Littlecrow Trading Post Blog

April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month

2010-04-01T04:29:00.000-05:00

Parents who grew up in dysfunctional homes are far more likely to abuse their own children. The financial pressures of a tight economy, joblessness and underemployment only make it worse. Many of the parents today never learned how to be parents themselves, because their parents didn't know how to be parents.

Many Native American families have been crippled by boarding schools and religious brainwashing. Tens of thousands of children in past generations were removed from their homes, sometimes by force, and raised in boarding schools. Whether or not this original generation was abused at their school (many were), the fact is that they didn't grow up in a family environment means that they didn't learn how to be parents. They were marched around like little soldiers everywhere, and often suffered dire consequences for misbehaving.

So the parents, grandparents and great-grandparents of today who were raised in a religious or government boarding school may over-react to typical childhood behavior, or simply not know how to show love and compassion, because none was ever shown to them. Those who were raised in a brainwashed religious environment may be just as damaged as those raised in a military-type school. Their children and grandchildren often suffer, due to this history of family-deprived living.

What we need to do is flip this around, and teach parents today how to be good parents. That way, their children will learn how to be good parents, and they will have broken the cycle of child abuse and neglect. This can be done in one generation, once the problem is recognized and the behavior is changed. The following are some tips for today's parents, who may have been raised in a dysfunctional environment themselves. These tips were taken from the following website: http://www.prweb.com/releases/child-abuse-prevention/04-2010/prweb3810414.htm

Five Parenting Tips For Today's Parents from Dysfunctional Homes

1) Remember that children are NOT miniature adults. They are little children with immature minds. Laura Ramirez, author of the award-winning Keepers of the Children: Native American Wisdom and Parenting, says "kids... don't come into the world knowing how to behave... Instead of punishing kids (which only teaches them what NOT to do), kids need parents to teach them what to do, when and why."

2) Figure out what triggers your angry over-reaction to your kids. When you learn to recognize these, you can be in control of your behavior, and your kids won't be able manipulate you to make you react. Remember to ACT - not REACT. If they throw a screaming fit in the aisle of the grocery store, don't REACT to their behavior, just ACT calmly and walk to the next aisle. They'll soon realize that their bad behavior won't get them what they want, and they'll stop it. Then praise them grandly when they behave well, and they'll get the idea and it's a whole lot nicer to behave than it is to misbehave. Deep down, kids want to please their parents.

3) Take a timeout yourself. When the kids are driving you to anger, go to your room & shut the door, walk outside or lock yourself in the bathroom. Make the kids learn to respect your limits, and to leave you alone with you need time to cool off. Ask a friend or neighbor to watch the kids for a while if you need a break, there are a lot of people around who would be happy to give you a break, if you'll only ask. Empty-nesters without grandchildren nearby might cherish the opportunity to have kids around for a couple of hours.

4) When you over-react, accept responsibility for it and apologize to the kids for yelling at them. Spend some time with them after you cool down. Don't try to buy their love, even younger kids will feel cheated if you try to buy their affection and trust. You can explain to the older kids why you get so upset; they might not always understand, but they will appreciate your honesty. When you have older children who don't understand why you don't want them spending time with strangers, you may need to explain why you are so afraid of the situation. Kids can be very understanding if you teach them that you are human too, and can make mistakes just like them. I used to tell my daughter "I'm not perfect, but I'm doing the best I can".

5) Respond appropriately to your kids. Try not to react instinctively based on your own dysfunctional upbringing, and recognize the triggers and patterns that didn't work for you when you were growing up. You may not have learned HOW to be a good parent, but chances are that you learned HOW NOT to be a good parent. Overall, think of how you WISH your parents had treated you. Don't be afraid to show your children love, no child was ever spoiled by showing them too much love. As they get older and start needing their independence, they will start pushing you away when the time comes.

Laura Ramirez is the author of the award-winning parenting book, Keepers of the Children: Native American Wisdom and Parenting. The book teaches parents how to overcome the negative aspects of their upbringing and raise children who are strong, happy, healthy and resilient. Contact her on her web site http://www.parenting-child-development.com/parenting-book.html or by calling 775-815-2872.

Janet's Easy Method For Adding Yarn To A Grass Dance Outfit

2010-03-16T06:31:00.000-05:00

As powwow season rapidly approaches, many parents will begin the annual quest to dress their kids. This blog entry is for the brave souls who make their own grass dance outfit & struggle to put yarn on it. These steps will walk you through MY WAY of doing it. After many years of making outfits, I've figured out what I think are the easiest ways of doing things. If you don't attempt to do this yourself, at least you can appreciate the amount of work it takes to make these outfits.

This photo shows a completed grass dance outfit that's ready to wear. It has 2 aprons, pants with yarn at the bottom, a shirt with yarn & 2 cuffs for the wrists. I usually make a front/back yoke for small boys instead of a shirt, because they won't outgrow it as fast. Yokes should be about as wide as their shoulders & come down to their waist, to make it through a whole year without being outgrown. Make the aprons about the same width & make them reach from the waist to the knees. You can put an extra wide casing a the top that can be let down during the summertime as they grow, and give yourself a couple more inches of growing room. Those wide thick athletic shoestrings are great for tying on boys grass dance aprons.

Older boys & men may also want beaded or cloth side-drops and a beaded or cloth harness that hangs in front. I'll have to address those in another blog post.

1) Start out by making & decorating your pieces. Finish the pieces before you start adding the yarn, because the yarn will get in your way afterward.

2) You also need something to wrap the yarn around. I like to use a plastic clipboard like shown in the photo at the right.

You need good sharp scissors that will cut your yarn, not chew it.

3) You'll need 2 LARGE skeins of yarn for a toddler boys outfit, 3 skeins for an older boy & possibly 4 skeins for a teen or adult size outfit. I like to use multiple colors of yarn on a lot of my outfits, especially the ones for young kids. You'll need a skein of each color, and one or two skeins of your main color (red is the main color here). Mark the center points on the back side of your pieces with chalk or soap or a disappearing fabric marker. Use a ruler to measure out your sections accurately, so that your colors are evenly matched when you're finished.

4) Get ready to start sewing the yarn into place before making your first yarn loop. Place your finished apron piece with the back side up, underneath the presser foot of your sewing machine. Position the needle going through the apron about 1/2" from the edge. Start your stitching & backstitch to hold the thread in place. Remember to use thread that matches the front side of the aprons in your bobbin, so that it looks neat on the front side.

5) Figure out how long your yarn needs to be. Start wrapping it around your clipboard or hard surface that's the approximate length you want the yarn. Wrap it about 20 times around the clipboard at one time. Don't try to do too much at once, you'll have a hard time if you wrap it more than 25 times.

6) Slide the yarn off of the clipboard & center the top of the yarn loop underneath the presser foot, up against the needle that's already positioned in your apron.

7) Spread the top loop of the yarn out nice & even in front of the needle. Don't get it too thick, because it's going to be doubled over on the finished apron. You can spread it out into a single layer on a small boys outfit, but keep the yarn close so that it doesn't look skimpy.

8) After you've sewn through the top loop of the yarn (approximately 20 strands), then pull the yarn forward, and cut the bottom part of the loop evenly.

9) Continue wrapping the yarn & sewing it down around the edges until you've gone around all the edges and completed each piece.

10) This photo shows the yarn sewn down once, all the way around an apron.

11) Now flip the yarn on the inside over and smooth it out evenly on the outside of the apron.

12) Put the apron back under the sewing machine at your original starting point, and stitch down the yarn about 1/8" - 1/4" away from your original stiching. This will insure that all yarn is stitched down twice, making sure it's secure & won't pull out easily.

13) Continue sewing down the folded-over yarn, all the way around the apron. Remember to back-stich when you start & end, so that your stitching doesn't unravel & allow the yarn to pull out of the stitching.

14) Flip your piece over & trim up the yarn evenly. It's done!

15) If you are adding yarn onto a solid surface (not an edge) like on the yoke of a shirt, it's easy to outline your area with low-adhesive painters tape that won't leave residue on your shirt. Stitch the first time right next to your tape. The second stitching will be about 1/4" below the tape.

You can also use a sliver of soap or fabric marking pen to mark your sewing line on a shirt yoke when your sewing line is curved instead of straight, like the outfit pictured below. Trim up your yarn & you're done!

We recommend hand washing your grass dance outfit. Some dancers put their yarn pieces into a "delicate fabric" bag on gentle cycle in the washing machine & that seems to work okay too. Just don't throw your yarn pieces in with a regular load & expect the yarn to survive in a regular washing machine load - it won't!

Happy Dancing!

What does anyone want to know about?

2010-01-31T23:44:00.001-06:00

I've been so busy that I haven't kept up with this blog for a while. Powwow season is fast approaching, so tell me what you want to know? Questions about powwows? Does anyone want help learning to make ribbonwork, put yarn on a boys grass dance outfit, or what??? Send me an email & let me know!

Keep Meth Out Of Indian Country

2009-05-23T02:28:00.000-05:00

The shocking truth is that Indian Country is being TARGETED by drug traffickers!

According to Department of Justice figures, about 70% of the methamphetamine being distributed in our communities today is being smuggled into the country. While the mom & pop cooking operations are still a serious danger to anyone who encounters them, smugglers have found much more efficient distribution methods. They are targeting Indian Country and trying to infiltrate our tribes & tribal governments, move into our Indian Housing projects, marry our tribal members, and corrupt our tribal law enforcement and justice centers.

Meth is a dangerous threat to Indian Country, and in fact all rural & urban areas. We must throw every resource possible at this problem to eliminate the market for meth as well as stop meth from coming into our communities.

One of the suggestions at a recent workshop sponsored by the Department Of Justice was to set up a coalition of regional tribes & agencies to share information between professionals on the forefront of this fight. So many of the grants are specific to a tribe, population group or geographical area, that sharing information can be tough. We want to change that.

Meth may be the biggest threat to Indian Country since smallpox. It's largely responsible for the increase in crime everywhere, and responsible for huge jumps in domestic violence & child abuse figures. This blog will be used to educate the public about the threat of meth, We need to constantly remind our youth to resist the pressure to experiment with this highly addictive drug.

Our business website regularly receives emails requesting contacts for drug & alcohol treatment centers in urban areas. People are out there looking for help anywhere they can find it, so I want to provide a resource where they can find it. I'd want to compile a list of urban Indian Centers and other agencies that offer drug & alcohol treatment services. Please help me collect information on these centers with phone, location, etc.

Our business website gets upwards of 1500 hits a day, so it's the perfect forum to educate the public about the threat of meth, list treatment resources, and give people a place to post their requests for information, Best Practices, or whatever concerns that other people in the field might have already figured out how to handle.

Let me know of other valuable websites that I should put in the "Links" section.

I'm turning this blog into a "Keep Meth Out Of Indian Country" blog, and will also host web pages on our business website to list resources, emails, contacts, etc. The links to the blog and the Community Action pages concerning meth will be placed at the top left hand corner of the home page of http://www.littlecrowtradingpost.com We'll start it out this way and I'll explore new platforms as we go.

Janet Littlecrow
Inter-Tribal Coalition Against Meth
stopndnmeth@gmail.com

Oklahoma Is Burning!

2009-04-09T20:07:00.000-05:00

Wildfires have been burning across central Oklahoma all afternoon. The sun has just set and many major fires are still burning out of control. High winds have spread the flames faster than firefighters can stop them, and preventing Chinook helicopters from dropping water from above.

The fires range in size from major fires to huge fires burning acres-per-minute. They run all through central Oklahoma from south to north from Gainesville TX just north of Dallas on the OK/TX border, north to our area 40 miles from the Kansas border. I-35 near the Stillwater exit has been shut down since the afternoon, and I-35 has also been closed south of Oklahoma City.

Fires are showing up on satellite from TX to KS throughout central & western Oklahoma. The fires are affecting areas where many Indian families live, as well as ranchers & farmers. Sections of the state including Choctaw, Chickasaw, Kiowa and Cheyenne tribal lands are on fire, as well as other areas. There are so many areas on fire right now that we don't even know where are all them are located, but the news is reporting at least 22 MAJOR fires right now.

An unknown number of houses, estimated at 40-50 homes, have burned down in Midwest City since 6 pm. It appears hundreds of homes have been damaged. Midwest City is a large community on the eastern side of Oklahoma City around Tinker Air Force Base, near where we used to live. The Midwest City Fire Chief said the situation is worse than the May 3, '99 tornado (319 mph winds) as far as property damage. Luckily however, there is no known loss of life right now, unlike the May 3 tornado, which took many lives. That is likely to change as night falls, as firefighters battle in the dark. Several firefighters have already been reported injured, and residents treated for smoke inhalation.

People are being evacutated from homes, neighborhoods & entire towns throughout the fire zones. Fires have burned telephone & utility poles and presently at sundown some 6000+ people are without power.

Winds have been from 25 - 40 mph with gusts to nearly 70 mph all day. Winds have caused the fire west of Stillwater to jump a mile ahead at a time. A wind shift coming through the state is going to make the situation worse, as these winds shift the out-of-control fires to previously unburned areas with fresh fuel. A 4" natural gas line has broken & is flaring up at one fire.

Please keep these firefighters and families in your prayers. The situation becomes more dangerous as darkness falls and the winds are not dying down. Many people have lost everything they owned this afternoon and many Oklahoma families will be left homeless when the smoke clears. Red Cross has set up shelters in these areas and several are reported crowed already.

If you can afford to donate a few dollars to Red Cross to help the hundreds of victims, please specify your donations for the Oklahoma Wildfire victims.

NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURAL GENOCIDE

2009-04-03T01:41:00.000-05:00

There was an "AMEND THE CPSIA" rally in Washington DC on Wednesday April 1 at the Capitol Visitor's Center. By all accounts, the rally was successful. There was plenty of media & plenty of attention in DC. Hopefully it got the attention of many in Congress, especially the fence-sitters.

Chairman Henry Waxman & Bobby Rush who sponsored the law still refuse to acknowledge the serious flaws in their law. Their DC office phone numbers are listed below. CALL THEIR OFFICES! TELL THEM TO AMEND THE LAW! REMIND THEM THAT THEY WORK FOR US!!

Amend The CPSIA Website - YouTube Videos, Information
http://www.amendthecpsia.com/

I couldn't attend the rally, with powwow season kicking off & our phone ringing day & night. This is our "holiday season" when I'm working 16 - 20 hrs a day 7 days a week. So I created this dress to send to the rally as an example of the products we create. The chart below shows the shocking disparity of retail price vs testing cost for one-of-a-kind items.

This dress would fit a 6 or 7 yr old girl, is made of powwow-friendly washable polyester gabardine with washable polyester satin used for the applique decoration. The neck binding is cotton bias tape, and the thread is cotton-covered polyester. The sleeve fringe is lightweight pigskin suede. Not a trace of lead or phthalates anywhere, but under the law we would still have to pay for testing (the testing requirement is on hold, but not compliance with the law).

I've listed the expected testing costs associated with this single dress that would be required to legally sell this child's dress in compliance with the current CPSIA law. This is a clear example of why we call this law Native American Cultural Genocide. Nobody in Indian Country can afford to spend $1820 for this six-year-old girl's cloth dress. Many children's regalia makers have already stopped making items, and many more will quit in August when ridiculous labeling & tracking requirements kick in. We would have to drop our fire insurance coverage to pay for recall insurance. Who do we even buy that from? Zurich? State Farm? Geico? Since we own part of AIG, maybe theyll give us a break on the recall insurance. Do ya think?

Retail Value: $ 130
Testing Cost: $ 1690

Testing Report $100
Red Polyester Base Fabric $ 75
Red Thread $ 75
Orange Polyester Satin $ 75
Orange Thread $ 75
Turquoise Polyester Satin $ 75
Turquoise Thread $ 75
Purple Polyester Satin $ 75
Purple Thread $ 75
Lime Polyester Satin $ 75
Lime Thread $ 75
Gold Polyester Satin $ 75
Gold Thread $ 75
Black Polyester Satin $ 75
Black Thread $ 75
Beige Polyester Satin $ 75
Beige Thread $ 75
Brown Polyester Satin $ 75
Brown Thread $ 75
Label $ 75
Cotton Bias Tape $75
Beige Pigskin Suede $ 75
Postage for testing $ 15

Total Testing Cost $1690

Congress Phone Number To Call - Demand They Amend the CPSIA

Here's the DC phone #'s for US Representatives & Senators who sit on the Commerce, Trade & Consumer Protection Committee . CALL THEM & TELL THEM TO AMEND THE CPSIA!! STOP KILLING NATIVE CULTURE & SMALL BUSINESS! CALL THEM EVERY DAY!

Representatives
Henry Waxman, Chairman 202-225-3976
Bobby L. Rush, IL 202-225-4372
Jim Matheson, UT 202-225-3011
Jan Schakowsky, IL 202-225-2111
G. K. Butterfield, NC 202-225-3101
John P. Sarbanes, MD 202-225-4016
John Barrow, GA 202-225-2823
Betty Sutton, OH 202-225-3401
Doris O. Matsui, CA 202-225-7163
Frank Pallone, Jr., NJ 202-225-4671
Kathy Castor, FL 202-225-3376
Bart Gordon, TN 202-225-4231
Zachary T. Space, OH 202-226-6265
Bart Stupak, MI 202-225-4735
Bruce L. Braley, IA 202-225-2911
Gene Green, TX 202-225-1688
Diana DeGette, CO 202-225-4431
Charles A. Gonzalez, TX 202-225-3236
John D. Dingell, MI 202-225-4071
Anthony D. Weiner, NY 202-225-6616

Senators

Mark Pryor, AR 202-224-2353
John D. Rockefeller, IV, WV 202-224-5141
Daniel K. Inouye, HI 202-224-3934
Bill Nelson, FL 202-224-5274
Maria Cantwell, WA 202-224-3441
Frank R. Lautenberg, NJ 202-224-3224
Claire McCaskill, MO 202-224-6154
Amy Klobuchar, MN 202-224-3244
Olympia Snowe, ME 202-224-5344
David Vitter, LA 202-224-4623
John Thune, SD 202-224-2321
Roger Wicker, MS 202-224-6253

Consumer Product Safety Commission Officers

Chairman Nancy Nord 301-504-7901
Commissioner Thomas Hill Moore 301-504-7902
Executive Director Patsy Semple 301-504-7907

Wedding Celebration Powwow Josiah & Valarie Hair

2009-03-19T22:39:00.000-05:00

Celebration Powwow For Josiah & Valarie Hair
May 2nd 2009
Tecumseh Square Tecumseh, Oklahoma
Head Staff
MC: Cricket Menohmen
HS: Michael Plumley
AD: Sam Howell
HM: Groom
HL: Bride

Schedule of Events
2:00 PM Gourd Dance
4:30 PM Supper Break
6:00 PM Gourd Dance
7:00 PM Intertribal

Program
Hand Drum Contest
Switch Dance Contest
Two-Step Contest
Pretty Shawl Contest
Lots of fun dancing throughout the Evening!
(Two-Step, Round Dance & Intertribal Dancing)
Raffles * 50/50 * Concession Stand

Josiah and Valarie Hair will join in Marriage on May 1st 2009,
Join us in celebrating their Marriage with Native Song and Dance.
We encourage everyone to dress and dance with us.
Vendors encouraged, no fees just a donation toward raffle prizes
Host Special only, all others are discouraged

Contact Info: Valarie (405) 201-7666
No Drugs or Alcohol Allowed
Not Responsible for Accidents or Theft.

2009-03-17T22:56:00.000-05:00

Cultural Genocide for Native Americans!

CPSIA - April 1 Rally & Open Hearing on Capitol Hill Washington, D.C.

The House Committee on Energy and Commerce & the House Committee on Small Business have repeatedly denied requests for public hearings on the devastating effects of this law since Dec 2008.

This law is affecting thousands of American businesses, but some members of Congress continue to defend the excessive requirements of this flawed legislation which are driving small businesses and hand-crafting artisans out of business nationwide, but make our children NO SAFER.

WE THE PEOPLE will not allow Congress to deny our voices! There will be a rally & open hearing with a wide range of speakers, including support from numerous trade organizations & remarks by Members of Congress as well as scientists. We'll also have comments from representatives of various organizations affected by the legislation such as small businesses, libraries, charities, thrift stores. This event will be open to the media.

See the previous post for phone numbers of Congressional Representatives who sit on these committees. Make your voice heard!

Congress Phone Number To Call - Demand They Amend the CPSIA

2009-03-05T02:40:00.000-06:00

Here's the DC phone #'s for US Representatives & Senators who sit on the Commerce, Trade & Consumer Protection Committee . CALL THEM & TELL THEM TO AMEND THE CPSIA!! STOP KILLING NATIVE CULTURE & SMALL BUSINESS! CALL THEM EVERY DAY!

Representatives

Bobby L. Rush, IL 202-225-4372
Jim Matheson, UT 202-225-3011
Jan Schakowsky, IL 202-225-2111
G. K. Butterfield, NC 202-225-3101
John P. Sarbanes, MD 202-225-4016
John Barrow, GA 202-225-2823
Betty Sutton, OH 202-225-3401
Doris O. Matsui, CA 202-225-7163
Frank Pallone, Jr., NJ 202-225-4671
Kathy Castor, FL 202-225-3376
Bart Gordon, TN 202-225-4231
Zachary T. Space, OH 202-226-6265
Bart Stupak, MI 202-225-4735
Bruce L. Braley, IA 202-225-2911
Gene Green, TX 202-225-1688
Diana DeGette, CO 202-225-4431
Charles A. Gonzalez, TX 202-225-3236
John D. Dingell, MI 202-225-4071
Anthony D. Weiner, NY 202-225-6616

Senators

Mark Pryor, AR 202-224-2353
John D. Rockefeller, IV, WV 202-224-5141
Daniel K. Inouye, HI 202-224-3934
Bill Nelson, FL 202-224-5274
Maria Cantwell, WA 202-224-3441
Frank R. Lautenberg, NJ 202-224-3224
Claire McCaskill, MO 202-224-6154
Amy Klobuchar, MN 202-224-3244
Olympia Snowe, ME 202-224-5344
David Vitter, LA 202-224-4623
John Thune, SD 202-224-2321
Roger Wicker, MS 202-224-6253

Consumer Product Safety Commission Officers

Chairman Nancy Nord 301-504-7901
Commissioner Thomas Hill Moore 301-504-7902
Executive Director Patsy Semple 301-504-7907

Favorite Mid-Western Powwows

2009-03-01T22:43:00.001-06:00

What are your favorite powwows within a day's drive of Oklahoma?

We haven't set up a booth before at Denver March, because there's always a blizzard somewhere between here and there. Gathering of Nations is just sooo crowded.

If we can schedule a trip to set up our booth at one big out-of-state powwow this summer, where's the best powwow? We've never traveled up north at all, except Denver March.

Does anyone know anything about a powwow in or around Nashville TN? I heard there was a good one there in the past, but we don't know about now.

We sat up a booth at Natchez MS powwow in March a couple of years ago, it was our first "non-Indian" powwow. We didn't know what to expect, there were some Indians but mostly boy scouts & hobbyists. Turned out to be great people and beautiful country. That 16 hour drive is a killer though.

Give us some ideas of someplace new to go, outside OK to go this summer!

2009 IICOT Powwow Tulsa OK

2009-03-01T22:37:00.000-06:00

There's slight change of date & place for IICOT powwow this August. We'll post more information later. We always have a booth for this 3-day indoor powwow in Tulsa.

Inter-Tribal Indian Club of Tulsa Summer Powwow
Central Park Hall - Tulsa State Fairgrounds
Between NE 15th & NE 21st, between Harvard & Yale
August 21, 22, 23, 2009.

NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURAL GENOCIDE * Congress Still Refuses To Listen To Us !

2009-02-27T23:04:00.000-06:00

If you haven't read it yet, go to
http://www.littlecrowtradingpost.com/culturalgenocide.htm

The public hearing on the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) scheduled for Thursday Feb. 26, 2009 was canceled. Small business owners were scheduled to testify about the devastating effects that this law has on American businesses, including ours. Once again, these members of Congress have proved that they DON'T CARE if businesses are being forced into bankruptcy by the inadvertent effects of this legislation (HR4040). So you can be certain that NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURAL GENOCIDE caused by this law isn't even on their radar screen!

If this law isn't amended quickly, it will begin keeping many of our children out of the powwow arena, effectively forcing assimilation on us once again. We've talked to several vendors who have already stopped making children's regalia since the Feb. 10 effective date. We're only making a few items now, and will be forced to stop making all childrens regalia by August, unless this law is amended.

If you think you have a hard time finding regalia items for your kids & grandkids now, just wait until 500 new "Consumer Protection Police" are hired to lurk around festivals, powwows, rodeos and craft fairs looking for violators. Several State Attorney Generals have already voiced their intent to vigorously prosecute offenders. Does your state have an Attorney General who is hostile towards Indians? How about powerful anti-Indian lobbyist groups? I shudder in anger to think that government agents will once again be allowed to arrest Indians for doing what our families have done for thousands of years - making moccasins & traditional items for the children in their community. The "stay" on testing requirements is only temporary, and those in Congress who refuse to amend the law are counting on us to give up by the time new regulations kick in during Aug. 2009

Millions of dollars in inventory is now illegal to sell, deepening bank losses needlessly, while making our children no safer. Millions of pre-1985 childrens books are headed to the landfill. Lower income children are going without needed clothing, because Goodwill & resale stores have removed kids clothing from the shelves to avoid criminal prosecution & fines. Your church needs to contact an attorney before holding a craft sale! This CAN'T be America, but it IS!! Congress DID pass this outrageous law!!!! This is NOT a joke. SNOPES doesn't have the whole story. The legal opinions are in agreement, this law is bad for business! It's bad for America! It's bad for Indians!

We need to make them stop ignoring us!! Get on your phone and start calling! We'll start posting phone numbers here so that you can call and make your voices heard. LETS HIT THEM WITH SUCH PUBLIC OUTRAGE THAT THEY CAN'T IGNORE US! WE ARE AMERICA!

If anyone wants to read the CPSIA law for themselves (HR4040), you can download the PDF at the official U.S. gov website http://www.cpsc.gov

How do you like being treated like we don't matter? WELL, WE DO MATTER! THIS IS OUR COUNTRY! WE ARE AMERICA! It's time for us to really RAISE HELL and make Congress pay attention to us! Let's hit them with such a public outcry from the Native American community - enrolled and non-enrolled, that Congress realizes the Indian wars are NOT over!

Congress doesn't realize HOW MANY Indians there REALLY ARE in America today - they only count those who are members of federally-recognized tribes. WE ARE REACHING OUT TO ALL OF THE NON-FEDERALLY ENROLLED PEOPLE OF NATIVE DESCENT ACROSS AMERICA. You know who you are. Make your voice heard and help save what is left of the cultures that our ancestors died trying to preserve. YOU DO COUNT!!

I've taken this posting from Rick Woldenberg's blog (with permission). Rick runs a business making award-winning educational products. His blog follows:

Friday, February 27, 2009

CPSIA – The Cancelled Hearings, What to Do

Having had a few hours to mull the cancellation of the hearings on CPSIA by the Subcommittee on Regulations and Healthcare of the House Committee on Small Business, I conclude that we need to flex our muscles if we want to stay in the game. This shameful display of partisan politics (lest we call it some form of “religious” zeal) is a real demonstration of the tyranny that confronts us. It’s all the more shocking that it took place at the supposedly non-partisan House Committee on Small Business – they should be EMBARRASSED (shamed, really). To me, it’s impossible to deny that our voices are being INTENTIONALLY kept off the record, and worse still, powerful people are attempting to undermine YOU with slander and marginalization. We CANNOT allow this to go on.

What we need to do is to start calling the offices of the Small Business Committee (202-225-4038, ask for Erik Lieberman and leave a message if necessary on his voicemail) to inquire about why the hearings on the CPSIA were cancelled. We should tell them that the law is killing our small businesses, that we cannot comply with it, that it’s too complex and unrelated to safety risks and needs to be changed. Tell them that this is not all about crafters and dirt bikes – it’s about American small businesses trying to survive in a Depression! The hearings were essential to air out these issues. Ask for a response.

You should feel free to call more than once. Get an answer. Make them listen to you. It turns out that you matter!

You may also call other members of this Committee to express your dismay. You can see the committee list at http://www.house.gov/smbiz/democrats/members.htm. If you happen to live in the district of one of the members of the Committee or better yet, one of the Subcommittee members (http://www.house.gov/smbiz/democrats/subcommittees.htm), please scream even louder. We need to be heard, REALLY HEARD.

You should get everyone at your company, everyone in your family, all your friends, customers, suppliers, neighbors, fraternity brothers, your minister and the guy who sells you stamps at the Post Office, to call about this issue. We need to BURN their phone lines over the CPSIA.

We got this far by demanding to be heard, as a group. It’s time to turn on the jets and go harder now. Go get ‘em, let them hear your voice!!!

Rick

Day Ohn Day 5K - Tulsa Indian Club

2009-02-16T02:19:00.000-06:00

Tulsa Indian Club is pleased to announce that this years Day Ohn Day 5k run has been selected to be a part of the 2009 Tulsa Running Club Race Series. If you have any family of the competitive flavor please inform them that they can earn TRC racing points by participating on May 23rd.

For more info about the tulsa running club 2009 Race series please go to www.tulsarunningclub.com. Ah-ho!

Tulsa Indian Club Inc. www.tulsapowwow.org tici@tulsapowwow.org

Black Hills PowWow Rapid City SD Oct 9-11

2009-02-16T02:14:00.001-06:00

Black Hills Powwow
He Sapa Wacipi Na Oskate
October 9, 10, 11, 2009

Rushmore Plaza Civic Center; Rapid City, South Dakota
Phone: (605) 341-0925
Website: http://www.blackhillspowwow.com
Contact Ira Taken Alive, Secretary, Black HIlls Powwow Association

Chilocco Alumni Reunion Jun 11-13 Tulsa

2009-02-16T02:07:00.000-06:00

Chilocco National Alumni Association will hold its annual reunion on June 11, 12, 13 & 14, 2009 at the Cherokee Casino and Resort, Tulsa, OK.

There will be a golf tournament on Friday, June 12, 2009. We need participants and donors. Golf registration fee is $80 per person or $320 per team of 4. Fee covers green fee, cart, prize fund, and lunch. Individuals will be assigned to a tem on first paid entry basis. Partial teams will receive assigned player.

Any Chilocco alumni, former students, former employees and open to all Indian Seniors ages 55 plus. Tournament will be held at the Cherokee Hills Golf Club, Catoosa, OK 8:00 a.m. Shotgun start. 4 person team Scramble - Men, Women or Mixed. Tournment Director is Charley Johnson, P.O. Box 531, Bixby, OK 74008. Telephone (918) 366-6158; cell No. (918) 812-8603, e-mail johnson6158@olp.net.

Events at the reunion will be a social on Thursday night, Pow-wow on Friday night;
Veterans breakfast on Saturday morning; Banquet and dance Saturday night; Church Service on Sunday. Registration contact for reunion is Emma Jean Falling, telephone No. (918) 266-1626.
Early registration is encouraged. Deadline date is May 16, 2009.

2009 Miss Indian Oklahoma City Competition

2009-02-11T16:20:00.000-06:00

Now Accepting Applications for the
2009 Miss Indian Oklahoma City Competition & Performance
Friday March 27, 2009 6:30 PM
Destiny Christian Center 3801 SE 29th St. Del City, OK

Mistress of Ceremonies: Cherokee Ballard, OKC TV Celebrity

Entertainment By Vocalist: Jolyn Carla Rose
Educator & Former Miss Cherokee, Miss Indian Oklahoma
& Former Miss Indian USA

For details go to: www.missindianokc.org

For Application Packet please contact Shirley Wapskineh swapskineh@sbcglobal.net Or 405.632.5227

Tornado Outbreak in Oklahoma Feb 10

2009-02-11T02:54:00.000-06:00

There was an awful outbreak of tornadoes today throughout the center of Oklahoma, running roughly north & south along I-35 out of Dallas. We can get tornadoes here every month of the year. But a deadly outbreak like today is rare, since February is normally our coldest month - when I actually put on a coat.

There's a lot of damage on the NW end of the Oklahoma City metro area, where it tore up a neighborhood, shopping centers and sent the roof of a Target store flying into a Chucky Cheese restaurant. There was even more substantial damage (and deaths) during the night down by Ada, about halfway between Oklahoma City and Dallas. The death toll for this storm system is at least 8 so far, but search & rescue efforts continue throughout the night and after daylight. The death toll may rise after daylight.

The neighborhood where my elderly folks live was also hit overnight, as the line of storms traveled up I-44 over the Oklahoma state line into Missouri. The garage of a house a couple of blocks away was destroyed, and the roof of a nearby apartment building was torn off. They're okay though, thank God.

We had some bad storms near us that destroyed several buildings in Pawnee County, but haven't heard of injuries in our area. I'll have to keep trying to get in touch with some friends in other areas hit to see if they're okay. We just had wildfires here a few days ago, but luckily nobody was killed this time.

Oklahoma can be a really tough place to live - but the people here are some of the best. It's not uncommon for an Okie to risk their life to save a stranger, like after the bombing of the Murrah Federal Bulding in Oklahoma City. I used to laugh when easterners coming to Oklahoma asked if we still had "Cowboy & Indian" problems. LOL I'd tell them "Custer caused a lot of trouble here, but he got what he had coming." And then asked them what kind of horse they wanted me to bring for them to ride when I picked them up at the airport in Tulsa. LOL

Sonny & I went to a Storm Spotter Training class last week. This was just a short evening class, but we'll go to a 2-day class later on. I went through storm spotter training over 30 years ago after I passed my "Ham" license (Amateur Radio) test. Storm spotters aren't the same as storm chasers. Those chaser folks are frickin crazy! Spotters watch the skies and make radio reports of the behavior of severe storms as they cycle up & down, fall apart & reorganize, so that warnings can be issued as fast as possible if they start to drop a funnel. A single extra minute of warning saves lives.

I worked communications with Red Cross Disaster Services in Springfield MO (an hour north of the Oklahoma state line) back when I was attending Missouri State University 30 years ago. Running a mock airplane crash scenario with emergency personnel and Ham Radio operators really helped rescue & recovery efforts when a tornado tore a 7 mile path through the city a year later. I was with my young daughter & her friend at an indoor racquet & pool club when the storm hit. The girls were only toddlers, but they still remember me stuffing them into the steel lockers to keep them safe. Luckily the funnel was disrupted by a huge highway overpass just before it hit the indoor club.

The 2-meter frequency range (+-146 Mhz) provides clear communications during a major disaster, when all other communication avenues are likely to be wiped out. CB radios are useless because tornadoes put out harmonics at the same frequency range as CB's operate. Land lines are often the first to go. Cell phone towers are knocked out by 100 mph winds, and cell phones don't have the power needed to skip signals off a repeater 50 miles away like a short-wave radio.

It's a common problem for emergency services to be unable to talk to each other during a major disaster. So having "Ham" radio operators posted everywhere (disaster sites, hospitals, police stations, fire & rescue stations) can be a real lifesaver - quite literally. I let my Amateur license expire several years ago, thinking I was living in the city, I was too old to go chasing storms anymore, etc. But since we've moved to my husband's "home rez" six years ago, I've come to realize that I really should get my license back. You only have to pass the written electronic theory & regulation test these days. Back when I got my original license in 1978-79(?), you had to be able to "copy" 13 words a minute in Morse Code.

The major storm prediction center (National Weather Service) is down by OU in Norman, in the south part of the HUGE Oklahoma City metro area. It's probably 120 miles from us, so their Doppler radar can't see what's going on at the ground level up here nearly as well as closer areas, because of the curvature of the earth. The National Weather Service has to depend on trained weather spotters this far away to tell them exactly what's going on. Although we're out here in the middle of nowhere, we're in a perfect position to watch for storms moving NE into the Osage reservation, which is much more highly populated.

I've been trying to locate grants to help pay for storm warning sirens for our tribal village & community. We're so far from a town that we're totally without services like rural water, fire protection or cable tv. We have satellite tv & satellite internet, because we can't get anything else out here. Without them, we would be virtually cut off from the outside world - that's exactly what happens when a storm hits, we lose everything. Last time our internet satellite was knocked out, it was a week before we could get someone to drive up from Oklahoma City to fix it - despite paying for 48 hour service.

On the other hand, being so remote isn't such a bad thing sometimes, when you consider the rising crime rates in the cities. Nobody really bothers us out here, since it's clearly an Indian community with the tribe's name on the water tower out by the highway. It's not unlike a gated neighborhood in the city - we know who belongs here and who doesn't. I've run off strangers sitting in unidentified cars or driving through the village. I don't know if they are looking for someone to serve papers or what. But unless they identify themselves as law enforcement, I tell them they're trespassing on Indian trust land, and tell them to "get the". Occasionally a curious tourist will drive into the tribal village off the highway. The sight of an expensive RV driving through the village is always fodder for jokes. My elderly neighbor across the street will poke her head out the front door and say "I supposed those are YOUR friends" LOL Everyone knows everyone elses business here - they know if you had beans for dinner. Aaaayyyyeee

CPSIA - NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURAL GENOCIDE

2009-02-11T01:59:00.000-06:00

My MAIN priority at this time is fighting the CPSIA of 2008 - the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (HR4040). This new law that went into effect on Feb. 10, 2009, is the equivalent of Cultural Genocide for Native Americans. It requires testing for lead and other chemicals in all items for children under age 13, which can be extremely expensive, destructive, impractical and is largely UNNECESSARY. It was enacted in response to lead-tainted toys imported by big box importers, but is so poorly written it threatens to wreck the American economy even further. This law is based on knee-jerk political reaction, not science.

It's effects on Native American material culture and the participation of our children in cultural and religious rites is simply incomprehensible. I don't believe it's the intent of Congress to cause the granny making kids moccasins to slink around "underground" to sell her wares like the sleezeball who sells eagle feathers. But the effect of this law is the same. Despite the fact that jingle cones may contain nothing more than tin (Sn) and lead-free paint, I won't be making any medicine dresses for little girls until I can be sure there isn't a trace of lead somewhere in the zipper or cones or fancy fabrics typically used on dresses.

Although a "stay of execution" er uh, stay of testing was issue until Feb. 10 2010, the law is still in force and any violation can result in enormous fines and felony prosecution with 5 years imprisonment. A recent Forbes article equated the law to USING A BAZOOKA TO KILL A GNAT. Given the anti-Indian sentiment by some state Attorney Generals, we're not taking any chances at this time. If Congress doesn't amend the law to be reasonable, we'll organize a class action lawsuit to challenge it.

You can read about it at out website page at http://www.littlecrowtradingpost.com/culturalgenocide.htm

Issues Involving Native American Culture

2009-02-11T01:13:00.000-06:00

After many requests, I'm finally setting up a blog for our customers and website followers. Our website is at http://www.littlecrowtradingpost.com

I'll post issues which affect Native Americans, talk about powwows, help newcomers to the powwow world find others in their area, and give web tourists an insight into life in a contemporary tribal community.