BLACK RED ROOTS IN COMMUNITY

Native American Arts and Crafts

Many people seeking to purchase Native American Arts and Crafts inquire whether the products they are purchasing are ‘authentic’. What exactly does the description of ‘authentic’ mean? Is it a measure of the geographic location of the purchase, the Indian blood quantum of the artist or craftsman, a reference to handmade products, or just a saying that allows the purchaser to feel due-diligence in purchasing has been achieved?

In every racial group or culture there are terms that are considered negative when used by those that are not part of the specific race or culture that are mentioned.  Native Americans sometimes refer to Indian reservations as "the REZ," but the use of that slang term by non-natives is usually considered a racial slur. The “REZ” is short for “reservation”.

WEEKS OF SORROWS –HURRICANE KATRINA

In view of the anniversary of the Hurricane Katrina disaster it is only in memorial that reflections are appropriate. So many sorrows and disappoints were realized during the week of the hurricane and the ensuing weeks after it. What have we learned and what hope is there to keep the African American and Native American moving forward?

EFFECTS OF ABUSE

CLAN WITH A “C” not a “K”  

The word Clan can elicit lots of feelings and thoughts among African Americans especially when it is spoken and not written. When the word is spoken the first thing that comes to mind is the “Ku Klux Klan”. But, the distinction is that in the Native American culture, the word Clan is written with the letter “C”, not “K”. Also, in the Native American culture it has a totally different meaning.