Pix of my South Dakota trip

I plan to write some articles about my South Dakota trip in June. Meanwhile, here are my photos of the trip. I trust the captions will explain our experiences well enough.

Day 1

LAX to downtown Rapid City--June 24, 2012 (7 am-3:30 pm)

Prairie Edge Gallery--June 24, 2012 (3:30-5:30 pm)

Dinosaur Park--June 24, 2012 (5:30-6:30 pm)

Etta Mine--June 24, 2012 (6:30-7:30 pm)

Cemetery and Mt. Rushmore--June 24, 2012 (7:30-10 pm)

Day 2

Hotel and Scenic, SD--June 25, 2012 (morning)

Sheep Mountain--June 25, 2012 (morning)

Fossil-hunting--June 25, 2012 (morning)

Visitor center and Stronghold--June 25, 2012 (morning)

Red Cloud Indian School--June 25, 2012 (late morning)

Pine Ridge and Whiteclay--June 25, 2012 (early afternoon)

Wounded Knee--June 25, 2012 (afternoon)

Lakota War Pony Races--June 25, 2012 (afternoon)

Oglala Lakota College--June 25, 2012 (afternoon)

Lakota Prairie Ranch Resort--June 25, 2012 (late afternoon)

Thunderstorm--June 25, 2012 (early evening)

Day 3

Iron Mountain Road--June 26, 2012 (early morning)

Custer State Park and Wind Cave--June 26, 2012 (morning)

Into the cave--June 26, 2012 (early afternoon)

Hole in the Wall and Needles Highway--June 26, 2012 (afternoon)

Sylvan Lake and Rapid City--June 26, 2012 (late afternoon)

Day 4

Hunting geodes and finding Nemo--June 27, 2012 (morning)

Homestake Gold Mine and Terry Peak--June 27, 2012 (morning)

Spearfish Canyon and Deadwood--June 27, 2012 (early afternoon)

Bus tour and Boot Hill--June 27, 2012 (afternoon)

Walking in Deadwood--June 27, 2012 (afternoon)

Day 5

Black Hills Institute--June 28, 2012 (morning)

Gift shop and Crazy Horse Memorial--June 28, 2012 (morning)

On the Crazy Horse Memorial--June 28, 2012 (early afternoon)

Visitor center and gift shop--June 28, 2012 (afternoon)

Veranda and Lakota dancers--June 28, 2012 (afternoon)

Sculptor's studio and cultural center--June 28, 2012 (afternoon)

Nature Gates and Rapid City--June 28, 2012 (afternoon)

Day 6

Hotel and Memorial Park--June 29, 2012 (morning)

City of Presidents, part 1--June 29, 2012 (morning)

City of Presidents, part 2--June 29, 2012 (morning)

City of Presidents, part 3--June 29, 2012 (late morning)

City of Presidents, part 4--June 29, 2012 (early afternoon)

Fountains and park statues--June 29, 2012 (afternoon)

Rose garden and flight home--June 29, 2012 (afternoon)

Plus a few postings on related subjects:

Cultural center at Crazy Horse Memorial
Anti-suicide campaign at Lakota college
Hundreds of Sun Dances
Economic development on Pine Ridge

South Dakota trip schedule (Day 1)

7:00 AM–1:00 PM
Flight to South Dakota

3:00–5:30 PM
Prairie Edge Gallery

5:30–11:00 PM
Mt. Rushmore--lighting ceremony

Hanging from Jefferson's Nose

Debbie Reese writes about a Mt. Rushmore book in her American Indians in Children's Literature blog:

Hanging Off Jefferson's NoseA reader wrote to ask me about Hanging from Jefferson's Nose: Growing Up On Mount Rushmore, a new picture book about the father and son who carved Mount Rushmore. Lincoln Borglum's father, Gutzon Borglum started carving what we know today as Mount Rushmore, and when he died, Lincoln finished the project.

I gather the book is an interesting story of the work involved, but that it is also a 'hurray' for America that doesn't provide a thoughtful look at the complete story of the place or people. Though he is commonly heralded as a great patriot that Coury would like us to emulate, he was a member of the Ku Klux Klan, working on a monument to the Confederacy. (Update, 10:20 AM, June 12, 2012: Elizabeth Burns at School Library Journal asked for a link about Borglum and the Klan. It is mentioned in several books, and at the PBS American Experience webpage about him.)

Hanging from Jefferson's Nose is by Tina Nichols Coury. Here's an excerpt from her website:In character as “The Rushmore Kid” she [Coury] visits schools across the United States to present her popular "Why I Love America” program, which promotes an understanding and appreciation of the essential qualities that make America great.I understand and appreciate love of one's nation, but we ought to be critical of the things about America that are not great, too. Blind allegiance is dangerous. The mistakes made by its leaders, for example, must be something that children learn, and there are plenty of mistakes made with regard to the ownership of the Black Hills and Mount Rushmore.

That land was taken without the consent of the Lakota people. The U.S. government has tried to settle with them by offering them money, but, that land is sacred to the Lakota's, and they were not, and are not interested in the money. They want the land.

The Lakota's do appear in Coury's book, but not in the way I just described. Here's the page they're on:

(Excerpted from Debbie Reese's American Indians in Children's Literature, 6/2/12.)

Rob's analysis

Here's the text for the page:Winters were harsh in the Black Hills. For the Lakota Indians who lived there, food was scarce. The Borglum family helped out often and went so far as to arrange for a buffalo herd to be donated to the tribe. At the powwow to celebrate, the grateful Indians made Lincoln and his dad blood brothers of the Oglala Lakota Tribe at the Pine Ridge Reservation. Lincoln was happy to lend a hand but dog-tired after dancing all night.Notice that it's all about how the great white man helped the poor Indians. Even if the incident happened, it's misleading in this context. It may be relevant to a Borglum biography, but it's not relevant to the taking of Mt. Rushmore.

What were the political and economic pressures on the Lakota to give up their land? How did they respond to these pressures? Overall, what were their feelings about the Mt. Rushmore project. The book apparently doesn't answer these obvious questions.

Here's what the Wikipedia entry for Mt. Rushmore says about the same period:South Dakota historian Doane Robinson is credited with conceiving the idea of carving the likenesses of famous people into the Black Hills region of South Dakota in order to promote tourism in the region. Robinson's initial idea was to sculpt the Needles; however, Gutzon Borglum rejected the Needles site due to the poor quality of the granite and strong opposition from environmentalists and Native American groups.

As Six Grandfathers, the mountain was part of the route that Lakota leader Black Elk took in a spiritual journey that culminated at Harney Peak. Following a series of military campaigns from 1876 to 1877, the United States asserted control over the area, a claim that is still disputed on the basis of the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie (see section "Controversy" below).Instead of this sobering information, the book gives us happy talk about grateful Indians. The implied corollary practically writes itself. "The Indians were so glad to be fed that they gave up their land willingly. It was a small price to pay for the white man's generosity."

As Reese observes, the all-night dance around a campfire is straight out of an old Western movie. She's never seen or heard of a genuine dance like this and neither have I. It looks like pure stereotyping: Indians as savages who express themselves with primitive actions rather than sophisticated words.

In short, Hanging from Jefferson's Nose is another in a long series of failed children's books. For more on Indians in children's literature, see Indian in Worse than Rotten, Ralph and Playing Indian in Not Me!

UN official recommends land restoration

UN fact finder on indigenous rights to recommend land restoration for some Native AmericansA United Nations fact finder surveying the lives of Native Americans and Alaska Natives said Friday he’ll recommend in an upcoming report that some of the tribes’ lands be restored, including the Black Hills of South Dakota.

James Anaya, a U.N. special rapporteur, has been meeting with tribal leaders, the administration and Senate members over 12 days to assess U.S. implementation of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. He plans several suggestions in his report, which he said he likely will deliver to the U.N.’s Human Rights Council in September.

Anaya said land restoration would help bring about reconciliation. He named the Black Hills as an example. He said restoring to indigenous people what they have a legitimate claim to can be done in a way that is not divisive “so that the Black Hills, for example, isn’t just a reminder of the subordination and domination of indigenous peoples in that country.”

The Black Hills, home to Mount Rushmore, are public land but are considered sacred by the Sioux tribes. The Sioux have refused to accept money awarded in a 1980 U.S. Supreme Court decision and have sought return of the land. The Black Hills and other lands were set aside for the Sioux in an 1868 treaty. But Congress passed a law in 1877 taking the land.UN expert urges US to take more robust measures to tackle indigenous issuesMr. Anaya drew special attention to the need for measures of reconciliation to overcome “the legacies of a history of oppression” in the country, according to a news release issued by the UN human rights office.

“In all my consultations with indigenous peoples in the places I visited it was impressed upon me that the sense of loss, alienation and indignity is pervasive throughout Indian country,” he said.

“I heard almost universal calls from indigenous nations and tribes across the country that the Government respect tribal sovereignty, that indigenous peoples’ ability to control their own affairs be strengthened, and that the many existing barriers to the effective exercise of self-determination be removed,” Mr. Anaya added.

During his 12-day visit, Mr. Anaya met with indigenous peoples in the capital, Washington D.C., as well as in the states of Arizona, Alaska, Oregon, Washington, South Dakota and Oklahoma, in addition to government officials.

He said that during his mission he learned that many tribes across the country already have capable institutions of self-governance and tribal courts in place, as well as self-administered social and economic development programmes that have had significant successes and which also help to promote and consolidate indigenous cultures and values.

The expert noted that he had collected enough information to assess how the standards of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples are reflected in US law, policy and programmes at both the state and federal levels, and to identify needed reforms.No more Mt. Rushmore?

As you may recall, the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples generated some conservative scaremongering last year:

Colbert satirizes UN declaration scare
Countdown covers UN declaration scare
Liberals mock UN declaration scare
Obama's UN "coup" is "chilling"

Needless to say, no land giveaways happened in the last year. But Anaya's report may lead to more conservative scaremongering. Here's the first hint of that:

Mt. Rushmore Site Should Be Returned To Indigenous Native American Tribes, U.N. Official SaysSouth Dakota's Black Hills, home to the granite faces carved into Mt. Rushmore, should be restored as Native American tribal lands, a United Nations official recently said.

James Anaya, a U.N. special rapporteur on the rights of indigenous people, completed a fact-finding mission on Friday that included meetings with a number of Native American tribal leaders as well as White House officials. His investigation led him to suggest that the United States take additional steps to repair the nation's legacy of oppression against Native Americans. He'll officially propose the plan in an upcoming report.Oh, no! It's just as conservatives feared when the US "supported" UNDRIP! Obama's gonna give the country back to the Indians!

Actually, it's unlikely any US president will give back the Black Hills. Conservatives would see it as admitting America's guilt and caving in to a "special interest" group, so it's politically untenable.

If a Black Hills measure somehow got passed without a political firestorm, it probably would carve out an exception for Mt. Rushmore. So an article talking about giving back Mt. Rushmore, complete with photos, is a implicit scare tactic.

Even if the US gave back Mt. Rushmore...so what? It would become a tribally-run national park with no significant differences. The average visitor probably wouldn't notice the change in administration.

The real issue would be giving back the portion of the Black Hills with natural resources to exploit. You can bet the mining and ranching interests would oppose that with angry protests, if not guns and bombs. That's why a give-back probably won't happen.

For more on the UN declaration, see UN Declaration's First Anniversary and Red Corn Testifies at Senate Hearing.

Below:  Special Rapporteur James Anaya. (UN Photo/Jean-Marc Ferré)

Gaffigan's Mt. Rushmore joke

Comedian Jim Gaffigan appeared on Conan O'Brien recently. He noted that his family had toured America on vacation and visited Mt. Rushmore. The dialogue continued:GAFFIGAN: You know, the Black Hills of South Dakota truly are--they're beautiful, they're sacred to the Lakota Indians--

O'BRIEN: Very--their most sacred land.

GAFFIGAN: --and, out of respect, we carved four white guys into a mountain.

[Imitating the Indians and the carvers.]

"This land is sacred." "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, we'll be done here in a second. These fellas were all about freedom. Especially the two guys that owned slaves."

(At the 3:12 mark.)

Native reactions

Columnist Gyasi Ross discussed the Native response to this joke:

How Many White Comedians Does It Take to Make Some Indians Happy?

By Gyasi RossHis joke happened to mention Indians.

Shortly thereafter, I see 10 posts on Facebook that Jim Gaffigan is talking about Indians.

Shortly thereafter that, I see 10 Twitter posts that Jim Gaffigan is talking about Indians. People tweeting to him, getting his name tattooed on their chests, right beside John Belushi’s name. “Holy crap, Jim Gaffigan is talking about Indians on Conan! He mentioned us, and it wasn’t bad!!!”

Yippeee.

So what? Indians talk about Indians all the time. Here at Indian Country Today Media Network, we talk “Indians.” A lot. Too much, sometimes; I occasionally want to hear about Mongolians (I hear they have goot beef) or the French (I hear they have good toast and fries). Indianz.com talks about Natives. I hear that Beyond Buckskin (beyondbuckskin.blogspot.com), Native Appropriations (nativeappropriations.blogspot.com), Ruth Hopkins, Chuck Trimble, Randi Rourke, Native America Calling, etc., all talk about Natives. A lot. We are fortunate enough to have all these networks that discuss our Native people in detail, and still some Natives get excited when a white comedian makes one joke about Indians?

Do we really value white people’s opinions about Natives that much more than our own people’s opinions? Are we really that attention-starved—we get happy whenever we get a moment’s attention from famous white folks? I don’t see those types of celebratory tweets and facebook messages when Ruth Hopkins writes something about Indians, and her articles are freakin brilliant!

The quest for approval and validation is profound indeed.Comment:  I agree with Ross. When I hear a group to which I belong mentioned--nerds, science-fiction fans, comic-book readers--I don't think, "Wow, that's great." I'm much more likely to think, "Wow, they got us wrong. Again."

And even if they get it right, it's not a big deal. When NASA named the shuttle after Star Trek's Enterprise, and the actors appeared to christen it, that's a big deal. A mere mention is nothing compared to something like that.

For more on Mt. Rushmore, see 40th Anniversary of Mt. Rushmore Occupation and Reactions to Natives at Mt. Rushmore.

40th anniversary of Mt. Rushmore occupation

A commemoration of the events on August 29, 1970:

Native Americans mark 40th anniversary of reclaiming Mount Rushmore

By Jason TarrIt is the survival of what he and other civil rights leaders say are years of lies and broken promises. That's why Native Americans celebrate the 40th anniversary of the reclaiming of Mount Rushmore.

On this day in 1970, 23 Native Americans occupied the monument, some of them setting up camp for three months on top of the mountain. More than a century ago, the U.S. government set aside the Black Hills for the Sioux Tribe through the signing of the Fort Laramie Treaty. But, that land was taken by miners just about a decade later when gold was discovered there.And:The last time the Supreme Court took up the issue was in 1980. The high court ruled that the Black Hills were illegally taken and that restitution should be paid. The Lakota refused the settlement.

"The total consensus of the Sioux nation is we will never accept money for our sacred sites. We will never accept money for our burial sites," said Quanah Parker Brightman, Vice President of United Native Americans.Comment:  Someone posted a perhaps inevitable "get over it" comment. That's pretty funny coming from the culture that fetishizes Columbus Day, Thanksgiving, July 4th, the Founding Fathers, the Civil War, World War II, etc. Get over your own self-glorifications before you criticize other people for doing the same thing.

For more on Mt. Rushmore protests, see Indians Accosted Near Mt. Rushmore and Greenpeace Spotlights South Dakota. For more on Mt Rushmore in general, see Reactions to Natives at Mt. Rushmore and Baker to Become Parks' Tribal Representative.

Reactions to Natives at Mt. Rushmore

Tim Giago writes about what Gerard Baker accomplished as superintendent of Mt. Rushmore:

A man of great vision departs Mount Rushmore Memorial

By Tim GiagoVery quietly, but with dignity, Baker began introducing elements of the Native culture and traditions to the Memorial. He had several tipis constructed near the site and introduced Native speakers to talk to the tourists and visitors about the history of the Hills and of the region. Aside from having the opportunity to view the sculpted faces of the four presidents, the visitors to the Memorial soon flocked to hear the Native speakers and to look at the other Native art and artifacts brought to the Memorial by the Lakota and other tribes of the Northern Plains.

The Native speakers and exhibits soon became two of the most popular features at the Memorial much to the chagrin of many white residents of Rapid City and the surrounding region. These are our Hills and our presidents on display and the Indian things Baker is bringing to the Memorial do not belong there, was the biggest and probably the most ridiculous complaint.

When Baker was re-assigned to be the first ever Assistant Director for Indian Relations for the National Park Service, a post the NPS recognized as extremely important, the reaction by the local partisans was as expected. Wrote Scott Odenbach of Spearfish, S. D. in the local daily, "Native American cultural diversity rather than the Memorial's intended purpose: celebrating the lives and ideals of Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln," seemed to be the main focus of Superintendent Baker. On Baker's new assignment Odenbach wrote, "Isn't this an example of the job description finally catching up with the job functions performed?"

Wrote James Reichert of Rapid City, "That's great! Now maybe we can keep Mount Rushmore safe from terrorist activities. And can we ask his replacement to move the tipi down the road to the Native American monument? It is inappropriate for a superintendent to impose his personal values upon a national monument."

We suppose Mr. Reichert was talking about moving the tipis to Crazy Horse Memorial, which is down the road and it is evident that he never once considered the proven fact that the Native exhibits are extremely popular with visitors to the Memorial and that the majority of Native Americans living in this region find the addition of these exhibits by Mr. Baker to be one of the best things that ever happened at the Memorial.

The local white folks should have known that Mount Rushmore was sculpted even while the ownership of the very land where it stands was involved in litigation between the United States and the tribes of the Great Sioux Nation. In other words, the United States allowed Gutzon Borglum to carve on the mountain while the land was a part of a lawsuit to determine ownership. About the illegal taking of the Black Hills by the United States, Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun wrote, "A more ripe and rank case of dishonest dealings may never be found in our history."

After the whining dies down and after all is said and done, Gerard Baker, will be admired and respected by not only the Native Americans of this region, but also by thousands of non-Natives, as the single most important superintendent ever to grace that job position at the Memorial. He had the vision to see beyond the racial prejudice that has permeated this region for more than 100 years and to implement the Native culture and traditions into the daily activities at the Memorial in hopes of opening a new sensitivity of this regions diversity, but by also creating an atmosphere of mutual respect and understanding between all races.Why exactly would teabaggers conservatives people complain about additional displays that do nothing to harm the existing monument? How could they possibly object to having more information about a monument's origin and history?Racism, clear and simple, is behind the public vilification of a great man for having the vision and better yet, the authority to do something that should have been done 50 years ago.Comment:  If the whiners want to idolize Washington in the abstract, they can go to the Washington Monument or Mt. Vernon. Maybe there they'll learn how he earned his nickname for destroying Indian villages.

Same with the other presidents. The whiners may not realize it, but they're all guilty of anti-Indian actions.

Would you study a California mission or the Alamo or Ellis Island without noting its origin or history? I.e., the context that made its time and place significant? Probably not.

Same with Mt. Rushmore. It isn't a context-free monument like the 2001 monolith, floating serenely in the vacuum of space. It's located on stolen Indian land and that's part of its story.

For more on the subject, see No Tipis at Mt. Rushmore? and America's Shrine to Hypocrisy.

Baker to become parks' tribal representative

A new assignment for Mount Rushmore superintendent Baker

By Andrea J. CookGerard Baker, the charismatic, sometimes-controversial superintendent of Mount Rushmore National Memorial, has a new assignment.

National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis announced Monday that he has named Baker as his assistant director for American Indian Relations.

“The National Park Service faces important cultural and natural resource issues with First Americans,” Jarvis said. “I’ve asked Gerard to represent me and the National Park Service with tribes across our country to work on issues I believe will further the goals of the National Park Service and goals of First Americans.”

A Mandan-Hidatsa from western North Dakota, Baker was the first Native American appointed superintendent of Mount Rushmore. He has been a park superintendent for 15 of his 30-plus years in the Park Service. He was assigned to Mount Rushmore in 2004 after serving as the first superintendent of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail.

“This is really a natural next step in my career, and it’s what I’ve been doing all my life: learning about people, our history and culture, talking to others and sharing stories and learning to appreciate other perspectives. It’s an opportunity we in the National Park Service can’t miss,” Baker said.Comment:  For more on the subject, see Indians in The Empire of Grandeur and Blame Baker at Mt. Rushmore?

Blame Baker at Mt. Rushmore?

Tim Giago talks about Gerald Baker, the Hidatsa-Mandan superintendent at Mt. Rushmore, and the recent Greenpeace stunt:

Tim Giago:  Standing ground at Mount RushmoreHe finally landed in the job as Superintendent of the Mount Rushmore National Monument, a job that has now immersed him in a controversy not of his making. Perhaps it is because he has introduced Native cultural and traditional stories and people that has, for the first time in the history of the Monument, become a part of the daily activities at Mount Rushmore. Some of the locals find it to be reprehensible and a scourge upon the Monument’s original intent.

When Greenpeace did its deed the locals came out of the woodwork looking for a scalp to hang on the wall. Baker’s scalp looked pretty inviting to those wanting to see blood.

In my mind, Gerard Baker did things to shake up the status quo. He introduced Indian culture, history and thought to a park that had long been dominated with nothing but the residue of the dominant culture. He soon discovered that the white people here hated the change especially because it seemed to elevate Native culture to an equal level with the white culture. After bearing the brunt of negative comments Baker said, “We’re promoting all cultures of America. That’s what this place is. This is Mount Rushmore. It’s America. Everybody’s something different here; we’re all different. And just maybe that gets us talking again as human beings, as Americans.”Comment:  How much do you want to bet that there's a big overlap between the people who dislike tipis at Mt. Rushmore and the Obama "birthers," the teabaggers, and Palin's "real America"? I'm guessing the overlap is huge.

This article provides a good counterpoint to Beerfests for Racial Understanding? Are whites whining about the Native culture at Mt. Rushmore simply because they haven't met Indians? When Baker talks to them, do they stop complaining and settle down? I doubt it. I think they've been brainwashed by decades of (mis)education to believe "white is right." I don't think having a beer with an Indian will change that.

For more on the subject, see:

America's shrine to hypocrisy
"Where are the Indians?"
What Mt. Rushmore tells us
Healing through Mt. Rushmore

German film on South Dakota monuments

German filmmakers complete documentary in Hills, on reservation

By Jomay SteenA two-man crew recently completed filming a documentary about three famous South Dakota monuments and memorials and how people relate to them. The German filmmakers believe they will have it ready for distribution by next summer.

Producer and co-directors Tim Gruenewald and Ludwig Schmidtpeter, who also handled visuals, camera and sound, had arrived in western South Dakota nearly three weeks ago to begin filming at Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Crazy Horse Memorial and the Wounded Knee monument on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

"Everyone adds a little something in the relationship to the places," Gruenwald said.

He and Schmidtpeter wanted to know how various stakeholders and people from the communities related to the memorials and monument as well as how they function and relate to one another.Comment:  For more on Germans and Indians, see Germans Film Pilgrims in Salem and Foreigners Have Native Affinity. For more on documentary films, see Native Documentaries and News.

Indians accosted near Mt. Rushmore

What do Greenpeace and Russell Means have in common?

By Tim GiagoI immediately recalled the year that the United States of America celebrated its 200th birthday. The year was 1976. America, as usual, was burying all of its hidden horrors, putting cosmetics on all of its warts, and preparing to make 1976 a birthday celebration to end all birthday celebrations. The National Park Service rangers would have been polishing the faces of the four presidents on Mount Rushmore if they could have found a safe way to do it. They wanted those faces on the "Shrine of Democracy" to shine.

Down the road apiece an activist named Russell Means, an Oglala Lakota, had a different take on things. He announced in a way that only Russell Means could do that the American Indians intended to "blow out the candles on America's birthday cake." Holy cow, one would think that he had just announced that he and his followers were about to fire rockets at the face of the four presidents enshrined on Mount Rushmore. Means loved to call this monument, "The Shrine of Hypocrisy."

As in days of yore, the Greenpeace activists also brought out the really colorful side of the locals. They suggested everything except a mass hanging for the infringers. My goodness, these tree huggers had desecrated a monument that was only second to a statue of Jesus Christ. "Lock them up and throw away the key," suggested one angry patriot.And:After the announcement by Means, the law enforcement panic was on again. The police and state troopers totally overlooked the fact that Indians can be tourists too. The hills were alive with police cars stopping every vehicle containing any individual who resembled an Indian. Natives were frisked, trunks were searched, and Indians were subjected to every indignity imaginable. As one large Lakota man was frisked in Keystone, South Dakota, he was heard to say, "Where in the hell is the ACLU?"

It makes one wonder how Greenpeace pulled off their stunt. I suppose it was because they didn't look like Indians. In other words, they could pass because they looked just like any white tourist visiting the Shrine of Hypocrisy.

The boast by Russell Means that the Indians would blow out the candles on America's birthday cake never came to pass, but his very words caused a statewide law enforcement panic that subjected every Indian resident of the state to a form of terror.Comment:  Yes, this would've been a good issue for the ACLU. Amazing how blatantly the police would ignore the Fourth Amendment's protection against unlawful search and seizure.

But the ACLU may have need a court case before it could get involved. Or perhaps the illegal searches ended before the ACLU learned of them.

I imagine Greenpeace's people were smart enough not to announce their intentions in advance. But if they had, would the police have stopped every car containing white people? No.

As we've seen in many racial-profiling stories, especially since 9/11, brown people are stopped and searched because they look "suspicious." White people aren't.

For more on the subject, see Greenpeace Spotlights South Dakota.

Greenpeace spotlights South Dakota

Melvin Martin:  Praise for Greenpeace in Rapid CityAs a long-time, behind-the-scenes activist who is deeply concerned about the current (and historical) state-of-affairs in and around Rapid City, South Dakota (in my humble estimation, the most anti-Indian place in all of North America), I proudly salute the Greenpeace organization for their courageous, timely and highly commendable actions taken Wednesday morning at the so-called Mount Rushmore National Monument.

Greenpeace’s political and pro-environmental statement has already resonated around the world via the wonder of today’s global communicative capacities. And it is also quite an extraordinary feat of technical prowess to unfurl a 2,275 square foot banner at such an altitude at a location that is ostensibly highly protected by “the most powerful nation in the world” in terms of its symbolic value as a “terror target.” Again, Greenpeace--I proudly salute you!

My heart now, that not only soars with great joy at this particular demonstration, is also filled with a great expectation that the whole world will become quite curious as to other issues that are related to so-called “radical and leftist causes” there--such as the horrible legacy of racism towards the American Indian population of western South Dakota. I have extremely high hopes that millions of curious eyes world-wide will now focus much-needed attention on this part of the country and on this city specifically.Comment:  For more on the subject, see BB Shootings = Tip of Iceberg and "Gooks" Assaulted with BBs, Urine.

Below:  Another message sent via Mt. Rushmore.

Native culture at Mt. Rushmore

Mt. Rushmore continues to become more Native friendlyBaker, the proud guardian of the behemoth granite shrines of presidents’ George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln, said one of his priorities after he came aboard was to bring the Native story to life.

“That story wasn’t being told. A part of my position here is making everyone feel welcome.”

This desire, along with plenty of input, led to the creation of the Heritage Village exhibit in 2008, located off the Presidential Trail. It features three tipis, each one representing the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota nations.

Last summer, Native storytellers, artisans and hoop dancers engaged visitors, and the park plans on doing it all over again this summer season.Comment:  This article doesn't mention that many white visitors were upset by the three tipis at Mt. Rushmore.

For more on the subject, see:

America's shrine to hypocrisy
Mt. Rushmore summit results
Tribes meet at Mt. Rushmore
"Where are the Indians?"
What Mt. Rushmore tells us
Healing through Mt. Rushmore

Controversial artist Clairmont

Nothing Conventional About This Indian ArtistThere is nothing traditional about Corwin "Corky" Clairmont's artwork. In unconventional ways, he's spent a lifetime challenging the viewers of his work to understand what he has to say. Every piece of his artwork gives way to ironic twists and turns, full of social and political commentary as it relates to his American Indian culture.One example:One of his most recent works, "Indian Country Passage Denied," is a perfect example of the provocative nature of his work. The collagraph depicts modern-day passport images of Lewis and Clark against a colorful background meant to reflect American Indians' rich past. In a portfolio of Clairmont's prints, "Native Perspectives on the Trail," the commentary points out that Lewis and Clark's historic expedition "was one of exploration but also the demonstration of arrogant superiority and the cementing of territorial lines.

"Lewis and Clark did not proceed as guests in a foreign land, but as conquerors ... Clairmont's print leads us to ask: 'What if Lewis and Clark needed passports and what if their passage had been denied?'"

Another example:His work has sparked controversy on several occasions. Perhaps the most vocal outcry was spurred by a piece called "Paha Sapa," depicting two families—one white, one red—viewing Mount Rushmore. The Euro-American family has the faces of the U.S. presidents reflected in their glasses, but the Indian family has four skulls reflected and positioned in the same places as the presidents' heads, implying the Lakota's disdain over what they see as a desecration of a mountain into a tourist trap.

School trips to the Paris Gibson Square Museum where the piece was on display were canceled as the controversy raged in the mid-1990s.

As well-known American Indian artist and poet Gail Tremblay explained, "any native person with a sense of history understands the content of this work instantly," recounting the hand America's earliest presidents had in destroying the Indian culture.


Comment:  Indian Country Passage Denied is a good idea, but the execution doesn't "wow" me. Nice colors, but I don't see the background reflecting Indians' "rich past."

But Paha Sapa does wow me. The Indians see skulls instead of heads...how great is that? I don't think you have to be Native to understand the context or the message.

For more examples of controversial art, see Scholder Broke Vow, Rules and Provocative Art About Indians.

Golden city in National Treasure 2

[Spoiler alert]

Finally, we come to the climax of National Treasure: Book of Secrets:  the discovery of Cibola, the lost city of gold. It's basically a central plaza of pyramids and temples from a Classic Maya city. It's hidden in an immense underground cavern near Mt. Rushmore. The buildings are made of solid gold. (I suppose they could be gold-plated, but solid gold is implied.)

This is stupid in so many ways that I can barely describe them. But I'll try.

The faux Cibola contains more gold than has been mined in the history of the world. As Wikipedia reports:It has been estimated that all the gold in the world that has ever been refined would form a single cube 20 m (66 ft) on a side (equivalent to 8000 m³).This gold would fit comfortably inside one of the Maya pyramids or temples. There are perhaps half a dozen such structures in the cavern. So the city contains several times the amount of gold processed since the dawn of civilization.

No evidence of construction

Where's the evidence of all the mining, smelting, excavating, and constructing necessary to build a city of solid gold underground? This would've been one of the largest public works projects in human history—rivaled only by such projects as the Great Wall of China or the Panama Canal. It would've taken decades if not centuries to complete—far more time than the relatively paltry Egyptian pyramids. That no archaeological evidence of this massive construction project remains is flatly impossible.

What exactly was the motivation of the Mesoamericans? To hide the gold? From whom, exactly? From the Europeans who weren't going to arrive for another 900 years? Or from the local Plains tribes who showed little interest in gold as an object of wealth? Not from their rivals in Central America, surely, because these rivals wouldn't have known anything about the mining activities in the Black Hills.

If hiding the gold was the goal, why mine it in the first place? Why not leave it in the ground? Why dedicate millions of man-hours transforming the metal from gold ore to gold bricks kept underground?

Building the city only exposed the gold to thousands of observers over decades of time. It created the legend of Cibola—a legend that didn't have to exist. The Mesoamericans could've marked an X on the spot of their large gold deposits and no one would've spent centuries fantasizing about a lost city.

Why build a city?

But suppose the Mesoamericans didn't think of this until after they mined the gold. In that case, why store the gold in the form of a Maya plaza? Why not just pile it up in stacks as in Fort Knox? What possible advantage was there to constructing an underground city?

The only reason to build pyramids and temples is if you're going to use them. So are we supposed to believe the Mesoamericans actually inhabited Cibola? That would multiply the problems of constructing the city tenfold.

Except for the magic of movies, there would be no light in the cavern. It would be freezing cold. There would be no air circulation, so fires would fill the cavern with smoke. An underground stream could provide water and waste disposal, but there would be no food. Life was tough enough for the Plains Indians on the surface; how much harder would it be to drag buffalo carcasses a mile or so through tunnels to the underground city?

I could go on ripping this scenario to shreds, but I think you get the idea. It's one of the stupidest Native ideas ever put on film. If "ancient astronauts" had helped the Mesoamericans build Cibola, it would've been more credible.

Indians as leprechauns

Nor is the movie's message a good one. If you're thinking, "Wow, those Indians must've been sophisticated to build an underground city of gold," think again. Because the feat is so inhumanly impossible, it makes the Indians seem magical. It removes them from the human realm and places them in some supernatural sphere. They must've had the help of spirits, gods, or space aliens because they couldn't have done it themselves.

Other than glimpses of their writing and architecture, these Mesoamericans have no culture or history. No government, legal system, religion, art, or science. All we know is that they existed ... they waved a magic wand and created Cibola ... and they disappeared. They're not real people, they're the Native equivalent of leprechauns. They hoard gold at the end of the rainbow not for any rational reason, but just because.

This is a common theme with Indians in general and Mesoamerican Indians in particular. They came, they communed with their gods, and they vanished. There's nothing left of them but ruins and burial grounds filled with spirits and demons. They're just like Atlanteans--a lost race with no presence in today's world.

For more on the subject, see Indiana Jones and the Stereotypes of Doom.

Below:  The city of gold has no water shortage, but its plumbing needs work.

Mechanical marvels in National Treasure 2

National Treasure: Book of Secrets features not one, not two, but three mechanical marvels. It's a testament to those amazing Mesoamerican Indians, who built so many lost cities with sliding doors, closing walls, and falling boulders.

Forget the Egyptian pyramids, the Roman aqueducts, or the Great Wall of China. Unless aliens helped these Indians, as aliens so often do, these mechanisms should go down in history as some of mankind's greatest accomplishments. They should count as three of the Seven Wonders of the World.

[Spoiler alert]

To set the scene, Ben Gates (Nicolas Cage) and his associates have arrived at a fictitious lake near Mount Rushmore. They’re searching for Cibola, the Mesoamerican city of gold. In quick succession they encounter three mechanical marvels:

Remote control

1) The adventurers are standing on a promontory of rock a couple hundred feet high. Across a strait of water, a couple hundred feet away, is another promontory of rock. Ben puts his hand in a crevice, pulls a lever, and the rock face on the opposite side collapses, revealing a cavern.

Think about this a moment. Through some mechanical system of gears, levers, and pulleys, Ben has sent a command across a gulf of water. This command traveled straight down 200 feet, under the lake bed 200 feet, and up the opposite side 200 feet. The Mesoamericans drilled through the solid rock of the two promontories and the waterlogged earth separating them. After 1,400-plus years of earthquakes, settling land, and continental drift, the 600-foot-long mechanism is in perfect working order.

Balancing act

2) Inside the cavern, Gates and three others become trapped on a freestanding platform about the size of a large room. It's balanced on a single point, and it teeters like a teeter-totter whenever people shift position. If they don’t balance their weight around the platform, it'll tip over and they'll go sliding into the abyss.

Again, think about this a moment. Constructing a teetering platform would be difficult today, which may be why no one has done it. This platform is at least 1,400 years old. Again, despite earthquakes, settling land, and continental drift, it's still exquisitely balanced and functioning perfectly.

Water works

3) In another chamber, water is pouring in from several tunnels and filling up the place. Ben deduces that turning a drumlike wheel will lower gates over the tunnels and shut off the water. They turn the giant spigot and it works.

This is perhaps the least incredible of the mechanical marvels. The controls have to go only from the center of the cavern to the sides and up the walls. Yet the idea of sliding stone panels is simply unbelievable.

Consider the Egyptian pyramids and temples, Greek and Roman temples, and Mesoamerican pyramids and temples. I can't think of a single case where ancient people managed to construct a workable sliding wall or door made of stone. Yet this is a staple of silly adventure movies. Doors and floors slide open or closed, and walls converge for the kill. And it's all automatic. You touch the wrong spot on the wall or floor and some amazing system of counterweights triggers a sliding panel.

Conclusion

It would be nice if Mesoamericans were advanced enough to create mechanical marvels that no one else managed. In reality, the concept is not only ridiculous, it's counterproductive. When people see the real Mesoamerican cities and the phony mechanical marvels, they assume Indians couldn't have built them. They conclude aliens or Atlanteans created the structures and primitive, superstitious Indians merely found them. That perception doesn't help Indians and arguably hurts them.

For more on the subject, see Indiana Jones and the Stereotypes of Doom.

Review of National Treasure 2

National Treasure: Book of Secrets is another movie in the Indiana Jones vein. It runs roughshod over Native history and culture as it tries to deliver thrills. Let's take a look.

National Treasure: Book of SecretsA slight improvement over its agreeable forebearer, National Treasure: Book of Secrets follows Nicolas Cage's Ben Gates as he attempts to clear his family's name after his great-great-grandfather is accused of orchestrating Lincoln's assassination--an endeavor that reteams Gates with sidekick Riley Poole (Justin Bartha), love interest Abigail Chase (Diane Kruger), and father Patrick Gates (Jon Voight). Screenwriters Marianne and Cormac Wibberley have infused National Treasure: Book of Secrets with a larger-than-life sensibility that's reflected in Jon Turteltaub's exceedingly slick directorial choices, as the film is rife with precisely the kind of elements that one has come to expect from a Jerry Bruckheimer production (i.e., outlandish action set-pieces, a steady undercurrent of comic relief, etc). As anticipated, there's admittedly a slight degree of repetition to the movie's propulsive storyline--Gates and his cohorts discover a clue, travel to some exotic locale, encounter resistance, and finally uncover another clue--yet, thanks to the preponderance of increasingly over-the-top destinations (i.e., from the Oval Office to the Library of Congress to Mount Rushmore), this never becomes quite as problematic as one might've feared. Cage's undeniably charismatic work is matched by the surprisingly adept supporting cast (which includes--among others--Harvey Keitel, Ed Harris, and Helen Mirren), and it does seem clear that it's his energetic and downright enthusiastic performance that holds the viewer's interest even through a few less-than-enthralling sequences. And although the film does suffer from a climax that's just a little too similar to that of its predecessor's (i.e., all the characters converge on a dark, booby-trap laden cavern), National Treasure: Book of Secrets effortlessly establishes (and sustains) the kind of fun and ludicrously broad atmosphere that should've been present with the recent Da Vinci Code adaptation.National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets [Blu-ray] (2007)Less engrossing than its 2004 predecessor National Treasure, Jon Turteltaub’s busy sequel National Treasure: Book of Secrets is nevertheless a colorful and witty adventure, another race against overwhelming odds for the answer to a historical riddle. Ben Gates (Nicolas Cage), the treasure hunter who feverishly sought, in the first film, the whereabouts of a war chest hidden by America’s forefathers, is now charged with protecting family honor. When a rival (Ed Harris) offers alleged proof that Gates’ ancestor, Thomas Gates, was not a Civil War-era hero but a participant in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, Ben and his father (Jon Voight) and crew (Justin Bartha, Diane Kruger) hopscotch through Paris, London, Washington DC, and South Dakota to gather evidence refuting the claim. The film is most fun when the hunt, as in National Treasure, squeezes Ben into such impossible situations as examining twin desks in the queen’s chambers in Buckingham Palace and the White House’s Oval Office, or kidnapping an American president (Bruce Greenwood) for a few minutes of frank talk.Rob's review:  These reviews basically characterize National Treasure: Book of Secrets correctly. The first two-thirds of the movie is a fun joyride--a cross between Indiana Jones and Mission: Impossible. Only when it reaches Mt. Rushmore does it plunge into nonsense like its characters plunging into darkness.

The movie has a Mesoamerican plot woven through it even though no Natives appear. I suspect most critics didn't think much or care about this plot. But as we'll see, the Native elements are badly done. They don't detract from the story until the end, but they're stupid and stereotypical.

The reviews don't agree whether National Treasure: Book of Secrets is better or worse than its predecessor. Despite its flaws from a Native perspective, I'd say it's better. It's about as good as The Da Vinci Code--which is better than the first reviewer gives it credit for.

I give National Treasure a 7.0 of 10 and National Treasure: Book of Secrets an 8.0 of 10. Both movies suffer because of their clichéd climaxes: adventurers trying to survive in an underground complex as it collapses around them. Ho-hum...isn't that how every movie about people exploring lost ruins ends?

For more on the subject, see The Best Indian Movies.

No tipis at Mt. Rushmore?

Does Native American exhibit belong at Mount Rushmore?Heritage village, which opened this summer, is a cluster of three tipis off the Presidential Trail walkway, where five days a week, Native Americans work as cultural interpreters, practicing traditional arts and answering visitors’ questions about their history and community. Baker’s efforts to use Mount Rushmore to raise cultural awareness this summer also have included a performance from the Faith Temple gospel choir, a Germans from Russia dance and heritage display, a Lakota hoop dancer and a Sons of Norway crafts and history demonstration.

Baker certainly has some local people raising questions about what he is doing with the Mount Rushmore site. No one questions whether an education in Native history is important for Black Hills visitors. But they dispute that it belongs at Rushmore.

Air Force veteran and Hermosa resident Lance Bultena said the new Native history display doesn’t fit in with the “theme” of Mount Rushmore, which he sees as a celebration of the nation’s constitutional ideals and the great presidents who established, preserved and expanded the union.

“I think it’s more of an appeasement to make them feel like they’re a part of it, which I can understand everybody wants to be a part of it,” he said. “I really don’t see that as a necessity or enhancing Mount Rushmore.”

Rapid City’s Angie Schilling saw the heritage village this year and didn’t think it necessarily belonged. She thought, “Ah, well, we’ve got to add something Indian into every part of what we do.”

But it was Baker’s apparent feelings about Mount Rushmore that really upset Schilling.

When Baker was quoted as saying his favorite part of Mount Rushmore was “the back” because “that’s the way it was” before the carving, she got mad.

“It’s just disrespectful,” she said. “That structure, if you will, it portrays our pride in our heritage, and our founding fathers, and everything that we hold as American citizens, and for him to say, my favorite part is the back,” she said, makes her wonder, “Are you proud to be an American? Or are you ashamed to be an American, when your Native people were held under subjugation?”

Comments like these bother Baker, who like many Native Americans has a complicated and multifaceted relationship with the monument and the government, which in this case is his employer. On one hand, it’s one of the two places his family said he should never work when he started his career with the park service, the place Native activists such as Russell Means call the “Shrine of Hypocrisy” (a spin on the Memorial’s “Shrine of Democracy” title) to describe the carving of American presidents into the sacred hills taken from Natives in treaty backpedaling.

On the other hand, Baker joins patriotic Americans when he speaks about “the four great presidents that gave us this land,” referring to the nation as a whole. Baker said he is always trying to learn more about Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt, reading books about their lives and studying their thought and philosophies.

“This should be a place for people to come and reflect on who you are as an American,” he said.Comment:  The tipis seem fine to me. Like many aspects of Indian culture in our society, they provide an opportunity to ponder. For instance:

"Those presidents sure founded a great country. But wait...what are those tipis doing there? Oh, yeah...founding a great country meant forcing the people who were here first onto reservations. Wow, that's heavy.

"And yet, the tipis are standing right under the nose of the presidents. What's up with that? I thought we got rid of those Indians long ago. You mean they're still here? Wow, that's even heavier.

"Presidents founded country...Indians already occupied country. Brain can't cope with cognitive dissonance. Must reevaluate previous beliefs. Must...think!"

These naysayers should be thankful that the rangers at Mt. Rushmore doesn't teach all the anti-Indian things the presidents said and did. (At least, I presume they don't teach anything negative.) For examples, see Fun 4th of July Facts plus individual pages on George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Teddy Roosevelt.

As far as I'm concerned, Native culture belongs everywhere Native made their mark on the country. Which means everywhere in the United States except maybe Hawaii. (The people of Hawaii can celebrate Native Hawaiians instead of American Indians.)

For more on the subject, see Best Indian Monuments to Topple.

America's shrine to hypocrisy

Tim Giago:  Mt. Rushmore through Native eyes[I]f you look at those carvings through the eyes of Native Americans, you may see them as you have never seen them before.

Teddy Roosevelt talked about taking the remaining Indian lands by war. He said, “It is a primeval warfare and it is waged as war was waged in the ages of bronze and of iron. All the merciful humanity that even war has gained during the last two thousand years is lost. It is a warfare where no pity is shown to non-combatants.”

Abraham Lincoln gave the go-ahead to the U. S. Army to hang 38 Dakota warriors in Minnesota in the largest mass hanging in the history of America. Thomas Jefferson, a slave owner, signed on to the Louisiana Purchase, a deal that took millions of acres of land from many Indian tribes without their approval, including South Dakota, and in the end, caused misery, suffering, death and poverty that is felt by the Native Americans of this region even to this day. And we should not forget that the man known as the father of this country (at least to the white people), George Washington, ordered the extermination of the Indian people of New England. He was also a slave holder.

Native American activist Russell Means has labeled Mount Rushmore, The Shrine of Hypocrisy. In this instance he speaks for many Native Americans. You must also remember that Native Americans had a history long before the coming of the white man. Most Indians do not consider the signors of the Declaration of Independence to be their “Founding Fathers.”Comment:  I've talked many times of how "honoring" Indians by making them mascots is a false honor. This posting should remind us that the US government, speaking for all Americans, would never honor our Indian forefathers the way it's honored our Anglo-Saxon forefathers.

The only way the Crazy Horse memorial could get built is the way it's been done: in the middle of nowhere with private financing. Americans would howl in protest if the government tried to honor Sitting Bull or Geronimo with an Indian monument near the Washington Monument or the Lincoln Memorial.

For more on the subject, see Best Indian Monuments to Topple.

Overshadowing Mt. Rushmore

Crazy Horse's revenge

The world's largest sculpture is slowly rising in the hills of South Dakota, reports Tony PerrottetIt is no accident that Crazy Horse is rising only 25km from white America's most famous patriotic sculpture, Mt Rushmore, depicting the faces of four US presidents, or that Crazy Horse is going to be way, way bigger. From the start, this image was planned to be a political counterpart to Rushmore and to overshadow it.

The scale of this western colossus is mind-boggling. On completion, it will be the world's largest sculpture, dwarfing the Great Pyramid of Giza and the Statue of Liberty. Rushmore's presidents will fit inside Crazy Horse's 26.6m-high head. The image will include a giant tablet bearing a poem about Native American history carved in 1m-high letters. The site already has a sprawling cultural centre at its base, attracting one million visitors a year. (Rushmore scores three million.) And there are plans for a university and medical training centre for Native Americans to be built as part of the complex.Many Indians support this monument, but some don't:"Only in America could a man carve a mountain," Ziolkowski once declared, a sentiment that, perhaps unsurprisingly, has not won over all Native Americans. In recent years a group called the Defenders of the Black Hills has argued that the region, which is sacred to the Lakota, should be left alone.

Spokeswoman Charmaine Whiteface says the fact that this new sculpture involves an image of a revered Lakota leader does not make it less of a violation than Mt Rushmore. Work should simply stop on Crazy Horse, she says. "Let nature reclaim the mountain."Comment:  For more on the subject, see Best Indian Monuments to Topple.