Black Hawk Productions, LLC

 

WORLDWIDE CALL TO
Spring Equinox Celebration - 8,000 Drums for Peace, March 20, 2008, Noon Pacific Time..
 

The Indigenous First Nations, Peoples, Communities and Organizations of the World and all Humankind.

According to a Prophecy Revealed at the Otomí Ceremonial Center by the Otomí Elder Sages to the Indigenous Peoples and all Humankind and a Vision of our Venerable Ancestors, the day when the Sounds of Eight Thousand Sacred Drums join together will be the beginning of a true Healing of Mother Earth, of All the Species and of the Human Family – which is now in total disequilibrium – in order to be able to live together on the road to Sacred Peace, in harmonious union with the Universe, Mother Nature, the Community, the Family and our own Hearts. It is time to re-unify ourselves and rediscover for ourselves all the Seeds of the Four Directions in order to reactivate cosmic energy, heal historical wounds and heal our Mother Earth by respecting life and the liberty and dignity of our Peoples.

 

Past Articles

Hundreds Begin The Longest Walk 2: An Indigenous Peoples Spiritual Walk for Survival From California to Washington, D.C.

SACRAMENTO, CA – On Tuesday, February 12th, representatives from hundreds of Native American nations participated in a ceremonial and cultural commencement for the Longest Walk 2, the 30-year anniversary of the historic 1978 Longest Walk. More than two hundred participants of the Longest Walk 2 have embarked on a five-month long trans-continental journey on foot from San Francisco. The walk will arrive in Washington, D.C. on July 11, 2008, bringing attention to issues of environmental injustice, protection of sacred sites, cultural survival, youth empowerment, and eroding Native American rights.

Jimbo Simmons, a representative of the International Indian Treaty Council, original walker, and an organizer of the Longest Walk 2 addressed a crowd of more than 200 people from the steps of California’s Capitol in Sacramento. “Thirty years ago we marched from this capital and that’s what we’re going to do today. We are walking for our land and our people.”
“As Indigenous Peoples in the United States the environment and our cultural survival are directly correlated and are still imperiled today. This is why we must walk once again.”

“We started at Alcatraz and went to the University of Berkeley where over 12,000 remains of Indigenous Ancestors are stored in boxes; Oak Grove where tree-sitters are protecting a sacred Ohlone burial site; Glen Cove a very sacred burial site for our people; and Pena Adobe where burials were desecrated for Highway 80 and the ancestors bones put into a mass grave. This is the kind of disrespect we go through. We recognize that all life is sacred!” stated Simmons.

Dennis Banks, co-founder of the American Indian Movement and organizer and participant of the Longest Walk 2 stated, “We will always remember who we are. We will never forget our cultural duties. We won’t forget that, America. We will never forget. We are coming to you America and we will have and have always had the answers.” “Along both routes we will listen to Native peoples concerns, document and deliver them to US officials in DC, our call of action will have an impact.” Banks said.

The Longest Walk 2 comprises two routes that will cover more than 8,000 miles in total through communities all across Turtle Island.

Both the Northern and Southern routes joined together with several hundred people at the Rumsey Band of Wintun Rancheria to take the first steps of the walk. A press conference was later held at the state capitol, which was originally the site of a Maidu village.

Expressing concerns and need for action to protect the environment and Native American rights, Don Ryberg, Chairman of the Tsi-Akim Maidu stated, “Our way of life, ceremonies, songs, our creeks and rivers are left poisoned with mercury and other contaminants. The federal government has a trust responsibility to all the people. The government doesn’t care about cleanup, how it impacts Maidu and all people. Every human has a right to a clean glass of water.” The Maidu Nation presented a resolution calling on the state to take action for the protection of their land and culture from mercury and other contaminants in their water.

Corrina Gould, a member of the Muwekma Ohlone Nation and co-founder of Indian People Organizing for Change, stated, “We walk to tell the American public and the government that we have a religion and the responsibility and right to care for our ancestors. The prayers are going to be recognized and we will be heard.”
“We’re not federally recognized but as an Ohlone woman I am still here, we are still here and we know that we exist.”

During the press conference, a representative for California Senator Alex Padilla presented the California state Legislature with a proclamation in support of the Longest Walk 2.
The proclamation stated, “Participants will walk for the seventh generation of Native American youth, for peace and justice, and for the healing of our planet, and they will walk for the healing of those in the Native American community who suffer from diabetes, heart conditions, alcoholism, drug addiction, and other diseases…” “The participants of the Longest Walk 2 pledge to prevail in their mission to call attention to the issues which effect the Native American community-at-large.”

People from all over the world including Poland, Japan, Russia, England, Mexico, Peru, Israel, Sweden, and Australia have joined the walk with its peaceful and spiritual call to action to protect Mother Earth and defend Human Rights.

Gilberto Perez a Nipponzan Myohoji Monk who has joined the walk stated, “We are one earth, one race. We have to take care of Mother Earth now. There is no time to waste.”

Tawna Sanchez, who is Shoshone Bannock and Ute, stated, “How do we present ourselves as caretakers of Mother Earth on the reservations or anywhere in urban areas if we don’t hold ourselves accountable for the same things that are holding others accountable to? We want to hold big industry accountable for quality air control, we want them not to log, not to clear-cut, but to a certain degree we are doing that to ourselves. We are not holding our own tribal governments accountable. We are not holding our own tribal people accountable for protecting the earth. And we need to do that.”
Sanchez, who was 16 on the original walk of 1978 also encouraged the young walkers, “You’re making a sacred journey, from the very beginning. The ceremony starts from Alcatraz and you’re in ceremony for 5 months.”

Bill Camp, Executive Secretary, Sacramento Central Labor Council stated, “160,000 AFL & CIO families in the Sacramento area support your strength and vision because you are the future of this land. We stand in solidarity with you against the unrestrained pursuit of greed that is killing our mother the earth. Working people across this land support you.”

A statement supporting the Longest Walk 2 was made on behalf of DQ University, which is recognized as the home of the original Longest Walk. A presentation of the original DQ flag was also given to walkers.

During the 1978 Longest Walk, thousands converged on California’s capitol to begin the effort that defeated 11 pieces of legislation in Congress that would have abrogated Native American Treaties. As a result of the 1978 Walk, the American Indian Religious Freedom Act (1978) was passed.

Tony Gonzales, member of the American Indian Movement and International Indigenous Activist, stated, “This is one of the five countries in the world that voted against the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples out of 190 countries that supported it. By refusing to sign this declaration they are denying the holocaust, the genocide of Indian people. It stands as testament to the United States current attitude towards Native Americans and Indigenous Peoples throughout the world. We want the US to sign the declaration.”

The Longest Walk is an Indigenous Peoples walk and is open to people of all nations and cultures.
Everyone is invited to join in and participate in the walk at any point in time on either route, for any length of the route.
For complete route itinerary and additional information, please visit: http://www.longestwalk.org.
 

 

11/8/2007
From today's Salt Lake Tribune

The LDS Church has changed a single word in its introduction to the Book of
Mormon, a change observers say has serious implications for commonly held
LDS beliefs about the ancestry of American Indians.
 
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe founder Joseph Smith unearthed a set of gold plates from a hill in upper state New York in 1827 and translated the ancient text into English. The account, known as The Book of Mormon, tells the story of two Israelite civilizations living in the New World. One derived from a single family who fled from Jerusalem in 600 B.C. and eventually splintered into two groups, known as the Nephites and Lamanites.
 
The book's current introduction, added by the late LDS apostle, Bruce R. McConkie in 1981, includes this statement: "After thousands of years, all were destroyed except the Lamanites, and they are the principal ancestors of the American Indians."
 
The new version, seen first in Doubleday's revised edition, reads, "After thousands of years, all were destroyed except the Lamanites, and they are among the ancestors of the American Indians."
 
LDS leaders instructed Doubleday to make the change, said senior editor Andrew Corbin, so it "would be in accordance with future editions the church is printing." The change "takes into account details of Book of Mormon demography which are not known," LDS spokesman Mark Tuttle said Wednesday.
 
It also steps into the middle of a raging debate about the book's historical claims.
 
Many Mormons, including several church presidents, have taught that the Americas were largely inhabited by Book of Mormon peoples. In 1971, Church President Spencer W. Kimball said that Lehi, the family patriarch, was "the
ancestor of all of the Indian and Mestizo tribes in North and South and Central America and in the islands of the sea."
 
After testing the DNA of more than 12,000 Indians, though, most researchers have concluded that the continent's early inhabitants came from Asia across the Bering Strait.
 
With this change, the LDS Church is "conceding that mainstream scientific theories about the colonization of the Americas have significant elements of truth in them," said Simon Southerton, a former Mormon and author of Losing a Lost Tribe: Native Americans, DNA and the Mormon Church.
 
"DNA has revealed very clearly how closely related American Indians are to their Siberian ancestors, " Southerton said in an e-mail from his home in Canberra, Australia. "The Lamanites are invisible, not principal ancestors."




Why Celebrate Columbus Day?
Submitted by Mark Reed

1. Columbus sailed into the Caribbean and never even set foot in what is now known as the United States. So, why do we, in the United States, give him one of our 8 Federal holidays?

2. Why would Columbus be given credit for "discovering" the Americas anyway, when we all know those lands were already inhabited and had been for thousands of years? Didn't the inhabitants of those lands discover them? Look at any map of the US and see the many, many, many states, cities and towns that all bear the Native American names of people and peoples who once populated those regions: Illinois, Oklahoma, Cheyenne, Nantucket, Milwaukee, Yuma, Omaha, Wichita, Tallahassee, Mississippi, Muskogee, Tennessee, Allegheny, Missouri, Kentucky, Huron, Tuscaloosa and on and on and on.....

3. Knowing that Native Americans were already here, and Columbus never was here, why does anyone go along with the myth that "Columbus Discovered America", when we all know it is not true?

4. Why aren't we taught the whole truth about Columbus' actions and the devastating consequences of those actions? Why are we only told about Columbus, who as a boy who always wanted to sail and then when he got older Spain provided him three ships & he sailed across the ocean and DISCOVERED A NEW WORLD! (where millions of Taino had lived for thousands of years and which we now call the Caribbean Why are we only taught about that FIRST voyage, and not the other 3 voyages, when all hell broke loose? Why aren't we taught about how on the second voyage, unlike the first when Columbus only had 3 small old ships, Columbus was given 17 large ships and 1,500 armed men eagerly signed up for the chance to go to the "New World" with hopes of getting rich quick on the gold to be found there?

Also, why aren't we taught about the greed and brutality of the Spaniards against the Taino (who have been remembered as " naked savages" in our history books, if at all), and how the Taino were murdered and enslaved on that second voyage? Why are we not taught about the third voyage & how when King Ferdinand & Queen Isabella of Spain heard about Columbus' actions in the "New World" he was sent back toSpain in chains to stand trial for his crimes, was convicted and stripped of his titles?

Or, how the Spaniards tricked 80 of the Taino leaders into a hut and burned them alive? Isn't to omit the ugly part of the truth considered LYING BY OMISSION? Then, that is what our schools are doing when they only teach about the first voyage, they are lying by omission to our students, and we as a improperly educated country have a holiday for an evil, greedy, slave-trading, murderer.

5. Some people say he is worthy of the honor of a holiday for his nautical genius, but the Vikings sailed across the ocean to North America 500 years before, Marco Polo sailed to China & India 300 years prior and the Chinese set foot upon the very shores that Columbus did 71 years prior to the arrival of Columbus, the difference being, Columbus "claimed" the land and cites the Papal Bulls with giving him the authority to do so if no one disputes the action, and Columbus according to his journal, was careful to add that no one disputed it at the time, while admitting at the same time that they could not understand each other, so how could they be expected to understand what his flag-planting and pronunciations meant?

6. Many people will argue that Columbus brought Western Civilization to what is now known as the United States, and that is the reason the US bestowed upon him the honor of a holiday. But how can we make that correlation when Columbus, working for Spain, came in 1492 and the European colonizers who came here TWO HUNDRED years later, came from England? If Columbus is worthy of being given credit for this "achievement", wouldn't it have happened 200 years earlier and wouldn't we all be speaking Spanish now as the countries he invaded do?

7. Some people will argue that Columbus Day is a day for recognition of Italians, an Italian Pride Day. Are Italians more worthy of recognition than other ethnic groups in this country we have proudly (?) nicknamed" The Melting Pot"? I have heard Italians say that Germans have Oktoberfest, the Irish have St. Patrick's Day and Mexicans have Cinco deMayo, but none of those are FEDERAL holidays. The only two ethnic groups worthy of recognition for their contributions and sacrifice in this land are those who were ALREADY HERE when the Europeans came and those who the Europeans BROUGHT HERE IN CHAINS. All other ethnic groups came here voluntarily. It was long overdue but African Americans finally got their holiday - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in January.... but Native Americans still don't have a holiday (urge your congressmen and women to support House Bill #167).

8. Some people think he is deserving of the honor because he proved the world was round, but this was already a widely accepted belief by educated people at the time as Ptolemy, the ancient astronomer and geographer from Egypt, declared that the Earth was spherical in the second century. Why do 17 states refuse to recognize and/or celebrate Columbus Day? Why do protesters gather and march at every Columbus Day Parade?

9. And, WHY is Columbus honored with one of our 8 federal holidays in the US when, (a). He didn't "discover" us, or anything previously undiscovered or uninhabited (b). He never set foot on what is now U.S. soil. (c). His legacy is greed, theft, destruction, brutality, slave-trading and murder (d). It is offensive to Latin American, African American and Native Americans( e). Native Americans, who were here and are worthy of a holiday, still don't have one.

10. And why have the Taino people of the Caribbean and those in the US, whose ancestors have paid such a huge price for the misfortune of being" discovered", been erroneously declared extinct and are therefore denied legal recognition by the government?

To learn more about the truth, read: *In Defense of the Indians by Bartolome de las Casas *A People's History by Howard Zinn *Lies My Teacher Told Me by James Louwen *Rethinking Columbus by Bigelow and Peterson *The Voyages of Christopher Columbus by Rex and Thea Rienits *The Log of Christopher Columbus by Robert H. Fuson *The Journal of Columbus by Clarkson N. Potter *1421,The Year China Discovered America by Gavin Menzies *America Discovers Columbus by John Noble Wilford *The Conquest of Paradise by KirkpatrickSale *The Columbus Dynasty in the Caribbean by Troy S. Floyd *The Conquest of America by Tzvetan Todorov *Columbus & Cortez, Conquerors for Christ by Eidsmoe.
 

 

Posted: September 21, 2007
by: Jerry Reynolds / Indian Country Today


WASHINGTON - The day after the Smithsonian Institution announced the hiring of one-time BIA chief Kevin Gover as the next director of the National Museum of the American Indian (a so-called unit museum of the Smithsonian), trust funds lawsuit lead plaintiff Elouise Cobell reeled off a tempestuous condemnation of his integrity, reputation and commitment to Indians.

''Kevin Gover was held in contempt of court in the class action lawsuit over the federal government's admitted mishandling of Indian trust accounts,'' Cobell stated in a Sept. 12 media release.

''Our case represents one of the most important instances in which the federal government has continued to abuse Native people and Mr. Gover played a key role in grossly managing the Individual Indian [Money] trust and failing to produce records in the lawsuit over what Congress has called 'the broken Indian Trust.'

''What this means is that the Smithsonian has hired someone to head this important museum who has literally thumbed his nose at Indian people - some of the poorest people in the nation. His guilt in this [contempt] case and that of his boss, [former] Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt, was never challenged by the government.''

By Sept. 19, a week later, Cobell hadn't backed off, informing The Washington Post that Gover isn't well-respected in Indian country and that no ''adversary'' of any Indian interest should direct NMAI. Between airplane flights, business meetings and a time zone difference, Cobell was unable to be interviewed by Indian Country Today. But an associate said she remains furious, fuming and offended, while another said she didn't accept an invitation to join the NMAI board of trustees just so that she could play ''wooden Indian,'' speechless and impassive.
 

 
 

 

"Squanto knew where the food was. If he was a lesser man, could have stood there and watched them starve. He could have feasted, then come and watched those people die. But he didn't — he showed them where the food was. Why isn't he a founding father in our history books?"

American Indians have fought in every war "in a greater proportion than any other ethnic group in the country and we continue to fight for it."

Those facts are vital, he said, because "it's important for the truth to prevail. Only through the truth can hearts heal and heroes rise to the fore."

One-sided history warps thinking and sows the seeds of self-doubt and — for some — self-destruction when self respect is not fostered with the whole story, he said. By reading as much as he could about American Indian history once he graduated from college, "I found my way out of it. I found the truth and it made me whole and complete.

"I join with you in striving for the truth and may we stay joined to continue to accomplish great things," he said. "May our efforts have the blessing of God."

 

 

Buffalo in Danger!

Update from the Field 9/9/2007

Dear Buffalo Friends,

While the buffalo are being enjoyed by countless visitors to Yellowstone National Park, BFC has been busy throughout the summer talking with many people, educating, engaging in conversation, inspiring action. Simultaneously, BFC has been very busy preparing our headquarters for the coming field season. BFC is also traveling through some western states to share with people the buffalo's story.

Volunteers currently scattered across the continent are beginning to turn their thoughts back to keeping company with wild buffalo and coming home to the family that awaits them in West Yellowstone.
Meanwhile, the government and cattle industry continue to argue over all the ways they can harm and insult the last wild buffalo in the U.S.

Never a dull moment appears to be the theme of this summer. Opportunities to help wild buffalo are before us now. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is currently accepting comments on listing wild buffalo under the Endangered Species Act; this is extremely significant, and an opportunity we've been waiting for for a very
long time. Concurrently, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is gearing up for the next bison "hunt." Information on both of these happenings is detailed below. All friends of wild buffalo have some very important actions to take to help our shaggy friends into the future. As BFC's Office Coordinator, barb, said to me the other
night: "None of us have any excuses not to do something." We have great opportunity before us that will provide a living legacy of wild buffalo, roaming free throughout their native homeland.

Your role is critical. Please read on to learn about the important actions you can take, make your voice heard for the herd, and please help spread the word!

Roam Free,
~Stephany
 

TAKE ACTION

Michael Stempel
Assistant Regional Director, Ecological Services
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
134 Union Boulevard
Suite 645
Lakewood, CO  80228
chuck_davis@fws.gov
(ph) 303-236-4253
(fax) 303-236-0027

 

 

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9/10/2007

Mormons Confess to Mountain Meadows Massacre

Some 400 descendents of the victims of the Mountain Meadows Massacre and LDS Church members gathered at the memorial at Mountain Meadows today. A spokesman for the church finally acknowledged Mormons were to blame for the mass murder of 120 innocent men, women and children who were traveling to California when they were viciously attacked by members of the church.

Descendents of the victims spoke to the press expressing their gratitude that they have finally found closure and reconciliation because of the churches acknowledgement.

As the names of all 120 victims were read allowed to the somber audience, there was great emotion, many were in tears.

September Dawn, the movie that has been so verbally condemned by Mormon critics as being lies and anti-Mormon propaganda, perhaps we all can in time find it our hearts to forgive. And may we remember how religious fanaticism can have devastating consequences for many lifetimes after. 

We applaud the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for taking a step in the right direction.

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On the Bright Side

9/9/2007

Sent in by a reader, and now you know...

FYI

In the 16th and 17th centuries, everything had to be transported by ship and it was also before commercial fertilizer's invention, so large shipments of manure were common.

It was shipped dry, because in dry form it weighed a lot less than when wet! , but once water (at sea) hit it, it not only became heavier, ! but the process of fermentation began again, of which a by product is methane gas. As the stuff was stored below decks in bundles you can see
what could (and did) happen.

Methane began to build up below decks and the first time someone came below at night with a lantern, BOOOOM!

Several ships were destroyed in this manner before it was determined just what was happening

After that, the bundles of manure were always stamped with the term "Ship High In Transit" on them, which meant for the sailors to stow it
high enough off the lower decks so that any water that came into the hold would not touch this volatile cargo and start the production! of
methane.

Thus evolved the term " S.H.I.T " , (Ship High In Transport) which has come down through the centuries and is in use to this very day.
 

 

Environmental Emergency

9/9/2007

Aay to all my relations,

Hoping you will take a couple minutes to send a clear message
that we will not tolerate mining waste being dumped into our
waterways. Nor will we tolerate mountain top removal coal
mining.

In 2002, the Bush administration rewrote clean water regulations
allowing mining companies to dump debris from mountaintop
removal mining directly into rivers and streams. To date more
than 1,200 miles of rivers and streams have been buried and
destroyed by debris from mountaintop removal coal mining.

Frank Pallone Jr. of New Jersey and Christopher Shays of
Connecticut introduced a bill last spring that would prohibit
mining companies from dumping solid industrial wastes into the
nation's waters. The bill has already picked up 60 sponsors in
its brief life.

Now Rainforest Action Network makes it easy to contact your Reps
with a pre-written email, one you can edit as you see fit.

Many Blessings to all,
Teresa Anahuy
http://ga3.org/campaign/clean_water?rk=n1MM8dd1EWoPW

 

 

Secret of the Bones

The following article is in reference to the accidental unearthing of the mass burial site at Mountain Meadows in Utah. While constructing a new memorial in honor of the slain victims of the Mormon massacre of 120 me, women, and children traveling by wagon train to California in 1858. Recently this has been a controversial subject among Mormons who continue to denounce the event.

 

1853 Indian deaths may be executions by LDS
By Jason Bergreen
The Salt Lake Tribune
Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated:06/08/2007 06:47:12 AM MDT

An extensive analysis of seven American Indian skeletons unearthed in a mass grave in Nephi last year shows that the men and boys did not die in a
skirmish with Mormon settlers, as most historical records suggest, but were killed execution-style.

That is the conclusion of state archaeologists who spent nearly nine months examining the roughly 1,800 bones and bone fragments that were found in a shallow grave in downtown Nephi in August 2006.

Of the seven skeletons belonging to men and boys aged about 12 to 35, six showed evidence of gunshot wounds, said Utah assistant state archaeologist
Ronald Rood. Three had bullet wounds near the top of their skulls.

"It's a situation where you see people down on the ground, with their heads lowered and then shot in the back of the head," Rood said.

The killings appear to be connected to a larger conflict between Mormon pioneers and American Indians during the summer and fall of 1853 known as the Walker War, Rood said.

On Sept. 30, 1853, four men driving a pair of oxen-drawn wagons to Salt Lake City from Manti were attacked and killed during an overnight raid at
Uintah Springs, according to Springville historian D. Robert Carter. The killings outraged settlers as the men's bodies were returned to Nephi for burial.

Two days later, it appears Mormon pioneers sought retaliation for the slayings by executing the American Indian men and boys, who are believed not to have been involved in the attack on the wagons.

"I think it's unlikely they were involved in that," Rood said.

Official accounts written by militia leaders of the time referred to the killings as a "skirmish," Rood said. But the archaeological data and forensic study, as well as two journal entries written by two women who witnessed the men die, now suggest the slayings were committed execution-style.

"These people were seated and shot at close range," Rood said.

Three of the skeletons have defensive marks on their arm bones suggesting they were trying to defend themselves.

The child who was around 12 years old had a gunshot wound through his right leg, Rood said. It is also clear that one of the men killed was bound
because his skeleton was found buried face down with one arm behind his back and a leather strap with a buckle was still attached to his wrist.

Forensic science was unable to determined the cause of death for a boy about 16 to 18, Rood said, because gunshot wounds or another cause of death
were not apparent on his bones.

After they were killed, the bodies of the men and boys were dumped in a shallow grave in Nephi. Last summer, 153 years later, a landowner who dug
into a ravine to pour foundation for a new home unearthed the skeletons. The bodies were lying on top or next to each other in the 3-foot-wide grave.

Rood said it took him about six days to excavate the site. Then he and University of Utah forensic anthropologist Derinna Kopp spent two weeks
sorting out the bones and matching them up.

From that point, Kopp spent several months analyzing, measuring and recording each bone.
The reason for the extensive analysis was not to rewrite history but to add to it and give the men and boys who were silenced a voice, Rood said.

"I think it's important that the voices of the seven dead people can be a part of the record," he said.
It is still unclear whether the American Indians are members of the Ute or Goshute tribe, but it was probably one or the other, Rood said.

Their remains will not be shipped to a museum, but hopefully be returned to their families or tribes. Rood said a process will start in a few months allowing American Indian groups to make claims on the remains and help determine their final resting place.

Rood will present his findings today in Orem at a Utah Statewide Archeological Society gathering.

 

8/18/2006

The Indian People Died Not Knowing Why

Posted by request of Tim Giago, Nanwica Kciji. © 2006 Native American Journalists Foundation, Inc.

This morning as I drove through downtown Rapid City I realized that many of the signs that appeared all over this city several days after 9/11 and months thereafter, flags, banners and magnetic stickers on automobiles, SUVs and pickup trucks were nearly all gone.

I suppose it is because most Americans have a short memory. Most Indians do not. The terrorism that struck at the very heart of the Indian people for several centuries is still in their hearts and minds. I wrote about this three years after 9/ll and for those folks with short memories, I repeat those words on this 5th anniversary of that horrible day.

The Indian people never knew what act of violence or terror would befall them from the invaders. But death did come. It came in the form of biological warfare when small pox tainted blankets were distributed to the unsuspecting victims.

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

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

At Wounded Knee in 1890, a slaughter took place that the white man often called the last great battle between Indians and the United States Army. It was not a battle. It was one the last heinous acts of terror against innocent men, women and children. The attack by Islamic terrorists on 9/11 was another.

The Indian people died not knowing why as did the people in the World Trade Center. The Lakota died in fear. They died in the frozen snow of that bitterly cold December day at Wounded Knee while fleeing to find safe harbor amongst the Oglala Lakota. These Lakota experienced terrorism by a government that did not consider them to be human beings. They died in the Twin Towers at the hands of a radical people seeking revenge for reasons the victims did not understand.

When human beings can be labeled as less than human their deaths become meaningless. This is the apparent belief of the terrorists and the early settlers. By portraying all Indians as murdering savages, rapists, kidnappers and worse, the national media of the day laid the groundwork for Wounded Knee. In article after article urging the government to remove the Indian people by any means from their homelands, the media stood guilty of fomenting acts of terrorism. Similar articles in the media and speeches in the mosques in the Nations of Islam expressed similar views of Americans. This laid the groundwork for 9/11. A lie repeated often enough becomes a fact in the minds of impressionable people. Indians are savages, Americans are infidels and Arabs are heathens. Do you see how this logic works?

Just as the Crusaders believed it was their Christian duty to conquer and kill those Arabs they considered as sub-humans and heathens, so too did America duplicate their misguided logic against the First Americans. The people of the Islamic Nations never forgave nor forgot. The Indian people have largely forgiven, but they have not forgotten. The Christians of the Crusade de-humanized the Arabs, the early Americans de-humanized the Indians and the People of Islam now de-humanize Westerners. It is a vicious cycle that is centuries old.

Just as news stories and movies about Arabs portrayed them as less than human, so did the media portray the indigenous people of America. Their lives then became expendable and meaningless and therefore easily sacrificed for what is believed to be a greater cause. Westerners are now fitted into this same category by the Islamic terrorists.

I think America missed a mighty lesson and opportunity when it did not learn how to treat the rest of the world after its mistreatment of its indigenous people. America has still never settled its debt, either morally or financially, with its indigenous people.

America, as a nation, wept when nearly three thousand of its citizens died at the World Trade Center on 9/11. The Indian people still weep for the thousands killed in the more than five centuries of terrorism foisted upon them by a Nation that did not care. They also weep for those lives lost on 9/11 and for the lives of the many soldiers lost in Iraq.

A philosopher once said, Great Nations are judged by how they treat their indigenous people, and I am sad to say that America has failed to pass the test of time.

After 500 years the Indian still lives in fear of the terror that is still lurking just around the corner. The Indian people have lost so much in the past 500 years and they still live in terror of what will come next for them.

When the Indian people pray in song, they sing for the lives of all who have come before, for all who are here now, and for all that are to come. To the Lakota life is a circle. They know that what goes around comes around.

It is a lesson that America should learn and live by. Great nations are judged by how they treat their indigenous people. If America had treated its indigenous people fairly and justly and had taken this lesson to heart in the way it treats the indigenous people of other worlds, would 9/11 have happened? It is something to ponder. The signs, posters and stickers may be gradually disappearing, but I hope the deep feelings that caused them to be exhibited are never lost.

Tim Giago, an Oglala Lakota, is the former editor and publisher of Indian Country Today. He is the founder and first president of the Native American Journalists Association. McClatchy News Service of Washington, DC distributes his weekly column. He can be reached at najournalists@rushmore.com or by writing him at P.O. Box 9244, Rapid City, SD. His new book Children Left Behind is available at harmon@clearlightbooks.com.
 

 

8/28/06

BLACK HAWK'S RESTING PLACE GETS A FACE LIFT

Spring Lake, Utah

By Phillip B Gottfredson

I made a return visit to the resting place of Chief Black Hawk at Spring Lake, Utah this past week, and to my delight the place that was once a field of weeds next to a lake filled with trash has been cleaned up. New grass has been planted, trees, and the lake that Black Hawk himself was born next to has been cleaned and beautified.

I drove on up to the reservation and visited with the family of Black Hawk and told them how beautiful it was. They were very pleased to learn of the clean-up efforts. I then sent an email to the people who made the effort to thank them for their work. Finally a great Chief and his family receives the respect and honor they so well deserve.

THANK YOU!

Phillip B Gottfredson