Welcome to Saturday -- going native


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It does not require many words to speak the truth

Chief Joseph Nez Perce Tribe

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Welcome

Admiration for the spirit of resistance the Nez Perce Tribe displays in the battle against the government take over of their lands and way of life.

The Nez Perce meaning "the walking people" or "we, the people" are an Indigenous people of the Plateau who have lived on the Columbia River Plateau in the Pacific Northwest region for at least 11,500 years.

One would think the success of a 'way of life' for over ten thousand years could be indicative of a sustainable society. Perhaps they have the right idea. Animistic and all.

During the 1855 treaty negotiations at Walla Walla, the Tribe insisted on retaining these inherent rights. Tribal leaders negotiated retention of approximately 7.5 million acres to be protected as the Tribe’s exclusive reservation.
Once gold was discovered, mass trespass and theft took place within the Tribe’s reservation. Instead of protecting the reservation from encroachment, the federal government forced the Tribe into a second treaty in 1863, which reduced the reservation to about 750,000 acres. A third treaty in 1868 primarily dealt with timber trespass issues.
In 1871, the federal government ceased the treaty-making process with Tribes. However, the federal government later imposed the Allotment Act upon the Tribe, sending a surveyor to determine and assign parcels to individual tribal members, then declaring the remaining reservation area open for non-Indian settlement. An 1893 Agreement ultimately reflected this new process. This is why today’s reservation is deemed to be a “checkerboard” reservation, where Indian allotments are intermingled with non-Indian parcels to create a complex jurisdictional landscape.

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The U.S. Army's pursuit of about 750 Nez Perce and a small allied band of the Palouse tribe, led by Chief Joseph and others, as they attempted to escape from Idaho became known as the Nez Perce War. Initially they had hoped to take refuge with the Crow Nation in the Montana Territory, but when the Crow refused to grant them aid, the Nez Perce went north in an attempt to obtain asylum with the Lakota band led by Sitting Bull, who had fled to Canada following the Great Sioux War in 1876. In Hear Me, My Chiefs!: Nez Perce Legend and History, Lucullus V. McWhorter argues that the Nez Perce were a peaceful people that were forced into war by the United States when their land was stolen from them. McWhorter interviewed and befriended Nez Perce warriors such as Yellow Wolf, who stated, "Our hearts have always been in the valley of the Wallowa"

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Kori Linae Carothers

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Sundad

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The Nez Perce Tribe’s government included a leader for many aspects of their traditional lifeways, such as fishing, hunting, warfare, and religion. Councils guided the decisions of each leader. The Nimiipuu people chose leaders and council members based on their knowledge and skill sets.

A much more sensible method of electing representatives to govern the people.

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https://www.warpaths2peacepipes.com/indian-tribes/nez-perce-tribe.htm

https://nezperce.org/about/history/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nez_Perce_people

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_Joseph

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This thread is open to any ideas and all expressions.

Peace

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way. Or many other ways. Ten thousand years and not ruining the land looks like success. It shows the colonizing culture to be a profound failure.

The oldest task in human history: to live on a piece of land without spoiling it.
Aldo Leopold

Our downfall is simply that:

There is no force more potent in the Modern World than stupidity fueled by greed. Edward Abbey

We should have, could have listened to Chief Joseph:

Whenever the white man treats the Indian as they treat each other then we shall have no more wars. We shall be all alike – brothers of one father and mother, with one sky above us and one country around us and one government for all. Then the Great Spirit Chief who rules above will smile upon this land and send rain to wash out the bloody spots made by brothers' hands upon the face of the earth. For this time the Indian race is waiting and praying. I hope no more groans of wounded men and women will ever go to the ear of the Great Spirit Chief above, and that all people may be one people.

We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.
Aldo Leopold

Good morning QMS. Thank you for the reminder of our history and the path not taken.

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Anja Geitz's picture

@randtntx

And great start to a conversation about how we would define the meaning of "success". Of course, those who are both wealthy and powerful would probably need a private and public answer to that question, but I suspect their answers wouldn't surprise me either way.

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There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

Lookout's picture

Thanks for the OT. I live along the trail of tears. When DeSoto came through about 500 years ago, he described homes and gardens as far as the eye could see in the nearby Coosa River Valley. It is shameful the way our first nations people have been (and are) treated.

Too bad we don't live in harmony with our environment like they did for centuries. Well have a good one. I've made my run to town this morning for trade day and a brief spin through the grocery store.

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

Granma's picture

@Lookout To me, it implies bartering, and I have a feeling that isn't what you mean.

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Lookout's picture

@Granma

Fellow had two large metal trays today. "What are you asking?"
"$10"
"Could you do any better?"
"What are you thinking?"
"$5"
"No, I couldn't do that"
I fish for money and dig out $7 and offer it.
"Alright"

...and the trade was made.

Everything from produce, live chickens, goats and rabbits, to tools and appliances...even lawyers have set up...as do politicians. Its a trip. Sadly Trump hats and flags are sold and worn everywhere around trade day. Good and bad everywhere.

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

Anja Geitz's picture

@Lookout

Smile

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There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

Lookout's picture

@Anja Geitz

Each one will hold two flats. They're too big for my oven.

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

@Lookout

Sadly Trump hats and flags are sold and worn everywhere around trade day. Good and bad everywhere.

black-lives-maga.jpg

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@Lookout

Lot of abandoned farm fields around here, maybe I should be in
the brush goat business...

Good score on the metal trays, can hardly have too many.

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Lookout's picture

@Blue Republic

Young goats are $20-$50. Goats are good at cleaning up places, and there are businesses like that. Worth a thought. Most use electric moveable fencing like this:
https://www.premier1supplies.com/goats/fencing.php

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

Granma's picture

@Lookout I would love to live near a place that did a trade day. Is it once a week or twice?

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Lookout's picture

@Granma

Twice a week. It is fun.

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

First Nation artist:

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@randtntx

Thanks for sharing it. Her description of balance, purpose and creative symbolism is great. Have always felt the spirit in nature more than the traditional organized 'religions' we tend to be exposed to.

Enjoy!

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janis b's picture

@randtntx

[video:https://youtu.be/V_Xyz4BAx7U]

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jam by Neil Young to close song.

Prayer of a good soul.

Then the Great Spirit Chief who rules above will smile upon this land and send rain to wash out the bloody spots made by brothers' hands upon the face of the earth.

We have done so much wrong.
Heaven help us.

edit- cut some repetition

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Our PE teacher was Mr. Frank. Don't know if it registered with any of us
about his ethnicity and he never mentioned it. Didn't know till decades later when
I happened to see his obituary and found out he was an elder of the Nez Perce.

Good guy.

And yes, the NP, who had always tried to maintain good relations with the whites got screwed over. When they had no choice but to fight they were damned effective.

I've been to most parts of Oregon, but never into the Wallowa country in the NE corner which was the heart of NP country. Have been over much of the route they took in attempting to flee to Canada - up the Lochsa river in Idaho, over the Lolo Pass into Montana, (south) up/down (down on a map, up as in upstream) the Bitterroot Valley and up into the Big Hole Baisin, site of the Big Hole battlefield.

Drive up the Lochsa has to be one of the most beautiful in America, no doubt a leisurely drive a big improvement over covering it fleeing for your life on foot...

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enhydra lutris's picture

really special person in many ways, and has been presented to us as such, but taking a wider, deeper look, we can begin to see that his people, their culture and way of life contributed much to that. He stood atop a mountain, but that mountain was the history, ways and lifestyle of nez-perce. Western civilization, in the meantime, was and continues to be an abyss so thoroughly polluted by wrong thinking that we in turn pollute and destroy all we touch.

There is much we can learn from him and his people, and it is good to be reminded of it. I can't do the videos yet, but am looking forward to them later in the day.

be well and have a good one.

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

That area of the country is amazing. Hopped a freight one time heading up thru western Idaho. It followed a river and hugged craggy mountains to the east. The train was a slow mover, so the vistas from the open boxcar unveiled a rugged landscape, seemingly untouched by 'civilization'. Made a deep impression on my wandering soul.

Cheers!

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phillybluesfan's picture

Donkeyote: A wonderful nonfiction masterpiece about the questing spirit of an old Spaniard and his beloved donkey and dog.

Manolo Molera is a 73-year old Spaniard who decides that he wants to do a pilgrimage walk in the United States. He will traverse the Trail of Tears, the route followed by 20,000 members of the Cherokee nation after they were evicted from their ancestral homelands in 1830. His two daughters are very supportive of this journey. But Paca, the younger one, is quite apprehensive of his safety since he has a bad knee and a heart condition.

Manolo plans to take his two closest companions with him on the walk: his beloved donkey Gorrión ("Sparrow") and his faithful dog Zafrana. He is very close to these two animals; they have had many adventures together. They often have gone hiking in the woods, eating, sleeping, and walking together.

The first leg of the journey involves going to a port in Spain to arrange for transport for the three of them across the ocean. What kind of world does Manolo find along the way? First there are many fences that have been constructed to keep strangers out of fields and pathways. Along with cars and trucks on the highways, the threesome must deal with a large herd of sheep clogging a road.

[video:https://vimeo.com/289910278]

In one of the most humorous scenes in the film, they come to a small bridge over a creek and Gorrión stops and refuses to cross over. Manolo stands helplessly on the other side, trying to coax the donkey to come over. He even sends Zafrana back to encourage him. This scene is repeated later with an even larger bridge and a ramp to a boat. Manolo displays remarkable patience for his stubborn donkey, a sign of his genuine care and even compassion for what Gorrión is feeling. The director helps us share his feelings, often shooting closeups of the donkey and giving us his perspective on things.

In the end, Manolo has to decide whether his desire to make the walk in America is worth the indignities he, Gorrión, and Zafrana will suffer in order to get there. In the last scene of this appropriately slow-moving drama, the director shows the three figures walking together as Manolo sings a song he has composed. He notes that they have been "perfectly documented."


Manolo has a simple life in Southern Spain and two loves: his donkey and wandering through nature. Against the advice of his doctor, he decides to plan one last walk in the US, the brutal 2200 mile Trail of Tears. But not without his donkey. Overcoming the obstacle of shipping a donkey, Manolo's chronic arthritis, a history of heart attacks, and the donkey's fear of water are just a few matters to take care of.

Official Selection at the San Francisco International Film Festival.

"A crowd-pleasing tale of an old man with a dream, a dog and a donkey, Chico Pereira's DONKEYOTE is a stellar example of documentary-fiction hybrid." - Liam Lacey, POV Magazine

PPR
Running Time
86 mins
Year
2017
Filmmakers
Chico Pereira
Features
Mamen Gómez Heredia, Manuel Molera Aparicio, Paca Molera Pereira
Languages
Spanish
Subjects
Global Studies & Languages > European/Baltic Studies
Documentaries
Health

Watch the film, thanks to your local library, on KANOPY

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Few are guilty, but all are responsible.”
― Abraham Joshua Heschel, The Prophets

@phillybluesfan And I'm a fan. Hell I mostly watch documentaries and nature films when I have the choice. So that works out.
Feel free to send any other links to good kanopy watches in your friday series if you're ever stuck on what you are reading. Thanks.

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janis b's picture

@phillybluesfan

for the recommendation. I will look forward to watching the film.

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Anja Geitz's picture

Your topic today motivated me to go to my bookshelf where I have a book of Native American legends and quotes. With my mind and heart focused on our forests these days, I found Chief Luther Standing Bear's words both wise and beautiful.

“Wherever forests have not been mowed down, wherever the animal is recessed in their quiet protection, wherever the earth is not bereft of four-footed life - that to the white man is an 'unbroken wilderness.'

But for us there was no wilderness, nature was not dangerous but hospitable, not forbidding but friendly. Our faith sought the harmony of man with his surroundings; the other sought the dominance of surroundings.

For us, the world was full of beauty; for the other, it was a place to be endured until he went to another world.

But we were wise. We knew that man's heart, away from nature, becomes hard.”
~ Chief Luther Standing Bear

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There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

Anja Geitz's picture

making a significant wind-driven run to the north in Antelope Valley. As of this morning it is at 91,017 acres and 15% containment. There are 1,663 firefighters out there fighting like hell with a demon. God help us. The scope of this is just horrifying...

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There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

Anja Geitz's picture

As the Bobcat fire exploded yesterday, burning homes in the Antelope Valley and threatening more desert communities along Highway 138, additional evacuation orders and warnings were issued for the Antelope Valley and northern Angeles National Forest yesterday and today. It’s better here on the southern end of the fire, but the people up north are getting the worst of it right now. I know how they feel. Scared.

fire nervous horse.JPG
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There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

magiamma's picture

blue skies are back and clean air. grateful.

for your saturday listening enjoyment...

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZnzjzjYkK0]

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=452nsCCzIJs]

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0QCHdQxqKI]

take good care y'all...

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Stop Climate Change Silence - Start the Conversation

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Anja Geitz's picture

It really is not looking good for the Antelope Valley area.

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There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

magiamma's picture

@Anja Geitz
The challenges were based on the 44 mile hour winds.

Very coherent. Scary. Thanks anja for the continuous updates.

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Stop Climate Change Silence - Start the Conversation

Hot Air Website, Twitter, Facebook

Anja Geitz's picture

@magiamma

You're right about the winds. I read from some the official accounts that the fire completely jumped over the containment lines at such speeds, fire fighters were scrambling to re-direct their efforts. Lack of resources makes this so much harder.

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There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

studentofearth's picture

starvation in 1805 for the incoming American immigrants to force the Nez Pierce to start conceding land and laws of their culture to American control. The cycle has been repeated many times - promise of free or low cost land and opportunity to create your dream life. The cycles of violent episodes and demand for change continue though today in this part of the country.

Must be in a more melancholy mood than I realized. Four of my favorite drives in Oregon have been permanently altered. At the moment closed until burnt trees cut down. Unmeasurable loss of wildlife and ecosystems. As hard hit as the humans were they had the option of leaving for safety. Pretty sure the small multi-generational towns with homegrown businesses will be replaced with homes requiring a higher income and business franchises. Those communities had been tenaciously recreating themselves since the 1980's when the timber jobs disappeared.

Thanks for the OT. Have always admired the Nez Perce resiliency.

edit: date typo

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Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

struggle from the beginning until the place 4 miles near Canada when Chief Joseph said they would fight no more forever. I think it was about 1988 or so. Drove it with my mom, had info along the way about every skirmish. I forget how many states I drove through to just get some semblance of the terrain and the battles.
Meanwhile, the dog that wandered up for 6 days, became the center of our attention, then disappeared yesterday, has us feeling empty, yearning for a time before dog, or dog in the future.
For the lovely dog that loved us, but had to go...

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

janis b's picture

Native American ways are so simple and so powerful. We can benefit greatly as a modern society to learn from their native culture.

I loved the beautiful rhythms of both your musical selections, and the imagery in the Carothers piece is stunning.

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