Indian healing practices and evidence-based substance abuse treatment methods.
racial politics in school sports
"
Look around an average college campus today and you might notice that Native Americans are surprisingly well represented. Sure, people of native descent make up just a tiny part of the college and university student population. But there are plenty of American Indian faces adorning jerseys, helmets, and other sports paraphernalia, with "noble" names like "the chiefs" and "the braves." After decades of campaigns by native communities, a new law in Wisconsin aims to force schools to finally scrub brown-skinned warriors off the astroturf and scrap the feather-clad mascot costumes.
The law, SB25, raises the stakes in the game of racial politics in school sports. Wisconsin, which has a relatively progressive policy on integrating native culture into its education system, bans race-based team names at public schools. The law would essentially bar school districts from using Indian mascots and other imagery in team names and marketing products, and violators would be fined $1,000 for each day that they continue peddling stereotypes of native peoples.
The measure is a milestone in a long battle over Indian mascots in collegiate and professional sports. On one pole of the debate are activists who say the caricaturing of native groups perpetuates a painful legacy of dehumanizing indigenous people and exploiting their culture and images. On the other side are sports fans and others who see the backlash as political correctness on steroids, a humorless crackdown on any racial or cultural reference even when it's all part of the spirit of sportsmanship.
In 2005, the NCAA stirred controversy when it moved to bar American Indian iconography in post-season collegiate games (it stopped short of regulating individual schools' mascot and name choices beyond the post-season).
John Ridley responded in an NPR commentary to some of the anti-PC backlash, reflecting on the "right" to preserve America's proud heritage of ethnic mockery:
Look, as a black guy, I know I wish I could hang out outside Lambeau Field and have the Packers rub my head for good luck before every game but the PC crowd has told me that's offensive, so now I've just gotta go out and buy my tickets like everybody else. If only somebody had told me that it's not offensive, I could've had somebody else stand up and fight for my right to be a good-luck charm. And I know if the situation were flipped and teams were called, oh, the Alabama Crackers or the Vermont Maple Syrup Lickers or the Detroit B-Boys(ph), Jeb would be out there telling people, `That ain't offensive. That's just the way they are.' But Bush really threw a beat-down on the NCAA telling those lefty do-gooders, instead of worrying about what minority group is getting their little girly feelings hurt, they ought to be more worried about, quote, "the graduation rates of most college athletes," unquote. Of course, most college athletes actually graduate at a higher rate than average students, but this is an emotional issue. Who needs facts? So please, people of color, just get off your PC high horses. Go about your business, and leave the decision on what's offensive to somebody who's not you.
Critics may cry that Wisconsin's law upends proud school traditions just to avoid treading on the sensitivities of certain uptight folks. They may call it an unjust attack on free expression. But to the communities who have born witness to centuries of cultural genocide, and seen their heritage reduced to racialized buffoonery on a ball field, the new policy marks one hard-earned point toward settling the historical score.
Photo: Anti-mascot protest sign at Carpinteria High School (2009, LA Indymedia)) "
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Sacred Sheep Revive Navajo Tradition
June 13, 2010
For as long as anyone can remember, Churro sheep have been central to Navajo life and spirituality, yet the animal was nearly exterminated in modern times by outside forces who deemed it an inferior breed. Now, on a Navajo reservation of northern Arizona and New Mexico, the Churro is being shepherded back to health.
The Navajo Nation is the size of West Virginia, and at last count, 175,000 people live here. Most people are spread out in small clusters that you see off in the distance from the highway. Amongst modern prefab houses and hogans, the multisided traditional homes of the Navajo, are often corrals with small bands of sheep grazing nearby.
"Sometimes you find me, and I just want to sit in the corral with them," Navajo weaver Roy Kady says. "Just find a corner and I sit there. They motivate me, even just to see them; it's that strong to me."
Churro sheep are smaller than most breeds and have a long, wavy lustrous fleece that is valued by Navajo weavers like Kady. He lives near Teec Nos Pos, where he's chapter president — sort of like being the town's mayor. For him, this flock is part of something larger, something he calls "din'e bi iina," the Navajo lifeway. "Din'e" is the preferred name for the Navajo, and "bi iina" means "lifeway."
"Sheep is your backbone," Kady says. "It's your survival. It's your lifeline."
For centuries, the Churro was all these things, providing the Navajo with what they needed to survive in the stark desert: meat for sustenance, wool for weaving clothing and blankets, sinew for thread. It's no wonder the Navajo are grateful, even reverential when it comes to the Churro.
"Sheep is a very important part of this whole cosmology to us," Kady explains. "You know, there are songs to where it refers to 'the first thing I see is the white sheep to the East when I wake up to make my offering. It stands at my doorway.' And that's how we know that the sheep is something that's very sacred to us."
Where The Churro Went
The Churro were the first domesticated sheep in the New World, and, by most historical accounts, were brought to the Southwest by Spanish Conquistadors in the 1500s. Over the next three centuries, Churro sheep and the Navajo wove a life together in a balance of nature. However, by the 1860s, America's westward expansion collided with Navajo resistance. In a tragic move, Kit Carson and his troops were ordered to relocate the tribe and destroy their livestock.
Sheep is your backbone. It's your survival. It's your lifeline.
"The eradication of this particular sheep breed — because we are connected to it with songs and prayers and ceremonies — when it was taken from us, that part of our life was also destroyed," Kady says.
Eventually the Navajo were allowed to return to their ancestral lands, where they built their herds back. That is, until government agents returned in the 1930s — with orders to eliminate the Churro.
"The U.S. government thought that they had too many sheep — and the wrong sheep," says Lyle McNeal, a professor of animal science at Utah State University. He says the reason the government gave was environmental.
The Churro "were causing premature siltation on a new dam being built on the Colorado called Hoover," McNeal says. "They felt that the runoff and the overgrazing would make that dam worthless in a few years." In 1934, the federal government started a stock reduction.
Killing off the Churro sent the Navajo economy into a tailspin. Realizing the tribe could not survive without their herds, the government introduced standard breeds, whose meat and wool were more uniform to market demand.
Rediscovering The Churro
For decades, most people thought the Churro had been decimated. But in 1972, when McNeal was teaching in California, he took his students on a field trip to the Salinas Valley where he noticed some strange-looking woolly creatures as they stopped to visit a rancher.
"At that stop is where I really first saw a living Churro. I'd read about them before then, but I had never seen one up close," he says. The discovery spurred what can best be described as a personal and professional calling — a 30-year mission to bring the Churro back from the brink of extinction.
McNeal and his supporters scoured hidden canyons on the reservation for surviving Churro, and eventually found enough animals to begin a breeding program. This led to the establishment of the Navajo Sheep Project, which is dedicated to bringing back the Churro.
"When I had sheep in the truck and we were making deliveries down there and I'd stop to get some gas, some of the elders would be attracted to the truck," McNeal says. "They would say, 'These are the real sheep. Where did you get them?'"
"That's when I started getting the signal that these are more than just a sheep, so it added a dimension to the Navajo Sheep Project effort that I hadn't expected."
A Blessing Of Sheep
The road between Gallop and Shiprock, N.M., leads toward a sheer sandstone cliff. In a corral with a few dozen Churro, weaver Tahnibah Natani gathers her ewes and rams as her husband prepares for a ceremony to bless and protect the sheep.
Anderson Hoske is a medicine man. He's lit up a mix of local plants, making sure all the sheep breathe in the thick aromatic smoke from the smoldering fire.
"The smoke is like a flu shot to them," he says. "It's all about chasing away the sickness spirits, different sicknesses."
Hoske begins to chant. He sings an ancient prayer, then Natani fills a sacred pipe and blows smoke into the face of each sheep.
This is a family that shows its gratitude for the gift of life that is given each time it takes an animal for food. This is a family that will shear these sheep, clean the wool, spin it into yarn — which then goes to the loom to be woven, not just as a work of art, but a visual representation of heaven on earth.
"So when you are weaving, actually you're doing a prayer because the warp is considered a representation of rain," Natani says. "The tension cord is lightening. The top of the beam of the loom, the very top, represents the sky, Father Sky. And the bottom bar represents Mother Earth. Everything on the loom has a special song for it."
"So it becomes a prayer."
A Tradition Endangered
Natani and Hoske are committed to keeping the traditions of their ancestors alive in a modern world. They're active in a region-wide community of herders, weavers and restaurateurs who are dedicated to the Churro. Even though the breed is a small minority of the sheep on the reservation — there are just over 4,000 of them — it's no longer considered endangered.
But while the Churro are thriving, it may be that this weaver and medicine man are becoming the rare breed, even within their tribe. Like most Americans, Navajo have become tied to a paycheck economy and a new generation is growing up mesmerized by what's beamed in on the satellite dish.
On a background of pink sand, golden brush and a pewter gray sky, Kady and his mother enter their remote hogan to escape the cold. They occasionally trade words in Navajo, but otherwise she sits expressionless in her long skirt and bright scarf as her son reveals a deep worry for the survival of his tribe's traditions.
"I think we are at the point where, yeah, it could die out — tomorrow," he says. "But coming from my heart is that ‘Wait a minute, hold on — you know, this is good and has to be continued.' You oftentimes hear the phrase, 'Oh, the youth are tomorrow, they are our future,' that sort of thing. But I always say, 'No. They're now. It has to happen now.' We as teachers need to stop and say, 'Let's get with it and teach them before it's forgotten.'"
This started out as a story about saving an endangered breed of sheep from extinction, but in the end, it's about more than that. It's about an endangered culture struggling for survival in a shrink-wrapped world.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
American Indian Activism
American Indian / Native American Activism
Books and Articles
- Burnette, Robert, and John Koster, The Road to Wounded Knee. New York: Bantam Books, 1974. Influential contemporary account of Indian activism in the 1960s and early 1970s.
- Crow Dog, Mary, as told to Richard Erdoes. Lakota Woman. New York: Grove Weidenfeld, 1990. (Auto)Biography of one of the women at the center of the Wounded Knee occupation and other AIM actions.
- Johnson, Troy. The Occupation of Alcatraz Island. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1996. Most comprehensive treatment of this key event in the evolution of Indian resistance.
- Johnson, Troy, Joane Nagel, and Duane Champagne, eds. American Indian Activism: Alcatraz to the Longest Walk. Champaign: University of Illinois Press, 1997. Collection of articles by many of the key scholars on Indian activism before, during, and after the Red Power era.
- Josephy, Alvin, et al. eds. Red Power: The American Indians’ Fight for Freedom, 2nd ed. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1999. Reprint of key collection of essays by and about Indian activists in the Red Power era.
- Kilpatrick, Jacquelyn. Celluloid Indians: Native Americans and Film. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1999. Fine general study of Indians in mainstream and anthropological films.
- Matthiessen, Peter. In the Spirit of Crazy Horse. New York: Viking Press, 1983. Documents the evolution of AIM and the FBI attacks on them.
- Means, Russell, with Marvin J. Wolf. Where White Men Fear to Tread: The Autobiography of Russell Means. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1995. Autobiography of the “actorvist” who played a key role in AIM during its heyday and then moved on to Hollywood, while continuing to be an activist.
- Nagel, Joanne. American Indian Ethnic Renewal: Red Power and the Resurgence of Identity and Culture. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996. History that places the Red Power movement into the wider context of post–World War II Indian cultural transformations.
- Peltier. Leonard. Prison Writings: My Life Is My Sun Dance. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1999. AIM activist Peltier, still in prison for murder, has continued to be a voice for Indian resistance.
- Singer, Beverly R. Wiping the War Paint Off the Lens: Native American Film and Video. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2001. Traces the self-representation of Indians in film since the 1970s, and discusses how this differs from Hollywooden Indians.
- Voices from Wounded Knee, 1973: In the Words of the Participants. Roosevelt, NY: Akwesasne Notes, 1974. Firsthand accounts by Indian activists at and around the Wounded Knee occupation.
- Warrior, Robert, and Paul Chaat Smith. Like a Hurricane: The Indian Movement from Alcatraz to Wounded Knee. New York: New Press, 1996. Most comprehensive and balanced study of AIM.
Multimedia
- Alcatraz Is Not An Island. Directed by James M. Fortier. Independent Television Service (ITVS) and KQED, 2001. An award-winning one-hour public television documentary on the Indian occupation of Alcatraz in 1969.
- Incident at Oglala. Directed by Michael Apted. Artisan Entertainment, 1992. Documentary on AIM and the events surrounding the murders that led to Leonard Peltier’s imprisonment.
- Lakota Woman: Siege at Wounded Knee. Directed by Frank Pierson. Turner Films, 1994. Made for TV with video release. Based on Mary Crow Dog’s autobiography, this is the most substantial treatment of AIM in a fiction film.
- Powwow Highway. Directed by Joanelle Nadine Romero and Jonathan Wacks. Handmade Films/Warner Bros., 1986. Set in the context of the AIM era, the film includes some scenes depicting the struggles within Indian communities for political control.
- The Spirit of Crazy Horse. Directed by Milo Yellow Hair. PBS, 1990. One-hour documentary exploring the historical context of, and the mixed reactions to, AIM on the Pine Ridge reservation.
- Thunderheart. Directed by Michael Apted. Tristar Pictures, 1992. Highly improbable story of a half-Indian FBI agent who investigates and then sides with activists modeled on AIM.
- Warrior: Life of Leonard Peltier. Directed by Suzie Baer. Cinnamon Productions, 1992. Sympathetic portrait of Peltier as framed by the government to help stop AIM.
Native Artists
Activists Winona LaDuke
http://www.tnews.com/text/laduke.html
Lissa Mitten
http://www.library.pitt.edu/~lmitten/indians.html
http://www.library.pitt.edu/~lmitten/performers.html
Ableza - A Native American Arts & Film Institute
ATOLL - Native band from Colorado
Centre for Indigenous Theatre
North American's Leading Aboriginal Theatre Training Centre
Jack Gladstone - Blackfeet singer and songwriter
Cynthia Goodrich - Creek/Choctaw actress/model
Inuit Art Foundation
Kevin Locke - Lakota flute player and hoop dancer
Mayan Marimba Music Cassettes and CD's
The Russell Means Home Page
Native American Actors
a pretty comprehensive list
of Native actors, with filmographies
Native American Artists Home Page
Native American Women Playwrights Archive
David Neel - Kwagiutl photographer
Sonny Nevaquaya - Comanche flute player
Sean Michael Perry - - Salish actor and musician
Ronald Roybal's Homepage - Tewa flute player
Buffy Sainte Marie - Cree singer
Spirit Mountain Singers (from Fond du Lac)
John Trudell - Santee Sioux activist/poet/actor
Monday, May 24, 2010
Seventh Generation Radio
Philadelphia's (Coaquannok's)
Only Urban Indigenous American-Indian Radio Show
Broadcasting Live every Tuesday from 7pm-9pm est.
On
WPEB88.1FM
What does Seventh Generation Mean?
- Seven generation sustainability, the idea that decisions should be considered for their impact on the seventh generation to come, inspired by the laws of the Iroquois
- Seventh Generation Amendment, a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution to put ecologically sensitive areas under government control
- Seventh Generation is a term used by Native people to talk about who we are now as representations of seven generations of the past and who we are and what we do now will impact our history and will determine who and how our people will be in the future, seven generations from now.
International Queer Indigenous Issue of _Yellow Medicine Review_
International Queer Indigenous Issue
Edited by Ahimsa Timoteo Bodhrán
"The Ancestors We Were Looking for We Have Become:
International Queer Indigenous Voices"
As queer Indigenous writers, and queer artists of color more broadly, we have spent many years looking for our ancestors, looking for those Native and brown people who loved as we did, who moved in the world and created a space for us. Part of our queer genealogy involves not only finding those voices in our lineage, in our Nations, but also recognizing the way we are becoming those we have sought, and the importance of recording our stories for those coming after, and making the journey with, for we are not only descendents but ancestors.
Kin coming together at the meeting grounds to share sustenance: stories of survival, resistance, and affirmation. May we make good medicine for our peoples and Nations. May our words nurture and move us forward, our visions deeply rooted in the past and the continuance of our presence.
Same-gender-loving, multiple-gender-loving, and transgender Indigenous peoples from around the world are invited to submit their work, words. May they be blessed.
Deadline: June 25, 2010. Earlier submissions encouraged.
Publication: September 2010.
Genres: All styles and types of writing welcome, including Indigenous work that precedes, resists, hybridizes, and exists outside of Eurocentric genre conventions of poetry, nonfiction, fiction, and theatre. Song lyrics and musical excerpts, mixed-genre and experimental work, interviews, roundtables, and excerpts of longer works are all welcome. Multilingual work and work that represents tribal/National-specific artistic forms (genres, aesthetics, narrative structures) encouraged.
Themes: Completely open. There is an understanding all of our work is queer Indigenous work simply by our being who we are, and all aspects of our lives are worthy of writing, reflection, and being recorded.
Submission: Please send an email to editor@yellowmedicinerevie
* your contact information
* 100-word bio
* all the pieces you are submitting.
Please put in the subject line of the email, "YMR: Queer Indigenous Issue," and name the attachment with your name (for example: AhimsaTimoteoBodhran.doc).
Bio: Roughly 100 words. Feel free to weave from the following:
* your identities (Indigenous/genealogical/m
* your life experience (community work/activism/organizing, work/labor, teaching, education, passions/interests)
* your art (publications, awards, current projects/manuscripts, other artistic forms besides writing)
* your families (husbands/wives, life partners, boyfriends/girlfriends, [great][great][grand]child
* your biomythography (story of who you are in relation to the world, creatively told).
Editor:
Ahimsa Timoteo Bodhrán is the author of _Antes y después del Bronx: Lenapehoking_, winner of the New American Press Chapbook Contest. He was conceived in Niagara Falls, born in 1974 on El Día de la Madre in the South Bronx to a multigenerational mixed-blood familia (Kanien´kehaka, Onodowaga, Puerto Rican, Irish, and German/Moroccan Jewish), and raised in Lenapehoking. His poetry and nonfiction appear in over a hundred periodicals and anthologies in Africa, the Américas, Asia, Europe, and the Pacific.
A Macondo Writer nominated multiple times for a Pushcart Prize and _Best New Poets_, Bodhrán is a winner of an Editors' Choice Award from _Bamboo Ridge_ and the In Our Own Write Poetry Contest of the New York Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center. He is also the recipient of scholarships from the Fine Arts Work Center and Lambda Literary Foundation.
Bodhrán received his M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Brooklyn College. An American Studies Ph.D. candidate at Michigan State University, he is the recipient of Dean's Recruitment, Interdisciplinary Inquiry & Teaching, and Dissertation Completion Fellowships; an Excellence in Diversity Award; and a Somers Excellence in Teaching Award.
Author of a new chapbook, _South Bronx Breathing Lessons_, Bodhrán is completing _Yerbabuena/Mala yerba, All My Roots Need Rain: mixed-blood poetry & prose_ and _Heart of the Nation: Indigenous Womanisms, Queer People of Color, and Native Sovereignties_.
Litefoot and Concerned Natives
Please read this article from the New Mexico Independent Newspaper:http://newmexicoindependent.com/52380/gathering-of-nations-pow-wow-draws-people-and-criticism
As Native People, we have endured various assaults on our culture and traditions. We have been through the fires of atrocity and have made it through, but not unscathed. The massacres, long walks, genocide, and forced assimilation through the boarding school system have wreaked havoc on American Indian Tribes in the United States and Canada. Today, we still see and feel the effects of the efforts of those bent on destroying our culture and way of life. As Native People we still experience racism and exploitation of Native Culture, i.e. Native mascots for sports teams, traders/merchants buying authentic crafts from Native artists at a fraction of the cost only to resale to the public at a thousand percent markup. Another major concern I would like to address is the recent attack on our Pow Wow culture by The Gathering of Nations Pow Wow.
As you are all aware, The Gathering of Nations is supported by various Tribes from the United States and Canada. My intentions are not to offend or demean anyone associated with the Pow Wow way of life, but there are many concerns with this event that need to be addressed. Here are a few:
1) Traders are housed in the main arena while the majority of Native vendors are located in a tent away from the Pow Wow.
2) Natives traveling from distant locations to participate in and hold on to their Native culture must pay ridiculous doorway fees as well as parking fees.
3) Any Brothers wanting to record must register their recorders and pay a fee to record.
4) Outdoor drinks and meals are not allowed - forcing participants and spectators to purchase expensive food and drinks indoors.
5) This one Powwow generates enough money to hold ten more powwows of that magnitude, and yet, Mr. Powwow Coordinator in an interview with the Navajo Times, states, "The remainder of the money is used to fund next year's powwow."
6) The Pow Wow coordinator (NON-INDIAN) demonstrates ignorance and/or blatant disrespect for Native culture (i.e. I have seen the coordinator rush through a crowd of dancers with no worry or concern for the Eagle feather used in their regalia; I have seen him roughly grab a fancy dancer on the arm, swinging him around and cussed him out for blowing a whistle; I have seen him stop a drum group in the middle of their drumming when a whistle was blown.)
How can you explain for a Non-Native have the power to stop a whistle at a Powwow and then proceed to stop the drum that responded to that whistle!? And yet we continue to support this individual every year, considering the taboos he violated. This individual was asked to MC a powwow in a New Mexico community a couple years ago. The powwow committee asked him for a donation, which he gladly donated $600 but asked for $800 at the end for MCing the powwow.
Pow Wows are an important part of our culture that gives us strength, rejuvenates the heart, and heals us. Although money is needed to fund pow wows, they should not be exploited for the benefit of one person. Each year, The Gathering of Nations Pow Wow raises hundreds of thousands of dollars of INDIAN MONEY in entrance fees, parking fees, vendor fees, recording fees, and countless other fees. Where does this money go???
There are many Tribal Nations across the U.S. and Canada who do not have enough resources to fund scholarships for their Tribal members to further their education and improve their communities. This Pow Wow has found a way to exploit our cultural traditions to make money...money that should be distributed back to less fortunate Tribal Nations to assist their children with scholarships.
Please do not take this as some sort of jealous attack, it is merely concern for maintaining our traditions and knowing that the day when NON-INDIANS dictate the terms of our culture and exploit us for their financial benefit WILL NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN.
If you are planning or already have planned a trip to this event, please consider the larger issue at stake - OUR CULTURE, OUR FUTURE!
I THANK YOU - MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS ON TURTLE ISLAND FOR THIS TIME. MAY THE CREATOR TAKE CARE OF YOUR HOME FIRES AND GUIDE YOU ON YOUR JOURNEYS.
PLEASE FORWARD TO OTHER BROTHERS & SISTERS IF YOU FEEL OUR CULTURE AND VALUES ARE AT STAKE!
AHO, Wa-Do, Hiy-hiy! (thank you!)
Petition Ban Gathering of Nations
"It is sad for me to see a time when the few things we have left to hold onto such as community building though pow wows comes to a stage such as this. A stage that generationally has shown us that we cannot have anything as native people without non-native people trying to take it from us or change the way we do things, because of this history it is hard to imagine peace because I do not know what peace looks like." ~ clay river
Native American ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
Join the Native American Rights Fund and Stand Firm for Environmental Justice! | ||
| "We must protect the forests for our children, grandchildren and children yet to be born. We must protect the forests for those who can't speak for themselves such as the birds, animals, fish and trees." - Qwatsinas, Nuxalk Nation
The Native American Rights Fund (NARF) strives to protect the earth. We accomplish this through our case work in the courts, our partnerships with other national organizations and through our internal greening practices. | ||
| NARF's Legal Environmental Case Work Protection of Tribal Natural Resources | ||
| | The culture and way of life of many indigenous peoples are inextricably tied to their aboriginal habitat. For those tribes that still maintain traditional ties to the natural world, suitable habitat is required in order to exercise their treaty-protected hunting, fishing, gathering, and trapping rights and to sustain their relationships with the animals, plants, and fish that comprise their aboriginal habitats. As Native Communities simultaneously face attacks on their fundamental human rights to self-determination, to feed both family and spirit through subsistence hunting and fishing activities and to be free of discrimination, NARF has long been instrumental in assisting tribes to assert hunting and fishing rights, which are guaranteed by treaty or other federal law. NARF also works to secure allocations of water for present and future needs for Indian tribes. Read more... | |
| NARF's Commitment to Environmental Sustainability | ||
 | It is clear that our natural world is undergoing severe, unsustainable and catastrophic climate change that adversely impacts the lives of people and ecosystems worldwide. Native Americans are especially vulnerable and are experiencing disproportionate negative impacts on their cultures, health and food systems. In response, the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) is committed to environmental sustainability through its mission, work and organizational values. Native Americans and other indigenous peoples have a long tradition of living sustainably with the natural world by understanding the importance of preserving natural resources and respecting the interdependence of all living things. Read more... | |
| Former NARF Board Member Publishes Article on Climate Change and Indigenous Environmental Self-Determination | ||
 | Rebecca Tsosie, former NARF Board and Executive Director of the Indian Legal Program at the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, recently published an article, "Climate Change, Sustainability, and Globalization: Charting the Future of Indigenous Environmental Self-Determination," in a symposium issue of the Houston Environmental & Energy Law & Policy Journal. Read more...
| |
| Join the Native American Rights Fund and stand firm for environmental justice by making a donation today! | ||
| The Green Fund is dedicated to protecting and supporting Mother Earth. Donations to the NARF Green Fund will be used to support case work addressing global warming and climate change issues (90%) and to support NARF's internal commitment to environmental sustainability (10%). | ||
NATIVE AMERICAN RIGHTS FUND (NARF)
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Tuesday, April 13, 2010
WILMA MANKILLER
THE MEMORY OF Wilma Pearl Mankiller (November 18, 1945 – April 6, 2010) was the first female Chief of the Cherokee Nation. She served as the Principal Chief for ten years from 1985 to 1995.
"A TRUE LEADER LEAVES AN INCREDIBLE LEGACY"
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
FIRST NATIONS ACTIVIST
2010's people to watch in the GTA: Jessica Yee, activist
Who will be the movers, shakers and shapers of the new year?
Jessica Yee is a young woman on a mission. And at 23, she is wowing social justice activists twice her age with her passion and persistence. The eldest daughter of a Mohawk mother and a Chinese father, Yee was volunteering for a local women's shelter when she was 12.
At 15, she was spearheading a letter-writing campaign in support of a gay student who was barred from bringing his boyfriend to the prom.
When she was 19, she was in South Dakota fighting against the recriminalization of abortion and meeting with the powerful Native American Women's Health Education Resource Center.
By age 20, Yee pulled those experiences together to form the Native Youth Sexual Health Network, the first agency of its kind run by and for youth that isn't focused solely on disease prevention.
Today the network is a North American force for healthy sexuality and reproductive rights, among other things. And as its founder and executive director, Yee has become a respected international youth leader who organizes UN conference forums on indigenous youth and writes, edits and produces books, videos and theatre about youth sexuality.
"We try to incorporate everything, from environmental justice to violence prevention, that you wouldn't typically see within a sexual reproductive health mandate," says Yee. One of Yee's strengths is her ability to connect the dots, says Judy Rebick, who nominated Yee for the Toronto YWCA's 2009 Young Woman of Distinction Award (she won).
"She's got everything: She's a great organizer, a great speaker. She's very courageous and determined."
Yee says her activism is rooted in her parents' history as sex trade workers. Although they were also caught up in substance abuse and minor brushes with the law, they raised Yee and her younger sister, Jennifer, in a safe, loving environment, teaching them to be open-minded, pro-choice and socially responsible.
"My past is empowering," Yee says. "It's not belittling in any way. It shaped who I am."
Yee has home offices in Toronto's Kensington Market and on the Oneida Indian Reserve in Wisconsin, where her partner, "a self-identified male feminist," is a teacher and consultant. But she spends most of her time speaking at conferences and overseeing the network's 14 projects across the continent.
Last year Yee edited a book on the sexual education experiences of young aboriginals and racial minorities. In 2010 she is working on a second book on young women and feminism.
And she is the subject of an upcoming National Film Board documentary on the future of feminism, due next year. Filmmaker Karen Cho sums up the international buzz on Yee. "When I said I was doing this documentary, everyone said I had to interview Jessica."