Spirit of Enterprise: Yurok Woman and Husband Run the Historic Requa Inn in Redwood National Park

 

 Lynn Armitage: November 28, 2012
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 Jan and Marty Wortman are a Native American couple that are currently running a bed-and-breakfast in California. It is a rather large 10,000-square-foot house on the banks of the Klamath River. The business appears to be doing extremely well and the owner are loving the individuals that come to visit.

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"What Jan likes most about running the Requa Inn is sharing her tribal heritage and stories with guests, and seeing how happy they are to be there. “Every day you see that excitement in their eyes because it’s so beautiful here. You can’t help but always be in a state of gratitude and abundance,” she said."

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 I think that they are doing is a wonderful thing. They have made in the economy and are still promoting their values as Native people. This is actually a great achievement and idea in order to pass on the ideas that Native people have. They are making money and are able to support themselves, while helping others learn about their Native culture in a positive light. They are considered to be entrepreneurs with all the success that they have been having. I am interested in what they are doing with the money. It is all good and well to be living good and well, but I wonder if they give back to their local Native community? They currently have 10 Native employees, which counts...I believe? I understand that financial success comes to each individual as their own, but I think that wealth should be spread around a tiny bit. I see no reason as to why not set up charities when or if an individual is wealthy enough. But I guess that is why wealthy people are wealthy...they don't tend to give their money away. Jan and Marty have received their fortune by hard work and dedication. I'm glad that they received the reward of it.

Tribes Reach $9 Million Goal and Purchase Sacred Site of Pe' Sla

 

Vincent Schilling: November 30, 2012

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“The historic requisition of Pe’ Sla started today in Rapid City, South Dakota. The Rosebud Sioux Tribe, the Crow Creek Tribe, and the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Tribe community gathered in a historic assembly of the United Tribes.

Pe’ Sla is sacred because it is related to the Lakota creation and it is the site for annual ceremonies. It has historically hosted many village gatherings. Black Elk, the Lakota visionary sought his visions at Pe’ Sla. It is the high mountain on a prairie in the heart of the Black Hills.

The land of Pe’ Sla was once protected by the 1868 and 1851 Sioux nation treaties. The United States violated those treaties and took the Black Hills in violation of the fifth amendment of the Constitution. Today the requisition is a historic event for the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota people. The tribes will work together to form the Oceti Sakowin Sacred Land Protection Commission to protect Pe’ Sla. We will preserve the sacred site for traditional and cultural ceremonies and keep it in a pristine state for our future generations.

We are grateful to stand together before the creator and to help our people in reclaiming one of our most sacred sites. We are not waiting for the United States to deal with this justly on the Black Hills rights and we ask that now that we are exercising our inherent sovereign authority to protect this most sacred site. We must perpetuate our way of life for future generations.

We thank the members of the public who donated to this cause to create justice for all people and now we are more determined than ever that the United States must provide justice for our people. We thank the Reynolds family for working with us in our requisition of Pe’ Sla as a sacred site for Lakota, Nakota and Dakota people.”

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 Finally! There has been a break through for Native people. It was unfair that they had to raise the money to buy back the land that they already donated, but still this is a massive achievement. It has taken a few months (since I last blogged about this), but the goal of $9 million dollars has been reached and their sacred site is back for the Native people. The speech above was something I considered to be extremely moving and connection to everyone that was involved in making this effort possible for the people. I can see how this is a victory for the Lakota, Nakota, and Dakota people, but why did it take so long and why was it originally out of their power in the first place...I know it was because they donated the land for a nature reserve and then individuals came in and destroyed that idea. The struggle for power and control goes back extremely far, but I am extremely proud of the people that worked so hard in order to get back their sacred site. Activism and movements can cause a large impact on the world and change the way we live. I'm glad that this is a movement that worked out in a powerful way and gave back Native people their empowerment. They stood up to injustice and won! That is amazing. I can't get over how mind blowing that is. There deserves to be recognition for this.

Dartmouth and Indian Health Service Partner to Help Native Americans

 

ICTMN Staff: November 26, 2012

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"Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) have partnered with the Indian Health Service to promote health and develop leaders in Indian country.....“This is the next step in our commitment to Native Americans and to helping Native communities become healthier and more vibrant,” says Kalina Newmark ’11, senior presidential fellow of global health, IHS relations coordinator at the Dartmouth Center for Health Care Delivery Science, in a Dartmouth press release."

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 Finally! This article I feel is one of the first to show some type of activism that isn't completely depressing or crapping on other things that people have down to push stereotypes on Native people. There is finally going to be a change for Native people and it is for the better. It is time that everyone steps up to the plate to help take care of a problem that westerners created. There wouldn't be a need for this, if we never would have come to America, but you can't change history. One can only learn from it and grow and try and make better choices in the next few decades. That doesn't mean that it will happen, but one can hope. No one should be denied access to appropriate healthcare. That isn't a choice. It should be a human right to be healthy and cared for. But Native individuals are not the only one's who don't have healthcare, but they are a little worse off than most. I want there to be a large social movement in which people demand healthcare. I am completely about activism. I want the world to change. I want healthcare to change. I want there to be a socialist healthcare. HEALTHCARE FOR ALL! MONEY SHOULD NOT BE AN ISSUE!

A Recent TV Slur Revives Debate About Sacheen Littlefeather and Her Role in Marlon Brando's Oscar Refusal

Dina Gilio-Whitaker: November 24, 2012
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"A longtime resident of the San Francisco Bay Area, Littlefeather is a highly respected member of the Native American community. She has served as head woman dancer at many pow wows and is known for her work in health-care education in the Native community. In the 1980s she worked with Mother Teresa ministering to AIDS patients in hospice care, leading to her becoming one of the founding board members of the American Indian AIDS Institute of San Francisco. In 1981 she worked for the Kiowa tribe in Oklahoma and wrote a health-related column in the tribal newspaper. She has helped produce numerous Native American films, even sharing an Emmy Award in 1984 for her contribution to PBS’s Dance in America: A Song for Dead Warriors, which featured a ballet based on the life of Richard Oakes, one of the Alcatraz occupation leaders. She is also a co-coordinator of the Kateri Prayer Circle of San Francisco."

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Littlefeather is a woman with an incredible amount of determination and strength to do what she did in the 1970s. I personally don't think that many women, especially a Native woman, would of had the strength to stand up in front of everyone and declare that Brando could not accept the very generous award because of the treatment of American Indians by the film industry and on television and because of “recent happenings at Wounded Knee." I find it rather impressive that a famous individual is actually paying attention to what is happening to the Native populations in the 1970s, enough so that he was willing to not accept his award, but instead sends up a Native woman. I don't know if I would consider this a cop out on his part? Is it weak that he didn't make the speech against what was happening himself or was he being attention the issue further by having a Native woman deliver the speech. He probably thought it was a better idea to have a Native woman deliver the speech than to have himself do it. It would be considered an attention grabber play, but it didn't work out the way he planned it would. It back fired completely. It destroyed her life. She was black listed from the film industry and had terrible racist articles written about her. The latest racist comment happened only a few months ago on the Jay Leno show. He said that she was not Native and called her a "stripper," because of a photoshoot that happened in Playboy.
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The fact that she had to defend herself so strongly back then and still so strongly now shows that the opinion of Native people and especially woman haven't changed a whole lot. The article had to give an extreme amount of background (present in the above quote) to prove that she is a very active and important part of the environment. They had to defend her rights to be a Native American and prove that she was important and had something to prove. I find that the most depressing part, that a woman who has done so much for a community can be so easily destroyed by one action and never recover from it. She will never get back her power that she once held before the award show. I feel as thought it is partly Brando's fault for placing her in the situation, but she also took part in it. I don't think either part thought about how it would impact their lives forever. 

Victoria’s Secret Flap: Nothing Says Native American Heritage Month Like White Girls in Headdresses

By Sasha Houston Brown: November 11, 2012

  "I don’t know about you, but I usually spend this time of year parading around in my Navajo Hipster panties, feather headdress (on loan from Karlie Kloss and Gwen Stefani), Manifest Destiny T-Shirt and knee high fringed moccasins made in Taiwan while watching a Redskins game, smoking a pack of American Spirits and eating genetically modified Butter Ball turkey, because I’m just that traditional."

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 I can understand the author's outrage when it comes to the terrible stereotypes that have come into large light recently with all of the Native American cultural faux pas. First there was the Native American themed parties, then Halloween, then Gwen Stefani, and finally Karlie Kloss. But was it really all of these individual's fault or has society not shown the negative side of portraying this stereotyped ideal of Native Americans? I know that the individuals that have offended the Native public has issued apologies, but is that really enough? To say sorry and move on? Who is going to teach American society about the implications of what they have done? Not only have all of theses people pushed the inaccurate stereotype of Native Americans onto the uneducated public, but they have also told everyone that it is okay to offend if you give an apology, but some how still manage to repeat the same mistake over again. The picture of Karlie Kloss above should be considered extremely offensive not only to the Native public, but also to the American public. Not for just the reason of 'acting/portraying' a Native individual, but for enforcing uneducated, heterosexual, stereotypical garbage at the public. No women in all honesty looks like that individual. She is blessed to have her beauty and body, but what costs did she sacrifice to her health in order to get it? Why does no one seem to care about women anymore? Why is society (America) so desensitized to other cultures or issues happening around it? It is embarrassing to come from a place that has so little understanding of the world around it. A lot of the time I feel it is by choice inflicted by society to not support the educational system, which makes individuals uneducated or unable to seek out higher learning. No one should have the right to destroy someone's culture or their character. When will individuals learn that no one are you making yourself looked down on, but others as well.

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  "Native women, stripped of their humanity, are still objectified as a sexual fetish or exotic other. In fact, these kind of derogatory stereotypes have become a fixture of both American mythology and pop culture."

Indian Country, Social Media and the Right Response from Gwen Stefani and No Doubt

 

By Vincent Schilling: November 5, 2012

 "Within a few hours of posting their latest video “Lookin Hot”—in which Stefani was dancing suggestively in a series of video montages with cowboys and Indians and was also handcuffed and tied to a wall—social media outlets in Indian country were aflame with comments."

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 I haven't personally seen the the video that has caused a large up rage in the Native community, but I am currently searching to see what was going on. This quote above gives a small view as to what No Doubt was doing in the video...being handcuffed and tied to a wall? Really? Really No Doubt? Why to abuse and awkwardly hyper-sexualize Native women. I don't understand the background as to why they would choose to display this in a music video, but it just makes me think of rape and violence toward Native women. Being tired up and chained to a wall seems like a pretty large visual statement. People that don't know the background or have never learned anything about Native cultures probably would see nothing wrong with this. More generations now a days are considered a visual culture and there is nothing wrong with seeing women tired up and being abuse, which in and of itself is completely wrong....but using this imagery causes individuals to believe that Native women are wild and need to be trained/tamed. It impacts the public on more than one point and can destroy all the hard work that Native women have worked to achieve.

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“As a multi-racial band our foundation is built upon both diversity and consideration for other cultures. Our intention with our new video was never to offend, hurt or trivialize Native American people, their culture or their history. Although we consulted with Native American friends and Native American studies experts at the University of California, we realize now that we have offended people. This is of great concern to us and we are removing the video immediately. The music that inspired us when we started the band, and the community of friends, family, and fans that surrounds us was built upon respect, unity and inclusiveness. We sincerely apologize to the Native American community and anyone else offended by this video. Being hurtful to anyone is simply not who we are.”

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The article goes on to state they he is proud of the way that No Doubt handled the issue that they were faced with (even though they make the issue themselves). The way in which they apologized was incredibly important in order to help bond the band back to the community, but the fact that it happened in the first place should somehow take away from the apology, maybe? No Doubt stated that they talked with individuals that have roots in Native American culture, but does that make it any better? Does saying that you developed an idea and worked with a certain type of people take away from the racist ideals attached to it? It's like individuals say "It's not racist, because I have this type of friend" or "I'm not racist, but..." I understand that pulling the video down probably costs the band a lot of money and wasted a lot of people's time, but did anyone notice that he son was dressed up as a Native individual for Halloween? Does that make it okay to wear people around at a costume in order to collect candy and make fun? It that what cultures have become? Something that is just worn around and laughed at? I guess this can be considered a victory for the Indian Nation, but is it really a victory or have they been silenced again until something else offensive pops up?

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Native Quilts and Baskets

 

 The trip to the museum was extremely interesting. It was divided into two different parts: Baskets and Quilts. There were so many different types of baskets that came from all over the United States. I believe that my favorite basket was the giant strawberry one. It looked like it was made out of  window blinds. The basket was incredibly large and actually looked like a strawberry. It was red and had a green lid. It was rather amazing to know that someone could make something so large and have it look like what it was suppose to, even through it was made out of such a weird material. The fact that the museum had basket from different moments in time was even more interesting to witness. There were baskets that were newer and ones that came from a long time ago. The baskets that were newer weren't as beautiful as the older baskets where. I understand that they were made the same way and the tradition is there, but they didn't have the usage factor. I think when something is made and actually used it has a stronger sense of pride and well roundedness. There is something about it that takes a new shape and connects you to the past. It is almost like being there. There were a several newer baskets that were beautiful...don't get me wrong, but the feeling just isn't the same. The materials used to make the baskets was amazing that they still had the sweet grass smell. I love the smell of sweet grass. It is so fresh and light. I couldn't believe that the smell lasted for so long without fading away.
After the baskets we went to see some quilts. They were pretty extraordinary. The colors and pattern shapes were breathe taking. There is so much detail work that goes into making a quilt. I had no idea that it took so many hours and so much effort to learn. Even the patterns that were made in the stitching where extremely detailed. I have always wanted to learn how to make a quilt. I feel like it would be a beautiful thing to be able to do. I would love to give them away to family members and friends. It seems like it would be such an amazing gift idea. The only blankets that I know how to do are the knot blankets. They aren't that hard, but they are time intensive. It means a lot of the individual that receives them as well. You have to put kindness, care and happy thoughts into it while you make the blanket so that they can always be comfy and protected. That is an amazing thing to be able to do from someone else that you love and care for. The most interesting quilt was the one that they received from the 1950s or 40s...I believe. It was beautiful and there was a back story to it. It was about the girl that made it. Her father served in the arm as a sharp shooter. The two women talking about the quilt believed that it was originally made to be a gift for another family and by the way it looked they used it well. The stitch work on it was beautiful as well. The detail is really something to be admired. I would love to go back and look are more quilts that are currently there.

Lumbee Beauty Queen Suing Former Employer for Wrongful Discharge, Suppressing her Claims of Sexual Harassment, Battery

 

By ICTMN Staff: October 10, 2012

Ashley Haywood was crowned as the 2008 "Miss Lumbee" of  Robeson County (North Carolina), but this is not the story that I am here to talk about. She is filing a lawsuit against her former boss at the Lumbee Tribe’s housing office. She was sexually harassed several times by her boss and feared of being raped. When she spoke out about what was happening to her the tribal leaders wanted her to stay quiet about the issues that she was facing every day. They threatened her several times that she needs to just let is go or else she would lose her job and other various things. 
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"Ashley Haywood claims her former boss, Rev. Jimmy Hunt, committed verbal abuse, inappropriately touched her, forcibly groped and kissed her, and downloaded a pornographic video on her computer, over the course of her employment at the tribe’s housing office in 2009."
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She was so scared for her safety that she carried scissors around in order to protect herself from the threats posed by her boss. I find this completely unbelievable! No one should have to carry around a weapon at work in order to protect themselves. The fact that tribal leaders wanted to cover up this issue is even worse. This is why most women never report anything that happens to them because of the fact that is just gets pushed under the rug. No one should tell someone to bush off a sexual assault. This would never happen in "white" culture. It is considered extremely serious offense that is taken seriously, but there is still the stigma that it is the woman's fault. "She shouldn't have dressed that way....she shouldn't have flirted with him...." Women hear this all the time in public and private spheres, which doesn't help with the issues of reporting these horrible acts. I understand that some people can think that it is their fault because they might have put themselves into a situation, but that is never the case. No one deserves to feel unsafe or guard themselves because no one will believe them or even listen to their story, or maybe even act. I hope that he gets what is coming to him and the lawsuit doesn't go away. I think he deserves to get into massive trouble with the law and the tribal leaders that are covering it up. They should also get seriously looked into by the community that they are governing. How many other times has this happened and they did nothing about it or told the victim to ignore it?

Crazy Brave: Joy Harjo Found That the Hardest Story to Tell Was Her Own

 

 By Konnie LeMay: September 30, 2012

 This is my heart. It is a good heart.

Weaves a membrane of mist and fire.

When we speak of love in the flower world

My heart is close enough to sing to you

In a language too clumsy

For human words.

—from “This Is My Heart” by Joy Harjo

The memoir that Harjo wrote is one based off struggles and hardships, but she has shined through all of theses. Joy Harjo is an extremely famous woman in the Native community, she is a renown author, song writing, and play write. The book appears to be something that would be rather interesting to read. The struggles that Native women have faced over the past centuries have been increased because of the political and structural violence. The way a woman raises her children are impacted by the way she was raised or the values that were placed on them. Harjo spoke about fear of violence, fear of alcoholism, and fear of the adults around her while she was growing up. The impact of violence on younger individuals is an extreme issue in all communities, not just Native. I don't believe there is every a reason to use violence against a young child or against anyone in general. Not only is physical violence something that needs to be changed, but also verbal violence is incredibly important to stop. This book/memoir shows empowerment and real  issues that are facing Native women and Harjo. Her book will help all kinds of people realize the realities and issues that are happening everyday. The empowerment to even speak about these issues personality is extremely brave. Most people don't even want to address the issues or problems of their past. It is hard to bring up terrible things that have happened in your past. But how can an individual overcome the issues without talking about them? Without thinking back on them? Our past makes our present. It is a important to have a past and to learn from what we have been through in order to make a future that is better than what we had. I think that it would be a rather interesting read and as heart-breaking or depressing as it appears it is a good thing to learn about and understand. Not everyone comes from a place of strength and she appears to have over come her struggles and better herself from the stereotypes that she was locked into.

University of California Student Brings Young Women’s Flower Dances Into the Spotlight

 

Cutcha Risling Baldy, a doctoral student at the University of California Davis, is collecting oral narratives from women who have participated in flower dances. She hopes the project will shed light on how the important roles women played in traditional culture were suppressed and even erased by anthropologists, government officials and missionaries.

By Marc Dadigan: October 1, 2012

 

 Flower dances are beautiful dances that appear to celebrate a woman in all the forms she may take in her developing life. It is generally used to celebrate the coming of womanhood or menstruation. In general, not just for Native people this is seen as something that is dirty and should be hidden from society. That there might be something wrong with women in general. Why doesn't something that happen naturally have such a bad impact on women and on society. This dance brought about empowerment and helped young girls discover not to be ashamed of their bodies. There is something important about younger girls knowing that there is nothing wrong with their natural bodily functions. To teach women about themselves is rather important. To not be ashamed of yourself and to build up the self-worth that everyone should have about themselves.

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 “Many years ago I was in a bad relationship and I didn’t have the feelings of self-worth to get out of it,” Risling Baldy said. “When I was telling my mom about it, she said ‘Oh, Cutcha, we should have danced for you.’”

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 The dance itself has been out of practice, but is making a comeback. The women being interviewed and actively researching the Flower Dance has found out that at the being it was a first a private affair that has grown over the years into a large place of celebration or parties. The dance is slowly being a larger part of the Native people, as they move back towards their traditions. There is a project or movement going around that the dance would shed light on a woman's empowerment and their roles in their communities. It is to help explain what Native women want to be doing, what they should be doing and that there shouldn't be an harm or shame in being what they want. It will teach society of what they have done and will somewhat shame society itself for the way of thinking that has become so powerful or dominate.

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"...hopes the project will shed light on how the important roles women played in traditional culture were suppressed and even erased by anthropologists, government officials and missionaries."

 

 

“It’s important for people to see the women singing our songs together, to see that we did sing and to understand why it’s important we continue to sing.” 

Paul Frank Industries Will Take Major Steps to Reconcile With Native Americans

 

By ICTMN Staff: September 14, 2012

 Singer and actress Christina Milian, center, and two other guests pose with feathers and tomahawks at Paul Frank Industries' 'Dream Catchin' event.

Paul Frank has deeply offended the Native American community by hosting a themed party called, "Dream Catchin: A Pow Wow Celebrating Fashion's Night Out." How can you base a party theme off of a whole culture? I understand that there are themed parties (like Mexico or Hawaiian), but this is wrong in and of itself. It brings up and reenforced the stereotypes that are present with the ideals of these so called "cultures." Heavy-drinking/heavy-liquored parties, where individuals can act out racist ideals without fear of judgement because "everyone is doing it." Paul Frank had people run around with headdresses on and tomahawks/bows and arrows in there hands. Individuals were caught posing with these objects in photos, over 1000 photos were posted from the event on to his facebook page, but where soon removed due the the fact that individuals were so outraged by the display. 
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"Paul Frank, designer of the ubiquitous monkey-printed tees, has offended many after hosting a Native American culture-themed party complete with tomahawks, feathered headdresses and drinks like the "Rain Dance Refresher," the “Dream Catcher” and the “Neon Teepee."  

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Paul Frank is currently trying to put out the fire that has been lite under his butt, for this political incorrectness.  His company is currently working with some Native American designs to make a shirt where all profits will help out Native American charities or organizations. I don't think that this is enough for all the damage that Paul Frank has caused to the Native American community. He reenforced stereotypes about stupid, savage Indians that run around with weapons and kill each other. The fact that celebrities went along with this idea is even more offensive to society as a whole. Why would anyone consider a culture the theme for a party? If this happened to any other culture wouldn't they get offended? What about a white culture party? As I spoke about before there are Mexican themed parties, but why does no one take offensive these? Is it just a society norm? Is the ideal of racism just something that has become so normal for everyday life that it takes something so large like a "Native-American" themed party to light a fire under the public's ass? The photo seen above is one of the more racist photos that I found from the party. It depicts women as being crazed savages that hold weapons at each other's throat. The women have wild crazed eyes, but are holding smiles that makes them appear safe/welcoming, but as soon as you are off guard they will hold a tomahawk to your throat. There is also issues with the fact that African American women are seen are more violence than the women that appears to have a "white" look about her. There are so many issues on this one photo alone!

To the Indigenous Woman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4Up0drnXX4

To the Indigenous Woman is a poem made by the 1491s. It a poem that speaks about the injustice that is happening against Native woman all over in tribes and not in tribes. There are incidents of Native women being attacked on and off reservations and nothing is done to help these women. There was a report about a Native woman being raped on the reservation and it was reported to the police, but nothing was done about it. She was assaulted by a a few white man, but the Native government couldn't punish the individual and the police officers did nothing to make sure that he was punished for the violence against her. There is not just violence against Native women but all women in general. The levels of incidents are just increased around Native women due to lack of trust, lack of punishment, drugs, alcohol, and general ideas that women are not as important. This is a heartbreaking realization especially since women were once prized among most peoples. Women do a large amount to contribute to society. They are the care-takers, the lovers and the mothers (they make babies...can you make a baby?). There is so much that women can do for societies, but their ideas and activism is not seen as important. This is a common breakdown of all societies. It doesn't matter what race, what color and where you are in the world. Most women are neglected and ignored. This is a great injustice. There is no reason for anyone to be treated as a second class citizens. If there are no women around to have children...then were would society be? There wouldn't be a society after a while. There would be no population growth, no changes and no world. That is a pretty large undertaking that women have. It should be respected. Women should be respected. No one should have to live in fear of being beaten, abused or even killed.

Pe’ Sla Owners Accept $9M Offer from Tribes

Artist Shepard Fairey and photographer Aaron Huey created this in reference to the U.S. government's policy of ignoring the 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie.

By Vincent Schilling: September 12, 2012

 In a historic victory for American Indian tribes, the owners of the sacred site Pe’ Sla have agreed to an offer of $9 million to purchase an approximate 1,900 acres of land also known as Reynolds Prairie from the Rosebud Sioux Tribe (RST). The tribes have united in their front to regain land that originally belonged to them. After a few months of lawyers and contacts there has finally been some progress that appears to be promising. The offer is currently being worked out between the tribes. There is going to be a meeting of the Lakota tribes, which include the Cheyenne River, Rosebud, Oglala, Standing Rock, Yankton Dakota and others. The remaining $8.1M dollars is going to be split between the tribes. Each tribe is going to put forth the effort to make Pe' Sla theirs again. 

“Everyone has been in agreement to obtain this sacred land and to preserve it so it won’t be developed,” said Kingman. “It has been a unified effort, not just the tribe’s but also grandmas and grandpas and young people they have all contributed to the website on LastRealIndians.com.”

I am happy that the tribes are about to receive a large part of their history back, but I can't believe that they have to buy back what they originally owned. First their land was taken from them and now they have to pay $9M dollars to get it back. The land was originally stolen from them in false promises and treaties and now the U.S. wants to have something taken from them fairly? I don't understand how the people selling the land don't feel some kind of guilt or at least some kind of obligation to make the land cheaper for the tribes that are trying to buy it back. I'm not sure if $9M dollars is a steal or not at this point. It is a lot of money for the land....but it might not be that much for the Lakota tribes that are looking to buy it. I hope that everything turns out positive and the Lakota people walk away with their pride and land.

Native Nations’ IDs and Voting Rights Cases

Native Nations’ IDs and Voting Rights Cases
By Suzan Shown Harjo
September 6, 2012

 The recent issues that have been present in the U.S. news about voting scandals have reached Native people. As with the state of Pennsylvania where individuals are required to show a form of identification in order to vote. This places a large damper on individuals that do no hold just identification. There are several populations that this law has/will effect in the upcoming 2012 election; the non-white, elderly, young and poor, who tend to vote for the Democrats will have an extremely difficult time trying to cast their vote. There hasn't been much about what this will do to individuals with only Native identification. This identification has been used for several years that can take place of a State issued ID. Several Native residents do not hold any form of identification other than their Native ID cards. The question is if it will count as an ID to vote in upcoming elections or even as citizenship. Some Native people are worried that they will no longer have a voice in the upcoming election. I believe that this is a valid issue. There has always been a struggle with the United States and Native peoples. The government has passed several regulations that have caused issues that are still impacted individuals today. Why would anyone want to take away someones voice? It is the only power that most people have to fight the government or the person who is making all the choices. This regulation doesn't only affect Native people, but also other large populations of people that were forced into some of the lives that they currently have. There is no end to the way that people will try and mess over other people. I hope that their Native ID cards count as a form of identification, especially since most of the people can trace their roots back before Euro-Americans ever arrived. I'm not sure what Republicans are up to, but I'm not looking forward to the outcome.