Paging Gazhekwe

[gazhekwe]

Did you know about the Apology Resolution before reading about it here [[post 350)? If so, where did you find out about it?

Do you think there is merit in the Apology Resolution?

What do you think would be helpful about making the Apology Resolution public and celebrating it? Or is it all so wrong?

Considering the viewpoint expressed by Jack Forbes in post 347 above, Why does our history begin on the east coast?, could celebrating the Apology Resolution promote some opening in our way of teaching our history?

Here is the text of the Resolution:

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/...S.J.RES.14.IS:

[gazhekwe]

Couldn't resist sharing this, first cartoon, be sure and click to play it:

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ann...rc=nl_opinions

[gazhekwe]

Tuesdays and Thursdays in May beginning at 8 pm on TCM:

http://www.tcm.com/2010/naof/index.jsp

Movies to be shown range from the 1913 silent, Squaw Man to the 1998 Sherman Alexie Indie, Smoke Signals, and 1999's Naturally Native. Included is a documentary, 1930 Silent Enemy that deals with hunger in winter for a pre-contact Anishinaabek tribe. Indian actors portray all the major characters.

Actors portraying Indians include Sal Mineo, Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Donna Reed. Movies in the 90s finally began to maximize Indian actors in Indian roles. Stereotyping and prejudice will be covered in host commentary.

This site has a wonderful overview of the movie Silent Enemy, what led to it, how it was made and what has happened to it since. http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/silentenemy.php

Excerpt:
The Silent Enemy is not a documentary, but a dramatized narrative film that focuses on the role of hunger [[the silent enemy of the title) in the lives of a small band of Ojibway natives, and how a conflict between two band members over the manner in which to obtain food is finally resolved. The cast is entirely composed of natives and the band's manner of living is authentically portrayed, with the incidents in the story being based on the writings of Jesuit missionaries who lived amongst the Ojibways during the 17th and 18th centuries.

Seventy-one years after it first appeared, The Silent Enemy continues to fascinate. Do not be turned off by the thought that this is just some wilderness documentary. This is a remarkable time capsule showing a way of living that, as the film's producers rightly anticipated, has largely disappeared. The routines of everyday living are well contrasted against the forces of nature that have to be dealt with—snowstorms, scavengers [[such as wolverines) who steal game from traps, and wild predatory animals. The filming of the latter, particularly a fight between a mountain lion and bear over a dead deer, and towards the end of the film, the caribou migration and hunt, are beautifully caught on film.

[Bigb23]

Thank you Mickey Hart for the Drum songs.

Brian @ stoned.com

[gazhekwe]

BigB Kchiamoo, I love Mickey Hart, too. One who understands the heartbeat of the people.

The following link is to an article and video interview about the women camping to protect Eagle Rock in the UP Huron Mountains from mining. Charlotte Loonsfoot is interviewed. The story and interview skirt the issue of protection of water. Rio Tinto proposes a copper and nickel mine in the Yellow Dog Plain area. The Yellow Dog River is in danger from mining effluent, and it drains into Lake Superior. It has been said that the proposals submitted by the company and accepted by MI Dept of Natural Resources were deficient in environmental protection.

http://indiancountrynews.net/index.p...=9021&Itemid=1

Excerpt:

When Charlotte Loonsfoot and her family were coming back to Eagle Rock the other day from Baraga, Michigan, along a long and bumpy road, their small car broke down. Al Hunter and I picked them up on the road and brought them into camp.

Loonsfoot didn't complain at all. She was smiling and proudly carrying a brand new blue and green Pendleton wool blanket. She'd received this blanket from a Keweenaw Bay Chippewa elder earlier in the week for helping start the camp at Eagle Rock [[Migiziwasin) to protect a sacred site.

She wants Rio Tinto Zinc mining company to leave Ojibwe ceded territory.

This link is to an article discussing the DEQ approving the mining despite Native rights and environmental concerns:

http://headwatersnews.net/mining-blo...pper-michigan/

Excerpt: Consistent with AIRFA [American Indian Religious Freedom Act], Administrative Law Judge Richard Patterson ruled in August of 2009 that both Kennecott and the MDEQ “did not properly address the impact on the sacred rock outcrop known as Eagle Rock,” further stating that “the excavation and drilling in the immediate area of Eagle Rock and fencing it off will materially affect its use as a place of worship. This should in some manner be accommodated, and would best be done so by relocating the access to the mine to a location that will not interfere with that function.” Ignoring both federal law and the judge’s recommendations, the DEQ decided that Eagle Rock did not constitute a place of worship and that Kennecott could retain its plan to blast beneath the outcrop.

NOTE: The American Indian Religious Freedom Act was signed into law by Jimmy Carter in 1978, finally granting to American Indians the religious freedom guaranteed to everyone else in the Constitution.

This article touches on the environmental concerns. I need to find an update that shows how DEQ as it was at the time, knuckled under and approved it anyway:

http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=1218 [[2005)
Like the Crandon project in the Wolf River watershed, the Eagle deposit threatens the pristine Yellow Dog and Salmon Trout Rivers with sulfuric acid mine drainage and heavy metal contamination. The proposed underground shaft would extend beneath the headwaters of the Salmon Trout River.The timing of Kennecott's permit is highly unusual. The State of Michigan has not yet come up with rules and regulations to implement the recently passed nonferrous metallic mineral legislation. Why is Kennecott submitting a permit application before the state has even agreed to a set of mining regulations? And why is Kennecott opposed to a hydrological study of the Yellow Dog Plains proposed by the U.S. Geological Survey?

The article reports on the public hearing, and on the deleterious effects of the same kind of mine at Flambeau in Wisconsin.

DEQ's Approval and some history, January 2010

http://lakesuperiorminingnews.net/20...cott-approval/

Excerpt:

Swept under the rug are comments made by the state’s commissioned rock mechanics expert, Dr. David Sainsbury, that the company’s mine plan was “technically antiquated, sloppy and equivalent to high school level work.” Sainsbury also insisted that the DEQ kept relevant local geological information out of his reports and repeatedly said that Kennecott’s conclusions regarding the ability of the mine to not collapse “are not considered to be defensible” and does “not reflect industry best practice.”

The report also says DEQ ignored certain concerns of violation of Michigan laws because they couldn't afford to enforce the laws.

Oh, yes, let's don't forget, there was a ruling that Eagle Rock could not be a place of worship because it isn't a building.

[gazhekwe]

I would love to hear what you all think about this. I have been to the Yellow Dog Plain near Eagle Rock, and it truly is a sacred place. When I heard about Rio Tinto's plan to mine sulfides, nickel and copper there, I was horrified. As the plans made their way through the system, getting shot down time after time, I was reassured. I should have known. The evil that is greed will always return, and will ultimately prevail.

Here are some teachings directly from a man raised in the area:

http://indiancountrynews.net/index.p...=9051&Itemid=1

[gazhekwe]

Anybody have anything to say about this?

'Redskins’ may have psychological impact beyond Native Americans

Originally printed at http://www.indiancountrytoday.com/ho.../93776164.html

WASHINGTON – At the home base of the controversially-named Washington Redskins football team, a new study on possible widespread harms resulting from stereotypes of Native Americans is drawing reactions.

The study, published by Chu Kim-Prieto, a psychologist with the College of New Jersey, suggests stereotyping of American Indians is a psychological process that actually encourages a broader attitude that affects all minority communities, not just the ones being actively stereotyped.

“In other words, my stereotype is your stereotype, too,” Jenn Fang, an Asian American advocate, summarized in a recent blog post regarding the study.

Kim-Prieto said she began the research when she was a graduate student at the University of Illinois, which until 2007 featured the infamous Chief Illiniwek mascot. Like the Washington Redskins, many Native Americans decried the Illinois mascot, saying it degraded their culture, and was a racist misrepresentation.

The researcher conducted her experiment through two separate studies, in which she showed students either a picture of Chief Illiniwek, or a generic University of Illinois logo. Next, students were given a questionnaire asking them to rank their agreement with statements regarding Asian American stereotypes.

The findings indicated that students who first viewed stereotypical images of Chief Illiniwek were more willing to promote stereotypical statements about Asian Americans. The same was true of students who read a fictional biography of Chief Illiniwek, compared to students who read a generic description of an arts center.

“We usually think about racism as something that’s motivated by racial hatred of a targeted ethnic group,” Fang blogged about the findings. “Instead, this study tells us that even exposure to racial stereotypes appears to encourage an overall more black-and-white [[pardon the pun) outlook on the world – even against unrelated groups.”

While Kim-Prieto didn’t research whether the same effects might result from the Washington Redskins team name and logo, she said her findings indicated that similar stereotyping problems could arise from the situation.

A variety of psychological scholars have already offered expert opinions on the harmfulness of the Redskins’ name and logo. And historians and legal experts have noted that the word “redskins” was historically used by the U.S. government as a way to refer to bounties it placed on scalped Indian heads.

“Social science research shows that the use of ethnic slurs like ‘redskin’ perpetuates harmful stereotypes and leads to discrimination,” the authors of a legal brief supporting opponents of the name wrote in an opinion to the Supreme Court last fall.

Psychology scholars, hailing from top institutions nationwide, added in the brief that the effects of American Indian sports mascots are especially harmful to Native youth, tending to lower the self-esteem of Indian children and young adults. They cited studies showing that exposure to Indian sports mascots depress the self-esteem and feelings of community worth and limit the aspirations of Native high school and college students.

Kim-Prieto’s new work on the matter has caught the attention of Philip Mause, a lawyer for a group of Indian plaintiffs suing to get the Redskins’ trademark revoked.

“We are happy to see psychologists doing important work that confirms our argument that these stereotypes are harmful,” said Mause, of the Drinker Biddle firm.

“I think it should be clear to the Redskins’ owners, based on this kind of research, that they are going to be facing litigation from a variety of people for a long, long time. Simply put, they should just change the name.”

Top policy makers, some whom have offered legislation against stereotypical representations of Native Americans, are also paying credence to the new psychological research.

“I think it is more important than ever to address and eliminate derogatory stereotypes of Native Americans, which often includes their portrayal as school mascots,” said Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., after learning of the study.

“I agree that stereotyping Native Americans as mascots for example makes it more acceptable to apply stereotypes in other situations. I continue to pursue support for my legislation and the elimination of derogatory stereotyping of Native Americans.”

Pallone introduced a bill before the House of Representatives last November that would identify derogatory mascots in schools and create a grant program to assist in changing offensive images. It’s called the NATIVE Act.

Fang, meanwhile, sees a way for minorities to unite over the findings of the study.

“What more evidence do we need that in combating racism, coalition-building between minority communities is not only beneficial, but necessary?” she asked in a recent blog post.

“For too long, we’ve approached the struggle to end the racism [[or other -isms) that we face as an individual battle. We’ve seen plenty of examples of divisive in-fighting that pits one minority group against another – as if we’re competing to prove which of us is ‘most oppressed.’ But here’s convincing data to demonstrate that we’re all up against the same problem. Despite all ideas to the contrary, we’re really all in this anti-racism boat together.”

[gazhekwe]

The fight will continue for KBIC

Originally printed at http://www.indiancountrytoday.com/na.../94594944.html

BIG BAY, Mich. – The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community Tribal Council promised it would continue to fight the Kennecott Eagle Minerals nickel and copper mine even if the owner moves the entrance, at a meeting with those defending sacred Eagle Rock May 8.

In mid-April, Kennecott started initial work on its mine – dubbed the Eagle Project – but has reportedly offered to move the mine portal about 100 yards west of Eagle Rock, that has been a site of Ojibwa ceremonies for at least 170 years. Since April 23, American Indians from several tribes and non-Natives have been camping at the base of sacred Eagle Rock to protect it from bulldozers.

“What we are trying to do here is save Mother Earth,� KBIC Tribal Council President Warren “Chris� Swartz told campers during an official council meeting in the shadow of Eagle Rock. “Mother Earth is crying for our help. We are here today to try to support her [[Mother Earth) and to save the fish, the swimmers, the crawlers and the four leggeds and the fliers here. I am really honored to be here [[Eagle Rock).�

After a tobacco offering that included praying in all four directions around the encampment’s “sacred fire,� Swartz said those defending Eagle Rock should never give up their fight and pledged neither would the tribal council.

“Our brothers and our sisters here have been making us aware of Kennecott Minerals Company coming here and starting to mine underneath migi zii wa sin [[Eagle Rock).�

The future of the protesters' children and their children is what’s at stake, said KBIC Tribal Council Vice President Susan LaFernier, who’s been fighting the mine for six years.

“I just want to say thank you to you people. It’s been a longer journey for a lot of people.

“Thank you for everyone who is protecting the rock and the land and the water and it is for our seventh generations – our next seven generations – that’s always been our stand since 2004 when we first opposed the mine in our resolution. May our God and Creator be with you all – to bring peace to you.�



KBIC tribal council member Isabelle Helene Welsh thanked the Eagle Rock defenders and praised the non-violent protest.

“My heart is with you, walk in love, walk in peace and wisdom.�

Swartz reminded campers that KBIC filed a “lawsuit hoping to overturn the state permit for the nickel and copper mine� because the council believes the project “doesn’t meet legal requirements for protecting the environment.

“I am personally not against mining but I am opposed to the sulfide mine process. The sulfide mining process, I know for a fact, is going to have some detrimental effects to the environment� including groundwater, nearby streams and the Great Lakes, he said. “Those streams feed into Lake Superior, the largest and most precious body of water in the world.�

Holding a ceremonial walking stick, KBIC council member William “Gene� Emery said he’s worried about the environmental effects of sulfide mining on fish and drinking water because when “even the dust hits water, that makes your chemicals and that floats out into [[Lake Superior).�

It is inevitable that dust will escape from ore moving equipment and from accidents involving the trucks hauling sulfide mine waste, said Emery, the tribal council assistant secretary. The dust is “going to settle on the trees and you are going to get rain and that’s going to go into your streams.�

Several Eagle Rock defenders briefed the council about the outpouring of support from hundreds of people during the first two weeks bringing food, firewood and other donations. The campers said they are embarrassed to ask for financial support to pay rent and utilities.

KBIC member Glen Bressette, who lives almost two hours from Eagle Rock, said the campers take turns returning home to visit their children.

“I keep my bundles there and bring my physical here,� said Bressette, 38, of Harvey, Mich. “When we come here [[to Eagle Rock) we call it home too.

“We need other people to help us so we can go back to our families. They need us – we can’t do this alone. We have all races and walks of life who have come here – all colors, creeds and nations – the same way that our medicine wheel shows us,� said Bressette, using his finger to make a circle.

On his knees, Bressette prayed in Ojibwa and spread tobacco on the sacred fire.

“I am offering up our prayers to you and our grandmothers and grandfathers to help us. They tell that story about a stick and another stick and another stick and how much stronger it gets as we all blend together and how much strength that brings us. Che megwich for bringing that strength here.�

[gazhekwe]

Among the tribes included in the encampment are Ojibwa, Lakota and Cherokee.

Eagle Rock Activity

May 11 – Woodland Road LLC announced that it withdrew a permit application for a $50 million, 22-mile haul road – paid for by Kennecott Eagle Minerals but to be used by many businesses – that would connect the remote Eagle Mine to an ore processing facility at the former Humbodlt Mill in west Marquette County – thus preventing 100 trucks from being routed daily through Marquette and other cities.

On May 7, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment was prepared to decide whether to issue a permit for the road project. The Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers this year filed federal objections to the DNRE issuing a permit for the road involving issues that include wetlands mitigation and possibly using other routes.

May 12 – Kennecott Eagle Minerals and Keweenaw Bay Indian Community officials met to discuss Eagle Rock and an ongoing lawsuit. Both sides declined comment on what happened during the meeting.

May 13 – At KBIC’s request, EPA officials from Region 5 in Chicago visited Eagle Rock and its surroundings. Tribal officials declined comment, and an EPA spokesperson said May 17 that she was checking on information that could be released about the visit.

May 15 – A pro-mine ATV rally scheduled for Eagle Rock was scaled back reportedly at the request of Kennecott officials. About 20 ATVs showed up near Eagle Rock and stayed only a few minutes.

May 15 – About 40 people attended a “treaty rights” presentation by several people at Eagle Rock including a Native American activist, who would only identify himself as “Just Another Guy from the Rez.” The effects of sulfide mining were outlined by retired iron ore miner Bob Tammen of Duluth, Minn. and mine critic Chuck Glossenger of Big Bay, Mich. A mine spokesman also attending the presentations.

Also, KBIC member and mine opponent Jessica Koski, who addressed Rio Tinto [[Kennecott’s parent company) annual stockholders meeting in London April 15, returned to the Upper Peninsula from her environmental management master’s studies program at Yale University.

May 18 – The Eagle Rock defenders continued erecting a cedar fence around their encampment in response to a fence being constructed by Eagle Project mine officials.

On May 17, Kennecott started erecting a fence on the north and east sides of the Eagle Rock encampment – less than 50 yards from the campers, said American Indian Levi Tadgerson.

“Everyone at Eagle Rock has been working hard to put up our own cedar fence, and Kennecott is just putting their fence up around it,” stated a May 18 communique from the campers on standfortheland.com, a blog. “We are calling all friends and concerned citizens to please stop by Eagle Rock. … we really need you and your support.”

“It helps with morale and these are very challenging times,” the campers said. “We must stand united and we need lots of people to stand with us.”

[gazhekwe]

• Kennecott mining company has completed its perimeter fence and says anyone who breaches it will be arrested.

• Protesters continue to work on their own fence.

• Keweenaw Bay Tribal Council member and former chairman Fred Dakota recommends KB stop using its resources to fight with the mining company in the courts and work on getting jobs for Community members instead. [[Fred did time for corruption after a long stint as tribal chairman.)

• Two tribal members were arrested at the site this afternoon.

2 protesters arrested at Michigan mine site
By JOHN FLESHER [[AP) – 53 minutes ago

BIG BAY, Mich. — A small group of protesters stayed put Thursday after being ordered to leave the entrance of a planned nickel and copper mine in the Upper Peninsula, near what an American Indian tribe considers sacred ground. Two people were arrested.

Police said one person was sitting on top of Eagle Rock, a 60-foot-high outcrop where members of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community conduct religious pilgrimages. She remained there past the 9:30 a.m. deadline and was arrested, State Police Sgt. J.M. Bruno said. One other person also was arrested.

Both were charged with misdemeanor trespassing and released on personal recognizance bonds, State Police Lt. Robert Pernaski said.
He declined to identify them because they had not been arraigned. But supporters said they were Charlotte Loonsfoot, 37, and Chris Chosa, 29, both members of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community.

As many as 20 people have camped at the site during the last month. Kennecott Eagle Minerals Co. officials warned them to leave by Thursday.
When officials got to the site, six protesters were there, Pernaski said.
Kennecott Eagle spokesman Matt Johnson handed them a letter asking them to leave, saying it wasn't safe for them to be there because it's a construction site.

By noon, the site was empty but for company officials and a few police officers. There were a number of tents still up and the protesters' camp fire, which they consider sacred, was smoldering near the base of the rock.

The entrance is state land that Kennecott is leasing. Kennecott believes the mine could produce as much as 300 million pounds of nickel and about 200 million pounds of copper. Kennecott is owned by London-based Rio Tinto PLC.

While the Upper Peninsula has a long and colorful history of copper and iron mining dating from the mid-1800s, its copper mines have closed and only two iron operations remain, both in Marquette County. The new mine would bring badly needed jobs to the area.

The site is within an undeveloped area of Marquette County known as the Yellow Dog Plains, prized by environmentalists and sports enthusiasts for its quiet woods and rivers near Lake Superior.

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

[gazhekwe]

Elder's Meditation of the Day - May 28

"The land is a sacred trust held in common for the benefit of the future of our nations."
--Haida Gwaii - Traditional Circle of Elders

The Creator made the Earth to support life so that life would continue to reproduce, everything would support one another, and future generations would have the same benefits of supply and beauty as the generations that preceded them. This cycle will only continue to the degree that we make choices and decisions for the future generations. Today, we are too greedy and selfish. We are cheating our children, grandchildren, and the children unborn.

www.whitebison.org

[gazhekwe]

Spill reinforces oil bad will for American Indians

By Cain Burdeau
Pointe-Au-Chien, Louisianna [[AP) May 2010

News From Indian Country
http://indiancountrynews.net : 30 May, 2010, 14:30

Like many American Indians on the bayou, Emary Billiot blames oil companies for ruining his ancestral marsh over the decades. Still, he’s always been able to fish – but now even that is not a certainty.

An oil spill – 5 million gallons and counting – spreading across the Gulf of Mexico has closed bays and lakes in Louisiana’s bountiful delta, including fishing grounds that feed the last American-Indian villages in three parishes. It is a bitter blow for the tribes of south Louisiana who charge that drilling has already destroyed their swamps and that oil and land
companies illegally grabbed vast areas.

“Once the oil gets in the marshes, it’s all over, that’s where your shrimp spawn,� said Billiot, a wiry fisherman with tough hands, his fingernails caked with bayou dirt. “Then we’re in trouble,� he said in a heavy French-Indian accent.

In the month since an offshore drilling platform exploded, killing 11 workers, BP PLC has struggled to stop the leak from a blown-out underwater well. Recently, engineers finally succeeded in using a stopper-and-tube combination to siphon some of the gushing oil into a tanker. In Pointe-Au-Chien, 60-year-old Sydney Verdin felt a tingle of vengeful satisfaction at BP PLC’s misfortune over the oil spill.

“I’m happy for the oil spill. Now the oil companies are paying for it the same way we’ve had to pay for it,� said Verdin, disabled by a stroke, as he sat in his living room and watched his grandchildren play.

Even before the leak, oil’s influence on the south Louisiana landscape was unmistakable. Signs warning about underground pipelines are everywhere. So are plastic poles in canals to show the pipelines’ location. Out in the marsh, oil and gas facilities are often the only lights visible at night.

Since the 1930s, oil and natural gas companies dug about 10,000 miles of canals, straight as Arizona highways, through the oak and cypress forests, black mangroves, bird rushes and golden marshes. If lined up in a row, the canals would stretch nearly halfway around the world. They funneled salt water into the marshes, killing trees and grass and hastening erosion. Some scientists say drilling caused half of Louisiana’s land loss, or about 1,000 square miles.

“If you see pictures from the sky, how many haphazard cuts were made in the land, it blows your mind,� said Patty Ferguson, a member of the Pointe-Au-Chien tribe. “We weren’t just fishermen. We raised crops, we had wells. We can’t anymore because of the salt water intrusion.�

As companies intensified their search for petroleum in the 20th century, communities where the Choctaw, Chitimacha, Houma, Attakapas and Biloxi tribes married Europeans in the 1800s have seen their way of life disappear.

“This is not a two-week story, but a hundred-year story,� said Michael Dardar, historian with the United Houma Nation tribe. “Coastal erosion, land loss and more vulnerability to hurricanes and flooding all trace back to this century of unchecked economic development.�

Oil companies have long argued that their drilling in south Louisiana consistently was approved by federal and state agencies and did not violate the law. Most attempts to get oil companies to fill in the canals have failed in court. Land claims have proven hard to win because south Louisiana’s American Indians have not won recognition as sovereign tribes by the federal government.

The damage didn’t end with the canals. U.S. Geological Survey scientists say sucking so much oil and gas out of the ground likely caused the land in many places to sink by half an inch a year. In boom days in the 1970s, Louisiana’s coastal wells pumped 360 million barrels a year, an eighth of what Saudi Arabia ships to the market today.

Oil wells also discharged about a billion gallons daily of brine, thick with naturally occurring chemicals like chlorides, calcium and magnesium, as well as acids used in drilling.

To many Indians, oil has meant an unmitigated disaster. “They never done nothing for me,� Billiot said. Pointing across canals and open water at the village’s edge, he said: “You see where all that water is: It was all hard ground. You could walk from here all the way out there. They started making cuts, the water come in. It didn’t take too many days to make a canal. A big machine and they’re done. One little stream of water here, after so many years it eat up, and that’s why everything is wide open right now.�

In addition, American Indians say land and oil companies seized swamps that rightfully belonged to them. They’ve sued unsuccessfully to regain vast areas now owned by large landholding and energy companies.

Joel Waltzer, a New Orleans lawyer who’s worked on an aboriginal land
claims lawsuit for the Pointe-Au-Chien tribe, said Indian tribes were so
isolated they missed the opportunity to claim ownership of swamplands
after the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.

“They were not English speaking; they were completely illiterate and they had no means to make it to New Orleans and make their claim,� Waltzer said.

Much of south Louisiana was claimed by the federal government and sold off at 19th-century auctions to land companies. By the 1900s, oil companies bought much of the land in south Louisiana. Allegations abound among Indians that oil companies hoodwinked them into selling even the small bits of land they owned.

“They take the land. That was years ago,� said Ranzel Billiot, a 30-year-old shrimper and one of Emary Billiot’s cousins. “A lot of the older people they took the land from didn’t know how to read or write.�

About 40 years ago, Verdin, the 60-year-old from Pointe-Au-Chien, his father and a cousin took shotguns and stood in the way of a Louisiana Land and Exploration Co. marsh buggy crew digging a trench that was about to go through a nearby Indian burial ground.

“We said: If you go one more step, you’ll risk your life,� he recalled. “They didn’t go through the burial ground. I can’t think of one Indian who ever made any money from oil.�

[gazhekwe]

Elder's Meditation of the Day - May 31

"Sell a country? Why not sell the air, the great sea, as well as the Earth? Did not the Great Spirit make them all for the use of his children?"
--Tecumseh, SHAWNEE
The White Man's way is to possess, control, and divide. It has always been difficult for Indian people to understand this. There are certain things we cannot own that must be shared. The Land is one of these things. We need to re-look at what we are doing to the Earth. We are digging in her veins and foolishly diminishing the natural resources. We are not living in balance. We do not own the Earth; the Earth owns us. Today, let us ponder the true relationship between the Earth and ourselves.

Great Spirit, today, let me see the Earth as you would have me see Her.

[gazhekwe]

COMMUNITY, FAMILY and SPIRITUALITY: VETERANS

Native American people who served in the United States armed services are greatly honored in the American Indian community. The translation for soldier, warrior, protector and helper are all the same word. In Dakota that word is Akicita and in Ojibwe it is Ogichida.

As Ed Godfrey, a Dakota/Lakota veteran explains, "It was always the warrior who was first in defending Mother Earth. It was his duty to be first. It is a part of traditional values, a part of protecting against any outside invasion that would endanger the people, our people and the land."

It is a remarkable fact that Indian people served the United States long before they were even given United States citizenship. In fact, between 1917 and 1918, over 10,000 American Indian people enlisted into the armed services to serve in World War I. Although this was the greatest number of enlisted peoples from any one non-anglo culture, citizenship [[with the right to vote) for Native Americans was not granted until 1924.

The warrior is seen as having an important and ongoing role. As Chief Ernest Wabasha, hereditary chief of the Dakota people, explains. "Sometime in the future we believe that we will be back to protect the environment and everything else."


http://www.ktca.org/powwow/comfamspirit/veterans.html

And from the US Navy:

As the 20th century comes to a close, there are nearly 190,000 Native American military veterans. It is well recognized that, historically, Native Americans have the highest record of service per capita when compared to other ethnic groups. The reasons behind this disproportionate contribution are complex and deeply rooted in traditional American Indian culture. In many respects, Native Americans are no different from others who volunteer for military service. They do, however, have distinctive cultural values which drive them to serve their country. One such value is their proud warrior tradition.


In part, the warrior tradition is a willingness to engage the enemy in battle. This characteristic has been clearly demonstrated by the courageous deeds of Native Americans in combat. However, the warrior tradition is best exemplified by the following qualities said to be inherent to most if not all Native American societies: strength, honor, pride, devotion, and wisdom. These qualities make a perfect fit with military tradition.


http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq61-1.htm

[gazhekwe]

How good Mother Earth is, to give us Wild Strawberries! I found a patch growing in my lawn and am hoping for berries soon.

Ode = Heart
Odemin = heart berry

You can see why, because the berry is red, and when you cut it in half it resembles a heart. It is a sacred berry for that reason, used in ceremonies for strength and fortitude. For example, in sweat lodge, just after the second opening, a container of water is passed, with halved strawberries floating in it. Everyone drinks from this.

My favorite way to eat wild strawberries is with a little canned milk. That's how we ate them when I was a child. Sooo good and what a reward for hours of picking. My mom was always proud of me for picking clean. Neither my brother or sister picked clean, hulls, stems and grass were always in with their berries. The secret? I was the one who had to clean the berries when we got home. She never caught on and switched the chore around.

Wild strawberries, though tiny, are just little flavorbombs, well worth the trouble of crouching for hours to pick them, then the tedious chore of cleaning them without losing any juice.

[gazhekwe]

Originally printed at http://www.indiancountrytoday.com/ho.../95111209.html

WASHINGTON – The main Congress member pushing for an official apology to Native Americans for historical injustices has said his piece out loud, leaving some wondering if President Barack Obama will take a similar step.

During a May 19 ceremony at the Congressional Cemetery chapel, Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., read the Native American Apology Resolution to tribal representatives of five tribal nations. Brownback was the main sponsor of the Senate version of the resolution, which passed Congress last fall. He had been pushing for the measure since 2004.

Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., author of the legislation in the House, was also on hand.

“There is a rich history here, and there is a past wrong,� Brownback said at the event, addressing tribal leaders. “The U.S. government saw Native Americans not as people, but as a problem. This apology is an effort to start a reconciliation process to rebuild relations and it starts now.�

Cherokee Chief Chad Smith [[left) spoke with Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., who read the Native American Apology Resolution during a ceremony at the Congressional Cemetery.

Obama signed the resolution into law in December as part of another piece of legislation to no fanfare, perplexing many Native Americans regarding his sincerity, since the White House did not issue any announcements.

The president to date has not expressed intentions to say the apology out loud, as has been done for other disenfranchised groups on other contentious issues in U.S. history.

Brownback touched on the Obama issue in a January interview with Indian Country Today, saying he thought the president should hold an event with many tribal officials in attendance. He reiterated his desire in April, saying he’s been “pushing the administration to have a major public ceremony, but they aren’t taking it on yet.�

When asked again May 26 if Obama will make an out-loud apology, Shin Inouye, a spokesman for the White House, said he had “no updates on this issue.� The White House has been asked since January if Obama would consider such a move.

“For an apology to have any meaning at all, you do have to tell the people you’re apologizing to,� Robert T. Coulter, executive director of the Indian Law Resource Center, has said regarding the silence.

The resolution, as signed by Obama, provided no financial reparations for past wrongs. In written words, it apologized “on behalf of the people of the United States to all Native peoples for the many instances of violence, maltreatment, and neglect inflicted on Native peoples by citizens of the United States.�

Besides Brownback and McDermott, two other Congress members were in attendance at the Congressional Cemetery ceremony, Lois Capps, D-Calif., and Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii.

Ed Shelleby, a spokesman for McDermott, said his office has “only heard positive responses� regarding the apology.

The event was organized by the Faith and Politics Institute as part of a larger ceremony honoring the 36 Indians who are buried in the Congressional Cemetery. The organization often works in a bipartisan manner with members of Congress on faith and spirituality matters.

“We wanted to do something via a congressional ceremony to honor Native heroes,� said Robin Fillmore, a program director with the organization.

Fillmore explained the institute worked with Cherokee Chief Chad Smith to help plan the event, though it was Brownback’s idea to attend and read the apology. Brownback has worked with the institute in the past.

The institute had long been wanting to work with tribal nations, but this was the first time it had done so, Fillmore said.

Fillmore said it was difficult to reach tribal nation officials to participate in the ceremony. Thirteen tribes have individuals buried in the cemetery; five nations had representatives at the ceremony. There are 564 federally-recognized tribes nationwide.

The National Congress of American Indians served as a co-sponsor of the event.

NCAI Deputy Director Robert Holden said at the ceremony that “dignity is taking a long step in being restored� through the federal apology.

“And from this day we all will do many important things together. It starts here with this [[apology), this long process. This is a historic event in the history of this nation.�

[gazhekwe]

Saving Eagle Rock – a Sacred Site to Native Americans – from Kennecott Mining

Commentary by Laura Furtman |
June 5, 2010
Read more articles in Indigenous Peoples

I spent most of the month of May at Eagle Rock in the Yellow Dog Plains of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Yes, I am one of the people who was camped there in an effort to save Eagle Rock, a sacred site to the Native American community, from the grip of Kennecott Minerals Company. The site is about 25 miles from Marquette and 45 miles from the reservation of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community [[KBIC), but what happens there has serious consequences for anyone living in the Lake Superior region.
My job at camp was to help prepare and serve up the meals. Just like in most homes, our kitchen was a place where people liked to congregate and talk. As a result, I heard all kinds of things about what was going on and I have a number of questions that need to be answered, especially since our camp was shut down by the police on May 27. Tell me:

1. What exactly do the 1842 and 1854 treaties say about the land where Eagle Rock is located? Is it ceded territory or unceded territory? Someone needs to look at the original documentation and press the federal government to enforce the treaties as written. This is a federal, not state issue.
2. Where does the KBIC Tribal Council stand on the desecration of Eagle Rock? Council members won’t give a straight answer to this question or stand up for the KBIC tribal members who were arrested at Eagle Rock on May 27 and charged with trespassing. To me this suggests the Council has sold out its people and become a silent partner with the mining company.
3. Is the KBIC Tribal Council running the show? Shouldn’t other tribes whose ancestors traveled through the Yellow Dog Plains have a say as to what happens to this sacred site?
4. Was there an exchange of money or some sort of agreement struck between the KBIC Tribal Council and Kennecott? The Council won’t say, but if there was, a community referendum vote should have been held. This never happened.
5. Did the KBIC Tribal Council apply several years ago, as reported, to list Eagle Rock as a historic site? If so, where is the paperwork?
6. Who initiated the removal and arrest of the KBIC tribal members who were camped at Eagle Rock? Was it the KBIC Tribal Council? The FBI? The Michigan Attorney General’s office? Kennecott?
7. Why was Homeland Security invoked for the arrest of the KBIC tribal members? When a white woman was arrested several weeks ago and charged with trespassing at Eagle Rock, I am told only one squad car was called to the scene. Contrast that with the 20 squad cars, ambulance and fire truck that were called upon for the arrest of two tribal members! Surely this smacks of racial profiling. And what kind of tab will the taxpayers be hit up with for this nonsense?

I respectfully ask all members of the Lake Superior community, whether you live in Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin or Ontario, to please consider the above questions and seek out the answers. We simply cannot leave the fate of a shared treasure, Eagle Rock, in the hands of a single tribal council that appears to be in partnership with the mining industry.

http://www.fightbacknews.org/2010/6/...nnecott-mining

I have some questions of my own:

Is it true that the approval of the permit for Kennecott to begin operations was based upon some strange conclusions at outgoing MiDEQ?

• Despite a judicial ruling to the contrary, Eagle Rock is not a place of worship, since there is no building. A place of worship must be a building.

• DEQ is unable to enforce the various rules and environment laws that needed to be reviewed and attended to in the permitting process.

This link is to the Final Decision of DEQ to approve the permit:

http://tinyurl.com/23pku53

I'm going to look up the Treaty of 1842 mentioned on Page 4, and above in Furtman's questions. More later...

This map shows the ceded area for the 1842 Treaty:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:18...OfLaPointe.jpg

Treaty wording:
THE Chippewa Indians of the Mississippi and Lake Superior, cede to the United States all the country within the following bounderies; viz: beginning at the mouth of Chocolate river of Lake Superior; thence northwardly across said lake to intersect the boundery line between the United States and the Province of Canada; thence up said Lake Superior, to the mouth of the St. Louis, or Fond du Lac river [[including all the islands in said lake); thence up said river to the American Fur Company's trading post, at the southwardly bend thereof, about 22 miles from its mouth; thence south to intersect the line of the treaty of 29th July 1837, with the Chippewas of the Mississippi; thence along said line to its southeastwardly extremity, near the Plover portage on the Wisconsin river; thence northeastwardly, along the boundery line, between the Chippewas and Menomonees, to its eastern termination, [[established by the treaty held with the Chippewas, Menomonees, and Winnebagoes, at Butte des Morts, August 11th 1827) on the Skonawby river of Green Bay; thence northwardly to the source of Chocolate river; thence down said river to its mouth, the place of beginning; it being the intention of the parties to this treaty, to include in this cession, all the Chippewa lands eastwardly of the aforesaid line running from the American Fur Company's trading post on the Fond du Lac river to the intersection of the line of the treaty made with the Chippewas of the Mississippi July 29th 1837.
ARTICLE 2.

The Indians stipulate for the right of hunting on the ceded territory, with the other usual privileges of occupancy, until required to remove by the President of the United States, and that the laws of the United States shall be continued in force, in respect to their trade and inter course with the whites, until otherwise ordered by Congress.

Lands reserved for the Chippewa of KB in the 1854 Treaty:

The United States agree to set apart and withhold from sale, for the use of the Chippewas of Lake Superior, the following-described tracts of land, viz:
1st. For the L'Anse and Vieux De Sert bands, all the unsold lands in the following townships in the State of Michigan: Township fifty-one north range thirty-three west; township fifty-one north range thirty-two west; the east half of township fifty north range thirty-three west; the west half of township fifty north range thirty-two west, and all of township fifty-one north range thirty-one west, lying west of Huron Bay.

[gazhekwe]

I have just macheted my way through DEQ's final order approving the permit for Kennecott to mine under Eagle Rock.

The foundation findings were that the Petitioners, Keweenaw Bay Indian Community Huron Mountain Club, Yellow Dog Watershed Conservancy and National Wildlife Federation did not provide sufficient evidence to support their claims challenging the data submitted by Kennecott to support their application.

What troubled me was a section beginning on Page 4 where DEQ appears to join with Kennecott in opposing the Petitioners, rather than maintaining a neutral position as one might expect of a reviewing agency.

It is true that the finding ruled that Eagle Rock, not being a building, did not fall under the regulations requiring consideration as a place of worship [[PAGE 6). It also ruled [[PAGE 4) that the Petitioners submitted information that KBIC would provide witnesses to support their standing to maintain the petition and receive notice. For some reason, the decider found that this information constituted a stipulation that the spiritual significance of Eagle Rock, as well as any rights KBIC may possess under the 1842 Treaty WERE NOT AT ISSUE IN THIS CASE. I find this extremely troubling, since those are the precise issues that KBIC is concerned with, and which still remain unaddressed.

I did not find any admission by the decider that there are a lot of rules and laws and DEQ doesn't have the resources to enforce them all. That apparently stems from an interview in September 2008 where then Director Steven Chester admitted the agency did not have the resources to carry out its duties.

The agency also will issue surface-water-discharge permits, which allow companies to pump limited amounts of pollutants into lakes and streams, to ``minor facilities'' without first conducting an on-site inspection. ``In some cases, we'll have to rely on people's honesty and integrity,'' Chester said.

http://www.mlive.com/news/kzgazette/...910.xml&coll=7

Here is another article indicating flaws in the permitting process:
Michigan Fails to Follow Own Law In Kennecott Approval

On June 21, 2006, Maki submitted a list of 91 questions that required response from Kennecott. Maki admitted, under oath, that he did not convey Sainsbury’s concerns to Kennecott and Kennecott was never asked to respond to those concerns:
QUESTION: “In your questions to Kennecott, did you raise anything connected to Sainsbury’s concerns?”
MAKI: “No, not specific; no.”
QUESTION: “Did you ask Kennecott anything about the effects of this mine on the Salmon Trout River to satisfy Sainsbury or the public’s concerns?”
MAKI: “I did not, not in this document. No, I didn’t.”
QUESTION: “Did you. . . raise a question to Kennecott in connection with the statement of Sainsbury that subsidence is a concern in all underground mining applications?”
MAKI: “I did not; no.”
QUESTION: “Has the concern of Sainsbury about the long-term time-dependent behavior of the crown pillar ever been considered to this date?”
MAKI: I don’t know. . . not to my knowledge, no.”
At this point, Maki admitted his lack of competency as leader of the team reviewing Kennecott’s application and recommending approval:
QUESTION: “You really don’t know what your own questions are asking, do you, sir, to be honest?”
MAKI: “To be honest, I do not have that expertise to be able to define and analyze what those questions really mean.”

October 26, 2008
http://lakesuperiorminingnews.net/20...cott-approval/

[gazhekwe]

Please note, today's post start with #367 above.

Behind the News From Andy Buchsbaum – National Wildlife Federation

Coming soon: Michigan’s version of the BP disaster

June 4, 2010 by Andy Buchsbaum

• A company with a history of polluting that wants to take valuable resources from deep underground.

• An industrial extraction operation with high risks to hundreds of miles of coastline, spectacular waters, a vibrant fishery…. and human life.

• An agency that promotes the industry rather than regulating it.

• No contingency plan if [[when) the operation goes wrong.

Sound familiar?
I’m not just talking about the BP oil spill. The same scenario is playing out right here in Michigan. Kennecott Eagle Minerals Corp. is about to start digging for nickel and other minerals underneath the headwaters of the U.P’s Salmon Trout River, which runs through the largest stand of old growth forest east of the Mississippi and into Lake Superior. Kennecott plans to blast through a sacred Native American site, Eagle Rock, into sulfide ore bodies that produce acid mine drainage when they come into contact with air and water….. which inevitably they will do. This operation not only is likely to scar this magnificent landscape for hundreds of years. It also has a significant risk – according to the state’s own experts – of a mine collapse, endangering human life and draining the river.
What’s Kennecott’s plan if any of these disasters come to pass? It doesn’t have one.

This mine was vetted and recommended for approval by the Michigan Office of Geological Survey, part of the DNRE and the state equivalent of the now-infamous U.S. Minerals Management Service.

Why?
Well, the head of the Survey’s mining team called the mining project “my baby” and identified Kennecott as his “customer.”

During the application process, he admitted that he concealed an expert memorandum that reported on the risk of mine collapse, after which he was suspended …. and then reinstated as head of the mining team after an internal state investigation said he was motivated by ignorance, not malfeasance. [[Well, that’s a relief, right?) Another member of the state’s mining team formed a business partnership with Kennecott employees to offer mining services to the private sector [[the partnership was dissolved after it became public). Finally, the Governor’s UP representative who helped her formulate her position on the mine has also left government service to work for….. you guessed it: Kennecott. The mining team recommended approval to the Michigan DEQ before it merged with the DNR to form the DNRE. And just days before that merger – perhaps to avoid tarring the new DNRE with this terrible decision – a mid-level DEQ staff member gave final approval to the operation of the mine.
And we thought MMS was corrupt.

NWF and its partner organizations [[Yellow Dog Preserve, Keewenaw Bay Indian Community, and Huron Mountain Club) have filed multiple lawsuits to stop the mine. So far, we’ve only slowed it down, but the major litigation is just beginning.

Meanwhile, members of the tribe and local residents are taking matters into their own hands, camping on Eagle Rock to stop Kennecott from destroying it. Several have been arrested, but they keep at it. And yesterday, over 100 people rallied against the mine on the steps of the state capitol building. Read the latest on these activists at www.StandfortheLand.com. Or check out Save the Wild UP’s website, www.SavetheWildUP.org.

I’ll be writing about this travesty more often, now that the state has approved it and the action on the ground is heating up. To read a more detailed history, check out NWF’s sulfide mining web page.
Or even better, watch the movie! NWF has co-produced an award-winning documentary on the mine called Mining Madness, Water Wars: Great Lakes in the Balance.

This mine is a massive disaster waiting to happen, and the state’s complicity is an outrage. Call your elected state officials and the Governor to let them know.

[gazhekwe]

Does anyone want to talk about the Kennecott situation? I am hugely upset about it. I have been to the Yellow Dog Plains and it is a most pristine and beautiful area. The waters of Lake Superior are not immune to pollution, should there be a problem with the mine and its effluents.

Has anyone been to Sudbury, Ontario? A peek at Google Earth will show you the terrible effects of nickel mining. The tailings and deadness stretch for miles around the town, surrounded on the perimeter by pristine forests. When you drive into Sudbury, all of a sudden you drive out of the forestlands into a moonscape.

I can't figure out how to upload the image, but here is a tinyurl link to it:

http://tinyurl.com/28utyge

Here is a map of the Yellow Dog Plains with directions to Eagle Rock:

http://www.savethewildup.org/eagle_r...directions.pdf

[gazhekwe]

I'm back from my northern excursion. I couldn't go across to Eagle Rock because I had my husband's pet car, but I managed to talk to someone who was there at the encampment for a time. I asked him about the condition of the area since Google maps shows it looking all brown and stripped already. He said it has been logged over in the past few years. When I was there, it was pristine. Logging can look ugly, but this would not be the first time the area was logged. That area was heavily logged in the last part of the 1800s, and the early part of the 1900s. I couldn't find anyone who knew what the next steps are for the KBIC or any of the other groups.

Meantime, this thought was posted to me by White Bison:

"The faces of our future generations are looking up to us from the earth and we step with great care not to disturb our grandchildren."
--Traditional Circle of Elders
The leaves, when they are finished with their life on the trees, will return to the Earth. The leaves that return to the Earth are the future trees. So inside the Mother Earth are the future forests. The human, when finished with its life on the Earth, will return to the Earth. So in the Earth are our future grandchildren. Knowing this, we should be respectful of the place where our future generations live. Only take from the Earth what you need. Every time you pick a plant or Medicine, leave an offering and leave a prayer. Be respectful and walk in a sacred way.

Great Spirit, teach me to respect the place of future generations.

[gazhekwe]

It's Powwow season! Lots going on this coming week:

Tomorrow in Grand Rapids --
Enigokamigak Powwow, Gathering of the World
Come and Dance with 1,000 People from Around the World!
Where: On the shores of the Grand River at Ah-Nab-Awen Park [[Downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan)
Free Parking [[GVSU Seward ramp on Lake Michigan Dr.)
When: Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Time: 11:00 am Food booths, crafts, artists, music
2:30 pm Tribal representatives welcome
4:00 pm POW WOW begins – Everyone invited!
Everyone is invited to join Native American/First Nation peoples for this Pow Wow in a Celebration of Welcome to representatives from more than 100 countries as they gather for an historic, one- time event in the Uniting General Council of the World Communion of Reformed Churches.
MC: Derek Bailey • Head Dancers: Male: Derrick Bressette [[Canada) Female: Wilma Kelly • Host Drum: Chippewa Travellers [[Central/Southern Ontario, Canada) • Mr. George Martin, respected head veteran dancer • Keynote speaker Richard Twiss will be giving the Pow Wow blessing

At Birch Run --
June 25-27- WORLD OF ONE 4th Annual
Location: 11600 N. Beyer Road, Birch Run,MICHIGAN.
Schedule: June 25 Friday 3-9
June 26 Saturday 10-8 and
June 27 Sunday 11-5.
Admission: $7.00 daily pass and $20.00 [[3 day weekend pass).
Birch Run Expo Center.
Over 80 vendors * Food, Jewelry, Art Work and more.
FREE Parking* FREE 12 Under * FREE Door Prizes * FREE Lectures/Demos * 50/50 Raffles * Raising Money for "Breast Cancer Awareness" and "No More Silence Against Domestic Violence"
Contact: For the women of Saginaw Chippewa Tribe of Mount Pleasant Michigan Spaces Available 877/296-2746. Vendors/Musical Bands/Artisan/Performers Volunteers Please Call 248/935-8441. PowWow Info: Ms Margo 248/935-8441

At Bay Mills [[Brimley), there's Honoring the Veterans Powwow --
19TH HONORING OUR VETERANS POWWOW
Location: The Bay Mills Softball Field - Brimley, MICHIGAN.
Notes: Contest PowWow.
Contact: 906/248-8118, Email: ajcameron@baymills.org, Website: www.baymillspowwow.org.

At Sarnia --
June 26-27 - 49TH AAMJIWNAANG FIRST NATION POWWOW
Location: 978 Tashmoo Avenue - Sarnia, ONTARIO, CANADA.
Notes: Traditional PowWow.
Contact: 519/336-8410, Email: aamjiwnaangpowwow@hotmail.com, Website: None.

[gazhekwe]

A good description of a Baraga pow wow by Centria, a Yooper blogger. Baraga is home to the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community discussed above in the Eagle Rock stories.

http://centria.wordpress.com/2009/07...r-be-the-same/

If you listen to the Pow Wow drums…you will never be the same

July 25, 2009

The Baraga Pow Wow started last night.

Hundreds of folks gathered to listen to the Native American drums, to dance in the arena, to pray, to socialize, to gather together as families, tribes or nations.

Have you ever heard the drum beat and the call of the singers? If you have, it stays with you forever. The eerie cry in Ojibway [[or whatever language your Pow Wow brings) wakes up something deep inside of us. Something which has been sleeping, or missing, or gone. You can hear the drum beat and suddenly you’re carried back to some ancient memory of the land, of another time, of another language which beats deeper than any words or syllables.


The Drum

Eyyy-Eee! The singers shrill and the Manido looks down from the sky and shrills back its eagle cry. You stand quivering by the Pow Wow arena, wanting to dance, longing to dance, and when the announcer says, “Inter-tribal!” you can enter the arena and your feet hit the soil like the drum beat. Up and down you pound the drum of the earth, around and around. If you dare.

Grand Entry

I have a long history with the Native Americans, the Anishnabe, here in this area. ‘Way back in 1987 I heard the drumbeat for the first time, and it awakened slumbering embers within. Back in 1988, I danced in this arena, feeling the wind in my hair, returning to a Time before my conscious mind was born. For about seven years I attended ceremonies and lodges with these people.

Every year, now, I return to give thanks to that which has helped me to awaken deeper to who I am. It’s a time of deep appreciation, gratitude and honor.

It was hard to come this year, with a camera, and take photos. Very hard. My native friend, Denise, had to hold my hand and go ask the people permission for me to take a photo. Don’t know why it was so hard. Some people believe that when you take a photograph, your spirit can be stolen in that photo. There’s all sorts of etiquette and protocol involved. I didn’t want to be stealing any spirits, or to be disrespectful in any way.
So Denise took charge.

Cute young dancer

It really wasn’t hard. No one said “no”. My main source of irritation [[don’t really want to go into this right now, but here’s the gist) is that my camera’s zoom has gone kaput. OH NO! This may involve the purchase of a new camera, and after buying a laptop computer this week…that’s financially challenging, to say the least. Thank goodness for the “crop” feature on the computer. Otherwise, you’d simply be viewing dots on the horizon, which may have barely resembled humans.

Look at her dance!

Today it was fun to spend time talking with friends, listening to the drum, watching the people in their multi-colored regalia. You can eat fry bread or wild rice soup or an Indian Pizza. [[I bought Denise one after she so kindly asked folks to pose for photographs.)


More dancing! Shawl dancing and jingle dresses everywhere.

There’s more photos to show you [[and tomorrow’s outdoor adventure may involve the Pow Wow again) so stay tuned until tomorrow for more pictures. Hopefully everyone will have the opportunity to attend a Pow Wow at some time. Stand very silently and let the drum beat mirror the beat of your heart. Something very precious may awaken with you.
Shhh! Can you hear the drums now, out the window, down the road? They’re calling for you…

[Pam]

Did you see this Gaz? Dancers at the Social Forum in Detroit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcltQdkD04c

[gazhekwe]

No, I didn't, thanks for posting it. It's an intertribal song. The dancers are, from this end, women's traditional, men's traditional, Jingle dress, Jingle dress, butterfly, grass dancer, men's fancy dancer, and I can't see the one at the very end.