The Indigenous Democratic Network (INDN) is the only grassroots political organization devoted to recruiting and electing Native American candidates and mobilizing the Indian Vote throughout America on behalf of those candidates. INDN's List was officially launched Feb 28, 2005, in Washington DC in conjunction with the National Congress of American Indians Annual Meeting. We are dedicated to making a unified Indian voice heard at the local, state and national levels by helping Indians build and run effective campaign organizations and to win elected offices across America.

Their Stated Agenda:

* Economic Justice: Prosperity should be accessible to everyone, not merely the few.

* Civil Rights: Every individual's civil rights must be protected; discrimination and harassment based on race, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, or physical and developmental ability should be banned.

* Health Care: Every individual should have affordable, quality health care.

* Education: It is essential that we invest in quality public education for all.

* Environment: We must commit to restoring and protecting our environment.
 more this way»

I want to re-emphasize something I wrote before: my enthusiastic endorsement of Diane Benson for Congress in the August 26th primary and on to the general election. This is a repeat of a diary I wrote back in March. My support for Diane Benson has only grown since then.

I met Diane Benson, Congressional Candidate in Alaska, about a month ago and was very impressed. But I only got to hear her speak as a candidate tonight. Again I was impressed. Diane is a genuine American who has worked hard all her life to get an education and to better the life of her son. Often she and her son have worked hard for our country and for their community. She has the confidence of someone who worked their way through school driving trucks while raising her son. She has the confidence of a woman who worked in the male dominated workers camp on the Alaskan pipeline. She has the confidence of someone who has had to work for everything, being given nothing easily. The contrast with the spoiled brat who inhabits the White House is about as striking as you can get.
 more this way»

I have been reading two books that deal with pre-Columbian America: 1421 by Gavin Menzies and 1491 by Charles Mann. Both present controvesial but interesting theories of what happened before Columbus in the Americas. I find my self only partly convinced by each book and, in fact, think that the two theories wind up, in their extreme forms, to be mutually exclusive.

My mother was an Anthropologist and as a kid we often went to museums of all sorts. I was exposed to pre-Columbian art and archaeology, but never found it as compelling as European and Asian art and archaeology. Looking back, I felt little connection with pre-Columbian cultures. I had more connection to modern Native American culture than ancient, as if in some ways I bought the olf fallicy that Native Americans didn't really have a history of their own. I think I first awakened to the pre-Columbian cultures in graduate school when I was lucky enough to see the Treasures of Sipan exhibit at UCLA (the only US museum that got to display the exhibit...it is permanently housed in Peru). This was billed as being as spectacular as the Treasures of King Tut which I had seen and was amazed by as a kid. I scoffed at that, but still went to see it. It was just as spectacular as any ancient art and I was blown away. The Treasures of Sipan showed artifacts from a nearly untouched tomb from the Moche culture in South America. It made me appreciate just what the ancient Andean cultures were really like and was the first time I felt an affinity with a pre-Columbian culture.
 more this way»

The University of Alaska Anchoraage Alaska Native Oratory Society Statewide Competition or AkNOS will be held on Saturday April 12th on the UAA campus in the Social Sciences Building (SSB), room 119. Pre-event activities will be held on Friday April 11th.

AkNOS is open to all Native and Non-Native college and High School students who are registered at least part-time. Eligible students can participate in one or more of four speaking categories: Oratory, Declamation, Storytelling, & Native Languages. These four categories award prizes to the top three contestants in each category. This year we're also happy to include for the third year a new category, Traditional Introductions. This category is a People's Choice award category. We've included it to encourage students to learn how to formally introduce themselves in the style of their communities and regions.

To register for the AkNOS Statewide Competition click here and fill out the online form.

Annual Native Amercian Education Summit

Type of Event: Training
Hosted By: J. Dalton Institute
Event Dates: 4/24/2008 - 4/26/2008
Event Location: Albuquerque, NM
Contact: J. Dalton Institute
Email: jdalton98@aol.com
Contact Phone:1-888-886-0664
Contact Fax:920-338-8683
Website: http://www.jdaltoninstitute.com

Course Description:Six Essential Strategies for an Effective Prevention Model, Community Resource Assessment, Critical Elements of Effective Prevention and Community Readiness, Ethics, Professional Networking

How to Register: http://www.jdaltoninstitute.com/registration.html

2008 Annual Tribal Self-Governance

Type of Event: Conference
Hosted By: Department of Health and Human Services
Event Dates: 4/27/2008 - 5/1/2008
Event Location: Las Vegas, NV
Website: http://www.tribalselfgov.org/2008_subpages/Conference2008.asp

Course Description:20 Years of Tribal Self-Governance: Celebrating Excellenece

How to Register: http://www.tribalselfgov.org/2008_subpages/Conference2008.asp