NAFPS Forum

General => Member Introductions => Topic started by: educatedindian on April 27, 2008, 03:15:14 am

Title: Fulbright Scholar and Published Historian
Post by: educatedindian 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.

---------------
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.
Title: Re: Fulbright Scholar and Published Historian
Post by: Defend the Sacred 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.
Title: Re: Fulbright Scholar and Published Historian
Post by: Freija 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.
Title: Re: Fulbright Scholar and Published Historian
Post by: zoi lightfoot on April 27, 2008, 10:39:36 am
I wish you well on your journey Al.Take care stay safe.
Title: Re: Fulbright Scholar and Published Historian
Post by: Moma_porcupine 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 -   
Title: Re: Fulbright Scholar and Published Historian
Post by: earthw7 on April 27, 2008, 03:25:48 pm
great news and congraduation
and most of all thank you for all
the work you do.
Title: Re: Fulbright Scholar and Published Historian
Post by: bls926 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.
Title: Re: Fulbright Scholar and Published Historian
Post by: Barnaby_McEwan 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!
Title: Re: Fulbright Scholar and Published Historian
Post by: educatedindian 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.
Title: Medicine Bags and Dogtags
Post by: Ric_Richardson 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
Title: Re: Fulbright Scholar and Published Historian
Post by: Ingeborg 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.
Title: Re: Fulbright Scholar and Published Historian
Post by: Kevin 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
Title: Re: Fulbright Scholar and Published Historian
Post by: plz 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
Title: Re: Fulbright Scholar and Published Historian
Post by: matt e 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! :)
Title: Re: Fulbright Scholar and Published Historian
Post by: crazyeagle 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!
Title: Re: Fulbright Scholar and Published Historian
Post by: A.H. on May 01, 2008, 09:38:13 am
Congratulations on the book and Fulbright - respect!

And while you're in Sulawesi/Indonesia don't be shy to "appropriate" / enjoy their rich traditional music of multi-ethnic and multi-cultural origin... It is almost avant-garde contemporary in its sound and style.



 
Title: Re: Fulbright Scholar and Published Historian
Post by: C_from_Wpg on July 05, 2008, 04:11:13 am
Congratulations and thanks for all the work you have done on this site.
You are a courageous person.

I will look for your book in the local book store.  I have an uncle who is a veteran and
I'm sure he would like to read it -  if I find it, I'll buy two!
Title: Re: Fulbright Scholar and Published Historian
Post by: nighthawk on July 08, 2008, 07:02:10 am
- removed by author -
Title: Re: Fulbright Scholar and Published Historian
Post by: educatedindian on September 17, 2008, 04:45:52 am
Hello from Makassar Indonesia everyone. I'm finally back to having regular net access again and will try to get back to being a regular contributor again. Was travelling quite a bit, San Antonio to Singapore to Jogja (Jogyakarta) and finally to Makassar, where I'm teaching at Hasanuddin University or Unhas as everyone calls it. They have me as a regular lecturer in both the History and English departments, plus a whole bunch of guest lecturing and advising and mentoring Indonesian students who'll be coming to the US as Fulbright Scholars. I'm especially hoping to see how many Torajas (the local tribe) I can help find and send over to study.

It'll take me awhile to catch up so anyone whose emailed me please be patient. I also might start a blog about teaching over here.
Title: Re: Fulbright Scholar and Published Historian
Post by: shining_path on September 26, 2008, 09:02:10 pm
DR. CARROLL, I NEVER HEARD OF YOU UNTIL I WAS REFERRED TO THIS SITE. IN ANY EVENT, WHAT ARE DOING TEACHING IN INDONESIA WHEN THERE ARE SO MANY INDIAN SCHOOLS IN THE U.S. THAT NEED QUALIFIED TEACHERS HERE AND NOW?

YOU SHOULD BE TEACHING NATIVE STUDENTS HERE IN AMERICA.

Barnaby's note. This dweeb is now banned. It's probably John 'Never Airborne' Martin again. If that's you John, and if you're really concerned about lack of teachers in Indian schools, why don't you train as one? Oh, you don't know how to turn off your caps lock. Probably not worth applying.
Title: Re: Fulbright Scholar and Published Historian
Post by: educatedindian on September 28, 2008, 12:38:11 am
What a strange and very sick screen name for the racist John Martin to choose. Yet it reveals so much about him.

The Shining Path were some pseudo revolutionaries in Peru with some Nuage tendencies, a fake claim of being heirs to the Incas. They were also violent murdering butchers, killing thousands of NDN peasants who refused to join them. They especially targeted NDN activists. So Martin is saying he'd like to murder us all.

Martin seems to, once again, be too lazy to read previous posts. But I will answer the question because it gives me a chance to talk about the Fulbright, which does so much good work for so many.

Many great NDN scholars have been part of the Fulbright. My mentor in my Master's program at Purdue, Choctaw professor Donna Akers, studied and taught in Thailand. Cherokee and Choctaw writer Louis Owens (The Sharpest Sight is hist best known book) also was a Fulbrighter.

Like most NDN professors, we go where we are needed, or interested, or find work, and don't restrict ourselves to just tribal colleges. I taught many Native students at Arizona State, St. Phillip's, and San Antonio College. And I teach many students now who are from the Toraja tribe.

Martin's beloved white supremacist David Yeagley never taught at a tribal college. He worked a single semester teaching a single class as an adjunct for Oklahoma State before getting himself fired for trying to indoctrinate his students and claiming he represented the official university position, turning an Intro Humanities course into a place for him to rant on his twisted pseudo version of "patriotism." As far as I know, Yeagley did not teach even a single Native student, or no doubt he would have bragged about it.

So why doesn't Yeagley work at a tribal college now? Because he's unemployable, except as a paid token for the far right. And Comanche Nation College in particular has said they don't want him, just as the rest of the tribal govt has also, and the Comanche Nation Museum, Business Committee, etc, etc. And the Comanche people themselves rejected him in the elections, where he got humiliated by receiving only 1% of enrolled voters.

Martin and Yeagley are probably frustrated that Yeagley's attempt to suppress my book and intimidate my publisher failed so miserably. Yeagley hired a lawyer who threatened a lawsuit over what they falsely claim was "libel." I briefly compared Yeagley to Ward Churchill in my book, both people with dubious claims of being NDN so they can be tokens for the far right and far left.

The problem was, Yeagley's counsel was a bankruptcy lawyer who didn't know the first thing about libel law. The University of Nebraska Press counsel did, and everything in my book was factual and rigorously researched. So Yeagley hired a second lawyer, who was not much more competent than the first. His new lawyer made some really bizarre mistakes, like claiming Yeagley never cowrote articles with fellow racists when the articles are widely available online. Also, that pointing out someone is of a different race than they claim is not "libel" except in the imaginations of racists. Their case fell apart almost instantly and didn't do anything except cost Yeagley retainer fees to lawyers who couldn't do a thing to stop the book. And my book is still widely available and has been bought by university libraries across the country. Like most academic books, we sell mostly to libraries not individuals.
 
Getting back to the Fulbright, one of the things I'm doing over here is trying to help as many Indonesians as possible get advanced degrees in the US. This includes students from Indonesia's tribes, who make up about a fourth of the population here, Dayaks, Bataks, Papuans, and Torajans. Right now they have me mentoring eight Indonesian students who want to be in Master's or PhD programs in the US. This includes two in heathcare, a mining engineer who want to study environmental science, two economics students (including one who studies poverty reduction through microfinancing), two agriculture students, and one studying how to improve fishing yields for fishermen without depleting the oceans.

Like most NDN scholars or professors, I became one to do what I can to help my people, and any and all people, including tribal people worldwide. I do what I can, unlike Yeagley, who does all he can to harm NDN people, and other tribal people he insults and abuses by calling them "darkies," preaching hatred.

So go ahead, Martin. Tell me I'm a terrible person. See how many believe you. You just make yourself and Yeagley look worse, not me.
Title: Re: Fulbright Scholar and Published Historian
Post by: Defend the Sacred on September 28, 2008, 01:57:04 am
What a strange and very sick screen name for the racist John Martin to choose. Yet it reveals so much about him.

I was also baffled and wary that someone claiming to be Northern Cheyenne would choose such a name. At best I figured it was a crazy Nuage imposter, at worst... uh, yeah.

Quote

the Fulbright, which does so much good work for so many.

I have an ex (who's still a good friend) who's a Fulbright scholar. Without the Fulbright, many scholars who are academically gifted but financially struggling would never be able to get their degrees.
Title: Re: Fulbright Scholar and Published Historian
Post by: educatedindian on April 12, 2014, 10:52:52 pm
I figured an update was long overdue, almost six years. Obviously my time as a Fulbright Scholar is over and done, a great year I had over there.

Since then I've been teaching at Northern Virginia Community College, coming up on five years. It's one of the best community colleges in the country. Check your old news items, Obama has come here twice, each time they had something related to education they wanted to speak on. (No, never met him. There's obviously a long list of people who wanted to, all much higher up than me.)

Also just finished my third book. The second was Survivors: Family Histories of Surviving Colonialism, Genocide, and War. It's a collection of essays from students that I edited and wrote background for.

The third one is Presidents' Body Counts: The Twelve Worst and Four Best American Presidents Based on How Many Lived or Died Because of Their Actions. It ranks presidents based on their human rights records. There's a long list of sites that discuss the book, so some people may be drawn to the forum by that.

I may as well satisfy anyone who came here looking for information on me, including the ones hoping but always failing to dig up dirt, and so they spread yet more rumors. I've always been very open about who I am and what I do.

http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=46873790&trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile_pic
http://presidentsbodycounts.blogspot.com/
http://www.scribd.com/AlCarroll
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/AlCaroll
http://www.amazon.com/Al-Carroll/e/B00IZ4FY1S/ref%3Dntt_athr_dp_pel_1
http://bookblogs.ning.com/profile/AlCarroll
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/AlCarroll

Hopefully that's enough. I don't think the rumor mongers have ever managed to harm me in any way. No one with any sense has ever believed them. (And my students are always pretty amused by how insane and ludicrous the rumors are.) It just gets tedious answering questions about them.
Title: Re: Fulbright Scholar and Published Historian
Post by: educatedindian on March 04, 2016, 09:22:54 pm
Another update after a few years, and a bit of shameless self promotion.

Book number four A Proposed New Constitution is out a few weeks now.
Book number five is a few months away from being finished. A biography, Ira Hayes: The Meaning of His Life in Native and White Memory.

Also, I just got promoted, from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor. So much for that failed campaign to get me fired.  ;D
Title: Re: Fulbright Scholar and Published Historian
Post by: educatedindian on March 16, 2021, 02:10:02 am
Another update is overdue. For now I'll just add this podcast I was interviewed for.

https://www.naturalbornalchemist.com/episodes/2021/3/8/episode-284-new-age-frauds?fbclid=IwAR39qaYZXuqMMV94GVtpAN3EW9UR8shVJFBOiG2MBZQGF0PyzR3G24sbsYo