Friday, April 10, 2009

Spring Fever Linky Post

Public urged to write letters about (Pither's) Point. The 99 year lease on Fort Frances Park expires at the end of April andthe local Rainy River Bands are seeking to reclaim ownership of the land. The town is seeking to "keep" the land, and the governments of Ontario and Canada don't want to have anything to do with the mess.

I attended a "public forum", put on by Andrew Good, local videographer and filmmaker. Some progress was made in discussing the issue, but leaders from the town and First Nations did not attend.

My personal recommendation to townspeople was to contact the Mayor and Council and insist that they not contest ownership of the land, as it should inevitably revert to Band ownership/co-ownership. Contesting this, only wastes town resources.

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Teachers supplement; Alaska Native perspectives on Earth and Climate.

Make a film to explain evolution in two minutes for Discover Magazine, win recognition.

New Native Artists exhibit, REMIX, at the Art Gallery of Ontario; (Star.com review). April 4 - August 23, 2009.

Upcoming arts conference in Winnipeg, for Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario artists. May 28, 2009.

New TED Talks posted! This is a great series of informative and inspiring lectures about the direction and progress of technology, and how it will influence all of our lives.

Zion Flute & Drum Festival. May 15th, 16th, 17th, 2009. Unity Park in Ivins Utah.

Mixed Blood Theater in Minneapolis presents Red Ink. Features two prominent Canadian Native writers; Tomson Highway and Drew Hayden Taylor.
"... Red Ink is a play within a powwow, written as a series of short scenes that explore many aspects of the Native American experience, from casinos and native art to reality television shows. The play explores a side of the Native American experience that is rarely brought to the stage. Commissioned by Mixed Blood Theatre, the writers of Red Ink have been working on the piece for three years, this will be its first production..."

The Royal Conservatory's Artist Educator Skills Development Course [PDF link] supported by Ontario Arts Council. Various dates throughout May and June, various locations in Ontario.

Hugo Awards logo contest. May 31 deadline.

Indigenous news blog, Mama Radio.
Blog of theater producer for Native Theater at NMAI DC.

Short review of U.S. Indian Arts and Crafts Act (IACA), Protecting Natives from Knock-offs.

Native blog, Native History Native Anthology

Northwest Native Arts Market and Festival. May 1 deadline. August 8-9, Tacoma, WA.

Art of the Seminoles exhibit in Maitland Florida, until April 26.

Blackfeet artist, Farrell Cockrum showing at Sky Dog, the Artspace, throughout April. Corrales, NM.

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An interesting review of the Ward Churchill firing, in light of his recent win in court. The author speculates that the University of Colorado may be forced to rehire him. Now, I do not know much about Ward Churchill (Wikipedia link), other than he is an ardent supporter of the Free Leonard Peltier movement and a way-left academic. However, when I was living in Minneapolis, there were always rumblings in the community that he wasn't even Native American. Who Knows? The hatchet job on Ward Churchill may be the last gasp of COINTELPRO.
"... The accusations that fill its pages are the kind scholars regularly hurl at their polemical opponents. It’s part of the game. But in most cases, after you’ve trashed the guy’s work in a book or a review, you don’t get to fire him. Which is good, because if the standards for dismissal adopted by the Churchill committee were generally in force, hardly any of us professors would have jobs... there wouldn’t have been any special investigative committee poring over Churchill’s 12 single-author books, many edited collections and 100-plus articles had he not published an Internet essay on Sept. 12, 2001, saying that the attacks on the World Trade towers and the Pentagon were instances of "the chickens coming home to roost"... These incendiary remarks were not widely broadcast until four years later, when Bill O’Reilly and other conservative commentators brought them to the public’s attention. The reaction was immediate. Bill Owens, governor of Colorado, called university president Elizabeth Hoffman and ordered her to fire Churchill. She replied, "You know I can’t do that." (Not long after, she was forced to resign.) "

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Native Art vandalised, again, at University of Illinois. Perhaps in retaliation for the loss of their racist mascot.

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Smiley omelet.

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Dad's great walleye. 4.5 pounds.

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