Russell Means, A Portrait

Title: Russell Means
Lakota Name: Oyate Wacinyapi “Works for the people”
Artist: Bob Coronato
Size: 36 5/8 x 74 1/4 – Oil on Canvas

“An upside down flag is an international signal of distress… now we, the Indian nations, are in distress. I will wear this flag upside down as long as my people are in distress!” R. Means

I have been researching and planning this painting for over 10 years. I First heard about Russell Means when I moved into the Black Hills and learned how much controversy there was around him in the “Hills”.  There were some that viewed him negatively and there were those that held him as a hero. I wanted to learn more for myself because it was a dramatic chapter in the history of the west that took place in my lifetime. With the rise of AIM, the American Indian movement, was critical in changing the lives of many.  The armed Siege of Wounded Knee in 1973, was truly the last of the Indian Wars, and Russell and several hundred others along with him, fought the Government in a armed stand off, prepared to die as free people, just as there ancestors had.

I was inspired 15 years ago by my best friend, and artist Tom Waugh, who talked about Russell Means, Dennis Banks, The yellow Thunder case and all the different American Indian Movement activities.  Tom was closely related to that time because he was married at the time to a woman that was Lakota and involved with AIM, and he was the chief of police at Hot Springs at the time of AIM’s rise. He had valuable insights into both sides of the conflicts, and protests. Tom was First law enforcement on the scene of the federal Agents murder, and fired upon at Jumping Bulls Camp. Tom boxed, partied, and lived with AIM members and others that were closely related to the people involved with wounded knee 2. This first hand resource was inspiring to me, and He encouraged me to follow my heart, research the subject and paint about that time. As I traveled with him through different saloons in the Black Hills, heard the stories, met the people involved, I wanted to record in paint some of the leaders of this movement.

I began to research in-depth the entire AIM movement, I really wanted to meet Russell Means and paint his portrait. I didn’t want to paint him as an “Pop Icon” like Andy Warhol, but as a revolutionary and important leader of his people, in a traditional portrait. Andy Warhols portrait is a great work of art, but I felt there was also a need for a formal portrait to tell more of the story.

Tom Waugh and I have an American Indian Museum in Hulett Wyoming, and we started a section in our museum dedicated to AIM. As I searched out artifacts from the time, and followed the path to finding things from the Wounded Knee takeover in 1973, I met and talked to lots of the individuals involved on both the Feds side and AIM. eventually AIM members came in to see it and shared there thoughts. It created quite a stir, and evoked many passionate conversations pro and con, depending on the person. This was very valuable in understanding the time, the struggle and what changes were made.

Russell Means as well as others in the movement, stood up for unfair racism, and abuses against Indians and made definitive stands against the tyranny of the cops, government, racist judges and citizens who felt that Indians were second class. Meeting the people involved gave me a very clear view of how the events of the 70’s and the American Indian Movement had a very deserved place in history of the West. Russell Means is one of a group of people who really changed the way American Indians are treated.

The Black Hills of SD/Wyo is the heart of the Lakota lands, their “sacred lands” and living there in a time that is only 100 + years after it was Indian only,… gives me a very clear picture of what developments the last 100 years brought.

Wounded knee in 1890, is memories of the grandparents of the people currently living on pine ridge. The stories and wounds are still felt. Even as an outsider, I run into people that share stories and have strong feelings about the entire mishandling of the Indian People.

I was very persistent, and passionate about researching and digging for info, even going to remote places in the Hills to find people involved, meet with anyone that had an opinion about what transpired and even getting my nose broke around 2008. I remember one time in 2007 breaking a guys nose in the Ponderosa Saloon because I was talking to some people about AIM and how I was very excited because I just found a 30-30 carbine used at wounded knee 1973 and how I would incorporate it in a painting. I bought the gun from a family member of the owners of the wounded knee trading post that got burned down. I dug it out of a trunk, in a old barn, still with the FBI tags on it from the court case. Apparently the subject is still touchy and some cowboy didn’t think it was something to paint about and away we went.

If Russell was not completely appreciated in this era because the fresh feelings of those hurt by the armed rise of AIM, surely, history would hold him in high regard. I finally tracked down Russell and shared in an email my desire to paint him in a traditional manner as a important historical figure. It took several years, to get to that point, but eventually I got an invite to come to his house and prepare for a portrait. We talked for a few hours about politics, reservation life, and what kind of thoughts that both He and I had for the portrait. Russell seemed worried that I wanted to put him in a war bonnet and paint him as if he was living 100 years ago. I explained how I would use imagery that was very specific to “his time.” He said to me “Im a late 20th century Indian” and “that’s how I want to be portrayed.” I was on the same page, and as he suggested, incorporated the traditional vest, and the watch as the description of his time. He said this was his statement, and he had thought it out for the portrait.

Russell grew up in a time when as a kid, they still used horse and wagons on the reservation, (he was born 1939) elders who remembered the old ways were still alive, and he had seen tremendous change from the time of the elders, to the current. He was sending a tweet out on his twitter page as we talked. He is in a Limbo of those that grew up in a time where few traditional practices were left because of the governments attempts to squelch a people and a time where some had the desire to return to the some more traditional ways. The watch and tee shirt describe how Indians are not the idea of old Hollywood westerns or to be thought of as “in the past” but a people very much of today, and with a rich history.

The L.A. Times referred to Russell Means as the most important American Indian since Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull. If your not familiar with all the things he helped change along with the other members of AIM, I highly recommend his Autobiography Where White men fear to tread. He inspired and lead people to stand up be proud to be Indian, and fought for the rights of All Indian people. After years of fighting the uphill battle of many of the injustices, and failures of the U.S. government, AIM made some strong headway to improving how Indian people are treated today. His Life is one of sacrifice, giving up freedom, personal relationships, family and selflessly fight for the rights of Indian people. although the situation still needs to be improved His efforts have had great impact for positive change.

In 1972 in Gordon Nebraska, Russell remembered how in high school he had done a report that described how the upside down flag was used by the navy as a distress signal, and in a AIM protest he decided to wear it and hang all the flags in town upside down, as AIM went there to protest the miss-handling of the murder of an Indian, where the police were going to merely slap the wrist of the white boy that killed him. This upside down flag left such an impression it soon became a symbol of AIM and was used everywhere they went. I said to Russell “you got approached by a woman that thought it was anti government and you explained how it was a signal of distress and that your people were in distress” I asked how he felt today…

He looked out the window of his house at Porcupine and with a saddened voice said, “my people are still suffering.” I asked if he would wear the flag for the portrait, and he agreed.

The failures of the US government have not been fully addressed or repaired, but AIM, Russell Means and many others started many policy’s that have lead to more freedoms and sovereignty for Indian nations around the country. AIM demanded that the Us government honor, and live up to its own laws, treaties and agreements with its people.

The ideas of AIM were critical in changing the oppressive ways that were excepted in the early 1900’s up until the 1970’s. Russell and Aim fought then and he fights today for the government to allow the Indian people to be “free and independent, free to be responsible.”

In the words of Chief Joseph, the credo of the American Indian Movement and words held dear to Russell Means,… Let me be a free man, free to travel, free to stop, free to work, free to trade were I choose, free to choose my own teachers, free to follow the religion of my fathers, free to talk , think and act for myself— and I will obey every law or submit to the penalty.

It was a highlight in my life to meet, become friends with and paint one of a few revolutionaries in US history. A true icon and leader, Russell means is a person that history will hold in high regard.

Bob Coronato

Dear Jewish Journal

In response to David A. Lehrer’s December 16th piece titled “A Vile Character Performs at the Taper”, I ask those of you who are seeking truths and balance to please visit the Republic of Lakotah website,  which documents the vile past and present genocidal policies of the United States of America. I also encourage those same readers and visitors of the Jewish Journal to read my autobiography “Where White Men Fear to Tread”, published by St. Martins Press (on its 15th printing in 15 years) for a truthful personal explanation of how I was and who I am. Then make your judgments upon the truths of my world view. I suggest you also read the following review by the Entertainment Industry‘s most prestigious publication, “Varity”  and decide if purchasing tickets to “Palestine, New Mexico” now playing at the Mark Taper Forum is indeed a “brotherhood message for this holiday season“.

I challenge you to judge for yourselves the message of the folly and stupidity of the Patriarchal Cave Man mentality of settling misunderstandings with a club.

As a post script, please do go to google and in short order discover all of my visual citations.

Russell Means, Oglala Lakota Patriot

AIM of Colorado Reading List

The following is a list of Required Reading for the AIM of Colorado and a course taught by Professor Glenn Morris, Esq.

—————

American Indian Movement of Colorado Reading List

Compiled by

Russell Means and Professor Glenn Morris, Esq.

December, 1995

Books

Adas, Michael. Machines As the Measure of Men: Science, Technology, and Ideologies of Western Domination. Ithaca, NY: Cornell U. Press, 1989.

Arciniegas, German. America In Europe: A History of the New World in Reverse. NY: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 1986.

Akwesasne Notes. A Basic Call to Conciousness. Rooseveltown, NY Akwesasne Notes, 1978.

Batalla, Guillermo Bonfil. Utopia and Revolution (Utopia y Revolucion): Contemporary Political Thinking of the Indians of Latin America. Mexico City: Editorial Nueva Image, SA, 1981.

Berger, Thomas. A Long and Terrible Shadow: White Values and Native Rights in the Americas 1942-1992. Seattle: U. of Washington Press, 1992.

Braudel, Fernand. The Structures of Everyday Life: The Limits of the Possible: Civilization and Capitalism. 15^th -18^th Century, vol. 1. NY: Harper and Row, 1981.

Burger, Julian. Report From the Frontier: The State of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. London: Zed Books, 1987.

Crosby, Alfred W. The Columbian Exchange: The Biological and Cultural Consequences of 1492. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1972.

- Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion of Europe, 900-1900. Cambridge: Cambridge U. Press, 1986.

Churchill, Ward. Struggle for the Land: Indigenous Resistance to Genocide, Ecocide and Expropriation in Contemporary North America. Monroe, ME: Common Courage Press, 1993.

- When Predator Came. Englewood. CO: Aegis Publication 1995

Colby, Gerard with Charlotte Dennett. Thy Will Be Done. The Conquest of the

Amazon: Nelson Rockefeller and Evangelism in the Age of Oil. New York: HarperCollins, 1995.

Davidson, Basil. The Black Man’s Burden: Africa and the Curse of the Nation-State. NY: Times Books, 1992.

Deloria, Vine, Jr. God is Red. Austin: U. of Texas Press, 1994 reissue.

Ereira, Alan. The Elder Brothers. New York: Vintage, 1990.

Grinde, Donald and Bruce Johansen. Exemplar of Liberty: Native America and the Evolution of Democracy. Los Angeles: American Indian Studies, UCLA, 1991.

- Ecocide of Native America: Environmental Destruction of Indian Lands and Peoples. Santa Fe, NM: Clearlight Publishers, 1995.

Hanke, Lewis. Aristotle and the American Indian: A Study in Race Prejudice in the Modern World. Bloomington: Indian U. Press, 1959.

Harring, Sidney L. Crow Dog’s Case: American Indian Sovereignty. Tribal Law and United States Law in the 19^th Century. NY: Cambridge U. Press, 1994.

Jaimes, M. Annette, Ed. The State of Native America: Genocide, Colonization and Resistance. Boston: South End Press, 1992.

Josephy, Alvin, ed. America in 1492: The World of Indian Peoples Before the Arrival of Columbus. NY: Knopf, 1992.

Las Casas, Bartholomew de. The Destruction of the Indies. (1542), NY: Seabury Press, 1974.

Mander, Jerry. In the Absence of the Sacred: The Failure of Technology and the Survival of Indian Nations. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books, 1991.

Means, Russell. Where White Men Fear to Tread. New York: St. Martin’s Press. 1995

Nandy, Ashis. The Intimate Enemy: The Loss and recovery of Self Under Colonialism. Delhi: Oxford U Press, 1983.

Rifkin, Jeremy. Declaration of a Heretic. Boston: Routledge, 1985.

Said, Edward. Culture and Imperialism. NY: Vintage Press, 1994.

Sale, Kirkpatrick. The Conquest of Paradise: Christopher Columbus and the Columbian Legacy. NY: Knopf, 1990.

Shiva, Vandana. Staying Alive: Women, Ecology and Development. London: Zed Books, 1989.

Stannard, David E. American Holocaust: Columbus and the Conquest of the new World. NY: Oxford U. Press, 1992.

Tinker, George. Missonary Conquest: The Gospel and Native American Cultural Genocide. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1993.

Trask, Haunani Kay. From a Native Daughter: Essays on Racism, Colonialism and Sovereignty in Hawai’i. Monroe, ME: College Courage Press, 1993.

Weatherford, Jack. Indian Givers: How the Indians of the Americas Transformed the World. New York: Crown, 1988.

Williams, Robert A., Jr. The American Indian in Western Legal thought: The Discourses of Conquest. NY: Oxford U. Press, 1990.

Articles

Associated Press. “Common Mayans well off: Relics show middle class thrived, may have rivaled kings,” in Denver Post, 5 January 1993.

Barriero, Jose’, ed. “Indigenous Economics Toward a Natural World Order,” Akwe:kon Journal 9, no. 2 (Summer, 1992).

Cohen, Felix. “Americanizing the White Man,” in The Legal Conscience: Selected Papers of Felix Cohen. New Haven: Yale U. Press, 1960.

Hassler, Peter. “The Lies of the Conquistadors: Cutting Through the Myth of Human Sacrifice,” World Press Review, December, 1992, 28-29.

Means, Russell. “For the World to Live “Europe” Must Die,” Mother Jones, September, 1980.

Newcomb, Steven T. “The Evidence of Christian Nationalism in Federal Indian Law: The Doctrine of Discovery, Johnson v. McIntosh, and Plenary Power, “ New York University Review of Law and Social Change, Vol XX, No. 2, 1993.

Stevens, William K.  “Scientists Revive a Lost Secret of Farming:  Ancient Peruvian fields yield inexpensive techniques that rival modern technology,” New York Times, November 22, 1988, B-7.

- “Research in ‘Virgin’ Amazon Uncovers Complex Farming:  Techniques let Indians harvest the jungle without destroying it,”  New York Times, April 3, 1990, B-5.

Weekend Update 05 – Part I

Somber, tragic description of the Imperialist Patriarchies attacks on the peoples of Gaza and Iraq; some of the USA’s latest, but not so well hidden, Indian Reservations

?free lakota bank?

The Republic of Lakotah is in NO WAY associated with this new “freelakotabank.” Caveat Emptor!

If you navigate to the “Management” of this “bank,” you will notice that the managers are “coming soon.”