Political Matters – December 2019
By Mordecai Specktor Crises in the Southern Hemisphere The repression of Indigenous nations in South America invites comparisons to what American Indians faced in the American West during the 19th century: dispossession, massacres and ecological destruction. In Brazil’s Amazon rainforest, tribal communities are under siege by loggers and miners. On Jan. 1, 2019, Jair Bolsonaro, […]
Political Matters – November 2019
By Mordecai Specktor Among the Trumpites As I wrote last month, the Imperial Kleagle in the Oval Office paid a visit to Minneapolis on Oct. 10. I was there, inside Target Center for most of the horrible event, which featured thousands of Trumpites from the burbs and outstate, Vice President Mike Pence, Eric Trump, Minnesota […]
Political Matters – October 2019
By Mordecai Specktor Individual-1 to visit Minneapolis There’s been plenty of breaking news in late September. In national politics, a whistleblower (a CIA agent assigned to the White House, according to the New York Times) became alarmed after learning that the Imperial Wizard in the Oval Office tried to extort the president of Ukraine for […]
Political Matters – August 2019
By Mordecai Specktor Native women artists Run don’t walk to see “Hearts of Our People: Native Women Artists,” an amazing and affecting exhibition on view through Aug. 18 at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts (artsmia.org). More than 117 works – including sculpture, video and digital arts, photography, textiles and decorative arts – from 50 Native […]
Political Matters – May 2019
By Mordecai Specktor Mnisota Makoce Minnesotans of a certain age remember the Hamm’s beer jingle from TV commercials. The catchy ditty was introduced by the Hamm’s bear rolling a log and thumping out a faux Indian drum rhythm: “From the Land of Sky Blue Waters / From the land of pines, lofty balsams / Comes […]
Political Matters – April 2019
By Mordecai Specktor Ethnocide in the Amazon rain forest We tend to think that Trump is our misfortune, a corrupt and incompetent leader for the United States. However, the National Nincompoop represents a rising tide of authoritarian, right-wing leaders around the globe. Trump obviously admires these authoritarians – Russia’s Vladimir Putin; the North Korean dictator […]
Political Matters – December 2018
By Mordecai Specktor Native women in the House The 2018 midterm elections served to pump the brakes on America’s slide toward fascism under the Trump administration. Most notably, the U.S. House of Representatives will shift to Democratic control, as the Dems gained 39 seats, far more than the 23 seats they needed to take over. […]
Political Matters – November 2018
By Mordecai Specktor Update: Suppressing the Indian vote In the February 2016 “Political Matters” column, I wrote about a lawsuit challenging North Dakota’s voter ID laws. That case is back in the news in the run-up to the Nov. 6 elections. “The plaintiffs, represented by attorneys with the Native American Rights Fund (NARF), argue in […]
Political Matters – August 2018
Dick Bancroft walks on Dick Bancroft, a photographer who had many friends in the Native community, passed on to the spirit world on July 16. He had been suffering for some time from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and died just a few days before his 91st birthday. I met Dick in the summer of 1979, […]
Political Matters: July 2018
By Mordecai Specktor The next Standing Rock Following the June 28 decision by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to approve the Enbridge Line 3 oil pipeline project, Gov. Mark Dayton emailed a statement to the press. “Many people hold passionate views on this project,” said Dayton. “I urge everyone to express themselves peacefully. The […]
Political Matters: June 2018
Resisting oil pipelines Native-led resistance to oil pipeline projects is rising, and the focus is on Minnesota and British Columbia. In the North Star State, there’s growing opposition to the Enbridge Line 3 Replacement Program, as the Calgary-based pipeline company calls its project. There is an existing Line 3 oil pipeline bringing tar sands crude […]
POLITICAL MATTERS: Native Issues in the Halls of Government
By Mordecai Specktor How about those twins? In my column last month, I wrote about the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) approving the name change for Lake Calhoun. The body of water in Minneapolis will now be known by its original Dakota name, Bde Maka Ska (pronounced beh-DAY mah-KAH-skah) – “White Earth Lake.” What […]