19.

Courtesy whitehouse.gov “Hayes started out his term believing in the reservation system, then he realized that Natives weren’t going to stay on reservations and white settlers wouldn’t stay off their land.”

Courtesy whitehouse.gov
“Hayes started out his term believing in the reservation system, then he realized that Natives weren’t going to stay on reservations and white settlers wouldn’t stay off their land.”

Rutherford B. Hayes’ four years in the White House, from 1877 to 1881, marked a distinct change in federal Indian policy, as the government moved away from forced removal of Indians to reservations and toward a system that allotted land to individuals.

Billed as a solution to the government’s insatiable hunger for land, Hayes’ policies reduced the size of reservations and called for acculturation of Indians into Western society. His strategies, which came amid ongoing conflicts with Indian nations, also included approval of the first Indian boarding school.

[…]

In his second message to Congress, in December 1878, Hayes pledged to “purify” the Indian Bureau and establish “just and humane” Indian policies that would preserve peace. His “ultimate solution to what is called the Indian problem,” however, was to “curb the unruly spirit of the savage Indian” and train them to be agriculturists or herdsmen.

“It may be impossible to raise them fully up to the level of the white population of the United States; but we should not forget that they are the aborigines of the country, and called the soil their own on which our people have grown rich, powerful, and happy,” Hayes told Congress. “We owe it to them as a moral duty to help them in attaining at least that degree of civilization which they may be able to reach.”

[…]

During his four years in office, Hayes issued several executive orders creating new reservations and reducing the size of existing reservations. The most drastic was the Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota, which was cut from 7.8 million acres to 1.2 million.

Hayes’ actions came as Indian nations, fed up with forced removal and encroachment of white settlers, fought back. These battles included the Nez Perce War in 1877, the Bannock War in 1878 and the Ute and White River wars, both in 1879.

[…]

Hayes also called for the education of Indian youth. In 1878, he supported establishment of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in eastern Pennsylvania. The flagship Indian boarding school, Carlisle was the brainchild of Capt. Richard Henry Pratt, who notoriously plotted to “kill the Indian and save the man.” Carlisle opened in October 1879.

The full article is here.

The Carlisle Indian School is still in the news, and an ongoing issue.

Boarding School Healing Coalition Captain Richard Pratt designed boarding schools to transform the Indian into the white man’s image. His first was Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

Boarding School Healing Coalition
Captain Richard Pratt designed boarding schools to transform the Indian into the white man’s image. His first was Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

In a clearing closer and less honored, on the grounds of what is now the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, lie nearly 200 children; gone, but never forgotten; casualties of a federal policy to “kill the Indian in him, and save the man.” A leading architect of that policy, former cavalry officer Richard Henry Pratt, founded the Carlisle Indian Industrial School on these grounds in 1879 on a model of military training.

Full Story: US Army Pledges to Bear Full Cost of Returning Carlisle Remains.

Etymological LGBT history.

Rep. Alan Grayson

Rep. Alan Grayson

Rep. Alan Grayson has made etymological LGBT history.

The Florida Democrat reportedly became the first politician to say “cisgender” in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Grayson employed the term, which describes nontransgender people, in a scathing denouncement of the “Republicans, bigots in North Carolina” who support House Bill 2 […] In a wide-ranging, nearly 13-minute speech, Grayson, who is hoping to oust Republican Marco Rubio as a U.S. senator from Florida, cited trans pioneer Christine Jorgensen, #WeJustNeedToPee social media posts, infamous “wide stance” bathroom toe-tapper Larry Craig, and even the gender wage gap as among the reasons to be outraged at these so-called bathroom bills.

“You’re going to force people who look like men, act like men, [and are men, Rep. Grayson] you’re going to force them into a ladies room. My God, what’s wrong with you?” Grayson said.

I’d really like an answer to that question too. The Advocate has the story, and video.

Russian atheists launch group to fight for equal rights

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, center, during a religious procession along the historic Peter Road from the Moscow Kremlin to the High Monastery of Saint Peter. © Sergey Pyatakov / Sputnik

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, center, during a religious procession along the historic Peter Road from the Moscow Kremlin to the High Monastery of Saint Peter. © Sergey Pyatakov / Sputnik

The Atheists of Russia movement has held its founding convention in Moscow, setting its primary goal as resistance to the growing influence of religion and appointing an activist from a vocal leftist party as its leader.

According to Interfax about 300 people from 50 regions across Russia took part in the founding convention. They declared that their group will fight against the influence of religious institutions on society.

“Believers and atheists must have equal rights, the state has no right to interfere with the activities of any church, but the same applies to religions – they have no right to interfere with the affairs of the state,” the newly appointed leader of the movement, Ilya Ulianov, told reporters on Friday.

Full Story Here.

I wish them all the best, and if there are ways to help, I will. The Russian Orthodox church won’t give a fraction of an inch willingly. In related news, the rarely publicized, but ongoing actual persecution of atheists continues:

Should it be a crime to deny the existence of God?

In the Russian city of Stavropol, Viktor Krasnov, a 38-year-old man, faces trial, charged with publicly insulting Orthodox Church believers by supporting atheism in social media. For proclaiming in a heated Internet exchange “there is no God,” Krasnov was confined for a month to a local hospital for psychiatric evaluation. If convicted under Russia’s blasphemy law, enacted in 2013 and making it illegal to “insult the religious convictions or feelings of citizens,” he may spend up to a year in prison.

[…]

Russia, however, is not the only country where atheists face punishment. As noted in country chapters of its Annual Report, released on Monday, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), on which we serve, has found no shortage of nations that perpetrate or permit their persecution. It is time for our country to shine a powerful spotlight on these abuses.

Full Story Here.

Fake a film, win an award.

Last year, Canadian filmmaker Dominic Gagnon released a 74-minute film entitled “Of The North.” The film is a collage of the life of Inuit people using film clips the director says he took from public video sites such as Youtube.

Last year, Canadian filmmaker Dominic Gagnon released a 74-minute film entitled “Of The North.” The film is a collage of the life of Inuit people using film clips the director says he took from public video sites such as Youtube.

Last year, Canadian filmmaker Dominic Gagnon released a 74-minute film entitled Of The North. The film is a collage of the life of Inuit people using film clips the director says he took from public video sites such as Youtube.

[…]

Of the North has been screened at the Montreal International Documentary Festival, the Prizren festival of Kosovo, Leeds in Great Britain, the Film Festival of Rotterdam, the Distrital festival of Mexico City and it won an award at the prestigious Visions du Réel festival in Nyon, Switzerland.

[…]

The film has drawn tremendous criticism, because Gagnon has never been to the Northern territories and his film shows only selected segments of Inuit life, such as extreme weather, Ski-doos and hunting, and also shows drunk people, crashing vehicles and some sexually explicit scenes.

Alethea Arnaquq-Baril, an Inuk and a documentary filmmaker, told the CBC Gagnon’s film left her shaking.

“Violent, wandering drunks that neglect their children and don’t care for the lives of animals: that’s the image I took away from the film. I think it’s kind of a cheap move to totally play up a negative stereotype of a marginalized people for your own artistic gain,” she said.

Gagnon used the music of Inuit throat singer Tanya Tagaq in his film; she  told the Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM) she was “disgusted” by the festival’s decision to screen Of the North, a film she says is racist and used her music without permission.

[…]

Thirty-four of the videos are not made by Inuit, and not from the North, like the men fighting on the floor: this sequence was shot in Austin Texas, and they are not Inuit. The videos of the industrial off-shore drilling are in the Baltic sea. It is misleading, as the trailer suggests that Inuit are working on the oil drill, which is not true. Then he is mocking Inuit identity in a music clip, “don’t call me Eskimo.” The term “Eskimo” is derogative. It is a Cree word, they used it as an insult to the Inuit.

Adding what I said in a comment:

You need to read the full story, where it’s made clear that assholes like Gagnon could get away with this because the Inuit have next to no resources when it comes to communicating with the wider world. Efforts have started, and small headway has been made, but this is a poor community, with pretty much no one giving a damn about them. It’s even worse when you realize this piece of fakery won a fucking award – people else where in the world don’t know, and unless they make a serious effort to find out the truth, this bullshit will be taken for truth, screaming the old standard of Indians everywhere being drunken, savage brutes, and in the case of women, drunken whores not interested in any children they may have. This was a bone deep shock to Inuit people, who know the truth of their lives, and what is in this piece of fakery is not it. When the average American and the average Canadian doesn’t know jack shit about Indigenous peoples, what can be expected of those who live in Britain, Switzerland, and so on? It’s bad enough that people often romanticize the idea of Indians, in a completely unrealistic way, and here comes along someone who decided to make a profit through exploitation and theft.

ICTMN has the full story.

Why the stakes are so high for the Black Panther

The first issue of Black Panther, a Marvel series written by Ta-Nehisi Coates, was released last month. Marvel Comics

The first issue of Black Panther, a Marvel series written by Ta-Nehisi Coates, was released last month. Marvel Comics.

The stakes are high for Marvel and journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates to do Black Panther well. The character appears this month in the blockbuster “Captain America: Civil War,” a prelude to the film he’ll headline in 2018. And last month, Coates released the first issue of a new Black Panther comic series.

When it was first reported last September that Coates would script a 12-issue arc of the Black Panther, some commentators suggested that he might be an “odd” fit.

The implication was that a MacArthur Genius Grant recipient and winner of the National Book Award was participating in a genre and medium beneath his talents. But they might be surprised to learn discussions of racism in superhero comics is a long – albeit often troubled – tradition. They also might not recognize the extent of Coates’ literary undertaking. He is tasked not only with appealing to comics readers but also with attracting new fans to the genre. This would be a daunting prospect, no matter the property. But the Black Panther character poses a very specific set of challenges.

[…]

A white superhero film failing has not caused studios to shy away from superhero films with white protagonists. The failure of a superhero film starring a woman or person of color, however, can set back the development of diverse superhero films for some time. Many people would probably rejoice in anything that stops the superhero franchise juggernaut. But the last few years have brought increased attention to the real struggles for women and people of color to break into the comics and film industries.

Unfortunately, when it comes to underrepresented populations, the success or failure of these texts always ends up being about more than the specific text in itself. It becomes a referendum on whether or not stories about people who are not straight, white men are valuable, and whether or not people who tell such stories should be given the resources to do so.

Full Story Here.

F*CK HB 2

north-carolina-beer-company-protests-anti-lgbt-billx750

North Carolina’s beer industry has a message for the governor: Hate has no place in their state.

In response to House Bill 2, the controversial law that forces trans people to use the public restroom that does not correspond with their gender identity, the state’s Wedge Brewing Company has begun printing “#F*CK HB2” on its beverages. The can of the company’s popular Iron Rail IPA, features the hashtag printed on the bottom of the can. It’s designed to look like a serial number.

[…]

“We’ve seen businesses, municipalities, and even rock legends from around the country punish North Carolina for passing this law,” Myers said in a statement. “We’ve seen business expansions and job opportunities pull out of the state. We see that our communities are being harmed by this action.” He further added: “We didn’t feel like HB2 represented us as businesses or as residents of North Carolina.”

In April, over 40 local companies announced that they would be releasing a limited-edition brew to raise money for local LGBT non-profits, including Equality North Carolina and Queer Oriented Radical Days of Summer (QORDS), a summer camp specifically for LGBT youth. The beer, called “Don’t Be Mean to People, A Golden Rule Saison,” will be available locally in May.

Full Story Here.

In related news, McCrory has found a whole new career in whining. What now? Well, the new federal education guidelines. Pat doesn’t like them.

[Read more…]

Woah.

Myths, Eiko Ojala.

Myths, Eiko Ojala.

 

Myths, Eiko Ojala.

Myths, Eiko Ojala.

 

Myths, Eiko Ojala.

Myths, Eiko Ojala.

Blown. Away. There’s much more of Ojala’s work at http://ploom.tv/ and Behance.

Estonian illustrator Eiko Ojalabrings a fantastic sense of depth and texture into his editorial illustrations by using carefully arranged layers of cut paper and shadows. The works are all assembled digitally, but the artist often incorporates his own photos to achieve the desired effect.

Via Colossal Art.

How to destroy an entire civilization.

Elsa in Disney's Frozen.

Elsa in Disney’s Frozen.

While some groups want the fictional ice princess in Disney’s animated hit Frozen, to have a girlfriend in an upcoming sequel, conservatives recoiled in rage, demanding instead that Elsa be set up with the requisite Disney prince, Right Wing Watch reports.

Twitter users have been mounting a campaign using the hashtag #GiveElsaAGirlfriend to make the character Disney’s first lesbian princess.

Tweet

A conservative group, CitizenGO is up in arms about that prospect, responding in-kind with the hashtag #CharmingPrinceForElsa.

“Disney is facing fierce pressure from liberal groups who are demanding their writers turn Queen Elsa into a lesbian during the sequel, Frozen 2,” Gregory Mertz wrote to fellow CitizenGO members. “Please join the 37,000 who’ve already signed our petition against this absurd ‘movement.’ With our petition, we’re suggesting Disney with a much better idea… An idea that promotes solid family values to our children and represents the natural family.”

Then there was Kevin Swanson, who has advocated for the execution of LGBT people, who was already seething with fury over the first installment of Frozen.

“Of course Elsa is going to get her girlfriend eventually,” he said on his radio show Monday. “That’s the way you destroy sexuality. That’s the way you destroy an entire civilization. The entire social system of the United States of America is collapsing.”

Full Story Here. I haven’t seen Frozen, but I’m all for Elsa having a girlfriend. She could even be a Charming Princess.

Porn-Again Christians

Lot and his daughters, Hendrick Goltzius, 1616.

Lot and his daughters, Hendrick Goltzius, 1616.

I think I’ll just let you all read everything and reach your own conclusions. It’s no secret that Christians struggle with sex, let alone sexuality. You can’t really ignore that struggle when Christians are constantly attempting to mandate their view of sex and sexuality into law.

Porn-Again Christians: What Happens When a Biblical Literalist Launches a Sex Site?

The initial article, linked above, is safe. Be warned that the site under discussion there is not safe for work, so have a care with your clicks.

Children of War

'Children of war' book was presented in London on May 9 by the Gift of Life charity foundation. Source: Maxim Blinov / RIA Novosti

‘Children of war’ book was presented in London on May 9 by the Gift of Life charity foundation. Source: Maxim Blinov / RIA Novosti

Soviet children of war: 35 WWII diaries published in English.

Children of war is a unique book that consists of the diaries written in the period 1941-1945 and chronicle the blockade of Leningrad, ghettos and concentration camps. They show the children’s view of life both in the occupied areas of Russia and behind the frontlines. More than half of the diaries are being published for the first time and are filled with terrifying and honest revelations speaking to the war experiences of millions of Soviet children.

[…]

The English edition was translated by Andrew Bromfield, who has previously produced acclaimed translations of Tolstoy, Bulgakov, the Strugatsky brothers and other Russian authors, with contributions from Rose France and Anthony Hippisley.

Children of war will soon be sent to the world’s top 100 universities and the top media organizations in almost 200 countries. Russian ambassadors have already presented it to the heads of states in their respective countries.

Full Story Here.