UNDUE EXPECTATIONS

The reality is people have to stop placing undue expectations on us-they have to realize that the nations are comprised first and foremost of people-individuals with individual characteristics-some good, some bad, just as it is with any people.
Their apparent unwillingness to do so creates an untenable burden and gives rise to new age appropriation that “spiritualizes” every aspect of the nations-it is not true. You might recall AIM made a lot of noise about their spiritual base during WK2 and beyond-the same spiritual base that was involved in the murder of Annie Mae.

Blind allegiance to one’s such as Graham, or Peltier for that matter, based on the fact they are indigenous and therefore must be spiritually oriented in some way is not only myopic but also manipulated as they couch their lives in terms of being spiritual beings. You’re being played with all that.

There was no uniform code of beliefs that encompassed every nation, there were as many variances as they were and are language. The status of women varied as well and even in the best of circumstances their’s was not an easy life and many heavy burdens fell to them-those burdens have increased due to a variety of factors, and once the grand rhetoric is set aside I
fail to see an improvement in status.

The general public will rail about the selling of religion and beliefs as with the case of “dispensations” in the Catholic Church, or the snake oil of televangelists who are little more than carnival barkers in the selling of their wares for “love offerings”.
Yet this same public will flock in droves to so called medicine men, “shamen”, professed pipecarriers, wannabe chiefs of dubious heritage, and faux tribes who paint themselves in the colors of the rainbow and believe they in turn are spiritualized by doing so-and it becomes yet another stone laid upon the nations they must carry.

It leads to the corruption of tradition and the total meltdown of culture. If the nations will rail against the the Catholic church and televangelist then they must in turn confront and rail against their counterparts among their own-they are apostates in their own right who seek only profit and notoriety.
Apply the same formula to these plastic shamen as you would to any who sell the most sacred of things among their people, among your own, and understand it has never been the way of the nations to pimp their people or their beliefs-any who do define themselves for what they are and in another time would have been summarily banned.

There are no degrees of enlightenment among the nations-no seven levels of achievement-this isn’t martial arts with various colored belts bestowed
along the way-no Ankh’s, crucifixes, mojo, or merit badges.
Perhaps when this is understood and accepted then the unrealistic expectations can be removed from the nations, the way back to tradition can be found and women can find their rightful place again.

A TIME TO MARCH

To walk or march in protest of an existing condition or abuse is a worthy form of advocacy-much the same as striking is. It gains attention for issues and can lead to support as the result of an increased awareness.
It is an implement not to be overlooked, but also one to use judiciously.

The nations have much to protest and march about, not only health issues but poverty, unemployment, housing, and even the lack of political viability and input.
It is an endless list of grievances,  and all valid. One of the more pressing issues is the physical and sexual abuse of women and children, and as a brother rhetorically asked of me the other day- why isn’t there a march for this , as I ask it now?

It is a good question that demands an answer-and I’m not speaking in terms of an AIM led march as another media event, or even a local one-rather one comprised of all nations and on a national level.
The truth of the matter is such a national march hasn’t taken place because the existence of this is a disgrace and a shame easier for the leaders to ignore than to confront.
It flies in the face of oratory about matriarchy, placing women on pedestals, and the past tradition of honor and respect for them that is claimed to exist now.

Such rhetoric is a hollow and empty place lacking any substance when such abuses are commonplace-when it is the victim who is blamed often to the point of finding some measure of dignity only in leaving.

I think the greater good for the people would be in addressing these issues rather than staging a fishing expedition where one fish over the limit is taken, or selectively marching for a specific malady that is no more virulent than the one of rape and abuse.

Call the media and alert them to a protest at Whiteclay? Why not? It is important to address rampant alcohol abuse as well-but is it any more destructive, does it tear more at the fabric of families, communities where women and children are routinely seen as targets, or entire nations? I don’t think so.
March and hold rallies for the likes of a Peltier or a Graham claiming an injustice has been done, and not do likewise for the real injustice done to women and children?  Where is the balance in that-what part of that comprises the circle?

It is women, more specifically the daughters of Annie Mae, who initiated the fight, the march for justice for her, and tragically it appears as though it must be women to lead once again in this pursuit of justice for all women against this scourge. Ones such as Tillie Black Bear and Jackie Brown Otter-and a shout out to Joann Spotted Bear -woman unafraid-who I know would be there with a stick in her hand kicking ass and taking names.

All this while men speak of pedestals, matriarchy, and being warriors.

THE WALKING, RUNNING (AWAY) MAN

I am told there used to be a program on television some decades ago called To Tell the Truth-on this program either three or four contestants would tell the same story and it was up to a panel of celebrity judges to question them and determine who was lying.
I think Banks and his AIM cronies would have thrived in such a venue and completely baffled the panel.
Consider for a moment the many similarities they profess to share, and some they won’t admit to.

(1) Warriors of Renown
(2) Selfless Leaders
(3) Founts of wisdom
(4) Authors of necessity to tell their version
(5) Heroes
(6) Victims
(7) Blatant revisionists
(8) Financially better off than those they “serve”
(9) Subject to episodes of selective laryngitis
(10) All absent for Annie’s two funerals
(11) Wannabe Hollywood celebrities
(12) An inability to be elected even as dog catcher among their own
(13) Participants in the destruction of WK2
(14) The singular source for the history of indigenous people
(15) And as Russell said “I always fly first class”…. that while so very many indigenous people struggle to makes ends meet, and wend their way in battered vehicles held together with baling wire and a hope bred of necessity. Cardboard or garbage bags to replace missing windows, like the desperate migrants of Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath- all longing for and
deserving something better.
But not our heroes whose tables are never graced with Spam, powdered milk, tasteless peanut butter, and canned mysteries labelled pork and beef that are referred to as nutritious commodities. Neither are they ever barren.

And that’s just the short list. Let the media be anywhere in the vicinity and they’re there-let them devise something and they’ll notify the media without hesitation.
None of this is new though-it is well established and people are aware of it. It has been the bread and butter for too many years to count.

Dennis Banks-‘ol smoke and mirrors-the chameleon who always gets the color wrong. The one who hides behind a penchant for young teenage girls in claiming “elk medicine”-nice cover. The absentee father who says he places all women on a pedestal and abandons them when trouble comes as he did with the RV stop. I wonder what that power is called?

The leader of walks who is transported in a vehicular manner to the proximity of the next reporter and camera-all the while making those hard decisions leaders have to make-like who rides and who walks-who sleeps in a bed at the hotel at night and who sleeps on the ground after a cold meal and a long days walk, who gets to stand in the light of his reflected glory.

Fortunate it is that a one such as he is willing to make those sacrifices and tough decisions. Where would the people be without him? Now as the support and fan base dwindles he is seen in the company of the crystal wavers, those seers and crystal ball carriers that can tell you all about who you used to be and who the spirits they “channel” say you should be now. Sorry Dennis, Russell has already said he’s been told he is Crazy Horse come again- but there remains many notables to choose from.

All very much in keeping with those traditional values they love to talk about-these crystal wavers have found their niche in a confused and bewildered society, not to mention a lucrative market.

I wish  somebody would pay me some ludicrous  fee for talking on the phone and telling them they were once Pocahontas or Hiawatha-but I guess I don’t have the “gift”, truth is I’m more  than pleased with the lack of it. No doubt the next scam will be future life progression rather than past life regression-think of the benefits, you’ll have time to prepare in knowing who you’ll be next time around.

Yeah, our man Dennis-what a blessing, what a gift from Creator for a troubled and
disenfranchised people. The one who loves so deeply, and values women so highly he won’t
lift a finger to facilitate justice for Annie Mae, the one so close to his heart. The pedestal he says he places them on is never as high as the one he selects for himself.

If Dennis wants to serve his people, the nations, he could best do so by assisting in this quest for justice-if not, the next best thing he could do would be to have the grace to just fade away and take his cronies with him. Maybe get a job, or collect aluminum cans to fill his waking hours rather than create donations based foundations.
So much silence about so many things from all the wannabe chiefs as characterized by the
Elders’s  statement, like AIM-IITC and all that money. And now we see Gaddhafi -a favored AIM benefactor, a dictatorial, autocratic, and utterly ruthless oppressor is getting his just desserts. His redeeming value to AIM in their “fight for liberation”? He had money they could turn tricks for. Suck up to one tyrant so you can say you oppose another-was that the AIM vision for the people?

Funny thing how all these AIM relics from a bygone era have experienced the same timely
epiphany and verbally place women on pedestals now. Kind of seems to be connected to
the growing truth about AIM and Annie Mae doesn’t it? Or maybe it’s just coincidental-I’ll
have to consult my psychic about that and get back to you.

The reality is that neither the truth about Annie Mae, AIM, or WK2 cannot be walked
away from-it is a tether that will not break- a net that having been cast is being
reeled in, and it will be interesting to see what is pulled from the murky depths.

THEIR’S IS THE TRUE STORY

Diabetes is only one of several illnesses that plague the rez and indigenous people in general as a direct result of diet, polluted water, and toxins in the land.
As difficult as it is for me to separate addressing these issues and their remediation from the presence of Dennis Banks,  anything that raises awareness is a good thing despite who feels compelled to lead the parade.

I intentionally employ the word parade not to denigrate a good effort involving many good people, but because I think that is what it is about for all the AIM leaders of yesteryear. An ongoing effort to maintain some relevance and to present a kinder gentle image. I do not think that others who join in this walk have any desire than for the stated purpose- to raise a voice and create public awareness, and they should be praised for that.

Diabetes among the nations has evolved into what could well be called a a virulent entity that stalks every man, woman, and child among indigenous people-no remedy can be effected until such a time as a viable agricultural base is established on evey rez. To do so does not require names or a vehicle for personal attention-only the will and the efforts of the people.

Coupled with this is the necessity to educate, especially the young, in that is empowerment and the wisdom to make knowledgeable choices relating to health and diet. It would be a mistake and repetition of past errors to expect the government to “fix” the problem. Reliance on them for money to fund programs is not the answer as should be painfully obvious to all.

When Banks and his AIM cronies want to lead a parade for truth and accountability in the murder of Annie Mae, Ray Robinson, and others, and the truth about WK 2 then I might listen to what he and they have to say.
Until such time he can eat all the produce he wants, walk and talk as much as he wants, or have more children, and it changes nothing. There are countless others who would make far better spokespersons for the nations than he or any of the others I have alluded to-hopefully there is a growing awareness of that as well.

Furthermore I’m not impressed with a “chief” as in “chief” Harry Goodwolf Kindness who charges for “readings”. Have a problem, need psychic advice or counselling, need to know if you were Lozen or Geronimo via a “past life regression”? Then dial 1 -800 Goodwolf Kindness-it’s really that easy. Hopefully we will be spared pipe keepers and medicine men named Precious.

I am struck by the fact that there must be more chiefs and pipe carriers now than in the combined history of the nations-though I suspect they don’t all live in Las Vegas-what a disaster the net has been for tradition and culture.

Of interest to the reader, should they notice, is the absence of women in either the photos or in the quotes, I don’t imagine that is ICT’s oversight but something that adds credence to my reference to a parade and relevance-familiar faces in a familiar venue seeking the familiarity of attention.

Maybe I’m wrong though and women have developed an immunity to diabetes-they certainly don’t seem to share the same infection that craves notoriety.
As a man, while I find this predictable exclusion difficult to accept I have no difficulty in admitting there is a need for men to do better, to be more inclusive-and those who would be leaders should break with the tradition they have created and use their access to provide examples.

I believe ICT makes every effort to be balanced in it’s approach, but I think it would be a notable service to provide a series of feature headline articles devoted to indigenous women who serve their communities-women like Tilly Black Bear, Marley Shebala,  Jackie Brown Otter, for example-there is a long list to choose from and many within communities who have never been mentioned. Done so sequentially to make the point.

A friend recently sent me a link to an article by a reporter who was calling for a month long moratorium on all things Palin-that would be quite a novelty and ground breaking-I think it would be a good thing to do likewise with all things related to the AIM leadership circa wk2, with the exception of legal issues.

This event is certainly newsworthy and of importance, but I believe the  article could have been written without any reference to the well knowns and had a greater human interest value if random interviews had been conducted among those in the “back ground”, for they are in all probability the ones who are the least financially able to deal with the necessities and day to day problems arising from diabetes.  Their’s is the true story, and the ones never
individually heard.

There is an error in the last link that will require a copy/paste in your browser search window-I would encourage any who read to do so as it is very relevant

http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2011/02/ambassadors-of-reversing-diabetes-began-5400-mile-cross-country-walk/

http://www.pebooks.com/lasvegas/harry/

http://www.indiegogo.com/Whats-in-the-Heart

www.myspace.com/thelongestwalk30yearanniv/blog/434904628

A SIMPLE QUESTION

Tim Giago, a well respected journalist, has recently commented about the fiasco
that was Wounded Knee 2-he has done so without vitriol (though I think some would
be appropriate), in doing so he has pointedly asked what liberation eventuated-the
obvious answer as he alludes to is absolutely none.
No one was freed, in point of fact some were held hostage, homes and businesses
were looted and burned, vehicles commandeered and many destroyed as well.

None of which speaks to liberation or liberators-it is in fact nothing less than a criminal activity and Giago is well qualified to address this issue and the murder of Annie Mae of which he has said:

Her abduction and murder “can only be described as a conspiracy and a cover-up by
the American Indian Movement.”

http://64.38.12.138/News/2011/000464.asp

Giago is in fact Lakota and grew up on the PR rez-in 1981 he founded the
Lakota Times only to have the buildings windows shot out on multiple occasions as
well as being fire bombed-that sounds all too familiar for those who speak out against
AIM, the events of WK2, and the murder of Annie Mae doesn’t it?
He received multiple threats on his life and an attempt was made. In 1992 the Lakota
Times was renamed Indian Country Today, and like it’s predecessor a source of integrity
for factual information.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tim-giago/what-is-the-truth-about-t_b_62521.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tim-giago/wounded-knee-was-burned-t_b_822560.html

I pose a simple question-who has the greater validity-Tim Giago, Paul DeMain, the
countless other indigenous journalists who concur with Giago’s opinion, the testimony
and eye witness accounts of both WK2, and the abduction and later interrogation of Annie
Mae at the WK defense council office? Or is it convicts like Peltier and Graham, those who
perpetrated the events of WK2, the murder of Williams and Coler, the Murder of Annie Mae, Ray Robinson and others?

Websites, walking and talking, writing books, grinding out pulp fiction in the
form of endless videos, distorting and the out of context selective gleaning of bits
and pieces from court documents, and making the talk show rounds fail to change the
reality of what has happened.

They are an attempt to milk a supportive response from the latent emotion in people to coalesce with the underdog-to be enamoured of those who would present themselves as rebels with a cause, and perhaps some sense of  guilt and duty bestowed upon them by their forebearers.

A cause centered on a poverty stricken, long suffering people, who for all  intents and purposes are unwilling captives in a land that is their’s.
Nothing could be further from the truth-it has been a road to celebrity and a financial security those they claim to speak for do not enjoy.

It is enough, too much, and those who believe the lies and propaganda,
well intentioned though they may be in their belief, need to re examine their position and transfer their support to the real underdogs-the people who comprise the nations- the untold
tens of thousands whose names they do not and may never know.
The ones who suffer and endure not only at the hands of governmental policies,
but at the hands of those who have enriched themselves at their expense.

I will not resort to the self serving crudeness of saying for a person to
“use your goddam brains”, or to suffer another to rush to my defense in doing
so by saying that’s just the way I speak-but I would say, I would  ask, to look further than what is produced by the grist meal, to question and ask, to hear those “little voices”.
In doing so good is served and an opportunity to understand not only the
nations but the good that can be found in each of us who understands there is
more to life than what serves us.

Children will inherit what we leave them and the examples we have set-it is time to think of those things.

AN UNWITTING BURDEN

Thelma Rios has passed away as the result of lung cancer-Randy Connelly, one of her attorneys has paid tribute to her as a warrior, and offers the opinion that any involvement in the murder of Annie Mae was “unwitting”-I’m not  willing to add to the burden of mourning her family carries now by speaking ill of her-but I think perhaps Connelly “unwittingly” adds to the burden of grief another slain woman’s family has carried-that of Annie Mae.

I wonder if Banks, Means, Crow Dog, and the rest of warriors will attend her funeral when they all had more pressing things to attend to when Annie Mae was buried…..twice?

ttp://www.bismarcktribune.com/news/state-and-regional/article_4e874b7a-35f7-11e0-9e3b-001cc4c03286.html

http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/news/state-and-regional/article_dbf8864c-ccc3-5cef-9381-d72e0cf825fc.html

HUCK, AIM, WILBUR RIEGERT,and WOUNDED KNEE 2

Interesting to follow the AIM money trail and the tactics employed-from Federal grants, individual churches, the World Council of Churches, Libya, and even communist organizations.
An accurate accounting will probably never be made but to look at conditions on the rez during their fifteen minutes it’s obvious little of it trickled down to the people who needed it.

And what makes a sham of so much of their high rhetoric is their absolute willingness to align themselves with repressive governments like Libya, Venezuela, and Russia-all the while beating their chests and gushing crocodile tears about oppression-anything for a buck.

Below is a link to an article-I would direct your attention to the lower left section at the bottom of the article that says Reference: Renegades, clicking on that will download a pdf containing a May 1973 article by Susan  L.M. Huck, a contributing editor to The Review Of The News.

It makes for interesting reading and any questions raised by those who read should be addressed by making the effort to search on the net. For those who proclaim and look for a fed connection the details outlined in this article could be it-the problem is if it is so it would involve their heroes. The fact that too many won’t has been heavily relied upon

What should be kept in mind is that the article was written 38 years ago, some of what is known now was not then, likewise some of what was known then has been forgotten or obscured. And there has been an avalanche of propaganda.
I’m not comfortable with some of the terminology,or necessarily the authors
writing style- but then I haven’t been comfortable with some of the terminology others
employ-like land warrior for instance,  or I was Annie Mae’s good “friend”, a “protector”,
so I look for what can be verified, or in the context of what is known is reasonable to
assign some credibility to.

I make no assertions that every word contained in this pdf is gospel, only that it is as much worth reading as anything else that has been presented these many decades,  and if some measure of time is devoted to researching points that are made a few surprises may appear.

It is an injustice that those in AIM who have always been motivated for the right reasons have had to bear the shame of others whose priority was serving themselves, I hope people and history will remember that as they are the heart and soul of the nations-not the ones who have made a business of saying they are.

A lot of explanations and theories have been given about the motivation behind WK2,  one among them that says it was an effort to secure the sacred canupa given by Pte Ska Win to secure their “authority” and legitimize themselves-and the reason they pillaged Wilbur Riegert’s museum and dwelling, why they burned his manuscript that described the lineage of the pipecarriers-why he was thrown into the street despite the fact that he was wheelchair bound,and why his museum, which was an homage to a people-the lakota-was burned.

He didn’t suffer such abuse or loss alone-the Gildersleeves did as well, and then were soundly renounced, neither did the dozens of others who lost their homes, had their property destroyed, vehicles commandeered, or were forced to flee from a group of of “liberators” whose majority numbers were neither from Pine Ridge or Lakota. That doesn’t even address those who were murdered there at the hands of the “liberators” like Ray Robinson. Warriors in the finest tradition who made war on invalids and old people? I don’t think so.

The name of Wilbur’s book is Quest For the Pipe of the Sioux and below you will find a link that provides a photo of the museum and Wilbur. Take a look at the photo and ask yourself if you as a liberator, a champion of the people, would force him out of his home and into the street. If you would destroy his personal items-not to mention ransack and destroy this humble museum? Does he look like an enemy, a physical threat?

There is a lot of dispute about who is the rightful pipecarrier, several factions and accusations hurled back and forth-it is a thing to address and resolve for the common welfare of the nation- the ability to do that rests with the people as it was given to and for them-not for individuals to squabble over,  or for media figures, would be leaders and politicians, to decide.

http://questforthepipe.com/wilbur

http://federalexpression.wordpress.com/2011/01/25/wake-up-alex-jones-russell-means-is-no-libertarian/