Saturday, June 30, 2007

Canada Day

I have been remiss, this week, in not mentioning that I have had a painting (Miss Loontrout...) on display at Ho-Joe Cafe, in Kenora, Ontario. I would like to thank Laura at MudHawk Consulting, for finding and inviting me to show with her. Today is the last day (that I know of) of the display, so if you are in Kenora... Check It Out.

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Here's to bravery and speaking truth:


Arab Woman Takes On Muslim Cleric - Watch more free videos

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Random stuff:

Aboriginal Voics Radio. The site is under construction, but you can get the streaming radio there.

Oldest intact ivory carving found. Thought to be 35 000 years old.

The Mammoth site, Hot Springs, South Dakota.
"Travel back to the time when Ice Age mammoth, camel, and giant short-faced bear roamed the Great Plains of North America. Imagine a sudden collapse of a 60 foot deep karst sinkhole. Bubbling from the bottom, a warm spring percolates through the layers of limestone, now creating a large steep-sided pond. Picture thirsty animals venturing down to the water below...then, after drinking, animals unable to gain a foothold to escape. The sinkhole was a deathtrap."


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Friday, June 29, 2007

National Day of Action

"Long train of abuses"
A video produced for the Roseau River First Nation, in anticipation of the "National Day of Protest".
Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

The Chief of Roseau River First Nation threatened to block rail lines on a National Day of Action, June 29. He later backed off the threat, but has not definitely cancelled the possibility.

"The Northern Superior First Nations issues a call to action for First Nation citizens, Canadian citizens and corporations, to stand with one another to insist that the Government of Canada take action to the crisis in First Nation communities. First Nations peoples will no longer accept the status quo. First Nation citizens have been subject to repeated attempts by the Government of Canada to forcibly assimilate us and erase our identities. Regardless of these colonial tactics, we have survived as First Nation peoples... we are still standing, we still stand strong."


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Pics click to enlarge.

An early pic of the "Juggler" painting image:
Juggler;acrylic painting on canvas. Bingorage Studio. Broken Vulture Art.

Current incarnation of the "Juggler":

Juggler;acrylic painting on canvas. Bingorage Studio. Broken Vulture Art.

Juggler;acrylic painting on canvas. Bingorage Studio. Broken Vulture Art.

Juggler;acrylic painting on canvas. Bingorage Studio. Broken Vulture Art.

Juggler;acrylic painting on canvas. Bingorage Studio. Broken Vulture Art.

Couple random, historic pics:

Bingorage Studio. Broken Vulture Art.

Bingorage Studio. Broken Vulture Art.

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Random resources, news and stuff:

Indigenous people under attack, resource theft and kidnapping in Mexico. None of this is in the news; Not even Canadian news, which is usually more comprehensive than American.
"At approximately 10.30 a.m. about 70 men and women from San Isidro walked into the forest with the intention of peacefully addressing the people from San Miguel Aloapam. However, when they reached the forest the loggers were already falling trees. Still, they approached San Miguel’s authorities to try and speak to them, but realized that the municipal president and his cabinet were extremely drunk. The San Miguel authorities began insulting and attacking the San Isidro people and ordered their people to arrest all those who were from San Isidro. Given the situation our compañeros began backing down. It was at that point that the people from San Miguel began firing shots in every direction; they had to dodge bullets that were being fired by their own people. As a result the men and women from San Isidro ran into the forest as fast as they could to try and stay away from the bullets and from being caught by San Miguel Aloapam paramilitaries.

At approximately noon, and little by little, those who were hiding in the forest made their way back to San Isidro Aloapam. Initially it was thought that 13 compañeros had been disappeared, but slowly they started making their way back to the community. At around 7.00 p.m. the police headquarters received an anonymous phone call saying that those that had been kidnapped were in San Miguel’s jail. The person said that they were being tortured and half dead from the beatings."


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Bingorage online law department:

Legal guide for bloggers

Legal Guide for Canadian Podcasters

Legal guide for podcasters

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Good News! An 81 year old Inuit hunter found alive, 4 weeks after going missing, 2 weeks after the military search was called off.
"... Kunuk was found about 130 kilometres north of Igloolik near a popular fishing river. It was right where local elders said he'd be, even though the area had been searched twice before.

"The elders kept telling us, `Check again, check again,' " Tapardjuk said. "And sure enough, there he was."


Indian Country Today article: Kevin Paul, Master Carver.
"Paul was born in Mount Vernon, the son of a Colville father and a Swinomish mother; his father and uncle were carvers.
Paul started singing when he was 13 and began training as a carver in his late teens. He started carving professionally in 1986 and began teaching carving at La Conner High School in 1993.
He faced the biggest test of his skills in 1997.
"I had had a long-term goal to do a carving of a totem pole all by myself," Paul said. "The opportunity came in 1997 when a collector from Camano Island, Don Bernard, asked if I could do a 36-foot pole in three months." The pole would depict Eagle, Bear, Wolf and Whale.
Paul met the challenge, guided by discipline and deadlines.
"You have to be disciplined," he said of working on a project. "It's like writing or reading a book; you don't go part way and do something else. You finish it."


CBC page, Life and Times of Norval Morrisseau.

Another Native blog; Cheryl Davis' Art Blog: Native American Art/Heritage/News Related ArtBlog.

Index of Native American Media Resources on the Internet.

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Friday, June 22, 2007

Quebec nazis and other post solstice stuff

Kitigan Zibi cultural Centre vandalised.

Kitigan Zibi cultural Centre vandalised.
Aboriginal day marred for Que. community after white supremacist vandalism.
"...Aside from the youth incidents, she said a recent land claim was a source of contention. Last fall, the Kitigan Zibi First Nation was successful in a land claim for a piece of property in the heart of Maniwaki, Tenasco said."


Kitigan Zibi homepage

Arsonists in Quebec targetting Jewish cottages.
(Mon., June 18)"A Jewish orthodox camp in the Lower Laurentians was the target of another suspicious fire -- the third in almost a month -- on Sunday, leaving members of Montreal's Jewish community fearing for their safety.

A private summer cottage at the Val-David, Que., camp was found burned to the ground early Sunday morning and five other properties were vandalized. No one was injured in the fire. Police say it appears there was an attempt to set at least one other home ablaze."

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Treaties are just the starting point; by Kate Harries.
Check out the article, at Straight Goods
"Trapper, teacher, activist, Kaaren's a force of nature herself. You might not give her a second look if you met her in the grocery store, a middle-aged Anishinaape woman wearing glasses, long black hair shot with grey cascading down her back. In fact, she says, it's a not uncommon experience for a cashier to look right through her at the check-up counter and prepare to ring in the next customer's purchases. "It's not on purpose," she says. "They apologize when they realize — but they just don't see us." That's how racism works, she says. The other — in this case, the aboriginal — is invisible. "It's as if we aren't there."

But she was a powerful presence in the Red Lake courtroom. She and her husband Phil are charged with building a cabin on public lands without a permit, and ignoring a verbal stop-work order. His case has been deferred. Robert Ponton, a justice of the peace from London, Ontario, heard Kaaren's case and he gave her considerable leeway in presenting the aboriginal perspective on the charges. Like the aboriginal worldview in which all elements of creation are interconnected, and community is a concept that includes people, trees, birds, rocks and visitors, her perspective was all-encompassing.

She quoted Judge Sidney Linden's report of his inquiry into the police shooting of Dudley George, at which the MNR acknowledged that "the historic policies and practices of provincial and federal governments have resulted in ongoing disenfranchisement and displacement of aboriginal people from their land and traditional practices in Canada..."


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Pics click to enlarge.

The "Bingorage Scallop-Shell Paint Storage System" (BSSPSS):

Broken Vulture Art, Bingorage Studio.

Broken Vulture Art, Bingorage Studio.

A fencing mock-up that I am building with Google sketch-up:

Broken Vulture Art, Bingorage Studio.

A new canvas that I'm toying with. No particular end-image in sight, yet:

new canvas prep and prime. Broken Vulture Art, Bingorage Studio.

new canvas prep and prime. Broken Vulture Art, Bingorage Studio.

new canvas prep and prime. Broken Vulture Art, Bingorage Studio.

new canvas prep and prime. Broken Vulture Art, Bingorage Studio.

new canvas prep and prime. Broken Vulture Art, Bingorage Studio.

new canvas prep and prime. Broken Vulture Art, Bingorage Studio.

new canvas prep and prime. Broken Vulture Art, Bingorage Studio.

new canvas prep and prime. Broken Vulture Art, Bingorage Studio.

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Eskasoni First Nation (Nova Scotia) opens a call centre.

What happened to the Eulachon, of Bella Coola? (Globe and Mail article)
"BELLA COOLA, B.C. — When the Nuxalk band gathers on the banks of the Bella Coola River, it is usually to celebrate the blessings of nature. But this spring, instead of singing to welcome back the salmon or casting eagle feathers on the water in thanks, tribes from the central coast of British Columbia gathered to hold a Feast of Shame and discuss a growing crisis.

At the gathering, elders from 10 B.C. bands, including the Nuxalk (pronounced new-hawk), Kitasoo, Oweekeno and Haisla, spoke with anger and sadness about the loss of a small, herring-like fish, known as eulachon, that until recently returned in such numbers they turned the river black.

In 1995, when the last big run came in, there were millions of eulachon, so many they spilled out onto the gravel bars in writhing waves. Since then, the river has been nearly empty of fish.

“Every year we wait. Every year the seals, the sea gulls, the ducks, the swans, the geese, they sit along the river waiting,” said Oweekeno Chief Frank Johnson."


Feds, Saskatchewan and the Sturgeon Lake First Nation signed a
"ceremonial document acknowledging a Treaty Land Entitlement (TLE) Settlement Agreement"
.

Inca Skull Rewrites History of Conquest"The 500-year-old skull, found in a long-forgotten Inca cemetery outside Lima, Peru, had two round holes just across from each other. Nearby was a plug of bone, recovered intact, that carried the distinct markings of an old musket ball.

Archaeologists sensed they had unearthed an important find, but it wasn't until months later that a powerful electron microscope scan confirmed it by finding traces of lead in the skull. The victim, who was between 18 and 22 years old when he died, had been shot by a Spanish conquistador."

Winnipeg art resources and galleryCanada Plains Online.

National Geographic article, "Stinky Whale" Mystery Stymies Scientists, Aboriginal Hunters.
"Chemical contamination or disease may be causing the increasing phenomenon of so-called stinky whales, experts say.
A similar stink is also being noticed in the meat of ringed and bearded seals, walruses, and cod, the report by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) adds.
Aboriginal whalers in Russia's northeastern province of Chukotka first began sensing there was something wrong with the whales in the 1990s."


Moving Slowly in the Fast Lane. A good article about the "net neutrality" that should be.

Adam Beach Golf Classic, at the Black Bear Golf Course, near Cloquet, MN. August 19-20, 2007.

Wanna make 4-in-1 chainmail?

University of New Mexico practicing censorship, citing changes made, from proposal.
"The University of New Mexico has rejected a sculpture it had commissioned from a Native-American artist because his final product includes barbed wire...
The sculpture depicts a migration scene from an old Aztec picture book. Three Indians are shown migrating toward Albuquerque in the United States. According to Haozous, the work depicts a border crossing.
"Everything in the work is a symbol," says Haozous, explaining that the full title of the work is called "Cultural Crossroads of the Americas." The barbed wire, which appears both in his work and along the U.S.-Mexico border, "is a dehumanizing part of our lives.... It's tremendous symbolism." As to why it was not part of the original model, he says: "The work matured in the studio."


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Thursday, June 21, 2007

National Aboriginal Day

National Aboriginal Day; CBC article.

Update: Tonight on CBC radio at 8pm CST, channel 137 sirius satellite radio;
"RED MOON. The play is a re-envisioning of the classic Midsummer Night's Dream set at the Calling Lake First Nation in Saskatchewan. "

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The following video documents the (unfinished) evolution of the "Miss Loontrout..." painting. The full name of the piece, is: "Miss Loontrout got a crappy boobjob. Mr. and Mrs. Crack-Penguin pull their tired, old William Tell routine. Nanabush is in the world.". The audio was pulled from the 2003 Burning Man, Palenque Norte lecture by Daniel Pinchbeck "2012...A Change in How We Experience Time". The speaker is John Hoopes, who chimed in to spell out the Mayan calendar, for the audience.



Here's a few pics from the clip; click to enlarge.

Miss Loontrout... Broken Vulture Art. Bingorage studio.

Miss Loontrout... Broken Vulture Art. Bingorage studio.

Miss Loontrout... Broken Vulture Art. Bingorage studio.

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Random resources, news and stuff:

O'odham ancestors unearthed
"The remains are currently in the possession of the tribal government’s cultural authority – an institution that has a non-O'odham director. Initially, when the remains were unearthed during construction of the "Vehicle Barrier," the tribal government authorities stopped the construction to investigate the findings.

Unfortunately, they failed to protect the remains from desecration as is required of them under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990 (NAGPRA). According to O'odham witnesses that were employed by the Department of Homeland Security as monitors, three non-O'odham workers removed the remains from the burial site. The remains were then bagged, boxed and removed from the location."

O'odham petition

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All Roads Film Project
"National Geographic All Roads Film Project showcases breakthrough film and still photography from indigenous and under represented minority cultures around the globe. Launched in 2004, All Roads supports diverse cultural perspectives with an international film festival, funding, networking, and distribution opportunities to bring together voices that celebrate the vibrant cultural stories of our world. "


The Center For Native American Public Radio

NY Sun article
"... Buffy Sainte-Marie. For baby boomers, she was an idiosyncratic folk singer whose peers included Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Mimi Fariña, and others in the nascent folk movement of the early 1960s..."


List of Native authors.

Tim Giago article.
"Headlines in many newspapers last week announced that Indian casinos had brought in a record $25 billion dollars last year. What they did not say is that on reservations such as the Navajo, Rosebud, Pine Ridge, Crow Creek, Blackfeet and Crow, unemployment is as high as 50 to 80 percent. That the average income is less than $5,000 annually. That the average life span is about 55 years of age. That the infant mortality rate is 3 times the national average. That on some reservations the diabetes epidemic claims 50 percent of the total reservation population. That many homes are without electricity or indoor plumbing. That there is such a need for housing that some of the available homes house as many as three families.
But nowadays the average American reads about the $25 billion raked in by the rich casino tribes last year and shrugs it off with distaste, probably with some envy and not without a little anger at all Indian tribes..."


ShiftingAges
"According to an ancient Mayan Calendar we are living in the last days of a great cosmic cycle known as the "Long Count." Traditionally, this is labeled as the Death of the Fourth period of the Sun and the Birth of the new Fifth Sun. The Maya keep accurate and detailed records of cosmic cycles, Earth's transitions and extreme changes in civilizations' collective consciousness. Indigenous traditions and world religions as well as Platonic philosophy view the current phase of existence as a harbinger of radical adjustment in our perception of reality. The birth of the 5th Sun signifies a "Shift of the Ages."


Native American Public Telecommunications is seeking proposals for 60-minute shows

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From an email notice:

Please share this opportunity with Aboriginal arts and cultural organizations.

"The Cultural Olympiad will build over three years, launching in 2008 with an anticipated program of some 40 to 50 events comprising more than 100 performances and exhibitions. In 2009, participation and anticipation will increase with an expanded one- year countdown celebration. And, in 2010, the Cultural Olympiad will reach its crescendo with the Olympic and Paralympic Arts Festival – a transformative arts and culture program that will create memories and legacies to last a lifetime and inspire a generation.

2008 CELEBRATION – Request for Proposals (deadline of July 16th) for [Canadian] arts and cultural organizations interested in co-producing or co-presenting events during the period of Feb 1- March 21, 2008. There is a specific reference to Aboriginal Arts and cultural organization in the categories of proponents."

http://fourhostfirstnations.com/downloads/Handout.pdf

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Friday, June 15, 2007

Bronze and new studio

Hey there Bingoragers! I have spent most of the last two weeks moving into and organising my new space in Devlin Ontario, just west of town. The space has a storefront that I am going to man on a part-time basis to troll for the tourist traffic.
8-)
The big windows also afford much light to see the works in new ways. Maybe you'll get a chance to stop in and check it out.
:Eric


Native Art stuff:

M03(myspace page). Spoken word artist from Pabineau First Nation, New Brunswick. She is also an illustrator.

Indigitunes podcast for new Native music.

FourDirectionsTalent. Casting company run by the Oneida Nation and NBC entertainment.

2007 Powwows.com photo contest.

There will be a memorial, for Ahnishnahbeh artist Roy Thomas in LongLac, Ontario. August 25, 2007.

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These pics click to enlarge.

"Bronze Feather" and detail ("carved" bronze):
Carved-Bronze feather-sculpture. Broken Vulture Art, native art sculpture.

Carved-Bronze feather-sculpture. Broken Vulture Art, native art sculpture.

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"Hawk/Human Transformation" (lost-wax cast bronze)

Cast Bronze sculpture. Broken Vulture Art, native art sculpture.

Cast Bronze sculpture. Broken Vulture Art, native art sculpture.

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This is a scan of a slide; the "Twisted Face" mask (lost-wax cast bronze).

Bronze mask. Broken Vulture Art, native art sculpture.

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Me and the guys from Anurag Art, in front of the "Little Crow" mask sculpture that we installed in Minnehaha Park, Minneapolis, MN; click pic for link to "Anurag Art Online".

Anurag Art at Minnehaha Falls, Chief Little Crow in background.


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Random resources, news and stuff:

Jack Layton's letter to Phil Fontaine, in response to the May 15 Canadian Club speech.

CBC report: How the media covers aboriginal issues.
"As Aboriginal issues in Canada grow in importance in today’s news agenda, there was a remarkable gathering of journalists at CBC Regina on Thursday that was exhilarating in its scope.

The session was historic at the CBC. For the first time, it brought together 20 CBC Aboriginal journalists from across Canada, about half of the CBC’s total number, and they were joined by a similar number of reporters, producers and other CBC journalists who deal with Aboriginal issues as part of their job.

The conference was titled ‘Aboriginal Matters’ and it was an effort to ‘celebrate’ and ‘learn from’ the high-caliber work by CBC journalists in the past year reflecting the stories of Aboriginal individuals and communities across the country."


Pikangikum First Nation has been dealt another series of blows. Three suicides in quick succession and the loss of their school, by arson.

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Wooden bikes:

WoodenBikes, that you can make.

XylonBikes. Wooden bikes that you cannot make.

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Thursday, June 14, 2007

The Last Tasty Bit

A painted papier-mache object that I put together for the Fort Frances museum exhibit, "The Cry of the Loon"; June 14-September 30, 2007. The background audio is from a Terence McKenna lecture, "Food of the Gods".



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Pics click to enlarge.

The Last, Tasty Bit. Acrylic painting on papier-mache object. Bingorage Studio; Broken Vulture Art, Northwestern Ontario, Native art.

The Last, Tasty Bit. Acrylic painting on papier-mache object. Bingorage Studio; Broken Vulture Art, Northwestern Ontario, Native art.

The Last, Tasty Bit. Acrylic painting on papier-mache object. Bingorage Studio; Broken Vulture Art, Northwestern Ontario, Native art.

The Last, Tasty Bit. Acrylic painting on papier-mache object. Bingorage Studio; Broken Vulture Art, Northwestern Ontario, Native art.

The Last, Tasty Bit. Acrylic painting on papier-mache object. Bingorage Studio; Broken Vulture Art, Northwestern Ontario, Native art.

The Last, Tasty Bit. Acrylic painting on papier-mache object. Bingorage Studio; Broken Vulture Art, Northwestern Ontario, Native art.

The Last, Tasty Bit. Acrylic painting on papier-mache object. Bingorage Studio; Broken Vulture Art, Northwestern Ontario, Native art.

The Last, Tasty Bit. Acrylic painting on papier-mache object. Bingorage Studio; Broken Vulture Art, Northwestern Ontario, Native art.
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Monday, June 11, 2007

One week until solstice

Native Art shorts:

Another Native-oriented blog:Shmohawk's Shmorg.
"A moderated blog on Aboriginal journalism and other stuff."


Daphne Odjig recently received a Governor-general's award and will soon be presented with the Order of British Columbia.

What Happened to Sacred Circle Gallery? (Now called Daybreak Star Cultural Center)

San Marcos Record article.
"San Marcos (Texas) — A statue of Tonkawa Indian Chief Placido will honor some of the area’s earlier inhabitants on a prime spot in City Park... In March, the parks and recreation advisory board approved the location on the condition that organizers of a stalled effort to erect a statue of Saint Mark relinquish their claim to the site."


"Legacy and Legend: Images of Indians from Four Centuries""In recognition of the 400th anniversary of the meeting of European and Native American peoples, a new exhibition at The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens will look at how North American Indians have been depicted in art, primarily from the 1500s through the 1800s."


Veronica Poblano
"Her stone sculptures have been called ''outstanding'' by The New York Times, and a single necklace can fetch more than $3,000 in a Sedona, Ariz., art gallery.

But the road to success has not always been an easy one for this Zuni artist, who began her work, like others in the Zuni Pueblo, as a way to climb out of poverty. "


The Native American Journalists Association has a new president.

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Changes made to Pungi Whisi Niaas; pics click to enlarge:

Pungi Whiisi Niaas. Acrylic on canvas.Bingorage studio. Broken Vulture Art. Native art, Ojibway art.Pungi Whiisi Niaas. Acrylic on canvas.Bingorage studio. Broken Vulture Art. Native art, Ojibway art.

Pungi Whiisi Niaas. Acrylic on canvas.Bingorage studio. Broken Vulture Art. Native art, Ojibway art.Pungi Whiisi Niaas. Acrylic on canvas.Bingorage studio. Broken Vulture Art. Native art, Ojibway art.

Pungi Whiisi Niaas. Acrylic on canvas.Bingorage studio. Broken Vulture Art. Native art, Ojibway art.Pungi Whiisi Niaas. Acrylic on canvas.Bingorage studio. Broken Vulture Art. Native art, Ojibway art.

Pungi Whiisi Niaas. Acrylic on canvas.Bingorage studio. Broken Vulture Art. Native art, Ojibway art.

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Random news, resources and stuff:


Ipperwash Inquiry Timeline; CBC
."
Official Ipperwash Inquiry pages.
The Report

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Native fim-maker.
"(Doug) Howard spent seven months shooting and editing his first film, Chief, a short movie about a Native American who keeps his grandfather's promise by saving the tribe's dam."


MSN Encarta article; Native Americans of North America

IndianCountry.Com article.
"That a mother of four working on a Master of Business Administration degree and running the United Tribes Technical College's research program could complete a doctoral program in communications in record time seems unlikely, if not impossible - until you talk to the woman who did it.

Cheryl Long Feather, Standing Rock Sioux, is indeed a gifted and skilled communicator. She is the first American Indian graduate of the University of North Dakota's School of Communications' doctoral program."


NativeVue editorial.
"The Most Insightful Review You’ll Read Anywhere: “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee’s” Bias Against Indians"


Dear WIPO petition.
"Don't break our podcasts."

Third World Conditions ravage Eabametoong First Nation Health Centre

Fighting depression, without drugs.
"... The best cognitive behavioral technique I have found for depression is Brainswitching, which was developed from neuroscience research and brain mapping.
Brainswitching uses simple mind exercises to switch the neuronal activity from the emotional part of the brain (the subcortex) to the thinking part of the brain (the neocortex) which does not have the capacity for depression."


WinnipegFreePressarticle.
"THE Sagkeeng First Nation has launched a precedent-setting lawsuit against the province and federal governments, seeking control over three million square kilometres of traditional hunting and fishing lands outside its existing treaty boundaries."


Remember the Three Fires Confederacy, August 20-26, Garden River First Nation, east of Sault St. Marie, Ontario.

Land claim against Benneton and Argentina.
"The dispute started in 2002, when a Mapuche family was accused of settling illegally on the land and evicted. But Millan and other members of his community have returned despite the deprived conditions in which they have to live.
The Mapuches started building homes on the land, but stopped when the government intervened with a law that forbade them from modifying the landscape in any way.
The land was given to a group of British citizens in 1889 by the Argentine government without the approval of the Mapuche Indians who were living on the land.
In 1991, Benetton bought more than 970,000 hectares from a British company."

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Tuesday, June 05, 2007

parishiltonisnotnewz

Jane Goodall's speech; from 2002 TED conference:



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These pics click to enlarge.
More Seeker pics. Seeker album link.
Seeker. Papier-mache sculpture. Broken Vulture Art, Bingorage Studio.Seeker. Papier-mache sculpture. Broken Vulture Art, Bingorage Studio.

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

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

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Pungi Whiisi Niaas. Acrylic on canvas.

Aniin... Pungi Whiisi Niaas. Acrylic painting on canvas. Broken Vulture Art, Bingorage Studio.

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Great Billings News article about Janine Pease.
"It’s a familiar story: Someone makes a big splash in a small pond. Eventually, the welcome wears out, the splash recedes to a ripple, and the big fish goes belly-up.

Familiar, but that doesn’t make it true. Six years after she was forced out of a job that had made her one of the nation’s most prominent educators, Janine Pease is still making waves.

Some lives do have second acts. As president of Little Big Horn College in Crow Agency, Pease stood for 18 years in a spotlight that eventually became national in intensity. She won a sack full of honorary doctorates and awards culminating in a MacArthur “genius” grant in 1994. She was in demand as a speaker, an officer in prominent organizations, a source for books and an expert of tribal education and voting rights issues."


DNA analysis shows that ancient chicken bones on the west coast of South America came from Polynesian sources, not Spanish. Looks like the Hawaiians or Fijians beat the Spanish to the Americas. Also explains how the sweet potato got the South Pacific islands.

Our oceans are turning into plastic
"It began with a line of plastic bags ghosting the surface, followed by an ugly tangle of junk: nets and ropes and bottles, motor-oil jugs and cracked bath toys, a mangled tarp. Tires. A traffic cone. Moore could not believe his eyes. Out here in this desolate place, the water was a stew of plastic crap. It was as though someone had taken the pristine seascape of his youth and swapped it for a landfill.

How did all the plastic end up here? How did this trash tsunami begin? What did it mean? If the questions seemed overwhelming, Moore would soon learn that the answers were even more so, and that his discovery had dire implications for human—and planetary—health. As Alguita glided through the area that scientists now refer to as the "Eastern Garbage Patch", Moore realized that the trail of plastic went on for hundreds of miles. Depressed and stunned, he sailed for a week through bobbing, toxic debris trapped in a purgatory of circling currents. To his horror, he had stumbled across the 21st-century Leviathan. It had no head, no tail. Just an endless body."


"A Native version of Romeo and Juliet. Lewis and Clark from Sacagawea’s point of view. A commodity cheese-based superhero with a talking-dog sidekick.

arigon-the red roadWhen you think of Native storytelling, you think of movies (Dances with Wolves, Smoke Signals), books (Black Elk Speaks, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven), even cartoons and comic books. What you don’t think of is the Native theater, and plays that can stand the test of time. But Los Angeles-based Native Voices, an Equity theater company devoted to Native American plays, is trying to change that. "

"Philosophers of science such as Popper and Kitcher say that it is. Scientists such as Mayr, Dobzhansky, and Ridley agree. Many organizations have passed resolutions to this effect. However, the important question is whether these authorities can back up what they say with evidence.

The following list gives a few of the predictions that have been made from the Theory of Evolution:"


Sault Star article.
"Syrette said her children faced racism by other children "throughout their young lives and throughout school."

Now, years later, the interim manager of the Indian Friendship Centre was startled to see the same kind of simmering racism had again surfaced on a roadside sign. Its letters had been rearranged to spell out a highly offensive slur against aboriginal people. "


Robert Rodriguez's 10-minute film school.

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