AK note: I wanted to share this email I received last week from a fellow Stanford alum, who let me know how this blog changed his thinking about Indian mascots and Indian issues. As might have been clear in my post about activist fatigue, it’s sometimes hard to keep fighting this battle day in and day out, but hearing …
Project Runway’s "Squash Blossom" blouse
I’ve been reading a few Project Runway recaps and watching some sporadic clips online (again with the no cable thing–you think I can get cable written off as a blogging expense?), and a couple of people sent me this image from last week’s episode. From what I can gather, the contestants were asked to create a textile design, and then …
Mid-Week Motivation: Sherman Alexie’s "On the Amtrak from Boston to NYC"
On the Amtrak from Boston to New York City The white woman across the aisle from me says ‘Look, look at all the history, that house on the hill there is over two hundred years old, ‘ as she points out the window past me into what she has been taught. I have learned little more about American history during …
Daily Encounters and Activist Fatigue: The Girl with the Headdress Shirt
Yesterday morning I walked into my 7:15 am “Total Body Workout” class at the gym, laughing and joking with my friend. As I turned to get my hand weights and mat, my gaze fell upon a girl in the class…wearing this shirt. I sighed and wrinkled my nose, but turned back to my friend to continue our conversation. A few …
Random Appropriation of the Day (Miller Tomahawk Beer Tap)
(listing here) Reader Leah passed this one over via Facebook, it’s an Ebay listing for a “Miller TOMAHAWK Beer Tap Handle”. I’m guessing the whole concept here was Miller–American Beer–“Real American”–Indians. Or something like that. I’m also a fan of the labeling: “Tomahawk…Peace Pipe…War Ax.” Um, I’d say “Peace Pipe” might be the outlier there. Here’s the listing on Ebay: …
Cool Things at Cherokee National Holiday
(My Cherokee-style basket I made in Tahlequah!) Labor Day weekend was the annual Cherokee National Holiday in Tahlequah, Oklahoma (the capital of the Cherokee Nation). When I used to work in Native recruitment at a university out west, my travels brought me through Oklahoma fairly often, but since I’ve moved to Boston I hadn’t been back to visit my family …
Jezebel Uses "#trailoftears" to Describe Megan McCain
(link to article here) Notice anything distinctive about this posting from Jezebel this morning? Please direct your gaze to the upper righthand corner of the photo. See the hash tag? Here, I blew it up for you: Yes, that says #trailoftears. Trail of Tears. The forced relocation of my ancestors, where they were unlawfully and forcibly removed from their homelands …
NeverShoutNever and the Hipster Headdress
Indie Hipster frontman Christofer Drew Ingle of NeverShoutNever, who apparently has an aversion to his spacebar, has decided to sport a huge warbonnet and breastplate in his newest promo shoot. The picture is emblazoned across the band’s myspace, but was also used for several days on the general myspace music homepage, advertising a live Never Shout Never concert stream. Reader …
Monuments and Mosques: A Debate Over What’s Sacred (An American Indian’s Perspective)
CrazyHorse Memorial, South Dakota (Image source.) AK note: Today’s posting comes from Simon Moya-Smith, the author behind I Am Not A Mascot. Simon is Oglala Lakota, writes for the Denver Post, and offers engaging and poignant commentary about what it means to be a contemporary Indian in America. You can also follow him on twitter, @IAmNotAMascot. So the controversy – …
Random Appropriation of the Day! ("Money House Blessing" Air Freshener?)
One of the things I love most about having this blog is getting Random Appropriations from my friends as they go about their lives all over the world. Last week I got a text message from my friend Shane in Taipei showing an “aboriginal” cartoon at the airport, my friend Steven sent me some great ones as he drove cross …