Tulalip News

Failed Treaty of Point Elliott Promises Spotlighted in Play

Richard Walker, Indian Country Today Media Network

This was James “Smitty” Hillaire’s debut as a stage actor, and yet he emoted anger, frustration and pain like a pro.

“We don’t like to call it acting,” Hillaire said. “We’re trying to tell a story, a story that hasn’t been told … A lot of people didn’t realize why we’re still fighting for our rights today. It’s still going on.”

Hillaire portrays Chowitshoot, a leader of the Lummi people and a reluctant signer of the 1855 Treaty of Point Elliott in “What About Those Promises?”, a stage production about treaty promises that have not been fulfilled by the United States.

To develop the script, Shelly Muzzy pored through transcripts of proceedings stored at the University of Washington. The audience is confronted with a true version of history not like those found in many textbooks.

“What About Those Promises?” brings to life the realities of—and the emotional trauma stemming from—the unfulfilled promises of the Treaty of Point Elliott of 1855. (Lummi Nation)

Here, Chowitshoot and other Lummi representatives raise concerns about how the treaty will affect their rights to fish, hunt, harvest, and continue their way of life. Chief Si’ahl, or Seattle, leader of the Duwamish and Suquamish peoples, urges his peers to not sign the treaty.

The treaty was signed under duress, Hillaire said. “Sign or walk knee deep in blood—those were the words. We had no choice. We were forced to sign.”

The play brings to life the ongoing struggles of the Lummi people to see the promises of the treaty fulfilled, and gives voice to the people involved in those struggles.

The scenes take place when the United States was in the “fever of the termination era” and terminating its treaty responsibilities owed to tribes, Jewell James wrote in Whatcom Watch; he is director of the Lummi Nation’s Sovereignty and Treaty Protection Office. The region’s First People were jailed for trying to fish and harvest in their traditional grounds, as promised in Article 5 of the treaty; their rights to fish and harvest were upheld in 1974 in the U.S. District Court case, U.S. v. Washington, also known as the Boldt decision.

“What About Those Promises?” also reveals to the audience the emotional toll the post-treaty years have had—the residential schools, the termination era, and the continuing fight to protect rights, the environment and sacred places.

“We’ve been treated like animals, actually,” Hillaire said. “I believe we are one of the most regulated people in the whole country. We’re treated like prisoners of war; we’ve never gone to war [against the U.S.], we never surrendered either, but they treat us like a conquered people.”

“What About Those Promises?” brings to life the realities of—and the emotional trauma stemming from—the unfulfilled promises of the Treaty of Point Elliott of 1855. (Lummi Nation)

Hillaire and his wife, Lutie, who also has a role in the play, have been participating in workshops to help them deal with the emotional impacts of historical trauma.

“I have a difficult time right off trying to deal with the anger,” he said. “I have kind of mixed emotions—some of it anger, some of it sadness.”

What producer Darrell Hillaire hopes people take away from his play: “That their word is good. Anybody. All people. All cultures. To keep our word to one another. We have such diverse peoples living in this country, in our communities. How do we best learn to live together? Well, you keep your promises first. From there, you learn to live together.”

State Rep. John McCoy, D-Tulalip, one of two Native Americans in the state House of Representatives, authored laws that require the history and culture of Washington’s First Peoples is taught in the state’s public schools, and allow tribes to open their own schools and create their own curriculum.

“This would be a great production to be out there [in schools],” he said. “You bring in your youngsters and your current leadership and your elders, and then do this production. If every tribe would do that, we’d really educate the state of Washington.”

He added, “Youngsters, you have to listen—listen to the stories of the elders, so we know where we’ve been, so you know where to go.”

The next staging of the production will be October 18 at Seattle University’s Pigott Hall at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available at BrownPaperTickets.com.

Rape Pandemic: Assaults in Asia, Pacific Close to Rate in Indian Country

Source: Indian Country Today Media Network

The United Nations conducted a study on men and violence in Asia and the Pacific, surveying more than 10,000 men at nine sites in six countries: Bangladesh, China, Cambodia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Sri Lanka.

About 23 percent of men at the survey site in China said they had committed at least one rape. At the Papua New Guinea site, 61 percent of men admitted to rape.

National crime statistics already indicate that 1 in 3 American Indian women will be raped in their lifetimes, and new clarification of the definition of rape by the Obama administration—to include women, men, and children—reveal the incidence of rape in Native communities may be much higher.

Rachel Jewkes, the lead technical adviser for the UN study, explained to National Geographic the probable reasons for the high occurrence of rape in Asia and the Pacific. The areas where the study was conducted mirror some of the conditions in Indian country affected by rape, namely persistent poverty and high alcohol and drug use.

Speaking in regards to Asia and the Pacific, Jewkes said, “Sexual entitlement is the most common motivation across all of these countries. I think that very, very strongly points to the root of rape in gender relations, and the fact that rape is really legitimized in so many of these countries.”

Jewkes elaborated on sexual entitlement:

“Sexual entitlement means feeling that you ought to be able to have sex with a woman—essentially, if you want it, you can have it. The flip side of that is [the idea] that it’s a woman’s responsibility to make sure that she doesn’t have sex when she doesn’t want it. If a woman is raped, she would be blamed for putting herself at risk for being raped.”

Jewkes attributes the high incidence of rape in Papua New Guinea to an “extremely patriarchal” culture and one that “is extremely accepting of the use of violence in a whole range of different circumstances. It’s not just gender-based violence, but also very severe and frequent use of violence in childrearing, and a lot of fighting in the community between men.”

Jewkes ultimately determined that rape is comparatively less common in more peaceable countries.

“The two countries that really spring to mind are Bangladesh and most of Indonesia. Alcohol use is much lower in Bangladesh and in Indonesia, too. They are both Muslim countries, they both have relatively strict social mores around sex, and one way or another child abuse is less common in those countries. Child abuse really is strongly associated with rape and violence later on.”

Marysville adopts one-year moratorium on marijuana businesses

By Kirk Boxleitner, The Marysville Globe

MARYSVILLE — Marysville has given itself a year to work out how it will handle marijuana businesses within its city limits.

By a 5-1 vote on Monday, Sept. 9, the Marysville City Council approved an ordinance adopting a one-year moratorium “on the establishment, siting, location, permitting, licensing or operation of marijuana cultivation, production of marijuana or marijuana derivatives,” with Council member Rob Toyer casting the lone dissenting vote out of expressed concerns that the Council might wait to make its decision until shortly before the moratorium would be set to sunset.

According to Marysville Chief Administrative Officer Gloria Hirashima, the city needs to conduct local reviews of its zoning and licensing before it can even consider entertaining applications or licenses for marijuana businesses, especially since she expects the Washington State Liquor Control Board to release draft rules on the production, processing and retailing of marijuana for comment as early as October.

“We’ll be working through a local committee to conduct those reviews, with representatives from the City Council, the Planning Commission, local businesses and local citizens,” Hirashima said. “We’ve already done detailed mapping, according to the boundaries outlined in Initiative 502, of where marijuana retailers can’t be in Marysville, so we need to look at the remaining areas within the city, where they’re not restricted under I-502, and determine which of those areas we want to see those retailers allowed in, and under what conditions.”

Although Hirashima noted the number of citizens who have already expressed strong interests in this issue at Council meetings, which she believes is good for prospective members of a local review committee, she also acknowledged that the city would need to ensure that the interests of the citizens who do become members of the committee are relatively balanced.

“A couple of people who have come to Council meetings and followed this issue closely are also looking to open their own marijuana businesses, so their interests are obviously going to be different from those citizens who might be next-door neighbors to such establishments,” Hirashima said. “We need to make sure various opinions and perspectives are represented.”

Hirashima anticipates that the committee’s lineup will be finalized during the month of October, and reassured the rest of Marysville’s citizens that their voices would also be heard.

“We’re tentatively looking at potentially adopting our marijuana rules as soon as April of next year,” Hirashima said. “Before we do that, those proposed rules will go up for public comment in front of first the Planning Commission, then the City Council. It’s important that this process remain public and involve our citizens’ participation. This is a fast-moving area. Marijuana is still illegal under federal law, but the state is initiating a system of licensing for it, so there’s still a wide range of opinions on this issue.”

If You Love Your Prostate Then Take This Test

Source: Native News Network

WASHINGTON – When dealing with health problems it’s important to know how severe the disease is. Knowing this drives a series of treatment decisions, which may improve the symptoms, and in many cases even cure the disease. When the condition’s level of aggressiveness is unknown, a traditionally beneficial treatment may instead cause harm.

Learn more about prostate cancer to gain accurate information.

The aggressiveness of prostate cancer is hard to determine. Traditionally, physicians have used the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level, a physical exam, and other methods to estimate the level of prostate cancer to help guide treatment decisions. These are helpful, but they cannot fully determine whether a man has low-risk prostate cancer, which can be managed with active surveillance, or whether he has aggressive prostate cancer, that should be treated immediately.

Active surveillance is a plan that employs careful and consistent monitoring of the cancer in a man’s prostate without removing it. Under active surveillance, patients have regular check-ups and periodic PSA blood tests, clinical exams and potential biopsies to closely monitor for signs of prostate cancer progression. If the cancer starts getting worse, then an appropriate treatment can be decided on.

New diagnostic tests have been emerging, such as the Oncotype DX prostate cancer test, that can help the patient and his physician make a better decision about how to treat the cancer based on its aggressiveness.

More than 240,000 US men are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year. About half of newly-diagnosed patients will be classified as low risk and may not require immediate or aggressive treatment. Yet many of these men will receive immediate aggressive treatment despite the small chance of their cancer becoming deadly.

A new website was launched in September (Prostate Cancer Awareness Month) that helps patients and their families navigate the decision making process, My Prostate Cancer Coach, found at www.MyProstateCancerCoach.org

The site allows anyone interested in learning more about prostate cancer to gain accurate information on the disease and how it can affect men and those in their lives. Tools from the site include Prostate Cancer 101, providing information about treatment options, side effects, understanding the diagnosis and PSA testing, as well as a glossary of terms that can help patients better understand the disease. By answering a few simple questions about your diagnosis, a man receives a personalized guide outlining how aggressive his disease is likely to be and highlighting key questions to help you have a more productive discussion with the healthcare team.

The My Prostate Cancer Coach web site also provides visitors with resources to better understand their risk for getting prostate cancer, questions to ask their doctor, and other resources relating to prostate cancer.

To learn more about other prostate conditions, visit the Prostate Health Guide at www.prostatehealthguide.com

One in six men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer. The chances of surviving prostate cancer increase if you detect the cancer early and make an informed decision about treatment. Don’t be another statistic – be proactive – remember prostate cancer is almost 100 percent treatable if detected early and treated right.

Men’s Health Network is a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to reach men, boys, and their families where they live, work, play, and pray with health prevention messages and tools, screening programs, educational materials, advocacy opportunities, and patient navigation. Learn more about Men’s Health Network at www.menshealthnetwork.org

Neo-Nazis Try to Take Over Leith, ND; Hundreds Protest

Gale Courey Toensing, September 22, 2013, Indian Country Today Media Network

By mid-afternoon on Sunday, September 22, Last Real Indians, reported on its Facebook page, “White supremacists have raised their flag over the town of Leith, ND.”

The news came as hundreds of Native Americans and others flocked to the tiny North Dakota town of Leith, population 24, to protest a group of American neo-Nazis who plan to take over the town and make it “an all-white enclave,” according to Political Blindspot.

UnityND, a group that formed in protest to the proposed extremist, neo-Nazi takeover, reported at around 2 p.m. that a caravan of protesters was on its way, including at least 25 cars, a bus and a van. “Plus more coming from the Tribes,” the site tweeted. Live streaming by Unedited Media showed what looked like several hundred people participating in the protest that began around 3 p.m.

The neo-Nazi invasion of Leith was announced in the Bismarck Tribune in a September 6 story about Craig Cobb, a white supremacist who has been living in Leith for more than a year and has purchased 13 lots, some for as little as $500, including one where he lived. He has been promoting Leith on white supremacist websites as a place where others like him could live, take over the city government and fly Nazi flags, the Tribune reported.

Neo-Nazi flags and signs were hung in Cobb’s front yard. (Courtesy Two Story)

Cobb told the Tribune he was grateful for support from Jeff Schoep, “commander” of the National Socialist Movement (NSM), according to the group’s website. In a video on the website Schoep announces “Our trip to Leith is a gesture of goodwill as we plant the seeds of National Socialism in North Dakota.” Unidentified orchestral music plays softly in the background with the sound of boots marching loudly in the foreground. The website displays the group’s motto – “Putting Family, Race and Nation First while Fighting to Secure American Jobs, Manufacturing & Innovation” – and describes itself as “America’s Premier White Civil Rights Organization – Fighting for White Civil Rights.” Schoep planned to be in Leith September 22-23 on a “fact-finding tour” to protect Cobb’s legal standing in the community and to hold a press conference, the Tribune said.

Around a dozen armed state troopers dressed in SWAT team gear were on hand. UnityND reported that none of the armed troopers had badge numbers displayed. The protesters gathered around Cobb’s residency where a Nazi flag flew and about a dozen neo-Nazis gathered. The neo-Nazis had strung a banner across his yard that said, “Anti-racist is code for anti-white.”

Various protest speakers took the mike and denounced the neo-Nazis peacefully, but emphatically. “We want the Nazis to know this is not a one day protest. We’ll be watching everything you do.” The protestors chanted, “No Nazis, no KKK!” A World War II Veteran said, “Let these creepy Nazi-Ku Klux people get out.” “Hey, hey! Ho ho! These Nazis have got to go!” the protesters chanted. “Our grandmothers will stand up to you! Our women will take you on!” one speaker said. “This is not your land. This is my land and you can go back home.” “On behalf of everybody here I’d like to say, go home.” “Go home, go home!” the crowd chanted. “Go back to Germany!” one protester said, but another replied that Germany would not have them. “They have laws against Nazis in Germany.” Some of the speakers eloquently rejected the hatred that Nazism represents. “I’m here to tell you we’ve evolved. We do not hate white people. You come here and think you can exploit the ignorance of our own people, you think that we’re going to react out of fear or a place in our hearts that wants to do you harm, but we won’t do that…We are evolved human beings and we think you know you people are a dying cause.”

At around 4 p.m. many of the protesters moved into Leith town hall for the neo-Nazi press conference while bagpipe music played incongruously in the background. When Cobb entered the hall the protesters booed loudly. Many of the protesters left the town hall when one of the neo-Nazis on stage began a speech. Those who remained listened politely. By posting time – three-quarters of an hour later – neo-Nazi was still speaking.

Revenue forecast for state increases by $368 million

Recovering economy, tax code changes boosting numbers

By BRAD SHANNON, The Olympian

Washington’s top economic forecaster, Steve Lerch, says the slow-recovering economy and tax changes approved by the Legislature are expected to generate $368 million more revenue for state operations than he last predicted the state would collect by mid-2015.

The better financial outlook includes $123 million that is largely the result of tax code changes approved by lawmakers.

The overall gain to the state’s accounts means that most state workers are more likely to qualify for a 1 percent cost-of-living pay adjustment in July 2014. Most contracts for general government workers had a conditional 1 percent raise built in that would be triggered by how much next February’s forecast attributes higher general-fund revenues to increased economic activity.

“If we get any kind of positive in November (when the next forecast is scheduled), it’s likely that salary increase will be part of our budget. It’s a mathematical calculation,” state budget director David Schumacher said after Lerch announced the revenue forecast Wednesday during a meeting of the Economic and Revenue Forecast Council. “We’re very close.”

Said Tim Welch, spokesman for the Washington Federation of State Employees, which represents roughly 40,000 state and college employees: “It’s headed in the right direction, but we’ll have to wait and see until February 2014.”

Lawmakers who serve on the Economic and Revenue Forecast Council said the new revenue is good news but not enough to alter the way they must approach their 2013-15 supplemental budget plan during the next legislative session starting in January. The Legislature is under court order to improve funding for K-12 schools, and lawmakers still do not know if this year’s increased investment of almost $1 billion is enough to satisfy the state Supreme Court.

“My take is it’s a relatively small move, and it helps us have an ending fund balance that’s larger than 47 cents,” said House Appropriations chairman Ross Hunter, D-Medina. “I don’t think this creates a big opportunity to spend, or changes anything we were doing.”

Said Senate Ways and Means chairman Andy Hill, R-Redmond: “I think you just bank that money.”

In fact, the new money gives the state about $862.7 million in total general-fund reserves for the current budget.

Hunter did warn there is a litigation risk — involving two lawsuits going before the state Supreme Court next month — on state employee pensions. In a worst case, these could cost $1.3 billion, according to the state actuary.

In his forecast, Lerch said the economy is continuing to slowly improve since the Great Recession began more than five years ago. But he told the forecast council that the way forward has many risks.

He noted that job growth had been slower nationally in August and said forecasters in his office are “more than a little concerned about what is going on in the other Washington” — particularly with congressional votes yet to occur on a federal budget or to increase the federal government’s debt ceiling.

“Should either one of those things not happen, we know that will have a big impact on consumer confidence and on the economy,” Lerch said. “So that’s certainly a risk we’re watching. We’ve become a bit more concerned about housing affordability, and Europe is … still very weak.”

Lerch’s forecast included a prediction that revenues in the 2015-17 budget period also would be up by a total of $342 million. But he said $249 million of that was due to legislative action and the smaller share because of economic improvement.

Before adjourning their second special session June 29, lawmakers authorized about a dozen changes in tax law, including changes to a telephone tax and to the estate tax laws after state Supreme Court rulings opened unintended loopholes in those tax codes.

Read more here: http://www.theolympian.com/2013/09/19/2730646/revenue-forecast-for-state-increases.html#storylink=cpy

Northwest tribes gather at 60th annual convention

ATNI members discuss healthcare during Tuesday's convention. — ATNI members discuss healthcare during Tuesday’s convention.

By Camille Troxel, Coeur d’Alene Post Falls

Members representing 40 tribes from across the Northwest region are meeting this week at the Coeur d’ Alene Casino for the 60th Annual Affiliated Tribes of the Northwest Indians Fall Convention. The convention allows the tribes to share tradition while finding a common ground for the future.

It’s a convention that’s still steeped in tradition 60 years after the ATNI was established. In 1953, leaders from the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, Spokane Tribe, Colville Tribe, Yakama Nation and Tulalip Tribe, held the first meeting of the ATNI to discuss the issues of income taxes and how to protect their tribal governments from being disbanded by the U.S. government through the Termination Act.

While the issues being discussed have changed since that initial meeting, the reasons behind joining together are still the same.

“Strength in numbers. That’s completely it,” explained Jamie Sijohn, ATNI Communications Manager. “They can pull together and find a solution for issues that effect them all.”

The founding leaders joined together to protect their rights and to preserve their culture, and in 2013 that’s still the driving force behind ATNI, but the topics of discussion have changed. Tribal members from the 40 tribes are discussing a range of issues during break away sessions. This year’s topics include healthcare, natural resources and megaloads, and inter-tribal trade.

One of the larger issues is the Native Vote, a grassroots movement that is working to get tribal members to register to vote, and to get polling locations on the reservations. Some states do not recognize tribal identification cards as official forms of ID, which blocks natives from registering to vote. Another goal of Native Vote is to provide members with information on candidates that align with the values and concerns of local tribes.

“We’re coming from very humble beginnings,” said ATNI Executive Director Teri Parr. “They continue to work hard to meet the challenges that we face.”

It’s these challenges that Joanna Meninick told the room to face when she addressed the crowd in her native language on Tuesday afternoon. Meninick, who is one of the longest attending members of ATNI, switched to English expressing heartbreak that she has to do so in order to be understood.

“Fight with your native language,” Meninick said, adding that the tribes won’t be heard if they speak the language of Washington, DC. She had one more call to action for her community following the three days of discussion and talk.

“Now do something,” said Meninick.

Who was the first Native Miss America?

Nina Davuluri was crowned the first Indian American Miss America this week.

But who was the first Native American Miss America?

Norma Smallwood, the first Native Miss America, wearing the title sash.(Photo courtesy of ICTMN, via the-american-history.blogspot.com) — Norma Smallwood, the first Native Miss America, wearing the title sash.
(Photo courtesy of ICTMN, via the-american-history.blogspot.com)

ICTMN has the story of Norma Smallwood’s reign.

By Jenna Cederberg, Buffalo Post

Norma Smallwood was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1906. She graduated from high school and earned the title of Miss Tulsa when she was 16 years old.

Smallwood was an art major at Oklahoma State College and was in her sophomore year of college when she captured the Miss America title in 1926.

During her year-long reign, Smallwood became a popular poster girl, and reportedly earned more than copy00,000, which, according to pbs.org, was more than Babe Ruth made that year.

Smallwood died in Tulsa in May of 1966. She was 57.

Both Smallwood and Davuluri came from relatively small towns, and were both firsts: Davuluri is the first Indian American to hold the title; and in 1926, Smallwood was the first Native woman (she was of Cherokee descent) to wear the crown.

And while Smallwood lived in a time when women marched in the streets for equality (American women had only been given the right to vote in 1920) Davuluri is being forced to fight to be accepted as an American woman. ICTMN wrote about the racial slurs that marred her win. Those racist comments referenced convenience stores and linked her to terrorism.

She shrugged off the racist backlash. “I have always viewed myself first and foremost American,” she said after being told about the comments in her first post-pageant press conference. “I have to rise above that.”

Marla Spivak: Why bees are disappearing

FILMED JUN 2013 • POSTED SEP 2013 • TEDGlobal 2013

Bees pollinate a third of our food supply — they don’t just make honey! — but colonies have been disappearing at alarming rates in many parts of the world due to the accumulated effects of parasitic mites, viral and bacterial diseases, and exposure to pesticides and herbicides. Marla Spivak, University of Minnesota professor of entomology and 2010 MacArthur Fellow, tries as much as possible to think like bees in her work to protect them. They’re “highly social and complex” creatures, she says, which fuels her interest and her research.

Spivak has developed a strain of bees, the Minnesota Hygienic line, that can detect when pupae are infected and kick them out of the nest, saving the rest of the hive. Now, Spivak is studying how bees collect propolis, or tree resins, in their hives to keep out dirt and microbes. She is also analyzing how flowers’ decline due to herbicides, pesticides and crop monoculture affect bees’ numbers and diversity. Spivak has been stung by thousands of bees in the course of her work.

View PDF’s that have lists of local native plants that are friendly for honey bees

Feedthebees.org

Pugetsoundbees.org

From Xerces.org PDFClick image to view PDF — From Xerces.org
Click image to view PDF

What is an Indian?

By STERLING HOLYWHITEMOUNTAIN

MTPR.ORG

September 18,2013

In the background of all issues involving American Indians is always the question of what is an Indian? While there are any number of groups in this country today who have complicated issues surrounding identity, there is no identity issue more complicated than that of American Indian identity. As an aside, you will notice I did not say no identity issue is more important. It’s difficult to call any American Indian issue in this country important in a standard social sense the way, say, African-American issues are important – there simply aren’t enough Indians in the country to warrant national media attention. When it comes to politics, numbers are, in a way, everything.

A case in point is that of the most recent controversy surrounding the Washington Football Team’s name – notice that in all this talk, and there’s a lot of talk, all you have to do is Google the team’s name – notice the only Indian that has made any kind of national public appearance anyone has paid attention to is the man team owner Dan Snyder trotted out to defend the name. And notice what is going on when so-called Chief Dodson is telling the nation that not only is the name ok with him, but that people in his community use the term regularly when greeting each other. Here we have an example of the inside being mistaken for the outside, and that age-old fallacy of one Indian’s opinion being mistaken for every that of every Indian.

The US has a long history of mistaking one Indian for every Indian – all it takes is one look at the history of Federal-Indian policy to see this. For example, during the allotment era in the late 1800s the idea was to civilize tribal members on reservations by turning them into farmers – even if the reservation where they were located was entirely unsuitable for farming. This policy of course was enacted by Congressional members who had little to no experience with Indian Country, but who nonetheless had near absolute power over tribes – a power that was finally solidified with the 1903 Lone Wolf v. Hitchcock US Supreme Court ruling. What did the ruling say? That Congress had plenary power over tribes. What does plenary power mean? The Oxford English Dictionary defines plenary as such: full, complete, or perfect; not deficient in any element or respect; absolute. The Lonewolf case, even though it was a case regarding the allotment of a single tribe’s lands on the southern plains, gave Congress total and final power over all tribal affairs, placing tribes under a kind of political Sword of Damocles, and along with it the unending threat of Congressional action without tribal consent.

Consider the ideas of blood, and blood quantum, the ideas we use today in large part to define who is and is not an American Indian, don’t have tribal origins – they originate in Europe, hundreds of years before contact in North America. As early as the 1200s the British were using ideas of blood to limit the political and social rights of people who were deemed less than so-called “full-blood” – and they carried that idea to the new continent, where they began implementing ideas of blood to penalize people who married either an Indian or an African-American, and to limit a person’s ability to testify in court or vote according to whether or not they were considered to be of so-called mixed-blood. Tribes on this continent traditionally identified membership most simply by who was or was not living with and participating in the community. That is, if you lived with the people, you were part of the people. These ideas of blood eventually extended to limiting the land ownership rights of Indians on reservations during the allotment era, to such a degree that in some cases over 2/3 of a tribe was not allotted land on their respective reservations because they didn’t meet so-called blood quantum criteria – a US established criteria, of course, that made it much easier to justify selling land that was “left-over” to non-Indians, thus splitting up land ownership on reservations between tribal members and non-Indians.

So how is it I got to talking about blood? Because one of Snyder’s contentions for the validity of so-called Chief Dodson’s opinion was that he is a “full-blooded” Inuit chief. The suggestion of course is that blood alone makes you an Indian – never mind particular cultural knowledge, and definitely never mind speaking an indigenous language – the only thing that matters here is blood. This idea of Indian blood is so prevalent that any number of intelligent contemporary Americans have taken this idea of Indian blood at face value, as if there is some intrinsic value in the blood itself. But when we turn this idea around, things fall apart pretty fast, don’t they? Because while there are plenty of people in Montana with so-called Irish blood, how much knowledge of Irish culture has this blood brought with it? If this blood thing isn’t making much sense to you at this point, don’t worry, you’re not alone, it’s never made any sense to me either.

Finally, to return to a point I made earlier about so-called Chief Dodson’s statement regarding Indians use of the team’s name as a kind of friendly greeting – I have never once seen it happen in my life. While the term “skin” is not uncommon among Indian who are friends, the point is that it’s a term used by insiders among each other. In other words, I would love for Dan Snyder to walk into any social gathering place on any reservation or reserve in North America and say, What’s up, Redskins? I’m absolutely positive things would turn out just fine.

I’m Sterling HolyWhiteMountain, thanks for listening

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