[Dance Spree] such fun...

Thu Oct 5 23:14:24 EDT 2006

Dear Friends-

  The Dancespree website says:

  "Please consider joining our announcement list. Once you have joined, you will recieve announcements about events of interest to the community posted by people who attend the dance. You can also post your own announcement about workshops, classes, trips, and other events of interest."

  I presume (?) this was approved by the Dancespree coordinators.

  My sense is this means 

  1)announcements of events, not multiple back & forth discussion threads
2)posters should be folks who attend dance reasonably frequently

  The list is now apparently moderated by Chrissi, so I would encourage folks to have a good faith balance of consideration in helping her decide when to 'censor'... i'm kind of kidding with that word, the fact is moderator= some control & i think that's part of the agreement of being on the list.

  I applaud Jo & Keith very much in the depth of their activist commitment & desire to communicate about extremely serious realities. Still, it might help not to alienate people by going beyond the consensus scope of the list. 

  Brevity & directness & knowing when to take a discussion to a private forum will probably get more attention than turning the list into a free-for all.

  July's suggestion of two or more lists is an entirely reasonable option for the coordinating committee & list members to consider, but may not be necessary, in my opinion.

  Peace, Robby

Joanna Hamlin <grizzlymama at juno.com> wrote:
  Dear July,

Are you suggesting censorship?! Wow!

I suggest that folks look up the definition of "announcement". For what
I have shared and what Keith has shared are just that-announcements-by
definition. They are public service announcements...without guitar
(hee-hee). If the list serve is just for Dance Spree related
announcements than I guess 90% of what is posted should be disallowed. 
Ad's are not announcements and so many postings on this list serve are
just that: Advertisements for "healers". I'm offended by those ads that
promote the healing "businesses" of people who are claiming to be "Native
American healers". 

Peace? Love?
You can't get peace or love without 1st: Truth and 2nd: Understanding. 
When we chose to bury our heads in the sand, we don't have either. The
responses to our passionate pleas for attention to issues that touch us
deeply show a community that is less concerned with the perils of others
and more concerned with their own comfort. That makes me sad. Racism
prevails in the world because white people are uncomfortable talking
about it.

jo

On Wed, 04 Oct 2006 17:54:30 -0400 "July Siebecker"
writes:
> Hi everyone -
> 
> Perhaps the solution to people using the Dance Spree announcement 
> list to 
> discuss political or personal issues (which is definately not the 
> purpose of 
> the list, as several people have pointed out) is to create a 
> separate 
> discussion list for Dance Spree? That way those who really really 
> don't want 
> to receive these kind of emails could have their wishes honored and 
> not feel 
> the need to be taken off the list, as has unfortunately happened a 
> few times 
> recently, and those who want to express their ideas and opinions 
> would have 
> a designated place to do so. I will bring this idea up to the 
> organizers.
> 
> In the meantime, I wish to thank those with discussion topics for 
> being the 
> caring, thoughtful, conscious people that they are, and lovingly 
> remind 
> everyone that this particular list, announce at dancespree.org, is 
> *only* for 
> announcements.
> 
> in peace,
> July
> 
> >From: Joanna Hamlin 
> >To: announce at dancespree.org
> >Subject: Re: [Dance Spree] Cultural Appropriation
> >Date: Wed, 4 Oct 2006 08:29:28 -0400
> >
> >To those who responded-
> >There is nothing wrong with learning from our Native American 
> brothers
> >and sisters, and integrating what we learn into our own personal 
> belief
> >system. But assuming what we think is a "traditional name" is 
> deceitful
> >and disrespectful. Taking money to teach "Native American" 
> spirituality
> >is cultural appropriation and contributes to cultural genocide. 
> Also, if
> >you are not "learning" from a true Native person, but a white 
> person who
> >found out that his great-great grandfather (probably) raped a 
> native
> >woman, or won her in a card game, does not make a person Native 
> American.
> > Generations ago, when some mixing occurred, it was usually not 
> by
> >consent. And, the culture from which the person came from was 
> generally
> >not respected and certainly not celebrated. Native "wives" were 
> usually
> >forced to dress like the Europeans and to act like a European.
> >
> >I too have learned a lot from my many true Native American friends. 
> My
> >best friend growing up was 1/2 Cherokee. Her father taught me a 
> lot. He
> >taught me that if you put a bunny rabbit near a Beagle-the Beagle 
> will
> >kill it! He taught me that when I got on my horse-I became part of 
> her
> >and she became part of me, and so I learned to ride like the wind 
> and
> >loved it. I learned to respect the earth and to tread lightly upon 
> it.
> >It was MR. Wood who taught me that if I walked quietly in the 
> woods, I'd
> >meet wild animals. He was so right, as I have had more encounters 
> with
> >Black bears, Moose, deer, fox etc., than anyone I know. Most of 
> these
> >encounters have been on trails in the Mountains, on my solo trips 
> and
> >every encounter has provided an important lesson-or message. Most
> >importantly, I learned to question corporations that exploit the
> >resources of Native American's and of indigenous folks around the 
> world.
> >And so he set me on my path to questioning the US government and
> >Corporate actions against in this regard. He also introduced me to 
> the
> >work of the American Indian Movement and explained their mission 
> and how
> >it's members and other tribal folks were being systematically 
> murdered by
> >the FBI-In what is now called the Co-Intelpro atrocities. What 
> I
> >learned from him was not all pretty. His family photos 
> accompanied by
> >horrific stories about what the white people did to those family 
> members
> >will be forever etched in my mind.
> >
> >If we look to our own indigenous roots we will find the same 
> teachings-if
> >we listen to our elders we will hear the same wisdom. My Italian 
> elders
> >taught me to be honest, to help others less fortunate than myself 
> and to
> >work to make community a welcoming place for everyone. They taught 
> me to
> >work hard and to take pride in my work-not to work for a dollar but 
> to
> >work for peace of mind for myself and those around me. My 
> grandfather
> >was passionate about recycling, reusing and used to challenge me to 
> make
> >less garbage. He would reward me for everything that I learned to 
> reuse
> >or to make into something else that could be used. It was a game 
> in my
> >home, to see how many things you could avoid putting in a landfill. 
> He
> >taught me that food is sacred and that we must be thankful for 
> every bit
> >of it-never over-fill our plates and never throw it away. What 
> comes
> >from the earth must go back to the earth, if it doesn't go into 
> our
> >bellies first.
> >
> >It is good to learn from each other. It is important. And lord 
> knows
> >that if we Europeans assimilated into Native American culture upon
> >landing here, instead of raping and killing and forcing people to 
> conform
> >to our needs, we would all be better off. But we are not talking 
> about
> >assimilation here, we are talking about appropriation, exploitation 
> and
> >just plain dishonesty. So go and learn from "real" Native elders 
> who
> >grew up in their own culture, integrate it into your life, but 
> don't
> >sell what you learn. That is just plain wrong. And don't be a
> >messenger-your information is second hand at best and is bound to 
> be
> >inaccurate. Even Christians who have been such for generations, 
> can't
> >accurately teach the message of Jesus. I'm not going to count on 
> them to
> >teach me about Native beliefs! I have never met a native elder 
> who
> >charged for a sweat lodge-and I have done many. Spirituality is 
> not for
> >sale-Nobody's tradition beliefs should be sold.
> >
> >Respectfully,
> >jo
> >
> >
> 
> 
> >_______________________________________________
> >
> >To post a message to the Dance Spree announcement list, send it to: 
> 
> >announce at dancespree.org. *You must send it from the email address 
> that is 
> >subscribed to the list!* *You must send it to ONLY 
> announce at dancespree.org 
> >(no other receivers), otherwise the message will not be posted.* To 
> remove 
> >yourself from the announcement list, visit www.dancespree.org
> 
> 
> 
> 

_______________________________________________

To post a message to the Dance Spree announcement list, send it to: announce at dancespree.org. *You must send it from the email address that is subscribed to the list!* *You must send it to ONLY announce at dancespree.org (no other receivers), otherwise the message will not be posted.* To remove yourself from the announcement list, visit www.dancespree.org

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