Rage Red Rant

The following rant is in response to this article (http://torrymendoza.blogspot.com/2012/05/johnny-depp-is-adopted-comanche.html) about Johnny Depp's recent adoption into the Comanche Tribe.

If Johnny Depp said he was part Irish and explained that his grandmother was from Ireland there would be no question and he would be accepted as such. In the case of Native Americans however, in order to be considered as part of a tribe, a person has to be papered like a dog. Adam Beach is a talented Canadian Indian actor but he plays many different types of Indians. By this logic he should only play Saulteaux rolls and not "pretend" to be Navajo or Spokane Indian which by the way are completely seperate nations of people. They speak different languages, have different customs, and even have different facial and body types. They are not even from the same country. They are American Indians while Beach is from Canada. While were on that subject maybe Depp shouldn't play ANY rolls that aren't directed toward his specific nationality. Maybe this should apply to all actors. Lets not stop there either. People with dwarfism should only play rolls of leprachauns but only if they are of Irish decent. My point is that Natives are the only people who are papered like animals and this shouldn't keep good actors from doing their job which is to entertain us. I am Cheyenne, Crow, Laguna Pueblo, and Irish. This means I can play Irish rolls, right?

Don't get me wrong. I love Native movies and collect them like people collected Beanie Babies in the ninties. I am in full support of Native acting and am stoked about the amount of indigenous movies hitting the shelves lately. I just think that if someone is sure they are Indian, like Johnny is, they shouldn't have to flash papers to prove it in order to get a job. What do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Red is a Christmas color

Red, the color of Jolly St. Nick's suit just happens to also be the color of our birthday suits. Coincidentally a good chunk of us seem to be shaped like Santa as well. Tis the time of year to throw out the sugar free candies to replace them with high blood sugar (and pressure) while we sit around the table telling stories of holidays past, present, and yet to come in our own Christmas Carol type trip through the cold Montana evenings. Like Mr. Scrooge, many stood alone at their mission schools on Christmas awaiting the day when they could see loved ones once again. Lovers were found and lost this time of year in drunken stupors. Unlike Scrooge, however, there is no epiphany on Christmas morning. There doesn't need to be.

In all my travels, I found it very unusual that there are families with only one or two relatives that they speak to. This is strange to me because behind window panes here on the reservation, families, no matter how little they have, feast with their relatives. Living rooms are filled with cousins upon cousins and aunts and uncles. People are cooking, nagging, eating, and most of all laughing. Arms are full of babies here on Christmas day. Despite the hardships of living in such a harsh environment, the economic hardship, and the heartbreaking stories that each person here carries on their shoulders, there is an unending amount of love for each other in this place. These are the reasons the merriest Christmases on earth take place right here in E. Montana.

Leave your best reservation Christmas stories in the comment section below!

Lenny's Big Brown Blog

I AM the Teepee Creep and I intend to use this blog to push my view that all you have to do is be BROWN and die. Living on a reservation, I have come to find that humor conquers the bad times, and plays the good times like a cousin in heat. Okay that was wrong. Hence the 'creep' in my title. This blog is for you join me in a sometimes serious but mostly humorous journey through the daily life on the reservation. Picture watching yourself and commenting on your movements like the Mystery Science Theater guys and keep in mind that if life were meant to be taken so seriously there wouldn't be frybread burgers in a place where diabetes is rampant.