If it bleeds, it leads - unless it’s the blood of the American Indian. Right? MSNBC and televised media?Roughly three in ten Native Americans say they have been personally discriminated against...when interacting with the police (29%). Would a TSA agent risk tearing the pages in a Bible, breaking the string on a Rosary, or rough up a cross? They sure will risk tearing an eagle feather (depending on how old it is), making a bone whistle not play immediately (they can be delicate insofar as where sound is made), or nicking a gourd rattle.
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — A wooden box carried an eagle feather and bone whistle, a gourd rattle and a feather fan — items that carry spiritual energy and are used in Native American religious ceremonies.
The man holding the box asked security agents at the San Antonio International Airport to allow him to display the items so their energy wouldn’t be polluted. The agents declined, roughly handling the items and shoving them back in the box, former Native American Church of North America President Sandor Iron Rope alleged.
His lawsuit against the Transportation Security Administration recently was settled, with neither side acknowledging fault and the agency agreeing to better educate its employees about Native American religious items at more than a dozen airports nationwide.
Motivation. Why will the TSA risk tearing an eagle feather (depending on how old it is), making a bone whistle not play immediately (they can be delicate insofar as where sound is made), or nicking a gourd rattle? There’s little or no respect for Native American Spirituality in this “Christian Nation” of a country. Even the synthetic Jesus is depicted as white, and since he fasted and prayed in the wilderness, some tribal members say he’s Indian. I heard that first hand. White Evangelicals don’t even respect Jesus.
“The White Man goes into his church and talks about Jesus. The Indian goes into his tipi and talks with Jesus.”
― Quanah Parker
The lack of respect is probably tied to race discrimination.
Overall, Native Americans report substantial and significant personal experiences of discrimination, across many areas of life. In the context of institutional forms of discrimination, roughly three in ten Native Americans say they have been personally discriminated against because they are Native when being paid equally or considered for promotions (33%), when applying for jobs (31%), and when interacting with the police (29%).
Additionally, about a third of Native Americans believes they or someone in their family have been unfairly stopped or treated by the police (32%) or unfairly treated by the courts (32%) because they are Native American.
So who cares about tearing an eagle feather (depending on how old it is), making a bone whistle not play immediately (they can be delicate insofar as where sound is made), or nicking a gourd rattle? Not the TSA, and not any major news organization to report this on television. While Quanah Parker is accredited to be the founder of the Peyote movement and unquestionably, the major American Native leader of influence that set the seed and planting for the incorporation of the Native American Church of Oklahoma, I give Wovoka the last word with an explanation.
Do not tell the white people about this. Jesus is now upon the earth. He appears like a cloud.
Who cares items that carry spiritual energy and are used in Native American religious ceremonies and the agents declined, roughly handling the items and shoving them back in the box? You should care, CNN. You should care, MSNBC. You should care, Kos, and just as much as the next piece of Tr*mp-Russia news of treason comes to light. Do you know why you should care, as it is still illegal for me to practice my spirituality in Oklahoma to pierce as a Sundancer? Dominionists aren’t the type of religious group that's inclusive. You. Are. Next. If. You. Don’t.
Whether Donald Trump knows it or not, Dominionists are now in control of his presidential campaign. In recent weeks, Trump has appointed Stephen Bannon to the position of campaign CEO and Kellyanne Conway as campaign manager. Both of these individuals are members of the Council For National Policy, a secretive Dominionists organization. In fact, Kellyanne Conway sits on the executive committee.
Dominionists believe that America is a Christian nation and they oppose the separation of church and state. Ted Cruz’s father is a Dominionist preacher. They mix well with Christian Reconstructionists who want to impose strict biblical laws on America including execution for adultery, blasphemy, and homosexuality. These two fringe religious groups make up the majority of the Council’s 500 member base; along with a colorful array of extreme activists on the far right. The Council’s goal is to manipulate government agenda from within.
Nation magazine says that the Council “networks wealthy right-wing donors together with top conservative operatives to plan long-term movement strategy.” Marc Ambinder of ABC News said “The group wants to be the conservative version of the Council on Foreign Relations.” That’s the organization Ted Cruz’s wife Heidi worked for previously.
One last thing. I’m not a journalist, I’m just a private citizen. Journalists (CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, NBC) — that’s your job, and there’s more to defending our Democracy than defending it from Tr*mp. If there was any light at the end of the tunnel, I thought it was her. Guess not. If it bleeds, it leads — unless it’s the blood of the American Indian. Right????????????????????????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rachel Maddow: Please Have Red Town Radio Host (My Friend) Discuss Violence Against NA Women (Poll) By Winter Rabbit
Thursday Oct 19, 2017 · 11:08 AM CDT
2017/10/19 · 11:08
I'm asking for your help. Below is a letter I'm sending to Rachel Maddow to have my friend on her show, and hopefully more consistently to discuss American Indian issues. As you may know, I think that is sorely needed. All I'm asking you to do is say something supportive or kind, so I can send this diary with the email, if there is enough positive response, to Rachel Maddow as evidence she should have Brenda Golden on her program to discuss violence against Native American women.
Ms. Maddow,
I am hoping you will have my friend, Brenda Golden, on your show as a person who can speak about violence against Native American women. Who is Brenda Golden?
Brenda started SPIRIT, the Society to Protect Indigenous Rights and Treaties in Oklahoma, organized protests at the state capitol, and she brought awareness to the extremely unfair sentencing of American Indians, such as the wealthy getting lighter sentences for identical crimes.
She has had her own Blog Talk Radio show highlighting Native American issues (http://www.blogtalkradio.com/marthafasthorse/2012/01/19/brenda-golden--red-town-radio), and she has spoken at protests. As the result, and I know from knowing her, one of the predictable consequences of her being so outspoken is difficulty finding employment. Nonetheless, she's been relentless in helping people, she always puts her family first, and she even ran for tribal council.
I watched Brenda take the bar exam while experiencing a great deal of difficulty. She passed it; subsequently, she practices law. If there's anybody in my experience who deserves to have the recognition and spotlight to speak eloquently about American Indian issues in a national setting - it is her.
I sincerely request that you have Brenda on your show not only to discuss the issue of violence against American Indian women, but please consider having her on to speak on Native American issues. Why? There is no one in the national spotlight who has the role of speaking out about American Indian issues, and in my opinion that is severely needed now.
Thank you,
Winter Rabbit
(contact information in email to be sent in 48 hours or less)
Brenda Golden
(contact information in email to be sent in 48 hours or less)
Thursday, Feb 8, 2018 · 11:26:28 PM +00:00 · Winter Rabbit
When my youngest son worked in Alaska, he befriended an Inuit shaman, helping him with some problems. The man was grateful, and made my son a gift of a medicine drum, which he blessed in a traditional ceremony.
The drum was in a cardboard box, similar to a pizza box, wrapped carefully in tissue. At the Anchorage airport, my son cautioned the female TSA agent that the contents of the box were very fragile, and please handle it with care if she wanted to see it. She grabbed the box, opening it roughly, jerking the tissue off of it. The drum came half out of the box, and one of the five attached feathers went skittering across the floor. He retrieved the feather, and held it up.
Instead of making a scene, he simply held the broken-off feather up in front of her and said, “NOW see what you have done!”
He said she instantly had a look of abject terror.
She knew what she had done. She knew she had broken a medicine man’s drum.
My son said she became completely distraught, shaking and crying. A supervisor came and escorted her away while another TSA agent came to get him though security. He added, “They couldn’t get me out of there fast enough.”
The broken feather is at the base of the drum stand in the picture. It has since been repaired, after discussing the matter with local native people at a Pow Wow.
