Sacheen Littlefeather

 

Sacheen Littlefeather (1946- ), a Native American activist and actress, is best known for refusing an Academy Award on behalf of Marlon Brando in 1973. He had won Best Actor for playing Don Corleone in “The Godfather” (1972), his most famous role. Brando thought it better to go to the stand-off at Wounded Knee between AIM and the FBI than to go to the Oscars.

She came up on stage dressed in her Northern Traditional powwow dance outfit, refused the Oscar and then said in part:

“He very regretfully cannot accept this very generous award. And the reasons for this being are the treatment of American Indians today by the film industry (boos, applause) and on television in movie reruns and also with recent happenings at Wounded Knee.”

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Sourced through Scoop.it from: abagond.wordpress.com

Mixed Race Native Americans with Doctorate Degrees

Adrienne Keene

Writer behind Native Appropriations. ᏣᎳᎩ (Cherokee Nation), Postdoc studying Native higher ed

Elizabeth LaPensée

Anishinaabe + Métis + Irish // Ph.D. in Interactive Arts & Technology // Design, Art, Writing // Games, Comics, Animations //

 

Métis People

Metis family near Strathcona, Alberta – 1901

Métis people (aka Katipâmsôchik), one of the Aboriginal peoples in Canada who trace their descent to mixed First Nations and European heritage.

The Métis homeland includes regions scattered across Canada, as well as parts of the northern United States (specifically Montana, North Dakota, and northwest Minnesota).

The photo above is from the Facebook album, Métis people, old photos (Part 1), more photos here, Métis people, old photos (Part 2)

Choreographer Rulan Tanga identifies as Métis. Check photos of Rulan and her interview here.

Learn more about Metis people from the University of British Columbia 

Changing Perceptions and Making Connections—One Map at a Time

Aaron Carapella’s maps show tribal nations with their original names before there were boundary lines brought by colonizers.

 

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Sourced through Scoop.it from: indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com

Navajo Kindergartner Sent Home First Day of School For Having Long Hair – UPDATE

Navajo Kindergartner with long hair ponytail sent home (2014), School still forbids long hair and ponytails on boys in 2015-2016

 

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Sourced through Scoop.it from: 500nations.us

I did more research after Amanda Blackhorse @blackhorse_a asked “Does anyone know where this school is?”

 

What I found was shocking.

Department of Interior, Indian Affairs, Hiring a Genealogist

The NGS website announced this week an opening at the Department of Interior, Indian Affairs, for a genealogist in the Washington DC vicinity.  Let’s hope that whoever they hire also understands, and I mean really understands, DNA testing – as they assuredly will be bombarded with questions about how DNA testing pertains to Native people and their descendants.

 

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Sourced through Scoop.it from: nativeheritageproject.com

American Indians – Legal Recognition

A guest post by Jefe:

American Indians seek legal recognition for many reasons, usually related tosovereignty.

Tribal sovereignty refers to tribes’ right to govern themselves, define their own membership, manage tribal property, and regulate tribal affairs. It further recognizes the existence of a government-to-government relationship between such tribes and other governments, be they tribal, foreign, state or federal.

 

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Sourced through Scoop.it from: abagond.wordpress.com

Finding Your American Indian Tribe Using DNA

Native Heritage Project

If I had a dollar for every time I get asked a flavor of this question, I’d be on a cruise someplace warm instead of writing this in the still-blustery cold winter weather of the northlands!

So, I’m going to write the recipe of how to do this.  The process is basically the same whether you’re utilizing Y or mitochondrial DNA, but the details differ just a bit.

So, to answer the first question.  Can you find your Indian tribe utilizing DNA?  Yes, it can sometimes be done – but not for everyone, not all the time and not even for most people.  And it takes work on your part.  Furthermore, you may wind up disproving the Indian heritage in a particular line, not proving it.  If you’re still in, keep reading.

I want you to think of this as a scavenger hunt.  No one is going to give you the prize.  You…

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Interview with Celeste De Luna, Xicana artist – Xica Nation

Hello and welcome to Xica Nation.  Could you tell us your name, age, nation and how you identify?

Celeste De Luna, 40,  Xicana, I identify myself as an indigenous person of the North American continent, one in the process of trying to decolonize my mind and spirit and that of my family.  The loss is so great that it feels insurmountable sometimes, but I look to my communities for help.

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Source: xicanation.com

Skid Row’s Indian Alley Adorned with Native Murals to Honor Tragic Past

Artist Jaque Fragua rests after completing his mural in Indian Alley. (Stephen Zeigler)
Read more at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2015/01/10/skid-rows-indian-alley-adorned-native-murals-honor-tragic-past-158563

Source: indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com

 

By 1954 approximately 6200 Native Americans had been relocated to cities. –Indian Relocation Act of 1956 

 

Also see: Indian termination policy 
During 1953–1964, more than 100 tribes were terminated, approximately 1,365,801 acres (5,527 km2) of trust land were removed from protected status, and 13,263 Native Americans lost tribal affiliation. –Effects
From the native standpoint, Northern Cheyenne former U.S. Senator from Colorado Ben Nighthorse Campbell said of assimilation and termination in a speech delivered in Montana:
“ If you can’t change them, absorb them until they simply disappear into the mainstream culture. …In Washington’s infinite wisdom, it was decided that tribes should no longer be tribes, never mind that they had been tribes for thousands of years. ”
—- Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Opening Keynote Address