"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

Monday, April 28, 2008

Tribe in Wisconsin: Land is ours

By: Glenn Coin

Six years ago, the federal Department of Interior said the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians had a valid claim to land in and around the town of Stockbridge.

Any day now, that same department is likely to take 3,000 acres of that land into trust for the exclusive use of the Oneida Indian Nation.

The Wisconsin-based Stockbridge-Munsee tribe is calling foul and asking for Congress to step in.

It is a baffling and outrageous reversal of DOI's previously stated opinions that will have disastrous consequences for the Stockbridge-Munsee if finalized," the tribe said in a news release.

A decision on the trust land is expected by Wednesday.

Stockbridge-Munsee tribal leaders have met with members of Congress in the past week trying to solicit their support, said spokeswoman Maureen Connelly.

"All the tribe is asking is for time to work out a comprehensive settlement," Connelly said. Oneida nation spokesman Mark Emery said the Stockbridge-Munsee have waited too long to try to stop the trust application, first filed in 2005.

"The Oneida nation is near the end of the trust process set up by Congress," Emery said in a prepared statement. "The Stockbridge-Munsee do not like the outcome so they now want to change the rules."

At issue is about 3,000 acres in and around Stockbridge that is owned by the Oneida Indian Nation, but included in the 23,000-acre land claim asserted by the Stockbridge-Munsee. In 2002, Department of Interior lawyer Philip Hogen wrote that "Stockbridge is the only proper tribal claimant" to the land. Hogen urged the Department of Justice, which acts as the lawyers for other federal agencies, to join the Stockbridge-Munsee's land claim suit on the side of the tribe. That never happened.

Keep reading here: http://www.syracuse.com/articles/news/index.ssf?/base/news-10/1209114113163240.xml
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)