tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29769707.post116789992305880541..comments2024-02-10T18:19:36.406-08:00Comments on Newspaper Rock: Harry Shearer on Indian gamingRobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01478763837213733775noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29769707.post-1168485461328013912007-01-10T19:17:00.000-08:002007-01-10T19:17:00.000-08:00I know what I said, Russ, even if you don't. I sa...I know what I said, Russ, even if you don't. I said federal recognition is enough for me to recognize a tribal member as being Indian. I didn't say not being Indian is enough for me to recognize a tribal member as being Indian.<BR/><BR/>We've noted that there are few full-blooded Indians these days--that many Indians have only a quarter or less of "Indian blood." I've asked you what your standard for Indianness is and you either couldn't or wouldn't answer. <BR/><BR/>At least the federal government offers a standard, one backed by a lengthy examination process. That's more than you've done.<BR/><BR/>Instead of a definition or standard, you've invented something called a "genetic racial memory" or an "awareness granted by heredity." Conveniently, you've applied this fiction to Indians you approve of but not to Indians you don't approve of, such as the Chickasaws or Chickahominies. <BR/><BR/>So I'm waiting for you to tell us what an Indian is, Russ. Can you do it, or is this yet another subject you're unable to debate?<BR/><BR/>I see you have no answer to my critique of your skit, so I'll simply repeat it: The BIA isn't recognizing "ersatz" tribes in great numbers, so the satire misses the mark. Oops.Robhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01478763837213733775noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29769707.post-1168079631300737972007-01-06T02:33:00.000-08:002007-01-06T02:33:00.000-08:00Re "Notice that, like the Pequots, Hedassian gets ...Re "Notice that, like the Pequots, Hedassian gets his land put into trust. And that's enough for you, Rob, to consider him Native...." In reality, the BIA recognizes a tribe (not an individual) and then takes land into trust for it. What does this have to do with the BIA's <I>not</I> recognizing someone as an Indian and then taking land into trust for him?<BR/><BR/>Once again, you've basically claimed that I said the opposite of what I said. If you keep making mistakes like that, I'll keep pointing them out. That's pretty much guaranteed.<BR/><BR/>Re "The BIA reacts the way they always do, but then upon finding the man isn't Native, again quickly react the way they always do toward non-Natives." Which way is that, pray tell? By treating them as if they <I>were</I> Natives? How does that square with the fact that the BIA has rejected most of the recognition petitions it's received since the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act passed in 1988?<BR/><BR/>Your scenario doesn't make sense unless someone knows the controversy surrounding the Pequots, which isn't common knowledge. It isn't particularly funny even if someone <I>does</I> know the controversy surrounding the Pequots. The BIA isn't recognizing "ersatz" tribes in great numbers, so the satire misses the mark.Robhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01478763837213733775noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29769707.post-1168075349246747502007-01-06T01:22:00.000-08:002007-01-06T01:22:00.000-08:00Once again, Writerfella has stumbled and fallen.An...Once again, Writerfella <BR/>has stumbled and fallen.<BR/>And can't get up! Face down, he reaches for the phone to call his physician, but will only see one who "plays" a doctor on TV... <BR/><BR/>I can see where you are trying to go with your skit but because you have not grown up on the Reservation you truly have no parameter with which to work from.<BR/>I feel you are simply mimicking your self-hatred as a Native American with your plausable self identity. Perhaps, when you saw those people passed out and intoxicated at Crow Fair,(as a young boy) you felt <BR/>ashamed...<BR/>To avoid these painful feelings, one will often "split," escaping into their own safe world, as it were.<BR/>And, who would want to identify themselves with this embarrassing kind of behavior anyway? I escaped in to the world of art, just as you have, but you didn't have the advantage of living on the reservation so as to feel the true consensus of these dispossessed people living in this oppressive atmosphere, day in and day out. Perhaps your father wanted to shield you from this pain, and chose to opt out, leaving the reservation. To me this is perfectly understandable.<BR/>Your knowledge and understanding of the "industry," mixed with your intellectualization and humanistic references to cultural ideals, only lead me to believe that you have overcompensated for a lack of, or percieved lack of, some basic elements in your life...<BR/>Safe Jouney, I say, as you find<BR/>your way inward to where your<BR/>heart is waiting patiently for you.chrisrowlandfinearthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04672511932055178535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29769707.post-1168021686055826422007-01-05T10:28:00.000-08:002007-01-05T10:28:00.000-08:00Shearer didn't say anything about researching the ...Shearer didn't say anything about researching the Pechanga tribe. All he said was "I got connected to a resource that’s operated by one of the members of the Pechanga tribe."<BR/><BR/>Your BIA skit sounds stereotypical rather than funny. It's probably a good thing they didn't produce it.Robhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01478763837213733775noreply@blogger.com