MetaFilter posts tagged with indians

The Lost Tribes of the Amazon

jason's_planet — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 09:22:52 -0800

Franco believes that governments must increase efforts to preserve indigenous cultures. “The Indians represent a special culture, and resistance to the world,” argues the historian, who has spent three decades researching isolated tribes in Colombia. Martínez says that the Indians have a unique view of the cosmos, stressing “the unity of human beings with nature, the interconnectedness of all things.” It is a philosophy that makes them natural environmentalists, since damage to the forest or to members of one tribe, the Indians believe, can reverberate across society and history with lasting consequences. “They are protecting the jungle by chasing off gold miners and whoever else goes in there,” Franco says. He adds: “We must respect their decision not to be our friends—even to hate us.”

Breaking A Legacy of Silence

empath — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 20:14:19 -0800

"An April 17, 1981, a CIA cable[pdf] described an army massacre at Cocob, near Nebaj in the Ixil Indian territory, because the population was believed to support leftist guerrillas. A CIA source reported that “the social population appeared to fully support the guerrillas” and “the soldiers were forced to fire at anything that moved.” The CIA cable added that “the Guatemalan authorities admitted that ‘many civilians’ were killed in Cocob, many of whom undoubtedly were non-combatants.” In May 1981, despite these ongoing atrocities, Reagan dispatched Walters to tell the Guatemalan leaders that the new U.S. administration wanted to lift the human rights embargoes on military equipment that former President Jimmy Carter and Congress had imposed."

The Guatemala Documentation Project, part of the National Security Archive, collects information about the decades long civil war in Guatemala, including State Department documents that point to Washington's complicity in massacres, assassinations and human rights violations.

The Curse of Chief Wahoo

josher71 — Wed, 09 May 2012 07:56:49 -0800

The Curse of Chief Wahoo. "Are we paying the price for embracing America's last acceptable racist symbol?".

Join the Adventure

netbros — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 06:37:36 -0800

The Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail is America’s first water-based national historic trail. It consists of the combined routes of Smith’s historic voyages on the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries in 1607-1609. Designated by Congress in December 2006, the trail stretches approximately 3,000 miles up and down the Bay and along tributaries in Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and the District of Columbia. The website includes lesson plans for educators, activity books and historical clues for kids, as well as significant information about Chesapeake Bay, the Native Americans who lived there, and Captain Smith.

Avatar Activism, The Harry Potter Alliance, and Pop Culture Fandom as the gateway to Social Activism

filthy light thief — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 13:04:09 -0800

Back in February 2010, Palestinian activists dressed up as Na'vi and Avatars to bring more attention to the weekly protests against the West Bank barrier. Video of the costumed protest was edited to blend with Avatar footage, to emphasize the protesters' message. In another pop-culture world, The Harry Potter Alliance have run campaigns that tie themes from the stories to real-world issues, in an effort to translate the energy of fans into energy to get active in civil engagement, including a a fundraiser in January that raise raised $34,000 to support Haiti relief efforts. These efforts have been labeled "Avatar Activism," as discussed in a a recent Le Monde diplomatique article and a related piece on NPR. The article from Le Monde diplomatique likened the current costumed and themed activism to the Native American disguises of the Boston Tea Party and the Mardi Gras Indians in New Orleans. Another campaign from The Harry Potter Alliance included collaboration with MassEqaulity, a Massachusetts LGBT group, to "Wrock 4 Equality." The groups put on a a Harry Potter-themed concert, and a "House Cup Competition" to get members active phone banks, to raise points for their chosen house. Avatar imagery and themes were used in a campaign not related to the Palestinian protest. In February, as an ad appealing to Avatar director James Cameron was published in the film industry magazine Variety, on behalf of the Dongria Kondh tribe in eastern India. In July, people dressed as Avatar characters to bring more attention to the actions of the major mining company, Vedanta Resources, against "the real Avatar tribe" of the Dongria Kondh. Then in August of this year, India blocked Vedanta's project to mine one of the tribe's sacred hills.

You Know That's Saag Paneer, Dude

naju — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 12:11:48 -0800

In the wake of increasingly prominent appearances by South Asians in American television (Mindy Kaling, Aziz Ansari, Danny Pudi), NBC has launched Outsourced (preview) (full pilot on Hulu), a comedy about an American who moves to Mumbai to manage a call center. Featuring a mostly South Asian cast, the show is a potential high-water mark for Indians in popular American media. But is the show's portrayal of Indians progressive, or does it get bogged down in stereotypes and clichéd jokes about spicy food and funny names? Himanshu Suri of art rap trio Das Racist weighs in. Videogum: Dear Outsourced, Please Kill Yourself NY Mag: So, Is Outsourced Racist? SFGate: NBC's 'Outsourced': Outrageous or Outstanding? TV Squad: 'Outsourced' Producer Bob Borden on Stereotypes and Sensitivities Slate: Beyond Apu: Why are there suddenly so many Indians on television?

Out of Sight, Out of Mind

Xurando — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 07:04:24 -0800

Is this just another version of the minstrel show? The Pendleton Round-up is celebrating its 100th anniversary. Part of its attraction is the performance of a "American Indian" dance pageant, whose participants are compensated traditionally. "A century later, the mill still provides blankets, and families are still paid to appear, $5 per person each day at the arena. Beef and vegetables are provided, as are tokens for other food. The winner of the “Best Dressed Indian Award” at the parade gets 50 silver dollars. The winner of the “Oldest Indian Couple Award” gets 100 silver dollars in a pouch."

The Occupation of Alcatraz 1969-71

Kattullus — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:14:48 -0800

Forty Thanksgivings ago Alcatraz Island was occupied by a number of Native American activists as a protest. The occupation lasted until June of 1971 The best place to learn about it is PBS's website for Alcatraz Is Not an Island, Jim Fortier's documentary about the Alcatraz Occupation. Besides an overview of the events it has video interviews with the people involved. [RealPlayer required] Here are photographs of the occupation, mostly from newspapers. For a flavor of how the local media covered the events, here's the San Francisco Bay Area Television Archive's Occupation of Alcatraz Collection which has over 40 contemporary newsreports [MPEG4]

Autographs of famous Indians

darsh — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 07:22:58 -0800

An avid collector of autographs, Praful Thakkar has created an online archive of his collection of autographs of famous Indians. There are politicians, authors, Nobel Laureates, actors ...

Ledger Art of Plains Indians

Kattullus — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 12:10:53 -0800

Plains Indian Ledger Art is a website devoted to the art that Plains Indians developed in the latter half of the 19th Century when they got access to paper and modern painting tools. The gallery has 14 different ledgers, including the famous ledger by Black Hawk. The ledgers depict all kinds of scenes, amusing, violent, mythical, mundane and lots of other facets of life for the Plains Indians. There is also a short history of ledger art but for a bit more information read Drawing on Tribal History by Inga Kiderra.

Remembering 10-Cent Beer Night

togdon — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 12:25:12 -0800

ESPN's Paul Jackson tells the tale of 10-Cent Beer Night and the ensuing riot in Cleveland on June 4, 1974.

Lakota Indians Declare Independence

JDHarper — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 06:01:25 -0800

The Lakota People have withdrawn from their treaties with the United States, citing numerous violations of those treaties by the US. They plan to start their own country, issuing passports and drivers' licenses and living tax-free.

Who is Billy Jack?

snsranch — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 15:45:02 -0800

Who is Billy Jack? Tom Laughlin? The Born Losers, was the first in the series of counter culture action flicks. Here's a clip from the film named Billy Jack, that captures the character's response to racism. Eventually this series of films turn to poop, that is politics, with the film Billy Jack goes to Washington. As hokey as this character may seem, there is really something good about Billy Jack.

The other Bob Livingston

phaedon — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 18:51:04 -0800

Cowboys & Indians. Literally.

Let Me Take My Ride

Devils Rancher — Sun, 31 Dec 2006 18:15:46 -0800

The Wall of Death. Celebrated in song and art, the act of riding a motorcycle on the vertical wall of the inside of a cylinder, was a popular carnival attraction, mid-century. Although on the wane since the 70's, there are still a few practitioners, some of whom have better websites than others.

Forever-Flying-Bird

madamjujujive — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 10:48:01 -0800

When Everybody Called Me Gah-bay-bi-nayss - an ethnographic biography of Paul Peter Buffalo, son of Ojibwa medicine woman and grandson of the great chief Pezeke. Buffalo died in 1977, but spent his last dozen years chronicling his heritage and the things the elders told him. Be sure to check out the entry on John Smith, a wonderful character more popularly known as Wrinkle Meat.

n layman’s terms, this is called a con.

amberglow — Thu, 13 Jul 2006 15:20:40 -0800

"Mortgaging Old Black People" --Abramoff, Ralph Reed, the Black Churches Insurance Program, with the old folks' benefits going to Abramoff. They had previously tried it with the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo Tribe of El Paso. (original GQ story here)

Custer Died for Your Sins

LarryC — Sun, 25 Jun 2006 16:34:34 -0800

One hundred and thirty years ago today, George Armstrong Custer divided his forces in the face of a superior enemy and rode to his death at the Little Big Horn. The actual battle lasted about 15 minutes, but the fight over Custer's legacy is going into its second century. Visit the battle memorial (webcam view) explore the archeology of the site, or read an Indian account of the battle. The battle has attracted artists as varied as Charlie Russell (this poster of his painting was distributed by Anheiser Busch and hung in bars across the United States), Thomas Hart Benton, and Kicking Bear (Mato Wanartaka). Little Big Horn is a lonely place today.

Drug War (remember that?) Roundup

raaka — Mon, 20 Feb 2006 04:24:04 -0800

Drugs on the Rez. It's a hell of a life going from utter poverty, where your mom gets you drunk so you'll stop complaining about being hungry, to being able to buy your kids toys with $100 accessories and sending them to private schools, to going back to literally not having a quarter to call your dad. In this case, the money came from Canadian oxycontin. It's not just Native Americans who are targeted by the authorities. It's also Indians. There's a pretty good newish book on the subject of black markets, Illicit. Laos' opium market is apparently gone -- in favor of meth and Afghanistan's market is black in name only, so why keep up the facade?

Acts of sacred violence

languagehat — Mon, 09 Jan 2006 12:30:17 -0800

What’s "Sacred" about Violence in Early America? Susan Juster discusses the "oversized colonial martyr complex" with its attendant paradox: "colonial martyrs were everywhere, religious violence... in short supply." She begins:

One of the most chilling images in early American history is the deliberate firing of Fort Mystic during the Pequot War of 1637. Five hundred Indian men, women, and children died that day, burned alive along with their homes and possessions by a vengeful Puritan militia intent on doing God’s will. "We must burn them!" the militia captain famously insisted to his troops on the eve of the massacre, in words that echo the classic early modern response to heretics. Just five months before, the Puritan minister at Salem had exhorted his congregation in strikingly similar terms to destroy a more familiar enemy, Satan; "We must burne him," John Wheelwright told his parishioners. Indians and devils may have been scarcely distinguishable to many a Puritan, but their rhetorical conflation in these two calls to arms raises a question: Was the burning of Fort Mystic a racial or a religious killing?

She avoids easy answers and makes some interesting connections. If you want to find out more about the Pequot War, there's good material in the History section of this site. (Main link via wood s lot.)

What do you mean "we," white man?

LarryC — Fri, 06 Jan 2006 15:02:56 -0800

Indian Country Today is the national newspaper for American Indians. With news from tribes across the United States and around the world and articles like "Qitsualik: The last great polar bear hunt." And they were down on Ward Churchill before it was cool. Don't have time to add another newspaper to your reading list? Try the podcast.

Native American Exploration

LarryC — Mon, 26 Sep 2005 18:41:16 -0800

A Native American Scoops Lewis and Clark. Moncacht-apé, a Yazoo Indian, traveled up the Missouri and to the Pacific 100 years before Lewis and Clark. He told his story to the Frenchman Le Page du Pratz, who recorded it as part of his 1758 Histoire de la Lousiane (new translations here). Thomas Jefferson owned the book, as did Meriwether Lewis. But a walk to the Pacific Ocean was no big deal for the Mississippi native--after all he had walked to Niagara Falls a few years earlier.

Photos from Brazils' second Indigenous Nations' Games

hellx — Tue, 23 Aug 2005 08:44:35 -0800

The second Indigenous Nations' Games of Para doesn't have a website and there's not even an AP story describing the events, but there are a lot of photos from the games.

Indian Arranged Marriages

daksya — Wed, 30 Mar 2005 08:43:46 -0800

A look at arranged marriages for Indian-Americans.

USDAOPCL (L is for Library)

breezeway — Fri, 25 Feb 2005 12:56:47 -0800

The USDA On Line Photography Center mingles what you might expect with what you might not .