Off to Washington DC '09

I'm off to give my presentation at the Dept. of Agriculture Thursday. I'll be gone from before sunrise Tuesday (yawn) till mid-day Friday. I hope to see the NCAI's tribal embassy, the National Museum of the American Indian, other museums and monuments on the Mall, and Obama's tribal summit.

Here's the intro I wrote for my talk:In Hollywood, Native American actors talk about getting "feathers and leathers" roles. In other words, being cast as stereotypical savages who wear buckskin outfits and headdresses, who maim and kill, who have no redeeming virtues. Today we're going beyond feathers and leathers, to separate the myths from the reality, and learn more about yesterday's and today's Indians.As always, stay tuned for my reports and pictures. Wednesday could be a new world record in terms of number of photos taken and posted.

For more on the subject, see Rob Unqualified to Discuss Stereotypes?!

Below:  A half-naked Indian chief hides behind "America" on the George Gustav Heye Center building, an NMAI satellite, in Manhattan.