Wampanoag in Haudenosaunee headdress

Mashpee chairman’s photo sparks pro- and anti-casino blogger battle

By Gale Courey ToensingA photo of Mashpee Wampanoag Chairman Cedric Cromwell published in Indian Country Today earlier this month has sparked a battle between pro- and anti-casino bloggers in Middleboro, Mass., where the tribal nation continues to develop plans to build a casino.

The photo showed a head shot of Cromwell wearing a variation of a gustoweh, the traditional Haudenosaunee feathered headdress, at the Mashpee Wampanoag’s 88th annual powwow over July 4th weekend.And:The battle began when anti-casino blogger Mark Belanger posted the photo of Cromwell on his blog, Bellicose Bumpkin, Aug. 7, with the comment, “I nearly peed my pants when I saw this photo of would-be Middleboro casino tycoon and Mashpee Wampanoag leader Cedric Cromwell seen here in this Indian Country today photo. Classic.”

Pro-casino blogger Hal Brown took umbrage at both the comment and the copyright violation of using the photo without permission or attribution, and posted a response on his blog, Brownie’s Heckuva Blog, headlined “Mark Belanger’s insult and injury.”

“He mocked the Native American headdress Cromwell was wearing. … Then in his comment section he says that ‘It could be Carmen Miranda in drag.’ Making this insult worse was the injury, i.e., the fact that he violated copyright by publishing the picture without permission,” Brown wrote.

Brown was also annoyed at the posted comments and their misspellings.

“Those who commented on this blog demonstrate the same level of insensitivity to Indian tradition. Some excerpts (the word is actually spelled headdress): 1) ‘What the heck is that on his head is it an indian headress? Looks like a bunch of paint brushes.’ 2) ‘Buy a box of beads and feathers, labled made in china, and make your own headress.’ 3) ‘A picture is worth a thousand words. And in this case, a million laughs.’”The GustowehThe distinctive feature of the men's Haudenosaunee dress is our headgear. The Gustoweh is a fitted hat made of strips of wood. The wood is then covered and adorned with eagle, hawk, pheasant, or turkey feathers. The Gustoweh is also used to identify an individual's nation. A man wearing his Gustoweh with one feather pointing upward and another pointing downwards, indicates he is Onondaga. A man who has one feather pointing skyward is identified as Seneca. Each nation has their own way of identifying each other by our Gustoweh.Comment:  I think the fair-use provision of the copyright law covers Belanger's use of the photo, but that's not the main issue here.

On the one hand, we have a bunch of yahoos insulting Indian culture. It's another in a long line of examples of racism against Indians.

At least Cromwell isn't wearing a Plains headdress. You occasionally see tribal leaders from places beyond the Plains wearing them--an unfortunate example of Indians stereotyping themselves.

On the other hand, the gustoweh doesn't look much like any of the gustowehs pictured here. And why is a Wampaonoag leader wearing a Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) headdress when he isn't Haudenosaunee himself? Unless there's some subtle connection I'm missing--e.g., "My grandmother was an Iroquois princess"--this seems wrong.

For more on the subject of stereotypical chiefs and headdresses, see The Big Chief.

Below:  An Onondaga gustoweh.

Eclipse to show werewolf origin?

A Facebook note from NativeCelebs:MARIEL BELANGER has landed the role of "The Third Wife" in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. Mariel will be shooting in mid August. We'll all have to head to the theatres for this one.

She said: "It's not near as big a scene as the book would indicate but it was a great day on set. Byron Chief Moon will play Taha Aki."To which I responded:

Are they really going to put (their version of) a Quileute legend on screen? I.e., show us how the Indians became were-beasts? I sense a potential disaster here.

Someone misunderstood what I meant:Rob, they already have. The second Twilight installment opens 11/20.So I clarified myself:

I'm not talking about showing the Indians turning into wolves in the present day. I'm talking about filming a fictitious Quileute legend showing how the Indians originally became werewolves.

Needless to say, this is something that would be better left alone. It may end up being the phoniest, silliest version of Indian lore ever filmed. Your typical "Indian spirit in a burial ground" will pale in comparison to this epic bastardization of a tribe's beliefs.

Why this is wrong

Let's recap. In The Origin of Twilight's Werewolves, I discussed Stephenie Meyer's made-up "Quileute legend." In Twilight vs. Quileute Legends, I discussed how this phony legend bore no resemblance to anything genuinely Quileute. In Flashback in Twilight Movie, I discussed how the first film presented a brief but ridiculous version of Quileute history.

Given this information plus Twilight's ongoing slighting of Indians, what are the odd that Eclipse will show a sensitive and honest portrayal of Quileute culture? How is that even possible when the source material is a complete fiction? If I were a Quileute Indian, I'd be upset at seeing a white woman's fairy tale presented as my spiritual and cultural history. Tens of millions of viewers will watch Eclipse and learn that Indians are steeped in mysticism and magic.

Natives often get upset when white storytellers appropriate their legends, make minor changes to them, and present them as their own. In Eclipse's case, we're not talking about making minor changes, we're talking about fabricating a whole legend and making half a billion dollars off it. This could be one of the biggest cases of Native exploitation in recent history.

So long, suckers

And then what...the Twilight people will pat the Quileutes on the back and give them some autographed photos? Before they pack up and forget the Quileutes ever existed? Here's what I imagine the moviemakers will be thinking:

"Thanks for letting us use you, suckers. While you're barely making ends meet, we'll be in our mansions counting our millions.

"Have fun trying to correct all the misinformation we've spewed about your tribe. You spent the last century insisting you weren't savages and you'll spend the next one insisting you're not human wolves.

"If you have any other legends we can steal, be sure to let us know. We enriched ourselves at your expense once and we'd love to do it again."

For more on the subject, see Quileute Werewolves in Twilight.

Below:  Mariel Belanger--model, actress, host; born 1973; Okanagan.

"I thought John Wayne killed you all"

Righting the wrongs:  Hundreds honor CSKT attorney for work on behalf of Indian children

By Vince DevlinThe case involved four special-needs children taken from their parents, one an enrolled member of the CSKT, by New York authorities. Stevenson had already contacted the attorney for the state and explained all the ways New York had violated the Indian Child Welfare Act when it removed the children from their home, starting with the fact that Salish and Kootenai officials had never been notified that it was happening.

The man's response, according to Stevenson?

"Indians? There are still Indians? I thought John Wayne killed you all."Comment:  Another excellent example of what many Americans think.

Recall that this is an educated New York lawyer speaking. His city has the largest number of Indians living off-reservation, I believe. Yet he's complete ignorant of Indian country today.

Instead of saying something intelligent, he regurgitates the stereotypical notion he's learned from a thousand old Westerns. Namely, that John Wayne (i.e., cowboys, the Army, Anglo-Americans) defeated and killed the Indians. That Indians are a "breed" that vanished more than a century ago.

Here we have a textbook example of how stereotypes influence real-world behavior. A lawyer thinks Indians no longer exist. Therefore, he has no idea there's such a thing as the Indian Child Welfare Act. Because of his ignorance, he allows authorities to remove Indian children from homes.

This is why we keep discussing Indians in the media: because the media is central in shaping our understanding of them. We could trace most Indian problems to non-Indians' misunderstanding of Native history and culture. The results would be similar to those seen here: "Indians are more or less gone, so their concerns and issues don't matter."

I'm amazed that some people still don't get this. If you have any doubts on the subject, educate yourself. Read The Harm of Native Stereotyping:  Facts and Evidence and learn what the experts say.

For more on the subject, see Westerns Are Hostile to Indians and The Influence of Movies.

Below:  "I did what needed doing, pilgrim."

Foxwoods iPhone app

IPhone program to offer ‘virtual’ Foxwoods, games

By Donna GoodisonMGM Grand at Foxwoods is developing an Apple iPhone application that will allow users to gamble on their mobile devices using “play money.”

The MGM Grand-themed game will simulate the sights and sounds of the Connecticut casino as part of the virtual experience.

Billed as the first casino-branded iPhone application, the new technology is expected to be available this fall. It also will provide tutorials on how to play the resort casino’s actual table games.

Another feature will give users in-depth tours of the casino--including its hotel rooms, restaurants, shops and spas--and allow them to make spa appointments.Comment:  This is a good idea, but why limit it to casinos? How about every tribe with a tourism component develop an iPhone app. When you enter the reservation, according to GPS, the phone greets you in the tribe's native language. As you approach a building, monument, site, or geographic feature, the phone gives you its Native name and a brief description of its history and significance.

Foxwoods needs all the help it can get, because the Mashantucket Pequots are losing business and about to default on their loans:

Mashantuckets near default on Foxwoods' debt

Mashantuckets hope to restructure $2.3 billion in debt; plan sees 'no impact' on Foxwoods

By Brian HallenbeckOn the brink of default, the Mashantucket Pequots are seeking to restructure $2.3 billion worth of debt, a senior adviser to the tribe said in interviews this week.

The debt is $1 billion more than the tribe's Foxwoods Resort Casino--North America's largest casino and once the world's most profitable--can sustain, the adviser said.

”We'll be asking creditors to take a big haircut,” he said.For more on the subject, see Cherokee Phone App Video and The Facts About Indian Gaming.

Native Clans Caskets

New business in Cherokee another stride for tribe

By Lynne HarlanThe Long House Funeral Home opened recently in the Wolfetown community in Cherokee. Long House is owned and operated by the Bruce Martin family of Cherokee.

The family has been making caskets under the name Native Clans Caskets for a few years and recently expanded their services. Native Clans Caskets builds a quality product by hand and uses Native-inspired design in their works. Tribal members have embraced both the casket and funeral home businesses.Comment:  Visit NativeClansCasketCo.com and select your casket now! Beautiful urns available too!

I guess this is better than being buried in a Cleveland Indians-themed casket with Chief Wahoo. But being buried in a plain box or a shroud or being cremated is even better.

Below:  "Economy Models: These have the same interior features as the best models, but without the price. If you have a budget to follow, these are excellent choices.

"Beautiful mahogany finish on solid wood with wood hand rails and a flat top.

"Shown with tan/multi condensed woolen pattern.

"Price $1,850.00."

Scalping on Tonight Show

Quentin Tarantino appeared on The Tonight Show Tuesday (8/25/09) to plug his movie Inglorious Basterds. He talked about how his characters scalped Nazis as a form of psychological warfare. He joked that Conan O'Brien's hair would make an impressive scalp. He showed a clip of Aldo (Brad Pitt) ordering his men to collect 100 scalps from 100 dead Nazis.

But Tarantino and O'Brien didn't say anything about Indians. There was nothing about how the "basterds" were emulating Apaches. Or about Tarantino's childhood Cherokee revenge fantasy. And certainly nothing about how scalping reinforces the worst Indian stereotypes.

I wonder if this omission was intentional. How would it have sounded for Conan to tell millions of Americans that Tarantino's characters were scalping people like savage Indians? I'm guessing that wouldn't have gone over too well, and Conan probably knew it.

For more on The Tonight Show, see Medicine Crow Joke on Tonight Show and "Chief" Joke on Tonight Show.

Should whites write people of color?

A posting reprinted on Racialicious discusses the issue of writing characters of color. Here are some key points from the original posting by Neesha Meminger. She's the author of Shine, Coconut Moon and a Canadian of Asian Indian extraction.This essay was originally meant to be a short comment in response to Justine’s post on why her protags aren’t white. In one of the comments, someone brought up the old argument: if white people can only write white characters, then should people of color only write characters of color? Here is my response . . .

It’s a question of power and privilege. Most white people grow up thinking they have free range in everything from the political to the personal. People of color in Europe, Australia, and North America (and women everywhere), do not grow up learning these things. We learn to BE colonized. We learn, through history lessons from our colonizer’s textbooks, that we are not the invadERS, we are the invadED.

 People of color know more about white people than we know about ourselves and one other because everything we are taught in the schools is by and about white people. Everything we see on television is by and about white people. Everything in magazines, on film, in books and on book covers is created by and about white people. Writers of color in the west almost always have white people in our books because that is what we know; it’s what is all around us.So far, I think Meminger's posting has a lot of validity. But I'm not sure her key point follows:White folks, in general, need to turn *outward* and really see what’s outside of themselves and their immediate circles. And people of color must turn *inward*, to discover the true value within, then paint the world with it. 

This is how healing happens in any relationship where there is an abuse of power. Whether that relationship is parent-child, employer-employee, or whole groups, the resolution isn’t that both parties do exactly the same thing to make amends. Both parties haven’t been giving the same thing and getting the same thing all along, so they have to get and give differently in order to mend.

 This is why the whole idea of “if white people can only write white people, then PoC should only write PoC” simply does not hold water. It is DIFFERENT. It has been different all along. So the change—true, lasting change—has to be each party doing what THEY need to do to make that change happen for real. For the privileged, it means sharing privilege. For the non-privileged, it means valuing oneself enough to stand up, focus on their own self and say, “I am important. I deserve more. I will not put up with this any longer.”Comment:  A few responses to the claims in this essay:People of color know more about white people than we know about ourselves and one other because everything we are taught in the schools is by and about white people.The logical consequence of this is that everyone should write about white people no one should write about minorities. If both whites and minorities know whites better than minorities, where's the evidence that only minorities can know minorities? Because it doesn't follow from this argument.White folks, in general, need to turn *outward* and really see what’s outside of themselves and their immediate circles.That's what white people like me are doing by writing and blogging about people of color. We're learning about other people and sharing our knowledge with everyone.

I don't see how Meminger's conclusion follows from the statement above. White people need to turn outward...so they should continue writing only about the subjects they're familiar with and nothing else. Huh?

Making a political choiceI create worlds in my books where people of color and women are at the center—not at the margins where we are habitually cast in the everyday world. This is a conscious decision. It is a political choice.Oddly, that's what I was thinking when I, as a WASP, wrote a comic book starring two Native American heroes. So far no one has accused me of imposing a white-centric worldview on my Native characters.So the change—true, lasting change—has to be each party doing what THEY need to do to make that change happen for real. For the privileged, it means sharing privilege.I can agree with this. When I published my Native-themed comic books, I wasn't thinking, "Buy my comics instead of real Native comics." I was thinking, "A good Native-themed comic will open people's eyes. If done right, it'll increase the market for other Native-themed comics.

"In fact, if my comic is successful, I can hire Native writers and artists to produce more of my comics. Or help them produce and publish their comics."

I'm sure someone could dispute my counterargument...but Meminger hasn't done it. Her presumption is that white authors who write about people of color are co-opting minority authors. That may be true in some cases, but it isn't in others.

For more on the subject, see Rob the Presumptuous White Man?

Below:  White- and Native-made comics about Natives.

NMAI is 2009 Big Shot

Smithsonian's Museum of the American Indian Honored by Big Shot Project

By Hannah BrehmThis year, the Big Shot Project is intended to draw a community together to celebrate the work the NMAI does to preserve and promote Native American culture, to reflect on the beauty of the building in its attempt to mimic the mesas and canyons of the Southwest, and to participate en masse in the creation of a photograph.

On September 26, at 7:45PM participants in the RIT Big Shot Project are expected to arrive outside the museum's main door with a hand-held light source, dressed in dark clothing. There is no entrance fee, or pre-registration. The photograph will be taken at approximately 8:45pm, and volunteers will receive an 8x10 print of the final photograph, courtesy of Nikon.Big Shot:  HistoryIn December of 1987, the Biomedical Photography department produced the first RIT Big Shot of the Highland Hospital, in downtown Rochester, New York. Dawn Tower-DuBois operated a single 4 x 5 camera loaded with B & W negative film. 37 students and friends of the department attended that event and so began what has become an annual tradition.

The basic principles of the project are quite simple. The picture is made at night using either hand-held electronic flash units or flashlights. When the camera shutter is opened, participants "paint" the subject with light during a timed exposure. Lights are aimed randomly across the scene and the exposure is created over time rather than as a result of one large discharge. All exterior lights are turned off when possible to avoid overexposure, while all interior lights are left on to provide illumination from inside to create a photograph that is both unique and a community event. The lighting is very non-directional when produced this way and often results in a very shadowless quality in certain regions of the scene.

Indians mourn Kennedy's death

Wilson:  Indian Country mourns loss of KennedyWe mourn the loss with the rest of America for the Lion of the Senate has gone home at last to be with his brothers and other cherished family members. His special relationship with Indian country and longevity of service to Indian country makes him one of our own icons. Forty years ago he completed the work of his slain brother Bobby by chairing the Special Senate Sub Committee on Indian Education, and delivered the famous Kennedy Report to Congress: “Indian Education a National Tragedy, a National Challenge.” This report launched the National Indian Education Association and the modern movement for Tribal control of Indian education.

Tens of thousands of Indian children including my own daughters are showing off their new clothes, their new shoes, and backpacks. They will sharpen pencils, and organize their school supplies; they will decorate their lockers and reunite their circles of friendship. Some will walk through doors of new or renovated schools; get to these schools in new buses, on newly paved roads. All of these hard fought victories were advanced by the Lion of the Senate, from the Indian Education Act to the Tribal College Act, and most recently the reauthorization of Head Start.Native educators salute Sen. Ted Kennedy

A comment on Kennedy posted on Facebook by Ernie Stevens Jr., NIGA chairman:Our thoughts and pray[er]s go out to the Kennedy family. Like his brothers, John and Robert, Senator Kennedy was a great champion for Native Americans. Our hearts continue to be heavy today, Ted Kennedy was a great friend: an American legend and Indian country will truly miss his leadership.

Native revue à la Riverdance

Gathering of the Four Winds aims to present American Indian culture in concert

By Melissa RuggieriThose involved with the Gathering of the Four Winds liken it to Riverdance or Celtic Woman--except with American Indian music, dancing and storytelling subbing for the Irish origin of those shows.

"No one has ever done this before. It's kind of like a native revue--we're highlighting natives from different walks of life, put together in one high-impact show," said Red Hawk, one of the stars of tomorrow's event at The National.
And:The idea for the show is a collaboration among Red Hawk, Doc Holiday, the legendary musician who owns the Power Plant studio in Hampton and Mega International Records the label behind Red Hawk's releases--and Bill Reid, one of the owners of The National.

The show is expected to run just under two hours and will include four sets each from Red Hawk and Boyd, along with 18 other dancers and musicians presenting American Indian storytelling, women's jingle dances, drumming and other music.Comment:  This kind of thing has been done before, though perhaps not in one two-hour show. For similar events, see "Out of Many: A Multicultural Festival," Music Fest at Casa Grande, and Rhythm and Roots in Santa Fe.

Viejas adds bowling alley

Viejas decides to go bowling in Alpine

12 lanes planned for outlet center

By Onell R. Soto The Viejas Indian band is adding the sound of crashing bowling pins to that of jangling slot machines and splashing water to keep the cash registers ringing at its Alpine reservation.

Construction workers are converting five vacant storefronts at the tribe's outlet mall into a 12-lane bowling center and bar designed to attract people who want to do more than shop or gamble.

The bowling is part of an effort to move the shopping center toward what's called a “lifestyle” center as retailing swoons from a recession that has seen sales fall steeply and national brands in bankruptcy.Comment:  For more on Viejas, see Sports Arena to Be Named "Viejas."

Fremont Indians in Time Team America

Time Team America: Range Creek

By K. Kris HirstThis week's Time Team America takes us to Range Creek, Utah, a remote canyon southeast of Salt Lake City, in the pinyon and sagebrush region known as the Great Basin. Range Creek is famous for its virtually untouched Fremont culture sites—pithouse villages, granaries, middens, and rock art sites dated ~AD 600-1400.

The PBS program airing July 29, 2009, illustrates the fabulous scenery in Range Creek, while giving us a bird's eye view of the archaeological ruins. An introduction to Fremont is woven throughout the program, including a detailed discussion of the Pilling collection of Fremont figurines, by Renee Barlow of the College of Eastern Utah Museum.

Other topics addressed in the program include types of storage by Metcalfe, pollen analysis from Linda Scott Cummings, and experimental recreation of an adobe-walled granary by Time Team members.

The official PBS website:

Range Creek, UtahLocated in the remote Book Cliffs region of eastern Utah, Range Creek is the kind of site archaeologists dream about. The sage-covered meadows and rocky cliffs are scattered with the remnants of an ancient people: pit houses half-buried in the sand, mysterious petroglyphs scratched into the rock walls and bits of pottery and stone tools lying where they were dropped over a thousand years ago. Best of all, most of the hundreds of archaeological sites remain virtually untouched, providing a rare opportunity to find out what may have happened to the Fremont people who once flourished here. Time Team probes the ground, scales the cliffs and learns what life was like in these canyons a thousand years ago.Why We Went ThereFor archaeologists to have access to a place like Range Creek—basically a Fremont landscape frozen in time—is a rare and exciting research opportunity. The entire scope of a vanished people patiently awaits discovery within the canyon walls. Pithouses, rock shelters, and storage sites will keep archaeologists busy in Range Creek for decades. With a climate kind to perishable materials, even organic remains have survived the test of time. Adobe granaries are still held aloft with sticks and twine and they might still been full of corn if the rats hadn't found them first.Historical BackgroundRange Creek was home to the Fremont people more than a thousand years ago. Pithouse ruins, scattered artifacts, and adobe granaries perched throughout breathtaking Range Creek canyon remain as markers of these ancient people. Long after the Fremont left, Range Creek became a haven for 19th century cattle ranchers. These hearty pioneers were undoubtedly enticed by the same lush meadows and clear streams that drew the Fremont. Cattle rancher Waldo Wilcox and his family lived and worked alongside ancient ruins and petroglyphs in the remote canyon for over fifty years. The family knew of the vast archaeological complex surrounding them, but kept quiet and protected the area. Since Wilcox sold Range Creek to the State of Utah in 2001, archaeologists have recorded hundreds of archaeological sites and features and discover new and exciting finds each season.Full Episode

Site Update: Final Thoughts

Site Update: July '09

Comment:  What's good about this episode is it provides a solid overview of the Fremont people and the archaeological process. Some of the imagery is impressive. It's not a coincidence that almost half of Time Team America's opening montage seems to come from this episode.

What's not so good is that the episode promises more than it delivers. The biggest find is a previously hidden structure that may be a granary. Okay, but that really doesn't tell us anything new about the Fremont people. It may be exciting to archaeologists, but it probably isn't to the rest of us.

What happened to the people?

In particular, the narrator hints that Range Creek may reveal some Fremont secrets, including why the people left. Uh, no, the episode doesn't offer any new information or insight about that. It gives us only a line or two on the subject, less than in this summary:It is unclear if the Fremont people moved on, died out, or so drastically changed their lifestyles that we can no longer see them archaeologically as a distinct culture. Before they disappeared, the Range Creek Fremont began doing peculiar things like storing food on sheer cliff-sides and moving whole villages to towering ridge tops. These behaviors suggest these communities were facing serious threats. And therein lies the rub—what was troubling these ancient peoples? Environmental stress? Unfriendly neighbors? Internal conflicts? Researchers increasingly look towards climate change as a factor in the Fremont peoples' seemingly bizarre adaptations, making the history of Range Creek extremely important and a timely story archaeologists are eager to tell.Since the Time Team knew the outcome before it edited and aired the episode, this hype borders on false advertising. I suspect fewer people would watch if PBS pegged the content more accurately: "A few minor discoveries and lots of pretty pictures, but no answers to the site's most interesting question." (The same applies to the Fort Raleigh and Topper episodes.)

For more on the subject, see Fort Raleigh in Time Team America.

Below:  "An example of the petroglyphs found in Range Creek Canyon. A unique style of rock art, such as these trapezoid-shaped figures, are a distinctive feature of the Fremont people." (Photo: Colin Campbell).

Note:  This site isn't that far from the original Newspaper Rock in southeastern Utah, where the Fremont and "Anasazi" people were among those leaving their marks.

Maya in Planet Earth

I've been watching the BBC series Planet Earth on Netflix. Here's the story:

Planet EarthPlanet Earth is a 2006 television series produced by the BBC Natural History Unit. Four years in the making, it was the most expensive nature documentary series ever commissioned by the BBC, and also the first to be filmed in high definition. The series was co-produced by the Discovery Channel and NHK in association with CBC, and was described by its makers as "the definitive look at the diversity of our planet."

The series comprises eleven episodes, each of which features a global overview of a different habitat on Earth. At the end of each fifty-minute episode, a ten-minute featurette takes a behind-the-scenes look at the challenges of filming the series.After the first three episodes, I would've said Planet Earth was a typical nature documentary: very good but not great. A narrative suitable for children...lots of "circle of life" moments...an emphasis on charismatic megafauna (polar bears, African hunting dogs, snow leopards, pandas, elephants)...plenty of cuddly baby animals doing cute and funny things.

But with the second three episodes, I think they kicked things up a notch. Maybe it's the subject matter, but these episodes are almost consistently spectacular. Some highlights:

Caves:  Humans parachuting into a cave shaft as deep as the Empire State Building is tall; a mountain of guano covered with cockroaches; underwater caves lit in luminous blues and greens.

Deserts:  Saguaro cactus forests; desert fox kits playing at night; male ibex dueling with their horns.

Ice Worlds:  Time-lapse photography of the Aurora Australis; skuas chasing away caribou; exhausted polar bear trying to kill larger walruses.

People on Planet Earth

The first three episodes show nothing manmade except a small helicopter in one mountain shot. But starting with Caves, Planet Earth seems more willing to acknowledge the presence of humans. Perhaps it's the fact that you can't grasp the size of underground caverns without tiny persons in the pictures.

In the Diaries portion of Deserts, we meet the indigenous Mongolians who led the film crew to the few remaining wild Bactrian camels. More to the point, the Caves episode tells us how the Maya were unique among civilizations. They had no rivers, so they got their water from cenotes--huge well-like reservoirs fed by the underground system of water-filled caverns.

The episode even shows a Maya pyramid--by far the largest human artifact seen on the series. In short, Caves gives us the first and--so far--only example of how humans interact with and depend on their environment.

I wasn't going to recommend Planet Earth, but now I will. You should check it out, especially if you have children. Renew your appreciation of the wonders of nature.

For more on the subject, see Inuit in Arctic Tale and Native Documentaries and News.

Racist pro-Custer website

Here's a website that portrays Custer as a noble hero:

General Custer Little Bighorn"Custer has been denounced as a glory-hunter who led his men into a massacre, but recent scholarship has placed the blame of the disaster on his subordinate commanders."

--in Samuel Eliot Morrison, Henry Steele Commager, William E. Leuchtenburg, A Concise History of the American Republic, Second Edition, Oxford University Press, last edition 2008, page 397And Indians as evil villains:

Preemptive surrenderIt is said that if the pioneers hadn't racial bigotry (and feeling of racial superiority), they wouldn't have seen the Indians the same way (being scalped can be an exchange of cultures!).

In the "both stories are being told" new gospel, the Whites are bloodthirsty bastards against noble, Gods-like Indians.

Yet radicals are saying that fighting Indians was a brutal act of its own because it was wrong in principle. The people who were advocating for letting the pionneers been murdered (such as Wynkoop and the infamous "Indian Ring") were much more moral persons, one said.

The exclusive GUIDE to learn the Indian gospel created by the counter culture:

The Indians were infants, sometime violent and incontrollable, but with a magical innocence. They could cut bodies into pieces, rape women, kidnap and murder children, they still are good-looking playboys whose pictures are available everywhere.

Make strong conclusions: “If you do not know the rules, how can you condemn them? How can you stick to judeo-christian values when we deal with faaaaaar more complex tribal rules which tolerated mutilations, wife beating, kidnappings or gang rapes?”

Comment:  Needless to say, all the mistakes and typos are in the originals.

The quick rebuttal to these charges goes like this:

1) The "surrender" page provides few references to what it's talking about and no evidence for its claims.

2) The gross generalizations apply only to some Indians, not all of them.

3) We don't need to "stick to Judeo-Christian values" since Judeo-Christians have long tolerated mutilations, wife beatings, kidnappings, and gang rapes. Not to mention religious persecution, slavery, torture, drawing and quartering people, burning people at the stake, etc., etc.

4) The Indians were defending their lands against invasion. About the only valid thing this posting says is that "fighting Indians was a brutal act of its own because it was wrong in principle." Yes, invading someone else's territory is wrong in principle. Duh, you stupid immoral twit.

For an analysis of a similar website, perhaps run by the same people, see Site Blames Indian "Mutilations" for Custer's Campaigns. For more on the subject, see Those Evil Europeans.

Below:  A pro-Custer defender bawls like a baby because critics have overturned centuries of racist anti-Indian propaganda. In his ignorant view, "Indians" are people like Ward Churchill and Russell Means who hate America and burn its flag. They're basically members of Al Qaeda or the Taliban in disguise.

"Frozen" comic books and Pueblo art

An excerpt from a newsletter by Chuck Rozanski of Mile High Comics (August 26, 2009):As I promised on Monday, I have yet another story for you from this year's Indian market. This tale revolves around the efforts by anthropologists, teachers, and museum directors to maintain the "purity" of Pueblo art. I'll start by making an analogy with the world of comics. Imagine for a moment that someone had the power to dictate that the 1960's Marvel and DC art styles were the only "real" comics, and that all divergences from those types of images were deviant. Under those restrictive criteria there would never have been a Dave Stevens Rocketeer, a Frank Miller Sin City, or a Jeff Smith Bone. Regardless of how much I might love Jack Kirby, John Buscema, Neal Adams, and Murphy Anderson, I think that it would be a sad world if those were the only comics art styles that I could ever see.

Well, that kind of freezing of art styles exactly what certain "enlightened" Anglos tried to force upon the artists of the Pueblos. Beginning in the late-1800's, a powerful Anglo movement arose which had the goal of "saving" Pueblo art. In their infinite wisdom, these fine folks missed the point that all art evolves over time, and that the Pueblo pottery styles of the late-1800's (as well as Pueblo weaving, painting, and sculpture) were substantially changed from the pre-Spanish period of pre-1540. After 350 years of occupation by the first the Spanish, then the Mexicans, and the Americans beginning in 1848, the art of the Pueblos had already undergone massive revisions and evolutionary changes. New forms were adopted, new imagery appeared (such as Moorish fretwork designs imported from Spain), and firing techniques on pottery oftentimes were adapted to more modern methods.

Despite all of the aforementioned changes, the Anglos that controlled the administration of the Pueblos attempted to force continued adherence to techniques of the 1880's well into the 1980's. For a long period, this attempt to keep native artists severely constrained in what they could do worked. When the first Indian Markets were held during the 1920's, it was even still forbidden for the Native American artists to sign their works, as that was considered too non-traditional. Slowly over time, however, these barriers gradually broke down, as Indian artists staged a quiet revolt against being forced to create art completely by Anglo definitions. To many conservatives (Anglo and Indian, alike) these changes are heretical, as the use of purchased clay, kilns, oil paints, and commercial wools and fabrics are still frowned upon. Even in just the 10 years that I have been attending Indian market, however, I have seen a steady trend toward more vibrant and engaging Indian art. As tribal members, such as Diego Romero and his brother Mateo, return to the Pueblos with formal art training, they bring entirely new perspectives and techniques. It would have been inconceivable, for example, for traditional Santa Clara pottery motifs to have been merged with Northwest Coast motifs years ago, and then cast in stunning editions made of metal and glass. Tammy Garcia managed to pull that off, however, and her works can now bring upwards of $60,000 each. In the meantime, her sisters, who follow more traditional Santa Clara pottery methods, are lucky if they can sell their bowls for $500.Comment:  I love the blend of traditional and modern elements in Native art. If I were rich I could see collecting Native art the way Rozanski does.

For more of Rozanski's musings on Indian subjects, see NMAI = Piece of Junk and The Pottery-Comics Connection.

Below:  "Sikyatki Birds by Tammy Garcia--glass sculpture sand-carved glass on granite base."

Reynolds and Coolidge aren't Cherokee?

Cherokee celebs actually Creek?I will give you two examples of celebrities, who claim Cherokee ancestry, but probably are from another tribe.

Burt Reynolds--Burt's Native ancestry comes from northern Florida and Waycross, GA--deep within the Okefenokee Swamp and 300 miles from nearest place that Cherokees ever lived. I was born in Waycross, but lived most of my life in the mountains near my Highland Creek grandparents. The Okefenokee was one of the last places Creeks lived in traditional Creek towns, and they never left. South Georgia Creeks still hold rituals there.

Burt's first television role was that of the Cherokee blacksmith. Maybe that's why he started telling people that he was Cherokee. Prior to that he told reporters that he was Seminole. Burt had played football for the FSU Seminoles. Well the Seminoles are basically the same people as the Creeks, so that was accurate.

From Burt's appearance, I can tell he has substantial Creek heritage, probably more than 1/4. I also know which branch of the Creeks it is from--the Apalachicola or Lower Creeks. Other branches of the Creeks averaged a foot taller than Europeans, while the Apalchicola were on the short side.

Rita Coolidge--The beautiful Rita Coolidge is obviously of substantial Native heritage, but the Cherokees are right in refusing to acknowledge her. Where Rita's family lived in Tennessee was ALWAYS Chickasaw, and Rita looks Chickasaw. Why she chose to call herself Cherokee, I have not a clue. The Cherokees only lived in the far eastern edge of Tennessee from about 1725 until 1805.Comment:  Reynolds and Coolidge could've had Cherokee ancestors who moved a few hundred miles from their traditional homelands. Reynolds's parents could've misinformed him about his heritage, which might account for his changing story. I haven't heard anything about the Cherokees' refusing to acknowledge Coolidge.

In short, this speculation is interesting, but it doesn't prove anything. We need more information before we can come to any conclusions.

P.S. As usual, I corrected a few typos.

Carrie Underwood, Creek idol?

Carrie UnderwoodCarrie Marie Underwood (born March 10, 1983) is an American country singer and songwriter. She rose to fame as the winner of the fourth season of American Idol, she has since become a multi-platinum selling recording artist, a multiple Grammy Award winner, was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry, and is the reigning Academy of Country Music Awards Entertainer of The Year.

Early life

Carrie Marie Underwood was born to Stephen and Carole Underwood in Muskogee, Oklahoma, and was raised on her parents' farm in the rural town of Checotah, Oklahoma. She has two older sisters, Shanna and Stephanie, and is a member of Muskogee Creek Nation of Oklahoma.How much blood?Is Carrie Underwood half Native American she says she apart of the Creek nation but that's all she never mentioned the side of the family or how much.

Best Answer--Chosen by Asker

If I remember, it is on the side of Carrie's Father.

I have only seen this on the Wikipedia site, not from an official Carrie site (I have not checked in some time).

The blood quantum requirement for the Creek Nation is not
1/4, it is 1/32, the last time I visited the citizenship office that is.

All North American tribes set their own blood quantum requirements, every generation the blood quantum requirements are allowed a lower percentage. Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma is very low, there is talk someone received citizenship with a mere 1/1000 degree of Cherokee Blood.

Tinsel Korey answers critics

On her MySpace page, Tinsel Korey has posted some "answers" to the critics who say she isn't Native:

FYICurrent mood: stalked

Just to let people know. I do not post on any other sites other then myspace and my website page tinselkorey.com. As well I have a Bebo and Reverbnation page just for info. I never leave personal messages on there.

I don't write on any other blog pages, nor do I read them. I have been told that people are writing as me. Uhhhhh creepy. May I perhaps make a suggestion of going outside and seeing the light, there's a whole REAL world outside with heart beats. lolF.A.QCurrent mood: amused

Q: Are you Native?
A: Yes

Q: A friend of a friend of a friend said they read on the internet that you weren't
A: That's nice

Q: So can you prove you are?
A: Yes

Q: Will you show me proof?
A: No

Q: Then I'm not going to believe you
A: That's nice

Q: I'm mad at you
A: Why?

Q: You won't show me government issued documents that could be used to steal your identity
A: Well I'm mad at you

Q: Why?
A: Because you won't give me your credit card information

Q: I can't, that's dangerous
A: Do you get it now?

Q: Oh, ok, I like you again!
A: That's nice

Q: I shouldn't be reading internet gossip should I?
A: You can read it, you just shouldn't spread it.

Q: So what reserve did you grow up on?
A: I didn't

Q: See! I knew you weren't Native
A: Not all Native people grow up on reserves

Q: What tribe are you then?
A: Anishinaabe

Q: How come you don't post it anywhere?
A: Cause I don't have to

Q: But everyone else does
A: That's nice

Q: Do you speak your language?
A: No, but I'm going to learn.

Q: Do you have a status card?
A: No

Q: But all Natives have status cards?
A: Sitting Bull didn't

Q: Are you going to get one?
A: NoComment:  Current mood: Sick of liars and cheaters and frauds. Ready and willing to expose Indian wannabes.

These MySpace postings conflict with Tinsel Korey Comes Clean?--in which Korey supposedly admitted she wasn't Native. How to explain the discrepancy? Korey could've lied about never posting comments on people's blogs. Or the person who runs the MySpace page could be a surrogate rather than Korey herself. Or Korey could've changed her mind between July 30, when she claimed she was Native, and early August, when she admitted she wasn't.

Setting aside the speculation, it seems she's sticking to her story of being Native. And I'm sticking to my position that no producer or casting agent should hire an alleged "Native" unless she can prove her heritage. Stop giving Native roles to non-Natives!

What Native person isn't willing to discuss her Native ancestors by name, clan, or tribe? I mean her parents, grandparents, even the unnamed "princess" in her background? Only frauds such as Ward Churchill and David Yeagley...and Korey.

Korey's "reason" for not proving her case--that she has government documents but can't show them to anyone--sounds as phony as a "birther" conspiracy theory. She should be willing to prove her case in private to any studio exec who asks. If she can't or won't, employers should give the Native roles to someone who can and will.

For more on the subject, see The Truth About Tinsel Korey.

Boo Boo Stewart as Seth Clearwater?!

In a Facebook note, Michelle Shining Elk identifies Summit's third or fourth casting of an Indian wannabe in the Twilight series:Michelle R. Shining Elk is disappointed in Summit Entertainment and Rene Haynes' casting choice for the role of "Seth" in the third installment of the Twilight saga ECLIPSE. Boo Boo Stewart's bio states he is Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Scottish, Russian ...and "Blackfoot." I don't blame the kid, but of all our Native kids out there I am hard pressed to believe they couldn't find one of our very own for the role...BOO BOO Stewart + Julia Jones: Meet Seth & Leah ClearwaterAnonymous said...

HE DID NOT HAVE TO PROVIDE papers cuz he doesn't have any!! And he doesn't look native! SINCE when did asians call themselves native american. He has never been to any reservation to use his celebrity to help his native americans out!!! DOES HE EVEN KNOW WHAT Blackfoot is??? THEN he is from Canada? So he is now aboriginal??? The tribes were split along time ago and Blackfeet are now apart of the tribe on the united states. Blackfoot belong to the aboriginal tribe. HOW Many of us have an ancestor with from a distance, YES we all do!! BUT if the other wolf pack members were FORCED TO show PROVE THEIR heritage with SUMMIT how COME BOO BOO GETS A FREE PASS!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

I DID contact the ACLU!! this is racial discrimination against native american actors!! WHY were they DEMANDED that if you want to be NEW MOON THEN prove your HERITAGE???? Did you all notice the press release does not state NATIVE american actor BOO BOO stewart or his tribe?? CUZ HE HAS NO PAPERWORK! HE looks asian. WILL NEED SPRAY TANning. Has played a younger version of HO-Sun Park. IT's cuz he LOOKS NATIVE. SUMMIT forgot they FORCED the other wolf pack that if they want to be in NEW MOON THEN PROVE IT!! BOO BOO DID NOT HAVE TO PROVE HIS LINK to his blackfoot heritiage. WHICH would have to have been through the CANADIAN government. HE DOESN'T HAVE PAPERS.

Anonymous said...

I AM 100@ for a fact KNOW summit did not request BOO BOO to prove his heritage like the rest of the pack members! They know he doesn't have any that is why the press release DOES NOT READ HIS TRIBE!!!! THINK THIS! IF Chris Weitz was casting Seth in New Moon or even if he was directing Eclipse, IT would have been impossible for Boo Boo Stewart to be cast as Seth Clearwater. IT would not have happened! David Slade made the call. He put Summit is a whole lot of trouble with the ACLU. This will be a civil rights issue. http://bit.ly/c1qo6 This link takes you to at least 1 article of the many where CHRIS Weitz states the casting process of the wolfpack!

Anonymous said...

I am working on the set of Eclipse as an extra in the Quileute Village. Hey they will never know who it was sending the message out! WE are mad about who they chose as SETH. We thought it was a joke. Cuz the kid looks Asian. I thought he was chinese. A few of us auditioned for Seth Clearwater and WE are tripping. We had our paper work. I am just wondering why our brothers, Chaske, Tyson, Alex, Bronson, Kiowa, ALL HAD TO PROVE THEIR HERITAGE. Why this kid who looks asian got the part with no papers? WE looked him up and found out why. HIS MOM IS ASIAN (she's chinese, japanese, korean) his DAD looks russian (SCOTTISH, russian) and whatever blackfoot WAS in his DAD is long washed away by the russian and scottish. DEFINITELY when Boo BOO got it there was no BLACKFOOT in his blood to make any kind of physical characteristic on him look remotely NATIVE AMERICAN.

PEOPLE! DO NOT SAY HE is native american. YEAH we are blogging this kid on his sites asking HIM DO NOT say you represent us native americans, CUZ we have never SEEN YOU on any REZ. ALL HOLLYWOOD ACTORS use us native americans when they want money in a movie. It makes them more marketable. BUT for us real native americans cuz WE ACTUALLY look native we have to look parts who are looking for native americans. HEY if summit wanted to hire non-natives for the wolf pack. COOL...BUT they should have done that for NEW MOON. NOT change the rules later for 1 kid. THIS GOES OUT TO MY BROTHERS...I STANDING UP.Comment:  I'm guessing one person posted all these anonymous comments. I corrected a few of the typos in them.

The previous wannabes are Taylor Lautner, Tinsel Korey, and possibly Julia Jones III. We also could count the rumors about Vanessa Hudgens, although they didn't pan out.

Did the Twilight people hire Natives for New Moon only because director Chris Weitz insisted on it? Are they reverting to their racist casting practices for the third movie, Eclipse? That seems to be the emerging storyline.

For more on the subject, see Friday, Tonto, Jacob Black, et al.

Beach's favorite movie to make

Adam Beach posted this biographical note on his MySpace page:

August QuestionSorry I've skipped a few months of the question of the month.

The question is very simple and complex at the same time. My favorite movie that I've worked on. That movie is called Dance Me Outside. When you watch this movie you can see that I am having a great time being Frank Fencepost. A lot of people don't realize that I did this movie right after a film called Squanto: A Warrior's Tale. Now, when I was shooting the film Squanto it was the first time I was away from home for a length of time. This length of time was three months and during that time I got so homesick that I wanted to quit the movie and go home. I was crying every night because I was out of my element of being around family and friends. My family was telling me to stick to it because it would be stupid of me to quit something that I've tried so hard to get. I find this to be one of the hardest things about acting...being away from family and friends. So I toughed it out. All of this experience led to the creation of Frank Fencepost.

The backstory of Frank Fencepost is that he comes from an abusive home. His father tells him that he's worthless, always yells at him, and will occasionally smack him around. So every time Silas sees Frank, Frank just wants to have the best time of his life. His energy is always directed to a fun experience. He pushes the limit to distract himself from his home.

So after completing Squanto, I found myself wanting to redirect the months of crying and heartache into a new direction of laughter. What was so interesting during the filming of Squanto was everybody thought I was method acting because I broke down a couple of times during filmmaking, crying that I missed home, when in reality the character I was playing was kidnapped from home and sent to Europe. So I just happened to be going through the same emotional experience that my character was.

I just wanted to pass on this experience of how much sacrifice is needed to achieve your dreams.Comment:  For more on the subject, see The Best Indian Movies.

Below:  Adam Beach as Squanto (not Frank Fencepost).