Oglala Lakota actor Tatanka Means to star in ‘Scoundrels’ episode
Rapid City native Tatanka Means (photo above, courtesy of Mihio Manus/Viewfinder Photography) will guest star in the second episode of the new ABC show “Scoundrels,” set to air tonight. Means, an Oglala Lakota tribal member, is the son American Indian Movement activist and actor Russell Means. The Rapid City (S.D.) Journal has the story here.
Seneca Nation – ‘We Are Not a Piggy Bank’
The Seneca Nation isn’t alone in protesting New York’s law, passed last week, that will tax cigarette purchases by non-Natives in Native-owned smoke shops. The Jamestown Post-Journal chronicles the opposition here. Tribal leader J.C. Senca says that “We are not a piggy bank the state can break open to grab extra cash.” Some New York assemblymen also object, saying the new law will drive business from their area.
Navajo Nation awaits decision on whether president can seek third term
Ballots won’t be printed for Navajo Nation elections until there’s a decision as to whether President Joe Shirley Jr. can seek a third term, the Navajo Times reports here. The Navajo Board of Election Commissioners had ruled Shirley’s run invalid, but Shirley has appealed.
Left-wing South American leaders back indigenous rights
The presidents of Ecuador, Venezuela and Bolivia have signed a declaration to promote indigenous rights. But even as the leaders met, Ecuador’s main indigenous organization protested, saying it had not been consulted, according to the BBC, here. The group, Conaie – the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador – represents about 40 percent of Ecuador’s population.
Australian indigenous group wants stripper deported
Desecration of sites sacred to indigenous people appears to be a problem the world over. According to ABC News, here, a powerful indigenous group in Australia is seeking the deportation of a French woman who was filmed stripping down to a bikini atop the sacred rock of Uluru. The woman described her actions as a “tribute” to aboriginal culture.
Gwen Florio
Tags: ABC, aboriginal, American Indian Movement, Bolivia, cigarette taxes, Conaie, Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador, Ecuador, indigenous, Joe Shirley Jr., Native American actors, Navajo, Navajo Board of Election Commissioners, Oglala Lakota, Russell Means, Scoundrels, Seneca Nation, Tatanka Means, Tribal smoke shops, Uluru, Venezuela
