by Rich Wandschneider | Aug 18, 2022 | Bobbie Conner, John Wayne, Marlon Brando, pope francis, Sacheen Littlefeather
From yesterday’s New York Times: “The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has apologized to Sacheen Littlefeather, an Apache and Yaqui actress and activist who was booed onstage at the Oscars in 1973 after she refused the best actor award on behalf of Marlon...
by Rich Wandschneider | Aug 5, 2022 | 1493 papal bull, Catholicism, Doctrine of Discovery, First Nations, pope francis
Years ago, when I knew much less of the Indian story in the Pacific Northwest, I had an informal Nez Perce history class here at the Josephy Center. A dozen of us were on the balcony one day when Tamastslikt director Bobbie Conner and her mother came in the door. I...
by Rich Wandschneider | Aug 1, 2022 | boarding schools, pope francis
The Canadian boarding school disclosures brought up old stories that had been neglected by governments and church hierarchies for decades. The stories are remembered well by the targets of religious coercion and victims of sexual and physical abuse who are with us...
by Rich Wandschneider | Feb 15, 2016 | California Indians, Chiapas, Father Serra, Mayan Indians, pope francis, Rupert Costo
Pope Francis is on the move again, upsetting the Mexican establishment that would like to show off its fancy malls and building projects by visiting slums and speaking out against violence and corruption. And today, Monday, February 15, he will be in Chiapas, where...
by Rich Wandschneider | Sep 25, 2015 | Cahuilla, California Indians, California missions, Father Serra, Indian genocide, pope francis, Rupert Costo
Like many Americans—and people across the world—I have watched and listened to the new Pope with hope and wonder. A man of clerical power that extends over much of the world with Francis’s humility giving voice to the poor, the immigrant, the prisoner, is something...
by Rich Wandschneider | Mar 14, 2014 | 12 years a slave, fagan, hispaniola, hobbes, las casas, nasty brutish and short, pope francis, slavery, torture
I’ve not yet seen the Academy Award winning “12 Years a Slave,” but the clips and conversation about slavery and brutality are visceral. Writer John Ridley said in a radio interview that he hoped the film would promote continuing conversations about these difficult...
