Vote for the Native American Music Awards

Don't forget to vote for your favorite for the Native American Music Awards. Of course I voted for my favorite, Cody Blackbird in the categories he is nominated in, including those he is nominated in with Frank Waln. If you haven't heard their music, I encourage you to listen. You will love it.

Vote at this LINK. 

Those are my thoughts for today.
Thanks for reading.

copyright 2013, Polly's Granddaughter - TCB

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Chief Baker and his fundraiser - Part 2

I’d like to revisit the topic of the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation's “Cowboys and Indians” themed fund raiser. While Chief Bill John Baker seems to think this is a “cute” idea, as shown by the sentence, "Some of my best friends are cowboys,"

many Cherokees don’t agree.

When my Cherokee friends and I discussed it, some of the comments made were:

“Last I heard, cowboys killed Indians for fun!”

“He is truly out of touch with the Cherokee people.”

“That is in very poor taste.”

“If he has no clue why this is offensive, then he really is just a white man playing Indian.”

“It sounds like, for $1500, you can play a Native. Come on down and get that Native experience!”

“He’s making a mockery of us!”

And this isn’t all Cherokees have said about the topic of “Cowboys and Indians.” In a post from the popular blog, Native Appropriations, the Cherokee writer said,

“…it’s clear there are large similarities between blackface and playing Indian–both are intentional acts that draw upon stereotypes and a racist history to enact whiteness–but our Nation has created a narrative in which blackface=racist, while redface=normal.

Does that make it ok to play Indian or host a cowboys and Indians theme party? Absolutely not. It just goes to show how deeply the erasure of Native peoples runs. Just because our national narrative and history has somehow normalized the phenomenon does not excuse its roots in the process of systematic erasure of the First Peoples from our homelands.”

Also in his song, "My Land", the Cherokee, Litefoot, rapped, 

“Let’s play cowboys and Indians, it’s sad, why? Cause the Indian is always the bad guy.”

Personally, I don’t know how ANY Indian, let alone the chief of an Indian nation, could think that having a “Cowboys and Indians” themed fund raiser is okay. The term “cowboys and Indians” brings to mind the old westerns where cowboys were the heroes (think John Wayne) while Indians were portrayed as blood thirsty savages out to kill white people. Is this the image Cherokees want associated with them? I can't speak for us all, but I don't like it. I think it is a shame that we have a chief that is so disrespectful to Indian people and all the things our ancestors suffered throughout history.

I wonder, will Chief Baker attend this fund raiser playing a cowboy, dressed in Cinch jeans,  Lucchese boots and a Resistol hat, or will he go as an Indian? And if he plays an Indian, will he be wearing stereotypical buckskins and feathers or will he go for that "tucked in ribbon shirt" look he is well known for? Enquiring minds want to know.

Those are my thoughts for today.
Thanks for reading.

copyright 2013, Polly's Granddaughter - TCB

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27 Candidates file to run in Cherokee Nation General Election

Those running for council seats are:

At Large, Curtis Muskrat Bruehl,  incumbent Jack D. Baker, Robin Mayes, Ken Luttrell, Carole Richmond and Kurt West.

District 2, incumbent Joe Byrd, Tonya Teaney and Tansye Dreadfulwater.

District 4, post, Don Garvin, Justin E. Carlton and Mike Dobbins.

District 5, incumbent David Thornton Sr., Dink Scott and Sherry L. Doolin. 

District 7, incumbent Frankie Hargis, Joe Adair and Wade Hampton.

District 9 - Curtis Snell and Lonus Mitchell

District 10, Harley Buzzard, Melvina Shotpouch and Nettie Detherage. 

District 11, incumbent Chuck Hoskin Jr. (no other opponents)

District 15, incumbent Meredith Frailey, Janees Taylor and Marilyn Marion Carlene Cooper.

copyright 2013, Polly's Granddaughter - TCB

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My Statement to the Chief about his "Cowboys and Indians" Fund Raiser

Have you heard about this? It is a fund raiser the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation is having.

 

I will write more about this later, but for now, I would like to borrow some of the chief's own words* in my statement about this.

I, just an average Cherokee, am disappointed in and denounce the disrespectful fund raiser of Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, Bill John Baker. The theme of this trail ride goes far beyond what is appropriate and proper for the chief of an Indian nation. The use of a stereotypical theme is offensive. It is those types of actions that perpetuate negative stereotypes and continue to minimize and degrade all native peoples.

The individuals benefiting from this unfortunate incident are “visionary Tribal Councilor” candidates for seats on the Cherokee Nation Tribal Council. Any campaign or candidate that would allow and condone such offensive and racist behavior must be called to task for their actions.

The Cherokee Nation is a modern, productive society, and I am blessed to be a member of it. I will not be silent when individuals mock and insult our people and our great nation, especially when those people come from our great nation itself.

We need individuals leading the Cherokee Nation who respect Native Americans and have an understanding of tribal issues. For that reason, I call upon Principal Chief Baker to apologize for the offensive actions of his staff and their uneducated, unenlightened and racist portrayal of native peoples.

Those are my thoughts for today.
Thanks for reading.





*From a statement made in September 2012 by Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, Bill John Baker, over actions of people working for the Scott Brown campaign.

copyright 2013, Polly's Granddaughter - TCB

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Did Markwayne Mullin Forget Who He Is?

Did Markwayne Mullin forget who he is? He is supposed to be a Cherokee man, a warrior, one who protects the women of his nation. Instead, he betrayed American Indian women, including the women of the Cherokee Nation, when he voted against the passage of the Violence Against Women Act. 

Apparently he has forgotten, or maybe he never knew, from whom he descends. If I have managed to trace his Cherokee ancestry correctly, which I strongly believe I have*, then he descends through Dawes enrollee, Bert Morris (#1613). Bert was the son of Dawes enrollees, (Susan) Fannie Cleveland (#1610) and John Morris (#1609.) Through Fannie’s line, Mullin's ancestry goes back to Richard Bark Foreman, a Cherokee healer known as “The Cherokee Physician.”

Pg 2 of the Fannie Morris ECA #2229

Richard Bark Foreman’s contribution to knowledge of Cherokee medicines is invaluable, not only because of his documentation of use, but also the documentation of Cherokee names for plants and diseases.  He was a well known medicine man and so good that even white people used him because of his extensive knowledge of herbs. He was a well respected man who brought healing to people.

Passage of the VAWA was needed to protect American Indian women who are victims of assault or rape on tribal lands. Too many times in the past, offenders of such crimes went free to harm Native women again and again. Because the VAWA passed, now tribes have the authority to charge and prosecute offenders and give Native women hope for justice. This is important because without justice, how can one ever heal from such horrific crimes?

Markwayne Mullin could have played an important role in helping women, not just Indian women, but all women, get justice after these crimes have been committed against them. He had the opportunity to follow in his great great great great grandfather’s footsteps and vote to do something that would help people heal. He made the decision not to do that.

Whether he likes it or not, Mullin has a responsibility to Indian people, not just Cherokees, but all Indians, to do the right thing. It is not just an option, but an obligation. Obligation, you say? Yes, obligation, for you see, Mullin didn't have a problem embracing his heritage when he used Indian preference to get jobs for his business. He didn't have a problem embracing his heritage when he was presented with a blanket from the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. He didn't even have a problem embracing his heritage and listing himself as an American Indian in the US House of Representatives. But, when he had to make a choice between embracing his heritage or clinging to his political party, he dropped that Cherokee identity like a hot potato and strictly became "a Republican" and then voted against something that would help American Indian women. 

Mullin is in a position to actually make a difference now, to be a voice for American Indians, but up to this point, he has seriously failed in this role. To a degree, he reminds me of someone else Cherokees are upset with, but this time, it is more troubling.

It wasn't that long ago we were watching as a woman, a fake, used a Cherokee identity when it benefited her and then as she tossed it aside when she no longer needed it. As bad as that was and as much as that angered a lot of Cherokee people, it did not upset us as much as a real Cherokee doing the same thing. For most of us, "Cherokee first" means we are Cherokee first, and all other things, like being members of a US political party, come after that. For Markwayne Mullin, it seems "Cherokee first" only means he gets to cut to the front of the line for a job that has Indian preference. 

Did Markwayne Mullin forget who he is? I don't know, but I think nearly all the of the rest of us Indians can see him for what he is. 

Those are my thoughts for today.
Thanks for reading.





*I don't think it is appropriate to list the names of people still living who are not the topic of the post, therefore I did not share Mullin's line documented back to the Dawes Roll. I did research it and and have supporting documentation. I believe what is stated above is accurate, but will not post the names of living people to show it. Thank you for understanding.

copyright 2013, Polly's Granddaughter - TCB

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