Tulalip News

Revenge on the Rez: Roseanne Supernault of ‘Rhymes for Young Ghouls’

Photo by Thosh Collins; source: Facebook

Source: Indian Country Today Media Network

Roseanne Supernault is an award-winning Metis Cree actress whose recent work includes the acclaimed series Blackstone — and with Rhymes for Young Girls, she’s again featured in a gritty drama set on a First Nations reserve. Yet Rhymes for Young Ghouls, a revenge-fantasy story that tackles the legacy of residential schools and takes place on the fictional Red Crow Mi’kmaq Reserve in 1976, is quite different. On the website of the Toronto International Film Festival, where Rhymes for Young Ghouls had its premiere on September 9, the film is described as “an S.E. Hinton novel … re-imagined as a righteously furious, surreal thriller.” Supernault shared her thoughts on the film with ICTMN.

Can you describe your character in Rhymes for Young Ghouls?

I play Anna in the film — the mother of the main character Aila. I’m an artist, I am very in love with Aila’s father Joseph, and I am very sad at the state of our life on the rez. Through most the film I am present in a haunting capacity.

Did you grow up knowing anyone like Anna growing up?

I was inspired by many women, but specifically my sister, who raised me for most my life. She’s one of the strongest women I know. Anna has rules for Aila, on surviving the rez, and I’m pretty sure my sister could write that very same book.

What elements of this film will resonate with a Native audience?

The climax of this film is quite extraordinary. After reading the script I was reminded of a quote by actress Melanie Laurent about Inglourious Basterds. She said how important it was for her as a Jewish woman to be a part of that movie for the sake of her family, because of the fantastical revenge that the main characters get. Relatives of mine whom I love very much went to residential school and I can’t help but feel a sense of redemption and empowerment by being a part of this story. I imagine it will resonate with most Native people who watch it. They’re also going to see more humorous characters and a very powerful heroine, Aila, played by Kawennahere Devery Jacobs, who is a remarkable up-and-coming actress.

Do you think it will appeal to the larger filmgoing public?

[Filmmaker] Jeff Barnaby’s story and vision will appeal to a mainstream audience as well, simply for the fact that it’s just good film. If you take away the contextualization of reservation life, Jeff has really done a terrific job of basing this story on universal elements that you can relate to as a human being. It’s raw, it’s gritty, and it’s beautiful.

There are certain common elements between Rhymes for Young Ghouls and the TV series Blackstone. Both deal with a dark side of rez life; with corruption and crime. How deep do the similarities run, and where do they end?

They’re both strong stories set on a reservation and have elements of corruption, but otherwise, the similarities end there. Jeff looks at reserve life with a different set of eyes. When have we ever really seen what it was like to have Indian Agents breathing down our necks — day in and day out — on the rez? And especially to execute it with this unique ghoulish motif! Every once in a while when reading the script, I would think: “Did he just say that?! Did he just do that?! This is amazing! I have to be a part of this.” And I’m so glad I am! I think the world’s about to find out that Natives are some of the most powerful storytellers on earth. It’s in our blood.

How do you respond to criticism that entertainment like Blackstone and Rhymes for Young Ghouls can be bad for the image of Natives?

What’s important here is that we be patient with our storytellers. Contrasting and challenging Hollywood’s hundred-year depiction of Natives is going to take some time. I carry the same message straight across for all audiences: we can’t base the perceived vision of Native People on ONE Film or TV show about Native People, and then make judgements. Please be patient with us. I’ve never met such a hard-working generation of people! We’re really on our way.

Director Jeff Barnaby is one of the most interesting young filmmakers (Native or otherwise) in Canada today. Were you previously familiar with his work?

He’s definitely going to be doing big things and I would love nothing more than to work with him again. I watched “File Under Miscellaneous” before meeting him, and was instantly a fan. He also showed Devery and me “The Colony” during pre-production. I think we both knew then that we were in safe hands.

What it was like working with him on Rhymes for Young Girls?

Jeff is a visionary. And what’s great is that his Nativeness is still very much intact. He doesn’t have that phoney telephone voice many of us have adapted as a sort of as a survival mechanism. He’s Native through and through. He’s real, he’s talented, and he’s got a crazy awesome sense of humor!

Rhymes for Young Ghouls – clip #1 from Prospector Films on Vimeo.

Sammy Hagar donates to Tulalip food bank

Sammy Hagar with Tulalip tribal member, Marilyn Sheldon (left) and friends. — Sammy Hagar with Tulalip tribal member Marilyn Sheldon (left) and friends.

Kim Kalliber, Tulalip News

Sammy Hagar performed before a packed house at the Tulalip Resort Casino Amphitheatre on August 15^th, for his 40 Years of Rock tour. Along with the high-energy rock n’ roll Sammy is famous for, what make the Red Rocker’s performances even more memorable are the donations he makes to local food banks in each community he visits. As part of this ongoing support of local food banks, Sammy chose to donate $2,500 towards the Tulalip Food Bank.

“Food banks in your local community are the biggest bang for your buck in my search for the simplest and most reliable way to help others,” Hagar said in a recent Billboard article. “You see the clientele lined up and they need it. You don’t see people taking advantage of something.”
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.”

If you are interested in donating to the food bank, you can reach the Tulalip Food Bank at 425.512.6435 or 1330 Marine Ave NE, Tulalip, WA 98271.

Native American chef shares cultural cuisine with Bay Area

Chef Crystal Wahpepah dishes up traditional Native American cuisine, a rarity in the East Bay food scene.

By Terray Sylvester, Oakland North

On a sunny afternoon, Oakland chef Crystal Wahpepah is measuring her success in many portions: a scoop of walnut pudding, a hunk of salmon with roasted zucchini, a ladleful of summer squash stew in a plastic cup. The occasion is the opening of a new Native American Health Center office in Richmond, and the food is the fruit of Wahpepah’s five-year effort to build a business.

Her catering service, Wahpepah’s Kitchen, specializes in traditional Native American cuisine, particularly recipes from her Pomo and Kickapoo heritage.

“Right now it’s a good time for my menu because it’s harvest time,” she says, handing a piece of pumpkin fry bread to a guest. “I like to know where 90 percent, maybe 100 percent of my food comes from.”

In fact, she’d picked the pumpkins over the weekend at a garden she keeps with friends in Sebastopol.

Wahpepah has been passionate about cooking since she was a child, when she would visit the Kickapoo Nation in Oklahoma and help her grandmother make meals of sweet corn, bison, summer squash and pumpkin. She also recalls the recipes she learned in the home of her uncle, who was active in the American Indian Movement in Oakland and hosted visitors from tribes across the nation.

“Those are the best memories of my life,” she said. “I learned what food the Sioux made, what the Apaches made.”

Native American-owned businesses are a rarity in the Bay Area, making up just 0.9 percent of the firms in the region. In Oakland, where Native Americans are less than one percent of the population, the number of businesses they own is low enough not to register in Census Bureau tallies.

The lack of Native American eateries is particularly striking given the diversity of the Bay Area food scene, which places a premium on local and ethnic foods. So far, Wahpepa says, she knows of no one else who’s making dishes like her savory potatoes wrapped in seaweed from the Pacific Coast, or her lemongrass tea from the Great Plains.

According to Tracy Stanhoff, president of the California American Indian Chamber of Commerce, the dearth of Native-owned business is due in part to a catch-22: when few Native Americans run businesses, would-be Native entrepreneurs struggle to find people who can offer them advice or financial help.

“There is a lack of mentors and a lot of first-generation business owners who are scraping to get by,” she said.

But Stanhoff doesn’t think urban Indian entrepreneurs face significantly different obstacles than other ethnic minorities. On tribal lands, tangled property laws and an absence of financial institutions mean that credit and collateral are often in chronically short supply. But in cities, Stanhoff says, the situation is not the same.

“There are barriers, but in urban areas it’s not too much different than for a regular small business,” she said. “We’re generally an underserved population and lack access to capital, but it can be done.”

Wahpepah grew up in East Oakland and studied marketing at American Indian College in Phoenix, Ariz., and, briefly, cooking at the California Culinary Academy. But with little in the way of capital, she struggled to get her business off the ground until she was accepted into La Cocina,an incubator program in San Francisco designed for low-income entrepreneurs.

At La Cocina, she learned about loans available through Kiva Zip, an offshoot of the successful micro-loan website Kiva.org. With an endorsement from Oakland’s Native American Health Center, she secured a $5,000 interest-free loan to help her pay for business permits, cooking space, equipment and other start-up costs.

“It helped tremendously,” she said of the Kiva Zip loan, which she received in December 2012. “I love Kiva because you can express yourself. Instead of looking at your credit, they look at your passion.”

She currently supplements her catering by teaching classes on Native American foods.

“The dream is to make Native Americans and non-Native Americans aware of how beautiful our food is, and how healthy too,” she says. “We should be proud.”

10 Back-to-School Items to Show Your Native Pride

Vincent Schilling, ICTMN

For students wanting to show some Native pride in school, here is a list of 10 pretty cool items to show some Native flavor.

A Beaded Pen

If you want to look slick taking your next test, jotting down notes or while biting the end and looking thoughtfully into space, you definitely want to get a beaded pen. Looking around online there are a few places, like Sun Country Traders, selling these modern marvels, as for me—I got mine at a powwow.

A pow wow is a great place to pick up Native goodies. (Vincent Schilling)

A Backpack

Imagine reaching for your books in class and bringing your Native-style backpack up on to your desk with a nice loud thunk. What better way to say, “yep, I’m Native and proud.”

There are some gorgeous—but sold out for the moment—back packs designed by Kevin Dakota Duncan at Painted Warrior Designs.

Painted Warrior Designs is an accessory and clothing company with designs by Kevin Dakota Duncan. (Painted Warrior Designs)

Some Awesome Native Earrings

Any Google search can turn up a 10-mile long result page on Native American earrings, but the folks at Tlicho and the Beyond Buckskin Boutique have some earlobe-adorning winners made by Native artisans in a range of prices. So poke another hole in those ears and get to class Native style!

These “Firework” earrings are blue dyed and natural porcupine quill. The online store is owned by the Tlicho Government for the Tlicho people. (Tlicho Online Store)

A Native T-shirt

What better way to “teach” the masses about history and its alignment to your Native views than with a confrontational T-shirt? Just check out these designs from Noble Savage and their “Original Landlords” design and the OXDX folks and their “Don’t Trend On Me” and “Native Americans Discovered Columbus” designs.

OXDX is a Native-owned clothing line based in Chandler, Arizona. (OXDX)

Baseball Cap or Beanie

Native Threads have it on point with their selection of Native baseball caps and beanies. In all seriousness, I want one of each. These things are all that and a bag of chips out of the school vending machine—and you just happened to have exactly 65 cents.

The baseball caps and beanies sold by Native Threads, a Native-owned and operated clothing company, are the result of a grassroots entrepreneurial effort. (Native Threads)

Next Stop—Hoodie Time!

Having to choose between Beyond Buckskin’s Red Sea Hoodie designed by Tahltan artist Alano Edzerza and the black zip-up hoodie on the Native Threads website, I just might have to break down and get both before autumn starts working its way into the weather forecasts. No matter what, you are sure to look like a hip Native student.

This Red Sea Hoodie was designed by Tahltan artist Alano Edzerza for the Beyond Buckskin Boutique, a place for American Indian designers to showcase their work. (Beyond Buckskin Boutique)

Mineral-Based Cosmetics

Those students wishing to accent their looks can venture over to Kamamak, an aboriginal-owned cosmetics company. According to the site, these cosmetics are infused with the Native culture of North America, and are a modern, fun, sophisticated take on cosmetic art.

Kamamak Cosmetics is an aboriginal-owned cosmetics line. Their products are mineral-based and paraben-free. (Kamamak Cosmetics)

A Good Book

Some teachers may not have extensive knowledge of Native American culture and history, with a good book on hand, you can teach the teacher if you do a report on a good Native book. Two good places to find great Native titles are Birchbark Books and Native Voices Books. Of course the library is always free for older titles.

These titles are all published by Native Voices Books to preserve the history, culture and stories of Native people. (Native Voices Books)

A Craft Project

As an artist raised by grandparents in the Nooksack tribal community in a shack with no running water, Louie Gong, (Nooksack, Squamish, Chinese, French and Scottish) has overcome considerable odds to become one of the nation’s most successful shoe artists. He’s created what he calls the “mock-up,” a cool shoe-mold craft project for budding artists.

So if you want to try your hand at crafting a Native style, you should get yourself a mock-up to stand out from the crowd with your next craft assignment. Mock-ups are a do-it-yourself toy and are made of vinyl. According to Gong, “The advantage to the vinyl surface of mockups is that you can apply almost any medium to it—pencil, colored pencil, crayons, spray paint or you can add sculpting material. They are very versatile. You can erase just about anything too.”

So go get crafty!

These mock-ups were designed by Louie Gong, who created the shoe/craft project. (GetMockups.com)

Barrettes and Bolo Ties

Etsy website Native bead crafter DeanCouchie has a vast selection of bolo ties and NorthwestBeadwork has an impressive collection of customized coin purses, arm cuffs and even a Batman beaded barrette, there is no excuse to go to school sans beaded-something.

This Batman barrette was beaded by Stephanie Pinkham, Nez Perce, who runs an Etsy shop called NorthwestBeadwork. (NorthwestBeadwork)

See you in the halls decked out in beaded gear and Native style accouterment.

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Health, Innovation and the Promise of VAWA 2013 in Indian Country

Valerie Jarrett and Tony West, Indian Country Today Media Network

Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett speaks to Tulalip Court leaders about the implementation of VAWA 2013 in Indian country. September 5, 2013. (by Charlie Galbraith, Associate Director of Intergovernmental Affairs)

[The morning of September 5], we made our way north from Seattle, past gorgeous waterways, and lush greenery to visit with the Tulalip tribes of western Washington, where we were greeted by Tribal Chairman Mel Sheldon, Vice Chairwoman Deb Parker, and Chief Judge Theresa Pouley. We saw first-hand, a tribal court system which serves to both honor the traditions of its people and to foster a renewed era of tribal self-determination.

The Tulalip Tribes of Washington, like many American Indian tribes, have built a tribal court system that serves the civil needs of their community, holds criminals accountable, and protects the rights of victims and the accused in criminal cases. By engaging the entire spectrum of stakeholders, including judges, the police, public defenders, tribal attorneys, as well as tribal elders, and even offenders in many cases – the system they have put in place is producing impressive results with a unique focus on innovative, restorative, and communal solutions.

Because of the successful 2013 Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, which President Obama signed into law on March 7, 2013, tribal courts and law enforcement will soon be able to exercise the sovereign power to investigate, prosecute, convict, and sentence those who commit acts of domestic violence or dating violence or violate certain protection orders in Indian country, regardless of the defendant’s Indian or non-Indian status. The tribal provisions of this landmark legislation were originally proposed by the Department of Justice in 2011 to address alarming rates of violence against Native women. We believe today, as we did then, that this is not only constitutionally sound law, but it is also a moral prerogative and an essential tool to ensure that non-Indian men who assault Indian women are held accountable for their crimes.

The 2013 VAWA reauthorization might never have happened without the relentless efforts of Native women advocates like Tulalip Tribal Vice Chairwoman Deborah Parker, whose personal courage and dedication to this cause helped carry the day. The Tulalip Tribe was but one example that helped demonstrate to Congress and many others that there are tribal courts prepared to exercise this important authority that was swept away by the Supreme Court’s 1978 Oliphant ruling.

This new law generally takes effect on March 7, 2015, but also authorizes a voluntary pilot project to allow certain tribes to begin exercising this authority sooner.

After a visit to the Tribal Courthouse, we then visited the Tulalip Legacy of Healing Safe House, a domestic violence shelter housed in facilities renovated with federal Recovery Act funds, to provide victims a safe place, and the chance they need to start fresh and rebuild.

And finally, it wouldn’t have been an authentic trip to Tulalip lands and the Pacific Northwest without a traditional salmon luncheon. We joined around 50 tribal members at the Hibulb Cultural Center to learn more about the ancient tribal traditions of the Tulalip people, and of course, to enjoy the region’s most time-honored and delicious delicacy.

We were reminded this week of how much progress is being made by tribal justice systems across the country. These efforts are being led by courageous Native people like the Tulalip who are dedicated to making the promise of the VAWA 2013 Reauthorization into a reality for generations of Native American women.

A White House Blog Post. Valerie Jarrett is the Senior Advisor to the President and Tony West is the U.S. Associate Attorney General

Redskins to face protests at Lambeau during Packers home opener

Rick WoodAaron Rodgers tries to cross the goal line in the Packers’ October 2010 road game loss against the Washington Redskins. — Rick Wood
Aaron Rodgers tries to cross the goal line in the Packers’ October 2010 road game loss against the Washington Redskins.

By Meg Jones, Journal Sentinel

When the Green Bay Packers take the field at Lambeau on Sunday for their home opener, they won’t be the only ones taking aim at the Washington Redskins.

Packers fans walking in to Lambeau Field through the Oneida Nation Gate will see Oneida members and others protesting the use of the Redskins logo and mascot, which they say is offensive to Native Americans.

“The warrior image is not the image we want to be portrayed,” said Brandon Stevens, an Oneida Nation elected official. “We’ve moved past the time of Western encroachment and how the West was won, and that’s where all the images are taken from — when we were a valiant enemy.”

Members of the Wisconsin Indian Education Association’s Mascot and Logo Task Force are expected to gather outside Lambeau Field before the noon game holding signs protesting the Washington Redskins’ choice of mascot. The group also has scheduled a seminar on the topic on Friday at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.

The Packers declined to comment on the mascot issue. The protesters contacted the team to ask permission to hold signs outside the stadium, and the Packers will set up an area where they’ll be allowed to protest.

“We respect that reasonable people may have differing views,” National Football League spokesman Brian McCarthy said Tuesday in an email. “The name from its origin was always intended to be positive and has always been used by the team in a highly respectful manner.”

A Washington Redskins spokesman did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

It’s not just the Oneida Nation in Green Bay pressing the Redskins to change their mascot. The Oneida tribe in upstate New York already has publicly called on the NFL team to get rid of the name.

In a radio ad that began airing Monday before the Redskins season opener, a member of the New York Oneida tribe called on NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to “stand up to bigotry” by denouncing “the racial slur” in the team’s name.

Redskins owner Dan Snyder has said he’ll never change his team’s name.

For more than two decades the Oneida tribe in Wisconsin has opposed the use of Indian characters and names in insensitive ways including sports teams, Oneida Nation spokeswoman Bobbi Webster said. When the Redskins last visited Lambeau, in October 2007, Oneida members held signs at the stadium saying they were not mascots, Webster said.

The topic is timely given the standoff between the Mukwonago School District and the state Department of Public Instruction over the school’s use of the Indian logo and mascot. The state’s deadline for Mukwonago to drop its Indian mascot passed last month. The School Board in July voted to take no action to change the nickname and logo, despite the possibility of daily fines for not complying with the state order.

On Sunday the protest group plans to provide information to Packers fans lining up to get inside the stadium, raising awareness of sports mascots and logos that are derogatory to Native Americans. Webster said it’s not an official protest by the Oneida Nation, which is a major sponsor of the Packers and has the naming rights to the entrance on Lambeau Field’s east side.

Stevens, a member of the tribe’s business committee, said Native Americans are no longer simply fierce warriors.

“We’re educators, we’re community members, we have families and go to work like everyone else,” Stevens said. “Having those negative stereotypes takes us back 100 years.”

Film: “Pride & Basketball” investigates the role that basketball plays in the lives of young men on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation

“Pride & Basketball” by Cinnamon Spear, (2013) was created as a Master’s thesis project. The film investigates the role that basketball plays in the lives of young men on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation in southeastern Montana. The film explores the theory that, in the post-colonial era, the basketball court has transformed into a modern day battlefield where historic tribal rivalries are relived, non-Native race relations are played out, and our young men are recognized for their bouts of bravery and leadership.

Check out details and inquire about purchasing copies of the film on the filmmker’s Facebook page.

Bear Witness

It’s time to end the trophy hunt for bears in the Great Bear Rainforest

By John Ahni Schertow, Intercontinental Cry

British Columbia’s Great Bear Rainforest is the one place in the world where grizzly bears, black bears and the iconic white spirit bear all live together.

The nine members of Coastal First Nations—Wuikinuxv, Heiltsuk, Kitasoo/Xai’xais, Nuxalk, Gitga’at, Metlakatla, Old Massett, Skidegate, and the Council of the Haida Nation—banned the trophy hunt for bears in their territories effective September 2012.

This year, British Columbians and allies from around the world are coming together to show their support for this tribal ban and an end to the practice of trophy hunting bears in the Great Bear Rainforest.

Find out more and show your support: http://bearsforever.ca/

Visit YouTube to view the video “Bear Witness: a film by BC’s Coastal First Nations”

Idle No More ‘Shame on Canada’ protest in San Francisco

By Karen Pickett, Bay Area Coalition for Headwaters

On Monday morning, Sept. 9, organizers from Idle No More Bay Area and supporters converged on the Canadian Consulate in San Francisco, Calif. to say “Shame on Canada.” They called for a stop to the disastrous effects on First Nations people and others in the sacrifice zone in Alberta, Canada due to tar sands mining and steam drilling, citing loss of livelihood, toxic contamination, cancers, and damaged and sick children. People called for a rapid wind down of tar sands mining, a halt to Keystone XL pipeline, sequestration of the wastewater, restoration of the devastated region, and reparations. Pull in the tentacles of the oil companies from around humanity’s neck!

During the several hours that people demonstrated, sang, prayed and drummed at the Consulate, a proclamation and list of demands was signed by everyone present and delivered to Consulate officials by Penny Opal Plant, one of the organizers of the demonstration.

Other co-sponsors of the on-going protests against Tar Sands development and the Keystone pipeline include Rising Tide, Do the Math and 350.org.