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Critical Evaluation
The Divine Comedy Summary
Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy is an epic poem divided into three parts, which describe Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven, respectively.
In Inferno, the spirit of Roman poet Virgil leads Dante's avatar, the Pilgrim, through the circles of Hell to witness the punishments of sinners.
In Purgatory, the Pilgrim meets the souls of those who have achieved salvation as they pay penance for their sins, a process they must undergo before they can ascend to Heaven.
In Paradise, the Pilgrim reaches Heaven. After witnessing the majesty of God in his true glory, the Pilgrim returns to Earth and writes The Divine Comedy.
Last Updated on January 14, 2022, by eNotes Editorial. Word Count: 859
Dante's The Divine Comedy is the beginning of Italian literature and the single most significant work of the Middle Ages because its allegory emphasizes the importance of salvation and divine love in a work that is inclusive and tightly structured. It is so thoroughly infused with Christian ethics that any overview has to touch on major Christian themes, beginning with the plot being set during Easter week 1300.
The work is a complex narrative with many allusions to biblical stories, classical myths, history, and contemporary politics; however, the plot's symbolism provides clarity in that it celebrates the ideal of universalism, where everything has its place in God's world, and its ultimate goal of salvation triumphs over the contemporary reality of the power struggle between worldly and religious leaders.
The structure of the entire work, as well as of its parts, is symbolic of the story it tells, as the use of numbers shows. The number three (symbolic of the Trinity: God as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost) and the number ten (the "perfect" number: 3 × 3 + 1) are the most conspicuous examples. The Divine Comedy has three "cantiche," or parts (hell, purgatory, and heaven). Each cantica has thirty-three cantos, or songs, with the exception of the first cantica, which has thirty-four cantos, adding up to a total of one hundred (the perfect number squared: 10 × 10). Each canto is written in terza rima, that is, in tercets that rhyme in an interlocking manner.
The first canto of Inferno is considered to be an introduction to the whole work (making the structure even more symmetric: 1 + 33 + 33 + 33 = 100) because all three parts of The Divine Comedy are present in the first canto's symbolic landscape. Dante finds himself lost in a dark forest. Looking for orientation, he decides to hike up a mountain, whose sunlit top represents purgatory, while the sky and the sun represent heaven. However, Dante's path is blocked by three animals on the mountain's slope: a leopard, a lion, and a she-wolf, which represent the three main types of sin that correspond to the three main divisions of hell.
The spirit of Virgil appears and promises to get Dante to salvation the long way: through hell, purgatory, and heaven. Dante's doubts are assuaged because Virgil has been sent by three heavenly ladies (the Virgin Mary, Saint Lucy, and Beatrice); in the combination of human reason with divine grace, Dante's salvation may yet be achieved. After they enter hell in the third canto, Dante learns through conversations with Virgil and individual souls that each sin is punished according to its severity, systematically going from the lighter sins of incontinence (giving in to one's desires) to the more severe sins of violence (actively willing evil) and fraud (adding malice). Hell, which is presented as a huge funnel-shaped underground cave, extends in ever-smaller and more-constricting circles to the middle of the earth; there, in the pit of hell, sits Satan himself, forever stuck frozen in the ice of the lake Cocytus, chewing on the three worst human traitors: Judas, Brutus, and Cassius.
Climbing past Satan, Dante is headed toward salvation. While all sinners in hell will remain there forever to suffer their horrible punishments because they did not admit their sins, souls in purgatory are already saved and eventually will go to heaven because they confessed their sins before death. Therefore, the mood has completely changed: the souls are not stuck in everlasting isolation but learn in groups from examples of the virtue and vice that correspond to their penance. Purgatory is presented as a huge cone-shaped mountain and the only landmass in the southern hemisphere. Purgatory proper is organized in seven rings according to the traditional seven deadly sins (pride, envy, wrath, sloth, avarice, gluttony, and lust). At the top of the mountain is earthly paradise (the Garden of Eden); this is as far as human reason can lead, so Virgil leaves and Beatrice becomes Dante's guide.
Cleansed of his own sins, Dante rises naturally toward heaven. In keeping with the Ptolemaic worldview, heaven is organized in spheres with the earth in the center. Dante identifies ten spheres that he relates to the so-called four pagan virtues of fortitude, justice, temperance, and prudence in varying degrees (first to seventh heavens), the three Christian virtues of faith, hope, and charity (eighth heaven), the Primum Mobile (the ninth heaven, which moves all others), and the Empyrean (the tenth heaven outside of time and space, where God dwells). The Empyrean as a state of being also contains the Celestial Rose, where all blessed souls reside. The souls do not reside in the individual heavens where Dante encounters them but are put there so that he may more easily understand their place in the divine order. The blessed souls in heaven form a true, though strictly hierarchical, community that exists in an all-permeating feeling of love and bliss, which comes from the joy and peace of being in the proper place in God's creation. Dante evokes in images of light what lies beyond human experience, such as the radiance of the blessed souls and Dante's vision of God.
"The Divine Comedy - Summary" Literary Essentials: Christian Fiction and Nonfiction Ed. John K. Roth. eNotes.com, Inc. 2007 eNotes.com 28 Jan. 2023 <https://www.enotes.com/topics/divine-comedy#summary-summary-summary-overview>
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March 3, 2016 Autobiographical, Winyan Ituwan (Vision of the Women), Wracking my noggin...American Indian, decolonize, inclusion, indigenous, Lakota, LGBT, Native, Native American, Oceti Sakowin, South Dakota, transgender, tribes, Two Spiritthewrackspurt
A painting of my own creation.
Like a broken pipeline spilling sickness across the prairie, South Dakota lawmakers often pump out hateful legislation that marginalizes our most vulnerable citizens, including transgender youth.
Gov. Dennis Daugaard recently vetoed [sidenote: and the state legislature failed to override said veto today] a proposed bill that would have banned youth from using public school bathrooms, showers, and locker rooms that didn't correspond with their "biological sex." While we applaud the veto, this, unfortunately, will not be the final word from those encouraging discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community in South Dakota and the rest of Indian Country.
As members of the Očéti Šakówiŋ whose treaty lands are directly impacted by South Dakota law, we write this letter not only to condemn this kind of legislation, but more importantly to call fellow Natives to action to prevent this kind of colonial vitriol from further polluting tribal ways and governance.
Let's start the conversation by discussing how we—the Očéti Šakówiŋ—remove ourselves from hateful and bigoted sentiments like those we see play out in mainstream politics. Too often, we see tribal leaders in South Dakota take similar stands.
We experience homophobia, transphobia, and misogyny not only by white settler culture, but also sometimes by our own Indigenous people. We see Indigenous Two Spirit and LGBTQ+ relatives attempt escape with suicide and self-harm, as well as fleeing reservation communities into perceivably more welcoming urban settings. This relocation disrupts sacred kinship relations with not just our people, but also our lands.
Recently, some Oglala elders came forward to dictate tribal tradition by saying same-sex marriage violates "natural law." We don't know what "natural law" means in an Očéti Šakówiŋ context, and homophobic attitudes like these must be addressed, if only to acknowledge and move past the intergenerational pain and trauma inherent within these statements.
We write this statement to honor all of our elders and ancestors. Some were viciously abused inside colonial institutions that were anti-woman, anti-child, and homophobic. Boarding schools, designed to kill our cultures, were filled with sexual abuse and torture. The system of individual land allotment tore our ancestors apart, denigrating extended family systems and collective landholding. Government-led Christian missions and Indian agencies further obliterated our spiritual and cultural identities with laws about how to marry and when, and with whom to have sex. Government-aided churches tried to force us to accept their rigid, unforgiving notions of love and relationships.
We write this statement to honor all generations. Even today, dominant colonial indoctrinations tell us to fear sexual differences and express that fear through violent control—from both the pulpit and the capitol—of our most vulnerable relatives. Sometimes Natives ourselves practice similar tactics of control and marginalization around sexuality. When we do, we are complicit in ongoing sexual violence against Two Spirit and LGBTQ+ relatives, the ground for which was prepared in boarding schools, religious indoctrination, and other assimilation programs.
The irony is clear: By defining marriage as between only a man and a woman and by saying our Two Spirit and LGTBQ+ relatives go against "natural law," we perpetuate genocide against ourselves.
Intolerant and puritanical pronouncements such as those made by the Council of Lakota Elders only serve to further harm and divide our already dislocated peoples; therefore, we encourage tribal leaders to break from colonial limitations of love and family and discuss how to move forward. We must reevaluate how we relate to each other as tiwahe, tióšpaye and oyáte – together, not separate. Let's shake the bonds of colonialism and instead reinforce or perhaps reinvent bonds of kinship and communal responsibility.
We write this statement as a reminder that the foundations for this change were set long ago. Lakota elders Robert Chasing Hawk and Joseph Marshall III recently told Native Sun News that "marriage"—as we know it today: between two people as a state institution—never existed historically in Lakota society. The sacred ceremonies given to our ancestors by Ptesáŋwiŋ—White Buffalo Calf Woman—never included marriage. Our views on romance respected individuals' sexuality and were far more advanced when compared to today's conservative Western standards.
Imagine if every time one of our youth, women, or Two Spirit relatives' bodies were trespassed or their rights violated, we reacted like we did to stop Keystone XL pipeline. Our medicine societies prayed for the protection of the land and water. Tribal councils issued declarations of war. And it worked, the pipeline was halted, for now at least.
We must be careful to recognize ongoing colonial harms and remedy them in culturally-appropriate ways when we have the power to do so. In this case, too, it is possible to fight for more just and healthy relations, this time among humans. Our own tribal histories provide the path.
After all, we are all related, not just some of us. Mitákuye Oyás'iŋ.
Signed by Očéti Šakówiŋ Two Spirits, LGBTQ+, and supporters:
Alethea J. Rosales (Oglala Sioux Tribe)
Alfred Walking Bull (Sicangu Lakota)
Alicia Mousseau (Oglala Lakota)
Alli Moran (Wakpá Wašté Oyáte)
Allison Renville (Sisseton Wahpeton-Oyate Two-Spirited Society)
Angel Mills (Oglala Lakota)
Anna Brokenleg Keller (Sicangu Lakota)
Anna Diaz-Takes Shield (Oglala Lakota)
Ashley Nicole McCray (Oglala Lakota/Sicangu Lakota/Absentee Shawnee)
Ashley Pourier (Oglala Lakota)
Carrie E. Sitting Up (Oglala Lakota)
Chas Jewett (Mniconjou Lakota)
Corrine Sitting Up (Oglala Lakota)
Coya White Hat-Artichoker (Sicangu Lakota)
Dani Morrison (Oglala Lakota)
Darren Cross (Oglala Sioux)
Darren Renville (Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate)
David Bender (Hunkpapa Lakota)
Davidica Little Spotted Horse (Oglala Lakota)
Dawn D. Moves Camp (Oglala Lakota)
Dawn Ryan (Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate Two-Spirited Society)
Deanna Stands (Ihanktonwan na Isanyati Dakota)
Doris Giago (Oglala Lakota)
Eli Conroy (Oglala Lakota)
Felipa De Leon (Oglala Lakota)
Jacqueline Keeler (Ihanktonwan Dakota/Diné)
Jaida Grey Eagle (Oglala Lakota)
Jeaneen Lonehill (Oglala Lakota)
Jedadiah Richards (Oglala Lakota)
Jenna Grey Eagle (Oglala Lakota)
Jesse Short Bull (Oglala Lakota)
James G. La Pointe (Oglala Lakota)
Joel Waters (Oglala Lakota)
Jonna Grey Eagle (Oglala Lakota)
Jonnie Storm (Ihanktonwan Dakota)
Juliana Brown Eyes-Clifford (Oglala Lakota)
Kim TallBear (Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate)
Krystal Two Bulls (Oglala Lakota)
Lenny Hayes (Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate)
Leo Yankton (Oglala Lakota)
Marie Giago (Oglala Lakota)
The Rev. Dr. Martin Brokenleg (Sicangu Lakota)
Mary Abbott (Cheyenne River Lakota)
Mary Baird (Oglala Lakota)
Melissa Buffalo (Kangi Okute/Kul Wicasa Oyáte/Meskwaki)
Monique Mousseau (Oglala Lakota)
Natasha Bordeaux (Sicangu Lakota)
Nick Estes (Kul Wicasa Oyate)
Sarah Brokenleg (Sicangu Lakota)
Ronya J. Hoblit (Oglala Lakota)
Sloane Cornelius (Oglala Lakota)
Tasiyagnunpa Livermont (Oglala Lakota)
Taté Walker (Mniconjou Lakota)
Thalia Wilson Ellis (Standing Rock Sioux Hunkpapa Lakota)
Theresa Halsey (Standing Rock Sioux Hunkpapa Lakota)
Tom Swift Bird (Oglala Lakota)
Valerie Jean Collins-Siqueiros (Cheyenne River Lakota)
Vernon Renville (Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Two-Spirited Society)
… And many more who choose to remain anonymous because they face the real possibility of retaliation as LGBTQ+ or Two Spirit.
December 9, 2015 Wracking my noggin...activist, actor, American Indian, Dakota, HUMAN BEINGS, humans being, indigenous, John Trudell, Lakota, mined mind, Native, Native American, NDN, poet, RIP, singer, songwriter, Tate Walker, Trudellthewrackspurt
12/8/2015: His ride toward the next great journey came today. Asníkiya él wówaȟwá. May his family find peace.
John Trudell (Photo by Taté Walker)
I created this video tribute to the Coyote of our time. I hope you all are as inspired by his words as I am.
12/4/2015: I write this as I learn John Trudell is, in fact, alive.
It seems social media (and I include myself therein) greatly exaggerated reports of his death and all that. One last good story to tell, eh? "Hey, suckers, remember that time I dressed up like a ghost and you all started eulogizing? That was a good one."
Despite this trickster dancing away from a digital demise and living another day, it must be noted Lekšila is indeed sick, and so a part of me feels good knowing I joined in with hundreds – thousands – tonight who wóčekiye kága – sent up prayer – smoke and song in honor of one of the greatest warriors of our time.
Tonight, I feel blessed to be able to say I interacted with Trudell twice this year – once for a story that ran in Native Peoples magazine and then again a short time later to hear him speak in Colorado Springs. Within those two meetings I touched upon a small but powerful aspect of what I think draws people to Trudell: His obvious passion for life and the worlds around him rang true in his every word and action, without apology.
I wrote the following immediately after hearing him speak in Colorado. I thought about publishing it, but it felt incomplete and it's been gathering dust in my hard drive since April.
Maybe it was always meant to be shared now.
April 10, 2015: John Trudell (Santee Dakota) begins a recent talk in Colorado Springs by informing the audience he's crazy.
He says it with a swagger and smile, because for him, it's something to be proud of, another identifier in the 69-year-old's long list of credentials: Poet, author, musician, activist, actor – and crazy.
Not the mental illness kind of crazy. The witkó kind of crazy. He's not making an ableist dig.
Trudell defines crazy as "not feeling powerless." Being crazy, he says, doesn't make him feel powerful, necessarily, but his kind of crazy – the ability to think for himself beyond the "normal" narrative shoved down our throats by the They and Them 2 Percent – has protected him throughout his life.
I can relate to this – and, really, haven't we all felt crazy – as in too different to belong – at some point in our lives? And we've associated this crazy disconnect with negative feelings: "If only I were lighter skinned/thinner/blonder – NORMAL – I'd be more accepted." To reclaim crazy as a positive identifier is a kind of power.
In my older years, as my brain has developed into more of Me (what Trudell refers to as moremes), I've accepted my crazy. My not-normal. Myself. I look in the mirror and I'm like, "Damn. I'm totally attracted to what I see in the mirror, stretch marks and flab and muscles and all of it." I embrace the fat. Embrace the undyed dark and graying hair. Embrace my face without (a ton of) makeup (I LOVE EYEBROW FILLER AND ACNE COVERUP, OKAY?! #sorrynotsorry). My body is strong. I'm alcohol and drug-free (caffeine is GOD, though). I'm smart as hell and dangerous with a pen and paper. My good friends are amazing and think I am, too. I'm a great mother.
Oh, I've got problems – and who doesn't? Trudell touched on this, too, and I loved this line of thought: "We're programmed not to like ourselves. Start liking yourself and you get back your power… You gotta like yourself, you know? Maybe you don't like some of the stuff you do – and I've done some pretty fucked up stuff… You can't question who you are. If someone says they don't like me, that's their problem. As soon as I start to question myself, if I begin not to like me, I become my own problem."
Let's pause here for a second. No one, not even Trudell, is saying he's perfect. Dude was part of a movement that both helped and hurt a lot of people back in its heyday. He's known his fair share of joy, happiness, pain, and loss. Maybe he could have been a better son, husband or father. Probably all that – I don't know. But I think he's more than balanced the scales over the course of his life. For myself, I'm still learning how to live with the sins of my past and mistakes of the present, but I hope to one day judge those against my impacts on this world and those around me, and that others can see the humanity in all of it. Right now, as I think of all the times Trudell's words centered me, inspired me, and lifted me, all I see is a human trying to grasp and share the meaning of being.
He had so many obvious gems like the quote above in between his rapid-fire, free-flow speaking that sometimes left the audience a bit lost, like, what exactly does he mean when he says, "The illusion of freedom is that it isn't free; the reality of freedom is that it isn't free," because 'illusion' and 'reality' by definition are, you know, opposite words.
But then, as he kept running with the flow of thought, he'd eventually say something that would make everything he said before click, like, "They tell you to get an education, that you'll live a happier, more productive life with a better job, but to get that education they tie you down with student loans you'll never break free from." And I'm like, YES! The illusion of freedom is that it isn't free [and you have to work for it in order to obtain it]; the reality of freedom is that it isn't free [because you'll never obtain it].
And suddenly, you're in on the joke with the Trickster himself.
Woke.
While I've done phone interviews with Trudell in the past, this was my first experience with him live. And while the delivery of his words and concepts was new to me, hearing the content was like coming back home, comforting and familiar. Everything he presented has at some point been published, as poetry, as song, as interview, as documentary, as Internet meme. But like any real truth of the world, it needed to be said. In this, Trudell truly is an Indigenous prophet for our age.
The people cry out / Tears of anger / Tears of sorrow / Flowing / Giving birth to resistance / Young ones / To remember struggle
For the people cry out / Tears of happiness / Tears of joy / Washing the pain / Cleaning the spirit / Giving strength
The generations / Remembering the past / To rebuild the future / For weeping is / Another way of laughing / And resisting and / Outlasting the enemy
— Lines from a Mined Mind, By John Trudell
I think those who have heard him speak, read his poems, or listened to his music would agree. For instance, the idea of a mined mind, part of the title from a book of poetry published in 2008 (from which the poem above comes), drew several nods of approval and determination from the audience. "We are made up of the metals, minerals, liquids of the earth. We're shapes of the earth," he says. "If we respected our intelligence, we would generate power… If we understand who we are as human beings, we can use that understanding to generate coherency and clarity."
The theme of humanity stayed with him through the evening, in the content of his words and in the energy of his being. The man just kept moving. I was able to shoot some video, in addition to what I thought were some good pictures of a smiling man normally presented to the world with a stoic gaze. His energy meant a lot of my photos turned out like this:
And yet I think that's the best photo I took all night, as it captures everything about him I took with me: An essence of an imperfect someone simply trying to think and be. Two things to which we should all aspire.
"How we think changes the dynamic. This is our access – this is the only real power we have, the ability to think," Trudell says. "And one of the great things about our intelligence, it's about a decision we make. When we make the decision to use our intelligence as clearly and coherent as we possibly can and we make that decision, and act upon it, then it starts to change, because that's reality."
12/8/2015: Ikíčize waún k'un hé waná henála (Once I was the warrior, but now all that is past). — Sitting Bull's Song
Thanksgiving: The Illegitmate Love Child of History & Legend
November 26, 2015 Wracking my noggin...American Indian, fairy tale, Indian, indigenous, legend, Myth, Native, Native American, NDN, Thanksgiving, tribalthewrackspurt
CW: More rant than anything useful. Hope y'all had a great day. If you celebrate the holiday, I hope you can reclaim it as something meaningful AND educational AND historically accurate. If you don't celebrate or you don't care – whatevs. Hope you had a fab day, too. And remember: BUY NATIVE if you partake in those kind of consumerist shenanigans. Check out Beyond Buckskin, Resonate Art, NDNcraft (among many others) for a nice list of awesome, Native-made gifts folks like yours truly would LOVE to receive any time of year 😉
My second grader came home the other day with the annual reminder that some teachers really can't get beyond the myths and legends of curricula past: The dreaded Thanksgiving activity packet (copyright 2005, btw – like, someone in 2005 thought this packet was a good idea – yikes). Teachers have to – just have to! – continue authenticating something that never happened, at least not the way they're teaching it. This whole Indian/white BFF storyline really needs to stop. Like, it's just ridiculous the things they're teaching kids!
History in (black and) white. This was on the front cover of the problematic packet.
The stench of the Thanksgiving Myth permeates far beyond the classroom, however. Recently, a freelance reporter in the UK reached out to ask the following questions for his story that posted yesterday on The Culture Trip site:
Is there any sort of consensus amongst Native People's about Thanksgiving?
I have read that some Native People are offended by Thanksgiving, and that for the Wampanoag people it is a day of mourning. Is this a fair assessment of the general opinion?
If people could be better informed about one aspect of Thanksgiving or Native culture, what would you like them to know and why?
I get asked various forms of these questions all the time, year after year. Generally, I'm pretty laid back about the whole thing: Yeah, I like the day off. I love food (of course, this is just a general comment I say daily). Yes, I'm thankful (again, daily commentary). No, I don't believe in the BFF fairy tale. No, I don't believe elementary kids are being taught accurate history. Yes, I believe they should be taught history as accurately and as age-appropriately as possible.
This "young freelance writer" (in his own self-description) seemed to be at least marginally better informed than others, but was still in this pan-Indian mindset and definitely leading with his questions. So here's how I responded to these questions:
Is there any sort of consensus amongst Native People's about Thanksgiving? First of all, I'd like to make it clear that there is no "one" Native American opinion – on anything. Like any group of people, total consensus is a goal oft-sought but rarely (if ever) achieved – people are complex creatures capable of holding differing opinions, perspectives and values from one another, and Native people are no different. We represent more than 567 unique, federally recognized tribal nations – hundreds more tribes aren't recognized by the federal government. Each tribe has it's own set of rules and laws, and traditions and cultural priorities. To say Native people, in all that phrase encompasses, agree fully on anything so mythologized as Thanksgiving, is kind of a joke. Some of us celebrate the holiday alongside millions of other Americans, some of us actively protest it as an annual reminder of genocide, and still many more are apathetic about the whole thing. Some of us even change our minds one year over the other.
I have read that some Native People are offended by Thanksgiving, and that for the Wampanoag people it is a day of mourning. Is this a fair assessment of the general opinion? I am not Wampanoag, so I can't say how the people of that tribal nation feel about Thanksgiving; however, an annual "National Day of Mourning" occurs among many of the tribal people of Massachusetts on Thanksgiving, though the details of their event vary widely from year to year (fun fact: The Mashpee Wampanoag tribe only recently – as in 2015 – received an actual land base for the tribe — can you imagine?! The people "celebrated" by millions of Americans didn't even have a sovereign home until 2015??? I never want to be "celebrated" like that!). I highly recommend speaking with leaders from the Wampanoag tribe. As I mentioned in the first question, some Natives are indeed "offended" by Thanksgiving, in the same way farting can "offend" someone's sense of smell. I think the word "offended" or the phrase "taking offense" downplays what holidays like Thanksgiving represent for some Native people. The people who protest Thanksgiving aren't doing so because they're offended; they're doing so because Thanksgiving is a nice way to sweep the genocide of millions under the rug. That's pretty racist, if you ask me (and I haven't even mentioned the millions of school children who dress in redface and war-hoop for school celebrations). In celebrating a mythological account of "The First Thanksgiving," not only are Americans blindly accepting a whitewashed version of events, but they're also ignoring the very real history that the "thanks" given by colonizers was that their diseases (among other unfair causes of death) were killing off Indians by the thousands. Essentially, "Let's give thanks to a god who clears the way of savages for our colonies to thrive." Hey – pass the gravy, will ya?
If people could be better informed about one aspect of Thanksgiving or Native culture, what would you like them to know and why? I'd like them to know we're a thriving people with a variety of issues and campaigns we care about, which vary tribe to tribe. If Americans and mainstream media stopped relying on surface-level (mis)representations of Native people (feathers, leathers and stereotypes), they might be able to look away from the past and instead focus on their Indigenous neighbors and coworkers who could use allies in their modern-day efforts to fight Big Oil, reclaim land, revitalize language, prevent youth suicide, strengthen tribal infrastructures and sovereignty, and so much more. Move away from myths and recognize the very real impacts Indigenous people from across the continent had – and continue to have – on the development and success of the America you live in today.
His reply:
"Thank you so much for your very thorough response. I hope that you forgive the ignorance of my questions, and I take your point on all of them. Talking of offence, I hope that you did not take any from my questions. But as a British person I was, until two weeks ago completely unaware of even the 'let's sit around and eat turkey' story told in schools. I hope that I can do you justice in the article, I will be doing a lot more research before it is published. Having read your response, the first thing I am going to do is email my editor and ask for an extension on the word count."
Haha – I love that last part #storyteller #gotlotstosay
We went through a few emails discussing what to cut, etc. He wanted to leave out the bit on farting, but I was like, "if you use anything from me, use the fart bit." He cut out the third question from his article, although he used most of my wording for his own conclusion.
It's not the strongest piece of writing, but I like that he reached out to a few folks for their opinion (and, as I said, we all sort of had our own thought processes). And as I told him, if learning about eating turkey as a national holiday raised your eyebrows, consider the stupidity of taking away our President's time to officially "pardon" a turkey from being cooked and eaten. And how abhorrent that action is when you consider Natives have been asking outgoing presidents to pardon our political prisoner, Leonard Peltier, for decades. Obama will have time for a turkey but not some man who's been behind bars since the 70s. Sad.
Here are some good places to start when re-learning American history as it relates to Pilgrim/Indian plot development:
6 'True History of Thanksgiving' Stories, Which Do You Believe? (ICTMN)
6 Ridiculous Lies You Believe About the Founding of America (Cracked)
We Can't 'Get Over It': 4 Ways Understanding Past Wrongs Can Create Better Indigenous Allies (Everyday Feminism)
Thanksgiving Myth Creates Fairytale of Land Theft, Betrayal, Genocide (ICTMN)
Free the Fringe: 6 Ways to De-Stereotype Native American Heritage Month (Everyday Feminism)
Finally, if this piece triggered your interest, I suggest you read another interview I had recently – this one conducted by a 10-year-old in NYC who writes for an organization called IndyKids! My interview is here. This little lady and I had a GREAT initial phone conversation (of course, I typed my responses to her, as well), wherein I asked her what came to mind when she pictured Native Americans. Her immediate answer was to describe objects displayed at National Museum of the American Indian (based in NYC). Pretty telling that a seemingly educated, with-it kid from NYC has no context for Natives except those she sees in museums o__0 (TEACHERS! DO BETTER!)
July 1, 2015 Politicking, Winyan Ituwan (Vision of the Women), Wracking my noggin...American Indian, Honest Injun, identity, Indian, Native, Native American, Native American Calling, NDN, race, Rachel Dolezal, racial identitythewrackspurt
One of the most common questions I receive from readers is how to check their lineage for Native American ancestry.
There are a few companies now that – for a pretty penny – will search your DNA for ethnic markers and give you a sort of roadmap of percentages. I've had friends use these companies and haven't heard anything negative from them, so I imagine the information they provide is legit.
And there's absolutely nothing wrong with trying to figure out your genetic heritage. I fully support that.
But I wonder: For those who find they are some percent "Native American" (and let's not forget we're talking thousands of unique tribal nations in that vague descriptor), what will they do with that information?
SUPER DUPER UPDATE 7/13/16: My post is a little more, how shall we say, friendly to the idea of DNA tests, but only because I know folks who have done them and swear by what they found. I don't want to deny them their results. However, many people much – much! – smarter than me have totally ripped ancestry tests to shreds. Because science. For a primer on why DNA testing won't help you determine what tribe you're from, you MUST READ the scholar Kim Tallbear's tweetorial and the many publications that interviewed her on the subject.
Because being Native American is more than having the genetic marker of a distant relative (royal or not). It's more than just a box to check for racial demographics on applications and census and data tracking. It's more than being sovereign/legal/political entities. It's more than blood quantum and tribal citizenship.
And yet for some people it's all these things. More than all these things. Race, and particularly Native identity, is a super-complex issue layered in history, modern movements, language, culture, genocide, and so much more.
For me, it's my relatives – my tiospaye (family) – and the larger Native community I've committed my life to. It's me imbued with the aspects of a spiritual being in the absence of religious belief, although I know many who combine the two with tremendous results.
I was a guest on Native America Calling recently to talk about this very issue of Native identity, especially as the national conversation remains on Rachel Dolezal, the concept of being "transracial" (as opposed to multiracial?), and the ramifications of claiming an identity that isn't biologically yours to claim.
We covered a lot of ground, and my part is recapped below (I feel like my voice was really muffled – sorry #fasttalkerihaveanxietygivemeabreak). What are your thoughts? How do YOU identify and is that identity different from the one others associate you with? Are those distinctions important?
iNative
My Lakota identity is based on many foundational layers.
Spirituality. This is different from religion, which is often more about loyalty to an institution and its prescribed set of rules, whereas spirituality, I think, is more of a way of life. It's the difference between belief and being (and I think for many individuals the two can overlap). This has allowed me to explore and fully embrace many aspects of self, including Two Spirit pride and responsibility, motherhood, feminism, and so much more.
Relatives and relations. My identity encompasses my connections and being an active participant "of" rather than "in" my tiospaye (family) and the Oyate (community).
Work. It's what I do for my people. To actively support and uplift. Pay for this work is nice (and necessary for survival), but better still are the messages from parents and young people I've impacted over the years, who remember me and who have taken what I've given them and have used it to give back to others.
Reciprocity. Turning to my Lakota culture saved my life as a depressed and suicidal teenager. Today, being Lakota is how I impact the world around me for the better.
Defining Native identity
I refuse to define anyone other than myself, and describing Native identity goes beyond what's possible in a single radio show or essay. Consider:
In the U.S. there are 567 federally recognized tribes, each with their own rules of citizenship. Then there are another 400 or 500 tribes that aren't federally recognized, but also have citizenship requirements.
There are people who speak their tribal language, and those whose relatives refused to teach the language based on their own traumatic boarding school experiences.
There are quarter-blood (or less) Indians born and raised on the rez immersed in their culture; and there are urban full bloods adopted out as babies who have no connection to their tribe.
And let's not forget the U.S. government's long history of attempting to rid itself of its Indian problem. Genocide wasn't just smallpox, or war, or concentration camps, or removing primary food sources like buffalo… Genocide was (and is) destroying records, the sterilization and murder of Native women, and defunding legal obligations like healthcare or education in tribal communities. In this vein, systemic oppression may prevent some people from accessing Native identity, and rewards a person's proximity to whiteness. Keep in mind it was/is better (in terms of safety and success) to be white, and many Native people chose/choose to pass as white to ensure descendent survival sans hardship.
The considerations above don't even begin to touch upon the issues faced by the thousands of indigenous Turtle Island people north and south of the US border, or my Black/indigenous brothers and sisters.
It's not up to me to decide who's Native. Identity, for anyone, is personal. But tribes and families can determine "membership" and I think for many Natives our identities are shaped by sociocultural input from others. Does anyone else have a "What Would Auntie Do?" bracelet? – jk
As one caller said on the radio show: Your relatives know who you are. For me, that's so so true – on many levels. But for others, say the person who was adopted out of the tribe back in the mid-1900s, that's a small piece of the puzzle, especially if they are unable to retrace their biological family ties.
When it comes to identity, I think there's "I'm Native American" and then there's "I'm Mniconjou Lakota of the Oceti Sakowin." I think, perhaps moreso than other racial identities, there's a lot of work that has to go into claiming Native identity before it's considered legit. For me, there has to be an aspect of doing good work to uplift your people, whether that's your tiospaye (family) or the Oyate (community). There also must be recognition and understanding of Native issues, and beyond that, doing something about those issues.
The elusive 'Real Indian'
In discussing Rachel Dolezal, the national conversation centers on her claim to Black identity, what she calls "the Black experience" (as if being Black, or any race, can be packaged into a singular experience). I am in full support of these discussions.
But no one outside of Native thinkers bats an eye at her assertion that she was born in a tipi and her family hunted with bows and arrows. In fact, Dolezal's parents, who swore up and down that Dolezal is Caucasian without a hint of Black, noted that, in fact, one or two great-grandparents were Native.
Um. Okay.
Debbie Reese (Nambe Pueblo) addressed this on her (fabulously educational) blog, American Indians in Children's Literature:
"The lack of questioning of that born-in-a-tipi story, however, points to the need for children's books and media that accurately portray our lives in the past and the present so that people don't put forth stories like the one Dolezar did, and so that that those who hear that kind of thing question such stories.
"Dolezal's story about living in a tipi is plausible but not probable. The power of stereotyping is in her story, and in those who accepted it, too. That is not ok. Look at the images of Native people you are giving to children in your home, in your school, and in your library. Do some weeding. Make some better choices. Contribute to a more educated citizenry."
Native identity is often based on visual stereotypes by outsiders, and even within our own Native circles we're held to standards of stoicism, oneness with nature, brown skin (not "too" dark or too white, though), long hair, casinos, headdresses, turquoise bling, yadda yadda.
When someone walks in sporting these cultural cues (say, Iron Eyes Cody aka the Crying Environmentalist Indian or Ward Churchill) it's easy to dupe the masses because no one fact checks a stereotype.
The point here is two-fold: First, everyone and their mother (Native and non-Native alike) wants to give input on who or what a Native person is – who they can and can't be, whether that identity is a stereotype of government policy (blood quantum), academia (anthropological history), Hollywood (wild West), sports (mascots), or fashion (cultural appropriation) AND WE WILL BE HONORED, DAMMIT!
And second:
For many of us, we've fought tooth and nail to hold onto our Native identity in the face of oppression. So woe unto the person who gains some kind of notoriety after claiming to be Native without also providing indisputable tangible proof. Just ask Ellie Reynolds, a conservative lapdog who was outed as a non-member with no lineage by the Oglala Sioux tribal government back in May after using her "Oglala Sioux Native American" background as a platform to speak in support of the use of Indian mascots. Or ask Elizabeth Warren. Or Andrea Smith (after reading that link, make sure to read this one AND this one).
Box-checking & multiracial research
The Pew Research Center recently published a study showing half of all US adults claiming a multiracial identity say they are mixed white and American Indian.
OK, number-wise, that's huge. Of an estimated 17 million adults who are multiracial, 50 percent (8.5 million people, folks) are claiming – to some extent – to be Native.
In contrast, Black and American Indian adults make up 12 percent of the multiracial population; white and Black ancestry make up 11 percent.
I mean… Natives must have been getting it on with EVERYBODY for this to even remotely make sense, because of the total US population, about 2.6 million people identified as American Indian/Alaska Native alone, according to 2013 Census estimates.
Though there are obvious holes in the study (how do organizations like the US Census Bureau verify Native identity? Because as Natives we are held to standards of proof – called blood quantum – no other race is subjected to), Pew tried to breakdown the impact of a multiracial identity.
For example, the study found that 61 percent of those claiming white-Native ancestry say they have a lot in common with whites, compared to just 22 percent who say that they have a lot in common with other Natives. Eighty-one percent say they feel closer to their white relatives than their Native relatives, and 88 percent said strangers see them as white.
For me, these numbers are super-telling. The folks leaning toward their white selves are undoubtedly box checkers. These are the folks who spout their the family fairytale of NDN royalty as bona fides ("my great-great grandmother was an Indian princess!") without having to experience any oppression, without having to do any kind of work within Native communities. These people are harmful.
Being Native is more than just a box to check.
Being Native is about more than race.
It's a legal and political designation because we are inherently sovereign entities with our own systems of governing in place, with land and citizenship designations and treaties.
More than that, however, is that when we check that box, we take on sociocultural obligations and responsibilities.
Why it's not OK to lay claim without proof
Like any country, Native tribes have the authority to establish citizenship requirements (this is one of those "for better or worse" type deals, and can cause a lot of pain and heartache among legit Native identities). I'm told I have Irish and French ancestry, but I can't (and don't) go around claiming citizenship of those countries, nor do I identify with the citizenry.
Regarding citizenship, Native nations are not all-inclusive communities (invasions, genocide, and colonization have really turned us off to open immigration, I think); there is no naturalization ceremony available to those who would like to join our societies.
While membership requirements vary from tribe to tribe, many nations employ some kind of blood quantum measurement tool to determine an individual's degree of Indian blood. Considering the sheer number of multiracial folks out there, things start to get really complex here. For example, let's say XYZ Tribe grants matrilineal citizenship only (as some tribes do). A female XYZ tribal member has a son, who is granted citizenship, but if that son grows into an adult who marries a non-tribal member, their offspring cannot claim citizenship with XYZ Tribe (although they can prove lineage).
From MPR News: In "Family Portrait," Maggie Thompson deals with the highly problematic matter of "blood quantum," a method by which tribes, and the federal government, determine "how Indian" a person is, and what benefits they can access.
Let's be clear here, though. Measuring blood quantum is a tool of colonization and not at all a traditional aspect of Native identity. The US government is legally obligated – through "exchange" of land and resources – to provide benefits in the form of healthcare, education, and housing (among other things) to federally recognized tribes.
It was the federal government that said, "Whoa whoa whoa. If we're going to give up the worst land, the worst commodity food, the worst healthcare facilities to Indians, we need y'all to pedigree yourselves through documented blood quantum. We can't oppress just anybody."
Convenient, then, that the federal government can determine which tribes to federally recognize, and that blood quantum does nothing but ensure an eventual bleed-out of the Native race.
A quick point about race: Yes, race is a social construct. It should have no bearing on how we interact with one another as humans. And yet race totally impacts everyone who isn't white, whether we know it or not. Here's a video one of my favorite white people, Melissa Fabello (she's an editor with Everyday Feminism, which I write for), breaking it down for folks who claim they don't see race.
The thing to keep in mind is that race is a major factor in determining who holds the power in our society. As I mentioned earlier, being white or being perceived as white (even if you swear up and down – as Dolezal does – to be living a POC existence) gives you great power and privilege (like, you can rest easy knowing you're a million times less likely to be shot and killed by police more likely to achieve higher education/gainful employment, and have access to better healthcare). As someone who often passes as white, I can attest to this.
The harm in playing Indian
Natives attack ethnic fraud with fervor for legitimate reasons.
For one thing (as evidenced by those multiracial numbers), it happens a lot – like, all the time. The media frenzy that surrounds someone claiming a false Black identity is nonexistent when (even the same) someone claims to be Native without legitimate documentation to back it up. Unless our cultural bi-products are making someone a ton money, Native Americans and our issues take a backseat to everyone else. At least part of this is due – ironically – to the fact that we have such a small voice, population-wise, to demand fair coverage. Where all the multiracial peeps at???
Pretendians cause harm in that their shenanigans will eventually take the focus off important Native issues. Instead of discussing cultural appropriation, violence against women, environmental sustainability, or youth suicides (or a host of other real concerns), the conversation gets caught up in fake tans, wigs, information ownership, money, and other sensationally meaningless dribble.
In addition, ethnic frauds take away opportunities from legit Native people. That academic post? That job? That conference keynote? That college entrance slot? Someone who deserved it more – in a fair and equitable sense – didn't get it because of someone like Ward Churchill, Elizabeth Warren, Rachel Dolezal, and Andrea Smith. And the thing is, all these folks could have done super-powerful ally work just being their awesome white selves.
Remember that power and privilege? There's a good reason for things like affirmative action and demographic tracking to ensure equitable opportunity for everyone, not just the privileged few. Bootstraps are only good if you can afford boots, and useful only if someone else isn't stepping on them (MLK Jr.).
You're Native? Back it up.
Blogger tequilasovereign (Joanne Barker, Lenape) wrote about this very subject of indigenous identity back in April. From "13 Observations in 3 Parts: Anti-Racist Feminist Allies and the Politics of Indigeneity," Barker asserts:
If you say you are Indigenous, you should be able to identify who your nation/tribe/band is (Cherokee, Tlingit, etc.) and who your family/clan is (by name). This identifies you within a set of relationships but also within a set of responsibilities to/within the nation/tribe/band you claim. These responsibilities are political, ceremonial, and social.
If you cannot identify your nation/group/tribe/band, then you should have a transparent explanation (adoption, for instance).
Because of the histories of misrepresentation of Indigeneity in territorial dispossession and violence, there are deep ethical responsibilities in identifying oneself as Indigenous.
When someone says they wish to be Native or they really feel a kinship to Natives because they're super-spiritual and nature-focused and whatnot, this is how I interpret these statements: Stereotypes blind people – and these same people who love to love Natives refuse to do any work to actively dismantle the systems of oppression that keep our kids and relatives on the bottom of every single health, wealth, and education statistic.
Yes, our cultures are beautiful, but living the "Native experience," whatever that means, comes with a heavy dose of trauma-infused DNA #justthefacts Even if you lived the perfect childhood with absolutely no traumatic experiences, just knowing US history as it relates to Native people – and current events – should be enough of a catalyst for you to want to bring about positive change for your people #responsibility
You love Natives and Native culture? Tell me: What were the last three bills you called on your local or state government officials to support or oppose regarding Native issues? Oh, you donate clothes to your church and they're shipped to some random reservation? Tell me again how your stinky old shoes stopped a kid from committing suicide.
I'm not a fan of Aaron Huey, the (talented if purposefully misguided) photographer who took this image of a pile of wasted and molding clothes donations on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. However, it's a good visualization of the kind of disconnect existing between white saviors and the good they think they're doing (when they're really not doing anything).
For those folks who insist they're Native somewhere in their bloodline: Okay. Fine. But you best prepare for major side eye action when you can't name a Native issue you actively support and advocate for, or say you haven't looked into your tribal history, language, or culture, or all that can be said about your Native heritage is you're just really proud.
Being descended from Native Americans and claiming Native identity are two different things. The latter comes with not a little baggage and a host of responsibilities to others.
I know lots of white folks who identify as white who think or know they have Native heritage in their background, but because they aren't connected to the culture, they don't claim that identity. I find these folks are often our greatest allies in advocacy work, since they can attest to the importance of keeping traditions and cultures alive within families and respected beyond entertainment stereotypes.
Before claiming Indian, I suggest taking a strong look inward to decide whether that identity is based on a need to uplift the community or a need to uplift yourself. The latter is a fundamental aspect of Western civilization; the former works actively against oppressive systems.
* About the title: "Honest Injun"
I was searching for a synonym for "authentic" when I came across this suggestion on Thesaurus.com
Honest Injun is a stand-in for "actual" and "authentic."
I don't have the heart to check the listing for "casino" or "alcoholic." I have written to Thesaurus.com to demand they remove the insulting and racist term from their site. No response yet.
Again: NO ONE BATS AND EYE when it comes to pervasive and harmful Native stereotypes.
The White Gaze: Teaching on the Rez Edition
April 28, 2015 Wracking my noggin...thewrackspurt
Why education MUST incorporate Indigenous values, history, and contemporary social studies. Also: Indigenous teachers wanted.
I received a comment today on my latest Everyday Feminism article that totally triggered me. I generally don't take comments quite so personally, but… I'm human. The only response I can come up with right now is, "You should not be teaching Native kids, because it's obvious you have nothing but disdain for our people. Leave now before you do any more damage."
Here is the message, which I've broken down into its many thoughtless components (read the complete text at the end). This is what happens when I free-write in the #angerzone
"Hi, I am a teacher on a reservation in Wyoming and I had a few comments about your article."
"First off, it was really good. I don't agree with everything your wrote, but I do for the most part."
Translation: Actually, the white parts of me couldn't comprehend why he included these statements. He liked it, he didn't, but kinda…? *shrugs*
"I want to share with you what a 'white teacher' on a reservation sees."
Nuh-uh. No. Didn't ask.
"You mentioned in your article that only 51% of students graduate. Did you know that since 2001 (no child left behind law) the ONLY ethnic group not to gain was Native Americans?"
Did you really just use NCLB as an educational barometer? Because for anyone paying attention NCLB was crap legislation that did absolutely nothing but to further marginalize already marginalized kids. This law rewarded schools for high test scores and defunded schools with the lowest scores – pure capitalist economics, not education. The rich got richer and the poor got poorer, especially in areas with large populations of impoverished kids, kids with disabilities, and kids of color.
Native kids improved microscopically during NCLB's reign, but not necessarily because of its policies (I attribute gains to the proliferation of social media and Native people distributing their community news to global audiences and advocating for change).
Regardless of Native student NCLB achievement, this sums up the NCLB nicely: "The standards and practices [of NCLB] are not sound for the teaching of Indian children. Our children see and order their world very differently from most other children, and, as a result, demonstrate their knowledge in deepening and unique ways. The current push to meet the academic standards set out in the No Child Left Behind law rejects the need to provide culturally competent instructions." Sound familiar?
Get outta here tryna school me on this stuff. You must not know 'bout me.
"The students on the Reservation have no desire to make changes and parents for the most part (not all) don't push change. A teacher can teach to the best of their ability, but if families don't encourage it or support it– you get a school where kids are just pushed through because it is 'bad' to retain and we want to keep students in school."
Translation: It's not MY fault. Even though I fully admit to teaching at a school "… where kids are just pushed through…" using BS education policies like NCLB, it's not MY fault! I do the thing that teaches the kids (which I will lump all together as failures) and it's on them to figure out how to overcome hundreds of years of genocide and contemporary systemic oppression. Because BOOTSTRAPS!
Look, buddy: You're talking to a former middle school teacher whose students were 99% Native in an urban area. I get that teaching can be frustrating, that it seems these kids are failing just to spite you (I promise you they're not). But in all this the keyword you should wrap your mind around is "kids." They're just kids, man, and you're talking like that genocide and systemic oppression mentioned earlier is the easiest thing in the world to overcome. #CheckYourPrivilege #GetOffTheBoot
And the bit about parents not pushing for change? Well, I mean, with teachers like you welcoming them with understanding and open arms, what have they to fear, amiright? Your empathy looks a lot like judgement – I bet those kids and parents see right through you, and all the other wannabe white saviors looking down their noses at them.
"The average age when someone dies on this reservation is 42 years old. Most die from diabetes, suicide and alcohol. I am sure this statistic isn't new to you. This information has been around for years—why hasn't the tribes tried to change this?"
OK don't throw out stats to a journalist (especially one with a social work background) – we love data and love backing it up (#AllTheLinks!). I don't know what rez you're teaching on, but Wyoming Natives living on reservations have an average life span of 51-53 years. STILL SUPER LOW, I get your point, but 42 is, like, fifth-world conditions. Americans can live with third-world conditions, but not fifth-world.
To be clear, Natives aren't inserting themselves into these statistics of death and disease by choice. There are NO resources and the ones in place are so underfunded they can barely keep a roof over their heads.
I want to talk about suicide here for a second, because, again, your assumption seems to be that Natives can just get over all this genocide and oppression stuff (or that those things are at least as simple as making quick, decisive changes). Quick answer: We can't (and they're not).
My teenage cousin was recently admitted to a mental health facility for suicidal ideations. Like most of the teens I've worked with as a teacher or as the coordinator for a juvenile justice reform program, my cousin is a good kid. He's one heckuva baller and he's surrounded by a caring, loving family. But he's also (say it with me) just a kid. And unfortunately for him, he's a Native kid, which means in addition to dealing with the normal teenage angst stuff other teens deal with, he's also living in an isolated area filled with gang violence, drugs, and NO RESOURCES. That mental health facility I mentioned earlier? Yeah, it's located across the state in an urban area – far away from his family and community.
THAT'S what I'm talking about when I say systemic oppression (here's a piece on that topic specifically for teachers). Systemic oppression in this scenario is the refusal (despite LEGAL TREATY OBLIGATIONS!!) to appropriately fund programs to address issues like mental health and violence. Thankfully, my cousin has a support system with the ability to travel to be with him… But what about the hundreds of other Native kids who don't because of epidemically high unemployment rates, the family has no vehicle, or the parents have to work out of town??? There are too many obstacles to list and tribes HAVE made attempts (are making attempts) to do what they can with the resources (and capacity) available. This is why resume-padding programs like Teach For America are tolerated on reservations, because (despite a massive disconnect between non-Native teachers who leave after the two-year classroom commitment and their Native students/families) there aren't many other options.
"Yes, many tribes aren't funded as much as they should be…,"
Let's just stop right there. That's a HUGE reason. See above. Or reread my post, which discusses this problem at length.
Need more proof? Check out the funding shortfalls reservation communities experience for addressing domestic violence, education (check out this link, too), and programs trying to meet employment, housing, and healthcare needs.
"…but there are so many programs out on the reservation that aren't being used. The natives who do go off to the reservation to try to get a college degree are called 'apples' and not real Indians because they 'abandoned the way.'"
Where are you getting your information from? What programs, specifically, are you referring to? Because no one program is going to solve all our problems. Heck, white folk have a shit-ton of problems, too. I mean, there's a reason whites use social services like food stamps more than any other ethnicity. The difference is that there are more opportunities for white folks to access needed resources.
Lots of people I love and admire live on the rez and are flourishing in so many more ways than economically or academically (two things I wish weren't so important to my perception of personal success — #colonized #workingonit). Their success is in sustainability, or justice reform, or cultural teachings/learnings. I also love and admire just as many Natives who, like me, live in an urban area. People stay on or leave reservations for vast and varying reasons beyond your narrow scope of comprehension.
So, congratulations. You've managed to reduce a complex system of culture and values down to tired tropes, "Natives who seek/have college degrees are called apples!" I cringe to think how you might break down a subject like social studies for your fourth graders *shudders*
I've never been called an apple. I have a couple degrees, and haven't lived on my reservation since I was a tiny tot. Apple is a slur sometimes used within Native circles to describe someone who is or claims to be Native but operates under a colonized set of values and behaviors (so, red on the outside, white on the inside — see? Tired.). You, sir, should not be using that term. Ever.
"The other thing that bothers me is the state of the reservation. O.k. so the houses aren't the greatest and best built–but there is no pride out there. The amount of litter and animals without owners is sad. You look a lot younger than me, but I remember this commercial when I was a kid. It was a native american sitting on his horse in war regalia. Trash was on the ground and a tear was in his eye. Yes, it was "stereotypical" of what a Native looks like, but it really hit me hard that the Natives loved the land and we destroyed it. But that isn't what I see on the reservation."
I may puke. So many things are wrong with this paragraph, I don't know where to begin. The houses aren't great? I'm sorry, the pre-fab, single-wide trailers aren't glorious enough for you? Didn't we just talk about how underfunded reservation programs – like housing – are? Pay attention and #staywoke: THIS IS PURPOSEFUL OPPRESSION! My elderly, disabled and diseased relatives pay ungodly propane prices to heat their uninsulated and debilitated trailers every winter – people are DYING and you want them to pick up trash?
And that crying Indian you reference? Yeah. Iron Eyes Cody (as he called himself) wasn't even Native. Your whole concept of the stereotypical one-with-nature Native isn't even based on a real Native. Read up on cultural appropriation while you're researching accountability (you wrote "…we [whites] destroyed it." Don't you then have at least a partial responsibility – beyond bitching about lazy Native kids and parents – to fix it?).
Don't hate. Reparate!
PS: SO MANY PEOPLE litter and play host to dirty towns and cities. This is not a reservation problem, but a world problem.
"I hope that I haven't offended you, please keep up the good fight trying to teach 'whites' about Native Americans, but please also be an influence in your own culture and try to help the tribes gain back their pride."
Muthafucker WHAT?!
This whole comment thread has been a study in Us/Them mentality, but you really crossed the line here. You obviously know nothing about me, my background, influences, or impact. Ask the hundreds of Native kids I've taught, mentored, and hugged throughout my life how much of an influence I've been. I'm far from perfect, but I've put a lot of sweat, blood, and tears into every community I've lived in as an adult.
Believe me, there are SO MANY Native heroes out there, people worth admiring and looking up to. Just because YOU don't see them from your ivory perch doesn't mean they aren't there. The fact we're still here, still fighting for a myriad of causes proves we've got pride coming out our ears.
Indigenous pride and compassion and competence built this continent. That pride CONTINUES to hold up our communities both on and off the reservation. Ours is just not the colonized pride of useless, green lawns and collections of porcelain figurines you expect Natives to have in their cookie-cutter houses.
Our dream is not American.
"It is very sad as a teacher to ask a 4th grader what he wants to do when he grows up, to hear the response of 'I don't know.' Any other child would have had an answer and some of those kids I teach see no future."
Any other ch-…? C'mon! Again with the us/them? You must be a new teacher who's never had any interactions with kids anywhere. Or people. In general. Because I've had the privilege of living in communities of varying shapes, sizes, and demographics and have never come across anyone – young or old – who really knows what they want to do or be in life. They might throw out something they think people want to hear, but they don't really know. I don't even know what I want to be and I'm 32!
A better line of questioning might be, "Tell me about yourself, kiddo. What do you like to learn in school versus when you're not in school?" Because, as you've stated before, thinking as far ahead as adulthood isn't a privilege a lot of young Native people have these days, thanks to a lack of opportunities, resources, and, you know, lifespan.
And considering this brief interaction you and I have had, I imagine the problem lies with YOU, your approach, and your obvious expectations of whitewashed success. If I'm a fourth grader in your class (#prayforme), I won't give you much, either, because you obviously don't care and can't relate to anything I'm going through.
This concludes the comment. Now that it's finally done with, I can take a step back and try to assume good intent. So (and I'm talking directly to the teacher here), let's pretend you haven't completely checked out of doing your job to educate the future of our world and that you really do care – more than just trolling the websites of writers you kinda/maybe agree/disagree with.
Here's the best advice I can give to you: Do something about the problems you're complaining about. Call and demand action (even something as simple as visiting a reservation — which you'll see in that link lots of Wyoming lawmakers don't bother with) from your legislators highlighting the needs your white gaze falls upon. Support tribal sovereignty and vote in Native lawmakers (last year's election cycle had quite a few). There are SO MANY ways for you to be an active and effective ally!
The comment:
Message Hi, I am a teacher on a reservation in Wyoming and I had a few comments about your article. First off, it was really good. I don't agree with everything your wrote, but I do for the most part. I want to share with you what a "white teacher" on a reservation sees. You mentioned in your article that only 51% of students graduate. Did you know that since 2001 (no child left behind law) the ONLY ethnic group not to gain was Native Americans? The students on the Reservation have no desire to make changes and parents for the most part (not all) don't push change. A teacher can teach to the best of their ability, but if families don't encourage it or support it– you get a school where kids are just pushed through because it is "bad" to retain and we want to keep students in school. The average age when someone dies on this reservation is 42 years old. Most die from diabetes, suicide and alcohol. I am sure this statistic isn't new to you. This information has been around for years—why hasn't the tribes tried to change this? Yes, many tribes aren't funded as much as they should be, but there are so many programs out on the reservation that aren't being used. The natives who do go off to the reservation to try to get a college degree are called "apples" and not real Indians because they "abandoned the way." The other thing that bothers me is the state of the reservation. O.k. so the houses aren't the greatest and best built–but there is no pride out there. The amount of litter and animals without owners is sad. You look a lot younger than me, but I remember this commercial when I was a kid. It was a native american sitting on his horse in war regalia. Trash was on the ground and a tear was in his eye. Yes, it was "stereotypical" of what a Native looks like, but it really hit me hard that the Natives loved the land and we destroyed it. But that isn't what I see on the reservation. I hope that I haven't offended you, please keep up the good fight trying to teach "whites" about Native Americans, but please also be an influence in your own culture and try to help the tribes gain back their pride. It is very sad as a teacher to ask a 4th grader what he wants to do when he grows up, to hear the response of "I don't know." Any other child would have had an answer and some of those kids I teach see no future.
Land, Labour, and Loss: A Story of Struggle & Survival at the Burrard Inlet
Check out this awesome blog, Ad Astra Comix (@adastracomics), which is featuring #IndigenousComixMonth through April. Fantastic First Peoples stories!
By Taté Walker, Mniconjou Lakota
Taté Walker (Mniconjou Lakota) is an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of South Dakota. She is a freelance journalist who lives in the Colorado Springs area. She can be reached on Twitter at @MissusTWalker or www.jtatewalker.com.
Speaking as a former middle school teacher, it isn't easy feeding bloodless and battleless history lessons to the masses. Even more difficult is featuring published histories from marginalized perspectives – either they don't exist, or people don't care to know them.
Title: Working on the Water, Fighting for the Land: Indigenous Labour on Burrard Inlet
Authors: Robin Folvik and Sean Carleton
Illustrator: Tania Willard (Secwepmec Nation)
To be Published: by Between the Lines in 2016 (part of an anthology, Drawn to Change: Graphic Histories About Working-Class Struggles)
More information: To see the full preview, visit the Graphic History…

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


which type of intermolecular bonding is seen in Carbon tetrachloride CCl4? Why? Please explain.
CCl4 has covalent bonding. Carbon has four electrons in its valence shell and shares these with four chlorine atoms to form carbon tetrachloride molecule. These have vander waals intermolecular forces of attraction. They are the only attractive forces present in nonpolar compounds.


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Philippines counters China threat with $520m missile deal
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Villagers in Lavool village witnessed the langur monkeys carrying off the dogs and throwing them from heights.
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Indian PM's Twitter hacked with announcement India to adopt Bitcoin
Narendra Modi's Twitter handle was "very briefly compromised" when a tweet was sent saying the country had adopted Bitcoin.
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Heavy rains in southern Indian state kill 17, dozens missing
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Teen girl in India names police among 'hundreds' of rapists
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Home News and Analysis PE Deals Newsweek Gets Bids but Where is OpenGate?
Newsweek Gets Bids but Where is OpenGate?
Did they or didn't they?
One day after bids for Newsweek were due, it's still unclear if OpenGate Capital has tendered a proposal. Avenue Capital Group, the hedge fund, submitted a bid Thursday while Fred Drasner, the former New York Daily News publisher, is also in the running, according to press reports.
Sidney Harman, the founder of audio equipment company Harman International Industries, is bidding, according to The New York Times. NewsMax Media pulled out last night after the Washington Post, which owns Newsweek, rejected its offer.
The Post put Newsweek up for sale in May. Much has been made about the financial state of the legendary weekly that produced $56 million in operating losses in 2009 and an $11 million loss in first quarter. Newsweek has no EBITDA (negative EBITDA, actually) which has made it a hard sell to PE firms.
Still, OpenGate, an opportunistic PE firm from Los Angeles, was interested. At least it was a few weeks ago and was planning to make an offer. Andrew Nikou, OpenGate's CEO, did not return calls or messages to peHUB.
OpenGate is known for its legendary buy of TV Guide, which it bought two years ago for $1. The publication is now profitable, Nikou says,
OpenGate was also interested in Businessweek but lost out to Bloomberg LP last year.
Officials for the Washington Post declined comment.


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Biochar is nothing new in Minneapolis. The city has, for years, bought truckloads of the charcoal-like material from a plant in Missouri and used the dusty black nuggets for a well-known use: to enrich soil for urban agriculture and bolster the local bounty of fruits and vegetables to harvest.
But then three city leaders visited Stockholm in May. And now Minneapolis is starting to think even more expansively about how this carbon-catching soil conditioner might help the city address a number of emerging concerns — from climate change to stormwater management.
The Minneapolis team visited the tidy plant in Stockholm's public-works yard, where the city turns tree limbs into biochar — and simultaneously kicks off energy to heat buildings. And they went to one of the new super-sustainable neighborhoods Stockholm is known for, where biochar helps sponge up and filter stormwater while helping street trees thrive. (See the infographic at the bottom of this page for more on how biochar is made and used.)
They were blown away by Stockholm's holistic approach to turning its abundance of yard waste into a recycled resource with so many applications — all while taking advantage of biochar's signature benefit as a carbon sink that helps mitigate climate change.
"It was a lot simpler than I imagined it to be," said Robin Hutcheson, Minneapolis' public works director and a member of the Minneapolis delegation. "I think I had imagined biochar as something that was chemical and complicated and difficult to produce and difficult to use. What I learned is that it is actually simple to produce and able to be used in a variety of settings."
Participants in the Stockholm convening visited the plant where the city turns yard waste into biochar.
The Stockholm trip was part of a Bloomberg Philanthropies event meant to showcase and aid replication of Stockholm's success with biochar. After winning €1 million through the foundation's Mayors Challenge, Stockholm opened its small biochar plant two years ago and is now looking at scaling up production. At the convening, city leaders behind the Stockholm effort shared their lessons learned with the Minneapolis team, as well as colleagues from across Europe and as far away as Hong Kong.
Visitors heard a lot about the various properties of biochar that make it so useful in a municipal context. When mixed into soil, biochar helps retain nutrients and moisture, enabling urban farmers, foresters, and landscapers to grow stronger, healthier plants that can resist drought. Along streets and roadways, it can help hold and filter stormwater, helping to prevent floods and reduce water pollution. Finally, biochar sequesters carbon in the ground, making its use one of the rare "carbon negative" climate strategies cities have at their disposal.
[Read: Stockholm opens its first biochar plant]
Inspired by what they saw in Stockholm, the Minneapolis team returned home and began planning how to ramp up the city's own use of biochar. Councilman Jeremy Schroeder almost immediately secured passage of a council resolution directing the city's Health Department, Office of Sustainability, and Public Works Department to explore ways of putting biochar to use.
Schroeder said he's most enthusiastic about the role that biochar can play in combating climate change. "We're not just trying to survive climate change, we're trying to make a more equitable and resilient city, and biochar is one of those solutions that can help," he said. "We hope to be an example for the Midwest and the whole U.S. with this."
City leaders from around the world learned how Stockholm is using biochar for myriad uses, such as urban forestry and stormwater management.
Minneapolis is working on two tracks. To start, the various city agencies most likely to deploy biochar are meeting regularly to consider ways they might experiment with using it. The emphasis now is on small tests, aimed at gaining a more fine-grained understanding of how this might scale up in Minneapolis' context. Schroeder said he's asked agencies: "If we gave you a bucket of biochar, can you use it and document what you did and come back with learnings?"
Hutcheson said Public Works is hoping to run a few experiments with biochar. While nothing is decided, she said, the city has some roadway reconstruction projects coming where she could see testing out whether adding biochar to the streetscaping helps with stormwater. "I've learned enough to want to experiment with this in the shorter term," she said, "and then think about what more we might want to do in the longer term."
The Health Department has already seen biochar's benefits in urban agriculture. As part of an effort to boost availability of fresh, local produce, the Health Department partnered with a local Native American tribal government to increase agricultural production. The city trucks in the biochar to be mixed with compost the tribe generates locally. Jim Doten, who manages this project for the Health Department and was part of the city's delegation to Stockholm, said these gardens are yielding 20 to 30 percent higher outputs than they would without biochar.
The second track in Minneapolis is to explore the feasibility of building a biochar plant so that agencies can source the material locally without having to truck it in from far away — the need to ship biochar reduces its climate-friendliness. There's a number of issues to sort out, from determining how much biochar the city can actually use to deciding whether a biochar plant is something the city should own or encourage as a private enterprise.
"The bottom line is, we're actively looking at and supporting ways to get biochar manufactured in Minnesota," Doten said.
After years in the background — or actually, the underground — biochar is now front and center in Minneapolis. "Our city leaders are saying, 'Yes!' They're very enthusiastic," Doten said before adding, "and a large part of that is a direct result of our seeing the success of their work in Stockholm."


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Distanced Event
Reading at a Distance: Mary & Vincent
May 21, 2020 7:02–9:02pm
Access via Zoom
Reading at a Distance: Mary O'Brien & Vincent Chu
Thursday, May 21, 7PM PST.
This event will be live streaming on Zoom and Facebook Live.
We've partnered with Booksmith to bring you a series of distanced literary readings with Headlands Artists, curated by Emily Wolahan (AFF '16–'19). Join Mary O'Brien (AFF '17–'20) and Vincent Chu (AFF '20) on Thursday, May 21 at 7PM PST. You can join the event on Zoom, where you will have an opportunity to ask questions, or view the event on Booksmith's Facebook Live.
About the writers:
Mary O'Brien works as an environmental artist and writes essays that reflect the histories of the lands on which she works. These are stories about public domain lands that take place over several years, and where the events documented, and the places they occur, become indistinguishable from each other. Rooted in the research she develops as an environmental artist, her essays track both historic and current day events, and bridge science, art, and culture. Mapping through geologic time and human history, and with focus on the connectedness of land, water, and human pathways, Mary's writing is intended to become a catalyst for positive ecological thinking.
O'Brien's essays have been published in The Solutions Journal, Stanford University's Millennium Alliance for Humanity and the Biosphere Journal and WEAD Online. Her installation work archived at the Nevada Museum of Art's Center for Art + Environment. and is featured in the upcoming 2021 Environmental Art Calendar.
Vincent Chu is a Bay Area writer and author of the debut story collection Like a Champion (7.13 Books). His fiction has appeared in STILL Magazine, Fjords Review, Pithead Chapel, PANK Magazine, East Bay Review, The Collapsar, Stockholm Review and elsewhere. He is a Headlands Center for the Arts Affiliate Artist, 2019 Hambidge Center Fellow and member of The Writers Grotto. He has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. He earned his Bachelor of Arts from UCLA. Vincent lives in San Francisco and can be found online at @herrchu. He is working on his first novel.
About Booksmith:
Booksmith is an an off-center general interest independent bookstore and legacy business, a flagship of San Francisco's Haight Street since 1976. Booksmith is the force behind The Bindery, a multi-purpose events parlor established in 2017 that features The Arcana Project: a deep, highly inclusive array of books—fiction and nonfiction, from all over the world—presented in chronological order by the date they were written. Booksmith also organizes Berkeley Arts & Letters, an East Bay speaker series since 2009 that features exceptional authors with new books. Between the three programs, Booksmith produces over 250 events per year.
View Mary O'Brien
Mary O'Brien


The child may be referred from your general practitioner/family doctor, insured patients and those paying for their own treatment (Self-Pay).
If you think your child needs to see a paediatrician, you may visit your family doctor and discuss your concerns with them first. They will assess your child and where appropriate make a referral to the paediatrician.
You can also see a paediatrician without a referral from your family doctor. Without a referral you will need to pay the full costs yourself.
To arrange an appointment with one of the consultant paediatricians, please call +45 45 85 88 99 during the hours 1800-1900 Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. If you would like to request an appointment by email (info@boernedoktor.dk) please ensure that you include the following information: Name of the child, CPR no./birth date and a short description of the problem to be addressed by the paediatrician. Please also include information on how to get in contact with you by phone and the name of the referring doctor, if any.
Note, that in an emergency or if you are worried about your child, you must take them directly to your local Accident and Emergency Department – or contact the 24-h service 'vagtlæge'.
Initially time is spent talking to you to understand your concerns, hear your questions and to learn about your child's previous history, current health and behaviour. The assessment of health and development, which is relatively informal will then follow, with you closely involved.
Diagnostic tests in the clinic include pulmonary function test (spirometry), allergy testing (skin prick test) and electrocardiogram. The paediatrician further may request blood samples to be taken in KPLL laboratory facilities and/or x-ray to be performed in an Imaging clinic (listed here) At the end of the assessment the team will spend a short time together to consider the findings of the assessment and to devise recommendations for helping your child.
We then have a full discussion with you and we jointly agree on management/treatment plan for your child, and plan a review if necessary.
Please bring your child's CPR-card, referral and any medicines that your child is taking with you to the clinic.
When we have completed our assessment, we jointly agree on recommendations and the plan for review. Some children may require repeat visits.
If for any reason you find that it is impossible to attend the appointment, please let us know immediately (at least 5 days' notice) so that we can offer another child this date. Other parents who are on our waiting list are very grateful if they can be given a cancellation appointment.
A report is sent to your general practitioner/family doctor. The report gives details our assessment findings, our recommendations for treating your child and the plan for a review.
Read more about how your child can be seen by the paediatricians.


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print "connections.active:100|gauge"
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub