You see something absurd. You hear something absurd. You read something absurd = Yeah,TNTG. Posts tagged Indian.
tw: suicide
Entire Indian tribe threatens to commit mass suicide after Brazil court rules they must leave sacred burial land
A entire tribe of 170 Indians have vowed to commit mass suicide after a court in Brazil ruled they must leave what they believe is sacred land, it was reported today.
The community of 50 men, 50 women and 70 children from the Guarani-kaiowa tribe are camped inside a ranch in Brazil’s southern state of Mato Grosso do Sul.
The Indians claim the land has been the graveyard of their ancestors for centuries, according to Brazil’s Indigenous Missionary Council (CIMI).
A Guarani Indian family ride a horse-drawn cart in southern Brazil in 2004. The Indians claim the disputed land has been the graveyard of their ancestors for centuries
But this week, Judge Henrique Bonachela upheld a petition made by the ranch’s owner to have the tribe evicted from the land.
He decreed a fine of £150 for every day the tribe remains on the land, on the banks of Brazil’s Joguico River.
A spokesman for the tribe today said they do not intend to fight the judge’s decision but would rather die on the land than be made to leave.
And in a letter the tribe called on the Brazilian government to respect their wishes to be buried there along with their ancestors.
It read: ‘Because of this historic fact, we would prefer to die and be buried together with our ancestors right here where we are now.
‘We ask, one time for all, for the government to decree our extinction as a tribe, and to send tractors to dig a big hole and there to throw our dead bodies.
‘We have all decided that we will not leave this place, neither alive nor dead.’
Battle: A spokesman for the tribe said they do not intend to fight the judge’s decision but would rather die on the land than be made to leave.
Remote: The tribe is camped inside a ranch in Brazil’s southern state of Mato Grosso do Sul
A spokesman for CIMI described the development as of ‘exceptional seriousness’.
And Federal Deputy Sarney Filho warned of the ‘extremely worrying’ situation.
In a letter to Brazil’s Justice Minsitry, he wrote: ‘This tribe has had its culture and lands attacked for centuries. They could now go down in history as being the tribe which wiped themselves out by committing collective suicide.
‘We must take the necessary measures to avert the worst.’
Indian tribes in southern Brazil have for years been fighting for the country to recognise their traditional lands, many of which now belong to farmers and rich landowners.
“ If people are genuinely interested in honoring Indians, try getting your government to live up to the more than 400 treaties it signed with our nations. Try respecting our religious freedom which has been repeatedly denied in federal courts. Try stopping the ongoing theft of Indian water and other natural resources. Try reversing your colonial process that relegates us to the most impoverished, polluted, and desperate conditions in this country… Try understanding that the mascot issue is only the tip of a very huge problem of continuing racism against American Indians. Then maybe your [“honors”] will mean something. Until then, it’s just so much superficial, hypocritical puffery. People should remember that an honor isn’t born when it parts the honorer’s lips, it is born when it is accepted in the honoree’s ear.
— Glenn T.Morris
Colorado AIM, 1992 (via adailyriot)
“ If people are genuinely interested in honoring Indians, try getting your government to live up to the more than 400 treaties it signed with our nations. Try respecting our religious freedom which has been repeatedly denied in federal courts. Try stopping the ongoing theft of Indian water and other natural resources. Try reversing your colonial process that relegates us to the most impoverished, polluted, and desperate conditions in this country… Try understanding that the mascot issue is only the tip of a very huge problem of continuing racism against American Indians. Then maybe your [“honors”] will mean something. Until then, it’s just so much superficial, hypocritical puffery. People should remember that an honor isn’t born when it parts the honorer’s lips, it is born when it is accepted in the honoree’s ear.
— Glenn T. Morris, Colorado AIM, 1992 (via adailyriot)
The Truth with Hasan Minhaj - Ashton Kutcher and PopChips
“ To some extent the disparity between popular images and actual lived experiences plagues all groups in America, but Indians suffer it many times more intensely because of the ideological construct of savage versus civilized, and because, as Kenneth S. Stern notes, it makes non-Indian people”feel more ‘American’ ” to identify as and with Indians while ignoring the real-life implications of doing so. Playing Indian has become a national American pastime.
— Kathryn W. Shanley (via adailyriot)
“ A group of folks, my folks included, formed the American Indian Leadership Council in 1969, maybe late ‘68. That group actually put that question exactly the same way: What does it mean to be an Indian? We had a series of meetings for about five weekends in a row. Out of that intense dialogue pretty much came a vision for the future by that group of people, and we decided that it doesn’t mean anything to be an Indian.
We’re Lakota. We’re Oglala. We’re Oglala Lakota. That’s what we are. We’re not Indians. What it means to be an Indian is to be viewed as a lesser human being than anybody else, and to be treated that way. It means to be viewed, as you walk into boarder towns, as being lazy and incompetent and probably drunk most of the time. When we adopt the notion that we’re Lakota, then we stand straight because we know that we are a people. Particularly for those who have taken that back to traditional spirituality. When you affirm that you’re Lakota, in your own way, you’re affirming that you stood on a hill in Humblecha, and your’e affirming that you pierced at the Sun Dance Tree, perhaps; you’re affirming that you have adopted this view of reality; that means that you have a commitment to ensure that the people live. What does it mean to be Lakota? That is what it means. What does it mean to be Indian? It means nothing.
We’re Lakota. We’re Oglala. We’re Oglala Lakota. That’s what we are. We’re not Indians. What it means to be an Indian is to be viewed as a lesser human being than anybody else, and to be treated that way. It means to be viewed, as you walk into boarder towns, as being lazy and incompetent and probably drunk most of the time. When we adopt the notion that we’re Lakota, then we stand straight because we know that we are a people. Particularly for those who have taken that back to traditional spirituality. When you affirm that you’re Lakota, in your own way, you’re affirming that you stood on a hill in Humblecha, and your’e affirming that you pierced at the Sun Dance Tree, perhaps; you’re affirming that you have adopted this view of reality; that means that you have a commitment to ensure that the people live. What does it mean to be Lakota? That is what it means. What does it mean to be Indian? It means nothing.
—
Gerald Clifford, The Search for Indian, except taken from Children of the Dragonfly: Native American Voices on Child Custody and Education
It’s important to remember that what terms Native people choose to use is a personal choice. There are Natives out there whom do not like the term Indian and thus do not identify as that. However there are loads out there that do prefer Indian or NDN. The term Indian and NDN have been in a process of reclaiming for a number of years by Native people to take it from a derogatory word to that of one of power. Please respect those people whom choose to identify as Indian.
(via adailyriot)
