Review of YAKARI

A while ago I mentioned the Yakari series of comic books by Belgian creators Derib and Job. Erica Jeffrey, who is translating the Yakari series into English, was kind enough to send me a review copy.

I believe YAKARI AND THE BEAVERS is the third volume in the series. Here are some descriptions of it:

Yakari and the BeaversProduct Description

Yakari, while riding his horse through the woods, happens upon a colony of beavers. While enjoying a dip in the river with them, Yakari discovers that each has his own personality and characteristics. The storyline is message-driven and teaches children about tolerance, friendship and respect for the environment. Beautiful full colour illustrations complement simple, easy-to-read texts to make reading appealing to children of all reading levels, and especially to reluctant readers.

Product Details

* Reading level: Ages 9-12
* Paperback: 48 pagesFrom the back cover:Yakari is a little Indian, courageous and generous, whose happy life all children would like to share. Astride Little Thunder, his faithful mustang, Yakari gallops across the Great Prairie, where people and animals live in harmony and migrate according to the seasons. Endowed with the wonderful ability to talk with all the animals, Yakari comes to know their way of life and their environment. Through his encounters and discoveries, Yakari passes on to young readers of his fascinating adventures a sense of respect, tolerance, justice, and solidarity. With humor and kindness, Yakari also teaches how to take advantage of lessons about life revealed by Mother Nature....Here are my thoughts on YAKARI:

An enchanted past

Yakari is a Sioux (Lakota) Indian boy. He’s a typical cartoon version of a cute little Indian. He wears a headband, which makes him look Apache, and a single feather, which he supposedly earned in his first adventure.

In this story, Yakari doesn't interact with any adults. We see a few shots of the Sioux camp with men and women going about their daily tasks amid tipis. These scenes look reasonably authentic.

The Sioux own horses and Yakari has Little Thunder, a pony. This suggests that the story takes place after the advent of the white man. But there are no signs of Europeans anywhere.

Yakari seems to live in an enchanted past where people and animals mix freely. Where the buffalo roam and the deer and the antelope play. Where seldom is heard a discouraging word, and the skies are not cloudy all day. (I just made that up.)

Despite the back-cover copy about the Great Prairie, Yakari's people reside in a forested area with moose and bears. I'd say it looks more like Minnesota—the Great Lakes region–than the plains or prairie.

The art is lovely, just short of spectacular. The drawings are technically skilled yet loose and animated. It's reminiscent of the best of Disney comics, when Disney was putting out the acclaimed Uncle Scrooge by Carl Barks.

Talking to animals

As the text indicates, Yakari has adventures with his animal friends. He shoos a bear away, helps the beavers build their dam, and rescues one who gets lost downstream.

The cover (below) gives you an idea of the hijinks. A few beavers want to ride Little Thunder because they've never been on a horse before. But they get carried away and ruin Double-Tooth’s dam. Fortunately, Yakari is there to save the day.

The gentle tone reflects how some of us imagine traditional Indians. They're at ease with nature. They don't necessarily pray to or revere it, but they also don't hate or fear it. To them it's like a second home, comfortable and familiar. You wouldn’t worship your drapes or furniture and Yakari doesn’t worship the rocks or trees.

Talking to animals is a common feature of Indian stories, of course. Many tribes claim they used to be able to speak the animals’ language in the distant past, before their people grew corrupt and immoral. You can imagine that Yakari is so innocent he’s retained his ancestors’ ability.

The characters’ names are decent, ranging from the somewhat clichéd Rainbow and Little Thunder to the more appropriate Double-Tooth and Linden Tree. At least none of them are "Soaring" or "Brave" or "White."

What would educators say?

Perhaps the biggest shortcoming of YAKARI is its vagueness. Other than a single mention of the Sioux, there's no indication of Yakari's having a culture or a history. Apparently Derib and Job thought all Indians were the same.

But it could have been worse. Jeffrey said that in other books she's translated, the Indian characters spoke gibberish, mixing words from various tribes. Yakari may be a Sioux with no culture, but he’s not a mishmash of conflicting cultures.

Is YAKARI a good bet for children? Well, the price is right: about $10 for an oversized graphic novel with 44 pages of story. The books will amuse adults for a minute or two, but kids may treasure them and read them over and over.

Judging by the comments online, youngsters love the Yakari series. But I'm not sure if Native educators would recommend them. On the one hand, they tell a positive story about Indians and their love of nature. On the other hand, Yakari and his fellows are more generic than Sioux. And of course Lakota style Plains Indians are one of the biggest clichés in Native-themed literature.

I don't know. I'm guessing non-Native educators would say the positive message outweighs the lack of specifics. And that Native educators would say the opposite. Perhaps the Yakari books can serve as a starting point for youngsters, to spur their interest in Native stories. Then they can graduate to more sophisticated books with real Indian culture in them.

Yakari or Rabbit and Bear Paws?

Speaking of which...it’s interesting to compare YAKARI with another children’s series I’ve written about: RABBIT AND BEAR PAWS. The two main characters, Rabbit and Bear Paws, are more goofy-looking and immature than Yakari. But they’re steeped in a real time and place. They meet French trappers and British redcoats, trade at forts and play lacrosse. That’s a lot richer than Yakari’s frolicking with beavers. RABBIT AND BEAR PAWS shows that Indians were and are real people, not fantasy figures in a magical Neverland.

YAKARI isn’t as divorced from reality as, say, Peter Pan or The Emperor’s New School. But it suffers from the same problem: separating Indians from their heritage. I suppose it’s too late now, but adding a few Lakota words and concepts to YAKARI would’ve made it better.

Hint to translator Jeffrey: If the publisher won’t modify the text, how about adding a text page or two? Maybe something explaining how Lakota children actually lived and played.

I’d give YAKARI AND THE BEAVERS maybe an 8.0 for its artistic tone and style and a 6.0 for its limited portrayal of Indian culture. Net rating: 7.0 of 10.

Noble savages in The Paradise Syndrome

Part one of an analysis of The Paradise Syndrome, the original Star Trek episode about Indians. From Star Trek and History: Race-Ing Toward a White Future by Daniel Bernardi.

Case Study:  “The Paradise Syndrome” (1968)As with “The City on the Edge of Forever,” the conditions of production surrounding “The Paradise Syndrome” reveal a contradictory racial project, this time one that stereotypes Native-Americans as noble savages and whites as “normal” and even divine. The basic storyline has Captain Kirk, suffering from amnesia, becoming a medicine chief for a tribe of Native-Americans on a planet far from Earth. The tribe was placed there centuries ago by a “super-race” who wanted to “preserve them.” Primary evidence surrounding the production of the episode indicates that the incorporation of the noble savage stereotype was a direct result of the liberal-humanist ideals and practices of Roddenberry and other creative decision makers. In other words, regardless of the tug-of-war between Roddenberry and the network, in this episode of Star Trek it was the creative decision makers that participated in and facilitated racist practice.

Originally titled “Pale Face,” the story outline by Margaret Armen uses well-worn racialized adjectives and cliches to construct the Native-American tribe as noble savages. Kirk, Armen writes, “has found this tribe gentle, kind, and in complete attune with nature.” Armen has Kirk being accepted into the tribe and marrying one of the women, Miramanee. This emphasizes the mythical structure of the story, that of the so-called paradise syndrome, which typically involves a white man escaping civilization or getting lost in the wild, befriending a wise but simple tribe of natives, falling in love with a submissive and often scantily clad native girl, and, after saving the natives from an event or person bent on destroying them, eventually determining that living among them is not his life’s mission. The white man, not the native, has evolved, and he must accept his role as a complex, civilized human. In Armen’s outline, Kirk realizes that Miramanee “can never fit into [his] world. Simple and gentle as she is, her only place is the idyllic tribal environment of her people. Gently, he tells her that he no longer fits into her world either, that the ancient prophecy has been fulfilled and he must go on to fulfill his further duty.” The outline concludes: “He knows a part of him—the part of man that is always pagan—will always remain behind, that a poignant longing for the idyllic life of the noble savage will never leave him.”

The noble savage stereotype found in the development of “The Paradise Syndrome” functions as a sort of fetish, much like its eighteenth-century predecessor, analyzed by metahistorian Hayden White: “belief in the idea of a Noble Savage was magical, was extravagant and irrational in the kind of devotion it was meant to inspire, and, in the end displayed the kind of pathological displacement of libidinal interest that we normally associate with the forms of racism that depend on the idea of a ‘wild humanity’ for their justification.” All three aspects of White’s noble savage fetish are played out in Armen’s outline. First, the Indians are associated with magical qualities, especially in the representation of them as being mysteriously connected to—“in complete attune with”—nature. Second, the representation of the Indians as existing in some pristine and unchanging condition—on another planet, no less—reveals an irrational devotion to a particular image of Native-Americans as “noble,” an image “fixed” in time like the fetish. This is perhaps most prominent in both the super-race’s efforts to preserve them and Kirk’s nostalgic longing to become one of them. Finally, the stereotype is strongly suggestive of a libidinal displacement, perhaps most clearly projected in the relationship between Kirk and Miramanee—in which the captain, after falling in “love” with the beautiful native, has nothing less than a “wild” time.

The use of the noble savage theme in the conceptualization of “The Paradise Syndrome” ultimately has less to do with the lifestyle and customs of Native-Americans than with the evolution of whiteness. In his analysis, White goes on to argue that the noble savage fetish ultimately “draws a distinction, in the nature of an opposition, between normal humanity (gentle, intelligent, decorous, and white) and an abnormal one (obstinate, gay, free, and red).” The “abnormality” of an otherwise noble humanity cannot be understood outside the notion of a wild/savage humanity (Indians), which itself cannot be understood outside the notion of a “normal”—and, at least rhetorically, superior—humanity (whites). Such an opposition thus becomes a way to define the superior “civility” of whiteness, which in the making of “The Paradise Syndrome” is especially evident in Roddenberry’s efforts to ensure that the Indians, despite centuries of unencumbered evolution on a far-off planet, haven’t really evolved. In a memorandum to Fred Freiberger, the producer of Star Trek during its third season, Roddenberry states his case in explicit terms:

if the Indians were brought here many centuries ago, it is likely that even though they retain much of their terrible custom, they would have advanced somewhat along the scale of civilization. Perhaps not to firearms, or not that fast, but perhaps added on to the Indian culture, it is a growing mastery of mechanics, which has resulted in the wheel, possibly the crossbow. ... Not enough to deprive our tale of the wonderful simplicity of life here, but enough to stay true to the premise and to logic.
Roddenberry’s insistence on representing the tribe as having advanced only far enough to invent the wheel reveals a hierarchy of cultures that has whites “naturally” on top of an evolutionary ladder—a telling contradiction in his liberal-humanist project.

Beach's independent APTN

Adam Beach is a man on a missionBeach has nothing against the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network. Bottom line and deep down, Adam Beach is a really nice guy who isn't really into fighting against anybody, or even competing with others. But Adam sees what is happening around him and he believes deep in his heart and mind that he knows what needs to be done, and he is going to do it.

"APTN is fine, but they are regulated by government," says Beach. "We have got to tell our own stories, and share our experiences, and learn from each other, and support each other and work together independently, that's it that's all."Just like Spielberg:"Right now, the federal government has appointed a judge to head up a Truth and Reconciliation Commission. They will spend $60 million trying to get our people to tell the stories of their experiences in Indian residential schools."

"I am not in competition with the government, but I am going to go out and hear those stories and share them with everybody who wants to hear and to heal and to reconcile," said Beach. "It's like Steven Spielberg going out to gather the stories of Jewish people who suffered through the Holocaust (World War II). Spielberg did that for his people and I would like to do that with mine."Tackling major issues:Adam also has plans to deal directly with some of the major issues which impact on First Nations communities. Of major concern is the disproportionate rate of suicide amongst young people. As part of Adam's participation in Vision Quest, he starred in a live theatrical presentation (interacting with pre-produced video) called "Kejeet", which was written by Adam's father Chris Beach, and deals with suicide prevention.

"We cannot allow our parents to lose their precious children and we cannot allow our children to grow up without their parents," Beach exclaimed in a videotaped introduction to his live performance.Helping with horses:Beach is also developing a healing and treatment program for youth that will connect kids with horses, and through the nurturing and care and bonding between human and animal, the youth can begin the journey that starts by understanding why the youth are hurting, and builds from there to heal the hurt.

"The program is called "stepping stone", and we have a financier interested in developing 40 ranches, which will reach out to a lot of our native youth," said Beach.With funding from gaming:Adam Beach has some very ambitious plans, but when asked if he can "compete" with the massive resources of government and other influences, which may not be as relevant or effective as his self-determined approach, he would only say:

"There is a $30 billion dollar Indian gaming industry in the United States. They are very concerned and supportive of what we are trying to do. I am not worried about financing the television and recording productions I would like to see, and the healing programs that we want to develop."Comment:  For more on the subject, see All About Adam Beach.

Charlotte's Indians wow Indians

It's always good to see foreigners impressed by Indian cultures. It's extra fun when the foreigners are also Indians (Asian Indians).

Charlotte:  a complete package

Bollywood has found a new foreign locale in this charming American city listed as one of the Top 3 best places to live. Roopa Rao comes back impressed.The Bollywood train has travelled all around scouting for new locales. For a movie with stock car race as the theme where does the crew of Ta Ra Rum Pum go? Where else but Charlotte! The Saif Ali Khan-Rani Mukherji starrer, directed by Siddharth Anand, was shot almost entirely in the US of A, with a few scenes shot in a studio in Mumbai. Portions of the film were filmed in Rockingham, North Carolina at the North Carolina Speedway. Locals affectionately call it ‘The Rock.’ The track has hosted NASCAR events from 1965 to 2004.

There is a huge influence of native Indian tribes. So much so, that native folk art can be found integrated with walkways and pavements. Look out for these quaint touches in day time. The skyline is so spectacular at night that you do not remember to look for the mural art present on the walkways.

One story goes that Charlotte stands for the Colusa tribe, who changed their name to Carlos under Spanish influence, anglicising it to Charlotte. Adding a fine touch to the diversity prevalent in Charlotte is its strong religious roots. There are several religious institutions, including synagogues, monasteries, mosques, even a Swami Narayan temple.

Don't blame diseases

A commenter on Amazon.com says we shouldn't blame diseases for killing most of the Indians after Columbus. He claims European policies destroyed the Indians' livelihood and thus made epidemics inevitable.

Smallpox genocide and native population figuresIt wasn't the introduction of foreign diseases that caused the epidemics, it was the destruction of the normal sources of food for the natives, thereby causing massive near starvation. The introduction of alien food types, the change from a mostly meat to a mostly grains diet that unbalanced and weakened the bodies of the natives and destroyed their immune systems. After that any kind of illness, whether foreign or local would have had the same results.

It's the same process going on today, we have more diseases and death because our immune systems have been compromised from eating a constant diet of high sugar, high carbohydrate, largely processed and nutrient depleted foods. We no longer have access to the wide variety of locally grown fresh foods that our grandparents did. The majority of our foods are genetically modified, artificially adultrated with all manner of chemicals and pesticides, and then those foods are processed into foodstuffs that fill the belly but don't nourish the body.Comment:  This is another reason why it's correct to call the death of Indians "genocide." For more on the subject, see Genocide by Any Other Name....

Candidates scorn tribal contributions

McGee:  C'mon, just take the money!If tribal governments were any other kind of entity in the United States, a smart strategy would be to participate in the political process surrounding a presidential race. Even with the advent of campaign finance reform, presidential elections still offer opportunities for individuals and entities to influence a candidate's position and attempt to secure commitments through, among other things, the contribution of funds to the candidates' political campaigns.

However, tribes presently are under the impression that the candidates have taken a "no, thank you" position about accepting tribal contributions to their individual presidential campaigns. This is an impression rather than a known fact because campaigns have refused to go on record about their policies regarding tribal contributions. Repeated requests to each campaign manager and their press offices continue to go unanswered on this simple question: "What is your official position on accepting political contributions from tribal governments?"

First Native flute school

Native American Flute School First of KindSomething new is coming to Zion Canyon this summer. The people who brought you the Zion Canyon Art and Flute festival, are now proud to present the first Zion Canyon Native Flute School. The school will be held in conjunction with the Flute festival, said Betina Lindsay, organizer of the festival and education coordinator for the school.

Lindsay, who is one of the originators of the school, said she helped start the school for a purely selfish reason.

"I wanted to learn to play my flute better," Lindsay said. "So I thought that this would be a good opportunity." She added she believes this is the only Native American Flute School in the country, making it unique.

Obama tackles tough issues

A look at Barack ObamaIn the run-up to June 3, though, Obama hasn't played it safe or sat the fence on Indian issues. A direct engagement with intractable troubles was on display already in April, when Obama did a sit-down interview with the Montana Tribune. An exchange on the BIA has acquired added relevance since the recent resignation of Carl Artman as the Interior Department's assistant secretary for Indian affairs. The move, unexplained and unexpected, has left many Indian people with heavy concerns about the agency's future. Obama said some of what several of them have not wanted to commit to the record: "The Bureau of Indian Affairs has become sort of a backwater. It doesn't have a lot of clout in the administration. I want to put it front and center, along with other agencies, because on every indicator, Native Americans are having a much tougher time than the population at large."

The front-running Obama has met Indian issues head-on, even where they could put him at odds with other voters.

His own allies, for instance. Rep. Diane Watson, D-Calif., has already taken a slap at Obama's "campaign for change" by accusing him, in the headline of an essay, of "politics as usual" for supporting a court resolution of the Cherokee freedmen issue. Watson's bill, H.R. 2824 in the House of Representatives, would penalize the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma for trying to expel its freedmen, tribal citizen descendants of slaves and free blacks who lived among the Cherokee before, during and after the Civil War. The bill has 24 co-sponsors, including members of the Congressional Black Caucus. Thirty-five CBC members have also threatened to oppose passage of a bill to reauthorize the Native American Housing and Self-Determination Act if it doesn't cancel Cherokee funding under the bill until the tribe recognizes freedmen and their descendants as citizens.Comment:  For more on the subject, see The 2008 Presidential Campaign.

Sexism alive in Indian country

Is gender playing a role in Montana's Indian vote?

AnalysisA growing number of female Indians from Montana are wondering whether some of their male colleagues and leaders are supporting Sen. Barack Obama over Sen. Hillary Clinton largely due to his gender.

"There's definitely a division among Indian people in terms of male and female support," said Democratic state Sen. Carol C. Juneau. "It's a really interesting division. And I wonder if Indian people are seeing it in other states."

Over the past month, three high-ranking male Native officials who work in both Montana state and tribal governments have told Indian Country Today during background political conversations that they view Clinton in a derogatory manner. Additionally, one said he didn't believe that the senator from New York could "hold her own" against Sen. John McCain, while another added that he just "couldn't see" a woman leading the U.S. out of the Iraq war.

Just as in America at large, sexism in Indian country is still alive and well.

Clinton releases sweeping agenda

Hillary pulls for S.D. Indian voteIn another sign that the Democratic race for the White House will go down to the wire, Sen. Hillary Clinton has released a sweeping "South Dakota Native American Agenda" that aims to increase opportunity and improve the quality of services for Indians in the state.

The proposal, according to Clinton's campaign, is grounded in the principle of tribal sovereignty, while focusing on improving the quality of health care, creating jobs and combating crime.

"For seven years, the Bush administration has failed to live up to its commitment to the Native American community in South Dakota and across the nation," she said in a statement released May 20.

"By making targeted investments to create good-paying jobs and ensuring everyone has access to quality, affordable health care and by continuing to partner with the Native American community within the government to government framework, we can begin to undo some of the damage President Bush's neglect has caused."Below:  The candidate's spouse stumps for votes.

Racist plan to reduce emissions

Briggs:  Tense situation threatens UNPFII promiseThe forum began in late April seeming sometimes to be like a honeymoon at the end of the 30-year battle for the adoption last September of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples by the U.N. General Assembly.

But the confidence in the proceeding began eroding midway through the two-week forum when U.N.-appointed leaders released a draft report endorsing a World Bank plan that the indigenous participants opposed. By the forum's last day, May 2, indigenous peoples were frustrated with Permanent Forum Chairman Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, an indigenous leader from the Philippines.

The World Bank plan, called Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation, allows global fossil fuel corporations to pollute in one part of the world in exchange for preventing greenhouse emissions elsewhere on the globe.Comment:  The parties involved should accept this plan only if everyone agrees to it.

For more on the subject, see Global Warming Is Racist.

Tribe banishes its king

Panama tribe exiles its king over power plant dealAn indigenous Panamanian tribe has driven its king into exile over his approval of a £25m hydro-electric project in its jungle realm.

The Naso tribe, whose millennia-old royal inheritance system is recognised by the state, banished King Tito Santana for opening the kingdom to developers.

"Many of us are opposed to a king who, for us, is selling our society without any thought for tomorrow," Eduardo Santana, a nephew of Tito, told Reuters. The project risked cultural and environmental harm, he said. "We are part of nature and if we do not look after it, who will?"

Accused of putting his own interests ahead of the 2,500-strong tribe, the king and several hundred followers fled the capital, Seiyik, a village of palm-thatched huts on stilts accessible only by canoe, to a settlement near the village of El Silencio.

Native museum kills ducklings

Ducklings Die in Pool Drain At American Indian MuseumAt first, there were 10 ducklings. After a horrifying few moments, there were only five.

On Saturday afternoon on the Mall, passersby watched as a mother duck and her offspring paddled in a series of man-made pools outside the National Museum of the American Indian. The five ducklings died when they were pulled into a drain, even as guards and maintenance workers rushed to save them.

It was not the first time. A museum spokeswoman said ducklings have died in the fountain machinery four or five times since the museum opened in September 2004. In the latest case, equipment installed to protect wildlife appeared to have failed, she said.Comment:  For more on the NMAI, see The Feel-Good National Museum.

Obama inspires first-time voter

'Obamamania' hits the Crow NationHe was touched when his work to get people to vote was heeded by one elderly man on the northern Montana Rocky Boy's Reservation.

"And at a meeting, a man 74 years old came up," Kohn said. "He said nobody cared enough to ask him to vote, or cared enough to even show him what he should do to register to vote. But when he said he was going to vote for the first time in his life, he said, 'I'm going to vote for Barack Obama.'

"For the first time, I feel that a candidate really cares about improving the life of American Indians. There's no other candidate that has sat down face-to-face with American Indians and genuinely cared about them."

Indian history in Mustang

The history of the West to 1900 takes up six of nine chapters in Deanne Stillman's new book, Mustang: The Saga of the Wild Horse in the American West. It's fair to say the book is about cowboys and Indians as well as horses.

Here are a few excerpts from Mustang to give you a flavor of Stillman's writing. First, on Custer before Little Bighorn:On June 16, the Seventh began to encounter with some would later view as portents. They passed an Indian burial ground—an orchard of corpses on scaffolds in trees, including the body of an infant whose face was painted red. Three days later, when the Tongue and Yellowstone rivers join, the Dakota column spent the night at an abandoned Indian camp. The driftwood pony shelters were still there, and the troops used the wood for fires. Again, there was an airborne cemetery, and some of Custer's men stole beaded trinkets from the bodies in the cottonwoods and as the Seventh resumed its march the following day, they brandished the souvenirs from their saddles, not just whistling past the graveyard but taunting the dead to come and get them.On Buffalo Bill's trip to Europe:As Buffalo Bill sailed into port in 1887, Spain was about to lose Mexico to the United States, the West had been fenced in, and the Indian was not just vanishing but nearly purged from his homeland. The children of England had accomplished much since the Boston Tea Party, and now on board the State of Nebraska, they were met by a tug flying American colors. The passengers cheered in the cowboy band struck up "Yankee Doodle." Cody recorded the moment in his memoir:

A certain feeling of pride came over me when I thought of the good ship on whose deck I stood, and that her cargo consisted of the early pioneers and rude, rough riders from that section, and of the wild horses of the same district, buffalo, deer, elk and antelope—the king game of the prairie—together with over 100 representatives of that savage foe that had been compelled to submit to a conquering civilization and were now accompanying me in friendship, loyalty and peace, five thousand miles from their homes, braving the dangers of the to them great unknown sea, now no longer a tradition, but a reality—all of us combined in an exhibition intended to prove to the center of old world civilization that the vast region of the United States was finally and effectively settled by the English-speaking race.On actor William S. Hart and his 1925 Western Tumbleweeds:Critics loved the movie but it did not do well at the box office. Yet Hart was still popular enough to win an invitation to the Little Bighorn battlefield for the fiftieth-anniversary commemorations in 1926. For a famous movie cowboy to speak at the memorial was no small thing; three movies about Custer had already been made, and a "renegade" Indian named Willie Boy had recently been gunned down by a white posse in the Mojave Desert and was billed as the last "wild Indian." At the commemorations, Hart spoke of old warriors in full regalia, "the volleys fired over the graves of the dead, the soft sound of 'Taps' echoed back by the hills like a benediction, the low, weird death song of the Indian women." When he returned to Hollywood, a lifelong fascination with Indians became a defense of Crazy Horse. "Crazy Horse was a very plain man," Hart said, "simple in all his habits, and a great statesmen, and always looking out for the Indians."Comment:  Except for the overlong sentence in the Custer excerpt, not bad. Rob says: Check it out. (I'll let you know what I think of it when I get around to reading it.)

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

Liberal guilt is good

This column about voting for Obama also applies to voting for candidates who support Indian sovereignty, Indian gaming, and necessary Indian services.

In Praise of Liberal Guilt

It's not wrong to favor Obama because of race.Since when has guilt become shameful? Since when is shame shameful when it's shame about a four-centuries-long historical crime? Not one of us is a slave owner today, segregation is no longer enshrined in law, and there are fewer overt racists than before, but if we want to praise America's virtues, we have to concede—and feel guilty about—America's sins, else we praise a false god, a golden calf, a whited sepulcher, a Potemkin village of virtue. (I've run out of metaphors, but you get the picture.)

Guilt is good, people! The only people who don't suffer guilt are sociopaths and serial killers. Guilt means you have a conscience. You have self-awareness, you have—in the case of America's history of racism—historical awareness. Just because things have gotten better in the present doesn't mean we can erase racism from our past or ignore its enduring legacy.

Critics of Obama supporters who use the phrase "guilty liberal" or "liberal guilt" in a condescending, above-it-all manner suggest there's something weak about feeling guilt; they paint a trivializing, Woody Allen caricature of it.

Actually, I think it requires a kind of strength, not weakness, to face the ugly truths of history and to react to them in an honest way. "Liberal guilt" isn't a reason one must automatically support a black candidate, but that doesn't mean that liberal guilt—better defined as an awareness of the need to contend with, and overcome, a racist past—shouldn't be a factor in politics.Comment:  One "ugly truth" that needs facing is our history of killing, oppressing, and marginalizing Indians. Until every American knows this history as well as they about Washington and Lincoln, we need more education.

Kootenai "war" against the US

Remember the Kootenai Tribe's struggle against the feds in 1974? Now's your chance to learnLed by Trice and others, the 67-member tribe declared "war" on the United States to protest living conditions in its village near Bonners Ferry and the taking of its ancestral land. More than a million acres were signed away without the Kootenais' presence under the treaty of Hellgate, Mont., in 1855.

In 1962, the government gave the tribe 36 cents an acre, based on 1855 land values.

The Kootenais weren't given a reservation, and their Depression-era housing was so inadequate that a tribal elder, Moses Joseph, froze to death in his home. From the tribe's perspective, the war wasn't merely a protest. It was a fight for survival.

No shots were fired--Trice said the closest thing to a weapon in the tribal office was a flyswatter--but the Kootenais charged motorists tolls to cross their land, threatened to block access to it and demanded payment for lands lost.

That set the stage for a brief but tense showdown with the state and then-Gov. Cecil Andrus, who sent about 70 state policeman to Kootenai country. Then-U.S. Sen. James McClure and Congressman Steve Symms flew to Bonners Ferry to negotiate with the tribe.

The bloodless "war" generated intense media coverage, and though some of the tribe's demands never were met, it did succeed in greatly improving its situation.

It received, among other things, a reservation with a new access road, a clinic, new housing and new water and sewage systems.

"Think tribal ancestors wanted casino?"

Tribal casino is product of governmental sovereigntyTo directly answer your cynical question, Ms. Cassady, no, our ancestors would never have imaged a casino as reparations for the millions of acres of land that was stolen from us. That is why the word “casino” is not found in the 1795 Treaty of Greenville, the Treaty of Chicago (1821), or the Treaty of St. Joseph (1827); all of which were signed by our Chief, Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish.

Those treaties did preserve our inherent sovereignty. Under federal and international law, sovereign governments have the right to make laws, collect taxes, protect the rights and welfare of their citizenry and maintain a system of government on their own lands.

Just as the voters of the State of Michigan implemented a public lottery in 1972 to help fund governmental services, our tribal members voted for a casino to fund our governmental services.Comment:  For more on the subject, see The Facts About Indian Gaming.

Hopi/Navajo skatepark

'Louise Yellowman Park' opens to public in Tuba City

Park includes skating area, BMX, walking and family riding trails for allWhat started in 2003 as a dream of Tuba City and Moencopi Hopi students--to have a fully equipped skate and BMX park complete with deep sub-rails and highly curved extensions to practice on, making it possible to win city, state and national skate competitions--became a reality May 10.

The Louise Yellowman County Park was officially opened amid hundreds of well-wishers, including the entire Coconino County Supervisory Board and Hopi and Navajo Nation officials. There were special student presentations by Tuba City Boarding School and Moencopi Day School ending with a skateboarding exhibition by GrindLine Skateparks featuring Dave Palmer and Jimmy the Greek. Live music was provided for the event by "No Name Street Band," led by local Hopi musician, Blair Quamahongnewa.

Indian origin of the Camp Fire Girls

Like the Boy Scouts of America, the Camp Fire Girls have an Indian origin. Here's some information on the subject.

First, from an e-mail dated 7/19/03:Have you done anything on Camp Fire USA's use of Native American symbolism?

Camp Fire Boys and Girls give service!

Here's a quote from the webpage of the camp I attended and was a counselor at:

"Camp Fire has always borrowed from the rich traditions of our Native American Cultures. At Camp Wilani, all aged campers in all sessions may learn about the Native American tribes that once lived in this region. Daytime and evening events at the new Native Village will focus on educating campers of indigenous ways through crafts, outdoor cooking, and sleeping in a tipi."

I was in Camp Fire for years and earned the highest award (WOHELO Medallion) and got a lot out of the program. Today however, I don't think I would let my kids participate in the program because of this "borrowed" "Indian Lore" nonsense.

Now, we were expected to treat this part of the program with the utmost respect—our "Ceremonial Gowns/Tunics" were *not* to be worn as costumes (I once went so far as to buy two old gowns from a costume rack at a thrift store and donate them to the local Camp Fire council so they would not be used for this purpose), and "Ceremonials" were rather solemn occasions, but at the same time, it was as if we were being taught about Native culture as if it were a *dead* culture. Like ancient Egypt or something. I can't recall meeting an actual Native American in all my years in the program.

I'm biased but I think the program is not nearly as bad as the Boy Scouts "Order of the Arrow" activities, and is "kinder and gentler" than BSA because of its former all-girls status, however, I think it might be time for the organization to move on. They claim to embrace multiculturalism—get this (from their official website):

"Camp Fire USA's programs are designed and implemented to reduce sex-role, racial and cultural stereotypes and to foster positive intercultural relationships."

Hmm. Reducing cultural stereotypes with beads and fringe?

If you have any suggestions, I would like to write to the head office and see what they say. Do you know if anyone has approached Camp Fire about this?

Love your website, keep up the good work!

K.E.The Indian background of the Camp Fire Girls (now Camp Fire USA):

Dr. Charles Alexander Eastman, a.k.a. Ohiyesa, Wahpeton Dakota Sioux (1858-1939)Dr. Charles Alexander Eastman was involved in the forming of both Boy Scouts of America and Camp Fire Girls.

As a Sioux, he was known as Ohiyesa. His father was a Sioux Indian; his mother was the daughter of a U.S. Army officer and the granddaughter of a famous Sioux chief. Ohiyesa had the traditional upbringing of a Sioux from 1858 to 1874, followed by an undergraduate degree from Dartmouth and a medical degree from Boston University Medical School. He became a fully licensed physician. He was the only physician to aid victims of the Wounded Knee massacre in 1890. Because of racism, his ability to earn a living as a physician was always difficult. To support his family, in 1895 he began working for the YMCA organizing programs for youth living on Indian reservations. In 1920 he helped verify the burial site of Sacajawea.

While it became politically correct to condemn Camp Fire and Boy Scouts of America for stereotyping the indigenous peoples of America and for "exploiting" their cultures, much of that early lore was offered to CFG and BSA by Ohiyesa. His 1914 book Indian Scout Talks was subtitled "A Guide for Boy Scouts and Camp Fire Girls." He wrote, "These chapters represent the actual experiences and first-hand knowledge of the author. His training was along these lines, until he was nearly sixteen years of age. It is with the earnest hope that they may prove useful to all who venture into the wilderness in pursuit of wisdom, health, and pleasure, that they are dedicated to The Boy Scouts of America and The Camp Fire Girls of America."

It might be argued that Dr. Eastman himself did not see the true picture of the Sioux, that he saw "the Sioux ways" through the eyes of a child, idolozing them or turning them "magical" as people sometimes do with the days of their youth. However, it must be noted that it was a Sioux Indian who gave Camp Fire so much of its Indian lore, tradition, and flavor.Historical origins of Camp FireOhiyesa's book written for Boy Scouts and Camp Fire Girls is filled with ceremonies, symbols, words, and names which he suggests as appropriate for use by the youth of the two groups. He wrote of how names were given to a person in his Sioux culture, and he suggested it would be appropriate for young people to create names meaningful to them. He included two lists. Above the first, he wrote, "The following are Sioux feminine names appropriate to Camp Fire Girls, with their literal and symbolic meanings." Then, he listed some Ojibway girls' names. Those same names have appeared in Camp Fire books since.

The source, however, was forgotten. Until I began doing this research, I'd never heard anyone in Camp Fire credit Dr. Eastman in any way. THAT is the shame: That a man like Dr. Eastman did so much, yet his name and his deeds would be forgotten. Sometimes it's important to remember to tell a man's story, so he is not forgotten.Comment:  This is the same Charles Eastman whom Adam Beach played as a tortured soul in Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, of course. Despite the tragedy at Wounded Knee, Eastman managed to pick himself up and keep going somehow.

For more on a related subject, see YMCA-Indian Guides.