Native American Netroots - Recent Comments

This is a terrific documentation

navajo — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 08:38:03 GMT

of the Shepard Fairey/Aaron Huey collaboration "The Black Hills Are Not For Sale."

Thank you Winter Rabbit for reminding us of our history.

navajo — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 08:04:45 GMT

Each year we gather more and more readers.

I first heard about the Spanish invasion of

navajo — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 18:05:49 GMT

Navajo/Hopi land as a small child through oral history (oral history, gasp!) from my mother who was born (1920s) and raised on the Navajo reservation. She said that when the Spaniards first rode in the Navajo and Hopi greeted them and held up fruit to offer as a friendly gesture, she said the Spaniards cut off their hands holding the fruit.

Nice.

She said it was war after that.

I'm pretty sure she didn't learn this at boarding school.

Welcome to our first edition of First Nations News & Views

navajo — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 21:53:28 GMT

What are you reading about in the news on American Indians?

All are welcome here

Ojibwa — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 01:00:42 GMT

While this has been primarily a place for reading, I think most of us who post here would welcome more discussions.

From my viewpoint, questions are always welcomed as they often inspire me to write new essays.

Again, welcome.

Ojibwa

Hi

Jay_ — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 08:58:15 GMT

Hi guys,

I am a newbie here and I am not an Native American, not even an American. Am I welcome here?

Is this a place for mostly reading articles or even discussions on the contemporary issues concerning the native American groups?

Wonderfully inspiring

betsyny — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 18:52:37 GMT

Thanks so much for putting this together. It really got us close to the installation. I hope this becomes a mural movement that springs up around the country, as Aaron is hoping.

Beautiful pics, MB an navajo! n/t

Bill in MD — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 02:10:16 GMT

Part of the solution to invisibility

Ojibwa — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 01:44:37 GMT

is for us to control our own history: for too long others have defined our history and told us what is important. The elder who "encouraged" (I came from a tradition that when the elders "encourage" you, you do it) me to start writing about history strongly emphasized that Indians had to write their own histories, and they had to control the publication of these histories.

Great piece. Thanks for bringing attention to..

Meteor Blades — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 23:53:29 GMT

...this issue.

We Indians have two problems regarding visibility. The first is that, except as symbols and historical examples, we are mostly invisible. Whether we live in urban areas or are rezidents, our issues go unnoticed even by much of the progressive community of which many of us are a part. The other is represented by what you have written here; that is, too often when we ARE visible, we are mere caricatures, and not just as team mascots.

I have a special interest in this since my high school's teams - Arvada High School in the Denver suburbs - were the "Redskins," with a racist logo to match and a wa-wa-wa guy dressed faux-Plains Indian style "dancing" to a drummer from the school band during athletic contests. Two of us, both varsity lettermen, tried to get the name changed in 1963, and were roundly ridiculed for it. It finally was changed in 1992 after a huge battle that included a vote of students, alumni and residents near the school. They switched to "Reds" and later "Bulldogs." I am always glad to see another of these hideously in-our-face throwbacks tumble into oblivion.

But there are still many around. And some people still think it's OK. Your headline, for instance, is filled with asterisks because people rightly are appalled when "nigger" is used as an epithet. No teams are called the Omaha "Niggers" or the New Orleans "Spics" or the Portland "Kikes." But you could have put "Redskins" into that headline and far fewer people would have flinched than if one of those other epithets had appeared fully spelled out. Indeed, the name Washington Redskins continues to be defended as perfectly all right.

The use of these disrespectful names and images for athletic teams, with the remaining resistance to change in some quarters, is certainly not the most important issue for Indians. But it is a reflection of those deeper issues that much of society clearly wishes to ignore.

It took ages to get the NCAA on board with putting the screws to colleges that wouldn't change their offensive mascots. But it finally did. The fight, however, continues at secondary schools around the country, with a good deal of defiance by the leaders of the communities in which they exist. May the day come when they are all gone.

Go forth and vote!

TheFatLadySings — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:41:10 GMT

Thank you, Neeta!

Two sides to every story

menotomy — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 20:26:41 GMT

Rowlandson was taken a couple months after, among other atrocities, the whites had burned 10 sick and elderly to death in their wi-toos. The healthy Pawtucket and Wamesit Indians had been driven north and these older/infirmed people had stayed. There are two sides to every story.

I think this is an excellent comment:

navajo — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 19:37:25 GMT

What I began to focus on, what my focus was drawn to, was the words I understood (as I don't know the language well): SIN, SHAME, BLOOD ATONEMENT, JESUS, TRINITY, REPENT, BORN AGAIN for example, repeated over and over. And I realized that these words don't exist in the Navajo language and never have.

Emphasis mine.

And the rest of your comment is great also.

It's so nice to have a Navajo speaker reading here. I grew up in urban areas and did not learn the language so I particularly appreciate your perspective.

Thanks for commenting here, I hope you'll comment again or write a diary.

Lenni Lenape - White Eyes

MyronDavid — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 18:48:05 GMT

Ojibwa
I am using this medium to contact you. My address is myronpaine@frozentrail.org. Google "Lenape Epic, Lenape migration."

I would prefer direct email contact with you. I am an EurAmerican. I would prefer to keep Native American Netroots as an American forum. So I encourage you not to publish this comment.

I have found persuasive evidence that the English historians purposely covered up and erased much of the 17th-18th century history regarding English relations with Americans.

White Eyes was murdered soon after 1778. The EurAmericans at that time were mostly of English descent. The "cover up and erase" appears to have been applied into the 19th century--until the slaughter at Wounded Knee. The Eurocentric Myth now called "American history" has carried the Eurocentric paradigm into the 21th century.

Do you have more detailed knowledge of the Lenape history between the death of White Eyes and the surrender of the Lenape History pictographs in 1820? If you do, I would like to compare that information to American History books.

Thanks for your reply.