More Thanksgiving myths debunked

'Thanksgiving':  Local author recounts tale a little closer to realityThe Pilgrims of the first Thanksgiving shared plates (then called trenchers) and cups, some ate with their hands and only the more important men had chairs. The others sat on rocks, logs or on the ground. It was a three-day feast with 140 people, 90 of whom were American Indians. Four adult women toiled away with the help of some teenage girls and servants.

While turkey was served, so were deer, swan, goose and various seafood. And the reasons for the feast remains a mystery.And:[W]hile the common assumption is the brave Pilgrims came to America for religious freedom, only 40 of the 140 passengers were actual separatists. The rest were there to try their hand at fortune, their passage paid for by investors.Trimble:  Thanksgiving out among the colonizedAs Nancy told it, “Thanksgiving is often depicted in an idyllic scene with starched-and-buckled pilgrims devoutly in prayer over a bountiful spread of turkey with all the trimmings, joined at the table by a small number of Indians, often shown wearing Plains tribal garb.” But, in reality, she said, “it was an uneasy three-day meeting of the settlers and Wampanoag Indians to work out a peace and mutual-support agreement.”

She cited the notes of on-the-scene witness Edward Winslow who tells of three days “characterized by the smell of gun powder mingled with the aroma of roasting meat,” during which “great quantities of beer and wine were consumed.” In Winslow’s notes, he makes no mention of giving thanks to God or to the Wampanoags, who brought almost all of the food.Comment:  These postings don't say it, but the few Pilgrims who weren't money-grubbing opportunists were religious fanatics. They wanted the "freedom" to practice their belief in Biblical obedience to white-male dominance.

What do you get when you mix capitalism and Christianity? You get people eager to conquer others in the name of God and Mammon. Thus it's not surprising that within a decade or two, the "peace-loving" Pilgrims were at war with the Indians.

This approach has continued down through the ages: from the original Crusades to Columbus's voyages to Bush's "crusade" against Islamic countries. It's a staple of Western civilization. You kill the "others," take their riches, and claim God told you to do it.

Below:  A classic compendium of our Thanksgiving myths, just as described by Trimble's contact.

Racism lives in ObamAmerica

Hate incidents in U.S. surge

Election seen as factor behind revival of KlanBarely three weeks after Americans elected their first black president amid a wave of interracial good feeling, a spasm of noose hangings, racist graffiti, vandalism and death threats is convulsing dozens of towns across the country as white extremists lash out at the new political order.

More than 200 hate-related incidents, including cross-burnings, assassination betting pools and effigies of President-elect Barack Obama, have been reported so far, according to law-enforcement authorities and the Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate groups. Racist Web sites are boasting that their servers are crashing under the weight of exponential increases in page views.

Even more ominously, America's most potent symbol of racial hatred—the Ku Klux Klan—has begun to reassert itself, emerging from decades of disorganization and obscurity in a spate of recent violence.Kentucky Victim Of KKK Beating Wins $2.5 Million From AttackersA Kentucky teen beaten up by Ku Klux Klan members in 2006 has won $2.5 million in damages from his attackers.

A Meade County jury issued the verdict on Friday ordering Imperial Klans of America's (IKA) Imperial Wizard, Ron Edwards, and former Klansman Jarred Hensley to pay the amount to Jordan Gruver, 19.

The half-Panamanian, half-native American Gruver was 16 when the attack occurred at a county fair. He suffered a broken jaw, broken ribs and trauma after KKK members with steel-toed boots kicked him as he was lying on the ground.Comment:  So much for the claims that Obama's election means the end of racism. When hate crimes dwindle to one or two a year, Americans elect the first Muslim or gay president, and white supremacist groups such as the KKK are disbanded, then we can talk about a post-racial America. Until then, no.

For more on the subject, see:

The post-racial, post-Indian era?
"Real America" = white?
Anti-Indian racism explained

Art empowers Native prisoners

Exhibit spotlights Oregon’s native American prisonersBecause of the sad history of these people, which is only now beginning to be addressed in a compassionate way, it isn’t uncommon to have three generations of Native Americans from one family all in the prisons of Oregon. And not just men; between l977 and 2004, the rate at which we incarcerate women increased by 700 percent. These people are warehoused. In Oregon almost nothing is done to rehabilitate them. We lock the door and throw away the keys. And when they do get out, if they do, they can’t find jobs and they can’t find places to live. Thirty percent of them go back in again.

In Oregon there is now an organization that is trying to do something about it, at least for the Native Americans in the system. It is called Red Lodge Transition Services, and they have come up with a way to make these invisible people visible—through their art.

“Native American Art Empowers ‘Invisible People.’” That’s the name of the exhibit now traveling around the state, and it’s coming to Bandon in December.And:It features works by more than 50 Native American artists incarcerated in the 14 facilities of Oregon’s prison systems. They have all donated their art, which has been handsomely framed by framers, to raise money for Red Lodge Transition Services, a nonprofit organization that helps inmates transition to successful life back in our communities. There is some amazing artwork here. I went up to Eugene on Nov. 8 to see the show and was impressed with what these men and women have been able to create with the simplest materials: colored pencils, regular pencils, small sheets of paper, ball point pens.

Every day is Thanksgiving for Indians

Trimble:  Thanksgiving out among the colonizedA day after Thanksgiving last year, the Omaha World Herald carried a story about the Meskwaki reservation in Tama, Iowa, and feelings about the holiday on the part of some of the tribal people there. Apparently the assignment was to gauge attitudes in light of expressions of resentment in some quarters about the national observance of yet another “colonizing” imposition on Native peoples--Thanksgiving.

Native people quoted in the newspaper article said essentially that the celebration to them was simply an annual getting together of family and friends. They didn’t feel themselves compelled to pray, feast and celebrate, and they held no bitterness. On the other hand, some said, they have plenty to be thankful for.

I suppose that this response pretty much reflects the majority in Indian country-–on the reservations and off.

Tribal elder, Roger Welsch, recalled that Alfred “Buddy” Gilpin, Jr., of the Omaha tribe “scoffed at the idea of a special day, or hour, or moment set aside for prayer and Thanksgiving because in his own words, ‘For us every moment of life is a prayer of gratitude.’”Comment:  For more of Trimble's thoughts, see Trimble to Indians:  Get Over It and Looking for Native Cosby?

How Navajos celebrate Thanksgiving

Briggs:  Storytellers weave their own Thanksgiving memories“There wasn’t any real connection for me with the Indians I read about on the east coast,” said Sunny Dooley, Navajo. “They were different from us. But I remember the Anglo kids at school would say you’re an Indian and I would say no I’m a Navajo.

“I felt responsible for identifying myself as not just Indian.”

At home in her community on the Navajo reservation called Chi Chil’ Tah, Dooley’s family used the Navajo term Kishmish for Christmas. Thanksgiving is called Little Kishmish because it is a little less than Christmas. Mashed potatoes were called smashed potatoes, and turkey for the one day replaced mutton and deer meat. But these American holidays pale for her compared with the Navajo feasts throughout the year.

Twilight movie premieres

The Twilight movie debuted Friday and fans are going ga-ga over it. It's relevant here because it features Quileute werewolves as secondary characters.

'Twilight' faces harsh glare of fans' high expectationsBefore a single frame had run through a projector, Twilight was all but assured of being a hit. The film based on the teenager-who-loves-a-vampire novel had already sold out more than 2,000 showings for opening weekend as of Thursday, according to Fandango.com and Movietickets.com. With 17 million copies of the Stephenie Meyer book in print, the actors are being greeted with a sea of screaming teens at autograph signings and fan events across the country.

"Now I know what it's like to be in a boy band," jokes Taylor Lautner, 16, who plays Jacob in the film.

"Our actors, they knew what they were getting into when they signed on for this," says director Catherine Hardwicke. "But I don't know how much we really knew."

This "cultural tsunami," as Patrick Goldstein described Twilight in The Los Angeles Times, is a story of that teen staple, "forbidden love," the love between a human (Kristen Stewart) and a hot young vampire (Robert Pattinson).The movie gives us another chance to look at Twilight's racial themes. Here's a revealing note about author Stephenie Meyer:The characters Meyer, a self-described "Mormon mom," wrote and that the fans imagined were white. Hardwicke says she first met Meyer at a book signing, "and as I looked out on the crowd, I could see it wasn't just a sea of white faces. Kids of every race seem to love the books. Stephenie told me which characters I might be able to cast in a way that would be as diverse as the readership. She wasn't as precious about the bad vampires, the nomads; and some of the other teenagers she didn't mind if we cast with Latinos, Asians."

For Laurent, one of the nomads, she cast Edi Gathegi, a veteran of TV's House and the movie Gone Baby Gone and a native of Kenya.

"We all knew fans might be upset by my casting," Gathegi says. "But Stephenie left me a loophole. My character is described as 'olive-toned.' My answer to that is, 'Shouldn't there be black olives?'"If I read this correctly, Meyer insisted that all the major characters be white. She didn't care if the minor or "bad" characters were nonwhite. And she obviously didn't care if a non-Native played Jacob, the most prominent Indian character.

In other words, my suggestion in Meyer's Unconscious Racism? seems to be right. Meyer had racial models somewhere in her mind when she wrote the Twilight books.

Then there's this charming bit about Lautner:Lautner, one of the youngest members of the company, plays sort of the teenage Jeff Goldblum character, the one who explains the vampire legend to the outsider (Stewart) and the audience. He took the part very seriously, enduring a too-long wig ("Man, how do girls do that?") and doing his homework.

"Jacob is part of the Quileute Tribe," he says. "So I created a booklet containing all the Quileute legends and traditions that I could find. . . . I brought that with me to Portland when we started filming. I got to meet actual kids from the tribe, and their parents. The kids had the same hobbies as anybody else in high school. I'd learned all their legends, but the kids didn't have a clue what I was talking about. 'Legend of the Thunderbird? What's that?'"Um, Twilight is supposedly based on genuine Quileute legends. Why would Lautner need to compile such legends if the book already contains them?

I wonder if Lautner thought learning the actual Quileute legends would make him more acceptable as Jacob. My answer to that implied question is: No, not really. But it's better than nothing, I guess.

How did the Quileutes react when Lautner pointed out their cluelessness? "Gee, thanks for motivating us to study our own culture"? Or, "Gee, thanks for rubbing our noses in our ignorance. Have fun jetting back to Hollywood while we struggle to survive"?

Lautner recently learned he's part Potawatomi and Ottawa. I wonder how he'd do on a quiz about the Potawatomi and Ottawa cultures. Not too well, I'd guess.

The message of Twilight

Here's a thought on why Quileute kids don't know their own legends. When they look around, they see a white author falsifying their legends to get ahead. They see a non-Indian actor getting a role that could've gone to one of them.

What's the message here? That Quileute people and culture don't matter. That anyone can make a buck by inventing Quileute lore. That being rich and famous is more important that honoring ancient traditions.

Look at what's on the screen. Handsome (white) Edward and beautiful (white) Bella are the stars. Nonwhite actors are evil vampires, werewolves, or other unglamorous characters. Indians don't get a significant role until the sequel, assuming there is one.

Faced with these cultural attitudes, why would Quileute kids read books or listen to elders about their history? Why would they strive to be unique and Indian rather than white like everyone else? Twilight is telling them that the mainstream is the road to success.

And if they're too poor to keep up with the Joneses? If they're too far removed from good schools, jobs, and health care? Why wouldn't they drop out, do drugs, and give up? When society tells you you're out of luck because of your background, you tend to believe it.

You can apply this hypothesis to Native and pop culture in general. What's the message when a role like Tonto goes to Johnny Depp instead of a real Indian? When white folks honor mascots but ignore real Indians? When society builds monuments to stereotypical Indians but cuts the budget for real Indians?

Answer:  Real Indians don't matter.

Rating the movie

I've read several reviews of Twilight. On a scale of 1-5, with five being the best, the reviews range from 1 to 4. The average reviewer seems to think Twilight is about a 2.5--i.e., an average movie.

I gather Jacob and the other Quileutes don't play a major role in this movie. The reviews barely mention them. I trust they'll play a bigger role in the inevitable sequels.

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

Below:  "I know Quileute legends! I'm more Indian than you are!"

Rhodes Scholar organized Lenape exhibit

Lenape Indian Exhibit Figures in Rhodes ScholarshipA University of Pennsylvania student who organized an exhibit about Lenape Indians living quietly in the state is among this year's winners of Rhodes Scholarships.

Abigail P. Seldin, of Tierra Verde, Fla., curated the exhibit "Fulfilling a Prophecy: The Past and Present of the Lenape in Pennsylvania," which opened at the University of Pennsylvania Museum in September.And:Seldin, a Penn anthropology student, said she admired the survival of cultural traditions despite the difficulty involved in maintaining them in secret.

History books say the Lenape tribe left Pennsylvania by 1803, she said, but there were some who stayed behind, intermarrying with whites but quietly continuing their indigenous ways through the generations.Tierra Verde Resident Awarded Rhodes ScholarshipShe is on track to graduate from the University of Pennsylvania in May with bachelor's and masters degrees in anthropology. Seldin said her dream job is being the director of a major anthropological and archaeological museum.

Her mother, Judy Seldin-Cohen, said her daughter has been "passionate about museums since she was 10 years old."

"She's passionate about the underdog and giving a voice to the voiceless," Seldin-Cohen said.

That is why Seldin's project, "Fulfilling a Prophecy: The Past and Present of the Lenape in Pennsylvania," struck a chord with her, Seldin-Cohen said.

The exhibit opened at the University of Pennsylvania Museum in September and will run for one year.Comment:  Neither article says the Lenape exhibit was instrumental in Seldin's winning the Rhodes Scholarship. But it may have been anyway.

Native symphony with sea chanties

Native cultures in the spotlightAs the Alaska Federation of Natives convention wound to a close Oct. 25, other events in Anchorage honored Native cultures. The Anchorage Center for the Performing Arts presented the world premiere of a new symphonic piece that integrates traditional dancing, drumming and singing and the Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center hosted a blessing and farewell ceremony for an exhibit featuring items created by the Yup’ik peoples.

Echoes, a new symphony piece included cultural performers singing Sea Chanties and a Sneak Up Dancer. Sea Chanty singer Geoff Kaufman was accompanied by a small chorus of singers and dancers; Wampanoag Sneak Up Dancer Tobias Vanderhoop was on stage with drummers and lead singer Woody Vanderhoop: a large group of Alaska Native singers and dancers and Hawaiian Dancers with lead singers Calvin Wailani Avila and Kanani Pekelo Tyson all represented cultures affected by the whaling industry of the 1800s.

All of these cultures crossed paths during the days of whaling ships as the ships traveled from one ocean to the other, picking up members of communities along the way. In the 1800s Native people became workers on whaling vessels that traveled from the East coast to the Pacific Ocean and north to the Arctic Circle. Composer and conductor Randall Craig Fleischer was commissioned by the Education through Cultural and Historical Organizations to create a symphony piece to take the story of these shared experiences to a new level.Comment:  For more on the subject, see Native Plays and Other Stage Shows.

The Trickster and the Troll

Lakota author examines heritage in operaLast Sunday's performance by the Heartland Opera Troupe ... was based on a story written by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve, a Lakota author born on the Rosebud reservation and married to a Norwegian man.

Driving Hawk Sneve drew upon that mixture of Lakota and Norwegian to create the tale of the "Trickster and the Troll." One of my granddaughters had a part as a duck. That's how I came to be in the audience for an opera about how people sometimes lose themselves when they try to function in a modern world by leaving behind their heritage and the stories passed down from generation to generation. Whether Lakota or Norwegian, such people can find themselves without the foundation of history and culture and with little understanding of their past.

The trickster in Driving Hawk Sneve's story, Iktomi in the Lakota culture, often is depicted in oral tales as a crafty little dickens, up to no good and full of mischief. In this story, the character comes to represent the heritage and culture that many Lakota people rejected, sometimes willingly, often through the force of the majority culture.

The troll plays a similar role for the Norwegian family in the tale, a being that helps and protects a family until he is rejected as the younger generation moves to America and tries to establish a new life in a new land.Comment:  For more on the subject, see Native Plays and Other Stage Shows.

Pequots gave aquarium $5 million

Mystic Aquarium honors Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation

Gift that made exhibit possible is the largest in the history of the AquariumMystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration, a division of Sea Research Foundation, Inc., yesterday hosted a rededication of the Arctic Coast exhibit to recognize the generous gift from the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation that made construction of the exhibit possible.

In 1996, the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation made a gift of $5 million, which funded the expansive outdoor exhibit that currently houses the Aquarium’s three beluga whales and the seven belugas visiting from Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. Containing more than 750,000 gallons of water, it is one of the largest outdoor beluga exhibits in the nation.

Originally named the Alaskan Coast, the exhibit was recently renamed to accommodate a wider range of species and reflect the Aquarium’s ongoing research in the Arctic to understand climate change and its effect on belugas.

Athabascan Fiddlers Festival

Athabascan Fiddlers Create CommunityNo one has to coax dancers onto the dance floor at the Athabascan Fiddlers Festival.

Shortly after the opening strains of fiddle and guitar music started bouncing off the pole ceiling this week at the Chief David Salmon Tribal Hall, dancers took to the floor two-stepping in time to Western ballads and blues.

The four-day fiddling festival is in its 26th year and shows no signs of slowing down.Below:  "Tasha Geoge of Stevens Village, Alaska, plays with the Stevens Village group during the opening night of the 26th annual Athabascan Fiddlers Festival at the Chief David Salmon Tribal Hall in Fairbanks, Alaska." (AP Photo/Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Sam Harrel)

Chamberlain loses license over DUI

Chamberlain fights license revocationNew York Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain, picked up on suspicion of driving drunk last month near Lincoln, is fighting a 90-day license revocation that started last Monday.

In a petition filed in Lancaster County District Court on Wednesday, Chamberlain asked the court to review the decision by Beverly Neth, director of the Department of Motor Vehicles.

The Sweet Sioux Tomahawk

Illinois to retire Sweet Sioux Tomahawk trophyIllinois takes another step to distance itself from Native American imagery when the Sweet Sioux Tomahawk trophy will be retired Saturday after the Illinois-Northwestern football game.

The two schools began using a traveling trophy in 1945 to commemorate the series. Win or lose, Northwestern will take permanent control of the trophy.Sweet Sioux TomahawkThe Sweet Sioux Tomahawk was presented to the winner of the annual college football game between the University of Illinois and Northwestern University. The original trophy was a carved wooden "cigar store" Indian, but was stolen and replaced by a replica of a tomahawk.Comment:  Whew. I'm glad to hear the universities upgraded the trophy from a wooden Indian to a tomahawk. We wouldn't want anyone to think they were stereotyping Indians.

I hadn't heard about this trophy. Did anyone tell the school that tomahawks are associated with the woodland Indians of the East? And not with the Sioux Indians of the Plains?

And what do either the Sioux or a tomahawk have to do with the Fighting Illini of Illinois? Is this another example of "traditional culture"--like the Chief Illiniwek costume donated by a Lakota Sioux? Another example of "honoring" Indians--like the dancing-clown Chief? How does mixing and matching elements from three different tribal regions show respect for Native people?

For more on the subject, see Team Names and Mascots.

Below:  The actual tomahawk trophy and the annual-game tomahawk logo.

Light shines on apologies

NMAI spotlights apologies to indigenous peoplesThe Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian illuminated the evening sky last week with a massive column of white light.

The display was the climax of a symposium called “Harvest of Hope,” about the role of national apologies to indigenous peoples. In 2008, both Canada and Australia issued sweeping apologies for boarding schools and other assimilation practices historically imposed on indigenous peoples.

The U.S. Senate also passed legislation to make a national apology to Native Americans last spring, though the Reauthorization of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act that contained the apology failed to pass the House.

The light rose from the top of the museum’s rotunda, located 400 yards from the U.S. Capitol, and shined for three nights between dusk and 10 p.m.

The illumination was timed to coincide with a city-wide celebration of photography, called FotoWeek DC. The museum kicked off Washington’s FotoWeek with a multi-story projection of photographs on its eastern exterior wall. Notably, the faces of Indian delegations that traveled to D.C. to meet with federal officials over the last two centuries were visible.Below:  "Otoe delegation to Washington, D.C., January 1881. Seated from left: Standing Eating, Baptiste Deroin, and Harikara (Standing Buck); (standing from left) Crawfish Maker, and James Arkeketah." (Photo by John K. Hillers)



P.S. Notice how none of the Otoe Indians were named after eagles, hawks, wolves, or bears? Real Indians rarely have clichéd Indian names.

Classical Native at the Kennedy Center

Chickasaw student music compositions performed at Kennedy CenterClassical music compositions of three Chickasaw students drew thunderous applause from music fans at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Saturday, Nov. 8. Compositions of Wyas Parker, Courtney Parchcorn and Kate Duty, all of Ada, Okla., were performed before a capacity crowd at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage as part of Classical Native.

Classical Native, now in its third year, is a series of recitals, chamber concerts, and discussions conducted by the National Museum of the American Indian. In prior years, the event featured professional American Indian classical composers and musicians. This year organizers included student composers.

The Ambrosia Quartet, an accomplished and respected student string quartet from Philadelphia, performed the compositions at the Kennedy Center and at the NMAI.

The three Chickasaw students were selected for the unique opportunity for works they composed during the Chickasaw Summer Arts Academy.Comment:  For more on the subject, see NMAI Presents NASA Concert.

Below:  "Three Chickasaw students, Wyas Parker, Kate Duty and Courtney Parchcorn, all of Ada, Okla., had their compositions performed at the Kennedy Center and the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington D.C. All are students of Chickasaw classical composer Jerod Tate. From left to right are Tate, Parker, Duty, Parchcorn, Lona Barrick, administrator of the Chickasaw Nation Division of Arts and Humanities, and Debra Bailey, Director of special projects for the division." (Submitted photo)

Sovereign Nations Boxing Council

SNBC sanctions first title fightSovereign Nations Boxing Council (SNBC) debuts tomorrow night (Saturday, November 22) when cruiserweights Matt “Too Smooth” Godfrey and Eddie “The Iron Man” Gutierrez fight for the first SNBC title headlining a special card, promoted by Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment and Sports, Inc., at 4 Bears Casino in New Town, North Dakota.

SNBC links federally recognized tribes throughout the United States and Canada. SNBC’s mission is to develop, promote and help regulate boxing in a fair and professional manner by federally recognized tribes that are sovereign nations.

“What makes SNBC different from other native organizations is that it’s not based on race,” SNBC president Pat Packineau explained. “SNBC has been created to draw awareness that tribal casinos host numerous boxing events every year and our new organization unites tribes in the sport by having our own championship belt. Boxers of any race may capture the SNBC championship, as long as the title fight is contested on federally recognized land or have off-tribal sites approved in advance by the SNBC board of directors.

“The SNBC’s goal is to bring notoriety to Native American casino boxing events and recognize the athletes competing on Tribal Lands for SNBC championships. We’re excited to host the first SNBC title fight at 4 Bears Casino.”Comment:  Actually, membership in sovereign tribes isn't based on race either. People can be enrolled Indians even if they're largely or wholly non-Indian by "blood."

For more on the subject, see The Facts About Tribal Sovereignty.

Making of Native Nations: Standing Together

Native rights documentary has local tiesA former Muskogee woman and her husband have been involved in a nationally broadcast documentary about Native American rights.

Becky Barnette Beane, 57, said she worked on the film with her husband Syd, who was a producer and writer.

Titled “Native Nations Stand Together For Civil Rights,” the documentary is scheduled to air at 1 p.m. Sunday on ABC. Beane said it is the first network documentary entirely produced by Native Americans.

“The film deals with civil rights, fishing rights, water rights, mining, health care, education, and unrecognized tribes,” she said. “It points out that many of the issues are still being worked on today, such as health care, or who is an Indian and what is a tribe.”Comment:  I believe the title is Native Nations: Standing Together, not Native Nations Stand Together. In any case, the title isn't very marketable and isn't really accurate, either. A better title would be something like White God and Red Man: How the Lutheran Church Helped Indians Succeed.

One o'clock Sunday afternoon is a better time slot than Native Nations got in LA. I guess Oklahomans are more interested in Indian affairs.

For more on the subject, see Native Documentaries and News.

Documentary on renewable Native energy

‘Power Paths’ to premier in FlagstaffCan America truly achieve energy independence and can Native American nations take the lead in renewable energy?

The documentary “Power Paths,” directed by Bo Boudart, reveals answers to these questions through the eyes of Native Americans who have made a firm decision to protect ancestral lands and resources for future generations.And:“Power Paths” shows how tribes such as the Navajo, Hopi and the Lakota find ways to bring renewable energy projects into their communities through a grassroots movement.

“For me, when I watched it, it gives hope for renewable energy all over the world, but particularly herein the Southwest—how viable it is,” Wahleah Johns, co-director of Black Mesa Water Coalition, said. “We have wind potential but also solar potential.”Comment:  For more on the subject, see Native Documentaries and News.

NWIN on cable TV

CoLours TV launches NorthWest Indian NewsCoLours TV will launch NorthWest Indian News, a half hour weekly news program beginning Sunday, November 22, at 11am EST. Viewers can watch CoLours TV on the Dish Network channels 9407/9396, select cable systems and online at www.colourstv.org.

Launched in 2003, NWIN gives Native Americans a voice in mainstream media. Given the opportunity to tell their stories to the world, NWIN reporters initiate conversations, examine issues ‘in depth’ and celebrate the successes among tribes, friends and neighbors. As a result, the very first NWIN program produced in March of 2003 is still being used as curriculum in public schools across the country.Comment:  For more on the subject, see Native Documentaries and News.

August Schellenberg in Grey's Anatomy

August Schellenberg guest-starred as a Navajo patient in Grey's Anatomy Thursday, November 13. Here's a summary of the subplot featuring him and Dr. Dixon (Mary McConnell), the new heart surgeon with Asberger's Syndrome:

'Grey's Anatomy':  I love you, I always have. Ditto.

By Andrea ReiherBailey tries to give Dr. Dixon a tour, as she blathers on about the history of heart transplants. They introduce her to the patient, who has a small heart piggy-backed on his own 6 years ago but now needs a new heart. He's Navajo and has been seeing visions of the woman who gave him the piggy-backed heart ever since he got it. Dr. Dixon lays it out for him, saying he'll have a slow, agonizing death if he doesn't go along with the transplant.

He wants his old heart back after the transplant but Rainman Dixon won't hear of it because the rules say the heart must go out as medical waste. Bailey goes to Chief and asks that they specify in the hospital rules that they respect the beliefs of their patient so that they may give him back his heart. This will help the patient and pacify Dr. Dixon. The Chief just declares it a rule.

Izzie talks to Navajo Heart Guy about her Denny-spirit sighting, wondering if he is bringing her heart transplant patients. He then asks her not to be in on his surgery because he doesn't need any extra ghosts in his operating room.

Surgery. Dr. Dixon is going all ninja on Navajo Heart Guy's transplant. Bailey tells her about respecting the patient's beliefs, stressing that it is a RULE declared by The Chief. Rainman Dixon then instructs Dr. Karev to return the heart to the patient after the surgery.

Navajo Heart Guy's heart is beating on its own after they remove the piggy-back heart. Dr. Dixon starts to freak out and Izzie stands gobsmacked in the gallery. IN recovery, they tell the Navajo Heart Guy that if his heart continues to function this way, he won't need a new heart. They say that his heart had 6 years to rest and must have repaired itself. He is relieved not to be haunted by his piggy-backed heart owner's spirit anymore.

Izzie gives the piggy-backed heart to the Navajo Man, who says they will burn it now because the spirit can cling to any part of it that they don't burn.Comment:  Schellenberg (Mohawk/Swiss-German) doesn't look Navajo to me. It would've been nice if they'd cast a Navajo actor to play the patient. But that's a minor criticism. These days, it's good if they cast a Native to play a Native role.

At the Red Nation Film Festival's diversity meeting, Yvonne Russo said this episode was stereotypical. She was referring to the Navajo's mystical talk, his connections to ghosts. She wanted to see a Native play a doctor without wearing his "Indian-ness" on his sleeve.

Russo has a point. But the Navajo's beliefs helped distinguish him from a run-of-the-mill patient. And he turned out to be smarter than the scientific Dr. Dixon. The hospital was haunted by Denny's ghost and perhaps by others.

True, we've seen far too many "mystical Indian" characters. But Indian characters with no Indian traits lie at the opposite end of the spectrum. If you can't tell an Indian character is an Indian, I don't see that as an improvement.

People of color should be colorful

Consider some of the great "people of color" characters on TV today. For instance, Neela Rasgotra (Asian Indian) on ER, Sayid (Iraqi) on Lost, and Christina Yang (Chinese) on Grey's Anatomy. These people don't talk about their ethnicity constantly. They don't exhibit (many) stereotypes. But they give occasional clues about their backgrounds that tell you who they are. It's impossible to mistake them for plain white characters.

In other words, their ethnicity is well-integrated into their characters. They aren't blatantly ethnic but they aren't blatantly generic either. A complex or multifaceted characterization is the ideal creative writers should strive for.

Until then, we can only hope to see a range of Indian characters. We saw Adam Beach on Law and Order: SVU as an officer with almost no Indian traits. Now we've seen August Schellenberg on Grey's Anatomy as a mystical Indian elder. Both types of characters are better than nothing, but let's hope we'll see some three-dimensional Indian portrayals someday.

For more on the subject, see TV Shows Featuring Indians.

Below:  August Schellenberg as Sitting Bull in Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.