Paging Gazhekwe

[gazhekwe]

That BetterMade thread on the Detroit side got me thinking about these delectable treats and where they originated.

Many know the story of the wealthy patron of Moon's Lake House in Saratoga Springs, an upper New York resort town. It was in 1853, the story goes, and some say the wealthy fussbudget was Cornelius Vanderbilt. At any rate, Moon's had a specialty of Fried Potatoes, and the diner ordered these, eager for a treat. When they came, they just weren't crispy enough to suit him, so he sent them back. Nice try, still not crispy enough. Next try, the chef, working hard in the hot kitchen, decided to teach this guy a lesson. He shaved some potatoes super thin, patted them dry and threw them in the deep fryer. When he took them out, he salted them heavily. He served up a basket of golden treats the fussy diner loved. The table ordered another basket of the treats and raved so much that others began to order them too. And thus Moon's Lake House had a new specialty, Saratoga Chips.

What few know is that the rankled but inventive chef was George Speck Crum, a Mohawk man, who ran the kitchen there along with his sister Catherine Speck Wick.

There's a picture of George here, and some more of the story:

http://members.cox.net/jjschnebel/potchips.html

[gazhekwe]

Now that we are talking about snack food, yum! How about that popcorn? I am sure no one knows when some smart cookie discovered this snack, but I can see how it happened, frying up a nice dinner of corn, and maybe some of the kernels went *pop*! A new recipe! This recipe may be as old as 5000 years.

There was mention of this treat in Plymouth Colony for that first big three day harvest celebration. It seems sometime during the three days, the Pilgrims noticed the Indians were somewhat excited during the feast, and after everything was cleaned up, some of the men went into the woods. There was a spirit of fun about them, so no one was apprehensive. They came back with big baskets of popped corn to share. They were obviously very proud of their treat, and it was much enjoyed by everyone.

Even earlier, Cristobal Colombo noted that the Indians sold popcorn to his sailors. They also used it as jewelry, wearing popcorn corsages and ornaments on their headdresses.

Early French explorers in the Great Lakes noted the Iroquois popped corn in huge clay pots set over a fire.

There are ancient Great Lakes accounts of popcorn balls made with maple syrup. Doesn't that sound wonderful?

[gazhekwe]

These are just a few of the things our culture owes to the ones that were here already.

Sporting Goods!
Toboggan
Snowshoes
Canoe
Kayak
Rubber balls

Food!
Vanilla
Chocolate
Potatoes
Corn
Jerky
Potato chips and popcorn
Tomatoes
Domestic turkeys
Great Northern and Anasazi and other beans
Wild rice
There are more, at least 40% of the foods we eat have native origins.

Medicine!
Digitalis
Aspirin
Wintergreen
Witch Hazel
Nearly 300 Indian medicines are entered in the US Pharmacopeia.

Other things!
Chewing gum
Skids for log rolling
Reciprocating drill
Stone saw
Continuous motion spindle
Universal sign language

[gazhekwe]

There came a time when the handsome Ojibwe ex-Marine began to miss the woods and folks of home more and more. Coming back to Detroit that summer was so painful. His pretty French Canadian wife told him that, if he could get a good job and we could live in town, she would be willing to move up North so he could be near his family. The next summer, things came together, and we spent a lot of time purging possessions for the move. I gave away my beloved books and dolls to my friends. I still miss some of those books. I was just a little girl, but there was a spirit of adventure about all this that helped soothe the sting of impending change. And remember, I LOVED being up North! I never wanted to come home at all when we were up there. Came the day in early September, the truck was loaded and off we went, with me waving to my friends out the back window. They cried, I didn't. I was too excited. The Brightmoor Chapter was closed, and the UP chapter was waiting to be opened.

This kind of back and forth between "up home" and "work home" is common in the Michigan native experience. Many families went back and forth like this, between Detroit, Flint, Saginaw, Grand Rapids and Lansing and back the the Res, as the job markets fluctuated. My mother was insistent that we stay "in town" rather than out on the Res because she wanted us to get the best education possible. Urban herself, she had no faith in a rural school system.

We ended up moving to a part of Sault Ste. Marie known as the Shunk Road district. That was where the city's American Indian population lived. We didn't live right in the middle of the settlement, but out on its edge, sort of between the other part of the Soo and Shunk Road. Our church was Saint Isaac Jogues, an original Jesuit Indian Mission. The pastor was Father Paul Prud'homme, who came to the Soo to work at the mission not long after WWI. He was fluent in French and also spoke English and Anishinaabemowin. He was one of the few remaining speakers left in town at that time. We had opening and closing hymns, unlike other Catholic churches at the time, because Fr. Prud'homme said Indians love to sing together.

I attended Mass there last summer, and the current pastor, John Hascall, had incorporated many Anishinaabe customs in the service. The herbs in the censor were either sage, tobacco, cedar or sweetgrass, and we reached into the smoke to pour it over ourselves. We all turned to offer prayers to the Four Directions. There were prayers in Anishinaabemowin. There was still the same opening and closing hymns.

[gazhekwe]

There are many indications that the first Thanksgiving meal was focused on vegetables and grains, with meat served as a side dish. Native feasts are arranged in such a way that the meats are at the end, like dessert. The provider animal spirits are thanked for the sustenance and their sacrifices.

I was prospecting around the 'net for some authentic recipes and found this neat free download, Squanto's Garden, that talks about a view of food production and presentation from those times.

http://www.firstthanksgivinggarden.com/

I'll post some recipes next.

[gazhekwe]

The main dish was likely a cornmeal porridge with maybe some fruit and meats mixed in. There would be side dishes with corn, stewed pumpkins, root vegetables, fruits.

Here is one from Squanto's Garden for Stewed Pumpkin.

The Ancient New England standing dish.
But the Housewives manner is to slice them when ripe, and cut them into dice, and so fill a pot with them of two or three Gallons, and stew them upon a gentle fire a whole day, and as they sink, they fill again with fresh Pompions, not putting any liquor to them; and when it is stew’d enough, it will look like bak’d Apples; this they Dish, putting Butter to it, and a little Vinegar, [[with some Spice, such as Ginger.) which makes it tart like an Apple, and so serve it up to be eaten with Fish or Flesh.
John Josselyn, Two Voyages to New England

4 cups of cooked [[boiled, steamed or baked) squash, roughly mashed
3 tablespoons butter
2 to 3 teaspoons cider vinegar
1 or 2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
In a saucepan over medium heat, stir and heat all the ingredients together. Adjust seasonings to taste, and serve hot.

[gazhekwe]

This would likely have been the main dish at the feast. Remember, it was the Wampanoags who shared this feast with the Pilgrims.

Sobaheg made with Turkey, A Wampanoag Recipe

Wampanoag word for stew is Sobaheg. This stew makes use of the supplies they would have had on hand for the first Thanksgiving. It can be made today with, or without turkey.
1⁄2 pound dry beans [[white, red, brown, or spotted kidney-shaped beans)
1⁄2 pound yellow samp or coarse grits
1 pound turkey meat [[legs or breast, with bone and skin)
3 quarts cold water
1⁄4 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch lengths
1⁄2 pound winter squash, trimmed and cubed
1⁄2 cup raw sunflower seed meats, pounded to a coarse flour
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh or dried herbs such as thyme, rosemary, parsley or dill to taste

Combine dried beans, corn, turkey, and water in a large pot. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, turn down to a very low simmer, and cook for about 2 1⁄2 hours. Stir occasionally to be certain that the bottom is not sticking.

When dried beans are tender, but not mushy, break up turkey meat, removing skin and bones. Add green beans and squash, and simmer very gently until they are tender.
Add sunflower flour, stirring until thoroughly blended. Season to taste.

[gazhekwe]

Made from corn and beans, this is a nourishing dish that has been made by generations of Native People. In the old way, a woman soaked the corn and beans overnight in a kettle of water. The next day, she cooked green onions [[scallions) in a small amount of bear fat. The corn and beans were added, enough to feed a family [[there were no measuring cups in those days). Then a good amount of water was added and the pot was left to simmer over the open fire until it made a rich broth. Sometimes corn flour or crushed nuts were added to help thicken the broth. Chunks of meat could be added to give the dish more flavor.

Corn and beans are Native foods. Now you know that this dish began with Native People on this continent. Today it is popular all over America.

1 can yellow corn
1 can red kidney beans or lima beans, drained
1 medium white onion, or one cup scallions, chopped
3 Tablespoons oil
1 lb. Lean ground beef
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook onion in oil until lightly browned.
Add beef, stirring constantly until browned
Add corn, beans, salt and pepper to meat mixture.
Add enough water to cover and simmer on a low flame. If it starts to get dry, add a little more water. You can simmer the succotash for up to 30 minutes.

These recipes are from Squanto's Garden.

[gazhekwe]

When talking about sweet things, you have to remember that the concept of dessert, something sweet after meals, may not have been a part of the native thinking. Sweets were something special. Many of the sweet foods were fruit, without additional sweetening. Nowadays of course, our tastes have changed to the extent that we love sugar, probably too much. In the old days, additional sweetening was added by means of honey or maple sugar or syrup.

By fall, most of the berries are gone, but there are some that are dried and kept for year round use, like huckleberries, cranberries, blueberries, chokecherries.

A sweet food was prepared by the Wampanoag using dried huckleberries which the Pilgrims called currrants. The following account shows some of the problems trying to reproduce such recipes in today's kitchen.

Sautauthig
Sautaash are these currants [[hurtleberries - Attitaash) dried by the Natives and so preserved all the yeare, which they beat to a powder, and mingle with their parched meale, and make a delicate dish which they call Sautauthig which is as sweet to them as plum or spice cake to the English [[Williams 169)

My guess is that the ground currants mixed with the ground parched corn meal is made into a sort of spoon bread or pudding. Another way is to mix it into a dry dough and press it flat to dry for a day or so. Then cut it up and have some for a quick energy meal, which we know as Pemmican.

http://plymoutharch.tripod.com/id226.html

If you want a nice sweet dessert, though, here is a good one:

Quick Maple Upside-down Pudding, serves 4

1 cup maple syrup
2 tsp baking powder
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1/4 tsp salt
3 tablespoons brown [[or maple) sugar
1 cup sifted flour
1 egg
1/2 cup milk

Heat maple syrup to boiling and pour into bottom of buttered baking dish. Cream shortening, add sugar, cream together until fluffy. Sift flour, baking powder, salt, and add alternately with milk in small amounts beating well. Pour batter into hot syrup and bake in hot [[420°) oven for 25 minutes, turn upside-down onto serving plate, garnish with chopped nuts, whipped cream. Or serve like a puddling in bowls with nuts and plain cream to pour on it.

You will note the presence of baking powder and realize that, of course, we didn't have that back then. What did we do when we wanted leavening? At the edge of a hot fire, there will be a line of white ashes. A good finger scoop of those mixed in at the end of the mixing provides some leavening. Make sure you only get the white ones, and no dirt.

We wouldn't have had milk, either, but fine ground sweet corn meal with water can add the same kind of thickened texture. We also probably wouldn't have used the egg. The fat would have been bear fat. In the fall, bears are at their best, with lots of fat to put by to get a family through the winter.

[gazhekwe]

Ngizhemanidoom, sema ngiimiinagoo wiinamaayaanh nangwaa.

Gagwejimin wiizhiwendamaan maanda miijim miinawa zhiwenmishinaang nangwaa.

Miigwech ndinaanaanik gewe wesiinhak, okaanak, bineshiinhak, miinawa giigonhik, kinagwa gwayaa gaabigitnaamwat wiinwa bimaadiziwaan maanpii akiing niinwe wiimaadiziiyaang.

Miigwech ge ndikaadami netawging miinawa maanwaang gaamiizhiyaang wiimiijiyaang wiizongziiyaang nangwaa.

Miigwech ngizhemanidoom miigwech.


****************************

My creator. Tobacco was given to me to pray today.

I ask you in a good way to bless this food and to bless us today.

We say thank you to all those animals, wild and domestic, the birds and the fish. Everyone that gave up his or her lives here upon the earth, so that we can live.

We also say thank you for the vegetables and the fruits that you have given to us, so that we can have strength today.

Thank you, my creator, thank you.

[[Given by Kenny Pheasant)

[gazhekwe]

So, did anyone have foods on their table yesterday that were influenced by Native foods? We had some things, prepared by my son and his friend who set up a wonderful feast at our house.

Smoked turkey
Corn pudding
Green beans casserole
Stuffing with netaawging, lots of vegetables
Pumpkin pie

Some of the methods and presentation were modern, but the ingredients and the love were very traditional.

Miigwech, miigwech, miigwech.

[gazhekwe]

One thing we keep bumping into is terminology, how are we to be called? And why?

We have been collectively called American Indians for generations, because Columbus was lost. A 70s one liner goes, "I suppose we should be glad Columbus wasn't looking for Turkey."

In days leading up to the Pan-Indian movements of the 70s, tribalism came into sharper focus. Before that, we mostly all accepted the American Indian designation in the mainstream world, because most non-Indians had no great concept of the tribal nations and sovereignty. Since then, tribal sovereignty has become increasingly important and government to government relations have been shaped by recognition of this. You hear more and more tribal designations. Still, there is that collective designation...

In the 70s was born the term Native American, selected because it removed the confusing "Indian" and saluted the original status of the people on this continent. Most people born since then are more comfortable with that term, while people raised as American Indians remain more comfortable with that term.

In the mid-1990s, in preparation for Census 2000, the US began surveying the different ethnic and racial groups to determine which terminology each group preferred. The upshot was that the majority of American Indians, Native Americans, Alaskan Natives preferred the term American Indians, while Alaskan Natives held out for that term. The Official US designation was changed in 1997 to American Indian and Alaskan Natives. That is the term that appears on Federal forms including the Census.

Meantime, President Obama, like George HW Bush and Bill Clinton before him, has addressed the gathering of nations as "First Americans."
This has fostered a debate about whether this term is a good one to use.

On the one hand, it points out the primacy of the Indian people on this continent, but on the other, it relates them to America, which did not exist as a term until generations after white contact, settlement and genocide.

American Indians were not granted full citizenship as a group until 1924, so how could they be the first Americans? some say. Doesn't using that terminology seem to cover up the generations of difficulties with the American government faced by American Indians throughout conquest and even up to today?

I happen to prefer the designation used in Canada, First Nations, because it refers right back to the different nations that made up this continent. When one goes to Canada, one is 'Native' or First Nations.

[gazhekwe]

Christian church, Native American tribe reconcile
By VERENA DOBNIK [[AP) – ‎Nov 27, 2009‎

NEW YORK — Members of one of America's oldest Protestant churches officially apologized Friday — for the first time — for massacring and displacing Native Americans 400 years ago.
"We consumed your resources, dehumanized your people and disregarded your culture, along with your dreams, hopes and great love for this land," the Rev. Robert Chase told descendants from both sides. "With pain, we the Collegiate Church, remember our part in these events."
The minister spoke on Native American Heritage Day at a reconciliation ceremony of the Lenape tribe with the Collegiate Church, started in 1628 in then-New Amsterdam as the Reformed Dutch Church.

The rite was held in front of the Museum of the American Indian in lower Manhattan, where Dutch colonizers had built their fort near an Indian trail now called Broadway, just steps away from Wall Street.

The Collegiate Church was considered the "conscience" of the new colony, whose merchants quickly developed commerce with the world in fur and grains — till then the turf of the natives.
Surrounded by Lenape Indians, the Dutch colonists "were hacking men, women and children to death," said Ronald Holloway, the chairman of the Sand Hill band of Lenapes, who lived here before Henry Hudson landed 400 years ago.

The Indians dispersed across the country, eventually ending up on government-formed reservations. On Friday, some came from as far away as Oklahoma.

During the ceremony, Chase embraced Holloway and, as symbolic gestures of healing, the two sides exchanged wampum — strings of beads used by North American Indians as money or ornament. A boy representing the Lenapes and a girl from the Collegiate Church put necklaces on each other.

While Friday's ceremony exuded warmth and openness, accompanied by an Indian drumming circle and the haunting sound of a wooden flute, the feelings leading up to the reconciliation were mixed.

"After 400 years, when someone says 'I'm sorry,' you say, 'Really?' " Holloway said before the ritual. "There was some kind of uneasiness. But then you've got to accept someone's sincere apology; they said, 'We did it.' We ran you off, we killed you.' "

In New York City, the Collegiate churches are composed of four congregations including the landmark Marble Collegiate Church on Fifth Avenue led by the late Rev. Norman Vincent Peale.
The church plans to sponsor educational activities and exhibits to teach children history — including the Indian reverence for preserving the purity of the land taken over by the Dutch colonists.

[eriedearie]

One thing we keep bumping into is terminology, how are we to be called? And why?

We have been collectively called American Indians for generations, because Columbus was lost. A 70s one liner goes, "I suppose we should be glad Columbus wasn't looking for Turkey."

In days leading up to the Pan-Indian movements of the 70s, tribalism came into sharper focus. Before that, we mostly all accepted the American Indian designation in the mainstream world, because most non-Indians had no great concept of the tribal nations and sovereignty. Since then, tribal sovereignty has become increasingly important and government to government relations have been shaped by recognition of this. You hear more and more tribal designations. Still, there is that collective designation...

In the 70s was born the term Native American, selected because it removed the confusing "Indian" and saluted the original status of the people on this continent. Most people born since then are more comfortable with that term, while people raised as American Indians remain more comfortable with that term.

In the mid-1990s, in preparation for Census 2000, the US began surveying the different ethnic and racial groups to determine which terminology each group preferred. The upshot was that the majority of American Indians, Native Americans, Alaskan Natives preferred the term American Indians, while Alaskan Natives held out for that term. The Official US designation was changed in 1997 to American Indian and Alaskan Natives. That is the term that appears on Federal forms including the Census.

Meantime, President Obama, like George HW Bush and Bill Clinton before him, has addressed the gathering of nations as "First Americans."
This has fostered a debate about whether this term is a good one to use.

On the one hand, it points out the primacy of the Indian people on this continent, but on the other, it relates them to America, which did not exist as a term until generations after white contact, settlement and genocide.

American Indians were not granted full citizenship as a group until 1924, so how could they be the first Americans? some say. Doesn't using that terminology seem to cover up the generations of difficulties with the American government faced by American Indians throughout conquest and even up to today?

I happen to prefer the designation used in Canada, First Nations, because it refers right back to the different nations that made up this continent. When one goes to Canada, one is 'Native' or First Nations.

As I read this post I was thinking about a trip we had taken to the Atlantic Provinces in 1998. It was in Nova Scotia, I believe, where we came in contact with a settlement of First Nations people. That was the first time I had ever heard of that designation. I think it is a fitting designation and I like it. It has a ring of dignity to it, which I think the people are entitled to.

[gazhekwe]

One thing that affects Indian identity is stereotypic expectations on the part of mainstream society. This primarily impacts those of us who live away from our tribal centers.

We routinely hear, 'but you don't LOOK Indian' from our acquaintances. Or, 'We don't think of you as Indian.' What do they expect? What if they did think of us as Indian? Would it change how they feel about us?

Metropolitan Detroit is home to nearly 40,000 American Indians from more than 40 tribes. Because we don't mostly live in one part of the community, we do not have a population center here. Most of us are not from just one Indian tribe or community, either. We are a diverse population. Yet our identity is important to us, though it is absolutely unrecognized and irrelevant to the mainstream society.

One example is federal records. If you go to give blood, you are interviewed by someone who is filling out a questionnaire as the interview progresses. For me, they never ask how I identify, they just automatically check the "Caucasion" box when it comes to ethnic identity. I have to stop them and correct them every time. Why is it important to the American Red Cross to know ethnicity? Who knows, but they should at least make sure they get the right one. They do keep the data in case a particular kind of blood is needed that might be more available in a particular ethnic group.

For medical records, it is important for certain conditions to be counted correctly. Funding for diabetes treatment, HIV prevention and treatment and for other conditions as well, are allocated to ethnic communities based on these identifications. If we cannot be counted correctly, we will continue to be underfunded in those areas.

Another issue takes place in school situations, although this may be changing. As a student I and after me, my son, frequently had to sit through some ignorant discussions of Indians in history. I recently had one man tell me his kids came home from school in Grand Rapids saying their teacher told them the Aztecs had all disappeared. They were Aztec. I wonder if Michigan's curriculum on Indians has caught up yet. Other states are implementing more comprehensive programs, like Utah and Minnesota.

And of course, everyone thinks we are all rolling in dough because of the casinos. Well, nothing could be farther from the truth. While a few tribes do pay per cap, that is a regular stipend to each tribal member from casino proceeds, most do not. Our casinos support our tribal infrastructure, school, health center, roads and utilities, and some elder programs, as well as contributing substantially to the local town and county infrastructure.

Who are we? We live here in Metro Detroit. We also have a home with our people. So, we have a foot in both worlds.

[gazhekwe]

3rd annual S.E.M.I.I. MISHOMIS-NOKOMIS FESTIVAL

DECEMBER 12-13, 2009

Native American Dancers, Drummers & Traders

Grand Entries: Saturday – 1 PM & 6 PM • Sunday – 1 PM & 4 PM

[[Shows & demonstrations throughout each day)

Hosted by South Eastern Michigan Indians, Inc.
Vendors – Contact Heather Denton
Drums & Dancing – Contact Brian Moore
586-756-1350

Gibraltar Trade Center, Taylor, MI

[sumas]

Thanks for the heads up!

Actually, I didn't know that Azetecs still existed as a nation.

I think I mentioned this before but my family has an Incan death mask. Also some beads of the same material. My mother had a history of how it came to us. But it got lost.

To the best of my memory, it was gifted to my grandfathers best friend on behalf of the City of Mexico Historical Society. His friend was a chemist here in Detroit in the early 1900's but spent all his spare time on archelogical [[sp) digs in central America.

[sumas]

Sorry for the split posts but I take long periods of time to write my thoughts then get timed out and frequently what I wrote gets consigned to oblivion.

For many years in my youth I thought this was pirated artifacts but I was wrong, it was a gift for services rendered. My Mom thinks it is a replica or presentation piece but I don't and my father certainly didn't. The mask came with the beads and even some small bones. The mask sat on a mantel when I was young, my Mom while dusting dropped it and the nose broke off. [[The cat got blamed). My Dad went nuts, saying this has lasted more than 2000 years and we broke it. The nose got glued back on.

I tried a few years back to authenticate it but got distracted along the way.

My dilemma is two fold. I would like to certify it is real and second if it is, what in the hell is it doing in private hands even though it was a legitimate gift. It has been housed on a mantel, under a couch [[where the history was written and attached to the back and lost), and now resides in a drawer.

My mother is old, the family will fight tooth and nail over this, if they believe it has value.

If real, I believe it should belong to posterity. It should not sit as a curio on someones bookshelf. Advice please.

[gazhekwe]

I would call Will Penny at the DIA, he has been in charge of the Indian collection for years.

[sumas]

Hi Gaz, Tried the connection you gave me @the DIA. The name is David Penny. Got voice mail only and left a message. The message said curator of local native artifacts, maybe Central/South America is out of his focus point.

Tried Mom for memories but she couldn't remember. Alzhemeirs, oh well!

If this is for real, I want it to be in the public venue, not a Knick-knac on a shelf.

[gazhekwe]

That's the man. I always think of that movie with Charlton Heston, and mix up the name. If he doesn't know, he will know who will.

I am not sure how the international law works on repatriation of goods. There are some recent cases with Greek and Egyptian artifacts, and of course, the Elgin marbles.

If there is no provenance on it any more, at least you need the name of the person who gave it to your family, and the approximate date. If you know where the artifact actually came from that would be good info also. In the US, we have NAGPRA, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, which governs what happens to artifacts. I believe that would require provenance that the giver had acquired it legitimately. Then there is the issue of who would be able to lay claim to it. Since this is from outside the US, NAGPRA would not apply.

Here is an interesting article on point:
http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/...09192008_2.xml

[gazhekwe]

The underlying issue with artifacts is whether they were legally acquired. The changes of hands through their history after they get into mainstream society is also important. The people who have the artifact now may have gotten it as a gift or purchased it from a dealer, but how it got to that dealer is still in question. Was it legitimately transferred from the rightful owner [[for want of a better word) to the person who took it from its home area? I am not sure how it works if there is no demonstrable transfer. If there is a demonstrable legitimate transfer, there is no problem. If not, then the artifact may revert back to the country or nation of origin, as in the story I cited.

Why is it like this? Because in the days of yore, as recently as the 1970s, and even today, artifacts are taken from their home and sold on the antiquities market without care for their origin. The person who takes it originally feels they have a right to it, and it may be just because it was something cool they found.

In the case of Sumas' artifact, if the person who gave it to them got it as part of a sanctioned archeological dig, it is probably going to check out fine. If he was on the dig and just pocketed the thing because he could, then it would have to be carefully determined whether he had the right to do that or not.

[gazhekwe]

Husband is watching a movie about Alcatraz, lot of screaming going on right now. Not a pretty place, as depicted. I remember when this song came out by Redbone in the early 70s. I wasn't so sure about the concept, but the meaning of course is of Alcatraz as a part of our Mother the Earth.

Alcatraz, Alcatraz, Alcatraz, Alcatraz

Few have seen your beauty like the Indian has.

Few have seen your beauty like the Indian has.

When many have spent their time in day

The Indian brings his peaceful ways

Because he cares, because he cares.

Alcatraz, Alcatraz, Alcatraz, Alcatraz

Few have seen your beauty like the Indian has.

Few have seen your beauty like the Indian has.

To many you’ve been a nightmare

To the Indian our dream come true

Because he cares, because he cares.

Alcatraz, Alcatraz, Alcatraz, Alcatraz

Few have seen your beauty like the Indian has.

Few have seen your beauty like the Indian has.

[gazhekwe]

A very interesting viewpoint from the Grand Forks Herald [[North Dakota):

VIEWPOINT: History, colonization permanently sully nickname
Michael Eshkibok - 12/06/2009

GRAND FORKS — Why are Indian sports logos still at UND so hard to get rid of? The best way to explain this is what’s known as the “process of colonization.� Colonization is the conquering of the minds and habits of oppressed people such as American Indians so that they internalize and accept inferiority as an inherent characteristic of themselves.

Decolonization reverses process that by breaking with the ways by which our reality is defined and shaped by the dominant culture and by asserting our understanding of that reality or experience. [[By the way, 99 percent of U.S. Indian tribes have voted against using themselves as Indian sports logos.)

What people need to remember, especially at UND, is that the mascot issue is part of a longer history of Indian oppression and discrimination. Negative images of indigenous people began with the colonial campaigns of violence waged in the Americas by the Spanish and others. The colonizers used criminalization, theft, rape, murder and the determination of how Indians would be defined so they could use the Indians’ land and resources. By defining us as “savage," “evil� and “dirty,� the colonizers rationalized their own fear and hate and made murdering of Indians tolerable, even honorable acts. Not coincidentally, the invaders were able to take away Indian people, land and resources for their own use. Indian identity on reservations has been hurt by the colonization by oppressive European theories and actions.

These codes of behavior still afflict Indian communities and individuals today. American Indians have their own way of healing, and we need to go back to our own culture and traditions. When you colonize a people, you take away their culture, religion and customs. You trivialize them, turn them into meaningless objects or objectify them, so when you say you are honoring them, what you are honoring is the colonization and destruction.

The point is that we are human beings — first. The Washington Redskins' and Atlanta Braves’ fans parade around in mock war paint and headdresses while making “Indian� chants that seep down into the American school systems. Inaccurate images of Indian people not only promote racism and stereotyping but also underscore the perception that we are obsolete, primitive and exotic.

If Americans and UND really want to honor Indians, the next step is clear: They should eliminate racist depictions of Indian people in educational institutions, implement historically accurate information and representations about us and hold schools accountable to teach anti-racism courses because racism is institutionalized. Maybe then we can start seeing one another as human beings — nothing more, nothing less.

Eshkibok, an Ojibwe, is a doctoral student in UND’s communication program.

[gazhekwe]

Obama administration moves to settle Cobell

By Rob Capriccioso


Story Published: Dec 8, 2009
Story Updated: Dec 8, 2009

WASHINGTON – The Obama administration has taken a definitive step to settle a long-running trust mismanagement class action lawsuit involving hundreds of thousands of Native Americans.

The Department of the Interior announced Dec. 8 that it had negotiated a settlement to the Cobell v. Salazar litigation, which could amount to a $1.4 billion payback to Indian plaintiffs involved in the case.

“We are here today to right a past wrong,� Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said during a briefing on the plan held at Interior headquarters.

For the settlement to become final, Congress must pass legislation to approve it, and the court overseeing the case must also agree, said Attorney General Eric Holder.

Salazar said he is hopeful that legislative action will occur before the end of the year, based on discussions he’s already had with some lawmakers.

The litigation has centered on the argument that the government mismanaged billions of dollars in oil, gas, grazing, timber and other royalties overseen by the Interior for Indian trustees since 1887.

The case has gone through numerous appeals since it was first filed in 1996.

If the settlement is approved, a $1,000 check will be sent to each member of the class, said Associate Attorney General Tom Perrelli.

Then, a formula established by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the overseeing court, would provide more settlement funds to individual class members.

President Barack Obama said he was proud of the decision to settle.

“As a candidate, I heard from many in Indian country that the Cobell suit remained a stain on the nation-to-nation relationship I value so much,� the president said in a statement.

“I pledged my commitment to resolving this issue, and I am proud that my administration has taken this step today. …�

Elouise Cobell said that she was thankful to Interior for the gesture, adding she had thought the case would be settled long ago.

“Today we have an administration that is listening to us,� the lead plaintiff said. She had expressed dissatisfaction with the administration last spring that it had not focused on the issue more quickly.

Cobell said that there is “no doubt� that the settlement amount is “significantly less than the full accounting to with the class members are entitled.�

One settlement figure offered by lawyers for the Indian plaintiffs during legal proceedings was $47 billion.

But Cobell said that as the case has progressed through the years, some class members have passed away, and many are living in extreme poverty.

“A settlement can address the situation,� Cobell said, adding that she doesn’t believe trust reform should stop at this point.

She said she is hopeful Interior will work to permanently correct wrongs so Indian account holders will have knowledge of money that is rightfully theirs.

As part of the settlement, a $2 billion fund would also be set up by Interior aimed at buying back trust interests from individuals, Salazar said, although he awknowledged that some class members would likely be distrustful of choosing to sell their interests.

Salazar called the plan a “land consolidation program,� saying it will provide individual Indians with an opportunity to obtain cash payments for divided land interests and free up lands for the benefit of tribal communities.

In order to provide owners additional incentive to sell their interests, the settlement authorizes Interior to set aside up to 5 percent of the value of the interests into a college and vocational school scholarship fund for American Indian students.

The decision to settle did not come easily, according to administration officials who said serious work on the deal had been ongoing since summer.

Holder noted that Justice could have decided to continue litigating the case “at great expense to taxpayers.�

Interior currently manages about 56 million acres of Indian trust land, administering more than 100,000 leases and about $3.5 billion in trust funds.

For fiscal year 2009, funds from leases, use permits, land sales and income from financial assets, totaling about $298 million were collected for more than 384,000 open Individual Indian Money accounts and $566 million was collected for about 2,700 tribal accounts for more than 250 tribes.

More information on the settlement is available at http://cobellsettlement.com.