"American Indian the FORGOTTEN MINORITY "







Monday, November 11, 2013

Today is VETERANS DAY

Today is Nov. 11, 2013 and it is Veterans Day!
This day is a SPECIAL DAY for many reasons and the reasons are as follows:

My father who served in the Merchant Marines, US Navy, the SEABEES (Korean Conflict and stationed at Pearl Harbor just after Japan bombed)

My husband who served in the US Coast Guards, he had nine months left till end of his tour when he was killed. (Viet Nam Conflict, Tour on Icebreaker to Artic and Antarctic)

Three Uncles that served in the US Navy, two in W.W.II and one in Viet Nam Conflict. One lost his life, and the other two came back home; but all three were HEROES because they saved or helped save other soldiers lives! One was finally recognized for what he had done this past years. As my dad and uncles said, they weren't there to be heroes...they were there doing a job and helping their military brothers.

My oldest son in the US Navy, thankfully there were no wars or conflicts going on when he went in.

Numerous  more friends that served in one branch or the other of the US Military. Some came home and some didn't, then some came home and wished they hadn't...mainly because of what happened to them in one way or another.

My HEART FELT THANKS to each of you then and now! With out you America would not be the "UNITED STATE of AMERICA" we were born in, we would not be FREE to do what we wanted...we would not have the FREEDOM  to VOTE, LIVE, BELIEVE, PRACTICE OUR RELIGIONS, READ OUR BIBLES, OWN OUR OWN BUSINESS, say a PRAYER or PRAY together, we would not have our CONSITUTION that is for the AMERICAN PEOPLE giving us the right to have all of the above...which also gives us the rights to BEAR ARMS, TO PROTECT OURSELVES and others, which gives us the right to USE GOD'S NAME, WHICH IS WHAT THIS COUNTRY WAS BUILT ON!

THANK YOU, EACH OF YOU THAT HAVE SERVED OR ARE SERVING IN THE MILITARY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA! THANK YOU FOR OUR FREEDOM, FOR PROTECTING US AND AMERICA, THANK YOU FOR PUTTING YOUR LIFE ON THE LINE EVERY DAY FOR US AND AMERICA!

I also am very grateful to your families, I know they also go through so much for us and America!
THANK YOU FAMILIES FOR YOUR VET, INLISTED ONES, AND FOR THE ONES THAT HAVE BEEN LOST!

GOD BLESS EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU AND YOUR FAMILIES!!!!!!!!!
THANK YOU FOR SERVING AND PROTECTING THE USA!!!!!

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Above and Beyond Dog Tags


 This is a sight you have probably never seen.  It is a rare and beautiful memorial to our veterans who were killed in the Vietnam War.  It hangs in the National Veteran's Art Museum, Chicago, Illinois.




Did not know this existed?

When visitors first enter the museum, they will hear a sound like wind chimes coming from above them and their attention will be drawn upward 24 feet to the ceiling of the two-story high atrium.


 
 
Dog tags of the more than 58,000 service men and women who died in the Vietnam War hang from the ceiling of the National Vietnam Veterans Art Museum in Chicago on Veterans Day, November 11, 2010. The 10-by-40-foot sculpture, entitled Above and Beyond, was designed by Ned Broderick and Richard Stein.
The tens of thousands of metal dog tags are suspended 24 feet in the air, 1 inch apart, from fine lines that allow them to move and chime with shifting air currents. Museum employees using a kiosk and laser pointer help visitors locate the exact dog tag with the imprinted name of their lost friend or relative.

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

WOUNDED KNEE........FOR SALE? REALLY.......?


SD tribe faces ultimatum on sale of massacre site
 
 


SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — A small patch of prairie sits largely unnoticed off a desolate road in southwestern South Dakota, tucked amid gently rolling hills and surrounded by dilapidated structures and hundreds of gravesites — many belonging to Native Americans massacred more than a century earlier.
The assessed value of the property: less than $14,000. The seller's asking price: $4.9 million.
Tribal members say the man who owns a piece of the Wounded Knee National Historic Landmark on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation is trying to profit from their suffering. It was there, on Dec. 29, 1890, that 300 Native American men, women and children were killed by the 7th Cavalry in the final battle of the American Indian Wars.
James Czywczynski, whose family has owned the property since 1968, is trying to sell the 40-acre fraction of the historic landmark and another 40-acre parcel for $4.9 million. He had given the Oglala Sioux Tribe until Wednesday to agree to the price, after which he said he'd open it up to outside investors.
Oglala Sioux tribal president Bryan Brewer told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the tribe does not have the money to buy the land and that, even if it did, tribal members shouldn't have to buy back something that is theirs.
"We are hoping no one will buy this land. And I'd like to tell investors that if someone thinks they can go down there and commercialize this, it will never happen. We will not allow it," he said.
Czywczynski did not return repeated calls from The Associated Press by Wednesday evening to see whether outside investors are now able to bid for the land. Earlier this month he told the AP he had three offers from West Coast-based investment groups interested in buying the land for the original asking price.
The ultimatum has caused anger among many tribal members and descendants of the massacre victims.
"I know we are at the 11th hour, but selling this massacre site and using the victims as a selling pitch is, for lack of a better word, it's grotesque," said Nathan Blindman, 56, whose grandfather was 10 when he survived the massacre. "To use the murdered children, the murdered teenagers, the unborn, women screaming and running for their lives, using that as a selling pitch ... that has got to be the most barbaric thing ever to use as a selling pitch."
Czywczynski acknowledges the historical significance adds value to each parcel of land, which have each been appraised at less than $7,000 apiece, according to records reviewed by the AP.
Besides its proximity to the burial grounds, the land includes the site of a former trading post burned down during the 1973 Wounded Knee uprising, in which hundreds of American Indian Movement protesters occupied the town built at the massacre site. The 71-day standoff that left two tribal members dead and a federal agent seriously wounded is credited with raising awareness about Native American struggles and giving rise to a wider protest movement that lasted the rest of the decade.
The land sits on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, home to the Oglala Sioux Tribe, but many of the descendants of the massacre victims and survivors are members of several different Lakota tribes, said Joseph Brings Plenty, a former chairman of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and a traditional chief.
Brings Plenty said the tribes are not in a position to pay millions of dollars for the land. Although tribal members are not opposed to development that would preserve, beautify or better educate the public about the land and its history, they are opposed to commercialization, he said.
"You don't go and dance on grandma and grandpa's grave to turn a hefty dollar sign," he said.
Tribal members and descendants have reached out to President Barack Obama to make the site a National Monument, which would better guard it against development and commercialization, Brings Plenty said.
But even if an outside investor buys the land with intent to develop, there will be obstacles, said Craig Dillon, an Oglala Sioux Tribal Council member. The tribe could pass new laws preventing the buyer from actually building at the site.
"Whoever buys that is still going to have to deal with the tribe," Dillon said. "Access is going to be an issue. Development is going to be an issue. I'm not threatening anybody, but my tone is be aware you have to deal with the tribe if you purchase it."
There are nearly 2,500 national historic landmarks across the country, with the vast majority of them owned by private landowners, said Don Stevens, chief of the History and National Register Program in the Midwest Region for the National Park Service.
"We advocate for preservation and we always express concern about potential harm for their care," Stevens said, adding that the NPS does not have any legal authority.
Still, a site can lose its designation if it does not retain its physical integrity, he said. One example is Soldier Field in Chicago, which lost the designation when it was remodeled a decade ago because it changed its physical character.
As for the Wounded Knee site, Stevens said any development could potentially affect the Historic Landmark designation.
"Certainly you would hear a hue and cry about that type of thing," he said. "And certainly if we saw something going up, we'd express our concern, even if we don't have a legal jurisdiction to intercede, we'd express our concern."

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Saturday, March 16, 2013

STANDING GUARD!

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Picture of the Year - "Standing Guard"

                                                                                                             IN GOD WE TRUST!


Picture taken at the National Cemetery in Minneapolis, MN on a June
morning - as it appeared in the Minneapolis Star/Tribune.
Talk about a picture being worth a thousand words! It says everything.
This could become an official Veterans Day remembrance photo;
 Our National symbol "standing guard"

Tuesday, March 12, 2013


The Republic can survive a Barack Obama, who is, after all, merely a fool.
It is less likely to survive a multitude of fools such as those who made him
their president."

Monday, March 4, 2013

Way to Go Oklahoma~!!!!

 
Oklahoma is the only state that Obama did not win even one county in the last election... While everyone is focusing on Arizona ’s new law, look what Oklahoma h...as been doing!!!!

An update from Oklahoma :

Oklahoma law passed, 37 to 9 an amendment to place the Ten Commandments on the front entrance to the state capitol. The feds in D.C., along with the ACLU, said it would be a mistake. Hey this is a conservative state, based on Christian values...! HB 1330

Guess what.......... Oklahoma did it anyway.

Oklahoma recently passed a law in the state to incarcerate all illegal immigrants, and ship them back to where they came from unless they want to get a green card and become an American citizen. They all scattered. HB 1804. This was against the advice of the Federal Government, and the ACLU, they said it would be a mistake.

Guess what.......... Oklahoma did it anyway.

Recently we passed a law to include DNA samples from any and all illegal's to the Oklahoma database, for criminal investigative purposes. Pelosi said it was unconstitutional SB 1102

Guess what......... Oklahoma did it anyway.

Several weeks ago, we passed a law, declaring Oklahoma as a Sovereign state, not under the Federal Government directives. Joining Texas , Montana and Utah as the only states to do so.

More states are likely to follow: Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, Carolina's, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, Arkansas, West Virginia, Mississippi and Florida. Save your confederate money, it appears the South is about to rise up once again. HJR 1003

The federal Government has made bold steps to take away our guns. Oklahoma, a week ago, passed a law confirming people in this state have the right to bear arms and transport them in their vehicles. I'm sure that was a setback for the criminals The Liberals didn't like it -- But....Guess what........... Oklahoma did it anyway.

Just this month, the state has voted and passed a law that ALL drivers’ license exams will be printed in English, and only English, and no other language. They have been called racist for doing this, but the fact is that ALL of the road signs are in English only. If you want to drive in Oklahoma , you must read and write English. Really simple.

By the way, the Liberals don't like any of this either

Guess what...who cares... Oklahoma is doing it anyway.

If you like it, pass it on...Thanks

Saturday, February 2, 2013

My Mother's Passing

Well, several of you knew about my mother and her illness of dementia along with the heart attack and strokes she had.

Mother's journey came to an end Jan. 5th, 2013. She no longer has to struggle or hurt with any pain. We cremated her which was her wish the next day Jan. 6th, 2013. She was 86 yrs. old, she and my dad were married for 65 yrs. in Nov. of 2012.

My mother was an artist and oh how she could draw, paint and just do any thing when it came to art. She used pastels, oils, charcoal, acrylics, it didn't matter what it was, she could do it.
She also taught her self how to sew back when I was a little girl. Mother became so good she made her own patterns for the clothes she would make and for the customs she made for several of our friends in the circus world. She also made formals/patterns and just about anything she wanted or anyone ask for.

The only thing she didn't do very good at was cooking and especially baking. We gave her a hard time about that in fun and joking around. Mother would do her best at baking but never could do a good job when it came down to it. I don't know why, but her talents laid in her art and her sewing.

Mother drew a portrait of my husband from a picture I had of him before he was killed in an accident. He had his USCG uniform on and he was so very handsome, well mother decided she would draw him and when she was through...it was WOW!
Then she drew one of our daughter from a picture I had taken of her when she was about three I think, and it was beautiful!

Mother did a lot of stuff for the Eastern Star and the Masonic Lodge, when they needed anything in an artful way, they would holler for mother. Dad was always so proud of her being an artist and the things she could do.

I didn't know what it was to have store bought clothes until I started to jr. high school, because mother always made my clothes. She would make everything to match right down to my slips and can-cans. (which is what we called them back then). I had scarfs and little bag type purses to match each outfit, plus she trimmed out my socks to match what ever I had to wear.

It was no secret that my mother and I didn't get along for the most part of my life. I took
care of her from the time she had the heart attack until her death. I had to be the one to tell her she couldn't drive anymore and make sure she didn't. Dad had to stop her from cooking on the stove.
They had butane and she would forget she had put something on to cook and would go read a book
or be working on some other project that she thought she had to do and the house would fill with smoke and the pans burnt, not to mention the food.

Although through out the almost four years and everything mother went through, she never forgot
who dad was, not one time! Mother actually did manage to keep a bit of her brain from going all the way to the finally level with the dementia. How she did it the doctors aren't sure, but then again with mother things weren't ever normal (if you will). There were several times when the doctors said she was down for the count...not going to make it through the week, if she made it a couple of days.
Low and behold mother would prove them wrong, every time...except for this time.

I was with mother for every step of the way with every thing that did happen to and with her. There was only one time for a few seconds that mother forgot my name, but that was ok. I really didn't mind
because I knew what she was going through and what she would go through in the future. I read, talked to doctors, researched the internet to know all about everything the illness or disease of dementia would do to her. Not for me as much as for my dad, so in some small way I could help him to understand and maybe protect him, hopefully even give him some cushioning...away to prepare for the inevitable.

During all of this time I had to deal with hurt caused by my mother through out my lifetime and find a way to forgive her, and I really didn't know whether I could actually do it or not. But I did pray, alot and I did forgive some but not all, but I also learned as time went by and watching her going through so much, that I was slowly forgiving her. I know that the Lord was there throughout all of this and I seriously couldn't have done it if not for him helping me and showing me how, but not only for her as much as for me, myself...how badly I needed to forgive her!

So I say now, mother thank you for the good times we had, even though they were very far and few. I have learned you did the best you could with what you had to go by. I have learned your life growing up was not a good one either, and some of the things that happened to you. I am sorry you had to go through what you did and that you were treated the way you were. I want you to know mother you did have worth, you were so very talented, and I know in your own ways you and dad did love each other and you even loved me in your own way.

Before you passed, you knew I was there with you and when you reached for my hand, held it like you did and snuggled it up to you neck the way you did, I felt the love you were showing me then and I thank you mother for that. It did mean so much to me, and I hope you felt mine.

You're with the Lord now looking down on us here, now you can show us the love you couldn't show before. Your up there with Bobby, your mother, grandma and grandpa and others that we love. Please know you were loved and will be missed until we are up there with you.

Thank you every one that has called, sent cards and came by, my family and I greatly appreciate it so much. God Bless each of you.