Wilma Mankiller

Wilma Mankiller (November 18, 1945 – April 6, 2010) is an inspiration, no matter what your heritage may be. One of eleven kids born to a full-blooded Cherokee father and white mother in a poor household, she is a true survivor. Her family resided on the Oklahoma reservation until they relocated to a poor housing project in San Fransisco in 1956, under the BIA's Indian Relocation Program...which was another "attempt to remove Native poeple from their homelands" (Mankiller, para 11). It was there, growing up in an isolated, poor community where she learned how people looked after one another. It was this unity within adversity that taught her the dynamics of interdependence and leadership within communities like it, such as the Cherokee reservation, where she returned to reside and lead as the first female chief of the Cherokee Nation in 1985.
Her main inspiration for leadership in activism came from her participation in the occupation of Alcatraz by the "Indians of All Tribes" in 1969. She became inspired by the leadership of John Trudell and Richard Oakes, in their "articulation of things she felt, but didn't know how to express" (Mankiller, para 15). In the 1970's, she returned to the Cherokee reservation and helped the poor community improve their living conditions by helping those in need and by actively participating in their own projects, building infrastructure such as waterlines and houses.
The constant theme within Mankiller's persona is the resilience of her people dating back to the treaty and removal era, culminating in the Trail of Tears from the southeast to Oklahoma, when 1/4 of her people died. She explained how the Cherokee rebuilt their families, culture, society, and government...and buildings, some of which are the oldest structures in Oklahoma. She then explained how white settlement of Oklahoma through the allotment process once again destroyed their community, forcing them to rebuild again, within a fragmented, much smaller territory. She effectively illustrated the resilience of the Cherokee Nation which has been destroyed and rebuilt itself over and over again. She led her people in the same spirit, rebuilding government and a self-sustainable community, sovereign and reinvigorated through tribal businesses and infrastructure.

Wilma Mankiller: Governance, Leadership and the Cherokee Nation. University of Arizona. Web. 2 July 2016. https://nnidatabase.org/video/wilma-mankiller-governance-leadership-and cherokee-nation

Wilma Mankiller

Wilma Mankiller was the first woman to become Chief of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. In an interview with the University of Arizona's Leading Native Nations program, Mankiller gave an amazing statement about how the Cherokee are a revitalized tribe. "I can, and I believe very firmly that the Cherokee Nation is symbolic of other nations as well because I've seen the same sort of just heroic ability and to hold onto a sense of who we are as a people and rebuild our families and communities and governments again." She speaks of how the Cherokee were able to pick themselves up, dust off the dirt, and rebuild, over and over again. They didn't let the circumstances stop them. They were able to achieve amazing things like building the first school west of the Mississippi River and even create a government system where their buildings are still used today.

This spoke volumes to me because it ties right into my voice, Tecumseh, and his message of unity. The Cherokee remained united and were about to overcome and rebuild their nation. I feel this shows what Tecumseh was envisioning. When I speak about Tecumseh, I speak about his spirit. His spirit of unity. In Mankiller's interview, I saw it clearly when she said, "And so that spirit that allowed them to go through that kind of tragedy and pain and division and yet, keep their vision fixed firmly on the future I think is what I meant when I said that we're a revitalized tribe." It almost shocks me to hear this. Even though Tecumseh was Shawnee, a completely different tribe, the Cherokee, has the same spirit as he did. This shows it isn't just a one tribe vision. This is a Native vision.

It's amazing that even though the Cherokee were able to rebuild, they never gave up their unity. Even today, being the second largest tribe in America, they still face challenges, but they stick together to overcome any obstacle and never lose sight of what's important.

Wilma Mankiller

Module 5 Blog

Review of the Native Nations Institute web site, University of Arizona Udall Center specific to the Wilma Mankiller, interview

 

 Having reviewed a great interview between Native Nations Institute and Wilma Mankiller, Principle Chief of the Cherokee 1945-2010, I found the care, consideration, thought, guiding principles, purpose and selflessness that defined her as a major leader for her people both humbling and refreshing. Her resolution to guide her people who had faced many decades of social and economic hardships, to redefine their cultural repressions in to resilience to be able to redefine the mindset of repression culture and not become resolved to status quo of poverty but work as a whole within the community to resolve and make the living conditions as a community better. It was quite enlightening to hear her statements as she put the teachings of native spirituality, sense of connectivity to natural surroundings to use and live those beliefs in working together as members of the community worked to lift themselves out from their repression.

The web resources chosen for the coursework that we are studying seem to emulate and lead us to a greater understanding of not only what should be curriculum resources but as resources of indigenous knowledge, perhaps making us able to better understand a greater spirituality of  thought of the learning material rather than the regurgitation of information more formally formatted.

Entering this course I thought would help to answer many questions that I had concerning the Native American peoples. The great thing is as many questions as were answered twice as many developed but I am happy in knowing that all of these can be answered by opening one’s mind, in having a “good mind” that all answers, as are questions, are connected spiritually.

Wilma Mankiller. Wow!

I fully appreciate Native Nation's Institute's Ian Record for his insightful questions in his interview with the late Wilma Mankiller, former Chief of the Cherokee nation.  Record's inquisitiveness opens Mankiller to share her experience growing up Cherokee away from the reservation, her participation in the American Indian Movement, and her leadership as Chief of the nation.  I like hearing her talk about the class disparity and therefore different needs within the Cherokee nation, and noting that there is no clear answer about how to address these disparities.  I wonder if her politics veer more towards socialism or capitalism, or a combination of the two.  Or maybe she has a way of addressing classism that I'm not familiar with.  I would like to learn more of her leadership.  In this interview it is clear that her primary concern is for the people at the ground level, those with the least amount of resources.
Mankiller notes the resiliency of her people, how we made it through land disposession and the Trail of Tears and began forming educational, governmental, and reporting organizations in our new land right away.  She notes how we were able to find our strength again despite Dawes' Act and land allotment tragedies, and how we are reviving ourselves today as we rely on ourselves for good ideas.  Mankiller communicates that trusting our Cherokee community, trusting ourselves to articulate our own needs and solutions, trusting that everyone has a role to play, and trusting the strength in our interdependence are key to hope and rev
I am inspired to hear her reminder that having all the great ideas in the world won't help the people struggling at the ground level within the community.  The ideas for change have to come from inside the communities, at the grassroots level, for the change to really empower people.  This, she says, is what she means when she talks about a revived nation...a nation that is supporting itself with its own ideas.  The experts of how to heal a system are the ones within the system, though funding and support for these ideas can come from outside.  Part of this Cherokee nation revival is based on the interdependence the poor have with one another; to be poor and to survive we have to help one another. 
I also am inspired by her acknowledging that leaders need to be connected to their people, to listen to their people and represent them well in delegations.  Leadership isn't about doing whatever a leader wants, but about serving the people.  This kind of leadership helps rebuild and revitalize the nation from within.   
She says:
"Indian Country is a very small place and within a tribe it’s even smaller, so that you can't mistreat women, for example, and then be in a leadership position of leading women. So I think that people expect their leaders to conduct themselves in a certain way and it’s important to do that. I had the privilege of working with Peterson Zah, President of the Navajo Nation, and he is just a great example of a family man, a grandfather, someone who always conducted himself with just great dignity and great respect and I think that that’s important too, to remember when you’re in leadership its not about you, you represent people and always keep the faces of those people in your head when you go someplace, you’re representing them and when you speak, you’re speaking for them. I think that’s important as well." ~Wilma Mankiller
I like this photo of her as a little girl because it helps me remember we need to nurture our little ones, all of them, as they will be leading us with the love and wisdom we share with them.  Wado to Mankiller's family and community for pouring all they did into her, to help her become who she was for her people. 

https://nnidatabase.org/video/wilma-mankiller-governance-leadership-and-cherokee-nation

Wilma Mankiller Interview

          "Leading Native Nations," the Native Nations Institute performed an interview with the Late Cherokee Chief, Wilma Mankiller. Mankiller shares her story about working to help the Cherokee Nation to have self-reliance. This interview is a perfect example of how a Native American community showed resilience after being mistreated by the U.S. government. Wilma speaks of the strong resilience that the Cherokee Nation has for picking up the pieces after going through much hardships.  She spoke of the Cherokee Nation as a revitalized tribe, stating that, “After every major upheaval, we have been able to gather together as a people and rebuild a community and a government.” (NNI database.org)  I immediately connected part of her story to one Native American Oral history. This goes along with the story of how the Tobacco plant and the Yucca plant survived the flood waters and became symbols of strength and resilience throughout the Native American communities.

When asked to define a strong healthy Native community her thoughts were that a strong community had the ability to think and plan for themselves without having others come up with solutions to their problems. (NNIdatabase.org)  I really liked the way Wilma Mankiller brought the community i.e. families into the cause of promoting a sovereign nation. Her ideas on including the people gave them a sense of self worth. Through her practice of helping people help themselves is a show of her humanitarian characteristics. She gave her time and worked personally with the Native community and was also their voice in their political office. She believed in her people’s ability to revitalize themselves. I was really impressed with her desire to always include the people. In the interview she spoke about conducting community meetings “ … so I think that for me the idea of listening is key to good leadership." (NNI database.org) Even in the large constitutional convention she expressed the need to have separate conventions so that everyone had the ability to participate and understand the information before putting in a vote. This is important because she was giving everyone the same opportunities despite the different levels of social stratification that exist. 

  Wilma Mankiller was a natural leader who cared for her community. When Mankiller was put into office she kept reiterating to her community the strength of their past she gave them something to be proud of and I think that really helped to boost their abilities going forward.

This interview tells the story of how Wilma Mankiller acted as a Political figure for her people. I think that this interview is a good example of how transformation and resilience was achieved by the Cherokee Nation.

“Wilma Mankiller: Governance, Leadership and the Cherokee Nation.” Search. N.p., n.d.

Web. 25 June 2016

Wilma Mankiller

As part of the Indigenous Government Database, Wilma Mankiller provides an informative interview where she talks about many different aspects of tribal life, her personal story and her role as the first female chief of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma.  Her beginning statement regarding sovereignty is a perfect place for her to start as it provides a reminder that before the U.S. government’s involvement in the lives of tribes, they had sovereignty, meaning they had their own government, their own constitutions and their own set of rules.  She then speaks of a community deciding for themselves what they want, “and then have within the community the skills and the ability to make that a reality.”  She touches on this importance a few times by explaining the effectiveness of asking members of the community to be actively involved in creating the change they have deemed is necessary and to give guidance to those who could be effective leaders.  Not just by their words, but by their actions and in some situations using their physical activity to create necessary improvements, as in the laying of a new pipeline. 

She reminds us that the Cherokee and other nations have moved on from the devastating effects of initial annihilation, assimilation and relocation.  They always made the decision to begin to create lives for themselves again but of course, not without challenges.  Her own life story reflects her desire to understand the feelings she was experiencing about her Native history and her decision to become an activist and then eventual leader.  Her focus as a leader was on many things but most importantly working to improve her nation’s government, educational system, health care and women’s rights. 

I was sorry to see that she had passed.  It seems just when I become interested in a historical figure, I find that they have passed.  I am sure that she has left a wonderful example for future leaders to follow.  

                                                        Love classic black and white photos.

https://nnidatabase.org/video/wilma-mankiller-governance-leadership-and-cherokee-nation

http://www.biography.com/people/wilma-mankiller-214109

Strawberry Festival and Theresa Bear Fox's 'Diamond'

Hi Folks,
I just returned back from the Mohawk Strawberry Festival.  If you can make it next year I so recommend going.  For me it felt like being around my mother again.  The community is so warm and open and loving, the vendors are full of beautiful artwork, everyone was welcomed into circle dancing, and the sounds in the air were of melodious traditional music from all over the world...including lots of live Beatles hits covered in Mohawk!  There was an open mike at the end of the day and I was encouraged to get up and sing...I was so afraid, but felt so much love and support, so for the first time in my life, I did.  I felt like I shouldn't because all I had coming to mind was a medicine song from Brazil and not from my own people but Theresa Bear Fox and other Mohawk people said it was ok, to sing, and just trust spirit.  I really want to be of service to native wisdom in the form of song, and told Theresa Bear Fox this.  She wanted to hear me sing.  I had to get over myself and sing.  It felt good to let go of my mind and just try and move from my heart. 
Rowers from the Onondaga came on canoe via the waterways and brought water from that land; Theresa Bear Fox and I used this water for the sacred tobacco growing on the Mohawk land. Then a Mohawk community member and I went and sat by the river to pray with tobacco in the traditional Mohawk way; they taught me Mohawk ways of doing things and said it was ok for me to use these things in my life, too.  They let me sit with a feather of their family's that was over a hundred years old.  I felt super grateful beyond words...I just tried to keep opening my heart and receive it with love.   
When I arrived at the festival Theresa Bear Fox was drumming while another woman played the flute.  I found some shade and just let the music sink into my heart.  Luckily, I found myself sitting at the feet of Kevin Deer, a Mohawk Clan leader who'd given the opening address (which I had missed).  He was telling some friends about how he felt the Europeans had brought a spell of greed for money and power with them and when they set foot on this land it cast this same spell over the people and land here.  He said he went back to that spot where the Europeans first set foot and did prayers to break that spell.  He also said that the spirit of the Peacemaker is returning to bring healing for all people and all of the land.  I asked him and Janet, another Mohawk person about the difference between cultural appropriation and Europeans learning native ways and visions for healing/peace in a respectful way.  Kevin and Janet both said that I was overthinking things, to come from my heart, to not judge people.  I said, well what about colonization of the soul, what if European colonization is now happening through taking beauty, ceremony, art, and ideas from native cultures and not honoring or giving back to the native communities?  Janet and Kevin both said that people who know how to respect and love what they are taught will reap the benefits and those who take and don't understand what they are learning just won't get it.  It didn't sound like they felt cultural appropriation was any threat.  I realize that these two voices do not represent everyone, and it is not a carte blanche for European Americans to go and do whatever they like with Native American cultural ways.  It was interesting for me to hear the message they were giving me personally, it seemed, which was to try not to judge others, to not come from the mind, but to come from the heart.  They said I would know by way of the heart what is right.  Kevin is one of the founders of and is now on the board of the Hiawatha Institute for Indigenous Knowledge.  HIIK's mission statement:
'Our first mission is to develop and offer academic programs and resources in partnership with Syracuse University in order to practice, protect, enhance and disseminate Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) knowledge for future generations.
The vision of the HIIK is the creation of a positive environment for the illumination and cultivation of traditional indigenous knowledge to enhance human relationships with each other and the natural world to fulfill our responsibilities for the continuation of life.'
http://www.hiawatha.syr.edu/missionvision.html

Here is a version of the song I sang at the festival.
https://soundcloud.com/shivanistgeorge/beijaflor-june-storm

Here is one of Theresa Bear Fox's songs, 'Diamond'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-F3xBOLrhw8

https://search.yahoo.com/yhs/search;_ylt=A0LEVjj4THBXXksAqAUPxQt.;_ylc=X1MDMjExNDcwMDU1OQRfcgMyBGZyA3locy1hZGstYWRrX3NibnQEZ3ByaWQDMFlDbU1NQmxUWVNhZXJVZkhMRnpCQQRuX3JzbHQDMARuX3N1Z2cDMTAEb3JpZ2luA3NlYXJjaC55YWhvby5jb20EcG9zAzAEcHFzdHIDBHBxc3RybAMEcXN0cmwDMTUEcXVlcnkDWW91dHViZSUyMGFsdW5hBHRfc3RtcAMxNDY2OTc3NTY5?p=Youtube+aluna&fr2=sb-top-search&hspart=adk&hsimp=yhs-adk_sbnt&param1=20160503&param2=c93a60b5-a95f-4c34-945e-3b439871b826&param3=transit_3.1.1%7EUS%7Eappfocus29&param4=bing%7Efirefox&type=appfocus29_tr_ff

This Friday my son and I are going to Colombia, to the Sierra Nevadas, the mountains of the Kogi.  Here is the movie of their message to 'little brother'...all the rest of us.  I recommend watching this.

Love,
Sareanda

Wilma Mankiller and a Prophecy

I'm moved by Native Nation's Institute's Ian Record's interview of former Cherokee Chief Wilma Mankiller in 2008, primarily because of Mankiller's calm, eloquent demeanor and depth of understanding of the wide diaspora of her people.
I appreciate her acknowledging the range of experiences as Cherokee, with some people as registered Cherokee but not having any connection with the land, to some who speak the language, are intimate with the land, and traditional in culture.  Mankiller acknowledges the wide economic differences between Cherokee peoples; I wonder what she would like to do about this.  Is she socialist or capitalist in nature, or both? 
She speaks of the Cherokee spirit throughout history that allowed them to go through tragedy and keep their vision on future...this resiliency and vision has created what she calls a revitalized nation.  From the forced relocation with the Trail of Tears to the Dawes act and allottment hope wasn't relinquished.  She speaks of how her grandfather and more would collect money in a mason jar to send delegates to Washington to say they had treaty rights and the right to self-government.  Within the Cherokee nation there is this devotion to a sense of community and tribal government.  And sovereignty, she says, is something we naturally had as first nations people, before anyone could give it to us.  

Growing up poor in an African American community in San Francisco (Hunter's Point) as a result of the Bureau of Indian Affairs relocation program, she learned that disenfranchised people take care of eachother, creating a strong sense of interdependence.  
She asserts that community revitalization projects must come from the grassroots level, that low income people are the experts about what their communities need and that solutions need to come from within, with financial help from outside supporters.  Brilliant ideas from think tanks mean nothing...the intelligence and practicality for projects that will actually work come from within a community.   
When addressing other indigenous nations on the spirit of local revitalization she encourages by saying 'Trust your own thinking.  You can rebuild your nation from within.' 
She says that due to centuries of oppression native peoples came to rely on the federal government and social workers to tell Indians how we should be and to provide things for us.  She says people are now saying 'no'...we can articulate our own needs and solve our problems.
She says that with self efficacy, no matter what sort of education or outside approval someone or a group may have, they can do anything.
This is so encouraging to me.  Raised dirt poor, I have always felt I needed to learn white speak and adopt middle class ways to get respect and for my life to flow well.  So I got myself an education and assimilated as best I could.  Now I just see its just a layer of bull on top of the oppression, and that I was just as smart before school as after.  Except for in Native American Studies, African American Studies, and Women's Studies, I don't know that anything else I learned in school was very helpful in living my life.  I think it all was just part of drinking the Coolaid.  Luckily it didn't really work, because I do not pass as middle class.  I realize now, as I integrate political understandings into my personal life, meditate, heal ancestral trauma, and learn of my Cherokee and even indigenous European roots, that I am not anything, ultimately.  I get to decide who I am and what I'm about, not defined by anyone else's sense of success.  As viewed by the world I get to acknowledge the white privelege folks attempt to give me and I get to try and build community though there is little to work with in this fragmented society.  Still, there is hope, and I am inspired by Mankiller's speaking of the hope of the Cherokee, through time. 

Also, on the more esoterical/spiritual side of revolution and hope from Indigenous perspective, here's something that came to my inbox today.  Has anyone else heard of this prophesy?  How about this movement from Alaska and Tierra Del Fuego by Indigenous peoples, meeting up in Panama in November? 

The Prophesy of the Eagle and the Condor: Thousands of years ago, it was foretold that humanity would split into two paths -- the path of the Condor symbolizing our heart, intuition and feminine energy and the path of the Eagle symbolizing our mind, our industrious nature and our masculine energy. The prophesy predicted that in the 1490s a 500 year period would begin where we would become gravely out of balance. Killing and oppression of Indigenous People would occur. Eagles would dominate the earth and Condors would come close to extinction. The next 500 year period, beginning in the 1990s, would bring a time where the Eagle and Condor could fly together again in the same sky to create a new level of consciousness.  (These periods coincide with our understanding of the Piscean and Aquarian ages.)  

It is important to note, however, that the prophesies speak only of the potential of the eras. With this in mind, in the 1990s, there was a gathering of Indigenous people from all of the Americas in which they had a discussion of the prophesies.  They decided that to take advantage of the potential they would begin a running prayer, sharing their ideas, their spiritual practices and traditions.  Literally. So in 1992, every four years, they have been running prayers and dialogue -- the path of the Eagle beginning in Chikaloon, Alaska and the path of the Condor beginning in Tierra del Fuego. It takes 6 months for them to meet in the middle. This year the runners began on May 1 and will meet in November in Panama.

We're adopting a puppy in August...not sure I'll make it to Central America then, but if you, let me know how it goes!

Its been wonderful learning and growing from all of you.  Thank you so much, Professor Nesberg...definitely a heart breaking class where I've learned bunches and am inspired with new hope.  

https://nnidatabase.org/video/wilma-mankiller-governance-leadership-and-cherokee-nation  

 http://balanceedutainment.com/2016/04/pacha-eagle-condor/

Sweat Lodge Ceremony Weekend at the Tuscarora Reservation...Indians and Whites together

This last weekend I was blessed to go to the Tuscarora reservation near Niagara Falls and do a couple of sweat lodges led by Tahwehdahqui.  Tahwehdahqui was named by Onondaga Clanmother Freida Jacques and means 'He who believes'; his mother, Agnes, says he couldn't stand anything but the truth.  He was born and raised on the Tuscarora reservation and is married to a Seneca woman, Tina.  They have four children and three grandchildren, all of whom were present.  His parents and sister were also there.  One of his brothers or cousins came for a sweat, and another Indian American man was there, too. The other twelve-twenty or so participants appeared to be European Americans who'd been coming to the land to sweat with Tahwehdahqui for two to twenty years.

I wanted to ask a million questions of all the Tuscarora family there, but instead chose to relax and engage at whatever level they wanted to connect.  Everyone in the family was wide open, loving, friendly, and available to talk about anything.  Still, I felt it was just an honor to be there, camping and sharing food together, sweating together, so I didn't do any in depth interviews that would feel more formal.  

I did ask Tahwehdahqui about why he opened the sweats up to white people.  He said the man he'd learned under told him never to turn anyone away, that anyone who sincerely wanted to pray should be welcomed.  So he's never charged and he's never turned anyone away.  He says that some folks of the Tuscarora nation have tried to kick him off the land for letting whites come and sweat with him.  But he says every person who's come to attack him has walked reflecting on their own issues.  The Sunday I was there was a Strawberry Ceremony for the Tuscarora.  I asked about this ceremony, about the songs, about what happened there.  He said 'I can't tell you those things, those things are just for Tuscarora and other Indians.'  I told him I really appreciated the sacredness of the tradition and containment of the ceremony to hold only the Tuscarora and Indians.  I also said I was Cherokee and Quapaw mixed with white, but not raised traditionally and with no papers.  He said if I showed up at the Strawberry Ceremony they would call my nation to check if I was for real.  He said he could bring someone in if he felt it was right, because the Tuscarora respected him.  He also said that if someone was married to a Tuscarora person, had chosen to fully live by and respect Tuscarora tradition and culture, and to live on the reservation, they could probably come if they were not Tuscarora.  I told him I understood this and wasn't asking to go, more just wondering about the boundaries...in other words, why was it ok for whites to sweat on the land, but not go the Strawberry Ceremony.

I asked his mother Agnes the same question.  She says she feels great about white people coming to the reservation to sweat and pray, that its a good thing for everyone to do.  She also says the Strawberry Ceremony is not for whites, that its like church and you have to be part of it to really get it.  I asked about why there is a ceremony for strawberries...why not for every plant and fruit?  She said its because the strawberries were the first berries to come forward, and that they also have a maple water ceremony.

I told Agnes that I had been there at the reservation thirteen years before when I was newly pregnant with my son, but didn't know.  I had sweat.  She said the reason women are told not to sweat when we are pregnant is because the baby doesn't have a choice.  Her daughter said also its because its too cleansing while pregnant.

I asked Agnes about her births and she said that she had a tendency to bleed after her births.  Though the hospital had given her medicine to contract her uterus and stop the bleeding, she still needed to come home and drink strawberry tea.  'Strawberry Tea?', I asked.  Apparently the whole strawberry plant-roots, leaves, and flowers-are added to boiling water and steeped to make a light colored brew which strongly contracts the uterus and stops bleeding.  As a homebirth nurse and herbalist I find this very interesting.

The weekend was interesting culturally in that I enjoyed seeing the mix of Indians and whites coming together to learn and grow and pray.  We laughed and sang and ate together.  We shared stories around a sacred fire, and all worked together to prepare the lodge and the stones.

It was really encouraging to see the mix of peoples from a variety of classes, beliefs, and cultures communing in this way, united in respect for the transformative nature of sweat lodge and Tahwedahqui's wisdom teachings.  I felt overwhelmed with gratitude that Tahwedahqui and his family were so willing to share their land and wisdom with everyone.  I was particularly enchanted with Tahwedahqui's three year old granddaughter who took a warm liking to everyone, told everyone she loved them, gave out hugs and presents of plastic toy cakes and asked lots of questions to anyone who wanted to try and answer them.  When her grandfather gave a talk on the Hawaiian healing practice of H' opono 'pono that is changing his life, she wandered around the circle under the hawthorne berry tree, plopping into people's laps and looking deeply into their eyes.  Her mother, grandmother, and great grandmother kept her supplied with fresh pineapple and strawberries for her adventures.

I'm stunned, heartbroken, grieving and yet not surprised by what has just happened to our sisters and brothers in Orlando.  I see the murderer as a product of our Islamophobic, homophobic, sexist, patriarchal, and Euro-colonialized culture; every part of the world colonized by the British and their anti-'sodomy' insanity have been infected with rampant homophobia.  All sthese systemic oppressions have collided with mental illness (ostracized and untreated holistically in our American culture) to create this massacre.  This event did not happen in a vacuum.
Though I have Cherokee and Quapaw heritage I was raised in a conservative, republican, Christian, homophobic, gun toting, yet very loving family.    I was taught that to be intimate with someone of the same sex was an abomination and the ultimate of reviling behavior.  When I came out to my family as bi-sexual in my early twenties they still loved me, but were shocked and disgusted.  They luckily didn't seem to harbor hatred;  this is probably partly because I started dating a man and had a baby, and partly because they're wonderful people who have been through a lot and get over things pretty well.  In raising our child, my partner and I chose a gender neutral name and cross-dressed and/or neutrally dressed our baby all. the. time.  It was so interesting to see adults connect with our child very differently when they though he was a boy versus when they thought he was a girl.  Our baby 'girl' received more tender words and soft touches, while our baby 'boy' received more rough words and attempts at 'tough guy' fist bumps.  When our child  was 11 months I took him to a Two-Spirit indigenous ceremony at a radical queer faerie community in Tennessee.  He was embraced lovingly by this community in which babies were few and far between; our gender bending parenting strategy was also welcomed without needing to explain anything...so refreshing!  A few years later we took him to their radical faerie gathering.  The Two-Spirit ceremony and radical faerie gathering were full of cross dressing, trans, and queer folks, expressing our own version of our souls' sexuality, beauty, and art through any medium desired.  The safety of this community and land, held powerfully by a native elder guiding the Two-Spirit ceremony was absolutely gorgeous to behold.  When I left that land I felt the rest of the world was grey and dull, missing the brightness and freedom and wilderness of expression inherent in the radical faerie community.  Though I'm sure the mixed race group of radical faeries I spent time with are expressing themselves differently than the indigenous Two Spirit souls before colonization, I could see the respect and the hope in these celebrations for what had gone before and what new culture was being created in the wounds of the Euro-American takeover.  I felt grateful to learn of the Two-Spirit ways of Native Americans, our ancestors, when my little one was so new, but I hadn't read much more about it all till Anton Treuer's book and till the events of this week.  I really appreciate the following article very much.  I hope my family reads it.  I hope you read it.  Bless our communities of Two Spirit souls, and please do community/policy change work in whatever way you feel moved to protect and liberate our world so they can feel safe and free and whole.  Our LGBTQZ community needs everyone right now and forever to stand with them for protection, respect, and healing.  

http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2016/01/23/two-spirits-one-heart-five-genders 

Also, I love this site, full of great online media programming all about aboriginal peoples' history and movements today.  
http://www.cbc.ca/8thfire/index.html

I appreciate this summary of indigenous/Euro history: https://www.facebook.com/cbcdocs/videos/10154256899971950

 

End of Module 3

The American Indian Film Insitute

I was drawn towards the link of the American Indian Film Insitute because I'm interested in film production and I was intrigued to see what it was all about. Before I looked, I assumed it was films written by Indians. I was somewhat correct. AIFI is an organization that produces Indian films that are not only written by Indians, but produced, directed, and even star Indians. Founded in 1975 in Seattle, later moved to San Francisco, it's the largest Native American media in California and the world's oldest.

AIFI's main goals are:
"1) To bring the broader media culture the Native voices, viewpoints and stories historically excluded from mainstream media;
2) To develop Indian and non-Indian audiences for this work;
and 3) to advocate for authentic media representations of Indians" (AIFI).

Every year they also have a festival where they screen films and hold awards.

In 2001, they introduced the AIFI Tribal Touring Program. It's a program designed for at-risk youth (13-20). It teaches them the skills to make films and to become in touch with their culture. The program travels to isolated reservations and is offered 3-5 times every summer.

I feel this is an extremely important organization because it allows Natives to tell their own stories instead of popular media outlets sanitizing their history. I also really like that they have programs for youth. With reservation unemployment and dropout rates so high, it allows youth to gain skills and learn they are capable of doing amazing things without losing their culture.

This is an image of the past festival posters.

And this is last year.

AIFI

Module 3 blog

I chose an article from the United South and Eastern Tribes site that was about Steven Judd who is part of a movement called #IDLENOMORE ( silent no more). This movement speaks out about the abuse of the Earth and women. It coupled these two issues together because of the similarity with women and Mother Earth as being represented as a female. What is a common misconception of this movement is that it is old and that it is only for the good of Native Americans. Women of every color and creed are included when arguing the case of violence against women.  Deborah Parker spoke out at a rally against the abuses that women face. There is mention of the case Bradley vs State where it was deemed a man’s right to moderately beat his wife.

 What is consistent in Judds article is that this is not a Native American fight it is for the good of all mankind. Everyone will benefit from clean water natives and non-natives alike. His stance is that #IDLENOMORE is not a movement that is temporary, its here to stay.  The cry was against the Canadian bill C-45, which removed the protection of over 30 thousand lakes being protected to only 97 lake being protected by the First Nations. “ Its not a Canada or United States thing. Multinational corporations do not care about borders and neither should we (web).”

www.usetinc.org/

indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2013/01/16/idle-no-more-movement-dummies-or-what-heck-are-all-these-indians-acting-all-indian-ey

BLACK HILLS LAND CLAIM

Black Hills Land Claim

One of the most popular Native American land disputes in the United States is the claim on Black Hills from the Sioux Nation. The Black Hills mountain range is vast; it stretches nearly 70 miles from South Dakota to Wyoming; the land is rich with lush forests that produces pine and spruce trees. This land was vital for the Sioux before being relocated; the ongoing struggle is continuing and the Federal government is reluctant to give back the sacred lands that once were ideal fishing and hunting grounds for the Sioux Tribe.

Here’s the kicker – the Blacks Hills contains several popular national parks (Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Badlands National Park, Devils Tower National Monument, Jewel Cave National Monument, Wind Cave National Park and Minuteman Missile National Historic Site.)  These parks bring in great sources of revenue for the federal government – not a single penny is given to the Sioux people. There have been many treaties dating back to the 1800’s regarding the Black Hills and proper ownership rights; in each instance, the Native Americans got the short end of the deal. The federal government continues to change the fine print of the treaties and financial reconciliation has never been mutually agreed upon.

The Obama administration continues to support the tribe and believes they should certainly have a say in the matter. A recent lawsuit has been filed totaling 900 million USD against the federal government claiming damages.

I don’t know – how is it possible that the fed refuses to compensate the original settlers of the Black Hills? It just doesn’t seem right..

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/north_america-july-dec11-blackhills_08-23/

M3 Blog

For the Module 3 blog, I reviewed the ipl2 database of Native American authors through the Internet Public Library.  At first I thought it would just be a listing of authors but it is much more comprehensive than that.  By clicking on a tribal name, it lists all the authors from that tribe as well as links to additional information.  From the main screen, a search can be done to find authors, titles or tribes.  This website is a gold mine and I wish I had looked at it before now as it would have been helpful in my previous studies.  Since Chief Joseph from the Nez Perce tribe is the voice I am studying, I clicked on the Nez Perce tribal link which showed me that there are three authors – Joe McLellan, W.S. Penn and Elizabeth Wilson.  Further scrolling down the page there are listings for online resources about the Nez Perce tribe which is a wealth of information.  I’m always happy to see anything that women have accomplished so I was drawn to find more information about Elizabeth Wilson. 

While Elizabeth is a descendant of Chief Joseph, her father was a non-Indian so the “folklore, customs and living skills” were taught to her by her mother, Tukpe-me.  She also attended the Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania for seven years and one of her accomplishments was becoming a pianist.  She was involved in other projects that promoted keeping the Nez Perce language and customs alive but is best known for her oral recordings that can be used by future generations.  When I clicked on the Ojibwe tribe, I expected to find Anton Treuer listed but I did not.  While this web page is active, it is no longer being updated so perhaps that is the reason.  

                                                                Elizabeth Wilson 

http://www.ipl.org/div/natam/bin/browse.pl/t60

http://lmtribune.com/feature/elizabeth-wilson-guardian-of-traditions/article_fdec24ff-3eeb-5b97-bc7b-9b08bc991bf3.html

https://www.google.com/search?q=Elizabeth+Wilson+native+american&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwil34Kmv4TNAhVIdT4KHRmYBqwQ_AUICCgC&biw=1024&bih=685#imgrc=mbzfJpe2YZexuM%3A