Quien es usted en realidad?

This video was put together in celebration of our Indigenous history, roots and identity. Although, many so-called Latinos will not identify as "Indigenous" because of the colonization and conditioning we've been subjected to over the past 518 years. Because of this, any assertion of an "Indian" or "Native" identity has been ridiculed and written off as a form of extremism or revisionist identity. We have been told that there's Indian in us, but that we are not Indian. We are told that Africa is in us, but that we are not African. This is far from the truth, as our cultures, history, and DNA bear witness.

Este video fue elaborado en la celebracion de nuestra historia indígena, las raices y la identidad. Aunque, muchos latinos llamada no se identifican como "indigenas" debido a la colonizacion y el acondicionamiento que hemos estado sometidos a los últimos 518 anos. Debido a esto, cualquier afirmacion de un "indio" o "nativos" identidad ha sido ridiculizado y tachado de una forma de extremismo o de identidad revisionista. Se nos ha dicho que no hay indio en nosotros, pero que no son indígenas. Se nos dice que Africa esta en nosotros, pero que no son africanos. Esto esta lejos de la verdad, como nuestras culturas, historia, y el testimonio de "DNA" soportar.


Paz!

Native & African: "Indivisible"

Blaxican: The Skeleton in Mexico's Closet

"Mexico's Forgotten Black History"
by griselda

For decades, he revolted against the Spanish crown. He lead an autonomous community of hundreds whose existence panicked the ruling classes from Mexico City to Veracruz. In 1609, his band survived a devastating incursion from the Spaniards, paving the way to an eventual negotiation - one that would make his community one of the first semi-autonomous communities recognized in the colonized Americas. Had an indigenous chief, rebellious priest or mixed peasant accomplished such a historical feat, it would not be hard to imagine their name still proudly spoken or recognized among Mexicans and Chican@s on both sides of the border. Gaspar Yanga, however, was brought to Mexico in chains. His original homeland is said to be what is now the African nation of Gabon. Aside from a lonely statue and yearly festival in what is now the town of Yanga, Veracruz, his legacy remains largely unknown.

This February, while reading articles on African-American history for Black History Month, I found myself contemplating my own history, and the part of Mexican history that was all but erased following the call of Vicente Guerrero (another Mexican of African descent) to abolish slavery during his short time as Mexico's president. Even though there were periods in which the African diaspora in Mexico greatly outnumbered Spanish colonialists, the modern narrative of Mexico is of a people and history shaped by the blending of two cultures - one European and one indigenous. Any mention of Mexico's "third root" is usually confined to a few scholars or various darker skinned communities in Mexico where African diaspora (many times alongside indigenous communities) were able to hold on to traditions and community.

The majority of Africans that came to Mexico were integrated - by force or social incentives that granted privilege based on race caste - into the post-colonized ambiguity of Mexicans, even as their existence was being conveniently forgotten. Under the influences of white supremacy and its lingering effects, it's not difficult to understand how generations have forgotten or obscured Mexico's African roots.

Sadly, though, even as Mexican or Chican@ nationalism confronted this colonial legacy, the mention of historical Black Mexico seems to offend those who think such expressions are a denial or rejection of Mexican's indigenous past. To this day in Mexico, those who identify as Afro-Mexican are waging a battle with the government to be officially recognized in the Mexican census.

The story of Gaspar Yanga, of the many Mexican "marooned" townships, of Black Seminoles and freed former slaves from the US in northern Mexico, and the eventual blotting out of Black history in Mexico are in my thoughts lately - while I assess the situation of my community north of the border, in this century. US capitalists may have replaced Spanish colonialists, but Blacks and Mexicans still find themselves as commodities, laborers, often used against one another. The divide and conquer tactics the conquistadors first used to split black/brown/white were modified and modernized and now apply to all workers of the Americas. This is partly why, as Mexicans and Chican@s, we should look at Black History not only as allies or students but because it's a part of our own history. And it must be a part of any future if we hope to accomplish what all of Mexico's defeated revolutions were not able to.

To honor Mexico's forgotten revolutionaries, as well as the celebrated ones, we need solidarity in the face of a common oppressor and socialism over a form of nationalism that doesn't engage or recognize all who struggle. We need to reclaim the dreams of those who gave and are giving their lives in struggle throughout the centuries on Mexican soil, and hear Yanga's grito along with Zapata's.

{Although stories of Black-Brown unity projects may not get the media attention, say, of Black and Latino gang rivalries in Los Angeles or disgruntled unemployed workers blaming immigrants, they are popping up in different parts of the country. This month in Georgia, I'm glad to say the Trail of Dreams - mostly undocumented students walking for immigration justice from Miami to DC - is being welcomed and hosted by traditional civil rights institutions as well as Black churches and community members/organizations.}

Original post: http://solidarity-us.org/current/node/2704

Algonquin Activism & Hip-Hop

Peace! As struggle continues to be a universal language amongst all people, "Hip-Hop" music continues to be the most relevant contemporary vehicle our youth have in speaking about this struggle.

Hip-Hop was born of resistance and continues to be the voice of resistance for youth around the world. Many elders dismiss Hip-Hop as "black american music" or as some musical monstrousity that corrodes away the values and culture of people. Yet, beyond the images of exploitation projected on televisions and radio by the corporate slave masters, Hip-Hop has remained as much more. It is the voice of our future generations, the children, the wealth of a nation and is one of the greatest tools we have in promoting solidarity amongst our people, and with the global community, in the name of struggle and revolt against the oppression and exploitation that persists in burdening the ressurrection of our mentally dead brothers & sisters.


Indigenous Rap


by Stefan Christoff

Samian: Algonquin alert Algonquin hip-hop artist Samian rants for reservesAlgonquin hip-hop artist Samian raps about the realities of life on First Nations reserves in Quebec. With a growing following on reserves and in Quebec's cities, he's also struck a chord in hip-hop communities everywhere.

Exploding the classic political binary of Quebec's two solitudes, Samian raps about indigenous people and their history in the province. His chart-topping hit La Paix des braves, a duet with Quebec hip-hop crew Loco Locass, appeals for solidarity between Québécois and indigenous people. Samian's recent collaboration with Sans Pression on Premières nations helped cement his role as a key voice in the Montreal contemporary hip-hop scene.

Hour sat down with Samian to discuss contemporary hip-hop in Montreal and the ways the genre is increasingly speaking to, and representing the struggles of, First Nations communities in Quebec, in Canada and throughout the Americas.

Hour: Hip-hop's origins in New York City were rooted in rhymes that addressed social injustices, especially the racism and social exclusion faced by African-Americans. Today in Canada, indigenous people face similar systemic social exclusion: racism, incarceration, substandard housing and medical options and poverty. Hip-hop is increasingly used as a response to this reality and artists are rapping about the social injustices faced by indigenous people. Can you talk about how your work relates to the history of hip-hop as a socially conscious art form? How do you connect your work to hip-hop history?

Samian: Hip-hop has always been an art form through which people have made demands, appealed for change and denounced the social injustices faced by African-Americans in U.S. ghettos. Certainly the history of African-American struggle in the U.S., like we saw with the Black Panthers, is tied to hip-hop music [and] culture.

Indigenous people in Quebec, in Canada, have lived through a history of oppression like African-Americans. Today we are still calling for justice, and hip-hop is a vehicle to call for this change. As an artist, I love hip-hop because it allows for free expression: You can talk about whatever issues are important to you. Hip-hop is a space for me to express myself on many subjects, to denounce injustices. It's also a space to propose positive solutions for social ills, and to reflect on the world around me.

Hour: What are you trying to make people more aware of through your music?

Samian: Our reality, the life on the reserves, the fight to retain our culture, the fact that we are struggling to keep our language. Also I want to make people aware that indigenous people have a rich history and culture that is ignored by the mainstream.

Through hip-hop we are opening people's eyes to our culture and also to our long, long history on this land. I want to speak to youth in Quebec who don't always learn about real indigenous history in the school system. Québécois and indigenous people's history in Quebec are interlinked. This relationship between our cultures has shaped what we know to be Quebec today, and who we are. Sadly our indigenous history is often shoved to the side because it shows an underlying brutality in the national narrative.

Hour: Many Montrealers don't know about the situation facing indigenous people on the reserves here and in Quebec. In this context, how do you see hip-hop as a way to educate people about the indigenous reality here? How do you address these issues in your music?

Samian: I think my music has the biggest impact on the reservations. The music sparks the spirits of the new generation on the reserves, and gives youth pride in our culture, and in our language.

But for everyone in Quebec, I hope my music inspires a more open spirit towards the realities faced on reserves, because people need to wake up to the difficulties and poverty we experience. The mainstream media don't address our situation thoroughly, so I am trying to communicate our reality. Simply put, there are two different realities, two different worlds, two different experiences of life in Quebec - one on the reserves and one off the reserves.

In Quebec, we have a national slogan: Je me souviens. But really, what do we remember in Quebec? In Quebec we forget some of the biggest parts of our own history. How was Quebec and Canada founded? What ever happened to the people who originally lived here? Why does the world forget that there are over 500 languages spoken across Canada, and not just English and French? So much about our history has been hidden or erased, and so young people never learn about the first peoples. These are all questions that - incredibly - aren't well answered in our schoolbooks. The government is also directly responsible for the lack of knowledge about our history, because indigenous culture and history is not a priority, and not taught seriously within the public school curriculum.

Recently, I looked up "Algonquin" in the dictionary and was shocked. The definition read something like "a people that don't exist." I was shaken to the core after reading this - how absurd. I am an Algonquin artist today in Quebec, I exist and my people exist. Today, after thousands of years, we are still on this land as indigenous people. We are still here and are gathering strength; my hip-hop verses express a pride for indigenous people in Quebec.

Hour: As an artist, your hip-hop is unique and has struck a chord in Quebec. What do you think makes your work compelling to so many different audiences?

Samian: I wrote poetry before ever thinking about rap. I eventually fell into rapping almost as an accident. Today I work with amazing musicians who are able to complement my verses with music. I think the relationship between my verses and the musicians that I collaborate with has become richer with time.

My second album is much deeper musically than the first album, and now it feels like things are constantly developing for me in exciting ways as an artist. All my first songs weren't written with, or for, specific music, so now that I work with musicians in developing my verses, the creative process has changed a lot.

At the root, I am an artist, not a politician. My songs are about real issues, but I address those issues as an artist. Many people say that my work is really political, but actually I know nothing about the political world. I address issues that are important to me.

Hour: ...But you are linked to grassroots political movements. Do you mean you aren't tied to the world of politicians and government?

Samian: I am interested in speaking out against injustice and trying to build towards solutions that solve those injustices. I'm not at all interested in official politics or political parties. Actually there hasn't been a major politician in North America, in the U.S., or in Canada that has proposed something really good for First Nations people. No proposal deals with the historical injustices we faced and the contemporary situation.

Hour: Perhaps we could look to Evo Morales in Bolivia as an example?

Samian: [Laughing] Today Bolivia is an exception in the Americas, because Morales is an indigenous president! In Bolivia, indigenous people are the majority, while in Canada we are such a small minority today.

In Bolivia the government of Evo Morales signed the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples into the national constitution. Here, Stephen Harper refused to sign the letter or even vote in favour of the charter at the UN. Harper made that apology for residential schools, but he voted against the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

The government in Canada wants us to remain in an unequal position and as a minority, with no political power. Indigenous people live in Third World conditions right here in Quebec and throughout Canada. So, is Canada progressive? In the U.S. there is an African-American president; could you ever imagine a First Nations prime minister in Canada? Indigenous people in Canada should take inspiration from the African-American struggle, which won many rights for black people in the U.S. Actually, we need to wage a similar struggle in Canada, a civil rights struggle.

Hour: Can you talk about the concerts that you've given in indigenous communities across Quebec? Do you feel different about the concerts that you give on reserve and those in the city?

Samian: Actually my concerts on reservations are really, really special for me. I feel that the most meaningful impact from my music is on the reserves. To meet youth on different reserves and to connect with youth, to talk about their realities - this is a big source of inspiration for me.

I can connect strongly with this, given that my own experiences are linked.
My work tries to project the true voice of First Nations people: Those on the reserve that I meet who are always struggling to survive, struggling for justice... I hope my music inspires youth to dream louder and create a better future.

Samian: For more info: http://www.samian.org/

Stefan Christoff is a Montreal-based community organizer and journalist who regularly contributes to Hour. He can be contacted at christoff@resist.ca.

Historia de Allah y Los 'Five Percenters'

Historia de Allah y Los 'Five Percenters'

Allah físicamente nació en el 22 de Febrero 1928 en Danville, VA. El nacio Clarence Edward Smith. El tuvo artos hermanos. Su madre lo apodó "Puddin". En una joven edad, en los tempranos 1940, su madre fue a NY para trabajar y Allah viajó con ella, trabajando donde podia, uno de que fue un soporte de fruta. El también desarrolló un amor por las apuestas.

El encontró finalmente Wileen Jowars con quien él tuvo a un niños. Para demostrar a su familia él no fue apretado para tener una mujer (la madre de Wileen no permitiría que ella casarselo) él encontró finalmente y tuvo a niños con otra mujer Dora denominado. En 1952 Allah entró en el Ejército y sirvió en la Guerra de Korea durante 7 años. El soporto cada una de sus familias con las apuestas y enbiaba el dinero por correo a cada una de sus familias.

Allah volvió a casa y encontró que su "mujer" Dora había unido la Nación de Islam, y el se unio tambien. Allah pasó 3 años en Mezquita No. 7, que en ese momento fue dirigido por Malcom X. El vendió papeles y llegó a ser finalmente muy capaz en su memorización y recitiation de las "lecciones" o la Sabiduría Suprema como los musulmanes lo llaman. (Nosotros le llamamos “120 grados/degrees"). El vino finalmente a su propia comprensión de que él mismo es Dios y comenzó a propagar esto en la Mezquita. Los musulmanes bajo Elijah Muhammad enseñaron que el hombre negro fue Dios por la naturaleza pero por ellos todavía "veneraron" a un hombre denominada W. D. Fard, un hombre y el cofundador pakistaníes de la Nación de Islam. Allah no se abonaría a esto porque si hay sólo UN DIOS y su nombre es ALLAH, cómo Fard era Dios y "él" no fue? El hombre Original, el hombre negro, es UNO.También, que el "hombre negro" son todos hombres de color- de indios a africano a asiáticos. Esto, por supuesto, incluye llamado latinoamericanos. Todos somo parte de la "familia negra" y manifesto por sombras diferentes de la oscuridad- de la oscuridad para encender. Nuestro "color" viene de nuestra melanina, basado en el "Carbón" de elemento, el elemento "negro". También a causa de nuestro origen cósmico entre el sol, la luna y las estrellas. La oscuridad del universo. La oscuridad de la mente. Todos descendemos de las primeras personas en el planeta.

Allah, siendo de la calle, lo tomó sobre él mismo dejar la Mezquita con otro hermano Abu Shahid (se refirió a como el 'Semilla Marron de Padre'/ Father's Brown Seed). Ellos dejaron las Mezquita y volvieron a las calles (conseguir dinero como Abu Shahid me ha dicho). Ahi fue cuando Allah tomó su nombre y comenzó a referirse a él mismo como "ALLAH". El entonces comenzó a enseñar quién él era a los niños en la calle.

La primera persona que él enseñó fue una juventud 'Matthew', que despues fue llamado "Karriem". Allah le dio el nombre de "Mesías Negro" (Black Messiah). Esto fue porque él fue una semilla "negra" (piel oscura), una semilla del "conocimiento", como decimos (1,2,3-, conocimiento,sabiduría, comprendimiento- negro, marrón, amarillo). Allah entonces enseñó a 8 otros jóvenes, junto con Mesías Negro/Black Messiah, quien es referido como el 'Primero Nacido'. Todos estuvieron entre las edades de 14 y 19. Y ellos son así:

Black Messiah
Bisme Allah
Al-Jamil
Akbar
Uhuru
Kiheem
ABG#7
First Born Prince
I-Salaam

El más joven fue Kiheem (14) y el más viejo I-Salaam (19). Cada uno fue instruido en ensenar a 9 hombres para crecer y multiplicarse. En este momento ellos fueron referidos como Allah's 'Five Percenters'. Allah primero los había traído junto en el 10 de octubre 1964 ('día 1' o el año 1964 son considerados' año 1') instruirlos en su misión.

Mientras en la calle Allah había ligado con una persona que fue anteriormente en la Mezquita pero que la había dejado antes- un hombre llamado Justicia (que fue también referrd a como "Jesus", 'Jimmy Jam' o Cuatro Cifra Akbar/Four Cipher Akbar). En la Primavera de 1965, Allah fue detenido para la alteración del orden público, por negar de separar una "cifra" en medio de una acera en la petición de un oficial.

Allah fue traído antes del Juez Francis X O'Brian, donde él solicitó para defenderse, desde que él fue "Allah". El Juez lo consideró "loco" (técnicamente- 'criminalmente loco') y él fue enviado al barrio psiquiátrico del hospital de Bellevue. Esto es donde él encontró y enseñó el primer miembro Caucasico de las Nación (que tenia15 o 16 anos en aquel momento), quien él denominó "Azrael". Allah fue transferido finalmente interior a Beacon, NY al Hospital psiquiátrico del Estado de Mattewan durante un apagón, en tentativas al seperate él de los jóvenes Five Percenters (debilitar su influencia y separarnos). Allah sirvió 22 meses en individual. El fue soltado en la Primavera de 1967.

Ese fue el mismo año que nuestra Bandera Universal de Islam fue diseñada por Universal Shammgaud Allah. El primer "Parlamento Universal" tomo lugar en abril de 1967 en Mt. Morris Park en Harlem. Al tiempo que esto paso ya habian cientos de jovenes que eran Five Percenters. La extensión del Conocimiento salio de Meca (Harlem) y fue a Medina (Brooklyn) a Pelan (Bronx) y entonces a los otros barrios. Entonces fue a Springfield, Massachussetts y entonces a Philadelphia.

Barry Gotherer, la ayuda al Alcalde John V Lindsay de NY fue hecho responsable con establecer una relación con Allah 'limitar cualquier violencia' desde que nosotros fuimos considerados por las autoridades como un 'la pandilla de la calle de juventud'. Barry Gotherer y Allah llegaron a ser muy cercanos, y con la asistencia de Barry tuvimos nuestro primer Parlamento. El ayudó a conseguirnos alfileres de la bandera Universal de solapa que adornarían nuestros nombres justos, para que podamos ser identificados como Five Percenters y no musulmanes. Barry también consiguió la ciudad para proporcionar autobuses para tomar a los niños al parque y a la playa. También, él pudo obtener el apoyo de la ciudad para patrocinar paseos para el jóvenes. Finalmente, la ciudad en conjunción con la Liga Urbana nos dio nuestra primera escuela, conocido como la Escuela de Alá en Meca, para $1 un mes durante 99 años.

12 de junio, fue la última vez que cualquiera habló con Allah, como él construyó durante horas en la ciencia de hombre y mujer en la Escuela de Alá. Esto fue cuando él reveló a ellos que ellos hacen ya no es el suyo 'Five Percenters', que ellos serían el suyo 'la Nación de Dios y Tierras'. Allah fue asesinado la mañana temprana de 13 de junio, 1969 en el elevador de la construcción de su madre. El fue disparado 7 veces. El asesina nunca fue resuelto.

*Un par de otras cosas para señalar en fue que el nombre de la primera Tierra fue "Hermana Carmen", una hermana de puertorriqueño que fue la mujer de Abu Shahid. La Tierra tiene su propia lista de la Tierra primero nacida que puedo proporcionar a usted en una fecha posterior. También, la primera latina en la Nacion fue una 'Regla nacida del Poder' (o "Power Rule" en ingles- PR, el abreviation para 'puertorriqueño') nombre fue 'Kendu Islam'. Algún otro primer nacido latina fue primo físico de Kendu- Allah Sha Sha, y Monique. Kendu y Sha Sha tomaron las enseñanzas a Puerto Rico en los tardes 1970. Ellos abrieron aún la "Escuela de Alá/Allah's school" en San Juan estuvo sólo abierto durante unos pocos años. Esa fue la primera ves que las enseñanzas fueron llevadas al Caribe e Latinoamérica.

Paz!

(Compuesto y traducido por Sha-King Cehum Allah- 2009)

Reconsidering Columbus Day

Reconsider Columbus Day and the implications it has regarding America's amnesia towards the Indigenous holocaust.

Proper Education Allows for Cultural Emergence

PEACE!

"Somos Originales"

Article from- "Knowledge of Self Anthology: A Collection of Wisdom on the Science of Everything in Life"

“Somos Originales”
By Sha-King Cehum Allah

The ‘Americas’ have long been considered a melting pot of sorts for various cultures and ethnicities. This is especially true when we consider the institution of slavery. Across North, Central and South America, Native, African , European and even Asian chromosomes have been infused through the hard times and hunger brought on by colonialism. Yet, it is the predominance of the African and “Indian” blood and culture that serves as the main pillars of civilization on these continents.

The merging of the African and Indian is what brought forth the reality of the "so-called Latino." For the two centuries we have been told that we are a ‘tri-racial peoples‘, a cosmic combination consisting of African, Indian and Spanish (European) blood. Yet, the focus has always been put on the 'Spanish' lineage as the result of self-esteem issues and cultural conditioning. We have a tendency to associate with that which is 'lighter' or that which is seen as closer to 'white', while at the same time pushing ourselves away from that which is ‘dark’ and embracing 'blackness' because our overseers and educators stipulated it as a 'sin' and equated it with inferiority. This is the unfortunate by-product of the mental and physical slavery we have endured. While there are many black and brown 'Latinos' and Native Americans, a large segment of our populations is 'yellow'. This has been exploited by our oppressors and has contributed to the masses of people's lack of understanding of who they really are. We have been psychological diced up and separated from ourselves. This acquisition and merger of Native and African culture and people is not solely the result of slavery and stands as a testament to who we are, beyond the Spanish interjection and inference. The Spanish no doubt have a role in our history and cultura from language to religion, but can not and are not the anchor for our identity. We are the Original people on this part of the planet earth- Nativos y Africanos. One people.

Many Native Americans, as well as so-called Latin Americans, have the misconception that the mixing of African and Indian was something that was primarily characteristic of the Caribbean, South and Central America, and the U.S. South, as the result of chattel slavery. Research and studies have shown from archaeology and anthropology that African peoples were traveling to the Americas, trading and building with the Native peoples, a considerable amount of time before the arrival of Columbus. Most of the supportive evidence has been found throughout Mexico, the Caribbean and South America. Still much evidence shows and proves this taking place in North America as well, especially from the tribal stories handed down through the centuries, like those of the Anishnabe/Chippewa and the tale of Neganii and Abukar. Upon the advent of chattel slavery, they continued merging together for survival and developed many settlements throughout North, Central and South America.

These interactions between Original peoples reveal more about the “Americas” than we have ever been taught in school, and verify the forging together of a new cultural identity prior to what many Euro-centrists attribute as a result of slavery.

We came together prior to colonialism and not just ‘in the struggle’ and poverty of the urban jungle, cotton fields or encomiendas. The coming together and existing together of both peoples was essentially ‘nation building’ and reasonably the foundation for Elijah Muhammad’s use of the terminology 'Original Nation' in reference to the collective African-Indian population in America. This is a very important concept to understand giving that a large population of so-called African Americans possess Native blood just as many so-called Latin Americans possess African blood. The basis for Native and African peoples coming together is both cultural and political, while usually only seen as political in modern times. The perspective and assumption for it to be solely political, limits our understanding of each other and ourselves, as well as our ability to continue to elevate to our highest state of consciousness and existence. We are brothers and sisters and are literally, one people. The Original people.

We have been bombarded with notions of an “Espana” motherland from the start of the Spanish conquest of the Americas. It was the conquistadores, themselves of questionable ethnic origin, that perpetuated the idea of whiteness based on the ‘one drop’ theory, a contrast to it’s role in North American racial ideology- ‘one drop’ of black blood makes you ‘black’. It is through this mental framework that they would subdue the masses of African and Native people, seizing their identity as they raped and pillaged our women, replacing our self-esteem with obligations to the crown and church. Not only were we separated from our people and our legacy, we were further separated from our true selves by nationalism. New labels of identification were instituted as the countries of the Americas eventually fought for and obtained independence from Spain and other European empires. New labels that forced us to identity with our oppressor and unite under ’his’ common cause.

These labels- mestizo, mulatto, zambo, pardo, and triguena- were conceived with the intent to further divide us from ourselves and each other. Although, these labels would eventually take a back seat in favor of ’nationalism’. It should be noted that the independence movement in Latin America was headed by the intellectuals and elites. As they sought independence from Spain, the cause to fight became the propaganda for a common reality they all shared in being 'oppressed' by Spain. This common reality became 'nationalism' and ended up being to Latin America what liberalism was to the United States. However in many cases the revolution simmered down, people's vision were lost, and the oppression of Spain was replaced by the oppression of the intellectual elite of the European colonizers.

In time, they then sought a common identity, something that spoke out to the universal heritage and infusion of blood throughout Latin America. It was an identity that was to speak to the differences between those born in ‘Las Americas’ and the ‘Peninsulares’ (those born on the Iberian peninsula- Spain and Portugal). This identity would serve to tie them into the 'new land' where many of them were born, and highlighted the bloodline that birthed this new reality. This concept was Indigenismo. Yet, it did not represent truly the identity of the people but rather utilized the notion of the “Indians” as a novelty and placed it within the bounds of being a ‘heritage’ as opposed to ethnic or racial identity. It would later take on even more momentum as a tool against the campaign of ‘mestizaje’ or the ‘whitening’ of society, that took place during the mid to late 1800’s and which still persists today. It would become the rallying cry for such revolutionary figures as Augustino Cesar Sandino and Emiliano Zapata against the oppression of the ruling class.

Indigenismo is a wonderful concept. Even more powerful is it's application and implementation. That is, when the seed is cast out to be sown and takes root amongst the hearts and minds of the people. Something even more eventful than the blooming of flowers and the fruit of the crops. It is the moment when the seed is planted, when it actually resonates within a person or people. Indigenismo has been such a unifying concept through the 'Americas'. Yet like most things positive and unifying, there are those who are opposed to it. Through out 'Latin America' it has been the ruling oligarchies, the Euro-elite, whom undoubtedly were victims of the colonial education system and whose influences came from the European "Enlightenment" period of the 1800’s, who have opposed this idea with ferocity. It is they and their descendants, whom nowadays, have plagued us with the label of being nothing more than a 'mixed raced people', with no real point of origin. Owing ourselves and our livelihood to that 'Iberian connection', a perspective which is termed 'hispanismo'. And thus, the introduction and usage of the term 'hispanic.'

The use of this terminology was then able to tie non-European peoples into an identity centered-around conquest. In lands colonized by English-speaking Europeans- Jamaica, Barbados, Antigua, etc., the people ended up viewing “England” as their motherland. Nowadays our people freely refer to themselves as ‘Hispanic’ and especially “Spanish”. Although we may continue to speak in the tongue of our conquerors, let it be understood that “Castillian” is not our original language. Still, many Spanish-speaking people are adamant about speaking the colonizers language, which allows them to relish in the desire to be other than our own selves. The manner in which someone speaks the language is considered a status of one’s social and cultural status, as many countries pride themselves on speaking, what they consider to be, the closest to how it is spoken in Spain. Still, each Latin American countries dialect(s) is unique and is reflective of the Indigenous and African peoples that lived in those areas and very much a mirror of the suppressed identity of the people.

“Inside every mestizo there is either one dead Indian, or an Indian waiting to re-emerge” -Jose Barreiro, Guajira-Taino Scholar and Editor of ‘Indian County’

Since their empires have been built from our blood and bondage, they ultimately fear that which will unseat them from their colonial thrones. So they have down played the Indian and African in us. Yet, it was the Indian and African in us that would not accept a life of servitude. As I have touched on before, to ‘identify with the oppressor’ is the goal of the imperial indoctrination and colonialism. This mentality they have sought to kindle in us to maintain their status quo and prevent 'us' from reclaiming power over our own destinies. Historians, intellectuals, government officials, have often made claims that the 'Indians' in Latin America were all wiped out, especially in Cuba, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. This outrageous claim is far from the truth. The classification of who and what we are has been in the hands of those who sought to exploit us. History has been recorded by those who have conquered and pillaged. ‘Their’ writings only serve as propaganda to authorize and justify their cruel treatment of the Original inhabitants of this part of the planet earth. But again, they do this to prevent any potential of us destabilizing their colonial power and reclaiming our lands, let alone our identity. They do this to make us think we are all different and to prevent a mass uprising of the marginalized, the voicing of our condition and demand for our rights across the planet. It prevents us from learning and cherishing our history. For a people without a history have no future. They want us to believe our history began in 1492 and that it started with them.

They have fomented a popular mentality that makes a mockery of anyone who attempts to reclaim their Native ancestry. And the most contemporary example would be us, so-called Latin Americans. Making knowledge born (making information known) and attempting to unify people around who we are is simply brushed off by the main stream and viewed as a fledgling attempt at planting our own roots and staking claim to geography (as the U.S. and Latin America colonizers are guilty of). While intension of what appears to be ‘land grabs’ are assumed, this is far from the truth. The truth being that “we are the Original people”. We are “los indios”, whether full-blood or mestizo or zambo. Of course, this is something they do not want to admit because of it’s implications of the eventual displacing of European descendants from our land. All the more reason for the reclassifying job done on race and ethnicity by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2000. By placing “Latinos” in the category of ‘white‘, it boosts their population numbers and is an extremely political move. One that will have continued cultural consequences via the constant barrage of Euro-centric propaganda. It's bad enough that we've had to deal with the mind set of "the whiter the better" for over 516 years throughout Latin America. People are still being forced to compromise their identity to move ahead in society.

The revisions in the Census Bureau’s survey classifications on race having merged the "Hispanic" population into the "White" category was deliberate. White people are very aware that they are about to become the minority in their own country and this is just one effort in reversing the state of things and discouraging the unity of the Original people. They take the largest and fastest growing "minority" in America, covering them under the cloak of "tricknowledge" and white supremacy by calling them white. This is what happened in 1846 after the United States ‘stole’ the Republic of Texas from our Mexican brothers and sisters, and called it an "annexation". The majority of white settlers in Texas were slave holders and the U.S. government feared that revenge would be taken by the Mexicans and the other Original people who resided there. To prevent an uprising they classified "Mexicans" as "white" (despite their overwhelming Indian bloodline), a label which continued to appear of Texan birth certificates until the 1960's. "Mexica" is actually the name of the people we refer to as the ‘Aztecs‘. The ’Aztec” was conjured up by historians due to their proposed ancient homeland "Aztlan"- Southwestern U.S.) Regardless to one's actually skin color, there is much more in their bio-chemical make-up that constitutes who they are. Someone may appear 'white', but they aren't. The are light-skinned “people of color”, and their 'blood' and DNA bears witness. As Original people we range from very dark to very light. However, many remain confused due to how we were/are educated and saturated with notions of “Spain’ and Europe, yearning to be other than our own selves.

The people whom descend from the lands of so-called Latin America have a color complex. Many of us still think that “white is right”. We continue to link our reality back to a population and culture who are un-alike us, simply because of language, religion, and certain elements of our traditions. Many of us actuality believe the lies and think that we are “Spanish”, in spite of our latent embrace of ‘indigenismo’. We have been taught that we have Indian in us but we aren’t Indian. We have been told that we have African in us but that we aren’t African. We end up psychologically ‘riding the fence’ and making racial selections to suit our needs in society. Still, by the hand of the oppressor, indigenismo ended up only being a buffer to keep from being called “black”. While it has been documented that 85% of Dominicans have black blood, Carol Amoruso, editor of the Hispanic Village, in her series entitled “Explorations in Black and Tan” noted: “At the same time, a great number of Dominicans still reject their blackness. In an article I wrote for the Hispanic American Village in 2002, I interviewed Dominican aestheticians, specialists in hair relaxing, proud of their ability to make black seem white. Observed one, "…we do not say that we are black. We invent a lot of names for our skin, like indio claro, indio lava[d]o or indio canela, but never black. So, the idea is to make you look white if you are black. They teach us that in the Dominican Republic.”


Indigenismo has been a double-edged sword. While unifying in many ways, it has been used at the hands of the elites to reshape 'Latin American' society in their particular image and taste. They purported that the average everyday Latino was a 'mestizo', a ‘mixture’ of Spanish , Indian and African. However, this perspective was adopted to create a false sense of 'equality' throughout society and served their purposes as a compliment to nationalism, attempting to erase any evidences or situations that could potentially spark future revolutions and revolts. The ‘Indianess’ of indigenismo served to distinguish between being looked at as 'white' and being looked at as 'black', which was far worse for the intellectual overseer's. Once formulated, this concept was then packaged in the form of literature and sent out to penetrate the mindset of the people. Yet all the while, telling the masses of Indian/African people that the majority of Indians died out or had mixed with the Africans so much that no one was actually 'black' or 'African' or 'Indian' anymore. And thus, Carol Amoruso, also noted in her series about recent immigrants to the United States- “The new Latinos come mostly from the Latin American mainland where the culture is more “indio” and European.” Most people from countries such as Mexico, Peru or El Salvador will claim to have "no black in them" when this is far from the truth. Nowadays, biologically speaking, while most people who are so called Puerto Rican, Dominican or Cuban have Indian, African and European blood, so do many other people throughout the Caribbean, Central and South America. The presence of Afro-Indio culture and blood has always been very abundant, even after the decimation of the people, especially population wise . On page 29 of "Black Indians", author William Loren Katz states: "By 1650 Mexico alone had an African-Indian population (some with white ancestry) of one hundred thousand. A new race was being born." Still, many Mexica continue the propaganda that Mexicans are not ‘black‘, and that only certain towns and neighborhoods have "black blood", although the truth continues to remain.

Many of our brothers and sisters who come to the U.S. from Central America are very indigenous in appearance. On face value, through media, we look over these people as 'Mexicans', not aware of their unique history. They too, have had considerable amounts of African blood infused into them, although they may contest it. Especially mi gente from Cuscatlan or as the devil now calls “El Salvador.” Descendants of the Pipil peoples, who are actually of the Maya, Salvi's or Salvadorenos have been institutionally and systemically conditioned to think they are different from Africans and have no African blood in them. They have been the victims of a vicious campaign, similar to that which took place in the Dominican Republic under Presidente Rafael Trujillo when he made every effort to 'whiten' society by killing thousands of Haitians and reducing the African presence in the Dominican Republic down to a myth. This is truth, not a conspiracy theory, and far from a mere political ploy to 'unite' the two groups of Original people under false bonds for the benefit of bi-partisan struggle. Many brothers and sisters who are Indigenous and are of the Pan-Indigenous Diaspora actually exist within the African Diaspora as well. With this truth in mind, while someone may chose to embrace one people over the other (usually due to upbringing or life experience), we must strive to embrace both, as both peoples are who we are.

It is very important to understand our relationship to each other and that we are really all one family- we are all of the ‘black family‘. We, however, exist within distinct degrees of melanin, which we call 'shades of black' within the Nation of Gods and Earths, defined as: black, brown and yellow. "Black" is typically seen as just a 'color' and most often associated with ’skin’ color, but it isn't a stagnant or fixed idea. It is dynamic. What is "black" in social standards varies with countries and cultures to be sure, which is the reason why so many so-called Latinos are reluctant to embrace the term. We also must look at the world and universe around us. Do not be blinded by the illusion of the daytime, for even our ancestors knew that the universe and space is black. The illumination of the Sun was born out of the blackness of this space and subsequently everything else in the universe and our solar system. The first organism of our intellectual and social capabilities to manifest presence on our planet, human being, has been recognized in science and anthropology as "black". This does not mean that were 'as' black as the universe, but a manifestation, in the physical degree, and a supreme embodiment of the sub-atomic intelligence that drives energy through it's different forms and brings forth life and matter. The word 'black' has more of a political connotation for us as human beings, especially nowadays, so someone who is referred to as 'black' isn't literally 'black'. And within the Nation of Gods and Earths we use it to define all people of color, regardless of their shade, as a term of solidarity and reverence for our common origin, whether cosmic or in terms of civilizations. Still, in the mainstream, Puerto Ricans (along with other so-called Latinos) who assert our Blackness are not only outcast by those who identify more so with their Spanish conqueror than their African ancestors, but are also shunned by so-called African Americans who do not see us as ‘black.’ Irregardless, whether someone is Navajo, Quechua, Mandinga, Ghanian or even Hmong or Pinoy, they are “black.”

It has been the traditional perspective, of the Nation of Gods and Earths, of Latinos as being 'Native American' and the Original owners of the Americas, but in no way limits us solely to that category. Nor is it to blanket someone's individual history in favor of the collective identity, as some forms of Pan-Africanism often do, attributing any and everything to the greatness of Africa alone. It is a perspective that links us all to an underlying factor, a common point of reference. It is a rallying cry to all my Indigenous brothers and sisters. A rallying cry of unity and solidarity, as expressed through the understanding of Allah and his will to unite 'all the seeds (shades of the Original man)’.
The Nation of Gods and Earths embraces all Original people by tearing down the labels of nationalism and tribal identity that create barriers, and bring everyone together for one common cause: education and elevation of our quality of living.

It is this perspective that speaks to so-called Latinos, not from a nationalist standpoint, but from a reality that harkens back further than ‘Latin Nationalism.’ It goes beyond state established boundaries and ties us all in to a shared history and ancestral memories. It is not merely the product of intellectuals but a perspective taken on by many Native peoples through the documented history of the Americas. Tecumseh, of the Shawnee, sought to unite all nations and tribes, under one common Pan-Indigenous identity, in attempts to resist and prevent the westward expansion of the 13 American colonies and the genocide against the Original people. He traveled from his home in the Ohio River valley, down south to Cherokee country, amongst the Chickasaw and Seminole, and even west ward a bit until he voyaged back north to Prophet's town (the city that he and his brother established as the center of their mission).

It is in this same vein and vision that we need to unite all those of Latin American descent. We need to unify and create a solidarity beyond our country borders and ethnic prejudices. It is up to us- the Original people, the black, brown and yellow sons and daughters of the Americas, to re-establish who we are and what belongs to us, especially our birthright. We must be determined in the fight for the freedom to define ourselves in today's society. We must reclaim our place amongst our black brother and sisters worldwide, as we are black men and women. Somos las personal Originales del Planeta Tierra!

To order your copy of the book, visit: http://knowledgeofself.viviti.com/

Raices y Cultura

Accept it or reject it, it is what it is. Somos Originales!

Who is Indigenous/Original? Simon says....

Peace! On this day of knowledge and understanding, I wanted to give a hat-tip to Angry Indian (www.angryindian.blogspot.com) for this article. It shows the continuing deterioration of our people's mindset and perspectives due to colonization. It shows how important our monetary relationship with the United states is and in all actuality reveals how much we are 'not' as sovereign as many of us claim to be, because we continue to divide amongst our own just to meet standards by the government. Of course, this "standard" being the ever popular and controversial 'blood quantum' ideology, introduced, undeniably by the oppressors in their quest to pull the rug (land) out from under our feet. It peeves me at times, however, I stand firm in my own understanding of my self and others like me whom are not officially 'enrolled' nor look for or need anyone else's 'thumbs up' approval of our identity. I recognize no 'master' over my self, other than self, and therefore do no give into 'tap dancin'' around for any 'massa' to look upon me favorablely. I am who I am. And for all my Original brothers and sisters still clingin' on to the book that was used to enslave us, I AM THAT I AM. What's even more interesting about this article is how it brings up the refusal to accept other tribal nations by other nations. You very well could be "mixed blood" with many different tribal nations but not be considered "Indigenous" by one, whom you share ancestry with. As well as the continued ignorance by some Northern tribes of the history and lineage of their Caribbean, Central and South American brothers and sisters, as being 'indigenous' men and women. I guess they feel we would be cuttin' in on their welfare checks (government funds). It's so unfortunate, as well as a testament to the necessity for a Pan-Indigenous movement.

From NPR....

As Requirements Change, Just Who Is An Indian?
by Brian Bull


Many Native American communities are struggling with a basic question: just who is an Indian? As tribal numbers dwindle, many are reexamining how they define what it means to be a member. But lowering the blood requirement for membership has both political and economic impacts for many groups.

At a ranch house in Wisconsin Rapids, about 100 miles from Madison, five generations of a Native American family gathered under one roof. Florence Camacho, an 89-year-old Potawatomi elder, helps her grandson Dontae make a traditional piece of neckwear. They've scattered red, yellow and brass beads all over the kitchen table.

"After you're done beading it, you have to tie knots right there," Dontae says. "Then my grandmother's going to have to leather it, right there."

Nearby, Camacho's other grandchild, Mareenah Poulin, cradles her son, Leeam, who is just two weeks old.

Leeam's soft brown eyes open for a moment, then he's back to sleep as Poulin's mom, Amber Malone, looks on. She wants Leeam to learn all about her tribe, the Prairie Band of Potawatomi. Only technically he's not actually a member. Most tribes, including the Potawatomi, require at least one-quarter tribal blood to become official — complete with enrollment card and number. Malone says she's worried how enrolled members will treat her grandson — who doesn't have that one-quarter tribal blood — as he grows up.

"I know of people that have asked for proof," Malone says. "If you don't have proof, then you're not an Indian. In the native culture, some people treat them as substandard individuals. As wannabes."

Malone says there's talk among the Potawatomi of lowering the requirement to one-eighth. That — in a stroke of a pen — could double the tribe's membership, but there's a lot at stake here. Enrolled members enjoy tribal benefits, including health care and education, and there are science and art programs, too. Malone would love that for her own family.

"Anything that's going to better enrich their lives — whereas you have children that are nontribally enrolled, you're kind of stonewalled as far as trying to get them the help and the tools to help better culture their minds," she says.

In recent years, some tribes have gone the other way. They've actually reduced membership. While leaders say it's a matter of legitimacy, critics say it's all about money — namely per capita payments based on casino revenues.

"And to be quite honest with you, I think with a lot of tribes it all comes down to the money issue," Malone says. "They lower the blood quantum, there's a lot more people that are going to be able to come onto the rolls. And that per capita is going to be cut right in half."

Across the room, Malone's dad, Fred Camacho, is watching a ballgame on TV. He says many tribes are considering lowering their blood quantum and that it's inevitable.

"Understanding that if you maintain a quarter-blood quantum, at some point the tribe will disappear," he says. "Unless, and I have seen the argument, you marry another one of your tribe."




The Struggle For Identity

That issue, marriage, is a contentious one among Native Americans. In Madison, Melissa Lompre tells a story: She was looking for a new church and recalls enjoying the services at a local Native American church, until "a man got up, and he made a comment: 'Our Native American brothers and sisters, here, they're not married to or with other Native American people.' I was going to stand up and say, 'Well, I'm here as a Native American person praying with all of you, what does it matter who I'm living with, who I'm married to?' and I just didn't go back to that service anymore."

Lompre's part Menominee, Ojibwe and Delaware, but two of her kids are half Puerto Rican, from their father's side.

"They're less than 25 percent Menominee," Lompre says.

The struggle for identity among Native Americans isn't just about outsiders; Lompre says other natives have looked down on her for not growing up on the reservation.

"I wish there was a magical mutt nation that you could put people in that could have that identity given to them, but there's not," she says.

Even if someone is enrolled and lives on a reservation, that's still no guarantee they'll be considered Indian, as Denise Hobson-Ryan knows — she's half Navajo and half Irish.

In a dry, scrubby park in Phoenix, Ryan swings then hurls a round metal weight across a field. It's all practice for an upcoming Highland Games tournament. As her dad measures the distance, Ryan recalls how other kids on the reservation where she grew up teased her for her lighter complexion.

"Well, they would say 'billagona billasaana' because it rhymed really nice, and billagona means white person, and billasaana means apple," Hobson-Ryan says. "So it was, 'billagona billasaana' I heard that all my life growing up. But I lived with my Indian grandma for awhile when I was little. And she'd tell me some things in Navajo to say back to them. So I would say some pretty mean things back. Probably not something you can say on the radio!"

Hobson-Ryan later went to Dartmouth College where she says the upper-class Indian students routinely questioned her identity.

"I mean, I'd never been to a powwow, I had really nothing to add to the conversation," she says. "I think that was sort of where they drew their traditional ideas was, 'Well, you don't do powwows, then you're not an Indian'."

Vying For Status

In central Wisconsin recently, the Brothertown Indians held a powwow of sorts. The only problem? According to the federal government, they're not technically Indians. Dressed in their finest beaded and feathered regalia, attendees look and sound like other natives. But the Brothertown aren't federally recognized, which limits them in many ways, like their land.

"The parcel of land that we're standing on here is about a three-fourths acre piece of land that was purchased by the tribe a number of years back, in the process of the federal acknowledgment effort," says tribal member Darren Kroenke, as he walks across tribal property in snow and freezing rain.

The Brothertown are among 300-some Indian tribes seeking federal recognition. A storage garage is the only building. Kroenke says tribal members are anxious for a place at the table, with Wisconsin's 11 federally recognized tribes.

"The issue that I raise is that federal acknowledgment is used as a qualifier," Kroenke says. "But it shouldn't have anything to do with that, it shouldn't prejudice or substantiate history or culture."

Kroenke says it's just a fact that the Brothertown Tribe has a long history in Wisconsin. But after decades, they're still waiting for the government to make them official.

Original source: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103938042

Native Youth Movement

Tecumseh: The Power in Pan-Indigenism

"When it comes time to die, be not like those whose hearts arefilled with the fear of death, so when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song, and die like a hero going home." -Tecumseh

Tecumseh was a Shawnee leader, born is what is now Ohio, March 9, 1768. He was vary instrumental in the War of 1812 and fighting against the westward expansion of the 13 American colonies by seizure of Native lands. His name meant "Shooting Star" and/or "Crouching Panther". Interestingly enough, many of his own people followed behind his vision and movement, instead moving westward as the colonizers advanced. Still, the movement which sprang from his brother's, Tenskawatawa, religious visions' would leave their names in the book of life. Tenskawatawa, originally born 'Lalawethika', claimed to have had a "vision" and from this, began to teach against European occupation, advancement and against Native peoples adoption of white culture. Bearing witness to the devastation these things had on Native life, Tecumseh supported his brother and became the key voice in promoting the message. It would essentially become a Pan-Indigenous message and movement of identity, solidarity and sovereignty.

"The way, the only way to stop this evil is for the red man to unite in claiming a common and equal right in the land, as it was first, and should be now, for it was never divided."
We gave them forest-clad mountains and valleys full of game, and in return what did they give our warriors and our women? Rum, trinkets, and a grave.

Brothers -- My people wish for peace; the red men all wish for peace; but where the white people are, there is no peace for them, except it be on the bosom of our mother. Where today are the Pequot? Where today are the Narrangansett, the Mohican, the Pakanoket, and many other once powerful tribes of our people?

They have vanished before the avarice and the oppression of the White Man, as snow before a summer sun." -Tecumseh

Although they were opposed by many Shawnee and other Indigenous leaders, they managed in rallying many behind them and uniting Indigenous people in one common cause and effort. Each tribal Nation continued to maintain their traditions and way of life. Still, they united in the understanding that only their solidarity and movement as a body could preserve it. Regardless to the uniqueness in the manifestation of their specific cultural perspective and traditions, they recognized their commonalities as Indigenous people and their origin in this part of the planet earth. It was agreed that only a return to their people's ways, the wisdom of their ancestors, and a rejection of the devil's, could they succeed in the salvation of their people.

"But, brother, I mean to bring all the tribes together, in spite of you, and until I have finished, I will not go to visit your president. Maybe I will when I have finished, maybe. The reason I tell you this, you want, by making your distinctions of Indian tribes and allotting to each a particular tract of land, to set them against each other, and thus to weaken us.

You never see an Indian come, do you, and endeavor to make the white people divide up?"-Tecumseh

Tecumseh traveled across Indian land, seeking audiences and speaking to the people. He taught extensively and promoting the "oneness" of the Original people. His brother Tenskawatawa, The Prophet, continued teaching as well from their center in "Prophetstown", in Indiana. Over time it was said that Tenskawatawa become more fervent and militant with the teachings. Tecumseh eventually forbid his brother was speaking out too aggressively against whites or engaging in any conflict with them whenever he was not around. The movement flickered out in 1811, when Tecumseh was on a trip to meet with southern " 5 Civilized Tribes" and Tenskawatawa led his people into battle against future U.S. president, William Henry Harrison. Reportedly, Tenskwatawa sought to establish grounds for a peaceful talk with the then military commander. Yet, Tecumseh arrived to find Prophetown burned and destroyed.

"How can we have confidence in the white people? When Jesus Christ came upon the earth, you killed him, the son of your own God, you nailed him up! You thought he was dead, but you were mistaken. And only after you thought you killed him did you worship him, and start killing those who would not worship him. What kind of a people is this for us to trust? "- Tecumseh

Their vision and message continue on. Not just amongst the neo-political and Indigenous sympathizers. Not just on the reservation or in the mindset of the those marginalized by America. It is a, idea, message and vision that re-verberates within the ancestral memories of our senses and cells. Pan-Indigenism is the desire to be as 'one' with our brothers and sisters, from the Artic circle to Tierra Del Fuego. Just as we understand all of creation being are relations in the most fundamental form. It is this universal oneness that should bind those of us from the First Nations whether colonized by the English, French or the Spanish.

"Thus were we created. Thus we lived for a long time, proud and happy. We had never eaten pig meat, nor tasted the poison called whiskey, nor worn wool from sheep, nor struck fire or dug earth with steel, nor cooked in iron, nor hunted and fought with loud guns, nor ever had diseases which soured our blood or rotted our organs. We were pure, so we were strong and happy."-Tenskwatawa

We are the Original people on this part of the planet earth. The fathers and mothers of civilization as his has been known by our people in this hemisphere from the earliest of recognized space and time. It is time to re-unite the different organs of the body, so that we may harnass the power of change and seize the direction of our future. We must move with strength in our numbers and mobilize to become more self-sufficient and sovereign. We must build where we are at and within our communities, applying the supreme intelligence we are endowed with to enhance and elevate our condition. Through tribal networking and grass roots organizing, we can tap into our greatest resource, ourselves. We can not think that government and those who came to oppress are going to be the ones to assist in our relief. We must as well, not seek to return to the days since past. We must preserve the best of what we can from amongst our traditions and move forward with complimentary and progressive ideas that will both honor our ancestors and ensure our future survival. We can no longer linger in the tensions and problems between tribes as in the past. We must adapt, adjust and over come. Seeking unity beyond difference and victory beyond defeat. By isolating ourselves within the island of our own prejudices and cultural comfort, we create an environment for 'internal' decay. We become so self-absorbed as if colonization and globalization won't be able to penetrate us. We become strangers to our own brothers and sisters and apathetic to each others trials and tribulations, if we have not all suffered at the hands of the same oppressive entity. We allow the swiftness and currents of other words, ways and actions to strain relations with our universal family, swallowing us up in the remoteness of self-responsibility. Being responsible for ourselves means both our immediate family and our community and people, our collective 'self'. This is the path of righteousness, the way of the supreme mind.

"Do not eat any food that is raised or cooked by a white person. It is not good for us. Eat not their bread made of wheat, for Our Creator gave us corn for our bread. Eat not the meat of their filthy swine, nor of their chicken fowls, nor the beef of their cattle, which are tame and thus have no spirit in them. Their foods will seem to fill your empty belly, but this deceives you for food without spirit does not nourish you."- Tenskwatawa

We must reclaim our ownselves and find the sweatlodge within 'self', the the kacike of your own 'consciousness' and the vision quest in your own veins. We must awaken our cultural kundalini and let it rise like smoke from the ceremonial pipe. We must free ourselves from the encomienda of miseducation and move forward with the furthering of Pan-Indigenous consciousness and activism.

"I am Shawnee! I am a warrior! My forefathers were warriors. From them I took only my birth into this world. From my tribe I take nothing. I am the maker of my own destiny!- Tecumseh

Peace!

Original source of quotes: www.indigenouspeople.net/tecumseh.htm