Mary - Your point is well taken and Russ is probably an example to many
minority prisoners, not only Indian. But, however, going from a prison cell
to Hollywood is an unlikely jump for most of our incarcerated population. I
fear for the youth who may have not yet encountered our "so called" justice
system. Will they possible see the notoriety as the stepping stone to
success. As for our Indian people caught up in the prison system, many for
questionable reasons, they might be better off looking to their traditional
elders as role models. I once described to Dennis Banks my admiration for
him based on the fact that he was able to pull himself up "by his own
bootstraps", which in this country is nearly impossible if you happen to wear
"moccassins". If Russ is able to inspire our Lakota and other prison
populations to reach for a better life for themselves and their families,
that may be his greatest success story.
Sandy
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Comments from NativeNet listowner, Gary Trujillo (gst@gnosys.svle.ma.us):
[ This note applies only to subscribers of the NATIVE-L mailing list. Those
reading this article via Usenet or one of the APC member systems should
ignore it, since it does not apply to your mode of receiving this article. ]
Though I'm sure this is an important discussion, I'd like to ask that it be
taken to the NATCHAT mailing list if anyone else wants to talk about the
subject. As I mentioned in the article I posted earlier today ("NativeNet:
developing and articulating a shared vision"), I'd like to reserve this
(NATIVE-L) list for informational kinds of postings and for serious research
questions - at least for the time being.
Since I posted the article I wrote this morning, a reply has come in that
takes me to task for what sounds to the author of the article like "heavy-
handedness." I plan to relay that article in full along with a reply, once
I get a chance to compose one. I want to be open to the opinions of others,
but I find that I have to find a way both to reduce my own workload and to
keep the volume of articles on this list to a level that most people will
find manageable. Still, my critic makes some good points. It may be that
it will be necessary to spawn one or more new channels of communication for
those who want to conduct these other kinds of activities, so that NATIVE-L
can be what I now feel I'd like it to be. It was under pressures like the
present ones that the other NativeNet lists were born, with NATCHAT being
the prime example. In fact, I'd like to suggest that those who want to
have a place to discuss various subjects pertaining to Native peoples use
the NATCHAT list for that purpose - at least until I have a chance to
address the current situation properly.
My apologies to those who find my announced intent repressive or dicta-
torial. Please recall that NativeNet operates entirely with volunteer
labor and know that it is a lot of work - Mary Kuhner, Jay Brummett and
myself all put in hours of our own time keeping things running. I think
we're all trying our best to achieve a number of goals, some of them
running counter to one another at times. I'm hoping that better use of
the new WWW technology will help us to alleviate at least some of the
bottlenecks. Until such time as I have a chance to implement the soft-
ware necessary to take advantage of the potential of the Web, I hope
you can all bear with me. Still, if anyone would like to express an
opinion, I am always open to hearing what you think and feel.
Thanks again to everyone for your patience and support.
Gary