Bulletin Bits #28 by Chris Giarrusso
Comment: For more on the subject, see Warpath Kills for X-FORCE and Comic Books Featuring Indians.
May 01, 2009
April 30, 2009
Winning in Tecumseh's Vision
Continuing the discussion of Tecumseh's Vision, the second episode of PBS's We Shall Remain series:
I was under the impression that Tecumseh suffered one major defeat--when his brother Tenskwatawa launched an ill-advised attack on William Henry Harrison's forces in Tecumseh's absence.
But I learned there were four turning points, not just one, from Tecumseh's Vision. Had the circumstances been different at any of these points, Tecumseh could've won--or at least kept fighting--against the Americans.
This reinforces what I said in Outcome of After the Mayflower--that Indians had many chances to stave off the Euro-American onslaught. They couldn't have defeated the foreigners outright, but they could've stymied them enough to make a coexistence compromise possible.
In all these cases, remember the context. The Americans had superior numbers, better weapons, and immunity to disease. Yet the Indians held their own under these adverse conditions. Any delay in an American victory gave the Indians more chances to rebuild their forces and fight another day.
The four turning points I noted in Tecumseh's Vision:
The Shawnee and their allies kept US forces on run in the Northwest Territory for six years--1788 to 1794. They were doing well until a disastrous loss at the Battle of Fallen Timbers. A well-planned retreat turned into a rout when the Indians' British allies locked them out of Ft. Miami.
The loss resulted in the Treaty of Greenville, which forced the Indians to give up the southern two-thirds of the Ohio Valley. As Wikipedia notes:One veteran of Fallen Timbers who did not sign the Greenville treaty was a young Shawnee war leader named Tecumseh, who would renew Indian resistance in the years ahead. The US troops were led by General "Mad Anthony" Wayne, whom I believe was a ruthlessly effective leader. At one point a tree fell on his tent and knocked him unconscious, but he recovered and carried on.
If the British hadn't betrayed their Indian allies, or if Wayne had died from the falling tree or a stray bullet, the outcome might've been different. There would've been no Treaty of Greenville, and the Indians would've fought from a position of strength rather than weakness.
The aforementioned defeat--aka the Battle of Tippecanoe near Prophetstown in August 1811. Tecumseh told his brother Tenskwatawa not to do anything while he was gone rallying tribes to the cause. But the Western tribes in the confederacy didn't want to wait for Tecumseh's return. They urge a preemptive strike. Tenskwatawa bowed to the pressure and ordered a pre-dawn attack.
A noise apparently alerted a sentry at 4 am. He roused the troops and they forced the Indians to retreat and scatter. Then the troops marched on Prophetstown and burned it to the ground. So the Americans "won" even though they may have suffered more casualties, according to one historian.
We can imagine several scenarios in which the Indians could've avoided or turned this battle. If Tenskwatawa had held firm to his brother's orders. If Tecumseh had had a trusted military aide whom he could've left in charge. If the sentry hadn't heard the Indians approach. If a stray arrow or bullet had killed William Henry Harrison.
Though the loss smashed Tecumseh's confederacy, he was able to regroup the tribes in a year's time. At the beginning of the War of 1812, his position was as strong as before.
Tecumseh sold the British on the goal of reacquiring the Ohio Valley and they became allies again. Working with the aggressive General Brock, Tecumseh achieved "military brilliance" in the summer of 1812, forcing the Americans back.
According to Tecumseh's Vision, Tecumseh's finest hour was capturing Fort Detroit in 1812, which he and Brock masterminded together. A key trick was parading the same small group of fighters through a forest clearing to make the allied forces seem much larger. The Americans surrendered almost before the fighting began.
As one historian put it:An independent Indian territory supported by the British was on the brink of becoming a reality. But Brock was killed in another battle in New York. Procter, the new British commander, was much less aggressive. He was interested only in defending Canada, not in defeating the Americans. Tecumseh had to goad him into action.
If Brock had lived, the British/Indian forces might've continued their winning ways.
The British lost the Battle of Lake Erie and wanted to abandon Detroit. Tecumseh demanded that they stand and fight. But Procter retreated, offering little resistance along the way. As Wikipedia put it:The British retreat was badly managed, and the soldiers had been reduced to half rations. The British soldiers were becoming increasingly demoralized, and Tecumseh's warriors grew even more impatient with Procter for his unwillingness to stop and fight, giving Procter reason to fear a mutiny by the warriors. The final betrayal occurred October 5, 1813, when the British abandoned their allies. Tecumseh fought on and was killed. His body was mutilated beyond recognition by Harrison's Kentuckians.
This Battle of the Thames was "the final battle for control of the Great Lakes." But things might've been different if Procter hadn't bungled that final retreat, if he hadn't given up altogether, if he had stood and fought. Or if Tecumseh had survived the battle, or chosen a strategic retreat. (Tecumseh's Vision implies he wanted to go down fighting.)
Even if the British and Indians lost the war, Tecumseh was only 45. He could've gone on organizing tribes for another 20 or 30 years. Imagine his convincing the Cherokees to resist the Trail of Tears relocation and instead fight back under his leadership.
The short version of this long-winded posting is that no, Native defeat wasn't inevitable. There were a dozen scenarios in which Tecumseh could've won or staved off defeat for years if not decades. With a little luck, he could've been the central figure of 19th-century US history, not Andrew Jackson or Abraham Lincoln.
For more on the subject, see Confederacy in Tecumseh's Vision and Review of Tecumseh's Vision.
Below: A speculative depiction of Tecumseh's death at the hands of Richard M. Johnson.
I was under the impression that Tecumseh suffered one major defeat--when his brother Tenskwatawa launched an ill-advised attack on William Henry Harrison's forces in Tecumseh's absence.
But I learned there were four turning points, not just one, from Tecumseh's Vision. Had the circumstances been different at any of these points, Tecumseh could've won--or at least kept fighting--against the Americans.
This reinforces what I said in Outcome of After the Mayflower--that Indians had many chances to stave off the Euro-American onslaught. They couldn't have defeated the foreigners outright, but they could've stymied them enough to make a coexistence compromise possible.
In all these cases, remember the context. The Americans had superior numbers, better weapons, and immunity to disease. Yet the Indians held their own under these adverse conditions. Any delay in an American victory gave the Indians more chances to rebuild their forces and fight another day.
The four turning points I noted in Tecumseh's Vision:
The loss resulted in the Treaty of Greenville, which forced the Indians to give up the southern two-thirds of the Ohio Valley. As Wikipedia notes:
If the British hadn't betrayed their Indian allies, or if Wayne had died from the falling tree or a stray bullet, the outcome might've been different. There would've been no Treaty of Greenville, and the Indians would've fought from a position of strength rather than weakness.
A noise apparently alerted a sentry at 4 am. He roused the troops and they forced the Indians to retreat and scatter. Then the troops marched on Prophetstown and burned it to the ground. So the Americans "won" even though they may have suffered more casualties, according to one historian.
We can imagine several scenarios in which the Indians could've avoided or turned this battle. If Tenskwatawa had held firm to his brother's orders. If Tecumseh had had a trusted military aide whom he could've left in charge. If the sentry hadn't heard the Indians approach. If a stray arrow or bullet had killed William Henry Harrison.
Though the loss smashed Tecumseh's confederacy, he was able to regroup the tribes in a year's time. At the beginning of the War of 1812, his position was as strong as before.
According to Tecumseh's Vision, Tecumseh's finest hour was capturing Fort Detroit in 1812, which he and Brock masterminded together. A key trick was parading the same small group of fighters through a forest clearing to make the allied forces seem much larger. The Americans surrendered almost before the fighting began.
As one historian put it:
If Brock had lived, the British/Indian forces might've continued their winning ways.
This Battle of the Thames was "the final battle for control of the Great Lakes." But things might've been different if Procter hadn't bungled that final retreat, if he hadn't given up altogether, if he had stood and fought. Or if Tecumseh had survived the battle, or chosen a strategic retreat. (Tecumseh's Vision implies he wanted to go down fighting.)
Even if the British and Indians lost the war, Tecumseh was only 45. He could've gone on organizing tribes for another 20 or 30 years. Imagine his convincing the Cherokees to resist the Trail of Tears relocation and instead fight back under his leadership.
The short version of this long-winded posting is that no, Native defeat wasn't inevitable. There were a dozen scenarios in which Tecumseh could've won or staved off defeat for years if not decades. With a little luck, he could've been the central figure of 19th-century US history, not Andrew Jackson or Abraham Lincoln.
For more on the subject, see Confederacy in Tecumseh's Vision and Review of Tecumseh's Vision.
Below: A speculative depiction of Tecumseh's death at the hands of Richard M. Johnson.
Angry at Pope's non-apology
Pope's apology too late
Words little solace for aboriginalsWhen Karen Chaboyer saw the news from the Vatican yesterday of Pope Benedict XVI expressing his "sorrow" over the long-term suffering and abuse of thousands of aboriginal Canadians in the residential schools run by the Roman Catholic Church, her first emotion was one of anger.
It was, in fact, her first and only emotion.
And it remains a constant.
"Why did the victim have to go to the offender to get his apology?" she asks. "Why did Phil Fontaine (Grand Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, and himself a residential school survivor) have to cross an ocean?
"Why did the Pope not come to us? We're here, not there. And here is where it happened." Could it be because the Pope wasn't that sincere about apologizing?
The article continues:Chaboyer scoffs at the rhetoric.
"It's so easy to say, isn't it?" she says. "What he didn't say, though, was why now? And why it took so long?"
Within minutes of the Pope's message being posted online, Chaboyer was also reading the mostly anonymous comments tagged on various websites and blogs, many of them so vitriolic and hurtful that she had to pause to regain her strength.
"You've read them, the hate and the racism being tossed at us," she says. "We're being called whiners. We're being told to 'get over it,' to 'move on.' I'd like for them to walk in our shoes for generations, and then have to read those kind of comments.
"There is so much ignorance out there, and so much intolerance," she says. "It continues to amaze me how so many people are able to know so little." Comment: Good points, but Chaboyer didn't ask the question I would've asked. Namely, why "sorrow" but not "I'm sorry"?
This isn't the first time Pope Benedict and his Vatican have been less than fully sensitive to Indians. For more on the subject, see 13 Grandmas Accused of Idolatry, Pope Doesn't Admit Guilt, and Pope Insults Indians.
Below: "I forgive you, my ignorant children, for worshiping your heathen idols rather than the one true God."
Words little solace for aboriginals
It was, in fact, her first and only emotion.
And it remains a constant.
"Why did the victim have to go to the offender to get his apology?" she asks. "Why did Phil Fontaine (Grand Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, and himself a residential school survivor) have to cross an ocean?
"Why did the Pope not come to us? We're here, not there. And here is where it happened."
The article continues:
"It's so easy to say, isn't it?" she says. "What he didn't say, though, was why now? And why it took so long?"
Within minutes of the Pope's message being posted online, Chaboyer was also reading the mostly anonymous comments tagged on various websites and blogs, many of them so vitriolic and hurtful that she had to pause to regain her strength.
"You've read them, the hate and the racism being tossed at us," she says. "We're being called whiners. We're being told to 'get over it,' to 'move on.' I'd like for them to walk in our shoes for generations, and then have to read those kind of comments.
"There is so much ignorance out there, and so much intolerance," she says. "It continues to amaze me how so many people are able to know so little."
This isn't the first time Pope Benedict and his Vatican have been less than fully sensitive to Indians. For more on the subject, see 13 Grandmas Accused of Idolatry, Pope Doesn't Admit Guilt, and Pope Insults Indians.
Below: "I forgive you, my ignorant children, for worshiping your heathen idols rather than the one true God."
Native pilots in Alaska
Gaining Altitude in Numbers
By Alex DeMarbanThe number of Native pilots has come in waves since the first batch took advantage of the GI Bill after serving in World War II.
For some, it runs in the family. Fathers who learned to fly and founded airlines during that era passed along the skills and maybe even the business to their children.
Arctic Transportation Services and PenAir, both of Anchorage, as well as Vanderpool Flying Service out of Aniak, are all examples of family-owned Native companies.
But a recent surge of Native pilots has less to do with bloodlines and more to do with scholarships and training.
In the last decade, money to pay for flight training has come largely from regional Native nonprofits, such as the Association of Village Council Presidents, and fishing consortiums that receive a portion of profits from Bering Sea fishing to create jobs in villages, such as Coastal Villages Region Fund, pilots say. Why Natives make better pilots:Natives make excellent pilots because they intimately know the land and weather they're flying in, says Bob Vanderpool, of Vanderpool Air. Vanderpool is a second-generation flier in his family-owned company.
"The local boys and girls that grew up in the woods in rural Alaska, they know the environment, they know the country, so I think that's a big plus, especially around Bethel," says Vanderpool, who is part Athabascan. "They travel by snowmachine between all the villages all their lives, when they're kids they're boating, so they know all the brush piles and where to go."
Home-grown pilots, as opposed to ones that are imported from the Lower 48, are also more likely to stay in Alaska, reducing the turnover that's often been a struggle for airlines. Below: "Lee Ryan says he owes his education to supportive nonprofits."
By Alex DeMarban
For some, it runs in the family. Fathers who learned to fly and founded airlines during that era passed along the skills and maybe even the business to their children.
Arctic Transportation Services and PenAir, both of Anchorage, as well as Vanderpool Flying Service out of Aniak, are all examples of family-owned Native companies.
But a recent surge of Native pilots has less to do with bloodlines and more to do with scholarships and training.
In the last decade, money to pay for flight training has come largely from regional Native nonprofits, such as the Association of Village Council Presidents, and fishing consortiums that receive a portion of profits from Bering Sea fishing to create jobs in villages, such as Coastal Villages Region Fund, pilots say.
"The local boys and girls that grew up in the woods in rural Alaska, they know the environment, they know the country, so I think that's a big plus, especially around Bethel," says Vanderpool, who is part Athabascan. "They travel by snowmachine between all the villages all their lives, when they're kids they're boating, so they know all the brush piles and where to go."
Home-grown pilots, as opposed to ones that are imported from the Lower 48, are also more likely to stay in Alaska, reducing the turnover that's often been a struggle for airlines.
Ramona's eco-friendly retreat
Tribe envisions reservation as new eco-tourist hotspotThe roughly 10-member Ramona Band of the Cahuilla Indian Tribe is working with a contractor to make its desert home a model for eco- tourism.
Anaheim-based Catalyx Inc., which brings new technologies such as eco- friendly energy and sewage systems to markets, will be working with the tribe as part of a project that will be paid for by the Ramona Band of Cahuilla Indians, the Department of Energy, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and other federal agencies.
“We want to create a truly natural retreat which mirrors our ancestral heritage of living in harmony with Mother Earth,” said Joseph Hamilton, the tribal chairman. And:Creating an eco-tourist destination is also a goal, he said, adding that the band envisions 38 cabins, a restaurant and a meeting center.
“There are a lot of eco-friendly resorts out there, but they are not truly off-grid,” Jangbarwala said.
The cabins will be built in the traditional Cahuilla “Kish” style—round yurt-like structures, Gomez said.
Once completed, the reservation plans to operate as a retreat, where visitors can learn about the history and culture of the tribe. Comment: For more on Native eco-tourism, see Navajo View Hotel Is Eco-Friendly.
Anaheim-based Catalyx Inc., which brings new technologies such as eco- friendly energy and sewage systems to markets, will be working with the tribe as part of a project that will be paid for by the Ramona Band of Cahuilla Indians, the Department of Energy, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and other federal agencies.
“We want to create a truly natural retreat which mirrors our ancestral heritage of living in harmony with Mother Earth,” said Joseph Hamilton, the tribal chairman.
“There are a lot of eco-friendly resorts out there, but they are not truly off-grid,” Jangbarwala said.
The cabins will be built in the traditional Cahuilla “Kish” style—round yurt-like structures, Gomez said.
Once completed, the reservation plans to operate as a retreat, where visitors can learn about the history and culture of the tribe.
Salvage in UK arts festival
SALVAGE Participates In UK's Festival Of First Nations Creative Art In MayNative Voices at the Autry is taking its 2008 production of Diane Glancy's Salvage to participate in Origins, the UK's inaugural festival of First Nations Creative Art. Native Voices is the only U.S. theater company selected to participate along with three others from around the world. Native Voices directors, crew, and Salvage cast and playwright will join with groundbreaking artists from the Indigenous cultures of Australia, Canada, and New Zealand in London. The intercultural, multimedia company Border Crossings brings these artists together to explore First Nations experience in the twenty-first century through theater, film screenings, events, and participation at venues across London.
Native Voices Producing Artistic Director Randy Reinholz and playwright Diane Glancy will participate in panel discussions followed by seven performances of the play in front of an international audience. The play features the original Los Angeles cast, made up of Elena Finney, Noah Watts, and Robert Owens-Greygrass, under the direction of award-winning director Sheila Tousey. Comment: For more on the subject, see Native Plays and Other Stage Shows.
Native Voices Producing Artistic Director Randy Reinholz and playwright Diane Glancy will participate in panel discussions followed by seven performances of the play in front of an international audience. The play features the original Los Angeles cast, made up of Elena Finney, Noah Watts, and Robert Owens-Greygrass, under the direction of award-winning director Sheila Tousey.
Hipp in Athletic Hall of Fame
Hipp to be inducted into the American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame May 2Along with three other Native Americans, Joseph T. "Joe" Hipp has been enshrined into the American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame.
Joseph Hipp, of the Blackfeet Tribe, was born Dec. 7, 1962, in Browning. World Boxing Federation A Heavyweight Champion, Hipp is considered the best boxer ever among the many Native American boxers of the past. He appeared 15 times on national television and won the World WBF Heavyweight Championship in 1995. Hipp also won the North American Heavyweight Championship in 1994 and fought for the World Boxing Association Heavyweight Championship in 1995.
Joseph Hipp, of the Blackfeet Tribe, was born Dec. 7, 1962, in Browning. World Boxing Federation A Heavyweight Champion, Hipp is considered the best boxer ever among the many Native American boxers of the past. He appeared 15 times on national television and won the World WBF Heavyweight Championship in 1995. Hipp also won the North American Heavyweight Championship in 1994 and fought for the World Boxing Association Heavyweight Championship in 1995.
April 29, 2009
Confederacy in Tecumseh's Vision
Continuing the discussion of Tecumseh's Vision, the second episode of PBS's We Shall Remain series:
Tecumseh's brother Lalawethika had a vision and was reborn as Tenskwatawa ("open door"). He stopped drinking and started preaching that Indians should make themselves whole by rejecting Western influences. That they should restore themselves by reviving their Indian cultures and identities.
Tecumseh saw that he could use this vision to reunify his people. He parlayed Tenskwatawa's preaching into a pan-Indian organizational scheme. But until war broke out, it was actually Tenskwatawa's movement, and Tecumseh was in his brother's shadow.
The movement sent shock waves through Indian country. Many tribes, even the brothers' own Shawnee, were divided. Some saw the brothers as self-serving power seekers.
William Henry Harrison wrote a letter to the Delaware Indians, telling them to demand proof of Tenskwatawa's prophetic power. Tenskwatawa responded by correctly predicting an eclipse.
Is this the first time someone predicted an eclipse to intimidate people since Columbus did it in 1504? Could be. Good to see this hoary literary device has some basis in reality.
A prophecy supposedly uttered by Tenskwatawa to his followers:They have taken away your lands which were not made for them. The whites I have placed on the other side of the Great Water, to be another people, separate from you. In time, I will overturn the land, so that all white people will be covered, and you alone shall inhabit the land. Apparently speeches like this caused the US government to panic. As one historian nicely put it:By 1807 most Americans assumed an orderly process of dispossession and conquest, in which Native Americans would gradually recede from the picture, or assimilate into American society. Boo-hoo! Genocide not going as quickly as you wished? Send in the Indian killers (troops).
In 1809 Tecumseh began the first of his epic tours from Alabama to Canada. He offered a novel argument--that the land was held in common by all Indians. That no one tribe could cede it without the permission of the others.
As one historian noted, Tecumseh had a much tougher job than the Founding Fathers. They had to unite 13 colonies with central governments and a common language and heritage. He had to unite dozens of tribes with different cultures and languages.
Moreover, many of the leaders he dealt with ruled only villages, not whole tribes. Getting the support of one band of Indians didn't necessarily mean the neighboring bands would agree.
In his 1810 confrontation with Harrison, Tecumseh did something never done before, according to one historian:He stood up, defended Indian land, and said he represented every Indian on the continent.
He understood that Native American peoples were in a particular historical predicament, and he was articulating that predicament, and was doing it for all of them. Sounds like my kind of guy. He reasoned his way to a sound conclusion--that Indians should unite--and said so. He didn't worry if some people might disagree with him because his position was logical and rational.
An equivalent today might be a Native intellectual arguing that mascots and other stereotypes harm Indians. It doesn't matter if some Indians (and many non-Indians) don't get it. The facts and evidence prove this argument to be true whether people get it or not.
For more on the subject, see War Footing in Tecumseh's Vision and Review of Tecumseh's Vision.
Below: Tenskwatawa by Charles Bird King.
Is this the first time someone predicted an eclipse to intimidate people since Columbus did it in 1504? Could be. Good to see this hoary literary device has some basis in reality.
Moreover, many of the leaders he dealt with ruled only villages, not whole tribes. Getting the support of one band of Indians didn't necessarily mean the neighboring bands would agree.
He understood that Native American peoples were in a particular historical predicament, and he was articulating that predicament, and was doing it for all of them.
An equivalent today might be a Native intellectual arguing that mascots and other stereotypes harm Indians. It doesn't matter if some Indians (and many non-Indians) don't get it. The facts and evidence prove this argument to be true whether people get it or not.
For more on the subject, see War Footing in Tecumseh's Vision and Review of Tecumseh's Vision.
Below: Tenskwatawa by Charles Bird King.
Jodi Rave and Changing Winds
Opinion: ‘Small voices' remind Rave of own goal
By Jodi RaveI've turned in my resignation letter to the Missoulian and Lee Enterprises.
First, a review of a recent trip that prompted my decision to leave the newspaper business, which has provided me with inspiration, arguably more than 1,000 stories and columns, and a steady paycheck for the last 13 years.
Last week, I visited three South Dakota reservations--Lower Brule, Cheyenne River and Crow Creek--to talk with youths about the power of our voices, a power we enhance through reading and writing skills. The speaking-writing invitation came from the Changing Winds Advocacy Center, a nonprofit Native civil rights and education agency based in Fairfield, Conn.
Youths are some of the most inspiring people I've ever met. This includes 9-year-old Venetia St. Cloud, a member of the Lower Brule Boys and Girls Club. She wanted to take me up on my challenge: Write a story using as many Lakota words as possible. More on Changing Winds:“Through interviews with parents and teachers, Changing Winds saw how difficult it has been for Lakota children to celebrate their culture within the educational system,” said Christine Rose, director of Changing Winds Inc.
Changing Winds has provided some organizations in South Dakota with Lakota language tapes and books by and about Lakota people and culture. Additionally, the organization has invited “Native role models to give children an idea of the ways they can work within their culture with a strong vision for the future,” said Rose.
I support Rose's Changing Winds Literacy Project, a program she launched to get kids to write about what's on their mind. I agreed to go to South Dakota and collect some of the students' drawings, short stories and poems. Rose plans to publish their work in a newspaper called Hocik?la!, which translates into Lakota as “small voices.”
The paper will be distributed in South Dakota. “We have funding in place to carry this project for six months, and we are going ahead on faith because we believe this is an important project for the kids,” said Rose. “If the project is good, we believe the money will come to keep it going.” Comment: I gather Rave will continue working with Changing Winds. The children also have inspired her to do her own writing: a book on "Indian land advocate Elouise Cobell and the federal government's management of trust lands in Indian Country."
I know Rave only from a brief meeting and a few e-mails, but I'm a decent friend of Rose's. She's a non-Native like me who's become passionate about Native issues in the last decade or so. But she's much more of an activist than I am: visiting South Dakota frequently, getting involved in legal cases and clothing drives there, and now starting a nonprofit dedicated to education.
I did supply some materials for the Bittersweet Winds exhibit she helped organize. You can read about that in "I Was a Teenage Mascot" and Traveling Exhibit Features Stereotypes. Not many people have collected as many stereotypical images as I have.
Here's a previous posting from Rose so you can see where she's coming from. It's a good bet that she'll accomplish what she's set out to do.
Of course, she needs to think about having the kids create comic books in their Native languages. That should be the next project after the newspaper. <g>
By Jodi Rave
First, a review of a recent trip that prompted my decision to leave the newspaper business, which has provided me with inspiration, arguably more than 1,000 stories and columns, and a steady paycheck for the last 13 years.
Last week, I visited three South Dakota reservations--Lower Brule, Cheyenne River and Crow Creek--to talk with youths about the power of our voices, a power we enhance through reading and writing skills. The speaking-writing invitation came from the Changing Winds Advocacy Center, a nonprofit Native civil rights and education agency based in Fairfield, Conn.
Youths are some of the most inspiring people I've ever met. This includes 9-year-old Venetia St. Cloud, a member of the Lower Brule Boys and Girls Club. She wanted to take me up on my challenge: Write a story using as many Lakota words as possible.
Changing Winds has provided some organizations in South Dakota with Lakota language tapes and books by and about Lakota people and culture. Additionally, the organization has invited “Native role models to give children an idea of the ways they can work within their culture with a strong vision for the future,” said Rose.
I support Rose's Changing Winds Literacy Project, a program she launched to get kids to write about what's on their mind. I agreed to go to South Dakota and collect some of the students' drawings, short stories and poems. Rose plans to publish their work in a newspaper called Hocik?la!, which translates into Lakota as “small voices.”
The paper will be distributed in South Dakota. “We have funding in place to carry this project for six months, and we are going ahead on faith because we believe this is an important project for the kids,” said Rose. “If the project is good, we believe the money will come to keep it going.”
I know Rave only from a brief meeting and a few e-mails, but I'm a decent friend of Rose's. She's a non-Native like me who's become passionate about Native issues in the last decade or so. But she's much more of an activist than I am: visiting South Dakota frequently, getting involved in legal cases and clothing drives there, and now starting a nonprofit dedicated to education.
I did supply some materials for the Bittersweet Winds exhibit she helped organize. You can read about that in "I Was a Teenage Mascot" and Traveling Exhibit Features Stereotypes. Not many people have collected as many stereotypical images as I have.
Here's a previous posting from Rose so you can see where she's coming from. It's a good bet that she'll accomplish what she's set out to do.
Of course, she needs to think about having the kids create comic books in their Native languages. That should be the next project after the newspaper. <g>
Pope feels sorrow, not sorry
Pope expresses 'sorrow' for abuse at residential schools
AFN's Fontaine says he hopes statement will 'close the book' on apologies issuePope Benedict XVI expressed "sorrow" to a delegation from Canada's Assembly of First Nations on Wednesday over the abuse and "deplorable" treatment that aboriginal students suffered at residential schools run by the Roman Catholic Church.
In a statement, the Vatican said the Pope "offered his sympathy and prayerful solidarity" to those whose anguish was caused by some church members. The comments came during a private audience with the delegation, which included Assembly of First Nations Leader Phil Fontaine, aboriginal elders and residential school survivors. And:Following the meeting, Fontaine, who is also a residential school survivor, called the Pope's words a "very significant statement."
While he said it did not amount to an official apology, Fontaine told CBC News he hoped the expression of regret would "close the book" on the issue of apologies for residential school survivors.
"The fact that the word 'apology' was not used does not diminish this moment in any way," he said. "This experience gives me great comfort." Comment: This is what's known in the media as a non-apology apology. The Pope feels sorrow that someone somewhere did something bad. But don't blame him or his church for anything. It was a few bad apples--kind of like Abu Ghraib--not an institutional failure. Some priests stepped over the line, but the church's mission--to convert non-believers to Christianity--remains a sound one.
Yeah, right. If you believe that, you'll believe the Vatican is thinking of selling its art to help the poor, huddled masses around the world. You know, the people Jesus said we should help?
But if Fontaine is satisfied, I'm happy for him. Since he seems to be leading the quest for apologies, he should know if the "book" is closed. Now maybe he can concentrate on something else--like getting tangible aid for his people instead of more "sorrowful" words.
Anyway, let's hope this non-apology apology provides the closure and healing the residential school survivors need. I trust their quality of life will increase and their pain and anguish will decrease. After all, the Pope's is God's man on Earth, so his words should be able to heal someone.
For more on the subject, see Canadian Apology = Divide and Conquer and Our Turn to Apologize?
Below: "Assembly of First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine, left, walks in St. Peter's Square in Vatican City ahead of a private audience with the Pope on Wednesday.Assembly of First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine, left, walks in St. Peter's Square in Vatican City ahead of a private audience with the Pope on Wednesday." (Stephanie Jenzer/CBC)
AFN's Fontaine says he hopes statement will 'close the book' on apologies issue
In a statement, the Vatican said the Pope "offered his sympathy and prayerful solidarity" to those whose anguish was caused by some church members. The comments came during a private audience with the delegation, which included Assembly of First Nations Leader Phil Fontaine, aboriginal elders and residential school survivors.
While he said it did not amount to an official apology, Fontaine told CBC News he hoped the expression of regret would "close the book" on the issue of apologies for residential school survivors.
"The fact that the word 'apology' was not used does not diminish this moment in any way," he said. "This experience gives me great comfort."
Yeah, right. If you believe that, you'll believe the Vatican is thinking of selling its art to help the poor, huddled masses around the world. You know, the people Jesus said we should help?
But if Fontaine is satisfied, I'm happy for him. Since he seems to be leading the quest for apologies, he should know if the "book" is closed. Now maybe he can concentrate on something else--like getting tangible aid for his people instead of more "sorrowful" words.
Anyway, let's hope this non-apology apology provides the closure and healing the residential school survivors need. I trust their quality of life will increase and their pain and anguish will decrease. After all, the Pope's is God's man on Earth, so his words should be able to heal someone.
For more on the subject, see Canadian Apology = Divide and Conquer and Our Turn to Apologize?
Below: "Assembly of First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine, left, walks in St. Peter's Square in Vatican City ahead of a private audience with the Pope on Wednesday.Assembly of First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine, left, walks in St. Peter's Square in Vatican City ahead of a private audience with the Pope on Wednesday." (Stephanie Jenzer/CBC)
Review of Red Ink
Mixed Blood’s 'Red Ink' offers moody mixed bag by Native American playwrights
Some of the 10 plays are good while others aren't short enough
By Quinton SkinnerWriter Yvette Nolan contributes a couple of the stronger snippets, both featuring Anderson, who lends a mature gravity to a night that often comes across with more energy than cohesion. In the first, he's portaging a canoe through suburbia past a startled homeowner, noting that it's his backyard, too. In the second, Anderson is in the backseat of a police car, subject to the whims of an angry cop (Ernest Briggs), while explaining his status as a City Hall insider by dint of his position as a Native representative in a sea of white faces.
From here the mood shifts at a whiplash pace, and you'll either give yourself over to the experience or feel as though you're witnessing something half-baked. (The show, directed by Sarah Rasmussen, seems to be working out the question for itself. It seeks small truths in a sprawling format and tries for mood over precision, which might well be the smart gambit).
Arigon Starr, also an ensemble performer, pens a riff on American Idol, in which George Keller emotes through a warbling "Cry for My Reservation," leading to a controversy over blood purity. (That theme is also explored earlier in a piece by Drew Hayden Taylor, in which a single woman straddles the paradox that she will only bear children with pure Native men while commenting that pure-bred dogs are nothing but trouble). Starr later also contributes a parody of Native casino culture that only just gets off the ground. Comment: I guess the show is called Red Ink because Natives wrote all the pieces. Okay, but that's not much of a unifying theme.
Moreover, there's a well-known collegiate Native magazine called Red Ink. Mixed Blood gets no points for co-opting its name.
For more on the subject, see Native Plays and Other Stage Shows.
Some of the 10 plays are good while others aren't short enough
By Quinton Skinner
From here the mood shifts at a whiplash pace, and you'll either give yourself over to the experience or feel as though you're witnessing something half-baked. (The show, directed by Sarah Rasmussen, seems to be working out the question for itself. It seeks small truths in a sprawling format and tries for mood over precision, which might well be the smart gambit).
Arigon Starr, also an ensemble performer, pens a riff on American Idol, in which George Keller emotes through a warbling "Cry for My Reservation," leading to a controversy over blood purity. (That theme is also explored earlier in a piece by Drew Hayden Taylor, in which a single woman straddles the paradox that she will only bear children with pure Native men while commenting that pure-bred dogs are nothing but trouble). Starr later also contributes a parody of Native casino culture that only just gets off the ground.
Moreover, there's a well-known collegiate Native magazine called Red Ink. Mixed Blood gets no points for co-opting its name.
For more on the subject, see Native Plays and Other Stage Shows.
The first Native dentist
Tribal members recruited into medical fields
By William HermannThe need for Native Americans in the health-care professions has never been greater, but the obstacles standing between them and medical degrees are often daunting, if not overwhelming.
George Blue Spruce knows those obstacles firsthand and has spent a lifetime helping others overcome them.
Blue Spruce, the nation's first American Indian dentist, is an assistant dean at A.T. Still University in Mesa, where he is helping tribal members enter the world of medicine.
At 78, Blue Spruce has a long and distinguished resume. He founded the Society of American Indian Dentists and was assistant U.S. surgeon general from 1981 to 1986. He also wrote the original draft of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act in Title 1 of federal statutes.
Now "retired," he is pursuing what he calls his true life's work: traveling the nation to tell young American Indian men and women that the medical professions need them, and perhaps more importantly, that their people need them to be in the medical professions. 
By William Hermann
George Blue Spruce knows those obstacles firsthand and has spent a lifetime helping others overcome them.
Blue Spruce, the nation's first American Indian dentist, is an assistant dean at A.T. Still University in Mesa, where he is helping tribal members enter the world of medicine.
At 78, Blue Spruce has a long and distinguished resume. He founded the Society of American Indian Dentists and was assistant U.S. surgeon general from 1981 to 1986. He also wrote the original draft of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act in Title 1 of federal statutes.
Now "retired," he is pursuing what he calls his true life's work: traveling the nation to tell young American Indian men and women that the medical professions need them, and perhaps more importantly, that their people need them to be in the medical professions.
Four Corners in wrong location
X marks the spot... well, sort of: Four Corners Monument expects tourism increaseA miscalculation in the location of the Four Corners Monument likely will not deter visitors to the only place in the country where four states meet.
The number of tourists who want to stand on the intersection of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah has decreased steadily during the past decade, Park Manager DeWayne Johnson said, but recent media coverage exposing a surveying error is expected to increase tourism to the monument and the nearby community of Teec Nos Pos, Ariz. The nature of the error:The Associated Press reported last week that the initial 1868 survey placed the monument as much as 2.5 miles west of where it should be. Days later, the AP issued a correction stating the monument actually is about 1,800 feet east of where it was intended. Comment: You can see my pix of the Four Corners Monument here.
The number of tourists who want to stand on the intersection of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah has decreased steadily during the past decade, Park Manager DeWayne Johnson said, but recent media coverage exposing a surveying error is expected to increase tourism to the monument and the nearby community of Teec Nos Pos, Ariz.
Lakota woman is Visionary Voice
Lakota woman earns national awardA member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe and White Buffalo Calf Woman Society has won a national honor recognizing her work and dedication in addressing and preventing sexual violence.
Tillie Black Bear, executive director of White Buffalo Calf Woman Society, the oldest shelter on a Native American reservation, has been awarded The National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s 2009 Visionary Voice Award. Black Bear is considered a leading expert on violence against women and children.
Tillie Black Bear, executive director of White Buffalo Calf Woman Society, the oldest shelter on a Native American reservation, has been awarded The National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s 2009 Visionary Voice Award. Black Bear is considered a leading expert on violence against women and children.
April 28, 2009
War footing in Tecumseh's Vision
As with After the Mayflower, I've read books about the events of Tecumseh's Vision. But the second episode of the PBS series We Shall Remain really brought the story alive for me. Again, it was a thought-provoker and anyone interested in Native history should see it.
For a fuller account of Tecumseh, see such postings as:
Tecumseh
Tecumseh's War
Tecumseh's Confederacy
Here are some bits and pieces of Tecumseh's backstory and my thoughts on them:
Tecumseh was a "man who led a revolution of young men," according to one historian. "Young men who were tired of the accommodationist stance of their elders."
Good point. I wonder how often a generation gap played a role in the Indians' response to the Euro-Americans. We've often seen depictions of wise elders counseling caution and patience and young warriors demanding immediate action, but how real was this? And which approach worked better in the long run?
When Tecumseh walked into room, according to a historian, people would stop talking and stare at him. He had such an aura of leadership and respect that even his enemies admired him.
"Tecumseh," pronounced Te-cum-theh by some, meant "shooting star" or "crouching panther" according to Wikipedia. A Shawnee in Tecumseh's Vision notes that the Shawnee considered falling stars to be panthers jumping among the stars.
"Lalawethika," the name of Tecumseh's brother, meant "the noise maker" according to a historian or "one with open mouth" according to Wikipedia. The historian says we'd translate this as "loudmouth."
In 1801 Thomas Jefferson wrote: The American settlements will gradually circumscribe and approach the Indians, who will in time either incorporate with us as citizens of the United States, or remove beyond the Mississippi. There you have it: the "great" Founding Father's statement of genocidal intent. Unless the Indians commit cultural suicide, we'll commit cultural homicide. We'll push them into the badlands, into the desert, into the sea until they're gone.
The Americans pushed the so-called "factory system" on the Indians. They established forts throughout the Ohio territory to promote a trade system of furs for goods. This eventually made Indians into debtors of the US. They could pay their debts only by ceding land.
After the Mayflower also mentioned an English effort to force Indians into debt. Hmm. People haven't reported a lot on the role of economic pressure in subjugating Indians. There's probably much more to be said about this subject.
The influx of settlers kept the Indians on a constant war footing. The loss of Indian men led to broken homes and communities. Having twice as many women as men put kinship systems under stress. Diseases flourished and spread under these conditions.
No wonder the Indians experienced feelings of despair and turned to alcohol for relief. Yet genocide apologists still claim that Western civilization was and is inherently "superior"? The only superiority I see here is the superiority of numbers. The greedy land-grabbers were like an unstoppable plague of locusts.
For more on the subject, see Native Documentaries and News.
For a fuller account of Tecumseh, see such postings as:
Tecumseh
Tecumseh's War
Tecumseh's Confederacy
Here are some bits and pieces of Tecumseh's backstory and my thoughts on them:
Good point. I wonder how often a generation gap played a role in the Indians' response to the Euro-Americans. We've often seen depictions of wise elders counseling caution and patience and young warriors demanding immediate action, but how real was this? And which approach worked better in the long run?
After the Mayflower also mentioned an English effort to force Indians into debt. Hmm. People haven't reported a lot on the role of economic pressure in subjugating Indians. There's probably much more to be said about this subject.
No wonder the Indians experienced feelings of despair and turned to alcohol for relief. Yet genocide apologists still claim that Western civilization was and is inherently "superior"? The only superiority I see here is the superiority of numbers. The greedy land-grabbers were like an unstoppable plague of locusts.
For more on the subject, see Native Documentaries and News.
First Nations seek Pope's apology
First Nations delegation to meet privately with PopeOn the eve of its private audience with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican on Wednesday, a small delegation from Canada's Assembly of First Nations hailed the event as "historic and momentous."
During the meeting behind closed doors, the Pope is expected to read a statement about the Roman Catholic Church's role in the residential school system in Canada.
The church administered three-quarters of residential schools across Canada, but has yet to apologize for the abuse suffered by many of the 90,000 former students still alive.
Assembly of First Nations Leader Phil Fontaine is part of the delegation, which also includes elders and survivors.
"We're going to be in conversation with the Holy Father, and we're going to talk about the residential school experience," he told CBC News.
Isabella Tatar, head of the Legacy of Hope Foundation, which seeks to create awareness about the effects of residential schools, said the meeting represents an important step forward.
"The fact that survivors, their experiences are being validated, I think that will serve a very effective tool or forum for closure, not necessarily for everyone, but I think for a significant number of people," she said. Comment: I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess that whatever the Pope says, it won't alleviate the pain felt by the residential school survivors.
Note that the survivors already have a financial settlement, which Fontaine called a "symbolic apology," and an actual apology from Canada's prime minister. They've also asked the Queen of England to apologize.
One has to wonder why these apologies haven't provided "closure" yet and which apology will be the final apology needed. If the Pope apologizes and that doesn't do the trick, then what?
During the meeting behind closed doors, the Pope is expected to read a statement about the Roman Catholic Church's role in the residential school system in Canada.
The church administered three-quarters of residential schools across Canada, but has yet to apologize for the abuse suffered by many of the 90,000 former students still alive.
Assembly of First Nations Leader Phil Fontaine is part of the delegation, which also includes elders and survivors.
"We're going to be in conversation with the Holy Father, and we're going to talk about the residential school experience," he told CBC News.
Isabella Tatar, head of the Legacy of Hope Foundation, which seeks to create awareness about the effects of residential schools, said the meeting represents an important step forward.
"The fact that survivors, their experiences are being validated, I think that will serve a very effective tool or forum for closure, not necessarily for everyone, but I think for a significant number of people," she said.
Note that the survivors already have a financial settlement, which Fontaine called a "symbolic apology," and an actual apology from Canada's prime minister. They've also asked the Queen of England to apologize.
One has to wonder why these apologies haven't provided "closure" yet and which apology will be the final apology needed. If the Pope apologizes and that doesn't do the trick, then what?
Smith on Everything You Know
A look at author Paul Chaat Smith and his new book, Everything You Know About Indians Is Wrong:
Scribblings: Paul Chaat Smith
By Ben H. RomeIn a way, his latest book seeks to force the reader to confront the “modern mythology” slowly coming to form about Native Americans. Public understanding gravitates to what popular culture says, while the variety of Indian voices are slowly drowned out in the static. It’s a duality that is hard to wrestle with, but one that Paul embraces with his work at the NMAI. “We try to show the collection of voices here,” he said, “which is not an easy road, and we fail as often as we succeed. But I think in the end as long as the visitor walks away questioning what they thought they knew, then I think we’ve made a start.”
Everything You Know… attempts to do that, through Paul’s own voice. It’s a very entertaining read; while it does critique at times the (often) disputed role Indians have had in the U.S., it also explores with dry wit and humor how today’s media portrays “the noble savage.” The book walks the line between skepticism and empathy, and at the end the reader has to admit that the book title is indeed, accurate. Comment: For more on the subject, see The Best Indian Books.
Scribblings: Paul Chaat Smith
By Ben H. Rome
Everything You Know… attempts to do that, through Paul’s own voice. It’s a very entertaining read; while it does critique at times the (often) disputed role Indians have had in the U.S., it also explores with dry wit and humor how today’s media portrays “the noble savage.” The book walks the line between skepticism and empathy, and at the end the reader has to admit that the book title is indeed, accurate.
Mt. Taylor among endangered places
Sacred site on list of most endangered placesThe National Trust for Historic Preservation says Mount Taylor, a sacred site in New Mexico, is one of the nation's 11 most endangered places.
Acoma Pueblo, Laguna Pueblo, Zuni Pueblo, the Navajo Nation and the Hopi Tribe are seeking to protect Mount Taylor from uranium mining. The tribes have run into opposition from officials and residents in Cibola County.
The New Mexico Cultural Properties Review Committee voted to place Mount Taylor on Register of Cultural Properties on a temporary basis. The designation protects the site from development but it will expire in June without further action. Comment: For more on the subject, see Rancheria Among Endangered Places.
Acoma Pueblo, Laguna Pueblo, Zuni Pueblo, the Navajo Nation and the Hopi Tribe are seeking to protect Mount Taylor from uranium mining. The tribes have run into opposition from officials and residents in Cibola County.
The New Mexico Cultural Properties Review Committee voted to place Mount Taylor on Register of Cultural Properties on a temporary basis. The designation protects the site from development but it will expire in June without further action.
Miccosukee car wins NASCAR race
Talladega: NASCAR Sprint Cup Race Results--Keselowski, Chevrolet Win!Brad Keselowski and his No. 9 Miccosukee Indian Gaming & Resort Chevrolet went on to win the Aaron's 499, his first victory in five NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races. This is his first victory and first top-10 finish in 2009. This is also his first victory and first top-10 finish in one race at Talladega Superspeedway.
It was Chevrolet's 18th win in the last 21 races at Talladega. Comment: For more on the subject, see Mohegan NASCAR Champion and Talladega Cursed by Creeks?
Below: Not the winner, but presumably the reason people watch an otherwise uneventful race.
It was Chevrolet's 18th win in the last 21 races at Talladega.
Below: Not the winner, but presumably the reason people watch an otherwise uneventful race.
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