When Obama made his run for the White House, he did it with the support of a number of Native Americans. And once in office, he promised that “You will not be forgotten as long as I’m in this White House.” But recent initiatives on the energy front in the US make me wonder if […]
Russian ice dance pair Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin continue to irk Aboriginal peoples in Australia, this time at the Olympics, with their controversial outfits and music. The dynamic duo debuted their “indigenous-themed dance at last year’s European Championships where it … soon sparked outrage” for its minstrel-like appearance and casual use of didgeridoo music. […]
God knows, there are plenty of reasons to take issue with the Vancouver Games, some of them alluded to here. What’s got me in a squirmy place goes back to the opening ceremonies. Particularly the part featuring the aboriginal dancers. Now, I love the dancers. And I’m mesmerized by the drum. But when I saw […]
While the eyes of the sporting world are focused on Vancouver as the Winter Olympics pick up speed, the Vancouver School Board has passed an interesting motion urging school districts across British Columbia to ban sports mascots that promote Aboriginal stereotypes. The trustee who introduced it cited a statement from a continent-wide movement to kill […]
The Secretariat of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues recently issued its first-ever report on The State of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, all 370 million of them. Written by seven independent experts — all of them indigenous, according to GlobalPost — chapter topics include self-determination, cultural diversity, health, education, and the environment.
