Indians stereotyped as criminals

Tim Giago:  Negative Native images in the newsYoung white minds watching the evening news night after night see these images of Native Americans in black and white jail uniforms, shackles binding their hands and legs, slowly shuffling from the jail cell to the court house and form an image of Native Americans that is illusionary in its depiction of Indians as criminals. They see these images every night and it slowly sinks into their malleable minds that all Indians are criminals.

It also creates an image of fear, loathing, and mistrust, an image of a race of people to be shunned or avoided. The Native American then becomes an object not only of fear, but an object to be ridiculed because, after all, why should they have any respect for a criminal?

The local daily newspaper has, more than once, published an article of a Native American achiever and right next to that article, a story about a vicious crime committed by a Native American. One story erases the other. The image of the achiever blends with the image of the criminal loser, and they become one. The story of the criminal supersedes that of the achiever.The worst offender:The station most notorious for nightly visuals of Native Americans shackled hand and foot is the oldest station in Rapid City, KOTA-TV. KOTA is a subsidiary of Duhamel Broadcasting and in the past has had glimmers of objectivity when it came to its coverage of Native Americans. Helene Duhamel, the nightly news anchor and one of the family owners of the station should know better, but if one watched this station every night for one month these troubling, and I would go so far as to say racist, images would lead off the nightly news nearly 75 percent of the time. African Americans spoke up about this same treatment by television news years ago and did win many concessions.Comment:  That TV newscasts focus on crime and violence is well-known. "If it bleeds, it leads" is the industry mantra.

That this attitude perpetuates racial prejudice and stereotyping is also well-known. Here are some postings on the subject:

Off Balance:  Youth, Race & Crime in the NewsIn the experiments, audiences were chosen at random in a Los Angeles shopping mall to watch a news broadcast that contained a story with a close-up photo of an alleged murderer who was either a) African American or Hispanic; b) White or Asian; or c) no racial identity. A fourth control group saw a broadcast without a crime story. Researchers found that "a mere five-second exposure to a mug shot of African American and Hispanic youth offenders (in a 15-minute newscast) raises levels of fear among viewers, increases support for ‘get tough’ crime policies, and promotes racial stereotyping." While the stories with perpetrators of color increase fear among all viewers, White and Asian viewers have an increased desire for harsher punitive policies than African American or Hispanic audiences, who, the authors suggest, are reminded of injustice and prejudice by the crime stories. Thus, the authors argue, when mug shots of African Americans and Latinos are shown, local TV news crime stories expand the divide between racial groups. In a similar experiment, researchers found that students rated Black suspects as more guilty, deserving of punishment, more likely to commit future violence, and less likable than the White suspects, about whom they were given precisely the same information.

Survey research on racial stereotyping and crime helps explain the experimental findings. Researchers have found that when Blacks are placed in a violent context, Whites who hold stereotypical attitudes that consider African Americans generally violent (and lazy) were far more likely to believe that the Blacks were guilty and prone to violence. But the same people did not have the same reaction if Whites were the ones placed in the violent context.

Thus several researchers conclude that a discussion about crime in America is essentially a discussion about race. Evidence from a later study strongly supports that conclusion, as 60% of the people watching a news story without an image of a perpetrator falsely remembered seeing one, and in 70% of these cases they "remembered" the perpetrator as African American, even though they never saw him.On local TV news, if it bleeds it (still) leads

In short, pictures of shackled Native prisoners serve roughly the same purpose that pictures of wild, savage Indians used to serve. They perpetuate the notion that "the others" (Indians, blacks, immigrants, gays, et al.) are out to get us (white Christian people). Therefore, we'd better increase the wealth and power of our masters so they can take care of us. Hence the Republican Party's emphasis: cut services to the poor, get tough on crime, eliminate constitutional rights, attack other countries before they attack us, and above all protect the military-industrial complex from the "little people."

For more on the subject, see America the Conservative and The Political Uses of Stereotyping.

Below:  What we fear will happen if we don't keep Indians on the reservation or in jail.

"Civilization" in Trail of Tears

In Review of Trail of Tears, I critiqued the storytelling aspects of the third episode of PBS's We Shall Remain series. Now I'll concentrate on the content.

For the details on the Trail of Tears story, see:

Major Ridge
Major Ridge
John Ridge
John Ridge, a Cherokee Interpreter
John Ross (Cherokee chief)
Cherokee Trail of Tears

Here are some interesting tidbits from the show:

Trail of Tears describes Major Ridge in a way that makes him sound almost noble:

Few Native leaders clung to the hope of peaceful coexistence longer. Few others invested more in the professed protections of the American legal system. Few set more stock in the promises of the American government and its Constitution.

Trail of Tears also describes the Cherokees' love of their land. Christians had been cast out of their Garden of Eden, the narrator says, but the Cherokees still lived in theirs.

The episode quotes Major Ridge saying:We obtained these lands from the living God above. I would willingly die to preserve them.Unfortunately, he proved to be unwilling to die for them.

After the Revolution, missionary organizations visited the Cherokees to teach them how to be Anglo-Americans. Among the "lessons" were to eat meals at regular times, instead of when they were hungry, and to pray in church at designated times, instead of when they were moved to.

Yeah, because that's the true mark of civilization. Not eating or praying when you feel like it but only when society tells you to. In other words, "civilization" means treating people like children who need adults to make decisions for them.

In a speech, Thomas Jefferson said Indians could become the equals of their white neighbors. Not too condescending, eh?

A remark supposedly from Major Ridge's son John after New Englanders criticized his marriage:

An Indian is almost considered accursed. The scum of the Earth are considered sacred in comparison. If an Indian is educated, yet he is an Indian, and the most stupid and illiterate white man will disdain and triumph over this worthy individual.

As everyone should know, Sequoyah invented a system of writing the Cherokee language. This revolutionized Cherokee society, which became literate in a few years.

The "civilization" pushed by missionaries began to "draw hard class distinctions that had never existed in traditional Cherokee society." The mixed-bloods imitated the Southern lifestyle and became slave-owning elites. The full-bloods lost their land and were reduced to subsistence farming. They worried that their leaders were becoming enthralled to the ways of whites.

The full-bloods trusted John Ross, Major Ridge's protéegé. Gaining a reputation for integrity, he authored a new constitution that everyone could embrace. This created a democratically elected Cherokee government.

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

Below:  Sequoyah and his writing system.

Natives underrepresented in journalism

Journalists make gains in time of industry perilOverall, the ASNE report found that the percentage of minorities in newsrooms stood at 13.41 percent, a decline of .11 percentage points from a year ago. The overall job loss, including non-minorities, was the largest one-year decline in employment in the history of the census.

But Native American journalists did not stick to the trend. In 2009, according to the ASNE data, they actually saw a 3.17 percent increase in their numbers. In this decade, there has been a net increase of Native American, Latino and Asian journalists and a net decline of African-American journalists.

Despite the year-over-year percentage increase, Native Americans comprised only .63 percent of the total journalism work force, according to the census.Comment:  Roughly speaking, minorities make up 30% of the US population but have only 13% of the journalism jobs. Indians make up 1% of the US population but have only 0.6% of the journalism jobs. In other words, minorities and Indians are badly underrepresented in journalism. That suggests their stories are underrepresented also.

For more on the subject, see Native Journalism:  To Tell the Truth.

8th annual Ishi gathering

Ishi Gathering starts Thursday in OrovilleAn annual event centered on Ishi, the last Yahi Indian, begins Thursday in Oroville.

It's the eighth year for the Ishi Gathering and Seminar, hosted by the Butte County Historical Society.Some of the fun events:Thursday afternoon, the Ishi Film Festival opens at the Ehmann House, 1480 Lincoln St. "The Romance of the Vanishing Race," and "In the White Man's Image" are scheduled.

Friday includes activities for kids and adults.

For the kids, there's Ishi Day at Hewitt Park. From 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m., more than 500 school children will participate in hands-on learning experiences related to local Native Americans.

For adults, a full-day seminar "Assimilation Strategies of Native Americans, 1850-1916" will feature the stories of real Native American families and how they bridged the gap between traditional native culture and today's world.

Rob knows best about Redskin?

In "Redskins" All Over the Continent? another lamebrain defended Redskin magazine. Unlike the previous coward, at least this fellow had the guts to sign his name. Here's what Jonathan Garlow said:Rob Schmidt is better than the editor of Redskin Magazine. He just knows.I don't just magically "know," bright boy. I report what many Natives have said.

I'm amazed that some people are too dense to understand the difference between my opinion and Native opinion. Or perhaps they're intentionally misstating the facts to deceive people. Which is it, Garlow: Are you too stupid or too dishonest to state my position accurately?

In any case, I guess you haven't read the many postings in which I've answered charges like this. Here are a few of them:

Rob shouldn't judge Natives?
Rob the presumptuous white man?
Wrong to point out stereotypes?1. Why does Rob Schmidt care? What is the motive of this "white, anglo-saxon" columnist (colonist)?Why write about Native Americans?

As if one has to have a reason for combating racism and stereotyping. The question should be why more people aren't doing it, not why I'm doing it.

Meanwhile, why is Garlow ducking the issue of the magazine with an ethnic slur as its title? Could it be he has nothing to say on the issue and is trying to change the subject? And is hoping you won't notice his failure to address the issue?

Rob jealous of Redskin?!"But for popular Native culture, you don’t need a magazine, since Newspaper Rock has it all" .. oh wait a second, maybe he is feeling threatened by the very "native subjects" he writes about.Yeah, that's why I work at PECHANGA.net disseminating Native news. Why I write for Indian Country Today and other publications. Because I'm jealous of Native publications and want to keep their readers for myself.

How stupid and illogical can you get? Pretty damn stupid and illogical, if you're Jonathan Garlow.He's gotta make a living somehow, besides we can't have self-published native's writing about themselves can we?!I'm making money from my work promoting Natives at PECHANGA.net, Indian Country Today, and elsewhere. And not from Newspaper Rock. You have it exactly backward, dumbass.He also wrote "How many young, urban Natives have enough disposable income to spend on this luxury item?”. Ouch. Coming from a white man this one is a low blow, I'm surprised no one caught this. Luxuries such as magazines aren't for us folk, we heard about magazines but can’t afford them. Hey thanks for helping us though.Great sarcasm, mouth. Good job disguising the fact that you have no answer to my question. Which was only a question and not an assertion, in case you're too dumb to know the difference.

You gotta love how these people keep asserting how wonderful and popular Redskin magazine is, but no one will tell us how well it's selling. Strong sales would be excellent evidence that Natives don't mind the title "Redskin." Yet we haven't heard one word about sales figures. Why not?

Let's banish terms?2. Who are these "Natives" everyone keeps talking about? ... By far, Native American Indian should be the most offensive term because it implies we are Americans and not an independent nation."American Indian" vs. "Native American"
"Indian" vs. "Native American"While we’re at it let’s take the color red out of the Anishnabe medicine wheel because it’s racist!!Apparently you're no more aware of the difference between "red" and "redskin" than Anonymous is. Read my answer to him and alleviate your ignorance.3. Self-determination. We affirm the right to define ourselves and I support Redskin in their decision to identify with this English label.And I support all the Indians who have deemed the word "redskins" an ethnic slur. That is, I support their right to self-determination--to determine for themselves that "redskin" is an insult.All English naming conventions are false anyway, why argue over which ones are more false than others.Ask your fellow Natives why many of them consider "redskin" an ethnic slur. They're the ones who made this determination. I'm simply repeating what they said.First Nations, Native American, Indian, Redman, are all non-indigenous terms.Not "Redman," according to your fellow "redskin" defender. But I think he's wrong about that.

In any case, no kidding. Tell us something we don't know.

Too lame to think of better title?It would then seem that you the naysayer would prefer if his magazine targeted a vague ‘minority’; perhaps they should have named the magazine ‘Non-whiteskin” instead of Redskin, or perhaps you simply wish they didn’t start a magazine at all.If Redskin's staff can't think of another name, they have no business being in a creative field. There must be dozens of possible names to choose from.

You obviously missed the point that they chose "Redskin" intentionally to be provocative and "hip." It's like blacks naming a magazine "Nigger" to prove their street cred. The offense is calculated so young readers will think, "Wow, this magazine dares to insult its own people. It must be out there on the edge. Therefore, I'd better read it. I wanna prove my coolness by insulting my elders too."

Meanwhile, spare us the straw-man arguments such as "perhaps you simply wish they didn’t start a magazine at all." Nobody has said Natives shouldn't publish magazines.Either way you cannot tell another flesh and blood being how they should define themselves without being hypocritical especially when the naming is done in a foreign language.Ask your fellow Natives why many of them consider "redskin" an ethnic slur. They're the ones who made this determination. I'm simply repeating what they said.Thanks for being offended on my behalf but it’s really not necessary.Ask your fellow Natives why many of them consider "redskin" an ethnic slur. They're the ones who made this determination. I'm simply repeating what they said.

In short, there's no hypocrisy here. Only your stupidity or dishonesty about what my position is.

Another idiot responds

After Jonathan Garlow posted his comments, someone named Arty Martin concurred. I'm guessing he's the anonymous poster who started this debate. Here's what Martin said:So, Redskin really grinds schmidtys' gears, right? Why? .. is schmidty some kind of righteous spirit of words here to reflect the madness and evils of specific his-stories? .. Why does this whole thing matter at all to schmidty?Why write about Native Americans?Maybe our schmidty had his life traumatically flipped upside down and inside out by the word RedskinYeah, that's why I've done my Stereotype of the Month contest for a decade. Why I've posted several hundred entries--only a couple of which are about "redskins." Because I was upset by one word.

In other words, thanks for demonstrating your profound ignorance of my work, Arty. Too bad you revealed your ignorance publicly so I could ridicule it.Maybe he's an idiot with idiot friends who together roam the earth doing mindless idiot things causing chaos and confusion where ever he goes - like a Super-IdiotYeah, I feel horrible hobnobbing with the likes of Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Kevin Gover, and Adam Beach...making money while taking trips...basking in the praise of thousands of readers...etc. It's a tough life, but someone's got to do it.

Below:  Another "redskin" asserts his ethnic pride. Hee-haw!

Review of Trail of Tears

Here's my review of Trail of Tears, the third episode of the PBS series We Shall Remain. In this part I'll concentrate on the storytelling aspects.

As usual, the look and feel of the episode is good. No complaints there.

This episode was written by Mark Zwonitzer, presumably a non-Native, and directed by Chris Eyre. It's interesting to compare the two episodes directed by Eyre with the one directed primarily by Ric Burns. Having viewed Eyre's work twice, I can see a difference.

Eyre:  Clear re-enactments. More personal, less political. I.e., more shots of people and places to establish scenes, fewer montages and quick cuts. More narration by Benjamin Bratt and Native experts, less by white historians.

Burns:  Hazy re-enactments. More political, less personal. Less narration by Benjamin Bratt and Native experts, more by white historians.

Is this an artifact of the stories told? (Maybe relatively little is known about Tecumseh's history.) Is it a personal difference between Eyre and Burns? Or is it the difference between a Native and non-Native director? Namely, that a Native director makes the Native figures seem more real and alive, less legendary or mythic?

I don't know. And I'm not saying one approach is better than the other. I actually like the Tecumseh episode best of the ones I've seen so far. But again, I find the stylistic differences between the two directors interesting.

As usual, the acting is good. Wes Studi is the only "big-name" actor you've probably heard of it. Some of the Cherokees are played by non-actors and I don't think you can distinguish them from the professionals. This seems like a rebuke to the producers who say, "We auditioned hundreds of Native actors and couldn't find one who could handle the role."

I think the story suffers some because it's less straightforward and more complex than the previous stories. There's also the unfortunate fact that the major players are named the Ridge or Major Ridge, John Ridge, and John Ross. These names aren't as distinct or memorable as Sitting Bull or Geronimo.

Narrative problems

The writing is a little unclear, especially at the beginning when establishing the key players. Three examples:

1) The Cherokees fought with the British against the Americans in the Revolutionary War. Major Ridge took his first American scalp at age 17 and personally fought the Americans "past the point of hope." Yet the next thing we learn is that he's decided to adopt the Euro-American lifestyle and become a Southern "gentleman farmer." King Philip and Tecumseh didn't take this approach, so why did Ridge?

About the only explanation Trail of Tears gives is this:Preserving the Cherokee nation meant walking, for a time, down the new path America was offering.But who says that was the only path? If it was, why was it the only path? What alternatives did Ridge and the other Cherokees consider? The episode doesn't say.

Wikipedia provides some key information on Ridge's conversion from an anti-American fighter to a pro-Southern farmer:He acquired the title "Major" in 1814, during his service leading Cherokees alongside General Andrew Jackson at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend during the Creek War. He also joined Jackson in the First Seminole War in 1818, leading Cherokees against the Seminole Indians.Wow...interesting. Ridge fought with Andrew Jackson against other Indians. He later acceded to Jackson's removal policy against the wishes of the Cherokees. In other words, he wasn't exactly a Tecumseh-style visionary. A word such as "accommodationist" or "opportunist" seems closer to the mark.

But Trail of Tears doesn't think these facts are relevant? This is why the show suffers some. It sanitizes the story, ignoring the rough edges that would've made the drama more compelling. It tries too hard to elevate Ridge to the level of elder statesman.

2) John Ross is introduced as a boy working in a store. We don't learn if he's a relative of Major Ridge or what until a while later.

He eventually becomes the Principal Chief and the so-called "Cherokee Moses." But what exactly led him to embrace the traditional Cherokee position when other mixed-bloods were selling out?

3) Major Ridge's son John goes to school in Connecticut and marries a white girl. The New Englanders who supposedly wanted the Indians to assimilate prove their true colors. They shout at the mixed-race marriage partners and call them "sinners."

The narration says the protests "left a mark" on him. "He will never believe whites in exactly same way again." But eventually he goes from advocating sovereignty to advocating removal. Why exactly did he embrace the white position if he had learned not to trust whites?

The final tragedy

The episode downplays the actual Trial of Tears, devoting only 15 or so minutes to it. I read that some people cried after seeing this, but I wasn't moved.

But I'm not sure that showing more tragedy would've been better. It might've overshadowed what came before. I'd say that's the story people need to know: how the US used political and legal machinations to dispossess Indians.

The episode also doesn't say much about the removal of the other "civilized" tribes: the Choctaw, Creek, Chickasaw, and Seminole. Again, I'm not sure if this was wise. Focusing on one particular, personal story is generally good, but oversimplifying and omitting relevant information is generally bad.

Comparing this episode to After the Mayflower, I also wonder if it was the best story to tell. Both stories were basically about how Euro-Americans pressured the Indians to assimilate and how the Indians resisted. They covered the same or similar issues and conflicts. Perhaps another Indian story--California's Mission era? The Navajo Long Walk? The Dawes Act and how it disassembled Indian reservations? The boarding-school movement?--would've been better.

For these reasons, I didn't find Trial of Tears quite as satisfying as the previous episodes. Maybe it's because the story itself wasn't as satisfying. The Indians didn't fight to the death as they did in King Philip's War and the War of 1812. Major Ridge was trying to help his people, but he ultimately gave in.

Still, Trial of Tears is definitely worth seeing. Rob's rating: 8.0 of 10.

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

Prom dresses combat suicide

Prom dresses galore for Crow Creek teens

By Cynthya PorterThe Winona Post asked and readers with hearts the size of the Mississippi River listened.

One day after a news article appeared about a prom dress collection for teens on the Crow Creek Indian Reservation, several readers brought in gowns to contribute to the cause.

The next day there were twice as many, and twice as many again the day after that. For five days dresses poured into the drop-off room at the Winona Post, and these weren’t just any old dresses.

In a rainbow of colors readers contributed frocks in every shape and size, modern, beautiful dresses that you could have seen a high school girl in last week in Winona.

Dress shoes came in too, and men’s suits. By the end of the week, the room was overflowing because of the generosity of readers who wanted to give these impoverished teens a prom night to be proud of.

The dress collection was part of a Diva for a Day program being planned at Crow Creek where teen suicide is among the highest in the country. Organizers are hoping to offer students the chance to have a normal prom in the hopes that such moments will help curb the suicide rate there.Comment:  It would be nice to know how many dresses there actually were. The mathematical formulation--the number doubled and doubled again--is rather imprecise. If the first day's donation was three, that would mean there was a minimum of 21 dresses (3+6+12).

Anyway, I wouldn't just "hope" that the prom dresses would have a positive effect. I'd look for research on the subject. And I'd hold off until I was more certain of the outcome.

I wonder if anyone has considered the downside to this effort. Native girls dress up as queens for the day. They attend the prom and are the center of attention for once. Then they go back to their presumably bad lives--the ones leading them to commit suicide.

The question is whether one night of glamor will inspire them to hope and dream. Or whether it'll inspire them to despair and give up. Because the illusory glamor of the prom is so far out of their real-life reach.

I don't know the answer. Does anyone? Until someone has an answer, this doesn't strike me as the greatest idea. I wouldn't be surprised if suicide rates increase rather than decrease after a school prom.

I say give the kids books or computers instead. I.e., something with more of a long-term benefit. I'm not persuaded that a prom is the way to change people's lives.

For a related rant, see "Feminist" Mohegan Princess. For more on the subject, see Indians Need Prom Dresses.

Investigate tribes for "oppression"?

Dems call for DOJ probe of Indian tribesA civil rights controversy surrounding several Indian tribes could pit President Obama against some of Capitol Hill’s most prominent liberals and black lawmakers.

Reps. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.), John Lewis (D-Ga.) and others asked Attorney General Eric Holder in a letter dated last Thursday to initiate a “full-scale investigation” of five Indian tribes for allegedly abusing the rights of the Freedmen: African-Americans descended from freed slaves once owned by Indians.

Also signing onto the letter were other senior lawmakers from the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), including Reps. Diane Watson (D-Calif.), Shelia Jackson Lee (D-Texas) and Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), the caucus’s chairwoman.

“Over forty years after enactment of the landmark Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts, there is a place in the United States that African Americans cannot vote or receive federal benefits as a matter of law,” the letter states. “The victims of this racial oppression are known as freedmen, who are descendants of African slaves owned by Indians. They are called freedmen, but they are anything but free.”

The call for an aggressive investigation of the tribes by Congress could force Obama to contradict a position he took on the campaign trail last year.

In the spring of 2008, the then-Illinois senator helped solidify his Native American support by arguing against Washington intervening in a dispute involving a group of Freedmen and the leaders of the Cherokee Nation. The Freedmen had been expelled from the tribe after it amended its constitution in March 2007.Comment:  The letter obscures the facts of the case. A more accurate statement would go something like this: "Many African Americans of Cherokee descent can no longer vote or receive benefits because they're no longer citizens of the Cherokee Nation."

The letter may or may not accurately state the motivation behind the facts--that it's based on racial "oppression." That remains to be determined.

Obama's position was that the courts should decide. That still seems to be the best remedy. Until then, I don't think a DOJ investigation is justified.

For more on Obama's position, see Obama Tackles Tough Issues and Obama Opposes Punishing Cherokees. For more on the underlying issues, see Cherokee PR or Propaganda and Blacks vs. Cherokees.

Herrington recounts bike trip

Native astronaut encourages students to dream

By Jomay SteenIt wasn't the physical training in preparation for the 16th launch of the space shuttle Endeavour that pushed mission specialist John Herrington to cycle 4,184 miles across the country in 2008.

The former astronaut believes it was the mental aspect of training that helped achieve his goal.

"I kept thinking, 'As hard as it may be, you can do this,'" he said.

Herrington, 50, shared his experiences as a NASA mission specialist and an extreme cyclist with an audience of nearly 100 people on Friday at the Dahl Arts Center as one of the presentations of the Dahl Mountain Culture Festival.A bit more on Herrington and his bike trip:Herrington, a member of the Chicasaw Nation in Oklahoma, backed up his words by finishing a coast-to-coast trip last year that began in Cape Flattery, Wash., and ended at Cape Canaveral, Fla. The 58-day trip took him to a dozen schools on several different reservations, where he talked to students about the wonders of flying in space and the need for them to realize their dreams.Comment:  Too bad Kiowa writer Russell Bates isn't here to tell us that this enrolled Indian isn't an Indian. Oh, well...no big loss.

It's interesting to juxtapose this story with the prom-dress story. You can achieve your dreams if you work hard, says Herrington. Or you can achieve your dreams if you dress like a princess and a prince sweeps you off your feet. Needless to say, the first message is better than the second one.

Hockey part of Native culture

National hockey tournament showcases aboriginal talentSome of Canada's best junior hockey players are in Winnipeg this week to compete in the national aboriginal hockey championships.

More than 500 players—teen boys and girls—on 18 teams from across the country are taking part in the tournament, which is held in a different city every year. Participants are First Nations, Inuit and Métis and represent all 10 provinces and three territories.

A special tribute this year is being made to Manitoba hockey legend Reggie Leach, a winger who played for three NHL teams between 1970 and 1983.

Nicknamed the Riverton Rifle for his hometown of Riverton, about 110 kilometers north of Winnipeg, Leach still holds the NHL record for the most goals scored during a single playoff season. He scored 19 in 1976.

"I think that this tournament is great for young kids. It gives them an identity where they are one of the best native hockey players in the province, not only in Manitoba, but across Canada, and they're representing their province, which is great," said Leach, who is now a junior hockey coach for the Manitoulin Islanders of the Northern Ontario Bantam Hockey League.

He said hockey has become a huge component of contemporary native culture.Comment:  For more on the subject, see Book About Aboriginal Hockey Players.

Chickasaw officer left off memorial

U.S. police memorial leaves out agent Robert P. Flickinger Four Oklahoma law enforcement officers died last year as a result of on-duty traffic accidents. Only three of them will have their names inscribed on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C.

The memorial will not include Special Agent Robert P. Flickinger, a Chickasaw Nation police officer, said Dennis Lippe, state law enforcement memorial chairman.

Flickinger, a 16-year veteran with the Chickasaw Lighthorse Police Department, died March 7, 2008, in a two-car crash on State Highway 199. The crash occurred when Flickinger tried to pass another car on a hill east of Madill, according to an Oklahoma Highway Patrol report.

"The only reason given by the national memorial was that he was passing in a no-passing zone,” Lippe said. That explanation doesn’t sit well with state memorial officials.Comment:  This could be an example of overt or covert racism. Or not. But if they're going to screen every officer for "human error," they need to do it consistently.

Confusing "red" and "redskin"

In "Redskins" All Over the Continent? another anonymous reader too afraid to sign his name defended Redskin magazine again. This self-proclaimed "redskin" claimed the word "redskin" is used all over the continent--in the names of "streets and cities," among other things.

Now that I've finally stopped laughing, I can post a reply. Hey redskin...do you live on Redskin Road in Redskin City? In a little red-brick house? With Little Red Riding Hood, perhaps?

Is your neighboring town called Yellowface City, Greenhair City, or Bluefoot City? Is your country called Oz or Neverland or Narnia, perhaps? Or are you imagining all these streets and cities named "redskin" in a colorful daydream, somewhere over the rainbow, in a nice padded room?

Ahem. Moving on...here's the latest semi-coherent nonsense from our "yellow" red man:you twat .. schmidty schmidty schmidt ass .. you bleeding schmidty twat .. as much as its a yawn for you to hear your name dragged through schmidt and i know i know sticks and stones may break my bones and all that jazz .. i can't help but be amused .. but before you get bent out of shape i want to let you knowBent out of shape by these childish insults, Anonymous? I think it's hysterical that you can't provide any sort of intelligent rebuttal to my arguments. You can't even capitalize or punctuate your sentences correctly. I hope you're not on the writing staff of Redskin magazine, because you're not much of a writer.

You claimed "redskin" is used all over the continent. The only example you gave was a Redskin hose, which has no connection to the Native ethnic slur. In other words, you made a ridiculous claim and I challenged you on it. Not surprisingly, you couldn't back up your claim with anything resembling a fact.your right I am not absolutely sure this wasn't a post-contact decision that the four colours red white yellow and black were some kind of crazy scheme to identify racesI'm sure it was a post-contact decision. No one has ever offered a shred of evidence that Indians knew about blacks, Asians, or whites before Columbus. (Except for the few Indians who met Vikings, that is.)

Anonymous unclear on the issuered skin .. its what i've been told all my life schmidt .. why can't you accept thatAccept that your people identify yourself with the color red? Since that's commonplace throughout Indian country, I accept it.

Accept that your people label yourself with the pejorative word "redskin," a different matter? No, I don't accept that. Go ahead and prove it, or admit you can't.its whats still being taughtWhat, that you're "red" or that you're "redskins"? Do you even understand that we're talking about two different things? Judging by your vain attempts to obscure the issue, I'm guessing not.i also identify myself by clan Ratiniahton or turtle clan .. and yes even onenkwentara the color red .. look at others that use red to identify: Redwire Magazine - Red Nation -Red X magazineReally? Wow. In my two decades of writing about Natives, I never knew that they often use the word "red." Thanks for that stunning news.

Duh.

I've explained several times that "red" isn't the same as "redskin." If you were too dense to get the point before, maybe you'll get it now.

Similarly, "bitch," "cock," and many other words can be innocent or insulting in different contexts. Let's hope you're not as clueless as you seem about how language works.its ridiculous that redskin is frowned uponIt's ridiculous that you don't know most Indians oppose "redskin."

Try to get this through your thick skull, genius. I'm not protesting the Native use of the word "red." I frequently post items with the word "red" in them--for instance, Arigon Starr in Red Ink. I don't criticize the use of "red" because Natives don't criticize it.

What I'm criticizing is the specific combination of seven letters known as "redskin." I'm doing this not because I have strong feelings about the word, but because many Natives consider it an ethnic slur. I'm not telling them what to think, I'm telling you what they think.

Natives love Redskin magazine?when pushing the issue in albuquerque during one of the biggest pow wows .. everyone we spoke with LOVED it .. absolutely LOVED itPeople can love the magazine's content without loving its title. If you think they love the word "redskin," go ahead and take the challenge I've outlined several times. Find a room full of elders and start calling them "redskins." Tell us how they react.

If you're unwilling to do this test, then you're implicitly admitting I'm right. So go ahead and do it. Prove to us that you're not yellow, red man.

As for "pushing" the issue, you don't know much about marketing if you trust people's reactions when you thrust the magazine in their faces. The better question is how many issues you've sold. In fact, where is the magazine being distributed for sale? I haven't seen or heard of it anywhere except in these postings, which tells me it isn't reaching the masses.maybe you should look past the negative .. instead of trying to find why its wrong and even worse convincing others why its wrong .. which by the way makes you a schmidty bleeding twat .. try and find why its right .. educate yourselfI've asked you to "educate" me about your made-up origin of the word "redskin" several times. So far you've failed to do it. You can blame yourself for being a poor educator as well as a poor writer.yeah so twat eat a dick cuz thats what twats do .. you and your indians can fuck off .. me and my redskin'd onkwehon:we will be over here doing what we do .. what else .. you use I believe, and i think alot .. you don't know .. and you can't admit itBlah, blah, blah. Whine, whine, whine. Yawn, yawn, yawn.

You "think alot"? I guess your brain isn't connected to your fingers, because your so-called thinking isn't evident in your writing.

Let's compare your magazine to my website. BlueCornComics.com has been online more than 10 years. In 2008 it received 4,312,559 pageviews. That's an average of 11,815 pageviews per day.

Meanwhile, your magazine is what...a year old? While Blue Corn Comics was entertaining and informing readers in 2008, how many issues did you sell? Have you reached four digits yet?

If you've managed to gain even 4,313 readers--which is one-thousandth of the number of readers I got last year--I'll be impressed. So tell us your sales figures and prove how popular you are, mouth. Put up or shut up.

In short, it's easy to talk the talk--to boast about your little publication. But I've been publishing my views 10 times longer than you have. Until you've proved your staying power, color me unimpressed with your startup efforts.

Origin of white people?the good twin made the deal that if the bad twin let him give life to his creation that he would control half his mind .. the deal was agreed and that was the creation of white peopleThanks for your post-contact origin of the races.

Here's one claim for how Indians came to be known as "red" people.

Beothuks:  The Red People of CanadaHave you ever wondered why people from Europe called the natives of North America "Red Indians"? First Nations people don't have red skin, so why were they called that? The name came because of the Beothuks.

The Beothuks were a native people who lived in Newfoundland. They loved to use a red ochre paint all over themselves. It was this red which made such an impression on the explorers. The name "red Indian" carried over to refer to all other First Nations.I believe the Vikings encountered the Beothuks, so the "red" appellation could've predated Columbus. But it wouldn't have predated the Vikings.the white people were giving a sense of exploration .. to ask why?Great...white people as curious explorers. Other people as uncurious homebodies. Thanks for reinforcing the notion of Western civilization's superiority to Native civilizations, bright boy.

Are you claiming your description of white people as explorers is also pre-contact? That the "red" people not only knew about white people but knew they were exploring the whole world?

If so, I'm guessing you're wrong. I'd say this story is almost certainly post-contact.

Anyway, I'm glad you approve of white people like me asking why. Therefore, I'll continue to ask why you've titled your magazine with an ethnic slur. Why?

Below:  A resident of Redskin Road in Redskin City.

"me rite like this .. with funny dots .. because me am primitive redskin. Brave and squaw in teepee .. no teach good English .. like smart white man. Too busy count wampum .. smoke peace pipe .. pray to Great Spirit. Me very angry .. can't rite good .. me so ignorant."

Elvis in Flaming Star

Flaming StarFlaming Star is a 1960 western film starring Elvis Presley, based on the book Flaming Lance (1958) by Clair Huffaker. A dramatic role, it is said that Elvis Presley gave one of his best acting performances as the half-breed "Pacer Burton." The film's working title was Black Star. It was directed by Don Siegel.

Plot

Elvis Presley plays Pacer Burton, the son of a Kiowa mother and a Texas rancher father. Along with his half-brother, Clint, the four of them live a typical life on the Texas frontier. Life soon becomes anything but typical when a nearby tribe of Kiowa begin raiding neighboring homesteads. Pacer soon finds himself caught between the two worlds, part of both but belonging to neither.Comment:  I haven't seen this movie. But judging by the poster, Elvis must've been a singing half-breed. <g>

For a detailed look at this movie, see Flaming Star--20th Century Fox 1960. For more on the subject, see The Best Indian Movies.

The threat to Mt. Taylor

Mount Taylor named one of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic PlacesMuch of the area is governed by the 1872 Mining Law, which permits mining regardless of its impact on cultural or natural resources, meaning that the U.S. Forest Service and other federal land management agencies lack the authority to deny mining applications, even if the application would adversely affect those resources. In addition to threats posed to the mountain itself, uranium mining may contaminate or impair Acoma’s primary water source, the Rio San Jose. The Acoma people view the Rio San Jose as both the key to their physical survival and the cultural lifeblood of their community.

“Mount Taylor is a significant part of the cultural history of the Acoma people and many other Native American tribes,” said Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. “We can’t allow an antiquated mining law--one that has no merit today--to forever scar a place that has tremendous historical and cultural significance to thousands of Americans.”

The potential destruction of Mount Taylor is not limited to mining. If permits are approved, new roads will be constructed, creating congestion on the mountain. The visual and auditory impact will be significant--the sights and sounds of mining on Mount Taylor would forever disturb both the tranquility of the setting and the traditional cultural practices that have taken place there for more than a millennium.Comment:  For more on the subject, see Mt. Taylor Among Endangered Places.

Bolivian indigenous hip hop

Rapping in Aymara

Bolivian indigenous hip hop as an instrument of struggleBojorquez belongs to a group of rappers in El Alto, a sprawling city above La Paz which is home to around 800,000 people. His group and music is called Wayna Rap (Wayna means young in Aymara). Under the umbrella of Wayna Rap are smaller bands like Insane Race, Uka Mau y Ke, Clandestine Race and others. They often get together in freestyle events, where different singers take turns at the mike.

“The door is open to everyone. … This is our proposal for how to change society,” Bojorquez said. Though they collaborate with a wide variety of people, “we don’t just sing things like ‘I’m feeling bad, my girlfriend just left me and now I am going to get drunk.’ It’s more about trying to solve problems in society.” The social and political themes in the music come from the city’s reality. The death and conflicts in the 2003 Gas War made a huge impact on El Alto, and many of the songs reflect that.

In many of Bojorquez’s songs, Andean flutes and drums mesh with the beat. This aspect, along with the indigenous language, sets the music apart from standard hip hop. The topics covered are also distinct. In one song, they grapple with street violence and homelessness in El Alto. It deals with “children living in the street, orphans of mothers and fathers and the violence that grows every day. The lack of work, all of these things,” Bojorquez explained. “We try to show the true reality of what is happening in the country, not hide it.”Comment:  For more on Bolivia's indigenous arts, see Pop Art Capital of South America and Native Video = Organizing Tool.

Hoopa receives Amgen Award

Hoopa science teacher gets national awardComing out of the Humboldt State University teaching credential program, Brian Hopper barely found a job. Six years later, his work at Hoopa Valley High School has garnered him a national award for science teaching excellence.

Biotechnology giant Amgen recently announced that Hopper is one of six California teachers--and only 34 throughout the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada--to receive the company's annual Amgen Award for Science Teaching Excellence. The award comes with $10,000 in grant money, which Hopper said he is busily trying to figure out exactly what to do with.

Outrage over Red Man's View remake

In Remake of 1909 Silent Film, journalist Debra Utacia Krol expressed outrage over an upcoming remake of Red Man's View. This remake is supposedly set in "1864 during the end of the Civil War in the northwestern territories of California."Say WHATTTTT???? I can't even begin to tell you what all is historically inaccurate with this whole idea. What a way to start a morning!!Deb, I think you've read a lot into that one phrase about the setting. "Northwestern territories of California" doesn't make sense because California was a state in 1864. There's never been a region called the northwestern territory or territories of California, and certainly not since California achieved statehood in 1850.

Could be the PR person who wrote this--it came from a press release--didn't know much about US history and garbled what a source told him or her. Could be the source said something like this: "The story is set in the northwest territories--specifically in California."

What the source may have meant was, "The story is set in the northwest territories of the US that encompass Washington, Oregon, Idaho, western Montana, and northern California and Nevada. It's specifically set in a valley such as Yosemite in California."

The Western Shoshone

As I'm sure you know, some Shoshone Indians did live in parts of California--though not in Yosemite. As Wikipedia notes:Western Shoshone comprises several Native American tribes that are indigenous to the Great Basin and have lands identified in the Treaty of Ruby Valley 1863. They resided in Idaho, Nevada, California, and Utah. The tribe is very closely related to the Paiute, Goshute, Bannock, and Ute tribes.

Federally recognized Western Shoshone Tribes include Duckwater Shoshone Tribe (Ely, Nevada), Te-Moak Tribe of the Western Shoshone Indians of Nevada and its four Constituent Band Councils of Battle Mountain, Elko and Wells Colonies and South Fork Reservation), Timbisha Tribe of the Western Shoshone Nation (Death Valley, California region) and Yomba Western Shoshone Tribe (near Winnemucca, Nevada).More confusion arises because the press release labels everything with "Union"--Union squatters, Union soldiers, Union government. I'm guessing the writer just meant the United States and the US Army. He or she may have thought the US changed its name to "the Union" during the Civil War. (Not so, obviously.)

I'm guessing the writer was describing a regular Army unit that was stationed in the area. Not a Civil War unit somehow displaced to California and looking for Confederate soldiers in the Sierras.

Perhaps not coincidentally, Nevada became a state in 1864. I can imagine US soldiers in Nevada for some reason--to celebrate statehood? To obtain silver for the war effort?--and crossing into California to thwart a Shoshone "uprising."

Another explanation

Another possibility is that the source simply meant the northwest corner of California. Then the reference to the Shoshone would be wrong, but the story could be a takeoff on the history of Fort Bragg.In prehistoric days, the area now known as Fort Bragg was home to the Native American Indians, most of whom belonged to the Pomo tribe. They were hunter-gatherers who lived close to the land and sea along the northern coast of California.

1855-1867

In 1855 an exploration party from the Bureau of Indian Affairs visited the area looking for a site on which to establish a reservation and, in the spring of 1856, the Mendocino Indian Reservation was established at Noyo. It was 25,000 acres and extended from what is now Simpson Lane to Abalobadiah Creek and east to Bald Hill.

In the summer of 1857, First Lieutenant Horatio G. Gibson, then serving at the Presidio in San Francisco, established a military post on the Mendocino Indian Reservation approximately one and one-half miles north of the Noyo River. He named the camp for his former commanding officer Captain Braxton Bragg, who later became a General in the Army of the Confederacy. The official date of the establishment of the fort was June 11, 1857. Its purpose was to maintain order on the reservation.

In 1862 a company from the 2nd California Infantry assumed command and remained until 1864. In October of that year the Fort Bragg garrison was loaded aboard the steamer "Panama" and completed the evacuation and abandonment of Mendocino County's first military post.

The Mendocino Indian reservation was discontinued in March 1886 and the land opened for settlement several years later.This would give the filmmakers Union soldiers, redwoods and other scenery, and Indians being displaced by a fort and a mill. If we assume the source meant Pomo instead of Shoshone, it's almost a legitimate story. We could attribute the filming in Yosemite to a misguided sense of artistic license.

Yet another explanation

A third possibility is that the remake really is the story of the Yosemite ("Grizzly") Indians. What I said previously would explain the "northwest territories" bit and the Union soldiers. Again Shoshone would be wrong, but otherwise the story would be roughly true:

Indians of YosemiteVillages in Yosemite

The points on the floor of Yosemite at which the Indians at one time or another lived or camped are numerous. Dr. C. Hart Merriam, the greatest living authority on these people, enumerates about forty such spots and supplies the information which he obtained about them and verified from the Indians.

The number of the band at the time of discovery is not accurately known, but may be estimated to have been in the vicinity of two hundred and fifty souls.

Encounters with the Americans:  Tenaya

It was their raids on miners, prospectors, and scattered storekeepers, that in 1851 led to the formation of a little volunteer army known as Savage’s Mariposa Battalion. This company went up into the as yet unpenetrated mountains in pursuit of the Yosemite "Grizzlies" and to their overwhelming astonishment burst into the hitherto undiscovered valley. In the fighting that followed, the Indians were defeated, and part of them, including the Chief Tenaya, captured. The prisoners were taken to the San Joaquin Valley and put on a reservation. Here they kept the peace, but were in great distress of mind on account of their deprivation of the natural foods to which they were accustomed in their own haunts, as well as owing to their enforced contiguity to alien or hostile tribes. Tenaya pleaded to be let off. He was finally released, returned to Yosemite, and within four years was followed by all the surviving members of the band.After rereading the original posting, I can't tell if this remake is based on a true story or a complete work of fiction. I'm guessing it's a fictionalized version of how the US forced some Northwest Indians to relocate a la Chief Joseph. The filmmakers may have set it in "California" only to include Yosemite or Yosemite-like scenery.

You can imagine why they'd want to use Yosemite. It's so much more romantic if the Indians are living in idyllic peace beneath towering peaks, pine trees, and waterfalls. I can almost see the soaring hawks already. <g>

Anyway, this is all speculation. And the movie may have other problems we don't know about. To learn more, feel free to contact the Biograph Company. Let us know what they say.

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

Below:  A beautiful setting for a made-up story about Indians.

Dean Martin's Not Enough Indians

Wagon train of lovin' moving slow
And I can see the peace pipe burning low
You criticize each little thing I do
But listen baby, I've got news for you

There's too many chiefs and not enough Indians around this house
Baby I'm tired of this old game we play called cat and mouse
If you don't give just a little bit more
We're both gonna lose this race
'Cause there's too many chiefs and not enough Indians around this place

Trouble on our happy hunting ground
'Cause you keep stepping too far out of bounds
It's hard to run this reservation right
When you stay on the warpath day and night

Well there's too many chiefs and not enough Indians around this house
Baby I'm tired of this old game we play called cat and mouse
If you don't give just a little bit more
We're both gonna lose this race
'Cause there's too many chiefs and not enough Indians around this place

Look at all the things I have to do
To keep this teepee running just for you
Well time's are tough and wampum's hard to save
Just remember who's the squaw and who's the brave

Well there's too many chiefs and not enough Indians around this house
Baby I'm tired of playing this old game called cat and mouse
If you don't give just a little bit more
We're both gonna lose this race
'Cause there's too many chiefs and not enough Indians around this placeComment:  The "video" is kind of lame since it doesn't show any images. But at least you can hear Dean Martin sing.

The person who posted it said it might be "politically incorrect." Translation: It's definite incorrect, not to mention stereotypical and racist. Again, imagine Martin singing about half-naked indigenous Africans hunting with spears. No way would we tolerate a song that portrays blacks as primitive savages.

The poster also said it's a "bit sexist." Translation: It's totally sexist. There's nothing in this song that isn't sexist.

I can just imagine a real Lakota woman's response to this "brave's" behavior:

White Buffalo Calf Woman Society celebrating 31 yearsDivorce and “marriage for some tribes was a very quick ceremony.”

“All a woman had to do is gather his things and set them outside the teepee and he knew then he was no longer welcome in her home. The teepee was her domain--her home. Property belonged to us and it was ours to give or to keep.”And if he laid a finger on her?A domestic violence survivor, Black Bear told two similar stories “about how a man was handled if they raped or battered a woman especially in marriage”--one involving a gun and the other a knife but both with a lethal ending. The stories “served as a warning to Lakota males before European settlers changed their lives forever.”In other words, "Get the hell out of this tipi, you drunken louse, before my kinfolk turn you into a soprano."

Alas, most people who commented on this YouTube video waxed nostalgic about the song and slammed anyone who called it stereotypical. Isn't it nice how men used to be men and women used to be chattel, they implied. In other words, most people are stupid and ignorant.

For more song analyses, see Natives Sing It Their Way.

Dennis Miller's "Touch Indians"

Correspondent DMarks brought this curiosity to my attention:

Why does Dennis Miller say "touch indians" when he talks about talking to people?Best Answer--Chosen by Asker

The phrase Touch Indians comes from the movie Lost in America starring the great Albert Brooks via The Dennis Miller Radio Show. Shortly after being fired from a job he gave his life to, Brook's character implores his wife to throw caution to the wind and follow him on a quest to find himself and experience things he's always wanted to like they dreamed of doing when they were young. He wants to "see the country!" "Climb a mountain!" Touch Indians! It's not meant to be taken literally so relax. Dennis Miller uses the phrase in the opening segment of his great new radio show in reference to taking calls from listeners. Basically doing something new, reaching out to the folks i.e. Touching Indians!

Source(s): Taken from the website "touchindians.com"

Asker's Comment:

You're way off. First of all, there is no touchindians.com. Second, I don't need to relax, I wasn't uptight to begin with. Third, you didn't even answer the question. You just told me the movie where he got the phrase from. That doesn't tell me what touching indians means.Someone's comment on the asker's comment:you a retarded. hes more than explained what it means. if you cant figure that out, then your brain must just melt when you listen to dennis miller. stick to tom leykis dumbass.Rob's comment:  TouchIndians.com may have been a legitimate website when the first person responded. It isn't any longer.

Judging by his writing, the second person seems to be the most "retarded." But I think his point is valid. The first person gave a reasonably good answer. "Touch Indians" obviously means to go out into the real world and meet authentic people such as Indians.

SI list omits Sockalexis cousins

Author wants Sports Illustrated to honor Penobscot athletes’ legacyRice, a former journalist who now teaches journalism at the University of Maine, has researched the Sockalexis cousins’ lives and written books about them; “Baseball’s First Indian” was published in 2003 and “Native Trailblazer” was published in 2008. But his work on the Sockalexis cousins is not done. He’d like Sports Illustrated, the premier sports magazine in the country, to acknowledge the Sockalexis cousins among Maine’s top athletes and he’s e-mailed the magazine’s editors on several occasions asking them to do so.

“I have spent several years now trying to get Sports Illustrated Magazine to (1) acknowledge a terrible mistake it made in publishing a list of ‘50 greatest athletes from the State of Maine’ in 1999 and published again in 2003, celebrating the magazine’s 50th anniversary, and omitting both Sockalexis cousins, and (2) provide me with the name of the individual ‘stringer’ from Maine who, either through racial prejudice or extraordinary ignorance, provided that list to the national publication.”Comment:  For more on Louis Sockalexis, see:

The bogus Cleveland Indians story
The first Indian baseball player
Who was on first first?
Chief Wahoo is no honor

Below:  "Ed Rice, who has written biographies of Andrew and Louis Sockalexis, is on a campaign to raise awareness of and respect for the athletic accomplishments of the Penobscot cousins. Pictured is Andrew in a 1913 photo during a cross country race."

Locked up for being Tarahumara

Mexican play exposes ethnocentric injustice

The Woman Who Fell From the Sky portrays true story of misdiagnosis

By Adrian ChamberlainWhen Rita Quintero was discovered eating from garbage cans and speaking incoherently, she was diagnosed as schizophrenic and packed off to a Kansas mental asylum.

That was 26 years ago. She spent 12 years in the asylum before being vindicated and freed.

In fact, Quintero was not suffering from a mental illness. She came from a northern Mexican tribe, the Tarahumara, that speaks a little-known ancient language. Because her speech was incomprehensible to Americans and her behaviour deemed odd, she was institutionalized--a classic case of ethnocentric injustice.

This real-life story is recounted in The Woman Who Fell From the Sky, a one-act drama by Mexican playwright Hugo Rascon Banda. The play is being staged by Victoria's Puente Theatre, a troupe that routinely explores immigrant issues.Comment:  For more on the subject, see Native Plays and Other Stage Shows.

Below:  "Puente Theatre's production of The Woman Who Fell From the Sky. From right: Rosa Alvarado Stewart, Cam Culham and Gina McIntosh."

Jamestown S’Klallam shooter

A Native shooting starJaiden Grinnell, 17, clenched the top women’s score in International Skeet at the Miami Cup Skeet Championship in Miami, Fla. Feb. 8. She traveled to the Sunshine State with the United States National Shotgun Team.

This latest win marks one of many for Jaiden, an enrolled member of the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe and junior at Port Angeles High School. She has racked up enough medals to weigh her neck down, thanks to her solid shooting skills at skeet competitions across the United States, and abroad.

Four months prior to her win in Miami, she placed third in the open category at the USA Shooting Shotgun Fall Selection in Colorado Springs, Colo., Sept. 14–16. This secured her a spot on the USA team to compete at the 2009 World Shotgun Championships in Maribor, Slovenia this August. She placed first in the junior category at the event.

Dark Amber's anti-rape posters

Amber Gunn Gauthier's Photos--Dark Amber by Vlad Quigley

Amber Gunn Gauthier, aka Dark Amber, calls herself a Native American Gothic model. Vlad Quigley has drawn her in a series of comic book-style posters to protest rape.

Rob shouldn't judge Natives?

In Wassegijig Doesn't Respect "Redskins," reader Kalisetsi took me to task (again) for criticizing a Native. In Rob Shouldn't Criticize "Redskins"?! I addressed the first part of her complaint. Now I'll address the second part.I'm curious why you are so invested in the issue of Native authenticity and your interpretation of political correctness to the point that you sometimes belittle, dismiss, break apart, and disrespect Native people's feedback to you on these very issues?I covered why I write about Native people and issues in Why Write About Native Americans? Read it and get back to me if it doesn't answer your questions.Not to say your voice isn't important or you shouldn't write about Native things, but you need to respect that our experiences are not yours.I never said they were. Now who's talking down and being condescending?

When is it okay for me to write about Native issues and when isn't it okay? Apparently it's okay only as long as I don't offend, upset, or annoy a single Native. If I disagree with a Native, it's more important for me to keep quiet and respect his or her experiences than to speak.

Suppose a Native writes a movie or comic book, tells us about Robinson Crusoe or Star Trek, or theorizes about the origins of Indians. Suppose he couches these in terms of his experiences. According to you, I can't criticize anything he says. His "Indian-ness" means whatever he says is "right" by definition.

The problem with this is that Natives will never agree 100% with my position. There will always be a Native who thinks Quileute werewolves are cool, "redskin" isn't a slur, and Johnny Depp is as authentic as Sitting Bull. Therefore, you're basically telling me to stop writing about Natives.

That isn't going to happen. So I suggest you make your peace with my choice of topics and styles. It's a waste of time to tell me I have no right to criticize any Native. If you don't like it, you're free to leave.

Rob doesn't know Natives?You don't know what its like to be us, and the WAY you write about some of these things is offensive to Natives, just by virtue of the fact that you are an outsider."Offensive" in your opinion, you mean. Several thousand Natives disagree with you, since they've continued to read my work without complaint.

In fact, the vast majority of Natives have always supported what I do. I haven't seen any change in that percentage since I began in the early 1990s.

So who are these Natives whom I've allegedly offended? Cite and quote their claims of being offended.

No surprise if you can't or won't do it. As far as I can tell, you're just making up these charges.

Moreover, who says your experiences are the same as those of other Natives across the land? If my employer and friend is a Pechanga Indian and you've never talked to him or his people, it's ridiculous for you to claim you know his experiences better than I do. That's your arrogance speaking: that your mystical Native intuition means you know best.I have been reading you for years, and watched you debate and rather arrogantly dismiss numerous individuals and tribes as inauthentic.I've been writing myself for years, and I have an excellent recall of what I've written. Let's review it.

In general, I've erred on the side of inclusiveness rather than exclusiveness. About the only individuals I've dismissed are (alleged) frauds like Ward Churchill and David Yeagley, New Age wannabes, and hobbyists in Germany and elsewhere. Virtually the only "tribes" I've dismissed are a few unrecognized Cherokee splinter groups around the country. Like most people, I accept the 560-plus federally recognized tribes and their members as Natives.

Again, these positions are the same as the positions held by most Natives. My position reflects theirs. Repeat: I'm not making the policy, I'm repeating the policy I've read and absorbed from thousands of Native sources. Only once in a great while do I take a position that differs from the standard Native position.

So again, where's the evidence that I've dismissed "numerous" individuals and tribes? What do you call "numerous"--two or three? I'd say numerous means a number in the dozens, at least. If that's what you mean, you're wrong.

Rob dismisses the Pequots?!(I am Cherokee by way of Kentucky, and my husband is 1/2 blood Pequot and 1/4 blood Shinnecock, so I read your dismissal of Johnny Depp and the Pequots with much interest).That you think I've dismissed the Mashantucket Pequots when I've done exactly the opposite is scary. I've defended this tribe dozens of times in my blog and website. If you don't know that much, you have no business expressing any opinions on what I've written. You literally don't know what you're talking about.

As for Johnny Depp, you're right. I've dismissed him because most Indians dismiss him as an Indian. Deal with it.

I spelled out my criteria for who's an Indian in "Actual Indian" Defined, and one criterion is acceptance by one's Native peers. If you think you can show that most Indians accept Depp as something other than a white man with a little Cherokee blood, go ahead and do it. If you succeed, I'll revise my opinion accordingly.

But don't tell us you know all about Depp's Indian-ness unless you actually do. Again, facts and evidence are the only things that matter here, not unsubstantiated opinions. Your opinion that your opinion is better than mine is worthless unless you prove it.However, I didn't realize until recently that you aren't NDN. I saw your picture, but just assumed all this time that you were Native until I recently read your bio.That's revealing. For years, you accepted my opinions because you thought I was Native. My opinions were sound enough that they passed for Native.

Now you've learned the identity that I've never hidden. Suddenly I no longer have the right to express the opinions I expressed before. They're exactly the same opinions, but they've magically changed from acceptable to unacceptable.

Sorry, but I don't buy it. I support all my positions with as much knowledge and expertise of Natives as possible. If these positions were valid before, they're still valid. Nothing has changed except your perception of my "right" to take them.

Rob decides who's Native?I don't think its your place to decide who is or isn't Native.So I should just accept anyone who claims to be an Indian as an Indian? Every (alleged) fraud like Ward Churchill and David Yeagley, every New Age wannabe, every hobbyist in Germany and elsewhere? Rubbish.

If you want to embrace every huckster, fraud, and plastic shaman, every wannabe who has a drop of Indian blood, be my guest. Start your own blog and welcome the all the phonies and pretenders you want.

I'm not going to do that here. I'll continue to operate based on the standard I've articulated--the one used by most Indians. If you don't like it, tough.

For more on the subject of including people who are part Indian, see Rob Doesn't Understand "Mutts"?For you to do that, as a non-NDN, I think its just as destructive to us as some of the stereotypical images that you post up on "stereotype of the month".A lot of sound and fury, signifying nothing. You have no evidence that anything I've said has harmed anyone. You're making up wild charges out of thin air.

Again, I'm reflecting what most Indians say and think. I'm not doing anything they don't do. My opinions can't be more destructive than theirs because they're the same opinions.When you think that you are such an expert that you are more right about anything Native than Native peoples themselvesI haven't said and I don't think I'm an expert. I've said my positions reflect the positions held by most Indians. Which part of this are you having trouble understanding?

I think you've made your position clear. For about the fifth time, you've attacked me by saying I've made up positions that aren't held by most Indians. For about the fifth time, I've corrected you. I've told you that in most cases my positions are the positions held by most Indians. Example: Most Indians oppose "redskins."

Would you like to make it an even half dozen? Why don't you tell me again that I shouldn't express an opinion about Native issues? Because that's what your position amounts to. If a single Native on the planet disagrees with something I've written, I should "respect" her feelings and stop. Even if the rest of the Native universe agrees with me.

A few = "numerous"?well, that sounds a little like a "Hobby Indian" telling us how to sing our songs the "RIGHT way".That sounds like a stupid analogy to me. In fact, it sounds like you don't know what the hell you're talking about. You've mistaken disagreeing with a few Natives and disagreeing with "numerous" or many Natives--two very different things.I'm just asking you to give my words some serious thought.For the last time, I hope, I read and absorb dozens of Native opinions every day. That's hundreds of thousands of Native opinions over the course of my career. In the vast majority of cases, my opinion reflects the consensus of these Natives.

Given that I try to reflect Native positions as often as possible, what exactly do I need to rethink? The offensiveness of the word "redskins" to Native people? No. When I've accurately restated a Native position, I don't need to rethink anything.

If you want to rethink anything, rethink why you're defending an ethnic slur against your own people. Tell us why it's okay for Sheena Wassegijig to call Indians "redskins" even if many consider it akin to "nigger." Good luck with your answer...you'll need it.

For more on the subject, see Rob the Presumptuous White Man? and Wrong to Point Out Stereotypes?

Below:  If some actual Indians are Cleveland baseball fans, I can't tell them Chief Wahoo is racist and stereotypical? Because their "experiences" trump my opinions? Stupid, illogical, and wrong.

Youth for Western Civilization

Right-Wing College Group Riles Students on Campuses NationwideA student group that bills itself as "America's right wing youth movement" focused on countering radical multiculturism, socialism and mass immigration is causing a stir on a growing number of college campuses across the country.

The conservative political group Youth for Western Civilization is currently organized on at least seven university campuses. According to its Web site, the group hopes to inspire Western youth on the "basis of pride in their American and Western heritage," counter and ultimately defeat "leftism on campus" and create a social movement in which a right-wing subculture is an alternative to what it calls a "poisonous and bigoted" campus climate.

"A great part of college is definitely meeting people of different backgrounds, but a multicultural ideology teaches that we should appreciate things just because they're different from our culture with no regards to the quality of the culture and that all cultures are inherently equal," said Trevor Williams, president of YWC's Vanderbilt chapter. "I absolutely disagree."

But students who lean left are not welcoming their new neighbor. Those opposed to YWC say its message teeters on hate speech and has no place at institutions of higher learning.

"'Western' is a veiled term that means 'white,'" University of North Carolina graduate student Tyler Oakley wrote in an e-mail to FOXNews.com. "I believe that our democracy is strong enough to allow extreme forms of speech, but YWC's message is essentially a negative one, an assault on not being white or non-Western, and is therefore hateful, if not blatant hate speech."Comment:  Trevor Williams should try opening a dictionary before he opens his mouth. The definition of multiculturalism doesn't say anything about all cultures being equal. Apparently his Hitler-lite organization is based on his stupid misunderstanding of a word.

It's fine for Americans to have pride in their "Western heritage" if they actually have a Western heritage. But what about all the American blacks, Asians, and Indians who don't have this heritage? Whose ancestors were victimized by those who do have this heritage?

Why should these Americans celebrate someone else's heritage rather than their own? Who says their heritage isn't American also? Williams needs to retake his junior-high history (i.e., Melting Pot 101) if he thinks American = Western.

Fact is, our culture already celebrates its Western heritage in a million ways. There's no need for a group to celebrate the obvious, the norm, the default. It would be like having a group called Youth for Mothers or Youth for Blue Skies: unnecessary and redundant.

In short, I'd say student Oakley has Williams pegged accurately. Youth for Western Civilization is basically Youth for White Privilege in disguise. It's a way for white students to assert their supremacy over others.

For more on the subject, see Multicultural Origins of Civilization and Greek Lies, Historic Truth.

Maya in Brideshead Revisited

In the eighth episode of Brideshead Revisited, the 1981 British television serial, Charles Ryder (Jeremy Irons) travels for two years painting scenes in South America. Upon returning to New York, he holds a show of his paintings.

They're mostly abstracts of the lush scenery, but a couple of them show Maya ruins. Oops. There weren't any Maya ruins in South America. The producers probably included them to add an exotic air to Ryder's travels. As if he had penetrated to the "heart of darkness" before returning to civilization.

This gives me the opportunity to say Brideshead Revisited is hugely overrated. People allegedly dropped everything to gather around the tube when it originally aired. The British voted it tenth of the "100 Greatest British Television Programmes."

Basically it's a typical Masterpiece Theater-style drama--the lives of the rich and spoiled in early 20th-century Britain. Hardship is when you're forced to economize and let some of your servants go. Suffering is when you're so bored you drink yourself into a stupor.

All the energy is provided by Anthony Andrews as Lord Sebastian Flyte. But he disappears about a quarter of the way into the series and is rarely seen again. We follow the less-interesting Charles as he doesn't rescue Sebastian, watches Laurence Olivier die, and doesn't marry Julia.

In the end, not much has changed or happened. The producers said how happy they were to have 12 hours in which to explore the novel. I think a two- or four-hour version would've sufficed.

If you want a superior drawing-room drama, stick with Upstairs, Downstairs. For more on the subject, see TV Shows Featuring Indians.

Erdrich to give Dartmouth address

Native American author Louise Erdrich '76 to give Dartmouth's 2009 Commencement address Sunday, June 14Louise Erdrich, a 1976 graduate of Dartmouth who has won acclaim as a writer in multiple genres—most recently she was a finalist for this year’s Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her novel The Plague of Doves—will deliver the main address at the College’s 2009 Commencement exercises on Sunday morning, June 14, on the Dartmouth Green. She is one of seven individuals who will receive honorary degrees at the event.

The daughter of a Native American (Ojibwe and French) mother and a German American father, Erdrich is an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa. She grew up in Wahpeton, North Dakota and came to Dartmouth as a member of the College’s first class to include women. Since then she has built a career as a novelist, poet and author of children’s books, authoring 14 books that have become bestsellers or won awards—including the O. Henry Prize, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and the Heartland Prize for Fiction. She was twice nominated for a National Book Award, and was a finalist for the 2009 Pulitzer Prize. One of her four daughters, Aza, is a member of the Dartmouth Class of 2011.Comment:  For more on the subject, see Erdrich's Books Are All-American and The Best Indian Books.

Final quotes in Tecumseh's Vision

Concluding the discussion of Tecumseh's Vision, the second episode of PBS's We Shall Remain series:

A couple of historian quotes explain why Tecumseh is so memorable:Tecumseh is saved by his death for immortality. One of the great things in icons is to bow out at the right time. Tecumseh never lets you down. He bows out at the peak of this great movement he's leading.And:I think one of the things that is so important about Tecumseh is that he is a person who by his vision, and by his personality, and by the way he conducts himself, gives us glimpses of humanity at his best. That in the most difficult of situations--in the most hopeless of situations, perhaps--people can have the courage to stand up and fight for what they believe in. Courage in the face of adversity: Tecumseh personifies it.In an online poll conducted a few years ago, Native and non-Native respondents picked Leonard Peltier as the greatest Indian ever. I was thinking, "Are you out of your freakin' minds?" How does someone who has stoically endured a prison sentence compare to someone who almost led a confederation of Indians to victory over the USA? I'm not sure who would be the second choice--Sitting Bull? Crazy Horse?--but Tecumseh seems a clear choice for no. 1.

For more on the subject, see Winning in Tecumseh's Vision and Review of Tecumseh's Vision.

Navajo language spelling bee

Farmington students compete in first Navajo language spelling bee

By Alysa LandryFarmington Municipal Schools' first Navajo Spelling Bee pitted students from grades four through eight against one of the world's most difficult languages.

Kristi Smith, an eighth-grader at Tibbetts Middle School, emerged as the champion after correctly spelling "adinídíín," the Navajo word for "sunlight."

"It's really hard," she said after receiving her trophy. "In English, it's just plain letters, but in Navajo, you have to remember to say all the high tones, nasal hooks and glottal stops."

The Navajo written language includes 32 consonants and four vowels, but it also comprises a variety of accent marks and other pronunciation rules.Comment:  For more on the subject, see Navajos in Spelling Bees and Navajo Spelling Bee Champ.

Mini-Marvels featuring Warpath

Bulletin Bits #28 by Chris Giarrusso

Comment:  For more on the subject, see Warpath Kills for X-FORCE and Comic Books Featuring Indians.