Hanh mitakuyapi / Hello my relatives.
Today is October 12 & there's nothing to celebrate or commemorate about it in this Turtle Island insofar as Cretinous Columbus goes - yet on Prairie Public radio & in the Morton-Mandan Public Library, there are references to this as a day to commemorate this slime.
Let's get this straight - this cretinous creep lopped off Indn men's hands for not bringing him "enough" gold - just what is "enough" gold, anyway? - and he made sex slaves of Indn men, women, & children. Certainly there is nothing to celebrate or commemorate in either instance. We don't commemorate Hitler or Mengele.. and Indns' holocaust is still going on!
As for "discovering" this land - he didn't do that,either. We Indns were here for something like 60,000 years before any Europeans made landfall here, claims by "scientists" (who can definitely be bigoted, as we all know from reading history) to the contrary. Trust me - we were well aware of where we were - and where our neighbors were, too, along with whether or not they were friendly or enemy.
Dakota Territory is some of the most racist part of "America" yet South Dakota was the first of the 50 states to make a Native American Day, sometime in the 1990s. And in 2001 or so, North Dakota followed suit, with First Nations Day - to be celebrated the second weekend in October.
For those of you who might want to correct me with the term "Native Americans" - I'm not one of those, either, & neither are the rest of us, because this is not "America". That's a term tagged on this land by a self-promoting Italian mapmaker, Amerigo Vespucci, who wanted to immortalize himself.
This is Turtle Island, & we are properly (as a group, anyway) Indigenous Turtle Islanders or ITI for short.
We're supposed to be in the Age of Enlightenment, yet these stupid backward "commemorations" continue, & when someone (usually me) raises a stink about it, the yeowls of denial are nearlydeafening. Pitiful! As if denial made any difference. HAH!
It's long past Time to get rid of "commemorations" of monsters - other than Halloween. But then, that - in part - is what Halloween is for. The rest of the year isn't. Mitakuyapi oiasin / All, my relatives.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Friday, October 2, 2009
ND Higher Ed Board Lies Again
In this morning's headlines is a story that the ND Higher Ed Board has again extended their "deadline" for getting rid of the "Fighting Sioux" logo. These people have given so many excuses as to their reasons for repeatedly extending the "deadline", we can no longer count them.
Recently someone asked me why I am so adamantly against this logo. (1) We are not the "Sioux"; we are the D/L/Nakota. Not the "treacherous, untrustworthy people" - that's the ND Board of Higher Education. We are "the Allies". (2) The Oxford Standard Dictionary of the English Language - the dictionary used everywhere in the English-speaking world to define words at the highest level - gives "pet" & "caricature" as the 2 lead definitions of "mascot". Living people are neither. The Vikings are dead; we are not. Neither are our cultures. Make pets & caricatures of dead cultures if you will, but not of ours, which are still living. (3) We Indns get no benefits from this mascot. We get no payments. We get no classes or anything having the logo on it free of charge. Nothing. But the U of ND gets millions of dollars. While we Indns are forced onto welfare or ultra-low-wage jobs. (4) Many of us are against this entire situation. We never gave our permission to be logo-ed. And just because someone else did it 40-50 years ago, when the vast majority of Indns lived in fear of their lives, let alone jobs or such, if they did not accept the proposal to become 'mascots', especially means it is unacceptable now.
So - get rid of the logo now, & stop meddling in our cultures again! Hechetu chto!
Recently someone asked me why I am so adamantly against this logo. (1) We are not the "Sioux"; we are the D/L/Nakota. Not the "treacherous, untrustworthy people" - that's the ND Board of Higher Education. We are "the Allies". (2) The Oxford Standard Dictionary of the English Language - the dictionary used everywhere in the English-speaking world to define words at the highest level - gives "pet" & "caricature" as the 2 lead definitions of "mascot". Living people are neither. The Vikings are dead; we are not. Neither are our cultures. Make pets & caricatures of dead cultures if you will, but not of ours, which are still living. (3) We Indns get no benefits from this mascot. We get no payments. We get no classes or anything having the logo on it free of charge. Nothing. But the U of ND gets millions of dollars. While we Indns are forced onto welfare or ultra-low-wage jobs. (4) Many of us are against this entire situation. We never gave our permission to be logo-ed. And just because someone else did it 40-50 years ago, when the vast majority of Indns lived in fear of their lives, let alone jobs or such, if they did not accept the proposal to become 'mascots', especially means it is unacceptable now.
So - get rid of the logo now, & stop meddling in our cultures again! Hechetu chto!
Monday, September 14, 2009
Hire EXPERIENCE!
Hanh mitakuyapi. Since March 7, 2009, I've been applying for jobs. As many as 6in one day ( ! ). I recently began listing mycurrent occupation as "job applicant" as a result. Why? Because of short-sighted & just plain stupid perspectives among the hirers. Among them: I'm over 40. or 50. or 21. It doesn't matter how long you hung around the fort; what matters is what you've done! Having walked the earth as long as I have, I should have acquired a wealth of experience. This therefore should be a plus to a prospective employer, not a minus.
Talk about head-in-posterior-defolade "thinking" of the part of hirers! Or, there's the nonsense that "young people need jobs more than older people". Why?!? We are not disposable as of a certain age, but it certainly explains the myths about "death panels" in the press of late... And aren't these boneheads who are carrying on about "the youth" & "their needs" also the ones who decry a woman's Right to privacy in the matter of her reproductive organs? Lessee here - they want to commit statutory rape on women, but they also want us older ones - the ones with the wisdom & experience they really need - to live on air or disappear or.... Does not compute.
My resume could easily fill 7 - 8 pages; & no, of course I don't list all myexperience &/or expertise. I call it a "pick-&-choose" resume. And even so, it's "so0o impressive" the hirers say they can't decide what to focus on.
CRAP! They lie.
It's just like the menu in a restaurant. You don't go in & buy everything on the menu; you pick one or 2 things & pay for them. Hiring someone like me is identical to that.
The upside to this appears to be, after much prayer & meditation, I am to resurrect an old product of mine & put it back in the marketplace & see what comes of it. I made money with it the first time; perhaps it willsupport me now. With luck, in a style far better than what I currently have, so I can do more to help fulfill my SunDance vow's focus.
And when I need to hire help, you can be sure I'll hire old fogies, not "youth". We need to eat & such, too.
Talk about head-in-posterior-defolade "thinking" of the part of hirers! Or, there's the nonsense that "young people need jobs more than older people". Why?!? We are not disposable as of a certain age, but it certainly explains the myths about "death panels" in the press of late... And aren't these boneheads who are carrying on about "the youth" & "their needs" also the ones who decry a woman's Right to privacy in the matter of her reproductive organs? Lessee here - they want to commit statutory rape on women, but they also want us older ones - the ones with the wisdom & experience they really need - to live on air or disappear or.... Does not compute.
My resume could easily fill 7 - 8 pages; & no, of course I don't list all myexperience &/or expertise. I call it a "pick-&-choose" resume. And even so, it's "so0o impressive" the hirers say they can't decide what to focus on.
CRAP! They lie.
It's just like the menu in a restaurant. You don't go in & buy everything on the menu; you pick one or 2 things & pay for them. Hiring someone like me is identical to that.
The upside to this appears to be, after much prayer & meditation, I am to resurrect an old product of mine & put it back in the marketplace & see what comes of it. I made money with it the first time; perhaps it willsupport me now. With luck, in a style far better than what I currently have, so I can do more to help fulfill my SunDance vow's focus.
And when I need to hire help, you can be sure I'll hire old fogies, not "youth". We need to eat & such, too.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Why Long Time No Speak (Or Write)
Hanh mitakuyapi / Hello my relatives. It has been a long time since my last post..
First, there was fighting winter, and this last one was a real old-fashioned one. Snow & more snow - came within 1.5" of the record for a winter. Everyone is just now beginning to recover from the exhaustion, & some of us may never. It was like a marathon, but there were no rests possible.
One friend told me, he didn't think he could ever be more tired than he is since last winter. Ain't that the truth! He has fallen asleep while driving his tractor! That's tired.
And then when it finally thawed, it all went in a short time, so we had Floods. Not "floods", "Floods". I had up to 46" of water out back; & an average of about 2.5 ft. out front, flowing at about 40 mph. I didn't lose a lot; I was blessed. But I & the neighbors I share a driveway with lost a chunk of the west in-drive that was on average 26" deep X 55 ft X 120-some ft...
We were all going nuts trying to dig out of the mess, but I got by the best in many ways. Because the stubborn rock-head Indn grandma refused to wait until or if the Emergency Mgmt people would ever do their jobs by us, she & a friend hauled 700 sandbags & used them to fill in the driveway enough that no one would become a permanent resident if they pulled in.. This with a 28-year-old Rolling Restoration Project & on a leg that doesn't work right.. At least 28,000 lbs. of sand. Anyone uses the word "lazy" with "Indn" within my earshot is in for an earfull..
And then, for me, there was getting laid off March 7; being told a-gain by Unemployment Compensation that I 'don't qualify' for UEC; & having had to skin thru on the sales of custom-made mocassins & the very occasional temp job. I sure would like to thank all those stinking washichu who loused up the economy with their rampant greed & deregulation.. I'd like to thank them with my war club. Or a skillet, applied with vigor.. take your pick.
There's a line in a book I just read - a great book! - "No Birds Sing" by Jo Bannister, an Irish author.... the line is, "Cal Donovan has a mind as flexible as a ferret in a drainpipe". That's flexible, takoszja... I must have such a mind; I can't imagine what else is keeping me alive, other than prayer & some over-worked spirit out there slaving to keep me fed & my expenses covered.
I have some gorgeous bronze irisses in the front, & every year for the past 7 years, I've hoped they'd bloom & got nothing. But this year, after they were under water for a couple of days - water flowing at 40 mph, remember - & got a load of clay silt dumped on them, they bloomed! It was worth the wait! If I can find out how to post the pictures I took, I will, but otherwise, picture bronze and lemon yellow irisses, the blooms as big as softballs. Wow! I thought I had them watered enough, but obviously not.
Mostly, scratching like a cat on a shale slope for a living has kept me from posting. Thanks for your patience, and thanks for reading! And if anyone out there wants gloves for your feet, you know how to contact me.. I'll be so0o glad to help you out.
Enjoy..
First, there was fighting winter, and this last one was a real old-fashioned one. Snow & more snow - came within 1.5" of the record for a winter. Everyone is just now beginning to recover from the exhaustion, & some of us may never. It was like a marathon, but there were no rests possible.
One friend told me, he didn't think he could ever be more tired than he is since last winter. Ain't that the truth! He has fallen asleep while driving his tractor! That's tired.
And then when it finally thawed, it all went in a short time, so we had Floods. Not "floods", "Floods". I had up to 46" of water out back; & an average of about 2.5 ft. out front, flowing at about 40 mph. I didn't lose a lot; I was blessed. But I & the neighbors I share a driveway with lost a chunk of the west in-drive that was on average 26" deep X 55 ft X 120-some ft...
We were all going nuts trying to dig out of the mess, but I got by the best in many ways. Because the stubborn rock-head Indn grandma refused to wait until or if the Emergency Mgmt people would ever do their jobs by us, she & a friend hauled 700 sandbags & used them to fill in the driveway enough that no one would become a permanent resident if they pulled in.. This with a 28-year-old Rolling Restoration Project & on a leg that doesn't work right.. At least 28,000 lbs. of sand. Anyone uses the word "lazy" with "Indn" within my earshot is in for an earfull..
And then, for me, there was getting laid off March 7; being told a-gain by Unemployment Compensation that I 'don't qualify' for UEC; & having had to skin thru on the sales of custom-made mocassins & the very occasional temp job. I sure would like to thank all those stinking washichu who loused up the economy with their rampant greed & deregulation.. I'd like to thank them with my war club. Or a skillet, applied with vigor.. take your pick.
There's a line in a book I just read - a great book! - "No Birds Sing" by Jo Bannister, an Irish author.... the line is, "Cal Donovan has a mind as flexible as a ferret in a drainpipe". That's flexible, takoszja... I must have such a mind; I can't imagine what else is keeping me alive, other than prayer & some over-worked spirit out there slaving to keep me fed & my expenses covered.
I have some gorgeous bronze irisses in the front, & every year for the past 7 years, I've hoped they'd bloom & got nothing. But this year, after they were under water for a couple of days - water flowing at 40 mph, remember - & got a load of clay silt dumped on them, they bloomed! It was worth the wait! If I can find out how to post the pictures I took, I will, but otherwise, picture bronze and lemon yellow irisses, the blooms as big as softballs. Wow! I thought I had them watered enough, but obviously not.
Mostly, scratching like a cat on a shale slope for a living has kept me from posting. Thanks for your patience, and thanks for reading! And if anyone out there wants gloves for your feet, you know how to contact me.. I'll be so0o glad to help you out.
Enjoy..
Monday, January 19, 2009
January 20 2009 - End of an "Error" in US History
Hanh mitakutyapi. Hello my relatives.
I don't know if I'll be able to get to a computer w Internet to post tomorrow or not, so this goes in the site today.
On January 20, 2009, we will see the end of an "era" - spell that "error", in U.S. history. We will no longer be living under a bush (Bush) in "America". For which I fervently Thank Tunkashila.
The first black person or known mixed blood person in U.S. history will be sworn into the office of the Presidency of this nation. 233 years after the 'nation' was formed, if I calculate right.. I can only say, "better late than never".
Like ITI everywhere, I am cautiously hopeful that Mr. Obama will continue to prove out - that the hope & optimism he has engendered throughout his campaign will be fulfilled. That under his leadership & driving ethics, much of the corruption & ethical laziness we have seen as "business as usual" while we were all forced to "live under a Bush" will be driven out of the offices of the 'leaders' of business & government - or at least, whipped into submission & corralled in a corner.
In our Traditional Ways, we women rattle our tongues to en-courage & to show support & to promote good hearts. So in this vein, I will rattle my tongue for this incoming Administration & these concepts, & urge all of you who read this to join in. Mitakuye oiasin - All, my relations.
I don't know if I'll be able to get to a computer w Internet to post tomorrow or not, so this goes in the site today.
On January 20, 2009, we will see the end of an "era" - spell that "error", in U.S. history. We will no longer be living under a bush (Bush) in "America". For which I fervently Thank Tunkashila.
The first black person or known mixed blood person in U.S. history will be sworn into the office of the Presidency of this nation. 233 years after the 'nation' was formed, if I calculate right.. I can only say, "better late than never".
Like ITI everywhere, I am cautiously hopeful that Mr. Obama will continue to prove out - that the hope & optimism he has engendered throughout his campaign will be fulfilled. That under his leadership & driving ethics, much of the corruption & ethical laziness we have seen as "business as usual" while we were all forced to "live under a Bush" will be driven out of the offices of the 'leaders' of business & government - or at least, whipped into submission & corralled in a corner.
In our Traditional Ways, we women rattle our tongues to en-courage & to show support & to promote good hearts. So in this vein, I will rattle my tongue for this incoming Administration & these concepts, & urge all of you who read this to join in. Mitakuye oiasin - All, my relations.
Civil Rights Workers Day
Hanh mitakuyapil Hello my realtives. Today should properly be called "Civil Rights Workers Day", for all of the civil rights workers who died to get to the Civil Rights Act, not just one man.
You should know that after the Civil Rights Act was passed, representatives of our Indigenous Nations went to the leaders of the black people & said, "We helped you get this Act. Now it's time for you to help ensure that our Rights are covered, too." They refused us - on the same grounds that whites have since Europeans first came here. The black "leaders" said, "You have no money, so you have no power. Get your Rights insured to you, yourselves."
That's strike 2 as far as we're concerned.. Strike one in black - ITI relations was after the War Between the States. Before that war, we ITI helped blacks escape slavery via the underground railroad. We took blacks into our homes, married & had children with them, taught them our ways & our secret places, gave them pride, respect & dignity. How did they thank us?
After the war, the U.S. government bullied them, saying, "If you don't help us find & exterminate Indians, we'll take your citizenship & freedom away & make you slaves again." So the blacks turned us over. Those were mainly the Buffalo Soldiers - we named them that because they curly hair reminded us of the buffalo's hair, & they were in the bluecoat army.
Martin Luther King Jr. was by no means the only person who "made a difference" in the battle for civil rights for everyone who lives under the U.S. Constitution. And I believe he would not have been at all comfortable with having a federal holiday in his name, for the same reason I believe it's wrong to call this holiday after him.
So while there's tons of fuss & furor being made over "Martin Luther King Jr" day, we should all be focussing instead on the many others who died to get the Civil Rights Act passed, and enforced. That battle continues for us Indns. Hechetu ye.
You should know that after the Civil Rights Act was passed, representatives of our Indigenous Nations went to the leaders of the black people & said, "We helped you get this Act. Now it's time for you to help ensure that our Rights are covered, too." They refused us - on the same grounds that whites have since Europeans first came here. The black "leaders" said, "You have no money, so you have no power. Get your Rights insured to you, yourselves."
That's strike 2 as far as we're concerned.. Strike one in black - ITI relations was after the War Between the States. Before that war, we ITI helped blacks escape slavery via the underground railroad. We took blacks into our homes, married & had children with them, taught them our ways & our secret places, gave them pride, respect & dignity. How did they thank us?
After the war, the U.S. government bullied them, saying, "If you don't help us find & exterminate Indians, we'll take your citizenship & freedom away & make you slaves again." So the blacks turned us over. Those were mainly the Buffalo Soldiers - we named them that because they curly hair reminded us of the buffalo's hair, & they were in the bluecoat army.
Martin Luther King Jr. was by no means the only person who "made a difference" in the battle for civil rights for everyone who lives under the U.S. Constitution. And I believe he would not have been at all comfortable with having a federal holiday in his name, for the same reason I believe it's wrong to call this holiday after him.
So while there's tons of fuss & furor being made over "Martin Luther King Jr" day, we should all be focussing instead on the many others who died to get the Civil Rights Act passed, and enforced. That battle continues for us Indns. Hechetu ye.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
I Felt a Paradigm Shift
Hanh mitakuyapi. Hello my relatives. We have the first mixed-blood, dark-skinned President in the long history of the "united" states. I often wonder what the states are united about - other than bigotry & denial of same. But not this time. We, the People, have spoken and we have made ourselves heard.
Before someone hollers, "you were for Barack Obama all the time!", I'll point out that Barack Obama was not my first choice for Presidential nominee. Joe Biden was. Since Joe Biden is the Vice President, I'm a happy camper. He has input of concepts I like and support. Obama seeks input from others than himself - he is the 'new style' boss I've been for over 20 years.
So why didn't I like him from the start? I can't entirely say, except for one thing. In virtually every picture I've seen of him, he's looking somewhere other than at the camera, even if his face is facing the camera. This bothers me - in a non-Indn. It's a very Indn Thing to do, especially for us Traditionals. Logical? Not particularly. But that's how it is.
The other thing is that over the years I've come to expect to actively dislike whoever was asking for my vote & my support - & while I don't get all warm n fuzzy over Barack Obama, I don't dislike him, either. I just have a strong "wait-&-see" feeling. I've learned to listen to my gut reactions; they are never wrong. Never.
Just the same, actions speak louder than words, and looking at Barack Obama's record, his actions speak well of & for him.
It feels somehow odd not to feel as if we have to wait for a pickup-load of other shoes to drop, like we have with W & company. I want to get used to it. I'm willing to give it time.
Meantime, I'm working on a sign to put on the pickup. It reads, "January 20, 2008 - End of an Error". Unless there's a better one comes to me in the meantime..
No matter - for now, I'm rattling my tongue for this victory of, by, and for Us, the People. And thanking Tunkashila heartily for it. Mitakuye oiasin.
Before someone hollers, "you were for Barack Obama all the time!", I'll point out that Barack Obama was not my first choice for Presidential nominee. Joe Biden was. Since Joe Biden is the Vice President, I'm a happy camper. He has input of concepts I like and support. Obama seeks input from others than himself - he is the 'new style' boss I've been for over 20 years.
So why didn't I like him from the start? I can't entirely say, except for one thing. In virtually every picture I've seen of him, he's looking somewhere other than at the camera, even if his face is facing the camera. This bothers me - in a non-Indn. It's a very Indn Thing to do, especially for us Traditionals. Logical? Not particularly. But that's how it is.
The other thing is that over the years I've come to expect to actively dislike whoever was asking for my vote & my support - & while I don't get all warm n fuzzy over Barack Obama, I don't dislike him, either. I just have a strong "wait-&-see" feeling. I've learned to listen to my gut reactions; they are never wrong. Never.
Just the same, actions speak louder than words, and looking at Barack Obama's record, his actions speak well of & for him.
It feels somehow odd not to feel as if we have to wait for a pickup-load of other shoes to drop, like we have with W & company. I want to get used to it. I'm willing to give it time.
Meantime, I'm working on a sign to put on the pickup. It reads, "January 20, 2008 - End of an Error". Unless there's a better one comes to me in the meantime..
No matter - for now, I'm rattling my tongue for this victory of, by, and for Us, the People. And thanking Tunkashila heartily for it. Mitakuye oiasin.
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