"We did not think of the great open plains, the beautiful rolling hills, and winding streams with tangled growth as "wild". To us it was tame. Earth was bountiful and we were surrounded with the blessings of the Great Mystery."

Luther Standing Bear - Rosebud Sioux

Guardian of the Water Medicine

Guardian of the Water Medicine
Dale Auger

Dale Auger

Dale Auger: On Art, Blood and Kindred Spirits
by Terri Mason

Defining Dale Auger in one sentence is akin to releasing the colours of a diamond in one cut. It can’t be done. It’s the many facets that release a diamond’s true brilliance, as it is the many facets of Auger’s life, education, ancestry, experiences and beliefs that have shaped and polished his work into the internationally acclaimed and collected artist that he is today.

Born a Sakaw Cree from the Bigstone Cree Nation in northern Alberta, Auger’s education began as a young boy when his mother would take him to be with the elders. “I used to say to myself, ‘Why is she leaving me with these old people?’ – but today I see the reason; I was being taught in the old way.”

Auger’s respect for traditional teachings led him on a journey to study art, opening the door to a doctorate in education. He is a talented playwright, speaker and visual artist whose vividly coloured acrylics have captured the attention of collectors that reads like an international ‘Who’s Who’ spanning English to Hollywood royalty. The essence of his work is communication, and now Dr. Auger has come full circle, interpreting the life of his culture – from the everyday to the sacred - through the cross-cultural medium of art.

Read the rest here:

http://www.daleauger.com/printversionbio.cfm

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Judge finds whalers guilty

Last 2 Makah members charged in rogue hunt had waived jury trial

By: Paul Shukovsky

TACOMA -- A federal judge Monday found two Makah tribal members guilty of hunting and killing a gray whale.

Wayne Johnson and Andy Noel waived a jury trial and stipulated to the basic facts of the rogue hunt in September, admitting that they killed the protected marine mammal. Magistrate Judge J. Kelley Arnold then swiftly found the pair guilty.

The move by Johnson and Noel, who now intend to appeal, was prompted by Arnold's pretrial ruling last week barring a defense based on religious liberty protected by the First Amendment.

"There is no reason to go through a jury trial when we won't be allowed to present our defense," said Noel's attorney, Jack Fiander.

"We admitted it was us -- we admitted we hunted a whale -- so we can get on with the appeal," Fiander said.

At sentencing June 20, Johnson and Noel face up to a year in jail for both the violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act and conspiring to do so.

The Makah tribe -- with both Johnson and Noel on the crew -- in 1999 legally took a whale for the first time in more than 70 years. But the tribe, at the extreme Northwest tip of the continental United States, has been unable to hunt again because of court challenges by animal rights activists that forced the federal government to conduct lengthy environmental reviews of the hunt.

More of the controversy can be found here: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/358080_makah08.html
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