Mascots Are Racist

Yesterday on "Mitakuye Oyasin" we had another call in.

One of the issues we talked about was racism through mascots. I believe mascots to be a form of dehumanization in which it makes it easier to do inhuman things to your fellow human beings. Some folk believe this type of racism to be honoring. Why don't white people want to be honored? Why aren't there teams like the Washington Whities or the Cleveland Caucasians? What? Aren't you proud to be white?

Shusli called in and mentioned that folk saying things like "Native Americans did it this way." She mentioned how folk co-opt Native spirituality and tokenize it for their own gain. They call this honoring, but it is really racist, as not all Native Americans believe the same way.

These methods of dehumanization make it easier to do inhuman things to their fellow human beings. For example:

71 of the 72 declared Superfund sites in the U.S. are on Indian reservations.

Garbage dumps and chemical waste dumps are put on reservations because they are not as regulated. Makes it cheaper for industry to dump their waste there. Cancer rates skyrocket, but who cares, just a bunch of Indians. Not like we're really human beings. We're being honored by teams like the Washington Redskins. We should just get over it.

If you would like to read a fella who gets it who isn't Indian, I suggest this post by Urban Scout on his blog.

Next week on "Mitakuye Oyasin," we will be interviewing Iokepa about issues surrounding Hawaiians and his Return Voyage project. Iokepa and his wife, Inette, have started their third journey of Return Voyage. They travel the U.S. without any money, and usually get enough in donations as they talk around the states to get them to their next destination. More on that later, but you can check out their website.

"Mitakuye Oyasin" airs every Thursday from 6-7pm on KBOO, 90.7fm in Portland, or on the web at kboo.fm.

Anymore (off of the top of my head)

Anymore, I just live my life.

I know the world is being murdered by corporations so the few can profit off of the many. I have gone through despair and powerlessness. And here I am, one piece of a long forgotten gone through the landfill human being like so many others who are wondering, "What in the hell do we do about all of this shit?"

I think about it often. But I don't feel despair or powerlessness anymore, anymore, anymore, more, I live my life and more. Anymore I just live my life, more than life, much more than my life.

I have said I feel like I've come to a massive wall and there is no way around it or through it or over it. What do I do about it? I can watch TV. Pretend it's not there like I'm a good American. Pretend that the glacier meltoff is a television show, a sitcom, called global climate change. At least I have a computer and a cell phone.

I hear others play video games. Games. Fun and games. Distract. It is good to distract, but to live you life as one long distraction?

So I listen to classics on CD. Moby Dick, The Three Musketeers. I watch movies about these books to compare notes. The different kinds of story telling. The different approaches. The cultures.

I try to unite. I think uniting might help. I think to lock arms and kick and scream at the wall it might just come down. But, it is so much easier to beat up my neighbor than to figure out how to get this wall out of the world. This wall out of the world. The world is being murdered, and no one will see over the wall, no one really wants to do anything about it.

What do we do about it? There are so many simple solutions. "I HAVE THE ANSWER." "NO! I HAVE THE ANSWER!" "NO YOU DON'T! I AM THE ONE WITH THE ANSWER." I don't want any answers. I want this civilization to stop killing the planet. That means a whole lotta changes folk don't want to make, so used to the conveniences in their lives.

I could give it all up myself, but then you'd still be doing it, and you, and let's not forget you, and nothing will really change because there is a monster killing our world and we don't want to unite because everyone wants to be the king...or is it no one...

And still, I love life. Anymore, I just love life. I Love my life. I Love my wife. I Love my kid!

Have you noticed some parts of the world are so green? Not green like, "Go green gasoline and save the planet." Real green. Really green. Some parts of the world are really green.

Anymore

Wilma Mankiller Passes On

Wilma Mankiller has passed on April 6 after years of battling cancer. She was 64 and will be dearly missed. Read her obituary in Indian Country Today here.

I saw her one time about five years ago. She is quite the presence. I loved her story about being asked so many times about her name, she got especially annoyed with one fella who kept asking rather annoying questions that when he asked about her name, she said she earned it.

Many blessings to her friends, family, and loved ones in their time of mourning.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY URBAN SCOUT!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, URBAN SCOUT!

CLICK HERE FOR URBAN SCOUT'S BLOG.

Derrick Jensen

Derrick Jensen, author of many books such as; "Endgame," "The Culture of Make Believe," "A Language Older than Words," and his latest books, "Songs of the Dead," and "What We Leave Behind," will be interviewed on the Mitakuye Oyasin radio program on Thursday, April 8, 6-7pm.

Derrick is a long time activist and lecturer whose work embodies information about the destruction of the earth by this culture.

We will discuss his latest works and how it relates to the world around us as, I've read, Derrick is excellent at explaining on a personal and greater level how all things are interconnected. How all things are related. How we are all related. How we all relate to each other. What will we leave behind?

Tune into KBOO on April 8th, 6-7pm to hear the interview with Derrick on "Mitakuye Oyasin," and learn how garbage, waste, and many other things we leave behind relate to us and the world around us.

Mitakuye Oyasin is a Native American collective. Mitakuye oyasin is Lakota for "all my relations," or "we are all related." "Mitakuye Oyasin" discusses issues from personal to global from our various indigenous perspectives and how all things are related.

Flowers and Birds

Save Your Insults

I am open for discussion, argument, and disagreements as far as this blog goes. Disagree with me, and I'll argue, discuss, and disagree with you. I have an open mind. I also back my information up.

I, however, am quite intolerable toward being insulted. If you don't believe my information, if you don't like my information, if you disagree with my assertions, fine! Let's have a chat. I am open to having my mind changed.

However, insult me, and I will FIGHT BACK on this forum, understand?

Zachary posted on my WWII history telling me that Henry Ford never gave money to the Nazi's. There are lots of misspellings in his commentary, but he obviously thinks himself far more intelligent than I. Whatever. He ended his informative paragraph without any backing at all whatsoever with this: "Brush up on ur war history before posting stupid stuff like this."

People have called me stupid before, but none of them ever come to the table with anything to prove me wrong. Just their glorious statement that I am wrong and that they know much more than I without giving me any information as to how they came to have such superior intelligence to me. I, however, have given Zachary a suggested reading list.

I admit, I am a layman when it comes to my studies. I read books. I talk with people I actually know to be more intelligent than myself, and I observe many patterns in society and the world at large. However, I have no reason to believe Zachary has done anything to come to his personal conclusions. He hasn't passed on any sources of his information that brought about his superior intellect. I usually don't post peoples bullshit when they purposely insult me, but I took exception to this.

Same to the fella who called me uniformed about John Zubek, even stating he worked with John during said time, or at least stating he was there. He stated John Zubek did not produce studies of sensory depravation torture. I deleted it, but I think he stated John Zubek was doing simple dream studies, which, I don't believe because you don't get grants for such minor triflings, and he gave me no information to back up his statement. "I was there," was what he said, and under the safe guise and untraceable name of anonymous, I am to simply believe this great man...BULLSHIT.

I, however, am a friend to a man who was there and dug up information and protested that bastard Zubek until he was removed from the campus. Zubek is also mentioned in "The Guineapigs," about the tortures the British did on their Irish political prisoners in the H blocks. What do I know, anonymous called me "stupid." One thing I am not, is stupid. I can admit when I am wrong when someone PROVES I am wrong. However, when the horizontal verbal violence comes my way from assholes who profess some sort of superior intelligence to mine with NOTHING TO BACK IT UP, I just have to delete your bullshit comments.

Hey, Mr. Anonymous, Henry Kissinger never ordered the bombing of Cambodia. I know, I was there. He actually ordered a ham sandwich. If you assert otherwise, well then, you are just stupid. That is how you talked to me, anonymous, and simply want me to believe you without question and with nothing to back your assertions up. Right...