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Honor the Treaties

Aaron Huey on a new way to honor the Native American treaties

September 4, 2013

When he set out to create a photo essay on “poverty in America” in 2005, photographer Aaron Huey had no idea what was in store for him. But what started as one story soon consumed his life as he became a committed activist devoted to raising awareness about Native American treaty rights. Just last month, he launched Honor the Treaties, a national campaign to combine art with advocacy on the topic.

Becoming an advocate for native rights wasn’t exactly his intention. A working photojournalist, Huey’s previous claim to fame had been walking across the United States with his dog. Yet he found himself constantly thinking about his work with members of the Lakota tribe living on the Pine Ridge Reservation, one of the poorest places in the United States. Huey’s talk at TEDxDU in 2010 entirely focused on what he saw as the atrocities wreaked on the Lakota by the American government. He finished his talk in tears and with a powerful call to action: “Honor the treaties. Give back the Black Hills. It’s not your business what they do with them.” Mic drop. “Before that talk, I was still mostly just an observer,” he explained in a recent conversation with the TED blog. “I became an advocate on that stage. And that changed kind of everything for me.”

In turn, the talk spawned a series of projects, including a National Geographic cover story featuring Huey’s photos; a storytelling project featuring unedited stories from the people of the reservation, created in collaboration with digital artist Jonathan Harris; a street art initiative with Shepard Fairey and Ernesto Yerena; the photography book Mitakuye Oyasin; and now, the non-profit campaign Honor the Treaties.

Honor the Treaties, or HTT, is Huey’s first foray into advocacy. With money from Fairey’s Obey fashion line — which supports one cause every year — HTT will provide grants to six Native American artists to help them distribute their work and spread their messages to a wider audience. HTT also plans to release free educational tools for middle and high school history teachers. Huey accepts his dream of the government actually returning land to the Lakota is unlikely, so he intends to focus on issues that might make a difference, such as campaigning against uranium mining, which exploits native lands to grave effects.

One of the most stomach-dropping moments in Huey’s talk is when he recounts that “wasichu,” the Lakota word for a “non-Indian” like himself, also means “the one who takes the best meat for himself.” For many Lakota, the color of Huey’s skin means he is not an appropriate person to advocate for these issues, and that has led to some difficult encounters along the way. Some have criticized him for depicting only the negative aspects of life on the reservation, others for exploiting the Lakota without giving them their own representation. As he puts it, “There is a lot of pain stored in this, and dealing with it in any way, you are releasing that. You’re triggering all of that pain again.” So why does he continue? He confesses he’s tried to stop a number of times. But he simply couldn’t forget about the injustice he’d seen. “I just couldn’t believe it was happening. It was like I’d witnessed a small version of Hiroshima and I kept having to go back to see it. Maybe for a long time I was just trying to understand it.” Now, he says, his goal is not only to focus on the Native American victims of treaty violations, but to build bridges with those who have no idea such violations even exist.

Has his experience at Pine Ridge changed the way he approaches his work? Huey, who still works on editorial projects as a photographer for National Geographic, is clear. “I don’t want to do stories that don’t have a heart,” he says. “I’m just not going to be satisfied with stories where I can’t be passionate about the subject, where I can’t make a difference.”

“Since the Talk” is a regular feature in which we go back to speakers at least one year after they gave their TED Talk. We explore progress and updates on the talk’s idea to find out what happened next. Read more Since the Talk posts »

Performance Artist Explores Stereotypes In ‘The Last American Indian On Earth’

Imagine a man dressed in stereotypically “traditional” Native American garb, donning a massive white feathered headdress, an ornamental tunic, and face paint. Now imagine that man performing mundane tasks in Washington, DC, like grocery shopping, riding an escalator or having lunch at a local restaurant.

The Huffington Post | By Katherine Brooks | 09/03/13

What is your reaction?

The bizarre quandary is put forth by performance artist Gregg Deal, a member of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe originally based in northwestern Nevada. In a striking film project titled “The Last American Indian on Earth,” Deal dresses himself in purposefully questionable attire and goes about his daily business, daring passersby to confront their own preexisting ideas about the modern Native American person.

“The purpose of this project is to raise questions about Native people, often viewed as a relic, and how they’re perceived
in the modern age,” Deal explains in a press statement about the work. “How will [people] react if they saw me, a Native dressed in buckskin and a headdress, doing something as mundane as shopping for cereal at the grocery store? How will they react if they saw me eating Chinese food in China Town or taking pictures of buffalo at the National Zoo?”

The project began filming last month and so far the reactions to Deal’s out-of-place appearance have included a pedestrian shouting “How!” and holding up a hand in salute, as well as a teenage girl exclaiming outloud, “Look, a real live redskin.” Another bystander chanted “hi-a-wat-ah-hi-a-wat-ah” upon seeing Deal in costume, prompting a videographer, Emmanuel Soltes, to follow him up for an explanation. As you can see in the clip above, the man proclaimed that he was not trying to be offensive, and if he had, he would have mentioned the Dallas Cowboys.

In other shots, Deal can be seen carrying signs that read “Thank the creator for Johnny Depp” or “White guilt release station, inquire with indian.”

“The performances will include a number of things that are simple, mundane, funny, political, over the top, satirical, ironic, and even sad,” Deal wrote on his Indiegogo campaign.

Deal plans to submit “The Last American Indian on Earth” for the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. In the meantime, you can scroll through images of Deal in action below. Let us know your thoughts on the concept in the comments.

Dennis Banks to Lead 18,000 Mile “Declare War on Diabetes” Motorcycle Run in 2014

By Levi Rickert, Native News Network

Dennis Banks, cofounder of the American Indian Movement, has issued a Declaration of War on Diabetes.

LEECH LAKE BAND OF OJIBWE TERRITORIES – Dennis Banks, 77, a cofounder of the American Indian Movement, has announced a 18,000 mile motorcycle run across America with hundreds of American Indians participating to “declare war on diabetes.”

His announcement was distributed through a news release Sunday from his foundation, the Nowa Cuming Institute. The news release states:

“The Nowa Cuming Institute has issued a Declaration of War on Diabetes.”

“Diabetes is at an epidemic state in Indian country and must be halted,”

said Banks, who was diagnosed with diabetes four years ago and has reversed his diabetes through a strong diet.

The motorcycle run will have four staring locations in Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego on August 11 with the final destination of the nation’s capital, Washington, DC on September 10, 2014.

Throughout the various routes across America, motorcyclists will stop at various American Indian reservations and communities as they journey to Washington.

Once in Washington, the group will visit members of Congress and present them with a national diabetes policy, according to Banks.

This will be the second endeavor by Banks to draw attention to the ill-effects of diabetes in Indian country. In 2011, he led the “Longest Walk 3 – Reversing Diabetes” that took the long walkers to 72 American Indian reservations and communities before they arrived in Washington.

“If we don’t address this medical issue now, there will no one in the seventh generation who will be healthy and if we don’t take action now to stop diabetes, they will condemn this generation,”

said Banks.

The Nowa Institute released the announcement so that tribes and others who want to be part of the pre-planning of this historic motorcycle run can do so now.

We are asking people of interest to aid in this “War on Diabetes.” said Banks.

Those interested in assisting and supplying diabetes materials may email Goody Cloud at ndn_queen_bee@yahoo.com.

Umatilla dancers educate, perform at State Fair

Roberta Conner of Tamastslikt Cultural Institute benefits from audience participation as women from the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla showcase traditional dances on the last day of the Oregon State Fair. / Thomas Patterson / Statesman Jou

By Elida S. Perez

Sept 2, 2013 Statesman Journal

The Confederated Tribes of Umatilla Indian Reservation took center stage on the last day of the Oregon State Fair today.

Four members of the tribe, wearing traditional clothing such as eagle feathers, moccasins, shell earrings and braids, performed their native dances on the Americraft Cookware Stage.

Roberta Conner, director of the Tamastslikt Cultural Institute who led the dancers, described the dances before each demonstration.

Conner said the tribes have been in Oregon for 10,000 years and have always been welcoming to visitors. When visitors would reach the tribes they would be offered food and water along with a performance of the welcome dance.

Kirke Campbell, of Corvallis, said his daughter wanted to be at the fair today to see the Umatilla dancers.

Campbell was randomly selected from the audience to participate in the owl dance.

“I was honored to be picked,” he said.

At the end of the performance, all of the audience members were asked to join in a circle dance. About 50 took advantage of the opportunity.

“(This) has been the best turn out for the three performances we have done,” Conner said.

Drag Strip Reunion celebrates 10 years in Arlington Sept. 14

Rachel Brown showed off her father Joe Brown's 1940 Willys Coupe at last year's Drag Strip Reunion.— image credit: File photo. — Rachel Brown showed off her father Joe Brown’s 1940 Willys Coupe at last year’s Drag Strip Reunion.
— image credit: File photo.

Kirk Boxleitner, Arlington Times

ARLINGTON — For the 10th year in a row, the west side of the Arlington Municipal Airport will be revving with hot rod and classic car engines this fall, as the Arlington Drag Strip Reunion returns to the blacktop just off the airport’s 188th Street NE entrance on Saturday, Sept. 14, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Visitors will be able to get an eyeful of vintage vehicles and souped-up rigs for an admission fee of $3 for adults and $1 for kids, while entrants in the show will be charged $20 to pre-register or $25 at the gate.

From the 1950s to 1970, the Arlington Airport served as the site of the National Hot Rod Association-sanctioned Drag Strip event, which produced a number of national records in the early years of organized drag racing.

The first Drag Strip Reunion came about in 2004, when the nearby Arlington Boys & Girls Club revived the event to help raise funds for their programs. They received support not only from the city and the airport, but also from the former track manager and track announcer of the original Drag Strip.

Four years ago, Arlington Boys & Girls Club Director Bill Kinney approached the Port Gardner Vintage Auto Club about partnering on the Drag Strip Reunion, since the latter club had been putting on their own auto show to support local charities, including the Boys & Girls Clubs, for the past 31 years.

Jake Jacobsen, of the Port Gardner Vintage Auto Club, touted the show’s focus on supporting the surrounding community as one of its biggest draws.

“It’s all done by volunteers, so all the proceeds are able to go to those local charities,” said Jacobsen, who noted that the Marysville-Pilchuck High School Automotive Program has been among the regular beneficiaries of the show’s proceeds. “We select seniors who will stay in the automotive field after they graduate, and sponsor them to get tools, so they can get hired immediately out of school.”

According to Jacobsen, last year’s Drag Strip Reunion raised slightly more than $10,000 for various charities, and this year’s goal is to reach $12,000.

With as many as 500 vehicles on display and more than 2,400 spectators estimated to have attended last year, Jacobsen reminded those who will be gathering in Arlington for this year’s event weekend that there are no activities on Friday, Sept. 13, associated with the Drag Strip Reunion.

Indeed, while the city of Arlington welcomes the auto enthusiasts who will be coming to the community for the event, the Washington Traffic Safety Commission will be working with the Arlington Police Department to enforce the rules of the road by conducting additional patrols that Friday evening, with zero tolerance for any traffic violations.

“The Arlington Police have been very welcoming to work with on this,” Jacobsen said. “They’ve been totally open and cooperative.”

Jacobsen likewise praised the Arlington business community for its willingness to promote the Drag Strip Reunion.

“We’ve gotten lots of great local support, and our local businesses have been a big part of that,” Jacobsen said. “People become very cooperative when they hear that it all goes back to charity. A lot of local merchants just like supporting local events, and 95 percent of them have been very happy to talk to us.”

In turn, the Drag Strip Reunion will further show its support for the surrounding community by collecting non-perishable food items for local food banks, and will even incentivize those donations by rewarding those contributors with free raffle tickets.

The local charities which receive funds from the Drag Strip Reunion will have their own table, and the Burned Children Recovery Foundation’s fire truck will be featured among the hundreds of current and historic classics, street rods, customs and specially restored drag cars from the strip’s heyday in the 1950s and ’60s.

For more information, log onto the event’s website at www.arlingtondragstripreunion.com.

Salmon Homecoming Celebration, Sept 19-21

The 21st Annual Salmon Homecoming Celebration is scheduled for September 19-21, 2013.

www.salmonhomecoming.org

Salmon Homecoming is all about the people of the Pacific Northwest, whoever they are and whatever they do. That means we’re here for you, because your health, spirit and even your sustainable economy is most certainly about the salmon.

Want to volunteer? Fill out our volunteer form or contact Salmon Homecoming Coordinator, Linda James-Laville, by phone at (206) 999-0532 or email shcacoordinator (a) gmail (dot) com .

The Salmon Homecoming Alliance is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit foundation, established to organize, plan, develop and facilitate programs and events associated with Salmon Homecoming. Board members represent a variety of governments, associations, foundations and industries. Our objectives are to provide opportunities for tribal and non-tribal communities to come together in a positive atmosphere, learn from one another, and explore ways to support cooperative spirit in salmon restoration and protection.

We are happy to continue the tradition by celebrating the 21st annual Salmon Homecoming ceremony. The celebrations have always included cultural presentations, such as Northwest traditional gatherings, Pow Wows and Cedar Canoe events. We’ve sponsored environmental fairs, educational outreach activities, salmon bakes and even salmon runs. We present “Seventh Generation Legacy Awards” every year to people who have made important contributions to natural resources and Indian/non-Indian relations. We have accomplished much, but our Salmon Story has just begun.

“Salmon are the measuring stick of well-being in the Pacific Northwest.”
-Billy Frank, Jr., Chairman, Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission

Football and Hogans: Super Bowl XLIX Will Feature Large Indian Village

Lee Allen, Indian Country Today Media Network

Seeking to take advantage of a captive audience, all 22 tribes in the state of Arizona are expected to be represented at an American Indian Village as part of the 2015 Super Bowl XLIX in Phoenix. Even though it’s two years out, planning by the Arizona American Indian Tourist Association is already underway.

“This is a fantastic opportunity to get the Indian country message out to the thousands who will attend the football championship,” says Donovan Hanley (Navajo), current Tourist Association president. The Village, one of the association’s largest collaborative efforts, showcases the sights, sounds and flavors of Native dance, music, arts and crafts, and food—a slice of tribal life.

“We set up an Indian Village during the 1996 and 2008 NFL Super Bowls in Phoenix and drew 20,000 attendees,” said past AAITA President Rory Majenty (Yavapai). Another 8,000 visitors enjoyed the experience during the 2012 Centennial.

The Indian Village Returns to Arizona (Centennial Celebration)

Although plans are not yet in place for 2015, much of the color and pageantry of last year’s Centennial should re-appear at the Super Bowl—displays like a replica of a Navajo hogan, a traditional Hopi house, and a Salt River Pima-Maricopa round house; demonstrations of traditional piki bread-making; performances by gourd singers accompanied by aboriginal instruments; dancers performing the Pal’hik Mana (Water Maiden) and the Eagle Dance; artists who will show how pottery is made from the collection of the clay to the finished product—everything is on the table in current discussions.

“This is a great venue to market Indian tourism to a captured audience and to educate visitors of the growth and abilities of Arizona’s native peoples,” said Majenty. “We’re a big part of this state and lay claim to a large part of its history and identity.”

And that includes the sport of football too. “The Indian and the NFL are not separate entities,” says Raphael Bear (Yavapai). “Native American gridiron star Jim Thorpe was one of the first Commissioners when the National Football League was started. We have an opportunity here as a tourist organization for American Indians to let the world know we’ve always been a part of this sports scene. A smart card player plays the strongest cards in his hand and the Thorpe connection is a trump card for us to hold during the Super Bowl.”

“I know people aren’t going to just stop into the Village and then make plans to vacation in Indian Country,” says Hanley. “This kind of focused concentration takes years and years to become truly effective, but an authentic Indian Village can plant a bug to spur further interest in all we have to offer in the state.

“While many out-of-state football fans may just fly in and fly out to count kickoffs and savor the touchdowns, we expect regional attendees to visit the Village both before and after the game and feel if we tantalize all the sensory options with our exhibits and entertainment, it will peak further interest in Arizona’s Indian country.”

Bumbershoot’s 2013 Lineup

Bumbershoot 2013, August 31 – September 2, 2013 at Seattle Center

Source: Bumbershoot.org

Now in its 43rd year, Bumbershoot has consistently drawn artists representing the best in music, film, comedy, spoken word, dance, theatre, performance, and visual arts to Seattle every Labor Day weekend.

North America’s largest urban arts festival, Bumbershoot takes place in the heart of the city at the 74-acre Seattle Center.

Over 100,000 visitors from near and far spend the weekend experiencing groundbreaking local, national, and international artists in all arts disciplines and musical genres at venues large and small, indoor and outdoor.

Bumbershoot also features a variety of food, merchandise, and urban craft vendors throughout Bumbershoot grounds—there’s plenty to eat, see, and do all weekend long.

Check out the full lineup here.

34th Annual Puyallup Tribal Pow Wow, Aug 30-Sept 1

34th Annual Puyallup Tribal Pow Wow, August 30, 31 and September 1, 2013

Grand Entry Friday 7 PM sharp! Dance & Drum Competitions, Puyallup Tribal Royalty Contest, Native American Arts & Crafts, Native American Food Booths. Salmon Bake: Saturday 5-7 PM

Location: Chief Leschi Schools 5625 52nd St. E. Puyallup WA 98371

Information: Puyallup Tribe, 253.680.5730 or 253.405.2962 Mon-Fri 9am-4:30 PM

Injunuity signs CD pact with record company

Tony Choate, Director, Chickasaw Nation Media Relations

ADA, Okla. – Musicians Brad Clonch and Jeff Carpenter, better known as the Native American band Injunuity, have inked a record deal with an Arizona company.

Phoenix-based Canyon Records and Injunuity came to agreement almost a year ago. Canyon will release the band’s independently produced third compact disc Fight For Survival. The 2010 release won the band Songwriters of the Year honors at the Native American Music Awards or “Nammy.” Nammy awards are the equivalent to mainstream music’s Grammy Awards.

“They (Canyon) are one of the largest distributors of Native American music nationally and internationally,” Clonch said. “They took the album and are redesigning the artwork. They are reproducing the recording tracks to give it more of a flare that they are accustomed to in terms of the Native flute. We signed on with them a year ago in October and they’ve been reworking Fight For Survival over the last year,” he added.

“Instead of Jeff and me selling CDs out of the trunks of our cars, it will be released to stores. Our music will be available in many locations. People will know ‘hey, here’s this new sound, this new band,’ ” Clonch said.

The musicians are expecting release of Canyon’s version of Fight For Survival soon and with it they expect to become busier performing at Native American festivals and venues nationally and internationally.

Not that they aren’t already busy.

In fact, Clonch, who plays Native flute and is an accomplished pianist, and Carpenter, a multi-talented guitarist and saxophone player, recently ventured to Switzerland for a Native American concert known as Apache Moon. They departed Oklahoma in July and returned home about a week later.

Each raves about the experience, the welcome they received and how they were able to do radio and television interviews to inform people about their music, Chickasaw history and culture.

The festival’s organizer, Davide Buzzi, is interested in Native American music and culture. He organized the festival in Semione, Switzerland, approximately 10 years ago. Both musicians said the opportunity to visit with Europeans and share what it means to be Native American was exciting. Both work for the Chickasaw Nation. Carpenter is Chickasaw and Clonch is Mississippi Choctaw.

“There are still a lot of stereotypes about Native Americans, especially (in Europe),” Clonch said. “A lot of them think we still live on reservations, ride horses, and live in teepees. It’s actually very cool. Instead of them coming to America, we traveled to Europe to share our culture with them.” The pair explained to European media while some tribes did live in teepees, the Chickasaws lived in villages comprised of a summer home and winter home made of mud huts with a thatch roof.

“We were able to educate them on that and show them it’s not always what Hollywood portrays,” Clonch explained. “We were able to teach them some Chickasaws words and we sat down for many interviews where we talked about the Chickasaw Nation, how it was removed from the ancestral home lands and how it has thrived and continues to thrive in Oklahoma.”

With a newly-released fourth CD titled Spirits, a recording contract, and interest in the group spreading globally, Injunuity hits the road again in September.

A two-day festival celebrating Native Americans is held annually in Tuscumbia, Ala. Injunuity will make its sixth appearance there in as many years.

“That festival is probably one of the biggest reasons we still exist,” Carpenter notes with a big smile. “The reception we get out there was just unbelievable.”

“When you go to an area where people don’t experience (Native music) every day, they are just in awe of it,” Clonch said.

To learn more about the band and performance dates, visit www.injunuity.net.