Birmingham, AL: Land Acknowledgement

I first heard the term "land acknowledgement" at a November 2020 seminar called The Role of ADR in Disputes Involving Gender-Based Violence, hosted by the Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution. (I learned other new language at that event, too.)

I heard the term again in Northwestern University's first event in its Dream Week series of virtual events leading up to Dr. Martin Luther King's Day. 

Mariame Kaba presented the keynote for the first event. But before she spoke, Chantay Moore presented a land acknowledgement. Ms. Moore is a member of the Navajo Nation, and is also of African-American heritage.

What is land acknowledgement? 

From Northwestern University's land acknowledgement page, I've gleaned this definition: 

"A Land Acknowledgement is a formal statement that recognizes and respects Indigenous Peoples as traditional stewards of this land and the enduring relationship that exists between Indigenous Peoples and their traditional territories. ....

.... [A land acknowledgement] is an expression of gratitude and appreciation to those whose territory you reside on, and a way of honoring the Indigenous people who have been living and working on the land from time immemorial. It is important to understand the long standing history that has brought you to reside on the land, and to seek to understand your place within that history. Land acknowledgements do not exist in a past tense, or historical context: colonialism is a current ongoing process [emphasis added], and we need to build our mindfulness of our present participation."

The Native Governance Center offers a rich, reader-friendly, practical guide here for presenting a meaningful land acknowledgement.  Another good explanation is at Native Land Digital here.

Michael Redhead Champagne, author of North End MC, shares an interview he conducted in 2015 with Native Land Digital founder, Victor Temprano, about why it's important for all of us, "settlers" in particular, to educate ourselves about indigenous peoples who live(d) where we live: 

MC: Why is it important for non-indigenous people to involve themselves as respectful allies in the indigenous struggle in 2015 Canada?
Victor:  It’s important for settlers to engage with Indigenous history and nations on many levels – spiritual, physical, emotional, and more. It’s not to ‘help’ Indigenous people or cultures (at least not in the traditional sense of ‘charity’), but to help settlers get educated, to grow and to begin the hard process of decolonization. I don’t know what decolonization really looks like or feels like in our settler society, but I know it needs to happen, whether for moral, environmental, spiritual, legal, or historical reasons (or more). It is a inter-generational struggle to decolonize, and it’s already been going on, and now is a good time as any to find a way to engage one’s skills in a meaningful way.

 

The Association of Public & Land-Grant Universities offers a piss-poor, self-serving, so-called land acknowledgement here.

 

Before removal, enslavement, or extermination, what indigenous families and communities lived - and live - in what are now called Birmingham and Alabama? 

 

Here is an interactive map that shows us which indigenous peoples lived (live) in Birmingham and Alabama (and throughout the world).

From Encyclopedia of Alabama: 

Alabama's indigenous history can be traced back more than 10,000 years, to the Paleoindian Period. Cultural and technological developments brought changes to the societies that inhabited what is now Alabama, with the most visible evidence of those changes being the remarkable earthen mounds built by the Mississippian people throughout the Southeast, in Alabama most notably at Moundville. By the time European fortune hunters and colonialist explorers arrived in the sixteenth century, the Indian groups in the Southeast had coalesced into the cultural groups known from the historic period: the Cherokees, Choctaws, Creeks, and Chickasaws, and smaller groups such as the Alabama-Coushattas and the Yuchis. As more Europeans and then U.S. settlers flooded into the Southeast, these peoples were subjected to continual assaults on their land, warfare, the spread of non-native diseases, and exploitation of their resources. In the 1830s, the majority of the Native Americans in Alabama were forced from their land to make way for cotton plantations and European American expansion. Today, the MOWA Band of Choctaw Indians and the Poarch Band of Creek Indians maintain their traditions on portions of their tribal homelands in the state.

 

Trail of Tears

 

 

Alabama is not only the terminus of the Appalachian Trail, it has what some called "ends" of the Trail of Tears, for example, at Waterloo Landing.

In the article, Traveling the Trail of Tears in Alabama, Joe Cuhaj notes: "During the time of the Trail of Tears, Waterloo Landing, which is located in the town of Waterloo in the extreme northwest corner of Alabama, was situated on the banks of the Tennessee River. Since that time, the river was dammed to form Pickwick Lake, and the landing was flooded over. Because it was a final departure point for Indians from the South, Waterloo Landing was known as the "End of the Trail." Now, a historical marker denotes the location, and in September of each year a commemorative Pow-Wow is held here with traditional music and more." 

Alabama has five "certified sites" that acknowledge the Trail of Tears. 

Cherokee Walking the Trail of Tears, by artist Sam Kitts. Source: NPS Trail of Tears Alabama

A grim précis of the Trail of Tears, and the motives that drove it, is on the History Channel's Trail of Tears page. 

In September 2020, PBS premiered a movie, DIGADOHI: Lands, Cherokee, and the Trail of Tears: 

 

 

Weekend in Yuma, Arizona, Part 3: Elvis is Still in the Building

Elvis competition 2020, Quechan Casino. Winterhaven, California. January 2020.

Without hesitation, I plunked down 40 bucks to go to the Saturday night Elvis Presley impersonator competition at the Quechan Casino in Winterhaven, California, just outside of Yuma.

Elvis competition 2020, Quechan Casino. Winterhaven, California. January 2020.

For me to throw down 40 bucks for a couple of hours of entertainment is extraordinary. I'm not even particularly swoon-y over Elvis, though I do admire the singer's recorded-for-posterity voice, persona, swagger, and good looks. I liked watching his movies as a kid, and I have a cousin who, as a teen and young man, looked very much like Elvis in his prime.

While I lived in South Louisiana, I found this hypnotic song between Elvis and Kitty White, singing Crawfish, from his movie King Creole:

So. TEN Elvises on stage? When would this opportunity ever come by again? And what else could compete on a Saturday night in Yuma? This had all the cachet of going to the Olean Testicle Festival, but in a climate-controlled room in a comfortable seat!

The Elvises delivered, with the exception of the guy who chose to sing - out of all of the songs in Elvis' immense catalog - the so-called American Trilogy.

The American Trilogy is a medley of three songs:

• I Wish I Was in Dixie
• Battle Hymn Republic
• All My Trials (or Sorrows)

Why, of all songs, would an Elvis competitor choose this song? And why would the contest folks permit it?

Presenting all three songs in this emo-inducing medley gives equal weight to a sentimental yearning for the "grace" of a plantation idyll, to marching Union solders, and to the cry of a mother to her infant.  ....

Oh I wish I was in the land of cotton
Old times there are not forgotten
Look away, look away, look away Dixieland.

Dixie doesn't deserve any fair-handedness. Dixie is a dark, dark period in our history, and we need to treat it as such, and stop romanticizing it.


Except in the group shots on stage, there are no photos of that Elvis who chose to sing this song.


A slide show of Elvises below:






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Tucson, AZ: Tohono O'odham: Tepary Beans

Tepary beans and tortilla, Waila Festival, Sahuarita, Arizona. May 2019.

Yesterday a friend and I went to the 3rd Annual Waila Festival at the Desert Diamond Casino in Sahuarita, which is a town not far from Tucson.

The Waila Festival brings together various elements of the Tohono O'odham communities in the region, such as music, food, jewelry, woodwork, and other artisanal products.

My friend and I shared a bowl of tepary beans and short rib meat, paired with a tortilla.

Before we ordered the dish, the festival vendor gave me a spoonful for tasting. Not much spicing, but the bean itself had a flavor new to me. It carries a bit of its own spice in its little body, which I was curious to investigate further. There were about as many tender morsels of short-rib meat in the mix as one might see in one's childhood kitchen in a large family, and mom is stretching the expensive stuff so everyone can have a little.

The tortilla was thin-thin and fried, wilty from its weight in oil, with a hint of sweetness, I thought.

I'd never heard of tepary beans, so when I got home, I looked them up. National Public Radio's, The Salt, did a piece in 2018 on tepary beans and their connection to Tohono O'odham's heritage: Arizona's Tepary Beans Preserve A Native Past, Hold Promise For The Future. A related video below from KJZZ in Phoenix:

KJZZ also did a cute video about tepary beans here:

Tepary beans "taste like the desert."

El Paso: History's Long Reach: Oñate

"You will tell your grandchildren: I remember 9/11. Well, we remember Juan Oñate. Send him back to hell."


Soon after I arrived in El Paso, I watched a 2008 documentary called The Last Conquistador, by Cristina Ibarra and John J. Valadez. You can watch it in its entirety here and the trailer below:

The documentary, albeit 10 years old, is as timely today as it was then, particularly when we consider the national debate about keeping or removing monuments that glorify the Confederate Union.

Unless noted otherwise, all quotes below are from statements made by people featured in the documentary. 

The documentary is about some people's vision for a world-sized statue that honors a man who "brought the entire Hispanic culture to New Mexico," a man named Juan de Oñate.  Installed in 2008, the statue stands outside the El Paso Airport.

How to blow off another person's history entirely

• In response to Native American concerns about the statue: "... [the Spaniards] did come; they're here; deal with it; get over it."

How to discount another person's history

By discount, I mean: to reduce its importance, its relevancy, its influence.

• "It's time to let it go [history]."
• "Everybody's been screwed, go back far enough, let's face it ..."
• "Rightly and righteously, today, we condemn conquests, imperialism, colonialism, and human bondage of any form, but we shouldn't go about damning people four centuries ago, who were doing what society did... and especially the idea of Indians crying victim will bring you immediate attention and it also leads you to believe that you have attained the moral high ground, and then to use that club to beat up people who are descendants 15 generations later, seems to me, all wrong." 
• "Of course, what happened to the Native Americans was very unfortunate. It happened here; it happened all over." 

How to whitewash the severity of the history

• "I understand what the Indians are saying, but ...."
• "There was an altercation." [between Oñate and the Acoma Indians]
• "[Oñate] was not politically correct."

Blindness

• "Oñate was a hero of the red man; he didn't come as a conqueror."

Listen

• "We always see ourselves as bearers of good fruit; that fruit is poisonous to other people."
• "[The artist] wanted everything to remain sort of Disneyfied, McDonalized, without really seeing the guts and the gore of history ... "
• "I think the journey [Oñate led] north was heroic, but they had not come to till the soil themselves. They relied for shelter, for food, and virtually everything else on the people who were already there."
•  "When you have someone coming in to your home [and demand scarce resources from you, then of course, you're going to fight back]."
• "[The project] sounded very exciting until .... a glorification of Don Juan Oñate ... the Native Americans were devastated ... felt their roots don't matter ..."
• "You're really commemorating that one group of white people took away the land of another group of brown people. Is that really the great mission, the great vision that America was founded upon?" .....so many of us are part Indian on one side and part Spaniard on another side. So which side are you going to take?"
• "... by focusing completely on these notions that make a lot of sense to you, and making no attempt to see the other person's point of view, that's how evil comes about."

So about Juan de Oñate

The fact is, Juan de Oñate's actions were so egregious, even for his contemporary times, that he was charged, tried, and found guilty by the Spanish-American system in Mexico City for mismanagement and extreme cruelty to both Indians and colonists.

After the statue's installation, the sculptor and advocate and fundraiser, after absorbing so much painful testimony from Native Americans in Texas and New Mexico, said this:

"Art does have power. And with that power comes responsibility. The inhumanity of the period was unrecognized by the perpetuators of those crimes. And we brought it out in the same way that Oñate did. There was a certain blindness in society of that time. And that blindness is still with us today. I had neglected the depth of the injury that he had done to the Native American people. And that point, now, is too late to rectify. I have to suffer this, to carry this, because it's not what I intended for people to get out of this work. I think it's something I should have been able to anticipate, and I didn't. And I'm sorry."

"And that blindness is still with us today."


Related posts

• Bernalillo, New Mexico: The 300-Year Old Promise
• The Peculiar blindness, Part 1: Introduction
• The Peculiar Blindness, Part 2: The "Yes, But" Mask
• The Peculiar Blindness, Part 3: You Don't See What I Don't See

Gathering of Nations, Part 3

Gathering of Nations, Albuquerque, New Mexico. May 2013.

Here it is August 2015, and I found this draft from back in 2013. Do you think anyone will notice my tardiness?

Not sure how I intended to tie things up with Part 3, but below are the links to Parts 1 and 2:

Gathering of Nations, Part 1. Includes links to my posts on the Red Paint Powwow in Silver City. Also includes notice of troubling remarks related to women by one of the Gathering of Nations emcees. I heard a similar discordant note at the recent Coushatta Powwow last month in Louisiana.

Gathering of Nations, Part 2: A Whole 'Nother Genre of Music. I wrote about the revelation of "round dance songs." Wow. This is where I first heard the captivating voice of Fawn Wood.  

I know that I did intend to educate myself on some of the current activist and cultural streams as a result of puzzling statements I heard by emcees or performers. The statements alluded to tensions in the powwow world and also in the greater Native communities societally. That research never happened.

A good article on powwows, though:

Powwow 101, from Native Peoples Magazine, 2004


A slide show from my Gathering of Nations visit:

In fact, I have a number of New Mexico post drafts yet to be published. I've even got a post from Caucasus Georgia still to put out there. Because readers dip in and out of blogs irrespective of chronology, well, that just works out fine.

Flashback to August 2013: New Mexico: The Jingle Dress Dance

From my August 2, 2013 post about the Mescalero Apache parade in July:

Friday, August 2, 2013

The Jingle Dress Dance

Jingle dress dancer, Mescalero parade, Mescalero, New Mexico

There were jingle dancers at the Mescalero parade in July:

Here, a woman tells the story - several stories, in fact - about the history and meaning of the jingle dress dance.

An excerpt:

One of the most profound elements of Jingle Dress dancing is its spiritual power, which originates as an energy generated from the sound of the cones that sing out to the spirits when dancers lift their feet in time with the drum. The very act of dancing in this dress constitutes a prayer for healing, and often spectators, musicians, and other dancers will make gifts of tobacco to a dancer and request that she pray for an ill family member while she dances. An example of hidden spirituality and ritual within a public forum, the ever-unfolding story of the Jingle Dress Dance is unique in Indian Country. There is little fanfare and no public announcement when the Jingle Dance is performed as a healing prayer, only a quiet circulation of family members from dancer to dancer, a whispered request, and a quick nod of thanks by both parties.

Jingle dress dancer, Mescalero parade, Mescalero, New Mexico

Elton, Louisiana: On My Way to the Powwow: A First Look at a Cultural Intersection

Not the usual mural in Acadiana. Elton, Louisiana, showing its Indian heritage. The hills must be an example of artistic license. June 2015.

A cultural informant told me about Elton.

A jailhouse, a train, a white picket fence, and a red something that holds something. Elton, Louisiana. June 2015.

Elton is a village on 190 between Eunice and Kinder. Which may not help most people much in visualizing its location. So let's say it's about two hours west of Baton Rouge. And it's east of ........well, hell, you'd have to go a really long way west to make it east of something most of us would recognize. So let's come at it from another direction - it's about an hour northwest of Lafayette.

Elton, Louisiana. June 2015.

Population about 1200.

Elton, Louisiana. June 2015.

My cultural informant told me that, at one time, Elton was a tiny confluence of Indian, Creole, and Cajun tribes. Even today, he said, you might find it difficult to completely follow a conversation amongst old-timey locals because of the rich, intermingled dialects. 

Elton, Louisiana. June 2015.

So when I decided to go to the Coushatta Powwow, it was a happy surprise to see that Elton was on my way there. I'd already stopped to visit the Savoy Music Jam and gawk at roseate spoonbills. The wet drizzle kept me in my car, but I saw enough to make me want to go back for a drier look-see in the future.

A train blew through while I pondered the meaning of the jailhouse and the red storage structure in the city park. Surrounded by a white picket fence.

Very nice.

Here is a bit of history on the Coushatta Tribe, which has a base on the edge of Elton. There are a couple of stories at this website, but for me, anyway, the recordings were too choppy to listen to. Don't know if the issue is on my end or the server end. There is more historical information about the Coushattas at KnowLA (Encyclopedia of Louisiana).

Kinder, Louisiana: Coushatta Powwow 2015

Coushatta Powwow 2015, Kinder, Louisiana.

The sounds of the Coushatta Powwow were a beauteous retreat from my usual rich supra of Cajun and Zydeco beats. Many drum groups there, with the songs reverberating through my bones.

Coushatta Powwow 2015, Kinder, Louisiana.

The Coushatta Powwow raised good memories of my year in New Mexico. Hey, here's an excuse to share again my video of Red Bear Drum Group at Jemez Springs Heritage Site for the Pueblo Independence Day 2013:

The Coushatta Powwow takes place in the pavilion at Coushatta Casino campus. The pavilion also serves as a rodeo site and there is a nearby stable. The sounds from the pavilion also pipe into the stable. It is very eerie - an entirely empty, cavernous stable that resounds with drum songs:

OK, now listen to this. The MC - on several occasions - when women dancers had finished, I swear to God, said "you can return to your husbands." Sheesh. Maybe it's an inside cultural joke? One hopes.

The powwow was in a good venue. Spacious. Air-conditioned. Excellent sound system. Interesting things being sold. A variety of foodstuffs. Very economical entrance fee - five bucks! 

I did miss seeing the gourd dance, and I've come to like that solemnity of that dance very much.

Below is a slide show:

#30

Gathering of Nations 2013, Part 4: Princesses

Although I have few possessions, I still have this card by George Littlefield. I bought it in Arizona in 2001, on my second solo road trip. 

Winner of the Miss Hobbema Indian Princess Pageant, by George Littlefield

I saw many princesses at the Gathering of Nations.

Princesses, Gathering of Nations 2013, New Mexico.

Princesses, Gathering of Nations 2013, New Mexico.

Princesses, Gathering of Nations 2013, New Mexico.

Princesses, Gathering of Nations 2013, New Mexico.

Princesses, Gathering of Nations 2013, New Mexico.

And the winner of the Miss Indian World pageant was .....

Gathering of Nations 2013, Part 2: A Whole 'Nother Music Genre

Gathering of Nations 2013, New Mexico

From my experience at the Red Paint Powwow, I knew about the (big) drum contests, but I didn't know anything about the hand drums.

It opened up an entirely new genre of  music to me. Totally unexpected experience.

Sometimes one, sometimes two, sometimes a group of people standing in front of the mic, holding hand drums. First they'd sing in a Native language, then there'd be a pause, and then the song would be in English. Romantic at times. Poignant. Funny.

They're "round dance"songs. 



A sampling of songs 

Ask Your Mom For Fifty Cents 

Ask your mom for fifty cents

To watch the fat man jump the fence

He jumped so high he touched the sky

He never came down til Fourth of July. 

Just for You

I don't know what to do 

I can't just say I love you

After all we've been through

What am I supposed to do

I've always been meant just for you.

What a voice.

Sonny Boy

Sonny boy, Daddy's proud of you

In every thing you do

Daddy's here for you

Sonny boy, Daddy cares for you

Daddy loves you, too

You are Daddy's pride and joy

What is a round dance song? 

I found this remembrance on a youtube video of a round dance song, Honey Open the Door:

Imagine this, when I was a kid in the 50;s, rounddances were held in people's houses,teams of horses and sleighs would arrive with singers and dancers. Us kids would play outside till we had enough, the house would be rocking, the room blue with smoke. There'd be deer meat soup and boiled potatoes and of course bannock and lard, berries and canned milk. Granny would make us a bed somewhere and we'd watch and listen till we fell asleep.

Chickamauga Cherokee gives a bit of explanation about round dance music, with an excerpt below: 

The origins of Round Dance come from the healing dances of the Plains Indians – it retains its spiritual core and inspires joy and happiness – men and women, young and old dance in a spectacular display of kinship and harmony.  It has developed into a friendship dance that has long been held as a courting activity. This dance is one of the few Native American dances in which women get to dance with men. Native American traditional dances are usually segregated by gender.  It is performed during a portion of a powwow and during many social occasions. The round dance has an infectious upbeat tempo and creates a simple and fun activity. The beat of the drum is different from other dances.

A Saskatchewan library hosted a round dance in 2011, and noted this:

Protocol
First Nation protocol and information for the pipe ceremony and feast [which would precede the round dance]: Women who are on their monthly cycle must refrain from attending.  [Emphasis added.] Women are encouraged to wear a long skirt to all traditional gatherings.

The text above that I highlighted in pink is a good example of what I was talking about back here - the restrictions on women's self-determination in the guise of culture, religion, "respect," or "protection." The fact that a public library in Canada prohibited some of its members from attending a public event, based on their gender, is repellent.

But I digress.

I love the round dance songs and plan to listen to many more of them. 

Gathering of Nations 2013, Part 1

Gathering of Nations 2013, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Several folks have remarked to me that they like small powwows more than large ones. The Gathering of Nations is certainly in the large category, billed as the largest powwow in North America.

Now having done both small and large, I'll agree with those who prefer the smaller events. On the other hand, an event as large as the Gathering of Nations brings perspectives you might not see at small powwows.

A mishmash of impressions below.

Gathering of Nations 2013, Albuquerque, New Mexico

The Red Paint Powwow (January) in Silver City was my first powwow

This is where I learned about the components of some powwows. I went into considerable detail back then, and if you're interested, you can read about them in the links below, as I won't repeat them in the Gathering of Nations post.

Part 1: Golden Eagle
Part 2:  The Chinese Hopi
Part 3: The Gourd Dance
Part 4: The Grand Entry
Part 5: Gaan Dancers
Part 6: North and South and drum and Drum
  

The Gathering of Nations - in size - exceeded the Red Paint Powwow by a factor of, I don't know, a hundred. It's big.

Gathering of Nations 2013, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Sound

The sound is excellent everywhere in the arena.

Bring earplugs - you never know where you might end up, and it might be right next to a monster speaker.

Gathering of Nations 2013, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Photos

Getting good photos is a challenge because you're either too far away or, if you're close to the performance floor, there are likely people standing in your line of sight.

Also, most people you want to photograph are moving - dancing, drumming, walking, jumping - and transferring in and out of your frame. While movement can result in beautiful photographs, it means you'll need to take lots of shots to guarantee a successful few.

One option is to forego the camera and live in the moment.

Gathering of Nations 2013, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Sun

Holy mother, there is no shade in the outside area with the food vendors and the music stages.

If you'll be at the GON during the day, bring both a hat and sunglasses. The sun is brutal.

Note: You don't have to go outside if you don't want. There are also food vendors and artisan items indoors.  

Gathering of Nations 2013, Albuquerque, New Mexico

The emcee(s)

I attended the Gathering of Nations on Saturday, and it seemed there were two emcees, trading off. I couldn't help but compare the emcees at the GON with the emcee at Red Paint. All had liquid radio voices, pleasant to listen to. .

All expressed humor. Red Paint Powwow's emcee, Otis Half Moon, had a wry wit that touched on history, sociology, politics, even poverty.

I felt a couple of comments by one of the GON emcees were inappropriate, with references such as "give me some tongue" and "chasing tail."

Given the troubling reports of an appallingly high rate of sexual assault against Native girls and women by Native men - such comments felt, at best, tasteless, especially at a family event such as GON.

And especially with the Native American Women Warriors, aka "lady warriors," serving as this year's Color Guard (and given the U.S. military's disgusting tolerance of sexual assault of women soldiers by their male comrades and commanding officers.)

"Lady warriors"of the Color Guard, Gathering of Nations 2013, New Mexico.

A giving tradition

At GON, after the New Zealand Maori dance troupe finished, the blanket was laid out for donations to help them defray its travel costs. Perhaps on different days of GON or at different times, other groups benefit from blanket collections.

Gathering of Nations 2013, Albuquerque, New Mexico

I always smile when I think how Red Paint's emcee encouraged donations during a blanket collection, noting that even government cheese was welcome. (There was a time when I had to get me some of that government cheese.)

Next --> Part 2: A Whole New Music Genre

New Mexico: Of Turquoise, Coral, and Spiny Oysters

Ruidoso Downs, Cowboy Symposium 2012

A know-nothing disclaimer

Me offering a discourse on stones that Native Americans of the Southwest use to make jewelry is pretty presumptuous, since I know barely anything about it.

On the other hand, I'm a consumer of jewelry made by Indians of the Southwest, therefore I have standing to publicly fumble and bumble my way up a learning curve.


Turquoise

You'd think turquoise would be a straightforward matter. Special kind of blue with black veins spidering through it. Got it, right?

If only.

Here's a list of names for turquoise:

• "Natural" turquoise
• Turquoise "treated" to stabilize the stone
• Turquoise enhanced to add color
• "Reconstituted" turquoise (sometimes includes turquoise "trash" and sometimes has no turquoise at all) 
• Substituted turquoise (uses a real stone, but one that is enhanced to imitate turquoise or that is sold as turquoise, falsely)
• Fake stone (e.g. made from plastic or polymer clay)

There's nothing inherently wrong with any of the above as long as the seller is honest about his product, allowing the buyer to make an informed decision about his purchase. 

Here is a clear and concise discourse on the subject of turquoise. The Turquoise Guide also offers a good overview. Reading both will give you the best picture. 


Information that surprised me

• I used to think turquoise was plentiful, but it isn't. Indeed, most of the turquoise mines, worldwide, have been tapped out. 
• Very little turquoise jewelry is made of so-called "natural turquoise," that is, turquoise virtually untouched by any sort of processing before being made into jewelry. And there's good reason for this - natural turquoise can fracture easily, and because it's very porous, it is susceptible to discoloration, stains, and fading. So treating the turquoise can extend the life and beauty of the stone.

So the important tip about buying turquoise is to ask the seller to tell you about the turquoise she's selling.

Red coral aka precious coral. Credit: Oceana

Coral

I used to hold three contradictory beliefs about coral. I "knew" it was a stone and I also "knew" it was the remains of a formerly-living marine animal. And because I always associated it with Southwest Indian jewelry, I held the unexamined belief that coral was "somehow" indigenous to the Southwest, from prehistoric seas perhaps.


Of course, now I know I didn't really know anything.

The color red has always been prized in Native American jewelry. Before Europeans introduced coral to Indians about 600 years ago, they often used spiny oyster shell for the desired red. Spiny oyster had been used for centuries in North America, believed to be traded north from as far away as Ecuador. 

The red coral we usually think about in Indian jewelry doesn't come from the shallow coral reefs such as the Great Barrier Reef in Australia or the Belize Barrier Reef. Rather, it comes from the deeps of the sea. For centuries, such coral could be found off  in the Mediterranean, off the coast of Italy.

But red coral is now scarce because of over-harvesting. Some jewelers no longer sell jewelry made with red coral because it encourages the depletion of remaining red coral. Some artists only use coral salvaged from old pieces of jewelry.

As with turquoise, there's coral and then there's "coral." 

• Red, precious, blood, or oxblood coral (endangered and regulated)
• Bamboo coral or "apple coral," often dyed to replicate red coral
• Sponge coral, often dyed to replicate red coral

As with turquoise, nothing is intrinsically wrong with bamboo or sponge coral being treated to appear as red coral, as long as you know this is what you're buying.

Spiny oyster. Credit: Wikipedia

Spiny oyster shell

I love spiny oyster shell. I like the name, I like the variegated color, and I like that such beauty comes from something so prosaic as a shell. 

I'd never heard of spiny oyster til I was in Hannibal, Missouri, for a weekend some years ago. My travel companions and I popped in and out of some stores, and one was a jewelry store, where I saw this ring:

The owner explained that he got his jewelry from the Southwest, and as with the odd mythical beliefs I had about coral, I also had the confused idea that spiny oyster was also indigenous to the Southwest. In fact, some sources say it exists only in along Baja California; other sources say it is also in South America.

I wish there were more information on spiny oyster shell, but sadly, I'm unable to find much. But the colors range among red, orange, and purple.

Red Paint Powwow, Part 4: The Grand Entry

Red Paint Powwow, Silver City, New Mexico

The Red Paint Powwow is an annual event in Silver City, New Mexico, hosted by the Chiricahua Apache. I attended the powwow on Saturday, January 19, 2013.

The Grand Entry is the most exhilarating event at a powwow, yes? All of the colors, the dance, the sounds, the sheer volume of the sensory feast make it so.

With a front-row seat, I had almost too good a view, as I found that my camera couldn't capture the entire person before me - his face and his regalia and his footwork. This turned out to be a benefit, actually, because in having to choose between a performer's face/regalia and his footwork, I often chose the footwork, something that might otherwise have been overlooked due to the competing beauty of the attire.

The Grand Entry video requires a bit of a time investment, so I'll highlight some points along the way.

First, notice that the audience stands during the Grand Entry.

At 1:18: Note that the Color Guard is among the first entrants. First flag? The American flag. Honored members of the Grand Entry? Veterans. Publicly-displayed respect for veterans seems to be a prominent feature in New Mexican communities with a large Indian population.

At 1:46: See the POW-MIA flag? I was startled at first, but then not, to learn that because Indians were prisoners of war at various times and places in the U.S., the significance of the POW-MIA flag goes beyond what most Americans think of when we see this flag. (I wonder if there are Americans of Japanese descent who feel the same.)

At 2:14: The White Eagle Gourd Dance Society members.

At 2:22: The "Chinese Hopi" and Miss Mescalero Apache.  

 
At 5:39: Appears a woman whose attire is dazzling in the color and intricacy of its beadwork and her footwork - it is such a cliche, but true: Her dance steps are so light, they are like that of a beautiful deer. What she makes appear so effortless in the airiness of her steps must be very tiring.

As  you might expect, the performers fall along a continuum between full body-mind focus into their dance on one end and bored, going (barely) through the motions on the other.

Red Paint Powwow, Silver City, New Mexico

Red Paint Powwow, New Mexico, Part 2: The Chinese Hopi

Miao girls, China. Source: The source is no longer a safe URL; removed from this post.

The Red Paint Powwow is an annual event in Silver City, New Mexico, hosted by the Chiricahua Apache. I attended the powwow on Saturday, January 19, 2013.

I saw many styles of attire at the Red Paint Powwow. But one woman's regalia drew my attention because she was dressed like no one else. I picked through my mental file cabinet. Result:

 "No file found." 

I was eager for this mystery to be solved as the day unfolded.

In the afternoon, the emcee, Otis Half Moon, called up various powwow dignitaries for recognition in front of the dais. Among them were the "royalty."

Two young women came forward. One was a teen from Tularosa, Miss Mescalero Apache, I believe. She gave a sweet talk about what she wants to accomplish during her reign. 

The other young woman was the person whose attire I didn't recognize. She explained that she was a member of a minority tribe in China, and that when she came to the U.S., she was homesick. Her husband somehow connected her to a Hopi community and she felt an immediate kinship: "I saw my brothers and sisters!" And she felt she'd found a home with the Hopi.

Obviously, her American Hopi brothers and sisters feel the same, as she was an honored guest at the powwow. 

It was very moving.

Miao woman, China. Credit: Bowers Museum.

 

By the way, the Hopi apparently have their own version of Revelations in which Elder Brother (as represented by China, India, Africa, and Islamic nations) will rejoin with Younger Brother (the Hopi) after the United States (except for Hopi lands) is destroyed by atomic bombs and radioactivity.

Red Paint Powwow, New Mexico, Part 1: Golden Eagle

Golden eagle, Red Paint Powwow, Silver City, New Mexico

The Red Paint Powwow is an annual event in Silver City, New Mexico, hosted by the Chiricahua Apache. I attended the powwow on Saturday, January 19, 2013.

There was a golden eagle at the powwow


The golden eagle plays a sacred role in the traditional Apache belief system (in addition to Hopi, Navajo, and other groups).

James Rodgers, a falconer, brought his golden eagle to the powwow at the invitation of the powwow organizers. Mr. Rodgers explained to me and a little group surrounding him that many Apache have never seen a golden eagle up close like this. A number of the Indians, he said, come to see the golden eagle with corn pollen in their hands, which they sprinkle on the eagle's feet and back as a blessing. I later saw one of the powwow leaders do exactly that.

Side bar on corn pollen

Corn pollen. Credit: Colorado College

Here is a nice explanation of the importance of corn pollen in Navajo spiritual life. Apache people also have a reverence for corn pollen. (Indeed, Apache and Navajo are related.) If I understand correctly, the "corn pollen way" is the same as "the beauty way."

Below is a song called Corn Pollen Road by Louie Gonnie (who was featured in the documentary, Sun Kissed, that I talked about a couple of weeks ago).

(However, note that although the song is called the Corn Pollen Road, there is a school of faith called the Corn Pollen Way that is different from the school of faith called the Native American Church, and Mr. Gonnie is a member of the latter. Be that as it may, corn pollen has a place in both the cultural/spiritual and religious denomination/spiritual realms. Note also that I only barely have a grasp on any of this.)

Who can own a living golden eagle?

A woman asked Mr. Rodgers if he had a license to own the eagle, and he assured her that not only did he have a license, it was in his pocket.  And he told the story of how he came to own this golden eagle.

Golden eagle ownership in the U.S. is governed by federal law. 

Per Mr. Rodgers, a falconer can obtain a license to own a golden eagle through the depredation program. As I understand it - and I am discouraged that I can't find a clearly laid-out explanation of same online - if a rancher, for example, makes, through repeated complaints, a successful claim to the feds that his/her livestock is being depredated by a golden eagle, then a falconer on a waiting list can gain access to the offending bird. But only if it is an adolescent - can't be a mature adult; can't be younger than a certain age. Also, the falconer must trap the bird him/herself, and only when accompanied by a federal agent.

Mr. Rodgers reported that it took a week for him to trap his golden eagle.


Who can own parts of a golden eagle?

"It is illegal for any individual to possess a bald or golden eagle, including its parts (feathers, feet, etc)." Source: National Eagle Repository.

But there is the National Eagle Repository, which distributes eagle parts (not kidding) of found-dead eagles to "qualified Native Americans for use in religious Indian ceremonies."

 "Qualified" is important. You cannot grant yourself legal identity as a "Native American" just because you say so. You need to prove it in accordance with federal or tribal regulations.

The powwow emcee was very careful to state that many of the feathers worn by the powwow participants had been handed down through the generations.



What about the Hopis? 

I see conflicting information on the web about Hopis being able to collect live golden eagles and sacrificing them as part of a religious act or using any of their parts (i.e. feathers).

But I'm not confused about the fact that one can't "take" a golden eagle just because one is Hopi. A Hopi must have a permit to do so.