Native American « Speak Without Interruption

Interesting how some ideas become facts, while others are discounted. The concept of “God” is a notion of an explanation to that which we did not understand and a theory of how we became. Evolution is a theory as well. It is not scientifically sufficient to call it fact. There is too much evidence [...]

July 5, 2010

Answering Mr. Gray

Posted by Kaye in: African-American, Attitude, Commentary, Democracy, Freedom, History, Military, Native American, Personal Experiences, Politics, Social Issues, Uncategorized, Women's Rights

Back in June my friend Minnette Coleman wrote a piece entitled General McChrystal Should Go. As with most of Minnette’s posts it garnered several comments some of which focused on the morale of our troops. My comment, which said that I was not concerned with troop morale, raised the ire of Prentiss Gray.I promised to respond to Prentiss and so, after a bit of a wait, here is my reply. Continue reading Answering Mr. Gray

May 6, 2010

SB1070

Posted by Antonio de la Vega in: Democracy, Economic Crisis, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Relations, Freedom, Geopolitical Events, Governance, History, Latino & Hispanic, Mexico, Morality, Native American, Opinion, Politics, Social Aspects, Social Issues, Sociology, Uncategorized, World Issues

La ley SB1070 además de polémica debe encerrar otras razones de fondo, para llevar a la reflexión sobre los temas relacionados con el movimiento de personas en el mundo. [...]

September 14, 2009

China and Native Minority Treatment, Part One

Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse in: China, Freelance Author, History, Native American

China vs. America
Compare and Contrast Native Minority Treatment
Part One
(a four part series)This post will focus on the United States with some historical background.

by Lloyd Lofthouse

Atrocities abound in the history books concerning treatment of Native American Indians during the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries. The Spanish destroyed the Aztec and Inca civilizations with disease and warfare. The Catholic mission system in California enslaved American Indians. After the Civil War, the United States military was sent west and drove North American Indians from the land they had lived on for thousands of years and slaughtered men, women and children—millions died.

The American government went on to grab Hawaii from the native Hawaiian people against their will. (There’s a native Hawaiian nonviolent separatist movement asking for freedom from America.)

There’s also a chapter in the history of the Philippines. After the Spanish American War, America took possession of the Philippine islands and waged war against the native people killing more than two hundred thousand people. This went on until World War II. Continue reading China and Native Minority Treatment, Part One

September 1, 2009

MEDICINA TRADICIONAL MEXICANA

Posted by Antonio de la Vega in: Cancer, Education, Health & Fitness, Healthcare, Latino & Hispanic, Lifestyle, Medical, Mexico, Native American, Nature/Wildlife, Nutrition, Religion, Self-Help, Sex, Social Aspects, Social Classes, Social Issues, Sociology

Recientemente la Universidad Autónoma de México (U.N.A.M.) presentó el resultado de un esfuerzo monumental, consistente en la construcción de una enciclopedia multimedia especializada en la medicina tradicional mexicana. [...]

August 21, 2009

The Power Of Social Pressure

Posted by James BlueWolf in: Accountability, Attitude, Children, Current Events, Economic Crisis, Economics, Education, General Topics, Habit Change, Native American, Opinion, Social Classes, Social Issues, Television, The Economy, Uncategorized

It’s soccer season and suddenly the circle has come round and my wife and I are re-creating our lives from the early 1980′s. Instead of five children, it’s three children and five grandchildren. But times have changed and where we originally had to scrape and scurry to come up with money to sign them up and buy shin-guards, this year we faced higher signup costs, uniform and cleat costs, shin-guards as well as being asked to buy four balls—one for each child—and all mandatory for participation. The total cost approached $400.00 and we haven’t paid for pictures yet (or the balls). None of our grandchildren could have participated without our support.
It got me thinking. Last year I was amazed at how many times during the year our granchildren came home from school saying they had to have two, three or five dollars for this or that. Field trips required a contribution. Class photos and participation in book-buying or candy sales, fund-raisers and pledge drives all required that we pitch in financially. After all, no one wants their child to be the only one in class with no signatures on the pledge form and who doesn’t purchase a class picture or individual photo? Of course, I don’t want to forget the holidays and events throughout the year–the County Fair, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, birthdays, other kid’s birthdays, school plays, costs to attend High School sporting events, etc. etc. For parents living way below the poverty line, who can’t rely on grandparents support, these costs can be overwhelming. We can provide anecdotal evidence that some families use monies originally earmarked for rent, utilities, clothing or food to cover these costs to protect themselves and their children from embarassment, ridicule or denial of particpation. I know what many of you are thinking–sticks and stones and all that. Rent comes before food, food before entertainment, and to all these superfluous expenditures one should “just-say-no”. After all, aren’t home budgets about deciding on priorities and shouldn’t those who are unable to stick to solid economics be deserving of ruin? That’s representative of the traditionally conservative economic line most of my generation grew up with– “if you can’t afford it, don’t spend it!” Continue reading The Power Of Social Pressure

April 24, 2009

Prosecuting Our Own Inquisition

Posted by James BlueWolf in: Accountability, Attitude, General Topics, Geopolitical Events, Homeland Security, Native American, Politics, Religion, Social Issues, Sociology, Uncategorized

A recent local newspaper reader’s opinion that the contemplation of prosecuting torturers and their superiors for utilizing the fanciful scribbling of a few morally bankrupt lawyers to justify their outrages is a fools errand demonstrates how far down the path toward psychopathic one segment of the American population has traveled. In an examination of the historical record we find this point of view re-occurring time and time again throughout the American experiment always with a record book asterisk that it represents an unacceptable premise and that the American Dream is above that type of behavior—even in wartime. To be fair, the American government has prosecuted—on occasion—its soldiers for war crimes and has certainly encouraged or participated in the prosecution of foreign nationals for war crimes against American military or civilian personnel. Continue reading Prosecuting Our Own Inquisition

April 2, 2009

The Conception Of American Democracy Pt One

Posted by James BlueWolf in: Education, General Topics, Geopolitical Events, Governance, Native American, Non-Fiction, Politics, Sociology, Uncategorized

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Author’s Note: Much of the information here was researched and organized by other authors, particularly Bruce Johansen. I am presenting it as an educational tool and not as an entirely original essay. J BlueWolf

Benjamin Franklin And Native Values
Colonial interest in Six Nation treaty accounts was high enough by 1736 for a Philadelphia printer, Benjamin Franklin, to begin publication and distribution of them. The tone of the treaty councils was that of a peer relationship. During the next twenty-six years, Franklin’s press produced thirteen treaty accounts. By the early 1750s, Franklin was not only printing treaties, but representing Pennsylvania as an Indian commissioner as well. It was his first diplomatic assignment. Franklin’s attention to Indian affairs grew in tandem with his advocacy of a federal union of the colonies, an idea that was advanced by Canassatego and other Iroquois chiefs in treaty accounts published by Franklin’s press as early as 1744. Franklin’s writings indicate that as he became more deeply involved with the Iroquois and other Indian peoples, he picked up ideas from them concerning not only federalism, but concepts of natural rights, the nature of society and man’s place in it, the role of property in society, and other intellectual constructs that would be called into service by Franklin as he and other American revolutionaries shaped an official ideology for the new United States.
In 1775, Franklin wrote: “Having few artificial Wants, they [Indians] have abundance of Leisure for Improvement by Conversation. Our laborious Manner of Life, compared with theirs, they esteem slavish and base; and the Learning, on which we value ourselves, they regard as frivolous and useless. Having frequent Occasion to hold public Councils, they have acquired great Order and Decency in conducting them… The women …are the Records of the Council…who take exact notice of what passes and imprint it in their
Memories, to communicate it to their Children.” “They preserve traditions of Stipulations in Treaties 100 Years back; which, when we compare with our writings, we always find exact.” Continue reading The Conception Of American Democracy Pt One

March 24, 2009

Cornerstone Words

Posted by James BlueWolf in: Children, Current Events, Education, Environmental Issues, Family, General Topics, Inspiration & Motivation, Lifestyle, Native American, Nature/Wildlife, Non-Fiction, Philosophical Genres, Politics, Relationships, Religion, Social Aspects, Social Classes, Social Issues, Sociology, Spirituality, Uncategorized

3 comments

Of all the words that Traditional People favor, Respect is the one used the most. It implies many things: values, morality, character, compassion, commitment, relationship, and more that is unspoken, but understood. We think it is the foundation of Traditional Life.
It begins with family and extended family, blossoming from an understanding of the importance of each generation’s contribution to the Peoples needs—physical, mental, and spiritual. By acknowledging the importance of each relationship—elder to child, child to provider, provider to elder, etc.—the balance of relatives maintain a civil and structured harmony.
The role each age group plays in the People’s life, with all its complex and interactive relationships and responsibilities, demands there be a formal process of recognizing, approaching, and acknowledging the contributions of each age group and relative. Indians speak in terms of those relationships. Personal names were seldom used, and even today the words which identify relationship within the family structure–aunt, uncle, cousin, brother, sister, grandmother, grandfather, husband, wife—are often used in place of common names. This is a measure of respect descended from the days when personal names were often unspoken, having greater meaning than the simple identification tags Europeans placed upon themselves. A name had Power. To respect that power and the individual who utilized it, our words for expressing relationship were used instead.
Respect extends into relationships in other ways: One does not touch another person or their belongings without invitation. One does not walk in the space between someone and the fire without acknowledgement. One offers only a clean Pipe to another to smoke. One knows that sometimes it is appropriate to be silent and sometimes it is appropriate to speak. One knows when a gift is necessary to accompany a request. Continue reading Cornerstone Words

March 22, 2009

FRONTERAS TIRANTES

Posted by Antonio de la Vega in: African-American, Geopolitical Events, Humor, Journalism, Latino & Hispanic, Native American, Politics, Social Aspects, Social Classes, Sports, Uncategorized, Women's Rights

Prudencia, timidez, lentitud pueden ser los motores que impulsen a “Hablar sin interrupción”. Durante la próxima visita del presidente Obama a México, espero que estas tres “virtudes” sostengan al diálogo y proyecten no ya nada más dos países o dos gobiernos, sino dos grupos humanos… [...]

March 9, 2009

A MODO DE PRESENTACIÓN

Posted by Antonio de la Vega in: Education, Family, Fiction, Freelance Author, General Topics, Journalism, Latino & Hispanic, Lifestyle, Literature, Native American, Nature/Wildlife, Non-Fiction, Philosophical Genres, Poetry, Politics, Religion, Short Stories, Social Aspects, Social Classes, Social Issues, Sociology, The Media, The Writer's Corner, Writing Essentials

… Mi interés particular es sentar el precedente para que los lectores anglosajones se acerquen más a la cultura latina, la comprendan cabalmente y, por otra parte y viceversa, que los lectores hispanohablantes reconozcan el potencial de sus culturas… [...]

March 6, 2009

Leadership

Posted by James BlueWolf in: Accountability, Business Management, Current Events, General Topics, Governance, Inspiration & Motivation, Native American, Politics, Social Issues, Sociology, Uncategorized

Continue reading Leadership

“(Indigenous) Power…means prestige translated into action…no one ordered anyone else around. Issues were argued to consensus, and if agreement was not reached, the matter was dropped. Even when the chiefs attained “one mind,” an appeal was made to the people to comply. Those who disagreed simple went their own way.”
William N. Fenton

In days past, we looked first to our complete survival. We had to have mothers, hunters, warriors, spokesmen, peacemakers, decision-makers, singers, and clowns—the elements of society and culture. In each of those honorable pursuits, there were those who excelled; those with natural ability. Indigenous People often utilized the merit concept of leadership.
Hunters, fighters, scouts, planners, speakers, or storytellers, were recognized by the People for their abilities, and were followed because of those abilities. They were natural leaders. If they lost those abilities, or dishonored their positions, people simply refused to follow them anymore. From earlier essays we remember that Thomas Jefferson observed, “Their leaders influence them by their character alone; they follow, or not, as they please him whose character for wisdom or war they have the highest opinion.”

March 4, 2009

Native Government

Posted by James BlueWolf in: Current Events, General Topics, Governance, Legal, Native American, Politics, Social Classes, Social Issues, Uncategorized

Continue reading Native Government

This post is in response to a request from Bob Ellal

“The Iroquois had long done things in common, and having reached one mind, they act. It was abandoning this principle of unanimity, Wright thought, which led directly to the loss of their lands. Scattered on reservations, they were dealt with separately and were forced to act independently of each other… Life on the reservation was a new ball game with new rules.”
(Reverend Asher Wright) according to William Fenton

“The (Seneca) ability to speak with “one voice, one mind, one heart,” was what contributed to the power of the confederacy—and it was not “until their councils were divided by bribery and Whiskey… and they adopted majority rule, that their power declined.”
Asher Wright, according to William Fenton

The U.S. Government has always needed specific representatives of Indian Tribes, i.e. “Chiefs”, to act as formal representatives of our Peoples. If they could not find someone who seemed to fit that bill, they just picked someone who seemed to have some status or recognition. In the early decades of the last century, when it became apparent that at least some of the Tribes would survive, and sensing that they would soon have to be made citizens, the government began looking at other methods of centralizing Indian political organization.
In the late 1920’s, in order to further “civilize the savages”, a sample constitution was drafted and present to Tribes. It featured a General Council (the People), an elected tribal chairman as spokesperson, and a tribal secretary for keeping track of meetings and decisions. Suggestions for determining who was eligible for membership, and what the guidelines for voting might be, were included. Thirty percent of the eligible voters became the original guideline for a Council quorum for decision-making. Suggestions for frequency of council meetings, elections, and other procedures were detailed.

February 24, 2009

Renewal

Posted by James BlueWolf in: Family, General Topics, Inspiration & Motivation, Mental Health, Native American, Philosophical Genres, Relationships, Religion, Social Aspects, Social Issues, Sociology, Spirituality, Uncategorized

Once, the oldest grandparent down to the smallest child on this continent was filled with Spirit. They saw magic and mystery everywhere in the natural world. They demonstrated their reverence for life in every act they performed, and in every word they said. Spirituality was not a religious activity limited to attending church [...]

February 19, 2009

Collapse and New Directions

Posted by James BlueWolf in: Business, Economics, Education, Environmental Issues, General Topics, Geopolitical Events, Governance, Inspiration & Motivation, Native American, Philosophical Genres, Politics, Social Aspects, Social Classes, Social Issues, Sociology, The Economy, Uncategorized

4 comments

I do a lot of criticizing modern western civilization and its time that I began to write a little bit beyond the doom and gloom. Yes, I believe the civilization is headed for crisis beyond our present comprehension, and yes, I also believe that the suicidal adherents to nationalism will eventually cause the [...]

February 12, 2009

A Test Of Discipline

Posted by James BlueWolf in: Children, Current Events, Education, Family, General Topics, Legal, Mental Health, Native American, Philosophical Genres, Politics, Social Classes, Social Issues, Sociology, Uncategorized

3 comments

The discipline of children is a controversial topic today. I recently saw an article describing the negative effects of corporal punishment on children– likening it to child abuse. It said that it teaches violence, destroys self esteem, and generally demeans both parent and child. This is just another example of the twisted values [...]

February 4, 2009

Appearances And Assimilation

Posted by James BlueWolf in: Current Events, Economics, Education, General Topics, Geopolitical Events, Governance, Native American, Philosophical Genres, Politics, Religion, Social Classes, Social Issues, Sociology, Spirituality, Uncategorized

Appearances And Assimilation

The majority of Europeans who came to our shores were folk predisposed to judging things at face value. Obsessed with image and appearance, and convinced absolutely of their moral, social, cultural, and spiritual superiority, they could not see beyond their perceptions of primitivism and savagery they [...]

February 3, 2009

Mascots, Morality and A Dissolving Union

Posted by James BlueWolf in: Current Events, Economics, Education, Environmental Issues, General Topics, Geopolitical Events, Governance, Native American, Philosophical Genres, Politics, Social Issues, Sociology, Spirituality, Uncategorized

In the summer of O8, after numerous years of discussion over Mascot issues and general problems between Native and non-Native communities locally, I wrote this article. Reading it now, it seems a little disjointed, but it is a way I can familiarize readers with my general philosophies so I don’t have to rely on [...]

January 27, 2009

What We Know

Posted by James BlueWolf in: Communications, Education, General Topics, Geopolitical Events, Journalism, Native American, Philosophical Genres, Politics, Social Issues, Sociology, Spirituality, The Writer's Corner