Dance (musings)

Dance to Heal the Earth

Whenever you dance, wherever you dance, dance to heal the earth! 

Dancing is power. Dancing is prayer. Some say that all is dance. Maybe. Now there's a big dance coming, a dance to heal the earth. If you're reading this, you're probably part of it. You take part whenever you do whatever you do to help heal the earth. When you recycle. When you choose to show love, to fight for justice, to bring healing, to bring out what is good in others. When you avoid cruelty and dishonesty and waste. When you are outraged. When you speak out. When you give. When you consider the generations to come. When you protest to the oppressors and encourage those who feel the cutting edge of injustice. And, of course, when you dance. There is a tree that all the prophets see, and whenever you let your love show, you make the flowers grow. 

Soon this dance will be done in a big way, in the old way, on sacred ground. All living things will take part. If you want to, you can take part. No one is twisting your arm. You can stop any time you need to, and start up again whenever you're ready. If you've read this far, you probably know what I'm talking about. You've probably been doing it in one way or another for a good while. Soon will be the time to make no bones about it! Cut loose! 

Anytime you dance, anywhere, whether at a party or in church, dance to heal the earth! Let your feet beat a healing rhythm into the earth. Let your feet beat a strengthening rhythm for those who struggle the hardest. Let your feet beat a life-giving rhythm for all peoples, regardless of race or national boundary, regardless of whether we're human or whether we're the trees, the air, the fish, the birds, the buffalo, the bear, the crow. We come out of hiding, we come back from the dead, and we dance, and our dance is a prayer, and our songs and our rhythms and our breath give life. 

Is the music they're playing some mindless jingle? Never mind, as long as it's not bad music, and you can dance to the beat! Make your own words, and make the words a prayer. A prayer for the end of exploitation, a prayer for the end of lies, a prayer for healing, for justice, for life. Remember your prayer-song, feed it and let it get strong and pass it along. Dance and pray, whenever you dance, dance to heal the earth. 

Have you seen anything? Wear it out! Make it so that all can see what you see! Take a white T-shirt and mark it with your dreams. Is there anything you'd like to tell the world? Take your shirt and mark it with your song! This is the way it has been done, so you can do it too. Use any color except black (there are reasons for that that will become clearer later), and you'll probably find that a loose, pure cotton T is most comfortable for dancing in. Cos this is an actual dance, you dance hard, you sing and breathe hard and sweat. Wear it when you plan to go out dancing, to dance to heal the earth.

Some people do this dance while fasting, and dance for several days straight. But even a few minutes of dancing helps, and joins with all the other dancing going on, everywhere on Earth. Not everyone can fast these days. Besides, you never know when you're gonna dance, and you have to eat sometimes! But if you plan to dance, hold off eating till later, or just have a little. It's easier to dance if you don't have a hotdog weighing you down. 

Some people say, do not do sacred things where people are drinking and partying. But all the universe is a sacred place. It really doesn't matter what others are doing, you can make a place sacred wherever you are, with your intention and your prayers. Some people use smoke to make a place sacred; a cigarette or incense stick will do fine. You can dance to heal the earth anywhere, even a party or a bar! The earth is everywhere, so you can dance anywhere to heal her. Only one thing. Please hold off drinking or using any other intoxicants till you're done. It works better that way. 

The Lie has gone far enough. It spreads and makes everyone sick. Now is the time for this dance to begin. It, too, will spread, and it will bring healing to all. In the beginning, they say, God put a rainbow in the sky, to let us know that Spirit never forgets. Now is the time for us to put a rainbow across the earth, to let God know that we, too, remember. 

Dance to heal the earth. Not just when you're dancing, but always. Live the dance, whenever you move, in all you do, dance to heal the earth.

Living With Terror (musings)

Notes from Indian Country
By Tim Giago (Nanwica Kciji)
© 2003 Lakota Media, Inc.

February 24, 2003
 Indians have Lived with Terrorism for 500 Years

There is a terrible fear sweeping across America. Since 9/11 the American people have had to face their own vulnerability.

The threat of terrorism hangs in the air. Sudden death can strike anywhere at anytime. There is no timetable nor is there a country America can strike in the event of another horrible attack by the terrorists.

After 9/11 the question was asked; why do they hate us? Perhaps that question should be rephrased to ask, "What have we done to them to make them hate us?"

America is now experiencing the fear American Indians have felt for more than 500 years. Our ancestors never knew what act of violence or terror would befall them from the American invaders. But death did come. It came in the form of biological warfare when small pox tainted blankets were distributed to the unsuspecting victims.

It came to them from the muzzles of guns that did not distinguish between warriors, women, elders or children. It came to them in the ruthless name of Manifest Destiny, the American edict that proclaimed God as the purveyor of expansion Westward.

Indian people were often slaughtered like animals often under a flag of truce and often while waving the American flag in pitiful efforts to convince their killers that they were not bad people.

At Wounded Knee in 1890, a slaughter took place that the white man often called the last great battle between Indians and the United States Army. It was not a battle. It was the last heinous action against innocent men, women and children. Their bodies were strewn across the valley known as Wounded Knee under the barrage set down by the Seventh Cavalry.

They died not knowing why. They died in fear. They died in the frozen snow of that bitterly cold December day while fleeing to find safe harbor amongst the Oglala Lakota. These Lakota experienced terrorism heaped upon them by a government that did not consider them to be human beings.

When human beings can be publicly acknowledged as less than human, their deaths become meaningless. By portraying all Indians as murdering savages, rapists, kidnappers and worse, the national media of the day laid the groundwork for Wounded Knee. The media laid the groundwork for the expansion West that would claim thousands of lives. Horace Greeley wrote, "Go West, Young Man, Go West."

And they did. By the thousands they came seeking land, gold and all of the natural resources that were out there for the taking. The only thing standing in their way was the Indian people. It was their land and it was their natural resources.

Just as the Christian Crusaders believed it was their Manifest Destiny to conquer and kill those Arabs they considered as sub-humans and heathens, so did the American Army duplicate their horrible actions. The difference is the Arabs defeated the Crusading invaders.

Oftentimes Missionaries were sent out to soften up the resistance of the Indians by converting them to Christianity. Many of the Indians slaughtered in the massacres that followed were converted Christians.

And right behind the missionaries followed the treaty makers. They used the treaties as temporary documents of appeasement. A treaty would gain them a firm foothold on Indian land and more control over the people. The treaties were quickly broken and the United States then took total control over the land and the people. The people were herded on to small reservations and treated like caged animals.

The Indian people fought back as best they could, but having been portrayed as savages without human thought or feelings, they were slaughtered by the thousands. Mercenaries such as the infamous African American Buffalo Soldiers were even used to kill, rape and pillage.

Just as many books and later movies about Arabs portrayed them as less than human, so to do the media treat the American Indian.

The fear and anxiety felt by the Indian people did not end at Wounded Knee. In many ways that was just the beginning. For the Lakota, Arapaho and Cheyenne it started in 1876.

When the warriors of the Great Sioux Nation and their allies stood up against George Armstrong Custer at the Battle of the Greasy Grass, they were punished by having their beloved He’ Sapa (Black Hills) confiscated from them without compensation. In 1981 a pitiful monetary award was made to the people of the Great Sioux Nation. Compared to the billions of dollars in timber and gold that had been extracted from the He’ Sapa, the award was pathetic.

And in this year of 2003, the Sioux people, amongst the poorest people on this planet, have refused to accept this token payment for their Sacred He’ Sapa. And guess what; America just doesn’t give a damn. It like, "Hey, we offered them the money and therefore it’s settled." It is a long way from settled and maybe someday someone in a position of power will come along who will recognize this fact. And maybe someday, America may actually recognize that it spread a path of fear and terror amongst the Indian people that is still not resolved.

With each passing day, there is still fear and anxiety in Indian country. We never know when or if the United States will take away what little we have remaining. Our language, our culture, our traditions, and our spirituality have all been under constant attack for 500 years.

The American Indian knows what it is to live in the shadow of terrorism. And now the rest of America is learning.

(Tim Giago, an Oglala Lakota, is editor and publisher of the weekly newspaper Lakota Journal. He is the founder and first president of the Native American Journalists Association. He can be reached at editor@lakotajournal.com or P.O. Box 3080, Rapid City, SD, 57709)

7 Rules For Men (musings)

 

Seven Philosophies for the Native American Man

 

 

 

"Being Indian is mainly in your heart. It's a way of walking with the earth instead of upon it. A lot of the history books talk about us Indians in the past tense, but we don't plan on going anywhere... We have lost so much, but the thing that holds us together is that we all belong to and are protectors of the earth; that's the reason for us being here. Mother Earth is not a resource, she is an heirloom." ~ David Ipinia, Yurok Artist,

 

The following was from the Gathering of Native American Men in June 1996 at Colorado.  Approximately 2000 Native American Men, families, and friends gathered their from June 1 to 2 representing about 115 Tribes.

 

What are the Seven Philosophies?

 

The Seven Philosophies for a Native American Man are guidelines for Indian men on their journey through life.   The wisdom of Native Elders is contained in the Seven Philosophies and is offered to Native American men so that they may be better fathers, sons, husbands, uncles, relatives, friends, Tribal members and citizens of the countries in which they live.   The Seven Philosophies point the way towards a return to the values of Native American culture for the healing of individuals, families and Native Communities.

 

 First Philosophy 

 

TO THE WOMEN

 

The cycle of life for the woman is the baby, girl, woman, and grandmother.   These are the four directions of life.   She has been given by natural laws, the ability to reproduce life.   The most sacred of all things is life.   Therefore, all men should treat her with dignity and respect.   Never was it our way to harm her mentally or physically.   Indian men were never abusers.   We always treated our women with respect and understanding.  So from now on:

 

• I will treat women in a sacred manner.  The Creator gave women the responsibility for bringing new life into the world.   Life is sacred, so I will look upon the women in a sacred manner.

 

• In our traditional ways, the woman is the foundation of the family.   I will work with her to create a home atmosphere of respect, security and harmony.

 

• I will refrain from any form of emotional or physical abuse.   If I have these feelings, I will talk to the Creator for guidance.

 

• I will treat all women as if they were my own female relatives.

 

This is my vow.

 

 Second Philosophy 

 

TO THE CHILDREN

 

As an eagle prepares its young to leave the nest will all the skills and knowledge it needs to participate in life, in the same manner so will I guide my children.   I will use the culture to prepare them for life.

 

• The most important thing I can give to my children is my time.   I will spend time with them in order to learn from them and to listen to them.

 

• I will teach my children to pray, as well as the importance of respect.

 

• We are the caretakers of the children for the Creator.   They are His children, not ours.

 

• I am proud of our own Native language.   I will learn it if I can and help my children to learn it.

 

• In today's world it is easy for the children to go astray, so I will work to provide positive alternatives for them.   I will teach them the culture.   I will encourage education.   I will encourage sports.   I will encourage them to talk to the Elders for guidance; but mostly, I will seek to be a role model myself.

 

• I make this commitment to my children so they will have courage and find guidance through traditional ways.

 

 Third Philosophy 

 

TO THE FAMILY

 

The creator gave to us the family, which is the place where all teachings are handed down from the grandparent, to the parent, and to the child.   The children's behavior is a mirror of the parents behavior.   Knowing this, I realize the importance for each Indian man to build a strong and balanced family.   By doing this, I will break the cycle of hurt and ensure the positive and mental health of the children, even the children yet to be born.   So from now on:

• I will dedicate my priorities to rebuilding my family

 

• I must never give up and leave my family only to the mother.

 

• I am accountable to restore the strength of my family.   To do this, I will nurture our family's spiritual, cultural, and social health.   I will demonstrate trust, respect, honor and discipline; but mostly I will be consistent in whatever I do with them.

 

• I will see that the grandparents and community Elders play a significant role in the education of my children.

 

• I realize that the male and female together are fundamental to our family life.   I will listen to my mates council for our family's benefit, as well as for the benefit of my Nation.

 

 Fourth Philosophy 

 

TO THE COMMUNITY

 

The Indian community provides many things for the family.   The most important is the sense of belonging; that is, to belong to "the people", and to have a place to go.   Our Indian communities need to be restored to health so the future generation will be guaranteed a place to go for culture, language and Indian socializing.   In the community, the honor of one is the honor of all and the pain of one is the pain of all.   I will work to strengthen recovery in all parts of my community.   As an Indian man:

 

 

• I will give back to my community by donating my time and talents when I am able.

 

• I will cultivate friendships with other Indian men for mutual support and strength.

 

• I will consider the effects of our decisions on behalf of the next seven generations; in this way, our children and grandchildren will inherit healthy communities.

 

• I will care about those in my community so that the mind changers, alcohol and drugs, will vanish, and our communities will forever be free of violence.

 

• If each of us can do all these things, then others will follow; ours will be a proud community.

 

 Fifth Philosophy 

 

TO THE EARTH

 

Our Mother Earth is the source of all life, whether it be the plants, the two-legged, four-legged, winged ones or human beings.   The Mother Earth is the greatest teacher, if we listen, observe and respect her.   When we live in harmony with the Mother Earth, she will recycle the things we consume and make them available to our children and to their children.   As an Indian man,  I must teach my children how to care for the Earth so it is there for the future generations.  So from  now on:

 

• I realize the Earth is our mother.   I will treat her with honor and respect.

 

• I will honor the interconnectedness of all things and all forms of life.

 

• I will realize the Earth does not belong to us, but we belong to the Earth.

 

• The natural law is the ultimate authority upon the lands and water.   I will learn the knowledge and wisdom of the natural laws.   I will pass this knowledge in to my children.

 

The mother Earth is a living entity that maintains life.   I will speak out in a good way whenever I see someone abusing the Earth.   Just as I would protect my own mother, so will I protect the Earth.  I will ensure that the land, water, and air will be intact for my children and mu children's children - unborn.

 

 Sixth Philosophy 

 

TO THE CREATOR

 

As an Indian man, I realize we make no gains without the Great Spirit being in our lives.   Neither I nor anything I attempt to do, will work without the Creator.   Being Indian and being spiritual has the same meaning.   Spirituality is out gift from the Great One.  This day, I vow to walk the Red Road.

 

• As an Indian man, I will return to the traditional and spiritual values which have guided my ancestors for the past generations.

 

• I will look with new eyes on the powers of our ceremonies and religious ways, for they are important to the very survival of our people.

 

• We have survived and are going to grow and flourish spiritually.   We will fulfil our teachings and the purpose that the Creator has given  us with dignity.

 

• Each day, I will pray and ask for guidance.   I will commit to walk the Red Road, or whatever the spiritual way is called in my own culture.

 

• If I am Christian, I will be a good one.   If I am traditional, I will walk this road with dedication.

 

• If each if us can do these things then others will follow.  From this day forward, I will reserve time and energy for spirituality, seeking to know the Creators will.

 

 

 Seventh Philosophy 

 

TO MYSELF

 

I will think about what kind of person I want to be when I am an Elder.   I will start developing myself now to be this person.

 

 

• I will walk with the Great Spirit and the grandfathers at my side.  I will develop myself to remain positive.   I will develop a good mind.

 

• I will examine myself daily to see what I did good and what I need to improve.   I will examine my strength and weaknesses, then I will ask the Creator to guide me.   I will develop a good mind.

 

• Each day, I will listen to the Creators voice in the wind.   I will watch nature and ask to be shown a lesson which will occur on my path.

 

• I will seek out the guiding principles which guided my ancestors.  I will walk in dignity, honor and humility, conducting myself as a warrior.

 

• I will seek the guidance of the Elders so that I may maintain the knowledge of culture,  ceremonies, and songs, and so that I may  pass these on to the future generations.

 

• I choose to do all these things myself, because no one else can do them for me.

 

• I know I cannot give away what I don't have so I will need to walk the talk.

 

What we have is because someone stood up before us.  What our Seventh Generation will have is a consequence of our actions today

-Winona LaDuke, Annishnabe

Arizona & Diversity (musings)

Arizona’s new anti-immigrant rendered absurd by the state’s historical diversity

The lawmakers running Arizona apparently need a quick lesson in their own history. Rather than learn about the state to which they or their parents likely immigrated, they’d rather ban such education, and cripple their constituents with the same ignorance that has branded them as fools and pariahs.

This month the Arizona legislature passed two loony bills, both signed into law by the governor. The first one mandates that police investigate the citizenship or immigration status of anyone who appears foreign, or as they often put it, “illegal.” Once identified as suspicious, suspects must prove their citizenship or immigration status. The second bill outlaws public school classes that might question these attempts to target minorities for oppressive treatment, or, say, just accurately teach about Arizona’s culturally diverse history. It’s no accident that the two laws appear in tandem.

To prepare for the first law, Arizona’s Maricopa County (that’s where Phoenix is located), with a population of four million people, hired University of Missouri at Kansas City law professor Kris Kobach to train their police. Kobach, a former George W. Bush administration attorney, also represents the legal arm of the Federation for American Immigration Reform. The Southern Poverty Law Center, a group that monitors and documents racist activity, identifies the federation as a hate group. The Anti-Defamation League, in condemning the hiring of Kobach, points out that the federation received more than a million dollars in underwriting from a racist group advocating eugenics, the purposeful breeding of a superior race.

Welcome to Arizona.

For $250 an hour, Kobach trains Maricopa police officers in the supposed science of spotting undocumented immigrants. According to Professor Kobach, you can identify them by their “dress or appearance.” Perhaps he expects them to wear mariachi costumes. Their appearance, he explains, will be “out of place or unusual for a specific locale.” So don’t wear your loafers to an Arizona McDonald’s unless you have your papers in order. (Zeigen Sie mir Ihre Papiere!) Suspected “illegals” will also “avoid making eye contact with the officer,” behavior that would put most New Yorkers under suspicion. Kobach explains that aliens also make “evasive maneuvers” when driving, “such as abruptly exiting from the highway,” and it will appear that their “vehicle and/or its occupants have been on a very long trip,” all of which doesn’t bode well for the 37 million tourists who visit Arizona annually, most without their birth certificates or passports.

So in short, if you wind up driving in Arizona with, say, New York license plates on your car, don’t exit the highway or wear a Yankees cap. Be sure to look all cops in the eye, wear a Stetson, and always carry your citizenship papers. Or maybe just pick another state to visit.

Passed by an overwhelmingly Republican state legislature, the bill amounts to a wild irresponsible act of grandstanding, and is backed nationally by that party’s far-right fringe. Bill O’Reilly, for example, speaking on the party’s Fox News network, regularly repeats his argument that radical action was necessary in Arizona since Phoenix’s crime rate is “through the roof,” that “Phoenix is one of the most dangerous cities in the country,” and that it has become “the kidnapping capital of the United States.” This is news to the FBI, which actually records such statistics, and to the city of Phoenix, which late last year reported that “Violent and property crimes in Phoenix continue to drop, despite an increase in population and a challenging economy.” The city boasts that “The numbers of crimes in 2009 are on track to be the lowest in 15 years.”

All of this nonsense is supposedly about keeping “illegal” foreigners out of Arizona. The bulk of these supposed foreigners are Mexicans of Native American ancestry, like the people who settled the first agrarian communities in Arizona in 2000 BCE. The new Arizona dragnets would likely snag, for example, native Hopi residents of Oraibi, Arizona, which was settled about 900 years ago and has been continuously occupied ever since. It’s residents would, if they traveled to Phoenix, fit many of the criteria Kobach outlines for spotting “illegal” immigrants, and would perpetually have to prove their citizenship status.

A quick look at the history of Arizona contextualizes the wackiness of the state legislature’s xenophobia. The Spanish colonized the area we know as Arizona in 1539, making it part of Spain until 1821, when it became part of the newly independent Mexican state. In 1848, the US, in the Mexican-American War, seized the area we now call Arizona. Fifteen years later, during the Civil War, Congress declared Arizona a territory and brutally expelled 7,000 of its native Diné (Navajo) inhabitants. Do the math. After thousands of years of native settlement, Arizona was Spanish and Mexican for 309 years, then became a US territory and state for 147 years. People whose families have been in Arizona for many generations are likely to be short in stature, dark-skinned, and descended from Spanish speakers. And they’re likely to be racially targeted by Maricopa’s Kobach-trained police.

Two generations ago, the population of Arizona was roughly 500,000 people. By 1981, the population grew to just under three million. Today it’s over six and a half million. Most of the white English-speaking population in Arizona hails from this recent immigration. These immigrants can be identified by their pinkish skin and their ability to “fit in” with other pink-skinned people like Kobach and his movement of English-speaking immigrants. Ten years ago Arizona passed a bill outlawing public school education in any language other than English. Last month the Arizona Department of Education started a crackdown on “heavily accented” teachers. (Imagine what would happen if the US Senate adopted a similar policy.)

Is all this Arizona history new to you? Well, don’t feel bad. Soon it will be unknown to Arizona school children as well. This brings us to the second piece of Arizona legislation signed into law this month. Courses in “ethnic studies,” which in Arizona means honors or elective high school courses on Mexican-American, Native-American, and African-American history and studies, are now illegal to teach in Arizona public schools. In a similar vein, state leaders singled out specific books, such as the classic text Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire, which is now verboten in Arizona schools. Humanity has been down this road before way too many times.

Historically, every settler state eventually sanitizes its own history, because, as George Orwell put it, “He who controls the past, controls the future.” In Arizona, this means there’s no place for teaching the history of oppression to a people who are still being oppressed on an increasing basis. If you ignore this oppression, it won’t go away, and that’s the whole idea here.

Dr. Michael I. Niman is a professor of journalism and media studies at Buffalo State College. His previous Artvoice columns are available at www.artvoice.com, archived at www.mediastudy.com, and available globally through syndication.

Andre's 7 Rules (education)

Andre’s 7 Rules Of Native Education

These rules are my reflections after having worked in Native Education at all levels (parent, teachers aid, bus driver, high school teacher, head start teacher and administrator, college instructor, principal, and tribal education director). They are written to an audience of supplemental Indian Education programs. I have modified them and added to them over the years as I continue to learn and find other successful practices and programs. As has been demonstrated, through time and research, the techniques that successfully meet the unique needs of American Indian students are also effective with ANY non-typical learner

 

1.    Do Not Waste Your Money On Tutoring: This is the reason a school exists, to educate our students. If we use limited resources to relive them of this responsibility we are not able to work on broader issues that need to be addressed. Tutoring is a great tool to assist one, and only one, student; but it does not change the core problems that cause them to need tutoring. Use limited resources to be an advocate for all of your students in getting better curriculum, training and staff to work with our students and families. Tutoring can be made available by leveraging resources. Tutors can be paid for by outside resources such as Title 1 & VII, NCLB low performing schools and community learning center grants, Americorps, Peer Tutors, After School Programs, Cross Age Tutors, TANF, Workforce Investment Act funds, Adopt-a- Grandparent, be creative to stretch budgets.

2.    60-80% of Your Students Will Have A Visual Learning Disorder: This means dyslexia, numeric dyslexia, amblyloplia (lazy eye), focusing slowness, blurred and low vision (correctable with lenses) nutritional deficiencies, etc. If student are undiagnosed with these problems they WILL be labeled as discipline problems, or special ed. and will put on a path that gets them further away from having their specific needs met. You need to work cooperatively with IHS clinic, local specialist and the district to identify this as a learning disability and included in an IEP.

3.    Change The System To Meet The Needs Of Students & Families, Not The Opposite: Western Education Models by and large are not the best approach for Native learners. American Indians learn best by visually reinforced teaching methods. Not lecture and copy. Participatory project based thematic instruction works wonders for any child. Unfortunately the focus is put on how teachers and schools systems feel “comfortable” in presenting instruction, which is they way they learned in College, predominately rote drills, written tests, lectures and homework. The copier and laser printer have replaced the ditto machine and mimeographs that all churn out endless streams of materials that are not designed to stimulate children to learn but rather to keep them busy.

4.    90% of the problems In The World Are CAUSED BY A Breakdown in communication: Help your students learn to speak clearly and effectively. This includes active listening which when bundled with decision-making skills, leadership training and internal asset development will get them well on the road to being a student poised to succeed. Helping students develop these internal assets will give them the skills and tools to grow and will help motivate them in school. Students who have fewer of these abilities will make poor choices that will negatively impact success in school. Use strong communication skills yourself. Do not leave things unsaid; seek common understanding of the issues at hand. Communication between the family and the school system will help minimize conflict and confusion. Work to achieve clarity and to promote long-term positive relationships based upon mutual respect and cooperation.

5.    Schools must create, use & SUPPORT culturally appropriate curriculum: An integrated culturally responsive course of study uses materials and resources that link traditional knowledge and culture into the curriculum. The use of tribal art, history, language, geography, literature, and science can infuse the educational experience in relevance that will serve the needs of the Native student. Utilizing community resources such as tribal artists, ceremonial leaders, elders and language teacher to supplement and support the core curriculum will promote greater relevance to and mastery of the information being taught.

6.    THE POWER OF COLLABORATIONS CANNOT BE UNDER ESTIMATED: Much like student study teams cooperative relationships between Indian Education Programs (Title VII, JOM and American Indian Education Centers) School District personnel, Parents Tribes and community agencies will promote the growth and potential success of our students. Together you can create an effective and holistic learning environment. Additionally, many Native students learn best in a cooperative learning environment. Use more small group cooperative learning projects with students that have a variety of skills and strengths (oral presentations, artistic, reading, social etc).

7.    Everyone Should Adopt These Rules: At least consider them in working with students.  The more we can make the education system accessible to all students the more we will be able to direct our limited funds to providing students with additional, tools, resources and programs that will better prepare them for their post-secondary vocational or academic careers.

 

If education systems do not operate with these rules considered Indian students will ultimately be pushed out of school when students drop out or are shunted to “Alternative Education Programs, home study etc we are relieving the system of their duty to educate our students. Work to break down the artificial barriers that impede learning and alienate students and families from the system. My best advice is to listen to your students and families and temper that with your own experience to change the overall system to best serve the needs of your community.

©André Cramblit. andre.p.cramblit.86@alum.dartmouth.org

BIA Needs Change (musings)

Experts agree: Bureau of Indian Affairs needs change

By 
JAMES F. SIMERMEYER
 
04/04/2010
 
The worldwide American Indian Workshop took place on March 25, 2010 and included a video-conference, which I moderated between ethno-historians and attorneys in the Czech Republic, and Indian chiefs at Columbia University in New York City.

The consensus from the conference was to take a radical and new approach to Federal Recognition of Indian tribes. At the conclusion of the conference I asked myself, "Was this conference the genesis of modern Indian law for tribes?

Since 1978, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) has been charged with determining the credibility of Indian tribes’ request for federal recognition, through its Office of Federal Acknowledgement (OFA). Since the process began in 1978, 45 tribal applications for federal recognition were processed by the OFA, 16 tribes obtained recognition and 29 tribes were denied recognition. There are over 200 tribal applications currently pending with the BIA. The average wait time for a decision from the OFA is 29 years.

There are seven criteria that must be met by a tribe seeking federal recognition through the BIA. The OFA has teams of three professionals to evaluate each tribe. The teams consist of a genealogist (non-degree), historian and anthropologist. The standard applied by the evaluation team is “reasonable likelihood."

The academics in Prague made short work of the seven criteria used by the OFA and focused on the fact that the standards were not consistent with current academic standards and specifically failed to recognize the significance of kinship models. The Ethno-historians deemed emphasis on blood quantum, rather than kinships by the OFA, as a basic flaw that would conclude subjectively excluding tribes that should be recognized. The panel also discussed the need for qualified experts to determine federal recognition rather than bureaucrats with little or no academic qualifications. A formal recommendation will be made by the panel setting forth the basic academic qualifications such as: doctorate degree, peer review publications and expertise in specific tribal history as opposed to general knowledge about Native Americans.

The legal experts on the panel made it clear that the “reasonable likelihood” standard was ill-defined and failed to meet any legal standard such as preponderance of the evidence (51%). The appeal of any decision based on the “reasonable likelihood” standard would result in confusion rather than certainty and allow “to stand” bureaucratic decisions that are arbitrary and capricious.

Present in New York was Chief Harry Wallace of the Unkechauge Indian Nation, Chief Rev. Donald R. Carter of the Coharie Tribal Nation, and Trudie Lamb Richmond from the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation.
After four decades of being involved in Native American issues, Richmond eloquently expressed the tribal experience with the BIA process:

“We submitted our petition for federal recognition in 1994 after spending tens of thousands of dollars, dealing with the almost impossible seven criteria requirements, with an endless line of lawyers, anthropologists, ethno-historians, archaeologists--all of whom advised how to meet the criteria standards; standards which appeared to be devised to set us up to fail," Richmond said.

Professor John Strong expressed the fundamental problem in the process was that Native American culture was non-literate (oral) and the European culture was literate (written). To require an oral culture to produce documents that relate back to the 1600s is unjust and intended to exclude tribes.
The alternate route is legislative or executive, which requires extensive lobbying that is financially prohibited to tribes that are not affiliated with gaming interests.

The panel agreed that tribes seeking federal recognition must use alternative methods and demand a change in the BIA criteria and evaluation of tribes. The legal experts suggested administrative correction of past injustices by the BIA in excluding tribes from federal recognition based on discrimination.

One example used by legal members of the panel was the refusal of federal recognition to tribes because some members were inter-married with blacks. Another example was the failure of tribal members to meet the physical standards (measurement of head, nose, etc.) set by the BIA. These examples are just a few of the discriminatory actions taken in 1934 by John Collier in the implementation of the Indian Reorganization Act.

The new approach seems to be centered around tribal demands for administrative corrections to past injustices, which will be documented by scholars and enforced by legal experts. This confrontational approach is justified by the historical evidence found in the BIA’s inability to treat native tribes fairly.

Marrying Into The Tribe (musings)

HOOPA, Calif. -- Born, and mostly raised, in the inner-city projects of Fresno, Calif., almost everyone I knew was Mexican or African American. We picked grapes every summer, along with the migrant workers, to raise money for school clothes.

How I met my “native”: I was living and working in San Diego, and went to Redding for Christmas to visit my parents. My sister talked me into going out to a bar. She saw Dana, my future husband, across the room and said, "Hey, there is someone I want you to meet." I took one look at him and thought, "That's the guy I'm going to marry."  Full narrative at: http://tinyurl.com/yag7xvc

Thinking Indian (education)

By Richard B. Williams

Many years ago I started a personal research project on what it meant to “Think Indian” or more specifically “Think Lakota or Cheyenne.” I was working with learning-challenged students at the University of Colorado-Boulder in the University Learning Center. I was also working with American Indian students at various academic levels and saw the unique cognitive challenges they were having in mainstream academia. All of these students were very intelligent and scored high enough on the ACT to be admitted to the University of Colorado, but were challenged by the academic methodology and pedagogy.  Full story at: http://www.indiancountrytoday.com/living/education/63873117.html