Posts By: First Nations Drum

Twassassen Signs $47 Million Deal with Vancouver Port Authority

By Lloyd Dolha

The Twassassen First Nation and the Vancouver Port Authority signed an unprecedented $47 million deal that compensates the Twassassen for the three decades of adverse environmental impacts from the port development at Roberts Banks and clears the way for future port development.

“We’re making history today,” said Twassassen Chief Kim Baird at the signing ceremony. “This deal not only provides justice to the TFN community for resolving long-standing issues, but it also provides us with the opportunity to build a much-needed climate of economic development for Twassassen people.”

The deal resolves a three-year legal battle between the band, the port authority and a number of government agencies and related entities involved in the development and operation of the port.

The deal also establishes a broad 25-year business partnership between the band and the port authority providing much-needed short and long-term jobs and investment opportunities in other port-related business ventures.

Chief Kim Baird said the new agreement offers a new era of economic cooperation between First Nations and the Canadian business community. The agreement removes a major obstacle to the port authority’s plan to expand the existing Deltaport container terminal, and add an entirely new three-berth container terminal at Roberts Bank.

The band has also agreed to support the transfer of certain provincial land and water lots to the port authority that are needed for the expansion of the container terminal facilities.

Baird said all the money is earmarked for the Twassassen people in terms of economic development, jobs and higher education.

“We recognize that the Roberts Bank facility is critically important to Canada’s economic well-being. Now, as equal partners, we will be doing business together, protecting our land and marine environment,” said Baird.

Under the terms of the agreement, the Twassassen will receive:

· $2.5 million for settlement of the legal dispute, which will be used to mitigate impacts from the existing facilities;
· Compensation of $4.5 million for past and future infringements on claimed aboriginal title caused by the development and operation of the Roberts Bank port facility;
· A $1 million development fund for education and skills training; and employment and contracting opportunities associated with port development and on-going port operations; and,
· In addition the First Nation and the port authority will establish a $10 million investment fund that will be jointly managed.

The agreement further stipulates that the port authority will provide $4 million of construction contracts. The 330 members of Twassassen must still ratify the agreement in a vote scheduled for November 29, 2004.

The 290-hectare reserve is bordered to the south by the BC Ferries causeway and the port authority’s container and coal port to the immediate north.

Simon Baker Plays Native

In the independent film On the Corner, Simon Baker, is an incredibly talented and young actor who plays Randy in this multi-character driven story.

Take the drugs, hustling and extreme poverty away and you have a tale of family: a brother, a sister, a father and a mother, and the individuals that surround them as they seek to find, know and love each other.

Randy (Baker) comes to Vancouver, leaving a foster home after his mother is put in rehab, looking for his sister and dad. He has no money. He pleads with his sister, Angel, to let him stay with her. She, in turn, pleads with Bernie, the hotel manager, to let him stay without paying “guest fees.” Randy is a handsome sixteen-year-old that does not appear to be even a casual drug user.

However, everyone in his sister’s company is shooting heroin or smoking crack – except Floyd, a recovered drug/alcohol addict, who unbeknownst to Randy, was once his father’s best friend. On the request of Angel, Floyd allows Randy to live with him and takes the boy on his daily dumpster diving rounds.

For Randy, binning and listening to country music is hardly a fulfilling life. He starts to hang around Angel’s friends, Stacey and Cliff, and before long, he’s got the same crack habit to support as they do. Angel’s drug dealer, Wade, generously steps in and sets him up as a salesman, with the caveat: “absolutely no fronting.” But, soon enough, Cliff is jonesing for a hit, has no money, and basically robs Randy of his supply.

Now, not only is Randy addicted and without a supply, he owes Wade for the drugs Cliff stole. We get an insight into Wade’s violent behaviour, when, after viciously smacking Angel across his hotel room, in a vain attempt to get her to pay her brother’s debt, he almost cries “they’ll break my legs if I don’t give them the $500!” (In the DVD audio commentary, Geary comments how a $500 debt in the Downtown Eastside can really get your legs broken – harsh!) What can Randy do, other than hustle and rob johns like his sister?

Although there is no resolution in On the Corner the audience has peeked into the lives and motivations of people who we often view as foreign and “different” to ourselves, only to find that their motivations are pretty much the same as ours. Therein lies the light and hope of this tragic and gloomy character study.

Labour of love for all
In talking with Simon Baker about his role in On the Corner, it is apparent that the movie was a labour of love for almost all involved. Even though the actors were paid “next to nothing,” they all really wanted their roles. Alex Rice, who plays Angel, Randy’s sister in the movie (and is Simon’s sister in real life as well!) flew in from L.A. to audition. Extras and production crew were largely made up of people Geary knew and worked with during his days at the Portland Hotel.

Of course the fact that this story is largely a Native story has a lot to do with the eagerness of the participants to take part. Simon had some experience of this when he played the young Thomas in the breakthrough Canadian aboriginal story, Smoke Signals, however, even though he has looks and talent to move beyond stereotypical roles, he still seems to get offered almost exclusively Native roles.

He tells me that he doesn’t mind, that it is like a social history project every time he has to play another Native, that he enjoys learning about different tribes and people when he prepares for his roles, and that he loves acting so much, he’s grateful to be doing it at all.

Simon will study directing and producing, at Capilano College next year, before continuing to the American Film Institute in the same program afterwards.

More Native roles
After finishing On the Corner, Simon went on to play Honesco, in Ron Howard’s The Missing, and one of the Farber posse in Alex Proyas’ (Dark City, The Crow) Will Smith vehicle, I, Robot. After these roles, he played leads in Buffalo Dreams, a Walt Disney movie, and in the first episode of Into the West, Steven Spielberg’s upcoming 12-hour mini-series.

Yes, except for the possible exception of I, Robot, these are, again, all Native roles. Yet, Simon is only eighteen, and he’s getting solid leads and the chance to work with big name directors and talent. And he’s grateful (in that he understands the layout of his land), talented and focused. Who’s to say he won’t do for Aboriginals what Sidney Poitier did for African Americans in the sixties?

Surprisingly Simon has no intention of jumping ship and moving to L.A. He plans on remaining in Langley, where he grew up and lives now, with his manager mom, and Haida-carver dad.

Another interesting thing about Simon is that while he doesn’t crow about his heritage, he is completely at home with it, as well. When I ask him about his background, he responds, “My mom’s Cree, from Cowessess, Saskatchewan; and my dad’s Haida and Squamish – a little bit of a mixture in my background.” So, with a disarming and innocuous reply, he presents that the Native race is diverse, dynamic and rich, rather than “red.”

At sixteen, the role of Randy was:

“A difficult part. Reading the script, and my age was sixteen, and never really being down on East Hastings before – it was sort of a subject that I had to face… we spent about a month down there, just doing rehearsals on the street corner, getting to know some of the people down there, watching (them) do what they do with their lives everyday, and it was very… eye-opening. I had never seen this before.

…Another part my mom and I had to sit down and talk about, (were) some of the “vulgar” scenes I had. [Simon’s character becomes a prostitute at one point in the movie] … I got over it…This is acting; it’s nothing realistic. (Laughs.)… And I’m totally capable of doing what I have to do on script.”

However, Simon feels that doing the part has “made” him as an actor, particularly since immediately after On the Corner came out, he was offered the part of Honesco, in The Missing, with one of his favourite actors, Tommy Lee Jones, and one of his favourite directors, Ron Howard.

On the Corner, though not without its problems (primarily production), deservedly, has won international awards including:

Best Feature from Western Canada, Vancouver International Film Festival, 2003 ($12,000 prize)

Best Feature, Whistler Film Festival, 2003

Best Feature, Cinema Jove Festival, Valencia, Spain, 2004 ($21,000 prize)

Special Award of the Jury, Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festival, Mannheim, Germany, 2004

It was also named one of top 10 Canadian films of 2003 by the Toronto International Film Festival.

And recently, the great Gordon Tootoosis added to the winnings with a Best Supporting Actor prize, from the American Indian Film Festival (2004).

Aboriginal Leaders Meet with Ministers on Health Care

By Lloyd Dolha

Leaders of Canada’s top aboriginal organizations met with the prime minister and other government members in a three-hour plenary session before the First Minister’s meeting on health care on September 13, 2004, in Ottawa.

Assembly of First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine tabled a six point First Nations Health action plan with the prime minister, the premiers and territorial leaders.

“This morning’s session was an important opportunity to bring focus to the devastating health status of First Nations peoples,” said the national chief. “That is why we presented a comprehensive action plan that includes six elements aimed at transformative change and immediate results.

“Our plan is supported by the pillars of sustainability and integration to create a system that gives us maximum return on our investments and works to improve the lives of our people and a health care system for all Canadians.”

The six points of the action plan involve a sustainable financial base; integrated primary and continuing care; human health resources; public health infrastructure; healing and wellness; and, information and resource capacity.

The prime minister responded with a pledge of $700 million in new health care programs for Canada’s aboriginal people, which was warmly received by aboriginal leaders.

Martin called the meeting a “historic opportunity” to improve the health of aboriginal people who suffer from greater illness and shorter life spans than other Canadians.

The gap between the health of aboriginal people and other Canadians “is a huge moral issue for us as Canadians,” said the prime minister.

“Together we can and we must close the gap in health status,” said Martin.

The five-year federal health plan for aboriginal people includes:

” $200 million for an Aboriginal Health Transition Fund that allows governments and First Nations’ communities to adapt existing health care services to the needs of aboriginal peoples and improves the level of coordination between federal, provincial, territorial and First Nations governments;

” $100 million for an aboriginal human health resources strategy to better train aboriginal health care workers and attract and retain professionals to serve in smaller, remote communities;

” And $400 million directed to critical areas such as mental health programs to reduce youth suicides, maternity education programs, infant wellness clinics and diabetes.

The prime minister further stated that he wants aboriginal people to play a greater role in the delivery of health care services, and committed his government to adopt a reasonable rate of growth for First Nations health care systems.

“We must envision a system in which aboriginal people have an increased role in capacity in the management, in the planning, and in the delivery of health services,” said Martin. “I believe this vision can become a reality, but it will require a major effort from each of us to work together.”

AFN national chief Phil Fontaine said the funding is a “positive beginning” that demonstrates the real commitment First Nations were looking for.

“This commitment to sustainability is critical for us. Sustainability is the anchor for all the improvements that must be made in the future,” said Fontaine. “First Nations must be directly involved with the federal government in determining a reasonable rate of growth based on accurate demographic and real costs.”

The national chief further stated that the day’s three-hour session out of a three-day meeting was “clearly not enough;” and that First Nations were still expecting a full seat at the table in order to make real progress.

Fontaine also called for a full First Minister’s conference on aboriginal issues within the next six months. The prime minister and the first ministers agreed to hold a special meeting on aboriginal issues, but did not specify a timetable.

“It’s clear from the tone of what was said here today that the solutions lie with greater control by First Nations,” said Fontaine.

Still, if Fontaine was not entirely happy with the brevity of the meeting, others were.

Clement Chartier, president of the Métis National Council said the Métis made a “historic breakthrough” with their inclusion in the federal aboriginal health blueprint.

“For the Métis nation, we believe that this is an important first step towards addressing the discrimination our people currently face in Canada’s health care system. We embrace the opportunity to work with Canada and the provinces from Ontario westward in a new era of partnership in the area of Métis health.”

The Métis say their inclusion in the health blueprint is timely in light of the upcoming anniversary of the Supreme Court of Canada ruling in R.v. Powley, which recognized the existence of the rights of Métis as equal to aboriginal rights.

“In light of Powley, governments must understand the Métis Nation and the courts will not accept federal and provincial policies that ignore the Métis Nation.”

Stoney Point History Reveals Burial Site in Provincial Park

By Dan Smoke – Asayenes (NNNC)

FOREST – Anthropologist Joan Holmes’ testimony at the August session of the Ipperwash Inquiry Commission explained the historical context in which the September 6, 1995 killing of Stoney Point activist Dudley George took place.

Following the War of l812, the British wanted to allow settlement in Southwestern Ontario so, following the 1763 Royal Proclamation, they had to arrange a cession agreement with the Chippewas, beginning with the land north of the Thames River.

Negotiations began in 1818 with a number of councils, including Chippewas known as Chenail Ecarte from Walpole Island; the Chippewas of Sarnia located along the St. Clair River; and those
known separately as the River Aux Sable people, and the Kettle Point people along and the southeast shore of Lake Huron.

In l825, they made a provisional treaty by which the Chippewa requested land to be set aside for their exclusive use and occupation.

Taking part were between 18 to 24 chiefs who thought the reserves were just more than 23,000 acres of land. The Indian agent recorded the numbers of Chippewas, believed to be about 440. Mr. Burwell, surveying the four reserves in l826, found the total acreage amounted to under 18,000 acres which in 1827 was written into Huron Tract Treaty #29.

The Chippewas gave up 99% of their territory in return for l% set aside for the exclusive use and occupation. The Chiefs signed that treaty believing they would receive a yearly annuity, and their reserve land would be for their people’s exclusive use and occupation “into perpetuity.”

In fact, they received goods, not money, from the government. Under the Huron Tract Treaty #29, the government treated the four reserves as one band, with one head Chief, as if all their land was interchangeable, all with equal rights in each of the reserves.

During the 1880s, the River Aux Sable name changed to Stoney Point and the Kettle Point and Stoney Point Reserves petitioned DIA to let them separate from the Sarnia band because, as one chief said: “We never pull together very well.”

In l9l9, the Government, DIA, and the Deputy Superintendent agreed to the separation of the Chippewas of Sarnia band, and the Kettle Point and Stoney Point band, also splitting the funds held in trust for them.

Indian Act in control
By this time, the Indian Act of 1876 controlled every aspect of Indian life, with the Chief and council accountable to DIA through the Indian agent, not to the people who elected them. In 1927 and 1928, land surrenders on both Kettle Point and Stoney Point reserves were taken by local non-Nativedevelopers who wanted the beach front for cottages and recreation.

In both cases, the Indian agent encouraged voting male band members over 21 to agree to the surrender. Kettle Point was opposed, protesting to DIA, but the surrender of 85 beach front acres was completed. In 1927, Stoney Point surrendered 377 acres, the reserve’s entire beach front. Real estate developer William J. Scott paid the band $35 an acre for 377 acres.

In 1936, nine years later, he sold 109 acres of the same land, with no improvements, for $10,000, or slightly less than $100 per acre, a handsome profit known as a “land flip.”

(Both these land claims are now under consideration, but as yet no decision has been rendered.)

In l942 the Department of National Defense (DND) decided they wanted the rest of the Stoney Point reserve, excluding the 377 beach front acres sold to Scott, for an advanced infantry training camp. Stoney Point people voted against the land surrender so the federal government expropriated the land under the War Measures Act, forcing everyone residing at Stoney Point to be relocated to Kettle Point. The government promised to return the land after the war when DND no longer required it, but today, the land has not
been returned.

“It’s the only case I am aware of, in the mid-20th century, where a First Nation lost its entire reserve,” Holmes said.

Indian people didn’t get the vote until l960, so they couldn’t get an MP to represent them, nor could they hire a lawyer without DIA approval. There was no policy, mechanism, or grievance process in place for land claims until 1974. People who had been living in two separate communities were squeezed together on one reserve, causing over-crowding and depletion of resources.

In 1936, Scott sold 109 acres of the 377-acre plot to the provincial
government for Ipperwash Provincial Park. The next year, an engineer discovered an old Indian burial ground. The band council requested, through the Indian agent, that the Provincial Government fence the burial site area.

A reply from the Deputy Minister of Lands and Forests indicated he
would do his best but, “unfortunately,” Holmes said, “we don’t see any more correspondence about that so we don’t know what happened.”

Native bones found
In l950, the Park Superintendent’s wife discovered a skeleton in the
Park. Photographs were taken, and archaeologist Wilfred July took the skeleton’s skull. Many years later, archaeologist Michael Spence, looking at photographs, determined it was likely an Ojibway adolescent. (The bones were lost in the ’50s). There are no more written records.

In 1942, the army promised to keep the cemetery inside Camp Ipperwash in good condition. Aboriginal soldiers returning from the War discovered the fence broken down and gravestones damaged provoking DIA and DND reaction. The cemetery was fenced and gravestones restored. In confidential letters to DND, Jean Chretien, DIA minister at the time, predicted frustrated Natives could resort to civil disobedience to get back their land seized during the Second World War.

“They have waited patiently for action. There are signs, however, that they will soon run out of patience,” Chretien wrote April 25, 1972 to Edgar Benson, then minister of DND.

The examination-in-chief was conducted by Commission Counsel Susan Vella, who said, “I believe that she has made a valuable contribution to the Commission and am grateful for that.”

The Inquiry resumes throughout October and November in Forest with witnesses from the Stoney Point community.

Information about the inquiry and transcripts of the hearings are available at this web site.

Joint Stewardship Project for Luna Reached on Vancouver Island

By Lloyd Dolha

The Mowachalt-Muchlaht First Nation of Vancouver Island and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans have signed an agreement to help protect the public and ensure the safety of Luna (Tsux’it), the lone killer whale in Nootka Sound.

The goal of the Luna Stewardship plan is to provide a safe environment for Luna, while the killer whale remains in Nootka Sound area; and to increase public safety for boaters and other marine users in the area.

The five year-old killer whale, still considered a juvenile at that age, has been roaming alone in Nootka Sound off western Vancouver Island for the past three years, separated from its family pod much further to the south.

Luna became the focus of a pitched stand-off between the northern Vancouver Island First Nation and federal scientists in June, when federal officials tried to capture the 1,360-kilogram whale as part of an effort to reunite the orca with his pod south of Vancouver Island.

Members of the local First Nation intervened, taking to the ocean in canoes to lure Luna away from the capture pen with chants and drums. After a tense week-long stand-off, the plan to capture Luna was shelved.

The Mowachaht-Muchalaht believe that Luna embodies the spirit of their late chief, Ambrose Macquinna, who said he would return to them in the form of a whale after he died.

Days after the chief’s death three years ago, Luna appeared in the Gold River area.

Federal officials have become concerned that Luna’s increasingly friendly behaviour that included bumping into boats and hanging out at the Gold River dock, would lead to some tragedy. There have been numerous complaints in the area of the orca rubbing against vessels and floatplanes and growing concerns that his behaviour may become aggressive.

As part of the agreement, Fisheries and Oceans contributed $10,000 to the Mowachaht-Muchalaht First Nation. The First Nation and DFO will monitor the whale in a joint stewardship program through the Nuu chah-nulth Tribal Council Fisheries agreement.
Both parties will monitor the activities of Luna while the killer whale remains in the area; as well as the interaction of Luna with the general public.

The First Nation and DFO will record and report information to DFO Conservation and Protection staff for any violations of the Marine Mammal regulations.

The stewardship plan does not address future plans for Luna and long term arrangements have yet to be developed.
DFO officials are still intent on reuniting Luna with his family pod, but members of the Mowachaht-Muchalaht believe that nature should take it course.

“The fact remains there is still a whale in our territory,” said Chief Mike Macquinna. “We still have two canoes in the water and we’re willing to stand beside Luan and let nature take its course.”

Bee in the Bonnet: Enough to Drive an Injun Crazy!

By B.H. Bates

Natives are wanderers by nature; we just have to see what’s over that next horizon. I suspect that’s why I have so many cuz’s.

Natives have traveled from the frozen North country to the tropics, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and all points in between. I defy you to name an interstate, a highway or a dirt road that we haven’t been down before.

My wife and I own a business that takes us from town to town up and down the Okanagan Valley. And it’s during these weekly road trips that I’ve seen so many inconsiderate and ignorant drivers that it’s enough to drive an Injun crazy!

I’ve had speeders blow by me like I was pushing a wheel-barrel. But they’re not the ones that worry me. Besides, it’s just a matter of time before they’ll run into a cop, a telephone pole or the proverbial innocent by-stander.

No … the ones that worry me are the slow drivers, the ones I call ‘turtles.’ You know the ones: “I’ve got no where to go and all day to get there.”

I’ve tried my best to make them aware that the passing lane is for exactly that – passing. I’ve used my signal lights to inform them of their incorrect use of the lanes. I’ve politely given them the single digit salute as I passed them using the slow lane and all to no avail.

I’ve even, at times, gotten a little agitated at some of these shoddy drivers and I can understand how some (other) people go ‘postal’ and get ‘ROAD RAGE!’

But what can I do? Then I thought – “Hey, I write for a newspaper! I’ll get the word out to the masses and hopefully put a stop to these self-appointed traffic cops.”

“HEY! STUPID! YEAH, YOU! The one who does fifty clicks an hour on ‘my’ highway. In the name of the Great Spirit look in your rear view mirror once in-a-while, if you see a pissed off Indian or more than five cars lined up behind you, pull over … NOW!”

More pointers for touring turtles
You may think you’re doing the world a favor, by slowing other drivers down, but you’re not! In reality, you’re making the roadways even more dangerous. By going slower, you’re clogging up the ‘flow’ of traffic. I’ve even read where some police officers believe that the speed limits we have today are unrealistic.

When a slow driver holds up a line of traffic there will, inevitably, be someone in that line of cars who’s willing to risk an unsafe pass. If the slower drivers pull over to let the faster traffic ‘flow,’ we wouldn’t have half as many head on crashes and the unfortunate loss of life.

The only thing worse than one turtle is two! One, plodding along in the slow lane and a fellow tortoise beside him in the fast lane … for miles and miles and miles and miles and miles!

I was witness to one incident, where one driver had enough of these side-by-side turtles driving down the highway. He managed to get in front of the turtle in the fast lane and he slammed on his brakes, got out of his car and started to ramble back to the turtle, who was now forced to a dead stop right in the middle of the roadway.

I wish I could’ve seen what happened next, but unfortunately I rounded the next corner and I missed the street justice handed out that day! I can only hope he dragged that turtle out from his shell and slapped him up side the head with his own mirror! Oh, my! Oh, that felt so good to write … ahhhh!

Even the most peaceful among us can have thoughts of violence. In today’s world of “Hurry-up, Rush, Next,” we have to keep up or we lose our place in line.

There’s just not enough hours in a day to make time pay. So when the turtles of the world park in front of us – I say we make turtle soup! Or pass a law like the state of Oregon: make it illegal to have more than five cars behind you or you could face stiff fines. And if I had my way ‘Scalping’ would be imposed for repeat offenders!

You know, as I reflect back to the days of the bow and arrow … I’ll bet that the natives of yesteryear weren’t ‘circling the wagons’ trying to kill those early pioneers. They were probably just trying to get them to pull over so they could pass them with their Pintos, Broncos and Mustangs!

Defenders of our Sacred Mother Native Wisdom Keepers Speak out

By Danny Beaton; Turtle Clan, Mohawk Nation

There are old ones who still communicate with stones, bones, skulls, feathers, plants, and know the songs to honour the natural world and spirits. Our ancestors worked with the spirits, water, fire, air, earth, the drum, prayers, and songs for harmony and fertility. They walked the Earth in harmony and respect for the Universe and Creation/Great Mystery.

Our Spiritual Leaders have maintained our Sacred Ceremonies, giving great thanks and respect to the life giving forces for thousands of years. We have always honoured everything in the Sky World that moved. Our old stories tell how we traveled from the Sky World to find ourselves a place on Turtle Island.

Even today our sacred circles and councils are a way for us to heal and pass our culture on to our children and our children’s children. Traditional Elders teach us that the Earth is our Sacred Mother and that everything we need to survive is here for us and that we must be thankful by our Sacred Ceremonies and protect what is here for the future generations to come.

The old ones can teach us how to heal with the Spirit World and how to find protection, guidance and wisdom from the eagle, bear, turtle, deer, wolf, and our ancestors. We can do sweat lodges and smudging for purification. We can call on to the Spirit World for the healing of our minds, body and spirit.

Our Old Elders have struggled to keep our traditional ways of life alive because they knew the power of the natural world and respect that the natural laws were for harmony and peace. Our women made our chiefs and chose them when they were young. Chiefs belonged to our nations and they gave up their life for the benefit and protection of the People.

Healing and solving problems was sometimes done by fasting, sweating, and listening to the Old Wisdom Keepers. Traditional Iroquois Elders have always taught us that the Good Mind is the way for justice, righteousness, equality, harmony, and peace; that we can do good things with our thinking and be creative when it is for the benefit of all creation and the natural world. We are told by the Old Ones that everything we do affects the Seventh Generation and we must think of the unborn faces looking up from beneath Mother Earth.

We can put our minds together as a force. We can join our minds together and give thanks when our brother, the Sun comes up from the East every day for all the nourishment and beauty that our Sacred Mother gives us to survive. We can say Nia’wen for all the life-giving waters which all life benefits from, since all life began from the great oceans and tides.

We are taught from our Wisdom Keepers how to put tobacco down for our Mother’s blood. We are taught by our elders we must beg forgiveness for the suffering to the air, earth, fire and water and creation. Our Grandmothers show us to honour and protect Mother Earth’s blood and they tell the men that we must protect the water as the water is life. We are taught to honour the air with our ceremonies too, we are taught to be thankful to the air, the water, the earth, and the fire. The Old Ones teach us to honour and respect the natural powers and forces and spirits so that they do not go against us, so that we are all in harmony.

The rivers and lakes must be honoured, thanked, and protected for their healing power. The winds that move about must be respected in the same way. The Old Elders teach us to heal with the air, water, earth and fire in our Sweat Lodge and by burning our sacred tobacco, by making offerings to the Spirit World and by smoking our Sacred Pipe. We can walk in the forest and vegetation and heal by eating the plants and medicines. We are taught to honour the spirit of the plants and the spirit of the animals, the birds, the fish, the insects, we are taught that everything has a spirit on our Sacred Mother Earth and that they must be honoured and respected throughout the day as we wander and travel about.

The Teachings
In our teachings the Sky is our Father, the Moon is our Grandmother, the animals are our brothers, and that the Three Sisters are Corn, Bean, and Squash. Our Wisdom Keepers have many teachings.

Our Old Elders hold the wisdom for our children; they are like a book of knowledge.

Harriet Jock
Mohawk Elder
Since the Creator made humans he also gave us the plants and animals to sustain ourselves. He gave us the Fire to communicate with Him, the Creator. The natural order of things will become affected if we forget to give thanks for these things. There may come a time when the Sun, our brother will rise from the West and there will be a storm seven times stronger than we’ve ever seen before.

Chief Leon Shenandoah (Tadadaho)
Iroquois Confederacy
We are seeing the strip mining of our Mother the Earth and also seeing the strip mining of our children (through TV).

Phillip Deere
Muskogee Elder
We learn how to heal from our Sacred Fire and how to honour our fires with Cedar, Tobacco, and purification with our Sage and Sweetgrass. If we make every effort to be spiritual, honour the life giving forces and creation, then our Sacred Mother will feel our love.

Mohawk man
Another prophecy that I’ve been thinking about lately, because it seems to be coming about is the one that warns when the birds begin to nest on the ground that will signal the beginning of the end. That doesn’t have to mean the end, the end of the world, but maybe the end of one thing and the beginning of something else. I know by the way they are cutting down the forest that the birds have to nest on the ground because there won’t be any trees left for them to nest on.

Lavina White
Haida Elder
As Hopi we don’t own the land, we’re just caretakers. We use it, but not with electricity and coal mines. We’re calling for the purification because it’s our obligation. We’re ready, we want it to happen. We know we can’t get people to change, but we’re near the time. Very near. We pray to the Creator and tell him this is not what we want but we feel there is no choice. We’ve already gone over the time limit that was give to us in the prophecy. Even the leaders of our village have put it off because they don’t want to see it happen in their lifetime.

Martin Gashweseoma
Hopi Elder
We need to clean up the mess that we created. If we don’t, Mother Earth is going to shake us real hard. We are all breathing this air which is a part of nature, every living thing on this earth has to breathe in this air, we are all part of it. We have no business destroying any other life.

Thomas Banyacya
Hopi Elder
You know how it is when you have a pain, if you get a little cut it hurts. That’s the way the earth is now and we need to heal her in some way. They’re not patching up anything for Mother Earth and She’s not healing, She’s just getting worse with pain. They are trying to take Her precious guts out for money.

Roberta Blackgoat
Navajo Elder
We are ruining the earth with technology. We are polluting the waters and the air. Only 1% of the all water on this earth is drinking water, now they say that at least of that is polluted. The salmon are disappearing because of the pollution and dams just like the buffalo, the passenger pigeon, and many other species have disappeared. But the most endangered species in the world today, let me tell you, is us, we are the endangered species. We are a part of nature. We are part of this earth, we are a part of everything that lives. If you don’t know how to be a human being you’ll never be spiritual.

Janet McCloud
Tulalip Elder
Power takes over a holy person’s life. We dream and vision and have fantastic thoughts. The Power that we receive is for healing, prophesying, solving problems, and finding lost people or objects. It is also for spreading love, transforming and assuring peace and fertility. It is not to give us power over others because the source of Power is not ourselves.

Frank Fools Crow
Lakota Elder
Our ancestors must be respected, their spirits must be respected, our teachings must be respected.

Judy Swamp
Mohawk Elder
Every leaf, every plant, every flower, I see my Mother. When we take a life, we must do it in a sacred way. We can’t hurt who we take from. Our Mother Earth gives continually. We have to take with love and care. We are the Earth, we are the air, we are the water, we are the fire.

Robertjohn Knapp
Seneca/Tubotolobal Elder
For indigenous nations and peoples, sustainable development often means loss of lands and resources, exploitation of indigenous peoples for labour, loss of culture, loss of children, high rates of death from disease and assimilation, and forced removal from aboriginal territories.

Indigenous cultures in the Americas have sustained themselves for thousands of years before Europeans arrived. The people of the Amazon Basin would not need to harvest wild nuts for the international market if the international economy were content to leave them and their forest alone. Fairness to people and fairness to the environment are inseparable.

The western concept of justice applies almost exclusively to humans but our justice applies to everything, even to water. Remember at one time we shared the same paths through the forest as our four footed brothers. Being a Wolf myself, I have a feeling for the mystery of that animal. He is on a mission. He is being pushed. He disappeared from many places, driven out. He is feared for whatever reason. He is respected for whatever reason. I think that whatever happens to the wolf, happens to us. And whatever happens to us, will happen to you.

Canada’s Gift to the National Museum of the American Indian

By Shauna Lewis

Canada and her Indigenous artists were honored in the days leading up to the opening of Washington D.C.’s National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI), which opened on September 21.

While many of our nation’s artists were celebrated in various ways, Coast Salish carver and painter Susan Point will be forever immortalized within the walls of the NMAI. Commissioned by Canadian Foreign Affairs, Point’s large carving entitled The Beaver and the Mink will be permanently stationed within the highly esteemed Smithsonian building.

Susan Point presented her beautifully executed piece of Coast Salish artistry on September 17, in a staging accessible only to Museum staff, esteemed guests and media. Accompanied by her relative, Larry Grant and daughter Kelly Cannell; Susan Point was welcomed by Gerald McMaster, head curator of the NMAI, and other museum dignitaries.

In talking to Larry Grant, member of Vancouver B.C.’s Coast Salish Musqueam Nation; the symbolic nature of the piece was brought to life.

“It’s cross cultural,” said Grant. “We have the sea around Canada and the economy of Canada was developed around the fur trade.”

Grant is right, Canada was established through the 19th century fur trade, and with the cyclical movement of the piece represented through its circular design; the artistry does symbolically note the symbiotic trade relations between Canada and the United States.

In asking what he hopes this piece represents to those who view it, Grant noted, “I would like them to see that our stories are valuable in the sense that it is a story of the creation of the salmon people.” The salmon people who, noted Grant, are very important to the Coast Salish people.

Following in her mother’s footprints, Point’s daughter Kelly Cannell, talked of her future as an up-and-coming artist. “I do it because I love it,” said Cannell, in reference to her artistic gift. In creating carvings, silk screen and glass creations, Cannell expressed the importance of loving what you do: “Put your heart into it and you can do it.”

Point’s philosophy is similar to her daughter’s as she expressed a desire to expose the beautiful artistry of the Northwest coast. She hopes people like her piece and will gain “more knowledge of a Salish art form.”

She is nothing less than a living testimony to her people and their artistry. “Salish art is not as well known as it should be,” said Point. By “setting our Salish footprint upon the D.C. land” Point said an example of such artistry and cultural reverence will be acknowledged and honored for generations to come.

If her piece in the NMAI is any indication of the desire for Coast Salish artistic and cultural acknowledgment- then I believe Susan Point has accomplished just what she set out to do.

I Have a Story To Tell

By Verna Bartlett

I accepted drinking, when I shouldn’t have, as a normal part of my life. I believed that is was my destiny to drink. Anyone who thinks that they have to live that way should know that there are choices. We do not have to drink and live that way. But back then, I didn’t know I had a choice.

I married my second husband and purchased a home where I would live for 20 years and raise my children. The marriage did not last although I gave birth to three children. I lost one child in 1970. He was born with his sex organs inside his body and part of his brain missing. I had been sober for two years and attended a full gospel church. I went to church three times a week, twice on Sundays.

I would get up at night and go to the crib to get him but there was no baby there. I would go to the kitchen to warm a bottle, but there was no bottle to warm. My baby was gone.
They never allowed me to see or hold him, and I told them that he was a boy and they said I couldn’t possibly know that. My doctor advised me to let him “expire,” and then cremate him; that a funeral and burial would just cause me more pain.

When they performed the autopsy they found that he was a boy. A month after he died my husband asked me what I did to have his son be born that way. He left me. My own family was afraid of me. My mother said that, “no one in our family ever had a baby like that.”

Everyone was afraid of me. I attempted to return to church but even there people walked around me and looked at me funny. I gave it all up and went on an eight-month drinking binge. No excuse. I was lost and alone – that’s when the devil moves in and tells you “go out and have a drink. You deserve it.”

I was in a cloud for eight months. I sobered up and attempted to get back to normal and my husband asked to come home. I had my third baby by him in October 1971. He looked at her and said she wasn’t his and left me. She was born one month early. But I knew he was the father. I had no reason to lie after all I had been through. I had been with no one but him for a year.

When she was a month old he kidnapped our five-year-old daughter. I just about lost my mind. I looked and looked and looked for her. I couldn’t get any help from the police. They said he had more right to her than me. I prayed and I cried. I had nightmares that she was hurt or dying. They told me if I filed for divorce and got legal custody of my two youngest children that they could help me. That took six months. Then they said it was a cold trail and there was little or nothing they could do but would notify me if they found her.

I continued to drink. I was alone and on welfare. I didn’t drink every day. My children had a home; I had food stamps and commodities. They came first. I would pay my bills and get groceries and then take off to drink, usually with a few cents in my pocket. However I didn’t need money to drink. We had a home no matter what.

An inspiration
In June 1972 I attended a dinner for graduates from the Muckleshoot tribe. My cousin, Bernie (who always believed in me said that one day I would straighten up and help our people) invited me. She told me “You have to be there or I’ll disown you.” To this day I cannot tell this story without crying so I imagine it’s our good Lord talking to my heart.

Billy Mills was the featured speaker. Of course I didn’t know who he was. I knew little about current events in Indian country. As he began to speak something clicked in my mind. He said he ran in the 10,000-metre race in the 1964 World Olympics in Japan. One of the regular runners became sick so they called him to run. He showed a video of the race. He spoke of his feelings, how he had a difficult time as a child and how hard he practiced to prepare himself for the Olympics. He said that too many of us Indians settle for third best or second best not knowing we can be first.

I never believed that I could be first or best at anything. He spoke as he showed the video. At the beginning of the race he was way back, but this is a 27-mile race. He spoke of how his legs and chest hurt but he still kept running. I held my youngest child on my lap and the other four sat nearby. I was crying and I didn’t know why. Billy showed how he moved from way back to fifth place, then fourth, and with what we now call a kick he won the race. The video showed him with his arms raised in the air and people running after him. They asked him what his name was and he said, “I am an American Indian.” He said there were newspaper men from all over the world running after him.

After I was told I was not “college material,” and after years of beatings by husbands and boyfriends, and after my drinking, and after the suicide attempts, and after the degradation of being on welfare and the second-hand clothes and furniture, and after having my lights turned off and after never being able to hold my head up – I now knew without a doubt that I would go to college and I would be someone of value and I would return to help people.

In September 1972 I entered Green River Community College. I didn’t have a car. I lived 30 miles from the college but I was used to hitch hiking or walking. Nothing was going to stop me from attending college. I hitch hiked the first year but by the second year I won a lot of money at the race track and bought a 1965 Mustang and had the luxury of driving to college. It was out of sight to take the back roads and listen to the radio and go over my home work in my head. I sang along to Aretha Franklin’s Respect and CCR’s Green River. I had somewhere to go and something to do.

I had to take classes to understand the regular classes. I had to start at math 89 and go to the lab for hours several times a week. I didn’t understand college lingo and was lost in most of the lectures. I bought a dictionary and wrote down the hard words. I looked them up when I got home. I was 36 years old attending a college where the average student age was 19. I’d go to the library on weekends to read. I learned how to spell “psychology” and was so proud. Go ahead and call me crazy but now I can use the word psychology and tell you what kind of crazy I am.

Then the car broke down and I didn’t have the money to fix it. I didn’t have cash to buy oil for the house furnace and we spent a cold winter although we had a fire place. We lived on commodities and had very little of any other food. I was hitch hiking again but no matter rain or shine I kept on going. I kept on thinking about Billy Mills telling himself “Well so what – you may be 27th now but you’ll move up to fourth and third and maybe even end up first.”

I refused to give up. My son was beginning to get into trouble and ended up in juvenile hall. I still had not found my daughter but I had hope.

I struggled the first year at Green River but excelled the second year. I got A’s and B’s. I applied to attend Pacific Lutheran and miracle of miracles I was accepted after two years at Green River Community College.

I bought a box of cards with a word and definition written on a card. I carried a card a day with me and even when I drank I’d take the card out and memorize the word and its definition. I was determined to become educated and find a way to help my people.

I still hitch hiked but now there were only eight miles to walk to Pacific Lutheran University. I attended summer sessions and went to the library often. I began to learn and retain the information. I began to change and realized that I had the ability to learn.

I had plans to take the Law School Admissions test (LSAT) when I earned a Bachelor of Arts but I didn’t pass the first time and the second time I got a lower score. I didn’t know it at the time but I had dyslexia. I got my B.A. in 1976 and since I couldn’t get into law school I continued on to earn my M.A. in social science.

During all my college days I drank. I scheduled my classes for a Tuesday through to Friday so that I could drink on the weekend and sober up and rest on a Monday in time for classes on Tuesday. That worked for six years. I don’t know how because an alcoholic doesn’t get better when drinking. From the first drink it’s down hill all the way. Of course I didn’t consider myself an alcoholic – my mother said that “no one in our family had ‘that.'” There was a lot of ‘that’s’ in our family.

Hitting rock bottom
In 1978 I could not go an hour without a drink. My hangovers were getting worse. I was pale and skinny. I wasn’t well. I went to my college advisor and told him that I had to quit. I was one semester away from getting my M.A. He advised me to take a leave and take care of my problem and I could come back to finish. I didn’t know what that meant. I thought that I could just ease off the alcohol and get back to business and finish my classes. I didn’t realize how badly off I was.

One day when as I crawled on my bedroom floor looking for a bottle of whiskey, I found the newspaper article about Billy Mills. I sat there and sobbed and sobbed. I was shaking from not having a drink. I vomited green liver bile. I crawled to the bathroom and back to the room. Finally, I lay down by the toilet to wait for the next bout of vomiting. I cried and asked our good Lord to please help me. I asked myself “What are you doing to yourself?”

It took me three days to come down cold turkey. I called my cousin Bernie and told her that I was ready to go into treatment, even though I didn’t know what “treatment” or “alcoholism” was as no one in our family ever had “that.”

I took my last drink of whiskey on April 16, 1978. I now tell time by that date and every year I sit and think of how I suffered when I didn’t have to. I want other Indians to know that they do not have to suffer. There is a way out and there is something to do about it. We do have a choice.

Seeing the light
My cousin took me to a treatment centre called Alcenas. It was probably the best treatment centre in the United States at that time. I learned about what alcoholism is and how we can treat it. I began to take many vitamins and watched my diet. I finally uttered the words “I am an alcoholic” and from that time to now, I still say that I am a recovering alcoholic. Every day I thank our good Lord for allowing me to live and taking the bottle from me.

I had a counselor at Alcenas who took a lot of interest in me. He called me into his office one day and said “You’re a victim of child abuse, aren’t you?” I looked around and asked him if he was talking to me. He said, “Yes, you.” I asked him how he knew as I sure as hell never told anyone since the day I told my mother and she disowned me.

One of her boyfriends had molested and abused me from the age of seven to 11. I carried all that guilt, hate, torment, ugliness and shame with me every minute of my life. I had blamed myself. I felt dirty, ugly, useless, sinful, filthy, and shamed all of my life. I never got over it but that day I began to heal and I am still healing to this day.

The counselor asked me, “Verna, did anyone ever tell you that it was not your fault?” It took me a minute but I said, “Well, no.” After I got out of Alcenas I began to study child sexual abuse, molestation and incest. I wanted to learn more about alcoholism and sexual abuse because they stole my innocence, they stole my youth and I suffered needlessly from a very young age.

I now have the rest of my experiences to tell Indian youths who have been sexually abused, and are victims of incest. How I wrote and initiated the first in-patient alcoholism program, Tiospaye, in the United States. Of course I know that “I” didn’t do it – I am only a vessel through which our good Lord or great Spirit works. Now I am within reach of my Ph.D.

I have it all in my head I just need to get down on paper. In retrospect, I have walked a very difficult road but I’m here and I want to deliver the message just as Billy Mills did:

“We Indians settle for fourth or third best when we can be first .” I have a story to tell.

Grand Opening of the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian

A contemporary museum built to recognize and celebrate the diversity, collectivity and fortitude of Indigenous peoples of the Western Hemisphere

By Shauna Lewis

“It is a monument to a people who were here on this land before the birth of a boy King in Egypt called Tutankhamen, and before the Greek poet, Homer wrote the Iliad, and before Caesar watched the chariot races in the Circus Maximus, and before Christ walked the hills near the Sea of Galilee.”
-U.S. Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell

Cultural pride and solidarity were in abundance on September 21, as Indigenous people from all regions of the western hemisphere united under the same sky on the National Mall in Washington D.C.

Arriving in groups as large as forty, approximately 50 Nations and communities from as far north as Alaska to the southernmost regions of Ecuador and Chili, came together to celebrate the grand opening of the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI).

The first structure to be erected on the National Mall in nearly 20 years, and the eighteenth Smithsonian museum; the NMAI not only occupies the last allocated parcel of land within the National Mall, but its location also makes it the museum in closest proximity to the United States Capital Building.

Kicking off the day’s events, as many as 25,000 Indigenous people marched in a two-hour procession from the first erected Smithsonian museum, the Smithsonian Castle, to the festival stage located a few hundred feet away from the U.S. Capital Building. With colorful dress, lively accord, and a strong sense of pride, the Indigenous Nations of this continent made their way up the length of the National Mall.

As drums beat in rhythmic percussion and song resonated throughout the crowd: Grandmothers, grandfathers, adults, youth and children marched for their Nations, their ancestors, and the future of Indigenous people everywhere. They marched in celebration, they marched in pride and they marched in attainment for what has been noted as long overdue.

Canada participates
Along with southern, eastern and central representation, various First Nations participants from across Canada also participated in opening day festivities. Traveling a great distance to join their brothers and sisters in celebration was the Coast Salish, Métis, Haida, Kwakwaka’wakw, Cree and others.

It was a beautiful sight as the National Mall overflowed in a cultural cornucopia of both tribal diversity and Indigenous collectivity. A sense of achievement flowed through the procession and into nearby onlookers, as the issue of inclusion and integration had finally been addressed and nationally recognized through the creation of this newest Smithsonian building.

With the National mall a buzz and the feeling of reverence contagious; the Native and non- Native individuals in attendance of the opening celebration were not only witness to, but also active participants in, the historic occasion. Pride on the faces of those who marched, coupled with the spectator’s warm reception, proved beyond a doubt that Indigenous people everywhere had finally found a place where we could merge in solidarity, and be recognized globally for our contributions to humanity.

When the procession concluded, approximately 50,000 people took their seats in front of the festival’s main stage. In the sunshine of the fall equinox and with a multitude of dragonflies overhead, the ceremony commenced with Richard West, Master of Ceremonies and Director of the National Museum of American Indian, addressing the vast audience.

“Today Native America takes its rightful place on the National Mall in the very shadow of the Nation’s capital itself,” declared West. After dedicating the building to all Indigenous peoples of the western hemisphere, West then illuminated to the museum’s structural symbolism through stating that the building is “a powerful physical, cultural and spiritual marker for the ages.”

Joining West on the festival podium were various ambassadors, and the current and past chairs of the Board of Trustees for the National Museum of the American Indian. One such dignitary was the Secretary of the Smithsonian, Larry Small. The first speaker of the day, Small addressed the crowd with an exuberant welcome and thanked those first Americans of the western hemisphere for their participation in the poignant and historic procession.

In relaying the importance of the day, Small declared that the museum is much more than a testimony of the past; it is an “ongoing living testimony to the vitality of Native cultures, a vitality that is vibrantly on display here today.”

“We hope this day will mark the beginning in our Nation’s undertaking of First Nations living history- a history that they will write,” declared Small.

In assertion that the newly erected museum is much more than its beautiful architecture, Small recognized that the structure and its contents represent an “ongoing living testimony to the vitality of Native cultures, a vitality that is vibrantly on display here today.” While such an undertaking may have taken “decades and generations to be realized,” Small acknowledged the permanence of such a cultural informative building through the statement, “you’re here and the National Museum of the American Indian will always be here for you and for all Americans and for visitors around the world.”

Words of gratitude were also expressed, as Small recognized and thanked those dignitaries at the federal and local level who, we key in the museum’s creation. A big thank-you also went out to the hundreds of thousands of individuals who contributed so much to the project “from the schoolchildren who saved their pennies for this undertaking, to Native communities who gave millions.”

A note from the White House
Greetings and acknowledgments of the special day were also sent from those who could not attend the celebration. Although the current President of the United States of America, George W. Bush could not be in attendance, Tom Cole, Senator of Okalahoma, addressed the crowd with a statement from the White House.

“America’s tribal communities continue to honor the legacy of their ancestors and their contributions have helped shape the American culture and character,” stated Bush. The President also made mention of the informative aspect of such an important structure as he stated, “this museum will help educate people of all backgrounds about Native peoples, and honor their history, artistry, languages and traditions.”

In stating that the museum’s collection of Indigenous materials is of the “finest and most comprehensive in the world,” Bush stressed that individuals must look beyond the National Museum of the American Indian’s exhibits and architecture and see the structure for what it truly is: “a powerful reminder of the spirit, pride and vitality of our Native peoples.”

Following the U.S. Presidential address, special recognition was given to his Excellency, Peruvian President Dr Alejandro Toledo. Accompanied by his wife, her Excellency Dr. Eliane Karp de Toledo, and members of the Peruvian diplomatic core, Dr.Toledo honored the crowd with his presence.

With pride and articulation, Dr.Toledo addressed the masses: “The museum will not only be a center to conduct exhibitions and all the cultural activities carried out by the Native people out of continent,” his Excellency exclaimed, but, “Because of its unique kind of construction…and its location of the National Mall, this museum is also a profound symbol of re-conservation longtime awaited by those who landed on the shore of this continent and their ancestors who already have lived here.”

“Ladies and gentleman,” addressed Dr. Toledo, “through all the years, I have been stressing that Indigenization is crucial to the understanding of the Americas and that it is intrinsically related to democracy, to human rights and thus to the sustainable development of people.”

The current condition of America’s social, political and economic issues was addressed by the President of Peru: “We are at a stage in history where it is impossible to achieve stability, security and consolidation of democracy if we do not strongly combat the structural problem of poverty endured by millions of people, and especially by the many, many Indigenous people of our continent.

“Indigenous people have their own capital, genuine, born from the roots of our past and the wisdom of our people.” It is within such cultural diversity, accumulated knowledge, and uniqueness of character, that Dr. Toledo stressed is not only the “greatest aspect of our people,” but they are the elements of which must be acknowledged when examining self identity and the “complex phenomenon of globalization.”

“There has come a time to put a human face to globalization and recognize the need for a mutual respect for our cultural diversity,” Dr. Toledo concluded.

The past is not forgotten
The final and perhaps most emotional speech of the afternoon was delivered by Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell (Northern Cheyenne). Adorned in a traditional feathered headdress, Senator Nighthorse Campbell approached the main stage podium and delivered what would be the most emotional commentary of the afternoon.

In honoring Indigenous people’s determination and will to survive centuries of systemic racism, cultural assimilation and near-obliteration, Nighthorse Campbell began his poignant address to a silenced crowd.

“Be it not Tuberculosis or chicken pox or AIDS or even the common cold – how much we can learn from them,” admired Nighthorse Campbell. “It [the National Museum of the American Indian] is a monument to the millions of Native people who died of sickness, slavery, starvation and war, until they were reduced from a conservative estimate of 50 million people in North and central America in 1500, to just over two hundred thousand souls in what is now the continental United States in 1900.”

Senator Nighthorse Campbell’s words resonated throughout the National Mall and into the heavens as he continued his speech – a speech that spoke of the historic tyranny implemented upon Indigenous people in the dawn of colonization. Through illuminating the harsh reality of cultural apartite, Nighthorse Campbell made it known that: “Only 400 years after the old world collided with their world, the Native people of this land became America’s first endangered species.”

Honoring our Indigenous ancestors who have endured a long and arduous fight for their culture to be accepted and basic human freedoms acknowledged, Senator Nighthorse Campbell’s speech alluded to the historic abuse inflicted on First Nations people. Speaking of the heinous treatment of Native Indians by colonial settlers and Eurocentric governance, Nighthorse Campbell blatantly and with irony, made mention that America, a country founded on religious freedoms, once forbade Indigenous peoples to honor their spiritual customs and beliefs.

In regard to the inequality established at the dawn of colonization, Senator Nighthorse Campbell noted the way in which the Indigenous people of America have carried out military duties in every war since the Revolutionary war – and yet “did not have the right to vote because they were not considered citizens on their land.”

Lastly Nighthorse Campbell turned his attention to those Indigenous people who had been taken from their families in the name of racism. In dedication of all the survivors whose souls and families had become broken and dysfunctional due to the harshly enforcement assimilation; the Senator announced that the museum is a monument to those ancestors who as children, were placed in boarding schools, ‘schools’, stated Nighthorse Campbell, “that sometimes had the adage: kill an Indian to save a child.”

Senator Nighthorse Campbell’s powerful words gave mention to the perseverance of Indigenous people: “Those (ancestors) who endured, though shorn of their hair and stripped of their dignity, were never shorn of their spiritualism or stripped of their pride.”

While acknowledging that the museum is a testament to the many gifts Indigenous peoples have contributed to humanity, Nighthorse Campbell asserted that, “Native Americans are much more than just the sum of their gifts. They are more than squash and pumpkins and tomatoes and corn and beans and peanuts and potatoes, and all the medicines derived from plants that began as Indian lore and are now used to save lives around the world.”

Through further mention of the egalitarian customs of Native people, Nighthorse Campbell declared that, “It was a unique system of self governance never before tried in the monarchy of Europe and Asia-and it is called democracy.” The Senator concluded his speech by mentioning that such self-governance has been, and continues to be, adopted by the non- Indigenous leaders of the ‘new world’; a democratic governance. He coined from President Abraham Lincoln as being “of the people, by the people and for the people.”

The party
Following the opening ceremony, the First American’s Festival began with a bang. Blessed with a beautiful sunny day, festival participants were witness to an array of performances from such artists as: Buffy St Marie, War Party, Rita Coolidge; as well as the comedy of Charlie Hill, and other entertainers.

With food tents set up throughout the National Mall, people were able to sample tasty treats native to various Indigenous groups throughout the United States. The National Mall was nothing less than a spectacle of color and movement, as both indigenous and non-Indigenous people mixed, mingled, and shared in the excitement of the day. While making my way through the crowd of fancy dancers, Chilcoten blankets and red ochre faces, I came across many individuals eager to express what the National Museum of the American Indian represents for themselves and their people.

A beautiful man adorned in traditional dress and standing with his daughter, was more than happy to share in the excitement. Speaking of a sacred circle or ‘hoop’ that was once broken within Indigenous culture, the man from the Tiano Tribal Nation of the Caribbean, expressed, “Today, that sacred hoop is complete.”

The Tiano Native also acknowledged how the museum opening influenced the coming-together of so many Indigenous Nations, who had never before been provided an opportunity to unite. It is a time to, “meet and greet,” he stated, for all nations to come together- Native and non-Native alike, for “we are all wonderful people.”

Such happiness in the collectivity of Indigenous people was echoed by Indigenous participants, Silvia Gonzales, and “Little Thunder,” a First American from the Central U.S. Having traveled from her home in Ecuador, Gonzales exclaimed that “the museum represents the most beautiful culture that we have.”

“It represents that Indigenous people are still alive, and that we can have many customs and many values and that we can share with all of you, all people, Indigenous from other tribes and other countries and also with non-Indigenous people,” exclaimed the beautiful young woman.

‘Little Thunder’ dressed in feathers and holding a stately eagle-head staff, also mentioned the importance of Indigenous collectivity: “All the different Tribes come here and I feel unity, and not just Native Tribes but all people.”

“We are all God’s children,” he continued, “and sometimes we need to recognize that, and Natives are being recognized today”. In regard to the future recognition of the Native people on the National Mall, Little Thunder also mentioned that he hopes a future Pow Wow is on the agenda.

Such exuberance was not isolated to the Indigenous populous, as an Elderly non-Native couple was on hand to share in the historic occasion. This museum opening commemorates “hope for all people,” stated the citizens of Maryland. The museum recognizes “the survival of these wonderful people.”

In recognizing the importance of cultural acknowledgment and equality in the 21st century, the gentleman felt compelled to do his part in the ‘righting’ of a historic ‘wrong.’ Confessing that the property in which he had inherited from his ancestors was once part of an Indian village, the humble man simply stated, “I’m giving it back,” in reference to his family homestead.

While those who participated in the First American Festival were bombarded by a plethora of sights and sounds, those who made their way across the mall to National Museum of the American Indian were presented with a glorious spectacle of craftsmanship and cultural veneration. While the initial architectural plans were the brainchild of Canadian Architect and project designer Douglas Cardinal (Blackfoot) of Ottawa, creation of museum’s entirety was a collective feat. Design consultants Ramona Sakiestewa (Hopi) and Donna House (Navajo/Oneida), along with creative input from various First Nation individuals and communities, designed a structure that acknowledges and honors the role nature serves in the lives of Indigenous people.

The Museum
Designed to blend into the National Mall, the Museum of the American Indian is anything but subtle. The structure’s organic design stands out brilliantly against the backdrop of the pre-existing neoclassical mall structures. Standing 120 feet in height and spanning 351,263 total square feet in dimension, the newest edition to the Smithsonian ‘family’ is a symbol of Indigenous values and earthly ties.

Executed of golden-toned Kasota dolomitic limestone, the building’s connection to nature is evident within its shape. In its curvilinear dimensions, overlapping stone bands strategically set between layered glass windows, and top-heavy design; the museum exterior is reminiscent of a wind-blown sand dune or a canyon rock formation- smoothed and rounded over time.

With the museum’s construction carried out by both Clark Construction Company of Bethesda, Md., and Table Mountain Rancheria Enterprises Inc (a construction company that is a subsidiary of federally-recognized Table Mountain Rancheria American Indian Tribe of Friant, Calif.); a multi-million dollar structure was born. Along with the grand sum of $199 million dollars going into the construction of the museum, an additional $20 million was generated for opening events, exhibitions and various public programs. In keeping with the focus on nature, materials used in the museum’s creation include: American-mist granite, glass, copper, bronze, maple, imperial plaster, adzed alder and 700-year-old, wind-fallen West Coast cedar.

While the architecture itself denotes characteristics of the natural environment, the gardens surrounding the museum also exemplify the diverse flora and vegetation sacred to Indigenous peoples of the western hemisphere.

Positioned on a 4.25- acre of land, the museum grounds are a botanist’s paradise, as various examples of foliage from all corners of the continent encircle the structure. The wetlands are a definitive sight around the circumference of the structure as; river birches, sycamores, hollies, native magnolia, wild rice and water lilies share their home with an abundance of fowl and marine life.

At other regions of the landscape, guest will be drawn in to such sights as a man-made waterfall and the randomly positioned ‘Grandfather Rocks’; massive boulders excavated and transported from Quebec, Canada.

Grand Opening of NMAI…cont’d

On the inside
If the external attributes of the National Museum of the American Indian isn’t spectacular enough; the internal structure and contents are equally breathtaking. Looking much larger from the outside, the NMAI utilizes space as best it can. With over 3,500 historic artifacts from the museum’s permanent Window on Collections exhibit, and three floors of contemporary exhibitions and galleries; The National Museum of the American Indian houses an abundance of sacred objects of the past and present.

Venerating the historic and contemporary lives and cultures of Indigenous peoples, three permanent exhibits located on various floors act as gateways to the understanding of First Nations culture. With input derived from First Nation’s communities in regard the way in which objects are displayed; the exhibits are the truest account of Indigenous culture.

With each exhibit in the gallery showcasing the diversity of Indigenous culture across the western hemisphere; visitors to the museum will become better informed as to how Nations of the South, North, West and Central U.S lived, and continue to live.

While the exhibit entitled Our Universes relays the steadfast importance of the diverse spiritual belief systems among various First Nations cultures; the floor entitled ‘Our People’ offer viewers a glimpse into the sustenance patterns and traditions that continue to be practiced by the many Indigenous communities of this continent.

The third floor of the museum showcases a powerful exhibit, relaying the various political struggles of Indigenous people. Fittingly named “Our Lives” the exhibit is a living testimony to Indigenous identity in the 21st century.

Complete with rooms dedicated to Nations from all corners of the western hemisphere; such installations like the one entitled, ‘Body and Soul’, typify the various identity struggles common to First Nations people. Through including historic documentation, the exhibit offers viewers a glimpse into how we as Indigenous people, have been compartmentalized and thus our self-identities defined by non-Native and governmental standards.

Some of the ways in which ethnic classification and identification has been illuminated are noted through installations focusing on the identification of Indian status through government issued status cards, aesthetic determinism, and blood quantum.

If there were a ‘must see’ within the National Museum of the American Indian – the Potomac Rotunda is it. Named after the river of water that divides the State of Maryland from that of DC; it is the central meeting place of the building.

Upon main entrance into the museum, viewers are literally forced to take notice of the massive rotunda. Established to host various live performances, the 120-foot high by 120-foot in diameter is a key compoment of the museum’s charm. With a domed ceiling and an oculus enabling natural light to filter through, the notion of nature is honored yet again. Due to the sun and moon being objects of worship in Indigenous culture; the sunlight that shines through the dome’s oculus and into the Potomac, will (depending on the season and time of day), hit the eight liquid filled prisms on the rotunda’s southern wall and produce a colorful display.

With the Museum’s entrance facing east to the rising sun, and the Potomac occupying the easternmost locale of the museum, the rotunda is a place of spiritual recognition and cultural revitalization.

Along with a myriad of installations and galleries, the National Museum of the American Indian offers two gift shops packed with Indigenous treasures. If you find yourself feeling hungry, there is also an eating establishment on the main floor. With an array of choices, from: Northwest Coast seafood to Southern refried beans and burritos; the museum food court offers delectable treats to entice even the most finicky of palates.

Being the only structure of its kind to showcase such a thorough account of the cultural history and contemporary values of Indigenous people of the western hemisphere, the museum is unique. Dedicated to the lives (both historic and contemporary) of Indigenous people; the Museum exemplifies a gateway into the personal understanding and National acceptance of First Nations People and their communities. With its contemporary focus, the museum is not a ‘museum’ in the sense that it its theme is on the past- it is however a sort of interpretative center- established to educate and inform.

If the museum could speak, it would say: “We as an Indigenous collective are not dead, nor are we dying – we are however a strong and steadfast reminder of the diversity, fortitude and collectivity of a people who occupied this land before federal governance, before provincial law and before Industrialization as it is now represented.”

Although the museum cannot literally speak for itself, it does communicate for the Indigenous people of the western hemisphere- and what it conveys within its majestic structure and valuable contents, speaks volumes on behalf of the first people of this Earth.