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February 2, 2006Confronting Stereotypes in "The New World", Shattering the Myth of Pocahontas
Nearly two weeks ago, the film "The New World" opened in theaters around the country. The film attempts to retell the mythical story of Pocahontas and John Smith as a passionate love story, with the settlement of the Jamestown colony taking place in the backdrop. Few reviews have criticized the film for perpetuating racist and sexist stereotypes, suggesting these ideas are so enmeshed in American culture that they are overlooked without protest.
Camilla Townsend, Associate Professor of History at Colgate University. She specializes in Native American and Latin American history. She is the author of several books, including "Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemma" and "Burying the White Gods: New Perspectives on the Conquest of Mexico."
UPCOMING EVENTS
February 3, 2006: Tiokasin Ghosthorse will play the flute and introduce the documentary film, "Incident at Oglala: The Leonard Peltier Story." The film, by Robert Redford and Michael Apted shows the mockery made by the U.S. government of its own judicial system. It shows the FBI-led reign of terror perpetrated on the Lakota Reservation in 1973. Tiokasin will have a Q&A session following the film. Begins 7:30 pm, at Everything Goes Book Cafe, 208 Bay Street, Tompkinsville, Staten Island. Everything Goes Book Cafe & Neighborhood Stage
February 3, 2006: the 30th anniversary of Leonard Peltier's capture in Canada.
NYC Jericho and ProLibertad will show the film "Warrior: the Life of Leonard Peltier" by Susie Bear. 6:30 pm, St. Mary's Episcopal Church, 521 W. 125th Street, Manhattan.
Call 718-220-6004.August 18, 2005
News on Colombia from Mario Murillo and Maori Music
We speak with Nicholas Przybyla, veteran of Operation: Enduring Freedom and East Timor and member of Iraq Veterans Against the War. Nicholas Przybyla speaks about the new documentary film, which he helped produce, Operation: Veteran Freedom. The film chronicles the events of March 2005, when thousands of people assembled outside of Ft. Bragg, North Carolina to protest two years of occupation in Iraq. The group was primarily veterans and family members of soldiers who had fought and died in the war-torn regions of the Middle East. Go to the web site to view trailers.
Listen to the song "the Immaculate Woman" by Mato, a band that Tiokasin Ghosthorse performs with, by downloading the MP3.
We speak with Mario Murillo, host of the Friday edition of Wakeup Call and producer of many other programs on WBAI. Murillo is a veteran radio journalist and currently assistant professor in the School of Communication at the Hofstra University. He is author of "Colombia and the United States: War, Unrest and Destabilization." Mario reports from Bogota, Colombia and discusses the Indigenous communities in southern Cauca, a hotbed for vocalized resistance to the Free Trade of the Americas accord, continued militarization and military intervention of the United States. Murillo reports the Colombian government is targeting Indigenous leaders by various threatening means and that Indigenous communities fear government incursions could lead to massive displacements.
A brief discussion with James Webster, a Maori musician, is accompanied by beautiful flute performances. Webster makes the flutes which he plays.
August 11, 2005
Hawai'i: Occupied Territory Past and Present
Guests:
- Noenoe Silva, Associate Professor of Political Science and Hawaiian Language at the University of Hawai'i's Manoa. She is the author of "Aloha Betrayed: Native Hawaiian Resistance to American Colonialism."
- Keala Kelly, Native Hawaiian journalist and filmmaker.
Our two guests explain that Hawai'i is more than a vacation paradise - Hawai'i is an illegally and militarily occupied country. Noenoe Silva describes how histories of Hawai'i have been based exclusively on English-language sources, failing to take into account the thousands of pages of newspapers, books, and letters written in the mother tongue of Native Hawaiians. Silva refutes the long-held idea that native Hawaiians passively accepted the erosion of their culture and loss of their nation. While Silva describes a history, Keala Kelly gives voice to today's ongoing resistance to political and cultural domination.
Last Saturday, 15,000 Native Hawaiians marched down the streets of Honolulu in opposition to a 9th Circuit Court Ruling that invalidates the Hawaiian-only admissions policy of a school established in 1887, prior to the US-backed overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom. It was established as part of the will of a Hawaiian princess. Keala Kelly protested the decision because she says it infringes on Hawaiian self-determination. Keala Kelly and Noenoe Silva also speak about what the Akaka bill could bring to Hawai'i and the impending threat of military expansion on Hawaiian lands. The Akaka bill, if passed, will open up more land to the seizure of the US government, which Kelly argues will be used for military expansion. She made a film that can be accessed at www.nohohewa.com.