CricketHill

Let's take a Stand

Native American Educational Services College (NAES College), along with
the
Native American students and community in Champaign Urbana. have once
again taken up the struggle that was started so long ago by our
Indian people.

The University of Illinois continues to degrade the American Indian by
allowing the racist mascot, Chief Illiniwek to portray the Native
American
at half time shows during basketball and football home games. We at
NAES
College ask for your help in putting an end to the Chief. The Board of
Trustees UI will be meeting on this issue at their March 11th meeting
at
the UI campus. It may be the final vote. Should they vote to retain
the
chief, then that is it. He will be their mascot forever. Should they
decide to vote against the chief, then it will be over. A great
victory
for the Indigenous peoples of this land!

The dilemma that we face is that the Board of Trustees UI are undecided
as
to which way to vote, and they say that the Indian people of this land
have
never come out in great numbers to let their voice be heard. Yet the
pro-chiefers always show up in huge numbers to show their support for
keeping the chief. Their claim is that they honor the Indian. But it
isn't about that; its about "it's their chief" and they can keep it if
they
damn well please. And who are we to meddle in their affairs! That is
the
pompus attitude that they project.

We organized a rally in Chicago on January 15th at the Board of
Trusteess
meeting on the UIC campus, we had some 70 people show up. After the
rally
we had a meeting at NAES College and came up with an itinerary for the
March meeting, as follows.

March 10th
12:00pm Prayers and/or pipe ceremonies for 1 hour
1:00pm Flag songs for 1 hour
2:00pm Press conference
3:00pm Dinner for all to be provided by Native American students
4:00pm Open mike for all to voice their opinion until 9:00pm
6:00pm Rally against Chief Illiniwek
9:00pm Candlelight all night vigil with prayers, singing and
storytelling

March 11th
6:30am Breakfast provided by Native American students
7:30am Prayers
8:00am Flag songs
8:30am BOT members enter their meeting
11:00am Lunch provided by Native American students, depart (hopefully
with good news)

The vigil will be held at the UI campus on the Quad, North of
Foellinger.

Racist sports team names, logos and mascots have a direct negative
effect
on all of the Native American people. They create a hostile
environment in
which we have to try and survive. They are used to make us look
inferior
to the dominant cultures. Racism is not only a black & white issue.
Why
doe's the dominant culture think that it is ok to make fun of the
American
Indian people? Let's take a stand! We as a people working together
can
make a difference.

We are calling on Spiritual leaders from Indian Country, Medicine Men,
Sacred Pipe Keepers, Pipe Carriers, Medicine Bundle holders, Sun
Dancers to
join and lead us at the opening ceremony. We need your help to guide
us
and teach us how to suffer for the good of the people. We want
true/real
spiritual people, no fake shaman please, or anyone looking to make a
buck
out of it.

We are calling on all Tribes to send a representative to carry the flag
of
your Nation ( Tribal Chairmen/women, princesses). Send your Eagle
Feather
Staff, Tribal Flag or Coup Stick. We are calling on all singers from
across Indian Country to bring your drums. The flags will be presented
and
posted during the entire vigil. It would really be something to hear
all
of the different Tribal flag songs or 100 drums singing together 1 flag
song.

The only way we can make a change is to come together in unity.
Remember
this is about and for the people. We can't help you to get here or
make
any promises, this is something that you have to want to do. It is
something that we need to do, and if we don't, then we can't cry
anymore
about the consequences that we as a people will suffer. If we allow
them
to continue to degrade us, then it is our fault.

If you can make it to Chicago on your own, we will provide
transportation
to Champaign/Urbana on Wednesday morning, March 10th. We will be
departing
Chicago at 8:00am traveling in caravan fashion. Please join us. Let's
band together to demand the respect that we, the original people
deserve. Let's make a final stand.

Please RSVP as soon as possible so that we can start making soup & fry
bread


Leonard Malatare Christine Redcloud
NAES College NAES College
2838 W. Peterson Ave. 2838 W. Peterson Ave.
Chicago, IL 60659 Chicago, IL 60659
773-761-5000 773-761-5000
GOTOBUTTON BM_1_ lmalatare@central.naes.edu GOTOBUTTON
BM_2_
crnaes@yahoo.com

Davis Wounded Eye Norma Robertson
773-465-4793 773-784-1050

blackfoot_goddess

I'll be there!!!!! :Yell

__________________
"Do you love me because I am beautiful or am I beautiful because you love me?" ~Cinderella
Obsession is an action word...
"I !!! and all things PINK!!!
This is for you Prince Charming....
Make Love not war.....

Mato Winyan

So how did it go????? We weren't able to make it.:(

Here's an article.

http://www.news-gazette.com/story.cfm?Number=15602


Those for, against Chief state cases to trustees


By PAUL WOODAND J. PHILLIP BLOOMER
© 2004 THE NEWS-GAZETTE
Published Online March 11, 2004




URBANA – Hundreds of people crowded into the University of Illinois trustees' meeting at the Illini Union this morning to lobby for and against Chief Illiniwek.
No vote was scheduled on the issue today.
Speakers for the most part offered familiar arguments. They, like the crowd of about 250 to 300, were about evenly divided on each side of the issue.
Board Chairman Larry Eppley called for a constructive and meaningful dialogue on the Chief, but his admonitions in large part fell on deaf ears.
American Indian speakers insisted there is no compromise beyond abolition of the Chief, the logo and the name "Fighting Illini."
"Why are we so resistant to compromise?" said Debbie Reese, a post-doctoral student in educational policy studies. "Think about what we as a Native American culture have lost. Think of what you have gained. We will resist."
Pro-Chief speakers argued the Chief honors American Indians. They argued the majority of students, alumni and Illinois citizens overwhelmingly support the Chief and that no retirement of the symbol is acceptable.
"As a supporter of Chief Illiniwek, I will not go away," said Adam Chaddock, a UI graduate who is a lawyer in Peoria. "Do not vote to quell the issue. We will not go away."
The board listened to a half-dozen speakers, then went into closed session without declaring a reason.
On Wednesday, during a day of rallies about the Chief, American Indian activists protesting the Chief acknowledged that they are not politically powerful.
"Nobody could get away with mocking African-Americans. But you can mock our people with a white man in a costume," said Leonard Malatare of Chicago, a member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai nation.
"For political power, you have to have numbers, or money," Malatare added, saying the ethnic group has neither.
According to U.S. Census figures, at 2.5 million, American Indians are a shrinking proportion of 293 million Americans. About 26 percent of American Indians live in poverty.
About two-dozen American Indians visiting from Minnesota, Michigan and northern Illinois, from such tribes as the Cheyenne and the Ojibway, spoke out on the Quad on Wednesday in anticipation of an all-night vigil.
A vote on retaining Chief Illiniwek had been on today's agenda for the University of Illinois Board of Trustees, but the vote was delayed by its proponent, Trustee Frances Carroll, until she can consolidate support.
The Progressive Resource/Action Cooperative called for a vote to be held immediately.
Brooke Anderson of the organization said anti-Chief forces would brave the night's forecast rain and possibly snow in tents to ensure that trustees are aware of animosity toward the Chief among the people that Chief proponents say he is honoring.
Warren Johnson of the American Indian Center in Chicago said he did not see Chief Illiniwek as honoring American Indians, but as a mockery of them.
"Why can't they do a little research? That dance is from the Eagle Scouts," he said.
He said that children at his center feel belittled when they see what he describes as "stereotypical" representations of American Indian customs.
"It hurts the children to see things like this Chief," he said.
At a small table set up next to the larger protest, Chief supporters said they were sure that most people in the UI community favor continuing the tradition.
Publicity manager Andrew Fitzgerald, a sophomore in English and rhetoric, said his group was doing a brisk business in orange pro-Chief T-shirts.
"We're getting a huge response despite being dwarfed by their setup," he said.
Fitzgerald said pro-Chiefers want to engage in dialogue with those who call for his ouster.
"I want dialogue but all they give us is hate speech," he said.
Students for Chief Illiniwek distributed more than 10,000 orange cards to be mailed to trustees and Gov. Rod Blagojevich asking that the Chief be retained.
Supporters stuffed the cards into what they called the "Fed-Up Box" so that the organization could put stamps on them and mail them off.

__________________








"We see it as a desecration not only of a mountain but of our way of life. This is a genocidal issue to us. If they kill this mountain, they kill our way of life." ~Debra White Plume

blackfoot_goddess

I actually had to go home sick the week before so I missed it:Yell I can tell you that the chief supporters are absolutely ridiculous. However I was talking to one of the guys quoted in the article at the Joliet powwow and he said that although there was no vote and there were a ton of chief supporters, a couple of chief supporters covered in chief stickers, walked up to him and said "I know we are not suppossed to talk to you, but can we talk to you". So our side offered them some refreshments and said that they would be willing to talk to them. The chief supporters wanted to know why there would be no compromise and then our side started to explain it to them. I was told that as they were talking the guys were pulling the stickers of there shirts saying that they had no idea and that they had been lied to the whole time about the reality of the issue. It is so said because so many of them have been brain washed and it almost impossible to make them see that it is just flat out racist. They are just blind and deaf to any education they recieve. A lot of them juts dont want to hear it.

__________________
"Do you love me because I am beautiful or am I beautiful because you love me?" ~Cinderella
Obsession is an action word...
"I !!! and all things PINK!!!
This is for you Prince Charming....
Make Love not war.....