"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, May 5, 2008

Indian genocide resolution stirs debate

Bill cites Sand Creek massacre, removal of Cherokees from Georgia

By: Joe Hanel

DENVER - Lawmakers paused Wednesday for the third time in a week to remember a genocide. But this time, the memorial turned into an uncomfortable debate about American history.

Senate Joint Resolution 31 recites the history of horrors that fell upon American Indians after European settlement. The native population of 18 million north of the Rio Grande in the late 1400s had plunged to about 200,000 by 1900 - nearly a 99 percent drop.

But unlike previous condemnations of genocide, Wednesday's vote wasn't unanimous.

"There's a wholesale condemnation of European settlement in this resolution that I find troubling," said Rep. Kevin Lundberg, R-Berthoud, who voted no.

Sen. Bill Cadman, R-Colorado Springs, made similar arguments in the Senate.

The House voted 59-4 for the resolution, and the Senate passed it 22-12.

It was the Legislature's third resolution on genocide in the last week. Lawmakers voted unanimously for a Holocaust memorial, and there was just one dissenting vote against a memorial of the Ottoman Empire's genocide of Armenians in 1915.

Lawmakers also voted unanimously for a resolution condemning China's human-rights record early last month.

"As we wagged our finger at Turkey about a week ago for not coming face-to-face with its own history, we see now how hard it is to come face-to-face with our own history," said Rep. Mike May of Parker, the House's top Republican, who voted yes.

Want to know more? Click here: http://durangoherald.com/asp-bin/article_generation.asp?article_type=news&article_path=/news/08/news080501_5.htm
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