indigen

» Trimble: Let go the chains of victimhood : ICT [2008/08/15]

And today, 30 years later, it sometimes seems we treasure our victimhood. Through guilt and public embarrassment, we reason, pressure is kept on our federal trustee to do more for our people. In that sense, victimhood is working for us. But we must ask ourselves: what is victimhood doing to us?

Victimhood is a prison from which we must free ourselves if we mean for our children to go forward into a better future. The generally pathetic conditions in reservation communities cannot be simply shed or denied. Those conditions are real, and it’s going to take a persistent effort and a long time to remedy them. We must understand that our problems cannot be solved by anyone but ourselves, our tribal communities and leaders. And we must begin now. There is not much more time, and resources will dwindle when we are seen as hopeless.

We must first reject the notion that poverty and suffering on Indian reservations is inevitable for our people and our children - or that it is part of being a real Indian. There are Indians who say that an Indian person who makes a decent salary and enjoys material goods is not a real Indian; that the real Indians live in poverty on the reservations; that being poor is the price of being real Indian. But the notion that it is somehow noble to forego financial security, material goods, modern conveniences, and self care for the sake of some strange fantasy of Indianness is folly. From the beginning, our tribes were formed as survival units to collectively deal with want and suffering, not to perpetuate it.

But the inevitability of our plight and the nobility of our sacrifice are being instilled in the minds of many of our young people when we keep reliving it in our writings and our classrooms, in Indian studies courses in colleges and universities, especially.

The history of injustice and inhumanity to the tribes must be taught, for history not learned is history to be repeated. But the history must be taught with accuracy and dispassion, as history and not as indoctrination to give Native youth a sense of resentment or embitterment, and the white students a sense of guilt. And journalists have a responsibility as well to relate history with accuracy and truth.

» Aboriginal children 'can count without numbers' - Yahoo! News

Australian Aboriginal children can count even without having words for numbers, according to a study by British and Australian experts released Tuesday.

The findings run counter to recently revived scientific claims that children can only count if they know the words for numbers, said the lead author of the research, from University College London (UCL).

The study found that four to seven-year-olds from two Aboriginal communities have an “innate system” to count with, even though their languages only have normal words for one, two, few and many.

» Two Worlds Festival Fetes Playwrights - Entertainment - redOrbit

For those in Albuquerque:

The theme is the struggle faced by many in the American Indian community — modern modes vs. traditional ways, urban life vs. reservation life, the earthly vs. the spiritual.

“Fancy Dancer, a dark comedy by Canadian playwright Dawn Dumont, will be staged at 4 p.m. The play taps into Native trickster stories and the public’s obsession with TV, but it also tackles a terrifying reality — the disappearance of more than 500 Native women in Canada during the past 15 years.

“Asdzani Shash: The Woman Who Turned Into A Bear,” a contemporary retelling of a Navajo legend by Albuquerque native Rhiana Yazzie, will be on stage at 8 p.m. The play is set in a convalescent home near the Navajo reservation, but it is never far from the world of storytelling and myth.

“Little Big Horn,” a two-act comedy by San Diego’s Alan Kilpatrick, was presented Friday. It began in 1876 at the Battle of the Little Big Horn and moved to an American Embassy in the present- day Middle East to tell the story of Marine Cpl. Norman Hayes, born Sioux but raised by the Jewish couple who adopted him.

The three plays were selected from among 18 submitted by Native playwrights in the United States and Canada; one will be selected for a full production during the festival.

Admission is $5 per play. Call 344-4542 for reservations.

» Showcase Presents Creativity of Native Cinema - Entertainment - redOrbit

The annual film festival brings the best in Native cinema every year to Santa Fe for three days of films and talks with filmmakers on the cutting edge.

» Authentic View

American Indian culture inspires Germans who form clubs to dress up in Indian regalia and camp out in tepees.

» Paraguayan Indian named minister | BBC NEWS | World | Americas

An indigenous woman in Paraguay who says she was sold into forced labour as a girl has been made minister for indigenous affairs.

» Portal to mythical Mayan underworld found in Mexico - Yahoo! News

Mexican archeologists have discovered a maze of stone temples in underground caves, some submerged in water and containing human bones, which ancient Mayans believed was a portal where dead souls entered the underworld.

Clad in scuba gear and edging through narrow tunnels, researchers discovered the stone ruins of eleven sacred temples and what could be the remains of human sacrifices at the site in the Yucatan Peninsula.

Archeologists say Mayans believed the underground complex of water-filled caves leading into dry chambers — including an underground road stretching some 330 feet — was the path to a mythical underworld, known as Xibalba.

» Mexican street art with an edge | csmonitor.com

Oaxaca’s art first burst onto the city’s walls in 2006 after protesters clashed with police.

» Mesa cafe creates unique frybread dishes

An east Valley cafe is going gourmet with a classic Native American food. Cafe Laguna in Mesa near Baseline and Power is putting a new twist on frybread. The family-owned business is on a mission to modernize the tasty treat some are calling gourmet frybread meals with toppings that stray from the traditional beef, bean, and cheese other restaurants use. “The gourmet Laguna is something that has a twist to it with marinated steak and chicken and people seem to gravitate to that because it’s so different, “ said co-owner Otis Lara

The cafe also has a dish for those with a sweet tooth.

Lara said, “We offer fruit Lagunas with toppings of blueberry and cherry and apple.”

Lara and a brother opened the cafe two weeks ago. Their dishes are inspired by their Laguna Pueblo heritage from New Mexico and desire to experiment with new ingredients. “There’s a huge risk just because of the fact that this is part of the Native American tradition. This is something that’s been with the Native American community for a while.”

It’s a risk now being hailed by customers like Deanna Quist who had lunch at the café with friends and family.

Quist said, “It’s crunchy, yet soft, flavorful. Its delicious!”

And there seems to be a dish for everyone. Customer Diane Tashjian said, “I ordered the vegetarian.”

Lara said, “I think the greatest reward is seeing the smiles on people’s faces.” Lara’s parents also own another Cafe Laguna in Apache Junction where they serve traditional inspired dishes.