Mid-March 2002 Newsletter Phil Konstantin Mar 13, 2002 20:40 PST ===================== start of newsletter ===================== Hello again, As usual, I found several items which I failed to add to the newsletter. Since I just heard of an event which will take place on the 14th, I thought I would add them here. ===================== Kangi has passed along a newspaper article about a special program on a PBS station in Duluth. If you live in that area, you might want to see this series of programs on the Anishinaabe/Ojibwe (Chippewa) which begin on the 14th. http://www.ashlandwi.com/placed/index.php?sect_rank=4&story_id=101329&refer_ As far as I know, it is only playing in that immediate area. That is a shame, because it sounds very interesting. ===================== Here is some info from Raven about a special fellowship for American Indian journalists: "IPA Announces New Round of Fellowships for Journalists of Color" The Independent Press Association announces the 2002 application cycle of the George Washington Williams Fellowship, created to encourage journalists of color to pursue important social issues in the public interest. The fellowship funds stories written by journalists of color about issues such as the environment, global trade policy, healthcare, race, and education. Fellows receive access to some research support, consultants, advanced professional training, and a large network of journalists working in the public interest sector. In addition, program staff work closely with fellows to publish their stories in major publications. Individuals may apply for financial and institutional support to write a single story, or they may seek an investigative or depth reporting fellowship of between three and twelve months to research a specific social issue. If accepted, the George Washington Williams Fellowship will pay national commercial rates for individual stories or $1500 per month plus expenses for depth reporting fellowships. Any journalist of color with at least three years of solid professional reporting and writing experience may apply for the fellowship. Individuals with backgrounds in investigative or enterprise reporting are preferred. Previous reporting or other experience in the chosen subject area is desirable. The fellowship is open only to U.S. citizens or to foreign journalists who have established relationships with U.S. publications. College journalism or internship experience do not qualify as professional experience. The spring application deadline is April 30, 2002. The George Washington Williams Fellowship is named after the late 19th century African American journalist who wrote the first history of African Americans from their own point of view. Williams was also the first reporter to document the upheaval in the Belgian Congo at that time. For more information and to download an application, visit our website at: http://www.indypress.org/programs/nvip.html . You may also call 415.643.4401 to contact Carly Earnshaw at x116 or Linda Jue at x107. The Independent Press Association is a nonprofit, national magazine trade association representing more than 350 independent and public interest periodicals. In addition to the G.W. Williams Fellowship, the IPA offers a variety of services to its members. These include a revolving loan fund, a paper-buying cooperative, on-line publishing advice, newsstand distribution services, and publishing conferences. ===================== Ruth runs the Schaghticoke Circle. She sent along this article about events at Brown University (RI) this week: MONDAY, MARCH 11th - SATURDAY, MARCH 15th Native American History and Culture Week 2002 (For more information, call the Center for the Study of Race & Ethnicity in America, Brown University, at 401-863-3080) March 11-15th Star Quilt Exhibit International Institute of Rhode Island Downstairs Gallery 645 Elmgrove Avenue Cosponsored by the Haffenreffer Museumand the International Institute of Rhode Island Monday, March 11th "Alcatrez is Not an Island" Film Screening and Discussion with James Fortier, filmmaker 6-9 PM, Wilson 102 Cosponsored by the Center for Race and Ethnicity Tue./Wed. March 12th, 13th "Ladies Night" Short Film Workshop With Columbia University Film Students Nanobah Becker, Navajo, and Dir. Kyzza; Times & Location TBA Wednesday, March 13th Multiraciality in the Native World Student Forum 6-8 PM, Wilson 101 Cosponsored by NAB and BOMBS Thursday, March 14th Tipi Raising on the Main Green Cosponsored by the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology Thursday, March 14th Convocation Freshman Speaker: Derrickson Begay; Senior Speaker: April Gale Laktonen; Alumnae Speaker: Alexandra Terry; Keynote Speaker: TBA 7 PM-9 PM, Solomon 101; Reception following at The Third World Center Friday, March 15th Native American Wellness Symposium 10 AM-5 PM, Location TBA Friday, March 15th Pow Wows and "Pan-Indianism" A discussion about Pow Wow culture and mainstream perceptions. Moderator: Barbara Hail, Haffenreffer Museum, with panelists: Sharon and Tahnee Harjo, Kiowa, Nitana Hicks, Mashpee Wampanoag, Liz Hoover, Mohawk/Mi'kmaq, Jonathan Perry, Aquinah Wampanoag 6-8 PM, Smith-Bunano 106 Cosponsored by the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology Friday, March 15th Tawaiciya Benefit Fashion Show Location, Time TBA see http://www.tawaicyia.org Cosponsored by Blume Botique Saturday, March 16th 1st Annual Spring Thaw Intertribal Contest .POW WOW. With dance competitions, drum groups, and vendors from throughout Indian Country 11AM-5PM at Alumnae Hall, Pembroke Campus GRAND ENTRY: NOON Host Drum: Mystic River Head Lady Dancer: ERIN LAMB MEECHES, STN Head Man Dancer: Tobias Vanderhoop, Aquinnah Wampanoag Arena Director: Clif Drake, Lumbee Admission $2 (children, students & elders FREE) for questions: 401-863-3080 SUNDAY, MARCH 10th 1:30 - 2:30 p.m. at the Museum Kids Discovery Hour at Mount Hope A new activity program for preschool children ages 4 - 6. The program, instructed by local Wampanoag-Nottoway artist and educator Strong Woman (Julia Jennings) and Navajo educator Hasi-kii (Ron King), allows children to experience life as Woodland Indian children once lived. Children will create crafts, explore artifacts, play Native American games, learn about traditional clothing, dance and sing to traditional music, and play an authentic powwow drum. Program fees, which include admission to the Museum, are $10 for museum members and $12 for non-members. Discovery Day is limited to 25 children. Pre-registration and pre-payment are required. Parent participation is recommended. Please call (401) 253-8388 for information and registration. ===================== Gina sent me this article: Argus Leader - Local News http://www.argusleader.com/ Monday, March 11, 2002 Students put twist on mascots; Colorado intramural team names itself 'Fighting Whities' By Staff & Wire Reports Indian students in Colorado have turned the tables in a debate on racism by naming their intramural basketball team "The Fighting Whities." The students, at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, chose a white man as a mascot after failing to persuade nearby Eaton High School to drop a nickname they say offends them. "The message is, let's do something that will let people see the other side of what it's like to be a mascot," said Solomon Little Owl, director of Native American Student Services at UNC. The intramural team includes Native Americans, Hispanics and Anglos. They wear jerseys that say, "Every thang's going to be all white." "It's not meant to be vicious; it is meant to be humorous," said Ray White, a Mohawk team member. "It puts people in our shoes, and then we can say, 'Now you know how it is, and now you can make a judgment.' " The Eaton school uses an Indian caricature on its logo and calls its teams the Reds. Superintendent John Nuspl said the logo is not derogatory. "Their interpretations are an insult to our patrons and blatantly inaccurate," he said. "There's no mockery of Native Americans with this." In South Dakota, the issue has simmered for years. Harold Salway, former Oglala Sioux chairman in Pine Ridge, said some believe the names are meant to honor Indians. "Others look at it as a gross denegration. I fall into the second camp," Salway said. "We, as Native Americans, have too much reverence for ourselves to parlay our likenesses into the sports arena." Of the Colorado team, Salway said, "Maybe it's their way of fighting fire with fire." Perry Ford, men's basketball coach at Augustana College in Sioux Falls, said, "I don't think any group should use any nickname that other people find offensive." Charles Cuny, a member of the team in Greeley, went to a high school called the Red Cloud Crusaders, named for a Lakota leader. "We live in a politically correct society, and sometimes Indians get overlooked," he said. "There are so few Indians who have clout that there are a lot of things that go unsettled." © Copyright 2002 Argus Leader. ===================== I received this article on the 11th: Handling racism with grace By Richard Williams Wednesday, March 06, 2002 - Chuck Archambault is used to people staring at him in public. He's used to comments about his long ponytail. He's become patient in answering the same questions about his heritage over and over from non-natives. As a talented athlete and a role model in the Indian community, he understands that people are curious, ignorant and sometimes racist. But several weeks ago, the college student's patience for ignorance was sorely tested while playing in a basketball game against Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tenn. During the game, the junior guard for Texas A&M-Corpus Christi became the target of racism by the Lipscomb fans, who berated and taunted Archambault for no other reason than he is Native American. "Go back to the reservation!" they screamed between war whoops and tomahawk chops. "Hey, Sitting Bull, where's your teepee?" His teammates were shocked and angry, but as a young Indian man from the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North Dakota, Archambault is no stranger to comments from the stands - it comes with the territory. But on that night, in a major Southern city, at a tony private university that is affiliated with the Church of Christ, it became too personal. Not only were these behaviors intended to break his spirit and get him off his game, they were also a putdown that went to the very core of who he is as a human being. But as Indian people, we often are not viewed as human beings in this country. Through mascots like Chief Wahoo of the Cleveland Indians and the Washington Redskins, we are objectified and treated with a double standard on the issue of racism in sports. We know, for example, that no sports crowd in America would ever yell at another basketball player for his African-American, Hispanic or Jewish ancestry - references to race are simply not tolerated, as Denver Nuggets head coach Dan Issel recently found out. Sports announcer Howard Cosell's ill-considered use of the words "that little monkey" in describing Alvin Garrett while announcing an NFL game on ABC in the 1980s almost cost him his career. Within hours, the comment ignited a racially charged firestorm that put the country on notice by the black community: We will not tolerate this kind of language, even in jest. That Garrett was playing for the Redskins, whose name and mascot are reviled by Indian people, is a bitter irony overshadowed by the greater realization that we remain at the tail end of the civil rights movement in a country that believes it's OK to openly insult and humiliate Indian people. But it is not OK. In spite of a recent Sports Illustrated article to the contrary, we do not like to be called "Chief" or "Tonto" or "Pocahontas" or "Geronimo." We do not like the "war whoop" or the idiotic "tomahawk chop." Do not greet us with the word "how." We do not like team names that insult our people and we do not like stereotypical sports mascots. And when we compete, we want to be treated with respect and sportsmanship, without comments on our hair, our "red" skin or our culture. Archambault is one of fewer than half a dozen American-Indian basketball players in Division I of the NCAA, an unfortunate statistic that is made all the more poignant by the fact that he has comported himself with dignity in the face of grinding racism in a sport he loves so much. With 19 points in the game, he was the leading scorer of the night, but it was a career high spoiled by a crowd that chose to focus on his race and culture rather than the fact that he was simply an opponent. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi still lost by two points that night, but Chuck Archambault won. By staying on his game and not giving in to the crowd's ignorance, he has taught us all that true grace comes from the inside. -- Richard Williams is the executive director of the American Indian College Fund, a historian, educator and the founder of the Upward Bound Program at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Compass is designed to provide a platform for members of communities that are often under-represented in The Post's opinion pages. Members of the Compass panel are selected each spring. ===================== Here is an article about Sherman Alexie: http://www.jsonline.com/enter/books/mar02/25632.asp ===================== Here is a joke I received. It is related to my other job: A couple of nuns who were nursing sisters had gone out to the country to minister to an outpatient. On the way back they were a few miles from home when they ran out of gas. They were standing beside their car on the shoulder when a truck approached. Seeing ladies of the cloth in distress, the driver stopped to offer his help. The nuns explained they needed some gas. The driver of the truck said he would gladly drain some from his tank, but he didn't have a bucket or can. One of the nuns dug out a clean bedpan and asked the driver if he could use it. He said yes, and proceeded to drain a couple of quarts of gas into the pan. He waved good-bye to the nuns and left. The nuns were carefully pouring the precious fluid into their gas tank when the highway patrol came by. The trooper stopped and watched for a minute, then he said: "Sisters, I don't think it will work, but I sure do admire your faith!" ===================== And finally, MySurvey.com is a a pretty good place to make you voice heard on a variety of subjects. They notify you of surveys they have available. They rangre from you opinions about products, TV shows, movies and many other things. You never have to participate. If you do, you are entered into a drawing to win $10,000. I have been participating for about a year now. You also get redeemable points for each survey you do. If you want some more info, or to sign up, use the link below. http://new1.mysurvey.com/join.cfm?r=285817 ===================== That's it for now. Best wishes, Phil http://americanindian.net ph-@americanindian.net phil-@rocketmail.com ===================== end of newsletter =====================
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