Hi, the 27:th dec I mailed cskt (The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes) and asked whether the utube denial of Keishas shaman status was their statement.
Did that because there was nothing about it on their site http://www.cskt.org/ (and still isn´t)
In the first answer 3:rd jan "Robert McDonald Communications Director -- CSKT" said he didn´t know of what I was reffering to. The utube denial was by then gone, so he could not look at it.
I then wrote back to him:
"It was a clip where CSKT is denying Keisha Crowther "Little Grandmother" being shaman for the Sioux and Salish tribes.
A film with her on this adress: http://vimeo.com/11191065"
This was 4:th jan. So far no more answer.
A little mysterious that a communication director seemed to have no idea of an "official statement", as I think the utube film claimed to be.
You e-mailed the wrong place. The CSKT Elders Cultural Advisory council is described here and they are the ones attributed with the statement..not tribal government and in my opinion a much more valid one as these individuals are the ones that actually practice and preserve traditional culture and make sure it's taught to others (freely and all are welcome to go and learn, even Kiesha..she might try it, wisdom comes from life experience and often times from making mistakes as she's done, humbling herself and actually learning about her mother's tribe before claiming to represent them might be in order to attain even the littlest bit of authenticity...)
http://www.cskt.org/hc/salishelders.htm"They assist with all our duties and goals of the Salish - Pend d'Oreille Culture Committee. They are very giving and dedicated elders. They continue to share their wisdom, strength and support with us all in our work to reserve, perpetuate and protect the traditions, languages and lifeways of our people. The Committee staff continues to record new interviews with knowledgeable elders, as this is essential for the preservation of the language and culture.
The Elders Council gather monthly throughout the year to share their knowledge. They assist in teaching Salish Language Classes and Cultural Awareness Classes. They have received awards and recognition for their dedicated work in preserving the language and culture of the Tribes. They are irreplaceable, the backbones of our traditions and survival of native languages, they are true treasures.
The traditional elders continue to lead and guide the committee and all tribal people in the gathering of traditional foods and medicinal plants. The committee and Elders Advisory Council assist with the Jump Dances at the beginning of every year. These are held at the Longhouse (Longhouse is located in St. Ignatius, Montana on Blind Barnaby St.). They guide us with our annual Bitterroot Feast and Ceremony in the spring, where we give thanks for the bitterroot and other foods and we pray for good sustenance for our people all year. The Committee Staff and Elders Advisory Council then begin the year of gathering our plants for food and medicines to share and teach the tribal people about. The committee and elders organize annual trips to the Medicine Tree in the Bitterroot Valley, and continue to work to protect the tree form highway expansion, we also make an annual fall pilgrimage to the Bitterroot Valley and Stevensville to honor our ancestors and visit the homeland of the Salish. The Elders Advisory Council are currently and have been assisting with the Salish-Pend d'Oreille History Project which will produce a book on history, place names, Swan Massacre.
Within the Tribal Government, the Committee Staff and Elders Advisory Council also perform a number of tasks to ensure the presence of a cultural perspective. The Committee and elders giver presentations and cultural orientation workshops to various departments and outside entities when called upon. Various elders from the Advisory Council are called upon regularly by various Tribal Departments and Tribal Council to attend meetings on things like water rights negotiations, treaty rights celebrations, timber sales, tobacco conferences, hi-way expansions, cutting meat, beading, story telling, preservations of sites to name a few."
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Which is different than the tribal government PR person (Robert MacDonald) you contacted here:
http://www.cskt.org/hc/salish.htm or even the Culture Committee in general which receives it's guidance from the Elder's Committee, however the Elder's Committee page only lists contacts for the culture committe which is:
Salish/Pend d'Oreille Culture Committee
PO Box 550
St. Ignatius, Montana 59865
Phone: (406) 745-4572
Fax: (406) 745-4573
Email: sti4573@blackfoot.net
Hope that helps.
Superdog
