Blog

10/22/08

Folks, You know the headlines in this election. And you know that on our own campus there was a chalking/painting incident which has been washed over by the administration. What I did not know until I spoke to students is that our Multi-Cultural center was the target of the smear. Hold that image in your mind while I set the stage for my request. On November 13-14 we are holding the third annual American Indian Education conference here at IUPUI. While planning this event last year and subsequently, we had in mind addressing the issue of American Indians in the media, specifically New Media; internet, blogs, websites, as a way of getting around the establishment media which tends to ignore Indians and our issues. Try as we might, we cannot seem to get traction in this state, Indiana, which (with no lost irony) is named after Indians. Newspapers, television, will simply not cover our events and usually deem our efforts as unworthy of coverage. Images of Indian people in the media in Indiana are stereotypical (feathers and drums) if they are covered at all, and just a few years ago during a legislative discussion of the Native American Indian Commission (now moribund under the Daniels adminstration) lawmakers of both parties could be heard thumping their desks like "tom-toms" to the beat of an old beer commercial (From the land of sky-blue waters). But we are in this together. Our multi-cultural center is under attack by our own students and our administration has so far failed to address this attack in a timely and cogent fashion. All "minority" issues have been dumped on the MC Center and the office of Diversity and like the biblical Pilate, the powers-that-be seem to have washed their hands of any responsibility for this situation or the future of the Multi-Cultural Center. So, all that in mind, here is an idea. During the American Indian Education conference on November 14, early afternoon, we had planned a session on American Indians and the Media. What we propose is to open that up to a discussion of Minorities in the Media and address some of the issues raised above. It will be timely. Why? God willing and the creek don't rise, we will have elected an African American as president. It would be the first and most immediate opportunity to "Monday morning quarter-back" the results of the election and the impact the media has had on the vital but sometimes unspoken issues in the campaign. We can also address the nature of the coverage of minorities here in Indiana during the campaign and persistent failure to address American Indian issues here in Indiana. We also want to engage the panel in a discussion of the original issue we planned, the use of New Media. Likely you know in this election countless bloggers and websites have been on fire with alternative information about many of the core issues in this campaign. The New Media has changed the way we communicate and, more often than not, stories and subjects in those forums (interactive by the way) has dramatically changed the discussion in this election cycle. If you have ideas about who might be on this panel discussion, or if you would like to participate, please respond to me as soon as possible. Miguitch ginan jayek (thanks to you all) Johnny

10/27/08

Folks, Just a reminder about the IUPUI American Indian Education conference on November 13-14. All of you are concerned about communication with your members, students, and groups which may assist you with fundraising or attendance at your events. And we share those concerns. Last year after the Education conference in November, we sat down and thought about what might be important to address with this year's conference. Indiana is a unique state with a rich history that is virtually ignored by the mainstream press. All of you know that your events, powwows, and concerted efforts to "get the word out" are often ignored by newspapers and television stations in Indiana. But there is an alternative in this age of email, blogs, YouTube, and other alternative media outlets. We are simply not taking advantage of the alternatives to a mainstream media that continues to ignore the First People of Indiana. If there ever was a time when we are reminded of the power of the New Media it has been in this election cycle. We are poised to possibly elect the first African American president in US history. Ask yourself, "what is Senator Obama's position on Native American issues?" All you have to do is "Google" Obama and Native Americans and it will lead you to his website where he has a policy statement on Native American sovereignty and detailed information about what he plans to do to address social issues in Indian Country. Want to contribute to the Republican or Democratic candidate? There are websites where you can pay online and in fact, Obama's candidacy has solicited more than 200 million dollars online through websites and email solicitations. The New Media has changed the way Americans do business. As we did the background research on Native Americans and the New Media what we found was this. Until the invention of the telegraph, Indian people had the best communication system in the world. Nearly every road in America is built on top of Indian trail systems. European explorers were astonished to find that American Indian people had detailed information about them long before they ever laid eyes on the "Long Knives" and had already discussed the impact these encounters might have on Indian societies. How did this happen? The answer is a communication system second to none. Almost every Indian group in Indiana has a website, but often we are not linked together or are unaware of the events each of us might be planning or hosting because we are not linked. Most of us have ListServes of Indian people and interested parties but we often end up sending multiple emails which overload the systems and are ignored. Solution? Communication with each other and coordination of the information. When we first started the education conference three years ago our intent was to bring together as many Indian people as possible to the geographic center of the state and talk with each other about issues of importance to all of us. Our conference this year is about communication: How we can use the New Media; blogs, websites, email, and other alternatives, to better communicate with each other. And, how can we get around the frustrating ignorance displayed by newspapers, television and radio about Indian people. We hope to see you on November 13-14 so we can share information and consider 'what kind of life we can make for our children.' Johnny