Indigenous news: juvenile justice, Juneau artist, cultural appropriation, gaming

Review: “Never Alone” game brings Alaska Native culture to life

My daughter turns six soon, and she’s finally reached an age where she and I can game together. She’s had her own gaming tablet, a LeapPad, for years, but these are really the first times we’re playing a proper, competitive game together. If you were one of those gamers who wondered why the Wii was so popular, play Wii Sports with a child and you’ll get it.

Aside from things that allow me to simulate playing baseball with her that do not require exposing either of us to the Yellow Hurty Thing that glares down from the heavens, judging Houstonians for their sins with sunburns and swamp ass, we’ve also gotten into “Never Alone” on PS4.

Read more at: http://www.indianz.com/News/2015/018435.asp

Dear non-Natives: it’s time we start listening to Native Americans

Since late Thursday, Native Americans have been telling non-natives what we really need to hear with the hashtag #DearNonNatives.

It’s about time that the rest of us start listening. Western governments and non-native western people have a history of ignoring Native voices, to the point where their people, land, culture, and lives have been stolen from them. This legacy of physical, sexual, and cultural violence against Native people across the Western hemisphere continues today.

Read more at: http://reverbpress.com/discovery/dear-non-natives-time-start-listening-native-americans/

In search of an authentic Indian: notes on the self

I started writing this in the aftermath of the Rachel Dolezal affair and have continued to write as the Andrea Smith story has taken off. But it’s not about them. The various ways in which race and passing, cultural appropriation and calculation have been discussed has inspired this text. But it’s more like a personal essay and a confession.

I have been at various points in my life White, Latino, and Native American. That is, I have claimed-with varying degrees of certainty, archival support, and agency-three different forms of ethnocultural belonging. (I know what you’re thinking. Just wait.) This is not to say that one day I imagined I was Latino and started calling myself that for the hell of it, or that I proposed to dupe an institution into accepting me as something I knew I was not.

Read more at: http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2015/07/28/search-authentic-indian-notes-self-161129

Tagaban shows ‘Sexual Sovereignty’ in Anchorage

In his first solo show, up for all of July at the International Gallery of Contemporary Art in Anchorage, Juneau artist Ricky Tagaban creates for himself one identity from many.

Tagaban’s show, called “Sexual Sovereignty,” draws upon two aspects of his identity – two communities with histories of oppression and repression.

“It’s about reconciling the histories, kind of, of the queer community and the Native community, or my perception of the history and how I fit into it,” Tagaban said. “It felt kind of like coming out as an artist.”

Read more at: http://juneauempire.com/art/2015-07-22/tagaban-shows-sexual-sovereignty-anchorage

Report: juvenile justice system is failing native youth

According to a report from the Tribal Law and Policy Institute, when it comes to status offenses-behaviors that are illegal specifically because of the age of the accused like alcohol consumption and truancy-Native American teens in the tribal system are twice as likely to be referred to the state court system than their white counterparts. In fact, the 2015 Indian Law and Order Commission report reveals that while Native American youth only make up 1.8 percent of the total youth population, they represent 3.6 percent of those detained. And once they are in the system, they are more likely to be placed in detention and less likely to get probation.

This despite the fact that a 2014 report from then Attorney General Eric Holder said that prevention and treatment programs, as well as caseworkers are more effective at redirecting students than incarceration.

Read more at: http://www.colorlines.com/articles/report-juvenile-justice-system-failing-native-youth