A story told by Tree Cody (Dakota Sioux/Maricopa) put online by Ken White of the SF Gate:

I guess you want to know why dogs always sniff each other when they walk by.

Long ago, the dogs had their own nation and ceremonies, just like the human beings. The great dog chief was calling his people throughout the dog nation, all the dogs from all walks of life, who came to the camp for a big meeting.

It is important that you know that, back then, the dogs and the humans were not friends. The dogs were very cautious, very leery about the two-leggeds. Humans were known to capture the dogs and use them as slaves, to make them carry things. The dogs tried to avoid the human beings, to avoid capture and being made into slaves.

But it came to be that the dogs had this grand celebration, and at this celebration the dogs had invited several human beings in an effort to make a peace between their two peoples. At this celebration, there was a dance that the human beings wanted all these dogs to do. They said it was a special dance, and it would be a great favor if the dogs would perform it for them.

“What is this dance called?” the dogs asked. “It is called the tail dance,” the humans answered. “Really? And why is it called the tail dance?” asked the dogs. And the people explained that all the dogs were to take their tails off of their bodies and set them in the middle of a circle and then dance around the circle for a long time. It was a special dance that the two-leggeds, having no tails, could not perform, and that is why it would be such a special dance for them to watch.

So the chief of the dogs got together all of his people and they started to dance. It got to that special part of the ceremony when the dogs were to take their tails off. Off they came and they all put them in the center of the circle. Four times they would dance to the center, and they would dance back out again.

As they were dancing, all of a sudden the dog sentries set as guards around the village all came running in, shouting that the two-leggeds were coming. It was a big attack, a trick planned all along by those they had invited to the dance, by those humans who has asked them the favor of removing their tails for the dance.

Now all the dogs jumped into the circle and grabbed whatever tails they could and then they ran off to their homes. They knew that escape was the only way to avoid being made into slaves, so they grabbed tails in a hurry and they ran away.

And today, when two stranger dogs meet, part of the meeting is to sniff each other’s tail. Each dog still hopes to find his own real tail, lost long ago at that dance.

From Indian Country Today:

Just over a year ago, Steve Judd, Kiowa/Choctaw, was working at a Bingo Hall in Goldsby, Okla.; today, he is working as a writer in Hollywood. Judd is a staff writer and Disney/ABC Writing Fellow on the new Disney XD comedy series “Zeke and Luther.”

Born in Oklahoma, Judd attended Haskell Indian Nations University and the University of Oklahoma where he focused on communications and Native American studies. Judd was inspired to make movies to combat the stereotypical portrayals of American Indians in films he saw as a child.

“When I was a kid, I always wanted to be a writer. Growing up in Oklahoma, I never thought I could write for television, so I started to write film scripts.”

While in college, Judd began his own production company called Restless Natives, which has produced several projects including the independent film, “American Indian Graffiti: This Thing Life,” the short-film spoof “MAC v. PC with a Native Twist” and the PBS documentary “Silent Thunder.”

From Finding Dulcinea:

On paper, the situation sounds good: Based on a 1787 agreement between tribes and the United States government, the U.S. has an obligation to provide American Indians with free health care on reservations.

But that’s not how it works, reports the Associated Press. Roughly one-third more is spent per capita on health care for felons in federal prison, according to 2005 data referenced by the AP. The system’s ineffectiveness has yielded a common refrain on reservations of “don’t get sick after June,” because that‘s when federal funds run out.

via Indianz:

Nearly three in 10 Native youth believe they will die young, according to a study being published in the July issue of Pediatrics.

The rate was the highest among other youth in the study. One in four African-Americans and one in 10 Whites expected to die young, according to researchers at the University of Minnesota. Youth who expect to die young engage in more risky behaviors, the study said.

via Indianz:

When my Native (SD) Sun News broke the story about the Custer figurine astride a motorcycle, packed into a McDonald’s Happy Meal, most Native Americans, particularly the Lakota, Cheyenne and Arapaho, were not happy.

An extremely weak and calculated response from McDonald’s came to the newspaper in short order. It read: “At McDonald’s we value and respect people of all ethnicities, as well as their cultural history. The Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian Happy Meal features eight toys portraying different characters from the film. As with all Happy Meal promotions, our goal is to provide families a positive experience that can be shared by all.”

Say what? A positive experience? Who are they trying to kid? The response was signed by Danya Proud, Spokesperson for McDonald’s USA. We would suggest that McDonald’s do a little more research into the history of the characters they feature in their Happy Meals. It is apparent by this historical gaff that someone at McDonald’s either didn’t know about the relationship between Custer and the Indians or was too stupid to recognize it. For the record, Lt. Colonel George Armstrong Custer, gained notoriety as an “Indian killer” while commanding the U. S. Seventh Cavalry. It didn’t matter to him if the intended victims were men, women or children.

To him they were just “Indians” and by killing as many of them as he could, his aim for a high political office would be greatly enhanced. This is a historical fact that the researchers at McDonald’s failed to see, or worse yet, failed to grasp. Apparently the propaganda spread by Hollywood and by books was quite effective in making a killer into a man to be loved and admired.

continue reading

via Indian Country Today:

The award-winning indigenous photographer and documentary filmmaker from Venezuela, David Hernandez-Palmar, visited Washington, D.C. recently to speak to members of Congress about the plight of his people, the Wayuu, who live across the countries of Venezuela and Colombia, and to talk to representatives of the Smithsonian Institute about repatriating the remains of Wayuu ancestors and cultural artifacts.

Palmar is also the co-director of “Owners of the Water: Conflict & Collaboration Over Rivers” a documentary about a Brazilian indigenous campaign to protect the Rio das Mortes River Basin from encroaching deforestation and pollution. This film was among the hundreds of Latin American indigenous entries at this year’s Native American Film + Video Festival in New York.

via Read Street:

The English Department at Antioch High School, in the Chicago suburbs, assigned [The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie] for the incoming freshman class to read over the summer. The book, which follows the misadventures of a 14-year-old American Indian boy attending an all-white high school, won the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, and was recognized by both the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times in the children’s book category.

The book is described as having vulgar language and describing sexual situations, and these parents want it pulled, even though there is a second option for the assignment, Down River, if parents don’t approve of Alexie’s work.

I thought one school official, John Whitehurst, described the parents’ charge of the school condoning such language and behavior most succinctly:

“That is like saying that because Romeo and Juliet committed teen suicide, we condone teen suicide,” Whitehurst said. “Kids know the difference. Like it or not, that is the way 14-year-old boys talk to each other.”