Economic Blackmail: The New McCarthyism in Indian Country News

John Kane, Mohawk

Does truth-telling in the media now mean that you have to work for free in America?

By Brenda Norrell
Censored News
Dutch translation by Alice Holemans, NAIS Gazette

It is sad that John Kane, Mohawk, can not find any sponsors to keep his radio show, 'Let's Talk Native,' going.

Is this what happens now to the truth-tellers in the media? Does telling the truth in the media now mean that you have to work for free in America?

During the Boarding School Tribunal in Green Bay, Wisconsin, it was John Kane who called in to provide radio coverage. The only media there was Govinda of Earthcycles and Censored News. None of us are paid for our work. In fact, as John's message below shows, we can't even attract enough donations to cover our expenses to keep going.

The point is that the media has collapsed and a form of economic blackmail is present. It is just as serious as the blacklisting of McCarthyism. It is just carried out in a different manner.

At the same time, this black hole of journalism has created a door for heroes to walk through. It offers us the chance to be present and cover the stories that no one else will, a chance to broadcast the ideas that could transform this planet.

Surely future generations will look back for kernels of truth, and will celebrate those that survive.

With the high costs of travel, equipment, radio airtime and more, the truth-tellers, even when they offer their labors of love for free, are finding there is no way to keep going.

The problem with grants and advertising is that neither are free. Each comes with a price.

As Hopi elder Dan Evehema told me years ago, "Don't ever take grants, or they will own you."

As for big money advertisers, look at the effects that casino, mining and CIA ads have had on Indian country news. The majority of what you have today is either plagiarism by stay-at-home reporters, or fluff by writers surfing and re-writing the web. 

Those stay-at-home reporters have also found cash bounty in the good-hearted activists who pay their own way to share the news. Those stay-at-home plagiarizers get a paycheck from what they seize from the web.

What you have today in the news is the void remaining from the issues that are censored.

• 
  

John Kane posted this message on Sunday:

Tonight is to be my final "Let's Talk Native…" program. WWKB would like me to stay on but the cost of paid programming has always been a challenge and the lack sustainable funding has made the show in its existing form and location unsustainable as well. I will make a plea tonight to continue to support my costs associated with travel to NYC for my show there and I will make what will likely be my final pitch to cover the costs for the billing cycle I am completing with my show here in Buffalo. I have been asked if I would be willing to continue through the month of April and I will say that if there is support for me to continue through next month, with firm commitments to cover the airtime on a weekly basis I would consider doing so.
But join us tonight with your calls and thoughts as we look back on this show and look for future opportunities to keep the conversations going.
Let's Talk!

Contact John at jmkane1220@aol.com

Brenda Norrell has been a news reporter in Indian country for 33 years, beginning at Navajo Times during the 18 years that she lived on the Navajo Nation. She served as a freelance reporter for AP and USA Today covering the Navajo Nation and federal courts. After being censored and terminated as a staff writer for Indian Country Today, she created Censored News, now in its 9th year with 3.8 million pageviews.

brendanorrell@gmail.com

Mohawk John Kane's new radio talk show: 'Let's Talk' on WBAI

By John Kane, Mohawk
Let's Talk, WBAI
Censored News

My new show, Let's Talk with John Kane is the return of WBAI's talk-back programming. Join me every Thursday morning from 10 am till noon. Listen on WBAI FM99.5 or streaming on www.wbai.org and participate by phone at 212-209-2900. Let's Talk will feature guests and commentary but most of all, you. We will look at issues from NYC to the New York State, from the regional to the national and, of course, within the shadow of the U.N., we'll definitely hit global issues. Will I talk about Native issues? You bet! But no matter what the topic, I'll offer a Native perspective into the conversation. This two-hour program is your opportunity to join me on air. My new Facebook group page associated with the new show is "Let's Talk with John Kane on WBAI in NYC" join the group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/1602087393359258/. The page lets the conversation continue and provides another way to interact with the show. Comments and posts will be monitored during our live broadcasts and throughout the week. Join the group and add your friends.

JOHN KANE BIOGRAPHY

John Karhiio Kane is a Mohawk from Kahnawake. He lives on the Cattaraugus Territory of the Seneca Nation and has a direct connection to the people and territories of the Six Nations. John has been involved for most of his adult life in Native issues and, specifically, defending Native sovereignty. He was part of the First Nations Dialogue Team in the late 90s and worked extensively with the League of First Nations in battles with New York State over taxation.

John hosts "Let's Talk Native...with John Kane" – now in its fifth year – LTN airs for two hours on ESPN Sports Radio WWKB-AM 1520 in Buffalo, New York. John is just wrapping up a year as the interim host for “First Voices Indigenous Radio” on WBAI-FM (Pacifica) in New York City. That year has earned him a brand new show on WBAI. "Let's Talk with John Kane" is a return to WBAI's talk-back programming. The show airs Thursday mornings from 10 till noon and features guests, commentary and the very interactive New York caller audience. John’s strong voice on Native issues has earned him numerous invitations to appear on “The Capitol Pressroom with Susan Arbetter,” an influential public radio program that broadcasts from the New York State Capitol in Albany and airs in 20 markets throughout the state. Arbetter has also featured John on her television news segments  on “The Capitol Report,”  which air during local news throughout New York. John has appeared on WGRZ Buffalo Channel 2's (NBC) “2 Sides with Kristy Mazurek” — he is called upon as an expert commentator on Native issues. He also has appeared on “Time Warner Cable News,” Time Warner Cable’s 24-hour cable network in Albany and Buffalo, New York  (two of the network’s four regional news channels). In 2013, John was featured in “Shinnecock,” a one-hour documentary produced by Thom Hoffman about the Shinnecock people and their history on Long Island, N.Y.

In June 2013, John provided commentary about the obstacles faced by North American Native peoples on “From Washington,” the global live broadcast from Washington, D.C., of Al-Jazeera International, which has more than 260 million viewers in 130 countries. In November 2013, John and his radio show were featured in an Al-Jazeera Arabic special report that was broadcast to 50 million viewers in the Arab world.

John also has been a regular guest/commentator and guest host on WBAI-FM (Pacifica) in New York City; WPFW-FM, Washington, D.C., KFAI-FM, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minn.; and KQRS-FM, KXXR-FM and WGVX-FM, Minneapolis. His monthly guest appearances on “The Martha Fast Horse Show” in Minneapolis are also syndicated on KINI-FM, the voice of the Rosebud Lakota in South Dakota. In May 2013 and 2014, he was selected as one of just a few out-of-state radio hosts to be included in KFAI-FM’s special 24 hour-long day of Indigenous programming, “Turtle Island: Voices Rising.” In 2014, John’s strong support of the Hawaiian independence movement has earned him a voice on Hawaiian radio. In July and August 2014, John was featured on “Living Sovereign,” a weekly live talk show hosted by Puanani Rogers on KKCR-FM, community radio in Hanalei/Kilauea on the Island of Kauai.

John and "Let's Talk Native..." have been featured in Buffalo Spree Magazine and the ARTVOICE and have earned mention in the New York Times, The Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal. He participated in the UN's International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples program on August 9, 2012, in a program titled, "Indigenous Media: Empowering Indigenous Voices.” John's words to the assembly earned three rounds of applause and an unplanned reception line at the close of the program. In June 2013, John was one of just a handful of Native speakers at the 2013 Left Forum “Mobilizing for Ecological/Economic Transformation” Conference at Pace University in New York City. The Left Forum gathering is the largest annual conference of a broad spectrum of left and progressive intellectuals, activists, academics, organizations and the interested public. In January 2014, John was a featured speaker at “Who Decides You’re Real? Fixing the Federal Recognition Process” sponsored by the Sandra Day O’Connor School of Law’s Indian Legal Clinic at Arizona State University/Tempe. In early 2014, John received a Community Leader Media Award from the National Federation for Just Communities of Western New York. He is a member of the Native American Journalists Association (NAJA).

John has been a contributing columnist for “The Two Row Times,” a weekly news publication that reaches the Ontario-wide Native market and Haudenosaunee communities in the U.S. His columns and other writings are featured in Censored News, a collective of Indigenous and other grassroots writers focused on human rights and the protection of Mother Earth. John also writes the Native Pride blog, which can be found at  HYPERLINK "http://www.letstalknativepride.blogspot.com" www.letstalknativepride.blogspot.com. His radio shows and appearances are posted on the blog with articles, quotes and links. His blog has readers in 20 countries. John has a page on the  ESPN website at  HYPERLINK "http://www.espn1520.com/pages/17325417.php" http://www.espn1520.com/pages/17325417.php and a "Let's Talk Native...with John Kane" group page on Facebook. His work is also included in the Native Nations Institute’s (University of Arizona) “Indigenous Governance Database.”

John takes pride in tackling the tough issues that face Native people and refuses to participate in the "buffalo speeches" that continue to dumb down Native culture and beliefs. He is not afraid to be labeled a warrior but prefers to be considered a conversationalist and a teacher.

John’s wife of 32 years is Oneida and they have three Oneida children; all are married with children of their own (he has 6 grandchildren with a set of twin boys on the way).

Listen: Let's Talk Native 'Native American Music Awards'

John Kane

By John Kane, Mohawk
Let's Talk Native

Censored News

Jan Lookingwolf
with
Lifetime Achievement Winner
Jim Boyd

It's all about the NAMMY's which takes place this Friday, November 14th at the Seneca Allegany Casino. Ellen Bello President of the Native American Music Awards joins us at the top and then a parade of NAMMY nominees join the show. Jimmy Wolf and Caren Knight-Pepper are up first. Joanne Shenandoah and Leah Shenandoah join me next.

Great interviews and music sampling run throughout the show. Gareth Laffely follows with alying. Terry Lee Whetstone and Randy McGinnis bring their sound and message to LTN next and followed by the charming Charly Lowry with her great vocals and story. We wrap up with Barry Lee from Red Kroz Bluez Band and John Mcleod. These guys are just a sampling of the great artists to be featured and honored at the Native American Music Awards.http://www.nativeamericanmusicawards.com/. A special thanks to Liz Hill for pulling this show together for "Let's Talk Native..."
great tune and his strong message about bul

http://media.espn1520.com/a/9…/let-s-talk-native11-9-hr2.htm

First Voices Indigenous Radio: Mapuche author Pedro Cayuqueo

By Liz Hill
Censored News

One of John Kane’s guests this morning on “First Voices Indigenous Radio” was renowned Mapuche journalist and author Pedro Cayuqueo. Amalia Isabel Cordova provided interpretation. If you missed John's fascinating conversation with Pedro, who has become a recognized voice not only for Mapuche issues but also Indigenous and intercultural intellectual debates across Latin America, you can still listen to the show at www.wbai.org - search “Archive.” Tonight, Pedro will talk about his three books and life at Conversation with Pedro Cayuqueo: “Esa ruca Ilamada Chile,” 6 p.m. at NYU, Hemmidinger Hall, 100 Washington Square East. RSVP at cultural.eeuu@minrel.gov.cl (Photo by John Kane)

Listen now to today's show, hosted by John Kane, Mohawk: http://www.wbai.org/server-archive.html

Mohawk John Kane 'Two Row Time'

Two Row Time

By John Kane, Mohawk

Censored News

http://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2013/10/mohawk-john-kane-two-row-time.html

Much has been made of the Two Row Wampum lately. The “Two Row Wampum Renewal Campaign” and the launch of the “Two Row Times” are just two examples of the recent attention being given to it. Yet there seems to be something fundamentally missing from a meaningful conversation on the subject even as attention has spread.

Let’s be clear. The Two Row isn’t just about a ship and a canoe. It is about the paths of creation. This is important enough to repeat — the two rows symbolized in the Kaswentha are paths. They are not roads, highways, canals, pipelines, power lines, lines on a map, or a charted course on a body of water. A path yields to nature whether it is laid down by the feet of millions of our ancestors, a pair of chipmunks, or mighty glaciers. It widens, it narrows, it adjusts with time, and it provides the guidance for us in times of trouble or conflict.

The message of the Kaswentha is respect, rights and responsibility. Respect of the paths for all of creation is what we remind ourselves of every time we say the Ohenton Karihwatehkwen — those words before all else. We respect not only those paths and our relationships to them but also the rights and responsibilities of those who travel those paths.

Our path, too, needs respect. Respecting that path shows not only respect to those who came before us but also a commitment to those who will follow us.

But this is the tough part. While we are quick to claim the rights we hold, we are not so prepared to uphold the responsibilities that come with them. And if we jump off our path or if one of those shiny objects from their vessel catches our eye, do we accept the responsibility for that pursuit?

We need to take a hard look at three specific examples of these shiny objects and how each one has affected us. Many seem to be oblivious to how far off our path they have strayed; yet, we all have been impacted.

Voting is one of those shiny objects dangled in front of us and promoted on both sides of the imaginary line. Voting in non-Native elections is so clear an act of the assimilated that it is amazing to me it is even tolerated among our people; yet, in many places “tribal government” is so complicit that they actually assist in “Get out the Vote” campaigns for the non-Native elections. In my opinion, voting is a cop-out if not a sellout. It is simply passing the buck for responsibility by giving your authority to someone else. By empowering an elected official you diminish your own rights and responsibilities.

Enlisting in the U.S. and Canadian armed forces is another shiny object, an act of indoctrination that began even while those same forces were barely done killing our own Onkweh Onweh brothers and sisters. Here’s an example. We ignored the attack and invasion of Hawaii when it was the U.S. doing the invading but rushed to sign up when the Japanese did the same.

Finally, we must avoid their courts. Now I realize that far too often we find ourselves as hostile participants in their judicial system and beyond our assertion of their lack of jurisdiction and our sovereignty, we do what we must to get out of it. But when we willingly enter their courts we wittingly or unwittingly give them authority over our lands, our environment and ourselves.

Land claims are prime examples of this. We do not have "Land Claims." It is they who have illegitimately claimed our land. Filing a claim for our own land is oxymoronic. And filing it in their courts is just plain moronic. The Onondaga Nation should agree with this, especially since their final attempt at even being heard in the U.S. court was dismissed a few weeks ago.

Their courts are not remedies for our conflicts with them. I would not give our authority to a court anywhere in the world. Conflicts between peoples are only "legal" issues only if there is an overarching set of laws that both sides acknowledge — and no such law exists. Otherwise the issues are political and require diplomacy; not litigation. One cannot just file papers to launch a diplomatic effort. The line must be drawn in the sand not by a "legal action" but with a real action.

So occupy your land, block an environmental crime, and stop an unlawful development! Win the battle in the court of public opinion if possible. Raise the cost of their actions. And find support for a cause to bolster a call for diplomacy.

Voting in their elections, enlisting in their armed forces and voluntarily submitting to their courts are not actions of a people who have survived the longest and most complicit act of genocide the world has ever known. These are acts of submission by its victims. It is important to remember that they have NO lawful act of subjugation over us. Those that continue to oppress us would love to suggest that these voluntary acts are evidence of the success of their "final solution" but we know better.

We must remain vigilant in many more areas to stay true to our path. We need to renew our commitment to the Kaswentha. And while our path must continue to yield to Nature we must fulfill our first and most solemn compact — the one with Creation.

John Karhiio Kane, Mohawk, national commentator on Native American issues, hosts “Let’s Talk Native with John Kane,” ESPN-AM 1520 in Buffalo, Sundays, 9 --11 p.m. Kane is a frequent guest on WGRZ-TV’, NBC/Buffalo, “2 Sides” and “The Capitol Pressroom with Susan Arbetter” in Albany. John’s “Native Pride” blog can be found at www.letstalknativepride.blogspot.com . Kane also has a very active "Let's Talk Native with John Kane" group page on Facebook.

Thank you from Censored News to John Kane, and Two Row Times, which first published this article

http://tworowtimes.com/opinions/columns/lets-talk-native/two-row-time/


Please share this Censored News link: http://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2013/10/mohawk-john-kane-two-row-time.html

Mohawk John Kane 'Rule of Law or Rule of Lawyers?'

Rule of Law or Rule of Lawyers?

By John Kane, Mohawk

Censored News 

We often hear from the righteous voices of the U.S. and Canada when looking at countries and peoples they view as inferior, that “rule of law” must prevail in these “developing” nations. “Developing”…? Excuse me! Forget the fact the U.S. and Canada have no culture or even a language of their own and barely a history, for that matter, compared to other peoples of the world.

But what does “rule of law” even mean?

When the upstart British colonists became dissatisfied with their “mother country,” they set about trying to create something new and distinct from European monarchies — new to them anyway. There is much talk of democracy these days but male dominant aristocracies is a habit hard to break especially when it is all you've known for several centuries. In the view of the “founding fathers,” democracy would empower the ignorant and the uninformed. They believed everyone should have rights. However, there was an important caveat: that “power” needed to be in the hands of the “capable.”

The U.S. did not form a democracy. It was a republic. The distinction between the two comes down to two concepts. The first is where sovereignty is vested. In a republic sovereignty is a birthright. It is vested in the individual; and the sovereignty of a nation comes from the people collectively. In a democracy it is the state that is the sovereign although it is an authority held by the collective of the people. The second thing that separates a democracy from a republic is the notion that the foundation of law or a constitution for a republic is natural law. That is to say that certain rights are inherent and unalienable. In a true democracy all laws are subject to majority (mob) rule. Both these ideas incorporated in the concept of a republic came from the Haudenosaunee. Sovereignty as a birthright, the understanding that creation is the ultimate power, and that any and all constructs of man are bound to that power, is the essence of our opening address, the Ohentonkariwatehkwa.

So when the words, “rule of law” are uttered, I say: hell yeah, agreed, no problem — as long as we are talking laws of nature and not the laws of men imposed on others without consent.

Seemingly, the entire world has forgotten the distinction of natural law from man’s law. Laws do not solve conflict. Even nature’s laws don’t do this — ask the next dinosaur you see how that worked out for them. Law, by court or certainly by lawyers, cannot resolve conflict. No one has ever successfully challenged nature in court. They have used courts to defy it but nature, like us, does not recognize that jurisdiction. Man’s law, on the other hand, is supposed to be based on the establishment of legitimate authority at the foundation of every piece of legislation and should lay out everything from jurisdiction to the legislative intent to constitutionality and basic rightness. It fails on much of this.

Now the biggest problem with this concept of “rule of (man’s) law” is that, unlike nature, we abandon diplomacy and negotiation and basic harmony for court rulings — i.e. winners and losers. And again, unlike in nature, there are flaws in much of the foundation of man’s law.

As I sit here today striking these computer keys and pondering all of this, I insist that there still does not exist any proper legal foundation for the subjugation of Native people to U.S. or Canadian law. And I would imagine the same could be said for many other peoples oppressed by colonial powers. The reality is there was no transfer of our sovereignty, no surrender agreement, no “treaty” asking to join the “club,” no referendum, and certainly no consent to genocide or assimilation. The U.S. and Canada cannot legislate our sovereignty away and their courts and judges cannot just rule it away. By definition the sovereignty of one people is outside the jurisdiction of another.

While I do believe the United Nations should do more than approve a “Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,” I don’t believe the U.N. should be the final arbitrator of any justice. No individual or no organization should have this role — or this right.

We must return to an era of diplomacy and statesmanship. A civilized society needs to have honest and meaningful dialogue to resolve conflicts. It should not be based on might makes right but, rather, on right makes right. Statesmanship and compromise need to be held higher than court precedents and religious dogma. Lawyers and lobbyists playing word games with man-made laws to screw the less fortunate, the environment and future generations need to be thrown off the table and conflicts need to be looked at as things to resolve — not as contests to win.

Published previously in the Two Row Times and posted on the Native Pride blog.

John Kane
jmkane1220@aol.com

Mohawk John Kane to UN Rapporteur: Process is a farce

As the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Peoples begins in New York, some Native people living on the land say they are cancelling plans to attend due to this year's focus on rhetoric -- rather than the life-threatening issues facing Native people, from fracking, uranium mining and coal fired power plants, to deforestation, the militarization of homelands and theft of water rights.
John Kane, Mohawk and radio host of Lets Talk Native Pride, challenges the rhetoric and challenges countries of the world to trade directly with sovereign Indian Nations and honor their passports. Kane responds to the sessions of the United Nations Rapporteur for Indigenous Peoples James Anaya held across the US in April and May.
Kane said, "I know most Native people want to throw a 'love-fest' for the 'special' rapporteur. But suggesting ways for the US to make gestures to 'heal our wounds' is neither shocking or bold. Let's see Mr. Anaya say what everyone already knows: that the US is guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity or at very least should face the charges."
By John Kane, Mohawk
Censored News
French translation: http://www.chrisp.lautre.net/wpblog/?p=744
We are not matriarchal but rather matrilineal. In our ways men and women share evenly but distinctly in the affairs of our people.
Anaya does not recognize the people. He can't see a tree, only a forest. In fact he may not even see the forest but rather the maple or oak or the redwood as a species. What happens to the tree or the individual is not what is important to this guy. For him it is all about the "tribe" and the "tribal leaders."
This is why it is the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, not People. Informed consent from these guys checks the box.
The failure of the world, including the US and including Mr. Anaya to not understand that our sovereignty is a birthright, that we are BORN with the right to our freedom, is what makes this whole process a farce.
We were never an institutionalized people. Our idea of self governance was based on participation. We did not have a chief system but rather a clan system. We never divested ourselves of our birthright to empower a chief, a council, the state or the feds. We allowed people to carry our voices not speak for us. We allowed selected persons to communicate our will, not dictate it to us and others.
Anaya said in a statement, ‎"I heard almost universal calls from indigenous nations and tribes across the country that the Government respect tribal sovereignty."
The "Government" my ass!
It's about time other nations stepped up and asked the question: When did Native people stop being sovereign?
If the rest of the world would stop quaking in their boots every time the US says their "Indian Problem" is a domestic issue, then perhaps there could be progress.
Let one of you dare to trade with us. Let one of you fight to honor our passports. Let one of you establish formal diplomatic relations or provide financing, education or genuine humanitarian aid for our most impoverished communities.
John Kane
jmkane1220@aol.com
Listen online to Lets Talk Native Pride
http://letstalknativepride.blogspot.com/
Also see: Troubling questions for the UN Rapporteur, statement from Ofelia Rivas, O'odham:
Ofelia Rivas, O'odham representing traditional and ceremonial O'odham, responded to the UN Rapporteur's session in Tucson, Ariz., located on traditional O'odham homeland.
"Not only am I unable to pay for the parking space, but I don't have the gas money to bring the elders and the ceremonial people. These are the people that these institutions should be hearing from to truly understand the implications and true significance of this document. It is disheartening to find on the speakers list a non-O'odham with a non-profit organization using our most sacred figure of the O'odham way of life."
At the Tucson session, the traditional ceremonial O'odham were not on the invited speakers list.
Rivas said, "I am on the speakers list only by a 5 day 'extreme effort' by the Amnesty International people."
Read more:
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2012/04/troubling-questions-for-un-rapporteur.html