Tuesday, December 6, 2005

Honoring Vine Deloria, Jr. (1933-2005) FEATURED ARTICLES - Obituaries for Vine Deloria, Jr. - Native Visionary Spoke For All Disadvantaged Americans, by David Wilkins - Working With Wit and Wisdom for Native American Rights, Guardian UK THE QUOTE: "Intellectuals are exiles, always in a state of  restlessness, movement, constantly being unsettled and unsettling others... The exilic intellectual does not respond to the logic of the conventional but to the audacity of daring, and to representing change, to moving on, not standing still." - - Edward Said THE HISTORY:   Sunday, November 13, 2005 Theologian, historian, philosopher, comedic critic, author, activist, friend, father, grandfather and loving husband, Vine Deloria, Jr, passes over to join his ancestors. RHINO HERE: This Rhino's Blog entry is dedicated to my friend Vine Deloria, Jr. who passed away last month at the age of 72.  Deemed one of the 10 most influential theologians of the 20th century by TIME magazine, Vine was recently awarded the 2nd annual American Indian Visionary Award from the national Native weekly, Indian Country Today.  In his self-deprecating acceptance speech filled with entertaining stories & teasing humor, he credited the remarkable generation of leaders that it was his privilege to work with, beginning with his service withThe National Congress of American Indians. To the end of his life, Vine remained a prolific writer & social critic. He recently refused an honorary degree from the University of Colorado because he disapproved of the school's performance during an athletic scandal. At the time of his passing, he was at work his 21st book, focusing on the miraculous deeds of American Indian medicine men. It was The Rhino's pleasure & honor to get to work with Professor Deloria over the last couple years.  Working with Blackfoot filmmaker, Darren Kipp, I've been producing a documentary on Vine's life & body of work.  The memorial, which was held in Golden, Colorado, included hours of friends, relatives, Indian leaders & tribal representatives testifying to the influence Vine had had on so many people. He will be sorely missed. You'll find below links to 2 obituaries published in the Guardian of London, and Indian Country Today.  For a partial bibliography of Vine's important books go to: http://www.ipl.org/div/natam/bin/browse.pl/A31 (o/)(o/)(o/) Native Visionary Spoke For All Disadvantaged Americans by: David Wilkins,  University of Minnesota,  December 01, 2005 Vine Deloria Jr., our indigenous champion, has walked on, causing a tsunami of emotions that will rock the heart of Indian country, and beyond, for a long time.  He was never quite comfortable with the notion that he was, in fact, the principal champion of tribal nations since he wanted - no, demanded - that each Native nation express confidence in its own national identity, develop its own unique talents and together wield their collective sovereignty, that is, their dignity and integrity, in a way that enriches them and the nations around them as well. Deloria's multitude of accomplishments, including two dozen books (beginning with ''Custer Died for Your Sins''), several hundred articles, thousands of speeches and testimonials, etc., covering topics as broad as federal Indian law and policy, anthropology, American Indian studies, education, theology, indigenous knowledge systems, science, and numerous other fields, are staggering for their depth and breadth. In recent years, he had reluctantly begun to accept various ''lifetime'' achievement awards for his sustained and prodigious intellectual and pragmatic efforts aimed at improving conditions for all oppressed groups - beginning with tribal nations. Still, his unique human quest cannot be easily summarized. Above all, he fought tirelessly for human, not just indigenous, freedom and for ecological respect and common sense approaches to heal the environment's many wounds. Deloria believed that America's national soul would never be cleansed until justice had been fully achieved by indigenous nations, blacks, Latinos, Asian-Americans, women, impoverished whites, any disempowered groups, and especially young people... MORE AT: http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096412026 (o/)(o/)(o/) Working With Wit and Wisdom for Native American Rights by Christopher Reed, The Guardian UK, November 24, 2005 The most effective weapon of the Native American historian and activist Vine Deloria, who has died aged 72, was the scathing and sardonic humour in his accounts of white treachery towards his people. He also knew that its novelty helped him to destroy myths, a major objective. Widely regarded as the 20th century's most important scholar and political voice in Native American affairs, Deloria was at his most formidable when demolishing cliches and stereotypes, and their associated thinking. Anthropologists were an important, and unexpected, enemy, and they suffered such an onslaught in Deloria's first book - for alleged laziness and limited thinking - that, in later references to their own scholarship, they would ask jokingly if it was AD, or after Deloria. An equal target were Christian missionaries, whom Deloria attacked from a secure position, having undergone four years at a seminary and taken a degree in theology - and later, in law. He once said missionaries had "fallen on their knees and prayed for the Indians" before rising to "fall on the Indians and prey on their land". The book that made his name was Custer Died for Your Sins: An Indian Manifesto (1969), described by one scholar as "the single most influential book ever written on Indian affairs"... MORE AT:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1649218,00.html -=+=-=+=- Rhino's Blog is the responsibility of Gary Rhine. Feedback & requests to be added or deleted from the list are encouraged. (rhino@kifaru.com) See The Latest Greatest Political Cartoons      While You Read Rhino's Blog AT : http://www.rhinosblog.info Rhino's Other Web Sites: http://www.dreamcatchers.org  (Indigenous Assistance & Intercultural Dialog) http://www.kifaru.com  (Native American Relations Video Documentaries) Articles are reprinted under Fair Use Doctrine of international copyright law. http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html All copyrights belong to original publisher. Tell a friend about Rhino's Blog 10:00:25 PM    comment

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