A Publication of the Pittsburgh Federal Executive Board Native American Heritage Committee

July 2004

Daughters of Turtle Island. . .Celebrating the United Nations Year of the Indigenous Women!

2004 Annual Arts Program: Fronz Onondaga to Osage, Sac and Fox to

Santa Ann Pueblo, Flathead to Lac du Flambeau, Paucatuck to Ponca ... Whichever ever one of the over 500 tribes you select, we are not all about t1zewLand 0' Lnke Butter" images that comes to many peoples mind when they think of a Native American Woman, or the "Indian Princess" so often inaccurately referred to by people. We are not always about buckskin, braids and beads. . We are not Native American or Indian. We are the Seneca, Ojibwa, Mohawk, and so on... We are and were clan mothers, warriors, chiefs, wisdom keepers, politicians, writers, teachers, lawyers, soldiers, doctors, teachers, and scientists. We are Daughters of Turtle Island". We have been significant historical figures such as Sacagawea or Suzette LaFlesche. We have been contemporary leaders suck as Chief Wilma Mankiller or Audre)~ Shenandoah. We are Grandnzothers, Mothers, Sisters, Aunts, Nieces, Cousins, Friends, and Daughters ... all holding significant places in our past, and now: moving our people into the future ... Help us celebrate the United ATations' Year of Indigenous Woman" by celebratittg our own daughters of Turtle Island.

2003 Art Program Winners

2-D: Ruth Richardson, lS' Place Jeri Corbin, Committees Choice

3-DISculpture: Corrin Corbin, lS' Place Bryan Rapp, Honorable Mention

The November 2003 Art Exhibition was held at the Benedum Art Gallery, Wagnesburg College, Waynesburg, Pennsylvania.

For an entry form, more details This annual program is an educational project to accomplish a greater understanding and

and/or a copy of the prospectus call: awareness of the American Indian culture 412-885-5097,412-260-8582, through the sensual and visual interpretation of 4 12-3 10-7243 or email: aliyo@ bellatlantic. net

- the arts. This program is further designed to celebrate November as Native American Month.

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Rethinking the Native American Indian Women: by Lee Dingus (Noddohwageono-Seneca)

Soon after European explorers first arrived in the so called new world, they began to draw pictures and write descriptions of the land and people they encountered. Europeans created their own portraits of these people, more often than not; they were based more on myth and imagination than on reality. Many mystic figures soon started to dominate their drawings. In the 1 6 ' ~ and 17 '~ century, one of these was of the Indian Queen (Queen Aliquippa). At first, this made up figure was large, voluptuous, dark skinned, and bare breasted. Then over time she became thinner, her skin grew lighter, and eventually became to look like a Greek goddess - like the statue of liberty.

In the 191h century, two separate, distinct and inaccurate images of Native Women were prevalent. One was of a violent, degraded, "squaw7'. The second was that of the "Indian Princess". Both are a complete myth.

The 20"' century focused on Hollywood's version of Native Women. This was a continuation of the Indian Princess myth; a woman of "royalty, a European ideal, and a creature that was wild, hauntingly beautiful, mysterious or "easy". . .the "squaw". These images caused Native American Women not to be taken serious for a very long time. Those celluloid movie reels only further perpetuated and promoted stereotypes that Native Women are still today, trying to overcome.

So called historians have also shortchanged Native women by not presenting us in our standard roles as

traders, farmers, artisans, healers, warriors, and leaders. We were usually represented as anonymous figures that prepared food, hauled wood, tanned hides and take care of children. Native women are too often portrayed in relationship to our men only as captives, wives, the sullen "squaw," which is an Algonquian word that originally meant married or mature woman that later became to mean degraded female, and or female genitalia. Under no circumstances should that word ever be used to refer to a Native American Woman.

In most tribes, women have and had considerable power and are held in reverence and respect by our men. Most tribes have clan systems and Clan Mothers rule. Most tribes are matrilineal (children are born into, and receive their lineage and identity from their mother). Most Native women are bound together through common threads, even though we come from diverse groups, live in varied rural and urban areas and have different levels of education. Today we draw from our ceremonies, and legends. We strive to transcend tradition and combat romanticization of the past. We are responsible for our people having something to celebrate in the 21S' century. Today we revive our traditional languages and ceremonies to help preserve and distinguish our heritage. We fight for our peoples rights in and out of court. We have returned to our traditional native environments to lead our people through renewal. Today we are breaking new ground and lobby for changed social conditions, and the injustice of the White mans laws. We run for public office, teach and practice.

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Women (continued from page 2)

Traditional native arts. We are working for, and making our own as well as our tribe's destiny, both public and private by many of these endeavors we take on. It is time that the non-Indian world Recognizes that the strength and intelligence of Native woman is essential to the American identity.

Educational:

A Three college credit course, Native American-Indians of North America will be offered at Community College of Allegheny College, North Campus, and possibility other campuses in the fall of 2004. This class may count as a fulfillment to a history requirement for a degree. But, is also open to anyone with an interest in Native American History. The course is an ethnographic survey of Native Tribes of North America, from Paleo-Indian to contemporary tribeslnations. Call (412) 369-4128 or (4 12) 885-5097 for exact date, and time. PFEB/NAHC members Earl and Lee Dingus are the adjunct professors for this course.

Update: Chief Illiniwek University of Illinois

On April 15, 2004 a multicultural coalition of 40 University of Illinois students, faculty, alumni, community members, and Native peoples occupied a Building on the campus of U of I in protest of the continued use of "Chief Your help is requested to help eliminate racism and "The Chief' at the U of I.

Illiniwek" and the U of I Board of Trustees' disregard for democracy. The Board of Trustees for U of I was supposed to hold a Board meeting on the Chicago campus, yet the Board cancelled the meeting to avoid addressing a resolution seeking to eliminate "Chief Illiniwek." Perhaps they thought that if there were no meeting, there would be no controversy - nothing could be further from the truth! In an attempt to ignore concerns of and avoid charges of racism. The board has put the University's mission, future, and democratic ideals in jeopardy, and eroded the trust of the students, staff, faculty, and alumni of this institution. This is unacceptable. The Board has sought to ignore and trivialize this issue for over 15 years, but they can ignore it no longer. This is what they are asking:

That the Board take immediate action to demonstrate their commitment to eradicating racial stereotyping and making UIUC more inclusive of students and faculty of color by: 1. Immediately eliminating "Chief Illiniwek" (the dance, logo, and name) as the symbol of the U of I 2. Issuing a formal apology to the local, state, and national Native American communities for the hurt and harassment that this mascot and surrounding controversy have caused. 3. Increasing stable and permanent funding for the Native American, Latino, African American, and Asian American, and other minority studies programs and cultural houses on the U of I.

E-mails for support of can go to: prc @prairenet.org, mthompsn @uillinois.edu

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Racism Alive and Well! (Excerpt Taken From Indian Country Today)

LOS ANGELES - OutKast's performance at the 46th Annual GRAMMY Awards has outraged American lndians across the country. OutKast is known for their outlandish green retro get-ups in their smash video "Hey Ya!" But many feel they crossed the line from campy to offensive with their futuristic look at American lndians with green-fringe buckskin, headdresses and smoking teepees.

Members of the Navajo community are especially offended as a recording of "The Beauty Way Song," which is a part of Dine ceremonies, was sampled by OutKast as an introduction to their performance. The lack of response from OutKast, their label, and the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS - which presents the GRAMMY Awards) has been in stark contrast to the response to Janet Jackson's bare breast at the Super Bowl - which inspired a call for a congressional investigation within fo@ eight hours.

The Associated Press and CNN are reporting that CBS spokeswoman Nancy Carr issued an eight word apology on February 13: "We are very sorry if anyone was offended," but many Native commentators have already attacked the statement, saying that it is not enough. CBS publicized that, due to the Jackson incident, the GRAMMY Awards would be broadcast on a five- minute delay. The fact that a performance that so many Native Americans found derogatory was allowed to be broadcast calls CBS's

standards and practices into question. That the members of the Recording Academy cheered on the performance also calls the cultural sensitivity of NARAS members into question. This comes just a few weeks after the organization called for more Native participation in the academy.

"It was pretty disrespectful," said multi- NAMMY winner and last year's GRAMMY winner for Best Native American Music Album, Mary Youngblood. "To think that we are still going backward like that is a concern. If there were white people up there doing black face that would not be tolerated by the African-American community. Are we going backward here? Didn't someone say to this guy that the performance might be inappropriate? It's unbelievable. You think things are changing and getting better, and then something happens to wake you up and say 'Wait a minute, we're back where we started from.' It's disheartening." Youngblood is a member of the academy and wants more Native Americans to join the organization in order to bring about change.

Wanted by the FBI:

Seeking Native American Indian applicant's for the position of Special

Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

For more information: Contact James J. Knights

(412) 432-4373 E-Mail: pittsburgh @ fbi.gov

Make changes from within - make a difference for your people.

Human Rights & Sovereignty ... Still fighting since the Carlisle lndian School of 1879 ... to the While House of 2004 (excerpt from lndian Country Today)

Carlisle (Pennsylvania) Barracks, from 1879 to 191 8, was the site of the first federal lndian boarding school. Thousands of children of famous lndian leaders were taken there as hostage students, in order to keep their families down on the reservations. Many never made it back home.

Both the school and town of Carlisle are big on sports. As recently as 2002, the town was the summer training camp of the Washington professional football team with the name most Native people despise.

The Carlisle lndian School was a "well- supervised prison system" that was rarely "humane." The motto of its founder, Captain Richard H. Pratt, was "kill the Indian, save the man." This meant that the Indians would become "civilized" - read, deculturalized - or else.

The Carlisle kids were forced to speak English only, practice Christianity and work for no or low wages. lndian slave labor was forced to build most of the complex in 1887 The gymnasium that stands there today was named after Carlisle alum Jim Thorpe, the great Sac and Fox athlete who won the pentathlon and decathlon at the 1912 Olympics.

Whatever subsurface message was intended, the history and lessons of Carlisle and "civilization" are there for the entire world to learn. A decade before the end of the official lndian "civilization" policy, lndian people were made U.S. citizens, on June 2, 1924.

After 80 years under the lndian Citizenship Act, Native peoples remain the most economically impoverished

segment of American society, with all the attendant problems of poverty, notwithstanding significant gains made through gaming. And, lndian nations are subjected to threats that lndian gaming will be outlawed unless greater amounts of revenue are turned over to the federal, state and local governments.

Native people have yet to attain full voting rights and there are organized anti-Indian groups that advocate abolishing treaties and other legal lndian rights and authorities. Despite repatriation laws, Native American graves and sacred objects continue to be robbed and desecrated.

Native people are the only people in the U.S. who do not have full religious freedom rights and cannot defend threatened sacred places in the American justice system. And Native peoples alone are targeted, mascotted and humiliated in sports nationwide.

This is the status of Native America after eight decades of citizenship and more than a century of "civilization." For us, these are serious matters of sovereignty and human rights.

The White House's choice of Carlisle Barracks as the venue for the President's May 24, 2004 speech is intriguing. No one would have guessed from the coverage that the American lndian history of the place had any bearing on the subject, which was "a free and self-governing Iraq" and "a humane, well-supervised prison system." "Did anybody in the Bush administration realize he was in a venue that was designed and implemented to become the benchmark of the assimilation of American Indians?" We know what the White House says it intends to do to free Iraq. The question at home is what will the White House do to help Native Americans transition to freedom?

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Poem: Remember Joy Harjo (Creek)

Remember the sky that you were born under, know each of the star's stories. Remember the moon, know who she is. Remember the sun's birth at dawn, that is the strongest point of time. Remember sundown and the giving away to night. Remember your birth, how your mother struggled to give you form and breath. You are evidence of her life, and her mother's, and hers. Remember your father, his hands cradling your mother's flesh, and maybe her heart, too and maybe not. He is your life also. Remember the earth whose skin you are. Red earth yellow earth white earth brown earth black earth we are earth. Remember the plants, trees, animal life who all have their tribes, their families, their histories, too. Talk to them, listen to them. They are alive poems. Remember the wind. Remember her voice. She knows the origin of this universe. Remember that you are all people and that all people are you. Remember you are this universe and that this universe is you. Remember all is in motion, us growing, is you. Remember language comes this. Remember the dance that language is, that life is. Remember To remember.

Event:

BOW WOW - The North American Iroquois Veterans Association Pow Wow will be held on July 17 '~ & 18th, 2004 on the Allegheny Seneca Nation at Salamanca, New York. Directions from Pittsburgh: 79N to 90E to 17 E (Jamestown) to Salarnanca, New York.

Available for Purchase:

Our MARC Cookbook is now available. This unique, one-of-a-kind cookbook includes not only Native American recipes from all over the country, but is also a great tool for the outdoor person, with lots of ways to use the meat from their most recent hunting excursion. The book also serves as coffee table art book, with original artwork from over a dozen local artists. Also, included are historical notations and special information articles. We also have NAHC T-shirts, sweat shirts, and baseball caps. In addition our exclusive Cherokee Flute Music Tape or CD "We Get Our Music from Nature." Call (412) 885-5097 or e-mail alivo @ bellatlantic.net for more information, pricing & availability.

Roots Awakening Editor:

Earl Dingus (Yua-wi-yv)

Pittsburgh Federal Executive Board Native American Heritage Committee 406 Federal Building 1000 Liberty Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15222