Second Lieutenant Van T. Barfoot
World War II Congressional Medal of Honor
A Choctaw Indian from Mississippi, and a Second Lieutenant in the Thunderbirds. On 23 May 1944, during the breakout from Anzio to Rome, Barfoot knocked out two machine gun nests and captured 17 German soldiers. Later that same day, he repelled a German tank assault, destroyed a Nazi fieldpiece and while returning to camp carried two wounded commanders to safety.
CITATION: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty on 23 May 1944, near Carano, Italy . With his platoon heavily engaged during an assault against forces well entrenched on commanding ground, 2d Lt. Barfoot (then Tech. Sgt.) moved off alone upon the enemy left flank. He crawled to the proximity of 1 machinegun nest and made a direct hit on it with a hand grenade, killing 2 and wounding 3 Germans.
He continued along the German defense line to another machinegun emplacement, and with his tommygun killed 2 and captured 3 soldiers. Members of another enemy machinegun crew then abandoned their position and gave themselves up to Sgt. Barfoot. Leaving the prisoners for his support squad to pick up, he proceeded to mop up positions in the immediate area, capturing more prisoners and bringing his total count to 17.
Later that day, after he had reorganized his men and consolidated the newly captured ground, the enemy launched a fierce armored counterattack directly at his platoon positions. Securing a bazooka, Sgt. Barfoot took up an exposed position directly in front of 3 advancing Mark VI tanks. From a distance of 75 yards his first shot destroyed the track of the leading tank, effectively disabling it, while the other 2 changed direction toward the flank. As the crew of the disabled tank dismounted, Sgt. Barfoot killed 3 of them with his tommygun. He continued onward into enemy terrain and destroyed a recently abandoned German fieldpiece with a demolition charge placed in the breech.
While returning to his platoon position, Sgt. Barfoot, though greatly fatigued by his Herculean efforts, assisted 2 of his seriously wounded men 1,700 yards to a position of safety. Sgt. Barfoot's extraordinary heroism, demonstration of magnificent valor, and aggressive determination in the face of pointblank fire are a perpetual inspiration to his fellow soldiers.
Friday, June 1, 2007
Genocide of the Mind: New Native American Writing
MariJo Moore's most recent project, Genocide of the Mind: New Native American Writing, is a collection of thirty-three essays by various authors divided into five chapters. This fascinating and useful collection revolves around the lives of individuals existing in both the world of traditional Native values and modern society. The title, Genocide of the Mind, is dually represented both in the Native accommodation for survival and in the continual absence or perversion of Native existence in the mainstream mind. Vine Deloria, Jr. presents in the Foreword an important aspect of every essay in the collection: the survival and prosperity of Native Americans through adaptation. Moore's Introduction presents the idea that these essays are "by instead of about" Native Americans. She further clarifies that "no individual writer attempts to speak for his or her entire Nation, only from personal experiences."
Lawyers anticipate failures in Indian trust fund accounting plan
By: Jenny Mandel
The Interior Department is expected to file a proposal this week detailing how it will review American Indians' assets held in trust by the federal government, but plaintiffs in a long-running lawsuit already say the plan is likely to be flawed.
"Defendants impermissibly exclude from the accounting the vast majority of the beneficiary class and their trust assets," lawyers for lead plaintiff Eloise Cobell and others in the class action lawsuit Cobell v. Kempthorne argued in a brief filed Tuesday.
In the 61-page document, the first of two to be filed on the subject, lawyers argued that the plan will likely wrongly exclude 11 categories of account holders and assets.
Justice Department lawyers are due to submit Interior's accounting plan to U.S. District Judge James Robertson by Thursday. A Justice spokesman said Wednesday that the plan was not yet available. Lawyers for Cobell said their filing was based on an accounting plan proposed by Interior officials in 2003, quoting the defense as saying that the new plan won't contain anything that was not in the earlier proposal.
The court filings are in preparation for a trial-like hearing scheduled to start in October that will examine the adequacy of Interior's accounting for assets held for American Indians since the 1800s. Groups pay Interior to use American Indian lands for oil, gas and mineral extraction, as well as other activities, and Interior then distributes money to trust funds. But the long-standing lawsuit claims the department has mismanaged the accounts.
Click here to read more: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0507/053007m1.htm
The Interior Department is expected to file a proposal this week detailing how it will review American Indians' assets held in trust by the federal government, but plaintiffs in a long-running lawsuit already say the plan is likely to be flawed.
"Defendants impermissibly exclude from the accounting the vast majority of the beneficiary class and their trust assets," lawyers for lead plaintiff Eloise Cobell and others in the class action lawsuit Cobell v. Kempthorne argued in a brief filed Tuesday.
In the 61-page document, the first of two to be filed on the subject, lawyers argued that the plan will likely wrongly exclude 11 categories of account holders and assets.
Justice Department lawyers are due to submit Interior's accounting plan to U.S. District Judge James Robertson by Thursday. A Justice spokesman said Wednesday that the plan was not yet available. Lawyers for Cobell said their filing was based on an accounting plan proposed by Interior officials in 2003, quoting the defense as saying that the new plan won't contain anything that was not in the earlier proposal.
The court filings are in preparation for a trial-like hearing scheduled to start in October that will examine the adequacy of Interior's accounting for assets held for American Indians since the 1800s. Groups pay Interior to use American Indian lands for oil, gas and mineral extraction, as well as other activities, and Interior then distributes money to trust funds. But the long-standing lawsuit claims the department has mismanaged the accounts.
Click here to read more: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0507/053007m1.htm
A Sioux story
The Creator gathered all of Creation and said, "I want to hide something from the humans until they are ready for it. It is the realization that they create their own reality."
The eagle said, "Give it to me, I will take it to the moon."
The Creator said, "No. One day they will go there and find it."
The salmon said, "I will bury it on the bottom of the ocean."
"No. They will go there too."
The buffalo said, "I will bury it on the Great Plains."
The Creator said, "They will cut into the skin of the Earth and find it even there."
Grandmother Mole, who lives in the breast of Mother Earth, and who has no physical eyes but sees with spiritual eyes, said, "Put it inside of them."
And the Creator said, "It is done."
The eagle said, "Give it to me, I will take it to the moon."
The Creator said, "No. One day they will go there and find it."
The salmon said, "I will bury it on the bottom of the ocean."
"No. They will go there too."
The buffalo said, "I will bury it on the Great Plains."
The Creator said, "They will cut into the skin of the Earth and find it even there."
Grandmother Mole, who lives in the breast of Mother Earth, and who has no physical eyes but sees with spiritual eyes, said, "Put it inside of them."
And the Creator said, "It is done."
Native Americans Oppose Martha Stewart Trademark
(CBS News) KATONAH, N.Y. Martha Stewart's attempt to trademark "Katonah" — a move that has already riled some of her village neighbors — has now upset some American Indians because the name originally belonged to a 17th-century chief.
Two members of the Ramapough Lenape Indian Nation, which claims Chief Katonah as its own, have joined the anti-trademark battle being waged by the Katonah Village Improvement Society.
Other American Indian leaders on Tuesday said that Stewart's trademark application was offensive.
"If I wanted to trademark 'Martha Stewart' and put out a line of tea towels, she would have me in court very quickly," said Suzan Harjo, president of the Morning Star Institute, a national advocacy group. "She'd be saying, 'You can't use my name, that's valuable, that belongs to me."'
Clint Halftown, the federally recognized representative for the Cayuga Nation, said, "If it's being done for profit, then of course it's offensive. Of all the names in the world and all the words, why can't she pick something out that's not offensive?"
Click here to read full article: http://kdka.com/business/finance_story_150133828.html
Two members of the Ramapough Lenape Indian Nation, which claims Chief Katonah as its own, have joined the anti-trademark battle being waged by the Katonah Village Improvement Society.
Other American Indian leaders on Tuesday said that Stewart's trademark application was offensive.
"If I wanted to trademark 'Martha Stewart' and put out a line of tea towels, she would have me in court very quickly," said Suzan Harjo, president of the Morning Star Institute, a national advocacy group. "She'd be saying, 'You can't use my name, that's valuable, that belongs to me."'
Clint Halftown, the federally recognized representative for the Cayuga Nation, said, "If it's being done for profit, then of course it's offensive. Of all the names in the world and all the words, why can't she pick something out that's not offensive?"
Click here to read full article: http://kdka.com/business/finance_story_150133828.html
Alaska natives left out in the cold
by: Patricia Cochran
While the rest of the world argues about the best way to curb future climate change, says Patricia Cochran in this week's Green Room, native communities within the Arctic Circle are having to draw on their own ancestral strengths to adapt to a rapidly changing world.
A day after Christmas, the Anchorage Daily News ran an article about flooding and erosion in small native villages on the west coast of Alaska with names familiar to no one else except Alaskans.
But this is a very familiar story to us. With thinner sea ice arriving later and leaving earlier in the year, coastal communities are experiencing more intensified storms with larger waves than they have ever experienced.
This threat is being compounded by the loss of permafrost which has kept river banks from eroding too quickly.
The waves are larger because there is no sea ice to diminish their intensity, slamming against the west and northern shores of Alaska, causing severe storm driven coastal erosion.
It has become so serious that several coastal villages are now actively trying to figure out where to move entire communities.
Want to know more? Click here: http://www.thewe.cc/weplanet/news/sea_engulfing_alaskan_village.htm
While the rest of the world argues about the best way to curb future climate change, says Patricia Cochran in this week's Green Room, native communities within the Arctic Circle are having to draw on their own ancestral strengths to adapt to a rapidly changing world.
A day after Christmas, the Anchorage Daily News ran an article about flooding and erosion in small native villages on the west coast of Alaska with names familiar to no one else except Alaskans.
But this is a very familiar story to us. With thinner sea ice arriving later and leaving earlier in the year, coastal communities are experiencing more intensified storms with larger waves than they have ever experienced.
This threat is being compounded by the loss of permafrost which has kept river banks from eroding too quickly.
The waves are larger because there is no sea ice to diminish their intensity, slamming against the west and northern shores of Alaska, causing severe storm driven coastal erosion.
It has become so serious that several coastal villages are now actively trying to figure out where to move entire communities.
Want to know more? Click here: http://www.thewe.cc/weplanet/news/sea_engulfing_alaskan_village.htm
Historical dates in June
June 25, 1876 - Battle of Little Bighorn (Custer's Last Stand). Plains tribes led by Chief Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse are civtorious in a battle with the U.S. Seventh Calvary.
June 2, 1924 - Indian Citizenship Act is passed.
June 18, 1934 - American Indian Recognition Act is signed into law providing for tribal self-government.
June 8, 1970 - President Nixon ends "Termination Policy" by executive order.
June 2, 1924 - Indian Citizenship Act is passed.
June 18, 1934 - American Indian Recognition Act is signed into law providing for tribal self-government.
June 8, 1970 - President Nixon ends "Termination Policy" by executive order.
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