Author Topic: Fulbright Scholar and Published Historian  (Read 35778 times)

Offline educatedindian

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Fulbright Scholar and Published Historian
« on: April 27, 2008, 03:15:14 am »
Most people here know me, some of you pretty well. So it always seemed an intro wasn't needed. But now there's news I need to share with everyone.

I'm Al Carroll, PhD, Mescalero Apache (unenrolled if that matters to you), Mexican, and Irish, a history professor at St. Phillip's College in San Antonio TX. I've also taught at San Antonio College and Arizona State University.
ETA: Now teaching at Northern Virginia Community College.

I've met Annika, Barnaby, and Ingeborg in person on the tour in Europe, as well as worked with Annika and Folke on two documentaries. I've spoken on the phone with some of you as well, Debbie, Pat, and others, and known many of you online since the beginning of NAFPS, some eight years ago or so. I'm proud to work with many of you and all the good work we've done over the years.

I'm one of the co founders, and because of that (plus a few other reasons) I often get the most flack for what NAFPS does. The other reasons are that I don't hide who I am, and am prepared to take any hits for the work we do. I don't believe I can hide or even should try, and I know that doing so would just lead to lots of bizarre rumors. In any case, a few nuts talking trash is a small price to pay for defending tradition.

Still, I'm only one of half a dozen moderators in here, and only one of now over 600 people, and one of at least 50 or 60 of the most active members. So if you hear anyone call this "my" group or forum, understand that that's a lot of nonsense.

Another reason for many of the bizarre rumors which get spread about myself and often about NAFPS by extension is because of another website I run, www.davidyeagley.org. Yeagley, his followers, and partners in crime devote a great deal of effort against NAFPS because of my side project exposing him as the white supremacist imposter he is and his membership and ties to half a dozen of the worst racist organizations in the country.

One friend and supporter of Yeagley's is John Lekay, a racist English Nuage promoter who is in a number of threads in here. Yeagley and Lekay and co have vested interests in doing all they can to defame and sometime libel NAFPS and myself, Lekay as the promoter of a fraud named Suzanne Dupree that he wants to set up as the "true" owner of the Lakota sacred pipe, and Yeagley as a paid shill for the Far Right doing all he can to tear down and disrupt any and all Native causes in the name of his white supremacy beliefs.

I'm glad to say that all that Yealgey, Lekay, and others have tried to do to harm NAFPS and myself over the years has been a complete and utter FAILURE. In most ways it's completely backfired. NAFPS is stronger than ever and more respected than ever, constantly used as a resource by hundreds of sites and working with numerous other activists and institutions.

Personally, they haven't been able to touch me either. I continue to work and write works published in academia. And I'm proud to tell of you in here two very important new announcements.

The first is news some of you have known was coming for some time. My first book is being published. Originally my dissertation, it's been rewritten and taken out of the dissertation mold, done with both a Native and a general audience in mind. Above all I aimed for my book to support oral traditions, and be a work that Native veterans and their families would want to read and reread again, to understand the traditions in the broadest possible context, and refer to when a non-Native asks them why so many NDNs are vets. It's also still more than rigorously researched enough to be put out on an academic press. That's something the likes of David Yeagley and other professional liars and deceivers could never hope for.

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http://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/product/Medicine-Bags-and-Dog-Tags,673393.aspx
Medicine Bags and Dog Tags
American Indian Veterans from Colonial Times to the Second Iraq War
Al Carroll
Hardcover
2008. 296 pp.
978-0-8032-1085-1
$45.00 s 
 Read an Excerpt (pdf)

As far back as colonial times, Native individuals and communities have fought alongside European and American soldiers against common enemies. Medicine Bags and Dog Tags is the story of these Native men and women whose military service has defended ancient homelands, perpetuated longstanding warrior traditions, and promoted tribal survival and sovereignty.
 
Drawing on a rich array of archival records and oral traditions, Al Carroll offers the most complete account of Native veterans to date and is the first to take an international approach, drawing comparisons with Native veteran traditions in Canada and Mexico. He debunks the “natural warrior??? stereotype as well as the popular assumption that Natives join the military as a refuge against extreme poverty and as a form of assimilation. The reasons for enlistment, he argues, though varied and complex, are invariably connected to the relative strengths of tribal warrior traditions within communities. Carroll provides a fascinating look at how the culture and training of the American military influenced the makeup and tactics of the American Indian Movement in the 1960s and 1970s and how, in turn, Natives have influenced U.S. military tactics, symbolism, and basic training.

Al Carroll is Mescalero Apache (unenrolled), Mexican, and Irish. He is an adjunct professor of history at St. Phillip’s College in San Antonio, Texas, and his articles have appeared in several contributed volumes.
 
----------------

It's coming out in June, and is already widely available online at dozens of sites for ordering advance copies.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22medicine+bags+and+dog+tags&btnG=Google+Search

So if any of you read it, let me know what you think of it. I'll likely be doing public appearances to promote it also.


The other piece of news is also something I'm pretty excited about. As of this week, it's official. I'm now a Fulbright Scholar. For anyone whose not familar with the Fulbright Program.

--------------------------------
http://www.cies.org/about_fulb.htm
The Fulbright Program, the U.S. government's flagship program in international educational exchange....

Fulbright grants are made to U.S. citizens and nationals of other countries for a variety of educational activities, primarily university lecturing, advanced research, graduate study and teaching...chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential...to exchange ideas and to contribute to finding solutions to shared issues....

Both U.S. and Visiting Fulbright Scholars lecture or conduct research in a wide variety of academic and professional fields ranging from journalism and urban planning to music, philosophy, business administration and zoology.

The Fulbright Program is sponsored by the United States Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs....

The U.S. Fulbright Scholar Program sends 800 scholars and professionals each year to over 140 countries, where they lecture or conduct research in a wide variety of academic and professional fields.
-----------------------

To say this is prestigious is a huge understatement. This is one of the most highly acclaimed and respected awards anywhere in academia, and very hard to get. In fact I was one of only two awards for this year for the social sciences for this nation. Typically there are hundreds of people competing for any one award.

I'll be living in the city of Makassar (population 1.2 million) on the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia from September of 2008 to June of 2009.
http://www.forumms.com/makassar_today.htm
 
I'll be teaching at the University of Hasinuddan, which is described as the best university in the eastern half of Indonesia (population 235 million.)
http://www.unhas.ac.id/english/index.php
 
I couldn't find out their exact enrollment numbers, but the site mentions dorms for 1500 students and an auditorium holding 3000. The number of alumni for all of their colleges is pretty impressive too. The campus looks pretty modern and they have a very prestigious history of research.
http://www.unhas.ac.id/english/index.php?menu=students

I will be teaching Indonesians about the history of tribal peoples and other minorities in the US so they can compare it to their own country's history. And while I'm there I'll be doing research for my next book, looking at tribal soldiers in Asia. This means I'll be looking at how and why members of Indonesian tribal peoples like the Dayaks, Papuans, and Torangans join the military and what their experiences are like.

 
I want everyone to know that, although I'll be extremely busy both teaching and researching, I will still do my best to be a part of NAFPS. I believe very strongly in the work we do here and it always does my heart good to see all the people we help.
 
But if it takes a bit longer for me to get back to someone, or if someone wants to call me on the phone or ask me to call them on the phone, keep in mind that's much harder, both for the expense and the time difference (which I think is eighteen hours.)
Keep in mind that there are five other very good moderators here, lots of dedicated NDN actvists, our handful of good friends in Europe, and hundreds of just plain good hearted people and people eager to know more or do more on this issue.

In any case, I won't be leaving until mid August at the earliest and will still be a part of NAFPS. Always. The only thing the crackpots like Yeagley and Lekay and Holzwarth do is make me more determined to carry on.

Offline Defend the Sacred

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Re: Fulbright Scholar and Published Historian
« Reply #1 on: April 27, 2008, 07:00:03 am »
Great news, Al!

I am very happy for you, and look forward to reading the book. Congratulations on joining the esteemed Fulbright ranks, and thank you again for all the good work you're doing.

Offline Freija

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Re: Fulbright Scholar and Published Historian
« Reply #2 on: April 27, 2008, 08:24:04 am »
WOW, that´s fantastic, Al! Congratulations, you´re sure worth it!

It has been an honour to get to know you and if it had´t been for you and NAFPS, giving me all the information and support I could ever ask for, there would not have been the books and the film. All of these things have made a change over here in Sweden.

Isn´t it fascinating how you get to meet people "by a coincidence" and then it leads to so much more. Sometimes you tend to think that you´re spending a lot of energy trying to reduce the exploitation to no avail. But the pebble you threw in to the water made waves that expand to places you could never dream of! I think NAFPS has been a great platform for many, many people and things are happening out there to the better!

Best of luck in Indonesia - guess you will let us know when you´ll leave.

Offline zoi lightfoot

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Re: Fulbright Scholar and Published Historian
« Reply #3 on: April 27, 2008, 10:39:36 am »
I wish you well on your journey Al.Take care stay safe.

Offline Moma_porcupine

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Re: Fulbright Scholar and Published Historian
« Reply #4 on: April 27, 2008, 12:50:15 pm »
Congratulations Al

I'm glad to hear your abilities are being recognized , and I'm even glader because I'm sure you will use this recognition to  continue to promote greater understanding and social justice. Much of the time you dedicate to this site goes on  behind the scenes , is unseen by most and it often requires a rare combination of a thick skin  and sensitivitity . ... Thanks for all you do here -   
« Last Edit: April 27, 2008, 12:52:04 pm by Moma_porcupine »

Offline earthw7

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Re: Fulbright Scholar and Published Historian
« Reply #5 on: April 27, 2008, 03:25:48 pm »
great news and congraduation
and most of all thank you for all
the work you do.
In Spirit

Offline bls926

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Re: Fulbright Scholar and Published Historian
« Reply #6 on: April 27, 2008, 04:56:12 pm »
Congratulations, Al! This is good news!

Like everyone else, I want to thank you for all your hard work. It's your name that's synonymous with NAFPS to most of the world. You're the one who takes the heat from these frauds most of the time. You're the individual who gets attacked. I know it can't be easy dealing with that, but you do it and keep your composure. You should be commended.

Offline Barnaby_McEwan

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Re: Fulbright Scholar and Published Historian
« Reply #7 on: April 27, 2008, 05:43:42 pm »
Congratulations, Al!

Some past Fulbright scholars: Maya Anjelou, John Updike, Philip Glass, Hans Blix.

Wow, Indonesia. The people, the tropical weather, the architecture, the sights, the sounds, the food!

Offline educatedindian

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Re: Fulbright Scholar and Published Historian
« Reply #8 on: April 27, 2008, 10:50:10 pm »
I went to the Philippines a few years ago, and I still haven't lost the weight from that trip.

Thanks for the kind words everyone. Things could not be going better for me. My wife is ready to slap me sometimes for being insufferable, cuz I just can't stop grinning. Then she tells me to take out the garbage or something and brings me back to reality...

I won't mention the comparison to the likes of Maya Angelou to her, that'd really get on her bad side...

I guess if any of those names have any basic for comparison, someday I wouldn't mind being compared to Hans Blix. (Wait'll the Yeagledites read THAT. They'll have spastic fits, or better yet, heart attacks.)

One of the things I'm hoping to do with this next book (and the one after, on Native soldiers in Latin America) is try to see if there are ways to reform militaries from within, so they're less likely to ever be used against indigenous peoples. Here, Asia, Latin America, anywhere.

I suppose one good thing about these accomplishments is that they make our critics look incredibly foolish. "Al Carroll? He doesn't know what he's talking about!" "Really? Then how'd he get a Fulbright? How'd he get published by an academic press?"

At that point all they can do is spout paranoid conspiracies....It'll be funny to watch the nonsense they claim. I expect they'll claiming pretty soon I'm really a "secret Muslim" like Obama....

Thanks again.

Offline Ric_Richardson

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Medicine Bags and Dogtags
« Reply #9 on: April 28, 2008, 03:09:58 am »
Tansi;

Congrats Al!  I look forward to reading your upcoming book, especially since I come from a multi-generational military family.  My Grandfather was a Veteran of WWI and WWII and told of many Aboriginal people who served.  Many other family members were Veterans of several wars that Canada has been involved in, as well.

Our Prayers are with you!
Ric

Offline Ingeborg

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Re: Fulbright Scholar and Published Historian
« Reply #10 on: April 28, 2008, 11:41:35 am »
I add mucho congrats on the Fulbright Scholarship! That's really great news. (And I suspect even taking out the garbage won't wipe that huge smile from your face.... but on a lighter side of things, I suppose you'll have a very tidy house [GRIN]).
Enjoy your stay there!
I'm also waiting for your book being available.

Offline Kevin

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Re: Fulbright Scholar and Published Historian
« Reply #11 on: April 28, 2008, 08:17:58 pm »
- big time congrats are in order - great title Medicine Bags and Dog Tags - I saw a couple of eagle feathers when I was in Viet Nam, old time warriors in modern uniforms

Offline plz

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Re: Fulbright Scholar and Published Historian
« Reply #12 on: April 29, 2008, 02:32:20 pm »
This is such wonderful news, Al.  And speaks directly to what you are all about.  I mean that most respectfully and hope it comes out that way!

Congratulations and very best wishes for your continuing work and projects.

pattyz

Offline matt e

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Re: Fulbright Scholar and Published Historian
« Reply #13 on: April 30, 2008, 07:19:37 am »
Congrats!! that is a real honor.

  make sure your writting hand is in good shape, as you are aware i am sure, alot of us will be buying this book, and we want autographed copies! :)
feel free to share any post I make as long as you give me credit. I want everyone to know who to send the hate mail to.

Offline crazyeagle

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Re: Fulbright Scholar and Published Historian
« Reply #14 on: April 30, 2008, 08:44:16 am »
Congratulations Al..it is well deserved,you have worked very hard. I look forward to reading your book!