Codename: Guppy

I wanted to create a male character, for the "Lost Treasures" event (facebook page) coming up in Kenora, Ontario, to acknowledge the fact that most killings-of-women in this world... are at the hands of men. Husbands, brothers, fathers, lovers, sons, lovers, friends and strangers.

It would be simplistic and wrong, however, to say that men are inherently prone to kill women, by nature and testosterone. They/We are programmed by cultures, religions, mass medias, ancient archetypes and legends, corporate environments, etc., etc. I want this piece to reflect upon the anguish of two human potentials lost, when a man kills.

That's not to let us off the hook; the male gender has given the world "honour-killing", "murder-suicide", "serial-killer", "date-rape". "scorched-earth", "mutually assured destruction"...
So on, and so on.

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[Pics click to enlarge.]

I started out by playing with the spare parts and various heads-in-progress lying around the studio.



Once the head was chosen; I scrapped the huge arms and started papering/taping the figure.







I added another pre-made papier mache fragment to the back of the head to bulk it out. I think that I am going to leave the piece unpainted for the Kenora event. It radiates some real emotion, without being individualised, this way.









Lay it down, to get at the underside. I think that I will put some metal weight in the base of one leg to make it "stand".



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Tim Giago article

Ledger Art

"The Plains Indian Ledger Art Digital Publishing Project (PILA) was conceived as a way to keep this irreplaceable historic and cultural information intact, address the challenges of research and public access to the Plains Indian ledger books, and preserve the images for future generations."

NARF myspace page.

"The Native American Rights Fund (NARF) has announced its 2nd Annual National Call for young Native artists, ages 15-35 years old. NARF is seeking art entries for its 2nd Annual Art Show in Boulder, Colorado-Modern Day Warriors: Empowering the Young Voices of Native America . The dynamic art exhibition will celebrate and highlight present and future generations of modern day warriors for Native rights. It will also place focus on the fact the Indian Wars Never Ended-they have merely changed venues from the historic battlegrounds of our ancestors to courtrooms; the media; schools; communities; Congress; and the modern day world around us... DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES IS 5PM, FRIDAY OCTOBER 12TH, 2007!"

The Seventh Annual Festival of Native Film & Culture

"(formerly known as the Native American Film Festival & Cultural Weekend) is currently accepting submissions. All feature length and short film Native American and indigenous work produced after January 1, 2007 is eligible for consideration. The Festival will take place at the Camelot Theatres in Palm Springs, California, March 5 - 9, 2008... Film submission entry deadline is December 15, 2007."

Indigenous nations hit hard by hurricanes


The Fenimore Art Museum September 22-December 30, 2007.

"Being Indian: The 6th Contemporary Iroquois Art Biennial, an exhibition featuring the works of Native American artists Peter B. Jones and George Longfish"

AIEA 2007 Native American Youth Conference October 18 & 19, 2007 Phoenix Arizona

Nike has designed and produced a shoe, based on the Native American foot.

"...the Air Native N7 is designed with a larger fit for the distinct foot shape of American Indians, and has a culturally specific look. It will be distributed solely to American Indians; tribal wellness programs and tribal schools nationwide will be able to purchase the shoe at wholesale price and then pass it along to individuals, often at no cost."

How is this for a great idea? The New Zealand government has opened a "wiki" so that the citizens can write the new law on policing. Police wiki lets you write the law.

"Superintendent Hamish McCardle, the officer in charge of developing the new act, said the initiative had already been described as a "new frontier of democracy".
"People are calling it 'extreme democracy' and perhaps it is," he said.
"It's a novel move but when it comes to the principles that go into policing, the person on the street has a good idea ... as they are a customer," he said.
"They've got the best idea about how they want to be policed."
NZ Police were reviewing the old Policing Act, from 1958, which had become "anachronistic" and was "written for a completely different age, not policing of today", Superintendent McCardle said."

Columbus Day is approaching again, United Native America was formed...

"in 1993 as a nation wide grass roots movement to bring about a federal national holiday for Native Americans. The Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma fully supports this issue with resolution 91-93. United Native America resolution 1-1 calls on the federal government to stop using our tax dollars to pay for Columbus Day.

Columbus does not rate a federal tax paid holiday in this country. We are standing up against the racial exclusion of Native Americans in our society to include these industries, national television stations, movie industries, national sports industries, national news media and music industries. Bringing about these changes have to take place before America can say it represents all its people equally.

The American Indians helped give birth to this country and helped form the government we have today, this is the true beginning history of America. This contribution and many more are noted in the American Indian heritage month of November resolution passed each year by the United States Senate and signed by the president, please join us in the struggle in the spirit of Crazy Horse, Tecumseh and countless others to live in peace on our land."

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Ugly Necklace Contest

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Tags: native art, papier mache, male figure, paper sculpture, human form, ojibway art, violence, lost treasures, Bingorage, Broken Vulture Art, blog, pics

Blog Against Abuse

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Blog Against Abuse (Click pic for link to BlogCatalog page).

"The Outcome we are after is to be part of the largest group of bloggers to ever blog about an important cause, all on the same day.
So how do you participate?
On Sept. 27th, blog about putting an end to some sort of Abuse (you decide what kind of abuse to blog about)."

That's a fairly wide-open mandate: "blog against some kind of abuse".

I think that I will go for the big one. The ultimate abuse; murder.
Most countries have laws and sanctions against it. Religions proscribe it. Most individuals say that it is a bad thing. The "golden rule" makes it illogical.

I'm probably misquoting Clint Eastwood (Unforgiven): "Killing's a hell of a thing... take away all that a man has... and all that he'll ever have."

And, yet...
We go on murdering by the tens of thousands each year; perhaps hundreds of thousands and millions, world-wide, depending on the so called realpolitik of the day.
And it's easy to let that slide, thousands of miles away and next neighbourhood over. "Dirty, savage people" who don't look like you, pray like you, believe like you, grow up like you or live in your patch. Just numbers and probably thieves, whores and terrorists to boot.
Mothers, brothers, babies, daughters, sisters, fathers, farmers, cobblers, teachers, preachers, ditchdiggers, waitresses, painters, bricklayers, shopkeepers, doctors...

Armies murder.
Religions murder.
Gangs and cops murder.
Friends and lovers... family and strangers murder.
People kill for spite, money, love, hate, fear, guilt, country, god, shits and giggles.

Some have "good reason to", others have no reason at all.
Some are just "doing their duty"... and breaking every moral code they claim to believe in.
Some are just trying to save their own skins.

It's easy to kill someone.
By the time you're eighteen, the average TV viewer has witnessed hundreds of enacted murders, if not thousands. If you live in a part of the world without television, or in certain parts of "urban jungles" anywhere, you've probably witnessed a few killings up close. You become desensitised.
If you join an army, a police force, or a middle eastern death cult, killing "on behalf of a greater good" can be rationalised; become second nature.

So. How does it end?

I don't believe that religions, laws or punishments can prevent murder. Indeed, even though they are meant to prevent it, they often incite and promote killing.

I've been tossing an idea around for a while: plan for and publicise a yearly, worldwide "Day Without Murder". The hardest part may not be reaching all the crackheads, street-thugs, psychos, shitbags, terrorists and religious nutjobs... it might be educating and convincing all governments and police forces to refrain from killing. Just for a day.

Could everyone stop? Just for one day? Can there ever be a single day, throughout the whole planet, in which nobody is killed by another human? I think that if that day is ever achieved, then there might never be another murder.

How about December 21'st?
Every december 21'st.

:Eric

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Previous posting about "Lost Treasures", an NWAC event in Kenora (Ontario), in synch with Sisters in Spirit vigils (October 4, 2007)in other cities around Canada and in Columbia and Peru. The events are to raise awareness of and memorialise the large number of missing and murdered First Nations women in Canada.

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Tags: Blog Against Abuse, Bingorage, Broken Vulture Art, blog, lost treasures

touch of frost

Pics click to enlarge.
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Not sure what this is becoming. I may just let it sit for a bit and concentrate on other things until it starts to say something else.













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Grandma moon; version 2, clay model (three days ago) and start of second paper coat (last night).


Grandma moon; version 1 (touch-ups).


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Screening schedule for new Chris Eyre production, Imprint.

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New exhibit at the Weisman Art Museum in MPLS; Changing Hands: Art Without Reservation. 26 October, 2007 to 13 January, 2008.

City of Nanaimo returns waterfront property to the Snuneymuxw First Nation; a former village site.

Apply to exhibit at Gesai 2007, Miami. Deadline for application is October1, 2007 {receive-application-by deadline, not postmark-deadline}. Artists and students without gallery representation.

Vineyard poster contest

Taxonomists have previously posited that animals are closer to fungi than green-plants, but new evidence suggests that we are closer to ferns than mushrooms.

Maverick former Yellowstone ranger studied Bison in the wild.Part 1.Part 2.

"As individuals, each bison has distinctive roles in the herd and this herd consists of families, extended families, bands, clans and tribes, the same as all indigenous peoples. Families also meant they have to have homes and homes meant they, as extended family groups, had territories to live in and defend. I found out they did not make these homes in areas disruptive to family life development, i.e. watering holes, travel routes and mineral licks used as common ground by all extended families."

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Eight day old road blockade in Manitoba was rammed by a logging skidder.

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Native American Cuisine

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KFAI radio, of the Twin Cities:

Indian Uprising

"Indian Uprising is a one hour public and cultural affairs program concerned with sober and meaningful issues by, for and about Indigenous people."

Who's Spinning Who?

"On "Who's Spinning Who?" producer Cyn Collins gives a voice to those in the know, interviewing musicians, producers, bookers, record store and label staff, and other music fans about their favorite music. They'll spin samples of these picks enticing you to pick them as your own favorites. They will also fill you in on upcoming new shows and projects you’ll hear about here, first!"

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How does a police state come about?... and are we there already? If the evidence fits...

"#9. Dissent equals treason

Cast dissent as "treason" and criticism as "espionage'. Every closing society does this, just as it elaborates laws that increasingly criminalise certain kinds of speech and expand the definition of "spy" and "traitor". When Bill Keller, the publisher of the New York Times, ran the Lichtblau/Risen stories, Bush called the Times' leaking of classified information "disgraceful", while Republicans in Congress called for Keller to be charged with treason, and rightwing commentators and news outlets kept up the "treason" drumbeat. Some commentators, as Conason noted, reminded readers smugly that one penalty for violating the Espionage Act is execution...

...We US citizens will get a trial eventually - for now. But legal rights activists at the Center for Constitutional Rights say that the Bush administration is trying increasingly aggressively to find ways to get around giving even US citizens fair trials. "Enemy combatant" is a status offence - it is not even something you have to have done. "We have absolutely moved over into a preventive detention model - you look like you could do something bad, you might do something bad, so we're going to hold you," says a spokeswoman of the CCR.

Most Americans surely do not get this yet. No wonder: it is hard to believe, even though it is true. In every closing society, at a certain point there are some high-profile arrests - usually of opposition leaders, clergy and journalists. Then everything goes quiet. After those arrests, there are still newspapers, courts, TV and radio, and the facades of a civil society. There just isn't real dissent. There just isn't freedom. If you look at history, just before those arrests is where we are now.

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New Native publication seeking input and collaboration:

Osiyo Dohitsu everyone.

I am a native professional freelance writer/photographer in the
northwoods region of Wi. I am actively seeking Native non pro models
for a long term publication project. Also seeking native individuals
skilled in creative and journalistic writing styles, people who believe
they may have a skill in marketing business etc. eduaction and
employment history unimportant. Good skills speak for themselves. This
is a long term project with the intent of launching a much needed by
Natives for Natives monthly or bi-monthly quality publication.

If you think you have a contribution of skill and time to brainstorm
ideas contact me at spiritwarriorhorse[at]yahoo[dot]com... or add and contact me on yahoo messenger(spiritwarriorhorse)

Look forward to hearing from you.

Shawn

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imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival
Wednesday, October 17, 2007 at 1:30pm - Sunday, October 21, 2007 at 11:00pm

Al Green Theatre
750 Spadina Avenue
Toronto, ON

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Tags: native art, papier mache, moon mask, paper sculpture,Bingorage, Broken Vulture Art, blog, pics

autumn mush

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"The Ascent"

This is a painting which I've been putting together for the "Lost Treasures" event, the photo documentation is collected in this album, but the more final version won't be seen until the "Lost Treasures" opening.











"Grandma Moon" mask.See the photo album.

First variation:


Sculpting a second variation:








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"Hidden from history: The Canadian Holocaust"

Teutonic "Indians"

Poverty Point archaeology site in Louisiana.

Talk like a pirateday. "Aaaaaaaaarrrrrrrr..."

You need the Miro player and it needs your help.

An Ojibwy elder's site, Native Art in Canada.

"My name is Nokomis. I'm an Ojibwa artist and storyteller who grew up in the bush almost seventy years ago. The literal translation of my name means "the great mother" for Nokomis was the spirit who created the Ojibwa in the world. In another context the word can mean grandmother. The name was given to me by my elders at a naming ceremony when it was apparent to them who I would be in this lifetime."

Makah whalers harvest another grey whale, in defiance of tribal injunction and federal law, to protest delays in settling their hunting claim; provoking racist reactions.

"On Sept. 9, the Makah Tribal Council issued this prepared statement: "The Makah Tribal Council denounces the actions of those who took it upon themselves to hunt a whale without the authority from the Makah Tribal Council or the Makah Whaling Commission. Their action was a blatant violation of our law and they will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. We are cooperating with the National Marine Fisheries Service in their investigation of this incident and will continue to do so."

Goons story, by Tim Giago

Lotus Symphony; the newly free office suite from IBM, supports ODF format.

A new Native directory; NDN411.Com. I you are a dancer, artist, musician, consultant, etc., sign up and list your facebook, myspace and other profiles.

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California Indian trailer:



written, produced & directed by Timothy Andrew Ramos.
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Tags: papier mache, paper sculpture, sculptor, native art, broken vulture art, first nation, ojibway art, Bingorage, Broken Vulture Art, blog, pics

post 9-11 grandma moon blues

Many 9/11 ceremonies on the tube, yesterday.

I watched an interesting story on the PBS Nova show, Building on Ground Zero. It's interesting to note that the WTC engineer Les Robertson (who feared that his company and his career were over when the twin towers fell) is currently working on the Shanghai World Financial Centre construction.

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This is a "Grandmother Moon" mask that I am putting together for the "Lost Treasures" event in Kenora, October 4, 2007.








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Sketches of a sculpture idea; Drummers.





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"Turquoise Rose"; Navajo film reaches across cultural lines

"It's the story of a college-age Navajo, raised in Phoenix, apart from her cultural roots, who is summoned to the reservation to care for her ailing grandmother.

Much of the film was written while Hamilton was deployed in Iraq. His signal brigade from the Arizona National Guard accompanied the first Army soldiers who entered that country in 2003.

In his unit was a woman from Chinle named Rose and a non-Native schoolteacher who was familiar with the Navajo Nation. As Hamilton worked on his story during the 15-month deployment, he would bounce ideas off both."

New Native myspace-style social networking site, Red Nation Society

National Indian Education Association

Community Arts Network

"The Community Arts Network (CAN) is a portal to the field of community arts, providing news, documentation, theoretical writing, communications, research and educational information. Headquartered at its Web site on the Internet, CAN is a program of Art in the Public Interest (API), a nonprofit organization based in North Carolina."

Manitoba's Peguis First Nation has just agreed to a large land claim settlement. Plans to purchase 67 000 hectares to expand reservation.

Kenora area First Nation scheduled to evict lease holders at the end of the year, but they may file suit to appeal the eviction.

Native American basketry on exhibit at the Rockwell museum until November 11.

My Broken Vulture page at Red Nation Society.

Just a reminder to check your local area for American Indian Heritage day events.

Creatively Speaking September 14 at Seattle Art Museum.

"Explore the contemporary connections of traditional Coast Salish weaving with Susan Pavel (sa'hLa mitSa) in conversation with SAM Curator of Native American Art Barbara Brotherton."

Antiwar minister tries to enter the "Petraeus Hearing" and gets his leg broken by Capitol police, who then arrest him for assault. (video included}

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Tags: 9 11, lost treasures, papier mache, paper sculpture, moon mask, native art, modeling clay, Bingorage, Broken Vulture Art, blog, pics

mammatus

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Examples of mammatus clouds, from our backyard this week.











A classic example of "honouring" Native North Americans?


A "modern" honouring, from Finland [passed on, by my man in Scandihoovia, Will Lahti]; in the form of temporary tattoo.




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Blanket Stories. Seneca artist, Marie Watt at the Wright museum. Sept.7-Dec.16.

"In a 2003 statement, Watt described her vision. "On a wall, a blanket functions as a tapestry, but on a body it functions as a robe and living art object," she said. "…Blankets hang around in our lives and families – they gain meaning through use. My work is about social and cultural histories embedded in commonplace objects.

"I consciously draw from indigenous design principles, oral traditions and personal experience to shape the inner logic of the work I make."

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An unmarked genocide? A Guardian, UK, article.

"... To an extent this was not an exhibition of Native American civilisation so much as an exhibition of the reconstruction of that civilisation after its destruction. Not in the sense of an invented tradition but in the sense of rebuilding from the fragments of what remained after a continental genocide.

The author of the catalogue recalls being sent off to a church school, aged six, to have his beliefs educated out of him. All of this is well known of course for western tribes, but perhaps less so for these north Pacific ones. An entire culture destroyed and then, slowly and carefully, recreated..."

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Powwows.Com Radio

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The Ontario government is on the way to building a forestry training program for Pikangikum First Nation, in Northwestern Ontario. There is little opportunity to find employment in that remote a location, so this initiative will probably be welcomed. However; the rate at which the forest industry is being "downsized", lack of transportation infrastructure and the economic realities of environmental concerns, may shorten the project's viability.

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Norman Akers, Osage; "pushes boundaries of native art".

"Lawrencians can see his work starting Friday at the Lawrence Arts Center, 940 N.H. The exhibition is one of several events marking the weekend that would have launched the 19th annual Lawrence Indian Art Show. Funding and management difficulties canceled that juried exhibition, and the arts center filled the vacancy with "Paintings by Norman Akers."

The one-man show will complement the more traditional work being peddled at the Haskell Indian Art Market on Saturday and Sunday, says Rick Mitchell, arts center gallery director."

Ontario conservative leader is backpedaling from his creationist gaffe.

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Open Letter - Anniversary of the Shooting Death of Anthony "Dudley" George - September 6, 2007

Dear Legislators:

Today is the 12th anniversary of the shooting death of unarmed Native
protester Anthony "Dudley" George at Ipperwash Park, an event that continues
to have a profound impact on all residents of Ontario.
In May the Report of the Ipperwash Inquiry offered hope that its
98 recommendations might contain the seeds of a better future for First
Nations people who live in this province.
"The provincial government and other institutions must redouble their
efforts to build successful, peaceful relations with the aboriginal peoples in
Ontario so we can all live peacefully and productively," said Justice Sidney
Linden, releasing his 1500-page report after hearing 140 witnesses over
25 months.
On June 29, the 42 member communities of the Anishinabek Nation launched
an Era of Action campaign to martial support for the Ipperwash Inquiry's key
recommendations. Thousands of postcards have been distributed across Ontario
petitioning signatures to urge Ontario's premier to work with the federal
government and First Nations to establish the Treaty Commission of Ontario, a
permanent, independent and impartial agency to facilitate the settling of land
and treaty claims in the province.
As the Oct. 10 provincial election approaches, First Nation citizens
across Ontario are expecting to see candidates' platforms reflect Ipperwash
Inquiry report recommendations designed to reverse what Commissioner Linden
called "centuries of discrimination and dispossession."
Following the upcoming provincial election, we will present the incoming
premier with postcards signed by municipal mayors, Ontario legislators,
members of Parliament, clergy, teachers, and other citizens who expect the new
government to maintain the momentum established by the Ipperwash Inquiry
report.
Ontario's next government needs to use those actions as a foundation upon
which to build respectful relationships with aboriginal and First Nations
peoples. It has already been clearly demonstrated that Dudley George's death
was needless. The provincial government must now show it has learned from the
tragedy.

All my relations,

(signed)
John Beaucage
Grand Council Chief
Anishinabek Nation


For further information: UNION OF ONTARIO INDIANS, Head Office:
Nipissing First Nation, P.O. Box 711, North Bay, Ontario, P1B 8J8, Phone:
(705) 497-9127, Fax: (705) 497-9135, E-mail: info@anishinabek.ca,
http://www.anishinabek.ca

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Tags: arizona tea, beer, bingorage, broken vulture art, clouds, crazy horse, lawsuit, mammatus, mascot, Bingorage, Broken Vulture Art, blog, pics

First taste of fall

Deer season is quickly approaching. Here are a couple of reminders of last year's adventures.

Remember: It is not legal to bludgeon deer with platypi (in Ontario).


Monster 4-pointer.


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A webpage documenting Native Protests and 'Issues'; Rez Paper Trail.

Winnipeg Aboriginal Film Festival; November 15-18, 2007.

An article about BIA impediments to Cherokee housing. Not your typical rez-shack complaints.

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Peace Hills Trust Native Art Contest

"Peace Hills Trust hosts an annual Native Art contest in support of Native culture. The Native Art Contest was established in 1982 to promote the work of Native artists throughout Canada. Each fall entries are judged in various categories and prizes are awarded at an awards ceremony. The Native Art Contest has proved to be an integral part of shaping our proud history and will remain an ongoing contribution to our Company's support of Native culture."

Postmark deadline: September 7, 2007.

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Freelance illustration job for Native American Book Art Project

"I am writing a book with a Native American story followed by some spiritual teachings. I need a series of illustrations done for the book. These illustrations will include:
1. A young Native American girl trudging through the snow with her baby.
2. A brave riding his horse in the mountains.
3. A wolf peering out of the trees.
4. A hogan on a lake in the trees.
The illustrations can be pencil or possibly water color. I am not looking for detailed illustrations but rather simple drawings that can convey the situational ideas and emotive faces."

IndianLandTenure.Org

"A formidable mission
The mission of the Foundation is to ensure that "land within the original boundaries of every reservation and other areas of high significance where tribes retain aboriginal interest are in Indian ownership and management."

A new Native publication, Redskin Magazine, is looking for photos of traditional powwow regalia to showcase in an upcoming publication. Deadline : September 28, 2007. Launch party and cover model search, December 1, 2007, in Toronto, Ontario.

Picturing The People

"... a provocative exploration of photographs of and by Indigenous peoples includes images from the mid 19th century through today and features a groundbreaking generation of Indigenous photographers."

Another great DIY project, make your own bread oven, at Instructables.Com

Another Tim Giago article, rebutting comments on his previous article about Anni Mae Aquash.

Native People's FAQ

"FACTS AND FANTASY ABOUT TURTLE ISLAND'S INDIGENOUS PEOPLE"

A First Nation protest against the province of Ontario, which has granted a test-drilling license, for uranium, to a mining company on Native lands, has had a court injunction served against the protestors; meaning that they could be arrested at any moment

"Once the injunction is served, they told us free movement in and out will no longer be permitted," Lovelace said. "Anyone coming out of the site would be subject to potential charges."
Police said non-aboriginal people who have been bringing medicine and food to the protesters could also be arrested for aiding in illegal movement."

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[From Dene National Office]

News Release

"RALLY SUPPORTING UN DECLARATION ON THE RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES"

Rally and Press Conference to take place at noon

On Friday, September 7, 2007


YELLOWKNIFE (September 5, 2007)

Come out and Show your support for the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Walk in solidarity with Indigenous Peoples around the World.

Walk to preserve the collective rights of the world's 370 million indigenous peoples including the right to self-determination, self-government, the recognition of indigenous laws, customs and traditions and ownership and control of traditional territories and resources. Indigenous Peoples live in the most pristine areas of the globe, home to the most sensitive ecosystems and face harsh consequences such as global warming, pressing poverty, violence and unsafe drinking water.

The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples will be voted on by the UN General Assembly on September 13, 2007 in New York. We need your urgent support to pass this important document· According to latest calculations, the Declaration just needs a handful of additional votes to pass. If it fails to win a majority it could be years before the General Assembly will consider it again.

Dene National Chief Bill Erasmus will speak at the event along with other leaders and NGO's. National Chief Erasmus invites you to come out and walk against poverty, violence, injustice and to secure the future of Indigenous Peoples Worldwide.

The rally will begin at the Red Apple and end with a press conference at the Greenstone Federal Government Building on Franklin Avenue in Yellowknife.

-30-

For more information:
Terri Brown
Special Advisor
Dene Nation/AFN Regional Office, NWT
Yellowknife, NWT
867-873-4081 (phone) 867-920-2254 (fax)
_________________________

[From QUEBEC NATIVE WOMEN]

Walk!

To support the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples


In all regions of the world, the survival and well being of Indigenous peoples are threatened by serious and persistent violations of their fundamental human rights.

A United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is an urgent necessity in order to establish minimal international norms that will inspire and encourage other states and other actors to respect and honor without discrimination, the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

We call upon all Quebequers to support as a priority the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and convince the Canadian government to join the numerous countries who have already approved it.

****************************************************

When: September 7, 2007

Where: 10:00 a.m. The Hydro-Québec Tower

(At the main entrance: 75, René-Lévesque West between Saint-Urbain and Clark)

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

**************************************

Show your support for the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Join us in our Walk in Solidarity with millions of Indigenous Peoples from around the world who battle against poverty, violence, exploitation and discrimination... so that this can change here and everywhere!
_____________________________________________

Organized by:

FEMMES AUTOCHTONES DU QUÉBEC INC. - QUEBEC NATIVE WOMEN INC.
Tel.: 450.632.0088
Business Complex River Road
P.O. Box 1989 Kahnawake, QC J0L 1B0
www.faq-qnw.org

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Lost Treasures

There will be an art event -Lost Treasures- in Kenora, NW Ontario, (and in other venues across Canada) October 4, 2007; to bring awareness to the numerous missing Aboriginal women in Canada. I will be participating in this event. If you would like to participate, you can check out the Facebook event page.

"The Lost Treasures art project is an interactive and artistic demonstration in support of the native families who have lost loved ones to racialized and/or sexualized violence in Canada. Artists who choose to create an art project will be matched with or can choose one missing or murdered Woman to memorialize. The art will then be presented to the public on October 4th, 2007 at various locations..."

Download the event poster.

Sisters in Spirit Initiative

"The Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) launched the national Sisters in Spirit Campaign in March 2004 to raise public awareness of the alarmingly high rates of violence against Aboriginal women in Canada. NWAC believes we are in an urgent state of affairs with regards to the safety of Aboriginal women in Canada."

Native Women’s Association of Canada; SIS Program Description

"... The initiative will be undertaking qualitative (life histories) and quantitative research on racialized, sexualized violence against Aboriginal women with cooperating families who have female family members that are missing or murdered, in order to gain a better understanding of circumstances, root causes and trends. The initiative will develop community education/action kits for use by community organizations, as well as host some workshops and conferences. NWAC will work with participating families and the community to develop a policy agenda in order to influence required changes with government and community..."

I have been asked to publicise the disappearance of a Whitehorse teenager missing since May, 2007;
Angel Carlick, in my art piece. If anyone has seen Angel -or if Angel sees this- please call home or Whitehorse RCMP (867-667-5555).



Another Angel posting at CBC.
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"Southern Straight" powwow dance style - sketch.
Click for style description.


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Random resources, news and stuff:

AnayakKayak

"Hello my name is Sean Gallagher, and I am part of the 13th region corporation an Alaskan native. I have had an interest in skin boats as far back as I can remember. I have always felt the need to be close to my culture and learn of the things people before me made and did. When growing up I watched my uncles carving King Island style soap stone figures and I started to learn that my family was a little different than the rest."

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Canadian Aboriginal Festival and marketplace, Toronto, Nov.30-Dec.2, 2007.

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I encountered Frank Big Bear's work through the Bockley Gallery in Minneapolis; now, he is exhibiting at a London, England venue; The October Gallery, from 13 September 2007 to 27 October 2007.

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The premier of the Yukon Territory (Northern Canada) has dismissed a court ruling that favours First Nations governments.

"Chief Mike Smith said Fentie's remarks, made earlier this week, have made it clear that he's not interested in working alongside First Nations...
On Tuesday, Fentie told CBC News that he'll fight a May ruling by Yukon Supreme Court Justice Ron Veale, who quashed a government land lease in favour of the Little Salmon Carmacks First Nation."

According to "Pacific Salmon Commission", sockeye salmon river stocks are precipitously dropping due to

"global warming and pollution to over fishing and poaching "

The PSC response to First Nation concerns about their upstream fishery collapse is that Natives should eat the less desireable Pink Salmon and be happy about it.
"Making perceptions pink".

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Canada's new Indian Affairs Minister has some dubious previous public statements about First Nations treaties.

"In his first public appearance as Minister of Indian Affairs, Chuck Strahl faced tough questions from aboriginal leaders yesterday over his earlier remarks on treaty rights and his aggressive approach to reforming the Canadian Wheat Board.

Ovide Mercredi, the Chief of Grand Rapids First Nation and a former national grand chief, asked the minister to clarify a statement he made in the House of Commons in 1999, when he said "the Nisga'a treaty creates a separate race-based nation in the heart of British Columbia."

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The Abbe Museum in Maine.

"The Abbe offers innovative exhibitions and programs on Maine’s Native American heritage. In recent years, the Abbe has grown from a small but lovely trailside museum, privately operated within Acadia National Park, to an exciting contemporary museum in the heart of downtown Bar Harbor.

At the Abbe’s new downtown museum, visitors find dynamic and stimulating exhibitions and activities interspersed with spaces for quiet reflection. The history and cultures of Maine’s Native people, the Wabanaki, are showcased through changing exhibitions, special events, teacher workshops, archaeology field schools and craft workshops for children and adults."

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Another Native blog, "Native Headline News".

The "webmaster's blog" at Hanksville.Org

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Artifact theft alert!

A BC First Nation's ancient stone bowl has been stolen off the beach, where it was kept.

"A large, carved rock bowl, traditionally used by the Saanich people on Mayne Island for food preparation, has disappeared. The artifact, which usually rests on the beach at Helen Point on Mayne Island, was last seen on July 25; the Tsartlip First Nation did not realize it was gone until August 11, when Tsartlip Chief Chris Tom and members of the council visited the beach site to assess the impact that the BC Ferries wake was having on the sacred sites on Mayne Island. They then noticed that the artifact had been removed...
Anyone with information pertaining to the missing artifact should contact Chief Tom at 889-7824, Tsartlip Land Manager Wendy Edwards at 652-3988, or the Outer Gulf Islands RCMP at 629-6171."

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Tags: sisters in spirit, lost treasures, Angel Carlick, missingBingorage, Broken Vulture Art, blog, southern straight

Busted Pictograph Trip

Sorry that I haven't posted in a while. Been out of town for half of August.

It has been 17 years since I spent the better part of two summers on White Otter Lake; manually and photographically recording the pictographs ("Rock Art" paintings) that were scattered across the large, sprawling lake and down the Turtle River.

Last week, my father and I went back out on the lake with some acquaintances from the Fort Frances Museum, to see the pictograph sites and get out in the woods for a couple days.

Unfortunately, we were a little short on: time, gasoline and my memory recall. We didn't reach the east end of the lake or find the best panel on the west end. The panels that we found were faded and/or suffering from the exfoliation of the rock surface; probably exacerbated by a decade(s)-long submergence at the turn of the century, when the lake was dammed and flooded to facilitate logging of the white pines. Subsequently, the rock became saturated and more subject to the freeze/thaw cycle. In addition; Barry Brown (of Brown's Clearwater Lodge) believes that people are touching the pictographs, with their hand lotions, sunscreens and bug dope; subjecting them to novel solvents that prehistory hadn't subjected them to.
Mr. Brown has been up at Clearwater Lake for 35 years and has noticed that the pictographs on Clearwater have noticeably faded.

In addition to visiting the few pictograph sites that we could locate, we: visited the White Otter Castle, searched for the P.O.W. camp, inspected mysterious "pits" on a moraine island, (Dad and I) wasted a collective hour trying to catch a fish -any fish- and enjoying relatively bug-free, gorgeous camping.

The following photos of the pictograph panels come in sets of three: The original, an "eyeballed" enhancement filled in with MSPaint and the third photo digitally enhanced with an online digital-photo processor (links below), ImageJ.

One of the ideas that I have been kicking around, for a while, is that an effort should be made to photograph currently known pictograph panels [and panels that "should have" rock art paintings, but do not present any visible pigmentation] with "Multi-spectral imaging"(Wikipedia article); a photography technique that uses infrared and UV filters combined with digital photography, to differentiate faded, hidden and buried pigments in ancient papyrus scrolls.
This would be a more direct means of image enhancement than processing, after-the-fact.

Multi-spectral imaging, has alsready been used on Mayan cave-pictographs at Naj Tunich, Guatemala.

Here is a website with an interactive flash demonstration of the technique, on papyrus scroll.

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"Dstretch" (plugin for "ImageJ" photo editor) article. Dstretch page, with link to an online applet version. ImageJ: Free "image processing and analysis" program (for Java).

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Pics click to enlarge:
Large boulder wedged under an overhang; south part of West arm.
Original

MSPaint 'enhanced'

"ImageJ" processed


Eastern face of island overhang; half way up West arm
Original

MSPaint 'enhanced'

"ImageJ" processed pic:


The high-panel site.



The high-panel site, panel 1.
Original

MSPaint 'enhanced'

"ImageJ" processed pic:


The high-panel site, panel 2.
Original

MSPaint 'enhanced'

"ImageJ" processed pic:


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The mysterious "pits", on moraine island. Archaeological buddies of mine had speculated that they may be related to the "Pukaskwa pits". They appear to be too large and regular to be natural "rootfalls".







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White Otter Castle





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We never were able to find the POW camp, but Pam found an oil/diesel drum dump. The best that I was able to scare-up was a possible dock beam.



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Native film grads told to set record straight

Native tongue

"That the Children's Theatre Company is staging another new script isn't really news - the Minneapolis theater has churned out a veritable parade of world premieres under the artistic directorship of Peter Brosius.

That "Average Family" is a premiere by American Indian playwright Larissa FastHorse, though, is something worth noting."

What is the Truth About the Murder of Anna Mae? An article by Tim Giago.

"That's not safe"

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I just finished listening to a great scifi audiobook from podiobooks.com (Free; with donation request. A great resource!),
Amerindian 2192,
by J. Scott Garibay (Mattaponi).

Listen to the promo.

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Tags: painting, red ochre, native art,white otter lake, white otter castle, pictographs,rock art,Bingorage, Broken Vulture Art, blog, pics