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8 -om- I k Roots Awakening Wy w a r ***

A Publication of the Piiburgh Federal Executive i

M y 2002 Board Native American Heritage Cormitke

A Different Vision of Native America! (4 12) 885-5097. AU entries for the exhibition

2002 Annual Arts Program:

W e are too often portrayed as people of one "culture" ... Indian or Native American, while in fact we are

people of over 500 cultures; Mohawk, Hopi, Seminole, Cree, Dine, Kickapoo, Powhatan, Tohono 0' Odham, etc. All different and all unique. All with our own story to tell. All with our own unique and different vision of native American.

The PFEB/NAHC 1 2'h annual art exhibition will be held at The Brew House Gallery in the South Side of Pittsburgh and wiIi open on Friday November 1" and run through Saturday November 3 0".

Use you art to show the world what Native American people are REALLY like today. Show one of or several of our unique diverse cultures. Show us as diverse people(s) with stories to tell, lives to lead with dreams and visions for the future. Show that we are not "relics" of the past to be admired and romanticized as you admire a display in a museum. Admire us because we have

must be submitted on Sunday, October 13,2002.

2001 Art Promm Winners The November 2001 Art Exhibition was held

at the Community College of Allegheny College Visual Arts Center, Allegheny Campus, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The winners of the categories:

2-D: Corrin J. Corbin, Ruth Richardson, Frank Zigon

existed through over 500 years of adversity and are a thriving part of the world around you today. 3-DISculpture: Cynthia Young, Patricia

Laughlin

Entry pieces submitted in the exhibition must focus on the theme "A Different Vision of Native This annual program is an educational project

American" and include written evidence of the to accomplish a greater understanding and

i-elevance to the theme. The artist is not required awareness of the American Indian culture and

to be a Native American Indian to submit an through the sensual and visual interpretation of

entry(s). There is no entry fee. For an entry the arts. This program is fiuther designed to

form, details and a copy of the prospectus call ceIebrate November as Native American Month.

2 A Publication of the Pittsburgh Federal Executive Board Native American Heritage Conamittee Jdy 2002

know very little or nothing. Every scholarly

Why are only "Indiansn writing on t r i i religions is woefully incomplete. How would other religions protect

required to present evidence of themselves if subjected to the same attack and our Religious beliefs? criticism by scholars and scientists? HOW can

devout Jews prove to the secular mind, that ....an excerpt from "For This Land" writings

on religion in America by Vine Deloria Jr.

The protections of the Constitution are supposed to treat all religions as equals, the protecting principles applicable to every religion on an impartial basis. But such is not the case when it comes to American Indian religions. Indians must defend our faith against an array of museum directors, anthropologists and archaeologists, National Park Service personnel and state historians - people representing not only their own personal and professional interests, but representing secular science as well. Legislators at the state and federal level quite frequently give great weight to the arguments of the secular scientists and balance their opinions against the testimony of Native American religious leaders and practitioners.

What evidence would lead any legislator to think this way? How can any scholar, no matter how well educated, possibly know more about the religious belie&, feelings and practices than a practitioner of a religion? The most frequent answer to this question, usually delivered with a . sneer of contempt , is that the scholar has objectively studied the Indian religion and therefore sess things which members of the tribe miss. But it is a well-known fkct, confessed by every scholar writing on t r i i religions, that aU the information on religion comes from c'inf0rmants'7- that is, people who are willing to talk about certain aspects of their religion. The scholar is not the objective scientist which he or she is made out to be. Rather, the scholar picks up that bit of information which Indian wish to share. There are vast bodies of knowledge concerning tribal religions about which scholars

religious circkcision has any religious significance at all? Aren't non-Jews also circumcised as a matter of health? Then why call circumcision religious?

Do Christians actually believe that the bread and wine they consume at Mass are the body and blood of Jesus? A simple scientific lab test could dispel this superstition. Why do Moslems avoid pork? Pork products are an important part of the American economy. Every other religion, if forced to defknd their belie% and practices in the manner required of Native Americans, probably would not come out as well as most tribes do. Yet, while scholars and secular humanists are not given status in ultimate authorities over these other religions, they are given superior status when the question is one of deibhg an Indian tri'bal religion.

So where is the constitutional protection of American Indian religious fieedom? Why is the burden of proof placed on Indians to defend our belie& and practices when it is not placed on the other religions to defend themselves? The answer can only be that in the eyes of a great many people American Indians are not quite human and therefore our religious experiences and sentiments are not to be taken seriously.

For more information on 'The Native American Indian Religious Freedom Act" visit:

3 A Publication of the Pittsburgh Federal Executive Board Native American Heritage Cornmitte e July 2002

"You're Not Indian" Racial Stereotyping and Identi ty... From Native People Winter 2001- TafQ

Gallagher. She abruptly turned around in her chair,

intensely studied my face and declared, "You're not an Indian. You have green eyes and light skin." That was in the 4" grade-1982. She sat at the desk in eont of me. Her name was Jessica.

I had just passed forward my anser sheet to one of the standard tests that the US Government requires in public schools. They measure skills and abilities. Although race is not included in the results, the data is collected on the answer sheets, that is where Jessica saw my claim of Indigenous.

"Use a #2 pencil. Make your mark dark. If you make a mistake, erase your mark completely, the teacher said.

Mistake. Did I make a mistake? My father kept our tribal membership cards in his desk drawer, my grandmother told us about our allotment of land on the reservation, but that was not enough to overcome Jessica's prejudice. Instead I told her "Turn around and don't look at my answers." But I was thinking "I'm not?" My eyes are green and my skin not dark nor my hair jet black, and that was all she needed to determine my heritage.

That nine-year old girl startled my self- identiiication and opened my eyes to a world of stereotypes and naive perceptions. For children who have been taught that female "Indians" look like Pocahontas and Sacajawea, any one without long black breads was not identifed as Native American. Sadly, after innumerable battles over my claim to Chinook heritage, I half-heartedly began to see through the eyes of a misinformed American child.

I spoke to my grandmother about my insecurity. She understood, and explained the depth at which she felt my torment by telling me about her own battle. Her story was a history we

heard many times now - white families came to the river to fish, cut down trees and civilize the Indians.

She was forced to learn English, math and history. Tears were in her eyes as she told me about how she ate lunch in the bathroom to avoid the white children who called her names and chased her with sticks.

The resulting pain of the racism she .

experienced dictated the method in which she raised her family. We were allowed to acknowledge who we were, but not participate in tribal affairs.

Nobody believed I was Native while growing up, the government didn't believe us until January 2001 when the Chinook received federal recognition status. We have 1000 of members who can trace our ancestry to well beyond Lewis & Clark. As a result we have endured racism imposed by the US government and beyond.

The quest for identity travels innumerable paths-some spanning generations and others comparatively short. I still have green eyes and light skin, but my crusade for cultural equality will never end.

As a result of my t n i s fight for federal recognition, I have learned to respect that the simple act of recognition can solid% the soul of both and individual and a culture.

Book: Qayaks and Canoes ... Native Ways of Knowing by Steinbright & Mishler

This book is a cultural voyage that chronicles Native water crafts, its inventors, technology and life ways.

The water crafts themselves-birchbark canoes, kayaks, open-shin boats and dugout canoes-testifl not only to the adaptability and ingenuity of Native peoples, but also to the since of commitment & community among those striving to preserve our disappearing Native ways.

4 A Publication of the Pittsburgh Federal Executive Board Native American Heritage - Committee

Movie: Windtalkers ... by Daniel Gibson

Roger Willie, a novice Navajo actor plays a significant role in the new MGM lilm "Windtalkers. " His role is Charlie Whitehorse, a Navajo Marine Corps Code Talker - one of the 400 navajos who played a key part in the Pacific during World War 11, transmitting unbreakable coded radio messages based in the Navajo language. The real code talkers £inally were honored in July when President Bush present the Medal of Honor to 29 men who fist developed the code. Actors Nicolas Cage, Christian Slater and Adam Beach are in the film with Willie. Because of the success of the code and possible fiature military use, the code talkers were sworn to secretary. The code and it's story wasn't declassified until 1968. This is a story of heroism and incredible courage , and it's time that story is told. Other t r i i s beside the Navajo took part in this noteworthy event. For more information on the codetalkers; visit: www.m~.comlwindtalkers

Visit: ~ h e - ~ r o ~ u o i s Indian Museum - celebrating Iroquois Creativity

Annual festivals every memorial day weekend and labor day weekend. Box 7 Howes Cave, NY 12092 (51 8) 296-8949. Exceptional place to

. visit, any time of the year. You can also view wwwiroquoismuseum.com on the web. .

September 11,2001

"A Crime Against Humanity7'

All of us at The Pittsburgh Federal Executive Board Native American Heritage Committee extend our deepest condolences, thoughts and prayers to the loved ones of the innocents taken from this Turtle Island & from us on that day!

July 2002

Available for purchase! Our NAHC Cookbook is now available. This

unique, one-of-a-kind cookbook includes not only Native American recipes fiom all over the country, but is also a great tool for the outdoor person, with lots of ways to use the meat from their most recent hunting excursion. The book also serves a coffee table art book, with original artwork fiom over a dozen local artists. Also included is historical notations and special information articles. We also have NAHC T- shirts, sweat shirts, and baseball caps. Plus our exclusive Cherokee Flute Music Tape or CD "We Get Our Music From Nature." Call (4 12) 885- 5097 or e-mail aliyo@bellatlantic.net for more information, pricing & availability. The following recipe is fiom the NAHC Cookbook

Recipe: Creek Huckleberry Dessert

% Cup butter or margarine 1 Cup sugar 3 Eggs, beater 214 Cup milk 2 cups flour 2 Teaspoons baking powder 1 Cup huckleberries ( blue, black or mull-

berries also work well) Cream butter with sugar. Add eggs and milk.

Sift together flour and baking powder; add to mixture. Stir in a cup berries dredged with flour mix Bake in 350 degree oven, in a deep cake pan. Serve plain or with a vanilla sauce.

Roots Awakening Editor: Earl Dingus Pittsburgh Federal Executive Board Native American Heritage Committee 406 Federal Building lo00 Li'berty Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15222