"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, May 14, 2008

Tribe leaders seek more autonomy

By: Noelle Straub

WASHINGTON - American Indian tribes want to move toward more self-governance, but red tape and foot-dragging by federal agencies continuously throws a wrench in their attempts, tribal leaders testified Tuesday.

“It gets frustrating to me,” said James Steele Jr., chairman of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation.

“I think the essence of self-governance is for us that are at this table and other tribes to not have to come to D.C. and to ask for this or ask for that. Keep the federal responsibility, it needs to be maintained,” he testified. “That’s a treaty right, that’s a treaty responsibility. But give us the tools to be self-governing.”

Twenty years ago, Congress first allowed trial projects in tribal self-governance. That effort has now expanded into a permanent program allowing tribes to contract with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian Health Service to carry out many services themselves, including law enforcement, education, welfare assistance, real estate services and natural resource programs.

Want to know more? Click here: http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2008/05/14/news/state/32-autonomy.txt
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