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Change is good
One night I was having a nightmare
I was in a dark place of war
(even after all these years)
...like all my nightmares are.
I was screaming in my nightmare
and my wife woke me up
and it was like she ACTUALLY pulled me right out of the nightmare...
That never happened in any of my nightmares before!
Well that is my scary Halloween story for today...!
On Native America Calling today they ask the question:
Dressed in Black -
When you see a young person dressed all in black what do you think?
1. I think of Johnny Cash (The Man in Black!)
2. I think of that Bob Dylan line: 'Where black is the color and none is the number.'
3. I think of the book 'Black like Me' by John Howard Griffith: the ONLY book I read in high school.
I'm just saying that is what I think when I see black...!
"Today I came home from the hospital after rotator cuff, torn tendon and old "Arthur-itis" surgery yesterday and there was your book! Mege wege! Num"
Num, All of my family here wish you a fast recovery from the surgery. I hope you enjoy the book...!
I got these good words in a email from a tribal member 'By the way during the (general council) meeting one of the tribal members, I don't
remember her name, got up and said to Jackie, tell Larry how much we
appreciate his blog and the good work he is doing there.' I found out the tribal member was Numweh and I want to say thank you Numweh for those kind words.
Hearing those kind words makes it all worthwhile having this blog...! Numweh, If you ever want a copy of my book, just send me your address and I will have a copy in the mail as soon as possible...!
The blog editor of the 'Voice of a Native Son' asked me what I thought of the article about Patty Loew one-hour documentary she produced called “Way of the Warrior” which will be on the PBS network in November. This is what I sent him in an email:
I read the article about Professor Loew’s film “Way of the Warrior” and how the film chronicles the war stories and sacrifices of Native American soldiers from World War One to Vietnam. The article says the film is a counterpart to Ken Burns seven-part series ‘The War.’ Ken Burns in his film didn’t want to include Native Americans and Latinos that served in the second world war. Burns finally included them in bit parts after Native Americans and Latinos groups protested their exclusion. I know when I read about Burns not wanting to include Native Americans…All I could say was: so what else is new?
I am a Native American Vietnam Veteran! I know all about people in this country not caring about your military service! So it is commendable that Professor Loew is doing this film. There is some truth in her documentary about the stereotypes of Native Americans being perceived as super scouts in all the wars this country has been in…
I served in a combat unit of the 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam. Although I did walk point for four or five months. I don’t know for sure if that was racism or stereotype. (I do know in my last four or five months in Vietnam I did walk in the back of the squad where it was supposedly safe!) I saw very little racism in Vietnam and none out in the boondocks. Early on, in my tour of duty, my unit got in our share of firefights with the North Vietnamese Army, and the realization set in for us that death was always close by, and if we didn’t stay together we were all going to die out there.
I can’t say I saw any racism in the jungles of Vietnam, but there are many Native American brothers that served in Vietnam that had to hear the phrase ‘Indian Country’ when their fellow soldiers talked of enemy territory and to be called ‘Chief’ all the time.” I was lucky in more ways than one when I served in Vietnam!
I hope people watch this documentary ‘Way of the Warrior.’ when it is shown on PBS. Maybe they will appreciate the military service of Native Americans to this country after they watch it...!
If 'The Native Blog' dealt in gossip heard through the Ojibwe and Potawatomi grapevines, I'd have a hot site like gawker.com. Take for example a week and half ago I heard Vernon Bellecourt just came back from Venezuela, then had problems breathing and had to go into the hospital...they then said it didn't look good for him. Another time a story came out here in Minnesota and I heard through the Ojibwe grapevine some rumor about it, I posted the story on my blog and then someone like from across the country ACTUALLY left a comment on the blog entry along the same lines as the rumor I heard. That could turn out to be true too!
It is the same with the Potawatomi grapevine a lot of the things I hear through that: ACTUALLY turn out to be true! Maybe I should pay people to send me what they have heard! Ha Ha!
And meanwhile in the traditional mainstream news media:the new Prairie Band Potawatomi Chairperson, Steve Ortiz, is gonna be sworn in today at nine o'clock. Mac McIntyre, the Editor of the Dekalb County newspaper has a must read article in his paper today called It is time to end the what ifs and could bes surrounding the Prairie Band Potawatomi land claim.
And then finally my son Larry turns 25 today. We are going to have ice cream and cake tonight...!
The comment section is open again on my blog. I shut them down for a week or so. I was getting death threats for the past few weeks because of my criticism of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Tribal Council (most of that criticism is because they don't go to work...!), anonymous comments (The tribal paper started the name withheld comments and that started the flood. It seems it is alright for the tribal paper to have anonymous comments, but not this blog! Nobody sent death threats to the tribal paper for their name withheld comments...!), and because I supported my brother Eddie in his run for tribal chairperson (I endorsed him on my blog!)
Tribal members wrote to me and wanted the comments section back up again...so it is up and running again...! (But I guess I won't be going to any Pow wows, general council meetings, or any funerals down on the rez any time soon!)
Tomorrow will be the big election day to see who will be our new chairperson and to see if that per cap referendum passes. I will go out on a limb and say that per cap increase will pass along the lines of 80%-20% in favor! The last time we had a per cap increase on the ballot there was a record amount of voters. This time will be no different. If there are that many voters it will be hard telling who will be our next chairman! This election will definitely be decided by the off rez vote!
This blog will have the winner posted as soon as the results come in, so tune in about noon or one tomorrow. eh...!
Sometime in the next two weeks, I am going to speak to some Native American students in the ninth and tenth grades about writing and do some reading from my book. I am not a gifted speaker like my brothers Gary and Eddie, so I get prepared for these events. In the past I did two or three book-signings and talked to two classes about my book and I was prepared for those occasions and I did fairly well. I really don't do book-signings anymore, but I could not pass on talking to these students about writing...because if there is one thing that has helped me with the trauma of war and the years of struggle with PTSD it is writing...!
There is a Native woman in Minneapolis making me a beaded floral designed vest as I write this (I want to pay her sweat-shop wages, but there ain't no Ojibwe woman in the North County that would fall for that!) I will use my vest for dances down on the rez, weddings, and Powwows. If I ain't able to wear it for them occasions, then I can always get buried in it, so all that work will not go to waste...!
And in other news this morning from the North, I was picking up a prescription for my son and the woman in front of me was talking to the store clerk, she was saying to the clerk: Congratulations on just getting married! And I when I get up there I told her I heard you just got married, I have been married for twenty-five years so you got a ways to go! Then I said 'Being married for twenty-five years must be some kind of all-time record for a Vietnam Veteran.' She laughed nervously and said 'Yea one has to really work at it...'
