OT: Pakistan earthquake and the Muslim community.

That $5 would buy tapestry needles, at the very least!! And the ball of twine could be used for macrame. Dawne, I think your DH's band oughta rethink this policy!!

And in the US, not all tribes are federally recognized.

I am always leery of what to call 'them' Dawne because I usually get corrected no matter what I say and it is never Red Indian. Some seem to feel native is respectful while others want aboriginal. In NS as you probably know - we have MicMaq (sp) and some live on reserve and others don't. However, they do get houses given to them (quite frequently) off reserve.

I agree with you, that like the welfare system itself for all and sundry, it hasn't worked and has a worse effect with each following generation. I really do not know what the answer is to solve it but it would appear that giving the money and expecting the band chief to dole it out fairly is definitely not working and unfortunately, it is working against the women most bitterly. We are doling it out here and being told to keep our noses out of what is done with it - double edged sword.

Yep. A friend of my ex-in-laws married a Native American woman. Yes, the family had the right to live on the reservation. Small problem, the Rez was a zillion miles from anyplace that had jobs. All four of their sons moved off the Rez to cities about 6 hours away, where they could get jobs. It was more important to the boys to be self-supporting than to stay where they could continue their culture.

Some of the people living on the Rez don't have electricity or running water. As Dawne says, the housing provided to them is really basic. You probably wouldn't want to live in it.

Yes, the US government sends them food. I've seen the food the government sends to the Rez. That month's shipment included dozens of bulging, rusted cans and mildewed cardboard boxes, and moldy cheese. (I know from an elderly white neighbor who qualified for free government cheese that *her* cheese was fresh, not moldy, so obviously, the government sends the Indians what the poor whites don't want.) The cans the Indians brought to show the legislature contained such items as kale (can you get *your* kid to eat kale?) I hunted for quite a while for any form of protein, before finding a can of Meatball Stew, which I was informed contains one meatball per can (although the can is marked as containing 3 servings).

The tribal elders are duly concerned: if all the young people move to cities as our friend's boys did, the ancient culture will be lost for all time. But the Rez's being so far out in the boonies, it's hard to create good jobs on or near the Rez. The younger generation have to choose between careers and their culture.

Our first California casino-owning tribes, once they had taken care of the needs of their own members, made a point of sharing the wealth. They are related by blood or marriage to most of the other tribes, and sent money to those other tribes to improve conditions on their Rez's.

And now that the Indians are becoming self-supporting, the government doesn't like it, and is trying to shut down their casinos so that the government can continue to dominate them by keeping them dependent on handouts of moldy cheese and rusty cans.

"Darla" >

The Mohawks were allies of the Britsh Crown during that unfortunate dustup with the lower colonies. Maybe there's some foundation there for a share in the Royal School of Needlework. Dawne

I too have not only seen cheese and other foodstuffs sent to an Indian reservation, but I've eaten it as well (several times). While I'm not about to argue that what you've observed isn't true, my experience has been completely opposite. Not only was the cheese not moldy, it was also the best American cheese(not processed cheese spread) I've ever eaten! My uncle, his wife and their daughter have lived on an Indian reservation for greater than 20 years (still do). At times they've been given(or bartered for) so much cheese that they've passed extra stock on to other family members (e.g. my parents).

And while I agree with you that kale probably isn't a first choice kind of food for adults let alone children, one serving provides 192% of your daily recommended value of vitamin A, and 88% of your daily recommended value of vitamin C. It's extremely low in calories, and contains several cancer fighting phytonutrients. It is also a good source of fiber, which helps in cholesterol reduction.

In the past reservations have been disserviced by being provided foods high in salt and sugars. With the skyrocketing rates of diabetes and heart disease among American Indian populations (not to mention the rest of the American population), providing foods with high nutritional value I think should be of utmost importance. Should the government give them food they like and children are willing to eat just because it pleases them, but doesn't provide them with any substantive value? What would you suggest they are given instead?

Jinx

Everything you said here makes sense. (I know I have been trying to buy a wider variety of vegetables for my kids than I used to, get more colors on their plates.) I'm glad that someone is considering nutrition and health when it comes to food sent to the Native Americans.

I deplore the reservation system that was forced onto them, but since nothing can change the past, it's good that someone in the government is actually using their brain when it comes to what food stuffs get sent in.

Caryn

" snipped-for-privacy@aol.com" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@g44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

Just yesterday, I had a conversation with an African-American colleague, who was talking about the culture shock she had when she moved to this predominantly white area (extremely so -- about 2% of our faculty and staff

-- and no adminstrators -- are people of color). One of the things she mentioned was the use of kale as a garnish -- she said, "Don't you people know you're supposed to cook it. It's greens!" So it seems kale is a perfectly acceptable food as long as you know what to do with it. Me, on the other hand, I don't understand the appeal of peirogies. Starch stuffed with more starch swimming in fat is not my idea of a palatable meal....

(What was even more interesting was the discussion we had about the culture shock her young children had when she took them back for the first time to the predominantly African-American neighborhood in which she grew up.)

LOL! I don't get peirogies either! It was a big deal that this one place in Kent used to do peirogie nights. I tried one, and thought it was truly nasty!

Of course, I'm crazy for halvah, and other people I know insist it's nothing more than sweetened particle board.

Caryn

I love kale soup! lots of linguica and just the right amount of potatoes and onions. Just don't put the cover on while you are cooking it; turns the kale a nasty gray color! And don't use that curly stuff either.

It's just pasta with filling and butter! LOL, some are better than others.

Can not eat that stuff!

Cheryl

"K" wrote

In defence of perogies, they are traditionally made with a wide variety of fillings, not all of which are starchy. Sauerkraut (not to my taste at all), cottage cheese (very popular for Christmas Eve meatless supper), and (something I do love) fruit filled ones (apple or plum usually). Sometimes I do fry savoury ones (like potato and cheddar), along with chopped bacon, and garnish with green onion. Sour cream on the side. But I don't care for the practice of pouring melted butter on them. The fruit ones I just boil and serve with sour cream on the side. They are so ubitquitous out here that people expect them at "turkey and all the trimmings" sorts of buffets. Dawne

"Mirjam Bruck-Cohen" wrote

In Canada, the government does not supply food to reserves. Indian and Inuit people have recognized rights to hunt for food at all seasons of the year, so can in some places anyway eat the meats, birds and fish that they traditionally ate. Berries were the only fruit eaten here on the prairie, and they are still here for the gathering. Indian people here (in Western Canada) did not have permanent settlements until the reserves were created (Indiand in other parts of Canada did), but travelled throughout their territory hunting and gathering wild plants for medicine. It was different for nations in other parts of the country. The numbered treaties (signed in the 19th C here in Western Canada) made provision for agricultural equipment (oxen or horses, ploughs) to be provided to reserves, and some of the prairie and parkland bands took up farming with great success, considering they had pretty much all been nomadic. Unfortunately, some early settlers thought that Indians, farming as collectives, had some sort of advantage over the individual homesteader, so the government severely restricted their ability to sell their produce off the reserves, and so reduced the incentive to farm. Most reserves are not located on prime farming land, but a number of those on the plains have ranching operations, including raising buffalo. Cattle operations are struggling for them like everyone else because of the US border closures. Some do have grain farming operations, but the prices have not been good for anyone the past few years. Most Indian people hunt and gather their food the same places anyone else does, at the grocery store. Dawne

In California, Whitey stuck the Indians in the deserts, without access to adequate water to grow anything, or in the mountains, with short growing seasons, and a zillion miles from anywhere they might sell their produce to outsiders.

And now that the Indians have come up with the idea of supporting themselves with casinos, some people are livid, and want that stopped. Not because, as the state next to Las Vegas, we are offended by gambling, but because the Indians are amassing sufficient wealth and power to be a political force; they were so much more acceptable when they were entirely dependent on white man's government and didn't dare offend us. Now they have enough money to fund TV advertising to campaign against what Whitey wants for them, or even just to remind us that their government goes back further than our Constitution. We had a good series of TV ads a few months ago, pointing out that they have always been responsible for building their own roads on the Rez, their own fire departments, etc., the US & California governments did very little for them, even though they pay the same taxes the rest of us do.

Interesting. I've never thought of eating kale. Some varieties make a lovely edging for the garden or flowerbed. The Botanical Center in Des Moines featured kale in this manner a few years ago and it was stunning.

(snip)

There are a huge range of kales - ornamentals and edibles. I think it is an acquired taste, but as a result of this conversation, I'm making a batch of Portuguese kale soup!

Cheryl

Maybe it's genetic? I was introduced to it by my Mom (raised a Jew) who also loved it. Was a long time there where I could only find it at Jewish Delis, but now on occasion my local grocery store has it.

Granted, with the melting pot this area is, you can find just about anything at the local grocery store. Goat meat, Thai sauces, Indian (Asian not Native American) spices, Choritzo (sp?) sausages of various countries, what have you. It does make shopping interesting and sometimes stomach turning!

Caryn

Funny! I love the idea of the tribes having casinos!

Cheryl

I love the idea of them doing *anything* to be self-sufficient. Though I will admit, I'm prejudiced on the subject of Indian casinos, because I have a friend who has made a good career of working at them.