Paging Gazhekwe

[gazhekwe]

Nuns Urge Pope to Rescind Doctrine of Discovery

ICTMN Staff, 9/9/14

A group of nuns is urging Pope Francis to rescind the Doctrine of Discovery, the set of 15-century papal bulls that gave tacit permission to seize lands and justify colonization of Indigenous Peoples, most notably on Turtle Island.

RELATED:Vatican Releases Tantalizing Glimpse into Papal Documents About Columbus

“When I learned about it, I was horrified,” said Sister Maureen Fiedler, the nun who hand-delivered the letter to Pope Francis, speaking to Religion News Service. She belongs to the Loretto Community, made up of religious women and lay people, the news service said.

As Fiedler pointed out, the doctrine’s tendrils are woven throughout modern race relations, from sports mascots to the wiping out of indigenous languages and cultures, to treaty and sovereignty issues. And it has been on the U.S. legal books since 1823, when it was solidified by a Supreme Court decision that was cited in 2005 in a land case regarding the Oneida, Religion News Service said.

Revoking the doctrine will bring common sense and contemporary wisdom to bear in the 21st century, the letter’s signers said, and “all will know that today’s world is different from that of the 15th century as we move away from patterns of domination and dehumanization,” according to Religion News Service, quoting a resolution drafted in 2012 in collaboration with a member of the Osage Nation. Loretto and 12 other Catholic groups delivered the letter last fall.

It’s not the first time a pope has been asked to rescind the doctrine. In 2006 the U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues called on Pope Benedict XVI to revoke and renounce those documents, which continue to color relations between the U.S. and Canadian governments with Natives today.

RELATED: Pope Asked to Revoke Papal Bulls

Many Christian denominations and groups have already done so, including the Episcopal Church and the World Council of Churches.

RELATED:Episcopal Church repudiates Doctrine of Discovery

Pope Francis has, as CNN described it last November, “made headlines by decrying the iniquities of modern capitalism, embracing the poor and people with disabilities and reaching out to gays and lesbians.”

"I prefer a Church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a Church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security," Pope Francis said in a statement at the time, according to CNN.

Read more at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwor...scovery-156819

[gazhekwe]

The Whiteness of Laura Ingalls Wilder

Sat 19 Oct 2013 by abagond

Laura Ingalls Wilder in “Little House in the Prairie” [[1935) wrote about her White American girlhood on Native American land – Indian Territory. In the 1970s it became an American television series that ran for nine years [[pictured). The book is widely regarded as “wholesome”, even educational, one that teaches history and the value of courage.

Yet it is pretty racist stuff:

Her family of white land thieves takes Indian [[Osage) land without permission, yet whites are seen as Basically Good while Indians are seen as bad, wild and threatening.

Two characters say, “The only good Indian is a dead Indian.”

Later in the book there is a good, still-living Indian: one who is willing to fight his own people to protect white settlers.

Ma hates Indians. So does Jack, the family dog.

Descriptions of Indians:
“wild” [[18 times)
“savages”
“screeching dev-“
“Their eyes were black and still glittering, like snake’s eyes.”
“The wild, fast yipping yells were worse than wolves.”
“There were no settlers. Only Indians lived there.”

“Laura thought [Pa] would show her a papoose [baby Indian] some day, just as he had shown her fawns, and little bears, and wolves.”

Laura: “Pa, get me that little Indian baby … Oh, I want it! I want it! … Please, Pa, please!”

Ma: “Dear me, Laura, must you yell like an Indian? I declare, if you girls aren’t getting to look like Indians! Can I never teach you to keep your sunbonnets on?”

“Treaties or no treaties, the land belongs to folks that’ll farm it. That’s only common sense and justice.”

Laura cries when the American government forces Osages off the land. Ma feels bad too. But not bad enough to change their land-thieving ways.

The book supports the racist idea of Manifest Destiny throughout.

In 1998 when this book was read at a grade school in Minnesota, one eight-year-old Indian girl came home in tears, having learned from this Beloved Classic that, “The only good Indian is a dead Indian.”

Another girl did not cry. When asked why, she said, “I just pretend I’m not Indian.”

Waziyatawin, the Dakota writer, was the mother of the crying child. After she showed the school board how racist the book was, they agreed to stop using it. But when the news got out it was turned into a censorship issue of banning books and the school, backed by the ACLU, changed its mind.

Waziyatawin was told she has a “chip on her shoulder”.

Linda Ellerbee on Nickelodeon’s “Nick News” told children across America that all books are offensive to someone.

The school defended the book as “history” – yet her daughter’s teacher was not taking apart its racist messages, which has the effect of normalizing them. That, no less, at a white-run school that stands on land stolen from the Dakotas.

The Ku Klux Klan and Nazi Germany are “part of history” too, yet no one thinks of reading their youth literature to schoolchildren without examining their racism. Why is “Little House on the Prairie” any different?

Source: This post is mainly based on Waziyatawin in “Unlearning the Language of Conquest” [[2006), edited by Four Arrows [[Don Trent Jacobs).
http://abagond.wordpress.com/2013/10...ngalls-wilder/

PS -- I loved those books. Had 'em all, read them over and over. Those parts bothered me a lot, but my kid self kind of processed them as illustrating the bad and ugly parts of colonialism. I really appreciated the resourcefulness of the characters learning to live their way in strange surroundings though. The sadness of loss never left me, but the appreciation was like survival. --Gazhekwe

[gazhekwe]

INJUNCTIVE ORDER

On September 23, 2014, the First day of Autumn, Article32.org, and Plaintiffs Phil Bellfy and Tim LaCroix, filed a Motion for Immediate Injunctive Relief in the Little Traverse Bay Bands Tribal Court. The Motion asks the Court to issue an injunction against Gov. Snyder and 6 DEQ officials to bar them from issuing any “water withdrawal” permits to frack any wells in Michigan. The State officials have 28 days to respond. the Motion is linked below.

We made history, today –we’re certain that this is the first time that State officials have been sued in a Tribal Court.
Injunctive Order – Fracking

http://article32.org/injunctive-order/

[gazhekwe]

During the administration of Governor William G. Milliken, the Legislature designated the fourth Friday of September as Michigan Indian Day [[Act 30 of 1974, Section 435.161).

http://www.aihfs.org/powwow-2014.html

[gazhekwe]

Offering them a chance to debate the team name with Native American activists -- Lawyers, journalists, educators, comedians.
Response: They say they were 'ambushed' and placed in fear for their saftey, and attempt to repeal their permissions to be filmed for the show. Too late....

de718edeb92f_story.htmlhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/local/...92f_story.html

[Jimaz]

U.S. to pay Navajos $554M in money mismanagement case

The Navajo Nation is poised receive $554 million from the federal government over mismanagement of tribal resources in the largest settlement of its kind for a single American Indian tribe.

Much of the land on the 27,000-square-mile reservation has been leased for things like farming, grazing, oil and gas development, mining and housing. The leases once were largely overseen by the government, which mismanaged the revenue and failed to properly invest and account for it, according to the tribe.

The tribe agreed to settle the case earlier this year but was awaiting signatures from federal agencies before the deal could be finalized. The Navajo Nation originally sought $900 million when the lawsuit was filed in 2006....

Public meetings will be held to ask Navajos how they think the money should be spent, [Navajo Nation Council Delegate Lorenzo] Curley said. The first meeting is scheduled for October. Already, tribal members have suggested that it be set aside for future generations or used for business development, he said....

Sandler [one of the Navajo Nation’s attorneys on the case] said the Navajo Nation should receive its money within 60 days.

Tidy sum but it would be better if the settlement were not necessary in the first place.

Maybe they can relieve some of the poverty on the reservation.

[gazhekwe]

Here's the correct segment with an article about it. I have heard there were some interactions between the Native team and the fans that were not included, both in the studio and at the game.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/0...n_5887812.html

[Jimaz]

Yeah, that makes more sense. The other link was good too.

[gazhekwe]

014

"I'll f*cking cut you." Behind the scenes of the 1491s' segment on "The Daily Show"

POSTED BY MIGIZI PENSONEAU ON FRI, SEP 26, 2014 AT 2:40 PM

• PHOTO COURTESY OF MIGIZI PENSONEAU
  
• The 1491s [[Mgizi Pensoneau, Bobby Wilson, Ryan Red Corn) with Jason Jones of "The Daily Show."

Editor’s note: Last night “The Daily Show” aired a controversial segment about Washington’s controversial football team nickname. The segment included the 1491s, a Native American comedy troupe the Indy has profiled and which includes Migizi Pensoneau, who lives in Missoula and contributes regularly to the paper. Migizi wrote the following behind-the-scenes account of the segment and how it came about.

A couple of weeks back, the 1491s got an email from a producer at “The Daily Show” hosted by Jon Stewart. They were recruiting for a panel discussion regarding the Washington Redskins, and the mascot controversy that surrounds the team. And they wanted us—a Native American sketch comedy/video group that tackles everything from Indian Country politics to fart jokes—to weigh in.

As a writer, educator, satirist and smart-ass, I was excited about the opportunity. While we love the reach that YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other Internet avenues provide, there’s something bewitching about being on national TV, and on a show we respect.

Less than a week after we got the email, three members of our group—including me—were whisked away to our nation’s capitol for two full days of shooting. The morning after we arrived, a Saturday, we learned more about the premise of the shoot. There would be two panels: pro-Redskins fans [[as in, pro-mascot, pro-dressing up as Indian, anti-name changers) and anti-mascot activists, which included the three of us joined by five other indigenous panelists. The plan was to let the first panel make their case: talk about how the mascot honors Natives, that the name “Redskins” only refers to fans of the team and not Native Americans—standard pro-mascot arguments. Then, at a designated point, the host, Jason Jones, would ask, “Would you say all of this stuff directly to a Native American?” To which they’d presumably say, “Yes,” and then Jones would cue us to enter. The panel would be embarrassed, we’d be indignant, they’d be on their way—appropriately uncomfortable—and then we’d get our chance to talk.

Simple.

After a long wait in an adjacent green room, completely cut off visually and aurally from the pro-Redskins panel, we were finally asked in. We entered the room, looked indignant, and there was a wonderfully uncomfortable silence. Jones played the buffoon, eating some wings and drinking a beer. But then, one of the pro-mascot fellas started to defend their position, and everything derailed. This is the part you don’t really see in its full glory on the segment: As some of the anti-mascot activists started in passionately on the issue, pro-mascot panelist Kelli O’Dell, who was previously employed by the Washington Redskins and whose Internet presence is devoted to her support of the team and mascot, started to cry. My ever-dapper 1491s colleague, Bobby Wilson, offered her his own handkerchief. It was an intense situation, but never mean-spirited. O’Dell, though, started to accuse us of ambushing and lying and “how dare you.” [[Later, after the shoot but before the episode aired, it would be reported by the Washington Post, Huffington Post, Time, Gawker, Uproxx, Buzzfeed and CBS that she felt in danger and this experience would smear her name.)

Sobbing and accusatory, she and the others left. From there, we took a break to reset the room, and we did our panel. This one went incredibly well and I’m proud to have been a part of it. The producer, crew and Jones were wonderful to us, and we all walked out of there with hugs and smiles. It was 180 degrees from the previous panel, and we were happy about it.

The next morning, football Sunday, the three of us went to FedEx Field as part of the show. “The Daily Show” taped us wandering around the “Redskins Nation” tailgate, though that never made it on air. I, rather naively, thought maybe we’d be able use our presence at the tailgate as a way to showcase our humanity, and let the Washington Team know that there are Native Americans out there who are among them—real people not relegated to the eternal myth of history. Maybe we’d change a mind or two. Or, at least, maybe some ignorant hilarity could be caught on camera. It was worth a try, so with a camera crew following us, one little, two little and a third big Indian struck out into FedEx Field’s Redskin Nation tailgate.

That did not go as I’d hoped.

There were points during that hour-long experience where I actually was afraid for my life. I have never been so blatantly threatened, mocked or jeered. It was so intense, so full of vitriol that none of the footage ended up being used in the segment. I’m a big dude—6’1”, and a lotta meat on the bones. But a blonde little wisp of a girl completely freaked me out as I waited in line for the bathroom. “Is that shirt supposed to be funny?” she asked motioning to my satirical “Caucasians” T-shirt. And then she said, “I’ll fucking cut you.” Actually, she didn’t scare me so much as the wannabe linebackers standing behind her who looked like they wanted to make good on her threat.

On one level, I get it. I’m walking around with an ironic T-shirt on, being a Native in the middle of FedEx Field with a camera crew from “The Daily Show” nearby. But amid the jeers, mocking and threats, did I cry, and accuse them of ambush? No, because I knew what I was getting myself into. It’s “The Daily Show.” I know the format. More than that though, I didn’t back down or break down because I knew in my heart and conscience I was doing the right thing, as silly as the method may have been.

I think back to the tailgate: the man blowing cigar smoke in my face, the man who mockingly yelled, “Thanks for letting us use your name!”, the group who yelled at us to “go the fuck home,” the little waif who threatened to cut me, the dude who blew the train horn on his truck as I walked by the hood. I think of all of that, and I think back to O’Dell crying and trying desperately to get out of the room full of calm Natives. I thought she was crying because she was caught unawares and was afraid. But I realized that was her defense mechanism, and that by overly dramatizing her experience, she continued to trivialize ours. It was privilege in action. And as I realized these things, something else became incredibly clear: She knew she was wrong.

http://missoulanews.bigskypress.com/GreenRoom/archives/2014/09/26/ill-fucking-cut-you-behind-the-scenes-of-the-1491s-segment-on-the-daily-show

[Pam]

The segment included the 1491s, a Native American comedy

I recognized them from your earlier post about them. Scary stuff. Why are so many people proud to be racist?

[gazhekwe]

The way I see it, Pam, is these people are not racist. Oh, no. They are privileged, and have a Divine Right to their superiority. This is their way of reacting to a clearly inferior crowd challenging this divinely superior status.

They are blind bigots for sure, but if anyone says they are racist, then they have all these defenses to that. Being 1/12th Cherokee is one such defense. Another one is, they were born in this country so that makes them native American. I could keep going all day, but this one here makes me the maddest: You people came over the land bridge from Asia so you are immigrants too. And those people threw out the ones who were already here. Um, no, what about us being the ones who were already here. You can't win with these folks, they have god on their side, courtesy of the Popes of the 15th Century. This privilege is supported and spread to this day courtesy of our schools starting out with the really young kids. Sit Indian, make construction paper headbands and feathers, don't act like wild Indians.

Ugh, that awful woman, just that smug look on her face makes me so mad! Rant over for now.

[Jimaz]

... I could keep going all day, but this one here makes me the maddest: You people came over the land bridge from Asia so you are immigrants too. And those people threw out the ones who were already here. Um, no, what about us being the ones who were already here....

Not to stoke your anger, but could you elaborate on this?

The reason I ask is that, by coincidence, I recently saw a video making this claim. If I recall correctly, they claimed 7,000-9,000-year-old [[pre-ice-free-land-bridge) skeletal remains in Brazil? or Tierra del Fuego? that could be traced back to Kimberley [[Western Australia).

I think ultimately the question of who arrived first in this hemisphere sidesteps the more important question of who was the ancestor we all have in common. This ancestor would be Mitochondrial Eve from the African continent.

Maybe I can find that video.

[gazhekwe]

Sorry, but I have been putting up with this BS for the better part of six decades, you might say I am up to /here with it. But the common ancestry theories are heating up again in the face of new analyses discounting the Land Bridge theory. Evidence of much older habitations are being uncovered more and more these days.

One cannot wonder about the absence of pre-ice age sites in the northern hemisphere, can one, when of course glaciation covered much of what was there before. There is evidence of people coming from different locations across the Pacific, and from Africa. It is our own age's ethnocentrism and blind superiority that makes such things unlikely and leads to the narrow thinking and of course the alien theories. Those dumb savages could never have figured out how to get over here and build all those advanced civilizations. Someone white or alien had to help them. And of course they needed a bridge to walk across.

I believe you may be thinking of Luzia, dating back nearly 12,000 years, found in a cave in Brazil, and said to have Australian features. She has been known since the late 70s. Recently another young woman, Naia, was found underwater in Mexico, dating back 13,000 years. I believe the findings were reported this past spring. She exhibited characteristic consistent with the northern people who are said to have descended from the migrants across a land bridge.

[Jimaz]

... I believe you may be thinking of Luzia, dating back nearly 12,000 years, found in a cave in Brazil, and said to have Australian features. She has been known since the late 70s....

Yes, I found that BBC video: First Americans were Black Aborigines. It's 49 minutes long. Fascinating.

At 21:20 my translation of the Aussie accent is "High prow" and "Ocean-going."

Respect.

[gazhekwe]

SAT SEP 27, 2014 AT 10:34 AM PDT

Washington football fans freak out when confronted by actual live Native Americans

by Frank Vyan Walton

On Thursday night The Daily Show did another little live real world comedy/reality bit contrasting and comparing a set of pro-Washington football fans with a set of actual real live, breathing, and not exactly happy with their team's name Native Americans.Things did not go exactly as planned.

...

Basically the setup of the piece was that The Daily Show created two panels, and each would have a chance to make their case about the name. While talking to the team fans Jason Jones asked them:

"Would you say all of this stuff directly to a Native American?”

Of course, they expected the answer would be "Yes" and then the other panel would enter looking scornful. What happened next is only shown quickly and without audio in the final cut, but based on reports from the Washington Post, all hell busted loose.

Strangely, this Washington Post story, as well as others from Huffington Post, Time, Gawker, Uproxx, Buzzfeed and CBS which all reported on the claims by the team fans who complained of being "misled," "threatened," and "ambushed" during the filming of the segment never bothered to actually talk to all the Native Americans who were there and get their full perspective. So one of them documented the rest of what happened in the Missoula Independent where it was revealed that several Native Americans on the following day were threatened, bullied and intimated by Washington fans who told them during their tailgate that "I'll fucking cut you," "Go the Fuck Home" [Which would be America, right?] and "Thanks for letting us use your name!" [[When it's not their name, and they really aren't letting anyone do anything with it. Quite the opposite.)

So in the end just who was truly "intimidating" and "threatening" to whom?

But first let's let the mostly white people have their say about how they felt, which according to WaPo was that they were promised there wouldn't be a "confrontation" with Native Americans in the piece, and after there was the fans had an attorney contact The Daily Show producers to have the consent forms they had previously signed rescinded.

“As those agreements were procured under false pretenses, they are NULL AND VOID,” Petersen wrote to Polidoro. “The purpose of this letter is to inform you that my clients DO NOT CONSENT to the use of their image or any of their statements by The Daily Show, either for a show about the Washington Redskins or any other subject.”

It's interesting to me that they had to promise this to them. It's interesting that they were—before even going on air—actually afraid of Native Americans and what they might have to really say about what the name means to their face.

“They told us they were going to have a fan panel, and, at some other time, they were going to do a panel with Native Americans,” said Dortch, 38. “So I said back, ‘Just to clarify, specifically, we’re not doing a cross-panel discussion right?’ The producer said, ‘Yeah, right. That would be too serious for Comedy Central.’ ”

So there's your "promise" right there. The producer deflected the question with sarcasm because if he didn't it would blow the entire "surprise" portion of the planned piece. Too serious? Anyone recall that the Chappelle Show used to be on Comedy Central too?And they had reason to be concerned.

Especially when that confrontation did occur—they were outnumbered by 8 to 4. For a moment, and only just a moment noting that one of the pro-team panel was also Black, they found out what it was really like to be in the minority and to face a hostile majority that really doesn't see things they way that you do.

They really, really weren't ready for that. Not even.

...

So what did the Native Americans actually say that made Ms. O'Dell so upset? Well, this.

“I said to them, ‘You sound like an alcoholic, someone who’s in denial and who doesn’t want to believe what they’re doing is not right,’ ” recalled Blackhorse, who said the interaction with fans left her feeling “dehumanized.” “They don’t see anything wrong with it. .. . . That’s what the owner [Dan Snyder] is feeding their fans.”

O’Dell said she felt trapped. “I was told that I was ‘psychologically damaging Native American children,’ and every time we tried to say something, we got cut off,” she said.

Well, considering the fact that [[as far as many Native Americans are concerned) the word "Redskins" was actually a term that came into being [[to be used in America) when the King of England began to require the sheared off skin of dead Native Americans as proof before payment on a bounty for murdering them, per Phips Proclamation of 1755. Yeah, I would say that might be a bit scarring to Native American children who just might come into contact with regular use of the term.Here's a little more insight:

Dear Editor;
It was brought to my attention that some were asking if the term "redskin" was really offensive to Indians and that they would like to hear from us on this subject. Well, here you are...I am Blackfoot, Cherokee and Choctaw...and yes, the term is extremely offensive to me. Let me explain why. Back not so long ago, when there was a bounty on the heads of the Indian people...the trappers would bring in Indian scalps along with the other skins that they had managed to trap or shoot. These scalps brought varying prices as did the skins of the animals. The trappers would tell the trading post owner or whoever it was that he was dealing with, that he had 2 bearskins, a couple of beaver skins...and a few scalps. Well, the term "scalp" offended the good Christian women of the community and they asked that another term be found to describe these things. So, the trappers and hunters began using the term "redskin"...they would tell the owner that they had bearskin, deer skins....and "redskins." The term came from the bloody mess that one saw when looking at the scalp...thus the term "red"...skin because it was the "skin" of an "animal" just like the others that they had...so, it became "redskins". So, you see when we see or hear that term...we don't see a football team...we don't see a game being played...we don't see any "honor"...we see the bloody pieces of scalps that were hacked off of our men, women and even our children...we hear the screams as our people were killed...and "skinned" just like animals. So, yes, Mr./Ms. Editor...you can safely say that the term is considered extremely offensive.In Struggle,
Tina Holder
Mesa, Az.

If you didn't know that and this was your very first time hearing it, ever, particularly from Native Americans standing right in front of you, it could be a bit upsetting. A person might think you were then endorsing the taking of Native-American scalps, just like the hunting and trapping of an animal like a beaver, a deer, or a bear. They might think you're making light of centuries worth of murder.Because, well, indirectly, you are.

O'Dell was so upset by the encounter that she actually called the police on the Native-American panel, albiet two days later. Police correctly told her, "there is no crime here."

Some of the other pro-team panelists argued that they were essentially outgunned. One of the members of the Native-American panel was Amanda Blackhorse, a primary plaintiff in the case that caused the U.S. Patent and Trademark office to cancel the Washington team's trademark registration for their mascot logo because it's "offensive."

“Going up against Amanda Blackhorse? It’s like playing football and they’re going to have RGIII,” Hawkins said, referring to injured Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III. “I am just an average fan. These are activists who have media training and talking points.

Yeah, imagine going up against a superior force with better preparation and [[rhetorical, factual) weapons on hand. It's just so unfair, isn't it? Nothing that Native Americans have ever experienced, I'm certain.But actually the fans weren't all total amateurs in the discussion field. Ms O'Dell is a former schoolteacher, used to be a sales director for FedEx Field [[the Washington team's current stadium) and writes an NFL blog. One of other fans shown in the piece is Brian Dortch, who runs a home repair business and also a Redskins blog.

But here's the thing, all four of them said that if they'd known there was going to be a debate between two opposing panels, they would have done the show anyway.

All four fans said they still would have gone on the show if the producers had told them in advance that there would be a debate. But they felt misled and exploited because they weren’t told.

Boy, doesn't it suck when people are inconsiderate of your feelings? Doesn't it burn when they just sort of deliberately embarrass you and just don't care about how this affects you? I mean, just consider how bad you'd feel if someone was regularly exploiting your imagery and historywhile misleading everyone about it to the tune of millions in profit every Sunday night in the fall? And on Monday. And on Thursday nights on CBS."Tell me what you got for me?"

And which is it? Would they have gone into the debate willingly or wouldn't they? Would they have backed down if they knew they'd be facing off with Amanda Blackhorse and a set of comedians from the group the 1491s or not?

We've got multiple articles about how the pro-team fans felt "threatened" and "ambushed" and "outgunned," but things actually didn't end there for three members of the Native-American panel who—following a specific invitation made by one of the Washington fans during their panel to "come on down to one of the games and meet them"—continued the next day to the Washington tailgate party with the admittedly naive hope that they might have a chance to show some of the fans their "humanity" and perhaps "change a few minds" here and there, as described in the Missoula News by 1491s member Migizi Pensoneau. ....

Did [O'Dell] know she was wrong? Or was she just afraid that being on TV and being shown how wrong she was would be a threat to her own blog's legitimacy? "I am going to be defamed." No, you were being held accountable for your mistaken belief this bigoted nickname had no impact or affect on Native Americans.The fact is the term "Redskins" is what's defamatory here. It's reducing the life of a human to nothing more than an animal, a pelt, a scalp, a trophy, currency in an exchange. That's what the word means.

Yes, how dare they make her feel responsible for participating in a process that hurts the feelings and sense of self-worth of Native American children? Why that's "defamation!" she says.

No, it's just true.

But then when those same Native Americans, in lesser numbers and now vastly outnumbered by Washington fans attempted to openly meet with and make their case, they get "I'll fucking cut you—for wearing a joke "Caucasians" T-shirt. They get "Go the Fuck Home" and "Thanks for giving us your name."

Here we see two perfect examples of Ignorant Entitlement in action. One where the entitlement is challenged with better facts, better arguments, and also better numbers and just like Custer, is decimated. They lose. Then comes the crying, the ruminations, the "No Fair, No Fair—you've got informed people on your side," and then out comes the police, and then of course up to the lawyers to rebalance the scales. Reinflate the entitlement to its former stature.

Me thinks someone doth protest far too much for having been whomped in a comedy show "debate."

In the second case here we see unabashed entitlement in its natural habitat, where it has the upper hand and open mocking, jeering, bullying and threatening of one small group of people—because of who they are—goes on without any hint of remorse or restraint. In both cases, when threatened the entitled attack, either like a cornered animal or swarm when they see the wounded or vulnerable within their reach, particularly when challenged with that oh-so-painful of weapons: truth.
Then again, it was a football tailgate party so that perhaps reasoned debate is probably far too much to hope for by anyone who challenges the prevailing view.

In the end one portion of the segment that did make it on air pretty much sums this "cultural sensitivity" issue up. And that is the fact that people insist on claiming it's a "cultural sensitivity" problem because they just can't bring themselves to call it what it really is.

Racism.

Did someone say we didn't have that in American anymore? Guess again.


ORIGINALLY POSTED TO VYAN ON SAT SEP 27, 2014 AT 10:34 AM PDT.


http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/0...s?detail=email

[gazhekwe]

This time it is Congress and the President passing and signing the Gun Lake Trust Land Reaffirmation Act last month.

Gun Lake, Matchebenashewish [[Giant Bird) band of Potawatomi Indians opened a casino in Wayland Township, and a nearby landowner sued, claiming that the land trust for the casino was unlawful because the tribe was not recognized during the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934. The tribe gained recognition in 1998. The Supreme Court upheld his right to sue in 2012. The US and the tribe contend that the owner lacks standing to sue being barred by the Federal Quiet Title Act. There was a hearing on the case last month.

The passage and signing of the bill ends this challenge, and the latest examples of white w[[h)ines, 'There go the property values,' and 'we want a casino too.'

[Pam]

The John Oliver show looks at Columbus Day:

http://youtu.be/0rvz_aTY0NE

[Jimaz]

The John Oliver show looks at Columbus Day:

http://youtu.be/0rvz_aTY0NE

Okay, that led me to Last Week Tonight - Ayn Rand.

[Ayn Rand born in Saint Petersburg, Russia, arrived in New York City on February 19, 1926, audible:] I do not think that [Native Americans] have any right to live in a country merely because they were born here and acted and lived like savages.

Now I can't stop laughing at Ayn Rand and her followers.

John Oliver is my newest hero.

[gazhekwe]

The best thing I've seen about today is this post:

I assume Columbus Day Sale means we can go into the store and take anything we want.

Right?

Meantime, here is a local ceremony to honor our day:

[gazhekwe]

Follow along the great path, see where the People stopped, imagine the impact of their travels on those who lived along their route. Notice how the choices of the light skinned ones have driven the path we all walked.

We are now in the seething time of the Seventh Fire. What will be our path into the future, Life, or Death?



Seven Fires Prophecy of the Anishinabe
Seven prophets came to Anishinabe. They came at a time when the people were living a full and peaceful life on the North Eastern coast of North America. These prophets left the people with seven predictions of what the future would bring. Each of the prophecies was called a fire and each fire referred to a particular era of time that would come in the future. Thus, the teachings of the seven prophets are now called the "Seven Fires".

The first prophet said to the people, "In the time of the First Fire, the Anishinabe nation will rise up and follow the sacred shell [Miigis] of the Midewiwin Lodge. The Midewiwin Lodge will serve as a rallying point for the people and its traditional ways will be the source of much strength. The Sacred Megis will lead the way to the chosen ground of the Anishinabe. You are to look for a turtle shaped island that is linked to the purification of the earth. You will find such an island at the beginning and at the end of your journey. There will be seven stopping places along the way. You will know the chosen ground has been reached when you come to a land where food grows on water. If you do not move you will be destroyed."

The second prophet told the people, "You will know the Second Fire because at this time the nation will be camped by a large body of water. In this time the direction of the Sacred Shell will be lost. The Midewiwin will diminish in strength, a boy will be born to point the way back to the traditional ways. He will show the direction to the stepping stones to the future of the Anishinabe people.

The third prophet said to the people. "In the Third Fire, the Anishinabe will find the path to their chosen ground, a land in the west to which they must move their families. This will be the land where food grows on water.

The Fourth Fire was originally given to the people by two prophets. They come as one. They told of the coming of the Light Skinned race.

One of the prophets said, "You will know the future of our people by the face the Light Skinned race wears. If they come wearing the face of brotherhood then there will come a time of wonderful change for generations to come. They will bring new knowledge and articles that can be joined with the knowledge of this country, in this way, two nations will join to make a mighty nation. This new nation will be joined by two more so that four nations will form the mightiest nation of all. You will know the face of the brotherhood if the light skinned race comes carrying no weapons. If they come bearing only their knowledge and a hand shake."

The other prophet said," Beware if the Light Skinned race comes wearing the face of death. You must be careful because the face of brotherhood and the face of death look very much alike. If they come carrying a weapon...beware. If they come in suffering... They could fool you. Their hearts may be filled with greed for the riches of this land. If they are indeed your brothers, let them prove it. Do not accept them in total trust. You shall know that the face they wear is one of death if the rivers run with poison and the fish become unfit to eat. You shall know them by these many things.

The Fifth Prophet said, "In the time of the Fifth Fire there will come a time of great struggle that will grip the lives of all Native people. At the warning of this Fire there will come among the people one who holds a promise of great joy and salvation. If the people accept this promise of a new way and abandon the old teachings, then the struggle of the Fifth Fire will be with the people for many generations. The promise that comes will prove to be a false promise. All those who accept this promise will cause the near destruction of the people."

The prophet of the Sixth Fire said, "In the time of the Sixth Fire it will be evident that the promise of the Fifth Fire came in a false way. Those deceived by this promise will take their children away from the teachings of the ELDERS, grandsons and grand-daugthers will turn against the ELDERS. In this way, the ELDERS will lose their reason for living... they will lose their purpose in life. At this time a new sickness will come among the people. The balance of many people will be disturbed. The cup of life will almost be spilled. The cup of life will almost become the cup of grief."

At the time of these predictions, many people scoffed at the prophets. They then had medicines to keep away sickness. They were then healthy and happy as a people. These were the people who chose to stay behind in the great migration of the Anishinabe. These people were the first to have contact with the Light Skinned race. They would suffer the most.

When the Fifth Fire came to pass, a great struggle did indeed grip the lives of all Native people. The Light Skinned race launched a military attack on the Indian people through-out the country aimed at taking away their land and their independence as a free and sovereign people. It is now felt that the false promise that came at the end of the Fifth Fire was the materials and riches embodied in the way of life of the light skinned race. Those who abandoned the ancient ways and accepted this new promise were a big factor in causing the near destruction of the Native people of this land.

When the Sixth Fire came to be, the words of the prophet rang true as the children were taken away from the teachings of the ELDERS. The boarding school era of "civilizing" Indian Children had begun. The Indian language and religion were taken from the children. The people started dying at an early age... they had lost their will to live and their purpose in living.

In the confusing times of the Sixth Fire, it is said that a group of visionaries came among the Anishinabe. They gathered all the priests of the Midewiwin Lodge. They told the priests that the Midewiwin Way was in danger of being destroyed. They gathered all the sacred bundles. They gathered all the scrolls that recorded the ceremonies. All these things were placed in a hollowed out log from the ironwood tree. Men were lowered over a cliff by long ropes. They dug a hole in the cliff and buried the log where no one could find it. Thus the teachings of the ELDERS were hidden out of sight but not out of memory. It was said that when the time came that the Indian people could practice their religion without fear that a little boy would dream where the Ironwood log, full of the Sacred Bundles and Scrolls were buried. He would lead his people to the place.

The Seventh Prophet that came to the people long ago was said to be different from the other prophets. He was young and had a strange light in his eyes. He said, " In the time of the Seventh Fire, New People will emerge. They will retrace their steps to find what was left by the trail. Their steps will take them to the ELDERS who they will ask to guide them on their journey. But many of the ELDERS will have fallen asleep. They will awaken to this new time with nothing to offer. Some of the ELDERS will be silent out of fear. Some of the ELDERS will be silent because no one will ask anything of them. The New People will have to be careful in how they approach the ELDERS. The task of the New People will not be easy.

If the New People will remain strong in their Quest, the Water Drum of the Midewiwin Lodge will again sound its voice. There will be a Rebirth of the Anishinabe Nation and a rekindling of old flames. The Sacred Fire will again be lit.

It is at this time that the Human Race will be given a choice between two roads. If they choose the right road, then the Seventh Fire will light the Eighth and final Fire, an eternal Fire of peace, love, brotherhood and sisterhood. If the light skinned race makes the wrong choice of roads, the destruction which they brought with them in coming to this country will come back at them and cause much suffering and death to all the Earth's people.

[gazhekwe]

'The Country of the English People' Map by Ottoman Empire, 1803
Reading a Map to Cure Historical Amnesia
Steve Russell, 10/20/14, Indian Country Today

I have a map to show you, a map that illustrates many different faces of what the world has come to call imperialism, the drive to empire, that has peopled the Americas with descendants of those who came, saw, and conquered [[with a major assist from the inability of indigenous people to stand against foreign diseases). The original of this map lives in the Osher Map Library at the University of Southern Maine.

I am indebted to Nick Danforth’s English translations, since I read neither Turkish nor Arabic script. Danforth is a Georgetown University graduate student in Turkish history who maintains acartography blogthat you don’t have to be a map fan to love. Danforth’s writing is engaging and generally first rate—proof that he has not yet finished his Ph.D. dissertation and learned the ways of boring prose.

This map comes from the Ottoman Empire in 1803. The Ottomans had reached their zenith at the end of the 17th century and in 1803 could hardly perceive the beginnings over 200 years of decline that would end with their defeat in World War I, when Mustafa Kemal Atatürk founded the Turkish Republic from what remained.

The European expansion was running full steam in 1803, and the United States of America was called, on this map, “The Country of the English People.” This phrase could have been coined and certainly would be understood by any number of Indian nations that had become accustomed to playing off the English against the French or the Spanish or any minor colonial power that made itself available. The rise of the United States only made a new source of colonial threat over time, and the U.S. time had barely begun. In 1803, the colonists still understood that they were colonists and that independence on a “new” continent was uncharted territory in more ways than one.

The Western border is not exactly a crisp line because of the Doctrine of Christian Discovery. The Western border of the U.S. would have been understood by the Ottomans to end where the Mississippi watershed began, and it was not easy from the other side of the world to tell which way the water flowed like you could if you lived on the ground. Charters for the original 13 colonies made vague and overlapping claims that got less tenable with distance from the Atlantic.

There had been decades of controversy over the nationality of the first European toes to dip in the Mississippi River and utter the magic words to place the entire watershed under Spanish or French sovereignty. There was no controversy over the process—except from the people who lived in the watershed—but over whether the Spanish or the French had perfected title by Christian Discovery.

The Ottoman map does make note that there were nations in addition to the colonial nations. The map describes territory as “Government of the Six Indian Nations” and divides the Great Sioux Nation into Eastern [[Siyu-yu Şarkî) and Western [[Siyu-yu Garbî). It’s not clear whether the cartographer understood “Algonquin” as a language group or how much territory Algonquin speaking peoples roamed. The Chippewa are noted separately, and they are Algonquin speakers.

The Pawnee are divided into the Black [[Kara Panis) and White [[Ak Panis).Perhaps ICTMN readers can shed light on what this means? The Arikara were sometimes called “Black Pawnees,” but it’s unclear who the “White Pawnees” were and how the distinction got on a map drawn at such a distance. Whether the details were understood correctly or not, the map appears to support that the existence of indigenous people with governments was common knowledge in 1803.

Since this map dates almost a generation before the First Seminole War, the line between the U.S. and Spanish Florida was so vague as to be unknowable. The U.S. and Spain had conflicting claims and the Seminoles recognized neither but were happy to deal with whichever nation would sell them arms and otherwise not molest them.

What was to become the longest un-militarized border between two nations in the world, U.S.-Canada, took a long time to settle because the parties knew too little of the land they were dividing. The Six Nations, having taken the British side in the American Revolution, were subjected to British treachery when the borders were drawn in Paris with no mention of the Indian nations affected. When it became obvious that the words of the Paris Treaty did not match the geography, the Jay Treaty established an International Boundary Commission in 1794 that remains to this day. It still had much work to do in 1803.

The supreme irony of the Ottoman map is the date, 1803, which is also the date of a transaction known in the U.S. as the Louisiana Purchase, a transaction certainly known by President Jefferson to exceed his authority. Robert Livingston and James Monroe were sent to Paris authorized to pay up to copy0 million for the strategic port of New Orleans, located at the mouth of the Mississippi River and thought correctly to be the key to dominating the North American continent. Napoleon offered all of Louisiana Territory for copy5 million.

Without authority in the terms of their appointment, Livingston and Monroe accepted. Without constitutional authority, the “strict constructionist” Jefferson went along. What was bought in the Louisiana Purchase was the first right to purchase the land—as among Christian nations—from the aboriginal occupants, should the occupants choose to sell. This detail is overlooked in most K-12 histories. Schoolchildren are told the “price” of Louisiana Territory was four cents an acre, which is only funny if you don’t know it was the price of an option to buy rather than the price of the land.

The Indian nations shown on this map as free and independent were about to face the determination of the English colonists that would be styled after the Texas Annexation “manifest destiny” to span the continent.

Turkey, the seat of the Ottoman Empire, would go on to be among a tiny number of nations in Asia and Africa that did not get colonized from Europe, but the empire itself would be carved up among imperial powers like a bird of the same name. The Ottoman Empire acquired the sobriquet “Sick Man of Europe” as it was sliced and divided.

Russia took Bulgaria and Romania. Britain took Cyprus and Egypt. Austria took Bosnia. Then Britain and France carved up the remaining Arab territories between them, drawing lines that cause wars to this day among the indigenous tribal peoples.

When Atatürk beat the Allied armies of WWI to keep Turkey on the map and establish a republic, the Ottoman Empire had been under assault for longer than the United States had existed.

The Indian nations on the Ottoman map, along with many others, were able to survive as long as they could make alliances of convenience among the colonial powers. When the U.S. succeeded in ejecting the European imperialists, they could then turn all their military might on subduing the free and independent Indian nations and absorbing them into the empire that forgot it was an empire. Most of the colonists that created the empire came across the Atlantic, and by the time their descendants reached the Pacific, they had forgotten that they had been colonists and that they hated empires.

Read more at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwor...amnesia-157426

[gazhekwe]

"They're real good people, very loving, a big part of the community," he said. "Jaylen was one of our good kids. It's just a shock this happened. I've known this boy since he was a baby. It's just devastating."

Read more at http://www.wral.com/shooting-reporte...hj581s4Ammi.99



What could have gone so wrong so quickly for this boy, that he would shoot to kill his own friends and relatives so deliberately?

Update on the wounded, 10-25-14:

An update on the four wounded youth
Two girls, Shaylee Chucklenaskit and Gia Soriano remain in critical condition with head wounds at Providence Hospital.
Andrew Fryberg remains in critical care with a head wound at Harborview, while Nate Hatch, who suffered injuries to his jaw, remains in stable but critical condition also at Harborview. [These were Jaylen's cousins]
Please send your prayers to all the families, who wish to retain their privacy at this time.

[gazhekwe]

Harvesting the Manoomin [[wild rice)

http://theways.org/story/manoomin

Our relationship to everything in nature, if you live in nature, you have a feeling for everything out there. The trees, the water, the marsh, lakes, those things all have what they call spirits, to me, all the things on the earth.

To use everything you need, you have to look at it as a spiritual harvesting tool. You’re not only taking the plant or something on earth, you’re taking part of the spirit with it and those are important parts to remember when we're harvesting, that's how we have things come back to us all the time by respecting it, and respecting the spirits behind it, not so much is worshipping the spirit you know, but being side by side with the trees, or the plants, or the animals their spirits, and we're all worshipping the great spirit.

They give us all life here, so we respect the other plants, or the fish, or the deer, rice, in a spiritual way, because we believe also what you consume they’re giving their spirit too in our bodies to help us along, because there's a real strong spiritual tie between everything on the land and the people here. When they [[human beings) have a tendency of separating themselves from the earth, they think we're separate, but we're really part of the earth. You can just walk on it. You have that luxury.

When our time comes to leave this earth, we go back, our spirits go on, and our body goes back to the earth. So you’re never apart from mother earth. That's how I feel about it. Everything on earth, you’re equal to, and we're all under the power of the spirit, the Great Spirit.

One thing about the resources I had to learn was, only take enough of what you need for your own need, your own use. If you take anymore, if you’re lucky and get more than what you need, you’re suppose to give that to other people. Share throughout the year. That way, you respect everything and always the thought of only take what you need. When you do that, then you’re respecting everything on earth. Your life is a lot better that way, I believe, by doing that.

More here:

http://theways.org/story/manoomin

[gazhekwe]

Pro Football Shocker: Indian Team Beat World Champion New York Giants in 1927

Wilhelm Murg 10/22/14

Celia Xavier has produced and directed a new documentary, Playground of The Native Son, about the Hominy Indians, the Oklahoma-based professional football team [[1925-1936), made up of Native Americans, who defeated the World Champion New York Giants in 1927. Xavier is currently exhibiting the film around the country; the next showing will be November 20th at Lincoln Center in New York City, but ultimately it will be released on DVD in time for the holiday season. Plans for a feature film [[with the working title "War Paint") based on the real life events of the team are also in the works.

Xavier was working on her earlier film, Osage Tribal Murders [[2012), when she was given the only known black and white footage of the Hominy Indians in action, and some photographs of the players. She jokingly refers to Playground of the Native Son as a 3 minute story that she expanded to 54 minutes.

“I felt the story was incredible and nobody knew about it; it had to be told,” Xavier said. “I had no money and there was no story. There really wasn’t anything available, so I had to go out and get funding and grants and I did more research, and found there wasn’t that much information on it. We had to go out and find the people who had information and sometimes I couldn’t find those people, or they weren’t available.”

The film, which is narrated by Adam Beach, focuses on the details that brought the team together, mainly the oil boom on the Osage Nation, which is where the funding came from, and it is filled with recollections and stories passed down about the players and the team from their decedents, along with historical analysis, reenactments, and the photographs and documents that have survived. Unfortunately there was no documentation of the game with the Giants, which was played the day after Christmas in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, except for the statistics.

Including the most important stat, the score: Hominy Indians 13, New York Giants 6.

The 1925 Hominy Indians, left to right: John Levi, Louis Willard, Otto Hamilton, Dave Pitts, Jon Young, Johnnie Martin, Pete Lazelle, Jim McLaughlin, George Kipp, Paul Bear Tracks, Firpo McGilpra, Buck Harding, Alvro Casey, Herb Spencer, George Nix, Bill Shadlow, Ira Hamilton, Harry Brown. Source: indieinfilms.com

“Our original intention was to shoot the reenactments and then degrade it to look like old football footage, but when we saw how gorgeous it looked, we couldn’t do that,” Xavier said. “That was the big challenge: how do you mix all this media together without it jarring the senses?”

Mark Carpowich brought up the film in his blog on The Huffington Post in reference to the name controversy plaguing Dan Snyder’s Washington Redskins. “A large-scale celebration of Native Americans' place in the history of the NFL would be the perfect time for Snyder to re-brand his team,” Carpowich wrote.

Still from 'Playground of the Native Son.' Source: indieinfilms.com

“The Hominy Indians had a bunch of different names, and one of their names was the ‘Osage Redskins,’” Xavier said. “I left that out because times have changed and we’re in a different place with this. The Huffington Post did a nice article about Redskins and getting it to Mr. Snyder. We have sent the film to the Snyder group, but we haven’t heard anything back. I’m more about a peaceful revolution; I make films and let people make their own decisions, I’m not telling people what to do. He’s definitely invited to come and see this film.”

For more information onPlayground of the Native Son, including news of screenings and the DVD release, visit the Hominy Indians Facebook Page.

Trailer:
<span style="color: rgb[[34, 34, 34); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">

Read more at: http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2014/10/22/1927-indian-team-played-champion-new-york-football-giants-and-won-157473

[gazhekwe]

Published: Saturday, October 25, 2014, 8:30 p.m.

School shooter raised in Tulalip traditions; his actions defy explanation

• 
  Courtesy photo
  Jaylen Fryberg performs in his dance regalia during the Paddle to Squaxin Island in August 2012.
• 
• Jaylen Fryberg in a photo posted to his Facebook page.

Herald writer Andrew Gobin is a member of the Tulalip Tribes and grew up on the reservation.

---

TULALIP — What do you say about a young man whose actions forever changed the lives of so many? You can seek rhyme and reason, you can analyze his troubles, you can gaze into the abyss of disbelief.

This is not about gun control, this is not about how a community failed a young man, and it's not about using his troubles to solve everyone's problems.

Strangers are telling Jaylen Fryberg's story. Strangers who never met him.

What do you say about a boy? You say who he was.

Jaylen Fryberg came from a large, influential family on the Tulalip Indian Reservation. His grandfather, Ray Fryberg Sr., sat on the tribal council and is the director of Cultural and Natural Resources for the tribes. His grandmother, Sheryl Fryberg, was an executive with the tribes for many years, most recently the general manager of tribal government operations. His father, Ray Fryberg Jr., also works in Natural Resources for the tribes. His mother, Wendy Fryberg, a former Marysville School Board member, is deputy general manager for tribal government operations. He has two sisters, Tenika Fryberg and Mekyla Fryberg, and two brothers, Anthony Gobin and Julian Fryberg.

Jaylen was grounded in the traditions of the Snohomish people, his people, on the Tulalip Indian Reservation. He was a star wrestling and football athlete since he was young, competing with his cousins. He was an avid hunter and fisherman, from a place where rites of passage include those skills.

Jaylen came from a traditional family with a strong presence not only at Tulalip, but with tribes up and down the Pacific Northwest coast. He sang and drummed with the men of his family, learning to lead the group at a young age. His father and grandfather were dedicated to grooming Jaylen to be a strong leader, like so many of his elders.

His great-grandmother, Della Hill, was a strong spiritual leader in the Shaker faith throughout Northwest reservations. That was a path Jaylen and others in his family followed.

As he grew, Jaylen learned to revere traditional dances, earning his dance shirt and feather headdress. The shirt is embroidered across the chest and along the sleeves with small paddles hand-carved from cedar. The paddles clacked as he danced. The shirt and headdress were presented to him by tribal elders who chose him to be a lead dancer. Along with these came the responsibility to carry on tribal traditions. He wore the dance shirt and headdress often, at tribal ceremonies and the annual Canoe Journey, a summertime celebration of cultural heritage.

From the time Jaylen was 5 or 6, he was involved in sports. He wrestled on the tribe's team and played football on city and school teams, including this year as a freshman with the MPHS Tomahawks. His teammates, often cousins and friends, were closer to him than brothers. Jaylen always made time for them.

He learned to fish for salmon using gill nets with his father and grandfather. Many Tulalip families are fishing families.

Throughout the fall and winter, Jaylen was an avid hunter. He hunted deer and elk with his dad and brother, never failing to bring an animal home. He hunted for many reasons, including to feed families in their times of sorrow. Tulalip people find comfort and connection to each other in sharing traditional foods. At 14, Jaylen started high school at Marysville Pilchuck.

He seemed to have it all. He was in a long-term relationship with a great girl, was part of a strong family, pulled down good grades and was on the football team. High school can be stressful, but he seemed to be handling things well enough. The truth is, no one saw this coming. A few outbursts on social media, a few scuffles, normal freshman angst that came with normal consequences. After Friday's events, we are left with questions that may never be answered.

Jaylen got in a fight and was suspended from the football team just before a crucial game. Two of the boys he shot — Andrew Fryberg and Nate Hatch — were his cousins and also on the football team. Were they targeted because they would play in the championship game that night? We don't know.

He had separated from his girlfriend, and it is speculated that caused an argument. Contrary to many news reports, his girlfriend did not attend Marysville Pilchuck. She was not among those shot.

And there is talk of bullying. All six of the students involved were close. They grew up together. They competed together. They went to homecoming together only a week before.

Did they tease each other? Of course. That's what cousins are for.

We know Jaylen became troubled. Why is not clear.

What he did in that cafeteria was monstrous.

His uncle, John Dumonte, told TV reporters, though, that Jaylen wasn't a monster.

As someone who walked with him in this community, who knew him from the time he was small, I understand that sentiment.

Culture and tradition can fall away. Not for Jaylen. He was viewed as living hope for the tribes' future.

Now he is gone.

The shaken community on both sides of I-5 now must put the pieces together, to help each other learn how to heal from this, to understand why.

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/201...WS01/141029232