Did you know it wasn’t Marlon Brando who accepted his Oscar for Best Actor for “The Godfeather” at the 1973 awards show?

The On the Red Carpet blog points out that it was Sacheen Littlefeather who stepped on stage.

Brando had been a longtime supporter of Native American rights, and became involved with the American Indian Movement. The actor wanted to make a statement about the Wounded Knee incident in 1973 as well as to voice his discontent with Hollywood’s portrayal of Native Americans in film and television.

American Indian Rights activist Sacheen Cruz Littlefeather attended the ceremony and rejected the Oscar on his behalf. Littlefeather appeared at the ceremony dressed in Apache attire.

On the Red Carpet pinned Brando’s statement as one of its “great moments in Academy Awards history.”

Watch the video of Littlefeather’s acceptance on behalf of Brando here.

Jenna Cederberg

The current statistics are shocking enough, and a new clarification of definition of rape may highlight more troublesome, increased numbers of rape cases in Indian Country.

As Rob Capriccioso reports on ICTMN, the Obama Administration recently expanded the official definition of rape. That could help tell a more accurate picture of sexual assaults across the country and help define a solution.

In the past, the numbers have shown Native women are more than three and half times more likely than the general population to be victims of rape.

That revelation was made clear January 6 when the Obama administration announced that the federal government would also begin counting rapes toward women that were done by an object or mouth on the vagina or anus without consent, and it would begin counting rapes of children and men as well. The new data will be collected for the Uniform Crime Reports (UCR), published by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The new definition is more consistent with state laws and local crime reports, administration officials said.

Obama administration officials said the new measuring methods may lead to an increase in the number of counted rapes nationwide, including those in Indian country.

“This major policy change will lead to more accurate reporting and far more comprehensive understanding of this devastating crime,” said Valerie Jarrett, a senior advisor to Obama, in a press conference call. She called the old data “incomplete,” and said that “it has not captured the true impact of this crime.”

Capriccioso also discusses in his report how decreased federal funding for certain programs inhibits the prosecution of attackers and resources available to victims of rape in Indian Country.

Jenna Cederberg

Puerto Rico sees increase in blacks, American Indians
Tired of census numbers yet? One more maybe? Interesting figures show the number of people identifying themselves as black or American Indian in Puerto Rico jumped about 50 percent in the last decade.

Once again we come back to the question: Are these accurate numbers or just a sign of better outreach methods to minorities and reservations? Here’s what the Associated Press wrote:

The increase suggests a sense of racial identity may be growing among the various ethnic groups that have long been viewed as a blurred racial mosaic on the U.S. territory, although experts say it is too soon to say what caused the shift.

The growth in those calling themselves black or American Indian reduced the population share of Puerto Ricans who identify themselves solely as white. That group dropped nearly 8 percentage points to about 76 percent of the island’s 3.7 million people.

Courtesy of ICTMN

The Billings Gazette reported last week on a public official who spoke at the Red Lodge high school in Red Lodge, MT, about the recent school board decision to change the Redskin mascot name.

In Maine, however, the school reinstated the Redskin mascot after rigorous debate, ICTMN reports.

Smithsonian artist Jaune Quick-to-See Smith paints her world
From the Daily Evergreen, WSU:

With each word, visiting artist Jaune Quick-to-See Smith crafted a picture of the history of Native Americans and the injustices against them. Smith, a contemporary Native American artist, presented the history of her people not only through her words but with the works of fellow artists from the past 40 years on Wednesday to a full hall in Kimbrough 101.

Born on the Flathead Reservation in 1940, Smith is considered one of the most acclaimed American Indian artists and political activists, according to the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Her art focuses on images of Indian sufferings and stereotypes set against the background of the modern American way of life.

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Dr. Janine Pease has been appointed head of the Crow Tribe's Department of Education. (BOB ZELLAR/Gazette Staff )

By SUSAN OLP, Of The Billings Gazette

Crow tribal chairman Cedric Black Eagle has appointed Dr. Janine Pease to head the tribe’s Education Department.

The Crow Legislature unanimously confirmed the cabinet-level appointment at a special session on Feb. 23.

In announcing Pease’s appointment, Black Eagle cited her extensive experience in education.

“Education for all the Crow people at all levels is a highest priority for our Crow national development,” he said. “Dr. Pease brings specific knowledge and experience of adult, vocational and college services, special programs for school-aged children, tribal language initiatives and workforce development training.”

Pease, a member of the Crow Tribe, will oversee a staff of eight. She holds both a master’s and a doctorate degree in adult and higher education from Montana State University.

Most recently, Pease was vice president for academic and vocational programs at Fort Peck Community College in Poplar for 2-½ years.
Before that, she was vice president for Indian Affairs and Planning and Rocky Mountain College for nearly five years. She also served on the Governor’s Kindergarten to College Task Group from 2006 to 2010 and on the Montana Board of Regents from 2006 until Feb. 1 of this year, when her term expired.

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Native biennial film festival to feature record number of Native
women filmmakers
Mark your calendars: The 2011 Native American Film + Video Festival at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian in New York begins on March 31. It’s free and this year it will feature a larger number of women film makers, the Tanka Bar blog said.

A movie that will make its premiere at the festival is Apache 8 by Sande Zeig, about an all-woman Apache wildland fire-fighting crew that has worked together for 22 years. Zeig said that all the firefighters would attend the festival, which she said was the best venue for the movie’s world premiere.

No “Indian” for comedy duo?
The ongoing controversy over the Fighting Sioux nickname and logo sparked an interesting request for the comedy duo “the Indian and the White Guy” when they were asked to cut out the word “Indian,” from performances if they played at UND’s Alerus Center, the Grand Forks Herald reports.

The duo’s manager said he was made aware of the stipulation but talks to have his clients perform didn’t get far.

Phil Potter, national director of programming for VenueWorks in Ames, Iowa, said he was looking at Williams and Ree among several acts as possible entertainment at a “business after hours function” at the Alerus on March 17.

“There were at least half a dozen acts we kicked around, and it never got to an offer point,” he said.

Potter said he knew nothing of the nickname controversy until someone in Grand Forks mentioned it to him. Potter said he called Williams and Ree’s agent and asked “if that is too sensitive right now.”

He said he made the suggestion that the act limit its references to Indians.

He said the discussions didn’t advance further, and the event planners apparently decided “to do something smaller, maybe local,” and he didn’t think more about it.

“Living Sicker, Dying Younger”
If you’re still hungry, take some time to check out the University of Montana School of Journalism Native News Honors Project 2010 . It includes stories about the state of Native health from the seven Montana reservations and the urban outlook as well.

Photos, video and text included.

Jenna Cederberg

Information on how Native Americans in Montana can share in the recently approved $3.4 billion settlement of Indian Trust claims will be discussed at two newly-scheduled meetings in Montana next week, a new release from Elouise Cobell’s media director said.

On Tuesday, March 8, attorneys Bill Dorris and David Smith from the Kilpatrick Stockton law firm will discuss the settlement at 5 p.m. at the Browning High School Cafeteria, 105 Highway 89, in Browning.

At 5 p.m., on Wednesday, March 9, they will hold a meeting on Flathead Indian Reservation at the Johnny Arlee Victor Charlo Theater, building 83, 58138 Highway 93, in Pablo. This is on the Salish Kootenai College Campus.

Native Americans, whose families have individual Indian money trust accounts or who own individual Indian trust land, are welcome to attend these meetings regardless of their tribal affiliation and ask questions about the settlement.

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University of Nevada’s women’s basketball player Tahnee Robinson signs autographs and posed for pictures for hundreds of fans following her game against New Mexico State University at Lawlor Events Center. (Tribune/John Byrne)

Tahnee Robinson (Shosone), a senior guard on the University of Nevada, Reno’s women’s basketball team, has made a name for herself on the court. She’s also helped her college and local Native communities come closer together.

Not only has she won several NCAA awards as a player, she often speaks with youth about her experiences. Last weekend, she stayed after the game and signed autographs.

Robinson was honored by the Native community in Reno last weekend, the Sparks Tribune reports, with an entire set of ceremonies during Reno’s game.

Robinson . . . received a Pendleton blanket from the Pyramid Lake Veteran’s and Warriors Association in honor of her community service with local Native Americans.

“It’s a tradition,” said Michelle McCauley, UNR intertribal higher education coordinator. “If someone is given one, then it means that they’ve done something very special. It’s a very high honor.”

The ceremony was a part of a celebration of local Native Americans in conjunction with the Wolf Pack women’s game against the New Mexico State University Aggies.

Finding camaraderie can be difficult for Native American students at UNR. There are only 173 self-identified Native American students out of 16,681 students at the school, according to McCauley.

Jenna Cederberg

Native American Passions is up and running, and has plenty of users so far. The site is devoted to connecting Native Americans and to those “interested in Native Americans” and the culture.

It bills itself as a 100 percent free online dating and social networking site for the Native American community, where members can come for romance, chatting or friendships. It’s a part of the Passions Network for online dating.

You need a username and password to sign up. Most already using the site have pictures posted with their profiles. There’s a lot to explore on the site, without logging in it’s hard to tell what exactly is free. There are more than a few links to dating sites that aren’t “100 percent free.” Looks like there are about 30 questions to answer in the “About me” section and about the same in the “About my match (what I’m looking for)” section.

Members can take advantage of the ‘Native American Groups’ to find other members based on which tribe they belong to. More than 50 tribes are represented by members within the site already, including Apache, Blackfoot, Cherokee, Choctaw and Cree, among others. Aside from finding members based on their tribal affiliation, members can browse a large number of other groups meant to help define what it is they are looking for on the site (ie. chat, dating, marriage, etc.). There is even a group specifically to help members find others who enjoy attending Pow Wows.

Jenna Cederberg

A new Violence Against Women Federal and Tribal Prosecution Task Force being formed this year is being directed to produce a trial practice manual on the federal prosecution of violence against women offenses in Indian Country.

Attorney General Eric Holder and United States Attorney for the District of Montana, Michael W. Cotter, announced the formation and inaugural meeting of the task force this week.

Two Montana lawyers, Tribal Prosecutor and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane S. Cabrera, Crow Tribe and District of Montana and Assistant U.S. Attorney Marcia Hurd, District of Montana, will serve on the task force.

The manual will be produced after a year. In the short term, the Task Force will explore current issues raised by professionals in the field, and recommend “best practices” in prosecution strategies involving domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking, a DOJ news release said.

“We know too well that tribal communities face unique law enforcement challenges and are struggling to reverse unacceptable rates of violence against women and children,” said Attorney General Holder. “The creation of the Violence Against Women Tribal Prosecution Task Force has been a priority for me since my visit with tribal leaders last year, and I believe it is a critical step in our work to improve public safety and strengthen coordination and collaboration concerning prosecution strategies with tribal communities.”

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