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Activist Times Inc. Issue 344
It was the saddest trip to Big Mountain I've ever made,
due to the senseless, violent death of a young man with
a good heart. Arrick Crittenden was being sent on his
spiritual journey. Arrick's father, George is from the
Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma, his mother, Louise Benally
is at the heart of the traditional Dineh resistance to
relocation. Arrick was raised and still lived on land
in the center of the Navajo reservation known as Hopi
Partitioned Land (HPL). He was connected to the place
his mother's family has lived on for generations. Even
though the US government had drawn lines on maps before
he was born and given this place to the Hopi tribe (and
the energy corporations) he knew he belonged there.
He grew up in the shadow of the sacred Sundance arbor,
with his grandmother, uncles, aunts, cousins and extended
family. Arrick was the big brother to two sisters, Della
and Waleesa, and one brother, little George. His mother
says he was the backbone of the family, the one who held
them together. In fact he died standing up for his sisters
and some friends who were working on a sheep corral for
an elder.
He took a 12 gage shotgun blast to the chest at
point blank range from an angry young man looking
for trouble. It hurts even more because the young
man who killed him is the eldest son of his mother's
cousin. Arrick's life and death are a kind of microcosm
of the bigger picture at Big Mountain. He lived his
days on disputed land, officially a trespasser in his
native country, surrounded by the isolation and difficult
[big]
"Dignified sorrow and grief have a special kind of beauty."
[/big]
circumstances of oppression. Just a year and a half
ago he was arrested for taking pictures of BIA agents
and Hopi Rangers as they bull-dozed the arbor, sacred
tree and sweat lodges of the Sundance grounds that his
grandfather, Joe Benally had established on the family
homestead just before he was born. In the late 1970s
Joe traveled to South Dakota and asked Lakota Sundance
Chief Joe Chasing Horse to bring the pipe and ceremony
to Big Mountain to pray for the land. An annual all
nations Sundance was established and continued until
the agents desecrated the sacred site in August of 2001,
saying it was a dangerous, illegal, activity with out a
permit. Arrick's grandmother, Alice Benally was a true
traditionalist. She spoke only in her native tongue,
loved her dirt floor hogan, wove incredible blankets
from the wool of her sheep, and moved with the grace
of a queen. She was a part of the land and the land
part of her. In her later years, she was compelled
to travel and defend that land through public speaking
(with a translator), attending hearings and meetings
and of course with ceremony and prayer.
This is the kind of tension and struggle Arrick knew
his entire life. So did the young man who killed him,
and the two teen boys from the rez who died in a drunk
driving wreck that weekend, as well as the three who
died together in a suicide pact. Six teenagers in one
weekend.
That he remained a gentle, soft-spoken man despite
the hardships and unfairness of his situation is a
testimony to his beauty. In the same way his culture
is being attacked and blown apart by forces from afar,
with aid from within, Arrick paid the price for someone
else's bad decisions and violent actions.
One of Arricks uncles, Jean Paul Roy from the Lakota
Nation reminded us often as he led ceremony, that his
nephew had moved on to a better place, where there is
no pain or suffering. It is those of us who are left
behind that are sad and hurt. If the corporations and
government drive the traditional people from the land
(or kill them, the Dineh say to leave the land is to
die), they too may move on to a better place and those
of us left behind will be the sufferers.
Dignified sorrow and grief have a special kind of
beauty. The sadness becomes part of who we are, gives
us empathy and understanding for others when they go
through the worst of times. No life of any length is
untouched by sorrow or hard times. It's not the absence
of hard times that make a good life, but how you deal
with the suffering you have. Arrick's family honored
him and came together to send him off in a most beautiful
way. They are facing this tragedy in a way that will help
them make the best of what remains.
[ed note: I'm listening to Blackfire's "Lying" while
I read this and cry. (http://www.blackfire.net) ]
I traveled to the ceremonies with my brother, Bear and
his daughter Rose. We were honored to be treated like
family. Bear and I prayed in the men's sweat lodge with
George and several others, as Jean Roy poured the water
of life on the hot rocks to help us all purify and purge.
We helped with chores, visited with the family and friends,
cried, hugged, laughed and reflected on Arrick's life. On
Friday night Arrick's body was returned to the land. He
had told Jean Roy he liked to stay in a tipi, so Jean
brought one from South Dakota and set it up next to the
small hogan Arrick lived in. Arrick was dressed by his
parents and laid out with beautiful blankets covering
him for a last night on the land, in a beautiful lodge.
We sat up all night in his cleaned out hogan as Jean Roy
led the special Native American Church funeral meeting
with Louise, George, Della, Waleesa, little George,
uncles, aunts, cousins, the boys who were with Arrick
when he died and other friends. So much emotion, such
sadness and confusion. As the drum and the medicine
made their way around the fire, songs and prayers
filled the night and the ceremony pulled us through
the dark hours. The healing was starting. As the sun
lit the sky red and poured through the open east-facing
door, Jean Roy's young daughter Mazzie brought in the
morning water and we all knew life would go on.
We exited the hogan a couple hours after dawn and
everyone made one last pass through the tipi to say
good-bye to Arrick. The casket was closed and loaded
into the back of a pickup with a camper shell on it
for the trip across the wash to the cemetery, where
he was laid to rest near his grandmother, Alice. Again
there were songs and prayers, tears and laughter.
We made it back to the big feast and for a few
moments here and there, some things felt normal again.
But between those moments the grief and questioning
came rushing back. There is no sorrow like that of a
parent that buries a child and I hurt even now to
think about Louise and George and all the parents
through time that have ever gone through this. It
made me want to see and hold my children, it made
me happy and proud to see my niece, Rose be there
in support, it made me want to do something to stop
the killing.
It made me think George W. Bush doesn't go to child
funerals, how else could you be willing to be responsible
for starting a war that will have this effect on millions
of people?
[!--- ED NOTE: wow. heavy. I pause here just ---]
[!--- to ask, how are you? You doin' ok? ---]
After sharing the meal and a few good-byes, we were
back on the road, heading south west in the afternoon sun.
It was a tiring five days, including staying up all night,
so we stopped in Flagstaff for the night. The next morning
as we were leaving the land of the Navajo a bald eagle
flew right in front of the car, then swept across the
highway and dipped it's wing back at us. I think Arrick
was letting us know he's all right. I pray everyone else
will be too.
You can send cards, letters and financial assistance to:
Louise Benally
PO Box 1042
Hotevilla, AZ
/=================================
You are watching ATI zine. This is an issue dealing with
loss. Many different kinds of loss. For that there will
be no fancy ascii art in this issue. Just text. OK? Hope
so. If not, then forgive me, or don't.
Those funeral words at the top of the page were written
by my friend Mark Dyken. They came in about 5 hours before
deadline for this zine, even though I know he wasn't writing
it for any kind of deadline. And nor am I then. I worked on
this zine for almost 3 full extra days. Hope you like it.
Or at least get something out of it. So, ever aware that
zine deadlines mean little to me these days, I began reading
that first part and wondering in my head and heart, "should
I include this in my zine tonite? Maybe, maybe not. Very
quickly I began weeping openly.
I knew Arrick, the young man from that piece, but I'll get
into that some other time. I suspect even if I didn't Know
him these words whould've affected me in this sort of sublime
way. Beyond the tears, below the tears, and despite the tears
I find myself needing to tell the world of Arrick's death,
but especially of Arrick's life.
Arrick was a warrior in the truest, oldest most pure sense.
He was devoted to his mother and father, his siblings, his
distant family members. I'm going to risk an assumption that
he was opposed to George W Bush's diabolical plans to invade
Iraq. I've heard him speak against war before. Way back when
it was simple words, like "war sucks," or "war has never been
right," stuff like that. I imagine the past few years, his
words have been more complex, but I'm sure the meanings are
all the same. Everything I knew about him was true to warrior
form.
To learn that he was taking a bullet so his sisters would
not, just blows my mind. But should it? It sure sounds like
a fitting death for a real warrior, right? But so young?
Well, truly -- warrior society doesn't know age, huh?
When I got arrested for taking pictures of surveillance cops
here in Milwaukee at an anti-bush protest last summer I remember
serving my 6 or 7 hours in jail and thinking of many heros of
mine who withstood longer jailtimes before being given release.
People such as Arrick, who if I remember right spent more than
5 days jail without recognizance, during the devastation at the
Sundance ceremony the year before that. I remember thinking for
a brief moment that I was doing some of the same things Arrick
was doing when I got arrested. I was sharing the truth. I was
illuminating the darkness, I was exposing a machine that is
spawning right in front of our very eyes this millenium.
But I digress. This is issue 344 of ATI, Activist Times
Intentional; I'm marco and we are celebrating the loss of what
little liberties we have left as citizens of the Untied States.
It's quite a dance this ceremony. Participating in it is very
frightening, while at the same time very exciting.
Have you done any keyword searches where there are 3 or 4
words the US government might disapprove of? I don't know if
you've noticed, but unlike in China, Germany and Switzerland,
you'll get the pages you need through Google.
So far.
It usually takes a second or third try when you search for
something like "george bush raped someone while governor" or
"noelle really did hide crack in her sneaker." Is the software
already in place? Just that GooglePeople are trying desperately
to restrain the USGovt from doing domestically what they
insist upon making Google do abroad. Will it last? Tune in
tomorrow, eh?
But again, I digress. Loss of our liberties.
Here we go. Enjoy the rest of this zine, it's Monday,
midnite my time, 3/4feb03. Can you believe this year
is already 1/12th flown by?
marco
#'s
http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2003/02/01/file_trading_manifesto
http://artists.iuma.com/IUMA/Bands/Peaceful_Army,_The
http://www.blackfire.net/IAM-site/!!WALLY-FINAL.rm
http://www.blackfire.net/video/itaintover-28k.rm
http://www.neo-comintern.com/features/audio.html
http://www.nuzee.com/indymediaorgnewswire.php
http://www.blackfire.net/IAM-site/home.html
http://votetoimpeach.org/articles_rc.htm
http://www.amy-martin.com/community.html
http://www.silverbird.at/Index.html
http://westernwalkout.tripod.com
http://lmno4p.org/stockwatch.htm
http://www.zmag.org/lacsite.htm
http://www.takebackthemedia.com
http://www.sameroomrecords.com
http://home.no.net/ntc/thankU
http://www.unitedforpeace.org
http://www.baringwitness.org
http://www.scaredsacred.org
http://mozdawg.blogspot.com
http://www.bartleby.com/139
http://www.washedmusic.com
http://www.7fires.org
http://warnomore.com
LETTUCE
to alt.2600.414
You out to be ashamed of yourselfs.
azdreamer
====
From Sam Hamill, Cofounder of Copper Canyon Press:
Dear Friends and Fellow Poets:
When I picked up my mail and saw the letter marked
"The White House," I felt no joy. Rather I was overcome
by a kind nausea as I read the card enclosed:
Laura Bush
requests the pleasure of your company
at a reception and
White House Symposium on
"Poetry and the American Voice"
on Wednesday, February 12, 2003
at one o'clock
Only the day before I had read a lengthy report on
the President's proposed "Shock and Awe" attack on
Iraq, calling for saturation bombing that would be
like the firebombing of Dresden or Tokyo, killing
countless innocent civilians.
I believe the only legitimate response to such a
morally bankrupt and unconscionable idea is to
reconstitute a Poets Against the War movement like
the one organized to speak out against the war in
Vietnam.
I am asking every poet to speak up for the conscience
of our country and lend his or her name to our petition
against this war, and to make February 12 a day of Poetry
Against the War. We will compile an anthology of protest
to be presented to the White House on that afternoon.
Please submit your name and a poem or statement of
conscience to: kokua@olympus.net
There is little time to organize and compile. I urge
you to pass along this letter to any poets you know.
Please join me in making February 12 a day when the
White House can truly hear the voices of American poets.
Sam Hamill
====
F L A M I N G L I P S
Thinking back on your day, your week, or your life,
bring to mind a "Sacred Moment".
Sacred in whatever way you wish to define the term.
A moment that resonates.
Can you remember a sound, a smell, perhaps a touch
associated with that moment?
Try to visualize it.
PESTO RECEIPT
LOTS fresh basil
LOTS fresh garlic
MANY pinon pine nuts
TONS olive oil
Chop up garlic and pine nuts very
fine. Cut basil into fairly tiny
shapes.
Pour olive oil in a blender and then
keep adding other ingredients a little
at a time until it's very pasty.
Refrigerate until ready to serve or use.
[NOTE make sure you chop up the garlic
finer than the pine nuts and basil no
matter what. There are LOTS of people who
absolutely hate garlic, yet they absolutely
love pesto. They have no idea! Lets keep it
that way.]
AIRPLAY 101
-----------------
By Bryan Farrish
http://www.radio-media.com
Payola (part 3 of 5), How Stations React If You Try To Pay Them.
Let's say you are a grassroots artist, or a small indie, or even a
small-medium label, and up until now you've done no radio (or, you've
always had someone else take care of it for you.) Now, you've decided
that since you understand payola, you are going to spend some money and
try to handle the promotion yourself, legally. You tell yourself that
you are going to contact the PD at three or four major-market stations
near you, and set up your own "contract" to play your record. You have
enough money, and so you are finally going to get your exposure.
Here's what will happen...
First of all, most every beginner wants the major stations, so here is
how it will go down in markets #1 to #20 (small markets would be
different, of course). You make your phone call to the PD, but he/she
is not available, so the secretary directs you to the MD. Since the MD
has not heard of you, you will probably get the MD's voicemail. Or,
you ask for someone who WILL talk with you... a jock, or even an
assistant. You tell the person (or the MD if they answer) that you
have some marketing money for airplay, and that you want to set up one
of those "legal indie contracts".
Without further thought on their part, you will be transferred or
directed to the sales department, where you will get the newest
entry-level account executive. This account executive will be confused
by your "indie contract" request, but will say that if you are looking
to get exposure for your release, you should start out with an
advertising campaign (i.e., a spot schedule) on the station, and he/she
will also say "if it's good, the PD may indeed start playing it,
because I've seen it happen before." You think about it, and realize
you've been sidetracked. You want airplay, not commercials. You try
again for the PD, to no avail, and now the original MD or jock you
talked to doesn't want to hear from you, except for maybe saying "send
me the record." You have now been taken completely out of the airplay
loop, and you would not have even realized it had you not read this
first.
You start rationalizing that you could indeed use some commercials
anyway. Plus, the PD will certainly hear the spots, so this may
actually be the way to go. But you want to make certain this will
result in airplay, so you tell the AE (account executive) that you
don't mind spending the $10,000 or $20,000 for a heavy three week spot
schedule, but you want to get some kind of guarantee or promise from
the PD that the record will go into rotation soon after you start;
after all, the reason you called the station in the first place was to
set up your "legal indie contract". You'll spend the money, if you get
the spins.
The PD and sales staff now have you where they want you. They have
done their job of making you think that your pseudo "indie contract"
starts out with an ad (not "add") schedule, and that it will "maybe
probably" evolve into airplay. It's the most attention you've ever
gotten from a station.
But you keep prodding the AE for that "promise" that you seem to not be
getting... that they WILL play your record if you buy the schedule.
The AE says almost everything on the planet, except "yes, we promise".
You do not feel so great about this. It must be easier than this...
there is no way they'd treat Warner Brothers this way, you say. But
you have no other choice... the major-market PD will not talk to you
(again, small market would be different), and it looks as if there is
nothing left to do but run the spots and hope for spins.
Congratulations... you have now completed your dead-end trip. The
spots will run, and finish; the station will have your money (legally),
and you will have NO regular rotation on this major-market station.
The system has worked again.
Conclusion: Paying stations is not a tool for a small indie to get
airplay.
------------------------------------------------------------
Bryan Farrish Radio Promotion is an independent radio airplay
promotion company. 818-905-8038 http://www.radio-media.com.
------------------------------------------------------------
STATION SHUT DOWN FOR NATION VIOLATION
by Prime Anarchist World News Tonite
Correspondent Dirk Derthbed
[PAWN] - South Bronx, NY; Fairfax Station, Virginia;
and Harlem, NY. A corporation owning many radio stations
was shut down for 6 hours because three of their stations
were caught playing Russian classical, Latvian folk and
Iraqi punkrock, when their section of the FM dial was only
designated for country&western music. Spokespersons would
not disclose the name of the company, or even the station
names.
They were apparently warned once and then shut down 35
seconds later. FCC chairperson Michael K. Trowell said this
has nothing to do with politics, that those musical styles
have their own sections on the radio dial, somewhere between
AM and FM, but definitely not where the country&western
should go.
ClearChannel, oops, we mean the corporation, which
will remain unnamed, was back up in 6 hours save for
the three channels in question, which are still closed
down until they can be sold at auction to vodka companies.
When asked whether this has anything to do with
Homeland Security, the Patriot Act or Kazaa offering
free downloads of commercial music, FCC Chief of Staff
Marsha J. McBride said, "absolutely no comment."
[ED NOTE: No, of course none of this is factual, except
some of the ideas are real. Check out a few other PAWN
News Reports tucked in ATI Zine
(http://flag.blackened.net/ati/zine/infomaniack.html)
and you'll get the gist pretty quickly. ]
JUST SO YOU KNOW:
It was very important to us that this issue of
this 'zine not mention ___________, _______, or
___ _____ _______ at all.
Good news, and good nite.
"I know, let's try Bush in the Senate."
Send letters to:
ati@etext.org
Go to our never-official website at:
http://flag.blackened.net/ati/infomaniack.html
or
http://flag.blackened.net/ati/zine/infomaniack.html
Get back issues at:
http://www.angelfire.com/wi/kokopeli/cygnus.html
And sign up for the once a week publication at
our listserver. We'll let YOU FIND THAT ONE on
your own.
P R O V O K E F R E E D O M
