Feb 19, 2010 - Today in history, Reel Injun is released

Reel Injun, a Canadian documentary film exploring the history of Native Americans in film - and how it impacted Native people - was released on this day in 2010. Directed by Cree filmmaker Neil Diamond, Catherine Bainbridge, and Jeremiah Hayes, the film interviewed such legends as comedian Charlie Hill, poet John Trudell, director Chris Eyre, and activist, Russell Means.
365 days, American history, Alexie, American Indians, American west, amerikka, American Indian, Atlanta Braves, AIM, Arapaho, amerindian, American Indian Movement, assimilation, Andrew Jackson, ally, aboriginal, American Indian, Buck, burial ground, butt-hurt, blood and thunder, blackfoot, bloodthirsty, bullying, braves, Cleveland Indians, comic books, Christopher Columbus, Columbus day, Code talkers, cultural heritage, Cherokee, Choctaw, Cheyenne, Cherokee Indians, civil rights, casino, Carlisle, chieftain, change the mascot, cowboy and Indian, cowboys, crying Indian, changers, change the mascot, cultural appropriation, Clarke Indians, debunk, digger Indian, DAPL, defend the sacred, dream catcher, dime novels, decolonize, Donald Trump, ethnic slur, frybread, first nations, feathers, fake news, Fennimore Cooper, Florida State, Feathers and Paint, genocide, Geronimo, Great Spirit, Hiawatha, history, Holy man, headdress, headdress, high school mascots, half-breed, historical truth, Indian braves, Indian chief, indigenous, Indianz, Indian chief, injun, Indian country, indigenous, Indian wars Indian blood, Indian problem, INDN, Indian Princess, Indian Day, Indian mascots, indigenous culture, Indians, Indian heart, keep the name, Lone Star Dietz, Logan, literature, Lancaster Redskins, mascots, mythbusters, moving-picture, militant, militia, mascots, Momaday, Mama What's an Indian, manifest destiny, Native Truth, native news, nonnative, native nations, North American Indian, Native American ally, Native American wisdom, Native Indian, Native American native truth, mascots, North American Indian, Navajo, native heart, native lives matter, navajoe, noble Indian, Native religion, Native heart, new age, NDN, Native, native proud, Native American Heritage, Native American Heritage Month, Native American, Order of Red Men, old west, on-line bullying, Pocahontas, Pilgrim, picturesque savage, proud native, Pocahontas, proverb, Paint and Feathers, peace pipe, Plains Indians, protests, playing Indian, powwow, politically correct, part Indian, part Indian, papoose, Pocahottie, proud to be, quote, Redskins, Red Men, racism, racist, red roots, Red raiders, real skins, Red Man, red face, reservations, squaw, stereotypes, scalping, Sioux, Standing Bear, Sioux, Sockalexis, Soxalexis, settlers, snowflakes, stoic, school mascots, savage, sterotype, stereotype, Standing Rock, Sitting Bull, Seminoles, tradition, Terri Jean, treaty, treaty rights, totem, tomahawk, reservation, tribe, trail of tears, textbooks, tribes, tribal nations, Thanksgiving, trolls, Trail of Tears, Tammany, Tecumseh, voting rights, Washington Redskins, wild west, walking the red road, wounded knee, war bonnet, Wahoo, Wild westing, warpath, warriors, wannabe, water is life, white privilege, US Indians,

  • John Trudell: "We're too busy trying to protect the idea of a Native American or an Indian - but we're not Indians and we're not Native Americans. We're older than both concepts. We're the people. We're the human beings."
  • Charlie Hill: "We're creative natives. And we're... and we're like the Energizer Bunny. The mightiest nation in the world tried to exterminate us, anglicize us, Christianize us, Americanize us, but we just keep going and going. And I think that Energizer Bunny must be Indian. He's got that little water drum he plays. And I always say, "Next time you have a powwow, have the... the Energizer Bunny lead the grand entry, and after a few rounds then we can get together and EAT him", because we never waste anything."
  • Chris Eyre: "A rez car is probably like a piece of luggage or something to other people. And you kind of keep it together with tape and with string."
  • Russell Means: When we watched the Indians getting slaughtered at the end of every movie... well, my brother would refuse to watch it. Every time that bugle went off and the charge started, my brother - he was a year and a half younger than me - he'd go like this... [bending over, head between knees]...  and he wouldn't look. He wouldn't watch. And we'd come out of those theaters after the, uh, cavalry had rescued the white people, and all of a sudden we'd hear, "There's those Indians," and we'd start fighting. We had to fight them white kids. Every Saturday we knew we was gonna get in a fight.

  • Adam Beach: We'll never be able to change the fantasy of who and what Indians are. That fantasy will always be there. We'll be... we'll always be on covers of novels saying "Cheyenne Warrior."



Popular posts from this blog

1927 - "We [first Americans].. ask you while you are teaching school children about America first, teach them the truth about the first Americans.

Image
In 1927, the mayor of Chicago, William H Thompson, launched a campaign to "straighten out the affairs of the schools" in Chicago by urging all textbooks to be 100% accurate and pro-American (as opposed to pro-British, he said.) The tagline for project was themed "America First." Scott H. Peters , Chippewa and president of the Grand Council Fire of American Indians  penned a letter to the mayor, asking that indigenous people be included. On December 1, 1927, the delegation presented Mayor Thompson with the following memorial: To the Mayor of Chicago: You tell all the white men "America First." We believe that. We are the first Americans. We are the only ones truly that are 100 per cent. We, therefore, ask you while you are teaching school children about America first, teach them the truth about the first Americans.              We do not know if the school histories are pro-British, but we do know that they are unjust to the life of ou...
Read more

1993 Runnin' Joe from Arkansas State is abolished - but the name remains

Image
Arkansas State to get new mascot  Runnin' Joe, the tomahawk-wielding Indian caricature with bared teeth and angry eyes, is being run off the campus of Arkansas State University. The school will keep its 61-year-old nickname, the Indians, university president John N. Mangieri said. But Runnin Joe, the school's official athletic symbol, will be replaced "with an appropriate new logo."  1993 Oct 16, The Journal News   Shirts still for sale  
Read more

1969 Tumbleweeds comic strip: Not everyone finds stereotyped humor funny

Image
Hates Tumbleweeds 1969 Aug 18 Progress Bulletin  Letter to the Editor: Please can you get rid of that tasteless, humorless Tumbleweeds? At least cut out the degrading stereotype of the Indian. I, for one, think it is bad for children to have "Sadistics Class" presented as though sadism were funny. I don't think drunkeness is funny either, nor suitable entertainment for kids. -- Ruth D. Keran, Pimona.  1969 Aug 18 Progress Bulletin  1967 Feb 25 The Indianapolis News  1968 April 5 The San Bernardino County  Tumbleweeds was an American comic strip that offered a skewed perspective on life in the Old West. Writer-artist Tom K. Ryan wrote "satire" that wasn't always well-accepted by indigenous people.  Ryan retired and brought Tumbleweeds to a conclusion on December 30, 2007. 1969 Jan 2 The Minneapolis Star  1969 Jan 4 The Indianapolis News  1971 April 27 The Daily Intelligencer  1971 Oct 9 The News Journal ...
Read more