Sunday, February 19, 2006
Diversity Day at the BOO
It was a good day down her at the BOO yesterday. We had a good turn out. I was really proud of the work JJ Johnson and Ani Haines did in organizing this wonderful event.
At 3:00pm, when the Native section of the airplay started, I was the only Indian in the house. So I started with my angry Indian show. I read poetry and played songs for people to remember the horror and genocide we have gone and are going through and living with. But we are here and we are a happy and joyous and Loving people as well. I want to give all of that to the people because as an Indian, I don't fit in the boxes most people believe an Indian should fit in.
David Liberty showed up a little after the program started. My friend Denise and her son, Ryan, showed up. They hung out with Leigh Anne as I spent the next three hours involved with two different shows. Terwin, a local musician, came down and he played us a couple of original tunes using David's guitar. It was Indians getting together on the air, right here, this day, it was so fucking beautiful! Because of a large hunk of my time being taken up with the two shows, I was unable to mingle as much as I would have liked to.
I did get frustrated with some of the discussion during the forum, but managed to get my complete thoughts in. The questions are much more complicated and as I heard the stories of identity and what we want to be called, the ideas were shown that we are much more than the boxes our identity put us in as far as the american society is concerned. We are not only diverse as peoples, we are diverse within our people as well. We do not think as one, and yet in many ways we do. It is clear that people are divided in many ways, and yet we are united in many ways. We have so many commonalities. That is what I loved about the whole thing. We were a panel of people who have had colonization forced upon us, and it is still being forced upon us.
I wasn't too pleased with the moderation of the forum, but it worked out well. I still made it a point to let people know that this is an occupied territory. You all are on my land. According to the laws of the U.S. government, our laws, international laws, my laws, this is an occupied territory and occupied territories are kept by force. Indians are not sovereign nations. Our governments (corrupt as most are, but no where near as horribly as the U.S. government) cannot make a move without permission of the U.S. government. We can't have back anything those fuckers stole from us without their permission.
One question was "should we give up the oppression of the past?" I'm waiting for the fuckers to quit oppressing us now. The oppression of women is rampant and out of control in this country and world. Women have a general understanding of this. I want the oppression to fucking stop. I want it to stop now! The question seemed to really ask "should we just shut up about what the colonizer nations did to our respective peoples and allow them to get away with their crimes of the past?" Their crimes of the past are happening RIGHT FUCKING NOW! I want it to stop. I want justice. I want it all back. I want health care for all. Etc. I've tried to drive that point home with the few minutes I had to contribute. How about a little truth. Let's force the oppressors to stop oppressing us as they do and then have some justice for their crimes that they have committed historically to the present and on into the future until we do something about it.
Another great thing that I got out of this is that it is another connection. It is a realizing that so many of us are forced into very similar boxes. We have grounds for unity.
REVOLUTION NOW!
The issues are much more complicated than the tiny discussion we got to have...but we got to have it. There are so many pieces to the puzzle, but I know we can all put it together and create the kind of world our children and our childrens children and we ourselves deserve.
Denise, Ryan, and I went to see the Pink Panther. I think I went on a date!
Ohhhhhh!!!! And let's not forget that wonderful sweet potato pie JJ's wife made (I apologize to her for forgetting her name). OH MY GOODNESS!
Good food! Good friends! Great community! Fantastic radio station!
All in all, it was one great fucking day! I really appreciate all the work that Ani and JJ put into this project. I am thankful for all the programmers and supporters and listeners. Big hugs to the lot of ya!
At 3:00pm, when the Native section of the airplay started, I was the only Indian in the house. So I started with my angry Indian show. I read poetry and played songs for people to remember the horror and genocide we have gone and are going through and living with. But we are here and we are a happy and joyous and Loving people as well. I want to give all of that to the people because as an Indian, I don't fit in the boxes most people believe an Indian should fit in.
David Liberty showed up a little after the program started. My friend Denise and her son, Ryan, showed up. They hung out with Leigh Anne as I spent the next three hours involved with two different shows. Terwin, a local musician, came down and he played us a couple of original tunes using David's guitar. It was Indians getting together on the air, right here, this day, it was so fucking beautiful! Because of a large hunk of my time being taken up with the two shows, I was unable to mingle as much as I would have liked to.
I did get frustrated with some of the discussion during the forum, but managed to get my complete thoughts in. The questions are much more complicated and as I heard the stories of identity and what we want to be called, the ideas were shown that we are much more than the boxes our identity put us in as far as the american society is concerned. We are not only diverse as peoples, we are diverse within our people as well. We do not think as one, and yet in many ways we do. It is clear that people are divided in many ways, and yet we are united in many ways. We have so many commonalities. That is what I loved about the whole thing. We were a panel of people who have had colonization forced upon us, and it is still being forced upon us.
I wasn't too pleased with the moderation of the forum, but it worked out well. I still made it a point to let people know that this is an occupied territory. You all are on my land. According to the laws of the U.S. government, our laws, international laws, my laws, this is an occupied territory and occupied territories are kept by force. Indians are not sovereign nations. Our governments (corrupt as most are, but no where near as horribly as the U.S. government) cannot make a move without permission of the U.S. government. We can't have back anything those fuckers stole from us without their permission.
One question was "should we give up the oppression of the past?" I'm waiting for the fuckers to quit oppressing us now. The oppression of women is rampant and out of control in this country and world. Women have a general understanding of this. I want the oppression to fucking stop. I want it to stop now! The question seemed to really ask "should we just shut up about what the colonizer nations did to our respective peoples and allow them to get away with their crimes of the past?" Their crimes of the past are happening RIGHT FUCKING NOW! I want it to stop. I want justice. I want it all back. I want health care for all. Etc. I've tried to drive that point home with the few minutes I had to contribute. How about a little truth. Let's force the oppressors to stop oppressing us as they do and then have some justice for their crimes that they have committed historically to the present and on into the future until we do something about it.
Another great thing that I got out of this is that it is another connection. It is a realizing that so many of us are forced into very similar boxes. We have grounds for unity.
REVOLUTION NOW!
The issues are much more complicated than the tiny discussion we got to have...but we got to have it. There are so many pieces to the puzzle, but I know we can all put it together and create the kind of world our children and our childrens children and we ourselves deserve.
Denise, Ryan, and I went to see the Pink Panther. I think I went on a date!
Ohhhhhh!!!! And let's not forget that wonderful sweet potato pie JJ's wife made (I apologize to her for forgetting her name). OH MY GOODNESS!
Good food! Good friends! Great community! Fantastic radio station!
All in all, it was one great fucking day! I really appreciate all the work that Ani and JJ put into this project. I am thankful for all the programmers and supporters and listeners. Big hugs to the lot of ya!
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