Wicasset loves "Redskins," "yellow" Japanese

Say ‘No’ to Mascot Racism

By Gale Courey ToensingNearly 256 years after the colonial government of British King George II placed a rich bounty on Indian scalps, Maine’s Regional School Unit 12 (RSU 12) has voted to ban the use of the Redskins name and mascot from all eight schools it governs. The next day as many as 70 of Wiscasset High School’s students staged a walkout protesting the decision. “We would like it to stay Redskins,” a Wiscasset High School student said at the protest. “We use the term with pride… and the majority of the town wanted to keep the name.” One student held a sign that said, say no to change. A Facebook group called “1000 Strong Against Changing the Wiscasset Redskins name” had more than 1,000 members soon after it was created in September.And:There was resistance to change within the school board, “and it was strong and deep,” Bissonette Lewey said. Eugene Stover, a RSU 12 board member and one of the most vocal opponents of dropping the Redskins name, said during a board debate, “We’ve had this in our system since the 1930s and have never once demeaned the Redskin mascot. It’s been treated with dignity and respect. Where is the problem?” Wiscasset residents voted 503-128 against the change in an unofficial survey on Election Day last November. “Those who want to change this should be shot,” someone wrote on a ballot slip, Bissonette Lewey said. She said other comments by some mascot committee members during a meeting in November included the complaint that, “We can’t call the blacks Negroes any more, now you’re telling us we can’t call Indians redskins? Next thing will be not to call Japanese yellow.”Comment:  I posted this because of the final quote, which is revealing. It's all there in the words and tone. This board member is asserting the white privilege to say and do whatever he or she wants. What matters is this person's beliefs, feelings, and desires--and nothing else.

Here's a translation of the board member's comments: "The brown-skins are telling us--white people!--what to do. Don't they understand that we're in charge? How much of this pretense of equality and sensitivity do we have to endure?

"The Indians lost...we own them...we made them our pet mascots to 'honor' them. And now they're off the reservation and on the warpath again? We won't tolerate these uppity coons, wetbacks, gooks, or redskins. If they don't like living in a white Christian country under our control, they can go back where they came from.

"This is our country, not theirs. We stole it fair and square. Finder's keepers, losers weepers."

Back to the 1950s

Really, this board member is okay with calling Indians "redskins" and the Japanese "yellow"? Is the person also okay with terms such as "spade," "mick," "wop," and "hebe"? I'm guessing yes.

Calling the Japanese "yellow" is decades out of date. Which again suggests where these people are coming from. They want to return to the pre-1960s era when whites called minorities whatever they wanted: "Negro," "redskin," or "yellow." And minorities either liked it or lumped it. Those were the good ol' days: when inferiors didn't have the right or the power to contradict their superiors.

Then there's the usual right-wing appeal to violence. This board member figuratively (or literally?) wants to kill anyone who disagrees. The brown-skins aren't quite American or human, the person seems to be saying, so we can do whatever we want with them. Like cats and dogs, we can "put them down" if they become too annoying.

Meanwhile, Eugene Stover has totally missed the point. It's not how you treat your Redskins mascot that matters, Stover. It's how your mascot "treats"--i.e., offends and insults--other people. Your intent is irrelevant compared to the outcome. If the mascot promotes harmful stereotypes, who cares about your childish obsession?

For more absurd mascot positions, see Miami Students Sing "Scalp Song" and Student "Tribe" Shows Team Spirit.

Below:  How Wiscasset High School views minorities.

Robertson in songwriters' hall of fame

Robbie Robertson to join Songwriters Hall of Fame

Luc Plamondon among Quebec songwriters to be honouredRobbie Robertson's prowess at penning poignant, moving songs will be celebrated this spring when he is inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame.

The honour will be the latest such accolade for the Toronto-born musician and former member of The Band, who has previously been inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.

Robertson is known for such classic songs as The Weight, Somewhere Down the Crazy River, The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down and Broken Arrow.

He will be feted at a April 2 gala in Toronto as one of two modern-era songwriters, along with French-Canadian colleague Luc Plamondon, who has penned hits for artists such as Céline Dion and Robert Charlebois.Comment:  For more on the subject, see Robertson Works with Clapton, Reznor.

Who are the Kossa Indian Dancers?

Local organization highlights worldly opportunitiesYou don't have to have Native American ancestry to appreciate Native American dance, and you don't have to have Native American ancestry to learn the steps, either.

This from Mark Sawyer, Director of the Kossa Indian Dancers on Napoleon Street in Sulphur.

Kossa's been a part of the Sulphur landscape for over 40 years, having traveled recently to Busan, South Korea and other places in the world.

"We give these kids the chance to go out and do worldly things, and that's something you'll not see in other youth programs," Sawyer said.

It is a youth and family oriented program, Sawyer continued, one with the aim of providing better opportunities for its participants.

"Indian dance is a tool we use to get to an end. We like think that we make a kid better than he would be without us, ready to enter society. Like I tell people, I got kids that can say 'we played hackie sack on the second level of the Eiffel Tower this year," Sawyer said.

"In the last two years my kids have visited Busan, Korea, and were the official representatives of the North American continent at the Busan Trek Games."

Each dancer is a part of an overall team that includes far more than just those who are onstage. From costume design to lighting to actually performing, every participant is contributing to the overall success of the Kossa Indian Dancers program.Comment:  I don't know for sure, but the photo accompanying the article suggests the man and boys are whites pretending to be Indians. In other words, minstrel-like performers dressed up in redface.

They're dressed for powwow-style fancydancing. With several years of study, non-Natives might learn how to make the regalia and perform the dances. It still seems wrong to me, but I guess it's not a legal or moral crime. I don't think anyone claims to own powwow dances performed in public venues by many tribes.

That's different from a sacred ritual such as the ones the Kossa Dancers appropriated. You don't have to have Native ancestry to learn those dances? Perhaps not, but it certainly helps to come from a Native culture.

For a typical religious dance, the learning process might go something like this. Children spend the first 8-10 years watching the dance, learning its subtleties, absorbing its meaning from the surrounding culture. They spend the next 5-7 years making their regalia, practicing on the sidelines, earning their elders' approval. Then, when they're young adults, they get to participate in the actual dance.

That's not something you can "reproduce" after watching it for a week. Yet that's what the Kossa Dancers are supposedly doing. I'd say that's a clear case of offensive cultural appropriation.

Kossa Dancers take Native gigs

Back to the powwow-style fancydancing. Even if the non-Native Kossa Dancers have a right to do these dances, they also have a responsibility. When they travel around the world, what exactly do they say to the people who hire and pay them? How do they represent or misrepresent themselves?

Do they say, "Wouldn't you rather hire real Indians than imitators like us? There are thousands of Indians who can do these dances better and more authentically. Here are some of the Native dance troupes you should think about hiring."

That's kind of what I say when someone asks me to reprint my Native-themed comics or speak on Native subjects. For instance, someone recently asked to include PEACE PARTY in a show featuring non-Western themes in graphic novels. I said something like, "Since I'm not Native, my comics aren't exactly non-Western, you know. They're a Western attempt to present non-Western themes and concepts. Are you sure that's what you want?"

Do the Kossa Dancers say something like that? Or do they call themselves the best, the truest, the only "Native" dancers worth hiring? Like European "hobbyists," do they proclaim themselves the "keepers" of Native traditions that are no longer practiced elsewhere?

I suspect they do say something like that. How else would they get invited to be the "official" representative of North America? Even their name--Kossa Indian Dancers--suggests they're presenting themselves as something genuine or authentic.

Shouldn't gigs like that go to real Native dance troupes, not a bunch of wannabes? Yes, I think they should. Unless the Kossa Dancers include or give back to Native dancers somehow, they're taking from the cultures they supposedly represent.

For some postings that bear on this subject, see Powwow Dance Excludes Unregistered Indian, "Native Religion" for Indians Only?, and Debating the Hokey Mayokis.

Sculpting with chainsaws

Sculpting with ChainsawsEerkes, who is of Choctaw-Chickasaw descent, comes close to being a one-of-a-kind in the world of wood carving. After retiring from three decades of coaching and teaching at the high school level (physical education, dance, adventure sports), she and husband Dave took up hand-whittling smaller works, the desk-top and mantle piece items.

Splitting time between their Tucson homestead and 10 acres in the mountains above Alamagordo, they had plenty of wood to practice on. “We had to do a lot of thinning of ponderosa pine, oak, and juniper and we realized we couldn’t burn it all in our fireplace. Then one day I spotted a guy doing chainsaw carvings at a roadside stand. I was fascinated by the artistry involved and wondered how I might get started. We traded in our whittling knife for a chainsaw, a little 12” blade saw, and started practicing on the wood we had already cut.”And:The length of time needed to finish one of these pieces of art depends on the piece of art itself. “One reason I love chainsaw carving is that I can get more done quickly because you’re moving a lot of wood really fast. I tend to be anal with details which slows things down a bit, but depending on what you’re carving—from start to finish—if I worked on one piece only, it would be a full week of full work days before I’d turn the saw off for good and consider it a finished piece.”

Eerkes does some projects for her own satisfaction, like the traditional cigar store Indian. “I don’t know why really, just because I’ve always wanted to do one I guess,” she says. Bears, like the one on her front porch that holds a ‘Welcome’ sign, seem to be the most-requested subject. “I’ve done all kinds, dancing bears, waving bears, growling bears, sitting bears, but my signature bear is a happy one with a smile on its face.”Comment:  For more on unusual Native sculptures, see Sculptures Made of Scrap Metal.

American Indian Film Gallery

Six Flicks from the American Indian Film GalleryThe online American Indian Film Gallery, a collection of vintage motion pictures that cover the Native American experience, has recently posted its 400th film. “I had all of these wonderful historical movies, and nobody ever made a documentary using the footage,” said founder and curator J. Fred MacDonald. “So I put it all online for free. These are historical documents, for good or bad. They have to be collected and made available for people to understand history.” MacDonald commented on some of his favorites.

1) Before the White Man Came: “This is a unique feature film, a Western starring only Crow and Northern Cheyenne actors. Filmed in Montana in 1918, it tells the story of a young couple from rival tribes.”

2) “Maria Tallchief Dances”: “Here are segments from the Pabst Christmas Special that aired on CBS television network on Christmas eve in 1952.”

3) “El Navajo”: “The Santa Fe Railroad made several promotional films in the 1940s and 1950s intended to attract tourists to come to Indian country in New Mexico and Arizona—an area served by Santa Fe. ‘El Navajo’ is the best of the Santa Fe movies.”

4) “Injun Talk”: “Despite its derogatory title, this is an informative film that explores the sign language employed by plains Indians in earlier times.”

5) “Always Kickin’”: “This is a short comedy from 1932 in which Jim Thorpe (Sac and Fox), the greatest athlete of the 20th century, plays an important speaking role.”

6) “Golden State Gourd Society”: “These news outtakes are from a Los Angeles TV report on off-reservation Indians who gather regularly to renew friendships as well as sing and dance, particularly the Gourd Dance derived from the Kiowas of Oklahoma.”
Comment:  Before the White Man Came seems to have aced out Moonhair as the first American feature film with an all-Native cast. I suspect there are other contenders too.

For more on the subject, see The Best Indian Movies and Native Documentaries and News.

Inuit art in New Jersey and Japan

Inuit Art Traveling the WorldFrom a Nunavut hamlet, to a small New Jersey town, to far-flung Asia, Inuit art is making the rounds in February and March.

A small town right outside Trenton is the unlikely host of a collection of prints and drawings by Inuit artists from the hamlet of Cape Dorset, in Canada, from a studio long known for its art.

Through March 2 an exhibit at the College of New Jersey, “Contemporary Inuit Art from Cape Dorset,” is featuring 26 works by 11 artists from the Kinngait Studio in the hamlet, known as the capital of Inuit art.And:Meanwhile, halfway across the world, the Canadian Museum of Civilization is showcasing Inuit print making in the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo. “Inuit Prints: Japanese Inspiration” includes Inuit art from Cape Dorset and gives a nod to James Houston, credited with both introducing Japanese prints to the Arctic 50 years ago (and thus inspiring this particular Inuit art genre) and “discovering” Inuit art.

The exhibit, which will remain in Tokyo until mid-March and then travel the world, explores Japanese influences on Cape Dorset’s print making by displaying rare, early Cape Dorset prints and some of the actual Japanese prints that inspired the Inuit artists.Comment:  For more on the Inuit, see Inuit Theme Song for Flying Wild Alaska and Inuit Knowledge and Climate Change.

Below:  "Kenojuak Ashevek was the first Inuit artist elected to the Royal Canadian Academy of Art."

Peltier calls Churchill a "phony"

Some little-known facts about the continuing controversy that is Ward Churchill:

Why is U of T Listening to Ward Churchill’s Nonsense?

By Peter WorthingtonBorn in 1947, in Urbana, Illinois, Churchill has claimed to have been drafted in 1966 and have taken parachute training before spending nearly a year in Vietnam on Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol in enemy territory. Supposedly, this combat experience radicalized him to work with the Weather Underground on return to civilian life, where he taught the art of bomb-making.

Impressive to some, perhaps, except that none of it is true.

Churchill might have been in army public information, and/or as a truck driver. Ranger regiments say there’s no record on him ever doing Long Range Patrols in Vietnam.

Ward Churchill also presents himself as having Indian blood--another of his wannabe traits. The leadership of the American Indian Movement (AIM) has denounced him--even suggested he was working undercover for the FBI--and the Cherokees have said there is no record of him having Indian blood. (Churchill has variously claimed one-sixteenth to three-sixteenth Cherokee blood, one-eighth Creek blood).

When I visited Leonard Peltier in Leavenworth prison (three times), on each occasion he had harsh things to say about Ward Churchill, and wanted no part of “this phony.”Comment:  For more on the subject, see Churchill Loses Firing Appeal and Tim Wise on Ward Churchill.

KELO-Land's all-white TV ads

Native Americans are the invisible consumers out West

By Tim GiagoIn Western South Dakota (on the west side of the Missouri River), for example, Native Americans make up nearly 25 percent of the population. And yet if you stopped here from say Lithuania, and watched the local television stations, you would believe that the entire state population is white.

For example, one television station in Sioux Falls has been promoting its station with a series of advertisement shouting the slogan “This is your home,” and in the ads citizens of KELO-Land are shown going about various activities in their daily lives. The station manager should get out of his or her office and check out the other races of people that call KELO-Land “their home” because all of the citizens in their ads are white.

Long before the first settler gazed upon the waterfalls at Sioux Falls, a city named after the Indian people of the region and the falls, Sioux Falls, as the name of the city indicates, was largely populated by people of the Dakota/Nakota/Lakota, and misnamed as “Sioux.”

This was “their home” and in 2011, and it is still the home to several thousand of their descendants. I do not believe that a television station say in New York City or Chicago would do a similar self-promotional advertisement without including the largest minority factions within its city.Comment:  For commercial makers who get it, see Native Commercial on Super Bowl Sunday and Native Census Ad on Gossip Girl.

Kossa Dancers "reproduce" Pueblo ceremonies

I've reported on Boy Scout troops who think dancing like Indians is an educational experience. Here's a news item that takes the cake:

Kossa dancers travel among Pueblos

By Vickie PeoplesThere’s a Pueblo proverb that says a man’s wealth is measured by how many songs he knows. After traveling among the Pueblo people recently, the Kossa Indian boys are now “richer” than they were before they left. From December 23 to December 31, the boys traveled to different Pueblo villages, learning new dances and immersing themselves into culture unlike their own.David Kandik, program director for the Kossa Indian Dancers, seems to appreciate what they saw:“This is a holy, religious time for the Pueblo. A lot of people here forget the true meaning of Christmas but they don’t forget. After mass, 200 dancers performed from midnight until dawn for the Christ child. On Christmas day, we went to Santo Domingo to watch dances in the snow in the plaza. On the 26th, we watched more dances.”But apparently that's not the case:“The boys learned about another culture. They learned new dances, new regalia and new songs.”

The Kossa Indian dancers will be performing in February on the 11 at 7 p.m., the 12 at 7 p.m., the 13 at 2 p.m., the 18 at 7 p.m, the 19 at 7 p.m. and the 20 at 2 p.m. at the Kossa Plaza at 121 E. Napoleon Street. The name of the program is “An Ancient Winter.”

“We will be trying to reproduce some of the dances we saw in New Mexico as well as performing new dances. The Sahawe dancers from Uvalde, Texas, will be there as well as the Aabikta dancers from Slidell, Louisiana,” stated Kandik.

Tickets are $6 for adults and $4 for children and you can get a dollar off each ticket at the door. For more information, call 656-5049.Comment:  Let's get this straight. A bunch of non-Indian boys from Louisiana visited New Mexico's Pueblos for a whole week. They saw a variety of solemn religious ceremonies that involved dancing. After seeing each dance no more than once, they're going to "try to reproduce" these sacred Pueblo rituals. And they're going to charge money for their amateur-hour performances.

I'm guessing non-Indians with no experience, knowledge, or training in Pueblo religions will butcher these age-old dances. The performance will be nothing more than modern-day minstrelry--a glorified half-time show featuring dancing mascots. Yet audiences will think they're getting the real thing.

They'll think a whole chain of things that aren't true. That the dancers had enough time to learn the dances and their underlying meaning. That the tribes gave the dancers permission to "try to reproduce" their dances. That this is a genuine rather than phony demonstration of Pueblo cultures.

Imagine spending a whole hour watching a Catholic mass. Then trying to reproduce the Mass based on nothing more than your limited observation, with no knowledge of Jesus, the Bible, or Catholic dogma. And charging admission for your desecration of the religion. "Only $6 to see a daring act of cannibalism! Watch the savages eat the body of Christ!"

"Look at us perform this colorful, crazy ritual," the Kossa Dancers might say. "It's like watching animals in a zoo or bacteria under a microscope. You don't know what they're doing, but it doesn't matter, because they're so strange and exotic. It's like visiting another planet: alien and incomprehensible, but fascinating."

Debbie Reese's opinion

Educator Debbie Reese first mentioned the Kossa Dancers in her blog. Here's what she had to say about their actions:

"Kossa Indian Dancers"People who know me would probably say I am friendly, gracious and warm, but that doesn't mean that I think its ok for anyone to watch me when I'm praying, carefully noting the way I hold my hands and the clothes I wear, and then go off somewhere to practice those hand movements, sew those clothes, and then do my prayer as a performance!Reese notes some standard guidelines about Pueblo etiquette:

Indian Pueblo Cultural Center--EtiquetteMost Pueblos require a permit to photograph, sketch or paint on location. Some Pueblos prohibit photography at all times. Please check with the Tribal Office for the permitting process before entering the Pueblo. Once a permit is obtained, always ask for permission before taking a photograph of a tribal member. REMEMBER: cameras and film can be confiscated.

Tribes value traditions, customs and religion. Some actions and/or questions could be offensive, so refrain from pressing for answers. Tribal dances are religious ceremonies, not public performances. It is a privilege to witness a ceremony.

Silence is mandatory during all dances and Pueblo ceremonies. This means no questions about the ceremonies or dances while they are underway; no interviews with the participants; no walking across the dance plaza; and, no applause during / after the dance or ceremony.She concludes:I guess the leaders of the "Kossa Indian Dancers" aren't aware of any of this.(Excerpted from Debbie Reese's American Indians in Children's Literature, 2/1/11.)

Indeed. I wonder how Kandik and his dancers could possibly "reproduce" something they've seen once. Did they take photographs or movies or photographs in violation of the rules? Or do they just have really good memories?

Although the guidelines don't say it, this is why Pueblos ban photography, recording, and sketching. They don't want non-Indians imitating, bastardizing, or exploiting their sacred religions. Yet that's exactly what the Kossa Dancers are doing: ripping off Pueblo ceremonies and profiting from them.

I'll make this a Stereotype of the Month entry for the presumption that Pueblo dances are the same as non-Indian dances. That they're artistic exercises that anyone can copy rather than religious rites that no one should copy. This presumption is a subtle kind of wannabe-ism: a belief that anyone can be an Indian with the right headdress, costume, or dance step.

For more on Scouts imitating Indians, see Order of the Arrow's Indian Play and Scouts Perform Cherokee Dances.

Native commercial on Super Bowl Sunday

Sacred Power Will Air Sci-Fi Superbowl CommercialDuring commercial breaks between the Steelers and Packers vying for the Super Bowl XLV title at the Cowboys Stadium on February 6, two Albuquerque, New Mexico-based businesses: Sacred Power and halflife* digital, will run their commercial collaboration that promotes renewable energy.

Aired 12 times on Super Bowl Sunday, including once during game time, the commercial will show “photons, staged in the sun, undertaking a heroic journey of self-sacrifice to bring power and life to the earth,” states the Sacred Power news release.

Sacred Power Co-owner and President/CEO David Melton, Laguna Pueblo, approached the full service production and post company halflife* digital two months ago with a proposal to develop a unique commercial.

“For ten years, Sacred Power has been in the renewable energy business and as we look to grow our business and take it to the next level, it just made sense to take our product to where consumers are, and what better venue than Super Bowl Sunday?” Melton said in the company press release.Sacred Power Corporation--Using the Strengths of the Father to Protect the Gifts of the MotherComment:  The commercial gives us worker drones who apparently represent photons of light. They travel from the sun to the earth and strike various targets. One hits a solar panel and ends up powering the Super Bowl broadcast.

You can see a few Native touches. The most obvious is the Zia-like Sacred Power logo in the corner. One "photon" zooms over a neighborhood with Pueblo-style architecture. Two of the four people watching the game at the end look like Indians. And there's a bit of Indian chanting and drumming over the final image.

I guess the slogan is a reference to Native lore--perhaps the lore of Melton's Laguna Pueblo. The sun would be the father and the land, water, plants, animals, etc. would be the gifts of the mother (earth).

The commercial is reasonably creative and entertaining. I don't know how effective it is. I did a quick search and didn't see anyone talking about it. Maybe it aired on "Super Bowl Sunday" but not during the game.

For more on enterprising Native businesses, see Top 10 Native Entrepreneurs and First Native Company on Stock Exchange.

First Native company on Stock Exchange

NativeOne Takes On NYSE, Tears Down Wall StreetNativeOne Institutional Trading, LLC stands in line to become the first Native American-owned company on the New York Stock Exchange.

According to a company press release, the broker dealer made its Wall Street debut on January 18, 2011. After their successful transfer of ownership and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) approval, NativeOne will become a publicly traded company on the Exchange.

According to Donald Lyons, founder and CEO of NativeOne and member of the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, NativeOne’s entry into the stock market symbolically represents American Indians breaking down the wall originally built by Dutch colonists in lower Manhattan. Erected in 1653, according to the PBS documentary film “The Center of the World,” the wall blocked the New Amsterdam settlement from British and Native American invaders. In 1699, the British knocked down the wall, paving a lane called Wall Street, states the PBS documentary.

“Wall Street was named for the wall built over three hundred years ago from Trinity Church to the East River to keep Native Americans out,” said Lyons. “Today, Native One Institutional Trading brings Native America right to the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.”Wall Street trades with the Indians

Tribe in high finance

By Jennifer FerminoMore than 300 years after white settlers erected a wall in downtown Manhattan to keep Indians out--the very partition that gave Wall Street its famous name--Native Americans are finally busting through.

NativeOne Institutional Trading LLC, a financial-services firm, has applied to the New York Stock Exchange and expects to become the very first Native American-owned company to become a member.

"I got out of the teepee business," joked principal owner Don Lyons, a member of the Morongo Band of Mission Indians in California.

Lyons said they want to help Native Americans--many of whom went from very poor to very rich thanks to an influx of casino cash--manage their wealth.Comment:  For another take on the subject, see Satire:  Sioux Attack Wall Street.

Top 10 Native entrepreneurs

Inc. Ranks Top 10 American Indian EntrepreneursInc. recently spotlighted its list of the Top 10 American Indian Entrepreneurs for 2010, included in the magazine’s Inc. 500|5000, an annual ranking of the “fastest-growing privately held companies in the United States,” rated according to percentage revenue growth from 2006 through 2009. Inc. publishes the top 500 revenue-growing businesses from its applicant base each year in its September issue, which included two American Indian entrepreneurs last year.

The top 10 American Indian-run companies include a range of industries from human resources, to construction, to government services—“the fastest-growing industry sector by number of firms on the list,” according to Inc. 5000 project manager Jim Melloan.Comment:  Do people know that Indians can own companies? That they can be entrepreneurs? For the most part, no.

If you asked people to guess the CEOs' ethnicity based on the photos, I'd bet they'd never guess right. They'd give up after 10 or 20 or 50 guesses without guessing "American Indian." It wouldn't occur to them in a million years that a cleancut Indian in a suit and tie could own a nationally recognized company.

For more on the subject, see First Native Company on Stock Exchange and Cherokee Nation's Entrepreneurship Day.

Below:  What, no feathers and leathers?! "Kevin Novotny, CSI Oklahoma. Ranked No. 306 on the Inc. 500, Novotny tops Inc.’s list of American Indian entrepreneurs in 2010." (Photo courtesy of CSI Oklahoma)

Nelson's approach in Huck and Tom

In previous postings I described Mark Twain's unfinished novel Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer Among the Indians. I discussed how Twain contrasted noble "book Indians" with savage real Indians.

Recently, author Lee Nelson completed the novel based on his knowledge of the American West. Not surprisingly, he gave the Indians more depth than Twain's one-dimensional portrayal. Let's take a look.

[**spoiler alert**]

Nelson begins where Twain left off: with the heroic Brace Johnson surveying the Sioux camp where the Indians hold his sweetheart Peggy Mills, her sister Flaxy, and ex-slave Jim. Enraged by Peggy's defilement, Johnson launches a suicidal one-man attack on the Indians. He kills one or two but they quickly overpower and cripple him, then kill and mutilate him.

Johnson's fate seems horrific, but mutilating him after he's dead obviously doesn't hurt him. More to the point, the Indians didn't necessarily know who was attacking them. If they knew Johnson, they didn't necessarily know why he was attacking them. When a crazed enemy launches an unprovoked attack, you can be forgiven for reacting in kind.

Huck to the rescue

With Brace dead and Tom gone to fetch help, it's up to Huck to save Peggy, Flaxy, and Jim. He observes the camp at length. Here's where Nelson starts drawing a clear distinction.

For starters, the Anglo girls fall into the rhythm of camp life> They perform chores just like Indian girls. Other than the initial "defilement," which is only alluded to, the Sioux treat the girls like members of the tribe.

Also, Huck is careful to blame the Mills family massacre and Peggy's defilement on Blue Fox and his men. You know, the actual Indians who committed the crimes, not the whole tribe or all Indians. This is a testament to Huck's essential fairness--the same quality that led him to help Jim flee slavery. And to author Nelson's essential fairness in making Huck's choice for him. Unlike Twain, Nelson doesn't seem prejudiced against the entire race of Indians.

As for Jim, the Sioux initially leash him to a pole and assign him to scrape hides. But soon an Indian brings him a drink and unties him. Jim continues his scraping voluntarily. He's eventually joined by an Indian woman ("squaw") who seems to like him.

When Huck finally reaches Jim, Jim says he doesn't want to leave. The Indians have treated him like an equal, and the woman obviously thinks he's a full-fledged man. Unlike white men, the Indians don't consider him inferior because of his skin color.

Nelson is showing us the propensity of Indian tribes to convert runaways and captives into members without prejudice. Tribes made political and cultural distinctions, of course, but they didn't make racial ones. In general, they weren't prejudiced the way Europeans were.

The rest of the book

Before Huck can do anything, the Sioux sell the girls to two unsavory trappers. Nelson doesn't shy away from noting that some tribes sold women and children to other tribes, Mexicans, or the occasional white man. But they're relatively kind as slave masters go. They don't strip Peggy, whip her, or chain her. When she insists that Flaxy must go with her, they agree.

Huck spends the rest of the novel pursuing Peggy, rescuing her from the trappers, and getting her to safety. Along the way he meets an Indian with amputated legs who hobbles around on the stumps and depends on charity to survive. He encounters a tribe where a runaway slave has become chief--again showing the Indian willingness to treat all races as equals. Jim eventually returns to this tribe and becomes its co-chief. And a tribe of peaceful Indians (Goshutes?) who farm and dress in Western clothes. When Huck gives them some of his food, he and Peggy become their honored guests.

There are no more depredations by "evil" Indians. Huck worries that he or his friends may run into dangerous Indians, but it never happens. Basically, all the savagery happens in Twain's part of the book and none in Nelson's.

Nelson's portrait of Indians is balanced. Like anyone else, Indians are capable of killing or enslaving people, but also of helping and honoring them. In contrast, Twain's portrait is pure racism. To him, Indians are treacherous, murdering scum with no redeeming qualities.

Rob's review

Some critics didn't like the Twain/Nelson collaboration, saying Nelson failed to match Twain's high standards. I think Nelson made Huck's travels more varied and interesting than Twain would've done. The ending is especially fitting, as Huck--the boy without prejudice against blacks, Indians, or "defiled" women--gets a well-deserved reward.

Huck and Tom is a cross between a rollicking boys' adventure and an Old West travelogue. Sure, it has flaws, but it's worth reading. Rob's rating: 8.0 of 10.

For more on the subject, see Why Not Rewrite Twain's Books? and New Huck Finn Eliminates "Injun."

Boba Fett meets Coyote

An unusual perspective

Ryan Singer explores modern art through ideas and color

By Carolyn CalvinHis work has evolved over the years but one thing remains constant for Ryan Singer--a desire to express himself as a modern Native American artist.

One of his favorite pieces, "Bounty Hunter and Trickster Encounter" is a "split-screen"-type image with Boba Fett, a bounty hunter from the "Star Wars" movies, on one side of the canvas taking aim, and a coyote on the remaining half of the canvas. It combines one of Singer's main influences--"Star Wars"--with an element of Navajo culture--the Coyote.

Art has always been part of his life. Singer, 37, began drawing when he was a kid in pre-school, studying comic books and album covers from the 1970s.And:In addition, he was interested in science-fiction TV shows such as "Star Trek," Flash Gordon and "Godzilla." The black-and-white "Frankenstein" and werewolf movies also served as inspiration.

As a teenager, Singer began to "do a lot of drawings and comic-book images."

He became interested in surrealism and studied Salvador Dali's work. Singer's own work took on a modern edge depicting amongst other things a cup of coffee or a skateboard. He also became a music aficionado collecting heavy metal and punk music records and creating compilations on cassette tapes.Comment:  For some similar art, see Here Comes Sayn-Day and Coyote/Loki Mash-Up.

Doctor's experiences inspire The Basketmaker

Experiences in medicine inspire 'The Basketmaker'

Oly Little Theatre:  Playwright's story focuses on spiritual dimension of health

By Molly GilmoreThe play, set in 18th-century New Hampshire, tells the story of a girl who is having strange experiences--ones that upset her mother even more because of mysterious circumstances from her own past.

“She’s talking to the animals and talking to the trees. The spirit of the woods that they are living in speaks to her,” the playwright said. “You might say she is psychotic, or is she in tune with the spirits of the natural world?”

Then they meet a Native American basketmaker--played by tribal basketmaker and storyteller Harvest Moon--who has a completely different view of what is happening. “The basketmaker tells her how such abilities are respected and honored in her tradition,” Baughan said.And:Baughan, who’s directing the play and even has a bit part in it, said his experiences in medicine inspired the story. He wrote it in 2003, while working in New Hampshire.

“If there is a traumatic experience in someone’s youth, the long-term effects of it might not show up until their 30s or 40s,” he said. “That is intriguing to me as a family physician. We’re looking at what might have happened to the mother when she was a child.”

He also is interested in the truth behind mass hysteria, he said. “When there is an epidemic in a school that looks like food poisoning and it turns out to be hysterical, the first person who was unwell usually had a genuine medical condition. Then something triggers mass hysteria, which overshadows the experience of the first person.”Comment:  For more Native-themed plays, see Chicago Tribune Reviews Trickster and Tables Turned in Assimilation.

"Chippewa word" in Saturday Night Live

In this week's Saturday Night Live (airdate: 2/5/11), Bobby Moynihan as Jersey Shore's Snooki visits Dana Carvey as the Church Lady. The Church Lady views everything about Snooki with disdain, including her name:"Snooki," of course. From the Chippewa word that means "drop your shorts, we don't have much time."Right, because any strange word like "Snooki" must be an Indian word. In particular, a short Indian word that stands for a long concept, such as "place where a thousand buffalo cross the stream without getting their feet wet."

It's a subtle way of reinforcing the message that Indians are different from the rest of us. And it's not as if the context is anything good. According to SNL, Snooki is as promiscuous as the Chippewa, who are so promiscuous they have a special word for sexual quickies.

Blackhawks logo

The show also opened with a Wayne's World segment featuring Wayne (Mike Myers) in a Chicago Blackhawks sweatshirt--same as in The Dilemma. Really? No one thought putting a stereotypical image of an Indian "brave" on screen for five minutes might not be a great idea?

Imagine if you broadcast an image of an African spearchucker or a greedy Jew for five minutes. Does anyone think no one would notice that? For the umpteenth time, it's the same thing, people.

For more on the subject, see Kesha Goes Tribal in Saturday Night Live and Indian Curse in Saturday Night Live.

"Book Indians" in Huck and Tom

When people discuss Twain's Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer Among the Indians, they tend to note two things. One that Twain satirized James Fenimore Cooper's romantic view of Indians. And two, that Twain inexplicably stopped writing the novel in mid-sentence.

My view is that these two things aren't unrelated facts. Rather, they're inextricably linked. Twain didn't have a whole novel in mind, he had a one-note joke at Cooper's expense. He wanted everyone to know his racist views so he put them in the form of a Huck and Tom story. Once he told the joke, he lost interest in the project. Spoofing Cooper was the whole point of it.

Here's a brief recap of Twain's unfinished novel:

[**spoiler alert**]

Tom says he wants to go west and have an adventure among the Indians. Jim is afraid, saying the Indians will "skin" them. Tom launches into a lengthy defense of Indians, extolling their courage, morality, and nobility.

It's the kind of praise you'd see in a "politically correct," feel-good guide to Indians. Or in George Catlin's Creed about Indians. Except Catlin the painter actually visited 48 tribes in the 1830s and knew them from personal experience, unlike Twain.

Anyway, Tom convinces Huck and Jim to head west. They join the Mills family: two parents, three boys, and two girls in one wagon. On the plains the travelers meet Blue Fox and four other Sioux Indians. They camp together for four days.

The Indians are friendly, hospitable, and charming. They talk, hunt, dance, and play games with the travelers. On the fourth day, they inexplicably turn into evildoers. They viciously slaughter the Mills parents and boys and mutilate their bodies. They take the girls and Jim captive; only Huck and Tom escape.

Why'd they do it?

Brace Johnson, the heroic sweetheart of the captured Peggy Mills, arrives to save the day. Johnson ponders the Indians' inexplicable behavior:"It's the puzzlingest thing!­ There's features about it that I can't seem to make head nor tail of, no way. I can understand why they fooled around here three or four days, because there warn't no hurry; they knowed they had from here to Oregon to do the job in, and besides, an Injun is patient; he'd rather wait a month till he can make sure of his game without any risk to his own skin than attempt it sooner where there's the least risk. I can understand why they planned a buffalo hunt that would separate all the whites from each other and make the mastering of them easy and certain, because five warriors, nor yet fifteen, won't tackle five men and two boys, even by surprise when they're asleep at dawn, when there's a safer way."Really? Seems to me I've read several accounts of Indians attacking larger forces by surprise. From what I recall, a reckless disregard of danger was much more of an Indian trait than an Anglo one.

More to the point, I've read many accounts of massacres. I've never heard anything like this one. Yes, sometimes Indians and white men met to parlay or trade and one side or the other violated the truce and massacred the other. But after four days of putting on a perfect show of being friendly? I don't think so. I'm guessing no such massacre ever occurred--that Twain made it up in his own bigoted imagination.

Did five adult Indians really have to worry about one old man, three boys who had barely reached manhood, an ex-slave without fighting skills, and a few women and children? I'd say they had the advantage already.

They could've surprised and killed the travelers at any time. Waiting four days didn't guarantee that everything would go right. Rather, it offered numerous chances for something to go wrong. Massacring the travelers at the first good opportunity would've been the smart thing to do.

In short, Twain's scenario doesn't make sense. It doesn't match any Indian behavior I ever heard of. It existed solely so Twain could paint his racist picture of Indians as devils.

Book Indians aren't real Indians?

Finally, Huck gives us Twain's punchlines:"Tom, where did you learn about Injuns...­how noble they was, and all that?"

He give me a look that showed me I had hit him hard, very hard, and so I wished I hadn't said the words. He turned away his head, and after about a minute he said "Cooper's novels," and didn't say anything more, and I didn't say anything more, and so that changed the subject.And:I noticed, but I never said anything, that Tom was putting the Injuns below the devils, now. You see, he had about got it through his noodle, by this time, that book Indians and real Injuns is different."Book Indians" like Cooper's Uncas are brave and noble. Real Indians are savage beasts, murderous animals, according to Twain. There you have his racist views in nutshell.

Even the choice of language confirms Twain's views. In a book they're called "Indians." In reality they're filthy "Injuns." "Indians" is too good a word for them.

Eight and half paragraphs after telling us book Indians aren't real Indians, Twain stopped writing. He'd made his point; he had nothing left to say. He didn't want to share more adventures of Huck and Tom, he wanted to "massacre" the reputation of Indians. Once he got that out of his system, he gave up.

For more on the subject, see Why Not Rewrite Twain's Books? and New Huck Finn Eliminates "Injun."

Below:  A Twain-style view of Indians.

Dakota Music Tour

"Dakota Music Tour" will feature Native composers/musicians and the Mankato Symphony Orchestra"Dakota Music Tour"--a 90-minute musical response to the Dakota-American events of 1862 in Minnesota--will feature four concerts that will reach out to Dakota and non-Dakota communities in southern Minnesota.

The tour will begin in Mankato, Minnesota, which was the site of the largest mass execution in American history when 38 Dakota men were hung on December 26, 1862.

Each concert will feature traditional American Indian music, Western classical music, music that merges the two together, and “community chats.”

Internationally renowned composer, flutist and scholar Brent Michael Davids (Mohican Nation) has composed the orchestra music, which will be performed by the Mankato Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Music Director and Conductor Kenneth Freed.Comment:  For more on Native symphonies, see Violin Concerto with Lenape Melodies and A Suite for Native American Flute. For more on Mankato, see Pardon the Mankato 38? and Preview of Dakota 38.

Below:  Brent Michael Davids.

Native theater advocacy groups

Native performing arts groups formed to advocate inclusionConcerned over a lack of voice and inclusion a group of prominent American Indian writers, directors and performers has joined together to form two new organizations that will promote and advocate for greater visibility and a stronger presence within the American mainstream theater industry. Tribal two new organizations are called the National American Indian Theater and Performing Arts Alliance and the American Indian Playwrights Guild.

“The American Indian community in America possesses an amazing roster of creative talents, particularly in theater and the performing arts,” said Hanay Geiogamah, a playwright-director and founder of Project HOOP, the national American Indian theater and performing arts advocacy program located at the University of California in Los Angeles.

“We feel strongly that it is time American Indian people take full and complete control of ours stories and images in all theater and performing arts initiatives,” Geiogamah said. “These two organizations will also create leverage for fundraising in an effort to provide critical support for American Indian artists and theater and performing arts organizations.”

Mark Anthony Rolo, a Bad River Ojibwe playwright and University of Wisconsin-Madison lecturer, said the Playwrights Guild will help American Indian dramatists in protecting and promoting the artistic and financial value of their work.Comment:  For more on Native playwrights, see All About Ishmael Hope and Yellow Robe, Geiogamah, and Glancy.

Denver museum recognizes Native artistry

Honoring Art, Honoring Artists

By Judith H. DobrzynskiWHEN the Denver Art Museum’s signature American Indian art galleries reopened last week after a seven-month overhaul, the biggest change wasn’t the new display cases or the dramatic lighting. Rather, it was in a less obvious place: the wall labels.

For the first time many of the works on display are attributed to individual artists instead of just their tribes. It is a revolution in museum practice that many scholars hope will spread, raising the stature of American Indian artists and elevating their work from the category of artifacts to the more exalted realm of art.And:Art museums have collected American Indian objects for decades, but, like natural history and anthropology museums, they have tended to treat them as ethnographic pieces, illustrative of the cultures they came from. Wall labels have generally steered clear even of the “anonymous” designation commonly used for Western artworks of unknown authorship and in cases where Indian artists left signature marks—as Chilkat weavers of the Pacific Northwest long have, for example—this evidence has often been ignored.

Nor did the early collectors of Indian art care much about authorship. To cite one example, George Gustav Heye, whose collections form the core of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian, routinely bought pieces without noting anything other than the tribe and date. But Nancy Blomberg, the curator of native arts at the Denver Art Museum, was determined to do things differently when she reconceived the galleries, choosing nearly 700 works from the museum’s world-class 18,000-piece collection. “I want to signal that there are artists on this floor,” she said.Other voices

This approach sounds good, but a couple Natives on Facebook don't necessarily agree:We used our bluff connections to get a sneak preview of the exhibit. I thought I had seen it in the 70's. Almost all the artists use western qualifiers (abstract expressionism, big western artist's names as key influence) to explain their expression. I thought it was a beautiful exhibit that had nothing to do with Native thought of today other than marketing and design. Where is the diabetes, suicide, religious brainwashing, alcoholism, poverty, horrendous diet, loss of language and philosophical concepts, and cultural self hatred? Shouldn't a contemporary indigenous statement be directed inward and deal with real issues (other than history, romance, and design). I was ashamed for the curator. Otherwise I wish I was included in this modified craft show for my bio and perhaps new collectors our new 'Native Modernism.' Maybe someday we will relearn a bit of honesty.

Furthermore, the emphasis on artist attribution is more of a Western art thing, and not necessarily the most important aspect of traditional NA objects. It feels like it is an attempt to legitimize the work in a Western context.Comment:  Art doesn't necessarily have anything to say about social issues such as diabetes, suicide, etc. And I'm sure many Native artists would like to be identified by name.

In short, I'd say treating the objects as art is a step forward. But other steps may be necessary for people to fully appreciate the objects.

For more on the subject, see Defying Expectations with Native Art and Native Art Continues from Past to Present.

Below:  "Left, Wild Man of the Woods mask has been attributed to the carver Willie Seaweed. Right, Jennifer Pray working on the newly reopened American Indian galleries at the Denver Art Museum." (Matthew Staver for The New York Times)

Huck and Tom Among the Indians

Here's a sequel to Mark Twain's famous Adventures of Huckleberry Finn:

Huck and Tom Among the IndiansMark Twain most likely wrote Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer among the Indians during the summer of 1884. It featured the same targets as Twain's works such as the The Noble Red Man and Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offenses highlighted: James Fenimore Cooper's alleged idealization of American Indians.

Huck and Tom Among the Indians takes place on the Oregon Trail from western Missouri, along the Platte river, ending in Sioux territory near Fort Laramie. This is the same route that Twain himself took in 1861 on the way to Nevada, and from which he developed the travel book Roughing It (Blair 84). Walter Blair, the editor of Mark Twain's Hannibal, Huck & Tom observed that several of the events in the short story correspond with those that occurred in Clemens' personal life.

While definitely not his best work, and in some respects an utter failure, Huck and Tom Among the Indians reveals intriguing things about Twain's view of American Indians. The devious nature of the Indians who double-cross and then massacre the loving Mills family, and Peggy's implied brutal rape, eliminate any possibility of a positive racial relationship between whites and American Indians. The story's plot dwindles until it reaches stagnancy; perhaps this is the reason that Twain could not finish the text.Western author Lee Nelson completed the unfinished novel in 2003:

Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer Among the Indians--Brief Article--Audiobook Review

By Janet Julian GraftonIn 1968 Life magazine published an unfinished novel by Twain titled Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer Among the Indians. Twain had inexplicably ended the story on page 62. Nelson, author of a dozen or so historical novels set in the West in the 1800s, finishes the job Twain began.

Twain's story begins with Huck, Tom, and the ex-slave Jim heading for Indian country because Tom convinced them that Indians were the splendidest creatures on God's earth. The difference between book Indians and real ones soon becomes apparent. The adventurers join a party of pioneers named Mills who are waiting at the Platte River for Peggy Mills' fiance, Brace Johnson. They are joined by a group of Oglala Sioux warriors who murder the Mills and their three sons and kidnap Peggy and her younger sister Flaxie. Brace, the two adventurous boys, and Jim trail the girls. Just as they are about to sneak into the Indian camp for the rescue, Twain drops the tale in the middle of a sentence.

Nelson takes up the pen and the rest of the story is filled with adventure, violent weather, an Army sergeant who rapes young boys, and Huck's growing love for Peggy Mills. Huck narrates as usual, but he's growing up so his naivete is accompanied by unexpected native wit and survival skills. It's an exciting story with the unbeatable narration of Gardner, who gets Huck's twang just right. Gardner handles the dialects with aplomb. Anyone would travel west with this Huck Finn, a brave, decent boy who grows into a generous, caring man.Comment:  You can read Twain's actual text here:

Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer among the Indians

I excerpted portions of it for my Mark Twain, Indian Hater posting. Yes, it reveals "intriguing things about Twain's view of American Indians"--particularly the fact that Twain was a racist.

For more on the subject, see Why Not Rewrite Twain's Books? and New Huck Finn Eliminates "Injun."

Redskins owner sues over "anti-Semitic imagery"

Daniel Snyder sues local newspaperWashington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder has sued Washington City Paper over a column he says defamed him and had anti-Semitic references.

Snyder filed the lawsuit against the weekly paper and its parent company, Atalaya Capital management LP, in New York State Supreme Court on Wednesday. The suit seeks at least $1 million in damages for each of the two causes of action, plus punitive damages.

The cover story entitled "The Crazy Redskins Fan's Guide to Dan Snyder," has an altered photo of the owner with horns and a beard drawn in pen. The suit claims the weekly newspaper used "lies, half-truths, innuendo and anti-Semitic imagery to smear, malign, defame and slander" Snyder.But:In a post on the City Paper's website Wednesday, managing editor Mike Madden asserted the image "is meant to resemble the type of scribbling that teenagers everywhere have been using to deface photos for years," he wrote. "The image of Snyder doesn't look like an 'anti-Semitic caricature'--it looks like a devil."

Another posting puts Snyder in his place:

Dan Snyder, Owner of a Team Named After an Ethnic Slur, Sues Over Perceived Anti-Semitism

By Elie MystalThis is rich. The owner of the Washington Redskins, Dan Snyder, has sued the Washington City Paper for a column he claims defamed him and used anti-Semitic imagery. That’s right, the man who has famously defended his right to name an entire football team after an ethnic slur is playing the ethnic card because a columnist made fun of him.

The kicker is that on top of this amazing execution of rank hypocrisy, Snyder manages to insult all Jews who have actually dealt with anti-Semitism by coming up with an ethnic offense where none existed. The columnist wasn’t making Jewish jokes or playing off of Jewish stereotypes. He was calling Dan Snyder a terrible owner and a shady dude. Saying he was a victim of anti-Semitism degrades the term and make this entire lawsuit look like the petulant reaction of a narcissistic millionaire.Comment:  For more on the subject, see Indians Should Challenge FCC License and Redskins Make Children Cry.

Below:  Good think Snyder is keeping people honest about offensive ethnic images...!

Pendleton spreads Native designs

Adrienne Keene talks about the cultural appropriation of Pendleton blankets in her Native Appropriations blog:

Let's Talk About Pendleton[R]ecently, Pendleton prints and fabrics have started popping up everywhere. It started with Opening Ceremony's Pendleton line in 2010, and now Urban Outfitters has started carrying a Pendelton line, celebrities are wearing Pendleton coats, and Native-themed home decor is apparently all the rage. Now Pendleton has announced their newest collaboration, The Portland Collection, which fashion blogs are proclaiming will be the big thing for 2011.She has mixed feelings about this trend, noting Pendleton's long association with Natives:It's almost a symbiotic relationship--they saw a market in Native communities, and Native communities stepped up and bought, traded, and sold the blankets, incorporating them into "traditional" cultural activities. Pendleton has also maintained close ties with Native communities and causes, making commemorative blankets for organizations like the National Museum of the American Indian and the National Indian Education Association. They work with Native artists to design the special edition blankets, and even donate some of the proceeds to the causes.

But then, on the other hand, they go off and do things like design a $5000 blanket with White Buffalo hair, which many tribes consider extremely sacred and definitely off-limits to commercial sale.

I do appreciate Pendleton's relationship with Native communities. I love my blankets, and love even more what they represent.

However, seeing hipsters march down the street in Pendleton clothes, seeing these bloggers ooh and ahh over how "cute" these designs are, and seeing non-Native models all wrapped up in Pendleton blankets makes me upset. It's a complicated feeling, because I feel ownership over these designs as a Native person, but on a rational level I realize that they aren't necessarily ours to claim.Comment:  Given the key facts:

1) Pendleton's designs are based on Native colors and patterns. I don't think they've appropriated any special symbols or designs. (Only the white-buffalo blankets seem questionable.)

2) Pendleton has been making blankets for a century with the wholehearted support of Indians. I don't think anyone has seriously argued that these blankets are cultural theft.

I'd say the Pendleton blankets and the hipster fashions are okay. They fall into an acceptable category of cultural appropriation--same as my "Fighting Terrorism Since 1492" t-shirt.

For more on Pendleton, see Premo Designs Commemorative Blanket and A Century of Pendleton Blankets.

Below:  A Pendleton Santa Fe Jacket from Urban Outfitters.

Native women comic-book creators

Someone sent me this link and asked that I publicize it, so here it is:

Native American creatorsWeshoyot Alvitre
Tara Audibert
Cris Derksen
L. Frank
Andrea Grant
Beth Aileen Lameman
Gabrielle L'Hirondelle
Vanesa Littlecrow
Sharifah Marsden
Donna Martinez
Eva Mirabel
Tania Willard
Jolene Nenibah YazzieComment:  To learn more about these creators, follow the link to the Women in Comics site.

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

Lonehunt: Indian or wannabe?

Following up on my Lonehunt Attacks Indians posting, there's still no evidence that "Dominique Vantell Lonehunt" (possibly a fictitious name) is anything but a fraud, con man, and huckster. Until he presents a birth certificate, CDIB card, family tree, or other proof of tribal affiliation, there's no reason to believe him and several reasons to doubt him.

Here's one more example of how stupidly sick Lonehunt is: When he attacked me recently, he claimed that I claimed to be the "Native moral police." This was based on nothing more than the posting title (below).

Here's the posting:This Comic Book Writer from Quote NativeCeleb " Rob Schmidt " Says He Is Native Moral Police ?

- > Newspaper Rock: Rob = moral police?!

Answer: No Shit Sherlock ? You Have Been Trying It Like Since 1492 & We Can Use Another European As Native Police World Wide. Please Don't Quit Your Day Job Rob Schmidt & Keep Writing Comic Books ! We Enjoy Your Fantasy Writings " Chief Dirty Bald Head Rob Schmidt "
FACEBOOK SHOULD DELETE RACIST PROFILES
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=107298518056

Commentary by Buckingham Donkey Rider...For starters, I never used the word "Native" with the phrase "moral police." Lonehunt's false headline implied that I was trying to pass myself off as Native. His equally obtuse followers then savaged me as a fake, a wannabe, etc.

More to the point, Lonehunt ignored the punctuation marks in the phrase "Rob = Moral Police?!" Judging by his juvenile writing style, he may have dropped out of grade school before they taught punctuation. The point Lonehunt so obviously missed: I wasn't claiming to be the moral police. I was disputing the claim made by someone else. But Lonehunt the liar maligned me as if I had declared myself the grand arbiter of all Native moral issues.

It's pretty damn ironic if you think about it. Lonehunt the possible fraud and wannabe attacks everyone else for being frauds and wannabes. Is he projecting much? When your credibility is in question, it's a tried-and-true tactic to attack everyone else's credibility first. Too bad the focus is now firmly on Lonehunt's Native identity or lack thereof.

At the moment, four of the top five Google hits about Lonehunt are questioning his credibility. Let's hope this posting zooms to the top. "Lonehunt: Indian or wannabe?" should be the first question everyone asks when they encounter this attack dog.

For more on the subject, see We Are the World for Natives? and Rob = Moral Police?!

P.S. I hear Lonehunt's Native Citizen News Network is now crying over the "unfair" attacks against them. I guess the poor babies can dish it out but they can't take it. Waaaah!

Name America's golden year

Following up on my "nanny state" posting, I posted the following note on Facebook:

Conservatives, I'm waiting for someone to identify a particular year when government was small, markets were free, and life was good. Maybe you can name the golden year of this imagined golden era so we can debate reality, not fantasy.

This lead to a brief discussion:I think that was Oct 11, 1492.

1491?Someone suggested 1820. So basically when women and minorities had no rights and white male property owners ruled? When the US seriously began destroying Indian cultures west of the Appalachians? Yes, that may have been a golden era for a small minority of white males. The majority probably thought otherwise.Silly Rob!!!! The majority aren't allowed to think.So we're still waiting for a serious suggestion. Pick a year since 1776 and we'll discuss whether people--all people--were better off than they are today under the so-called "nanny state."

For more on the subject, see Didier:  Stop "Protecting the Weak," Westerners = Freeloaders, and The Myth of American Self-Reliance.

Below:  1868...a good year for land-hungry white men who counted on the US Army to clear "dirty redskins" out of the way.

Navajo DJ on Station of the Year

Radio host breaking the stereotypes

By David BurgerThere are some ugly stereotypes about members of the Navajo tribe. For one, that they are silent pushovers, said Courtney Begaye, who is Navajo.

But every weekday morning, on local hip-hop radio station U92, Begaye—the brash, vocal, Oakland Raider-loving host—is changing the stereotype.

Better known to his listeners as Poetik C, he hosts “The Navajo on the Radio” show from 6 to 10 a.m., waking up nearly 150,000 people from Provo to Ogden to Tooele.

Begaye, who has hosted the morning show for six years, has helped make U92 one of the area’s most listened-to stations. The 34-year-old is one of the reasons U92 was recently named Rhythmic Station of the Year by the respected national trade publication FMQB. In previous years, the award was bestowed on New York City and Los Angeles stations in New York City and Los Angeles.Comment:  For more on Native radio, see Rockwired Radio Seeks Native Artists and "Tribal Priority" for Radio Stations.

Lonehunt attacks Indians

As you probably don't recall, I got into a tiff with someone named Dominique Vantell Lonehunt last year. I noted the conflict here:

We Are the World for Natives?
Rob = moral police?!

Lonehunt flamed me for a few days on the NativeCelebs page on Facebook, where I contribute. Then he returned to whatever hidey-hole he came from and I forgot about him.

A couple of weeks ago he suddenly attacked me again. This time it was on the Native Citizen News Network (NCNN) page on Facebook. This page appears to be a faux "network" run primarily or solely by Lonehunt.

Why the renewed attacks? I imagine it's because he Googled himself:

Dominique Vantell Lonehunt

And found my postings as the no. 1 and 2 hits. They're a bit lower now, but still...you can see how this would upset him. Too bad for Lonehunt: If you don't want my criticisms to be the top-ranked hits for the rest of your life, you'd better not antagonize me.

Anyway, I went to the NCNN page, corrected Lonehunt's idiotic mistakes, and put him in his place. I also challenged him to tell people his real name and tribal affiliation, if any. He refused to answer these questions--presumably because he couldn't without embarrassing himself--and continued to attack me.

As far as anyone can tell, "Lonehunt" (probably a phony "Indian name") is a young Afro-Caribbean man who fancies himself a musician. Perhaps he found a Taino princess in his background and declared himself a Native for that reason. So far there's zero evidence that he's anything but a wannabe.



Lonehunt lashes out

Then it got interesting. A few of my Facebook friends went to the NCNN page and defended me, questioned Lonehunt's identity, or criticized Lonehunt for his vitriolic language. He began attacking these people too. Indians who challenged him were sellouts or fakes; non-Indians who challenged him were wannabes or exploiters. He even attacked some of his own NCNN "fans."

I didn't play close attention, but I believe he attacked about a dozen people, including some well-respected Indians. Like a rabid dog, he was impossible to reason with; he immediately bit anyone who tried. His language was profane, racist, hateful--probably enough to get him banned from Facebook.

His last (?) attack on me was on the mild side, since he didn't call me a Nazi this time:Rob Schmidt Is A Propaganda Specialist To Keep Youth Depressed & Define People While Reading In The Worst Way! Statistics Show That Children Who Read His Comic Books Have A High Suicide Rate. Fact not Fiction. He Already Got A Decade To Prove It! Boycott His Foolishness!

Boycott Blue Corn Comics - Rob Schmidt - Studies Native Americans for 20 years.

!!!!!!!!!!!!! (((((We are not his something out of a comic book))))) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!Really? Statistics show that reading PEACE PARTY leads to suicide?! Yeah, because researchers have nothing better to do than study small self-publishing efforts and their effect on large populations. How stupid can you get?

Why exactly would a comic with a happy ending depress people? Why exactly would a comic with a positive message cause them to commit suicide? It's like saying coloring books, ice cream, or rainbows cause suicide. Asinine is too weak a word for it.

Indians strike back

Because of all these unwarranted attacks, Indians are fighting back. Many have reported him to Facebook for his abusive language. I think chapters of AIM and organizations concerned with Native fraud are investigating him. Someone mentioned a potential lawsuit for libel or slander. (Saying my comic books cause suicide is certainly libelous, but it's too stupid to worry about.)

Here's what Lonehunt's efforts have gotten him:

Report: Dominique Vantell LonehuntReported By: Native American Truth Squad (Pine Ridge South Dakota United States of America)

Dominique Vantell Lonehunt NATIVE CITIZEN NEWS NETWORK, Caribbean Spotlight TV, STREETFUNK TV (this is what are investigation has uncovered to date but there may be more) Black Caribbean Poses as 'Native American' in Attempt to Scam Money & Opportunity from Native American Community Internet.

*UPDATE by author: DOMINIQUE VANTELL 'LONEHUNT' also known as NATIVE CITIZEN NEWS NETWORK--MISREPRESENTS HIS ETHNICITY & Harasses, slanders & threatens regularly the Native American Community.And:We, the Native American community, are asking all Native Americans and the entire global community to disassociate themselves with Dominique Vantell 'Lonehunt' and leave the Native Citizen News Network fanpage on Facebook immediately.

If you have been slandered by Dominique Vantell Lonehunt and/or Native Citizen News Network please add your comments here and contact us if you would like to file a lawsuit against Dominique Vantell 'Lonehunt' and/or Native Citizen News Network.

See his Facebook profile here: http://facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001359030247

Note: I corrected a few typos in the Ripoff Report posting.

I still don't know if Lonehunt (i.e., "Lonehunt") is a Native. I think people are assuming he isn't because there's zero evidence he is. Maybe they don't believe anyone this hateful could attack his fellow Natives.

Anyway, the Ripoff Report posting is now the no. 1 hit when you Google Lonehunt. This posting plus that should ensure that criticism of Lonehunt remains prominent as long as search engines are around. In short, you lose, dumbass. When you attack me, you reap what you sow.

For those on Facebook, the Native Citizen News Network page has a "Report Page" link on the lower left. Even if NCNN has blocked you, you can report the page to Facebook. I've done it and I encourage everyone to do it too.

Is the "nanny state" bad?

Someone on Facebook declared that the rise of the "nanny state" (i.e., a government regulated for the safety of the majority) has coincided with an increase in violence and other social ills. I posted this response:

Is the "nanny state" bad? One could argue just the opposite: that the lack of "protections" gave the US a Wild West mentality that allowed and encouraged worker exploitation, slavery, Civil War, and genocide. That these things have become less thinkable precisely because of increased government oversight.

All in all, I'm happier to live now, with a life expectancy of 80 or whatever, than then, when 50 was considered old. People died from disease, hardship, or violence that we've reduced through regulation.

This led to the following discussion with FB friend John:I think you will find that stronger, self reliant individuals usually do prefer the freedom from the nanny state in spite of the hardships of the wild west.I think you'll find that stronger, self-reliant individuals like to impose exploitation, slavery, war, and genocide on others. As US history demonstrates.I disagree.Andrew Jackson: strong, self-reliant embodiment of the rugged individualist? Or slave-owner, warmonger, and genocidal maniac? Or both? Discuss.



FB friend JRey chimed in:Hmm....Tempting at first glance to say both, but--I think being a slave owner or otherwise usurping the fruits of the labor of others without just compensation precludes one from being a rugged individualist. Truly 'self made' people do not rely on unearned privilege.Do self-made people move into Indian territory and declare it their own with the backing of the US Army? I.e., take land as a free government handout? Because that would eliminate most Americans from about 1800 to 1900.

Including my immigrant Schmidt ancestors. Oops!

FB friend Paul also chimed in:The nanny state has not eliminated the following: worker exploitation, slavery, and genocide.It's reduced these things significantly in the US.

This is a classic case of white men like John arguing from their position of white privilege. How many women or minorities would argue that America's unregulated past was better than its regulated present? Let's ask blacks if they want to go back to the days of slavery, lynchings, and Jim Crow laws. Or ask Indians if they want to go back to the days of subjugation, assimilation, and termination? I'm betting most of them will say no.

For more on the subject, see Didier:  Stop "Protecting the Weak," Westerners = Freeloaders, and The Myth of American Self-Reliance.

Below:  Americans head west for government-granted freebies.

Preview of Moonhair

'Moonhair' first U.S. movie with all Indian castAt book signings for his story "Shoot Minnie Shoot" about the 1904 Fort Shaw basketball team, Jack "Happy" Feder was thanked time and again for portraying Native Americans in a positive light.

The comments inspired him to write a mythic adventure movie set during the Dog Days, but told in a modern-style to appeal to today's teens.

Once complete, "Moonhair" will be the first American movie with an all Native American cast.

"People were so tired of films and books that showed the dire side of life on a reservation," Feder said. "My goal was not to have a political message—just to have an adventure."

Inspired by traditional Native American myths, the story is an original tale of a woman with shocking white hair that carries untold powers.

Moonhair must take a fantastical and often dangerous adventure as she tries to retrieve her tribe's Singing Buffalo Stone from an evil neighboring tribe the Dung Eaters. Without the stone, the tribe can't hunt and will perish.

A trickster god creates problems for but Moonhair gets help from a man named Easy Runner whom she meets along the way.

Though neither of the tribes in the screenplay is real, Feder based much of the myth on Blackfeet history and folklore. Feder credits Harold Ernest Gray, Long Standing Bear Chief, a longtime teacher and Indian advocate.Comment:  The first American movie with an all-Native cast? I don't think so.

Does that mean literally 100%? Not even a white character in a nonspeaking role in the background? Because I'm sure several movies have been almost totally Native.

I imagine this excludes short films and feature-length films that don't get distribution deals. Because I imagine many art-house and independent films like Two Indians Talking could meet the 100% standard. There are probably hundreds of them.

And this obviously excludes Canadian films such as The Fast Runner (Atanarjuat). And tons of Latin American films. So we're talking about a relatively modest "first" here.

But still...how about Skins? Apocalypto? Mile Post 398? Heck, how about some century-old silent movie about a tragic Native romance? I haven't seen and don't remember many movies, but I'm confident we could find an earlier film with an all-Native cast.

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

The Cave at Sundance

Tsilhqot’in Helen Haig-Brown Splashes at SundanceWhen Helen Haig-Brown and six fellow aboriginal filmmakers were asked to make short films for the 10th anniversary of the ImagiNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, they each received individual instructions that took them out of their comfort zones.

Helen Haig-Brown, for instance, was told to make science-fiction and wasn’t allowed to do her own camera work or editing. And there were other stipulations.

“The guiding rule for the group was that the films needed to use a language other than English, and had to incorporate the theme of patience,” the CBC reported at the time.

For her 10-minute short The Cave, which just wrapped up a week of screenings at the Sundance Film Festival, Haig-Brown put a sci-fi twist on a very unscientific topic: She remade the Tsilhqot’in story of a horseriding hunter who stumbles upon a portal to the afterlife. It is in Tsilhqot’in with English subtitles.

“I knew right away I didn’t want to do space and aliens,” Haig-Brown told the CBC. She said her cousin suggested she retell the Tsilhqot’in story.

“The eerie film had a polished, big-budget feel,” the CBC wrote when the film came out in 2009.Comment:  For more on Sundance, see Wapawekka at Sundance and Choke at Sundance.

Burroughs the conservative racist

Tarzan, a colonial symbol of bigotry

By Phil ShannonTarzan is a symbol of the white man’s conquest of Africa, set during the heyday of European colonialism, especially British.

“Never once,” writes Fenton, “did Burroughs waver from his conviction that the English were the height of aristocracy.”

John Clayton, the son of Lord and Lady Greystoke who were abandoned by mutineers on the African coast, was raised as Tarzan by an ape-mother. He nonetheless remained the rightful heir of his father’s House of Lords seat.

Despite his loincloth and primitive ape-English, Tarzan bears the “hallmark of aristocratic birth, the natural outcropping of many generations of fine breeding.” Such breeding was forged and tested in the British empire’s wars (“the noblest monument of historic achievement upon a thousand victorious battlefields,” editorialises an enthusiastic Burroughs in one Tarzan story).

Burroughs, born in 1875 in Chicago, was a political conservative and a fanatical opponent of the labour and socialist movements. These sentiments are shared by Fenton, his biographer and admirer-in-chief.

The 540-acre property-owning Burroughs uses one Tarzan story to whine that “to be poor assures one of an easier life than being rich, for the poor have no tax to pay.”Comment:  We've seen a bit of how Burroughs stereotyped Indians, Africans, and other "primitive" people:

Review of WARLORD OF MARS #1
Barsoom = Indian territory
Stereotypes in A Princess of Mars
Stereotypes in Tarzan of the Apes

I didn't know Burroughs was a conservative, but it doesn't surprise me. It's evident in his stories of white men who dominate savage and barbaric races.

And don't bother saying he was a product of his times. A few years after Burroughs was born, Helen Hunt Jackson wrote her more sensitive play Ramona. Jack London, who was born a year after Burroughs, became a socialist and also wrote more sensitively about Native people.