The Native Blog

After the Powwows over Sweetheart...hey ya hey

From Eddie Joe's Blog: After the powwows over sweetheart...hey ya hey

"so this pow wow is done. i had fun the whole weekend. but then i set out to have fun. i didnt go into it with expectations that fun would be handed to me. i worked the crowd like a politician. i spoke with so many people i lost count. it dont cost a dime to make someone smile. i also took over 200 pictures. i will make myself a slideshow of the event.

i camped out again even tho i only live 3 miles away. the camping experience is the thing.  sleeping on the ground puts you in contact with nature. i had cowboy coffee on everyday. it is the best. one evening my camp feed over 25 people supper. we had people for breakfast every morning. all weekend some stopped in for something to eat. kids like to camp too. i had 10 young ones spend the night saturday. they made smores and had hot dogs. i heard them talking about the best things at the pow wow and they said "uncle eddies camp." made me feel good. even the rain we got at 5 in the morning didnt put a damper on our fun. indian people better be taking an interest in our young folks at an early age.

if i noticed a theme i suppose it would be irony. some people are so conditioned to being negative they cant turn it off. they just cant have fun. every little thing is cause for complaint. damn let it go...enjoy yourself. life is too short to waste it whining around.

i spoke with irene bedard, and had my picture taken with her. one year i did a home video for my boys in leavenworth. irene appeared in it, she sent a message to the brothers there. she remembered that. i told her i had to talk on alcohol and drug abuse later. so we talked about the problems in indian country. it is the same everywhere. she is very knowledgeable and has concern for our people. she is beautiful inside too. when i was ready to leave, she gave me a free copy of her new cd. she said to listen to the song she wrote for leonard. i thanked her for that. i am listening to it now.

we had some young people that ran from macy nebraska to our pow wow. i had to speak for it. it was a spiritual run to bring attention to alcohol and drug abuse, suicide and violence. we also have spouse abuse, sexual abuse and child neglect. young girls take meth while carrying new life. i remarked that those are the issues we dont want to talk about. i related that these things werent part of our tradition. we cant be traditional if we do them. healing wont start until we admit we have a problem. some of our young people missed my talk because they were drinking, drugging and fighting the night before. i dont know if my speech was worth a free pass or not. we honor singers and dancers, but have little regard for speakers. some dont want to hear what speakers have to say. so they tune them out.  i feel my reward was in delivering the message. i encouraged people to take the message home.

i scored me a t shirt with prairie band potawatomi airbrushed on it. it also had an eagle feather with my indian name in it. it was done by a prairie band artist. it drew a few compliments. i also bought a t shirt with the 'longest walk' on it. i was there. i talked with other stand owners. i told them timing was everything. if they were there a week later, the prairie band would have their per caps. and then they would buy the hell out of the stands. some said why dont you bring that up. i replied i did, but they dont want to hear that. pig headed indians. they charge stand owners 4 bills so broke indians can only look but not buy. irony?

our pow wow just keep growing. and it is a fine one to attend. i will go every year. the only thing with good pow wows is that indians ruin them. they overdo it. you see pow wows around the country that are happening. everyone has to go there. i have went to many of them. then all of a sudden, the pow wow is cooked. people run them into the ground. then people stop coming. i hope that never happens to ours. it is by far my favorite pow wow of the year."

Eddie Joe's Blog: Ready For Round Two

At Eddie Joe’s blog he writes about the lack of facts about the recall of our chairwoman:

“Opinions are not facts. I didn't see anything to convince me one way or the other. To be honest, I don't even know what the charges are, but then do we even need to have charges. we live in an age of information, it is readily available. not in this issue though. people have to draw their information from other peoples opinions. that's not the way it should be. the facts ought to be laid out for everyone to see. I don't know what the issues are. everything is so secretive. we probably have to wait until the recall meeting. then we will be required to make a decision on it without having much time to consider the matter."

Read more from this article at Eddie Joe's Blog. 

Eddie Joe's Blog: Time to Powwow

Eddie Joe's Blog: Time to Powwow

"next weekend is the prairie band potawatomi pow wow. i am definitely going to attend. i dont miss our pow wow. it is always fun. i like to visit with people. i shake more hands than a politician.

it is too bad that it doesnt occur after we get our per cap. i bet more of our people would attend if they had some coin in their pocket. i mentioned this once, and somebody got all defensive over it. he said if we wait a week it rains. i was under the impression that you cant predict rain.  at least we cant. we have been wet a few times. at any rate it would be nice if more prairie band would attend their own pow wow.  maybe if we made a sacrifice......

i will put up a camp like i do every year. i like to have a place to sit in the shade when it gets boring. usually i have a pot of cowboy coffee going constantly. camping is fun, though not many around here do it. too close to a comfortable bed i guess. cooking over a fire sure tastes good. i like to have breakfast everyday of the pow wow. and have a pot of soup on too. we get alot of visitors to come to our campsite. coffee and food draws them. and visiting. drop in, if you are in the area.

seems our pow wow just keeps getting bigger. as far as pow wows go, it aint a bad one. but then, i think most pow wows are good. i heard someone liken pow wows to sex. when its good, its good. when its not so good, its still good. hmmm.....interesting analogy. but i get the point. we manage to get some good singing groups to come here. and our home boys are very good too. we get plenty of good dancers that are fun to watch.

no doubt we will have a good time. thats the way it is suppose to be. i dont care for pow wows where people just sit in their own chairs and stare at one another. it should be an interactive thing. its fun to meet people and talk. probably the way indians have always done it. hope the weather holds up. good music, good dance,plenty of visiting, good food....what more can you ask for."

Eddie Joe's Blog: Got a Speaking Gig

Eddie Joe's Blog: Got a Speaking Gig

"i have been asked to go speak in michigan at the end of july. an old friend runs a program that deals with tradition as part of its teaching. he asked me to talk about some of the knowledge that i have picked up over the years. i agreed to. the program will pay my expenses and give me a stipend. that is big time for me, since i normally only speak at ceremonies for nothing.

i only hope that it turns out better than my last speaking gig. it is an amusing story.  while a student at a local university, i was asked to speak by the sponsor of minority affairs. i thought hell yeah, i can speak in front of a group and still be slightly entertaining. so posters were printed up and plastered around campus. while i headed to the student union to have my coffee i would see the signs. it advertised "the native american perspective" by eddie joe. the students at that school lived in a pretty insulated world and needed their horizons broadened.

the big day came and i showed up to speak. the sponsor was there waiting for me. the large room was empty. he said lets wait awhile, students are probably getting out of class. so we waited. and then waited some more. no one showed up. the sponsor finally got it that no one would show. so he said 'well thats it, nobody is coming'. no one will ever know the amusing anecdotes i had prepared. on my way out i grabbed one of the posters. it still hangs on my basement wall twenty years later. it is to remind me of that day.

it is like the proverbial 'if a tree falls in the forest, and there is no one to hear it will it make a sound'. if you have something to say and no one hears it, have you said anything. i always remember that day. so now whenever i have to speak, i make it a point to make a point. and when i listen to others, i ask myself what is their point. if they havent made one, then they said nothing.

i doubt that i go on to be a famous speaker. but i dont care. i am only interested in speaking to people that want to hear what i have to say."