Remembering Andrew Hope

Here's a really great article about Andrew (Andy) Hope in the Juneau Empire.

Progressive Alaska also included a poem by Hope in his post today.

Real Native Myths and Legends #4 - Indians and Eskimos

Indian. Eskimo. Native American. Tribe. Clan. People group. First
Nations. First Peoples. American Indian. Indigenous.

It's dang confusing sometimes, I know, and I've grown up with all
these terms. I have some sympathy for every (non-Native) friend I've
ever had who has worked up to (usually unsure of how to approach it)
asking me, "So… what do you call yourself?"

There are actually many different forms of this question, but it boils
down to, "How on earth do I say what you are?" I know there are those
who will argue we should be "color-blind" and not look at a person's
culture. I disagree. I think we should honor and celebrate a person's
culture, we would be robbing them of a huge part of who they are not
to – we just don't have to judge a person by their culture. It's also
just a reality – having to define someone's background is not going
anywhere.

Kind of reminds me of a discussion I had about this topic in high
school, and my "African-American" friend was asked how to address his
race. He said, "We're 'Black' now. But I'll let you know if it
changes."

If you ask the government, they would consider me from the "Indian"
people group (as opposed to "Eskimo" or "Aleut". On a federal document
I am "American Indian or Alaska Native." On my Certificate of Indian
Blood, I am from the Tlingit "tribe."

If you ask me, I will tell you I am Tlingit or Alaska Native,
depending on where I am and who you are. I will not say the Tlingit
tribe – no such thing. There's also no "Tlingit Nation". I won't tell
you I am Indian – as far as I'm concerned, Indians are from India. I
won't tell you I'm Native American, and I won't tell you what tribe
I'm from – as far as I know, I have no tribe.

Much of the problem stems from trying to group an entire continent's
worth of culture into one identifiable group. Even here in Alaska, the
cultures are incredibly diverse. I have a Yup'ik friend that I share
values and experiences with as an Alaska Native woman, but when it
comes to so many other cultural values, she seems to be speaking
another language (though, often times, she quite literally IS speaking
another language.)

There is also the problem of Native people only just being able to
define how they were called by the general public in the last
generation or two, and so it seems quite changeable, and no two people
agree on the perfect way yet.

Last year at the World Eskimo Indian Olympics (WEIO,) one of the
assistants came to get our dance group, "We need the Indian groups!" A
dozen sets of furrowed brows and he quickly answered, "Hey, if I have
to be Eskimo, you have to be Indian!" Fair enough. Point is, even our
own institutions are outdated in the terms we use.

But all the background and why and how aside, there still remains the
issue of, "What do I call you?"

The simplest answer I can say is, "Just ask."

I have often wondered if this is not a very "polite" thing to do
outside of Alaska Native cultures. Maybe the sensitivities of being PC
or a Western etiquette – but generally when I am asked it is with an
embarrassed tone, usually an apology. A "I'm sorry if this is rude,
but…" Recently, a friend of mine described a non-Native woman who was
offended when a Native woman asked her race.

Although I am generally loathe to group such diverse cultures into one
"group think," my own experiences in my culture and other Native
cultures in the state is that the first thing you want to do is get to
know someone's background. As an example, a dialogue of me meeting
another Native person:

"Nice to meet you – so where are you from?"

"Akiachak."

"That by Fairbanks?"

"Bethel area."

"Cool – you know John James?"

"Yeah, he's my cousin."

"Sweet."

And we switch. I threw in my own lack of geographical awareness in
there for realism. But basically, I now know where he's from (and can
deduce his 'people group' from that,) and who his general family is.
Actually, if it were really real, we would find out all the different
people we know and/or are related to in common. Many times we will ask
and talk directly about what racial background we are from.

In short, the "polite" or friendly thing to do in the culture I know
is to introduce and let your own background be known. Many Native
people who are born in urban areas will identify themselves as being
"from" whatever village or rural area their family is from. I was
delighted to meet a man "from Klawock" last Summer, very near where I
was born, but then he said, "Oh – but I've never been there." I have a
feeling as more and more Native people are born in Anchorage, this
will become even more common.

I believe the Tlingit people have elevated introductions to an art. My
Yup'ik friend is fond of telling me that "Tlingits complicate
everything!" Maybe true, but there are some pretty solid reasons
behind it.

Do you know that scene in "Lord of the Rings," where the trees are
talking amongst themselves all day, and when they finally talk to the
Hobbits, you find they've only just introduced themselves? I believe
that this must have been based off of a traditional Tlingit
celebration. You introduce pretty much your whole background and
genealogy. Basically, when I begin my speech, you should know my name
(or names,) my parents, my teachers, my grandparents and
great-grandparents, my moiety, clan and sub-clans, where I am from –
or my family is from, and where I live now. And that's the short
version.

Although I cannot tell you what all Native people would like to be
referred to as – even between my siblings and I this would vary – I
can tell you it doesn't hurt to ask. Of course, basic politeness
applies here too. I don't suggest a "So what's your racial make-up?"
or questions at times that would be ethically inappropriate - job
interview anyone?

A few tips:

-Start with asking where they are from. It wouldn't hurt if you knew
(in general) where people groups were from.

- Don't ask anyone if they are "Eskimo." Really. I mean it. The few
people who are okay with being identified by others as such will let
you know in good time, but this will lose you more respect than it
will gain. And don't assume because one person of that background
prefers to be called "Eskimo" the next is. A friend and I will joke
around, calling each other "Eskimo" and "Indian," but I made a mistake
thinking I could joke like that with another coworker - she did NOT
appreciate being called Eskimo, although from the same background as
my friend.

- As an Alaska Native person, the above also applies to the word
"Indian." From what I understand, in the Lower 48 this can be a pretty
common identifier, but not so popular up here.

- Don't attach a "tribe," "clan," "nation" or other grouping word when
asking. I get asked a lot if I am from the Tlingit tribe, or what
tribe I am from. Federally, this is correct. There are people groups
in the U.S. which embrace the word. But no Tlingit person I know
identifies themselves this way. Likewise, there is no Tlingit clan. I
DO belong to a clan, as well as a house and a moiety, but the same
will not be true of every Alaska Native culture.

Basically, just see how the person identifies themselves, and treat
them with respect. You do not have to do things "traditionally" - most
Native people do not address or introduce traditionally, unless in a
formal setting, and do not expect that of you. But to "gain friends
and influence Native people," showing a respect for their
individuality as a person, and within a culture, will go far.

Alaska Native news of interest

Shirley Dimentieff honored at bridge dedication
A bridge dedicated on the Parks highway to the late Shirley Dimentieff.

Alaska Native family sues US and BP
The US Government doesn't make good propert managers? Well, maybe not news to most Native people...

Yup'ik museum exhibit gets award
Personally, I think the TV commercials for this exhibit deserve an award!

Natives urge state to ease energy crisis
More accurately - Native people urge state and Native corporations to ease energy crisis.

Alaskans for Obama

Nice little article in the Washington Post about Obama's campaign for Alaska.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/04/AR2008080402000.html?wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter

Waving flags to celebrate a couple of big birthdays

The most important birthday today for me is not Sen. Obama (though one of my favorite article titles for today is "Obama turns 24 years younger than McCain.")

Today is the day to celebrate the birth of another great American - my grandma.

She's not the TV grandma (though she's likes to spoil her grandchildren, and I'm not opposed to that.) She's smart, tough and accomplished, and certainly couldn't be described as "sweet." Generous, kind, passionate - but certainly not a sugary grandma.

Aside from a businesswoman and chair/board member/appointee/volunteer for... well, everything, she's a brilliant advocate for Alaska Native causes and issues. Native organizations, corporations, government, private, nonprofit - you name it, she's done it (or run it.) She has been both a heroic and intimidating figure to me - a larger than life woman I've been trying to alternatley impress and come out from under since the sixth grade.

She has also been an Alaskan delegate to the Democratic National Convention for a couple of decades. Jitterbugging on top of the Empire State Building and whooping it up in Atlanta have been a part of the stories I've heard from her since my own childhood in the 80's - she'd already been stomping around those convention floors for years before I came around.

She finally "retired" this past year from most of her work (I don't even know how many times she's retired, but it's a lot) and one of the things she retired from - at least this go around - was the Democratic state and national coventions.

Wouldn't you know it, but I unexpectedly got invited by the official Alaska blogger for the national convention, Celtic Diva, to go to Denver as an Alaska Native blogger. I was too late to talk her into at least one more swing at it, she has been encouraging about my own venture into this world, and given me plenty of serious, experienced words of wisdom ("You're going to have SO much fun!")

She is able to pass the torch in some ways, though a "stars of gold" kind of flame. She trekked up from Juneau recently, and brought me an Alaskan flag she's brought to convention after convention, as well as a small collection of pins she's collected and exchanged from them.

She's waved and displayed the flag to show her support of Alaska, her advocacy of Native issues, her love of culture, state and country. I will wave it for those reasons as well, but most of all, to show pride in my own heritage - the heritage my grandmother is passing on.

No pressure.

_

IHS mismanages... quite a bit

I spotted this last week - IHS has "mismanaged" a few dollars worth of equipment - to the tune of $16 million. But today the Anchorage Daily News had a bit more on how it affected the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium right here - about $6 million. ANTHC was not faulted for the mismanagement, it seems to be a job done by IHS nationwide.

Throughout, there seems to be a mix of not documenting what is going on, not knowing what is going on, and deception, depending what part of the nation the IHS office is. The IHS director would not characterize it as a mess - "It's complicated."

It's hard to have sympathy for this agency I have reported to my whole life. For the average Native person, IHS is like a cross between the DMV, the Bureau of Vital Statistics and some distant, yet powerful, entity deciding things about your life but wanting no input from those it serves. It's maybe a bit ironic that this agency is so strict about those it serves, but has this incredible lack of management (not just one instance, over 150 locations across the nation!) and accountability of its own.

One of the funnier (okay, it's one of those "laugh so you don't cry" kind of situations) things I've seen regarding the IHS is a letter in the National Museum of the American Indian in D.C. Now, I'm going to butcher this, totally not verbatim, but it's worth a look if you ever go there. They have a letter from the IHS written to a man who could not prove his Indian blood, his relatives were dead. He was man raised on a reservation, if my memory serves me. The letter that came back to him said essentially:

"After careful consideration, we have come to the decision that you are not an Indian."

I can only imagine what that man's reaction must have been to finding out that after all those years of living as a Native man, the government decided he wasn't one after all. I would love for them to come and tell me I am not a Tlingit woman after all - but they would have to tell me what I actually was, instead. As it is, they do not recognize that I am actually a quarter Dena'ina Athabascan - they say it's all Tlingit. If they say so, it must be true... but maybe they just misplaced those records...

Violence and sexual abuse against Native women

It seems like I've been reading an awful lot in the news about violence and sexual assault against Native women lately. What's more, it's more than just reporting that it's a pretty serious problem. As a Native woman, it is absolutely not news that we have the highest rates of sexual assault and abuse than any other group in the country. Alaska Native women even higher. What IS great news is that it is being addressed, and from what I see, in many different ways.

The first time I heard the statistic - 1 in 3 Native women would be sexually abused in their life - I was a little surprised. Not because it seemed like a high rate - I would have actually thought it was higher. As a "survivor" myself, it comes as a surprise when I meet a Native woman who has not been abused. It seems much rarer an occurence than it should.

What's more, many of the reports out there suggest that the rate of Native men abusing Native women is much higher than they would have thought. With such a low relative population of Native people in the U.S., the number of non-Natives attacking Natives should be pretty high. But researchers are finding that the strong majority of attacks against Native women are by Native men.

The fact that I am a "survivor" is not the difficult part to talk about - what is difficult to say in public is that we are so strongly victimized by our own. I am reminded of what Sen. Obama said recently about Black men being fathers, or any time someone within the community publicly addresses problems of that community. They are called betrayers, Uncle Tom's, they have no pride, they are victimizing their own people.

I can honestly see some of the alarm in it. After all, there will - THERE WILL - be the person who reads the above who goes, "See, it's totally a Native problem. We have no responsibility to address it ourselves." Or worse, "See - they are savages." Without context, without history, without reason, people will dismiss the problem as something fairly typical of Native people.

There are reasons. There are lots of reasons this happens. For those that want to read about some specific reasons here in Alaska, I suggest Harold Napolean's book, "Yuuyaraq:The Way of the Human Being." Yes, there are very plausible reasons about why this is happening to Native women and children. But there are no excuses.

Some years ago, a professor of mine who worked for many years in the Bush was talking to me about a report I did on social problems in the Native community. He said, "Big change is going to happen in the villages, and it's the Native women that are going to lead the change."

In some regard, this is true. There is change, it is happening already, and attitudes are beginning that long, slow swing into a much healthier place. And though women will certainly be a part of this change, we cannot do it without the men. This is not a retro-attitude - this is a truth.

__

Some of the recent bits in the news:

Incredible injustice for indigenous women op-ed from Indian Country Today. This is actually an older article that won an award for Native journalism that was recently publised again. It mentions some of the ways that women used to be (not so long ago) honored in Native culture.

Maze of Injustice report from Amnesty International (cited in the Indian Country Today article.)

Attorney in Bethel goes after sexual assualt crimes - from the Tundra Drums (Jul. 31 edition). A new D.A. for the region is really targeting the high number of assaults in the region (worst in the state, from a state which is worst in the country). Good for him.

NPR reports on the Tribal Law and Order Act introduced last week. This recently introduced bill specifically addresses violence against Native women.

Our Bodies, Our Blog post "Warped World for Native American Women Seeking Justice." The title speaks for itself.

Indianz.com reports on the Adam Walsh Act hearings in July, which addresses requirements for sex offender registry and protecting children against abuse more. Although it is not specifically addressing problems in Native communities, it has been in the news lately because of some difficulty the tribes are having getting the system set up (mostly lack of funding and support).