text:
Shannon Douma and Richard Luarkie: How Do We Choose Our Leaders and Maintain Quality Leadership? (Q&A)
Native Nations Institute
Shannon Douma and Richard Luarkie: "How Do We Choose Our Leaders and Maintain Quality Leadership?" (Q&A)
Video of Shannon Douma and Richard Luarkie: "How Do We Choose Our Leaders and Maintain Quality Leadership?" (Q&A)
Shannon Douma and Richard Luarkie (Pueblo of Laguna) field questions from seminar participants about how the Pueblo and also the Santa Fe Indian School's Summer Policy Academy groom Pueblo youth to take over the reins of leadership of their nations.
civic obligations, civic responsibilities, civics education, core values, leadership curriculum, leadership development, reciprocity, roles and responsibilities, youth education
Shannon Douma
Richard Luarkie
Pueblo of Laguna
NNI "Tribal Constitutions" Seminar, April 2-3, 2014
Civics, Cultural Affairs, Leadership
Douma, Shannon. "How Do We Choose Our Leaders and Maintain Quality Leadership? (Q&A)." Tribal Constitutions seminar. Native Nations Institute for Leadership, Management and Policy, University of Arizona. Tucson, Arizona. April 3, 2014. Q&A session.
Luarkie, Richard. "How Do We Choose Our Leaders and Maintain Quality Leadership? (Q&A)." Tribal Constitutions seminar. Native Nations Institute for Leadership, Management and Policy, University of Arizona. Tucson, Arizona. April 3, 2014. Q&A session.
Casey Douma:
"If you think about it in the context of that analogy of farming, you have to clear the land and plow the field and get it ready for irrigation. Get intentional rather than just take some seeds and throwing out there and hoping something grows, and from that crop becomes the people you select for leadership. We're very intentional in providing the environment for our children so that when they grow with the proper care and attention, that as they grow and the care is given to them, that when it comes time to select the leaders, that we have individuals like Governor [Richard] Luarkie who have been instilled with those types of values, and that when it comes time for harvest, the individuals possess the values and attributes of leadership that we hope for. And we know that that doesn't just happen on its own, it's very intentional in the communities.
So emphasizing the work with youth is so critical because we have to keep thinking of the next generation of leaders: who will be our caretakers, who will sustain us into the future? So in the efforts to think about leadership and leadership development, when it comes time to elections, when it comes time to get leadership in place, you think about who are our choices of people, what types of attributes do they have? And if they lack in those attributes, how do we instill that so that in the future we're not going to just let up, take the best of the worst and just take the whoevers? So as a part of growing leadership to...because so much of the stuff that we talked about for the past two days it comes back to how do we make this happen, how do we get things moving or how do we have a constructive conversation regarding constitutions, about governance, about laws and about our judicial systems? It takes a mindset of critical thinkers, of people who are eager to contribute to their communities. And that doesn't happen naturally. We have to be intentional in our approach.
So I'd like to just add that...commend both Shannon [Douma] and Governor Luarkie of our people for providing that respect. That as youth develop, it is so important because we were blessed by the...we were blessed with...we have leadership like Governor Luarkie, others who are products of the community, that are able to effectively govern and lead."
Miriam Jorgensen:
"Are there other comments or questions? Thank you very much, Casey."
Terry Janis:
"As far as your leadership strategies that you're engaging in in the youth program, speak a little bit more about how you're thinking about the critical nature of service and core values in particular. I ask you for a couple reasons. One is I'm constantly impressed by the Pueblos in the role of service in so many parts of governance and community and everything else. And I was wondering if you could speak more about that kind of balance between service and core values in your curriculum, your pedagogy, and how you think about them."
Shannon Douma:
"I just wanted to touch upon that. I think with the Summer Policy Academy we recognize that we have to establish a strong foundation for our people, for our young people, to instill and reinforce the core values of our people. Our students come in with an understanding...our students come in from a variety of places. They come in with a lot of knowledge about their communities. They've been involved in their communities, they've been raised to know what those values are. And then we have students that have lived outside of the communities that are Pueblo communities... they're Pueblo students, they've lived in places like Colorado Springs or in Albuquerque that maybe don't have as much exposure to their communities, and so we understand that our students come in with a variety of experiences.
So going back to talking about being intentional, we have to be intentional about how we work with our students because they're not learning it in the schools. We know that. They're not learning our history, our knowledge, and our experiences in the school settings. So how do we instill these values with our students to understand service, to understand reciprocity? We want our students to come back home and help our communities and that's something that I think...with all of us...I think for myself, being able to go away and experience college outside of my community and to know that there was always an opportunity to come home and serve my community and in what capacity, but to understand that we serve our communities in many different capacities. Some of us are in direct positions, some of us are working from afar, but to understand that it looks different for all of us and to recognize that.
And I think one of the things that I wanted to mention is that the core values advocate to achieve a higher standard for ourselves and families and our leaders. I think once the expectations are established we begin to reinforce those in our communities, with our families, with our leaders and we start holding each other accountable and so that's what we notice in our students is they start an understanding of how we're supposed to function, how we're supposed to live in terms of through this experience of understanding the history, the culture of our people. There's a real intention that students have in like, "˜What can I do to give back? I've learned how my people have gone through this policy with boarding schools.' We've also learned about self-determination. "˜How can I now give back to my community?' and it happens in many different ways. It happens through individual service, in groups, it happens within the schools that they go to school at. We have students that, in our school, we have some students from Laguna Pueblo that came to our program this past year and there was three students, they said, "˜I didn't learn about this. I'm not learning about this in my school at all. How can I bring back the language and culture to our communities?' And so through that is a process of how we provide them with the tools, but also how we support them along the way.
So I think one of the things that we learn is that our students have the need to give back and they support one another and they help one another and I think they're eager to stay involved. And how we keep them involved is devoting our time to them, real intention of how we support them throughout the process. We don't just say, "˜Come to our conference, hang out for a little bit and then go home.' We want them to understand that we're all a network now, we're a community now. So how do we support one another to serve our community because we're all representing those communities of the Pueblo people. Was that helpful?"
"We have one more question and then it's going to be our last question because I want to make sure we have a chance for a brief break and then we also have time for a very exciting pre-lunch panel as well. So sir, you've got the mic for the last question."
Esequiel (Zeke) Garcia:
"I've got a question for both panelists. The Institute, does it incorporate anything like an internship where the youth is paired up with a council member and actually gets hands on experience? And then the question for the Governor, for incoming tribal council members is there any type of...in y'all's setting in your Pueblo...any type of like orientation or how they...any type of orientation to make them aware of what their role is and how they should go about practicing their position as a leader?"
"I think in terms of like an internship with the governor's office or in...I think that's possible. We haven't had a student that was interested in that particular internship. So that's an idea that I think it's something that we can explore. Our internships span across many different areas and we rely a lot on our faculty. Like for instance, the UNM [University of New Mexico] Law School, we have Professor Christine Zuni Cruz who has interns work with her, understanding how it all works with the law school programs, services provided. And so basically students have a certain interest area that they'll pursue and they'll ask us if they can have an internship there, but we haven't had anybody right now that has had an interest in being in the governor's office. I'm sure that would be a great experience for our students, but...so I think that's an idea that we'll explore when it comes to our internships for the coming years. But thank you."
Richard Luarkie:
"Thank you for the question, sir. As far as incoming council members, those officials, we don't...we have a process as I explained earlier where you're kind of groomed from the town crier to the mayordomo to the council. So that's kind of the longer version of our orientation preparing them for those offices. When an individual is then eventually put into office on January 1st when we have our installation ceremony, it's the opportunity for the people to encourage and remind the officials of what their role is. So it's the people that provide that first level of orientation. "˜Here's what your responsibility is. Here's your reminders. Here's what the priorities are that we set forward, continue with this.'
When we get into the council environment, when we convene as a council at the beginning of the year, we normally have...we go through what we call our council policy, just our conduct, how we conduct ourselves, our responsibilities. As an example, council members...in council members with the exception of the staff officials, the cane-bearing officers, the only time our council members have authority is when a council meeting is convened. When the council meeting ends, they're regular Joe Blow. They can't go out in the community and say, "˜Council said this or I have the authority.' They don't have that authority unless we delegate them. So those kind of things are done to orientate.
Now as far as an internship in the governor's office or the treasurer or the secretary's office, I don't see that those are impossible because we have the Government Affairs Office that's a part of the governor's office. But again, back to our teachings, we're taught, "˜Don't chase these positions,' [Pueblo language]. They remind, "˜Don't put your hand where you're not ready yet.' So they're very reminding that you don't chase them. When the people think they're ready, then they'll start putting you into these positions and that's kind of your flag that they're probably -- as Casey mentioned -- they're intentional about beginning you down that process. So that's probably a reason from the traditional side we've not necessarily had internships in those offices, but that doesn't mean that the other functions we can't create it now. Even I think in this modern day and age, I don't think that that's something that's unattainable. As a matter of fact, I think it'll be a really cool project that we can develop something like that to help our students, help our students with."
Shannon Douma: "How Do We Choose Our Leaders and Maintain Quality Leadership?"
Shannon Douma: Cultivating Good Leadership: The Santa Fe Indian School's Summer Policy Academy
Shannon Douma (Pueblo of Laguna) provides a detailed overview of how the Santa Fe Indian School's Summer Policy Academy works to develop Pueblo youth to ably take the leadership reins of their nations through a rigorous curriculum designed to build up their sense of cultural identity and personal...
Richard Luarkie: "How Do We Choose Our Leaders and Maintain Quality Leadership?"
Richard Luarkie: How Do We Choose Our Leaders and Maintain Quality Leadership?: The Pueblo of Laguna
Pueblo of Laguna Governor Richard Luarkie provides a brief overview of how Laguna citizens gradually and systematically ascend up the leadership ranks within the Pueblo through their adherence to and practice of Pueblo core values.
Leadership Institute at the Santa Fe Indian School
Founded in 1997, the Leadership Institute at the Santa Fe Indian School aims to create a dynamic learning environment in which community members not only learn and teach, but are able to actively contribute to the success of their nations. Four themes guide the Institute's work: leadership,...
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I thought it was time to bake a cookie that was tender, soft, sweet and full of coconut flavor. As much as I like having coconut cupcakes to satisfy my craving for that flavor, it isn't often I come across a coconut cookie that meets such a need. Yes, we do have coconut macaroons that are very popular with a lot of people (plain or dunked in chocolate), but why not have a coconut cookie that's more like a soft sugar cookie topped with some icing? I'm all for trying out a new recipe in the kitchen to make something that is suited to one's tastes.
The iced coconut cookies that I came up with are just the thing to make on the days when only coconut will do. What's nice about this recipe, other than the flavor and texture of the baked cookie, is the coconut-flavored icing that drips down so beautifully on each cookie. I've always been captivated by icing on baked goods, whether it's a dark chocolate ganache, a colored frosting or a pristine white glaze like this one. You may be mildly surprised to see yogurt being used for the drippy glaze, but trust me when I tell you that it makes for a special topping. If you're tempted to reach for a second cookie to have with your tea, don't blame me.
Go through my recipe and see how quickly the cookies are baked and iced. Make a batch the next time you're craving coconut, but don't feel like having a piece of cake or cupcake. Another nice thing about my Iced Coconut Cookies is that they stay soft when stored in the refrigerator. Bake some today!
Note: I take the extra step to finely chop the flaked coconut in a food processor. The coconut seems to just melt into the cookies when added this way.
In a medium bowl, whisk to combine the all-purpose flour, baking soda and fine sea salt. Keep ready.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed for 3-4 minutes. You want the mixture to be very light, fluffy and thick. Stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl and paddle at least once during this step.
On medium speed, add the eggs one at a time until fully incorporated. Beat in the coconut extract (or vanilla). Stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl.
On low speed, add the dry ingredients, then add the finely chopped flaked coconut. Beat until a dough forms and there are no specks of flour left.
Remove the dough from the bowl and paddle. Chill the dough for at least 1 hour or overnight. Cover the dough well with plastic wrap before placing in the refrigerator.
Using the 1 1/2" scoop, portion out the dough, spacing evenly & staggering the cookies on the prepared baking sheets. You will be able to fit 8 cookies per baking sheet.
Bake for approximately 11-14 minutes.
The cookies will just start to take on a golden color around the edges, but they won't brown on top.
This is what they look like when they come out of the oven. Let the cookies sit on the baking sheet for about 1 minute before transferring them to racks to cool completely.
In a medium bowl, combine the sugar, yogurt and extract. Using a spatula, slowly beat the ingredients until they come together. Beat vigorously to ensure that the glaze is not lumpy, but is smooth and thick.
This is what you want your coconut glaze to look like. It should have the consistency of thick royal icing.
Using a small offset spatula, add a small amount of icing to the tops of the cookies and place them on a rack set over a baking sheet. The icing will slowly but surely find its way down the sides of the cookies. Let the glaze go wherever it wants. It will settle.
If you want the icing to set quickly, put the cookies in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before enjoying one. The cookies really should be stored in the refrigerator in single layers (tightly covered), since the icing contains yogurt. Stored this way, they will keep for up to two days.
The cookies are almost like little cakelets since they're so tender and soft. Perfect with a cup or two of tea. They're also excellent with some coffee.
This is what the centers look like. Tempting.
I've mentioned to you that I love a good homemade cookie to have with tea in the afternoons if I happen to have any in the house. Cookies like these are great if you share them with friends. If you want to package some up for a local delivery, place each cookie in a cupcake liner (single layer; they stay neat this way) inside a cookie box, then add a nice tag. A wonderful gift for anyone who loves cookies. Remember them for your holiday baking!
Package them for friends?... Yes! Please ship them to... :-) I'm adding this cookie to my holiday baking list!


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I don't have any interest in either of them but happy for those who rode them brilliantly in the year…perhaps they should ask the Insiders rather than me on these!
TAP GAP Poser End 2014 ~Which Indian Company Will Be A Big Share Price Winner In 2015?
Anand,who ran neck to neck with Sandeep till November 2014,when his low priced Rs 7 YBrant was up against Alphageo has yet again given one really low priced selection Raj Rayon of just 66 paise !
Tata Sponge is the lone entry from the Tata Group.
Morning Sunday…. had a Hot Strong Force Water Shower…recommend it strongly as a cheaper and more invigorating alternative to massage…followed by a Healthy Akoori on Toast Breakfast with Fresh Orange Juice and Strong Pot of Mint Tea…also managed a Masala Dosa !
Starbucks to serve Beer & Wine too now in USA…India maybe later!?
😀 Would that roll out over the years to India too ! giving full meaning to their JV Partners and listed Tata Global Beverages !?
😛 Anyone for Tea or Coffee ….or Beer or Wine ? ….or Tata Global Beverages for the Long Term @ Rs 141 ?
Posted in Breweries, Chuckle !, FMCG, Food Cuisines, Holding Companies, Inspiring and Motivating, Interesting News Sightings, Investing Approaches, Investing Themes, Reflections, Sectors, Tea & Coffee Beverage	Tagged Anyone for Tea or Coffee ....or Beer or Wine ? ....or Tata Global Beverages for the Long Term @ Rs 141 ?, Starbucks to serve Beer & Wine too now in USA...India maybe later!?


Wow. You are right on track young lady.
That's the only answer and the only way forward. Love.
Don't give a damn what the world and others expect of you and your loved ones. Just show your best ability to love unconditionally.
Jesus would have done the same thing.
Regarding your confusion on why they're turning out like these, I can assure you it is not a bad thing at all.
It is not a disease please. There is an explanation to this and I pray you will come to understand when you are ready. The greater lesson is for all to accept and love everyone regardless.
The age of atonement is dawning and more people will eventually understand the many secrets of humanity, spirituality and the universe. If you keep looking and knocking a bit more, the door will be opened and you will gain understanding. I fully understand your confusion and pain.
But sincerely pray for your unwavering love and support for your children.
May God bless you with understanding and wisdom. Love and peace to you.


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Oscar López Rivera Is a Symbol of Puerto Rican Defiance: So What Side of the Oppression Are You On?
By: vagabond
On January 17, 2017, a few days before former President Barak Obama left office, he pardoned Oscar López Rivera, a U.S.-held Puerto Rican political prisoner of war who spent 35 years in prison for fighting U.S. colonialism in Puerto Rico.
What is a Puerto Rican political prisoner of war?
Puerto Rico is a colony of the U.S. and has been since 1898, and before that, it was a colony of Spain for about 400 years. There has been a long and rich history of resistance to both Spanish and U.S. colonial foreign rule in Puerto Rico. In the 1970's and 1980's, Oscar was a part of the FALN (Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacionalista), the Armed Forces of National Liberation, a clandestine revolutionary movement to usurp U.S. colonial rule in Puerto Rico by any and all means necessary.
On May 29, 1981, Oscar was arrested and charged with use of force to commit robbery; interstate transportation of firearms and ammunition to aid in the commission of a felony; and seditious conspiracy to overthrow the U.S. government. During the trial, he took a prisoner of war status, and defined himself as an anti-colonial fighter in an anti-colonial struggle and refused to recognize the U.S. courts as having any legal power to prosecute him under international law.
After World War II, many colonized nations sought independence, and the United Nations took up the issue in resolution 1514, Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, which stated that the colonized have the right to seek independence in any way that the colonized see fit. In 1960, when resolution 1514 went to a vote, nine nations abstained. The U.S was one of those nine nations.
And despite his radical stance (or perhaps even because of it), Oscar was found guilty and sentenced to 55 years in prison. In 1988, he was once again found guilty of planning a prison escape and sentenced to another 15 years. Oscar was supposed to a serve a total of 70 years in prison.
Thirty-five years into that sentence, on May 17, 2017, Oscar was set free, after a long and protracted international struggle that included demands from as disparate as Puerto Rican pop star Ricky Martin, Bishop Desmond Tutu, Fidel Castro, as well as former U.S. Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton. For the most part, the Puerto Rican diaspora was ecstatic with the news that Oscar was free. The pardon of Oscar by Obama, however, was not without controversy. Many people who disagreed with Oscar's pardon cited the Fraunces Tavern bombing in 1975 that killed four people and injured 40 more. Although Oscar was never charged with that bombing and it was never proven that he had anything to do with the operation, detractors to his pardon have always used that incident to further their cause in calling Oscar a terrorist.
With that controversy continuing to boil over, NYC's National Puerto Rican Day Parade decided to honor Oscar, and with that, the debate over whether Oscar is a terrorist or revolutionary has drawn battles lines both inside the Puerto Rican diaspora and outside of it.
Goya, a major sponsor of the parade since its inception 60 years ago, pulled out because it believed Oscar was a terrorist. Other corporate entities followed Goya's move: the New York Yankees, JetBlue, The Daily News, WNBC, Univision, Telemundo, AT&T, McDonald's, to name a few. Many of these corporations claimed that whatever money is going to the parade will go toward college scholarships for Puerto Rican students.
The redirection of corporate support of the parade to scholarships sounds nice, but if you follow that line of thinking through to the end, then Oscar López Rivera "the terrorist" will have helped a lot of young Puerto Ricans go to college. And if you know Oscar's history, then you'll know that this isn't the first time he's helped educate young Puerto Ricans. After he came back to from the Vietnam War, where he received the Bronze Star for his heroic actions in battle, Oscar was appalled by the racism that Puerto Ricans faced. Not one to idly stand, he set about founding La Escuelita Puertorriqueña in Chicago, which became the Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos High School and the Juan Antonio Corretjer Puerto Rican Cultural Center.
Another Parade
The parade's corporate sponsors have created another kind of parade—as a long line forms of those who refuse to be seen supporting a so-called "Puerto Rican terrorist" march to the podium, making grand statements about wanting to support the Puerto Rican people but not wanting to support "terrorism." That kind of parade wouldn't be complete without the State and its military apparatus—the NYPD. Not to be upstaged by corporations, the NYPD Hispanic Society won't march in the parade. The NYPD Dominican Officers followed suit, as well as the NYPD Police Benevolent Association. Not to be outdone, NYPD Commissioner James O'Neil also said that he will now not honor the parade with his presence.
All because of Oscar.
This second parade of pompous self-righteous abandonment of the Puerto Rican Day Parade wouldn't be complete without politicians. New York governor Andrew Cuomo said he won't march but won't give a reason why. New York state attorney general Eric Schneiderman, state comptroller Thomas DiNapoli and senator Charles Schumer won't attend. Why this new parade of pompous self-righteous abandonment? Because the way in which one defines a "terrorist" or a "revolutionary" depends on what side of the oppression you're on.
Nelson Mandela was a "terrorist" to the South African apartheid government. To Black South Africans struggling for freedom and white people who supported that struggle, Nelson Mandela was a "revolutionary." People forget that Mandela used violence as a means towards the liberation of Black people in South Africa. It's how he was wound up in prison for 27 years.
However, to his supporters in South Africa and to the rest of the world that called for his freedom, Mandela was a "revolutionary." The South African government was forced to free Nelson Mandela by a popular people's movement, both within South Africa and internationally.
When Mandela was finally liberated, he was given a hero's welcome. People recognized that the apartheid system was a form of internal colonization, and colonization is something that most freedom-loving people recognize as being inherently wrong. And when Nelson Mandela came to New York, the politicians lined up for the photo ops while the NYPD remained completely silent on his use of violence. The corporations that refused to take a part of the international call to boycott South Africa over apartheid also hoped no one would notice that they continued to financially benefit from the internal colonization of the apartheid system.
Back to the Community?
To the credit of the Board of Directors of the National Puerto Rican Parade, it has refused to buckle under the pressure, issuing a statement that clearly stated that the boycotts by both corporate and state entities would not sway them in honoring Oscar.
The NYPD Patrolmen's Benevolent Association's (PBA) issued a statement deciding not to participate in the largest celebration of Puerto Rican diversity in its 60th Anniversary because we are honoring Oscar López Rivera. This statement was confusing and incomprehensible, since they have not joined the Parade as a contingent ever. NYPD has and we urge them to do so this year.
Over the years, several New York City parades have honored leaders who elicit mixed reaction. We all remember the St. Patrick's Day Parade of 1983, when IRA leader, Michael Flannery of Queens, was chosen as Grand Marshal of the event. Although public opinion was divided, New York went ahead and celebrated Irish heritage. We all worked through the LGBT controversy of 1990, and the differences that arose with the Fire Department of New York in 2007. During these crucial times, the Big Apple's Irish American community, organized advocacy groups, public figures, and parade organizers, addressed their differences. In the end, unity prevailed and a great celebration of culture and pride took place each time.
This upcoming June 11, on New York's iconic Fifth Avenue, the National Puerto Rican Day Parade will display a celebration full of cultural diversity and pride. The Parade will continue to serve as educational platform, as it works alongside the community in a productive and positive manner. It will celebrate 100 outstanding young people who will receive the Parade's scholarships. And yes, it will create awareness on issues, even if controversial, that affect us as a Puerto Rican community like the commutation of Oscar López Rivera's sentence after 35 years in jail, a journey we began in 2014 with an awareness and solidarity campaign for his cause.
PBA's decision belongs to them; Goya's corporate decision belongs to them. We understand that others may not be able to be with us. However, we will continue to represent all voices, with an aim to spark dialogue and find common ground, so that we can help advance our community and build cultural legacy.
The Board of Directors of the
National Puerto Rican Day Parade
On May 23, the board issued yet another statement that essentially said the same thing.
Many people are shocked by the controversy that Oscar is being honored, perhaps even more shocked than when President Obama had actually commuted his sentence. This controversy has supporters of Oscar threatening to boycott those corporations that pulled their support. It also has the NYPD commissioner calling for police to boycott any corporations who continue to support the parade in an effort to get those corporations to withdraw their support.
Lines have been drawn, but how else was this supposed to play out? Oscar López Rivera is a revolutionary, a freedom fighter who wants to free Puerto Rico from U.S. colonial rule, which oddly enough manifests itself corporately, militarily and politically. So it's no surprise that corporations, military organizations (like the NYPD) and politicians don't want any part of a parade that honors a man who is the antithesis of everything they stand for. Don't be fooled into thinking that this is about "terrorism" or by the rhetoric of politicians who make internal colonialism possible with the NYPD so that corporations can reap the financial benefits. Puerto Rican communities in NYC have been ravaged by gentrification in Williamsburg, in the South Bronx, in East Harlem, in Park Slope, in Sunset Park and in the Lower East Side—spearheaded by politicians in service to corporate real estate who use the NYPD to "clean up" neighborhoods with tactics as small as "stop and frisk" and as great as brutality and murder.
These tactics aren't just being applied to NYC. The Puerto Rican Day Parade is a celebration in exile because those very same tactics have been used in the past, forcing Puerto Ricans to leave the island to come to the U.S. Those tactics are being employed in Puerto Rico as the colony faces a massive $74 billion debt crisis, brought on by U.S. colonialism, served up by politicians (both in the U.S. and in Puerto Rico) once again in service to U.S. corporate interests and using militarization to quell the protests that will accompany the draconian measures being dropped onto Puerto Ricans. Wall Street hedge funds, who bought up Puerto Rico's debt for pennies on the dollar, now claim that Puerto Rico owes $74 billion dollars in loans and they want "their" money now. Wall Street has demanded austerity in Puerto Rico and the U.S.-controlled colonial Puerto Rican government has begun instituting such measures, closing schools, hospitals and cutting back on social services.
Rising From Scandal
For most of its 60-year history, the parade has been a very conservative pro-politician, pro-corporate, pro-military event. A few years ago, a scandal shook the parade with investigations into how it was run, with over a million dollars being embezzled to enrich organizers. The parade almost didn't survive, as many of its key organizers were forced to resign in shame and a new board was formed by Schneiderman, the same attorney general who won't attend the 2017 parade. This was an important development because if that shake up with the organizers hadn't happened, then we probably wouldn't be facing this issue. The previous parade organizers were much more concerned with keeping corporate sponsors happy than about the concerns of Puerto Ricans.
However, even before this scandal, many Puerto Ricans felt that the parade was more about an opportunity for corporations to market and sell to Puerto Ricans than it was a celebration of a people. As a result, many Puerto Ricans in the New York City area who had been disgruntled about the direction of the parade, gathered to meet seeing an opportunity to reclaim the parade and bring the focus back on to Puerto Ricans. The parade took its mission much more seriously. In 2013, an Oscar López Rivera float demanding his liberation marched in the parade. In 2014, the parade organizers launched an outreach program in support of Oscar's freedom. Now in 2017, Oscar is free and it would only make sense that the parade honor him, since it did make an effort to free him.
This is how it's supposed to be. It's the right of a people to decide who their heroes are and who they will honor. The politicians and the corporations and the NYPD aren't used to Puerto Ricans dictating terms. For a very long time, organizers fostered the attitude of allowing the parade to be something that put the concerns of corporations and politicians and the NYPD ahead of their responsibility to serving the Puerto Rican community, as long as they were allowed to enrich themselves in the process.
It seems that's all come to an end. After all, it's the Puerto Rican Day Parade not the JetBlue, Goya, AT&T, Daily News, NBC, Univision, NYPD, Governor Cuomo Parade for Puerto Ricans. Those entities don't get to dictate who we are and what we want and who we will decide to honor. That's not how this works. We Puerto Ricans have a parade, and if you want to support that then we're glad to have you, but don't confuse past colonial practices of bending towards your will for your ability to infringe upon our sovereignty as a people, even if our island nation still continues to be U.S. colony.
The difference between a "terrorist" and a "revolutionary" is what side of the oppression you're on.
Oscar López Rivera is a symbol of Puerto Rican defiance, a symbol of resistance to U.S. colonialism, and if U.S. politicians, U.S. corporations and U.S. military outfits like the NYPD benefit from U.S. colonialism both internally (as in the gentrification of Puerto Rican neighborhoods in New York City) and externally (as in the colonization of Puerto Rico), then how do they not take offense?
Isn't it obvious what the issue really is?
These entities are threatened by Oscar and his ideals.
These entities are abandoning the parade because Oscar's ideals may just be become the ideals of a majority of Puerto Ricans and the shift of power from the colonizer to the colonized might be shifting in favor of what could quickly become a relationship in which both sides are decolonized.
The question isn't whether or not Oscar Lopez Rivera is a "terrorist" or a "revolutionary." The question is—what side of the oppression are you on?
vagabond is an artist, writer and filmmaker. He's worked in the Puerto Rican independence movement since 1997. His graphic design work and writing have been featured in Blu Magazine, AWOL, SALVO, Centro The Journal For Puerto Rican Studies, Left Turn and Liberator Magazine. His first feature film, MACHETERO, about the ongoing struggle for Puerto Rican independence, has won awards in South Africa, Wales, England, Thailand, Ireland and New York. He's currently producing and directing Harlem's Last Poet, a documentary on the life of Abiodun Oyewlole, a founding member of The Last Poets, who served time in prison for robbing the KKK.
Freeing the Colony: An Anti-Colonial and Anti-Racist…
Puerto Rico's Non-Voting Member of Congress Submits…
Ocasio-Cortez Says Puerto Rico Should Have Binding…

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KU VC inaugurates ICMR-sponsored conference on 'Changing Patterns of Migration'
By Reader correspondent on 5:25 pm October 5, 2021 No Comment
Srinagar:Vice-Chancellor University of Kashmir Prof Talat Ahmad on Tuesday inaugurated a national-level conference on 'Changing Patterns of Migration'.
The day-long conference, sponsored by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), was organised by the varsity's Department of Geography and Disaster Management (DGDM).
In his presidential address, Prof Talat called for active involvement of the student community in addressing concerns—natural and man-made—which trigger migrations and the resultant sufferings of the migrants.
"Students are going to be the future leaders of the planet Earth. We will have to train them today to assess the social and environmental problems to ensure that the planet becomes a better place to live in. When younger people will know about the fallout of these problems, they will be better equipped to address them at grassroots," he said, congratulating the conference organisers for holding the important and timely event.
Chairperson National Commission for Women (NCW) Ms Rekha Sharma, who was a guest of honour, said migration for economic reasons is a good thing but "we have to evaluate whether we are providing the migrants, who are a part of our GDP growth, better facilities."
She enumerated various problems being faced by women migrants during and after the course of their migration for livelihood.
"We now have a National Migrant Policy drafted by Niti Ayog which is expected to address a host of challenges concerning migrants, including their social equity, healthcare, housing and education," she said.
Dean Research at KU Prof Irshad A Nawchoo, a special guest on the occasion, called for academic collaboration and cooperation to discuss the natural and man-made causes of migrations.
Dean School of Earth and Environmental Sciences and Head DGDM Prof Shamim A Shah highlighted the aims and objectives of the conference.
Conference Convener Dr Farzana Gulzar, Assistant Professor, Department of Management Studies, threw light on the theme of the conference and also delivered a vote of thanks.
Two books including 'Migration: Global and Local Perspectives' edited by Dr Farzana Gulzar, Dr Sumeer Gul, Dr Shabana Gulzar and Aiman Fayaz, and 'Entrepreneurship: a road less travelled' authored by Dr Bilal A Dar were also released by the Vice-Chancellor. A website titled 'World of Migration' was also launched on the occasion.
The conference was attended by top academics from within and outside J&K including, among others, Ms Revathy Vishwanath, Deputy Director ICSSR; Prof Jagtar Singh, University of Patiala; Prof Panatula Murali Krishna, SK University Anantapur; Prof Jabir Ali IIM Jammu; Prof Haseena Hashia, JMI New Delhi, Prof Shabir Bhat, former Dean Academics KU; Prof S Mufeed Ahmad, Department of Management Studies KU and Prof Mushtaq Darzi, Director HRDC KU.
KU VC inaugurates ICMR-sponsored conference on 'Changing Patterns of Migration' added by Reader correspondent on 5:25 pm October 5, 2021


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