Swamp People stars arrested

Two "Swamp People" stars arrested on battery charges

By Dominic MassaR.J. and Jay Paul Molinere, two of the stars of the Louisiana-based reality show “Swamp People,” were arrested Friday on battery charges, stemming from a fight at a convenience store nearly a month ago, the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office said.

Roland “R.J.” Molinere Jr., 51, and his son Roland III, 25, known as “Jay Paul,” both of Bourg, La., face aggravated battery charges. They turned themselves in to sheriff’s deputies on Friday, after a warrant was issued, according to a news release from Terrebonne Sheriff Jerry Larpenter.

The father and son are stars of the History Channel show "Swamp People," which chronicles the lives of south Louisiana alligator hunters.And:The Molineres have been featured on the popular "Swamp People" show for the past two television seasons.

"A Native American hunter with a fighter’s instinct, R.J. Molinere burst onto the scene two years ago and made a name for himself by catching some of the season’s biggest gators," reads the show's web site.

"Off the swamp, he’s a two-time world champion arm wrestler who channels the stress of hunting into his competitive drive," reads his bio. "Jay Paul Molinere is R.J.’s son, best friend and right-hand sharpshooter. This season, Jay Paul begins to assert his independence, putting extra pressure on his relationship with his father."Comment:  For more on the subject, see Houma Hunters in Swamp People.

Below:  "Roland Paul Molinere III (left) and Roland Paul Molinere Jr. were both booked into the Terrebonne Parish Jail for aggravated battery with a $1,000.00 cash bond each."

Blackfeet indicted for musicians' hunt

3 Mont. Tribal Leaders Indicted In Singers’ Hunts

By Matt VolzThree Blackfeet tribal leaders were indicted Tuesday on charges they held illegal big-game hunts for a film crew and country music stars including Josh Thompson and Justin Moore, but supporters say the accusations stem from an internal tribal power struggle.

The men organized the hunts on the northwestern Montana reservation in 2010 and 2011. Federal prosecutors allege the hunts were unlicensed and the men illegally sold the tribe’s wildlife, but supporters say the hunts were organized to boost the poverty-stricken reservation’s economy and raise its profile.

Jay St. Goddard, Jay Wells and Gayle Skunkcap Jr. pleaded not guilty to six felony counts that include conspiracy, the illegal sale of tribal wildlife, theft from a tribal government receiving federal funds and making false statements. They made a brief appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Keith Strong in Great Falls.

None of the musicians is facing any charges. Publicists for Moore and Thompson did not immediately respond to queries from The Associated Press.Comment:  For more on Indians and hunting, see Indians Protest Minnesota Wolf Hunting and Hunting the Rez Magazine.

Indians protest Minnesota wolf hunting

Minnesota Ignores Indians, Allows Wolf HuntingAgainst the steadfast opposition of American Indians in the state, Minnesota will hold its first managed wolf hunting and trapping season this fall. As a result, a cultural clash is brewing between state officials and Indians, who revere wolves.

“The wolf is part of our creation story, and therefore many Ojibwe have a strong spiritual connection to the wolf,” Karen Diver, chairwoman of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, wrote in a letter to the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) this spring, according to the Star Tribune. “Many Ojibwe believe the fate of the wolf is closely tied to the fate of all the Ojibwe. For these reasons the Fond du Lac Band feels the hunting and trapping of wolves is inappropriate.”

On December 21, 2011, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced that gray wolf populations in the Great Lakes region had recovered and no longer required the protection of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) published a final rule in the Federal Register removing wolves in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin, and in portions of adjoining states, from the list of endangered and threatened wildlife. The rule removing ESA protection for gray wolves in the western Great Lakes became effective 30 days after publication in the Federal Register.And:“We understand wolves to be educators, teaching us about hunting and working together in extended family units,” said James Zorn, executive administrator for the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, which represents 11 Ojibwe tribes in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. The commission opposes wolf hunts. “Wolves exemplify perseverance, guardianship, intelligence and wisdom,” Zorn said.

Ed Boggess, DNR fish and wildlife division director, told the Star Tribune the agency has tried to be inclusive and has had discussions with bands about its wolf management plans. He said that the delisting returned whatever authority the bands and state originally had but that it didn’t convey new co-management authority to the bands. He also spoke to the issue of tribal cultural concerns.

“We recognize and respect those cultural views, but when it comes to managing wildlife, under these treaties and rights that were conveyed, all we can deal with are issues of conservation, public safety and public health,” Boggess told the Star Tribune. “Cultural issues are for each culture to address as they see fit.”

That doesn’t sit well in Indian country. “There is considerable concern about taking wolves for sport,” Mortensen wrote to DNR Commissioner Tom Landwehr. “Many tribal members feel that wolves are their brothers and they should be respected as such.”Comment:  For more on Indians and wolves, see "Two Wolves" Story Is Phony and Video on Native Werewolves.

White buffalo hunt in Texas

$13,500 to Kill Sacred White Buffalo in Texas—Can This Be True?American Indians across the internet are flocking to the website of Texas Hunt Lodge today—and not because they’re planning a hunting trip. No, they’re alarmed by a page on the site dedicated to the White Buffalo Hunt Package, which advertises a chance to kill a white buffalo for $13,500.

White buffaloes are sacred animals to the Lakota Sioux and other Native groups, and there aren’t a lot of the creatures around. When one was born last year in Greenville, Texas, it was an occasion for much rejoicing. An article in the British newspaper Daily Mail extensively covered the naming ceremony of Lightning Medicine Cloud. That report said that “Lightning Medicine Cloud, whose name is also a tribute to a white buffalo born in 1933, named Big Medicine, is thought—in Lakota Sioux tradition—to be the third of its kind ever born.”

It may be that not all white buffaloes are created equal, for there is a herd in Bend, Oregon, that contains 11 white buffaloes. Even so, it’s safe to say there aren’t a lot of them; an article on the herd from 2010 said that experts estimate that there are less than 50 white buffaloes in existence.

The sacredness of the white buffalo is linked to the story of White Buffalo Calf Woman, a Lakota prophet who brought the Lakota the Seven Sacred Rituals.


When I saw the first posting of this on Facebook, I immediately reposted it. After that, several others reposted it as well. The brief online protest led to this:

White Buffalo Hunt Causing Uproar Throughout Indian Country Will Stop

By Jack McNeel“We’re outraged,” James Swan remarks regarding the white buffalo hunt offered by a Texas hunting ranch. “We don’t have a problem with people having [white buffalo]. We just have a problem with people making big bucks killing them.”

Swan is a Cheyenne River Sioux tribal member and President and Founder of United Urban Warrior Society. “In our Lakota ways our creation story starts with the white buffalo. Over the centuries the white buffalo, to us, is a very sacred part of our culture and part of our spirituality. Our people didn’t have a written language. Everything was passed down through stories over the centuries and white buffalo was a center part of everything we do.”

The story on the white buffalo hunt was posted to Indian Country Today Media Network on Monday afternoon and kicked off a firestorm of Facebook activity. Late Tuesday, Aaron Bulkley, owner of Texas Hunt Lodge, which advertised the $13,500 buffalo hunt on its website, spoke with ICTMN about the matter. “We’ve had a ton of feedback from people since the white buffalo story came out, and I understand the white buffalo is sacred to Indians,” he said. “It’s been on the website for three years and all of a sudden people are excited about it. I do understand their point. I’m not saying I disagree with it or agree with it but I am going to take it off the website.”

Asked directly if he would be offering white buffalo hunts at all, he responded, “Not for white buffalo.”Comment:  It's more correct to say the firestorm of Facebook activity triggered the ICTMN posting, I think. Either way, it's another example of a successful protest via social media. The number of victories we're achieving simply by publicizing things is truly amazing.

For more on the white buffalo, see White Buffalo in Popular Culture and White Buffalo = Third of Its Kind?

Houma hunters in Swamp People

Local hunters make ‘Swamp People’ debut

By Shane ThibodauxThe series, which debuted last fall to a tune of 4.2 million viewers, follows several southeast Louisiana alligator hunters during the month-long gator season. Hunters hail from Pierre Part, Port Sulphur, Bayou Sorrel and the North Shore.

“It's nerve-racking and excited at the same time. You don't know how they are going to put you out there,” Jay Paul said of the edited episode.

Nicholls State University student Tyler Dupre, 21, of Houma, said he can't wait to see a local face on TV.

“I take pride in our Cajun lifestyle and seeing our culture portrayed on national television,” said Dupre, who traveled to a Grand Bois bar last year to try and gain some camera time during filming.

R.J. and his son were selected because producers wanted to showcase a hunting team with a Native American background. United Houma Nation officials put producers in touch with R.J., a tribal member.Comment:  For more on the subject, see Swamp Men on National Geographic Wild and Seminoles Want Pro Alligator Wrestling.

Below:  "R.J. Molinere (left) and his son Jay Paul show off an alligator they caught."

Hunting the Rez magazine

Magazine promotes Native land recreationA Rocky Boy man has launched an outdoor magazine promoting tribal hunting, fishing and recreational opportunities for nonenrolled people.

The magazine is called Hunting the Rez, and is a full-color glossy print format. Plans are to publish quarterly. The first issue of the magazine is already on newsstands.

"We are very pleased with Hunting the Rez's launch," publisher and owner Jason Belcourt said. "It's not only for the economic benefits afforded the reservation programs we'll be showcasing from issue to issue, but also for the millions of acres of hunting and recreational opportunities open to the nontribal members of the outdoor sportsmen community."

Belcourt said that because North American hunting grounds are getting harder and harder to find, Indian Country is becoming the preferred spot for savvy sportsmen looking for abundant hunting and fishing opportunities.Comment:  For more on the subject, see Face Magazine About First Nations and Native Hoop Website and Magazine.

Hunters and warriors lose power

Traditional roles for Arctic women changing faster than climate

By Gustaf Klarin"During the past 20 to 30 years, women have increasingly abandoned the role of the traditional housewife of the hunting and trapping husband," says Katrine Nathanielsen from the 8th of March Group. "Women are getting educations and making money while men are stagnating."

"This can lead to conflicts between men and women when the gender roles change, when the proud but poorly educated hunter loses status," says Inge Olesen Brandt, who serves on Greenland's council for equality. "And this can lead both to suicides among men and domestic violence against women."

The climate has been steadily warming in Greenland during the past ten years. And in the Greenland debate, the traditional lifestyle is depicted as the loser now that the climate is changing. This is because the traditional culture is based on hunting with dog sleds, and when no snow falls and the ice does not form, the hunters can no longer support themselves. This is also an image that has spread internationally.

But social changes and altered gender roles are a greater threat to the old culture than changes to the climate according to Rasmus Ole Rasmusen at the Nordic Council's research institute Nordrigio. Young people, primarily younger women, are not especially interested in conforming to the traditional male-dominated culture, where the man hunts and the woman takes care of the home, the children and the spoils of the hunt. And when there is a shortage of women, it is difficult to maintain the hunting and trapping culture.Comment:  What I find interesting here is the interplay of the tangible and intangible. The tangible includes things like global warming and technological changes that free women to leave their homes and become educated. The intangible includes things like image and status.

It starts with Arctic Native men adhering to the traditional hunter image: the lone Eskimo on his dogsled braving the elements with his harpoon. It's an image they and the world helped create, promote, and affirm: the Arctic equivalent of the mighty Indian warrior.



But external forces challenge this stereotypical self-image. Men start losing power and prestige. Women with increased options start rejecting the old lifestyle. Men cling to the past to define their self-worth. Women start leaving, men start getting angry or depressed. The outcomes of this downward spiral are predictable: alcoholism and drug abuse, crime and domestic violence, and suicide.

This isn't just happening in the Arctic, of course. It's happening on Indian reservations, in American cities, and in cultures around the world. I suspect one could find the same pattern wherever traditions are breaking down because of social and technological change. Namely:

Men lose status and power => men lash out at women and society => those who can't adapt or escape self-destruct via drugs/violence/suicide

The world's self-proclaimed macho men are fighting a losing battle to retain their age-old status. I'm sure this has a lot to do with everyone from angry Islamic fundamentalists to angry Christian fundamentalists. In America, as I've said many times, the multicultural future is challenging the white supremacist past. Teabaggers and other rabid conservatives are mad as hell precisely because liberals, feminists, and minorities are threatening their manhood power.



Brains needed, not brawn

This is one reason I criticize the warrior stereotype--even when Indians deem it a noble and honorable tradition. Mighty warriors were a good thing when people actually had to hunt and kill to survive. But those days ended a century or two ago with the dawn of the industrial age.

Now you don't get much credit for being stronger and tougher than your enemy (or your family). Today people with brains routinely defeat people with brawn. Being the best fighter or killer entitles you to be a ditchdigger, gang member, or prison inmate--nothing more.

For more on the subject, see:

Male warriors and female princesses
(Native) soldiers aren't heroes
Weaponized drone = Indian savage
The way of the "Orrier"
Alexie on warriors
Gang culture in Indian country
Indians join military for paycheck?

Below:  The stereotypical Indian warrior: an outdated relic of the past in more ways than one.