#Men In Hijab.

#MenInHijabs has gone viral, following a call for men to support women's rights by Iranian journalist and activist Masih Alinejad. Photo: Facebook.

#MenInHijabs has gone viral, following a call for men to support women’s rights by Iranian journalist and activist Masih Alinejad. Photo: Facebook.

Men in Iran are wearing hijabs in a display of solidarity with women across the country who are forced to cover their heads in public.

Wearing a headscarf is strictly enforced by so-called ‘morality police’ in Iran and has been since the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Women who do not wear a hijab or are deemed to be wearing ‘bad hijab’ by having some of their hair showing face punishments ranging from fines to imprisonment.

State-funded adverts appearing on billboards in Iran present those who do not cover their hair as spoiled and dishonourable. Women are also told that by not complying, they are putting themselves at risk of unwanted sexual advances from men.

But women are leading protests against enforced hijab across the country and some have resorted to shaving their hair in order to appear in public without wearing a veil.

Over the last week, a number of men have appeared in photos wearing a hijab with their wife or female relative next to them who have their hair uncovered.

The images come in response to a call by Masih Alinejad, an Iranian activist and journalist living in New York, who is urging men to support her campaign against enforced hijab.

Ms Alinejad runs the My Stealthy Freedom campaign and often shares pictures of women living in Iran who have enjoyed a moment of ‘stealthy freedom’ by taking their hijab off outside of a domestic setting. She has asked men to support her campaign with the #meninhijab hashtag and by sharing pictures with their heads covered while women pose without hijabs.

Ms Alinejad has received 30 images of men wearing a hijab since issuing her call on 22 July. She told the Independent some men are also posting their images on their Instagram accounts.

This is a great example of being a good ally, and how to do solidarity in an effective manner. #MenInHijab  Full story here.

About That American Exceptionalism.

Two women dressed in traditional attire wait outside of city hall in Urubamba, Peru (Roxanne Cooper)

Two women dressed in traditional attire wait outside of city hall in Urubamba, Peru (Roxanne Cooper)

The Presidential candidates have been sounding off for almost two years now, pointing out (or in many cases manufacturing) all of America’s problems, and offering solutions they believe will make them the next President. The candidates, especially to the right of the political spectrum, extoll America as being exceptional, and they score empty points with voters by talking about how the rest of the planet looks to the United States to solve the world’s woes. It is surprising, then, to see how many of these seemingly intractable problems are being far more effectively tackled by the countries we are supposed to be “leading”. Maybe it’s time for America to start looking elsewhere for innovative solutions.

Here are 10  examples of problems being solved everywhere but in America.

Yes, I know that all these places have their own problems, and no, none of them is utopia. That’s not the point. The point is that at the very least, other places in the world are actively attempting to deal with serious problems, and trying to come up with solutions. Some of them are quite simple, like prosecuting criminals, something the U.S. is increasingly reluctant to do, unless you’re poor and some shade of brown. I’m only going to include a few here, click over for the full list.

1. Peru: free solar-powered electricity for the poor.

In 2013, in Peru, only about two-thirds of the 25 million people had access to electricity. The Peruvian government decided to do something about it, and instituted a program to provide free solar energy to the underprivileged. With the goal of providing at least 95% of Peruvians with electricity, Peru began the National Photovoltaic Household Electrification Program, installing free solar panels in impoverished communities. The program, which is expected to be completed by next year, has so far installed almost 15,000 photovoltaic systems.

2. Iceland: white-collar criminals go to jail.

In the wake of the collapse of the housing bubble in 2008, it was not only the United States that almost fell into a deep economic depression. The same criminal activity our banks engaged in, inflating the housing market and gambling away our money while saddling crippling debt on untold millions, was also occurring around the world. One country in particular, Iceland, almost imploded. It had a far different response to the crisis, however.

At the same time that the United States was bailing out our “too-big-to-fail” banks, Iceland was letting them suffer the consequences of their greed, namely bankruptcy and failure. Instead of bailing banks out, the Icelandic government bailed out homeowners by forgiving mortgages that were overvalued. While it is arguable whether a similar course of action would have been advisable in the far-larger United States, it may be more important to note that Iceland began prosecuting actual people who propagated the illegal activity. Unlike the U.S., where exactly zero bank executives have answered for their crimes, and prosecutions for white-collar crime are at a 20-year low, 26 bankers in Iceland have gone to prison for their misdeeds.

3. France: stop throwing away food.

While the United States may be the richest nation on the planet, more than 15 million children go to bed hungry. Digest this fact while also noting that 133 billion pounds of food, fully a third of the available supply, goes uneaten, eventually ending up in a landfill. France, facing a similar problem, made a very simple decision: stop throwing the food away. As of early this month, it became illegal in France for large grocery stores (4300 square feet or more) to throw out unsold food. Instead, French groceries must contract with charitable organizations, which will be responsible for collecting and redistributing the food to the needy. The law also mandates educational programs in schools to raise awareness among children about the problem of food waste.

Raw Story has the full list.

He-Gassen (屁合戦): Fart Battle.

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Over 150 years ago a group of anonymous Japanese artists created a 34-ft long scroll titled He-Gassen (屁合戦), literally: “Fart Battle.”

The scroll, which was created during the Edo Period (probably around 1846) in Japan, consists of roughly 15 different scenes depicting people directing their farts at other people or objects. There are people farting at each other. There are people farting through objects. There are people combating farts with fans. There are bags of farts being released. Trees and cats get blown away by farts. And the scroll culminates with a divine gust of flatulence knocking over a ceremony and causing complete and utter chaos.

The scroll in its entirety was digitized by Waseda University and can be seen in hi-res format by accessing their database.

Via Spoon & Tamago.

Real NDNZ Re-Take Hollywood.

NDNZ

In an effort to dismantle the film industry’s historically stereotypical portrayal of Native actors in buckskin, feathers and painted faces, Los Angeles-based media professional and photographer Pamela J. Peters (Navajo) has created a series of photographs entitled Real NDNZ Re-Take Hollywood, in which contemporary Native American actors recreate classic Hollywood portraits of movie stars such as James Dean and Audrey Hepburn.

[…]

The seven Natives involved in the project include actors from the Dakota, Cherokee, Crow, Blackfeet, Shoshone, and Seminole nations. They are Noah Watts (Crow /Blackfeet), Shayna Jackson (Dakota / Cree), Deja Jones (Shoshone), Kholan Studie (Cherokee), Krista Hazelwood (Seminole), JaNae Collins (Dakota) and Brian Vallie (Crow).

“All participants have a passion to work in the film industry, but they also have ties to their tribal communities and enjoy sharing their respective backgrounds with each other,” says Peters.

“I would like people to think critically about my photos, and hear the young performers’ stories about how they navigate an extremely competitive field of entertainment.  Furthermore, I want society to know that we are many nations, with many stories, and that we can make a conscious choice to reshape perceptions of modern Indians today.”

The showcase will take place at These Days LA at 118 Winston Street, Los Angeles, 90013 from Aug 4th to 7th from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Information about the show can be found online. Her exhibit will showcase 24 images and a short video of her project. On Saturday, Aug 6th live art and drumming will be held from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

More information about Pamela J. Peters can be found on her website: www.PamelaJPeters.com.

Via ICTMN.

Oscars Diversity: 5 Natives Invited.

According to an announcement by Sundance, five of the institute’s Native American and Indigenous Program alumni have been invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

This is a positive change for Oscars diversity as the Native artists become a part of the nominating and voting body of the Oscars, each within their own branches and on larger voting sections for the awards.

The five artists and program alumni – as well as a few of their production credits – are listed on the Sundance Institute website:

Sherman Alexie (Spokane/Coeur D'alene)

Sherman Alexie (Spokane/Coeur D’alene)

adam-beach-by-thosh-collins

Adam Beach (Saulteaux of Dog Creek First Nation)

cliff_curtis

Cliff Curtis (Te Arawa, Ngāti Hauiti)

heather_rae-001

Heather Rae (Cherokee)

taika_waititi

Taika Waititi (Te Whanau A Apanui)

ICTMN has the full story.

Traditional With A Twist.

Billing his work as contemporary Navajo pottery, sculptor and graphic artist Gerald A. Pinto is expanding the boundaries of traditional sculpting. Courtesy of the artist.

Billing his work as contemporary Navajo pottery, sculptor and graphic artist Gerald A. Pinto is expanding the boundaries of traditional sculpting. Courtesy of the artist.

Billing his work as contemporary Navajo pottery, sculptor and graphic artist Gerald A. Pinto is expanding the boundaries of traditional sculpting by mixing media such as copper, turquoise and even battery-power into his work in innovative ways.

“I always tell people it blends the past with the present,” says Pinto. “Even though I call it contemporary, I showcase some of the more traditional designs, too.”

Gerald Pinto's Elemental gourd and seed pots. (Courtesy)

Gerald Pinto’s Elemental gourd and seed pots. (Courtesy)

Pinto has been doing pottery for around 28 years, but committed to it full-time after leaving his job with Amtrak in 2003. He credits his family with being his biggest artistic influences and inspirations. “My mom is a weaver and my dad was a silversmith; they taught me a lot about Navajo designs.” His cousin, Dennis Charlie, who is known for his carved pots, encouraged him to pursue the art. “For a while, I was doing pieces similar to his, but over the years, I moved towards my own style.

“I developed it over the years … the copper and the turquoise is how people recognize my work.” Brown pots, that were pit-fired with copper and turquoise, are part of the Elemental Series.

The full article is at ICTMN. Gerald A. Pinto on Facebook.

31.

Herbert Hoover lived with an uncle who was an Indian agent on the Osage Nation when he was six years old. Whitehouse.gov

Herbert Hoover lived with an uncle who was an Indian agent on the Osage Nation when he was six years old. Whitehouse.gov

Fifty years before Herbert Clark Hoover took office as the 31st president of the United States, he spent eight months living on the Osage Nation in Oklahoma, where he “learned much aboriginal lore of the woods and streams, and how to make bows and arrows.”

Hoover, who was six years old at the time, lived with an uncle who was an Indian agent. He attended “Indian Sunday-school” and “had constant association with the little Indians at the agency school,” he wrote in his memoirs.

Born to a Quaker family in Iowa in 1874, Hoover also had relatives who worked as Indian agents in Oregon and Alaska. He is the only U.S. president to have lived on an Indian reservation.

“Hoover had an empathy for the Indians,” said Matt Schaefer, an archivist at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library in West Branch, Iowa. “He had all these touch points with Indians as a child and young adult that led to this more enlightened Indian policy.”

[Read more…]

Justice Department to Investigate Fatal Shooting of Loreal Tsingine.

Loreal Tsingine with her Daughter Tiffany.

Here’s hoping this investigation will result in some form of justice, rather than the usual lack of it. Unsurprisingly, the cop who killed Ms. Tsingine had a highly questionable character, but the Winslow cop shop took him on anyway.

The Justice Department will investigate the police shooting of a Native American woman in Arizona, a spokesman said on Friday, a day after footage released by the Winslow police department raised concerns about racial bias in the fatal shooting.

The department’s civil rights division will review the local investigation into the March 27 shooting death of Loreal Tsingine, spokesman Wyn Hornbuckle said.

Tsingine, 27, was shot and killed by the Winslow police officer Austin Shipley in late March after officers suspected her of shoplifting in a local store and confronted her. Silent body-camera footage, first obtained by the Arizona Daily Sun, shows a police officer trying to restrain Tsingine then shoving her to the ground and finally drawing a gun on her as she approaches him.

In the video, Tsingine gets up and walks toward Shipley with a small pair of medical scissors in her left hand, and another officer quickly approaches her from behind. Shipley draws his gun and directs it at Tsingine, and the footage is cut off before he fires the fatal shot.

[…]

Tsingine’s aunt, Floranda Dempsey, said her niece was 5ft tall and weighed 95lbs. “They should have been able to subdue her with their huge size and weight,” she said. “It wasn’t like she came at them first. I’m sure anyone would be mad if they were thrown around.” She added a question: “Where were the tasers, pepper sprays, batons?”

The family filed a $10.5m wrongful death lawsuit against the city at the beginning of the month, claiming that “the city of Winslow was negligent in hiring, training, retaining, controlling and supervising” the officer who killed Tsingine.

Shipley’s training records show two of his fellow officers had serious concerns that he was too quick to go for his service weapon, that he ignored directives from superiors, and that he was liable to falsify reports and not control his emotions.

A day before Shipley’s training ended, nearly three years ago, a police corporal recommended that the Winslow police department not retain him.

I cannot be the only one who wants an answer as to why in the hell this person was hired in the first place, then why in the hell he was kept on, and why he was not red-flagged all over the damn place. What is the point of cops trying to do the right thing, when they are simply ignored? This is how cop shops get a well deserved reputation of being rotten to the core.

This is a photo of Shipley, wearing a three percenters shirt, which might go a long way to answering why Ms. Tsinginge is dead, and why Shipley is so damn trigger happy:

Austin Shipley, a three-year veteran of the Winslow Police Department, shot and killed Loreal Tsingine on Easter Sunday. Photo from Facebook.

Austin Shipley, a three-year veteran of the Winslow Police Department, shot and killed Loreal Tsingine on Easter Sunday. Photo from Facebook. Source.

[…]

Nationwide, Native Americans are disproportionately killed by police. Based on data from the Counted, the Guardian’s database of police killings in the US, fatal police shootings of black, white, Hispanic and Asian Americans have all gone down slightly or remained roughly the same from 2015 into 2016, but twice as many Native Americans have been killed over the same period.

Because the number of Native Americans, relative to other racial and ethnic categories, is quite small, just a handful of incidents can dramatically change the per capita rate. Still, 13 Native American people have been killed just over halfway through 2016, more than the 10 that were killed in all of 2015.

Tsingine is one of four Native Americans killed in 2016, representing about 30% of the incidents in contrast to the rate among all racial groups, in which women represent victims in about 3% of fatal shootings. For comparison, only one Hispanic or Asian American woman has been shot and killed by police in all of 2016, even though they represent a much larger portion of the population than Native American women.

[…]

Simon Moya-Smith, an activist and Oglala-Lakota tribal member, said it was “unfortunate that Native Americans are routinely excluded from this conversation” about racialized police violence. Moya-Smith noted as an example that in her Democratic nomination acceptance speech Thursday night, Hillary Clinton did not mention systemic racialized violence or discrimination against Native Americans.

“We know that many people don’t see us as human. We’re relics of centuries of lore,” Moya-Smith said. “We first need to get the cops to recognize us as human, and hopefully then they won’t think of themselves as the judge, the jury and the executioner.”

5 feet tall. 95 pounds. A pair of tiny medical bandage scissors. Two big ass cops, batons, pepper spray, tasers. And Ms. Tsingine ends up with 5 fucking bullets in her tiny body. How the fuck anyone could rule that justified, I do not know. Also, I’m thankful for The Guardian picking this story up, and getting word out. So, U.S. media, where the fuck are you?

The Guardian has the full story.

Simon Moya-Smith: Does the Liberty Bell Ring For Native Americans?

Peggy

Peggy Flanagan, White Earth citizen and Minnesota State Representative became first Native Woman to address DNC from the podium. Credit: Suzette Brewer.

If you missed Simon Moya-Smith’s first column on the DNC, it’s here.

DNC. Notes spanning days 2 & 3 & 4: All a blur now. This bar reeks of vomit. Old vomit. At a joint called Fridays in Philly. “I think the president or Hillary Clinton is staying across the street,” the black bartender tells me. “Right there. At The Logan.” Secret Service man the hotel doors. “That’s a lot of guns and sunglasses,” I utter. “Best to stay inside.”

[…]

Meanwhile, back here at the scene, the DNC, people can’t find a seat. Volunteers in yellow shirts block the doorway with their bodies against a hoard of excited Dems. “Try section 204. I hear they’re still letting people in there,” one says. I walk a full 360-degrees ‘round the Center. No luck. No seats. No hope. A woman in a Hillary hat, once excited, now stands in tears. No chance of getting in the arena. What’s left, then? The hallway. The muffled echo of the speaker blows in. For a moment I consider inviting the poor lady to a drink. Something to take the edge off. Dull the pain. But in an instant she’s gone, running into the fray, sobbing, asking God for a seat. “Please! Please!” Amen. Right. And to those who did land a seat they got watch Peggy Flanagan, Ojibwe, take the lectern and read a letter to her daughter where she affirmatively stated, “We (Native Americans) are still here.”

I head to the men’s room. A man in the stall sniffs once. Sniffs twice. He booms out the door. Bang! Ready, he is. Wired, for sure. Good idea. Coke and a stale hot dog it is. But the concession line’s too long. I’ve never seen a more dapper crowd clamoring for wieners. And what is the difference between something like the DNC and live theater? Is all of this just The Show? It has all the moving parts of a Broadway production. Lights! Make-up. Celebrities. Dance numbers. A script on the screen. Exhausted interns hoping to make it, break into the biz. And what does any of this have to do with Indian country? Everything, goddamnit. This is our land. Our ancestral home. The old country. “We never left,” Suzan Harjo said. During roll call a few days ago, a torrent of indigenous languages rumbled the walls of the Center in a roar of revitalization. Life again. But then on the final night of the DNC, presidential nominee Clinton failed to mention Native Americans when she spoke of systemic oppression. What a disappointment. Should we take this as an indication of her awareness of racial violence in Indian country? Has she heard the names Allen Locke or Sarah Lee Circle Bear or Mah-Hi-Vist Goodblanket or Rexdale Henry or (more names here) before? Not sure. Here’s hoping.

Note: Links added by me.

I slept four hours last night, and I don’t expect to sleep much again tonight. Delayed flight after delayed flight. People fleeing Philadelphia all at once. Bottleneck City. Where’s the Liberty Bell? It didn’t ring for Native Americans then. Does it ring for us now? … Something to contemplate over cheesesteak and fries and and pie at Reading Terminal, the massive market here in Philly where gluttony is god and the chicken sandwiches are good-not-great. But I digress. I always digress.

I met a Trump fan at pub on I think Broad St. A grumpy fucker. Later, I was denied service at an ostensibly straight bar. Can’t remember its name at the moment. Blurry. Ended up at Woody’s, a gay bar. Instant service. Intelligent talk. No ostentatious erudition in here. Just people woke. People aware. A drag queen blows me a kiss. I smile and nod, kinda dorky like. I am a dork, though. A socially awkward Hobbit. And I’m OK with that.

The epilogue to this story is this: When the GOP elected Donald Trump as their presidential nominee they officially became the party of racism and misogyny. No indigenous North American languages were spoken during roll call at the Republican National Convention last week. No recognition of Native American sovereignty at all. Just dystopian soothsayers in sandwich boards shouting “the end is near!” I’m convinced the Democratic Party is the party for Native Americans. We just have to convince Clinton that no good comes from fracking:

“Would you like a glass of water, madam nominee? … No, it’s actually not from this tap here. This is fracked water, madam. You can light it on fire if you want. … And since I have you, can we talk about Leonard Peltier? … Your husband, Bill, claims to be a descendant of the Cherokee. Has he been back home lately? How does he take his fry bread? … Yes, ma’am, I have had a several coffees – well, cappuccinos. The DNC was quite the spectacle, wasn’t it? Man, Bill loves balloons, doesn’t he? Peggy Flanagan was wonderful, wasn’t she? Debra Haaland, too. All the Natives there that night. So about that water. I see you haven’t taken a sip. I wouldn’t either. A filthy water is a filthy earth, and it’s our fault. Fracking. Just say no.”

The full article is at ICTMN, and as usual, is vividly brilliant. Click on over to read the whole thing.

There simply isn’t enough facepalm.

Alternate title: Oh for fuck’s sake, stupid white people, get a clue!

Lake Erie warriors - twitter

A National College Prospects Hockey League team that has yet to even take the ice for a game is being blasted on social media for the red-skinned Mohawk logo they released back in May.

Additionally on July 26th, the team tweeted “Warriors Hockey beats the drum in Erie!”

One user responded, “You must be joking. Do you need graphic design help? Or an adult in the front office?” Another user said, “Please fire your branding/marketing team.”

Uni-Watch website contributor Paul Lukas shared the logo Wednesday on his Twitter account which started the massive social media response. Lukas wrote in his tweet: “Quite a logo for the Lake Erie Warriors, new team in the National College Prospects Hockey League.”

Many of the large number of responses deemed the logo racist.

Ryan Adams stated on the Lake Erie Warriors Facebook page, “Seriously? This is your logo? Could you make it just a little more racist?”

On deadspin.com, contributor Barry Petchesky also ripped the logo in an the article entitled, “Hey, Come Look At This Hockey Team’s Logo Before They Apologize And Change It.”

Currently the logo can be seen on the team’s Twitter page, Facebook page and their website.

The Lake Erie Warriors, a Tier III Junior A hockey team competing in the National College Prospects Hockey League, has not yet responded to ICTMN’s request for comment.

They haven’t responded. Well, there’s a big surprise. :eyeroll: Yes, that’s quite the fucking logo. I had no idea at all that the only warriors on the planet were Indians. As for ‘warriors’, gosh what an inspired choice, it’s almost like you didn’t spend a whole 30 seconds coming up with something. You need to fire your “creative thinkers” because they are out of creativity and not too hot on that thinking business. Apparently, the idiots who came up with this logo are unaware that the Mohawk people were (and are) a part of the Haudenosaunee, a confederation dedicated to peace. Kukúše takuni slolye šni šiča don’t care about that, or the reality of Indian peoples.

UPDATE: It’s the Lake Erie Gulls now. At least it was a quick turnaround, just like Barry Petchesky at Deadspin predicted. It’s good they pulled it down and changed it, but really, whoever came up with this in the first place? You should, at the very least, be deeply ashamed.

Full story at ICTMN.

Chief David Beautiful Bald Eagle Walks On at 97.

David Bald Eagle - Facebook.

Cheyenne River Sioux Chief David Beautiful Bald Eagle, Waniyetu Opi, walked on July 22 surrounded by family. Facebook/Richard Bullock.

Lakota Chief David Beautiful Bald Eagle, who was a military hero, champion dancer, professional baseball player and stunt double, walked-on at his home last Friday.

Chief Bald Eagle was born in a traditional teepee in 1919 in Cherry Creek, on the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Reservation in South Dakota. His name in Lakota translates as Wounded in Winter Beautiful Bald Eagle. He  spoke only Lakota until the age of 12.

His grandfather, Chief White Bull, a relative of Sitting Bull,was one of the leaders who fought in the Battle of Little Bighorn.

Bald Eagle underwent the traditional sundance ceremony at age 15. At 17 he enlisted in the Army’s Fourth Cavalry and eventually went from riding a horse to riding a motorcycle to deliver messages. After serving for several years, he was honorably discharged, but re-enlisted into the 82nd Airborne after hearing the news of that Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.

As a sergeant, Bald Eagle parachuted into the battles fought at Anzio, Italy, for which he was awarded the Silver Star. He then parachuted into the fighting at Normandy, was injured by German soldiers and was left for dead. British commandos discovered him lying on the enemy grounds with a pulse.

After returning from the war, he met an English teacher named Penny Rathburn and married her. They became competitive ballroom dancers. She was killed in a car crash when she was pregnant with their first child.

In an interview with the Wo Lakota project, Bald Eagle says he was nearly suicidal after that double tragedy, and decided to take on daredevil pursuits. He became a stunt double, took up skydiving, started racing cars and became active in the rodeo circuit.

Bald Eagle appeared in over 40 Hollywood films. He served as a stunt double for Errol Flynn, and even met and danced with Marilyn Monroe.

[…]

In an memorial post on Facebook, Richard Bullock‎ wrote that though Chief Bald Eagle encountered many forms of prejudice and discrimination, “he never showed bitterness, and met adversity with invincible courage and humour.”

“It was tougher back then,” Bald Eagle told Bullock. “I’ve had a rough life. But I can remember everything. From horse and cart days right up until today; jet planes and computers. When I was a boy, there weren’t even any fences. No electricity lines or phone lines. No roads, nothing. You could just head out across country and you wouldn’t have to open any gates or anything like that. All just open prairie. The world has changed so quickly in just one lifetime. It’s so short a time. I’ve had a long life but it just seems like yesterday”.

David William Bald Eagle / Wounded in Winter Beautiful Bald Eagle born 8th April 1919, walked on 22nd July 2016. He is survived by his wife Josee, and his many children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and great-great grandchildren.

The full article is at ICTMN. David Rooks also has an article up. Thank you for a life not only well-lived, but a life which was a gift to us all, Chief Beautiful Bald Eagle.

When Will There Be a Native American President?

Pinterest.

Pinterest.

Gyasi Ross has a great article up on the possibilities and problems of a Native president, When Will There Be a Native American President? [Part 1] ‘Sigh,’ It’s Gonna Be Awhile…  Click over to read the whole thing, because I’m only going to include part here.

QUESTION:

Can we honestly tell our beautiful and brilliant Native children that, in 2016, they can grow up and be President of the United States of America?

SHORT ANSWER:

Probably not. Based upon the evidence (as opposed to optimism or good feelings), America does not seem to fully accept Natives as real-life human beings — thus it will likely be a few generations before we can seriously contemplate that.

After this, Ross takes some time to explain the normalization which has taken place in regard to Black people, Hispanic people, and Women. No, things aren’t all cherries and thornless roses with these groups, but they have been included enough in pop culture, normalized enough, that it’s not a complete shock for people to see any one of these peoples in high office.

But what about Natives?

Unfortunately, it looks like that’s still a long ways off. Here are a few reasons why.

First, Americans still have not normalized interactions with Natives.  This is manifest in many ways in pop culture today—pop culture is very important toward normalizing a group of people. For example, for decades there are have been movies where a black person plays a president on-screen, making folks more comfortable with the idea.  There have also been movies where women and Latinos/as, Asians play presidents, and every other role under the sun.  That gets rid of the sticker shock of seeing a person of that group in that position.  Moreover, it’s also not unusual to see folks from all backgrounds acting as a different ethnicity or in a leading role where race is not contemplated.  For Natives, though? Not so much. Natives are still a novelty, a character to be played on-screen and not just an ethnicity that a person happens to be. There is no Fresh off the Boat or Chico and the Man or Blackish or The Jeffersons or The Cosby Show for Native people. Plus, the prospect of a Native playing, for example, a President? Hasn’t been on the radar, even in the most subversive of films.

Natives have largely been only deemed competent to play a Native no matter how incredible that Native actor is. “How well can you be a Native, Native person?”

Similarly, in my work as a writer and commentator, I largely am asked to only comment or write about “Native stuff.”  Now, I love commenting and writing about “Native stuff” but I’ve also found that “Native stuff” is a HUGE category. It’s ALL Native stuff! Whether we’re talking about national politics to public school funding to infrastructure and trade policy.  Now, similar to acting black folks, women, Latino/a, Asians, etc. are all considered competent to speak about things that are outside their communities and universal. It is not one bit unusual for a black person, a woman, a Latino/a or an Asian to comment or write on national news. For Natives? Not so much. It’s still a novelty and Natives are not deemed competent to have opinions on matters that are universal and aren’t uniquely Native.

We can’t speak about things that are just “human” or “American.”  It would be hard enough for a Native person to get a role as a doctor or teacher on TV, much less a Native President.

We also see it in regards to our tragedy.  Simply stated, the mainstream largely does not care or cannot relate to Native pain or outrage. The mainstream ignores the structural and institutional barriers, for example, that allow Native women to be raped at a rate exponentially higher than other women. It likewise ignores those same structural barriers that forbid Native nations from prosecuting outsiders who peddle drugs and/or murder our people.  Those same structures then, adding insult to injury, refuse to utilize its own resources to prosecute those bad actors, allowing them to prey upon our communities with impunity.

But nobody mentions that outside of our communities. If they do mention our communities, they mention the poverty without explaining how those barriers help to create and sustain that economic poverty.

As shown above, there is a perception that Natives cannot partake in these larger conversations.  As we discussed, there is a lack of empathy or understanding about our communities.  When those two things are combined with the mathematical fact that Natives are a tiny percentage of the population, it doesn’t bode well for a Native rising to be President anytime soon.  At some point, it’s a humanity question as it was for women, black folks, Latino/as, etc.; are Natives reflective enough of America generally to sometimes not be considered “Native” and instead just “human?”

Can a Native person represent America?  Stupid question. OF COURSE. The truth is, Natives are the story of America and are more America than America. Natives are America’s dental record and thumbprint and spinal cord. You cannot intelligently tell the story of America without Native people being one of the main characters.  Yet, it seems like mainstream America is a ways away from recognizing that truth.

When Will There Be a Native American President? [Part 1] ‘Sigh,’ It’s Gonna Be Awhile…

Cool Stuff Friday.

Furoshiki-bat

Hanging Animal Furoshiki! Eeeee, so cute!

A fun and adorable, contemporary twist on the furoshiki (風呂敷), a traditional wrapping cloth that’s been around in Japan since the 700s. With a few simple folds these unique furoshiki transform into a carrier that resembles hanging animals that will transport your stuff anywhere!

Literally meaning “bath spread,” furoshiki were used to bundle clothes while at public baths. But nowadays people use them to bundle or gift-wrap all sorts of things like lunches, accessories and bottles of wine or sake. Nothing to carry? You can use it around your neck as a scarf too!

They’re newly available in the Spoon & Tamago Shop for $35.

I must have the bat! Must have.

Now we have what might just be the best candle ever. I think protesters should be bulk ordering these.

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Living in New York, artist Nao Matsumoto had found himself relying on the middle finger gesture quite frequently. But when he nearly sliced off his middle finger while cutting wood in his studio it made him realize the severity of the potential loss – an accident, he says, that would have been equivalent to losing his voice.

So the Brooklyn-based Japanese artist created a series of middle finger candles. Each candle is hand-made by Matsumoto himself and comes from a mold made from his own hand. The candles were originally used to protest the use of nuclear energy in Japan on the anniversary of the March 2011 tsunami.You can read more about the protest Here.

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You can order your very own middle finger candle here.