Depp admits Tonto costume's origin

Johnny Depp reveals origins of Tonto makeup from 'The Lone Ranger'--EXCLUSIVE

By Anthony BreznicanWhile there has been wild speculation about where Depp took his visual cues (including a theory he was mimicking Marilyn Manson), Depp tells EW about how he actually developed the look, and we reveal the image that inspired him.

“I’d actually seen a painting by an artist named Kirby Sattler, and looked at the face of this warrior and thought: That’s it,” Depp said in a recent interview. “The stripes down the face and across the eyes … it seemed to me like you could almost see the separate sections of the individual, if you know what I mean.”

Well, not really … Separate sections of the individual?

Depp explained that the lines of paint on the Native American’s face looked to him like a cross-section of the man’s emotional life. “There’s this very wise quarter, a very tortured and hurt section, an angry and rageful section, and a very understanding and unique side. I saw these parts, almost like dissecting a brain, these slivers of the individual,” he said.”That makeup inspired me.”

You can see more of Sattler’s work here: http://kirbysattler.sattlerartprint.com/

The painting also provided inspiration for Tonto’s headdress. “It just so happened Sattler had painted a bird flying directly behind the warrior’s head. It looked to me like it was sitting on top,” Depp said, which led him to another eureka moment. “I thought: Tonto’s got a bird on his head. It’s his spirit guide in a way. It’s dead to others, but it’s not dead to him. It’s very much alive.”

The title of Sattler’s original work is “I Am Crow,” and although there are Crow peoples native to the northern part of the American Midwest, Sattler says his paintings are not meant to refer to specific tribes. In the new film, Tonto is technically a full-blooded Comanche, and Depp identifies in real life as part Cherokee and Creek Indian, based on a Kentucky great-grandmother’s ancestry, so the character is proving to be less historically specific to one tribe than a blend of various cultures and influences.

Sattler himself, who licensed the look of his painting to the filmmakers, tells EW his work is a fusion of history and fiction. “The portraits I paint are composites created from a variety of visual references coupled with my imagination,” he says. “While being broadly based in a historical context, my paintings are not intended to be viewed as historically accurate. I used the combination of face paint and headdress as an artistic expression to symbolize the subject’s essence and his affinity to the Crow.”

Comment:  Naturally, this revelation led to more rants on the subject. Including this mini-dialogue with someone on Facebook:

‎"Johnny Depp reveals origins of Tonto makeup"--he fabricated it from a painting with no basis in historical reality.

I'm glad to see that all of us who guessed Depp's source and motivation were basically right. He "honors" and "respects" Indians by inventing one out of thin air. Just like a million hipsters, New Agers, and other wannabes.What else could he do? He's playing an invented Indian.He could've researched the Comanche of Texas and made Tonto look like one of them. Tonto is an invented member of a real tribe and a real race, not some sci-fi creature from another planet.

When Hollywood starts inventing looks for gold prospectors and Cavalry soldiers--some of Tonto's contemporaries--then it can invent Tonto's look too. Heck, let's put a crow on everyone's head: the Lone Ranger, the schoolmarm, the saloon-keeper, et al. What's the justification for singling out the Indian for this treatment?

In short, "Hollywood invents things" is no excuse whatsoever. Hollywood invents things based on racist stereotypes that apply to minorities but not to whites. That's the problem we're noting here.

It's the same reason cartoon Indian mascots are wrong but cartoon cowboy or pirate mascots are okay. One discriminates on the basis of race and is thus racist; the other doesn't.Tonto was Comanche?I think he was unspecified in the original, made Apache in one or two versions, and is considered Comanche this time. The setting is Texas in the mid-19th century--the Lone Ranger is a former Texas Ranger--so the primary choices are Comanche or Apache. You'd have to stretch to imagine a Tlingit, Cree, or Mohawk Indian in that time and place.

More thoughts

Note what sounds like a disconnect between Depp and Sattler. Depp thinks the crow is flying behind the Indian's head. Sattler talks about the "headdress"--but the only thing resembling a headdress is the crow. Ergo, the crow must be on the Indian's head, not behind it.

So Depp not only falsified a Comanche look from a Crow painting, he falsified what was in the painting itself. He decided his fairy-tale dream of an Indian--like his fairy-tale dream of a pirate--was more important than anything. "I saw a crow flying in a painting and thought it belonged on Tonto's head."

An Indian with a spirit animal on his head...why not? Apparently Depp thinks all Indians are touchy-feely mystics who talk to animals, commune with the dead, and so forth. They're supernatural beings, like warlocks, elves, or fairies, not real people.

Let's also note that we can dismiss the Depp defenders who said he wouldn't stereotype Indians, he has no control over the costume, etc. You were all very, very wrong.

As I thought, Depp's understanding of Indians is superficial and stereotypical. If you saw his "Cherokee" tattoo of a Plains chief in a headdress, you might've guessed this.



To sum it up:

Depp's motivation is the same as those who dress up as Indians for Halloween or beer parties: "I wanna look like my fantasy of an Indian."

How a Hollywood star thinks: "I saw a funny-looking Indian somewhere. I'll use that look in my big-budget movie and cement it in people's minds worldwide."

This is why you cast Natives, not wannabes, to play Natives. Even if Depp does everything right in the movie, his "spirit animal" costume and character will influence millions of opinions. A non-Native is determining what many people will think about Indians for years to come.

Sure, a Native actor might've made the same choices...but it isn't likely. A Native actor probably wouldn't have the same sense of white entitlement. He wouldn't have thought, "My vision of Native life is better than reality. I'm a star so I know best."

For more on Johnny Depp and his costume choices, see Tonto as a "Spirit Warrior" and Johnny Depp in a Crow Headdress. For more on the issue of his playing Tonto, see Open Letter to Johnny Depp's Tonto and Why Tonto Matters.

Native wisdom for Earth Day

For Earth Day, Quotable Native Wisdom About the Environment“One does not sell the earth upon which the people walk.” —Crazy Horse

“I love the land of winding waters more than all the rest of the world. A man who would not love his father’s grave is worse than a wild animal.” —Chief Joseph

“I was warmed by the sun, rocked by the winds and sheltered by the trees, as other Indian babes. I can go everywhere with a good feeling.” —Geronimo

“The land is sacred. These words are at the core of your being. The land is our mother, the rivers our blood. Take our land away and we die. That is, the Indian in us dies.” —Mary Brave Bird

The Great Spirit is in all things: he is in the air we breathe. The Great Spirit is our father, but the earth is our mother. She nourishes us; that which we put into the ground she returns to us.” —Big Thunder (Bedagi) Wabanaki Algonquin

“Treat the earth well. It was not given to you by your parents—it was loaned to you by your children.” —Indian proverbComment:  For more on Indians and the environment, see Natives Endorse Mother Earth Accord and Keystone XL Pipeline Halted.

Repeated stereotypes become the "truth"

OU professor publishes book to modernize view of American Indians

By Ajinur SetiwaldiThe point of Carstarphen’s book is not to eliminate historic and cultural images of American Indians but to depict them in a contemporary light in modern media, Carstarphen said.

“I don’t think whatever American Indians bring to the table in terms of their own distinct culture, language and customs should be ignored in the goal of fair portrayal in the media,” Carstarphen said. “But the challenge is to reflect the complexities. There is no ‘one way fits all.’”

The media is a powerful force in the development of ideas and images, Carstarphen said.

“If these things are repeated over and over again through mass media, the rest of us accept them as the truth,” Carstarphen said.

The media influences how we identify people, and the imagery associated with American Indians through the media is stuck in the past, Sanchez said.

“In a recent study I completed, 100 percent of fourth graders drew pictures of Indians in 17th century garb—beads and feathers, breech cloths and standing in front of tepees,” Sanchez said. “American Indians are the only ethnic cultures that continue to have their identities continually shaped by the media as we existed 300 years ago and not as cultures that have evolved or progressed beyond the beads-and-feathers image.”

Carstarphen said that their work also looks to media issues through a historical lens.

American Indians were perceived as threats and obstacles to expansion, and our media tried to justify the atrocities against American Indians by creating a certain image of them, Carstarphen said.

“Our media depicted them as savages, heathens or simplistic,” Carstarphen said.Comment:  Carstarphen has it exactly right. "The media is a powerful force in the development of ideas and images"...bingo.

For more on the subject, see Why Tonto Matters and Thousands of Indian Movies and TV Shows.

Below:  The mass media teaches a generation that Indians are secondary and servile to the white man. Note that it doesn't matter which tribe Tonto comes from or whether his costume is authentic. The overall Native theme is that Indians are less important than whites. And that's something most viewers won't question as a fiction.

Women and Indians as "welfare queens"

What We Still Get Wrong About Women and Work

The question we should be asking is not whether domestic caregiving is more or less important than wage work—they’re both crucial, and crucially different.

By Michelle ChenThe distorted framing of the debate is captured in Mitt Romney’s contradictory comments about forcing mothers receiving public assistance into the labor force—in order to instill in them the “dignity of work.” This myopic binary between women of poverty and women of privilege reflects the evolution of the federal welfare state throughout the 20th century.

Poor women, who evidently lack dignity, must redeem themselves through work, while the apparently inborn dignity of their affluent counterparts allows them to embody feminine virtue by staying within the domestic sphere. And if they volunteer to climb the career ladder, they’re vaunted as supermoms.

Part of this mentality stems from a reactionary, often racialized construction of the “deserving” versus the “undeserving” poor. The argument is also steeped in the corrosive cultural assumption that poor women’s social value derives from their labor or reproductive capacity, not their humanity, intellect or relationships.

The counterpoint to Ann Romney’s domestic sainthood is the right’s fictional “welfare queen,” the unwed mother who supposedly leeches off the state with abandon and embodies corrupt, uncontrollable fertility.

And that’s where the “dignity of work” comes in, to discipline the unruly woman and keep her in her place, safely below the poverty line. Neoliberals like Newt Gingrich have sought to broaden the attack on poor women by advocating for the use of the child welfare as a punitive tool, sweeping kids into state custody to “rescue” them from disadvantaged mothers and their communities. So much for family values.Comment:  Arguments about the "deserving" versus the "undeserving" poor also apply to blacks, Latinos, and other minorities. In the Native field, "bad" Indians are the ones who don't pay taxes, get checks from the government, and get rich via casinos without working. "Good" Indians are, well, the dead ones.

Seriously. Indians were brave and noble, we tell ourselves. But now they're corrupt and degraded. We worship the dead ones while scorning the live ones as fakes (not enough blood) or sellouts.

For more on Indians as welfare recipients, see Republicans Want to "Keep America America" and Attawapiskat Triggers "Welfare" Stereotypes.

Funny Face and Crazy Horse beverages

From Slavery to Raspberry-Flavored Indians: America’s Obsession With Stereotypes

By Julianne JenningsBy the ‘60s racist products began to decline, because of changes brought on by the civil rights movement. This transformation is marked by the debut of Funny Face, Pillsbury’s answer to their competition, Kool-Aid. The brand was launched in 1964 and originally included the goofy-looking characters, Injun Orange and Chinese Cherry. There is no record of a public reaction, but a year later, the two were replaced for Choo-Choo Cherry and Jolly Olly Orange.

Under repeated pressure by NAACP, the Aughinbaugh canning company of Biloxi Mississippi, changed the name of its oysters from “Nigger Head Brand” to “Negro Head Brand.” Negro means ‘black’ in Spanish and Portuguese linking the word to the international slave trade during colonial expeditions to Negroland, an invented European term for various West African inland states favored for slaves.

Segal also writes, Crazy Horse malt liquor was introduced in 1992. The estate of Crazy Horse and the Rosebud Sioux Tribe were appalled; the brand seemed to reinforce the idea that Native Americans are prone to alcoholism. Once again the company stuck with the product only for as long as the upside of cash flow outweighed the downside of adverse publicity. Stroh Brewery sold the brand and in 2001 apologized at a ceremony at the Rosebud Reservation, handing over “culturally appropriate” damages, which included seven racehorses and 32 braids of sweet grass. With less fanfare, the brand’s second owners dropped Crazy Horse’s face from the bottle and renamed the beverage Crazy Stallion in 2004.Comment:  This column gives you a small sample of the endless variety of black and Native stereotypes.

You may have heard of Crazy Horse malt liquor. I've mentioned it before. But the Injun Orange drink isn't well-known. I remember it from 50 years ago, but most people won't.

Sadly, the 1960s were supposedly a more enlightened area. I'm sure some marketing exec said, "Hey, we haven't featured any minorities on our products. Let's include an Indian and a Chinaman to show how sensitive we are."

"Good idea," said another exec. "Besides, the Indian has a big nose and warpaint. And the Chinaman has squinty eyes and buck teeth. They qualify as funny faces for our Funny Face line."

For more on the subject, see Stereotypes Disappear "Organically"? and Mercurie on 1960s Westerns.

Thoughts on Tonto's facepaint

I'm waiting for pix of Johnny Depp dressed as Tonto but not in facepaint. Because traditional Indians didn't go around in paint 99% of the time.

I can just imagine it. Here's the Lone Ranger talking to Tonto:

"Dude, we're alone here in Monument Valley. You don't have to wear facepaint to impress me.

"Dude, another bathroom break? You don't need facepaint for that.

"You may want to check your bedroll, buddy. You got the white gunk all over it.

"Do you have smallpox scars or something? If so, I understand why you'd want to cover them up.

‎"But if you're trying for a circus gig, count me out."

For more on Johnny Depp as Tonto, see Bruckheimer Defends Casting Depp and Open Letter to Johnny Depp's Tonto.

Below:  Johnny Depp meets Navajo leaders as Tonto.

Gaffigan's Mt. Rushmore joke

Comedian Jim Gaffigan appeared on Conan O'Brien recently. He noted that his family had toured America on vacation and visited Mt. Rushmore. The dialogue continued:GAFFIGAN: You know, the Black Hills of South Dakota truly are--they're beautiful, they're sacred to the Lakota Indians--

O'BRIEN: Very--their most sacred land.

GAFFIGAN: --and, out of respect, we carved four white guys into a mountain.

[Imitating the Indians and the carvers.]

"This land is sacred." "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, we'll be done here in a second. These fellas were all about freedom. Especially the two guys that owned slaves."

(At the 3:12 mark.)

Native reactions

Columnist Gyasi Ross discussed the Native response to this joke:

How Many White Comedians Does It Take to Make Some Indians Happy?

By Gyasi RossHis joke happened to mention Indians.

Shortly thereafter, I see 10 posts on Facebook that Jim Gaffigan is talking about Indians.

Shortly thereafter that, I see 10 Twitter posts that Jim Gaffigan is talking about Indians. People tweeting to him, getting his name tattooed on their chests, right beside John Belushi’s name. “Holy crap, Jim Gaffigan is talking about Indians on Conan! He mentioned us, and it wasn’t bad!!!”

Yippeee.

So what? Indians talk about Indians all the time. Here at Indian Country Today Media Network, we talk “Indians.” A lot. Too much, sometimes; I occasionally want to hear about Mongolians (I hear they have goot beef) or the French (I hear they have good toast and fries). Indianz.com talks about Natives. I hear that Beyond Buckskin (beyondbuckskin.blogspot.com), Native Appropriations (nativeappropriations.blogspot.com), Ruth Hopkins, Chuck Trimble, Randi Rourke, Native America Calling, etc., all talk about Natives. A lot. We are fortunate enough to have all these networks that discuss our Native people in detail, and still some Natives get excited when a white comedian makes one joke about Indians?

Do we really value white people’s opinions about Natives that much more than our own people’s opinions? Are we really that attention-starved—we get happy whenever we get a moment’s attention from famous white folks? I don’t see those types of celebratory tweets and facebook messages when Ruth Hopkins writes something about Indians, and her articles are freakin brilliant!

The quest for approval and validation is profound indeed.Comment:  I agree with Ross. When I hear a group to which I belong mentioned--nerds, science-fiction fans, comic-book readers--I don't think, "Wow, that's great." I'm much more likely to think, "Wow, they got us wrong. Again."

And even if they get it right, it's not a big deal. When NASA named the shuttle after Star Trek's Enterprise, and the actors appeared to christen it, that's a big deal. A mere mention is nothing compared to something like that.

For more on Mt. Rushmore, see 40th Anniversary of Mt. Rushmore Occupation and Reactions to Natives at Mt. Rushmore.

Nugent's implied death threat

Ted Nugent Meets With Secret ServiceRocker and celebrity gun rights advocate Ted Nugent met with the Secret Service yesterday to discuss remarks he recently made that were interpreted by some as a threat of violence against President Barack Obama. His comments, made at an National Rifle Association convention, included the statement that “If Barack Obama becomes the president in November, again, I will be either be dead or in jail by this time next year.” Referring to the upcoming election, Nugent said that conservatives need to “ride into that battlefield and chop their heads off in November.”

As you can tell by his appropriation of a stereotypical Plains headdress, Nugent has a checkered relationship with Indians:Nugent is fairly well-known in Indian country for his love of hunting, which he often does with a bow. According to the official biography on his website, Nugent was the keynote speaker at the 1995 Native American Fish & Wildlife Society National Conference, held in Anchorage, Alaska, and has been Inducted into the Native American Strongheart Society by the Lakota Sioux, Northern Cheyenne and Arapahoe Tribes. Nugent is a professed Christian, but says that the admires Native American spirituality, and one of his best known songs, “Great White Buffalo,” is about how the relationship between the American Indian and the buffalo was ruined by “the white man.” The Ted Nugent United Sportsmen of America is a hunting organization with “tribes” around the country, and Nugent has been known to hunt on Tribal lands—here’s an account of a bear hunt with his family on the Quinault Reservation.Comment:  Let's recall that Obama is an honorary member of the Crow tribe. So Nugent wants an associate of Indians dead. If the president were an actual Indian, I bet Nugent's position would be the same. Like David Yeagley, he'd insult and attack an Indian with liberal values.

I suspect Nugent has a typical mascot lover's "appreciation" of Indians. He loves traditional Indians for their semi-mythical warrior prowess, but thinks today's Indians are moochers and bums. Just a guess, but I've never heard him do anything for Indians other than stereotype them.

For more on the subject, see Nugent Dons an "Indian" Headdress and Shoots a "Buffalo."

Bruckheimer defends casting Depp

'Lone Ranger' producer: Filming on rez a 'privilege'

By Cindy YurthWhy not a Native actor to play Tonto, who is supposed to be a full-blooded Comanche?

"Johnny is Native," Bruckheimer countered. "He has Cherokee blood. But mostly, he's a brilliant actor. We hire good actors."

There are plenty of Native extras, and two fairly famous Native actors in supporting roles as Comanche chieftains: Saginaw Grant, Sac-n-Fox/Iowa/Otoe-Missouria, and Gil Birmingham, Comanche, who played Taylor Lautner's character's father in the "Twilight" movies.

They've also hired a Comanche cultural consultant to ensure accuracy ... but don't come to "The Lone Ranger" when it comes out next year if you're expecting an authentic portrayal of the Old West.

"It's a movie," shrugged Bruckheimer. "We're not trying to make a documentary."Comment:  "Depp is Native" translates to "We've covered our asses with Depp. We don't have to make an effort to find a real Native actor."

"Depp is a brilliant actor" translates to "We don't think a real Native actor could do the job. We're biased toward (white) actors we already know. We're implicitly racist against Indians and other minorities."

"It's a movie" translates to "We'll continue to invent, stereotype, and mock Native cultures and religions if we feel like it. We're white and we're in charge. We don't have to answer to brown-skinned people and their concerns."

For more on Johnny Depp as Tonto, see Open Letter to Johnny Depp's Tonto and Why Tonto Matters.

From More than Frybread to Tiger Eyes

A Last Real Indians Interview with Tatanka Means

By Nicole Montclair-DonaghyLastrealindians.com recently interviewed accomplished actor, standup comedian Tatanka Means (Oglala Lakota/Omaha/Dine) via telephone to discuss his current movie roles, business ventures, and recent shows with his comedy group, 49 Laughs Comedy.

Among his many accomplishments such as playing one of history’s most influential people, Crazy Horse, in the 6 part miniseries “Into the West.” Tatanka related the experience to playing the messiah, and that it was an honor to be given the role. When asked how he landed in acting, he stated that his first role was playing a stunt double in the 2004 film “Black Cloud.” That, ironically, was being shot in the gym in which he trained for the boxing career that eventually led him to more than 6 boxing championship titles.

Several of Tatanka’s current roles include indie film mockumentary, “More than Frybread.” The actor plays Buddy Begay, who, with 21 Arizona tribal representatives, convene in Flagstaff, Arizona to compete for the first ever Annual State of Arizona Frybread Championship (IMDb). The film received excellent reviews, and it was noted that Means is the comedic highlight of the film. Even more currently, Means co-stars in author Judy Blume’s book to film, Tiger Eyes. The book, written in 1981, is about a young girl coping with the death of her father. Then she meets Means’ character, Wolf. Their paths in life share a similarity. Tatanka stated that he was thrilled to work alongside Blume, and that he is proud of his current roles that portray his Native characters as modern everyday 21st century people. He would like that image to progress further away from the stereotypical ‘Hollywood Indian.’ Look for him in two new feature films that will begin shooting in May.Comment:  For more on Tatanka Means, see More than Frybread is "Must-See" and All About Tatanka Means.

Tipi "housing solution" cartoon

Part of a letter sent by University of Massachusetts students to Amherst College in western Massachusetts.

Liberal Uneducation: Amherst College Publication Taken to Task for Housing Cartoon Depicting TipisRecently, your school news journal, The Indicator (Volume XXXIII, Issue 2, page 19), ran a cartoon depicting the “Lord Jeff approved” housing solution in the form of tipis. We find this incredibly insensitive, and ultimately, racist. Let us be clear, the person who drew the cartoon (Tricia Lipton), the editors who approved it (Nadirah Porter-Kasbati and Laurence Pevsner), and the student body, faculty, and staff of Amherst College who subsequently read it and perhaps even laughed are not necessarily racists. They have, however, participated in racist behavior, unintentionally or not.

Our complaint requires contextualization. Lord Jeff, your school mascot, and the man for whom Amherst College and the community that hosts it are named, acts as a constant reminder of the horrific deeds enacted against indigenous people in New England. And whereas there may be some dispute as to whether the idea of giving smallpox-infected items to Native people actually originated with Lord Jeff, there is no such doubt that he clearly approved and ordered “Measures to be taken as would Bring about the Total Extirpation [extermination] of those Indian Nations” (British Manuscript Project, U.S. Library of Congress, microfilm reel 34/38, Item 244).Thus, your steadfast approval of Lord Jeff as your mascot perpetuates the presence of genocide jokes on your campus and cries of “Let’s massacre them!” at your sporting events. Our knowledge of this is both firsthand and through correspondence with many of your current students and alumnae.Comment:  For starters, the cartoon is stereotypical, since there were no tipis in western Massachusetts. It plays on an all-too-common Plains stereotype.

Also, the message is unclear. Why would tipis be a solution and not, say, tents?

The problem is exacerbated by the "Lord Jeff approved" caption. Apparently "Lord Jeff" is the college mascot, so this isn't a direct reference to genocide advocate Lord Jeffrey Amherst. But still...why would Lord Jeff or anyone approve this solution? Again, what's the message?

The cartoonist may have thought something innocent like, "Tipis would make effective temporary shelters for our crowded campus." But to me this cartoon has a negative vibe. It's as if Lord Jeff is saying, "If we can't find a modern solution to this housing crisis, let's find a primitive solution. Let's live out in nature with the deer and the antelope like the savages I wanted to exterminate."

As usual, let's consider the alternative. Suppose the solution was to consult with Native students about traditional shelters that were inexpensive, comfortable, and energy-efficient. Suppose the students got on their computers and designed something that blended traditional designs and materials with modern housing requirements. "Lord Jeff" could give the students a housing award to make up for wanting to kill them centuries ago.

As my counterexample shows, the actual cartoon seems negative. It isn't praising Indians for their innovative housing solutions. It's criticizing them for being stuck in the past. If "Lord Jeff" couldn't wipe out the Indians, at least he left them poor and miserable, huddled in their tipis on reservations.

At least that's how I read it. And if a cartoon is open to this much interpretation, it fails by definition. The message of a cartoon like this one should be clear and compelling.

For more on Indians and smallpox, see UND Foes Chant "Smallpox Blankets!" and Wipeout Jokes About Savages and Smallpox.

Okanagan artist to make Wild Food

Foodie gets green light for TV series

By Steve KiddTracey Kim Bonneau got some very good news this week.

Wednesday, the Okanagan artist, filmmaker and documentarian got word that one of her most ambitious projects, a documentary travel food series, had been approved for production by the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network.

“There were only three shows accepted for the 2013 season and Wild Food was accepted. I officially have a television series,” said Bonneau, who was also recently recognized for her ongoing work in the Media Arts Award at the Okanagan Arts Awards.
And:“That’s the type of work I have done in my career to create a greater understanding of who we are as indigenous people from a different perspective; saying ‘we’re talented, we’re creative,’” she said. “The other part is breaking down the stereotype. What images do you see of yourselves doing great things? That’s why I got into television.”

Wild Food weaves together all those threads of Bonneau’s life. And it all came together when Bonneau’s doctor told her she was pre-diabetic. The doctor told her that if she didn’t take care, she would develop diabetes.

“What I found in my research is that diabetes is killing First Nation People faster than alcoholism,” said Bonneau. “For me, I have always produced stories to make things better. I am not an idealist, I am a realist. If we can get the facts out there in a sensitive, moving way, it might change someone’s thinking.Comment:  For more on Native food on television, see Apaches in No Kitchen Required and Preview of Growing Native.

Below:  "Multimedia artist Tracey Bonneau just got word that her new TV series, Wild Food, has been given the green light by Aboriginal Peoples Television Network. The Okanagan artist, filmmaker and documentarian plans to begin filming, with an expected $1.3 million budget, by June 2013." (Steve Kidd/Western News)

Penobscot pilot flies Obama's helicopter

Marine Corps Major Flies Helicopters That Transport President Obama

By Gale Courey ToensingHis military biography says he was born in Bad Kreuznach, Germany, and raised as an Army brat, traveling the world. Now Maj. Paul Bisulca Jr., whose family moved frequently because of his Army career-officer father, is a member of an elite group of U.S. Marine helicopter pilots who fly the president of the United States wherever he needs to go.

Bisulca, a citizen of the Penobscot Indian Nation, was welcomed by the United South and Eastern Tribes (USET) as a modern warrior-hero on February 13 in Washington, D.C. and recognized for his accomplishments in an honoring ceremony among a group of veterans. The unassuming major, a member of Marine Corps Helicopter Squadron One, downplayed the event. “There was a recognition ceremony for accomplishments by Native Americans, and I was one of them, I guess,” Bisulca said. “I’m one of those Marine One pilots, you know, who land on the south lawn [of the White House] and fly him around, so that was what they were recognizing. That’s it in a nutshell.”Comment:  For more on Indians and helicopters, see Lakota Celebrate Lakota Helicopter and Lakota Oppose Copters at Wounded Knee.

Native mural protests ethnic studies ban

‘Can’t Ban History’ Mural Protests Arizona’s Controversial Ethnic Studies BanStreet artist Jaque Fragua, Jemez Pueblo, whom we last saw creating a mural in Miami with his American Indian Mural Krew, recently beautified a plywood wall in downtown Tucson, Arizona. Fragua, like many people, is concerned about the choices Arizona’s lawmakers are making that seem increasingly hostile to minorities, whether they be Latino or Native.In Fragua's own words:The inspiration comes from my frustration with Arizona’s continued disappointing and preposterous political agenda, more specifically the HB 2281 bill which has removed Ethnic Studies from our young leaders’ education. I feel the intent is to spread such an ignorant bill to other states and if we allow this fire to spread, our communities will surely suffer from a lack of the critical understanding of our peoples’ true history and culture. Thus, I found a wall in downtown Tucson to emphasize the need for this understanding and to combat the banning of our people’s literature.Comment:  For more on Fragua's murals, see American Indian Mural Krew and Native Youths "Paint the Ave."

Peter Gabriel's San Jacinto

Someone asked me what I thought about San Jacinto, a song from Peter Gabriel's eponymous 1982 album. It's the same album that gave us the more famous Shock the Monkey.

I didn't know anything about it, so I looked it up. Here are the key lyrics:

Peter Gabriel Lyrics: "San Jacinto"Thick cloud--steam rising--hissing stone on sweat lodge fire
Around me--buffalo robe--sage in bundle--rub on skin
Outside--cold air--stand, wait for rising sun
Red paint--eagle feathers--coyote calling--it has begun
Something moving in--I taste it in my mouth and in my heart
It feels like dying--slow--letting go of life

Medicine man lead me up through town--Indian ground--so far down
Cut up land--each house--a pool--kids wearing water wings--drink in cool
Follow dry river bed--watch Scout and Guides make pow-wow signs
Past Geronimo's disco--Sit 'n' Bull steakhouse--white men dream
A rattle in the old man's sack--look at mountain top--keep climbing up
Way above us the desert snow--white wind blowThe chorus also includes the phrase "Hey now Wakan Tonka."



Wikipedia tells us:"San Jacinto" reflects on the fear and pain experienced by a Native American man who sees his culture overwhelmed by modern white society.And SongFacts tells us:The San Jacinto Mountain range in California runs along Palm Springs, a very exclusive resort community.

This explores the contrast between the artificial world of Palm Springs and the Indian communities on the other side of the San Jacinto Mountains who have spiritual ties to the land.

Gabriel was influenced by an Apache Indian he met who told him of the ritual where the Medicine Man takes a young Indian boy to the mountains, allows a rattlesnake to bite him, and leaves the boy to find his way down the mountain, where he will either die or learn courage.Which San Jacinto?

For starters, people seem to be guessing whether Gabriel was referring to the San Jacinto in California or Texas. I haven't seen a statement from him about which one he meant.

The mountain and desert imagery would argue for California, since the other San Jacinto is located in the flat, wet, southeastern part of Texas. The "Apache in the Midwest" story would argue for Texas, since the Apaches lived in Texas and Texas is in the Midwest.

A few people at SongFacts discussed this point:Well, this has me confused. San Jacinto for the average American certainly refers to the battle at San Jacinto that followed the Alamo. Gabriel's lyrics suggest a battle, but the First Nation people were not involved in that battle as far as I know.

I too am confused be the references to Southwest Indians and buffalo which were only hunted by the northern plains Indians, and held in especially high esteem by the Sioux.

I don't know why San Jacinto is the name used. Having just spent four days in the San Jacinto mountains and having lived in the Southwest for my childhood I can say with some certainty that the Apache are a not a Californian people and that Buffalo didn't live in the California deserts or mountains around San Jacinto. I don't think that Apache hunted Buffalo, either. Perhaps Peter Gabriel, a Brit, doesn't know his geography or his American First Nation peoples too well? Sounds like he's blending together a lot of peoples with the images and words he chooses.There are few Apaches in San Jacinto, California, or San Jacinto, Texas. The Apache homeland is in the far west of Texas while San Jacinto is in the far east, hundreds of miles away. Oops.

So various lyrics seem to refer to the California desert, the Apaches' Texas homeland, or the northern plains where Sitting Bull and the Lakota lived. Can you say "mishmash"?

Rob's analysis

"Wakan Tanka" and the sweat lodge/buffalo robe imagery come from the Great Plains, but Gabriel sings as if the setting is the American Southwest. He's been watching too many Westerns set in Monument Valley, I think.

The in-town part is okay--perhaps derived from the actual San Jacinto, Texas. But it's a typical romanticized lament over the fate of the Indian. It's the aural equivalent of the End of the Trail statue:



White people have been crying over Indians for the last century, so this is nothing new. It's all part of the "vanishing Indian" syndrome. "Boo-hoo, my ancestors killed the Indians. Now I'll sing about it to show how much I care."

Meanwhile, Indian nations are growing and flourishing. While Gabriel was singing this live in 1986, Indians were about to win the Cabazon court case and become economic powerhouses through gaming. So the song is a gross distortion of Native reality.

Beyond the mishmash of images, the whole song is vaguely stereotypical--even if it's based on a true story. Indians do mystical ceremonies with medicine men...check. Indians cry over the loss of their land and culture...check. Indians are primitive people of the past who are lost in the modern world...check.

You can believe Gabriel wrote San Jacinto around 1980. It's a typical product of the more "sensitive" 1960s and 1970s. It acknowledges that Indians still exist, but that's about it. They're looking back, mourning their losses, not forging ahead via business, politics, and technology.

For another musical analysis, see Oldfield's Native-Themed Songs.

Ruel wants indigenous nerds

"Jim Ruel, a standup comic with a degree in electrical engineering, describes the value of science–as well as the importance of being a well-rounded person–during the 40th Annual Symposium on the American Indian."

Ruel wants more natives on TV

By Betty Ridge“Native Americans don’t get on TV very often or in the media very often,” Ruel said Friday, during the 40th annual Symposium on the American Indian at Northeastern State University.

Ruel’s speech, “Indiginerd—A Presentation on Indigenous Nerds,” was sponsored by the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES). Among the audience for Ruel’s message was a group of students from Sequoyah High School.

“One thing you don’t see on TV is Indian nerds,” Ruel said. “It would be nice to have [Indian] characters on TV shows who aren’t stoic or overly romantic.”

While studying electrical engineering at Stanford University, Ruel was active in AISES and has worked with the organization since then. His most current project, filmed the week before his Symposium experience, was recording the ideas of American Indian scientists around the country. He showed a rough cut of part of that documentary during the speech.Comment:  For more on the subject, see Lakota Teams Compete in Robotics and Sioux Student Earns Physics Degree.

Gary Busey the adopted Sioux

I came across this while switching TV channels and watched it live. I found the video a few days later.

Gary Busey / Hail to the Chief

We found Gary Busey, aka Chief Dances with Car, getting back to his roots in the middle of a real pow wow--and he's putting the pressure on Harv to join his tribe! How?Comment:  Actually, Busey is dressed more like a fur trapper than an Indian. I don't think anyone would call him a wannabe based on his outfit.

He says, "Three years ago, I was adopted into the Lakota Sioux Indian tribe at Standing Rock." This could mean he's a member (unlikely) or an honorary member (more likely).

TMZ's comments are more offensive than anything Busey says. "Chief Dances with Car" and "How" above, "peace pipe" and "casino" in the video.

Associating Indians with casinos may seem okay, but it's like associating blacks with rap or basketball. If you said, "Blacks were savages in the African jungle, but now they're millionaire athletes," does that sound flattering? No, it sounds like a superficial and stereotypical summary that ignores 99.9% of the intervening history.

But that's basically what most people think and say about Indians. They were savages, but now they're casino owners. And Latinos are maids and gardeners, Jews are doctors and lawyers, etc.

More on the powwow

Malibu Powwow Celebrates Chumash Heritage, Self-Reliance

By Dawn MegliHundreds gathered in Malibu this weekend for American Indian art, performances and culture at the 14th Annual Chumash Day Powwow and to support a population hard-hit by a fragile economy.

The event was billed as a celebration of Chumash culture but dozens of different tribes were represented at Malibu Bluffs Park. Native dancers, musicians and artists performed for the audience on the seaside cliffs, including actor Gary Busey and his two-year-old son, Luke.TMZ was clueless, of course, that the powwow featured many tribes and the local Chumash Tribe was the host. To TMZ, I'm sure, all Indians are the same.

For more on Busey, see "Indian Bob" on Celebrity Wife Swap.

Athabascan woman leads council of churches

Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches appoints first woman, American Indian to lead group

By Rose FrenchThe Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches will be led by a woman and American Indian for the first time in its 107-year history, the group announced Monday.

Noya Woodrich, the council’s senior vice president and executive director of the Division of Indian Work, has been appointed president and CEO to succeed the Rev. Gary Reierson, who’s held the position nearly 23 years.

Woodrich is scheduled to take over on July 3, leading the influential Minnesota faith group which has 700 member congregations, 25,000 volunteers and is considered the largest council of churches in North America.

“I am very excited and honored to be selected to continue to grow with the organization that I have spent my career at, one with a strong foundation and history of accomplishments,” Woodrich said in a released statement. “I am looking forward to the challenge of continuing to build on our legacy of service to this community.”

Woodrich, an Athabascan Indian, started out as a volunteer at the Division of Indian Work in 1991 and took over as leader of the division in 2001. Since then, the division’s budget has grown from $1 million to almost $4 million, the council reports.A historic first for Council of Churches

Comment:  For more on Natives in Christian churches, see Potawatomi Archbishop in Philadelphia and Catholics to Ban Indian Practices?

Native anti-bullying video

Indian Health Service Releases Anti-Bullying VideoIndian Health Service has released an anti-bullying Public Service Announcement with a strong message: "Bullying is not Native and does not honor our traditions or culture."

Bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time. Bullying includes actions such as making threats, spreading rumors, attacking someone physically or verbally, and excluding someone from a group on purpose.

An astonishing thirteen million kids face bullying each year according to government surveys, making it the most common form of violence experienced by young people in the United States.

American Indian and Alaska Native youth are no exception.

American Indian and Alaska Native youth experience bullying for a wide variety of reasons, including racism.Comment:  For more on the subject, see Native It Gets Better Video and Native Children Bullied by Stereotypes.

Open letter to Johnny Depp's Tonto

Excerpts of an open letter from a "half-Navajo" to Johnny Depp:

An Open Letter to Johnny Depp's Tonto

By Natanya Ann PulleyDear Johnny Depp’s Tonto,

We are going to have a lot to talk about next year when your Disney movie about the Lone Ranger and Tonto hits. An in-production photo of you has emerged and it makes me nervous. You have a blackbird on your head. Johnny Depp Tonto Blackbird-head. Tsk. That bird might pluck your eyes out, man. The moment it hit my Facebook newsfeed the updates from my friends went nutso. What is this look? Is it genuine? Is Johnny Depp Native American or Native enough? Does he, like so too many others, have a distant Indian princess in his lineage? He’s said his great grandmother is Creek or Cherokee. Creek or Cherokee. He’s not sure which—this Creek-or-Cherokeeness of him amounts to one line on his Wikipedia page. Can casually embracing being part of this-or-that tribe somehow carry us forward?And:The questions come, and not from just one friend or another, but they resonate—and not up and out of the tribal sands so ancient or from drumming ancestors speaking through time… but just in my bones. You know, like how regular folk wonder things. Why another non-Native playing a Native? It’s not as easy as, “There’s no Native American Johnny Depp.” If you tell me, Johnny Depp Tonto, that there aren’t enough of us, I’ll pluck your eyes out myself. We are here. We are out there. Artists, film writers/directors and actors, poets, authors and musicians. Cashiers. Engineers. Doctors. Etc. We are everywhere, just not on your screen or any screens near you. There could be someone even more sexy-slinky-bitingly-dark-but funny-kinda sweet-and-clever and less glossy-superstar than Johnny Depp. A Native American someone. There really could be. But we might never know.

I’ve also heard (a little birdie said) it’s possible that the movie’s Johnny Depp Tonto character might actually be a white man renegade pretending to be Native to hide from the law. Wouldn’t that be something?And:But Johnny Depp Tonto, I imagine we won’t have these sorts of conversations by the time your (wait, the Lone Ranger’s) movie hits. And I won’t be able to say “Yeah, at least he gets it” when image after image of a “Native American” person comes across my screen and it’s some stoic-faced brave or nature-fairy or cartoon figure Indian. My Facebook newsfeed shows something different, by the way. You should get one. My NDN friends love to smile. Love to laugh. And swear. And ham it up. And normal. You might be surprised by how many birds (wolves and bears) aren’t in our profile pics. Johnny Depp Tonto, I hope you get to be one of ours. I hope there’s more to you than the starkness of your white and black striped face. I hope you get an itch to step off that big screen and take a space in the world that doesn’t knock us back into shirtless whooping half-animal extras. High hopes.Comment:  Pulley sums up the Depp problem nicely. The actor doesn't know which tribe he's from, and it's one line in his biography. His "Indian-ness" is about as minimal as it gets. Yet people tout him as the Great White Savior of Hollywood Indians--sure to do right by Natives because he's "Native" himself.

If Tonto turns out to be a white man playing an Indian--just like Depp himself--I think people will crucify Depp. I know I will. It would be one of the greatest cases of whitewashing a character in movie history.

For more on Johnny Depp as Tonto, see Why Tonto Matters and Johnny Depp in a Crow Headdress.