Native American

News:

Even in the Bible Belt, pagan symbols dot Birmingham Those of you who read my column regularly know that I never post political or religious pieces. However, a recent Fox News story regarding Pagan and Wiccan holidays at the University of Missouri prompted a whirlwind of religious debate across the nation.Fox News stereotyped Pagans and Wiccans as “Compulsive Dungeons and Dragons players” or “middle-aged, twice-divorced older women living in a rural area working as midwives”, and said that the bad part about Wicca was “well, witchcraft”. Negative stereotypes aside, Fox News also mentioned that there were relatively few Wiccans and Pagans in the United States (There are ~1 million).

News:

As long as the grass grows and the poverty shows During the election cycle we tend to ask: What does America mean; where are we going? And then someone decides to check on the Indians to find out the answer, as though Indians represent America’s soul hidden in the attic. And of course politicians have long stood next to their “souls” and posed for pictures on the campaign trail. Within the last year, Diane Sawyer and “20/20” did a special on the sorry conditions at the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, and the New Yorker featured a grim photo essay on Pine Ridge too. The New York Times published a piece on brutal crime at the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming and another on the deep financial problems at Foxwoods, the Pequot-owned “world’s largest” casino in Connecticut. Indians make the news, but the news isn’t really news, it’s just a way for the country take its temperature. Read full story from latimes.com

News:

US should return stolen land to Indian tribes, says United Nations A United Nations investigator probing discrimination against Native Americans has called on the US government to return some of the land stolen from Indian tribes as a step toward combatting continuing and systemic racial discrimination.

James Anaya, the UN special rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, said no member of the US Congress would meet him as he investigated the part played by the government in the considerable difficulties faced by Indian tribes.

Headlines:

UNITING PEOPLE TO PROTECT THE PLANET Earth Hour 2012: Saturday 31st March, 8:30PM

Earth Hour is a unique opportunity for you to become more sustainable and do something positive for the environment. It’s been the source of inspiration for millions of people taking steps towards a cleaner, safer future. It’s not just about saving energy for one hour, it’s about going Beyond the Hour with lasting, behaviour-changing actions for a sustainable planet.

News:

Witchcraft trial hears how tortured boy drowned A teenage boy allegedly tortured and killed because his attackers believed he was practising witchcraft struggled to get out of the bath where he was drowned but had no strength left, a court has heard.

The Old Bailey watched video footage of police interviews with the brother of 15-year-old Kristy Bamu – who cannot be named for legal reasons – carried out the day after Kristy was allegedly killed by Eric Bikubi and Magalie Bamu, both 28, because they believed he was a sorcerer.

Arts & Entertainment:

Warner Bros. to adapt ‘Discovery of Witches’ David Auburn is looking for witches and vampires and has come on to adapt Deborah Harkness’ “A Discovery of Witches” for Warner Bros. and producers Denise Di Novi and Allison Greenspan.

Studio acquired the property last summer. Story centers on a reluctant witch and a 1,500-year-old vampire. The witch – a direct descendant of the first woman executed in the Salem Witch trials – accidentally unlocks an enchanted manuscript and finds herself in a race to prevent an interspecies war.

Environment:

This is What the U.S. Would Look Like Without Environmental Protections (PHOTOS) In the early 1970s, an amazing photojournalism project called Documerica captured a polluted nation in the midst of establishing its first major environmental protections. Documerica was sponsored by the fledgling E.P.A., which hoped to document and examine the extent of the country’s environmental troubles. A team of talented photographers was assembled to shoot, in breathtaking, uncompromising detail, the unchecked air pollution, contaminated waterways, hazardous coal mines, and some truly disturbing waste issues across the U.S. Read full story from treehugger.com

Arts & Entertainment:

New Creepier ‘Apollo 18′ Trailer (Source: Screen Junkies)

Events:

Discover Cherokee Nation at 59th Holiday TAHLEQUAH, Okla. — The 59th Cherokee National Holiday, Sept. 2–4 in Tahlequah, Okla., offers visitors a chance to enjoy activities that are sure to please the entire family. Events such as the powwow and the downtown parade are perennial favorites. But there are other enticing events Holiday guests may not be as familiar with waiting to be discovered. Come learn a few phrases in the Cherokee language or take a tour of some of Oklahoma’s most historic structures. Or just kick back, relax and listen to some favorite sounds.

Arts & Entertainment:

Real witches cry foul at portrayal on “True Blood” (Reuters) - Critics of bloody violence and excessive sex on TV have long had HBO’s vampire drama “True Blood” in their cross hairs, but now the popular series has another group of wary citizens – witches, real ones.

The series’ fourth season has focused on Marnie Stonebrook (Fiona Shaw), a seemingly harmless medium and leader of a Wiccan group who becomes the physical conduit for Antonia, a long dead witch who is hellbent on vengeance against vampires who persecuted and burned her at the stake.

Arts & Entertainment:

O’Death: “Bugs” Challenges Nick Cave For Most Disturbing Video And loses, but keep in mind that Nick Cave, whose latest incarnation Grinderman is responsible for “Heathen Child”, has never really said for certain whether or not he is in fact a demon toying with our souls until he consumes them. So no, O’Death doesn’t beat the creepiest man in rock and roll with their music video for “Bugs,” but that doesn’t mean theirs doesn’t haunt your nightmares afterwards.