Top Story Archives - Page 116 of 156

Navajo Spider Woman Melissa Cody Weaves Tradition and Modernity

By Alex Jacobs, ICTMN

August 07, 2013

Melissa Cody’s star has been on the rise for a few years now. Of all art techniques and mediums, one would think that something as traditional as weaving, specifically Navajo weaving, would be among the last places to hear things like innovation, avant-garde, rock & roll, hip-hop. She has also expanded her medium from weaver to textile artist. Melissa’s from a family of traditional Navajo weavers, mother Lola Cody also shows with daughter at shows. Her mom taught her the Germantown style at age 5. In 2011, she won a SWAIA DISCOVERY FELLOWSHIP AWARD for emerging artists and many other awards are on the horizon. Before Melissa could take off into the sky as a Firework on the modern art scene, she had to learn the traditional techniques to ground her, to base her in fundamentals, as an homage to family but also to connect generations and have her new works accepted by those who came before her. The materials may be strange but the elders see the tricks, the twists and turns, the stories.

It’s said that Navajo holy person Spider Woman taught Navajo women the art of weaving. Cody has of late embraced the concept—encouraged, perhaps, by her collaborator/boyfriend Dust La Rock—creating a Spider Woman Greets the Dawn textile and posting a Spider Woman comic book to her Instagram feed.

It’s probably important to the art form that young artists like Melissa are into skateboarding, graffiti and street art, and listen to modern music. A piece in progress on Cody’s loom looks like a multicolored electronic component exploding with neon-hued wires—the music coming out would probably be hip hop. Cody loves going to concerts and clubs, she’s tattooed and hangs with a cadre of young artists all over the Southwest. Her resume of shows has gotten hot the last few years, Heard Museum, Eiteljorg Museum, Legends Santa Fe, Indian Market, San Francisco, Los Angeles…

You’ve been in Los Angeles and California recently, and now you’ve relocated, can you tell us what is up with you and your work there?

As of late, I’ve been creating new work for a two-man show that opens October 5th at the Scion AV Gallery on Melrose, in Los Angeles. I’ll be exhibiting along side Dust La Rock, also known as Joshua Prince, who is a co-founder of Fool’s Gold Records out of Brooklyn, New York and is most recognized as the label’s Creative Director. Dust is a phenomenal print artist, graphic designer, and overall artist, so I’m excited to be creating alongside him. For the exhibit, which is titled “Coyote & Spider”, we’ll be working on individual projects, as well as collaborating on a variety of pieces from printed t-shirts, hand-run linoleum block prints, to custom wall tapestries that I will be weaving.

Another undertaking is of course, preparing an inventory for SWAIA Indian Market in August. It’ll be my 22nd year participating in the Market and I can be found at my usual booth space No. 733 LIN-W on Lincoln Street. I’ll predominantly be showing textiles with the “Whirling Log” symbol. My recent work has focused on the “re-introduction” and use of the Navajo Whirling Log symbol, often mistaken for the Nazi “Swastika.” I feel that it’s important to reclaim our traditional tribal imagery and not sway from instilling it into our everyday viewing.

I take it all the Southwest is your artistic territory now?

Well I like to think that my work can stand on its feet anywhere! I was recently Artist in Residence at the DeYoung Museum in San Francisco, so that naturally sparked my interest to come back to California. I currently live in Long Beach with my significant other, Joshua Prince, and it’s been a great environment to venture out into new art circles. Every region within the southwest has its own artistic personality, so I feel very fortunate that I’m able to travel as much as I do, and have my weaving be my sole means of income. My home will always be Arizona, but I also grew up as far west as Southern California, and to the east, Austin, Texas. As mentioned before I’ve been traveling to New Mexico for SWAIA Indian Market every year since I was in grade school, so I’ve always considered it my second home. I eventually lived in Santa Fe long enough to complete my undergrad in Museum Studies at the Institute of American Indian Arts, now called the College of Contemporary Native Arts, and have a brief stint as a Recruiter for the College’s Admissions Dept.

I don’t mean to embarrass you or jinx you, but you must feel the attention, the publicity, the awards, the expectations, how do you deal with it all or where do you put it all, as a young artist?

I think my artwork and medium keeps me in check. Each time I sit down at my loom I commit myself to a piece that I’ll no doubt spend hours, days, weeks, and sometimes months, creating. My weavings take a tremendous amount of patience and attention that it makes it difficult to dwell on the last accomplishment. Each new project is an opportunity to top the last or to venture into unseen territories. I have long term plans for where I want to be in the future as an artist, so each new day is a chance to secure that future. I’m grateful for all the accolades and honors that I’ve achieved up until now, but I don’t want to put boundaries on the reaches of my textile work. As an artist I’m fortunate to be recognized as a “Native artist” working in a traditional realm, but also as a “contemporary” artist who is excelling in my field. It affords me the flexibility to push boundaries within both realms and have a voice that is heard by a wider audience.

Can you name your family influences and any weavers or textile/fabric artisans that may have influenced you?

Family influences begin with my mother, Lola S. Cody. She gave me technical instruction, but also instilled in me a sense of respect for the work that would come off of my loom, the materials and tools I would use to create, and the weavers who came before me. I learned at a very young age that being a weaver was a great responsibility because it meant that I would be part of a group who held sacred knowledge from my ancestors that had been passed down from generation to generation. I’m 30 now, and it’s great to look back and reflect on how my work has changed and evolved from the restrictions of “traditional” regional and trading-post styles. It’s also wonderful to see how my mother’s tapestries have not stayed stagnant either and are continuing to push the limits of what is the new direction of Navajo textiles.

Doris Cody, my paternal grandmother; Martha Gorman Schultz, my maternal grandmother; and Mary Clay, my great-grandmother, have tremendous influence on my weaving as I’m constantly referencing their tapestry work to validate my own. My Grandmother Martha is now in her 80s and still works at her loom on a daily basis. I hope that one day I’ll be able to mirror her strength and vitality to create. I began weaving at the age of 5 so I’m happy that my grandmother has been able to guide my path to the present. She frequently inquires about what projects I’m working on and playfully teases me when my eccentric patterns look a little crazy to her.

Your recent trip to New Orleans for a music festival, have you always sought out the beats, the scene, and the fun, or is it more recent because you can now go where you want? Anything cool you’ve run into by chance or choice?

I was actually invited out by the coordinators of the festival to be a demonstrating vendor at the event, The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. Music is a constant in every part of my creative process, So to be invited out was a pretty great honor. Especially since I had never been to NOLA or had the opportunity to exhibit my work in the region. As for traveling, I’ve always been on the road. After high school I distinctly remember my dad telling me to travel as much as I could, because he never got to see as much as he had wanted to when he was young growing up in the boarding school system. I think that constant movement is what fuels my work. Up until now, I’ve been fortunate enough that my work continues to be fresh and appealing to an evolving art scene. I’ve been blessed with opportunities to intern with large institutions like the Smithsonian Museums in DC, exhibit at DeYoung Museum in San Francisco, have work in the permanent collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art, and teach weaving techniques in Southern Africa.

You were involved in a video project with Lynette Haozous and Douglas Miles, are you a working member of any collectives, have you done collaborative projects, and how did this come about?

My upcoming exhibit, “Coyote & Spider,” at the Scion AV Gallery will be my first collaborative exhibition. Up to this point I’ve done small collaborative linoleum print projects, but nothing I would consider a major undertaking. I’m excited to see how the collaborative work will be received by Native and non-native audiences. Currently, my work has the majority of following with in the Native American art community, so showing in a Gallery that doesn’t fall under that umbrella is a new experience I’m looking forward to.

The video project that Lynnette and I were featured in was the Apache Chronicle, produced by Douglas Miles of Apache Skateboards, and Swedish Filmmaker Nanna Dalunde. I was happy to be in the film as it shed light on the body of work that I was creating. At the time I had left Santa Fe, where I had lived for the previous 9 years, and transitioned back to the Navajo Reservation to be with my family after learning my father had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. These events lead me to weave a body of work inspired by his condition, the symptomatic characteristics of the disease, and also my personal testament of coping with this life-changing experience. Up to this point my textile work was predominantly based in exploring aesthetic values as they pertained to geometric composition & color theory, striving to create textiles that were technically pristine, studying lines of symmetry and 3-dimensional planes. This turning point in my life took me in a direction where weaving was my outlet to create work which was a direct reflection of my personal experience, rather than my stance within the textile medium.

Do you keep track of the work of other contemporary weavers, for instance Ramona Sakiestewa and Gail Tremblay? Or are there other innovative artists, in any mediums, who interest or intrigue you? In the ’70s and ’80s, I worked in parachute netting and construction fence, vinyl and burlap, mesh and wire, also the police tape and biohazard bags like yourself. What drives you or allows you to use different or non-traditional materials?

Oddly enough, I don’t really follow the work of other tapestry artists outside of what my family and relatives are weaving. I think that comes from surrounding myself with friends and family who are painters, sculptors, photographers, tattoo artists, muralists, mixed media artists, and jewelers. I like to look at their work and think of how I can incorporate or translate their style of work or three-dimensional forms into tapestry format. Navajo weaving is a very structured art so I like the challenge of mapping out designs so they come across as fresh and innovative, but also characteristically recognizable as “Navajo.” Social media outlets like Instagram and Facebook have made it a lot easier to connect with creative minds and outlets, so my main artistic influences these days has come from the tattoo artist community.

Alex Jacobs, Mohawk, is a visual artist and poet living in Santa Fe

Art and Beauty Highlight New Site Dedicated to American Indian Native Jewelry

New AmericanIndianNativeJewelry.com focuses on significance and popularity of American Indian native jewelry

"One of the explanations for the resurgence of popularity in American Indian native jewelry is a newfound respect for the spirituality and the power of the underlying cultures." — “One of the explanations for the resurgence of popularity in American Indian native jewelry is a newfound respect for the spirituality and the power of the underlying cultures.”

Source: PRWeb.com

It’s no secret that American Indian native jewelry has captivated audiences for hundreds of years. These works of art have withstood the test of time and continue to be popular today.

Now, a new website is offering the historic background, educational information and stunning photography to highlight the incredible variety and artistry of the hand-crafted jewelry.

“Many buyers experience a palpable attraction to certain pieces of American Indian native jewelry,” according to AmericanIndianNativeJewelry.com spokesperson Fran Blair. “A long jewelry-making tradition by various tribes and the growing popularity of the art form makes this website a valuable source of information for anyone interested in learning about the diverse array of jewelry available today.”

Ms. Blair says, “While it is true that many people associate American Indian native jewelry with the Navajo of the American Southwest, there is a wider tradition of jewelry-making and a great diversity of materials. We will showcase that diversity on our website,” she adds, “so that we can provide an authoritative source for anyone interested in pursuing information about the art form.”

Jewelry-making, she explains, is not limited to the Southwest, and it certainly encompasses more than the silver and turquoise pieces produced there. Many Southwest tribes historically crafted fine jewelry, as did the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico, Plains Indians and Northern tribes as well.

“Because the populations were not isolated, and because trade did occur, just as in other cultures, the lines are sometimes blurred,” she says, “but distinctive styles still exist. There is a recognizable difference between a Hopi turquoise and silver medallion, and a buckle produced by a Zuni artist,” she notes. This is one of the goals of our new website, she says. “We want to explain the differences, highlight the hallmarks, point out the specialties and characterize the expertise of various artists.”

The website also illustrates beadwork and other styles.

American Indian native jewelry making talents are, contrary to some reports, not being lost or diluted in today’s society. In fact, new artists are building on the traditions of their predecessors, reshaping and redefining an art form that has existed for centuries. Even though silverwork may have been introduced to the tribes of the Southwest by Spanish explorers, Native Americans adapted the knowledge and made it very much their own, employing local stones and other materials, using symbols of their own culture, and passing the art to succeeding generations.

“Perhaps,” says Ms. Blair, “one of the explanations for the resurgence of popularity in American Indian native jewelry is a newfound respect for the spirituality and the power of the underlying cultures.”

Additional information can be found at AmericanIndiannativejewelry.com.

International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, August 9

2013 Theme: “Indigenous peoples building alliances: Honouring treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements”

Tadodaho Sid Hill, Chief of the Onondaga Nation, at the opening of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues' twelfth session. UN/Rick Bajornas — Tadodaho Sid Hill, Chief of the Onondaga Nation, at the opening of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues’ twelfth session. UN/Rick Bajornas

Source: un.org

The International Day of the World’s Indigenous People (9 August) was first proclaimed by the General Assembly in December 1994, to be celebrated every year during the first International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People (1995 – 2004).

In 2004, the Assembly proclaimed a Second International Decade, from 2005 – 2014, with the theme of “A Decade for Action and Dignity.” The focus of this year’s International Day is “Indigenous peoples building alliances: Honouring treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements.”

The theme aims to highlight the importance of honouring arrangements between States, their citizens and indigenous peoples that were designed to recognize indigenous peoples’ rights to their lands and establish a framework for living in proximity and entering into economic relationships. Agreements also outline a political vision of different sovereign peoples living together on the same land, according to the principles of friendship, cooperation and peace.

A special event at UN Headquarters in New York will be held on Friday, 9 August, starting at 3pm, featuring the UN Secretary-General, the Chairperson of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, a delegate of Panama, a representative of the Office of the UN High Commissioner of Human Rights, and an indigenous representative. The event will be webcast live at webtv.un.org.

Also on 9 August, hundreds of indigenous and non-indigenous rowers are scheduled to arrive at Pier 96 at 57th Street in Manhattan at 10am, after having collectively travelled thousands of miles on rivers and horsebacks to honour the first treaty -– the Two Row Wampum -– concluded between Dutch immigrants and the Haudenosaunee (a confederacy of six nations, with capital in the Onondaga nation, in NY State) 400 years ago, in 1613. They will gather with members of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza at 1:30pm.

“Red Rocker” Sammy Hagar Performs Under the Stars at Tulalip Amphitheatre

Tulalip, Washington — The “Red Rocker”, Sammy Hagar, will be making a first, much anticipated appearance at the Tulalip Resort Casino Amphitheatre on Thursday, August 15. A multi-platinum, outgoing, bombastic front man of hard rock champions Van Halen, Hagar is a member in good standing of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He will be releasing his first solo album in five years on September 24, 2013. Hagar has enlisted three legendary musicians – Toby Keith, Mickey Hart and Taj Mahal – to round out the final three tracks of the album to be titled: “Sammy Hagar and Friends.”Son of a steel worker and onetime professional boxer, Hagar burst on the scene as the lead vocalist of Montrose, whose “Rock Candy” has gone on to become a certified rock classic. After a string of eight solo albums, culminating with the million-sellers “Standing Hampton,” “Three Lock Box” and “V.O.A.,” and hundreds of sold out concert appearances across the country, Hagar joined Van Halen in 1985. He took the band to unprecedented heights, including four consecutive No. 1 albums. Sammy also thrived as a solo artist, with his band the Waboritas, and returned to Van Halen to lead a triumphant 2004 reunion tour. He has played with a succession of genius guitar players, from Ronnie Montrose and Neal Schon, to Eddie Van Halen and Joe Satriani from his current group, Chickenfoot, which also features former Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith.Following Hagar’s concert, the rest of the summer line-up:

Sunday, August 18: Melissa Etheridge
Rock singer, songwriter, guitarist, winner of an Academy Award for Best Original Song, and Double Grammy Winner.Sunday, August 25: Foreigner
This British-American band is one of the world’s best-selling bands of all time. Mick Jones and Lou Gramm were just inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Saturday, September 7: Doobie Brothers & America
The Doobie Brothers have been inducted into the Vocal Hall of Fame with hits like “Listen to the Music”; Grammy winners America has charted No. 1 hits like “A Horse with No Name” and “Sister Golden Hair”.

Tulalip Resort also offers guest room/up close ticket packages. Both reserved seating and general admission concert tickets are available and can be purchased in person at the Tulalip Resort Casino Rewards Club box office located on the casino floor, or online at www.ticketmaster.com. Unless otherwise noted, the doors open at 5pm and concerts start at 7pm for all shows. All concert dates and times are subject to change. Guests must be 21 and over to attend.

Amber Alert kidnap suspect may be using explosives, officials say

By Kate Mather, Tony Perry and Hailey Branson-Potts, Los Angeles Times
August 9, 2013, 3:15 a.m.

Authorities searching for a missing San Diego County teenager allegedly abducted by a family friend stretched warned that her alleged abductor might be using explosives.

The suspect, James Lee DiMaggio, 40, might have abandoned his blue Nissan Versa and left it booby-trapped with explosives, authorities said, warning people that if they find the vehicle or anywhere he might have stopped, they should stay away.

DiMaggio is an avid outdoorsman, and authorities are also urging people to be on the lookout at campsites and other rural areas where he might be hiding.

Four days into the search for 16-year-old Hannah Anderson, authorities were no closer to finding her or DiMaggio, though numerous tips have poured in to law enforcement agencies in multiple states.

“Basically, the search area is the United States, Canada and Mexico,” said Lt. Glenn Giannantonio of the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department. “The search area is North America.”

As the search fanned out Thursday, authorities had no confirmed sightings of Anderson or DiMaggio, who is believed to have abducted the teenager Sunday after killing her mother and 8-year-old brother in Boulevard, a rural border town in eastern San Diego County.

An Amber Alert for Hannah Anderson and her brother Ethan was active in four states Thursday, though authorities said it was possible she might have been taken to Texas, or even Canada. Boulevard is about five miles north of the Mexican border, and the FBI was working with Mexican authorities to search for DiMaggio, Giannantonio said.

New details in the case emerged Thursday about the death of Hannah’s mother, 44-year-old Christina Anderson of Lakeside, another community east of San Diego. Anderson died of blunt force trauma and may have been hit with a crowbar, a source close to the investigation said.

Anderson’s body was found in a stand-alone garage near DiMaggio’s burning home, the source said. The body of a child was found in the house. Although the child has not been identified because the body was badly burned and DNA difficult to obtain, family members have said they believe it to be Ethan.

Christina Anderson’s dog was also found dead on the property, Giannantonio said.

An arrest warrant for murder has been issued for DiMaggio, and a judge agreed to set bail at $1 million if he is arrested, San Diego County sheriff’s officials said Thursday.

As the Amber Alert widened to Nevada, authorities said DiMaggio might have changed vehicles.

Chaos on the Clearwater River: Second night of tar sands megaload blockades

Source: Earth First! Newswire

After a three-hour blockade involving upwards of 150-200 people from the Nez Perce Nation, Idle No More, and Wild Idaho Rising Tide, activists once again dedicated themselves last night to stopping megaload shipments through Idaho.

Omega Morgan, the company responsible for the transport of the 200-ton megaload, has been warned by the Forest Service that the shipment is unauthorized, and the Nez Perce tribe is seeking an injunction. However, Omega Morgan is trying to sneak the megaload through against the law, so direct action must be taken.

The Nez Perce put out a call yesterday for activists to join them in renewed efforts to stop the tar sands equipment from moving through Highway 12. More than 50 protestors came out. They were met by a force of 40-50 police officers in a fleet of cars.

Police gave protesters 15 minutes to speak out as they blocked the roadway, before being forced to move to the shoulder. Some young activists decided to maintain the presence of the blockade by heaving boulders and large rocks into the streets, which held traffic up further.

Several Nez Perce tribe-members were arrested, adding to the 19 arrested on Monday night (including the entire executive committee).

Mother Earth’s Slow Burn: Climate Change Indicators Climbing, Says NOAA

Source: Indian Country Today Media Network

The signs of climate change—rising oceans, melting Arctic ice and increasing greenhouse gases among them—are continuing inexorably, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said in a report issued on Tuesday August 6.

Culling data from 384 scientists hailing from 52 countries, NOAA said in its report, 2012 State of the Climate, that globally 2012 was among the 10 warmest years on record. However temperature was just the tip of the melting iceberg.

“Many of the events that made 2012 such an interesting year are part of the long-term trends we see in a changing and varying climate—carbon levels are climbing, sea levels are rising, Arctic sea ice is melting, and our planet as a whole is becoming a warmer place,” said Acting NOAA Administrator Kathryn D. Sullivan in a statement summarizing the peer-reviewed report.

Arctic changes, including temperature increases and increased ice melt, were the most marked exhibitors of climate change and were highlighted in the federal study, released online by the American Meteorological Society (AMS).

“Conditions in the Arctic were a major story of 2012, with the region experiencing unprecedented change and breaking several records,” NOAA said in its statement. “Sea ice shrank to its smallest summer-minimum extent since satellite records began 34 years ago. In addition, more than 97 percent of the Greenland ice sheet showed some form of melt during the summer, four times greater than the 1981-2010 average melt extent.”

Oceans’ heat content stayed at its record high in the upper half-mile of depth, with marked temperature increases below that, at 2,300 to 6,600 feet, NOAA said. Although temperatures per se have not warmed significantly over the past 10 years, there have been “remarkable changes in key climate indicators” such as dramatically rising ocean heat content, record summer Arctic sea ice melt and the melting of nearly the entire top layer of Greenland’s ice sheet last summer, said Tom Karl, director of the National Climatic Data Center, to the Associated Press. Sea level was also at record highs.

“It’s critically important to compile a big picture,” Karl told the news wire. “The signs that we see are of a warming world.”

These conditions and trends played out most strongly in the Arctic, which is manifesting the most dramatic symptoms of climate change, NOAA said.

Polarity in the saline content of water was also noted, with high-evaporation areas containing saltier waters and low-evaporation regions showing more fresh water, NOAA said. This suggests that “precipitation is increasing in already rainy areas and evaporation is intensifying in drier locations,” NOAA said.

Although La Niña helped keep ocean levels down during the first half of 2011, NOAA reported, they “rebounded to reach record highs in 2012,” with global sea levels increasing on average 3.2 millimeters per year over the past two decades.

Likewise, greenhouse gas concentrations, the main ones being carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, continued their increase in 2012, NOAA said. The global economic downturn actually reduced manmade emissions slightly, NOAA said, but 2011 emissions were at a record high, with CO2 in particular surpassing the 400 parts per million mark in at monitoring stations in the Arctic.

NOAA officials emphasized that they were not interpreting the data, merely passing it on, letting the facts speak for themselves.

“This report does not try to explain why we are seeing what we are seeing,” Karl told The Wall Street Journal. “The report is focused only on what the observations are telling us.”

Sonic signs franchise agreement with Native American tribe

Source: QSRweb.com

As part of Sonic Drive-In’s strategy to develop new franchises in rural markets, the company has reached an agreement with the Wyandotte Nation, an Oklahoma-based Native American tribe, to open its first unit in Seneca, Mo.

“The Wyandotte Nation brings an appetite and acumen for operating businesses with high consumer appeal that create new jobs and stimulate business growth. They know the community desires the Sonic experience, and with our unit economics, Sonic is the perfect business opportunity,” said Cliff Hudson, chairman, CEO and president of Sonic Corp. “We also feel a personal connection because both Sonic and the Wyandotte Nation have their roots in Oklahoma. Native American tribes represent a very important part of our community here in the heartland, a significant business driver in our region and a contributor to economic activity and job creation nationwide.”

The new restaurant is slated to be built and open for business at 2314 Cherokee Ave., by the fall, adding to a portfolio of small businesses developed by the Wyandotte Nation. These businesses span multiple industries including foodservice, telecommunications, information technology, precision manufacturing and entertainment.

“We have looked at several concepts. What eventually brought us to Sonic was the opportunity to become part of a very recognizable brand,” said Kelly Carpino, CEO of the Wyandotte Tribe of Oklahoma. “The effectiveness of Sonic’s media and promotional strategy along with an amazing product line drew our attention to the franchise. The decision was solidified by Sonic’s new small building prototype that is a perfect fit for smaller, secondary markets.”

This marks the first development agreement with a Native American tribe for the Sonic system.

Google Teams with National Congress of American Indians for Indigenous Mapping Day

Source: Native News Network

WASHINGTON – Many tribal communities in the United States lack accurate mapping information pertaining to roads, buildings, and information on services available to tribal members and the general public.

This week there is an unique opportunity for tribes to give input into a mapping project through Google.

In honor of the United Nation’s International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, the National Congress of American Indians, Google Map Maker, Google Earth Outreach and the Google American Indian Network have teamed up and are proud to present Google’s first ever Indigenous Mapping Day on August 9.

A MapUp is a group of people coming together to improve how Google Maps represents their community. You and the members of your tribal community can add local roads, schools, health facilities, tribal offices and more. You can even map in your tribe’s native language. Google Map Maker currently supports Cherokee, Navajo, Inuktitut, Inupiaq, Kalaallisut, and Hawaiian languages.

Tribal Community Empowerment

Christopher Kalluk, Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporation,
Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, Canada

Google Map Maker is a tool that allows tribal governments, businesses, and individual citizens to take ownership of their communities as represented on Google Maps, Google Earth, and Google Maps for Mobile.

This tool allows these entities to add to, edit, and improve digital local maps by mapping tribal offices, medical facilities, local roads, and everything in between! Anything from structures, landscapes, or ATM locations can be identified on Google Maps by using the Map Maker tool.

South Carolina Judge Orders Immediate Transfer Of Baby Veronica

Lacie Lowry, News on 6

CHARLESTON, South Carolina – A South Carolina judge Tuesday threw out the transition plan for Baby Veronica and ordered her Oklahoma family to immediately hand the girl over to her adoptive parents.

The judge said Veronica’s father skipped a mandatory meeting.

But Dusten Brown is at National Guard training in Iowa, and the Oklahoma National Guard confirms it wouldn’t make an exception and let him leave for any legal matters involving Veronica.

Veronica’s adoptive parents – Matt and Melanie Capobianco, of South Carolina – raised Veronica for two years before Brown gained custody.

Their adoption of Veronica has been finalized in South Carolina and they were scheduled to meet with Veronica and Brown on Sunday.

Brown and his daughter were a no-show and the Cherokee Nation says all parties knew of Brown’s mandatory training.

We asked an expert to weigh-in on what abrupt changes can do to a child.

“Cases such as these really lose sight of the fact that we’re dealing with 4-year-old child who has attachments to many people,” said therapist Cathy Chalmers.

Chalmers said cases like Baby Veronica’s are a lightning rod for issues like adoption and the historical trauma of Indians.

“The more the parties become polarized and divided, the harder it is to set aside personal needs and desires,” she said.

Chalmers didn’t write the transition plan, but was recommended as a resource for Dusten Brown. She’s also Cherokee.

She’s not allowed to talk about Veronica’s case, but she’s seen several cases just like Veronica’s, where a transition plan is thrown out and a child immediately transferred.

Chalmers said that’s when a child suffers.

“Abrupt change says to the child, ‘Where I came from wasn’t okay or I wouldn’t have been taken away from it,'” Chalmers said. “What brings them comfort, the routines, the rituals of their day-to-day life sometimes get lost in all the politics that are involved in a polarized court ruling.”

Cherokee Nation’s Assistant Attorney General Chrissi Nimmo issued the following statement:

It is disgusting to insinuate criminal misconduct or wrongdoing on Dusten’s behalf. He is in another state for mandatory National Guard training, which all parties and the court have known for a least two weeks. It is physically and legally impossible for Dusten to comply with the current order. This is another ploy to paint Dusten as the “bad guy.” It is especially appalling while he is serving his country. Legal steps have been taken by the Capobiancos to enforce the order in Oklahoma, and legal challenges will no doubt follow. To manufacture this media frenzy is unnecessary and harmful to all involved.

Brown returns from training on August 21.

The Oklahoma National Guard offered this statement Tuesday:

“The Oklahoma National Guard will not interject at this time in the legal matters of Baby Veronica and her natural father, Oklahoma Army National Guard Specialist Dusten Brown, who is attending military training in another state until August 21st. While we respect the request by Judge Martin to help enforce his order yesterday, we believe it inappropriate for the Oklahoma National Guard to take action in this matter until such time as it has been fully litigated by all parties. There are other legal mechanisms immediately available to the state of South Carolina to enforce the court’s order that have nothing to do with the National Guard or Specialist Brown’s military service.”

It’s unclear what happens next with Veronica, who is with her grandparents and step-mom in Oklahoma.