Disney plans Avatar attractions

Disney to bring 'Avatar' to theme parksDisney and filmmaker James Cameron announced plans Tuesday to bring the world of the Oscar-winning movie "Avatar" to the entertainment giant's theme parks.

The first "Avatar" land will open at the Walt Disney World in Florida, with construction due to begin by 2013, said Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Worldwide, Cameron and Fox Filmed Entertainment.

"James Cameron is a groundbreaking filmmaker and gifted storyteller who shares our passion for creativity, technological innovation and delivering the best experience possible," said Disney president and chief executive Robert Iger.

Cameron added: "I'm chomping at the bit to start work with Disney's legendary Imagineers to bring our 'Avatar' universe to life.Comment:  This is a potentially bad idea. Avatar's Na'vi already represent a stereotypical view of indigenous people: primitive, savage, warlike, whooping, scantily clad, in tune with nature, worshiping animals and trees, lacking innovations such as fire or writing, etc. And now Disney is going to simplify and sanitize them for popular consumption?

Will Disney's Indians Na'vi tell epic cycles of stories, plot planetary courses over the centuries, engineer great canals and pyramids, or develop advanced surgical techniques? Because these are all things Indian cultures did. Or will the Na'vi simply run, jump, fight, ride, and hook up with their magical tree? You know, purely physical tasks that don't require any intelligence or planning?

The latter, I'm betting. I'd be amazed if the Avatar attractions made the Na'vi seem less primitive rather than more primitive.

For more on Avatar, see Review of Avatar and Avatar 2 Cast to Meet Indians.

Deal restores Freedmen citizenship

Developing:  Freedmen citizenship restored and voting extended to Oct. 8

By Will ChavezThe United States District Court for the District of Columbia, the Cherokee Nation and an attorney for the Cherokee Freedmen made a preliminary agreement Tuesday afternoon that will extend the tribe’s voting period for voters to Oct. 8.

The agreement also restored full citizenship to the approximately 2,800 removed from the CN last month. The voting extension will allow the Freedmen, as well as other CN citizens, more time to vote beyond the Sept. 24 principal chief election.

Freedmen attorneys filed an injunction on Sept. 2 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to regain Freedmen rights, including voting rights. President of the Descendants of Freedmen Association Marilyn Vann, one of the plaintiffs in the injunction, said the Freedmen did not receive all of the remedies they had asked for, but she is pleased with the results.

“The settlement was not perfect. Everything we requested in the preliminary injunction was not addressed in the proposed agreement, but we are pleased that the dis-enrolled Freedmen will be restored to citizenship status with full citizenship rights including the right to vote for principal chief,” she said.Cherokee Nation negotiates deal with Freedmen

Comment:  For more on the Cherokee Freedmen, see NY Times Debate on Freedmen and US Threatens Cherokees Over Freedmen.

Webcomic on Cherokee language

A webcomic explains "How the Cherokee Syllabary Went from Parchment to iPad" in my Pictographs blog.



Comment:  For more on the subject, see Comic Books Featuring Indians.

Wilma Mankiller movie

Filming to begin Sept. 26 in Tahlequah on Wilma Mankiller movie “The Cherokee Word for Water”

By Brandy Bam McDonnellThe Oklahoma Film & Music Office and the producers of “The Cherokee Word for Water,” a Mankiller Project LLC production, announced Friday evening that pre-production for the film has started in Tahlequah. Principal photography is scheduled to begin Sept. 26 and last for four weeks. Shooting locations include the city of Tahlequah and its surrounding areas, according to the announcement from the state film office.

“The Cherokee Word for Water” will be a feature-length motion picture inspired by the true story of the struggle, opposition, and ultimate success of a rural community to bring running water to their families by using the Cherokee concept of gadugi–working together to solve a problem. The movie is told from the perspective of Wilma Mankiller, the first female principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, and Charlie Soap, a full-blood Cherokee organizer and community advocate. The completion of the waterline and its success sparked a movement of similar self-help projects across the Cherokee nation and in Indian country that continues to this day.

“Wilma worked for decades to improve the quality of life for Indian people in this country,” says Charlie Soap, who became Mankiller’s husband in 1986 and remained her community development partner for more than 30 years, in the news release. “She cared deeply that Native and non-Native people see the positive side of our communities and wanted to leave a legacy that shows the resilience of Indian people.”

The film is committed to using American Indian talent both behind and in front of the camera, and will employ and train many American Indian people during all phases of production. Additionally, a majority of profits from the film will go back into community and economic development projects in Indian Country.And:Award-winning actress Kimberly Norris Guererro (Cherokee, Salish-Kootenai, and enrolled Colville), a native Oklahoman, will play the role of Wilma Mankiller. Kimberly has appeared in numerous film and television projects including “Hidalgo,” “Dreamkeeper,” “The Sopranos,” “Charmed,” “Escanaba in Da Moonlight,” “Northern Exposure,” and she is best known for her immortalizing turn in the highly acclaimed television series “Seinfeld” as Jerry’s girlfriend “Winona” in the episode entitled “The Cigar Store Indian.” For more about the actress, go to www.kimberlynorrisguererro.com.

Actor, musician and motivational speaker Moses J. Brings Plenty (Oglala Lakota) will play Charlie Soap. Mo can currently be seen on Spike TV’s “Deadliest Warrior: Crazy Horse v. Pancho Villa” and in the DreamWorks actioner “Cowboys & Aliens.” He has been in several film, television and theatre productions that include “Rez Bomb,” “Hidalgo” and “Pirates of the Caribbean” and he has appeared in a number of The History Channel’s movies such as “Comanche Warrior,” where he played the role of Quanah Parker and also in “Who Killed Crazy Horse” as Crazy Horse. For more on the actor, go to www.mobringsplenty.com.Facebook page for the movie:

The Cherokee Word for Water

Comment:  For more on Wilma Mankiller, see First Drum Awards Announced and Cherokee Commemorative Pins.

"Bella Coola, makes us hula!"

Adrienne Keene notes how racist the Y-Indian Guides still are in her Native Appropriations blog:

Hoya Hoya, Cultural Appropriation!  Or Why Suburban White Folks Shouldn't Play Indian

The video starts with a "roll call" of all of the "tribes" in attendance--by an MC in a full "buckskin" and a headdress. The "tribes" include real tribal names, like "Sioux," "Yurok," or even "Bella Coola," mixed with stereotypical Indian names like "soaring eagle" and "wolf." They each have a "cheer"--wait until you get to the "Bella Coola" (a small First Nations community): "Bella Coola, makes us hula!!" Then they pass the mic to the "Chief" who calls up a boy from the "Soaring Eagle" tribe, asking him "what's your Indian name?" As the boy hesitates, the crowd jokes that his name is "Sticky Bun!!" but he answers with "Little Surfing Fox." It's his birthday, so the whole crowd sings Happy Birthday, accented with "Hoya Hoya!" of course.

This video is one of those things that is so blatantly racist, the stereotypes are so deep and egregious, that I don't even know what to say. The part that gets me is that this was in 2007. This was not in the '70s. This is after Indian Guides supposedly "reformed" their ways. The scary part is these are my neighbors, my mom's students, the folks I see at the grocery store and at the beach. I am a member of a community that supports this.

So when I'm walking around wearing my powwow shirts, or driving my car with a big feather sticker on the back, my neighbors are conjuring images of these "tribes." That scares me.

People often argue that there is nothing wrong with playing Indian--that dressing up or donning headdresses does no harm. I find it hard to imagine that someone could watch that video and think that a young Native child encountering that scene would walk away unscathed.Comment:  Besides the problems noted, the people do war whoops and wolf howls. Every "tribe" has a sing-song chant that serves to belittle and trivialize the original Indians.

Also note the general environment: the primitive clothes, the raging fire, the "funny Indian names," and the chanting in unison. It's all about painting Indians as uncivilized, savage people of the past. And homogenizing them into a pack of wild animals who lack language, culture, and religion. Who are as mindless as the eagles and wolves they're named after.

Once that happens, we can feel good about conquering and killing them and taking their land. They were merely beasts, like the buffalo we slaughtered, so we didn't do anything wrong. Now that they're gone, we can "honor" their savage nobility with these mock ceremonies.

It's the same impulse that leads hunters to show off stuffed animals and rugs and mounted trophies. "Look how brave and noble these animals were. And look how mighty I was to have killed them. I display their carcasses to prove they were worthy foes. In other words, to prove I'm a great hunter."

For more on the The Y-Indian Guides, see Y-Guides Still Stereotype Indians and Indian Princess "Tribes" Go Sledding.

Chickaloon Indians = leeches?

Proposed Alaska Coal Mine Divides Alaska Communities, Elicits Racist Rant

By Terri HansenThe Wishbone Hills coal mine, a controversial project proposed by the Usibelli Mine Company five miles west of the small community of Sutton, Alaska, and Chickaloon Village of the Chickaloon Tribe, is driving a wedge between local community members.

At a contentious September 7 town hall meeting that overflowed the building’s capacity to discuss the Alaska Department of Natural Resources’ mining renewal permits for the project, the Mat-Su Borough Assembly favored positively. The borough’s petition cited the mine as a “God given resource.” A Chickaloon Tribal resolution was against, said Ahtna Athabascan/Suqpiat and Chickaloon tribal member Shawna Larson, a spokesperson for Chickaloon Village Coal.

A news story September 8 in the Anchorage Daily News elicited a racist rant in the comments section that ran for at least one day before the newspaper pulled it.

“Chickaloon and Sutton now owe their existence to federal tax money that is given to the ‘Chickaloon Indians’ who, for the most part are less Indian than my dog, and who want nothing more than to leech off of the rest of us,” the comment read. “…This is about a few deciding on the basis of emotionalism and feelings about something that they perceive as a problem without bothering to find out what steps are required to mitigate the problem. We do need the jobs. The needs of the many outweigh the idiocy of the few.”Comment:  For the umpteenth time, mainstream Americans claim Indians are lazy, good-for-nothing bums. In other words, welfare leeches who want to suck on the government teat. In other words, subhumans who might as well die because they're not "real people" like you and me.

I don't know the racial makeup of the Chickaloon Tribe, but it's irrelevant. Membership in Indian tribes is based on political and cultural affiliation, not race. Too bad so many people are ignorant of this fact.

For more on Indians as welfare recipients, see:

Rubio:  Entitlements "weakened" us
Beck ridicules Lumbee woman
Aboriginals to be "weaned from government teat"
Commissioner:  Indians should get off the rez
Roger:  Let Indians commit suicide
Fox special on "Indian freeloaders"
Mines minister blames the victim

Below:  "A local drinking establishment in Sutton, Alaska proudly displays its support for the Usibelli Mine Company’s proposed Wishbone Hills coal mine."

Ayn Rand, racist

Ayn Rand's Crazy View of Native American IndiansAyn Rand (Goddess to Libertarians) had an insane, heartless and distorted, not to mention selfish view of the indigenous people of America. Below is a excerpt from the book "Ayn Rand Answers". This came from a Q and A session following her Address To The Graduating Class Of The United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, March 6, 1974."Now, I don't care to discuss the alleged complaints American Indians have against this country. I believe, with good reason, the most unsympathetic Hollywood portrayal of Indians and what they did to the white man. They had no right to a country merely because they were born here and then acted like savages. The white man did not conquer this country. And you're a racist if you object, because it means you believe that certain men are entitled to something because of their race. You believe that if someone is born in a magnificent country and doesn't know what to do with it, he still has a property right to it. He does not. Since the Indians did not have the concept of property or property rights--they didn't have a settled society, they had predominantly nomadic tribal "cultures"--they didn't have rights to the land, and there was no reason for anyone to grant them rights that they had not conceived of and were not using. It's wrong to attack a country that respects (or even tries to respect) individual rights. If you do, you're an aggressor and are morally wrong. But if a "country" does not protect rights--if a group of tribesmen are the slaves of their tribal chief--why should you respect the "rights" that they don't have or respect? The same is true for a dictatorship. The citizens in it have individual rights, but the country has no rights and so anyone has the right to invade it, because rights are not recognized in that country; and no individual or country can have its cake and eat it too--that is, you can't claim one should respect the "rights" of Indians, when they had no concept of rights and no respect for rights. But let's suppose they were all beautifully innocent savages--which they certainly were not. What were they fighting for, in opposing the white man on this continent? For their wish to continue a primitive existence; for their "right" to keep part of the earth untouched--to keep everybody out so they could live like animals or cavemen. Any European who brought with him an element of civilization had the right to take over this continent, and it's great that some of them did. The racist Indians today--those who condemn America--do not respect individual rights."Comment:  So many stupid statements here. Let's rebut some of them:

"Savage" is a bigoted word from a Eurocentric frame of reference. It applies to Europe's conquerors and killers more than anyone else.

The Indian ownership of America is based on political units--nations, confederacies, tribes, villages, etc.--not race. Membership in Indian cultures is like citizenship in any other society. It's based on common factors such as culture and language, not race. That was true centuries ago and it's still true today.

Many Indians were sedentary, not nomadic. That includes the great Amerindian civilizations that built pyramids, towns, roads, mounds, irrigation channels, etc.--all examples of permanence.

Indians clearly understood the idea of property rights. They routinely fought people who invaded their homelands or hunting grounds. They couldn't have signed treaties guaranteeing their territorial rights if the concept was foreign to them.

Comparing Indians to slaves and chiefs to dictators is sheer idiocy. Indians had much more freedom than European peasants controlled by monarchs, lords, or the church. Indeed, for most of our history, Indians have symbolized freedom to Americans. Remember the original Tea Party, dummy?

Would she agree that an egalitarian band of Indians had the right to massacre a theocratic village of Pilgrims? If she were sincere about her beliefs...yes, she would. But I'm guessing there's no circumstance in which she'd support the brown-skinned conquest of white-skins.

Tribes don't have rights?

Every country throughout history--including Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, Communist China, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq--has established some set of rights. These countries may not have enforced their rights well, and we may disagree with their choices, but the rights exist. It's stupid to pretend these countries don't have constitutions, laws, courts, etc. They do.

Same with Indian nations. They generally didn't write down their laws, but they had countless rules about who wielded secular and religious power, who could marry or live with whom, how one became an adult or a warrior, who could tell stories or perform ceremonies, what happened when tribes fought or traded, etc. And rules about what happened if someone broke the rules.

It's idiocy to think any society was a pure chaos where people acted arbitrarily or at random. Where there were no restrictions and people were free to lie, cheat, steal, rape, or kill. Like any small, intimate group--e.g., a family or clan--tribes probably bestowed more rights than large, impersonal nations.

Rand claims countries can't have rights unless individuals have rights? As noted above, Indians did have rights. But her premise is false regardless. We've spent centuries crafting international treaties and laws to give countries rights. Among these rights are the right to live within secure borders, form alliances, borrow money, adjudicate grievances, and so forth.

And again, Indian nations have exercised these rights just like Western nations. Colonial settlers negotiated treaties with tribes for peace, land, or hunting rights. They partnered with tribes against other colonial powers. For a century or two, until it became inconvenient, they treated tribes as equals, more or less.

Hell, the US Constitution grants Congress the right "to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian tribes." How is that not a recognition of the collective rights of Indian tribes? If nations and states have rights, then so do tribes.

Owners must develop land?

Is Rand really arguing that one can conquer any land that isn't developed? According to which standard of development? The US has millions of acres of undeveloped federal land. So does Canada, Russia, China, and Brazil--not to mention Antarctica and the Moon. Is it all free for the taking?

Was Japan justified in bombing Pearl Harbor because we hadn't turned it into a Tokyo-style megalopolis? Could Russia retake Alaska because most of it is lying fallow? Could China drop an occupying force in Yellowstone, the Everglades, or Central Park? Why not, if development is the only standard that matters?

We could apply this belief on a personal level too. If your neighbors don't mow the lawn or take out the trash, can you take their property? How about an unused lot owned by a corporation or the city or county? How is this different from the rationale used to steal Indian lands?

Rand probably would return to the concept of legal ownership. Which means her argument about whether owners develop their property is specious. It's a smokescreen designed to hide her justification for legalized theft.

So the grande dame of libertarianism was a racist who scorned the non-white peoples of the world. No wonder followers such as Rand Paul have opposed the Civil Rights Act. Libertarians can pretend they're interested in the abstract idea of smaller government, but what they really want to do is preserve the white, Euro-American status quo.

Curious that Rand the atheist agreed with the Christians she supposedly disdained. Like her fellow neo-Nazi Bryan Fischer, she was a genocidal maniac. She didn't care that her fellow Euro-Americans conquered and killed perhaps 100 million Indians. They weren't real people to her because they were "savages."

If white people want to commit murder and genocide, they'll invent an excuse for it. As long as thugs like her are in charge, Western nations will continue to destroy indigenous peoples and cultures. That's Rand's "libertarian" message for you: Might makes right.

For more on conservative racism, see:

Teabaggers seek white Christian rule
Rick Perry promotes Christian bigotry
Conservatives use "language of savagery"
Stossel:  Indians wer biggest moochers
Fischer:  Indians were thieves

Below:  "Inferior people deserve to die!"

Wes Studi shills for Pebble

Save Our Salmon claims Pebble supporters campaigned illegally at Nondalton School

By Jonathan GrassRepresentatives of the Save Our Salmon (SOS) initiative filed a complaint with the Department of Education & Early Development on Wednesday, saying opponents of the measure were illegally promoting a “no” vote on the ballot initiative at Nondalton School.

SOS attorney Tim McKeever sent a letter to the Department on Wednesday saying it believed three initiative opponents were on Nondalton grounds the previous day pushing a partisan objective illegally.

The letter states Lake and Peninsula Borough Mayor Glen Alsworth, Former Calista Corp. chief executive Matthew Nicolai and Native actor Wes Studi were distributing anti-SOS materials during school hours. None of these three could be reached for comment by press time.

It states this violates multiple laws against using school resources during school hours for political activity. The letter cites Alaska Statute 14.03.090 as stating, “Partisan, sectarian, or denominational doctrines may not be advocated in a public school during the hours the school is in session. A teacher or school board violating this section may not receive public money.”Actor's disappointing role: Pebble shill

By Shannyn MooreAs much time as we spend watching movies, it's easy to believe that actors take jobs because they identify with some part of a film. The wool was ripped from my eyes this week. I've watched actor Wes Studi in films for years--"Geronimo," "Dances with Wolves" and "Avatar," to name a few. He's beautiful--a classic, stoic American Indian; a noble face absent of fear and seemingly full of ancient knowledge.

He's only acting, and I shouldn't be disappointed. I got my movie ticket's worth. But that's why we buy tickets in the first place: We want to believe even though we know, intellectually, it's all pretend.

Mr. Studi has a new role. He's been hired by the Pebble Partnership to tour villages in the Bristol Bay region and pose as one of their own to sell them enough toxicity to ruin their way of life.APOC Dismisses SOS Initiative ComplaintThe Alaska Public Offices Commission has dismissed a complaint over a ballot initiative aimed at the Pebble Mine project.

Alaskans for Bristol Bay alleged that opponents of the Save our Salmon ballot initiative were distributing flyers at a school. The complainant accused Lake and Peninsula Borough Mayor Glen Alsworth, Matthew Nicolai and Native actor Wes Studi of distributing political flyers to students.

The school principal and superintendent state that this never happened and APOC quickly dismissed the complaint. Lake and Peninsula Superintendent Ty Mase says it appears the flyers were posted on a public bulletin board by students without approval.Comment:  I guess Studi's name was on some flyers. But how do you go from that to his handing them out on campus? Did anyone see him or take his picture? It's hard to make a mistake about a famous actor in your midst; either he's there or he isn't.

Studi apparently wasn't handing out flyers. He's never evinced interest in Alaska issues or personal activism before, so that's believable. But the claim that he's working for Pebble still stands.

One could argue that working for economic development is pro-Native because Natives need jobs. But traditionally, Natives value the land and the environment over mercenary considerations. If you have to be paid to take a company's position, your motives are automatically suspect.

For more on the subject, see Native Woman Shills for Pebble.

Yup'ik language rock

Read about Frozen Whitefish, a Yup'ik language rock band, in my Pictographs blog.

For more on the subject, see Natives in Flying Wild Alaska and Inuit Theme Song for Flying Wild Alaska.

Did Prescott Bush steal wrong skull?

Marc Wortman reviews a popular legend about Geronimo. He tackles the burning question: "Did a group from Skull and Bones break into Geronimo’s tomb and ship his skull back to the society’s clubhouse at Yale?" Below he offers a possible answer.

The Skull—and the Bones

By Marc WortmanTowana Spivey, the museum curator, was adamant: “The facts on the ground here just don’t line up with the story being told.” I’ve been involved in the Geronimo story, more or less accidentally, for a number of years, and agree with Spivey. That’s not to say that I don’t accept the story about Prescott Bush—in fact, I do. The circumstantial evidence suggests that Bush and his friends did indeed mount a grave-robbing operation, and that they came away with something. But with what? The historical rec­ord is clear that in 1918, when the “most spectacular ‘crook’” took place, Geronimo’s body was not lying in the kind of vault described in the Skull and Bones logbook. It had been buried in an unmarked grave, precisely to deter would-be grave robbers. The pres­ent monument was not built until 1930. There’s no iron door on it, like the one the Bones history describes. Assuming that Prescott Bush and his friends did smash open a burial vault, there are only two possible candidates at Fort Sill.

One of them straddles the grave of a Kiowa chief named Kicking Bird. It sits in a cemetery just a few hundred yards from the barracks where the Bonesmen were quartered. Spivey believes this was the grave they struck. I have my doubts. It’s so close to a main road that it’s hard to believe they wouldn’t have been observed.

The other site is three or four miles away—it’s the small Otipoby Comanche Cemetery, on a rise overlooking the prairie. A burial vault lies at its center. A modern stone marker next to it bears the words “Mark ‘Thomas’ Perconnic / Comanche Tribe / Son of Perconnic.” There’s evidence of past tampering: bricks now seal what once must have been a doorway. I suspect that the young men from Yale ended up here, having assumed that this very prominent grave must hold “the worthy Geronimo the Terrible.” If they took anything away, it was not Geronimo’s head. It was Tom’s.Kicking Bird was the name of Graham Greene's character in Dances with Wolves, of course.

Below:  "Two burial vaults that the tomb raiders may have mistaken for Geronimo's. Left, the crypt of Kiowa chief Kicking Bird, in the Post Cemetery at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Right, the tomb of Mark 'Thomas' Perconnic, in the Otipoby Comanche Cemetery, three or four miles away." (Marc Wortman)



Who is Harlyn Geronmio?

Another interesting aspect of the story is the role of Harlyn Geronimo. I've mentioned him before when the subject of Geronimo's bones came up. But now his story seems more suspect than it did before:Harlyn Geronimo, the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit, was born Harlyn Via. Now 63 years old, he is a sometime actor and a self-proclaimed Apache medicine man who lives in Mescalero. Harlyn is also a sculptor and has said that he would like the new Geronimo grave site to be marked by a monumental sculpture of his own creation. About 15 Years ago, Harlyn and his brother Joseph legally changed their surname to Geronimo. According to at least one credible Geronimo biographer, their grandmother was Geronimo’s daughter from a brief marriage during the period of his exile in Alabama. Released by the army, the mother went to Mescalero with the baby and soon remarried.

Whatever the nature of Harlyn’s kinship, he has certainly exploited the name. As Harlyn Geronimo, he has acted on television and been featured in documentaries. He has traveled to France and Germany, where fascination with America’s cowboys-and-Indians history is high. A book he co-authored, Sur les pas de Geronimo ( In the Footsteps of Geronimo ), was published in France in 2008. For his televised interviews and appearances at public events and festivals, (sometimes) on horseback he wears the type of feathered headdress used by the Plains Indians, not by the Apaches. When in Paris, you have to give the Parisians what they’re expecting. I have encountered Harlyn only once—in a shared television appearance in the aftermath of my discovery of the Winter Mead letter. His anger seemed genuine. I attempted to reach Harlyn many times over the course of several months, to ask him about the Ramsey Clark lawsuit, but he seemed always to be traveling in Europe, and unreachable. I finally contacted his brother Joseph, in Mescalero. Joseph was not interested in pursuing a conversation. What he in fact said was “I ain’t giving anything away for a handful of beads. Mail me a check, and if it’s enough and don’t bounce, I’ll talk.”

For more on the subject, see:

Geronimo vs. Geronimo Over Geronimo
Apaches don't want Geronimo moved
Geronimo sues Skull and Bones

TV directors are 88% white

DGA Report Assesses Director Diversity in Hiring Practices for Episodic TelevisionThe Directors Guild of America today released a report analyzing the ethnicity and gender of directors hired to direct primetime episodic television across broadcast, basic cable and premium cable.

The DGA analyzed more than 2,600 episodes produced in the 2010-2011 television season from more than 170 scripted television series. The report showed that Caucasian males directed 77% of all episodes; Caucasian females directed 11% of all episodes; minority males directed 11% of all episodes and minority females directed just 1% of all episodes. Among one-hour series, Caucasian males directed 80% of episodes, and in half-hour series, Caucasian males directed 74% of all episodes.And:“It’s not enough to just give lip service to the idea of increasing diversity behind the camera,” said Paris Barclay, the DGA’s First Vice President and Co-Chair of the Diversity Task Force of the DGA National Board. (Barclay also served as an executive producer of In Treatment and is currently an executive producer for Sons of Anarchy.) “These programs are so far failing to live up to their promise. So we’re going to take the discussion straight to the people on each show who make the hiring decisions.”

“We are encouraging shows, production companies, and networks when they weigh in, to offer opportunities to up-and-coming directors from all backgrounds,” said Lesli Linka Glatter, Board Member and Co-Chair of the Diversity Task Force of the DGA National Board. (Glatter won a DGA Award last year for directing an episode of Mad Men and is currently a co-executive producer for The Playboy Club.) “We’ve heard the excuses from those responsible for hiring that they don’t want to take a chance on a new director. But the truth is that the industry hires new directors all the time; it’s just that most of them are white males.”Comment:  If Chris Eyre hadn't directed an episode of Friday Night Lights last season, the number of Native-directed episodes might be zero.

To sum it up, 88% of the directors were white. Meanwhile, the US population is now only 64% white. Sounds like somebody is prejudiced to me.

Studios keep hiring the same white faces. Networks keep recycling the same white ideas. And the ratings keep going down. I wonder why.

For more on the subject, see Quotas Needed for TV Jobs? and "We Can't Find the Talent." For more on the subject in general, see TV Shows Featuring Indians.

Mexico seeks "2012" tourism

Mexico aims to make end of Maya calendar a starter for tourism

Hollywood depicts the Maya calendar's end as a cataclysmic event. But top Mexican tourism officials are betting an invitation to see Maya ruins will attract hordes of older, wealthier U.S. visitors.

By Hugo MartínSeveral of Mexico's top tourism officials have been making the rounds in their northern neighbor, betting that an invitation to see Maya ruins will attract hordes of older, wealthier U.S. visitors keen on Mexican culture.

Whereas the Hollywood blockbuster "2012" depicts the end of the Maya calendar as the spark of a global calamity, the Mexican campaign will include a countdown to the calendar's conclusion and urge tourists to visit archaeological sites in the states of Campeche, Chiapas, Yucatan, Quintana Roo and Tabasco.

"Our interpretation of the Mayan calendar is reverse to what many people speculate," Rodolfo Lopez-Negrete, the chief operating officer for the Mexico Tourism Board, said on a swing through Los Angeles with other top Mexican officials this summer. "Our focus will be on growth and prosperity instead of the end of the world."

The campaign is the latest effort by Mexico to overcome a steady stream of negative publicity over drug-related violence that has killed tens of thousands in that country and made many American tourists hesitant to venture south of the border.Comment:  For more on the subject, see Maya Still Practice Religion and Maya Fed Up with 2012.

Below:  "The Kukulkan Pyramid in Chichen Itza, Mexico, was built so that the shadows of a corner of the pyramid would fall on a stairway and create the effect of an illuminated serpent." (Israel Leal/Associated Press)

NY Times debate on Freedmen

The New York Times has posted eight op/ed pieces on the Cherokee Freedmen issue. Below are some of the best quotes as chosen by Indian Country Today:

New York Times Debates Tribal Rights v. Racial JusticeThe intersection of race and citizenship in Indian Country never fails to create a tragicomedy of tribal politics. Whenever tribes are under attack about membership policies, the reliable Hail Mary is “sovereignty,” even when it bears little relation to federal intrusion.Kevin Noble Maillard, law professor, Syracuse University and Seminole Nation of Oklahoma memberThe Cherokee Nation, like all sovereign nations, determines its citizenship by a Constitution approved by our people. No federal court has ever told the Cherokee Nation how to determine our citizenship. The U.S. and United Nations policies and courts have always told us the opposite. The most fundamental right we have as a nation is self-determination of our own citizenship. There is no treaty anywhere that says otherwise.Cara Cowan-Watts, speaker, Cherokee Nation Council and board member of the National Congress of American IndiansThe Cherokee Nation chose to remain a weak sovereign by excluding the Freedmen descendants, about 1,000 of whom were registered to vote in the coming election for Principal Chief. The disenfranchisement of the Freedmen—after they had voted in a prior election that resulted in a virtual tie, forcing this second election in which their votes will be provisional—all but guaranteed that the candidate who supported the expulsion of the Freedmen would win, and the candidate who cultivated their support would lose. This is the worst form of racial politics.Matthew L.M. Fletcher, professor of law at Michigan State University and editor of Turtle Talk law blogThe distinction between the racial and political use of blood quantum rules and its connection to sovereignty offer an important backdrop to the Cherokee Nation’s actions against the Freedmen. Without doubt, the Cherokee Nation engaged in blatant racial discrimination. Yet, as an expression of sovereignty, the Cherokee Nation’s decision to expel the Freedmen could arguably be viewed as a valid, albeit utterly troubling, exercise of the right of self-determination.Rose Cuison Villazor, Hofstra University Law SchoolI think Maillard had the quote of the day in a passage just after the passage ICT quoted:Natives safely ensconced as members are the first to step forward and defend obviously discriminatory actions, whether in a council meeting, a newspaper blog, or a T-shirt that says, “I’m a Real Indian.” So very typically, “It’s not about race; it’s about sovereignty” and “outsiders don’t understand” are the most common and ridiculous of arguments. Add in a healthy portion of Self-Determination and a generous serving of Tribal Autonomy, and there you have a typical recipe for Sovereignty Sauce.

At times, the Sauce is cooked in shady pots to defend even shadier behavior. When my own tribe went though this exact same issue 10 years ago, tribal council meetings took on state fair antics, with hooin’, mooin’ and hollerin’ at Freedmen in attendance. Cries of “Go back to Africa!” followed Black Indians around town. Local papers quoted citizens saying, “We’re trying to get the blacks out.”Comment:  Why would Cherokees be saying these kinds of things if they weren't prejudiced against blacks? Sounds to me like they are prejudiced.

For more on the Freedmen, see US Threatens Cherokees Over Freedmen and Limbaugh Cheers Freedmen Expulsion.

Below:  "A Freedmen family in the Oklahoma Territory, 1900."

Native art in Buried Treasure

Buried TreasureWith every family comes a dream, and with every treasure a story.

Leigh and Leslie Keno (“Antiques Roadshow”) are modern-day treasure hunters. These world-renowned antique experts and appraisers have helped people all over the U.S. sell more than $1 billion worth of collectibles. In the new unscripted series BURIED TREASURE, the identical twin brothers will travel across the country helping ordinary people find treasures right in their own homes.

The Kenos will show up at participants’ homes and immediately begin their hunt for the hidden gems. Some people will have treasures, while others will have trash. Leigh and Leslie will investigate items of interest using cutting-edge technology to determine authenticity, condition and–ultimately–worth.Buried Treasure Appraisal with the Keno Brothers

By Troy RogersTo wind down the first season of Buried Treasure on Fox, Leigh and Leslie Keno, modern-day treasure hunters and world-renowned antique experts, travel from the Catskills of New York to New Jersey before visiting Georgia in the season finale of Buried Treasure on Wednesday, September 14 at 8pm. After hitting the Fox airwaves on the heels of their appraisal success on the Antiques Roadshow, Leigh and Leslie Keno took their expertise on the road for their own show to help homeowners value and sell various antiques and buried treasures.

In the season finale of Buried Treasure called "The Native American, The Foreclosure & The Classic Car," the Keno Brothers visit a family in the Catskills to assess their collection of Native American art in order to pay for cancer treatments before heading to New Jersey where Leigh and Leslie discover a one-of-a-kind antique car. To round out the season of Buried Treasure, the Keno Brothers stop in Georgia to help a family avoid foreclosure on their home.And:THE DEADBOLT:  Can you talk about the Native American art that you discovered in the Catskills?

LEIGH:  Without giving away what happens up there, in a log cabin, where there are actually bears walking around and deer, it’s a very beautiful place. But way up in the country, actually near where we grew up, there are some really interesting pieces of Native American art. In that situation, we’re hoping the person, who’s gravely ill--we’re trying to help people. In this instance, we find some treasures that will help the person. But there are some things in the show we show people and try to figure out which one is a fake and which one is real. In the end, we reveal that.The full episode on Hulu:

The Native American, The Foreclosure & The Classic Car

Comment:  The Keno brothers are properly knowledgeable and respectful about the items they inspect. No stereotypes here.

I'm guessing the brothers never air an episode where they wind up disappointing people. So I'll spoil the "surprise" ending. The collector bought several items--a beaded bag, a small totem, and a ledger painting--for several hundred to a couple thousand dollars. He learns they're worth $5,000-$15,000.

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

Taiwanese aboriginals learn First Nations tourism

Canada shares lessons on booming Native tourism

By Laurent Vu TheNative dancers wearing colorful masks take the stage here, performing an ancient ritual dance invoking the grizzly bear, a sacred figure for many First Nation peoples in the upper reaches of North America.

The performance is being watched by 15 Taiwanese aboriginals, who have come here to learn the art of creating financially viable native tourism back home.

The Taiwanese visitors are part of a unique exchange program in which they hope to learn from their Canadian hosts about the art and the profit-making potential of aboriginal tourism.

The Council of Indigenous Peoples, a ministry-level body in Taiwan, has sent these young people to learn about aboriginal-run tourism from Canadian indigenous communities to see what aspects of this flourishing trade can be duplicated back home.Comment:  For more on First Nations tourism, see Tsuu T'ina as "Cultureville 2011" and First Nations Cruise in British Columbia.

Below:  "This is the 13th group of exchange students to benefit from the intercultural exchange." (AFP/Laurent Vu The)

US threatens Cherokees over Freedmen

As some of us predicted, the federal government isn't taking the Cherokee expulsion of the black Freedmen lying down.

Cherokee Nation runs into constitutional hot water over voting ban

By David UsborneThe Nation had sent letters to its so-called freedmen members, who are descended from slaves owned by Cherokees up until the end of the Civil War, informing them that they were being stripped of tribal status. The federal government quickly warned the action was illegal and would be met with sanctions.

The clash came to a head this week when the Nation was admonished in a letter from the head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Larry EchoHawk.

"I urge you to consider carefully the Nation's next steps in proceeding with an election that does not comply with federal law," he wrote. "The department will not recognise any action taken by the Nation that is inconsistent with these principles and does not accord its freedmen members full rights of citizenship."

Mr EchoHawk said the elections, on 24 September, would go unrecognised by Washington unless the freedmen were reinstated and allowed to participate. Already $30 million (£19m) in federal housing funds bound for the Cherokee Nation have been frozen. The government says the Nation is in violation of an 1866 treaty it signed with the federal government that guaranteed full tribal status to the former slaves.Cherokee tribe retreats from effort to oust some members

By Steve OlafsonThe Cherokee Indian tribe on Wednesday retreated from a plan to banish 2,800 African Americans from its citizenship ranks after the federal government froze some funding to the tribe.

The Cherokee, the second-largest tribe in the country with 300,000 members, asked the tribal Supreme Court to withdraw a ruling that allowed the so-called Freedmen to be removed from membership.

The tribe's legal retreat "is in the best interest of The Nation," said A. Diane Hammons, the Cherokee attorney general, in a one-page court filing.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development withheld a $33 million disbursement and the Bureau of Indian Affairs said it would not recognize results of an upcoming election for tribal principal chief because of the membership issue.Comment:  An editorial in the Muskogee Phoenix had a great response to the US pressure tactics:The U.S. schooling tribes on terms of treaties is a lot like Michael Vick holding classes for PETA on how to care for puppies.This led me to write: If the US can withhold federal funds for a treaty violation, can a tribe withhold the right to travel on its roads or through its air space? This could be a fascinating new area of Indian law.

My colleagues said no, to which I responded: If one side can do it, so can the other!

But seriously...most Natives I know favor the Freedmen side of the issue. But they certainly don't like the feds' heavy-handed violation of Cherokee sovereignty. As the Vick comment indicates, how ironic is it for the US to be talking about upholding treaties?

The Freedmen issue is a tough one with two compelling arguments: racial equality vs. tribal sovereignty. I suspect people favor the equality argument because they believe racism is motivating the Freedmen expulsion. When tribes disenroll people for reasons other than racism, Natives usually support their right to do so.

For more on the Freedmen, see Limbaugh Cheers Freedmen Expulsion and Cherokee Supreme Court Expels Freedmen.

Below:  "Descendants of slaves once owned by the Cherokee demonstrate against the ban."

Two Spirits is "thoughtful, intelligent"

Recently watched the Two Spirits documentary on gay Indians. Here's a good summary of it:

June Community Cinema film:  ‘Two Spirits'

By Paula Struckman“In another time, he would have been honored instead of murdered.”

This is the story of Fred, a Navajo boy who was also a girl. In the Navajo world, there are four genders: male, female, male/female or female/male.

“Whatever the gender, that is who you are, that is what you were born into.” Many Native American cultures, like the Navajo, honored people of integrated genders. According to ancient Navajo tradition, integrated gender is a special gift, a Power, given by the holy people and honored by the tribe. These honored individuals were considered caretakers of society. By being allowed to participate in society, it was felt they might have helpful insights and lead society in new directions.

Pauline Mitchell, Fred's mother, wanted her son to be a boy. When he was young, Fred wore cowboy hats, followed his dad around and wanted to be like his dad. However, as Fred grew older, he started using make-up, fixing his hair and wearing a bra to look beautiful. One evening Fred held a family conference and announced he wanted to be a girl. His brother made one comment, “Be careful.”

Pauline accepted Fred's decision and told the priest that it was time to prepare a celebration feast immediately—a concept not embraced by the priest and his Christian morals.And:Two Spirits is a beautifully produced film documenting the tragic death of a transgender 16-year-old Navajo. Beyond that, it is a thoughtful, intelligent insight of contrasting views of sexuality. As suggested in the film, “Two Spirits,” the term used to define a person having both male and female spirits within the same body, makes homosexuality more easily explained than labels such as “lesbian” or “gay” and can be readily translated into other languages.

If everyone could journey into the Navajo world and share the view of a two-spirited person, the world would be a more tolerant place. Take this journey and view “Two Spirits.”Comment:  I'm not sure Two Spirits will sway anyone who dislikes gays. It doesn't have a killer argument other than "live and let live" and "do unto others as you would have them do unto you." But I agree that it's thoughtful and intelligent. It's worth a look if you're interested in the issues.

For more on the subject, see Two Spirits Documentary on PBS and Two Spirits Documentary Reviewed.

Limbaugh cheers Freedmen expulsion

Rush Limbaugh Celebrates Native Americans For Refusing To Obey US Government

By Jon BershadThe story that caught Limbaugh’s eye is the battle between the Cherokee Nation and the US government over whether or not they have to allow the “freedmen” to vote in tribal matters. The freedment are black descendants of slaves the Cherokees owned centuries ago. Since being freed, they have remained living with the tribe. However, the tribe has recently decided that they can’t vote in elections of tribal leaders since they don’t have direct Cherokee ancestry. The government has told the tribe that, if the freedmen can’t vote, they will not recognize the election results as valid.

Yes, Native Americans and slave descendants. It certainly seems like the sort of story just waiting for Limbaugh to say something off-color about. However, today he was just too distracted by the Cherokee specifics. “They have their own Supreme Court?!” he marveled.

“So we have a whole little country here operating in America with their own rules,” Limbaugh summed up. “They need the largesse of the federal government but they don’t want to live with federal rules. I kind of like that.”Comment:  It goes without saying that Limbaugh is ignorant about tribal sovereignty and Indian law. I'm guessing he's surprised Indians still exist.

I'm confident he knows nothing about the Freedmen issue. In fact, I bet he's cheering the Cherokees for expelling the Freedmen because he doesn't like blacks.

"I'm glad someone isn't afraid to deal with America's welfare moochers and cheaters," he might've said. "While the liberal elites in the US government bow and scrape to the darkies, the savage Indians are willing to teach them a lesson."

For more on Limbaugh, see Limbaugh Lies About Thanksgiving and Limbaugh:  Indians = "Redskins," "Clowns." For more on the Freedmen, see US Threatens Cherokees Over Freedmen and Cherokee Supreme Court Expels Freedmen.

Perry's "Response" broke cannibal curse?!

Jacobs:  'The Response' Broke The Curse Of Native American Cannibals

By Brian TashmanAs we’ve been reporting, self-proclaimed prophet Cindy Jacobs has dedicated her show God Knows to discussing how lands are cursed by sins like abortion, adultery and homosexuality, calling on Christians to literally take control over the weather and reverse the curse. In the fourth part of the series, Jacobs claims that lands are cursed with violence because they were previously inhabited by Native Americans who “did blood sacrifice” and “were cannibals and they ate people.”

Fortunately, Jacobs maintains, Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s The Response prayer rally in Houston broke the curse and “the land is starting to rejoice, you see, because of that prayer.”

This concept of curses left by Native Americans has a large foothold in the New Apostolic Reformation, and today Bruce Wilson reported that NAR figures Chuck Pierce, John Benefiel, Tom Schlueter and Jay Swallow recently participated in an event in Teas that involved “smashing of Native American art objects” in order to “divorce and tear down the principalities of Baal, Asherah and Leviathan.” Like Benefiel and Swallow, Jacobs was an official endorser of The Response.

Here's the complete quote:You study the area and you find out what happened? What did the indigenous people worship? If they did blood sacrifice, like we found some areas that were very, very violent because the former culture was a murderous, violent area, like in Texas here and all of the coast around Houston and Galveston and some of that area, the Native American people were cannibals and they ate people. And so you can see a manifestation of that in the churches where people turned against people and kind of cannibalized other people’s ministries. So there’s been a lot of prayer over that in Houston, Texas, they’ve done a lot of intercession over that and broke the curses on the land. We just had a prayer meeting in Houston a little a week ago, the governor of Texas, really as an individual instigated this, and 35,000 people showed up to pray and it was only a prayer meeting called within three months, three month period of time. So what happened? The land is starting to rejoice, you see, because of that prayer.Comment:  Wow. We knew these people--conservative Christian Tea Party Republicans--were bigots and racists. Their views range from mild--blacks don't quite fit in--to extreme--Latinos/Jews/Muslims/Indians/gays are trying to take over and impose their monstrous one-world agenda on us.

Even so, it's amazing to see their prejudice so nakedly displayed. Because the Aztecs and a few others practiced human sacrifice, thousands of cultures spread over tens of thousands of years are evil. According to these racists, Indians are devil-worshiping demons from hell. When we broke our treaties with them, rounded them up like cattle, and massacred them, they only got what they deserved. When you're faced with rabid dogs and mass-murdering Indians, all you can do is exterminate them.

Why Perry is no. 1

Jacobs isn't just some fringe figure. She endorsed Rick Perry's event and he accepted her endorsement. He proudly attended the event knowing people like Jacobs and Bryan Fischer were behind it. And Rick Perry is the leading Republican candidate for president in the polls.

Perry isn't the most popular Republican candidate these days despite his racist supporters. He's the most popular Republican candidate these days because of his racist supporters. When he attacks Social Security, illegal immigration, or global warming--when he talks about everyone he's executed under "Texas justice"--his supporters know what he means. He's protecting "us" from "them"--the brown-skinned un-American "traitors" who would destroy our way of life.

In other words, he's telling white Christian conservatives that he understands their racist fears. He'll man the barricades against the minorities, liberals, secularists, and "elitists" who would force "his" people to give up their privileged positions. He'll make sure that "equal protection under the law" doesn't apply to anyone except the "right" people. You know, Sarah Palin's "real" Americans.

And where are the Limbaughs and Becks on this issue? Has anyone in the right-wing media denounced Cindy Jacobs for her racist screed against Indians? No, of course not. Pundits like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck share Jacobs's views. They've each made racist assertions many times before.

This is standard dogma in the Republican Tea Party: that blacks, Latinos, and other minorities are inferior. That they're poor and uninsured only because they're lazy, good-for-nothing bus. Jacobs has simply said what others think: that dark-skinned minorities have equally dark souls.

For more on the subject, see:

Whites think they're discriminated against
Teabaggers seek white Christian rule
Rick Perry promotes Christian bigotry
Conservatives use "language of savagery"
Stossel:  Indians are biggest moochers
Whites feel like a minority
Fischer:  Indians were thieves

Below:  How conservative Christians see Indians. How they see all minorities, really.

Boy Scouts build Chumash village

Boy Scouts Help Build Chumash Village

The reproduction of a local Native American village will be the newest exhibit at the Leonis Adobe Museum.

By Arin MikailianA group of boy scouts are helping recreate a Chumash village at Calabasas Creek Park that will one day be the newest exhibit at the neighboring Leonis Adobe Museum.

"The newly constructed Chumash Village is probably located on or very near the original Chumash settlement," said Museum Director Diane Ramadan, who came up with the idea for the project, in a press release.

Boy scout Jason Scott-Sheets was looking for his latest volunteer effort when he heard about the museum's venture and decided to help out.

"To earn my Eagle Scout Badge, I decided to research, design and build an authentic Chumash village,” said the 16-year-old, who attends Chaminade High School, in a press release.Chumash settlement under construction in Calabasas

By Lois JulienLeonis Adobe Museum says construction has begun on a Chumash village at Calabasas Creek Park.

Jason Scott-Sheets and members of Boy Scout Troop 127 have begun building ramadas, granary stands, a drying rack, dance fence and fire circle at the park adjacent to Leonis Adobe Museum in Old Town Calabasas.

Native American tribes, including the Chumash and the Tongva, lived throughout Southern California for thousands of years prior to the first European contact. Spanish explorers and missionaries reported seeing a Native American settlement along Calabasas Creek when they rode through the valley in the 1700s.

“The newly constructed Chumash Village is probably located on or very near the original Chumash settlement,” said Diane Ramadan, Leonis Adobe museum director.Comment:  Compare this to the Boy Scouts who dress up and dance as Indians. This kind of activity is infinitely preferable. It teaches the boys about Indians without confusing them or the public about who is an Indian.

For more on Boy Scouts and Indians, see Boy Scout Dances at Powwows and Boy Scout "Indian Dance Teams."