ACTION: Help Save the Legacy of New Mexico's Buffalo Soldiers. Save Fort Bayard.

Photo copyright Fort Bayard Historic Preservation Society; all rights reserved.

America does not do history well. Even at its best, it's inevitably a whitewash in service to the dominant culture's mythological retelling of events that were, to put it mildly, colonialist brutality. The histories and perspectives (and even the bare facts) surrounding people of color involved in any given historical episode are always and by definition elided, distorted, or simply missing completely. Nowhere, of course, is this more true than when dealing with our peoples, the original inhabitants of this land.

Even so, the history must be preserved. Without it, there's no chance of ever getting it right. That denies our children (and their children, and on and on) the possibility of ever knowing the real facts, the real richness of this land, its peoples, its histories. It denies our ancestors their memory and legacy, threatening to erase them and their footprints completely. And it denies us our identities, our very existences as who we are.

So today, I'm going to ask you to take a moment to try to help preserve and important piece of history. It's something that, in its former and current incarnations, has always been very flawed (and that's the polite way of putting it). Currently, much historical inaccuracy is involved. A great deal of anti-Indian racism is present. And all of that needs to be fixed.

It will never be fixed if this public landmark, the historical piece of the commons for so many populations in New Mexico and across the country, is privatized or razed to the ground.

So I'm going to ask you to read the details over the jump, and then help save Fort Bayard.

Black History Month In New Mexico: Buffalo Soldiers

This is the first of three pieces designed to bring you a taste of the contributions African Americans have made to New Mexico history and culture.  Nothing in any of these pieces is intended to be all-inclusive; it's merely a sepia-toned snapshot of three distinct points in the state's historical timeline that go too often unremarked and unremembered. 

New Mexico makes much of its triracial inclusion and harmony (which, truth be told, is not so much as an inch deep, but that's another story).  What isn't obvious to folks from elsewhere is that the three races to which it refers are, as they are known in the polite version of local parlance, "Anglos," "Hispanics," and "Indians."  In most of the state, African Americans aren't even on the public radar screen (nor are Asian Americans or Pacific Islanders, people of South Asian and Middle Eastern descent, or those of Caribbean ancestry - but, again, that's another story). 

According to the 2010 census, African Americans constitute 12.6% of the national population.  In New Mexico, that figure drops to a scant 2.1%.  [Despite the fact that the U.S. stole this land from Mexico, which in turn had stolen it from the indigenous populations, 68.4% of New Mexico's total population comprises "Anglos," whether "Hispanic" or "non-Hispanic."] 

African American history and culture are a bit of a unicorn in this state:  occasionally reported, but mostly elusive, and largely invisible to all but those who actually go looking for it.  And yet, Black Americans have a long and storied history in New Mexico, with a vibrant presence predating statehood by half a century.  It's long past time for that presence to assume its rightful place in the state's past and present. 

Come with me.  I'm going to take you on a little tour of three New Mexico towns that play a role in African American history. 

Since this day seemingly will never end, . . .

I need something fun.  Or at least funny.

It also has a certain . . . applicability to certain other persons right now.

Black Indians: Tomorrow In Portsmouth, N.H.

Video credits Portsmouth Black Heritage Trail and the Seacoast African American Cultural Center, 2014.

Speaking of Black Indians, the Discover Portsmouth Center in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, is hosting an event tomorrow, from 2:00 pM to 4:00 PM local time, dedicated to exactly this topic.

This program, presented by the Portsmouth Black Heritage Trail and the Seacoast African American Cultural Center entitled Black Indians: An American Story will feature segments of the award winning film followed by a discussion with Everett “Tall Oak” Weeden, a Mashantucket Pequot/Wampanoag Native American from Rhode Island.

The video above is narrated by the always-eloquent James Earl Jones, who is one of us. Just over 2.5 minutes in length, but it's moving all the same. If you're in the area and can go, it looks like a worthwhile investment of a Sunday afternoon.

One day, I'll write about a couple of more controversial topics related to Black Indians: Cherokee Freedmen, and "Mardi Gras Indians." But those are issues for another day.

Black Indians: Remembering Captain Paul Cuffee During Black History Month

Those of us of mixed race are often told we're "not." Not one race or another. Not "mixed race," because that's not a thing. Not a member of any group, or community, or culture, because we're not enough of anything for some, and too much of other things for the rest.

Recently, I've been hearing a revival of the trope that there are no Black Indians. That is, if you're Black, you can't also be Indian; if you're Indian, you're not Black. Never mind what your DNA is; you have to be one or the other. [And I'm hardly the only one who's been hearing this; my Spirit Sister, who has my same tri-racial make-up in different proportions, is actually the one who suggested I write this.]

As a practical matter, most people are forced to choose. We then often must construct our own identities: ones that don't fit into societally-approved categories, but rather, live in the interstices, yet encompass who we are fundamentally. Such was ultimately the case with one of this country's most famous Black Indians - and neither ethnic group can afford to forget his contributions to our collective history.

Below the jump, a Black History Month reminder of the man who was Captain Paul Cuffee.

Making It Rain

Image copyright Wings, 2014; all rights reserved.

Okay, peeps.  Here's the deal: I gotta make it rain.

This is our slow season every year, but this year, it's slower than normal. That's largely the economy; the whole region is hurting badly.

Knowing that doesn't pay the bills, though.

So I'm going to do what I should have swallowed my pride and done a long time ago.

I'm going to turn this into something more content-heavy. Yes, there'll still be plenty of light-hearted (and not so light-hearted) content about dogs and horses and other day-to-day stuff. But I'm going to focus on my causes here, too. Most of you already know what those are: American Indian rights and issues; anti-racism (and other -isms and -phobias); the environment; animals; Wings's art; and helping people who need help. You notice I didn't mention politics. Well, every one of those is inherently political. That will underscore everything that gets posted here - hell, it already does - in one way or another, even if it's not immediately apparent.

Because I am very, very pressed for spare time between now and mid-May, I'll begin by cross-posting some of my better stuff from Daily Kos. You may have seen some of it; you've probably missed some, too. Either way, you probably know other people who'd be interested in some of them for one reason or another, so if you see something that would interest someone you know, I'd be grateful for shares and so forth.

And if they, or you, are ever so inclined (and can afford it; if you can't, please, please, please — don't!), hit the PayPal link at the upper right and drop a few pennies in the till.

They'll be much appreciated. Not just by us, but by four chickens, four dogs, and six horses, too.

Chi miigwech.

Maybe there's a reason for my site-loading issues at DK after all . . . ?

Live From Koreatucky:

Sorry about the ad, but you really have to watch it all the way through. I laughed loudly enough to wake the dogs.

The fiddler rocks. Or something.

Oh, and don't say I never gave you anything for Valentine's Day.