March 26, 1933 – November 13, 2005 Vine Deloria Jr

"The understanding of the racial question does not ultimately involve understanding by either blacks or Indians. It involves the white man himself. He must examine his past. He must face the problems he has created within himself and within others. The white man must no longer project his fears and insecurities onto other groups, race, and countries. Before the white man can relate to others he must forgo the pleasure of defining them." ~Vine Deloria Jr (1933 – 2005), “Custer Died for Your Sins: An Indian Manifesto”

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

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

1982 So how can things be changed? "Money. Power. Control of studios. These things are very difficult to come by. You need more sensitive, knowledgeable people writing, producing, directing, distributing."

Image
Indian Image Debunked  UNM Festival Attacks Celluloid Stereotype of Native American  By Tom Jacobs 1982 Feb 15, Albuquerque Journal        Phil Lucas was standing in the Seattle airport waiting for his luggage when a little blond boy, perhaps 8 years old, walked up to him.       "Are you an Indian?" the boy asked.       "Yes," Lucas replied.       "Do you have an arrow?"       "No," he said.       "Do you kill people?"       " No," Lucas said. The boy then turned around and walked away.       Lucas paused and shook his head after recounting the story.       "It's still happening today," he said.       Lucas expressed no animosity toward the youngster. After all, virtually everything the child knows about Indians he probably learned from the movies. And everyone knows that, in the movies, Indians kill ...
Read more