Red All Over Band

Tribute to Leonard Peltier ~ raisin oatmeal**** Red All Over Band

Buggin Malone

Video tribute to Leonard Peltier Original music by Buggin Malone Artwork by Bunky Echohawk and Leonard Peltier Video Composition by Tim Wozny (WoZ)

Peltier denied parole

The Beat Goes On..Tribute to Leonard Peltier

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Written by JoKAY DOWELL, Native American Times Supporters vow to continue to work for his release BISMARK, N.D. – In spite of an exemplary record during more than 33 years of incarceration for an offense he has repeatedly denied committing, Chippewa American Indian activist Leonard Peltier has again been denied parole in a closed hearing by the United States Parole Commission, U.S. Attorney Drew Wrigley announced Friday. Leonard Peltier is exactly where he belongs, in federal prison, serving two life sentences,” Wrigley said in an AP report. Peltier, 64, was convicted in 1977 for the alledged killings of two FBI agents on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota during a shootout with American Indian Movement members. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4219825247691110146 Many have called for an investigation into Peltier’s trial and conviction. Several lawsuits have been filed on his behalf without success. Peltier’s attorney, Eric Seitz, said the parole board did not even have the courtesy of notifying him, saying that, “Bush Administration holdovers on the U.S. Parole Commission adopted the position of the FBI that anyone who may be implicated in the killings of its agents should never be paroled and should be left to die in prison.” In a statement received by NAT, Seitz said the parole commission informed Peltier that his release on parole would depreciate the seriousness of his offenses and would promote disrespect for the law. But Seitz responded with outrage that the parole board would continue to keep Peltier in prison, “despite judicial determinations that the unrepentant FBI fabricated evidence and presented perjured testimony in Leonard Peltier’s prosecution; despite a jury’s acquittal on grounds of self-defense of two co-defendants who were found to have engaged in the same conduct of which Mr. Peltier was convicted; despite Mr. Peltier’s exemplary record during his incarceration for more than 33 years and his clearly demonstrated eligibility for parole; despite letters and petitions calling for his release submitted by millions of people in this country and around the world including one of the judges who ruled on his earlier appeals; and despite his advanced age and deteriorating health.” Seitz said at his parole hearing in July, Peltier expressed regret and accepted responsibility for his role in the incident in which the two FBI agents and one Native American activist died. “Mr. Peltier emphasized that the shootout occurred in circumstances where there literally was a war going on between corrupt tribal leaders supported by the government on the one hand, and Native American traditionalists and young activists on the other. He again denied, as he as always denied, that he intended the deaths of anyone or that he fired the fatal shots that killed the two agents, and he reminded the hearing officer that one of his former co-defendants recently admitted to having fired the fatal shots. Accordingly, it is not true that Leonard Peltier participated in ‘the execution style murders of two FBI agents,’ as the parole commission asserts and there never has been credible evidence of Mr. Peltier’s responsibility for the fatal shots, as the FBI continues to allege. Moreover, given the corrupt practices of the FBI, it is entirely untrue that Leonard Peltier’s parole at this juncture will in any way ‘depreciate the seriousness’ of his conduct and/or ‘promote disrespect for the law.’ We will continue to seek parole and clemency for Mr. Peltier and to eventually bring this prolonged injustice to a prompt and fair resolution.” Along with Seitz, supporters disagree with Wrigley’s statement and vow to remain vigilant in their work for his release. “While Leonard Peltier remains in jail Arthur H. Bremer shot presidential candidate George Wallace during a campaign stop in Maryland. Bremer recently left prison after serving 35 years,” Ben Carnes, a Peltier spokesperson said. “Hinkley, the man who tried to kill President Reagan is now allowed to visit his mother more, get a driver’s license and spend more time away from the mental hospital where he lives. Lynnette ‘Squeaky’ Fromme, a Charles Manson family member who pointed a gun at President Ford was released this month after serving 33 years.” Carnes expressed his outrage further saying, “When presidential assassins can walk free while an innocent man remains imprisoned, is an injustice to the conscience of all people.” In a previous NAT story Peltier’s National Spokesperson Wanbli described the events leading to the shootout between the two agents and American Indian Movement members at the Jumping Bull family compound on Pine Ridge, June 26, 1975. “On June 26, 1975, two FBI agents . . . invaded, basically, the Jumping Bull ranch. A gunfight ensued and at the end of the gunfight, two federal agents were dead and an Indian man, Joe Stuntz, was dead,” he said. Peltier fled to Canada and fought extradition, causing him to arrive back in the U.S. too late to be tried with Bob Robideaux and Dino Butler who were both found innocent on the grounds of self-defense by a federal jury in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Robideaux recently died of cancer. No one was ever tried for the shooting of Stuntz. Peltier has received support over the years from the likes of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize winners Nelson Mandela and Rigoberta Menchu, the U.N. High Commissioner on Human Rights, the 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso, the European Parliament, the Belgian Parliament, the Italian Parliament, the Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights, Rev. Jesse Jackson and several American Indian nations and organizations including the National Congress of American Indians and the Assembly of First Nations. In 1992, actor Robert Redford produced the Michael Apted film, “Incident at Oglala,” described as “persuasive in both its detail and its case against brutal federal policies toward Indians. Supporters have said former President Clinton promised to free Peltier, but in the end he did not. Peltier’s home reservation, the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians affirmed it would take Peltier back into the fold of his home community should he be paroled. Carnes is asking for the public to raise its voice in support of Peltier’s freedom as long as he remains in prison, saying clemency is now an objective. “We still have the ability to call the White House and demand freedom for Leonard Peltier. Also, everyone has the opportunity to meet with their Congressional rep while they are home on recess back in their home state,” he said. “We will begin expressing our outrage to the White House, demanding that President Obama grant clemency for Leonard Peltier. This has to happen and our time is now.” People can call President Obama’s comment line at (202) 456-1111 and make the comment, “Grant clemency to Leonard Peltier.” Peltier was denied parole 15 years ago. He will not be eligible for parole again until 2024. REF: http://nativetimes.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2288&Itemid=1

Inglourious Basterds ~ Hollywood continues to perpetuate racial stereotyping of the American Indian.

American Indian racial stereotyping is once again presented in the Hollywood movie; “Inglourious Basterds” written and directed by Quentin Tarantino and released in August 2009 by The Weinstein Company and Universal Pictures. Tarantino has repeatedly stressed that despite its being a war film, the movie is his “spaghetti western but with World War II iconography”

Inglourious Basterds does indeed have some of the characteristics of a spaghetti western such as the blatant racial stereotyping of the American Indian.

Brad Pitt plays the character Lt. Aldo Raine, the “Apache”, a redneck with a distinctive Southern drawl, (he is nicknamed “Apache” because his ancestral family tree includes American Indian blood.) “Supposedly” a direct descendent of mountain man Jim Bridger, with an accent to match, he does not mince words when he gives his squad of eight their behind-the-German-lines marching orders, personally requiring 100 Nazi scalps and other cruel barbarism from each of his men. In the movie, Brad Pitt’s character states, “That means I got some “injun” in me.” He continues on, pointing out that this will evoke fear in the minds of the enemy, implying  that Indians are well known savages. Although this particular stated line is missing from any script, media or movie trailer, it is what prefaces Lt Aldo’s demand that each man barbarically mutilates 100 enemies.  Perhaps Quentin Tarantino, Brad Pitt or the movies producers have some deep rooted defective racial genetics of their own.

Note: In 1835 Jim Bridger married a woman from the Flathead Indians tribe with whom he had three children. After her death in 1846, he married the daughter of a Shoshone chief, who died in childbirth three years later. In 1850 he married a Shoshone with whom he had two more children. Some of his children were sent back east to be educated. (Definitely neither one of them was  Brad Pitt or Lt. Aldo Raine.)

Lt. Aldo Raine the “Apache” stated to be a direct descendent of mountain man Jim Bridger? Why not General Samuel Curtis “I want no peace till the Indians suffer more…No peace must be made without my directions.” Or perhaps General John Chivington, the Butcher of the Sand Creek Massacre: U.S. soldiers inevitably chased the defenseless Cheyenne and Arapaho by horse and foot with knives and guns in hand. Their victims had to be positioned before ripping off their scalps, cutting off their ears, smashing out their brains, butchering their children, tearing their breastfeeding infants away from their mother’s breasts, and then murdering those infants. The “Bloody Third” soldiers had to kill the infants before cutting out their mother’s genitals.

Hollywood continues to perpetuate American Indian racial stereotyping to portray the indigenous peoples of this county as loathsome barbarians or savages.

The Script:

CHAPTER TWO

“INGLORIOUS BASTERDS”

FADE UP

EXT – SOMEWHERE IN ENGLAND – DAY
A bunch of SOLDIERS are lined up at attention.
LIEUTENANT ALDO.RAINE, a hillbilly from the mountains of
Tennessee, walks down the line. He recruits the men, the
Germans will later call; “The Basterds”. Lt.Aldo has one
defining physical characteristic, a ROPE BURN around his
neck. As if once upon a time,. he survived a LYNCHING.
The scar will never once be mentioned.

LT.ALDO
My name is Lt.Aldo Raine, and I’m puttin together a special team. And I need me eight soldiers. Eight – Jewish – American – soldiers Now y’all might of heard      rumors about the armada happening soon. Well, we’ll be leavin a little earlier. We’re gonna be dropped  into France, dressed as civilians. And once we’re in enemy territory, as a bushwackin, guerrilla army, we’re  gonna be doin one thing, and thing only, Killin Nazi’s.

The Members of the National Socialist  Party, have conquered Europe through  murder, torture, intimidation, and  terror. And that’s exactly what we’re
gonna do to them. Now I don’t know bout y’all? But I sure as hell, didnt come down from the goddamn Smoky  mountains, cross five thousand miles  of water, fight my way through half Sicily, and then jump out of a fuckin air-o-plane, to teach the Nazi’s  lessons in humanity. Nazi ain’t got  no humanity. There the foot soldiers of a Jew hatin, mass murderin manic, and they need to be destroyed. That’s why any and every son-of-a–bitch we find wearin a Nazi uniform, there gonna die.

if.

LT.ALDO

(CON’T)
We will be cruel to the Germans and through our cruelty, they will know who we are. They will find the  evidence of our cruelty, in the disembowed, dismembered, and  disfigured bodies of their brother we leave behind us. And the German will not be able to help themselves  from imagining the cruelty their  brothers endured at our hands, and our boot heels, and the edge of our knives.
And the Germans, will be sickened by us.
And the Germans, will talk about us.
And the Germans, will fear us.
And when the Germans close their eyes at night, and their sub conscious tortures them for the evil they’ve done, it will be with thoughts of us, that it tortures them with.

He stops pacing, and looks at everybody.

LT. ALDO
Sound good?
They all say;

ALL
Yes, sir!

LT.ALDO
That’s what I like to hear. But got a word of warning to all would-be warriors. When you join my command,
you take on debit. A debit you owe  me, personally. Every man under my command, owes me, one hundred nazi scalps.
And I want my scalps.
And all y’all will git me, one hundred
Nazi scalps, taken from the heads of one hundred dead Nazi’s… .or you will die trying.

NOTE: Reference to the origin of scalping. Page 180

Lookinghawk

A Cure For Cancer?

Laetrile -Vitamin B17 -amygdalin

The diet of primitive man and most fruit-eating animals was very rich in nitrilosides. They regularly ate the seeds (and kernels) of all fruits, since these seeds are rich in protein, polyunsaturated fats, and other nutrients. Seeds also contain as much as 2 per cent or more nitriloside. There are scores of other major foods naturally, or normally, very rich in nitriloside.

Vitamin B-17 (nitriloside, amygdaline) is a designation proposed to include a large group of water-soluble, essentially non-toxic, sugary, compounds found in over 800 plants, many of which are edible. These factors are collectively known as Beta-cyanophoric glycosides. They comprise molecules made of sugar, hydrogen cyanide, a benzene ring or an acetone. Though the intact molecule is for all practical purposes completely non-toxic, it may be hydrolyzed by Beta-glycosidase to a sugar, free hydrogen cyanide, benzaldehyde or acetone.
Apricot Kernels (Vitamin B17)

Apricot Kernels are the richest source of B17 (Laetrile). Ernst Krebs is the world’s leading authority on the relationship between cancer and nitrilosides, and the inventor of laetrile.

• G. Edward Griffin’s book World Without Cancer  (American Media, 1974), available from Health World
• Ernst Krebs discussion of The Nature of Cancer
• Ernst Krebs discussion of the Trophoblast Theory of Cancer
• Ernst Krebs discussion of Trophoblasts and Morning Sickness
• Ernst Krebs discussion of the Metabolism of nitrilosides  (Vitamin B17)
• Charles Gurchot’s explanation of How Vitamin B17 Works.

___

Apricot kernels are known to prevent and cure cancer, even though the medical establishment has worked night and day and even lied to suppress it. Vitamin B17 is found in most all fruit seeds such as the apple, peach, cherry, orange, nectarine and apricot. It is found in some beans and many grasses such as wheat grass. The hard wooden pit in the middle of the peach is not supposed to be thrown away. In fact, the wooden shell is strong armor protecting one of the most important foods known to man, the seed. It is one of the main courses of food in cultures such as the Navajo Indians, the Hunzas the Abkhasians and many more. Did you know that within these tribes there has never been a reported case of cancer. (And there are doctors and scientists from the U.S. living within these tribes right now studying this phenomena) We don’t need to make the seed a main course but we do need the equivalent of about seven apricots seeds per day to nearly guarantee a cancer free life. Other foods that contain vitamin B-17 are: bitter almonds, millet, wheat grass, lima beans and more. (The bitter almond tree was banned from the U.S. in 1995.) The kernel or seed contains the highest amounts of vitamin B17

___

One of the most common nitrilosides is amygdalin. This nitriloside occurs in the kernels of seeds of practically all fruits. The seeds of apples, apricots, cherries, peaches, plums, nectarines, and the like carry this factor; often in the extraordinary concentration of 2 to 3 per cent. Since the seeds of fruits are possibly edible, it may be proper to designate the non-toxic water soluble accessory food factor or nitriloside that they contain as vitamin B-17. The presence of nitriloside in the diet produces specific physiologic effects and leaves as metabolites specific chemical compounds of a physiologically active nature. The production by a non-toxic, water-soluble accessory food factor of specific physiological effects as well as identifiable metabolites suggests the vitamin nature of the compound.

In metabolism, nitriloside is hydrolyzed to free hydrogen cyanide, benzaldehyde or acetone and sugar. This occurs largely through the enzyme Beta-glucosidase produced by intestinal bacteria as well as by the body. The released HCN [hydrocyanide] is detoxified by the enzyme rhodanese to the relatively non-toxic thiocyanate molecule. The sugar is normally metabolized. The released benzaldehyde in the presence of oxygen is immediately oxidized to benzoic acid which is non-toxic. Thus this newly designated vitamin B-17 (nitriloside) could account for:

1. The thiocyanates in the body fluids–blood, urine, saliva, sweat, and tears;
2. For part of the benzoic acid (and subsequently hippuric acid); salicylic acid isomers;
3. For the HCN that goes to the production of cyanocobalamin from hydrocobalamin, or production of vitamin B12 from provitamin B12.

These are the physiological properties of the common nitriloside amygdalin. Before considering the possible antineoplastic activity of this vitamin B-17, let us recall that the benzoic acid arising from it has certain antirheumatic and antiseptic properties. It was rather widely used (in Germany and elsewhere) for rheumatic disease therapy prior to the advent of the ortho-hydroxy addition product of benzoic acid known as ortho-hydroxybenzoic acid or salicylic acid. It was originally obtained from beech-wood bark. As a matter of interest, the para- hydroxy isomer of benzoic acid occurs in the para hydroxybenzaldehyde aglycon (non-sugar) of the nitriloside found in the cereal millet. Millet was once more widely used in human nutrition than wheat. Wheat seed contains little or no nitriloside.

Recall now, that thiocyanate also was once widely used, in both Germany and American medicine, as an effective agent for hypertension. Used as such, as the simple chemical, the dosage was difficult to control. Obviously, this difficulty does not arise from the thiocyanate usually produced in the body through metabolizing vitamin B-17 (nitriloside). However, chronic hypotension has been reported in Nigerians who eat quantities of the nitriloside-containing manioc (cassava)–especially that of the bitter variety.

Let us pause to reflect upon this question: Might not the rheumatic diseases as well as certain aspects of hypertension be in some cases partially related to a dietary deficiency in nitrilosides? One can hardly deny that the ingestion of a sufficient quantity of nitriloside-containing foods will metabolically yield sufficient benzoic acid and/or salicylic acid isomers to palliate rheumatic disease and certainly to decrease, however temporarily, hypertension as well as to foster the nitrilosation of provitamin B-12 to active vitamin B-12: cyanocobalamin.

Despite all this, are we justified in suggesting that cancer itself might be another chronic metabolic disease that arises from a specific vitamin deficiency–a deficiency specifically in vitamin B-17 (nitriloside)?

There are many chronic or metabolic diseases that challenge medicine. Many of these diseases have already been conquered. What proved to be their solution? By solution we mean both prevention and cure. What really cures really prevents. Let us think of some of these diseases that have found total prevention and hence cure. We are speaking of metabolic or non-transmissible diseases. At one time the metabolic disease known as scurvy killed hundreds of thousands of people, sometimes entire populations. This disease found total prevention and cure in the ascorbic acid or vitamin C component of fruits and vegetables. Similarly, the once fatal diseases so aptly called pernicious anemia, pellagra, beri beri, countless neuropathies, and the like, found complete cure and prevention in specific dietary factors, that is, essential nutrients in an adequate diet.

Let’s go a step further, almost to the border of dogmatism, to advance an axiom in medicine and biology:

No chronic or metabolic disease has ever found cure or prevention, that is, real cure and real prevention–except through factors essential to an adequate diet and/or normal to animal economy.

I would welcome a contradiction to this principle; but even an exception would “prove the rule.”

Does it seem likely, therefore, that cancer will be the first exception to this generalization that to date has not had a single known exception? In my humble opinion, certainly not. But does it follow from this that vitamin B-17 (nitriloside) is the specific antineoplastic vitamin? Logically, by itself, alone, this conclusion that nitriloside is the specific antineoplastic vitamin does not follow. However, examine the brilliant laboratory studies of Dr. Dean Burk of the Department of Cytochemistry of the National Cancer Institute in Washington. I believe that in light of the experimental evidence that he has produced, you might agree that vitamin B-17 (nitriloside) is indeed the antineoplastic vitamin.*

One might ask, then, whether we suggest that vitamin B-17 (nitriloside) or Laetrile is an effective cancer drug. Our reply must be: it is not a drug; it is a

ref: http://curezone.com/foods/laetrile.asp

Chicago City Racist ~ Christopher Cornstalk

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Christopher Cornstalk was a member of the Odawa Nation, Turtle Clan.
His difficult life journey brought him to the streets of Chicago, and the surrounding suburbs. Christopher struggled with the alcoholism that lead to his homelessness. During this time he had many dealings with Police Officers, Firefighters, Ambulance Drivers and Hospital Personnel.

Christopher lost his battle on July 17, 2006 and joined his Ancestors.

Then, in an act of unspeakable offence and racism, a NURSE started a Facebook Group under the category of “JUST FOR FUN” called “Did you Know this Alcoholic Indian?” She then requested that people join, so that they may regale each other with stories of encountering Chris during the course of their PROFESSIONAL DUTIES.

Unflattering photos of Chris in his hospital bed, racist images of Natives and some of the most disgusting comments ever were then posted to this site.

Over 600 people joined, many of them Nurses, EMT’s, Firefighters, and Police Officers.

Many of these PROFESSIONALS violated their own codes of ethics, and in some cases criminal law by posting intimate, private information about Mr. Cornstalk’s struggles, and medical conditions.

Many comments were blatantly racist.

All of this was done without the knowledge or consent of Mr. Cornstalk’s family. And of course, since Chris himself had passed on, he could certainly not defend his dignity and rights.

On July 17th, 2009, online Anti-Racist Activists discovered this profoundly disturbing site.

Facebook was contacted immediately, and the group was deleted. The Activists took screen shots of the group before it was pulled, and then forwarded that information to media outlets in Chicago and area. The Mayor of Chicago was contacted and a search for Cornstalk family members was launched.

The Activists facebook pages came under attack immediately – Making Change Streetpapers account was unceremoniously, and without notice, deleted. Barbara Low’s account was seized for a day, and has had glitches and problems since.

This group was formed to see to it that the members of that heinous group are held to account for their racism, and many breaches of their Professional duties.

We intend to honour Mr. Cornstalk and his family, by standing by them as they seek JUSTICE AND DIGNITY for their lost Brother.

[Another interesting link to this form of racism is this one which shows some of the pages these wonderful professionals put up on their racist forum.]

See also: http://chicago.indymedia.org/newswire/display/87194/index.php

Fairness Is the Loser in Tribal Identity Crisis

Skokomish Tribe reclaims its land

Written by LYNDA V. MAPES, The Seattle Times

Skokomish tribal members gathered to ceremonially reclaim their ancestral names for lands being returned to them. CAMP CUSHMAN, Wash. (AP) – This lakeside vacation spot has long been known as Camp Cushman. But this week it was once again named Place Where Songs Come From, as Skokomish tribal members gathered to ceremonially reclaim their ancestral names for lands being returned to them. Tribal members and non-Indian friends carried ceremonial red staffs into the lake’s blue waters, where they stood side by side, beating time with the staffs, as drummers drummed and sang a sacred song. Then leaders of the rite called out for the first time in generations the name for this village site, with its longhouse and burial ground, long lost under the floodwaters of two dams downstream. Skokomish spiritual leader Delbert Miller said the handmade staffs they used evoked the staff used by The Changer to create the world at the beginning of time and infuse the world with one breath. Ever since their lands passed out of tribal hands in the late 1880s, tribal members have been short of that breath, Miller said. Reclaiming the lands and the names of their village sites restores the Skokomish people and their lands to a wholeness not felt in generations, Miller said. “We are reclaiming our breath,” he said, a bittersweet gift, born of decades of struggle. “By reclaiming and reannouncing these names, we are reclaiming our right to our breath and to tell our history. It’s (with) a combination of joy and even hope, and sadness that it had to be necessary.” The tribe carried out three ceremonies Wednesday to reclaim the traditional names for three places returned to it under a settlement with Tacoma Power in January: Camp Cushman, now Place Where Songs Come From; Saltwater Park on Hood Canal, now Place of Herring; and the Nalley Farm, now Mouth and Flats of the River. The reclaiming of the names is a next step in healing losses inflicted by the flooding of village sites, burial grounds and other sacred lands with the creation of two dams on the Skokomish River in 1926 in Mason County. Tacoma Power and the tribe signed a historic settlement along with state and federal agencies in January to resolve a nearly $6 billion damage claim and a more-than-24-year legal battle over the terms of a long-term re-licensing agreement for the dams. The dams generate enough electricity to power about 25,000 homes. Under the terms of the agreement, the tribe will receive money and lands from Tacoma Power, including a $12.6 million one-time cash payment; 7.26 percent of the value of electric production from one of the dam’s two powerhouses; and transfer of the lands owned by the utility, valued at $23 million. Deeds for the properties have not been transferred, because the licensing agreement, which includes the settlement, is under review by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, said Chris Gleason, spokeswoman for Tacoma Power. The agency’s review, and transfer of the deeds, is expected by the end of the year. The tribe has not decided what it will do with the properties once it takes title to the land, Miller said, but it will, as part of the agreement, keep the boat launch at Camp Cushman open to the public. Elsewhere on the properties, “Things will probably stay pretty much as they are,” he predicted. As songs and the sound of drums lifted on the superheated summer air, revelers chugged by in powerboats, drifted in on swim floats and zipped along on personal watercraft, unaware of the historic moment unfolding. “We walked right back in here and reclaimed our right to this,” tribal member Michael Pavel, who helped lead the ceremony, said afterward. His mother, now deceased, was one of generations of tribal leaders who fought the dams. Now he wants to be part of the generation of tribal members that nurtures the land back to health. “It is ours to love,” Pavel said. ––– Information from: The Seattle Times, http://www.seattletimes.com

Cherokees launch Hard Rock brand

Cherokees launch Hard Rock brand

Written by WESLEY MAHAN Native American Times

CATOOSA, Okla. – On Aug. 3, in a transformation similar to rock’ n’ roll legend Prince, the hotel and casino formerly known as the Cherokee Casino Resort became the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa. Cherokee Casino Resort is now the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa. NATIVE TIMES PHOTO / LISA SNELL The new resort will have the Hard Rock theme that is known worldwide. The property will be filled with rock’ n’ roll memorabilia from legends such as the aforementioned Prince, Aerosmith and Elvis Presley. Cherokee Nation Entertainment will operate the hotel and casino. The re-branding is just one of many changes that are taking place. The new Hard Rock will have more than 125,000 square feet of gaming space; 350 hotel rooms and suites; five restaurants including McGill’s, a fine-dining penthouse and Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar and Grill. There are five nightclubs and entertainment areas, including the new Friction lounge that features an experience similar to metropolitan nightclubs with urbane decor, live music and specialty drinks. The Center Bar is another entertainment attraction showcasing an 80-foot long frozen bar top. The new Hard Rock Hotel Tower will have more than 200 luxurious rooms and suites. The suites will be the Hard Rock suites that are loaded with amenities. Cherokee Nation Entertainment CEO David Stewart said the new look will push the resort into a class all by itself. “Entertainment in Tulsa is now synonymous with Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. With the Cherokee Nation’s commitment of $155 million in developing the new resort and branding opportunity with Hard Rock, we have made a long term investment for our community and state. This venture brings together a unique blend of Cherokee culture, Oklahoma’s rich musical history and classic rock & roll. We’ve created an experience that cannot be duplicated anywhere else,” he said. Another drawing card will be 35,000 square feet of new banquet and meeting space. The Sky Room will be the centerpiece of that, a more than 5,000 square-foot banquet facility. It will be enclosed with glass from floor-to-ceiling. Also available is the Hard Rock retail store stocked with souvenirs and gift items, including the famous Hard Rock T-shirts. The improvements and changes don’t stop there. This fall a Hard Rock Las Vegas inspired swimming pool will open and in 2010 a 2,500-seat event center will debut as well. No resort could be complete without an 18-hole championship golf course. The Cherokee Hills Golf Club is the cherry on top of this must visit destination. “Cherokee Nation Entertainment has always been the industry leader and the first to bring resort style entertainment to the market. We continue this fine tradition by now bringing the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino brand to Tulsa,” said Stewart. The Hard Rock Tulsa is the seventh Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in the world.

Rapid City Racist ~ Offensive’ souvenir figure pulled from store shelf

By Kayla Gahagan, Journal staff | Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Offensive’ souvenir figure pulled from store shelf

This novelty wine holder depicting a Native American drinking from a bottle of wine was recently removed from Gold Diggers, a Rapid City retail shop, after complaints that it was racially insensitive. (Courtesy photo)

The owners of a Rapid City souvenir shop have removed a miniature statue after Native Americans complained it was offensive.

Roger and Cindy Thompson, owners of Gold Diggers on Mount Rushmore Road, said they pulled a ceramic wine holder off shelves Thursday after receiving a complaint from a Native American woman.
The statue is of a Native American man in a headdress holding a wine bottle to his open mouth.

A picture of the statue circulated late last week, and Rapid City native Robert Cook, president of the National Indian Education Association, wrote to the city to express his disappointment.

Cook could not be reached for comment Tuesday but stated in his letter that the community has moved forward with bridging the gap between Native Americans and the rest of the community, but it falls “several steps back due to the insensitivity of some of our business owners in the community.”

Cook said he was told the statue was being sold in more than one location, but the Journal could not confirm that Tuesday.

Mayor Alan Hanks responded to Cook’s complaint by sending a letter to the Gold Diggers owners Friday, requesting the statue be removed because it was “in poor taste and disrespectful.”

The mayor applauded the Thompsons for being so willing to correct a mistake.

“Cindy (Thompson) has been very good about this,” Hanks said Tuesday. “This gal is very respectful. I sent an e-mail asking that they remove the item, and she did. Quite honestly, if anything, I’m proud of her. I’m very pleased that she showed respect.

“I wish we had more folks in the community who, when something is pointed out as being offensive, were that willing to step up and do something about it.”

The owners of Gold Diggers say about 40 percent of their employees are Native American and the issue has been blown out of proportion.

“We cater to the Native American community; we admire them,” said Roger Thompson. “We don’t make fun of them, we employ them.”

Cindy Thompson said she asked her Native American employees if they thought the statue was offensive before she put it on the shelves. She said no one disapproved.

“One said, ‘No, it’s really cute,’” Cindy said, and another added, “No, it’s 2009.”

The couple issued a written apology to the woman and said they didn’t realize the wine holder would offend anyone.

Gold Diggers manager Jackie White said the holder was included in a pallet of several wine holders of the same design, which also featured cowboys, antlers, bears, moose, raccoons and horses.

She said the Native American statues will be thrown out, because they can no longer be returned to the manufacturer.

“It’s completely ridiculous. We didn’t mean anything by it.”

Roger said some may be offended that the wine holder is offensive to others.

“It’s like slapping a Native American in the face,” he said, because it assumes that all Native Americans have a problem with alcohol and can’t have a wine holder in their house. “A percentage of any population has a problem with alcohol. Many Native Americans are responsible users of alcohol.”

The Thompsons said it was never meant to be disrespectful, and their store welcomes people of all cultures and backgrounds. Cindy said Gold Diggers, which features Native American jewelry and other items, was founded on her own appreciation of the Native American culture and artwork. She lived on reservations in the Southwest for many years.

She is frustrated that her commitment to the Native American community and her works of service could be tarnished by one piece of merchandise.

“I’m embarrassed over the situation and humiliated.”

Contact Kayla Gahagan at 394-8410 or kayla.gahagan@rapidcityjournal.com

Complaints filed

It’s not the first time Native Americans in Rapid City have pushed back against merchandise and displays. A large bronze statue in front of Prairie Edge of a Native American man with his hands tied behind his back was replaced last year after complaints. Most recently, McDonald’s fielded complaints about its Night At The Museum Kids Meal toy: Gen. Custer riding a motorcycle.

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Read also The truth about Rapid City, S.D.