November 22, 2007
Yeagley: Indians are lazy bums
Yeagley Is All About Handouts and Sellouts“There's an important lesson here. I hope Indians see it. Indians feel no shame in poverty or living close to the earth. The modern standard of living is not particularly prized by the Indian. He for the most part isn't even interested in economic "improvement." He might not reject it, if it is handed to him, but, he certainly isn't motivated to work for it. Why should he be? Many, many Indians are simply not attracted to American culture, and have no desire to be part of it, much less to excel in it” (11-21-07). Brent Michael Davids responds:Yeagley has once again advocated for Indians to remain subservient to his “fighting whitey” image of America, rather than supporting the indigenous right to self-determination and true sovereignty. If Yeagley had his way, he’d have every Indian become a slave to “white superiors” asking for a few crumbs of sovereignty—as if sovereignty is something granted and not inherently inalienable. Yeagley is the worst politician in Indian country, with a self-serving ambition that far outweighs his actual abilities laced with a white supremacy streak that falls like snowflake dandruff in hades.
Dating an ignorant Idol
Former 'Idol 5' finalist Kellie Pickler dating NHL player Jordin TootooThe 20-year-old Idol 5 sixth-place finisher is dating 24-year-old Nashville Predators forward Jordin Tootoo, Us magazine reported Wednesday.
"We've been seeing each other since January, but we kept it under wraps," Pickler told Us.
Tootoo, who is originally from Churchill, Manitoba in Canada and has Inuit Eskimo lineage, reportedly invited the Albemarle, NC-native to one of his games and the romance began to blossom from there.
"I am this country bumpkin and he's an Eskimo," Pickler told Us, adding she plans to visit his hometown this summer. "I'm going to build an igloo!" Comment: For more on the subject, see Eskimos: The Ultimate Aborigines.
"We've been seeing each other since January, but we kept it under wraps," Pickler told Us.
Tootoo, who is originally from Churchill, Manitoba in Canada and has Inuit Eskimo lineage, reportedly invited the Albemarle, NC-native to one of his games and the romance began to blossom from there.
"I am this country bumpkin and he's an Eskimo," Pickler told Us, adding she plans to visit his hometown this summer. "I'm going to build an igloo!"
Let Indians kill eagles?
Native Americans claim religious-liberty right to kill eaglesWith the population of bald eagles now high enough that they're no longer protected under the federal Endangered Species Act, some American Indians in Wyoming say the federal government shouldn't require them to get permission to kill the birds for religious ceremonies.
The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver is scheduled to hear arguments next month about whether to reinstate a criminal charge against Winslow Friday. He's a member of the Northern Arapaho tribe who shot a bald eagle on the Wind River Reservation in 2005 for use in his tribe's Sun Dance. Comment: For more on the subject, see Hopi Smothering of Eaglets.
The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver is scheduled to hear arguments next month about whether to reinstate a criminal charge against Winslow Friday. He's a member of the Northern Arapaho tribe who shot a bald eagle on the Wind River Reservation in 2005 for use in his tribe's Sun Dance.
Virginia tribes deliver deer
Tribes present Kaine their annual tributeChiefs of the Mattaponi and Pamunkey Indian tribes presented Gov. Timothy M. Kaine today with two deer in an annual ceremony marking a peace treaty from the 1600s between the Virginia Indians and the crown.
Chief Carl Custalow of the Mattaponi Indians and William Miles of the Pamunkey Indians said the deer were slain on their reservations.
In the treaty, the tribes acknowledged the sovereignty of King Charles II and the king acknowledged the rights of the Indians. 
Chief Carl Custalow of the Mattaponi Indians and William Miles of the Pamunkey Indians said the deer were slain on their reservations.
In the treaty, the tribes acknowledged the sovereignty of King Charles II and the king acknowledged the rights of the Indians.
November 21, 2007
Liberals and conservatives vs. Indians
Indians in mind, for one dayWhite liberals are shocked to learn that Indians could celebrate a holiday that is essentially a funeral for them--"You're commemorating your own cultural death?" White conservatives like to use the holiday to make mention that "Indians are the ones who should be thankful for all we've done to civilize them."
[I]t's tough to enjoy the bird when you've got white liberal guests reminding you that sports mascots like the Cleveland Indians' Chief Wahoo continue to degrade and dehumanize "your people." And it's even harder to taste the tart canned cranberries when you've got a white conservative telling you to quit the victim game and "learn to pull yourself up by your bootstraps."
Among white liberals, the Cowboys are not America's team. "I resent embracing the mythic reminder about how our rogue forefathers stole the West!" White conservatives do not really have much comment on the game, unless the Redskins are on the schedule. "What is so wrong with 'Redskins'? Can't you see how your people's pride and warrior skills are being honored?" Comment: I've heard conservatives say (or seen them write) all three things attributed to them. I could point to many examples on my website and elsewhere.
The comments author Rolo attributes to liberals are more problematical. Let's look at them:
1) I doubt a liberal would ask something as blunt as the question in the first paragraph. Like Indians, liberals have a nuanced view of Thanksgiving. Which isn't surprising since most Indians interpret history liberally. Both groups recognize that both good and bad came from the meeting of civilizations.
2) A liberal might say something like the statement in the second paragraph. But is Rolo saying he's tired of hearing about Indian mascots even though they're offensive? Or is he saying Indian mascots aren't offensive?
3) I can't imagine that any liberal has ever uttered the statement in paragraph three. Show me the evidence that someone seriously equates a football team with the purveyors of manifest destiny. Until I see it, I don't believe it.
Suppose for a second that the liberal and conservative statements are equally annoying. Liberals might say one or two of the statements attributed to them. Conservatives would say all three of the statements attributed to them. Conclusion: Conservatives are more annoying than liberals.
Now let's drop the supposition and consider the statements' content. The liberal statements are attempts to sympathize with Indians. The conservative statements are attempts to chastise or upbraid Indians. In terms of content, liberals are the clear winner.
In short, if you have a choice, invite a liberal to Thanksgiving.
[I]t's tough to enjoy the bird when you've got white liberal guests reminding you that sports mascots like the Cleveland Indians' Chief Wahoo continue to degrade and dehumanize "your people." And it's even harder to taste the tart canned cranberries when you've got a white conservative telling you to quit the victim game and "learn to pull yourself up by your bootstraps."
Among white liberals, the Cowboys are not America's team. "I resent embracing the mythic reminder about how our rogue forefathers stole the West!" White conservatives do not really have much comment on the game, unless the Redskins are on the schedule. "What is so wrong with 'Redskins'? Can't you see how your people's pride and warrior skills are being honored?"
The comments author Rolo attributes to liberals are more problematical. Let's look at them:
1) I doubt a liberal would ask something as blunt as the question in the first paragraph. Like Indians, liberals have a nuanced view of Thanksgiving. Which isn't surprising since most Indians interpret history liberally. Both groups recognize that both good and bad came from the meeting of civilizations.
2) A liberal might say something like the statement in the second paragraph. But is Rolo saying he's tired of hearing about Indian mascots even though they're offensive? Or is he saying Indian mascots aren't offensive?
3) I can't imagine that any liberal has ever uttered the statement in paragraph three. Show me the evidence that someone seriously equates a football team with the purveyors of manifest destiny. Until I see it, I don't believe it.
Suppose for a second that the liberal and conservative statements are equally annoying. Liberals might say one or two of the statements attributed to them. Conservatives would say all three of the statements attributed to them. Conclusion: Conservatives are more annoying than liberals.
Now let's drop the supposition and consider the statements' content. The liberal statements are attempts to sympathize with Indians. The conservative statements are attempts to chastise or upbraid Indians. In terms of content, liberals are the clear winner.
In short, if you have a choice, invite a liberal to Thanksgiving.
Incompetent rogue whalers
Stumblebum whalers mounted cruel spectacleRogue whaling is despicable enough. But there’s something worse: incompetent rogue whaling.
It’s clear from a newly released tribal report that the five Makah Indians who illegally killed a gray whale in the Strait of Juan de Fuca last September were the seaborne equivalent of Keystone Kops. Not only did they apparently violate every applicable federal and tribal law--for which they face criminal charges--they botched their poaching so badly that the whale suffered for nearly 10 hours before it finally died.
This was the gang that couldn’t harpoon straight. The five wannabe whalers sank four harpoons into the creature without killing it. They also shot it no fewer than 16 times with a .460 Magnum rifle. But they couldn’t hit its brain stem, which would have killed it outright.
They had started out with a more powerful rifle, a formidable .577 caliber weapon that had quickly killed another gray whale in the Makah tribe’s legal 1999 hunt. But they accidentally dropped it overboard.
When the Coast Guard caught up with the fiasco and stopped the torture, the whalers asked for permission to return to shore for more ammunition. Comment: For more on the story, see The Makah Whale-Hunt Controversy.
It’s clear from a newly released tribal report that the five Makah Indians who illegally killed a gray whale in the Strait of Juan de Fuca last September were the seaborne equivalent of Keystone Kops. Not only did they apparently violate every applicable federal and tribal law--for which they face criminal charges--they botched their poaching so badly that the whale suffered for nearly 10 hours before it finally died.
This was the gang that couldn’t harpoon straight. The five wannabe whalers sank four harpoons into the creature without killing it. They also shot it no fewer than 16 times with a .460 Magnum rifle. But they couldn’t hit its brain stem, which would have killed it outright.
They had started out with a more powerful rifle, a formidable .577 caliber weapon that had quickly killed another gray whale in the Makah tribe’s legal 1999 hunt. But they accidentally dropped it overboard.
When the Coast Guard caught up with the fiasco and stopped the torture, the whalers asked for permission to return to shore for more ammunition.
Viking's wounded knee injury
Knee Injury in Minnesota = Wounded Knee, 1890??the bureau is a fan of adrian peterson, not necessarily because he plays for the vikings up the road from the bureau's new home but because he played college ball at OU aka the university of oklahoma. and yes, we wish him a speedy recovery from his knee injury against the packers this past sunday.
but folks like those at the St. Paul Pioneer Press aren't helping much with their tuesday, november 13, headline about peterson's injury: "The Vikings must now fight the battle of... Wounded Knee." as observed by professor eric buffalohead, the headline is used for "a story on Adrian Peterson's injured knee. Why on earth does it reference Wounded Knee? What does a football injury have to do with the 1890 massacre of over 300 Lakota men, women, children and elders by US Soldiers in 7th cavalry? This headline only appears in the print version, not online. Spread the word to let the Pioneer Press know they should be apologizing for such poor taste in choice of a headline." 
but folks like those at the St. Paul Pioneer Press aren't helping much with their tuesday, november 13, headline about peterson's injury: "The Vikings must now fight the battle of... Wounded Knee." as observed by professor eric buffalohead, the headline is used for "a story on Adrian Peterson's injured knee. Why on earth does it reference Wounded Knee? What does a football injury have to do with the 1890 massacre of over 300 Lakota men, women, children and elders by US Soldiers in 7th cavalry? This headline only appears in the print version, not online. Spread the word to let the Pioneer Press know they should be apologizing for such poor taste in choice of a headline."
Students learn in longhouse
Kids get a taste of the Indian way of life
A Native American longhouse is a boon for a Chapel Hill schoolFifth-graders ducked through the small wood-framed doorway of the Indian longhouse behind their elementary school Monday. Sitting on woven cloths, they absentmindedly kicked at the dirt floor as they learned how Native Americans gathered nuts and berries, grew corn and squash, and turned deer hides into clothing.
Elementary students across the Triangle have been learning about American Indians as Thanksgiving approaches. Not many get to do so sitting inside their school's very own Indian longhouse.
Ten years ago, a Boy Scout working on his Eagle Project and students from the school built the life-size structure in the woods behind Frank Porter Graham Elementary School. 
A Native American longhouse is a boon for a Chapel Hill school
Elementary students across the Triangle have been learning about American Indians as Thanksgiving approaches. Not many get to do so sitting inside their school's very own Indian longhouse.
Ten years ago, a Boy Scout working on his Eagle Project and students from the school built the life-size structure in the woods behind Frank Porter Graham Elementary School.
Traditional Indians are "lost"?
VIEWPOINT: Tribal leaders don't reflect membersBeing a member of the Great Sioux Nation is no different to me than being a citizen of the U.S. Those who would call me a sellout in response to this statement, I would call “lost”: Lost in the sense that although their opinion is their own, it contradicts their everyday lifestyles.
Have we all not become Westernized? Do we not go to the grocery store to get food and go to Wal-Mart to buy all sorts of stuff? Do we not hope our children go off to college and get good jobs?
Well, guess what? If you are an American Indian and you answered “yes” to these questions, then you've become Westernized. 
Have we all not become Westernized? Do we not go to the grocery store to get food and go to Wal-Mart to buy all sorts of stuff? Do we not hope our children go off to college and get good jobs?
Well, guess what? If you are an American Indian and you answered “yes” to these questions, then you've become Westernized.
Piscataway chief deprograms Indians
WASHINGTON: Many Indians say, 'no thanks' to ThanksgivingTayac pays tribute to his people on Thanksgiving Day. He fasts during the day with his family and performs a sacred harvest ceremony before sitting down to dinner in the evening. If they have turkey, that's just because it's traditional Indian food, he said.
His fight for his people continues well beyond the holiday. Tayac is involved in a "de-anglization" program that takes assimilated American Indians and "brings them back to being Indians," he said. They are taught the culture, religion, history and traditions of their people.
His fight for his people continues well beyond the holiday. Tayac is involved in a "de-anglization" program that takes assimilated American Indians and "brings them back to being Indians," he said. They are taught the culture, religion, history and traditions of their people.
G2E photos
Pix of my trip to the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas:
Global Gaming Expo--Nov. 12, 2007
Global Gaming Expo--Nov. 13, 2007
Global Gaming Expo--Nov. 14, 2007
Global Gaming Expo--Nov. 15, 2007
Global Gaming Expo--Nov. 12, 2007
Global Gaming Expo--Nov. 13, 2007
Global Gaming Expo--Nov. 14, 2007
Global Gaming Expo--Nov. 15, 2007
November 20, 2007
Hate crimes increase
Hate Crimes Rose 8 Percent in 2006Hate crime incidents rose nearly 8 percent last year, the FBI reported Monday, as civil rights advocates increasingly take to the streets to protest what they call official indifference to intimidation and attacks against blacks and other minorities.
Police across the nation reported 7,722 criminal incidents in 2006 targeting victims or property as a result of bias against a race, religion, sexual orientation, ethnic or national origin or physical or mental disability. That was up 7.8 percent from 7,163 incidents reported in 2005. Comment: Gee, I wonder where people got the idea they could treat Indians (and other minorities) as second-class, slightly less-than-human citizens?
Police across the nation reported 7,722 criminal incidents in 2006 targeting victims or property as a result of bias against a race, religion, sexual orientation, ethnic or national origin or physical or mental disability. That was up 7.8 percent from 7,163 incidents reported in 2005.
Jesuits prayed and preyed
Jesuits will pay abuse settlement, lawyer says
PRIESTS: Alaska Native abuse settlement said to be $50 million.A settlement of $50 million will be paid to 110 Alaska Natives who say they were sexually abused by Roman Catholic priests who preyed on children in rural Alaska, lawyers representing the plaintiffs said Sunday.
Anchorage attorney Ken Roosa said the settlement is the largest against a single religious order since stories of clerical abuse began to emerge around the country several years ago. $50 million for Alaskan abuse plaintiffsA dozen priests and three missionaries were accused of sexually abusing Eskimo children in 15 villages and Nome from 1961 to 1987. The flood of allegations led to accusations that the Eskimo communities were a dumping ground for abusive priests and lay workers affiliated with the Jesuit order, which supplied bishops, priests and lay missionaries to the Fairbanks diocese.
Jesuit officials have denied transferring molesting priests to Alaska, saying that it was a prestigious assignment for the most courageous and faithful. In Jesuit fundraising literature, Eskimo villages were called "the world's most difficult mission field."
Many plaintiffs said their once devoutly Catholic villages--cut off from the world and without law enforcement--offered a perfect setting for a molesting priest. In 2005, The Times published a story about Joseph Lundowski, a Jesuit deacon who allegedly sexually abused nearly every boy in two small villages on St. Michael Island between 1968 and 1975.
Lundowski's accusers--now in their 40s and 50s--said the abuse led to alcoholism, violence, emotional problems and suicide attempts. They kept their secret--not even talking about it among themselves--until the Catholic Church sex scandal erupted in 2002. 
PRIESTS: Alaska Native abuse settlement said to be $50 million.
Anchorage attorney Ken Roosa said the settlement is the largest against a single religious order since stories of clerical abuse began to emerge around the country several years ago.
Jesuit officials have denied transferring molesting priests to Alaska, saying that it was a prestigious assignment for the most courageous and faithful. In Jesuit fundraising literature, Eskimo villages were called "the world's most difficult mission field."
Many plaintiffs said their once devoutly Catholic villages--cut off from the world and without law enforcement--offered a perfect setting for a molesting priest. In 2005, The Times published a story about Joseph Lundowski, a Jesuit deacon who allegedly sexually abused nearly every boy in two small villages on St. Michael Island between 1968 and 1975.
Lundowski's accusers--now in their 40s and 50s--said the abuse led to alcoholism, violence, emotional problems and suicide attempts. They kept their secret--not even talking about it among themselves--until the Catholic Church sex scandal erupted in 2002.
Planting a tree to remember
Pre-Thanksgiving American Indian Ceremony Memorializes Five Centuries of Holocaust
American Indian Holocaust Memorial/Tree of Life TributeNovember 21, 2007, the day before Thanksgiving, the International Indigenous Sacred Women’s Council in partnership with Red Nation Celebration will plant a memorial tree in remembrance of the millions of American Indians who died as a result of the colonization of the United States.
“More than 56 million of our ancestors lost their lives in what was clearly an American Indian holocaust,” states Joanelle Romero, founder of Red Nation Celebration and the International Indigenous Sacred Women’s Council and board member of United Nations Association Pasadena Foothills Chapter. “We--the women--are the life-givers. In our Holocaust Memorial/Tribute to Life Ceremony, we do not forget the past injustices done to American Indians, but for the sake of everyone’s grandchildren, we share our strongest medicine, the integrity of love and respect for Mother Earth and all her peoples,” continues Romero, who is of Cheyenne and Apache bloodlines. “This means deepening our care about the environment and seeing the sacredness shining through all forms of life and freeing ourselves from trying to dominate Mother Earth or ‘other people.’”
Members of the International Indigenous Sacred Women’s Council will plant the memorial tree at 11:00 a.m. in Los Angeles State Historic Park (long known as the cornfield), 1245 N. Spring Street in downtown Los Angeles. A traditional American Indian Red Road Ceremony will be held, where participants will remove their shoes and the bottoms of feet will be painted red to symbolize the Red Road, the Good Road of Life, the path that we aspire to walk with our children and their children and all peoples. 
American Indian Holocaust Memorial/Tree of Life Tribute
“More than 56 million of our ancestors lost their lives in what was clearly an American Indian holocaust,” states Joanelle Romero, founder of Red Nation Celebration and the International Indigenous Sacred Women’s Council and board member of United Nations Association Pasadena Foothills Chapter. “We--the women--are the life-givers. In our Holocaust Memorial/Tribute to Life Ceremony, we do not forget the past injustices done to American Indians, but for the sake of everyone’s grandchildren, we share our strongest medicine, the integrity of love and respect for Mother Earth and all her peoples,” continues Romero, who is of Cheyenne and Apache bloodlines. “This means deepening our care about the environment and seeing the sacredness shining through all forms of life and freeing ourselves from trying to dominate Mother Earth or ‘other people.’”
Members of the International Indigenous Sacred Women’s Council will plant the memorial tree at 11:00 a.m. in Los Angeles State Historic Park (long known as the cornfield), 1245 N. Spring Street in downtown Los Angeles. A traditional American Indian Red Road Ceremony will be held, where participants will remove their shoes and the bottoms of feet will be painted red to symbolize the Red Road, the Good Road of Life, the path that we aspire to walk with our children and their children and all peoples.
Thanksgiving stereotypes hurt
Native American history needs retelling
Thanksgiving portrays stereotypes that some find offensive"For many American Indians, the holidays are bittersweet. On the one hand, it's wonderful to get together with friends and family, but all that joy is overshadowed by the assault of stereotypical images of Indians that begin to appear on TV, in newspapers, and on greeting cards around Halloween and continue throughout Thanksgiving.
"It's very painful," said Helen Rende, who is a Kahnawake Mohawk and vice president of Intertribal American Indians of New Jersey, (ITNJ), a group that is dedicated to educating the public about American Indian culture, and history. ITNJ provides programs for schools, corporations, universities and health-care organizations. More on the pain of stereotyping:Ross added that most people don't know that each nation is a separate ethnic group with its own culture, even though there are some commonalities.
"They each have their own identities. But Thanksgiving kind of glosses over that and many of the horrific things that happened to the Native American people," she said. "Thanksgiving shows the Pilgrims and the Indians getting together. But it doesn't show what happened afterward when there was a lot of fighting with the Indians and Indians were massacred.
"The stereotypes are very painful for my friends. It discounts what the American Indians suffered within this country," she said. Comment: You can find Thanksgiving-related stereotypes in the Stereotype of the Month contest at Ten Little Pilgrims and Indians.
Thanksgiving portrays stereotypes that some find offensive
"It's very painful," said Helen Rende, who is a Kahnawake Mohawk and vice president of Intertribal American Indians of New Jersey, (ITNJ), a group that is dedicated to educating the public about American Indian culture, and history. ITNJ provides programs for schools, corporations, universities and health-care organizations.
"They each have their own identities. But Thanksgiving kind of glosses over that and many of the horrific things that happened to the Native American people," she said. "Thanksgiving shows the Pilgrims and the Indians getting together. But it doesn't show what happened afterward when there was a lot of fighting with the Indians and Indians were massacred.
"The stereotypes are very painful for my friends. It discounts what the American Indians suffered within this country," she said.
Bush surrounded by Indians
Bush talks of thanks
He touts volunteerism, entrepreneurs at stops at foodbank, plantationPresident Bush found something to be thankful for yesterday--a friendly, invitation-only Virginia audience.
Visiting a foodbank in Richmond and Berkeley Plantation in Charles City County, the president delivered Thanksgiving messages that promoted volunteerism and this country's entrepreneurial tradition. The Indian aspect:Bush waded into the crowd afterward, picking up babies, shaking hands and posing for pictures.
Four-year-old Mikey Wood, the grandson of Henrico County Sheriff Mike Wade, was grabbed from his mother's arms and hoisted into the air by the president.
Twenty Chickahominy Indians, dressed in tribal regalia, surrounded the president afterward, and Bush tarried to have his picture taken with them. The tribe gave the president a bolo tie and an Indian-designed necklace for his wife, Laura. She was not present. 
He touts volunteerism, entrepreneurs at stops at foodbank, plantation
Visiting a foodbank in Richmond and Berkeley Plantation in Charles City County, the president delivered Thanksgiving messages that promoted volunteerism and this country's entrepreneurial tradition.
Four-year-old Mikey Wood, the grandson of Henrico County Sheriff Mike Wade, was grabbed from his mother's arms and hoisted into the air by the president.
Twenty Chickahominy Indians, dressed in tribal regalia, surrounded the president afterward, and Bush tarried to have his picture taken with them. The tribe gave the president a bolo tie and an Indian-designed necklace for his wife, Laura. She was not present.
Kaweah "tribe" loses in court
Judge rules against unrecognized Wichita tribeA Texas judge issued a permanent injunction Monday prohibiting an unrecognized American Indian tribe and its self-proclaimed chief from selling tribal memberships in an alleged scam to defraud illegal immigrants by falsely claiming the documents would provide protection from deportation.
District Judge Noe Gonzalez ruled that Malcolm Webber and his Wichita-based Kaweah Indian Nation by default admitted the allegations in a lawsuit filed by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott. Gonzalez issued the ruling because the tribe and Webber failed to answer the lawsuit filed in August alleging they violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. 
District Judge Noe Gonzalez ruled that Malcolm Webber and his Wichita-based Kaweah Indian Nation by default admitted the allegations in a lawsuit filed by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott. Gonzalez issued the ruling because the tribe and Webber failed to answer the lawsuit filed in August alleging they violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
Tribe sponsors football team
Shock partner with Spokane TribeThe Spokane Shock announced today that the Spokane Indian Tribe has entered a three-year corporate sponsorship with the team. This partnership will give the Spokane Tribe exclusively naming rights to the field, which will now be named "Spokane Tribe Field at the Spokane Arena."
"This is a great day for the Shock," Owner/CEO Brady Nelson said. "The Spokane Tribe has maintained an active role supporting the Spokane community and this partnership is an extension of that relationship." 
"This is a great day for the Shock," Owner/CEO Brady Nelson said. "The Spokane Tribe has maintained an active role supporting the Spokane community and this partnership is an extension of that relationship."
November 19, 2007
Trudell's poetry and philosophy
Poet, activist shares his unique slant
Trudell was among Alcatraz occupiersDuring his presentation, Trudell shared his personal philosophy and some of his original poetry.
"I flew with the eagles until I fell from the nest. I ran with the wolves until I got lost from the pack," he read from one poem. "I never strayed to Heaven--it was hard getting past hell."
In another, he spoke of a "yellow ribbon around my brain."
Trudell didn't apologize for the lack of sunshine and light in his words as he described a government and society he said mines the humanness from individuals and leaves behind the toxic waste of fear, doubt and insecurity.
"We're chasing chaos," he said.
The way out, he said, is not violence.
"I think it's useless to fight them," he said. "I encourage everyone to think clearly and coherently and outthink them." Comment: In contrast to other Native poetry, Trudell's poetry seems clear.
Trudell was among Alcatraz occupiers
"I flew with the eagles until I fell from the nest. I ran with the wolves until I got lost from the pack," he read from one poem. "I never strayed to Heaven--it was hard getting past hell."
In another, he spoke of a "yellow ribbon around my brain."
Trudell didn't apologize for the lack of sunshine and light in his words as he described a government and society he said mines the humanness from individuals and leaves behind the toxic waste of fear, doubt and insecurity.
"We're chasing chaos," he said.
The way out, he said, is not violence.
"I think it's useless to fight them," he said. "I encourage everyone to think clearly and coherently and outthink them."
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