Paging Gazhekwe

[gazhekwe]

On PBS Tonight, Tecumseh's Vision on American Experience starting at 9 pm.

TONIGHT: "We Shall Remain" series begins with "Tecumseh's Vision," about Tenskwatawa and Tecumseh. Check your local PBS station schedule.

It actually was the second show in the series, which originally aired in Spring 2009. You can watch the whole series on line here:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/weshallremain/

There are lots of other interesting shows about Indians to watch on that site, too.

[gazhekwe]

It is the time when the veil between the spirit world and the earth world thins, and the two worlds are closest. Hold those dear to you close in your heart. It is the time of ghost suppers, to feed the departed in the spirit world.

This article was written by an elder in Harbor Springs, Michigan in 1943. It was published in AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [N. s., 45, 1943

GHOST SUPPERS
No longer do the council fires of the Ottawas burn in Michigan--no longer do the hills and forests resound with the echoes of the piercing yells of painted warriors on the war-path. The echoes of the rhythmic beat of the tom-toms, and the chants of the Indians as they danced around their council fires are stilled forever. They have put away their feathers and buckskins, and buried their tomahawks so many years ago that relics of these things of their yesterdays can now be seen only in the museums.

It is, therefore, of special significance, to note the survival of any of the fine old customs in Michigan. One of the few to survive this period of transition is the giving of “Ghost Suppers.” It must be remembered also that those customs deeply imbued with a religious significance are hardest to eradicate.

“Ghost Suppers” are held each year during the first week of November by the Ottawas in the Northern regions of the lower peninsula of Michigan. To mention a few of the places, there is Cross Village, Middle Village [[the oldest Indian settlement in this region), Five Mile Creek, Harbor Springs, Petoskey, and Burt Lake. At this time, one or more families in a community will cook a large supper, to which it is generally understood all the Indians are invited. The word just gets around that some family is getting up a supper commemorating the spirits of their departed; hence, the name “Ghost Suppers.” To especially honor the memory of those who have gone to the “Happy Hunting Ground” the family will invite a few people approximately of the same age as the deceased. Tobacco will be given them if the person they are supposed to represent was a tobacco user; if not, some gift will be presented. Children are given candies or some little gift. Custom requires that these few especially invited guests come early enough, if possible, so that they will be among the first served.
The Indians go from one supper to the other, until they have made the rounds. Etiquette requires that they eat at least a little of each kind of food offered. After the last guest has been served, the remaining food is left on the table until midnight, or in some cases until morning so that the spirits may come and feast.

Years ago, it was not uncommon for as many as six or eight households in a community to have these suppers during an evening. To-day, with the smaller Indian population, fewer suppers are held and an effort is made to spread them more evenly throughout the week. From fifty to seventy-five and as many as a hundred guests are served in some homes. Because of the limited space in the average home, the guests are served in relays. The first table is set and ready around six o’clock, seating from twelve to sixteen people; when these have finished, a second table is set, and so on until the last have been served.

A large variety of food is usually served at these suppers, because each family tries to outdo the other. Invariably, the main dish served at all the suppers is one of three kinds of corn soup: binag gisig anak [[Indian hominy) made from corn that has been boiled with wood ashes to remove the hull; wish ko bimi nak made from dried corn, red kidney beans, potatoes, and seasoned generously with finely chopped meat [[before the era of stoves, this corn was dried out in the open air, spread out on mats or rugs made of bulrushes; now it is dried on a hot stove and usually parched a little); minda min abo, made from finely cracked corn.

A large bowl of one of these soups is placed in the center of the table, and served with a ma tik go em kwan [[an old fashioned wooden ladle). The corn for the minda min abo is cracked in a 9ola gun, a wooden mortar and pestle. The mortar is made from a short log about thirty inches long, ten to twelve inches in diameter, and hollowed at one end to a depth of about twelve inches. The pestle, $0 tchi kwa nak is made out of a hardwood pole four to five feet long, three to four inches in diameter, and shaved down in the middle to form the handle. In the “good old days” there was an abundance of venison, bear meat, wildfowl, muskrat, and other small game; to-day, however, the meat is usually “Chicago prime beef.”

Some of the older Indians who are imbued with a profound belief in the significance of this custom have claimed to have heard the dishes rattling after everyone had retired for the night, saying that the spirits had come and feasted. Others have seen apparitions of people preceding them on their way to these suppers. There is the story, and a true one, of a man while passing an old burial ground, having seen a group of people going ahead of him on his way to a “Ghost Supper.” Thinking that here was a chance for some company, he tried to overtake them, but no matter how fast he walked, they remained always the same distance ahead of him. Then his attention was attracted from the rear, and when he looked again, the people in front had disappeared from view.

He said that they were near enough so that, had they been real people, they could not possibly have gotten out of sight so soon.

Many of the early white settlers used to participate in these feasts. Recently, a white man was a guest at one of these suppers, at which binag gisig anak [[Indian hominy) was served. He was very profuse in praising it, saying, “This is the first time I have ever eaten pop-corn soup.’’ He undoubtedly got his idea from the fact that when this corn has been boiled for a long time, which is necessary to soften it, it will expand and burst, actually resembling pop-corn. Another white man ate so much minda min abo soup that every time he met his Indian friends, the Indian would call out “Minda min abo!” until all the Indians began calling him that. This pleased him very much because he thought he had an Indian name. This name stuck to him until he left the country.

This feast for the dead is observed each year. During bad times a few families will band together; in good times, more of them go on their own.

These feasts were not always held during the first week in November. Before the coming of the “palefaces,” they were held during the late spring and early summer, and were accompanied with much dancing and singing, and peace offerings. Groups of grown people and children would go from place to place saluting each other, saying, “We are going around as spirits.” At each place they would feast, dance and sing, and throw food into the fire; believing that the spirits would come and eat the food as it was consumed by the fire. They would go for miles to reach some outlying home, trailing through the forests with birchbark torches, and making merry as they went along. Today, a family piles into the old “jalopy” and goes long distances to one of these suppers, using this occasion also as an opportunity to visit.

The change in the time for these feasts from the early part of the year to the first week in November was brought about through the influence of the early missionaries, who saw the feasibility of aligning this custom with the feast days of their church, All Souls Day and All Saints Day. However, as of old, this custom remains non-sectarian, because all of the Indians regardless of creed, still take cognizance of these “Ghost Suppers.”

So once each year, during good times and bad, the Ottawas in Michigan, even the humblest of them, hark back to the days of their ancestors and prepare feasts in memory of their departed.

FRED ETTAWAGESHIK

[Wingnatic]

I think this is a wonderful tradition .

[mittengal]

John Williams, a First Nations woodcarver from Vancouver Island frequently sold his carvings at the Pike Street Market. In August he was either sitting on a wall carving, or he was crossing the street carrying his carving knife and a piece of wood as was his habit when a Seattle officer pulled over to stop him and shouted at him to drop the knife. Williams continued on his way, and did not drop the knife. The officer shot and killed him.

Williams was known to be frequently inebriated, often incoherent, and he was partially deaf. He was also known to sit and carve or carve while walking.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/htm...ooting01m.html

The Seattle PD has determined the shooting was unjustified:

http://www.publicola.net/2010/10/14/...g-unjustified/

That makes the harassment of Williams' family by the PD inexplicable. As reported by a native community member on Facebook, the family members who gather with friends near the market where he sold his carvings are being watched, videoed and harassed by Seattle PD officers.

http://www.lisp4.facebook.com/weaveaname#!/note.php?note_id=491655795420&id=545775930

Gazhekwe, I enjoy reading your posts & respect your wisdom, so please don't take personal offense. I don't agree with John Williams being shot by police but he was a violent person. He assaulted many people including punching women in the face. It has nothing to do with his ethnicity, but they are playing the race card. There are many social programs to help substance abusers like Williams, but most refuse & expect working people to subsidize their lifestyle. The police are criticized no matter what they do--either they're too aggressive or not aggressive enough. The street people here are extremely "in your face" & get away with it. John Williams is being made into a martyr just like Malice Green.

[gazhekwe]

Thank you for the comments, Mittengal. I welcome discussion. I know nothing of this first hand. First hand in the community is one thing. Of course now that he is gone they will celebrate his assets. The Seattle PD and other media have been playing up his faults and it would no doubt be expected that each would emphasize their own viewpoint.

One concern is that a person's known weaknesses contributed to their death by deadly force, when an eyewitness indicates there seemed to be no threat to the officer. The other concern is the treatment of native people associating with the Williams family. Of course I can see a concern for the PD -- will the gathering create disturbance? But the treatment as described seems to go beyond mere concerned attention.

This does give some insight into how "street people" can be seen as part of the community at large. If it takes the death of John Williams to do this, he did not die in vain.

Would I be paying this much attention if it were a non-native family? No, I wouldn't, sorry to say, unless this were happening here in my town. So of course, I have a viewpoint that may be overlooking some aspect of the SPD's position. They have stated the killing was not justified. They have offered to meet with community leaders concerning the matter, and the treatment of individuals as described. I have not seen any position taken on that part of the matter.

[tponetom]

Gaz:
I caught your post # 452 regarding 'questions.'

[gazhekwe]

Hi, Tom! So, did you have any questions, ideas, stories or any other thing to put here? Please do! Or, if you think I bit somebody when I promised not to, feel free to bop me.

I am on the road right now, in Denver. We did try that frybread restaurant, Tocabe. It was great! Yummy frybread and some new sodas from a Denver company, I tried Prickly Pear. Although it was too sweet, the fruit flavor was deliciious.

I'll be going through Phoenix on Sunday next.

Checking in after dark tonight.

[tponetom]

Gazhekwe,
I do not know how I posted that reply. Just another "OOPS"

I am working on a question for you. Nothing drastic, but too often, my mind takes too many detours. When that happens, I set the project aside for a few days and try to,,,,,, remember?
I'll get back to you, later.

[gazhekwe]

OK, Tom, I'll look forward to any word from you. It's great here in Moab, UT. We are going to look at Arches National Park tomorrow, and maybe a little bit of Canyonlands. We have our dog with us and they really restrict the areas where we can take our dog, so it won't be as intensive as we thought. No hiking trails. But the weather promises to be beautiful, and we got a bag of treats at the hotel! No tricks.

[gazhekwe]

Elder's Meditation of the Day - November 1

"Times change but principles do not. Times change but lands do not. Times change but our culture and our language remain the same. And that's what you have to keep intact. It's not what you wear - it's what's in your heart."
-- Oren Lyons, ONONDAGA

Going back to the old ways doesn't mean giving up electricity, homes, and cars. It means living by the same principles, laws, and values that our ancestors lived by. This will allow us to live successfully in today's world. The spirituality our ancestors lived is the same spirituality we need in these modern times. There are too many influences from TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, and negative role models that are guiding our lives in a bad way. Our stability is in the laws, principles, and values that our ancestors were given and that our Elders teach us.

Great Spirit, let me live my life in a spiritual way.

[gazhekwe]

I'm heading down through Las Vegas today, will give a toot out for Ray. St. George, Utah, gateway to Zion is a dry town, not beautiful. Development seems to be burgeoning nicely. Touring a bit of Zion, we are so impressed by the majesty and beauty of the tall red rock walls and formations. It is so quiet out there, it seems natural to stop the buzz of thought and distraction and open to the energy of the creator in all things.

[gazhekwe]

Interesting news today, Bay Mills Indian Community has opened a new casino, our third, adjacent to Treetops Resort in Vanderbilt. Our community has a history of innovation, having opened the first Indian casino in the 80s, the one now called Kings Club in Bay Mills. In this phase, our community bought the land years ago, and has now proceeded to open the casino in advance of negotiations with the state or local community. We shall see how it goes. Other northern Michigan tribes are angry because this one, with its proximity to I-75, could potentially draw business from them. Right now, their casinos offer a lot more space, options and amenities, so it remains to be seen.

On other news, our tribe has purchased land in Port Huron, and the Sault Band has bought land near the airport.

[gazhekwe]

November is National Native American Heritage Month. I spent the first week and a half traveling, and visited some wonderful ancient sites. When I get the pix in my computer, I will post some of the Petroglyphs we saw in Colorado.

President Barack Obama noted in a Proclamation signed Oct. 29 that there have been great strides made over the past two years.

"We have made important steps towards working as partners with Native Americans to build sustainable and healthy native communities."

"At last year’s White House Tribal Nations Conference, I also announced a new consultation process to improve communication and coordination between the Federal Government and tribal governments," he said.

"This year, I was proud to sign the landmark Affordable Care Act, which permanently reauthorized the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, a cornerstone of health care for American Indians and Alaska Natives."

[[excerpted from this article in the Navy Compass last week: http://www.navycompass.com/top-stori...public-affairs)


In addition, the Friday after Thanksgiving has been designated National Native American Heritage Day in celebration of the contributions of American Indians. For example:

The Founding Fathers based the provisions of the United States Constitution on the unique system of democracy of the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, which divided powers among the branches of government and provided for a system of checks and balances.

Congress encourages the people of the United States, as well as Federal, State, and local governments, and interested groups and organizations to honor Native Americans, with activities relating to—

• appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities to observe Native American Heritage Day;
• the historical status of Native American tribal governments as well as the present day status of Native Americans;
• the cultures, traditions, and languages of Native Americans; and
• the rich Native American cultural legacy that all Americans enjoy today.

[[From an announcement by the Native American Rights Fund)

Coming up in Detroit:

Native Nations Celebration

Time Saturday, November 20 · 6:30pm - 9:30pm

Location Wayne State University Community Arts Auditorium, 450 Reuther Mall [[West of Cass, South of Palmer), Detroit, MI

Created By Aihfs Detroit

In Honor of Native American Heritage Month, American Indian Health & Tunkasila's Artistry present NATIVE NATIONS CELEBRATION featuring local musical talents, dancers & artists! All proceeds benefit American Indian Health & Family Services Youth Programs.

Advance tickets are available for sale at American Indian Health, 4880 Lawndale, Detroit, MI., 48210.

For more info or to purchase advance tickets contact the Prevention Department at American Indian Health [[313) 846-3718 x1113 or Stop by our office!

Ticket Prices: $10 in advance, $15 at door
Donations Welcome!

[gazhekwe]

Is anyone over Grand Rapids way? Here is a fun opportunity for tonight. If I hadn't just got off the road, I'd run over there for sure this evening:

Tonight, November 10, 2010
6 PM - 8 PM

Reel Injun:
On the Trail of the
Hollywood Indian
Drum and refreshments at 5:30 pm

Grand Valley State University -- Loosemore Auditorium, DeVos Center, Grand Rapids Pew Campus

Here's a trailer of the film, which was directed by Neil Diamond [[not THAT Neil Diamond), starring Adam Beach, Clint Eastwood, Sacheen Littlefeather, Russell Means, John Trudell, among olthers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqVmqK5Nbuk

[Pam]

Here's a trailer of the film

That does look good. I recognize a couple of those movies. I liked Smoke Signals and Little Big Man.

[gazhekwe]

I liked both of those movies, too. Sherman Alexie, who wrote Smoke Signals, is an author worth reading, as well.

Here is a spoof commercial with Graham Greene. I could just yum him up, he has such a great sense of humor, and how he shows it, with that wicked twinkle, really speaks to me.

http://www.youtube.com/reelinjun#p/f/2/5o5A0VGvnXg

[Wingnatic]

Here's a smaller event going on this weekend . The hoop dancing and story telling itself is worth the price of admission .


Festival teaches true Native American ways
Michael H. Hodges / The Detroit News
The 18th annual Native American Festival & Mini Pow Wow kicks off Saturday for two days of fun at the Southfield Pavilion. It's a clever way to boost your kids' knowledge without their ever suspecting it's "educational."
Even if you've gone in years past, there are tons of new offerings for 2010 — including performances by the 2009 world-champion hoop dancer, a Native American village kids can wander through, expert instruction in animal tracking and a grand entry first thing both mornings by Native American veterans followed by a spiritual smudging ceremony.

The grand entry and smudging — sage, cedar and sweet grass are burnt to bless the event — happen only once a day. Other activities rotate on a half-hour basis.
As ever, of course, there's a master storyteller, Tony Miron, spinning Native American legends; an arts-and-crafts bazaar; and cool traditional food ranging from fry bread to tacos.
The festival is designed to celebrate the traditions of Michigan's native peoples — the Ottawa, Objibway [[Chippewa) and Potawatomi, all part of the larger Algonquin group.
But key for organizers is the chance to vanquish what festival emcee and Ottawa tribe member Bill Memberto calls the myth of the ever-fierce, warlike "Hollywood Indian."
"When kids come," Memberto says, "they interact with us, have pictures taken with us, and stop being afraid of the scary Indians of the movies."
They also learn a thing or two. Plains Indians rode horses, Memberto notes, as in the old Westerns. But Michigan's heavily forested, swampy landscape centuries ago rendered the horse useless. These were canoe people.

Native American Festival & Mini Pow Wow
10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday
Southfield Pavilion
26000 Evergreen Road, Southfield
Tickets $6.50, children 2 and younger get in free
Call [[248) 398-3400

[gazhekwe]

Thanks for posting this, Wing! ^^^^^

Somehow I missed the announcement, maybe I was on the road at just the wrong time. This is a wonderful event, well worth making it an annual excursion. The area Indian communities work with the Metro Parents to make a great gathering for everyone. Maybe we will all meet there over frybread and coffee.

Tony Miron is an artist as well as storyteller. Maybe he will have some of his work there. We are related somehow, as my great great grandmother was a Miron. Just another of those "cousin" connections we have in our culture. Bill Memberto has been a member of the Indian Commission, and he ran the DSS Urban Indian Concerns office in Detroit in its last years.

[Wingnatic]

Your welcome , I just happened to read the Detroit News today and the article was buried in there lol I went to the S.E.Michigan Indians in Center Line website to see if it was posted in there , I don't think anything has been posted new in there in 5 years lol I used to work next door to them and another company down the street [[Binson's Hospital Supplies) I also worked for sold them the building , it used to be a bar . Don't go to their site , its full of adware , so if you attend and run into anyone from there , tell them their site needs updating , or start a new one somewhere like Facebook lol

Yes I don't follow this family tree stuff either , my grandmother was a Trudeau , and I'm related to Pierre somehow

[gazhekwe]

SEMII is one of several American Indian organizations in Metro Detroit. It was the most recent, founded in the early 70s. I agree the website is not easy to look at. They have been working on a new one, I'll have to find out what is happening with that.

North American Indian Association [[NAIA), 22720 Plymouth, Detroit 48239, 313-535-2966, http://www.naiadetroit.org/4001.html

American Indian Services, 1110 Southfield, Lincoln Park 48146, [[313) 388-4100

American Indian Health and Family Services, 4880 Lawndale, Detroit 48210, 313-846-3718, http://www.aihfs.org/history.html

Southeastern Michigan Indians, Inc [[SEMII), 26641 Lawrence, Centerline 48015, [[810) 756-1350

[gazhekwe]

We took a drive to see petroglyphs described in a Moab brochure along Kane Creek Drive. There is also a beautiful wetland preserve and some amazing canyon views along this road.

This picture is on one side of a large boulder just below the road level on a ledge in the canyon. There is a moccasin trail there, and two women giving birth, one baby is feet first. All four sides of the rock have petroglyphs. I couldn't get the picture to load at a decent size, but you can get the idea. I have other pix, but even though I shrank them, they are still too big. I'll work on them some more later.

[gazhekwe]

It was a nice time at the American Indian festival in Southfield. Dancers came from all over and everyone seemed to be having a great time.

This article was in today's Free Press, with pix:
Posted: 7:25 p.m. Nov. 14, 2010

Powwow in Southfield wows spectators with activities, lessons

By ELISHA ANDERSON
Free Press Staff Writer

Alayna Moricz folded corn husks together and tied a white string on one end. When she was done, the 9-year-old from Pinckney had a corn husk doll and a hands-on lesson about Native Americans and their history.

Her mom, Autumn Moricz, brought her three children to the Native American Festival and Mini Pow Wow at the Southfield Pavilion this afternoon to help expose them to different cultures. The festival “brings to life a lot of stuff they’re learning in school now,” she said.

About 100 Native Americans, mostly from Michigan, were at the festival, which is in its 18th year, events director Lisa Grace said. She estimated about 8,000 spectators came out to make Native American crafts, learn skills like how to start a fire with a friction bow, and watch traditional dances, over two days this weekend.

“Part of our mission with this event is to educate and entertain,” she said.

The festival is geared toward debunking myths and stereotypes and teaching people about the culture and traditions of Native Americans, she
said.

Among the people on hand to teach traditions was Marty Wabindato, 58, of Manistee. He said he is a distant cousin of Chief Pontiac — the warrior who Pontiac is named after. Wearing an otter turban, choker, breast plate, pink conch shell earrings, deer hide moccasins, deer toe knee bands and carrying a fan made of Golden Eagle feathers, Wabindato danced in a circle with a couple dozen other men, boys, women and girls.

“I’ve been doing this so long, it’s like breathing,” the member of Little River Band of Ottawa Indians said of dancing.

Boy and girl scouts were a big part of the kids learning about Native American traditions. They could earn a patch by learning about food, dance and listening to storytelling.

Beverly Elementary fifth-grader and Webelos Scout Nathaniel Abbott, 10, said he loved watching the dancers.

“It was pretty amazing how they did all those moves,” he said.

[Wingnatic]

Kids eat this kind of stuff up , their like magnets lol Its great they put these on because this type of event if left up to public education , probably would not be taught , plus show and tells are always fun . 8,000 is a pretty good turn out , gotta keep it alive : >)

[gazhekwe]

Pumpkins were among the foods "discovered" here by the colonist immigrants. Natives used pumpkins for food, and traded dried strips woven into mats.

This is the pumpkin time of year. I have a few little pie pumpkins to process into puree for pies and seeds for munching. There are plenty of other things you can make with pumpkin besides pies, including soup, breads, puddings including savory dinner ones.

For starters, here are my pumpkin processing recipes:

Pumpkin puree

Pick nice heavy little pumpkins. I like the ones with the brownish color best.

Turn the oven on to preheat to 350. Wash the pumpkins off, cut them in half and scoop out the seeds. Scrape the strings out as best you can. Turn the pumpkins cut side down on baking sheets, bake for 45 minutes to an hour. Test with a fork, when the fork sinks in easily, they are done. Let cool, then scrape the meat out of the shells. I like to freeze it in 2 cup portions, since 2 cups is about equal to a one pound can so you can use it in regular recipes for canned pumpkin.

While the pumpkins are baking, put the seeds into a colander and wash them under warm running water, rubbing them between your hands to remove the stringy pulp. When they are clean, shake them to release water and spread them out to dry a little.

My favorite pumpkin seed recipe ever!

Bring a pot of salted water to boil, add a tablespoon of your favorite chile powder. Boil the seeds for 10 minutes, drain and spread them out to dry a little. Preheat oven to 350. Line baking sheets with foil, spread your seeds out and spray them with olive oil spray or toss them in a bowl with olive oil, then spread them out. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 20 minutes. Test one to make sure it is just right and bake a little longer, if necessary. Cool and enjoy.

Another good way to make pumpkin seeds

Spread the seeds on the sheets and spray with a little cooking spray, sprinkle with a little salt to taste, bake for about 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Remove from oven.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large frying pan, add the seeds and stir in 1 tablespoon white sugar and 1 tablespoon brown sugar. Heat until sugar is carmelized on the seeds about 3 minutes. Depending on how many seeds you have, stir in enough of a mixture of 2 T white sugar, 2 T brown sugar, 1-2 T cinnamon, a pinch of nutmeg.to coat.

These are good warm.

[gazhekwe]

And no, I don't mean Wagosh, the little hunter with the bushy tail. It is the so-called news channel with the twisted tale that is bugging me today:

Obama Children's Book Ignites Controversy

Andrea Stone Senior Washington Correspondent' AOL News
ANALYSIS

WASHINGTON [[Nov. 16) -- Has anyone told President Barack Obama lately that he will never catch a break?

Today, as his first book for children was released, Fox News ran this headline on its website: "Obama Praises Indian Chief Who Killed U.S. General."

President Barack Obama's children's book, "Of Thee I Sing," hit bookstore shelves Wednesday. All proceeds from the book will go to a scholarship fund for children of wounded or fallen U.S. military personnel.

The brief item is quoted from a USA Today piece about "Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters," Obama's lyrical ode to 13 Americans "whose traits he sees in his own children." Addressed to daughters Malia and Sasha, the picture book begins: "Have I told you lately how wonderful you are?"

The newspaper notes in passing, "His most controversial choice may be Sitting Bull, who defeated Custer at Little Bighorn."

Obama writes that Sitting Bull was "a medicine man who healed broken hearts and broken promises. It is fine that we are different." The book, whose royalties will go to help the children of fallen or disabled service members, also says that the Lakota chief "spoke out and led his people against many policies of the United States government. He is most famous for his stunning victory in 1876 over Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer in the Battle of the Little Bighorn."

That caused a storm of derision in the blogosphere as defenders and opponents of the president and Fox traded politically laced barbs about historical revisionism and political correctness. One sympathetic commentator sarcastically called the book "Obama's newest anti-American crime."

It was enough to make one wonder whether the man who ran on "hope" realized the irony that his book shares a name with perhaps the greatest American political satire ever written, a 1931 musical about a politician who runs for president on a platform of "love."

There is a certain bit of audacity in Obama's eclectic and ethnically diverse list of Americans.

Besides perennial heroes like George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, there are those selected for being kind [[social worker Jane Addams), strong [[Helen Keller) and inspiring [[farmworker organizer Cesar Chavez). Vietnam Memorial architect Maya Lin is included for honoring the sacrifices of others, singer Billie Holiday because "you have your own song."

So far, no one has criticized Obama for including a singer whose heroin addiction and alcoholism led to an early death. Or asked whether artist Georgia O'Keeffe, whose paintings evoke female genitalia, should be part of a book for children as young as 3 years old. And maybe the president should get points for including "explorer" Neil Armstrong, who blasted Obama for canceling NASA's back-to-the-moon mission.

"If President Obama patted a child on the head, Fox News would probably accuse him of assault," Indiana University historian Ed Linenthal said. "It certainly sounds like what Obama has done is ... expand our sense of who counts in our own history. ... America has always been a mosaic of communities in which individuals become heroes and heroines and role models and tragic figures and controversial figures."

The 'Greatest Chief'
That Fox would single out Sitting Bull for condemnation illustrates how the wounds inflicted during the settling of the American West remain raw long after the "closing of the frontier" more than a century ago. Yet historians say the Native American holy man earned his place in Obama's slender 31-page book.
...
"Why should that be controversial?" asked Linenthal, author of "Sacred Ground: Americans and Their Battlefields," an examination of how the Little Bighorn and other historic sites have been redefined in the nation's memory. "Is it controversial to hold up Robert E. Lee as a significant American even though he was commander of the Army of Northern Virginia and the Confederacy's goal was to create a new nation apart from the United States?"

The Lakota Sioux chief belongs among the pantheon of American heroes, said Robert Utley, author of the definitive biography, "Sitting Bull: The Life and Times of an American Patriot."

"He was probably the most Indian Indian, the most devoted to his particular culture, and he practiced it on a daily basis and had the political and spiritual influence to lead his people as their greatest chief," Utley said. "He is as American as they come."

Utley called the Fox headline "a vast oversimplification." Sitting Bull was already too old to fight at the time of the standoff with Custer, he said, and was back with the women and children when Crazy Horse led the war party at the Little Bighorn.

"I'd brush Fox News off," he said. "They don't know what they're talking about."

This isn't the first time controversy has erupted over a chapter of history immortalized in movies, books and re-enactments as "Custer's Last Stand."

In the 1990s, the National Park Service removed Custer's name from the site in Montana and renamed it Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, adding a monument to the Indians who died there. The move sparked a bitter debate over historical revisionism in which one traditionalist compared it to ''handing the Vietnam War memorial over to the Vietnamese.''

Though emotions have cooled since then, the current controversy isn't unexpected, said University of New Mexico historian Paul Hutton, author of more than a dozen books on the American West and military history. While he called the Fox headline "outrageous" and "provocative," he said Obama's book is reflective of young people's literature since the 1970s "when Custer was sort of erased from the children's book universe."....

"I don't know what broken hearts and broken treaties he mended," Hutton said in reference to Obama's prose. "I don't believe he was a progressive leader by any stretch of the imagination. He was not fighting for the future, he was fighting for the past. He brought death, destruction and poverty to his people" by not seeking peace with the white man in a struggle Native Americans were doomed to lose.

Ernie LaPointe, Sitting Bull's great-grandson, thinks he should have been left out for another reason.

"He never was an American," LaPointe said in a phone interview from his home in Lead, S.D. The author of his own biography of his ancestor, LaPointe notes that indigenous people were not granted full citizenship until 1924.

"I don't think he should be included in any book about Americans," LaPointe said. "He was a Lakota."

But Utley disagrees.

"He's a very good role model" for children, he said. "This book will introduce them into another culture from which they have been reared. I think it is a good inclusion."