USA: Native Americans, “Yes we can”

Kept invisible for centuries, Native Americans in the United States are increasingly using blogs and online citizen media to promote and preserve their rights and traditional ways of life. With the election of President Awe Kooda Bilaxpak Kuuxshish (Barack Obama’s adopted Crow Tribe name) indigenous peoples see new reasons to be optimistic.

Reznet – Reporting from Native America

One project that gives voice to indigenous worldviews is Reznet, a Native American news, information and entertainment website of the University of Montana School of Journalism that also trains and mentors American Indian college students around the country as they prepare for journalism careers.

Reznet features both articles, blogs, and multimedia. Pointing to modern-day applications of indigenous belief systems, particularly in respect of the Earth, one article says that “a Native owned and operated solar energy company” will be producing clean energy products for the U.S. government.

Another post, in the blog section triBaLOG, explains how popular media misrepresentations of Native peoples in Westerns are being challenged by a new wave of animated films like ‘Stories From the Seventh Fire‘ created by Native Americans directors who tell contemporary and traditional tribal stories more accurately.

Rezkast - A native music sharing and video site

Rezkast is a smaller website, created by the Coeur d'Alene Tribal Technology Center that seeks to spread Native American multimedia messages, as an alternative to YouTube. Many of the videos exchanged here are about activism, culture, language and inspiration.

One video that appears on the site takes the popular song by will.i.am based on the words of an Obama speech, and remixes it to show old and new photographs of Native American lives. The video lists the challenges facing America’s indigenous peoples – such as protecting sacred sites and preserving ancient cultures – and concludes, “Yes we can return to tribal greatness.”

9 comments

  • I am surprised and so happy about this blogpost! Yes! Certainly tribes resisted hundreds of years. In comparison with US history as a State, Native Americans have thousands of years as Nations. You can contribute with your wisdom, knowledge and spirit to build a better country and to share it with the World.

  • thanks, simon, for this wonderful news! yes, there are many signs of the great strengths and activities by native americans in the US here & now – like last summer’s “longest walk 2” – was actually checking other current events by natives around, planning to post about them ;)

  • […] Beitrag erschien zuerst auf Global Voices. Die Übersetzung erfolgte durch Tina Seidenberger, Teil des “Project Lingua“. Die […]

  • anahwake nahtanaba

    hello – I too am full of confidence for Prez. Obama. Iam working hard on righting the wrongs concerning IHS, we are about to loose our treaty rights , starting with the drying up of IHS services. I have written to the Prez. regarding this and I believe he will answer and understand our concerns. I think your site is uber-super!! How can I get a disk of the YES WE CAN music? I am an artist and I live in Santa Fe, New Mexico, but my tribe is Caddo in Oklahoma, I spend time back and forth. Looking forward to hearing more on your site .Thanks for being here, so glad to find you.

  • not sure about the music, but here you can find the whole lyrics: http://will-i-am.blackeyedpeas.com/blog/698920

    we did other posts about native americans here on GV, maybe you have more to suggest? where are you in SFe? I live there too, we can talk-write something together? ;)

    • hi, this is anahwake from s.f., but now i am in indian country (okla.), i want you to help with an idea that i have had for a long time and have started it up just now it is the following–

      think peace
      every hour
      on the hour
      24/7
      365

      if enough of us do this at one time i believe it will happen , please send this message around the world, spread it how ever you can , i know it can work, what can it hurt!

      in pursuit of world wide peace ,your friend anahwake

      (at present i am focusing on my music compositions, what are you doing, my email is messed up at the moment, call-405 966 2226)

  • A leaf in the wind

    Seek a spiritual solution, not a political one. Through politics people are forgotten. With minimal results and few benifit. Foreign terrorists came. They took our rich way of living and established poverty across this land. No militant traditional Indian loves the
    American flag. It represents evil, foreign values. I certainly don’t love it. Our numbers grow in quiet spiritual waves. The ones who seek the traditional ancient way of living. With no dependancy on the U.S. for anything other than to be left alone. The result has been 20 years of community. Children raised up to be wholesome. Never watched television or eat the garbage that comes from stores. Never violent. Or even foul language. What christian community has ever accomplished this. 2,000 years of Christianity and you have no peace.

  • anahwake nahtanaba

    LOOK………!!! the world is thinking peace, begging for it , demanding it, fighting towards it. you can be a part of it by doing the following

    THINK PEACE
    EVERY HOUR
    ON THE HOUR
    24/7 365

    together we will have peace ,please join me – your friend anahwake

  • Jenna Major

    The implications of this are huge. This is very inspiring and your ideas are spot on. San Antonio Debt Relief

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