Activists examine American-Indian history
ACTIVISTS from page 1
crossing the Nebraska-South Dakota
border.
“It would scare you to know
everything that went on that day,”
LaMere said. “It would make you
shudder. It was no different from
(African-American protests in)
Montgomery, Alabama, in the ’60s.
That should scare you. It should send
up red flags.”
LaMere said 800 to 1,000
American Indians were met with state
troopers clad with riot shields, clubs,
tear gas,-attack"dogs and snipers.
“(The marchers) were just men,
women and children who wanted a
better way of life,” he said. “They
were tired of devastation.”
LaMere said the state had no con
stitutional right to block the highway
leading into the state.
“The state of Nebraska chose to
stand down 800 to 1,000 people with
the threat of force,” he said. “They
were willing to throw tear gas at
young children and old men and
women. They were willing to shoot
those who imposed a threat.
“It was a dark day in Nebraska
history,” he continued. “Mark my
Speaker: Heritage
must be kept alive
■ Russell Means says
urban American Indians *
losing touch with tradition.
By Eric Rineer
Staff writer
Decked out in an American
Indian traditional outfit, with a
large pueblo necklace and other
native jewelry, Russell Means
demonstrated to some American
Indian youths on Monday how to
stay true to their heritage.
Means, an American-Indian
activist and co-founder of the
American Indian Movement, was
at the Lincoln Indian Center after
his presentation at the University of
Nebraska College of Law.
During his address to the small
crowd of American-Indian univer
sity and high school students,
Means said a cultural revolution
needed to be started by urban
Indian youth.
“Someone is going to have to
start a revolution for Indian peo
ple,” Means said.
American Indians who no
longer live on the reservations
often forget what it means to be
American Indian, Means said.
Traditional American-Indian
practices are oftentimes altered by
modernization, he said.
“They’re what I like to call
Plains Indian wannabes,” said
Means, referring to Indians living
in cities.
Some of the more noticeable
changes Means pointed out
involved the way in which urban
Indians organize powwows.
“They think the whole pow
wow thing is about money and
rules and regulations,” he said.
‘'You don’t see people having
fun anymore. People aren’t dancing
because they like the music, they’re
dancing because it’s required.”
Another obvious change in cul
ture is the way in which urban
Indians wear their clothing and
jewelry, he said.
Many times, he said, they wear
Eagle feathers around their waists,
rather than around the head, where
traditional Indians wear them.
“They don’t go around your
butt,” Means said. “These things
have power. And because they have
power it goes around your head,
where your brain is.”
Means also pointed out that
urban Indians use feathers from
dead Eagles rather than from live
ones.
In the Lakota way, he said,
Indians will capture a live Eagle by
baiting it in and then plucking two
of its feathers.
The bird is then washed and the
feathers kept as a symbol of power.
Besides beginning a cultural
revolution, Means said it was also
important for youths to learn more
about their history.
This could be difficult, he said,
because many history books fail to
include information about 20th
century American Indians.
“People don’t even know we
exist,” he said.
Because they are unfamiliar
with heroes in their culture, Means
said, youths sometimes mistakenly
identify with other minorities.
“Our children emulate the peo
ple in the other cultures that are
rebelling,” he said. “I think that’s
good, but they’re rebelling in the
wrong way.”
About giving the speech to the
students, Means said, “the youth
are the most important segment
always. I wish that’s the only people
I had to talk to.”
Misty Thomas, a junior family
and consumer sciences major who
works at the Indian Center, said the
presentation helped to broaden her
horizons.
“It helped me realize what I
need to do to help these young kids
that I work with,” Thomas said.
Andrew Amiotte, a senior Latin
American studies major, said he,
too, was awakened by Means’ pre
sentation.
“One thing that hit me is that we
don’t know a lot about our history
these days,” he said. “I think there
should be a great effort amongst
Native American youth to learn
about their history.”
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words: We will remember that day.”
LaMere said that, contrary to pop
ular belief, the protesters were not
trying to halt sales of alcohol at
Whiteclay.
“We never wished to change com
merce,” he said. “We were just say
ing, ‘If you sell alcohol, then you
must obey state law. Don’t sell alco
hol to our youth or those who will be
driving on the highway. Don’t trdde
liquor for sex.’
“They’ve ignored the law for 50
years. We tried to change that and got
arrested.”
Nine of the protesters were even
tually arrested for their part in the
demonstration. LaMere said those
who were arrested prayed that some
thing good would come from their
actions, and he vowed to make a dif
ference.
“I will not go away,” he said. “I
made a decision two years ago. I
wouldn’t feel good for the rest of my
life if I didn’t try to make life better
for my people.”
After his speech, the audience in
the packed auditorium gave LaMere
an extended standing ovation.
Once the crowd settled, Means
walked to the podium and greeted the
audience in a traditional American
Indian greeting, which roughly trans
lates into, “Hello relatives. I am an
ally.”
Means quickly captured the audi
ence with his emotional delivery.
Throughout his speech, some specta
tors shouted out words of encourage
ment and agreement.
His flair helped him become the
voice of Pocahontas’ father in
Disney’s “Pocahontas.” He has also
appeared in “The Last of the
Mohicans” and “Natural Born
Killers.”
His dynamic presence often
caused the audience to burst out in
laughter at his anecdotes, but a sti
fling silence blanketed the room
when he discussed serious matters.
“The unabated hatred of Native
American people in this country I
find bewildering,” he said.
Means chronicled the history of
Mike Warren/DN
RUSSELL MEANS, an American-lndian activist, speaks Monday to a group
of students and Lincoln residents at the Lincoln Indian Center, 1100
Military Road.
injustices against the American
Indians beginning with the slavery
imposed by Christopher Columbus
and continuing through the modern
problems such as the Whiteclay con
flict.
“Exterminate,- and/or relocate -
this has been the attitude toward
Native Americans, and it is ongoing
to this very day from your govern
ment,” he said.
Means said the idea of reserva
tions has led to the demise of the
American Indian.
“If you want to see failed social
ism at work, look at the reservations,”
he said. “I can’t stand redneck rural
rubes throwing the blame on us for
being lazy. Young people have
absolutely no future on a reservation.
We are refugees in our own country,
and there is no way we can be suc
cessful on a reservation.”
Means stressed the fact that
everyone needs to understand each
other’s cultures and bond together to
make change.
Lora Carpenter, a senior environ
mental studies and Spanish major,
said she the presentations made an
impact on her.
66
They ve ignored the
law for 50 years. We
tried to change that
and got arrested
Frank LaMere
American-Indian activist
“They were incredible, really
powerful,” she said. “They kind of
lead you to action by being aggres
sive in their ideas while still explain
ing the history fairly well.”
Carpenter said the speakers made
her want to learn more about the per
secution that the American-Indian
community has suffered through. The
audience also rewarded Means with a
standing ovation.
“(The presentation) made me
realize how crucial and how seeming
ly desperate they are for human
rights,” she said. “It made me feel like
they’re on their last straw.”
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