Dominant Culture and Indian Agents Alive and Well in DMC: What century is this?

Met with the new point man for the History Center of Olmsted County.  An amiable fellow who has never aligned himself with any one tribe.  I can't say for certain, but he, like the Chair of the NAC of SE MN, are white. 

After our grant with Museology, Cara Clarey and GRADS, fell through because the HCOC wanted to go in a new direction, they formed a new advisory board.  The old advisory board was made up of Dakota Tribal Historians, Ho-Chunk anthropologist, and other Indian people with knowledge of their culture and ways.  The new board is made up of Jim Wilson (white), Chair of the NAC SE MN, Dawn Littleton, (white) from the Friends of Indian Heights, Mitch Moore, (white) from the Friends of Indian Heights, Tom Hozier, (white)from the Woodlake Battle Field Exhibit, and Bob Sanborn (white), retired teacher from RCTC who taught Native American studies.  Uh; where are the Indians?

Nakoma is now the point man and we showed him the RFP that the HCOC put out for their new exhibit, using the money that we the old advisory committee helped secure for them.  Sadly, poor old Nakoma never saw the RFP and took the HCOC at their word.  Namely that they would have an exhibit that depicted the Indians of Olmsted County, past and preset, but the RFP says that the HCOC is just going to rebrand their Indian artifacts and have a display about "pre-contact" generic Indians. Additionally, the new RFP says that the HCOC is going to work with 4 Indians from SE MN.  We asked him who those 4 Indians were and he didn't know.

So, right now, the HCOC is using monies from the Minnesota Historical Society and there is NOT ONE INDIAN among them on their planning committee.  Sad, so very sad.  Now they are using a good man with an Indian heart as their point man, but in actuality, they are using him as an Indian Agent.  How do I know this?

When I told him that I have been barred from the HCOC to use its library for HPC purposes by Jim Suk (white, HCOC Board Chair), Lisa Baldus (white, HCOC Executive Director) , and Jeff Alleman (white, and HPC Chair), and that the Post Bulletin wants to interview relative to the punitive action taken against me because I supported Cara Clarey whom they fired for Lord only knows why and called the HCOC on their non Dakota and Ho-Chunk holdings and asked that they repatriate them if they weren't going to use them in the exhibit; Nakoma said, "I would hold off on that for a while because any bad press about the HCOC will jeopardize the exhibit at the HCOC."  Nakoma was also promised that he could teach classes at the HCOC on Native Americans.

So, I have a hard decision to make, go ahead with the interview about the punitive action Jeff Alleman took against me in cahoots with Jim Suk and Lisa Baldus, and then threatened that I would not have any of my Native American interests realized at the HCOC and the HPC if I went public with the story and jeopardize the dominant white culture exhibit at the HCOC.  Hmmm...what to do?

When will I learn?

Today I received word that our complaint against Century High School and their biased treatment of number one son with ADD was investigated.  What did the MDE OCR find?  Nothing.  Century High School Coach Houghton treated my son fairly and just like every other player.  No discrimination occurred.  My son was not treated differently from any other player.

Despite the fact that we had proof that he lied, the MDE OCR found no violation of the law.  Coach Houghton said son didn't show for practice, wasn't placed on JV in the first place, never showed for practice, didn't intervene when son was being clobbered in the goalie box, and didn't yell at son.  All this we had evidence to the contrary and the MDE OCR (Lauren Skerrit) found that Coach Houghton did nothing wrong.  He treated every player the same.

This begs the question, should any parent let their son play soccer for Coach Houghton?  If Coach Houghton can run his little losing soccer team in this manner, should any parent let their child play soccer?  If Coach Houghton can lie, cheat, demean, belittle, retaliate, and ignore people with disabilities, should any parent let their child play soccer for Century?

As a person of color, when I come up against such blatant discrimination, I prefer to test the law.  After all, weren't the laws made to help people like me find justice?  According to Steven Newcomb the laws were not made to help people like me or my son.  The laws were made by people who exercise the belief in the doctrine of discovery.  The laws were created by those who believe in domination and that people of color are "subhuman".  The laws were made by people who believe in a "superior race" and the laws were designed to keep people of color in line.

Despite my proof, what I did not realize, what I did not remember was that the burden of proof is twice that of one Coach Houghton, a white male.  I am a woman of color.  My son is of color.  He is beautiful.  He was voted Utility Man by his soccer peers.  He is an awesome player and that his what his peers said.  Yet, when we cried foul about team placement, unfair treatment, utter disregard for his 504 plan, yelling fits by Coach Houghton, retaliation and so on,  the Century High School administration (all white) came to the aide of Coach Houghton (not my son who was a student there) and the MDE OCR (more white people) found no discrimination on the basis of disability or race. 

When will I ever learn that I as a person of color will never find justice when appealing to the dominant culture (soon to become a minority) armed with their doctrine of discovery world view and the laws they designed to keep people like me under oppression?

Good Old Boys in DMC

Sound bite of the day:  DMC is filled with Good Old Boys and their Networks.  It is hard to escape.  I am a member of the Heritage Preservation Commission and while has only one good old boy as our chair, there are several good old boys that directly influence the group.  The money or as one person put it at last nights meeting, the "treasure box" that DMC has created in this city has created "greeditis" and greedy fever.  People are buying up and selling off property as fast as they can.  Tax payer dollars are being used by private developers to construct huge, ill suited buildings in our little downtown area.  The small group of preservationists , a bad word for our chair, come to each meeting as observers armed to preserve our city's oldest and dearest structures, while the majority of our commission members yearn to build, tear down, construct or broker new developments.  After my brief encounter with the GOBN it is apparent to me that I do not fit in this HPC construct.  I am a preservationist at heart and I am just too busy and honest to be bothered with greed, back room deals, and trendy building fads.  I used to think I was tough, actually I was.  I could go toe to toe with anyone, yet now, as my children are entering their teen years, I am pulled toward reality, spirituality, communality, and hope.  The HPC is no place for a woman who values honesty, transparency, integrity, substance, family, roots, sacred sites, and historical narratives.  Actually, I am starting to think that DMC is no place for a woman who values honesty, transparency, integrity, substance, family, roots, sacred sites, and historical narratives.

You can only stretch the American dollar so far

I have had enough of extreme tea party Republicans and extreme left leaning socialist Democrats.  I am center, learning right.  Just how far do Dems think the American dollar will stretch?  You want Health Care for ALL, you want food stamps for ALL working poor, you want EARNED INCOME CREDIT for the NON-WORKING ALL, you want to raise the minimum wage for ALL entry level jobs so ALL people can live the American dream, but you want the RICH people to pay for it?  Does that make sense?  Excuse me, "Cents?"

Let me tell you that these so called RICH people are WORKING people, they are human beings with hopes and dreams too.  They are doctors, lawyers, business people, creative geniuses, artists, moms, dads, professors and so on.  Come on!  I met one of these so called RICH people and he was a real human being.  He was in favor of raising the minimum wage, but asked, "How much are you willing to pay for your burger?"  He went on to say that if you have a dollar: 33% goes to wages and benefits, and 33% goes to product, and another % goes to utilities, why are people trying to deny me 5- 10% profit?  I have a wife, a mortgage, a son and daughter in college.  Why do people say I don't care about the poor?  "I care enough to give them a job!"

Why does anyone think the Bill Gates and Warren Buffets of the world need to pay for the poor and working poor?  Why does anyone think that the upper middle class on up need to pay for the ALL in this country?  My grandparents, Henry and Marie Decorah NEVER accepted welfare.  They worked several jobs and we had food on the table.  There were meals with neck bones and beans, but we were never hungry.  They never owned a home.  They never had a new car.  We never took extended vacations.  Why?  Because we were poor!  They taught me to get an education so that I would not be POOR!

Why do well-intentioned people think the American dream is everyone's dream?  Why does anyone think the American dream is for everyone and should be paid for by the WORKING Americans?  I think both parties have things mixed up.  Sure let us provide for the least of us in this country.  I am in favor of that, but it comes at a price.  The American dollar will only stretch so far.  It will depend on ALL of us making sacrifices, not just the WORKING people of this country.  It will require ALL of us to pay, do without, make do, re-use, re-cycle, scrimp and save, make less of a profit or no profit, and so on. 

Paul Ryan is a brave soul.  He realizes that the entitlements that provide a safety net for the least of us, relative to money, must be paid for by ALL people.  BRAVO for him and the fiscal values of the Republican Party.  I think it is time for the Dems to realize that we must ALL make sacrifices so that the American dollar will stretch to cover ALL the people in our great nation!