Thursday, May 31, 2007

Bead-embroidered "ghost"

During the month of June, I will be displaying several paintings and sculptures at the Coffee Landing Cafe, in International Falls, MN. Easy to get to if you're in Fort Frances, too. Check it out if you're passing through. Most of the big works that have been documented on these pages, in the last year, will be there. Pass the word.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In this clip, I've illustrated a simple bead-embroidery process where the needle is passed through the base material (my painting, in this case) and run through the previous half of beads laid down (usually four), with a "bias" to one side or another to influence the line of the beadwork; this is exagerated around corners.

The background audio is a clip from the Terence McKenna/Rupert Sheldrake/Ralph Abraham Trialogues 98, in which Rupert Sheldrake relates the Barbara Ehrenreich idea about "most of human history spent as prey"; from her book Blood Rites




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
These pics are from the ShovelMask series. The previous posting (below) has a short video about the final eye-sculpting. Pics click to enlarge.

ShovelMask. Broken Vulture Art, Bingorage Studio, Northwestern Ontario.

textShovelMask. Broken Vulture Art, Bingorage Studio, Northwestern Ontario.

ShovelMask. Broken Vulture Art, Bingorage Studio, Northwestern Ontario.ShovelMask. Broken Vulture Art, Bingorage Studio, Northwestern Ontario.

ShovelMask. Broken Vulture Art, Bingorage Studio, Northwestern Ontario.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Random resources, news and stuff:

Not all "primitivists" are closet "new-agers".
"A guy called me yesterday with questions about our Summer Survival Weekend Course. We spoke for several minutes about what the course covers, what he could expect, and other related topics for about five minutes. Then said he had a question about religion. He asked if we incorporated spiritual teachings or Native American ceremonies in the course. I immediately told him no, but it’s telling that he asked."


An alert from "Gathering of Nations" powwow: "stolen regalia", be on the lookout down there.

Leadership Seminar in Duncan, BC
"The Warrior In Me"
Leadership Seminar 2007
June 27th, 28th & 29th
Cowichan Theatre
Duncan, British Columbia"

A Nick Coleman (MPLS Star Tribune) article about the HBO version of "Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee".

NCFNG homepage.
Article.
"The National Centre for First Nations Governance develops programs and services that are culturally enriched and empowered by First Nations traditions, customs, laws and inherent governing powers.

The Centre has a two-pronged mandate. First, it is designed to support First Nations as they seek to implement their inherent rights of self-government and secondly, it assists First Nations in the further development of their day-to-day government operations."


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------





Monday, May 28, 2007

Good Ancestors

"Our greatest responsibility is to be good ancestors"
:Jonas Salk

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I recently adjusted the look of the ShovelMask, by adding to and resculpting the left eye. This vid captures the changes, prepaint. This is one of the pieces that I will be showing at the Coffee Landing Cafe, throughout June 2007; International Falls, MN.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A previous posting, with proposal regarding changes to Canada's parliament system.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Indian Country article about First Americans In The Arts (FAITA).
"In mid-April FAITA hosted the 15th annual awards presentation, honoring American Indians for their outstanding performance in motion pictures, theatre and in prime time TV at the Beverly Hills Hilton. The gala's master of ceremonies was longtime actor Wes Studi, who was joined by host, Native comedian Charlie Hill."

FAITA website.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

An article about Contemporary Inuit Art.

Article from ParrySound.com
"The federal government and Anishinabek Nation moved a step closer to abolishing the Indian Act.
The Anishinabek First Nation, represented by Grand Council Chief John Beaucage, and the Government of Canada, represented by Minister of Indian Affairs Jim Prentice, agreed Friday afternoon to meet regularly and hammer out the community’s self-governance plan."


New Zealand Herald article.
"A unique and critically endangered sub-species of mountain gorilla came one step closer to extinction this week after a band of suspected African rebels attacked ranger posts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo's Virunga National Park killing one wildlife officer and wounding four more.

The group, said to be part of the Mai Mai rebel movement which has been known to eat gorillas and believes it is impervious to bullets, then threatened to kill mountain gorillas in the area if there were any reprisal attacks by the rangers or the government."


Article about public Graff wall at Venice Beach.
"You spend all day here on a production," says Dytch, a legendary homegrown graffiti artist, "and kids are literally waiting to roll you out."


"The only Good Indian..."
:General Philip Sheridan (1831-1888)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------





Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Thurtles

My previous posting of this item had a broken link; repost is fixed.

From Assembly of First Nations Press Release:
"Assembly of First Nations, Anishinabek Nations to Host Historic Three Fires Confederacy Gathering, August 20-26, 2007 at Garden River First Nation, Ontario...
The Anishinabek is the nation and people known also as the Ojibway, Odawa and Pottawatomi who together form the Three Fires Confederacy. Historically, the tribes met regularly for social, spiritual, military and political purposes...
The first two days of the gathering will bring together leadership and citizens and will be devoted to sharing the history and the protocol of the Three Fires Confederacy. It will provide leadership an opportunity to discuss important issues such as relationships with governments, border crossing issues, water and Great Lakes management."



[Update May 25]

Three Fires Confederacy homepage.
"A Homecoming of the Anishinaabe

We truly want this gathering to be a homecoming of the Anishinaabe.

For so long, we have been held back by that imaginary line between the colonial nations of Canada and the United States. This separated our family members. It separated our clans. It separated our communities.

Before the border was established, our people crossed freely. We were a single Nation under the Three Fires Confederacy. We have family members across the border still. Our clans were forced apart and rarely even coming together.

We were held back by the Indian Act, back in Canada. We were held back by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, in the U.S. We were forbidden from meeting and practicing our culture and spirituality.

We need to get re-acquainted with one another. To find our clan brothers and sisters again. This is one of the main purposes of the Three Fires Confederacy gathering."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

New Zoto "album" for "the Seeker" figure. Here are some of the initial stages of the papier-mache figure.
texttext

texttext

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Vine Deloria Indigenous Studies Symposium. July 26-28, 2007.
"Call for Papers: The deadline for receiving abstracts will be June 15th. Those whose presentation abstracts have been accepted will be notified by June 22nd."


---

Allied Media Conference.
"...an annual, weekend-long gathering of influential alternative media-makers and committed social justice activists."


---

Protect Sacred Sites.Org.
"-The Protect Sacred Sites as "Indigenous People, One Nation" organization's goal is to help educate people across the Nation regarding the continual desecration and need for protection of our sacred sites. -We are a grass roots organization and work in-conjunction with Tribal Councils, Tribal Preservation Officers, Attorney's, other Organizations and Conservation Groups. -We have committee members across the Nation and are growing each day. Our organization is very pro-active and endorses peaceful gatherings for the protection of sacred sites."
Their myspace page.

---

Where is the patchwork?
"... where is patchwork today? It is hard to find. Not many people among the Seminole & Miccosukee still make it. Many of the younger ones don't know how to make it. Of the very few places where you can still find it for sale, you have to pay a fortune."


An article from Jana Hollingsworth Duluth News Tribune, about the need for Language preservation and vitality. "Saving sounds from silence""... The Fond du Lac reservation exhibits seven or eight signs of the 10 that signify a dying language, Jones said. Those include a lack of first-language speakers, which several members have estimated to be fewer than 10 on the reservation; not speaking the language as a first language at home; and not using it as the primary language at community gatherings."

First Nation Tax Commission
"All First Nations have potential property tax bases; however, some are more administratively viable than others. For those First Nations that do choose to enter property taxation, the exercise of their jurisdiction must be supported. Property tax is an important component of government revenue that is essential to the provision of services. Supreme Court of Canada rulings have reinforced the importance of these powers for First Nations governments.

Currently, more than 100 First Nations are collecting property tax in diverse circumstances across Canada. Fifty more have expressed interest in taxation. The composition of these tax bases is as diverse as First Nations themselves. Rural and remote First Nations have greater focus on utility, railway, industrial, or recreational taxpayers, while First Nations that are closer to municipalities are likely to have more residential and commercial taxpayers."


Graham Greene set to play "non-native" theatrical roles, this summer: Shylock from Merchant of Venice and Lennie in Of Mice and Men.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A couple of NIMBY cases, concerning First Nations expansions and health services;

Curve Lake expansion.

Saskatchewan cases.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------




Monday, May 21, 2007

Victoria Day; ought-seven

Seeker's TurtleHeart:

Seeker's TurtleHeart, Broken Vulture Art, Bingorage StudioSeeker's TurtleHeart, Broken Vulture Art, Bingorage Studio

Seeker's TurtleHeart, Broken Vulture Art, Bingorage Studio

---
Pop-art moment:

Broken Vulture Art, Bingorage Studio

---

It was a little cold to camp out this weekend, but here's a couple pics from last summer, on Rainy Lake:

Rainy Lake camping

Rainy Lake camping

Pictograph panel; Crowrock inlet, Rainy Lake. Click to enlarge; Most details are blurred, but a moose/deer form is still apparent.
Pictograph panel; Crowrock inlet, Rainy Lake

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Random resources, news and stuff:

Under an increasing land claims visibility and threat of further protests, Ottawa set to empower land-claims panel.
"...Minister of Indian Affairs, Jim Prentice, is working on a plan that would give the Indian Claims Commission independent power to make legal rulings. The minister promised Tuesday that an announcement on land-claims policy will be made in the next few weeks."


Another Native Blog; screenwriter, "Buffalohair".

A short review of the enduring relevance and non-use by mainstream media of the ideas in "Manufacturing Consent", by Herman and Chomsky.
"Rather than offer a case study of coverage of one issue, or an analysis of this or that flaw or media "mistakes," they set out to try to make sense of the way the media functions as a "system." What rules govern the behavior of media institutions in reporting on crisis abroad? They didn't call it a theory because they believed they were not being speculative but factual.

They came up with what they called a "model," not of journalism, but of propaganda."


A posting at The 4'th River, with some thoughts about colonialism, natural resources and land claims.
"There have been many times in my life when I have heard people say that they have Native blood in them, but it wasn’t something discussed in the family ever. There even could have been shame, a by product of Colonialism. We may be living in times of chaos, but these are restorative justice times too and we have to support restoring a culture that was unjustly destroyed, because acknowledging our sins is the only step forward. But, in order to keep going forward to save our selves, we have to make a restorative leap to nature based belief systems. It’s why we should be standing side by side our Native brothers and sisters with these land claims."

The Premier of Ontario believes the feds are "in 'untenable situation' with growing pile of native land claims".
"Frustration is growing in Canada due to a lack of action and something has to be done to deal with outstanding claims that have led to standoffs like the year-long occupation in the southern Ontario town of Caledonia, he said.

"There is a lot of frustration experienced, not just here in Ontario, but by Canadians generally," McGuinty said Tuesday, adding Ottawa should create an independent body with the power to both study and settle the claims."


All the progressive Canadian opinions you want and need; Progressive Bloggers [dot] CA

Posting and discussion about alternate proportional representation scheme in Canada.

Blog of a Palestinian mother and journalist.
"I am a Palestinian journalist who divides her time between Gaza and the United States, where Yousuf's father, a Palestinian refugee denied his right of return to Palestine, and thus OUR right as a family to live together, resides. This blog is about the trials of raising our son between Gaza and the US, while working as a journalist, and everything that entails from potty training to border crossings. Together, we endure a lot, and the personal becomes political. This is our story."


A nearly extinct population of Sonoran Pronghorns is on the rebound in Arizona. Wikipedia Pronghorn age.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------





tincretion

A primer on copyright and fair use:



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Random Resources, news and stuff:

This is particularly interesting. It seems that a fairly recent cometary collision with the planet may have occurred nearly 13 000 years ago, setting most of the northern hemisphere on fire and creating large floods from glacial meltwaters.
"The theory is to be outlined at the American Geophysical Union meeting in Acapulco, Mexico. A group of US scientists that include West will report that they have found a layer of microscopic diamonds at 26 different sites in Europe, Canada and America. These are the remains of a giant carbon-rich comet that crashed in pieces on our planet 12,900 years ago, they say. The huge pressures and heat triggered by the fragments crashing to Earth turned the comet's carbon into diamond dust. 'The shock waves and the heat would have been tremendous,' said West. 'It would have set fire to animals' fur and to the clothing worn by men and women."



RezRiders.Org
"Web portal for Native/Indigenous/aboriginal people competing, participating or just interested in alternative sport and active lifestyles. Snowboarding, skateboarding, BMX, MotoX, surfing, climbing, kayaking whateva, it's all good."


Anchorage Museum (Alaska)

From Assembly of First Nations Press Release:
"Assembly of First Nations, Anishinabek Nations to Host Historic Three Fires Confederacy Gathering, August 20-26, 2007 at Garden River First Nation, Ontario...
The Anishinabek is the nation and people known also as the Ojibway, Odawa and Pottawatomi who together form the Three Fires Confederacy. Historically, the tribes met regularly for social, spiritual, military and political purposes...
The first two days of the gathering will bring together leadership and citizens and will be devoted to sharing the history and the protocol of the Three Fires Confederacy. It will provide leadership an opportunity to discuss important issues such as relationships with governments, border crossing issues, water and Great Lakes management."


Native Women's group gathers to heal Lake Nipissing.
"The water passed around as part of the ceremony and drank by the participants came from a natural spring, she said.

Nipissing elder Peter Beaucage thanked Liberty-Whiteduck and her group for leading the way, describing how his family used to drink straight from the lake as children with no fear of becoming ill.

Beaucage said they don't dare drink from it anymore. "


Incan rope bridges, technological marvels of preColumbian Americas.

Himwitsa Native Art Gallery
In Tofino, British Columbia, Canada

Rail blockade ruling extended
"In an ever spiraling series of events creating tension between Native Canadians and various government bodies, an Ontario Superior Court judge extended an order that ended a blockade of a major rail line in April. According to the CBC's news website the blockade part of a protest of a Mohawk land dispute, stopped rail traffic for 30 hours. "The disruption blocked the transport of freight worth more than $100 million"..."


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------





Friday, May 18, 2007

melamine green

"The Seeker" Papier mache human figure; adding solid green background colour.
Previous postings: here, here, here.

The Seeker; papier mache sculpture, Broken Vulture Art, Bingorage Studio, Fort Frances, Northwestern Ontario.The Seeker; papier mache sculpture, Broken Vulture Art, Bingorage Studio, Fort Frances, Northwestern Ontario.

The Seeker; papier mache sculpture, Broken Vulture Art, Bingorage Studio, Fort Frances, Northwestern Ontario.The Seeker; papier mache sculpture, Broken Vulture Art, Bingorage Studio, Fort Frances, Northwestern Ontario.

The Seeker; papier mache sculpture, Broken Vulture Art, Bingorage Studio, Fort Frances, Northwestern Ontario.The Seeker; papier mache sculpture, Broken Vulture Art, Bingorage Studio, Fort Frances, Northwestern Ontario.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Random resouces, news and stuff:

The secret history of the Potato. Originating from South America.
"For a simple, brown tuber, potatoes have a long and storied history. Ancient Incans worshipped them; the Irish blamed them for a famine. Today, they are the fourth largest food crop in the world."


New Squamish artists are Carving a future from the past.

Photos and commentary from United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues; Sixth Session.

No verdict this week, in abuse trial of former Anglican minister Ralph Rowe.

Basket-weaving techniques, from "The Language of Native American Baskets".

House Alive.
"Cob, natural building, natural design & appropriate technology."


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Fort Frances Drive". My tour of Fort Frances; jig music by James Cheechoo.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Tuesday, May 15, 2007

A (few) (Im)Modest Proposal(s) - Part 2: First Nations Constituencies

This is an idea that I've been kicking around for a while,
and it's a doozie.

Add several seats to The Canadian House of Commons, reserved for First Nations Constituencies.

I can already hear the howling, head-shaking, "wtf"-s and lip-trembling from here, but let me elaborate a little bit before you dump this post (and site bookmark).

"The Native Vote" and voice, in Canada, is split up by geography, historic gerrymandering, statistical dilution in urban populations, etc. If First Nations' voters could choose an election to vote in, which was not bounded by a physical riding, but rather by a larger cultural constituency, then our votes would have more meaning.

There are currently 308 MP (Member of Parliament) seats in The House, so let's say...
10 more seats, scattered across the country and crossing provincial/territorial boundaries to better reflect cultural regions.

By "choosing", I mean that a First Nation member would have to declare in advance whether to vote in the local riding election or the larger First Nation Constituency "riding".
One Shinnob, one vote.
8-)

I foresee the riding associations of established Canadian Federal parties and newly rising Federal First Nations' parties running candidates from locally represented First Nations or, perhaps, nationally recognised Native personalities.


Canada (& the USA) needs to give meaningful representation to their "Native American"/First Nations/Aboriginal/Indigenous peoples. Great lip service has been paid to the sovereignty of tribes, consultation with First Nations , mutual respect and fulfillment of treaty obligations, with few concrete results: Promises made and broken, years long studies with "recommendations" that are never enacted, payments that get eaten up by lawyers, bean-counters, substandard construction and civil servants, instead of doing actual work.

Perhaps politicians are not to blame, but the system itself; constraining them from making good on "best intentions" when faced with more affluent constituencies with generous lobbyists. Having a set of MPs in The House which are less compromised by corporate influence and more informed by culture and conscience will allow Parliament to get more work done, with less BS.

And in the United States; maybe four Senate seats? North, East, South and West.

---
It may seem obvious that this would benefit First Nations, but how does this benefit the greater societies in which they are embedded?

-Most reservations and First Nations are located far outside of urban centres; First Nation Constituency seats would give greater voice to rural areas which are overlooked at the federal level.

-The greater part of the world's population sees North America as a near-monolithic, consuming capitalist oppressor that refuses to acknowledge its mistakes and deleterious effect upon the struggling peoples of the world. Acknowledging and empowering its own "fourth world", would go a long, long way to assuring the rest of the world that real change is possible, over here.

-New parties may be formed; widening democratic possibilities.

-Creating real economies and reliable infrastructure on reservations would go a long way to ending cultures of dependence and paternalism.

-Really, finally, settle all land claims; and move on, together.

---

Alright. Let me know what you think and spread the word. I need feedback and help molding what this idea might look like, in practice. More pros and cons, constitutional impediments/ ramifications, etc.
Constructive criticism, please.
:Eric

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gebwáunuhse (hawk) Pics click to enlarge.

text

texttext

texttext

text

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Must-know terms for the 21st Century intellectual, at Sentient Developments

One man's custody problem, is a culture's battle for its children.

A Native history of the Allegheny, from the Anthropik Network.

Rewild; a wiki that looks like a neoprimitivist manual for dealing with the future.
"... symbolizing a process of undoing domestication, not the endpoint of it. It may look like a woman breast-feeding her child. It may look like a group of people collecting wild edibles. It may look like someone turning off their TV for an hour a day. It may look like hanging out with your friends. It may look like refusing to pay rent or buy food. It may look like killing a deer for the first time..."


It seems like there is to be a slightly butchered version of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, being made into a film on HBO.

Sherman Alexie interview.

The ugly necklace contest.

On the Outside of America Looking In : Tim Giago.

Native artist, Doug Bell, says it is time to move on, concerning the residential school period. We'll see.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you're a Canadian, personally invested in the arts, The Canada Council for the Arts wants your input
"... the Canada Council is working on a strategic planning exercise to inform its corporate plan for 2008-2011. By developing a strategic plan, we will identify where our energies and resources can best be focused in the immediate term."


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------




Friday, May 11, 2007

Wretfully

An interesting discussion of the myth and history of "The Noble Savage", as a European construct, at the Anthropik Network.
"The Savages Are Truly Noble"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pics click to enlarge.
The Seeker; run through M$ Paint.
The Seeker; Broken Vulture Art papier mache sculpture.

Started a large embroidery/collage thingie, with my art group.
Broken Vulture Art embroidery/collage thingie.

embroidery/collage thingie detail, lazy stitch
Broken Vulture Art embroidery/collage thingie detail.

Johnny, the gravity defying Bingorage-cat.
Johnny, the gravity defying Bingorage-cat.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Random resources, news and stuff:

Good to see that The Circle Newspaper, from Minneapolis is updating its website, again. I have missed reading Jim Northrup's Fond Du Lac Follies. I had the pleasure of meeting Jim a few times, while I was wasting oxygen and time in Minneapolis.
8-)

CN files lawsuit against First Nation protestors, for shutting down Toronto/Montreal/Ottawa rail corridor to bring attention to land claim struggle, near Deseronto, Ontario.

---

It seems that the province of Ontario is preparing to slap a 13% diamond tax on future diamond mine profits, and Attawapiskat Cree leaders say that the provincial government is threatening the potential prosperity of underserved Northern communities by strangling development agreements with mining companies.
"The De Beers diamond mine – which is on the traditional land of the Attawapiskat First Nation – is a life line for the reserve which is plagued by high suicide rates, woefully inadequate housing and extreme poverty, Carpenter said.

Housing is in such short supply that up to four families live in one three-bedroom home, he said. The community has been without an elementary school for seven years, he added.

The reserve has signed a revenue-sharing agreement with De Beers and no one wants to see that project or future exploration jeopardized by a hefty tax, he said."
Second article.

-----

An interesting transcript, of testimony given to refute intelligent design, as a legitimate scientific alternative, to be taught alongside evolution.

Toronto policeman charged with assaulting a bicycle rider, caught on tape.

New research is chasing the theory that language may have started as gestures, rather than sound, by studying use of gestures in wild chimpanzees and bonobos.

The Nipissing First Nation polices its own Walleye harvest.

An online PDF handbook for bloggers in the third and fourth worlds, endangered by censorship and suppression.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

An Anglican minister, on trial in Kenora Ontario has just pled guilty to a further 20 counts of sexual abuse against Native children in Northern Ontario reserves. Article.
"The trial for Ralph Rowe, 67, began in earnest on Wednesday with his arraignment on 12 charges from five different complainants in Kenora Superior Court. The charges include six counts of sexual assault and six counts of indecent assault.
On Monday, Rowe pled guilty to 20 charges – 10 counts of sexual assault and 10 counts of indecent assault – during the same time period involving 20 other victims from the northern First Nation communities of Muskrat Dam, Wunnumin Lake and Big Trout Lake.
Rowe, who was the Anglican minister and Boy Scout master in these communities during the time of the offences, was originally facing 56 charges. However, the Crown withdrew 24 of the charges that involved the same 20 victims, leaving 12 from five victims for trial.
Justice Erwin Stach ruled Tuesday he would not sentence Rowe for his 20 guilty pleas until the conclusion of the trial."


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------





Wednesday, May 09, 2007

spruce hill

Too many important archaeological sites are unwittingly destroyed; this one is on the developer's chopping block and everybody knows it. It is a "fortress"-style Hopewellian earthwork.

Saving Spruce Hill

"Dear Friends,
We are writing to ask for your immediate creative and financial help to save Spruce Hill, a national and regional treasure.
Spruce Hill is not only a significant Ohio Hopewell earthworks site, but is also an extremely worthy natural area and a potential World Heritage site.
Three organizations: the Arc of Appalachia Preserve System, Wilderness East, and Ross County Parks are working together to BUY AND PROTECT two sites totaling over 500 acres containing a hilltop earthworks enclosure and over 325 acres of Appalachian forest, a task which requires raising a minimum of $1.2 million in just a few weeks...

In summary, Spruce Hill is one of the nation’s most important intact archeological treasures that is currently unprotected, likely hiding the answers to many longstanding questions currently posed by Hopewell archeologists."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Giant Fraser River Sturgeon. Click pic for article.

Giant Fraser River Sturgeon.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some older pics:

Broken Vulture Art image

Broken Vulture Art image

Broken Vulture Art image

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's illegal to pick up roadkill in California?
"... in December, when Velasquez saw a dead red-tail hawk next to Highway 12, he stopped, picked up the bird and began a prayer, promising it would once again feel wind pass through its feathers during ceremonies.

A California Department of Fish and Game warden was watching Velasquez through binoculars. She gave him a ticket and took the bird. The ticket said he could be jailed for a year or fined $1,000, Velasquez said."


Museum of Indian Arts and Culture Opens "Origins in Tradition"
"Tammy Garcia, innovative Native American artist, will exhibit four monumental bronze sculptures at the “Origins in Tradition” exhibit, opening May 20, 2007 at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture in Santa Fe, NM. The exhibit features six large-scale sculptural works by two pueblo women."


Museum of Indian Arts and CultureCalendar of Events.

An interesting article and discussion about fake-shamans and "wannabes".

An article about pencil carving.
8-)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------




Monday, May 07, 2007

laughing rats and paleface



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The Seeker"; continuing to evolve. Donning temporary paleface makeup and undergoing phase change. Smaller pics click to enlarge.

The Seeker. Papier mache sculpture, Broken Vulture Art, Bingorage Studio.

The Seeker. Papier mache sculpture, Broken Vulture Art, Bingorage Studio.The Seeker. Papier mache sculpture, Broken Vulture Art, Bingorage Studio.

The Seeker. Papier mache sculpture, Broken Vulture Art, Bingorage Studio.The Seeker. Papier mache sculpture, Broken Vulture Art, Bingorage Studio.

The Seeker. Papier mache sculpture, Broken Vulture Art, Bingorage Studio.The Seeker. Papier mache sculpture, Broken Vulture Art, Bingorage Studio.

The Seeker. Papier mache sculpture, Broken Vulture Art, Bingorage Studio.The Seeker. Papier mache sculpture, Broken Vulture Art, Bingorage Studio.

The Seeker. Papier mache sculpture, Broken Vulture Art, Bingorage Studio.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Random resources, news and stuff:

"Canada's copyright czar lied about money from entertainment execs". Article at BoingBoing.

You have probably heardthe phrase "Mitochondrial Eve"; but, what does it mean?
"The Mitochondrial Eve of 200,000 years ago (ME for short henceforth) is NOT our common ancestor, or even common genetic ancestor. She is the most-recent common ancestor of all humans alive on Earth today with respect to matrilineal descent."


A cool, simple monopod/bipod/tripod construction for your camera, at Instructables.com

An excellent outline for novel development, in ten steps, at Ingermanson.com.

A handy timeline of human history, from 60 000 BCE, to 4 000 BCE.

Native Wellness Institute
"The Native Wellness Institute will host four Regional Wellness Gatherings in 2007, AND for the first time, NWI will offer FREE REGISTRATION FOR ALL! We especially want to target individuals who have never been to a wellness gathering before. Travel and lodging will be at your own expense. There will be no registration fee and all conference activities will be FREE."


Nat. Indian Educ. Assoc.
"The National Indian Education Association is membership based organization committed to increasing educational opportunities and resources for American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian students while protecting our cultural and linguistic traditions."

The Indian Summer Festival is accepting nominations for their music awards; Deadline is May 15, 2007.
"The Indian Summer Music Awards seek to honor the best American Indian music that has been commercially released between the period of March 2, 2006 and March 1, 2007. "


Cottage leasers on Lake of the Woods will not have their leases renewed, by The Rat Portage Band of Ojibway.

An interesting blog, Global Guerillas, discussing the emerging field of "open source warfare" that is challenging the traditional forces of the world's nation-states.
"Networked tribes, infrastructure disruption, and the emerging bazaar of violence. An open notebook on the first epochal war of the 21st Century."


Another blog list; this one is of "power-words" for your resume.

The Not For Sale Campaign, to end global slavery, which has tendrils into our own back yards.
"I read in a local paper that one of my favorite Indian restaurants in the Bay Area had been trafficking women from India to wash dishes, cook meals and other tasks. The story came out when a young woman, Chianti Pratipatta died of a gas leak in an unventilated apartment owned by the proprietor of the restaurant, who forced Chianti and others into slavery under threat of reporting their illegal presence to the authorities..."

101 Hidden Tips & Secrets For Photoshop

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------






Thursday, May 03, 2007

Laurel pottery and gas mask

I recently joined The Northland Art Society in International Falls, MN. Click here to see our infant blog.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some pottery fragments that I picked from the shore of Rainy Lake. These are fragments from the pottery of the Laurel culture, which was centralised in the Rainy River region and expanded through Northern Ontario, Manitoba, Northern Minnesota, Saskatchewan and Wisconsin.

Prehistoric pottery fragments.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The "gas mask" project.

This piece incorporated the top half of a "heart mask", a cast iron stove(?) segment, toilet paper rolls, a sheet of lexan and a variety of paints.


Gas mask project. Broken Vulture Art, Bingorage Studio.Gas mask project. Broken Vulture Art, Bingorage Studio.

Gas mask project. Broken Vulture Art, Bingorage Studio.Gas mask project. Broken Vulture Art, Bingorage Studio.

Gas mask project. Broken Vulture Art, Bingorage Studio.Gas mask project. Broken Vulture Art, Bingorage Studio.

Gas mask project. Broken Vulture Art, Bingorage Studio.Gas mask project. Broken Vulture Art, Bingorage Studio.

Gas mask project. Broken Vulture Art, Bingorage Studio.Gas mask project. Broken Vulture Art, Bingorage Studio.

This piece turned out supercool. I have to get a "final picture" to post.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Native American Native American Art Shows and Indian Markets Calendar, at NativeArt.Net.

"America The Beautiful", through May 18 at Newman University's Steckline Gallery, Wichita Kansas.
"[Benjamin]Harjo's work is included in the art show "America the Beautiful," which also showcases work by contemporary Native American artists Dolores Purdy Corcoran (a Caddo who lives in Topeka); Eddie Morrison (Cherokee; Oklahoma) and Mary America Lynn Meredith (Swedish-Cherokee; San Francisco)."


A short Bio. and introduction to Chippewa artist David P. Bradley

Should students have to stand up for Canada
"As happens every or nearly every school day, the National Anthem was played. On this particular day, the student, an aboriginal, reportedly from Eel Ground First Nation refused to stand..."


An excerpt from Lies My Teacher Told Me:
"Estimates of Haiti's pre-Columbian population range as high as 8,000,000 people... a census of Indian adults in 1496.. came up with 1,100,000... "By 1516," according to Benjamin Keen, "thanks to the sinister Indian slave trade and labor policies initiated by Columbus, only some 12,000 remained." Las Casas tells us that fewer than 200 Indians were alive in 1542. By 1555, they were all gone".


An editorial by Drew Hayden Taylor: Seriously Bad Advice.

An article with a former C1A analyst tying the currentUS admin. to Pakistani nuclear program.
"In the era of Ronald Reagan, intelligence officer Richard Barlow was an analyst for the CIA, monitoring Pakistan's nuclear program. In 1989, he moved over to the Pentagon, where he worked for then-Secretary of Defense Richard Cheney. Barlow lost that job when he raised objections to his bosses about senior Pentagon officials allegedly lying to Congress concerning Pakistan’s emerging nuclear program."


The federal government's aoriginal suicide prevention program isn't working. A waste of paper.
"Government-created materials and resources did not receive many favourable mentions from interviewees because they are often seen as unnecessary, ineffective, and wasteful of tax dollars," the report added."

Looking for the earliest North American habitation sites,
underwater.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------