tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89203840997799502112024-03-05T22:39:43.696-09:00Alaska RealAlaska culture, politics and life from an Alaskan Native perspective.Writing Ravenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05355894663266799206noreply@blogger.comBlogger430125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920384099779950211.post-50492242621294783852013-10-13T22:43:00.001-08:002013-10-13T22:43:32.056-08:00Shutdown: A Simple Proposal<div>
<div class="_5clb">
<i>Had to share this simple proposal from Liz Medicine Crow on responding to the government shutdown. Liz has been involved in, and led, many a reasonable discussion, and it is a reminder to me that there really are ways this could work.</i></div>
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A Simple Proposal</h2>
</div>
<div class="mts _50f8">
By Liz Medicine Crow</div>
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</div>
<div class="mts _50f8">
There
are many people analyzing, questioning, and investigating the why and
the how of the government shutdown and sequestration. This note was
written to look at the situation from a different angle, and not detract
from the hard work others are engaged in to try to resolve what can
only be termed 'a real piece of work'. I don't intend to offend folks,
but rather offer a different way forward or at least a new lens to look
through to inspire other ideas or solutions. Whenever I find myself in a
situation where I'm not at my best, I look to our cultural ways and try
to think from a collective place. It usually helps. </div>
<br />Sometimes
it takes an assortment of "that'll never happen's" to jar something
loose for others to come up with a brilliant idea! So here goes...<br /><br />A simple proposal.<br /><br />Utilize
Native knowledge and principles of engagement to leverage the
congressional stagnation that is a sell out of the very democrat
principles it espouses into something better than we have.<br /><br />Democracy is about citizenship. As the saying goes, when the people lead, the leaders will follow.<br /><br />Let's
convene a gathering of Native peoples, our friends, and those willing
to try a new way of civic engagement to come together and think about
the possibilities in the current situation. <br /><br />Can we utilize our
own values in leading a different way of thinking and mobilizing that
reignites our ability to lead our leaders, I mean, our elected
officials? People have stopped hearing each other, and instead of
listening to what others are saying, have gotten in the bad habit of
utilizing the time when their mouths aren't moving to come up with new
ways to share already formed opinions. And by doing that foreclosed any
real opportunity to establish a way forward. It will take real people
and a methodology developed with deep heart and hearing at its core to
move the dial beyond self-interest and high dosage opining.<br /><br />It is
a simple proposal but one that, at the very the least, comes at the
government shutdown limbo from a place of rebuilding relationships with
the help of Native people using tools we already have access to - Native
values (human values actualized through a collective lens rather than
that of an individual). It's a call for a re-centering on what and who
are actually important, a call I think we can all agree whose time has
come.<br /><br />There are some strong, warm and knowledgeable Native people
out there who know how to help lift others through the process to
achieve a better outcome that works for The Peoples, not just further
entrenchment into a failing stand-off. Isn't it time we try a
place-based model of engagement that has stood the test of time for the
First Peoples of this country and moves us into a different rhythm of
operating? Lord knows we need it. <br /><br />Why wait for the federal
impotence to pass? Why think of this as a crisis bringing our country
to its knees? My country, tis of thee. Who is thee? Thee needs to
stop talking and start listening. The longer we wait for someone else
to think and take action, the longer we wait.<br /><br />Why don't we step
into the gap and offer the solutions and then enact them? Congress is
in a state of ideological inertia. Unwillingness to lead for the good
of all- even those who may need more help and support than others- and
willful intention to disembowel the country over individual party
ideology that only affirms a small, privileged few, lands us exactly
where we are. That may be the intent of a few, but don't the citizens
have something to do with all of this? When one branch of this
government cannibalizes itself, what can the other two branches do? <br /><br />"We
don't need another hero." We need the citizenry to establish a path
forward. We can't leave it in the hands of elected officials and blame
them for voting the way of their individual special interest- it's
obvious we've given them too much authority - more than they can get
along with which means far more than they need. There are many bright,
caring and invested people out there, what are your simple solutions?<br /><br />Let's
drive ourselves together. I know, no one wants to actually spend time
with people they can't stand, but if we can't make ourselves sit in
uncomfortable places or actually take risks with our ways of thinking,
how do we expect to get out of this situation? We can do more than we
think by aligning our independent and autonomous natures into movement.
Break the inertia, resolve to do what must be done and that is to agree
to be better than we are. <br /><br />Our Tlingit people had peacemakers,
people trained to bring balance. Other indigenous cultures had similar
people and processes. Our system needs an infusion of this type of
equilibrium. It may provide a way to restore by bringing people
together rather than letting them push further and further away- after
all that is how fanatics are born, right?<br /><br />This is our reality.
There are some within the government whose beliefs and principles have
sabotaged the way forward at the expense of The People of the United
States. Under the US Constitution, that's generally considered treason.
In a company, that would be called failure to uphold your duty of
loyalty. We are not living the dream here, people! We are not free
thinking citizens engaged in a democratic society if we wait for the
'leaders' to lead. They have shown that they are in need of our action.
Invite them to participate in true citizen lead government- for the
people, by the people. And our Native peoples have the tools and
knowledge to help strengthen the outcome that would actually put us in a
place of empowerment. Are we willing to do it? I look to my left, I
look to my right, and I see the very fabric of Native culture and values
as a blanket of support for all citizens. This country needs it.
Despite all we have survived, isn't that something worth investing some
time in?<br /><br />How can people, Tribal governments, state governments,
non-profits, foundations, and all other organizations or societies step
forward in the breach of national representative leadership and come
together utilizing a framework of dialogue and deep thinking? <br /><br />As
Native peoples, struggling to overcome years of belittlement and
degradation, can we help undergird the national ecosystem of citizen
action? By being who our Ancestors trained us to be, using tools of
engagement to convene open forums, task diverse leadership teams to
establish thoughtful ways forward that have stood the test of thousands
of years of trial?<br /><br />Step 1. Meet using indigenous principles.
Agree to uphold them. You can't withhold consensus to forward movement,
but you can offer solutions for deep and critical thinking and
dialogue. And then, you get on the bus. Don't be afraid of change,
even if dressed in clothes you would never wear. Change is what is
needed. Not anarchistic change, not revolution or civil war, but rather
civil peace. After all, these leaders reflect our society. Let's hold
ourselves accountable, plan a different outcome and do it.<br /><br />Step
2. Resolve to come up with solutions that look over the horizon. The
current crisis is an impetus but it is not the boundary. <br /><br />Step
3. Act. Track. Measure. Deal with emergent issues as they arise,
placing in the priority que. Not everything is an emergency. Take care
of people first. They have to commit to being part of the driving
solutions- no bureaucratic posturing, no 'placing monkeys' on other
peoples backs (meaning you can't do your part because so and so has to
do theirs; that's a cop out and lack of accountability- find a way
around unworkable positions). Let's get over ourselves collectively.<br /><br />Step
4. Celebrate each step forward, focus on strengths, evolve and grow
consensus, keep moving. Why are we here? Being here doing this work
matters. Don't confuse leadership with politics again- they are not the
same thing. Take time to be thankful for all that we have. And we
have a lot. <br /><br />Step 5. Repeat until resolved. Then repeat again. Writing Ravenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05355894663266799206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920384099779950211.post-15392817614593915792013-07-22T14:30:00.003-08:002013-07-22T14:30:52.040-08:00The Wrongly Convicted: Looking at my own prejudiceI confess - I still have a lot of prejudices. <br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtuY6b7qBYy8ozn7iWXjxlBwiq7Fip7dHS8SibDokSg-lIrzHvJ-ENsNzVC_FrxEcpU5TTWo4GScI2JM6vvkvlIvUHCvdmJPLRYwg1_O98PhDuME5fQgUMhe0MfQk5bY5hKPndaT8Z2jI-/s1600/IMG_6831%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtuY6b7qBYy8ozn7iWXjxlBwiq7Fip7dHS8SibDokSg-lIrzHvJ-ENsNzVC_FrxEcpU5TTWo4GScI2JM6vvkvlIvUHCvdmJPLRYwg1_O98PhDuME5fQgUMhe0MfQk5bY5hKPndaT8Z2jI-/s320/IMG_6831%5B1%5D.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
I mean, try being human and not having assumptions and unfair prejudices against other groups of people. It's difficult at best. Not because people are so bad. But because human beings are just built to protect their own hurts by building walls up against other people. Or even groups of people.<br />
<br />
For my part, the imprisoned were just not a group of people I cared to... well, care about. I knew, logically, that people were certainly put in prison who did not deserve it, and even put to death. But that was somebody else's fight. I have plenty of my own battles, and I chose not to care about that particular one.<br />
<br />
But if I am being honest with myself, it has nothing to do with why I choose not to get involved in so many other causes. It has everything to do with how I feel about inmates. <br />
<br />
My own experiences with people who have gone to prison, more specifically with people who have gone to prison because of what they have done to me, entirely colors my view of how much I'm going to care that innocent people are imprisoned. Yes, it happens. But far more guilty people are imprisoned for far less time than they deserve. And how do you KNOW these people are innocent?<br />
<br />
So a few weeks ago I was invited by someone I respect (the only reason I went) to hear <a href="http://www.innocenceproject.org/Content/Ted_Bradford.php">Ted Bradford</a> speak. Bradford, who has an American Indian heritage, was convicted for a terrible crime he didn't commit. Ten years later, he was freed and eventually exonerated because DNA evidence showed he didn't do it.<br />
<br />
I heard him at a fundraiser for the <a href="http://www.alaskainnocence.org/">Alaska Innocence Project</a>, something I've known about but could have cared less to get involved with. Because who really cares about this topic anyways? <br />
<br />
Obviously - this is the point. Because there are a lot more people like me out there who take an apathetic (or worse) attitude toward the wrongly convicted, it is almost impossible to raise funds, draw attention or take on the monumental task of proving something that's already been "proven" through the courts.<br />
<br />
Hearing Bradford speak did make me reconsider this attitude. Just a guy. A normal guy minding his own business. And before he knows it, he is spending a decade behind bars. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://youtu.be/uLB7oPT7EYA" target="_blank">Video of Ted Bradford talking about his false confession.</a><br />
<br />
But I think the kicker was reading <a href="http://thefairbanksfour.com/2013/05/15/the-most-famous-man-in-the-world/">this post</a> regarding the "Fairbanks Four" efforts to free four convicted Alaska Native men. It talks about another wrongly convicted man who was put to death for crimes he didn't commit. Jesus Christ.<br />
<br />
Man. <br />
<br />
Talk about putting a mirror up in front of your face. If Christ were put up in front of the courts today, would I be that apathetic one regarding his sentence? It's somebody else's fight?<br />
<br />
I can't say it's made me an advocate quite yet. But as I look more at their cause and the enormous effort it takes just to free one innocent person, I must admit my own apathetic attitude is a big part of the societal problem.<br />
<br />
Whether it's a small effort like donating or spreading the word about the <a href="http://thefairbanksfour.com/">Fairbanks Four</a> or other cases, or larger efforts like getting directly involved in the cause, it deserves consideration, and not just a hardened heart and superior attitude toward the subject. Not only can I not afford the apathy in my own life, people like Bradford still behind bars can afford my attitude even less.Writing Ravenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05355894663266799206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920384099779950211.post-71350863722483673722013-07-18T16:28:00.000-08:002013-07-18T16:28:59.550-08:00Fact Wars by Joe Bedard: Once upon a corporate America...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBHgCoAcpv4od-LqvjA51PDQgUu5tvrSRK6IpbYj_SaNC479_Nz5BwcRLozryGq2ysw08iT1Q2Wxpc8J4GURxIVTc4sUDAdUsQCkJ9BPNbQ6jGIZ99n1So7E4LtUwR1xTFGlp_wiUHCl2U/s1600/SoldCapitol.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBHgCoAcpv4od-LqvjA51PDQgUu5tvrSRK6IpbYj_SaNC479_Nz5BwcRLozryGq2ysw08iT1Q2Wxpc8J4GURxIVTc4sUDAdUsQCkJ9BPNbQ6jGIZ99n1So7E4LtUwR1xTFGlp_wiUHCl2U/s320/SoldCapitol.jpg" width="218" /></a></div>
<em></em><br />
<em> I'm introducing a new, regular feature on the blog, a guest post by a genius political Alaska Native man (a.k.a. Joe Bedard.) He is the rare sort of amateur political junkie that comes to his views through fact, and I'm looking forward to sharing what I've had the privilege of learning from (and debating with) him! - WR</em><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: small;">Once
upon a time in America. There was a corporation, created by a charter, granted
by government and held by private shareholders. Human shareholders. The
Corporation was property. These humans were granted rights, guaranteed to them
by the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights. The Corporate entity had no rights
and was barred from petitioning the Government that had created it.<br />
<br />
Then, through a series of Supreme Court rulings starting in 1886 and ending in
2009, Corporations were granted legal human status with full Constitutional
rights. But unlike their newly found flesh-and-bone brothers and sisters called
humans, the Corporation does not die of old age nor does it need to eat. It
only needs money to sustain itself and money it can get in abundance. <br />
<br />
It was not long until the Corporation discovered it had an unlimited right to
petition the Government that had created it. All it took was money and lots of
it. "No problem!" said the Corporation, we'll just order the
Government to make more money for us to consume and in turn we shall lubricate
the Government to our will. It's our God-given right, you know.<br />
<br />
It was not long after that that the Corporation said, "Wait a minute!
Corporations are created by the Government and we can order the Government what
to do. Therefore, Corporations are government entities! "<br />
<br />
Separation of Corporation and State NOW!</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: small;"><em>- JB</em><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.movetoamend.org/"><span style="color: blue; font-size: small;">www.movetoamend.org</span></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><a href="http://www.reclaimdemocracy.org/"><span style="color: blue; font-size: small;">www.reclaimdemocracy.org</span></a></span><br />
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<br />
<br />
</span><a href="http://www.freedomworks.org/blog/jborowski/big-corporations-and-big-government-go-hand-in-han"><span style="color: blue; font-size: small;">http://www.freedomworks.org/blog/jborowski/big-corporations-and-big-government-go-hand-in-han</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Writing Ravenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05355894663266799206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920384099779950211.post-58757105332761765152013-07-16T13:47:00.001-08:002013-07-16T13:47:14.142-08:00American History N8V XSaw this a while back, and had to share. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://indigenoushistory.wordpress.com/2013/05/09/what-if-people-told-european-history-like-they-told-native-american-history/">What if people told European history like they told Native American history?</a><br />
<br />
It's mostly funny because I am so often confronted with the perspectives of a dominant society that assumes "American" cultural history is the same for everyone. I don't know how often I hear that we should get back to the values of the 1950s or the 18th century or whatever era was more moral and less evil than our own.<br />
<br />
This sounds like a rant, but in fact I am saying I am encouraged by the moral turns we are taking. Yes, we still have problems, and I don't like SO much of what has changed with values. But try being Native in 1950s America. Or black in 18th century America. <br />
<br />
While I'm sad when I see values like that of Miss Spears or Honey Boo Boo held up as an ideal, I would still take that over the institutionalized racism and genocide of past "American values."<br />
<br />
Just sayin'.Writing Ravenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05355894663266799206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920384099779950211.post-87716474551024045662013-06-13T16:29:00.002-08:002013-06-13T16:29:20.186-08:00NEWSFLASH: Old dogs may be able to learn new tricksI was talking to an older gentleman this morning who has pretty much an opposite view of every political stance I take. He believes Obama is the Great Satan, congressional republicans are doing the best they can, Dubya was a pretty good president who made a few minor mistakes, Pebble Mine should be developed without any more discussion... and on. When it came to Native issues, it just got kind of painful to try and discuss. As in - we should be grateful the government gave us as much as it did in land claims, there are no good Natives left in the villages, etc. <br />
<br />
It was actually an interesting debate at time, but there was exactly one thing he and I agreed upon - that there should be a book or textbook with a comprehensive history of Native people in Alaska written by Native people.<br />
<br />
This was a cause I took up some years back and it got changed into something I never intended. But coming from that conversation, I saw this article come across Facebook:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://indigenoushistory.wordpress.com/2013/05/09/what-if-people-told-european-history-like-they-told-native-american-history/">What if people told European history like they told Native American history?</a><br />
<br />
It's got a great little example of what I grew up with in school. Namely, any Native history was relegated to a few paragraphs and an entirely skewed view. <br />
<br />
The gentleman I spoke to had exactly those views, which may be why it was so surprising that he was in such agreement. But in a moment of unexpected openness, he said - maybe "admitted" would be a better word - that after so long living in Alaska, he never really got close to any Native people. He didn't know much but that statistics and bad examples that get attention in the news. He suggested that people like his granddaughter might not have his views if they grew up with a viewpoint other than what "his people" set out there. And he said he would be interested in reading such a perspective.<br />
<br />
Just a nice little bit of hope for the day.Writing Ravenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05355894663266799206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920384099779950211.post-5212835730428174862013-03-01T02:03:00.000-09:002013-03-01T02:03:14.781-09:00VAWA Success... FinallyAmidst the pressing political news about the sequester, I'm hoping this piece of good news doesn't get completely lost: <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/28/politics/violence-against-women/index.html">House passes Violence Against Women Act after GOP version defeated</a><br />
<br />
For Native women, this means more defense against crimes that are going too often unreported or unprosecuted. <br />
<br />
The National Congress of American Indians <a href="http://www.ncai.org/news/articles/2013/02/28/house-passes-violence-against-women-act">summed up the protections</a> pretty well:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The constitutionally sound tribal jurisdiction provisions in VAWA authorize tribal governments to prosecute non-Indian defendants involved in intimate relationships with Native women and who assault these victims on tribal land. Current federal laws do not authorize tribal law enforcement or tribal courts to pursue any form of prosecution or justice against these perpetrators.</blockquote>
<br />
<br />
It still astounds me this act was opposed for so long, but today at least is a day the majority of our leaders decided women deserved justice and protection. Writing Ravenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05355894663266799206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920384099779950211.post-36300748292623816932013-02-04T09:40:00.000-09:002013-02-04T09:40:31.286-09:00Guns and SuicideI had to share this as soon as I read it - <a href="http://www.alaskacommons.com/2013/02/03/the-easy-way-out-guns-suicide-and-me/">this is an EXCELLENT post</a> on an incredibly important issue for Alaska Native people... and just people in general. Suicide, but particularly suicide and guns. <br />
<br />
Warren Jones wrote the piece, and the voice of an Alaska Native man is exactly who we need to hear from on this issue. Not only do Alaska Native people have the distinction of the having the highest rate of suicide in the country, but Alaska Native men succeed in killing themselves at an even higher rate. <br />
<br />
So why are our Native men killing themselves?<br />
<br />
What is interesting about Warren's post is that he examines the logistical side of that question I've heard for so long - Why are our Native men <em>succeeding</em> in killing themselves? <br />
<br />
In this moment of gun control debate, it is important to look at what the evidence says. Warren points to a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/06/magazine/06suicide-t.html?pagewanted=all&_r=3&">New York Times article</a> to highlight his own experience:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Anderson points out that guns only account for 1% of all suicide attempts in America. What is different about them is the extremely high success rate for suicide by firearm, which translates into firearms being a key component in suicide completion. <b>That 54% of suicide completions are with a firearm while only accounting for 1% of the attempts is a staggering number.</b></blockquote>
<br />
I hope this national gun debate includes discussions around the topic of suicide, and not just an ideological stance. As an advocate for subsistence, I've never been "anti-gun." But when we get caught up in thinking everything about guns has to be entirely good or entirely bad, we lose out on real solutions to major problems. Writing Ravenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05355894663266799206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920384099779950211.post-43292318030396811532013-01-29T18:32:00.002-09:002013-01-29T18:32:50.675-09:00Believe it: The long-stalled Violence Against Women ActThere's a <a href="http://sorellaandme.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/protest.jpg">great photo my sister showed me</a> recently of an elderly woman at a rally on women's rights with a sign - "I cannot believe I still have to protest this s--t." <br />
<br />
I've seen versions of this at different rallys, but I think the elderly woman fighting the same fight for so long hit both the higher humor note, and the "No kidding!" reflex.<br />
<br />
The <a href="http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2013/01/25/native-american-provisions-violence-against-women-act-re-introduced-147238">Violence Against Women Act has been re-introduced</a> WITH the Native American women provisions in the draft that sputtered to nothing with the last congress. While I'm glad this is getting re-introduced, I have some sympathy for the elderly woman with the sign. Why is this even being debated? Surely this is a no-brainer.<br />
<br />
For Alaska Native and American Indian women, domestic violence can be especially tricky to catch and prosecute. The White House has a <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/04/25/strengthening-violence-against-women-act">fairly succinct summary</a> of the problem: <br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
With non-Indians constituting more than 76 percent of the overall population living on reservations and other Indian lands, interracial dating and marriage are common, and many of the abusers of Native American women are non-Indian men. Too often, non-Indian men who batter their Indian wives and girlfriends go unpunished because tribes cannot prosecute non-Indians, even if the offender lives on the reservation and is married to a tribal member, and because Federal law‐enforcement resources are hours away from reservations and stretched thin. </blockquote>
<br />
<br />This is just one of many problems, but a pretty serious one, and a problem this version of the act addresses. With Native women being outrageously over-represented in the area of domestic violence, it's of utmost importance that we not only get the actual support and legislation to address it, but a signal from our national leaders that they see this population of women who are too often ignored.
<br />
<br />
Besides Native women, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/29/opinion/violence-against-women-act-is-reintroduced.html?_r=0">this act would address violence</a> against LGBT and immigrant victims, as well as issues in the backlog of untested rape kits. Many groups, including the <a href="http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs144/1101440258860/archive/1111846917544.html">National Congress of American Indians</a>, are encouraging citizens to call Speaker Boehner's and House Majority Leader Cantor's office immediately to make sure they know the importance of passing this. And while you're at it, <a href="http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml">make sure you drop your state's representatives</a> to let them know how their constituents expect them to vote.<br />
<br />
There's more than enough evidence these are issues that need more resources and attention, more than enough proof they are not getting enough of either, and more women than ever being abused, raped and killed while this act was let to expire.
I can't believe we still have to protest this, but since we do, let's get it done.Writing Ravenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05355894663266799206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920384099779950211.post-35746719993144976252013-01-27T18:02:00.003-09:002013-01-27T18:03:07.384-09:00Idle No More Rally tomorrow in AnchorageThanks to <a href="http://progressivealaska.blogspot.com/2013/01/more-on-mondays-upcoming-idle-no-more.html">Progressive Alaska</a> for the head's up!<br />
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and waters, which need our defense now."<br />
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Writing Ravenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05355894663266799206noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920384099779950211.post-25515706803323842362013-01-24T19:55:00.003-09:002013-01-24T19:55:37.989-09:00Are you ready to be Idle No More?I sat on a plane tonight next to a hilarious woman from D.C. As we talked about what each other did, she was intrigued by my involvement in Native issues. And she asked a question that was actually pretty encouraging.<br />
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"What is this Native 'Idle' thing?"<br />
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She was talking about the Idle No More movment (<a href="http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/indigenous-women-take-reins-idle-no-more-movement">its origins are explained well here</a>,) that got a big push of momentum the past few months. <br />
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Many of the movement's gatherings have simply been going to a public (often political) place and singing, drumming and calling out to the people. It's essentially a big awareness campaign about abused/ignored treaty rights, violence against Native women, and really a lot of social Native issues that can be solved with more attention toward action and policy. <br />
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The woman's remarks were encouraging in that a non-Native woman from D.C. heard enough about it to wonder what it was. Native issues are often easily ignored, and treated as issues of the past, not the present.<br />
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While it's a movement in its infancy, and I think there needs to be some concrete goals with what the people want to do with it, it's clear that indigenous people across North America were ready to act on issues that have too long seemed impossible to get in the spotlight. And I'm hoping this also means people are also ready to listen - and act.Writing Ravenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05355894663266799206noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920384099779950211.post-62823760515761425982013-01-21T23:27:00.001-09:002013-01-21T23:27:13.107-09:00Hope and Change 2.0I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the president's inauguration ceremony this year, and was so glad I did. I think I was prepared for the spectacle - the pomp that inevitably surrounds an event of this magnitude. I was unprepared to be as encouraged as I feel right now. Not only by <a href="http://nbcpolitics.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/21/16626094-obamas-inaugural-speech-the-full-text?lite">Obama's speech</a>, which was one of the most thoughful speeches I've heard, but by the people surrounding me the whole ceremony.<br />
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<strong>"That is our generation's task — to make these words, these rights, these values — of Life, and Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness — real for every American. Being true to our founding documents does not require us to agree on every contour of life; it does not mean we will all define liberty in exactly the same way, or follow the same precise path to happiness. Progress does not compel us to settle centuries-long debates about the role of government for all time — but it does require us to act in our time." - Pres. Obama</strong><br />
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The president stated most eloquently what the people who journeyed so far to see him believe - none of them were waiting for the perfect answer, the perfect solution. But everyone in that crowd was wanting action, wanting to work, wanting to make these United States the ideal we all strive to. I was hard put to put my finger on the vibe I was getting from all these people I spent hours with out in the cold until Obama spoke it, but once he did it seemed obvious. <br />
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These thousands upon thousands of people were excited, not to just see famous people and dignitaries, but to continue the work. To continue what they signed this man up for - hope and change. The crowd was surprisingly subdued in a way. There definitely still excitment, still energy, still cheering, but I thought it was most interesting that, once the president was done speaking, a huge amount of the crowd started to leave. Most knew Beyonce was about to perform, most knew famous people were still gathered. But they came to hear the president, they came to hear how he was going to live up to the duties they elected him to fulfill.<br />
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I wasn't prepared to feel this encouraged, even inspired by the day. But I was most unprepared for how proud I would feel of my country - and not because of the anthems sung or the flags everywhere. It was a moment of realization that this huge mass of Americans were all there with different ideas, different opinions, different journeys, but all there because they truly had hope for their country. Thousands of Americans all agreeing that we can, and will, make things better. Writing Ravenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05355894663266799206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920384099779950211.post-54824245511443772022013-01-19T08:05:00.000-09:002013-01-19T08:05:03.184-09:00I'm back! No... really...It has been nearly a year since my last post. But a year ago I committed to getting some things in order and NOT maintaining the blog so I could make a pretty big life change and pick up blogging as I'd like to - more frequently and with more time and effort behind each post, rather than the 1 a.m. ramblings that sometimes happen.<br />
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In the little over four years since I began blogging, I've written a book and (about) a half, a full-length play, and several short stories. But, in an effort to step up the pace and get really serious about my writing goals, I am making a huge professional switch at the moment to dedicate time to these efforts. <br />
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And part of the plan is to blog more regularly, as well as expand this singular Alaska Native voice to several. And by regularly, I mean just about every day. <br />
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So I don't know how many of you are still around, but if you are you will begin to see more posts on Alaska Native and American Indian issues, culture and even entertainment. <br />
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It's good to be back!<br />
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<em>- Writing Raven</em>Writing Ravenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05355894663266799206noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920384099779950211.post-84155757174025955472012-02-16T23:58:00.003-09:002012-02-16T23:58:41.157-09:00Peratrovich and company: Standing up for centuriesI heard a great question posed to a group from the <a href="http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/overcoming-racism-alaska">ANDORE project</a> - a group gathered to promote dialogue on racial equity that I've been pleased to be involved with.<br />
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She asked about Elizabeth Peratrovich Day (today!): "Why does this day matter to you?"<br />
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I answered with what I've always felt, that it is a day to remember we stand on the shoulders of giants, and that we have a responsibility to continue their hard work. <br />
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But then I was doing a write-up tonight for a class I'm taking, and most of it was focused on a narrative of an early 19th century Native man. I came across this passage:<br />
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<em>"Who stood up in those days, and since, to plead Indian rights? Was it the friend of the Indian? No, it was his enemies who rose - his enemies, to judge and pass sentence."</em><br />
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I wonder if this man, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Apess">Apess</a>, could envision a future in which a little Tlingit woman would stand before a political body and, not plead, but demand Indian rights? That she might shine their own hypocrisy in their face.<br />
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However terrible the circumstances were 150 years ago for Native people, because of those who <em>did</em> stand up, in Elizabeth Peratrovich's time, they were better. Not perfect, but men and women continued to fight, and because of them, in my own time circumstances are better still for Native people. So how can we not continue to stand up? How much better will it be for our own children if I do?Writing Ravenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05355894663266799206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920384099779950211.post-30363942712949808482011-09-28T00:39:00.000-08:002011-09-28T00:43:04.499-08:00Celebrating Banned Books Week<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUQhBpV3tpvoPS-fd8ansBHOIshm_bZ7FuuriGz76pSLi1eF9KJVmFsvEXdtZp4e6NGrObQquc824AhqAK0ZeIYTO6wY9cmuS_YD6pVcQS9uQ3ypcar0MdV2TVzT5ow2FJ278sOiXQqWTO/s1600/BBW_Web_Badge_801.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUQhBpV3tpvoPS-fd8ansBHOIshm_bZ7FuuriGz76pSLi1eF9KJVmFsvEXdtZp4e6NGrObQquc824AhqAK0ZeIYTO6wY9cmuS_YD6pVcQS9uQ3ypcar0MdV2TVzT5ow2FJ278sOiXQqWTO/s1600/BBW_Web_Badge_801.jpg" /></a>Yay! What could make me happy to read a <a href="http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/top-10-most-challenged-books">list of banned books Alaska Dispatch</a> posted?<br />
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A book I've been wanting to read by an author I love is on there - "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by Sherman Alexie.<br />
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Each year during Banned Books Week I try to read at least one of the "most banned" books of the moment. Though honestly, it's not much of a challenge. EVERY good book seems to be banned - I've read five of the top ten in the article!<br />
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Sherman Alexie has got to be one of the most well-known Native authors anyways - if not THE most well-known - and I've loved everything I've read by him, even when I've disagreed with it. This book has been on my own list for a bit (and seems to have been on the banned books list for a bit too!) - looking forward to it!<br />
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Maybe it's obvious to those who celebrate this week, but there are plenty of books on many lists that have been banned that I don't like, offend me, and that I just plain disagree with. When it comes to Native people in literature, the list of books with stereotypes and innacuracies is MUCH longer than the list of books with accurate portrayals of Native history, culture and people. Yet, I don't deny anyone the right to read them - and we do major harm to the idea that we are a free thinking society by eliminating all that we disagree with. <br />
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If you really want to help a child do their best in this world, make sure they are well-taught and have a loving heart, and are able to look at things with an open mind and a critical eye. You don't do this by giving them only that which won't challenge them, won't bring them a new perspective, and won't interest them.Writing Ravenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05355894663266799206noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920384099779950211.post-28946096251041766422011-09-14T21:59:00.000-08:002011-09-14T21:59:46.853-08:00Arrest the parents or work with them?I thought this article by Timothy Aqukkasuk Argetsinger in Alaska Dispatch was great - <a href="http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/uqa-upta-naala-niuruksraurusi-when-we-talk-you-listen">"Uqaġupta naalaġniuruksraurusi: When we talk, you listen."</a> It's about the recent issue regarding legal action taken against parents for truant students. <br />
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While I think there is risk to then excuse some of the parental action (or inaction) regarding ensuring kids are at school, where they might actually be just negligent, he has great points that are almost never addressed. Specifically, he cites examples in which indigenous culture is worked with Western education for success, rather than a power struggle.<br />
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In any case, I can only imagine what he proposes is radical and maybe a little scary to some, but what he's really talking about is getting back to how things were done for millenia. I encourage you to read the WHOLE article before judging!Writing Ravenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05355894663266799206noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920384099779950211.post-26777882336945882522011-09-08T22:33:00.000-08:002011-09-15T13:01:48.800-08:00"Don't be a tool" - or - Dialogue about racial equity in Alaska<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A few weeks ago, I was waiting in my car for my sister to come out of a grocery store, window down, and two young men, both white, were having a loud discussion about race. I tried (not very hard) to not listen, but as I was in the middle of the unnerving project I’ll describe in a bit, bad manners took over. They discussed different racial problems, whether minorities should be “blaming” everything on race, whether affirmative action was right, and one was vehement that the “Native Pride” hats were racist in nature. What struck me was – they probably would be talking a bit differently if I was part of the discussion. Or even if they knew I was listening. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don’t mean to say they were racist for discussing this, or that they would for sure even curb away from what they were saying. But the nature of racial dialogue in Anchorage is such that with the entrance of a (somewhat opinionated) Native woman into the conversation, I’m pretty sure there would be either a) holding back from all true opinions out of not wanting to stir something up that can’t be taken back, or b) a blood bath.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Okay, I’m SURE we could remain civil. But experience tells me when people of different races radically disagree about race relations in Anchorage, the conversations don’t generally go all rainbows and bunnies.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I began this blog over three years ago, and </span><a href="http://alaskareal.blogspot.com/2008/06/strange-occurence.html"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">one of my first posts</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> was about an incident that happened downtown. A group of us, all Native, were downtown for an event, and were suddenly, and without provocation, verbally abused by a loud, angry man. The comments were ugly, and racist. But my concern was not as much the man, but the reaction of our group:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>(We were) A group of young, professional Native people, mostly women, who have every right to be proud of themselves and their accomplishments. Our reaction? We lowered our heads, we didn't meet each other in the eye, we dare not look at another person in the crowd, for the shame of it… We didn't yell back, we didn't argue, we didn't console or comfort each other, we didn't talk about</em>.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Aside from the fact that I just annoyingly quoted myself, in three years, I realize I still haven’t answered for myself the questions I was pondering in the post. Why was this our reaction? What can be done? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But a recent experience has made me look at this in a new way. I was invited to participate in a project hosted by First Alaskans – a project to start a dialogue about racial equity. To start many dialogues, actually, in many different communities around Alaska. I went in to be trained as a host of some of these dialogues, with a large group of supporters.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here’s where my heart rate starts to rise.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It wasn’t actually the group itself that made me nervous. I think partly from posting here over the years, and partly because I just talk about race a lot with friends as I try to answer my own question, I was pretty comfortable the first day we got together. It was a day to share our own stories, our own ideas about race in Alaska.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As we went around the large circle for several hours, each person taking a turn, it was at times heartbreaking, at times infuriating, at times inspiring. There were many occasions I could relate to the speaker, and many more that sparked ever more questions. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was the two days after the initial meeting where I started to wonder what I’d gotten myself into.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In a much smaller group, it started getting a little more real about us hosting these discussions, and here’s where I start to have imaginary dialogues, hosted by me, in which I get run out of town or alternately start a proverbial fire in a community that leads to paintballing and race riots (it’s part of my process.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While we were being trained, I discovered several people had similar fears. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>“How do I walk by these people in the store if this goes wrong?”</em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>“My community is not going to like this kind of talk.”</em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yet, we’ve seen that positive outcomes CAN come from racial dialogue. A year ago to the week, I </span><a href="http://alaskareal.blogspot.com/2010/09/changing-way-we-talk-about-racism.html"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">posted about First Alaskans’</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> effort in a pretty public racial dialogue. </span><a href="http://community.adn.com/adn/node/152998"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Julie O’Malley</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> said it best, but in short, there was some ugly racial comments said about Native women over three years ago by two </span><a href="http://www.adn.com/2008/04/15/376804/racist-joke-gets-local-radio-hosts.html"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">local radio DJs</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. The reaction was swift, angry, accusatory, and I don’t know that anyone was happy with the outcome. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But an effort when different racial comments were made by different local DJs was... well, markedly different. Instead of anger, education. Instead of calls to pull ads, a call to talk. The outcome? Much, much better for everyone.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Said O'Malley, <em>"And I left the press conference wishing that more conversations about race in Anchorage could end that way. Because we’d all be better for it."</em></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, my neurosis about being run out of town pitchfork-style aside, after meeting these empowering, strong, open people, after some truly thought-provoking dialogue led by First Alaskans, after voicing my own fears and hopes (and more fears,) I can’t answer a single question I posed over three years ago with any authority. But I have a little more hope that, with talking, with compassion, with incredible patience, we can turn the direction of racial equity in the state.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Though the two gentlemen outside the grocery store already had it said pretty succinctly: </span></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“But don’t you think some people just really hate people from different races?”</span></em></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Yeah… if you’re a total tool.”</span></em></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He probably won’t be hosting a dialogue, but I really want to hear more of what he has to say.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span>Writing Ravenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05355894663266799206noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920384099779950211.post-2524340820877480502011-08-09T22:43:00.001-08:002011-08-09T23:52:40.753-08:00Does keeping Native languages alive even matter? Part 3I've loved seeing the great comments left by my <a href="http://alaskareal.blogspot.com/2011/07/does-keeping-native-languages-alive_17.html">previous two posts</a> on the question of language revitilzation and extinction. Here's the third installment in this subject I could go on and on (and seemingly have) about, and discussion of the many arguments I've heard against keeping Native languages alive:<br />
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<strong>"We're all Americans now!" - or "Why do we have to dwell on the past?"</strong><o:p></o:p><br />
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This is possibly one of the more frustrating arguments for me, personally, mostly because it's not an argument with anything except an attitude of "This is how I want it to be" behind it, and not trying to understand what's actually going on.<o:p></o:p><br />
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While the oft-cited "Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it" comes to mind, it is a woman who was in the same school my grandmother was that I think of when this is the argument.<br />
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You see, I was pretty hard-headed myself about language, only in a different way. I did not think much of my grandparents "giving up" their language. I mean, in exactly one generation, they'd "decided" to give it up. They chose to not pass it on to their children, who in turn could NOT pass it on to me!<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
But then I heard this woman tell her story, the story of what happened when she went to school. She said what I'd heard before, but I'd never heard it from someone who experienced it, much less someone who experienced it in the same school, at the same time as my grandma. These children, five and six years old, were beaten for speaking Tlingit. They were whipped if they uttered it. Try to imagine yourself at five years old, speaking how you speak at home, and getting hit.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
But then she said, "The smart ones got hit the most." And they learned to undo it the fastest.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
The "smart ones" - the natural leaders, the ones not afraid to speak out... at least at first. These are the ones most cruelly treated, and the ones who were most dead-set on not passing on that kind of cruelty to their children. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
Could you, having gone through this experience, have sent your five year old to kindergarten knowing how to speak the language you were beaten for speaking? I don't know that I would. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
It is in this light I remember that the past is not irrelevant. And forgive me if it also brings to mind a certain animated movie in which there may or may not have been big musical numbers with warthogs and hyenas. Remember in the "Lion King" when Simba tells the monkey it's in the past, and the monkey whacks him on the head? Yeah, the past still hurts. <br />
<br />
Okay, searing political insight it may not be, but I would hope the next person who talks about forgetting the past or "just being American" keeps in mind how hurtful those comments can be. I'm proud to be American, and I think speaking the tongue that was spoken here for millenia is an incredibly patriotic thing to do. I wish I knew more, I wish I was committed enough to be bilingual, and I don't see how my nation could be anything but benefitted by me and my children and my children's children being the same.<br />
<br />
And how can I forget the past that brought me to where I am today? Why would I want to? What's more, why would we, as a nation want to forget that? If it makes you uncomfortable, if it makes you sad, or feel ashamed - fine. It makes me feel those things too. But if we forget the things that make us uncomfortable, we must also forget that which makes us proud, and comforted, and passionate. The brief discomfort I may feel by remembering all the true history of our not-so-distant past is a small price to pay for that.Writing Ravenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05355894663266799206noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920384099779950211.post-30091491149147052182011-07-17T23:21:00.000-08:002011-07-17T23:21:07.311-08:00Does keeping Native languages alive even matter? Part 2I <a href="http://alaskareal.blogspot.com/2011/07/does-keeping-native-languages-alive.html">posted the other day</a> about Native languages and the ongoing conversation I hear about whether it is even of any value to do so. With as many "reasons" as others come up with on how it is not any value, I've split up my own discussion into several parts:<br />
<br />
<strong>"We're all going to one language anyways"</strong><o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
Whether that is true or not (and it's certainly not happening in anyone's lifetime alive now,) the value of having these languages not only <em>not</em> go extinct, but thrive, is sadly losing potency as the years wear on. This is, quite simply, because each year we're losing more and more people who know what is behind the language. <br />
<br />
There are many, many words and phrases in any language that are not simply a way to say the same thing in any language. There are ideas, thoughts, values, philosophies - whole religions - that you can only talk about comprehensively in a certain language. My mom talks about my grandpa (whose first language was English, I might add) who would struggle to impart a Tlingit philosophy or value he learned growing up, but would throw up his hands with a, "There's no way to say that in English!"<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
A Tlingit teacher I had talked about one word - just ONE word - in Tlingit, "Eetoowoo" (and yikes, I think I just hacked up that spelling!) It is translated in English as "sorrow." But I can still hear her voice as she tried to explain what it really meant - it was more than sorrow. It was a deep, deep sadness that the whole body, the whole being, was involved in. Not a word, or even meaning, we have in the English language. I still don't know what she meant.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
I've heard people say they can experience a culture by visiting it, by attending a dance, by reading about it - therefore why not just all speak the same language as the language isn't a part of it?<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
But culture isn't about attending a play or viewing a piece of art. It literally makes up who a person is. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
If you think language isn't important to a culture, I challenge you to learn another language fluently. Use this language, and only this language, to your children, and forbid them to speak English. Then tell me the stories your father told have the same weight. Tell me the songs your mother sang to you can be passed on. Tell me the jokes you've giggled at since you were in high school translate to this language, and your favorite books make as much sense. I gaurantee you MUCH will be lost. Even if you're able to capture big chunks of it, there's no way to translate a whole culture into a different language in one generation.<br />
<br />
Now try and think of this as a large group of people trying to do the same thing. Values, stories, philosophies, songs - we've already lost so much. But if we can literally speak the same language as those who can still teach it before it's too late, it won't all be gone.Writing Ravenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05355894663266799206noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920384099779950211.post-71933716527687424992011-07-14T01:51:00.000-08:002011-07-14T01:51:51.433-08:00Does keeping Native languages alive even matter?The threat of extinction for many (nearly all) Alaska Native languages has <a href="http://www.adn.com/2011/07/09/1960330/many-alaska-native-languages-endangered.html">received some attention lately</a>, much do to the release of an updates <a href="http://greenandgold.uaa.alaska.edu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7660&Itemid=125">Alaska Native languages map</a>.<br />
<br />
I'll leave some others (here, <a href="http://talkingalaska.blogspot.com/">Talking Alaska</a>) to talk about the why and what is going on. <br />
<br />
What I get concerned with, whenever this topic comes up and the inevitable backlash of negative commentary, is the idea that the languages should be kept alive at all. Honestly, the idea that it was acceptable, or even preferred, that these languages go extinct was foreign to me until about the age of 15. That was the first time I heard a rant from a peer on "preserving" English as the only American language. Despite the fact that ironies abound when talking about "preserving" the native language of the land (English? Really?) - it is an all-too-common sentiment I've heard expressed.<br />
<br />
Other reasons I've heard for letting it go - it's natural selection for it to go extinct, children who learn another language other than English first struggle with learning at a pace with others, there's no value to having different languages, we're spending too much on trying to save languages... though all too frequently the argument just boils down to "we're all American now! Why do we have to dwell on the past?"<br />
<br />
I want to address each of these reasons, so I'm going to address a different one each day.<br />
<br />
<strong>Natural Selection - or "All cultures/languages change"</strong><br />
<br />
The above statement is true. Languages and cultures change, and a sign of a dying culture is one trying not to change at all.<br />
<br />
But an organic evolution is quite different than a forced extinction. Ask some dinosaurs if they would prefer to evolve into some birds over a few thousand millenia, or if they would like a meteor dropped on their heads. To put it in more human terms, would you prefer to grow out of your job and get promoted, or would you prefer to be fired?<br />
<br />
For the most part, what happened to the Native languages of the Americas wasn't a natural evolution. What happened was traumatic, invasive and left no room for real adaptation. In both cases above, true evolution happens over a longer period of time and there is a chosen adjustment to changing environments - choosing what is deemed "better". And in both cases, asteroid or firing, a forced change is fairly terrible to experience and "only the strong survive" doesn't neccessarily apply. Too much of that depends on chance and what the invasive element chooses.<br />
<br />
I had a great Tlingit teacher who talked to us about a common Tlingit expression I heard growing up. When someone says "Gunalcheesh" (thank you) - the response is often "Ho ho!" (you're welcome.) I really did hear this often.<br />
<br />
What a surprise to learn it didn't mean what I think it meant over 20 years later! "Gunalcheesh ho ho" actually is one phrase, and is used to emphasize the thank you - like "Thank you VERY much." There is no phrase commonly said, traditionally, to respond to thank you, as there is in English. But the "young kids" as she said (she meant my parents generation!) were changing this, and this new kind of word was emerging. <br />
<br />
To a language, she said, this is a great thing. It shows the language is alive, and adapting. The "young kids" were choosing to change this on their own, because it suited the younger culture more, and it brought two languages together. <br />
<br />
THAT is "natural selection."<br />
<br />
What happened here was trauma. It was forced change. It was not an evolution, but something ripped out by the roots. This isn't an effort to place blame, but to emphasize that there is nothing "natural" about being beaten for speaking a language, or being told to speak a foreign language in your own home. It also isn't totally extinct yet for all the languages. And until it is, why would we ever prevent those from fighting that fight?<br />
<br />
<em>Next: Is there any real value to knowing these languages?</em>Writing Ravenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05355894663266799206noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920384099779950211.post-40617597616358436032011-05-02T01:13:00.001-08:002011-05-02T01:17:26.424-08:00"I've never killed a man, but I've read many an obituary with a great deal of satisfaction."So sayeth Mark Twain.<br />
<br />
The war on terror isn't over. I feel a bit strange celebrating anyone's death. And nothing happened today to make 3,000 lives that were lost on 9/11 come back.<br />
<br />
So why do I feel a certain satisfaction knowing one mass murderer is off the streets?<br />
<br />
Well, it might be pretty obvious, but I am satisfied. Whatever that says about my humanity, I'm not sure, but I'm pretty sure it says a lot about my American nationality, in any case! I don't buy into vengeance, much, but I'm pretty big on justice.<br />
<br />
I hope one of<a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/05/02/remarks-president-osama-bin-laden"> Obama's points</a> wasn't lost, as it was what got me pretty emotional:<br />
<br />
<em>"Finally, let me say to the families who lost loved ones on 9/11 that we have never forgotten your loss, nor wavered in our commitment to see that we do whatever it takes to prevent another attack on our shores."</em><br />
<br />
I don't think the country has remotely forgotten, and I certainly haven't. I've traveled to both New York City and D.C. this past year, and 9/11 is something that can't be missed. I noted how often, in our NYC tours, the "Before 9/11" and "After 9/11" came up. While it was a turning point for the country, and it's certainly changed the way I travel and what I think of government, it is a daily change for New Yorkers. It is in their face every day. I hope they know the rest of us haven't forgotten.<br />
<br />
And in D.C. I went to the Newseum, where they have a section dedicated to 9/11. I wasn't prepared for how emotional I would get there, seeing the twisted antennae, learning of the lost journalists and media workers, and remembering watching from across a continent as the towers fell.<br />
<br />
An<a href="http://fieldnotes.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/05/02/6568252-across-new-york-city-joy-that-obama-got-osama-"> article on New Yorker's reactions</a> and gathering at Ground Zero.<br />
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<em>"Others chanted 'Obama got Osama' in a scene overflowing with patriotism and happiness after President Barack Obama announced the death of the man who planned the terror attacks that scarred this city."</em><br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.stripes.com/news/special-reports/osama-bin-laden-1957-2011/troops-surprised-relieved-over-bin-laden-s-death-1.142438">An article on the reaction</a> from some troops.<br />
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“You can take a deep sigh of relief and say we can see a tangible result of the war on terror,” he said.<br />
<br />
There's no real conclusion to this post - nothing is "over." But a mass murderer is gone, and I hope there can be some satisfaction for the families that, if there loves ones cannot be brought back, at least there is at least a small amount of justice for those lost.Writing Ravenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05355894663266799206noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920384099779950211.post-65448760462948250442011-02-08T21:26:00.000-09:002011-02-08T21:26:35.611-09:00EPA to review Pebble Mine (highlights from Mudflats)<a href="http://www.themudflats.net/2011/02/08/epa-to-review-proposed-pebble-mine-project-thanks-feds-we-think/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheMudflats+%28The+Mudflats%29">Mudflats had an excellent post</a> about the EPA's involvement in Pebble Mine, and the federal government's involvement with Alaska in general. <br />
<br />
It's always amazed me how much Alaskans (and especially Alaskan politicians) can rail against the federal government, yet many, MANY times the involvement of the federal government was neccessary to stop the overreaching of the state and state politicians. In any case, Ms. Muckraker says it much better than I:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>In towns with no indoor plumbing, fuel at more than $10 a gallon, and communities where schools can be hundreds of miles apart, it’s understandable that Alaskans find it difficult sometimes to “go with the flow” and let those bureaucrats in DC legislate what we do on the tundra from an office in a white marble building thousands of miles away... What would make us frontier-minded, libertarian, get off my lawn Alaskans actually thank a federal agency?</blockquote>If the relationship between Alaska and the federal government can be described as misunderstood, the relationship between Alaska Native people and the federal government can only be summed up as, "It's complicated."<br />
<br />
Where federal intervention in Native issues was the Big Bad Wolf only a few decades ago, federal intervention is coming to the point of being the best option for some Native issues - like subsistence.<br />
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As Muckraker says, we can only wait on what happens with the science, but here's hoping...Writing Ravenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05355894663266799206noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920384099779950211.post-50686267138849104212011-02-04T19:30:00.002-09:002011-02-04T19:32:43.320-09:00Making a difference for Alaska Native suicide preventionSaw this story in the Frontiersman, pretty cool.<br />
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<a href="http://www.frontiersman.com/articles/2011/02/04/local_news/doc4d4b9874cc648064165558.txt">Palmer man leads fight against depression</a><br />
<br />
There's a very powerful message here, and it's still amazng to me when I hear this kind of thing:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>Pagaran admits that, “I myself was ashamed to say I was Alaska Native until I was 25 years old, and I grew up in Alaska,” he said. “I would tell people I was oriental, Mexican — anything but Native. I believed these lies like so many other people do. Our message is not only hope, but also (bringing) that identity to help people realize that when God created us, he didn’t create any mistakes.”</blockquote><br />
I can't say I've ever felt ashamed to be Native - I only ever remember being proud. But I've heard it from many people, and it hits really hard.<br />
<br />
_Writing Ravenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05355894663266799206noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920384099779950211.post-45372331879151580592011-02-01T19:07:00.003-09:002011-02-02T07:44:54.953-09:00"Ugly" Native prayers?<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="youtube-player" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/bIE0JFmNzIU" title="YouTube video player" type="text/html" width="480"></iframe><br />
<br />
<br />
I must admit, I'm still not used to the amount of ignorance people can come up with when talking about Native people and issues. <br />
<br />
I read this <a href="http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2011/01/14110/">excellent article from Indian Country Today</a> about a blessing Dr. Carlos Gonzales, Pascua Yaqui, gave for Rep. Giffords.<br />
<br />
At first I was wondering if there was really such a wide negative reaction to a simple Native prayer given. But even Googling the blessing and the video above, I came across some truly ignorant and hateful people talking about his pagan, wierd, ugly prayer (namely conservative bloggers and Fox.)<br />
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<blockquote>Hearing Fox News analyst Brit Hume dismiss the blessing as, “most peculiar” was disturbing, but not surprising for anyone who monitors how Indians have been treated in mainstream media coverage. Syndicated columnist and ever-present TV commentator Michelle Malkin live-blogging, “Mercy,” and complaining that Gonzales was “[babbling] about two-legged and four-legged creatures” was rude, but it was far from unfamiliar. Several conservative websites, including Power Line, which described the prayer as “ugly,” were outraged. CNSNews.com, another right-wing news site, interviewed Gonzales, and in its write-up, offered a snide report that listed the word “blessing” in quotes and made mention of the fact that Gonzales had used the word “creator” but not God—an apparently unforgivable offense.</blockquote><br />
Seriously? Yeah... Listen to the prayer. I gaurantee it's nothing shocking. <br />
<br />
I was honored to spend the last week in the company of a variety of Native people from all over the country. Daily, usually two or three times daily, the groups would offer prayers, smudging, and traditional ceremony. I participated in most, not totally understanding most ceremonies. They weren't my tradition. There were others who opted out entirely of participating in the ceremonies, as they didn't believe in them, or didn't want to participate in a spiritual activity they didn't understand. <br />
<br />
But guess what? They were able to do it respectfully. They didn't believe those who had different beliefs, and different customs, were inferior, or ignorant. <br />
<br />
It's amazing to me that in 2011, this issue of respecting beliefs still comes up. I have a faith that no one can take from me, and I'm not threatened by those who don't share it. Learning about others' beliefs and traditions doesn't threaten or take away from my own - it enriches it. <br />
<br />
I know I should be immune to the many, many times I've heard Native ways and traditions, even art, described as crude or backwards. But I'm not. I don't believe the Catholic across from me, though I don't share most traditions, is of a rudimentary mind. I don't believe the Muslim beside me has a lower I.Q. I'm not sure why it's so acceptable to think the same of my culture's traditions, but it is. <br />
<br />
In the meantime, I'm encouraged by the time I spent with so many of my Native brothers and sisters down south. Learning about them changed me, spending time with them was a humbling experience. <br />
<br />
<strong><em>Haa Shagéinyaa x’atuwóos' haa shagóoni has du latséeni haa too yei anga.oo.</em></strong><br />
<br />
<strong><em>_</em></strong>Writing Ravenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05355894663266799206noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920384099779950211.post-80232290374912016982011-01-31T23:15:00.001-09:002011-01-31T23:18:24.801-09:00Native 8(a)I've been traveling and am completely exhausted, so won't wax much of an opinion, but this ADN article was pretty thought-provoking regarding Native corporation contracts. Not the most objective ever, but I do hope it's making ALL sides think a little bit about what's going on:<br />
<br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.adn.com/2011/01/31/1677357/native-corporations-use-of-subcontractors.html">Outside companies share Native contracts</a></span></strong><br />
<strong>NO-BID: Subcontractors out of state often get bulk of work.</strong><br />
<br />
<strong>_</strong>Writing Ravenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05355894663266799206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8920384099779950211.post-31607567030656006652011-01-27T23:19:00.000-09:002011-01-27T23:19:35.515-09:00The state of the (Native) unionThe <a href="http://www.ncai.org/News-View.19.0.html?&no_cache=1&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=771&tx_ttnews[backPid]=9&cHash=8560a17d06">state of the Indian Nations address</a> was today, and no, it won't be as remarked upon or debated as much as the other recent state of the union address, but it's worth a view or read.<br />
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THEN go check out our own senator's <a href="http://thesewardphoenixlog.com/article/1104murkowski_responds_to_state_of_indian_nations">congressional response</a>. <br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="340" id="iframeplayer" scrolling="no" src="http://cdn.livestream.com/embed/ncai?layout=4&clip=flv_ae47aa8b-e382-4562-8ac3-67925ba7a946&autoplay=false" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; outline-color: invert; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px;" width="560"></iframe><br />
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