The Complexity of Road Signs.

roadsign1The North Dakota DOT is replacing the old Highway Signs, as pictured on the right. Being that this is happening in ND, it will take half of forever, and the old signs will still be seen for some time, unless people start stealing them all, which might happen. Out in my part of the wilds, the old signs are still all over the place.

I’ve been conflicted about writing this up, it’s a bit more complex than it seems on the surface. It seems that most people feel replacing these signs is erasing Native people, and their presence here in Indian Country; that it’s a mark of disrespect and whitewashing. A lot of people are unaware of the history behind the sign, and who it honours. No, it’s not a generic Indian profile. It’s a specific honour to Red Tomahawk, later known as Marcellus Red Tomahawk. The Red Tomahawk family is a large one here in ND, and as far as I know, they are all good people.

The reason Marcellus Red Tomahawk was chosen to be honoured on the road markers was because white people felt he brought peace to the Plains by executing Sitting Bull. Marcellus Red Tomahawk was not in the least shy about recounting the event, but other peoples’ versions disagree with his account. Almost all of the accounts narrated by people other than Red Tomahawk place Bull Head as shooting first, striking Sitting Bull in the torso, whereupon Red Tomahawk pulled out a pistol and shot Sitting Bull in the head.

At this time, the Ghost Dance was spreading, and the white government and military feared it greatly. I don’t think it would be unfair to say that the white people at the time believed in it more than Natives did. The 7th Cavalry carried out their massacre at Wounded Knee, citing the Ghost Dance as the justification. Sitting Bull did not take part in the Ghost Dance, however, he did not forbid his people from dancing. White authorities feared this meant the Indians would regains strength and continue to fight, rather than settle down into assimilation. The order was given to arrest Sitting Bull. The federal government had started instituting police on reservations, and Marcellus Red Tomahawk was one who joined the police force at Standing Rock rez. He had also embraced Christianity and was devout in that regard. Marcellus Red Tomahawk never disavowed his heritage, but it became terribly twisted by a desire to not only assimilate, but to be an important person among those he sought to be a part of, that of white men. While he himself often stayed dressed in regalia and traditional clothing, photos of his family show his wife and children dressed in the Western white manner. He sent his own children to the Carlisle Indian School:

richard-pratt-carlisle-indian-school

One of Red Tomahawk’s sons came home in 1909 and committed suicide. I look upon what happened to Red Tomahawk as a tragedy, a by product of genocide and the demands of assimilation. It makes me feel so sad and wounded. Sitting Bull would never have survived arrest, he would have been murdered anyway, as Crazy Horse was, but it’s a hard thing to face that he died at the hands of his own. Personally, I’m glad the signs are being replaced, because they were never meant to honour Indigenous people at all. They were honour to a murder, an honour to the white way of doing things, a paean to how colonialism works.

5 Ways Star Trek Diversity is Great For Native People.

star_trek

Here are five reasons the diversity of Star Trek is great for Native people:

Star Trek was a leader in the world of science fiction. It was also a leader in the world of civil rights.

The cast was incredibly diverse at a time when the American Indian movement was facing opposition from the federal government and civil rights leaders were being attacked by police dogs.

I ask you to take a good look at the world around us. We are not a world that wants to accept diversity or genuinely work on improving our planet.

Star Trek taught us that all types can be empowered.

From the Native side of things, we are still looked upon as a defeated people. We see our likenesses and images used as racist caricatures for sports teams and university mascots. Items that our people deem culturally significant and sacred are used as “hip” props.

Star Trek taught us no matter how seemingly insignificant a creature, they could all be empowered. Take a look at the Tribbles. The crew thought they were just cute little fuzzy animals, but they nearly took over the Enterprise. In numbers, all together, we are strong.

Star Trek taught us that all races could work together.

One step onto the bridge of the Starship Enterprise would convince anyone that many races can work together to overcome any odds.

These are injustices we face as Native Americans today. If you asked our ethnic brothers and sisters who share this land with us, they would likely same the same. We all live in a reality of hatred and racism that shows its ugly face in the form of mass shootings and unchecked violence that is scars the heart of our nation.

It is the same type of social division that the 60’s are best known for, the very same decade that birthed Star Trek are still prominent today.

Star Trek taught us there is hope.

There is always hope when we have people stand up for what is right. There is hope when people who go against the accepted norms and say enough. There is hope when individuals choose what is morally right in the face of persecution. There is hope when we choose decency and recognize diversity for the gift it is. There is hope when people behave like Kirk and Picard say enough, and chose to solve problems instead of making them.

Star Trek is a promise that things can be better.

It is a spirit of evolution that guides us to a wonderful tomorrow, filled the same principle that Gene Roddenberry spoke of when he coined the concept of Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations. Star Trek is a call for us all to be more than we are, becoming ambassadors of hope to a world in need.

In closing I would like to offer both congratulations and my gratitude to all who have contributed in the past 50 years of Star Trek, you have made my life better with your shows, films, books and toys. You helped provide a safe retreat a young S’Klallam growing up on his reservation 30 years ago and continue to inspire me today.

To quote my favorite Vulcan, “May you continue to live long and prosper in the years ahead.”

Jeffrey Veregge’s full article can be read here.

Pokémon Go, Native Style.

Vincent Schilling at ICTMN would like to see eight native style characters in Pokémon Go.

Native Land Take Backer-FrumU.

Well, it is safe to say the 'Native Land Take Backer-FrumU' is my favorite character. I don't think an explanation is necessary. (iStock)

Well, it is safe to say the ‘Native Land Take Backer-FrumU’ is my favorite character. I don’t think an explanation is necessary. (iStock)

He may look like the original Pikachu, but don’t be fooled, this character has the power to reclaim any former Native land (essentially all land) and have it become Native land once again… bye-bye tall building behind him in that photo!

FryBread Thrower-Oopa.

Oh look, its a FryBread Thrower-Oopa. Watch out for the flying fry..OUCH..bread. (iStock)

Oh look, its a FryBread Thrower-Oopa. Watch out for the flying fry..OUCH..bread. (iStock)

Not to be confused with the ‘Hoopa” character, this is FryBread Thrower-Oopa – who can only be found on the Rez, hiding among Bluebird flour bags. He can take down an army of Pokémon Go turtles by flinging his frybread that was left out a little too long. Even a quick microwave doesn’t soften these circular discs of carnage. Although they can still be eaten with a bit of maple syrup.

You can see and read about the remaining Native style characters at ICTMN. Unlike the rest of the world, I haven’t played this, but these characters could change that.

Oh For…No. No. No. No.

Starcasm.net - TLC Promo Photos

Starcasm.net – TLC Promo Photos

Earlier, Vincent Schilling had a column up at ICTMN about Native headdress showing up on a reality show. A short while later, Vincent Schilling was able to talk with the designer about this, um, travesty. There’s nothing quite so rabidly defensive as a white person busy appropriating another peoples’ culture and traditions, all while getting it spectacularly fucking wrong in every possible respect.

Before we get to the spectacular fucking up, a word about traditional Cherokee clothing. (The groom in the show claims Cherokee ancestry. If that’s so, I’d think he’d want Cherokee clothing, but I guess “Native American” will do.) Cherokee people were never big on feathers, and they certainly never had anything even close to Plains Indians’ headdresses. There were a few various ways that men chose to style their hair and decorations, but when a headdress was worn, it was in the style of a turban, as in the painting of Sequoyah.

WWsequoyahYou can read up on traditional Cherokee dress here, here, and here. On to the monumental ignorance and stupidity.

Gypsy dress designer Sondra Celli created a Cherokee-themed dress and a Native American-influenced headdress for Hunter and Dalton Smith on the reality series My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding.

In an exclusive interview with ICTMN, Celli said that the ‘Native-inspired’ headdress was made by her design team, and the headdress for the groom — who claims Native ancestry — was purchased from a Native American company over the internet.

Celli told ICTMN because the groom was Native American, she did not alter any of the groom’s outfit and that he approved of the bride’s outfit.

“Because he is Native American we made sure we bought a true Native American headpiece made by Native Americans. We bought him a true Native American shirt made by Native Americans. I made sure it came from an authentic Native American company.”

*Resists impulse to pound head into wall* If there is one thing to get into your skull if you are not an indigenous person, it’s this: there is no such fucking thing as “Native American” anything. Repeat over and over until you get it. Indigenous peoples (many of whom are not American) can not be conveniently dumped into a pail of whitewash so we come out with every nation believing the same, having the same traditions, the same clothing, the same housing, and so forth. We are all different. There just isn’t enough eyeroll in the universe for this shit.

What about the bride’s wedding outfit?

She is a gypsy. Hunter is a cowgirl and would not give up her boots. I told her, ‘I am going to Sondra Celli you up’ and I made her a Native American-inspired dress … and [the groom] was real cool with her being her. I am very respectful of the fact he is Native American. This is what they told me — please understand that I am just the designer.

I made sure we did not touch his headpiece and it stayed exactly the way we bought it. The shirt is exactly the way we bought it. We ordered it on the Internet from a Native American company.

I made her headpiece, and the girl who works for me studies Native Americans. She put all of those feathers on. Like we say on television, it is native-inspired. We do not say this is a Native American costume. This is a Sondra Celli gypsy rhinestone costume that is inspired by Native Americans.

Emphasis mine. I’m just going to wander off and scream for a moment.

What is your response to Native people that say this is appropriating Native culture?

I think the fact that their clothing is so beautiful and the detail is so beautiful, they should be accepting of the fact that we borrowed from their clothing. I said “inspired” through the whole show. I never said it was authentic Native American clothing, not once.

Um…Yes, you did say that. You wouldn’t shut up about all the authentic “Native American” clothes. Right up there ^.

I don’t find a problem with putting something inspired from the beauty of Native American clothes on someone who is not Native American. They should be honored that we think their clothing is so beautiful, that we took some of the colors from it.

Honoured. Right. Oh, all you did was borrow colours! Well, that makes it okay.

This is a TV show, so you have to take it for what it is. I do not believe this dishonors people. I would never do that.

That’s convenient. You don’t believe this dishonours anyone, so of course, it doesn’t. White magic.

I’ve taken the idea of kimonos from Japan and they are rhinestoned. I never say they are Japanese kimonos. I say they are inspired.

Every designer from all over the world has taken ideas from Native Americans.

Oddly enough, we notice things like that.

The PBS Museum just had an exhibit, Native American designers that have come into the modern world made Native American inspired clothing with plastic metal who are getting ideas in a way from our world and made really cool clothes with beading. I was blown away.

I think they were inspired by what we do in the modern [world].

Fuuuuuck me. I really do have to scream now. Yeah, just a few of us Indians are crossing the bridge into the modern white world, where of course, we’re stealing ideas from white modernity, while the rest of us are back home in primitive Indian land, everyone dressed the same, all in a tipi, of course. It’s absurd to think that Indians are a part of the world. Christ, she makes it sound like we live in Faerie or something.

As much as I admire their craft, I think they should admire the fact that I took the ideas that they have and turn it into something modern for someone who is not Native American.

Um…oh hell, I give up. White people, please get a fucking clue. In the comments, Beatrice pointed out something I should have noted in the first place:

As if distilling all the variety of different heritages of Roma people into “over the top trashy clown show” wasn’t offensive enough…

This isn’t just spectacularly fucking up Indigenous peoples’ cultures, it’s spectacularly fucking up that of Roma culture as well. I guess all is fair game for a white designer. If you can call pasting rhinestones all over something design.

Vincent Schilling’s article is here.  TLC’s ‘Gypsy’ Wedding Is Offensive to Romani, Too.

28.

Shortly after taking office in 1913, President Thomas Woodrow Wilson delivered a phonograph address signaling a change in the relationship between the federal government and Indian tribes. Whitehouse.gov

Shortly after taking office in 1913, President Thomas Woodrow Wilson delivered a phonograph address signaling a change in the relationship between the federal government and Indian tribes. Whitehouse.gov

Shortly after taking office in 1913, President Thomas Woodrow Wilson delivered a phonograph address signaling a change in the relationship between the federal government and Indian tribes.

This “message to all the Indians,” played on a phonograph donated by Thomas Edison, was part of a traveling expedition to each of the nation’s 169 recognized Indian reservations. Wilson’s voice echoed from the phonograph during ceremonies held beneath the American flag.

In his speech, Wilson quoted Thomas Jefferson’s words from a century earlier, predicting that a day would come when the red men would “become truly one people with us.” One hundred years later, America was “nearer these great things than hoped for, much nearer than we were then,” Wilson said as he boasted about the successes of assimilation policies like land allotments, agricultural training and the more than 30,000 Indian children enrolled in government, state and mission schools.

“The Great White Father now calls you his brothers, not his children,” Wilson said. “You have shown in your education and in your settled ways of life staunch, manly, worthy qualities of sound character.”

Wilson acknowledged “some dark pages in the history of the white man’s dealings with the Indians,” but he claimed the “remarkable progress” of the Indians was proof of the government’s good intentions.

“Many parts of the record are stained with the greed and avarice of those who have thought only of their own profit,” he said. “But it is also true that purposes and motives of this great government and of our nation as a whole toward the red man have been wise, just and beneficent.”

The message, part of an “Expedition of Citizenship to the North American Indian” organized by Philadelphia department store magnate Rodman Wanamaker, was played on every Indian reservation. Joseph Dixon, education director at the Wanamaker department store, led the six-month, cross-country expedition, which left Philadelphia in June 1913.

Dixon sought to “obtain a pledge of allegiance to the government from all the North American Indian tribes,” the New York Times reported at the conclusion of the journey, in December 1913. Dixon had traveled 25,000 miles and visited 189 tribes in an expedition he said “had planted new ideals in the lives of the Indians, and would give great impetus to education, industry and Christianity among them.”

[Read more…]

#All Plates Matter.

All too often black people are met with incredulous dismissal when we talk about the realities of being black. These realities– police brutality, extrajudicial executions, public humiliation, etcetera–inform the sentiment behind #BlackLivesMatter. #BlackLivesMatter is a hashtag, a movement and a mantra. It means that black people are suffering. When black people say that our lives matter, when we use the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter, it denotes recognition of that suffering.

On the contrary, #AllLivesMatter contributes to black suffering. It’s the moral equivalent of telling someone who just stubbed their toe, “all toes matter.” Like, we know all your untouched toes matter, but can we focus on alleviating the pain of the person with the stubbed toe? #AllLivesMatter has become the rallying cry of those bereft of critical thinking faculties.

Here’s a skit that breaks down the canyon between #BlackLivesMatter and #AllLivesMatter hilariously and creatively, right down to the metaphor of choice. Created by Peace House, a hub for creative and politically thought-provoking comedy, the skit succinctly nails down the frustration of being black in 2016.

Via Safy-Hallan Farah at Paper.

Maybe it’s time to stop the bull.

Pamplona (Shutterstock)

Pamplona (Shutterstock)

A Spaniard died and two other men, including a Japanese man, were gored in bull-runs in Spain on Saturday, as the San Fermin festival in the northern town of Pamplona entered its third day.

The 28-year-old died after a bull’s horn pierced his lung and heart during a run in the southeastern village of Pedreguer near Valencia, a spokesman for the regional government said.

The bull caught him as he was trying to help another runner in the annual event.  Story.

Víctor Barrio is rushed to the hospital (Twitter)

Víctor Barrio is rushed to the hospital (Twitter)

Spaniards were faced with a horrifying sight on Saturday when a famous bullfighter, Víctor Barrio, was gored in the chest and killed live on television, NBC News reports.

The 29-year-old Barrio was in the ring with a bull named Lorenzo in the town of Teruel when the bull caught him with a horn that pierced his chest.

The fight was being broadcast live on television, where Lorenzo could be seen soaked in his own blood from lances that were thrust into him, which occurs during the process of a bullfight. The matador generally slaughters the bull with a sword at the end of the fight. Story.

It’s long past time that these relics of toxic masculinity die, rather than people. It’s time to stop the bull, literally.

More Indigie Femme

Because I need it today. Am I Ready?:

Am I Ready?

Dreams, what for? Some times I wonder, what for?
Visions, come and go, do we see them, who knows?
Blessings, pleasure and pain, come together, do we get it?
Prayers, piece within, silent heart, can we love?

Always wondering where we’re going, where do we belong? where do we belong?
Walk along the edge and ask yourself, Am I Ready?
Take my hand into the fire, fear unknown!

Tears let them flow, allow the healing cleanse your soul
Thoughts, face the east, sunrise in, beauty way!
Blessings, pleasure and pain, come together, do we get it?
Prayers, peace within, silent heart, can we love?

Always wondering where we’re going, where do we belong? where do we belong?
Walk along the edge and ask yourself, Am I Ready?
Take my hand into the fire, fear unknown!
(Split)
Walk along the edge and ask yourself, Am I Ready?
Dreams, visions, blessings and prayers
Am I Ready? Am I Ready?
Face yourself, you can do it,
Am I Ready?
embrace fears and don’t look back, visions
Take my hand into the fire, fear unknown!
embrace fears and
don’t look back
fear unknown!
AM I READY?

Indigenous Events Calendar

Credit: Akwesasne Mohawk Casino Resort.

Credit: Akwesasne Mohawk Casino Resort.

July 25th – 13th Annual Ironworkers Festival.

The Akwesasne Mohawk Casino Resort hosts the annual Ironworkers Festival to celebrate past and present ironworkers. For more than 130 years, the Mohawk have been known for their ability to work high steel, and for their enormous contribution to shaping New York City’s skyline.

Each year, Ironworkers travel from throughout the Northeast to compete for the top prize of “Ultimate Ironworker,” in the skills competition which awards $6,500 in cash prizes. The funds raised through registration fees and t-shirt sales are donated to the Local 440 Ironworker Benefit Fund, which provides emergency relief to Ironworkers. The event is family friendly, so bring your whole crew out for a great day! Hogansburg, NY. http://mohawkcasino.com/events/ironworkersfestival/

August 17th – 22nd – 98th Annual Crow Fair. Crow Fair 2016 Poster.

Crow Fair, called the “Tipi Capital of the World,” is an annual event held the third weekend in August on the Crow Reservation in Montana. It is one of the largest Native American events in North America and is run by a committee of the Crow tribe. Crow Fair combines a celebration of Crow culture, reunion of family groups, powwow, rodeo, horse racing, and commercial vendors. Native Americans of various tribes and many non-Indian people, including visitors from around the world, gather to celebrate and enjoy themselves. There may be 1,000 tipis, along with wall tents, pickup campers, trailers, and mobile homes. Each family has its own camp area, and people visit and eat under arbor shades and awnings.

[Read more…]

Republic of Cliven Bundy.

Ammon Bundy, son of rancher Cliven Bundy, speaks at an event Friday, April 10, 2015, in Bunkerville, Nev. Credit: AP Photo/John Locher.

Ammon Bundy, son of rancher Cliven Bundy, speaks at an event Friday, April 10, 2015, in Bunkerville, Nev.
Credit: AP Photo/John Locher.

Cliven Bundy may be in jail, but he still has friends in Congress.

The U.S. House of Representatives next week is expected to vote on a proposal that would exempt 48 counties, primarily in the West, from the law that has been used for more than 100 years to protect archaeologically, culturally, and naturally significant resources in the United States, including the Grand Canyon and the Statue of Liberty.

The counties that would be exempted from the Antiquities Act of 1906 cover more than 250,000 square miles — an area nearly the size of Texas. The amendment, which was authored by Rep. Stewart (R-UT) and Rep. Gosar (R-AZ), appears to have two main purposes.

First, it would block the efforts of local communities in Maine, Utah, Arizona, and elsewhere which have been asking President Obama to establish new national monuments in their states.

In southern Utah, for example, the president would not be able to respond to the requests of tribal nations that he protect the Bears Ears area, which is a hotbed of grave robbing, looting, and desecration of sacred sites. It would also prevent the president from protecting Gold Butte in Nevada, where Cliven Bundy illegally grazed his cows for decades, as a national monument.

Though Rep. Gosar argues that the bill prevents local voices from being ignored, in both of the above cases there is strong local support for these national monuments. Seventy-one percent of Utah voters declared their support for a Bears Ears monument and the same percentage of Nevadans support the protection of Gold Butte.

The bill would also block a grassroots call to protect the Grand Canyon from uranium mining, the expansion of which would fall in Rep. Gosar’s district. The petition to protect the area has recently reached more than half a million signatures.

Second, the Stewart-Gosar amendment would make a major concession to the demands of scofflaw rancher Cliven Bundy and his followers who argue that the U.S. government should have no authority over national public lands in the West. Bundy and his sons Ammon and Ryan were arrested and indicted in February for their involvement in armed standoffs with federal law enforcement officials in Nevada and Oregon.

Jesus Christ. Anymore, you have to stay buried in your news media of choice just to know what evil the conservative asshole party is up to day by day. This is awful. I haven’t read enough yet to know if there are ways to fight this, but if I find them, I’ll post.

Full story here.