Native American Headdress

                                                                                                         (unknown)

The wearing of the Indian headdress is said by some to have begun with the Sioux and to have spread though out the many different tribes by the invasion of the Europeans.  Each of the tribe’s headdress represents the culture of the tribe and the individual wearing it.  (Indian Headdress)  According to Anton Treuer in his book Everything You Wanted to Know about Indians:  “It used to be that each eagle feather worn by an Indian represented a deed done in battle-a kill, wound, or scalp-so wearing a feather bonnet, bustle, or dog soldier hat marked one as a fearsome warrior.”  (Treuer)  Because each feather collected for the headdress meant something different to each tribe and to each individual and were only given to those who displayed heroic acts in battle made each headdress unique and special.  

Currently these headdresses are popping up in places such as runways, music videos and festivals, and the covers of magazines, as trendy hipsters have made this a fashion accessory.   This inappropriate use of the headdress is considered to be a “playing Indian” for profit by some companies such as Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show where Karlie Kloss wore a headdress, leopard-spotted bikini, and turquoise jewelry.  (Grinberg)  And No Doubt’s Looking Hot music video that included teepees, fire dances and the singer on horseback with a feather in her hair has led to a public apology and No Doubt pulled the music video.  (Grinberg)  

“The Native American headdress is a common sight at festivals. It has also been appropriated by fashion brands and stars such as Pharrell Williams. But many are now fighting back against what they see as a crude act of racial stereotyping.”  (Lynskey)  Recently many music festivals including the Canadian music festival, Bass Coast, are beginning to take a stand and are banning the inappropriate and insensitive use of the headdress.  They released this statement:  “We understand why people are attracted to war bonnets. They have a magnificent aesthetic. But their spiritual, cultural and aesthetic significance cannot be separated.”  (Clements)

Works Cited

Clements, Erin. "'Trendy' Native American headdresses are banned from Canadian music festival in a bid to 'respect the dignity of Aboriginal people' ." 28 July 2014. Daily Mail. Document. 30 July 2014.

Grinberg, Emanuella. "Native American designers fight cultural caricatures." 4 June 2014. CNN Living. Document. 30 July 2014.

"Indian Headdress." 1995-2014. Indians.org. Document. 30 July 2014.

Lynskey, Dorian. "This means war: why the fashion headdress must be stopped." 30 July 2014. The Guardian. Document. 30 July 2014.

Treuer, Anton. Everything You Wanted to Know about Indians But Were Afraid to Ask. St. Paul: Borealis Books, 2012. Textbook.

unkown. Indian Chief with headdress. The Twenty Eleven Theme. Teaching about Native American Art: Issues for Art Educators. n.d. http://hannahstahulak.wordpress.com/arte-344/critical-perspectives-diversity-issues/social-reconstruction/laurie-eldridge/.

New York Federal-State-Tribal Courts and Indian Nations Justice Forum

I reviewed the New York Federal-State-Tribal Courts and Indian Nations Justice Forum website which was created by the Tribal Courts of New York Committee.  The Committee’s purpose was to create a forum for the state’s recognized tribes and nations to discuss issues relating to tribal concerns and needs.  These concerns included the implementation of the “Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), especially in ensuring an appropriate tribal role in state family court decisions regarding the placement of Indian children through foster care or adoption; tribal efforts to implement judicial systems and law enforcement through their own governments; and the need to educate and train state court judges on Indian government and culture” (Tribalcourts.gov).  In order to establish an ongoing method of communication and assessment, the Committee proposed the idea of establishing the forum as a permanent source of addressing important issues and of giving a stronger voice to Natives as a way of having their needs met.

In November of 2003, tribal representatives decided that such a forum would be beneficial and they agreed to help the Committee institute the federal-state-tribal courts forum.  The initial work centered on “the placement of Indian children by the state family courts under ICWA; the resolution of jurisdictional conflicts arising from disparate rulings among federal, state and tribal justice systems; and the  need to educate state and federal judges on tribal law and culture.”  With the success of these initial meetings, Committee members have continued to meet, every six months, with representatives from each of the nine tribes and nations within New York.  The group referred to as the New York Federal-State-Tribal Courts Forum Planning Group works in collaboration to address issues that affect the relationship between the Native American groups and the State with a goal of mutual satisfaction through collaboration (Tribalcourts.gov).  

I believe this resource was selected as part of this course because it speaks of legal and governmental interventions into Native American culture that we have read about and discussed.  The forum serves as a positive intervention because it aims to address the needs of the Native Americans and to work towards a positive compromise with the best interest of all parties included.  With the information coming from a 2006 edition of the New York State Bar Journal, as shown in the works cited section of the website, by authors who also serve as judges, this can be seen as a quality scholarly work that is worthy of citation (Tribalcourts.gov).

“Excerpted with permission from an article by Judge Marcy L. Kahn, Judge Edward M. Davidowitz and Joy Beane, “Building Bridges Between Parallel Paths: The First New York Listening Conference for Court Officials and Tribal Representatives,” 78 New York State Bar Journal 10, 12-13 (Nov./Dec. 2006)” (Tribalcourts.gov).

After reading this website it reinforces my idea that Native Americans have historically continued to work towards peace and co-existence with people who they were not always trustful of, such as  government representatives.  The idea of compromise is based on the spiritual need for peace, which is evident in this statement by Oren Lyons, who is a Faithkeeper of the Turtle Clan of the Onondaga Nation:  “The Peacemaker was a spiritual being. He was a messenger, we would say, the best we could say. He brought a message, the Great Peace. And it was a long process of how he changed the minds of all of these men who at that time were leaders by strength and by force. Then he stepped in there and changed that whole process to deliberation and thought. And he convinced these warriors at that time (who were the leaders) to join with him. And he changed their minds” (Lyons).  There is a strong spiritual presence in Native American culture and I believe that this is what has sustained them throughout their struggles to maintain their existence.

Lyons, O. (n.d.). Oren Lyons Interview - Faithkeeper of the Turtle Clan, Onondaga Council of Chiefs of the Hau de no sau nee, 3 July 1991. Oren Lyons Interview - Faithkeeper of the Turtle Clan, Onondaga Council of Chiefs of the Hau de no sau nee, 3 July 1991. Retrieved July 28, 2014, from http://www.ratical.org/many_worlds/6Nations/OL070391.html

Tribalcourts.gov. (n.d.). Tribal Courts of New York. Tribal Courts of New York. Retrieved July 22, 2014, from http://www.nyfedstatetribalcourtsforum.org/history.shtml

Native Literature and the American Southwest

A Conversation with Vine Deloria, Jr.

Native Literature and the American Southwest

I watched a video called, A Conversation with Vine Deloria, Jr., on Native Literature and the American Southwest. The interview was conducted by Geri Keams, Steve Crum, and Steve Nelson. Vine Victor Deloria, Jr. was an American Indian author, theologian, historian, and activist. Most people believe that American Indian literature was a discovery of the late 1960s. Deloria suggests that our interest in Native Americans runs in twenty-year, generational cycles. What are they, and why, what was the public climate? Through his comments we can begin to understand Native American literary history.

First, Geri Keams asked “Who do you write for? Do you feel you write for Indian people or do you feel you write for non-Indian people?” Vine Deloria, Jr., explained that book contracts are given when the publisher thinks it is a commercial book, which means that it will sell in New York City. New York City sells a quarter of the books sold in this country annually. If you write from a Western perspective you will think that readers know certain things. But, when that manuscript gets to New York the editors change it. When he wrote articles for the New York Times from an Indian perspective, a majority of it was taken out. The publisher alters it to appeal to a nebulous audience. But, you are not able to change that. So, you choose between picking your audience and saying what you want or getting published.

Next, Geri Keams asked, “So how do you feel personally about the impact of your writing?” Vine Deloria, Jr., spoke on how most writing on Indians is done by non-Indians from the East. Over the century, there is an interest in Indians about every 20 years, where a few Indian writers come about. They will publish a few books or articles, and then a non-Indian expert starts writing. Then you get about 18 years of white fantasies about Indians and two years of actual Indian writings. When Indians ask for recognition of values it is upsetting to white culture, they do not like hearing the Indian viewpoint. He wished that he attacked the fundamental beliefs of the white world view and brought Indians in a different way.

Then, Steve Nelson asked, “Do you think that this problem with the editor as far as him cutting out the guts of your article, do you think that that discourages other Indian writers?” Vine Deloria, Jr., replied that Indian writers are discouraged by the way publishers only let a few people from each minority group be recognized at a time. Minority groups are outside white culture, and at certain points the whites think they should feel guilty over something. Then they choose a minority group, and hear them out. So, minority groups who waited twenty years to say what was done to them and how they want to be compensated for it, speak out. Then all they get in response from the white society is an apology.

Lastly, Steve Crum asked, “Could you suggest certain academic areas that the children who are growing up now might be able to go into during this interim period?” Vine Deloria, Jr., responded by saying that history is the most important. He said you need new interpretations of oral history. In school world history that starts in Egypt and then in 1492, come the Indians. So, whites do not understand this group. So we need heretical thinkers to break up the evolutionary explanation of human knowledge. In Supreme Court cases you see taking of Indian lands on the basis that Indians are hunters and should give their land to white farmers. It is the order of nature, thus, you do not need to argue legal rights. If people are trained in evolutionary thinking they will look at Indians as a prior state of existence and see their own culture as superior. So we must use the ecological movement and new theories of history to stop that mindset. It will require creative thinking.

http://parentseyes.arizona.edu/wordsandplace/deloria_comments.html

U.S. Department of the Interior Indian Affairs

Rachel Mangels

Module 3 – Blog Post



The source that I reviewed was http://www.bia.gov/index.htm which is the official website for the U.S. Department of the Interior Indian Affairs (IA).

Rather than address a particular aspect of their page or a topic that is presented- I’ve decided to give an overview of the source. The website consists of several pages including Home, Who We Are, What We Do, News, Calendar, Document Library, Consultations, How Do I…, FAQS and Jobs.

Basic Facts:



-The IA has been in existence for almost 200 years (established in 1824)

-“IA currently provides services (directly or through contracts, grants, or compacts) to approximately 1.9 million American Indians and Alaska Natives.”

-Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) takes care of administrating and managing the millions of acres of “subsurface minerals estates” that are held in trust by the US for natives.

-“Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) provides education services to approximately 42,000 Indian students.”

-The website provides up-to-date news on their homepage and News page so that natives and others who are interested can easily stay informed on important topics. As I’m writing this the news feature is that under President Obama’s Climate Action Plan nearly $10 million has been dedicated this year to help tribes prepare for climate change through adaptation and mitigation.

-Their document page offers links to source such as “Guide to Tracing Your American Indian Ancestry” and notices on things such as the “Indian Child Welfare Act”.

-The Frequently Asked Questions page is an excellent source for individuals and groups to begin to understand their rights as natives and how the IA is/can be part of their lives.



I believe that this web resource was selected and put into this course because it is an official legitimate source and the information on it ties in well with our discussions and the point that we are approaching in our Reflexive Scholarly Project. I personally selected it because I am addressing the topic of poverty and substance abuse on reservations for my scholarly project and part of that is investigating what tribal and federal governments are doing to help natives on reservations. I felt that Interior Indian Affairs was a great place to start.

This source, along with so much from this course, has helped me to realize that the lives of natives (or really any people group) are not simple. They are not living a simplistic smooth life on a reservation or acclimating perfectly into the life of the non-natives around them. There are REAL struggles that are unique to them due to their heritage on top of the everyday struggles that we all have.

Native American Authors

Native American Authors

Ojibwe (Anishinaabemowin) Texts
Image from the Clements Library(1)

As I read through the link titled Native American Authors (http://www.ipl.org/div/natam/), I was very surprised with the number of Native American authors both women and men on the list. There were hundreds of books to their credit. I tried to think if I had read any books about Native Americans prior to this course. I then remembered a book/movie that my two children loved when they were in grade school.

Image from http://literarywife.wordpress.com/2010/06/10/99-the-indian-in-the-cupboard/

"The Indian in the Cupboard" by Lynne Reid Banks. It is the first in "The Indian in the Cupboard" series and is published by Doubleday and Company, a division of Random House. I now wondered what I would think about this book or movie since I have learned Cultural Appropriation. There are certainly many derogatory descriptions and stereotypes with reference to the Indian, Little Bear. There is a cowboy that wants to kill Little Bear. Little Bear wants to scalp the cowboy. Little Bear grunts in two word sentences. His attire is not correct. But there are so many lessons that a child can learn from this story: responsibility, loyalty, friendship, pain, love and death.

Image from http://www.sonymoviechannel.com/movies/indian-in-cupboard

I then thought about the actor that played the Native American Little Bear. His name is Litefoot. He is  Cherokee. To make his character more accurate, Litefoot shaved his head, except for a small circle on top, from which hung a long braid. He wore specially made lobes to elongate his ears, as if heavy rings had created quarter-size openings. He also endured hours of makeup tests to get the authentic tattoos on the sides of his head and upper arms. Litefoot was proud of his native American heritage and wanted his character to be historically authentic. Ask him what his goal is today, and he answers thoughtfully, "To listen to the Creator. He has led me to motivate children with music and words."(2)

                                     

I read an interesting critic of the novel. Naomi Caldwell-Wood, President, of the American Indian Library Association, writes, 
                              
                 "The Indian in the Cupboard and its sequels are much- loved books by librarians and their patrons.           But for Indian people, these are some of the worst perpetrators of the most base stereotypes. The miniature  toy Indian (Indians portrayed as objects or things) is described as an Iroquois warrior, but is dressed as a movie western version of a generic plains Indian "chief", complete with eagle feather headdress. The warrior is described in the most stereotypical terms and speaks in subhuman grunts and partial sentences. He is manipulated by a more powerful white child, fostering the image of the simple and naive Indian whose contact with the white man can only benefit him and his people.For example, The Indian in the Cupboard and its sequels are much- loved books by librarians and their patrons. But for Indian people, these are some of the worst perpetrators of the most base stereotypes. The miniature toy Indian (Indians portrayed as objects or things) is described as an Iroquois warrior, but is dressed as a movie western version of a generic plains Indian "chief", complete with eagle feather headdress. The warrior is described in the most stereotypical terms and speaks in subhuman grunts and partial sentences. He is manipulated by a more powerful white child, fostering the image of the simple and naive Indian whose contact with the white man can only benefit him and his people."(3) 

Being aware of Cultural Appropriation has certainly opened my eyes to the feelings of Native American Peoples.

 

1. http://clements.umich.edu/exhibits/online/american-encounters/american-encounters14.php

2. http://www.csmonitor.com/1995/0821/21151.html
3. http://www.nativeculturelinks.com/ailabib.htm 

The Value of Music and Dance

Image Source:  http://nmai.si.edu/exhibitions/circleofdance/tlingit.html

In mainstream U.S. society, both recording artists and record companies earn money according to contract and based on the sale of the recordings of their songs as a form of capitalistic economic gain.  These earnings are referred to as royalties.  I do not know of any such valuation given to dance in mainstream U.S society though.  Yet, there are some American people who have traditionally valued song and dance in much the same way because they consider both to be valuable property, yet the value is not determined in quite the same way.

For example, in Tlingit society, music and dance have always been highly esteemed and they were both treated as valuable property. The Tlingit Peoples traditionally inhabited the regions of sub-Arctic North America that are now known as southeastern Alaska, northern British Columbia and the southwestern part of Canada’s Yukon Territories.  Before the early twentieth century, a Tlingit clan and/or house group strictly owned certain songs and dances.  Performing such a clan song or dance without its owners’ permission was a punishable offense.  However, a Tlingit clan might have granted permission to other groups to perform one of its songs or dances, or it might instead have gifted a song or dance to another group.

An important genre of Tlingit song and dance is known as the Entrance Song.  Entrance Songs were traditionally featured at the beginning of social events.  They acted as a way to introduce the clan or house group by means of showing off the group’s crest, adorned on the back of their dance regalia.  The dancers entered the stage and made dramatic announcements to the audience such as, “Haandéi i waak’, that is in the English language, “Give me your eyes!”  As each Entrance Song dancer appeared, he or she turned away from the audience in order to show their group’s crest.  This routine announced to the audience who the dancer was in the context of the Tlingit social system of clans and house groups.  In this way, song and dance was used as a means to communicate important social relationships and social standing, thus the value of song and dance in Tlingit society.

The information about Tlingit Peoples and their culture, including Entrance Songs and Dances, have been paraphrased, and it was taken from an essay, circle of dance: Tlingit Ku.éex' Entrance Dance, by Maria Shaa Tláa Williams, a Tlingit ethnomusicologist who teaches at the University of Alaska, Anchorage.  This essay was featured on the National Museum of American Indians of the Smithsonian Institution website at http://nmai.si.edu/exhibitions/circleofdance/tlingit.html.

Ganondagan State Historic Site

 

The source that I reviewed was http://www.ganondagan.org/, this web page provides information in regards to the Ganondagan State Historic Site, “the site of a Native American community that was a flourishing, vibrant center for the Seneca people.”(Ganondagan contributors. 2014) This site provides a wealth of information on Seneca People who lived on this site and information on different tours that can be attended to learn more about the Seneca Natives who were a part of the Iroquois Confederation.  This Historic site offers group and guided tours of the Bark Long House, several different self-guided walking tours, presentations and demonstrations, all of which are very reasonably priced.

I believe that this web resource was selected and put into this course because it offers a look into the past of how the Seneca People lived.  It also provides a vast array of knowledge about the Long Houses and the daily life of the Seneca People.  Other sites that may not have been selected for this course could possibly not have provided accurate information in regard to the First People of North America. This is quality academic website because it offers many different learning opportunities when it comes to the Seneca People based on accurate information.

One of the upcoming events that they offer that is sure to provide plenty of opportunities for learning is the “Native American Dance and Music Festival on July 26-27, 2014.”(Ganondagan contributors. 2014) This event offers many attractions and demonstrations including dancing, singing, storytelling and native arts. It is a family friendly event that provides something for every age group.

I have thoroughly enjoyed the information I have read and look forward to visiting this historical site with my family. It has inspired me to learn more about the Seneca People and their native communities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ganondagan contributors. (2014) Preserving the Past and Providing the Future.

Retrieved from:

http://www.ganondagan.org/