We’ve blogged earlier, here, about the new book on the Little Bighorn Battle, Nathaniel Philbrick’s “The Last Stand,” which takes a look at that day through the eyes of both Sitting bull and Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer.

The New York Times takes a look at Philbrick’s work, here, along with another book, this one about Quanah Parker of the Comanche.

The Times terms S.C. Gwynne’s book on Parker, “Empire of the Summer Moon,” transcendent:

Born the son of an Indian warrior and his white wife (who had been captured at the age of 9 during a raid on a Texas ranch), Parker grew up to become the last and greatest chief of the Comanche, the tribe that ruled the Great Plains for most of the 19th century. That’s his one-sentence biography. The deeper, richer story that unfolds in “Empire of the Summer Moon” is nothing short of a revelation. Gwynne, a former editor at Time and Texas Monthly, doesn’t merely retell the story of Parker’s life. He pulls his readers through an American frontier roiling with extreme violence, political intrigue, bravery, anguish, corruption, love, knives, rifles and arrows. Lots and lots of arrows. This book will leave dust and blood on your jeans.

Reviewer Bruce Barcott terms the Comanche a Native American superpower, and quotes Gwynne: “They held sway over some 20 different tribes who had been either conquered, driven off or reduced to vassal status,” Gwynne writes. “Such imperial dominance was no accident of geography. It was the product of over 150 years of deliberate, sustained combat against a series of enemies over a singular piece of land that contained the country’s largest buffalo herds.”

Parker’s own transformation mirrored that of his people:

Quanah Parker’s second act was, if anything, more remarkable than his first. Resigned to reservation life, he transformed himself from a death-dealing warrior to a prosperous cattleman and a hard-bargaining politician who earned the respect and friendship of Teddy Roosevelt.”

Barcott calls “Empire of the Summer Moon” “a forceful argument about the place of Native American tribes in geopolitical history.”

Sounds like a book worth reading.

Gwen Florio

That’s the title of a book by Paul Chaat Smith, reviewed here in High Country News by Annie David.

The book, writes David, uses humor to make its painful points about Indian stereotypes and their damaging effect upon Indian culture:

“Heck, we’re just plain folks, but no one wants to hear that,” he writes in “Everything You Know About Indians is Wrong.”

And Smith, who is Comanche from West Texas, writes that “we are reputed to be stoic, but in reality it’s hard to get us to shut up.”

In film especially, he writes, Native Americans exist mostly as metaphor. The positive side? Because of movies, Indians – even if only a mythologized version of them – live forever.

He applauds a new generation of artists and Cfilmmakers such as Erica Lord, of Athabascan and Inupiat heritage:

Lord, a filmmaker, makes films that upend the romanticized and simplified celluloid Indian. “An Indian film will star the beautiful losers, belligerent drunks, failed activists and born-again traditionalists who make up our community,” writes Smith. “It will be brave enough to engage issues like the civil wars that tore through some communities in the 1970s, the terrible plagues of isolation, alcoholism, and poverty. It will not turn away from complex issues like debates over identity.”

David concludes her review by calling the book a warning: “Good intentions aren’t enough; our circumstances require more critical thinking and less passion, guilt, and victimization.”

Gwen Florio

This blog sure seems to be spending a lot of time on Hollywood lately. But thanks to “New Moon,” the sequel to the through-the-roof popular “Twilight” teen vampire movie, that’s where we are.

A quick recap: A recurring theme in the “Twilight” books by Stephenie Meyer focuses on the Quileute Tribe in Washington’s Olympic Peninsula. When the movies were made, producers chose Native actors for the part – many of whom are now enjoying the kind of name recognition that makes a career.

Count Gil Birmingham, who is Comanche, in that group, according to this Examiner.com story.

Not only is he a “Twlight”/“New Moon” star (he plays Billy Black), but he’s a total Twitter phenom, too, with more than 70,000 followers.

He tells Examiner.com’s Twitter Entertainment Examiner that “People all over the world are fascinated with the Native American way of life, but they think we dress in traditional regalia and chant all the time, lol. We don’t. .. I believe in the oneness of human beings, and that all are connected.”

Want more? Follow him on Twitter here.

Gwen Florio

This story ends the day on a sad note, but a satisfying one, too.

Some graves of Comanche children who died during the turn-of-the-century smallpox epidemic finally have markers, according to this Indian Country Today story.

“This is a way to love and honor our relatives,” Comanche Nation Tombstone Program coordinator Sandra Toyekoyah tells reporter S.E. Ruckman. “People took care of these graves, but then they passed on, too.”

The new stones, written in Comanche, say they are “Numunu Turetu” (Comanche children) who died of smallpox and whose remains were repatriated from one site to another in 1903.

Oral history says smallpox spread among the tribes when they received blankets carrying the smallpox germs.

The 16,000-member tribe in Oklahoma uses money from tax commission sales, including car tags, to fund the program, according to the story.

In one way, it’s a small gesture – just 10 markers were put up, commemorating the tiniest percentage of those who died. But as a symbol, it’s huge. They’re not forgotten.

Gwen Florio

Here’s some good news on a bad problem:

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder today announced that more than $5.6 million in stimulus money from the Office on Violence Against Women will go to tribes in Montana, California, Kansas, Mississippi and Oklahoma.

The news comes after Justice Department officials on Wednesday concluded the first of three working sessions on tribal law enforcement issues.

“American Indian and Alaska Native women are more likely to experience sexual assault and domestic violence than women from other racial or ethnic groups, which is why these funds are so vital,” Holder says. “As the Department of Justice convenes the Tribal Nations Listening Conference and pre-sessions, these funds are just the beginning of a renewed partnership between the department and our tribal communities to ensure the safety of every Indian woman and address tribes’ criminal justice challenges.”

The federal provides the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women with $20.8 million for the Indian Tribal Governments Program to decrease the number of violent crimes committed against Indian women. And, it provides the office with $2.8 million for the Tribal Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Coalitions Program.

The awards are going to the following tribes:

California
Big Valley Band of Pomo Indians, $446,700
Strong Hearted Native Women’s Coalition, Inc. of Southern California, $355,950

Kansas
Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, $334,630

Mississippi
Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, $899,999

Montana
Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) of Flathead Indian Reservation, $802,642

Oklahoma
Absentee Shawnee Domestic Violence Program, $510,000
Citizen Potawatomi Nation, $899,999
Comanche Indian Tribe, $687,312
Seminole Nation, $744,809

For more details, go to the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women site, here.

Gwen Florio

Oglala Woman To Head USDA Agency in South Dakota
Elsie Meeks, who is Oglala Lakota, will lead the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development agency in South Dakota, according to this Rapid City Journal story. Previously, Meeks headed the First Nations Oweesta Corp., which helps provide investment capital and assistance to help Native communities develop financial institutions.

Keep Up With Stimulus Projects in Indian Country
Rather than getting news piecemeal from around the country, here’s a government site that puts it all together. So far, it highlights the water projects on reservations, money to combat violence against Native women, and other health care efforts. Let’s keep an eye on it and see what else is in the pipeline.

Navajo Nation Marks Anniversary of Spill that Spurred Uranium Ban
There’s a reason the Dine ban uranium mining, despite intense pressure to allow it. Thirty years ago this month, what Navajo President Joe Shirley called “the largest peacetime, accidental release of radioactive contaminated materials in the history of the United States” occurred on the reservation. Some 94 million gallons of acidic water poured into the north fork of the Rio Puerco after an earthen uranium-tailings dam failed, according to this AP story in the Arizona Daily Star. Unfortunately, the incident was overshadowed by the Three Mile Island disaster the same year. But the tribe is working hard to make sure that people remember. People made a seven-mile walk last week to commemorate it.

Native Wedding Traditions
On a much happier note, Indian Country Today has this story about Jody Colbert, a member of the Comanche Tribe of Oklahoma, and her Native-themed floral wedding designs. The fourth-generation granddaughter of Quanah Parker now heads Mother Earth Floral Design, which combines her beadworking skills with those as a floral designer. In addition to weddings, she also creates centerpieces for conferences.

Native-owned PR Firm is Liaison Between Indian Country, Media
Jason Oberle at American Indian Policy Blog posted an item about a 1680 PR, a Native-owned public relations firm in Albuquerque. The company is the brainchild of Herman Gallegos, who is Jicarilla Apache, and Ken Lingad of Isleta Pueblo. Read the post here.

Preserving Native Languages, Ten Teens at a Time
NPR had this piece this morning on efforts to preserve Native languages. It focuses largely on a program in Utah aimed at Shoshone teenagers, but also mentions other efforts.

And Native Radio Stations, Too
NPR followed up its story on languages with this piece on the proliferation of radio stations on reservations. Both stories make for very enjoyable listening.

Gwen Florio

Star search tryouts for the Native Music Rocks Tour, originally organized by Ojibwe country singer Crystal Shawanda, start next month (for schedule and location, click here).

Native Music Rocks bills itself as the first major cross-country tour of Native musicians, playing country, rock, folk, reggae, traditional … you name it. It’s sponsored by the Seminole Tribes of Florida and Hard Rock International – that’s why you’ll be able to get Native Music Rocks gear in Hard Rock Cafes. Among those involved are Grammy and Native American Music Award winner Micki Free, who is Cherokee and Comanche, and country’s music’s Crystal Shawanda, who is Wikwemikong Ojibwe. Here’s a video of an reznet interview with Shawanda:

Gwen Florio

We’re told that means “congratulations” in Greek and we sure hope that’s the case. In any language, we want to congratulate Mandy Morales, who just signed to play pro basketball in Greece, according to this story.

Morales, the second-most prolific scorer in Montana Lady Griz history, will play for the Apollon Ptolemaidos.

Morales, who is of Comanche and Mexican heritage, served as a role model for Native basketball hopefuls, Malia Kipp – who in 1992 was the first Lady Griz recruit from a reservation – told the Missoulian in 2007. In her years on the team, Morales played with Dana Conway, and Tamara Guardipee, both Blackfeet.

In that same 2007 Missoulian story, Lady Griz assistant coach Trish Duce said that Coach Robin Selvig’s summer camps draw significant numbers of youngsters from the reservations, especially Blackfeet. ‘Their parents will call and ask you, ‘Are Dana Conway and Tamara and Mandy Morales going to be there?’ … It’s cool because I think those guys are role models for their culture.”

Gwen Florio