Putting together a news-based “Winter Count” for the year’s activity in Indian Country is an obvious challenge for just one individual. Thankfully, outlets such as indianz.com, Indian Country Today, Censored News and others mentioned in Post #46, help keep me informed about both the major and lesser-known stories that affect all of Indian Country—or, even those items that are specific to a particular Tribal Nation.
This list, my first attempt at publishing a top-10 news stories, is primarily an overview to items that, collectively, were heavily reported in either Native or mainstream outlets (or both). However, I also have included several under-reported items, too. I have attempted to keep my commentary brief and instead let the topic and suggested links (i.e., the reporters and journalists) tell the story.
I want to acknowledge all of you reporters, advocates, bloggers, journalists, and news organizations who are committed to providing us with well-reported news (and with integrity) in Indian Country. Thank you, thank you, and thank you for all of your hard work and commitment.
There is much more out there then what this list contains. What is on your list? Send me an email or comment to let me know what stories you followed in 2009.
There are a few basic essentials needed to ensure that the sovereignty of Tribal Nations will thrive:
Land
Culture
Sustainable economies
Tribal nationalism
A “brain-gain” (the opposite of “brain-drain” (people taking their skills and talents away from Tribal Communities)—brain-gain refers instead to recruiting and retaining people to contribute to our communities) and
A participatory style of government that is based upon an informed public.
This last item, the participatory process, relies on a number of factors including having access both to (1) an educational system that is pro-Tribal while providing the foundation for resilient Tribal communities and to (2) Tribal journalism that is robust, independent, and accurate. Keep reading →
Blogs are an amazing compliment to my first love (which is the printed word); I find blogs–and social media–simply irresistible. All over the world, individuals find the time to write up an entry from a multitude of topics, experiences, and conditions—and then just put it out there on the Internet for a few followers or for thousands of readers. This can be a marvelous thing to do. Keep reading →
Outta Your Backpack Media works with Indigenous Youth in providing “movie making workshops and resource distribution. OYBMedia is an Indigenous youth response to the need for media justice in our communities.”
Take a look at “Thanks Taking,” a satirical video made by young people in a OYBM Fall 2008 workshop. As usual, satire remains a clever way to provide meaningful social commentary.
The Graphic Imperative official website is available here
iRaq (Forkscrew 2002)
“The Graphic Imperative” is a collection of posters advocating for social justice, peace, and the environment. Containing over 100 images, these posters come from multiple geographic locations and take the viewer from 1930s Germany up through the U.S.’s unlawful invasion of Iraq and the ongoing Israel/U.S. brutalization of Palestine and a response from a small segment of Palestine to this continuing political and social tragedy.
The Spencer unfortunately chose to exhibit the majority of these posters well-above eye-level. While this made it possible to put them all into the museum’s central great room, and certainly one can still gauge their powerful immediacy despite the gap of proximity away from the spectator, I would have preferred that the posters have been sorted by groups within one of the museum’s upstairs exhibit rooms. This would allow one to inspect the posters more closely and so perhaps allow for a more sustained reflective response.
Despite this curatorial decision, however, the exhibit retains an outraged vibrancy and invokes a compelling appeal to the angel of altruism that the graphic designers insist is present in the viewer when confronted with a myriad of subjects: the right of women to control their bodies, militarization, AIDS prevention, respectful and peaceful coexistence, and a range of other subjects.
