Harjo performs despite Palestinian criticism

Rejecting Palestinian calls, Native American poet Joy Harjo entertains apartheid at Tel Aviv University

By Ali AbunimahDespite appeals from thousands of people all over the world, Native American peers, and Palestinian civil society, poet and musician Joy Harjo has rejected pleas to cancel her performance at Tel Aviv University and respect a Palestinian call for boycott.

Since plans of her performance became known a few days ago, Harjo heard appeals to heed the boycott from prominent Native American scholars, and 2,300 people signed a petition launched by USACBI, the US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel.

On 8 December, PACBI, the Palestinian group spearheading the boycott campaign worldwide, added its voice in an open letter:Tel Aviv University, as other Israeli academic institutions, is notorious for its deep and well documented collaboration with the Israeli military and intelligence establishment, its racially exclusivist university policy towards Palestinian citizens of Israel, and its refusal to acknowledge its past and to commemorate the destroyed Palestinian village on which grounds it was built.Listing the prominent international artists who have heeded the Palestinian call, including U2, the Pixies, Gorillaz Sound System, Gil Scott Heron, Elvis Costello, Roger Waters and Alice Walker, the letter urged:We hope that you will not be persuaded by the argument that music builds bridges and can bring smiles to people’s faces, thus hopefully spreading a message of peace. Any message of peace you hope to bring will be drowned by Israel’s well-oiled publicity that will use you to rebrand itself as a normal state that promotes music and culture and present your appearance as an endorsement of its policies.Invisible “support” for Harjo’s performance

But in a message on her Facebook page this morning, Harjo justified her decision to go ahead with the performance. Her message read in part:I will perform at the university as I promised, to an audience that will include Palestinian students. The students have written in support of me being here. I will let the words and music speak for that place beyond those who would hurt and destroy for retribution, or to be right. It is my hope that my choice will generate discussion and understanding for many paths to justice.Harjo also condemned what she called an “atmosphere of censure” around her decision. But in contrast to the outpouring of Palestinian calls on Harjo to cancel her performance, her claim that some Palestinian students supported it could not be substantiated.

Of the dozens of comments left on her Facebook page over recent days by users identifying themselves as Palestinians, messages supporting her performance were not immediately apparent. Most messages seemed to be calling on her to heed the boycott.

A comment by Facebook user “lamisfalasteen,” in response to Harjo’s message this morning, was typical:You acknowledge that the Palestinian situation is similar to that of your people, and yet you ignore calls for support. Palestinian civil society has asked that people of conscience heed their call for cultural and academic boycott. It is our non-violent way to resist the occupation.

Over 2,000 people asked you to cancel your performance, and you cite a few Palestinian students in your audience voicing their support for you being there as a justifiable reason to break the boycott?“When someone like you performs for Israel, it allows people to interpret your performance as a political statement supporting the occupation,” lamisfalasteen concluded.Harjo's justification

Here is Harjo's full statement on why she's performing:I sit in a hotel room in Tel Aviv. I am far from my tribal home in Oklahoma. In eternal time, each is a room in the same heart.

I was invited to perform and speak here at Tel Aviv University several months ago. I was a guest here nearly twenty years ago and remembered this place with a great fondness. I recalled the open discussions and the cultural mix of students. I accepted the invitation.

I am aware of the nearly unbearable political strife here. These lands are in the heart area of this Earth. The Jewish people consider these lands their homelands. They have survived countless persecutions and suffered as they made their way home. The Palestinian people are captive in their own homes. There are checkpoints to enter and leave. They do not own title to a country. They are not free. This situation is much like that of my people. We were force-marched from our homelands. Then our lands of resettlement were stolen again.

I am not so naïve as to think art is beyond politics. The arts are and have been used in the regeneration of the spirit of the people. They carry blood, memory and cultures. The arts can also be co-opted for political gain or loss. I am in the service of the source of the poetry and music. With that spirit there is no bargaining with governments, religions or ideologies.

The morning after I left on my journey I received an email from a friend and colleague. He asked me to reconsider my trip. This was the first I learned of the US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel. I was puzzled at this request at such a late hour because this colleague had known of my plans to go to Tel Aviv for while.

I came here for the opportunity to speak with and hear the voices of the people, especially the young. I came to be in support of justice and compassion. I don’t believe that the majority of the people in these lands or anywhere in the world are in support of the killings. Now my social media pages and message boxes are filled with a campaign to force a boycott, with messages of polarization, as if there is one way to poetry, resistance or empowerment. There are also messages of support.

I will never forget being on stage the opening night of a large poetry festival in Durban, South Africa. Then U.S. President George Bush was bombing the Gulf and everyone hated the Americans. Each participating poet was given an elaborate introduction, except for me. I was introduced: “This is Joy Harjo. She is an American.” The heavy silence that followed was filled with hate. I was an object of contempt no matter what I sang or what I said for the rest of the conference. I was not in support of the killings on my behalf by the U.S. government. I had actively opposed them, but in the collective audience mind, I was implicated.

I feel that same atmosphere of censure now in the ultimatum that I am being given to boycott. I admire and respect the scholars and artists who have backed the boycott. I stand with their principles, but they will not see it that way.

I refused an invitation to the White House because I disagreed with George W. Bush and his politics. I stepped down from a tenured university position with security and benefits to register my disapproval of unethical practices involving a colleague and students and the persecution of other faculty members who objected. I have always stood in support of human rights, and the Palestinian cause has always been close to my heart.

I will perform at the university as I promised, to an audience that will include Palestinian students. The students have written in support of me being here. I will let the words and music speak for that place beyond those who would hurt and destroy for retribution, or to be right. It is my hope that my choice will generate discussion and understanding for many paths to justice.

Joy Harjo
December 10, 2012 Tel AvivComment:  Actually, she didn't quite say that Palestinian students support her. She said the audience will include Palestinian students, and the [unspecified] students have written in support of her. The second group of students could be different from the first group. It could consist entirely of Israelis.

Harjo refused an invitation to the White House and stepped down from a tenured university position. What made her respond differently to this conflict than to those conflicts?

Is it because she promised, and she considers her word inviolable? I could almost see that, though upholding a promise to defy a boycott isn't the place to stand on principle.

What did Harjo say?

It also would be interesting to hear what she said to the mostly Israeli audience. Did she challenge them on the issues?

She was vague about her intent. "I came to be in support of justice and compassion," she wrote, but "I will let the words and music speak for that place beyond those who would hurt and destroy for retribution." Does that mean she addressed the injustices of the present situation? Or did she speak and sing "beyond" them, which means avoiding them?

To me that's a key issue. If you're defying a boycott to engage in a dialogue, then it should be a real discussion of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Singing about peace and love in the abstract won't cut it. That's not standing in support of justice and human rights, it's ignoring them.

For more on the Indian-Palestinian connection, see Harjo Faces Boycott of Israel and LaDuke on Gaza:  "We Are Israel."

"10 Conversations on Racism I'm Sick of Having"

Excerpts from a posting that's worth reading as a whole:

10 Conversations On Racism I’m Sick Of Having With White People

By Neo-ProdigyThe following are 10 conversations that I would be happy never to have with white peepul ever, ever, ever again. While there are countless others, these are at least 10 that I’m forced to endure far too often.

3) I Don’t SEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE Race!!!!!

Oh yes, this one is a classic. The discussion of racism comes about, those of the Caucasian persuasion have to profess how colorblind they are and how race doesn’t matter to them at all.

Now to be fair, I can see how this trips up otherwise well-meaning and good-hearted white folks. They recognize that racism is wrong (and this puts them ahead of many) and genuinely believe that they are treating people equally and not allowing race to be a factor in their dealings with others. And God bless them for that. They’re at least on the right track.

However, we’re don’t live in a colorblind, post-racial society. I wish to God we did. The institutional oppression that is racism is immensely prevalent and ignoring the problems and the issues will not make them go away.

A lot of people believe that if you ignore racism or don’t talk about it, it’ll vanish. But when Racefail pops off again, we’re all scratching our heads wondering why we’re still dealing with this nonsense.

4) Being Expected To Take It

Stop me if this sounds familiar.

“Ho hum Neo, that’s just the way So&So is. And they’re not going to change, so you’re just going to have to accept how they treat you, even if it is demeaning. And you know, do it with a smile.”

“Well Neo, that’s just the way things are, yes we live in the land of freedom and democracy and equality but you’re going to be discriminated against. You just have to accept it. And you know, do it with a smile.”

Ummm…….fuck you? *smiles*

Anyone who thinks I’m obligated to simply take racism or being denigrated clearly doesn’t respect me as a human being and clearly not someone who is worth my time. And anyone who even suggests that I should put up with that crap, isn’t someone worth my time either. If you don’t tolerate being treated like a subhuman by others, you don’t get to qualify that for me and others.

5) Conflating Racism For Classism

One of the most common tactics racist white folks will use to avoid getting checked on their privilege is conflating racism for classism as witnessed in this episode of bitchassness here. If they had it their way, they would have you believe that blacks were enslaved and endured Jim Crowe solely because they were poor and if they had enough money then they wouldn’t have to worry about bigotry or oppression.

Yes, these two often intersect, yes they often overlap. But racism and classism are two distinct issues. If it was simply about wealth and class, then Henry Louis Gates, a world renowned Harvard professor wouldn’t have been racially profiled and arrested by the police for entering his own home nor would there have been a coverup over the police report.

Barack Obama, another Ivy League educated black man and oh yeah president of the United States (and arguably the most powerful man in the world) has been on the receiving end of nonstop racist attacks. Now, if he’s enduring this level of racism (people still don’t believe he’s an American) from society, what chance does the rest of us have? Those of us who don’t have his resources, who don’t have the media watching our every move?

Yes, poor white immigrants and poor white people have suffered and do suffer and it is a legitimate issue that deserves to be addressed. No one’s disputing that. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. realized this and often reached out to poor white people. Because classism is an injustice, I don’t care what race you are. But it is not the same as racism. They have completely different dynamics at play. Both are legitimate but you can’t use the former to erase/dismiss/negate the latter.And:10) Racism Is Not Happening In A Vacuum

To those of you who genuinely don’t understand why racism still exists or why people have such attitudes, or didn’t realize that racism was still a problem, the only thing I can simply ask is where the fuck have you been for the last 400 years.

Do you think it’s random happenstance that it took until the 21st century before we even entertained the notion of having a black president? Ask yourself how many POC dramas are on television? Hell ask yourself how many television series are on television where the POC is the lead protagonist and it’s NOT a sitcom and/or minstrel show? If we’re in such a post-racial society, explain to me how many commercials have you seen on television that features interracial couples? Probably for the same reason there was such a public outcry over NFL star Terrell Owens doing the Desperate Housewives spoof with Nicolette Sheridan.Comment:  I'm sick of having these conversations too. We need a "wiki" of the best responses to pro-racism arguments so people like me don't have to keep reinventing them.

For more on the subject, see Whiteness Defines Others as Outsiders and White "Norm" Is Planned and Enforced.

Review of Coyote Medicine

A book I recently read:

Coyote Medicine: Lessons from Native American HealingInspired by his Cherokee grandmother's healing ceremonies, Lewis Mehl-Madrona enlightens readers to "alternative" paths to recovery and health. Coyote Medicine isn't about eschewing Western medicine when it's effective, but about finding other answers when medicine fails: for chronic sufferers, patients not responding to medication, or "terminal" cases that doctors have given up on. In the story of one doctor's remarkable initiation into alternative ways to spiritual and physical health, Coyote Medicine provides the key to untapped healing methods available today.And a Facebook discussion of it:

After reading a New Age-y book about "Coyote Medicine," I need a book about Klingons bashing each other to cleanse the palate.Don't read that new age junk. You'll get fat.Someone said I "had" to read it. It was good but not great.

So far, the Klingon book is better.Uh, coyote is the example you are NOT supposed to follow. Someone caling a book Coyote Medicine might as well have named it Quack Healing.

Al is so right. I teach classes in cultural history. Interesting to see the reaction to the fact that there are several Native American cultures and religions. Schools have a lot to answer for.

I teach English comp, and I just had a student write a paper on the ways in which Native Americans are stereotyped. The first ones he mentioned are the notions that Natives are all gone and that they all had the same (Plains type) culture. That made me very happy.It's a decent critique of modern medicine, but the descriptions of the ceremonies go on too long. Mehl-Madrona sometimes spends what seems like 20 pages on one ceremony or patient.

He justifies the use of the "Coyote" title. "Coyote Medicine" is about tricking a disease and surviving it using unconventional means.

On the other hand, he mostly does Lakota-style sweat lodges and vision quests. Which is odd since he's part-Cherokee and his teachers came from various tribes.

If you're going by what he practices, "Coyote" doesn't work for a predominantly Lakota approach. And he sometimes uses crystals for "energy," which pushes him (further) into the New Age category.

I'd fault him for mashing different tribal traditions into one undifferentiated bundle. But if they work in some cases, that's all the patients will care about.

Most of the ceremonies seem to be about helping a patient make a mind-body connection. It would be interesting to focus the same psychological attention on patients using non-Native, non-ceremonial means. It might prove that the ceremonies are unnecessary to achieve the "holistic" results.I understand, but there are very few Coyotes in Cherokee country. Plus, the Southern tribes' trixter is Rabbit.Right, and I believe it's Iktomi in Lakota lore. He mentions Iktomi a couple times, but only as an evil spirit.I recommended the book to Rob. It was my first introduction to Native anything, and the idea that there were other ways to deal with illness, which I suspected to be true, was life changing for me. Medrona does have mixed Lakota/Cherokee ancestry. He has been accused of telling too much in the book, in terms of ceremonies. But I have a Lakota friend who is a veteran. He said Madrona came by and visited the vets and was a very caring person.

In terms of learning that spirits/ceremonies can be helpful in healing, it would help a lot of people to understand there really are other ways that can work, including the mind/body that Rob mentions. I referred the book to Rob based on his agnosticism. I thought it would be interesting for him to read of cases where spirituality is a proven healer.I'm not convinced spirits or spirituality did the healing. Mehl-Madrona combines a bunch of treatments, including diet, relaxation, massage, visualization, and botanical remedies. He convinced patients they needed the elaborate ceremonies, but he might've achieved the same results without them. All I'd say is that he persuaded the patients' minds to contribute to their bodies' defenses.

It's basically the placebo affect, but dressed up in ceremonies. Placebos have proved to work in many cases. Were the ceremonies and "spirits" necessary to cure people, or did activating their defenses by whatever means do the trick? That's the question here.We have a thread on Mehl-Madrona at NAFPS. The guy is basically assimilated with no knowledge of his heritage so he relies on New Age. This supposed academic endorses several really obvious impostors like Maria Naylin/Yraceburu, so it's apparent he knows very little.Note: NAFPS is New Age Frauds & Plastic Shamans. And yes, Mehl-Madrona is uncritical of everyone and everything that's allegedly Native.

It would be interesting to hear his thoughts on New Agers in general. And to hear what a Lakota medicine man who scorns New Agers thinks of this book.

For more on New Age beliefs and practices, see Serpent Mound Vandalized with Crystals and Tonto as a "Spirit Warrior."

Gary Farmer on Native media

Gary Farmer: Empowering authentic Native media

Gary Farmer speaks out in Tucson on the fear and oppression of authentic Native voices

By Brenda NorrellNative actor and blues man Gary Farmer was welcomed to Tucson, the ancestral territory of the O'odham, by Ofelia Rivas, who sang a traditional O'odham blessing for Gary Farmer and the Troublemakers, and Pomo film director Tim Ramos.

Between the screenings of Ramos' new film California Indian and Depp and Farmer's Dead Man, Gary spoke of the lack of free press in Indian country and the potential for empowerment through media.

Gary said the United States and Native governments are failing to recognize the importance of Native Americans and their vital place in the media. He described the lack of free press within Indian communities, and the lack of access to electronic media in the US and Canada, during the Native Eyes Film Showcase at the Loft Cinema.

During questions from the audience, Gary said there is a lack of vision by Native leadership to bring about change.

"Native people don't have any access to any form of media that reflects them. I think its quite significant in terms of our own self esteem and why we have such a high rate of suicide."

Describing his life long efforts in radio and television, he said, "I find radio is the more honest form."

"Radio is a way to re-language the people," he said, adding that small radio stations provide for Native languages, and urban radio stations have a great deal of information to share, like AIDS education.

Referring to APTN, Gary said the television network has made a great deal of difference in Canada, in socializing non-Native people to Native issues and stories.

However, he said there's been very little interest in authentic Native media in the US.

"We haven't been able to spark any interest in the US."Comment:  Norrell apparently took these comments to be a criticism of the Indian Country Today magazine and online sources such as Pechanga.net (where I work) and Indianz.com. Because these sources are funded by casino-operating tribes (Indian Country Today and Indianz.com) or casino advertising (Pechanga.net), she questions their independence.

I'd say the "lack of free press within Indian communities" refers mainly to tribally owned and operated newspapers, which tend to publish only the company line. I'm not sure the same restrictions apply to Indian Country Today and Indianz.com, and they definitely don't apply to Pechanga.net.

If a business unaffiliated with a tribe owned a Native news outlet, the outlet still would be subject to censorship. Every media owner decides what it will and won't publish, based on its own or its advertisers' interests. And every media owner tends to quash criticism of itself.

In other words, a totally independent Native news source is an impossible dream. Even self-made entrepreneurs running publications or websites have their biases. A better solution is to have multiple sources of information, not to expect any particular source to be independent and cover "all" the news.

For more on Native journalism, see Indians Connect Via Social Media and Pine Ridge Gets Media Attention.

Inuit poet speaks at college

Inuit Poet dg nanouk okpik comes full circle at SKC

By Lailani UphamRays of light shine from her eyes, and her smile remains fixed with a beam of happiness that is felt across a room. Next, her airy, sweet, voice touches the hearts of each listener as the words of her poems are pictured in the minds of those assembled in a dimly lit theatre on the Salish Kootenai College campus last Wednesday afternoon.

Inuit poet and Institute of American Indian Arts instructor, dg nanouk okpik, captured a fairly large audience with readings from her newest book, “Corpse Whale.”

“I feel so grounded and so at home here,” she said as she opened up to the eager listeners.

Okpik attended SKC over 15 years ago and said she found a home away from home. She described feeling adrift when she first arrived on the campus of SKC. However, the SKC ambiance did not take long to help her find her calling.

Her first class was in Corky Clairmont’s, “Native American Images in Film.”

“It woke me up in such a way that I felt I had to finish college–and share my voice.” Her voice was her creative writings.

She said it was in that class she saw the images of Native Americans in the early years of film making that Native peoples were portrayed completely wrong.

She felt her gift of writing could be used to do what she knew she could do portray who her (tribal) people really are.Comment:  A couple things worth noting here:

1) That the Inuit poet didn't think about Native stereotypes until she saw them in a college class. And then she opposed them.

2) That there are Inuit poets who are college-educated and return to their alma maters to speak. <g>

For more on Inuit artists, see Inuit Sculptor at NMAI and Artcirq Performs at Queen's Jubilee.

Harjo faces boycott of Israel

Acclaimed feminist author, musician Joy Harjo lands in Tel Aviv to find boycott calls from Native American peers

By Ali AbunimahAcclaimed poet, musician, author and playwright Joy Harjo landed in Tel Aviv today to find appeals from prominent American Indian and indigenous scholars and peers to pull out of a performance at Tel Aviv University scheduled for Monday.

Harjo posted early this morning on her Facebook page that she was boarding a flight to Tel Aviv, which alerted activists and colleagues about her trip.

“Joy is a valued friend and colleague, but I disagree with her decision to go to Tel Aviv to perform. I regret not reaching out to her sooner in this regard, which might have changed her mind,” Robert Warrior, Director of American Indian Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, told The Electronic Intifada.

Warrior, who is founding president of the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association, has himself signed on to the call for academic and cultural boycott of Israel.And:Given that she was en route to Tel Aviv, Harjo had not responded to an email asking for comment, but soon after landing she posted this message on her Facebook page:I didn’t know about the boycott until it was too late. My trip was posted here for a month. A person made it their campaign to question my integrity and notify others without speaking with me. I am a Mvskoke person living on occupied lands. I am in support of human rights. My music and poetry take me into the world to speak and sing a compassion that is still beyond me. I am learning yet. Mvto cehacares.Harjo would have found, on her arrival, several messages including one from playright Ricardo Bracho, which he shared with The Electronic Intifada.

“Please cancel your Monday night event at Tel Aviv University. Do so to honor indigenous and anti-colonial practice and vision worldwide. Do so because Gaza is the world’s largest open air prison. Do so because Palestinians have no Right of Return to their homelands. Do so for the land, the poets, the grandmothers, the children,” Bracho wrote, concluding his note with a verse from Mahmoud Darwish’s poem “Under Siege.”Comment:  With the Israel-Gaza conflict going on, it's a little naive to say you didn't know about the boycott. You could guess that any trip to Israel would be problematical, and investigate whether people would mind. Accepting the invitation without thinking about it is questionable at best.

If Harjo made an informed choice, that would be different. Then we could challenge her motives and she could defend them. But saying "I didn't know" is weak.

For more on the Indian-Palestinian connection, see LaDuke on Gaza:  "We Are Israel" and Parallels Between US and Israel.

Washington Post recognizes A Tribe Called Red

A Tribe Called Red Makes Washington Post List of 2012's Best AlbumsIt kicks off with Frank Ocean--hardly a surprise, as the soul singer has been winning plaudits ever since the release of Channel Orange in July. Neil Young comes in at number 2--we don't need to explain who Neil Young is (although we did find the cover art for his album interesting).

The rest of the list, a top 10 of 2012 albums selected by Washington Post critic Chris Richards, contains some mainstream names (Dierks Bentley and Kellie Pickler) and some from off the beaten path (rapper Future and Sierra Leone's Janka Nabay and the Bubu Gang). And then there's number 8: A Tribe Called Red's self-titled album.

A Tribe Called Red has been available as a free download at Electric Powwow.com since March, and the Ottawa-based DJ trio's unique "Pow Wow Step" musical stylings have attracted attention from dance music aficionados and of course the Native music press. But making the Washington Post's list is significant not just because it's a large newspaper but also because it's located outside of Canada.Comment:  The chiefs' headdresses on the background painting and on their shirts are stereotypical, of course.

For more on Native music, see Radmilla Cody Nominated for Grammy and Tate's Music Expresses Native Pride.

Native beauty = white and thin?

This Is Why I'm Hot!

By Christina M. CastroLately, we as Native people have been bombarded with a constant influx of demeaning imagery in the media and fashion industry. It seems like every other skinny blonde model or pop singer these days is rocking a tacky war bonnet. Yet, change is happening! As quickly as the recent horrid faux pas came onto the scene, they were soon squashed by a swift backlash. Plenty of Native writers, mostly women, have discussed the issue of irresponsible appropriation in numerous excellent articles. Many kudos to those who spoke out in various ways, educating others in the process.

Now that we are beginning to see our efforts being addressed, I’d like to bring the dialogue inward and pose a question: What do Native people think makes for a beautiful Native woman?

Some of you may recall a contest last year on Facebook, “Worlds Hottest Native,” or something to that effect. Sponsored by an entity called Native Entertainment, a plethora of contestants entered pictures of themselves in their sexiest poses. Votes were tallied and although I don’t much recall how “The Hottest Native” male looked; mostly a chiseled faced, lean and long haired male of the standard variety, I distinctly recall the contestant who was selected as the “Hottest Native” female. She was some semblance of a Navajo; brown skinned and big breasted (read: fake) with bleached blonde hair; a rez Pamela Anderson.

That got me thinking. Is “hot” just code speak for white, mainstream beauty? Furthermore, how much of my own beauty aesthetic has been influenced by Eurocentric standards? Has our beauty standard as Native people become so colonized that we only recognize beauty if it looks white and thin?

Comment:  By "white" I don't think Castro means having light skin. I think she means having Caucasian facial features and body types.

This column suggests why we need Native actors to portray Native women. Not Native starlets who have gone Hollywood and made themselves sexy with makeovers and cosmetic surgery. Not multiracial women who look Caucasian with slightly darker skin and "exotic" features. Rather, real women who may be shorter, thicker, or older than the typical Hollywood starlet. Who may have higher cheekbones, thinner lips, or bigger noses than average.

Not that there's anything wrong with looking beautiful by Western standards. But always choosing someone who looks "Hollywood beautiful" helps to erase actual Native people. It sends the wrong message to Native women: "You're not worth much unless you look more white."

It also sends the wrong message to non-Natives: "Indians look like the impossibly beautiful people you see in romanticized paintings, book covers, and advertisements. They wear leathers and feathers, consort with wolves and eagles, ride horses and live in teepees. If you don't look like that, you're not a real Indian. The real Indians are gone and you're some sort of imitation."

The same applies to other minorities, of course. And to whites, for that matter. But people see a wide range of white folks every day. Most never see an Indian, or don't realize they're seeing one. They don't recognize an Indian unless he or she fits the Hollywood stereotype.

For more on the subject, see "Pocahontas" in Gossip Girl and Crystle Lightning = Maria Tallchief?



What stereotypes teach us to expect: a sexy Indian temptress with Barbie-doll proportions.



A typical multiracial actress (Julia Jones III) chosen by Hollywood to reflect our stereotypical expectations.



An actual Native woman (Jemez mother and child, 1912).

Reactions to 4th tribal summit

2012 Tribal Nations Conference Roundup: Economic Renewal, Carcieri, and the Looming ‘Fiscal Buffalo Jump’

By Rob CapricciosoIn what has become an annual tradition, hundreds of tribal leaders descended on Washington, D.C. December 5 to take President Barack Obama up on his invitation to attend the fourth White House Tribal Nations Conference of his administration.

The meeting, held at the U.S. Department of the Interior headquarters blocks away from the White House, signified a promise kept by Obama, who told Native Americans when he was first running for president in 2008 that he would regularly meet with them in an effort to strengthen the nation-to-nation relationship between tribes and the United States.

“Every year I look forward to this event,” Obama said in an afternoon speech to the assembled tribal leaders. “It’s especially wonderful to see so many friends that I’ve gotten to know from various nations all across the country. You guys inspire me every single day, and whenever I’ve traveled to your home states there’s been such a warm welcome that I’ve received.”

The president also highlighted some of his administration’s accomplishments on behalf of Native Americans, but said there is more work to be done, especially in terms of economic development.

“A focus that a lot of you have spoken to me about and that we’re now really trying to drill down on is expanding economic opportunity for Native Americans,” Obama said. How his team will “drill down” that big goal remains to be seen, and the president did not offer concrete details.

Federal support for tribal job growth was of particular interest for many tribal attendees, who have noted that there have been few bold and encompassing plans to reduce reservation poverty and grow Indian economies under the Obama administration to date. Some tribal leaders, like President Tony Sanchez Jr. of the Seminole Indian Tribe of Florida, planned before the conference to press administration officials on economic development matters, including whether the administration is supportive of a plan for a national Native lands lottery that would allow tribes to collaborate to build a lottery system similar to that of some states. Overall, tribal gaming was not mentioned much at the conference, and whether the administration supports expansion in this area remains unclear.Native leaders leave White House conference inspired, rejuvenated, recommitted

By Alysa LandryThe conference brings together more members of the president's cabinet into one building than any other event, said Brian Cladoosby, chairman of the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community near Seattle, Wash.

The scope of the conference is a testament to the changing views of tribal issues and triumphs, he said.

"The president makes this commitment, and the cabinet hears from us directly," said Cladoosby, who introduced Obama to the crowd. "There's no one in between."

Other tribal leaders also praised the conference, saying it was refreshing to have a president who went out of his way to listen to concerns from American Indians and Alaska Natives.

"I think it's a great opportunity to continue what the president has built the last three years, to continue moving forward with Indian Country's agenda," said Gary Hayes, chairman of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe.

"There are so many broken promises, but this president has been able to fulfill his promise of being with tribal leaders every year," he said. "I think it's a win-win for the president and for the tribes, and hopefully it will continue for the next four years."Obama promises more help, but tribal leaders say they'll wait and seeBut while tribal leaders applauded the president's efforts to reach out on a consistent basis, many said in interviews that they'll wait and see whether Obama can deliver during a time of budget cutting.

"I'm always encouraged to hear these words here, but I just don't know if they're really doing their jobs on the ground level," said Nathan Small, chairman of the Fort Hall Business Council, the governing body for the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes in southeastern Idaho.

He had an idea on how the administration could help: "We've got two Superfund sites on our reservation and I'd like to see them clean it up rather than cover it up, as they're proposing right now: Throw some dirt on it and it'll be all right."

Frank Blackcloud, chairman of the Sac and Fox Tribal Council, the governing body for the Meskwaki Nation in Iowa, said he fears the effects of the "fiscal cliff," a combination of tax hikes and automatic spending cuts that will take effect if Congress doesn't develop a new deficit-reduction plan by Jan. 1.

"The fiscal cliff would impact every tribe," Blackcloud said, shrugging off the latest pledges. "We've been told this and that, and they've made promises, but how they fulfill it remains to be seen."Comment:  For more on the tribal summits, see 4th Annual Tribal Summit and Heritage Month and Tribal Summit.

Below:  "President Barack Obama greets Swinomish Chairman Brian Cladoosby at the fourth annual White House Tribal Nations Conference on December 5." (Rob Capriccioso)

Radmilla Cody nominated for Grammy

Native Artists Gain Ground With 2013 Grammy NominationsPrior to the 2012 Grammy Awards, the Recording Academy saw fit to discontinue the Best Native American Album and the Best Hawaiian Music Album categories. Music that would have qualified for those categories was grouped under the "Regional Roots Music" rubric with that from the also-discontinued genres of Cajun/Zydeco and polka.

Carlos Santana, a 10-time Grammy winner, led a charge of outrage at the decision, saying "I think they're racist. Period."

Under the new system, material from all these categories would not necessarily compete for the Regional Roots Music Album Grammy--submitted albums would compete for nominations, with no requirement that any from a genre be nominated at all. This selection process was not kind to Native artists for the 2012 Grammy Awards: Nominated were three Cajun/Zydeco albums, one polka album, one Hawaiian album, and zero Native American albums. The award was won by the New Orleans-based Rebirth Brass Band.

The 2013 nominees were announced yesterday, and Native artists stand a better shot at winning a trophy this time around. This year, the Regional Roots category features one album from the Native American genre, and two of Hawaiian music.

Radmilla Cody's album Shi Keyah: Songs for the People, made with her uncle Herman Cody and released on the Canyon Records label, received a nomination. Cody is a former Miss Navajo Nation (1997-98) whose life has been haunted by controversy; first, over her racial identity (she has an African American father, though she grew up on the Navajo Nation speaking the Navajo language) and then over her involvement in drug trafficking (she wired money to a boyfriend, a dealer, knowing that it would be used to buy drugs). For the latter, she ended up serving 21 months in jail.Comment:  For more on the Grammys, see No Grammys for Indians in 2012 and Cherokee Nominated for Grammy.

4th annual tribal summit

NCAI and Tribal Leaders Share Concerns About ‘Fiscal Cliff’As the end of the year looms, so does the outcome of the “Fiscal Cliff” and the impact it will have on the United States, along with Indian country. In preparation for the 2012 White House Tribal Nations Summit, being held tomorrow, December 5, the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) want to make sure those in Washington D.C. are aware of the affect the cliff will have on the 566 federally recognized tribes.

NCAI, along with 65 tribes and tribal organizations, recently sent a jointly signed letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives John Boehner, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, that “outlines the risk of deep sequestration cuts to the already underfunded federal responsibilities to tribal nations,” a NCAI press release stated.

“Tribal nations are part of the American family of governments, and we know everyone in that family must identify budget efficiencies to keep America moving forward. However, the federal responsibility to tribal nations is not driving the deficit. In fact tribal programs, as part of the discretionary budget, have already done their part to reduce the deficit following the recommendations of the Simpson-Bowles commission and enacted through the bipartisan Budget Control Act. Federal responsibilities are already significantly underfunded and the problems we are working hard to confront will only be exacerbated if treaty obligations are treated as line items,” said Jefferson Keel, president of NCAI.Obama Does It Again: 2012 White House Tribal Nations Conference

By Rob CapricciosoHundreds of tribal leaders descended on Washington December 5 to take President Barack Obama up on his invitation to attend the fourth White House Tribal Nations Conference of his administration.

The meeting, held at the U.S. Department of the Interior headquarters blocks away from the White House, signified a kept promise by Obama, who told Native Americans when he was first running for president in 2008 that he would regularly meet with them in an effort to strengthen the nation-to-nation relationship between tribes and the United States.

By most accounts the meetings to date have been useful, with tribal leaders having had the opportunity to discuss and highlight sovereignty, culture, self-determination, and economic concerns. Even administration organizers admit, however, that it is difficult to address the vast needs of the 566 federally-recognized tribes in a single yearly meeting, which is why the administration and some of its agencies have regularly held smaller tribal events and meetings throughout Obama’s first term—a trend that is expected to continue over the next four years. The hope is that future presidents will keep that ball rolling as well.

The president is scheduled to address the tribal leaders today at 3 p.m. ET.Tribal leader calls Obama 'first American Indian president'

By Justin SinkPresident Obama received an unexpected honorific before his speech with Native American tribal leaders Wednesday afternoon, with Swinomish Nation Chairman Brian Cladoosby proclaiming him "the first American Indian president."

"Think about it for a second," Cladoosby said. "The president loves basketball. He has an Indian name, he knows what it's like to be poor and he hasn't forgotten where he came from. And his theme song is 'Hail to the Chief.' I think he definitely qualifies as the first American Indian president. "

The president was addressing more than 500 tribal leaders gathered in Washington for the Tribal Nations Conference. In addition to the president, eight Cabinet members, including Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, addressed the crowd.

Obama received an enthusiastic welcome and spoke to the leaders about his administration's efforts to aid Native American communities, including "expanding economic opportunities" and an anti-domestic violence effort. He also called on Congress to support Native American small businesses.

"We’re going to keep working together to make sure that the promise of America is fully realized for every Native American," Obama said.President Obama Hosts the Nation's Tribal Leaders

By Matt ComptonHe used the event to remember Sonny Black Eagle--the Crow National tribal leader who adopted the President in 2008. Black Eagle passed away in his sleep last month. He was 78.

The President celebrated what he called Sonny Black Eagle's "remarkable life."

After losing his mother to tuberculosis, Black Eagle was raised by his grandparents in Montana, who taught him both the traditions and the language of the Crow people. As a child, however, Black Eagle had to contend with teachers who would strike him for speaking Crow in school, and as a young man, he was confronted by racism and segregation.

"Sonny, like many of you, knew intolerance and knew injustice. He knew what it was like to be persecuted for who you are and what you believe," the President said. "But as time went by, year by year, decade by decade, as Native Americans rallied together and marched together, as students descended on Alcatraz and activists held their ground at Frank’s Landing, as respect and appreciation for your unique heritage grew and a seminal struggle played itself out, Sonny lived to see something else. He saw a new beginning."

That new beginning took the shape of a different policy from the U.S. government--one that allowed tribal governments to build out stronger institutions and Native Americans to embrace self-determination.

And in his four years in the White House, it's a policy on which President Obama has worked to build.Transcript of President Obama’s Remarks During the White House Tribal Nations Conference

Comment:  For more on the tribal summits, see Heritage Month and Tribal Summit and Limited Gushing at Tribal Summit.

Dale Chihuly's Native influences

Dale Chihuly's American Indian Influences

Iconic baskets and Pendleton woolen blankets inspire far more delicate interpretations in glass.

By Amy PallasDale Chihuly revolutionized the art of blown glass, transforming the delicate material into monumental sculptures and large-scale installations. But before he interspersed glass fronds amid the greenery of the Kew Gardens in London, before he suspended 700-pound chandeliers over Venice, and before he installed 2,000 riotously colored glass blossoms on the ceiling of the Bellagio in Las Vegas, the avant-garde artist created intimate earth-toned glass vessels inspired by Native American blankets and baskets.

At the new Chihuly Garden and Glass in Seattle, you can see these early works mingling with their Native American influences in a permanent exhibit modeled after the Northwest room of the artist's legendary Boathouse studio on Seattle's Lake Union. In the breathtaking exhibit, wooden shelves display Chihuly's glass Tabac Baskets alongside woven originals from the artist's personal collection, which he began after a 1977 visit to the Washington State Historical Society. It was there that the artist discovered a pile of nested misshapen Native American baskets from the Northwest Coast that would change his art forever.

Struck by how time and gravity had caused the baskets to slump and bow, the innovative Chihuly began employing gravity in his glass blowing to form vessels with organic shapes and flowing rims. By adapting the historical society's unusual display tactic, Chihuly devised a unique approach to exhibit glass. Resting one, two, or three glass vessels precariously inside one another, Chihuly created the signature look he has become known for.

A dramatically lit table that spans the length of the exhibition hall supports additional smoky ochre-tinted glass baskets, whose looping edges beckon a finger to trace their rims. Bold Navajo Blanket Cylinders are also displayed, demonstrating Chihuly's first application of his now famous “drawing pickup technique,” whereby glass threads are arranged on a flat surface before a molten cylinder is rolled over them, fusing stunning sketches of Navajo blankets to the vessel.Comment:  For more on Native art, see The Sugar Project: Modern Day Navajo Monster and Mapuche Bar-Code Tapestries.

LaDuke on Gaza: "We are Israel"

Winona LaDuke, Reflecting on Gaza, Gets Misunderstood at Mondoweiss

By Edward TellerWinona LaDuke is a powerful voice in the global fight against a host of evil actions and ideas. She is as progressive as progressive gets. In my actions and ideals, I find her as an ally in many areas. Currently, that has to do mostly with our unconnected fights against insane coal development projects.

On November 16th, she posted this at her main Facebook niche, Honor the Earth:

“…euro-americans in the United States can’t talk about Gaza, because we can’t talk about Israel. Because we can’t talk about the fact that the world is not suffering from a Israeli/Palestinian conflict, but that the world is suffering from the fact that Europe has never been able to deal with it’s ‘Jewish Question’ without some sort of intense barbarity and horror from the Inquisition to the Holocaust. And that Europe, in particular ‘Great’ Britain, the masters of divide an conquer ‘solved’ the problem by supporting the radical, terrorist, extremist Zionists and their mad plan to resettle the ‘homeland.’ We can’t talk about Israel because we can’t talk about Wounded Knee. Because we can’t talk about Sand Creek or Carlisle ‘Boarding School.’ Because we can’t talk about forced sterilization or small pox blankets or Kit Carson and his scorched earth policy in the Southwest. Because we have Andrew Jackson on our twenty dollar bill. Because we are one huge settlement on stolen land. We can’t talk about Israel because we are Israel.”

Comments at the Facebook post were dominated by a couple or few people who were hostile to anything that might be critical of Israel’s actions in Gaza this past week.For more on the Indian-Palestinian connection, see Parallels Between US and Israel and Mass Murder in Gaza and Hiroshima.

"Pocahontas" in Gossip Girl

In Stereotypical Thanksgiving TV Promos, I noted that one promo showed Blair Waldorf, a character in Gossip Girl, in an Indian outfit. I thought it was just a promo, but no. Blair shows up in the same outfit in It's Really Complicated (airdate: 11/26/12), the show's Thanksgiving episode.

Blair's beau Chuck has just suffered a personal reversal. He doesn't want to see her, but she sneaks in to comfort him. She's dressed as a "stripper Pocahontas" to seduce him and make him forget his woes.



They exchange these lines:BLAIR: Pocahontas needs her John Smith.

CHUCK: I always thought of myself more as a John Rolfe kind of man.It's true that Blair is the kind of rich white girl who would dress up as an Indian without thinking about the implications. She's pretty much insensitive to everyone.

But the show fails by not having anyone rebuke her for behavior. By treating it as normal and acceptable, the show makes it normal and acceptable. If a sophisticated socialite can wear this kind of outfit, viewers will think, doing so must be okay for everyone.

Note that Blair makes what we've been saying about these stunts explicit. Namely, that women don't dress up as sexy Indian maidens to honor Natives or Native culture. It's all about using the idea of an exotic "other" as a tool of seduction. In other words, it's about using Native women as sex objects for male gratification.

For more on the subject, see:

Crystle Lightning = Maria Tallchief?
Tasteless Thanksgiving party promotions
Drink's "Sexy Pilgrim & Indian Party"
, Hooters' "Cowgirls and Indians" promotion
Victoria's Secret model in a headdress

Minority voters understand economics

The facts put the lie to racist and sexist Republicans like Mitt Romney and Bill O'Reilly. Indians and other minorities vote Democratic because they aren't blinded by their prejudices. They understand how the economy works and can see that Democrats are better fiscal managers.

Data show minorities--and whites--fare better under Democratic presidents

By Zoltan Hajnal and Jeremy D. HorowitzSpeaking to donors after the election, Mitt Romney attributed his loss to President Obama to the administration's strategy of "giving a lot of stuff" to blacks and Latinos, citing in particular "free healthcare" and "amnesty for the children of illegals."

But data show a more plausible explanation: black, Latino and Asian-American voters, who overwhelmingly voted for Obama, were simply evaluating the long-term record of each party.

The data we analyzed show unequivocally that minorities fare better under Democratic administrations than under Republican ones. Census data tracking annual changes in income, poverty and unemployment over five decades tell a striking story. Under Democratic presidents, the incomes of black families grew by an average of $895 a year, but only by $142 a year under Republicans. Across 26 years of Democratic leadership, unemployment among blacks declined by 7.9 percent; under 28 years of Republican presidencies, the rate increased by a net of 13.7 percent.

The black poverty rate fell by 23.6 percent under Democratic presidents and rose by 3 percent under Republicans.

The results for Latinos and Asians, though based on fewer years of data, show the same pattern. For example, Latino incomes grew an average of $627 a year under Democrats and fell by $197 a year under Republicans. More important, these gains do not come at the expense of whites. On average, white incomes have similarly grown, and white joblessness and poverty have likewise declined, under Democratic administrations. These numbers show that economic condition need not be a zero-sum game pitting races and ethnicities against one another.Comment:  For more on the subject, see Republicans Alienated "Nontraditional" Voters and Letters to Romney on "Stuff."

Staged reading of Waaxe's Law

Newseum Presents Staged Reading of 'Waaxe's Law'The Newseum will host a performance of "Waaxe's Law" in the museum's Walter and Leonore Annenberg Theater on Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2012, at 7:30 p.m.

In 1879, a Ponca Indian chief stood up, extended his hand, and made one of the greatest arguments for equality under the law in the history of the United States. Chief Standing Bear demanded that a federal court afford him the same rights as whites under the law, despite the fact that his skin was a different color.

Cherokee playwright and attorney Mary Kathryn Nagle wrote "Waaxe's Law," a play that tells the story of the forced removal of the Ponca tribe to present-day Oklahoma and Chief Standing Bear's subsequent journey for justice—a journey that resulted in the first federal court decision declaring Indians to be "persons" under the law. Although Chief Standing Bear won his fight for equality in 1879—a full 75 years before the Supreme Court issued its decision in Brown v. Board of Education—very few Americans know of his story or the freedoms he won for Native Americans.

"The Ponca tribe of Nebraska would not be where we are today if it was not for Chief Standing Bear; in fact, we may not even exist if it were not for this great chief. 'Waaxe's Law' is more than a play; it is a part of our tribe's history," says Rebecca White, chairwoman, Ponca tribe of Nebraska.Comment:  Is Standing Bear the most famous Indian ever? Not yet, but it may only be a matter of time until he is.

For more on Standing Bear, see NMAI Celebrates Standing Bear and Standing Bear's Increasing Exposure.

Monaco princess in a headdress

Monaco princess Charlotte Casiraghi branded 'ignorant' over Native American costume at Paris showjumping event

By Tamara AbrahamCharlotte Casiraghi has become the latest public figure to spark anger for wearing a Native American costume.

The Monaco royal, 26, who chose the ensemble to participate in the Gucci-sponsored Paris Masters International Jumping Competition this weekend, was branded 'ignorant' and 'racist' by Tumblr users, many of whom appeared to be royal fans, judging by their usernames.

Royalwatcher wrote on the site: 'I don’t know who told her it was cute to dress in traditonal [sic] clothing of Native American but gurlll, I’m judging you and not in the good way.'

Another, named Prin-ses-ka-ro-leen, added: 'Dear Charlotte Casiraghi, American Indians still endure racism, ignorance and abuse on a regular basis simply because they are Native. You displayed terribly poor judgment in your choice of "outfit."'

And Icaughtafallingdream wrote: 'It’s not cute and it’s not funny. It’s just insulting and dumb.'

Given that the controversy follows a series of similar missteps from Victoria's Secret, Urban Outfitters and Gwen Stefani, the fashion website Styleite questioned whether there was some poor judgement on the part of Gucci, the sponsor of the tournament and the brand Miss Casiraghi represents.

'Other riders dressed up as Roman warriors, donkeys, angels, and Flintstones - you know, costumes - while Casiraghi opted for an outfit that has been publicly denounced as racist time and time again,' reporter Hilary George-Parkin wrote.

'As the royal is the face of an international luxury brand (however reluctantly), one would think there would be more oversight [sic] on Gucci’s part.'

The costume certainly adds fuel to an already heated debate about representation of Native Americans in popular culture.

Sasha Houston Brown, a member of the Santee Sioux tribe of Nebraska and a vocal champion of Native American culture, wrote last month on the Racialicious blog: 'Despite what dominant society and mainstream media say, Native culture is a vibrant and living culture.

'We are not a relic of the past, a theme or a trend; we are not a style or costume; we are not mascots, noble savages or romantic fictional entities. We are human beings and, despite all odds, we have survived.

'As sovereign Nations, Indigenous peoples have the right to speak for ourselves and not have dominant Euro-American society project and profit off of an artificial and socially constructed image of “Indian” identity.'

Chic Monaco Royal Puts on Feathers and War Paint for Gucci-Sponsored Equestrian EventThis marks arguably the second year in a row that Casiraghi has displayed racial "ignorance" with her choice of costume at the competition. The following image turned up on Tumblr:"So it’s for a good cause, huh?" wrote Tumblr user Prin-ses-ka-ro-LEEN. "How about supporting the end of minority stereotyping while you’re at it and knocking this bullshit off next year."Comment:  For more on the subject, see Snoop Dogg in a Headdress and Mohawk Designer on Victoria's Secret.

Black youth killed like Trayvon

You may have heard of the latest Trayvon Martin-style case. A man approached a car with blacks playing loud music and ended up shooting one of them, Jordan Davis. Then the shooter, Michael Dunn, claimed it was self-defense under Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law.

Hey America! Can you please stop killing our (usually) innocent Black male children now?

By ShanikkaTruth be told, when Trayvon Martin died, we knew it would happen again. We rallied. We marched. We protested. We signed petitions. We put our hoodies up. But in the back of our minds we knew that it would happen again. There is no comparison between the deaths of any seventeen year old, as every life is sacred and the families deserve to have their own periods of mourning. So don’t confuse this with thinking that I am comparing the two, but something is happening in this country that has to come to an end. We don’t want the fear that some have of young black men to be a disease our country cannot cure.

I'm not so sanguine as Jordan Davis' parents. I know that a person doesn't have to consciously think or shout Klansman epithets to hate, fear and distrust Black people, deep down. Indeed, when it comes to young Black men, most people don't have any conscious thought of hating or fearing them. Yet they do. And I know why, as does anyone morally honest.

The black male. A demographic. A sociological construct. A media caricature. A crime statistic. Aside from rage or lust, he is seldom seen as an emotionally embodied person.

It is inarguable to anyone honest that racism is America's original sin, and hatred and fear of Black people part of our national heritage, even though we are long past the point where most Americans are consciously aware of these sentiments within themselves most of the time. (And most Americans, white and Black, do have these feelings deep within; see any book written by any Black psychologist including Franz Fanon or Kenneth and Mamie Clark, or even a non-psychology text like Carter G. Woodson's Miseducation of the Negro for further details.) It is that part of our culture that allows whites like Michael Dunn (and those people of color also infected by the culture's teaching us all about the defects and worthlessness inherent in Black people) to feel entitled to approach a group of young Black men they don't know in a public place and demand that they accommodate their wishes as it relates to their car stereo volume. It is that part of the culture that then allows men like Michael Dunn to believe he should pull out a gun and start shooting. (After they get into the fully-expected argument and the boys likely exercised their God-given right as free Americans to tell Mr. "I'm Willing to Bet Money that Mofo was Drunk as a Skunk and That's Why He Didn't Stay and Call 911" Dunn to fuck off and die.) With just a few extra shots as the children tried to flee in their car, just in case the message about who really had the power in the interaction wasn't clear in their minds.

If folks want to talk about reckless disregard for human life you can't get more on point than a white man's offense with too-loud music (and what my gut says was not just "backtalk" something that every parent of every teenager knows that teens do–but Lord Have Mercy Black backtalk, which is not necessarily polite to rude white people, but so what?) leading to eight shots being fired into a vehicle with four children in it, none of whom had any weapon of any kind in their possession.Comment:  Needless to say, this analysis also applies to the racist beliefs and actions against Indians and other minorities.

In particular, the "Indian savage" is a social construct similar to the "black criminal." Both groups suffer racism for similar reasons. Among the reasons is they remind us of America's original sins--slavery and genocide--which most people would like to forget.

For more on Trayvon Martin, see Racial Profiling for Blacks and Indians and Blaming Trayvon for Getting Killed.

Below:  "Hoodie + loud music = death."

Kickstarter campaign to change Redskins name

Washington Redskins: Kickstarter Campaign Looks to Inspire Overdue Name Change

By Stephen SonneveldAs a result of one of my recent articles calling out the bigotry of the NFL, owners, players, sponsors and television networks for endorsing and profiting from the racist term “redskin,” I was contacted through Bleacher Report by a former D.C. resident and longtime Washington football fan, Greg Singer.

Looking to strip away the emotions surrounding this explosive issue, Singer, a freelance writer, is interested in advancing this debate from the dispassionate perspective of whether it would be in the economic interests of the franchise to create a new identity.

On Nov. 12, Singer began a Kickstarter campaign with the intention of having the global consulting firm, Accenture, conduct the appropriate market research needed to determine such information.

The Kickstarter campaign for “Washington 3.0” is scheduled to end on Dec. 13, and, as of this writing, has not yet met the intended goal.

Singer took the time this past weekend to answer some questions about the sensitive name change topic, the intended research Accenture would be doing, and what he hopes will be a “community-based and community-supported initiative.”And:SS: What led you to focusing on the “good economic reason” point of view?

GS: I do not know that the Washington football franchise cares about the moral implications of their team's current name, especially given how lucrative their business is. For years, I've wondered if there was a better way to approach the conversation. From a business perspective, if there is an economic reason to consider updating the trademark, it would make the transition to an appropriate name that much more straightforward. It could be good business, good public relations, and a way to reinvigorate the franchise.

Maybe the owners have done their own market research, though I wouldn't imagine they would be forthcoming with the results. Knowing that the winds of change are blowing, it's like oil companies doing research on alternative energy technologies, so they are prepared in the future when the market shifts. Meanwhile, they are happy to benefit from their current business model and the profitability of their revenue streams.

SS: I understand you wish to take an unbiased approach to this proposal and survey, but shouldn’t the ethical issue of a racial slur being employed and profited from be more important than any economic considerations? The South had a good economic case for keeping slavery, an immoral practice.

GS: To minimize the emotional sensitivities surrounding this issue, we are facilitating the project in a very sympathetic, respectful, data-driven way. If we have the resources to do this independent research, the hope is to encourage the franchise owners to consider a name change for economic reasons. It is a lesser approach, but maybe one that would make sense for them. Ultimately, the Washington football franchise is theirs to do with as they choose.

For example, in the early 1960s, the franchise owners refused to integrate their team to allow non-whites to play, presumably because of their strong southern fan base. However, when it became apparent that their team (i.e., their business) was suffering for it, amid legal and economic pressures, the owners relented and the Washington franchise became the last professional football team to align with the social reform of the time.

The justice and dignity that Native Americans deserve should be advanced according to moral reasons alone. Unfortunately, much of the decision-making of the modern world centers around economics.Comment:  For more on the subject, see Campaign Against Nepean Redskins and Kansas City Star Won't Use "Redskins."

Parallels between US and Israel

On Pilgrims and Zionists

Why I’m thankful America didn’t turn out like Israel.

By Rosa BrooksIt's Thanksgiving, which means it's time to think about Israel.

That's not as nonsensical as it may sound. The Pilgrims who established our American Thanksgiving ritual thought about Israel a great deal: both they and the larger group of Puritan settlers who followed them a decade later saw themselves as New Israelites, forced into the wilderness by religious persecution.

Given that history, Thanksgiving is a good time to contemplate the parallels between the United States and Israel. After a week of front-page news about Israel and the violence that has increasingly come to define it, this is also a good time to count our blessings--for despite many parallels, the United States is, thankfully, not Israel. Not yet.

"Empty Land"

Tradition tells us that the first Thanksgiving feast took place in the autumn of 1621, as the Pilgrims celebrated their first harvest. On December 12, 1621, Robert Cushman preached the earliest surviving sermon to the Pilgrims. God, said Cushman, had opened "a way...for such as have wings to fly into this Wilderness," so that "as by the dispersion of the Jewish church through persecution...a light may rise up in the dark." A New Israel had sprung up in New England.

If the early American setters saw parallels between themselves and the ancient Israelites, we modern Americans can also find parallels between the American Pilgrims and the Jewish Zionists who settled in Palestine between the late 19th and mid-20th century.

After all, America and Israel share similar origin tales: the Pilgrims who set sail from Plymouth, England in 1620 did so against a backdrop of European religious wars, massacres, and persecution; while the Jews who founded the modern state of Israel fled centuries of European anti-Semitism and the unprecedented horrors of the Holocaust.

Each of the two groups imagined themselves to be settling a mostly empty wilderness: "We found the place where we live empty, the people being all dead and gone away," reported Cushman in 1621. Three hundred years later and almost 5,000 miles away, Jewish Zionists sought "a land without a people, for a people without a land." Palestine "remains at this moment an almost uninhabited, forsaken and ruined Turkish territory," enthused Israel Zangwill, an early Zionist, in 1902. He later realized his mistake ("Alas... The country holds 600,000 Arabs"), but by then the idea of a Jewish homeland in Palestine had picked up unstoppable momentum.

Both the Pilgrims and the Zionist settlers--separated as they were by centuries and miles--underestimated the staying power of the local inhabitants. In the "New Israel" of New England, Cushman observed that the natives who initially appeared were "very much wasted of late, by reason of a great mortality that fell amongst them three years since." (Though Cushman probably didn't know it, the "great mortality" stemmed from smallpox, typhoid, and other diseases unwittingly brought by European fishermen.) With regard to the "poor heathens," wrote Cushman, "Our care hath been to maintain peace amongst them."

The Native Americans turned out to have opinions of their own about the European "errand into the wilderness," however, and over the next decades, European encroachment onto Native American land increasingly led to conflict. New England saw the Pequot War of 1637, for instance, followed by King Phillip's War of 1675-6, which killed hundreds of settlers and thousands of Native Americans.

The Zionists who settled in Palestine found themselves similarly mired in conflict. As the region's Jewish population increased from just over 10 percent in the early 1920s to about 33 percent after World War II, tensions with the Arab majority went up as well. By the late 1930s, attacks on Jewish settlements by Arab militants were matched by retaliatory attacks on Arabs by Jewish paramilitary groups.

Diverging paths

Here, however, Israel's path began to diverge from that of early America. The Native Americans were already badly weakened by epidemic disease and internecine conflict by the time European settlers arrived in force. Although bloody skirmishes between Europeans and Native Americans continued until well into the 20th century, by the mid-1700s the native population had ceased to pose an existential threat to the European colonists, and the emerging nation could turn its attention to other matters. To the colonists, all this was a sign of God's providence. To the Native Americans, it was just a tragedy.

In Palestine, things were different: the Arab inhabitants declined to die out of their own accord, leaving the Jewish settlers surrounded by displaced, aggrieved locals. Escalating attacks and counter-attacks embroiled the Israelis in a cycle of violence and retaliation. In 1948, when David Ben-Gurion declared the establishment of a Jewish state, war immediately broke out with Egypt, Syria, Transjordan, and Iraq. Israel prevailed--but in the nearly seven decades since then, Israel has remained in a state of intermittent war.Brooks says she's thankful for these "diverging paths":This Thanksgiving, I'm thankful for all the mundane but vital blessings: happy children, a loving husband and family, work that I love, the health to enjoy it. I'm also thankful that we Americans still live in relative peace and prosperity. And this year, I'm particularly thankful I don't live in Israel, that America is not Israel, and that America's path long ago diverged from Israel's.

That it did so is hardly to our credit, since the American Republic was built upon the virtual destruction of the Native Americans. Our peace and prosperity owe much to happy accidents of geography--how lucky to have oceans on two sides!--and more to the suffering of others (slavery, too, casts a long shadow).Comment:  So she's thankful Americans killed enough indigenous inhabitants to end the state of war, while Israelis haven't...yet. Yay for us?

In other words, Americans should be thankful their ancestors were more successful at genocide than Israelis have been? Hmm.

For more on the Indian-Palestinian connection, see Mass Murder in Gaza and Hiroshima and Gazans, Indians Have Right to Resist.

NBC Heritage Month special

Caught this Heritage Month special on my TiVo:

Life Connected: American Indian Heritage Month SpecialHosted by Whit Johnson, this 30-minute special celebrates American Indian Heritage Month. We take a look at the past, the present and the future.Part 1: This clip features Paula Starr, the Executive Director of Southern California Indian Center.Part 2: A new social network, ndn.me, is helping American Indians connect. NBC4's Mekahlo Medina reports. Also, the first American Indian television station in the country is right here in Southern California. This clip features KVCR-TV general manager Kenn Couch and Tim Harjo, the chief content officer.Part 3: American Indian basket weaving existed and thrived for centuries, but now as the precious materials become scarce in our urban environment, the art is under threat of extinction. Kat High, the director of the Haramokngna American Indian Culture Center, is in the forefront to reverse this trend.My thoughts

The good: NBC devoted half an hour to Indians, and had Indians in the studio talking as regular people. That last part is exceedingly rare. Usually documentary-style shows focus on rez-based Indians, which lead to an "out of sight, out of mind" reaction.

The bad: Other than PBS, which is always good about airing Heritage Month shows, NBC was the only local network with a Heritage Month special.

The ugly: The 9:30 am slot on Sunday means the show was almost invisible. Only a slot between midnight and 6 am would've been worse.

Segment 1 talked about how Native parents struggle to raise kids in their culture. It was really about the craft of making cradleboards and moccasins. Segment 2 was really two segments on ndn.me and FNX.

So the show was a mixed bag: two segments on arts and crafts and two on new media. I guess that juxtaposed the traditional and the modern well enough, but the show could've used its time more effectively. I would've rearranged the segments like this:

Segment 1: Traditional arts: Cradleboards and moccasins alone or combined with baskets.

Segment 2: Modern arts: music, comedy, fashion, theater, etc. Anything but powwow dancing and flute music.

Segment 3: Business and politics: Perhaps something on how the Pechanga tribe stopped the Liberty Quarry from digging up their land. Or a similar incident that demonstrates how tribes are fighting for their rights.

Segment 4: New media: Facebook and Twitter (not the limited ndn.me system), YouTube, FNX, film festivals, etc.

Obviously a half-hour special would have to rush through these topics. Even so, it would show Indians to have richer, more varied lives and interests than the actual special did.

Anyway, you'll recall that I attended a meeting at NBC and said they were trying hard to promote diversity. This special is one of their efforts, and kudos for that.

For more on the subject, see Revolution and TV Diversity and Native Diversity Meeting at NBC Universal.

"Western Bros and Nava-hoes" fundraiser

Frat fundraiser a sign of casual prejudice, aboriginal group says

Frat 'Nava-Hoes' event shows prejudice, Aboriginal group saysAboriginal groups say an Edmonton fraternity’s offensive fundraiser shows that First Nations people still have to deal with negative stereotypes.

The western-themed fundraising event, named "Western Bros and Nava-hoes," was planned by the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity and was to be held at the Ranch Roadhouse.

“It made me feel, like, demeaned, like less than,” said Gail Gallagher, an Aboriginal Studies student at the University of Alberta.

“It's like culturally appropriating an aboriginal group like the Navajos.”

Gallagher says she complained to the fraternity about the name of the event, which was then changed. The president of the frat called her with an apology.

He added the frat will be working with aboriginal alumni to teach members about culturally sensitivity.Comment:  Amazing that some people think labeling Indian women "hoes" (whores) is acceptable. It tallies with my posting that suggests a majority of Americans are racist.

For more on the subject, see "Cowboys 'n' Indians" = Blackface and "Conquistabros and Navajos" Invitation.

Spokane Chiefs host Native night

Hockey Night in Indian Country: Spokane Chiefs Host Native American Culture Night

By Jack McNeelThe Spokane Chiefs and Tri-City Americans were on the ice and the bleachers were nearly full with more than 8,300 hockey fans but this was Native American culture night and local tribes were well represented both in the bleachers and on the ice. Cheldon Ramos and his brother Quanah, Colville tribal members, skated onto the ice in full regalia carrying an eagle staff and eagle dance stick. Skating with them were D.J. Pacheco from Laguna Pueblo and James Porter, Jr. from the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho, each wearing their hockey gear.

Joining them were Imani Antone, Miss Coeur d’Alene Tribe and Little Miss Coeur d’Alene Tribe, Kathryn Matt. They wore beaded crowns and jingle dresses and dropped a ceremonial hockey puck onto the ice, the customary start of a hockey match.And:The Coeur d’Alene and Kalispel tribes are already sponsors of the team and this game fell on a night when the Coeur d’Alene Tribe sponsored a bingo contest during the hockey match and gave away Chiefs’ jerseys and gift cards for the Coeur d’Alene Casino.

One of the Chiefs players, Todd Fiddler, is a Cree member from Saskatchewan. A few other Natives have played for the Chiefs in past years as well. Todd signed autographs following the game for roughly 150-200 people, mostly Native Americans. “They thought that was pretty neat,” Apple said.Comment:  Looks like the Chiefs' logo is the letter "C" with stylized feathers. That's only a bit stereotypical, especially since two tribes sponsor the team.

For more on Indians and hockey, see Aboriginal Hockey TV Reality Show and Eight Native Players on Stanley Cup.

Below:  "Cheldon and Quanah Ramos, in regalia; DJ Pacheco, Laguna, and James Porter, Jr., Kootenai, players." (Jack McNeel)

Countdown to non-apocalypse begins

December 1 Brings Countdown to Non-ApocalypseIt’s December 1, 2012, and many around the world are counting down to the purported Mayan Apocalypse, the end of the indigenous group’s Long Count calendar.

Never mind that revelations during the past year alone have put ancient Mayans firmly in touch with the future, most notably with the May 2012 discovery of a scribe’s wall covered with murals plotting Venus’s orbit 7,000 years out.

NASA has been doing its best to debunk apocalypse myths all year, and now it has taken it a step further: The space agency is now warning of a dark side to apocalyptic rumors, cautioning that while those who don’t believe in the rumors may consider it a joke, there are some who are mentally vulnerable, “frightened children and suicidal teens who truly fear the world may come to an end,” LiveScience.com reported on November 28 after an online NASA session over Google+ designed to quell doomsday fears.

Anyone worried can go to NASA’s 24-hour apocalypse-debunking web page. The 21st of December will bring a regular, garden-variety winter solstice, NASA said.Comment:  For more on 2012, see Fixing the Simpsons' Maya Bit and Bolivia's Coke to End with Maya Calendar.

Jackson Browne to headline Peltier concert

Jackson Browne to Headline "Bring Leonard Peltier Home" ConcertJackson Browne is headlining a concert at New York's Beacon Theater. The show called "Bring Leonard Peltier Home" is being hosted by Harry Belafonte and Pete Seeger.

Peltier, Lakota, has been in prison for the past 35 years. He was convicted of killing two FBI agents who showed up on June 25, 1975 at a private residence in Oglala, South Dakota.

Peltier is currently incarcerated at the Coleman Federal Correctional Complex in Coleman, Florida.

Jackson Browne, who became famous during the 1970s, has sold over 17 million albums in the United States and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He is known for such hits as "The Pretender," "Running on Empty," "Doctor My Eyes," "Take it Easy," and "Somebody's Baby."Comment:  For more on Leonard Peltier, see 43rd National Day of Mourning and Bono Mack:  Pro-Indian = Anti-American.

APTN's workforce reflects audience

Aboriginal network blazing trail in diversity

Hiring visible minorities primary goal

By Kathryn BoothbyAPTN is the first and only national aboriginal broadcaster in the world. English, French and aboriginal-language programming is shared with viewers across Canada and around the globe.

Diversity is a part of the very fabric of the organization: Sixty-nine per cent of employees are self-identified as having aboriginal ancestry such as First Nations, Metis, and Inuit. Visible minorities, non-aboriginal people, and people with disabilities are also represented.

"One of the things we do well is to support diversity and culture within our workforce," says Stott. That includes awareness and training in the workplace and support for those who want to pursue traditional activities such as vision quests and smudge ceremonies.

"We also ensure that the workforce is reflective of our audience. To do that, we must connect with the community," he says. "That means understanding where job applicants might be, taking extra steps to engage them, making communication easy, and breaking down obstacles to their entry."Comment:  For more on APTN, see Native Performers in Cirque du Soleil and Negative Stereotypes in Blackstone.