Podcasts about senecas

WBEN's Tom Puckett on Gov. Hochul's apology to the Senecas for Thomas Indian School full 80 Tue, 20 May 2025 07:59:00 +0000 cOHy8ZaHz5HsC6HtX21Bf4H59aGMKBx5 news & politics,news WBEN Extras news & politics,news WBEN's Tom Puckett on Gov. Hochul's apology to the Senecas for Thomas Indian School Archive of various reports and news events 2024 © 2021 Audacy, Inc. News & Politics News False https://p

Native activist John Kane on Gov. Hochul's apology to the Senecas full 273 Tue, 20 May 2025 08:00:00 +0000 H3BPutEqux8zWzpREF91cmaFu9CbfERA news & politics,news WBEN Extras news & politics,news Native activist John Kane on Gov. Hochul's apology to the Senecas Archive of various reports and news events 2024 © 2021 Audacy, Inc. News & Politics News False https://player.amperwavepod

Lass uns die großen Stoiker lesen. Heute: Seneca "Briefe an Lucilius" (Brief 2).Drei Lehren bekommen wir dabei vor Augen geführt:Echte Freundschaft bedeutet komplettes Vertrauen - aber wähle deine Freunde mit Bedacht, bevor du dich öffnest.Mit wahren Freunden solltest du keine Geheimnisse haben und authentisch sein.Balance ist wichtig: Weder jedem misstrauen noch allen alles erzählen. Zeitlose antike Weisheiten für ein gelassenes Leben heute.Mehr Stoizismus für Dich ⬇️E-Mail-Kurs zum Podcast (€0):7 Tage, 7 Übungen, 7 E-Mails – kostenlos!

Lass uns die großen Stoiker lesen: Los geht's mit Senecas Briefe an Lucilius (Brief 1).Drei Lehren bekommen wir dabei vor Augen geführt:Zeit ist unser einziger wahrer BesitzLeider verschwenden wir unbewusst zu viel davonWir dürfen das Leben nicht aufschieben. Zeitlose antike Weisheiten für ein gelassenes Leben heute.Mehr Stoizismus für Dich ⬇️E-Mail-Kurs zum Podcast (€0):7 Tage, 7 Übungen, 7 E-Mails

Was schuldest Du Dir selbst auf dem Weg zu stoischer Gelassenheit? In dieser Folge teile ich drei kraftvolle Weisheiten von Seneca, die Deinen Fokus auf das lenken, was Du wirklich kontrollieren kannst: Deine Verantwortung: Stoische Gelassenheit fällt nicht vom Himmel – Du bist in der BringschuldPflege Deine Zeit: "Nur einen Tribut schuldet der Mensch: seine Zeit" – gestalte den gegenwärtigen Moment bewusstBedenke Deinen Weg: Reflektiere diese drei Beziehungen: • Was bist Du? • Mit wem hast Du zu tun? • Wohin gehst Du?Sei Dein eigener Freund: Die Beziehung zu Dir selbst ist die Quelle innerer RuheHandle, rede nicht: "Die Philosophie lehrt handeln, nicht reden" – entscheidend sind Taten, nicht WorteMehr stoische Ruhe macht Erfolg wahrscheinlicher, garantiert aber nichts. Doch was Du kontrollieren kannst, ist Dein Weg – und den bist Du Dir schuldig.Mehr stoische Weisheiten für Dich ⬇️E-Mail-Kurs zum Podcast (€0):7 Tage, 7 Übungen, 7 E-Mails – kostenlos!

This may be my most comprehensive explanation on just what Native people, particularly the Senecas, have faced with casino gaming under IGRA.

Professor Ole Martin Moen og Einar leser og diskuterer Senecas tanker om døden.

In dieser Folge geht's um Senecas zeitlosen Spruch vom richtigen Wind und dem passenden Hafen. Klar wird: Wir alle stoßen irgendwann an Grenzen und stellen uns die großen Fragen des Lebens. Was mache ich hier eigentlich? Bin ich zufrieden? Wo will ich hin?Warum es dabei keinen "perfekten Hafen" gibt und wieso das auch gut so ist - darum geht es in dieser Folge. Du erfährst, wie Du zwischen dem unterscheidest, was Dich zieht und was Dich schiebt - egal ob im Job, in der Liebe oder in Beziehungen.Statt Dich von Ängsten und Gewohnheiten ausbremsen zu lassen, leiten Dich stoische Perspektiven. Denn am Ende sind wir zum Segeln gemacht - nicht fürs Ankern im sicheren Hafen.

Warum Dein Wohl mit dem Gemeinwohl verbunden ist. So findest Du die Balance zwischen Dir und dem großen Ganzen.In dieser Folge erfährst Du:Wie Senecas Weisheit "Kein Mensch ist eine Insel" auch heute noch Dein Leben bereichertWas die Stoiker über unsere Verbundenheit wussten und warum das für Dein Wohlbefinden so wichtig istWie Du Marcus Aurelius' "Bienenstock-Prinzip" in Deinem Alltag anwenden kannstWie Du durch die Pflege von Verbundenheit automatisch für Dich und andere sorgstWarum Dein persönliches Glück und das Wohl aller in einem Ping-Pong-Verhältnis stehenMit der Gelassenheit des Stoizismus Dein Leben verbessern und gleichzeitig positiv auf Deine Umwelt einwirken: Nicht allein, sondern alle - das ist der stoische Weg zum guten Leben. Seit über 2000 Jahren erprobt: STOIZISMUS ist Dein philosophische Kompass in schwierigen Zeiten.

En av skandinavisk filosofihistorias märkvärdigaste böcker skrevs av en dansk adelsdam. Matilda Amundsen Bergström berättar om Birgitte Thott och en stoisk självhjälpsbok om hur vi kan leva lyckligt. Lyssna på alla avsnitt i Sveriges Radio Play. ESSÄ: Detta är en text där skribenten reflekterar över ett ämne eller ett verk. Åsikter som uttrycks är skribentens egna.Lycka har aldrig varit viktigare för oss. Det är statistiskt säkerhetsställt. I en återblickande World Happiness Report meddelade FN 2022 att det globala intresset för lycka exploderat under 2000-talet. Idag mäter många länder befolkningens mående och lyckoforskning har blivit ett expansivt fält. Samtidigt visar mätningarna två illavarslande trender: vi känner mer oro, stress och ångest, och vi njuter mindre av livet. Vi bryr oss alltmer om lycka och blir allt olyckligare.Varför är det så? Ett svar är rimligen de reella kriser som förmörkar världen. De senaste åren har präglats av pandemier, krigsutbrott, inflation och värmerekord. Men är också själva vår idé om lycka problematisk? Författarna till World Happiness Report verkar ana något sådant. Ursprungligen undersökte man enbart yttre faktorer som ekonomisk välgång, sociala skyddssystem och frihet. Men år 2020 introducerades en kompletterande uppsättning lyckokriterier, som har att göra med inre upplevelser som tillfredsställelse, lugn och omsorg.Tanken att vägen till lycka går genom människans inre genomsyrar också ett fascinerande filosofiskt samtidsfenomen: stoicismens renässans. Enligt denna antika filosofi är alla yttre faktorer – pengar och framgång, men också relationer och fysisk hälsa – betydelselösa för människans lycka. Lyckliga blir vi inte genom världsliga ting, menar stoikerna, utan genom att odla själsstyrka nog att lugnt acceptera en okontrollerbar omvärlds skiftningar. Idag har internetcommunitys som The Daily Stoic hundratusentals medlemmar som mot en månadsavgift tar del av dagliga stoiska meditationer. Självhjälpsböcker löst baserade på antika stoiker som Seneca och Marcus Aurelius blir storsäljare. Av någon anledning tycks de flesta som lockas av den samtida stoicismen vara män. Men en av de första och viktigaste skandinaviska stoikerna var faktiskt en kvinna. Hon hette Birgitte Thott och föddes i Danmark år 1610. På modern Sophie Belows initiativ fick Thott, som tillhörde den danska adeln, en sällsynt gedigen utbildning. Hon lärde sig såväl franska, tyska, och italienska som antik filosofi. När hon 31 år gammal blev änka gav hon sig i kast med latin och grekiska. Samtidigt började hon översätta – allt från franska 1600-talstänkare till antikens filosofer. År 1658 trycktes hennes 1000 sidor långa översättning av Senecas samlade verk. Det var den första stora översättningen av antik filosofi till danska, och Thott dedicerade den till filosofiintresserade kvinnor. Men hon förmedlade inte bara andra stoikers ord. Parallellt med översättningsarbetet utvecklade Thott sin egen filosofi i en bok hon gav titeln Vägen till ett lycksaligt liv. Det här är en av skandinavisk filosofihistorias märkvärdigaste böcker – idag endast tillgänglig i två handskrifter undanskuffade i en bibliotekskällare i Roskilde. Det är det första filosofiska traktatet på danska och det enda av en skandinavisk kvinna före 1800-talet. Det är också en stoisk självhjälpsbok som lär sina läsare uppnå den lycka som framstod lika svårfångad på 1650-talet som idag. 1600-talet var en extremkristid, präglad av uppslitande krig, epidemier och klimatförändringar. Det är mot den fonden Thott skriver. Hon vill visa sina medmänniskor hur de kan leva lyckligt trots att, skriver hon, ”så mycket bedrövelse följer oss i hälarna att vi förr kommer fattas tårar än orsaker att gråta”. Thott visste vad hon pratade om. Under kung Karl X Gustavs danska krig 1658 – när han gick över isen vid Bält – stormade den svenska armén Thotts gods och tvingade henne på flykt. Resten av sitt liv levde hon i exil. Föga förvånande vänder sig Thott därför inåt. Liksom de antika stoikerna betraktar hon yttre faktorer som oväsentliga för lycka. ”Eftersom vi varken kan avsvärja eller förmildra någon olycka”, skriver hon, ”finns inget bättre råd än att arbeta på att stilla sitt eget sinne till freds och bemöta allt med lugn”. Thott visste att framgång lätt förbyts i motgång, högkonjunktur i lågkonjunktur, fred i krig. Men det betyder inte att även lyckan är obeständig. Vi måste bara söka den på rätt plats. Vi kan alltid bli lyckliga, skriver Thott, om vi ”sätter [vår] lycksalighet i de ting som kan återfinnas hos oss själva”. Människan bär sitt lyckofrö inom sig.Med det menar Thott inte att människan är sin egen lyckas smed eller bör ägna sig åt magiskt positivt tänkande, som vi idag ibland hävdar. Hennes stoiska lösning är istället: dygd och visdom – ord som idag framstår som historiska kuriositeter. Vad betyder de? Thotts dygd är inte att likställa med anständighet eller påtvingade moralkoder. Det är fråga om något djupare, mer uppfordrande. Dygd innebär att leva etiskt, utifrån en idé om vad som är gott, och att genom livet främja detta goda. Ett sådant etiskt liv kräver visdom. Idag skulle vi kanske säga omdöme. Det handlar om förmågan att avgöra, och modet att reflektera över, vilka livsmöjligheter som låter förena sig med vår etik.Thott sammanfattar det hela med ett högaktuellt imperativ: lev i enlighet med naturen! I Vägen till ett lycksaligt liv ger hon exempel på hur man gör det – det handlar om att uppöva dygder som rättvisa, måttfullhet, generositet och vänskap. Grunden är ett liv som utgår från vår omvärld och våra medmänniskor snarare än våra egna begär. Ett liv med och i den natur vi är del av. Det är bara ett perspektivskifte – från yttre till inre, från oss själva till andra – men det är också en möjlig ny värld.Men var inte målet med Thotts filosofi lycka? Ja och nej. För Thott är lycka det etiska livets följdverkan. Först när vi slutar fokusera på lyckan infinner den sig. Vad har vi då att vänta? Thotts vackraste definition lyder: ”han är lycksalig, för vilken ingenting världsligt tycks så olidligt att han däröver skulle tappa modet”. Det är skrämmande att leva, särskilt i kristid. Lycka, menar Thott, är att trots rädslan våga. Våga leva etiskt, våga fatta svåra beslut, våga tro väl om andra. Lycka är inte att undslippa lidande. Det är att förmå lida utan att förlora förtröstan i vår förmåga att göra gott.Thott dog år 1662. Vi vet inte om hon någonsin hade tänkt publicera Vägen till ett lycksaligt liv. Att boken inte gick förlorad kan vi tacka boksamlarna Anne Gøie och Karen Brahe för. Mot slutet av 1600-talet införskaffade de två handskrivna exemplar av Thotts bok. Deras boksamlingar donerades sedan till Odense adliga jungfrukloster – en fristad för ogifta, intellektuella adelsdamer. Ända tills klostret stängdes på 1970-talet och böckerna hamnade i källaren i Roskilde, vårdades där Thotts ord av generation efter generation kvinnor som liksom de antika stoikerna valt att leva liv tillägnade visdom och dygd.Matilda Amundsen BergströmlitteraturvetareLitteratur:World Happiness Report, 2022: https://worldhappiness.report/ed/2022/Marianne Alenius, ”Med den ena foten i graven skulle jag alltjämt läsa”. Elisabeth Møller (red.), Nordisk kvinnolitteraturhistoria. Wiken, 1993: https://nordicwomensliterature.net/se/2011/01/04/med-den-ena-foten-i-graven-skulle-jag-alltjamt-lasa/Marianne Alenius, ”Tidlig dansk moralfilosofi og Birgitte Thotts ”Om Weyen till et Lycksalligt Liff”. Henrik Blicher et. al (red.), Tænkesedler. C.A Reitzel, 2007: https://www.academia.edu/36692419/2007_Tidlig_dansk_moralfilosofi_og_Birgitte_Thotts_Om_Weyen_till_et_Lycksalligt_Liff_1659_Samtal om Karen Brahes bibliotek: Karen Brahe and her library at Odense Adelige Jomfrukloster (Odense Secular Convent for Unmarried Noblewomen) - Nordic Women's Literature (nordicwomensliterature.net)

Glück ist der Weg, nicht das Ankommen. Aber wie gelingt er? Die Stoiker haben uns Strategien dafür an die Hand gegeben. Mit diesen fünf Anleitungen Senecas kannst auch Du in den Prozess des „Sich-glücklich-machens“ eintreten für mehr Gelassenheit und innere Ruhe in Deinem Leben.1. Die Gegenwart entscheidet (nicht Vergangenheit und Zukunft)2. Praktiziere den routinierten Neustart3. Geh den mittleren Weg4. Deine Gedanken zählen5. Teile und bekomme zurück

In Episode 130, Ben chats with Jordyn Burleson. Jordyn is an Enrolled Member of the Tonowanda band of Senecas and a registered behavior technician (RBT).  Working under the supervision of Valerie Clack aka, the Lakota BCBA, Jordyn shares how she fell in love with behaviour analysis and the gratitude of having an Indigenous behaviour analyst as a mentor.  We also learn about the Tonowanda Band of Senecas and Jordyn's relationship to that community.     Continuing Education Units (CEUs): https://cbiconsultants.com/shop BACB: 1.0 Learning  IBAO: 1.0 Cultural QABA: 1.0  DEI Contact: Jordyn Burleson https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordyn-burleson-2721aa1a7/ https://www.instagram.com/jordynburleson123/   Jordyn's Art Page https://www.instagram.com/jordynpaigeart/   The Windward Synergy Center https://www.windwardsynergycenter.com/team-4 Links: The Seneca Nation of Indians https://sni.org/ The Tonowanda Reservation Historical Society https://tonawandareservationhistoricalsociety.wordpress.com/ Jen Ashlee -  Métis/Cree/English Behaviour Analyst https://www.ravenwinged.com/ https://www.instagram.com/raven_winged_consulting/ Canvas ABA https://www.artbehaviortherapy.com/ Behaviour Speak Podcast Episodes Referenced Natasha Bouchillon - Canvas ABA Episode https://www.behaviourspeak.com/e/episode-29-the-behaviour-of-art-with-natasha-bouchillon-ms-bcba/ Naomi Tachera Episode - Culture Based Education in Hawaii https://www.behaviourspeak.com/e/episode-64-culture-based-education-with-naomi-k-tachera-ma-bcba-lba/ Valerie Clack Episode - The Lakota BCBA https://www.behaviourspeak.com/e/episode-117-the-lakota-bcba-with-valerie-clack-ma-bcbalba/  

My old school that I took on over their mascot lost their appeal to the State Supreme Court. This fight led to the statewide ban. The Senecas and NYS agree to extend the current gaming compact as the Governor continues her squeeze on Seneca gaming revenue. And Governor Hochul vetoed a bill that would have restored State recognition to the Montaukett Nation. 

Before Europeans landed in North America, five Indigenous nations around what would become New York State came together to form the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. When the Europeans arrived, the French called them the Iroquois Confederacy, and the English called them the League of Five Nations. Those Five Nations were the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas; the Tuscaroras joined the Confederacy in 1722. Some founding father of the United States, including George Washington and Benjamin Franklin admired the Haudenosaunee and incorporated their ideas into the U.S. Constitution. Despite that admiration, though, the United States government and the state government of New York did not always treat the Haudenosaunee with respect, and Haudenosaunee leaders had to navigate a difficult terrain in maintaining their sovereignty.  Today we're going to look at the relationship between the Haudenosaunee and the United States through the stories of four individuals: Red Jacket, Ely S. Parker, Harriet Maxwell Converse, and Arthur C. Parker. Joining me in this episode is Dr. John C. Winters, Assistant Professor of History at the University of Southern Mississippi and author of The Amazing Iroquois and the Invention of the Empire State. Our theme song is Frogs Legs Rag, composed by James Scott and performed by Kevin MacLeod, licensed under Creative Commons. The mid-episode music is “Falling Leaves (Piano),” by Oleksii Holubiev, from Pixabay, used under the Pixabay Content License. The episode image is “Red Jacket (Sagoyewatha),” painted by Thomas Hicks in 1868; the painting is in the public domain and can be found in the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. Additional Sources: Haudenosaunee Confederacy “Haudenosaunee Guide For Educators,” National Museum of the American Indian. “The Haudenosaunee Confederacy and the Constitution,” by Jennifer Davis, Library of Congress, September 21, 2023. “Indian speech, delivered before a gentleman missionary, from Massachusetts, by a chief, commonly called by the white people Red Jacket. His Indian name is Sagu-ua-what-hath, which being interpreted, is Keeper-awake,” Library of Congress, 1805. “The Graves of Red Jacket,” Western New York Heritage. “Red Jacket Medal Returned to Seneca Nation [video],” WGRZ-TV, May 17, 2021. “Ely S. Parker,” Historical Society of the New York Courts.  April 2, 2015 in From the Stacks “‘We Are All Americans:' Ely S. Parker at Appomattox Court House,” by Mariam Touba, New York Historical Society, April 2, 2015. “Engineer Became Highest Ranking Native American in Union Army,” by David Vergun, DOD News, November 2, 2021. “Building to be Named for Ely S. Parker First Indian Commissioner of the BIA Recognized,” U.S. Department of the Interior, December 15, 2000. “‘The Great White Mother': Harriet Maxwell Converse, the Indian Colony of New York City, and the Media, 1885–1903,” by John. C. Winters, The Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era, 21(4), 279-300.  “Harriet Maxwell Converse,” PBS.org. “Harriet Maxwell Converse,” Poets.org. “Research and Collections of Arthur C. Parker,” New York State Museum. “Arthur C. Parker and the Society of the American Indian, 1911-1916,” by S. Carol Berg, New York History, vol. 81, no. 2, 2000, pp. 237–46.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

23:19 02.04.2023 new housemate from Tunis, life moves on. Holding on to things from the past? I spent today reading the prophet from Khalil Gibran, and Senecas essays and letters on the shortness of life. His friend Serenes seems to have verbalised something I feel about myself too.

But with this racist doctrine codified in US law, what does this mean? It's the one year anniversary of New York Governor Kathy Hochul extorting $560 million our of the Senecas. And some updates on my work on the Indigenous Mascot Advisory Council for the State Education Department.

N'oubliez pas de mettre une note à cette mini-capsule ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Pour continuer l'exploration: Soutenez-nous sur Tipeee: https://fr.tipeee.com/les-capsules-dolen Ou sur Utip: https://utip.io/lescapsulesdolen  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lescapsulesdolen  DESCRIPTION: Cette histoire est racontée par les Senecas, une tribu indigène d'Amérique qui vit près de Toronto, au Canada. Les rochers sont les os de la terre, ils sont vivants et doivent être traités avec respect.

N'oubliez pas de mettre une note à cette mini-capsule ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Cette histoire est racontée par les Senecas, une tribu indigène d'Amérique qui vit près de Toronto, au Canada. Les rochers sont les os de la terre, ils sont vivants et doivent être traités avec respect. Devenez membre pour continuer l'exploration https://plus.acast.com/s/les-capsules-dolen. Hébergé par Acast. Visitez acast.com/privacy pour plus d'informations.

Die Prophezeiungen der Senecas beschreiben unseren jetzigen Übergang mit all den enormen Herausforderungen der Menschheit. Was für dramatische Dinge uns bevorstehen und wie wir es schaffen diesen heftigen Übergang positiv zu beeinflussen. Hier zur 5-Tages-Challenge "Aktiviere Deine Power!": https://ralphriedel.com/aktiviere-deine-power-challenge   Hier zum kostenlosen Klarheitsgespräch mit meinem Team und mir: https://ralphriedel.com/gratis-erstge...FACEBOOK ►► https://www.facebook.com/ralph.riedel.9INSTAGRAM ►► https://www.instagram.com/ralph.riedel/HOMEPAGE ►►https://www.ralphriedel.com

A run-of-the-mill, one-day news story about a billionaire holding a city hostage over a sports team and a new stadium buried the lede on the dark underbelly of Native American relations with the U.S. government. New York State agreed to finance a significant chunk of the $1.4 billion stadium for the Buffalo Bills, an NFL team owned by a billionaire worth 5.5x that amount. A deal done almost entirely behind closed doors. Beyond the myriad conflicts of interest within the governor's office is the more insidious story, ignored almost entirely by the media, of where the state “found” the money to pay for it. Chapters Prologue: 00:01:36 Chapter One: Billionaire Rules: 00:04:53 Chapter Two: Hidden from View: 00:11:01 Chapter Three: The Tangled Web of F*ckery: 00:16:59  Post Show Musings: 00:34:00 A Manny Interlude: 00:46:15 Post Show Musings Show Notes?: 00:47:35 Unf*cking Down Under Feedback: 00:48:35 Outro: 01:08:08 Support First Nation's Causes There are a number of charitable organizations that support First Nation's causes (see a few below). However, I'm a firm believer in local support and making connections with First Nation's peoples. If possible, endeavor to get in touch with the community center at the nearest tribal territory and inquire as to the best way to provide direct support to maximize impact. Stand With Standing Rock Let's Talk Native... with John Kane Patreon First Nations University of Canada Resources The New York Times: Buffalo Bills Strike Deal for Taxpayer-Funded $1.4 Billion Stadium The Guardian: Buffalo Bills will receive $850m from New York taxpayers to build new stadium U.S. News: Bills' New Stadium Deal Carries $850M Taxpayer Tab, Gov Says The Atlantic: Sports Stadiums Are a Bad Deal for Cities Sports Illustrated: Austin Bills? NFL owners are running out of stadium grift ideas Bloomberg: Terry Pegula - Bloomberg Billionaires Index Forbes: #32 Buffalo Bills New York Upstate: Seneca Indian Nation's $100 million-a-year casino payments to state on hold again Buffalo News: The Editorial Board: Fed up with delays and broken promises, Hochul forces Senecas to pay their debt Delaware North: Finger Lakes Gaming & Racetrack Seneca Gaming Truth: Nation-State Gaming Compact Between The Seneca Nation Of Indians And The State Of New York CDC Gaming Reports: Churchill Downs announces deal for Peninsula Pacific assets Market Screener: Delaware North Companies Gaming & Entertainment, Inc. Announces Joint Venture with Churchill Downs Inc. Pod Love Let's Talk Native with John Kane UNFTR Episode Resources March 2021 Quickie: Cuomo, Tanden & Manchin. Culture Cancel. An interview with Unkechaug Chief Harry Wallace and Native Coffee Trader's Amy Wallace. Oh, Canada. Unf*cking Down Under. If you like #UNFTR, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts: unftr.com/rate and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com. Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee at shop.unftr.com. Subscribe to Unf*cking The Republic on Substack at unftr.substack.com to get the essays these episode are framed around sent to your inbox every week. Check out the UNFTR Pod Love playlist on Spotify: spoti.fi/3yzIlUP. Visit our bookshop.org page at bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod to find the full UNFTR book list, and find book recommendations from our Unf*ckers at bookshop.org/lists/unf-cker-book-recommendations. Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by following the instructions at unftr.com/accessibility. Unf*cking the Republic is produced by 99 and engineered by Manny Faces Media (mannyfacesmedia.com). Original music is by Tom McGovern (tommcgovern.com). The show is written and hosted by Max and distributed with love. Podcast art description: Image of the US Congress ripped in the middle revealing white text on a blue background that says, "Unf*cking the Republic." See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Seneca Nation has been fighting New York State for over four years over gaming revenue the State has been trying fleece from them. Last night the Senecas hoisted the white flag and surrendered. They will pay half a billion dollars to the State and continue to pay. Why? Because this is how Native people have ALWAYS been treated by the State.

The U.S. Department of the Interior has finally responded to the Seneca Nation regarding their on-going battle with New York state over casino revenue sharing payments. It's time for the Senecas to start asking the BIG questions! Like what you hear? Support the show on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/letstalknative

So much history surrounds Niagara Falls it is near impossible to dive into: from initial exploration by white folk, exploitation of the falls and indigenous peoples, to the history of hydroelectric power, strange mortuary science experiments, and daredevils who have ridden down the falls in barrels (only some who have survived) – like the water over the crest, the history seemingly never ends.  However, while Niagara Falls is heralded for its natural beauty, booming tourist trade, and rich history -- behind its bridal veil lies something sinister, brooding beneath the foam.    Follow the Podcast on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crimesandwitchdemeanors Submit your feedback or personal stories to crimesandwitchdemeanors@gmail.com  Like The Podcast on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/crimesandwitchdemeanors  Episode Transcript: Available below the sources in the show notes Visit the website: https://www.crimesandwitchdemeanors.com  Main podcast illustration by GiAnna Ligammari: https://gialigammari.wixsite.com/portfolio    Sources: Cave of the Evil Spirit. (n.d.). Roadtrippers. Retrieved April 13, 2021, from https://maps.roadtrippers.com/us/lewiston-ny/points-of-interest/cave-of-the-evil-spirit     Devil's Hole Cave—Niagara County, New York. (n.d.). Retrieved April 13, 2021, from http://falzguy.com/devils-hole-cave.html     Goat Island (New York). (2021). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Goat_Island_(New_York)&oldid=1004636526     Luna Island. (2020). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Luna_Island&oldid=953221872     May 12, R. R.-L. S. C. & 2017. (n.d.). Facts About Niagara Falls. Livescience.Com. Retrieved April 13, 2021, from https://www.livescience.com/59099-niagara-falls-facts.html     Niagara Falls. (2021). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Niagara_Falls&oldid=1017113129     Niagara Falls USA. (n.d.). Niagara Falls USA. Retrieved April 14, 2021, from https://www.niagarafallsusa.com/directory/three-sisters-islands/     Niagara Falls—Devil's Hole Massacre. (n.d.). Retrieved April 13, 2021, from http://www.niagarafrontier.com/devilhole.html     Official guide to Niagara—Cave of the Evil Spirit, Devil's Hole—Details. (n.d.). Retrieved April 16, 2021, from http://www.nflibrary.ca/nfplindex/show.asp?id=91217&b=1 Szczepaniec, K. (2018). Indigenous People of Western New York. FACT SHEET, 23.     The Cementation of the Dead; the story of Theodore Graves Hulett's most curious work in Oakwood Cemetery. (n.d.). Oakwood Cemetery | Niagara Falls, NY. Retrieved April 14, 2021, from https://oakwoodniagara.org/kratts-korner/2012/3/15/the-cementation-of-the-dead-the-story-of-theodore-graves-hul.html     Three Sisters Islands (New York). (2020). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Three_Sisters_Islands_(New_York)&oldid=956552156   TRANSCRIPT: Hello, hello, hello!  Long time no see, you may have thought I became a ghost myself!  My name is Joshua Spellman, and I'm your – very much alive – at least on the outside– host of Crimes & Witch-Demeanors.  The podcast where we get to the good old fashioned truth behind our favorite ghostly haunts using archival and historic resources.               Maybe you care where I've been.  Maybe you were even happy to hear me go.  Long story short – I was creatively and emotionally burnt out.  I was pouring myself into this podcast,  my drag, sewing garments, and cultivating my TikTok…and with things going on in my personal life I just crashed.  I stopped doing everything.  Had some health stuff to worry about but I digress!  We're here.  We're back.  I'm going to do my best to stay motivated and on top of things, but this pod is a lot of work!               Today's podcast episode is something new.  And something I'm excited about.  I don't want to give too much away… but we're going to investigate the satanic underpinnings of a famous worldwide attraction and city, that just so happens to be in my back yard: Niagara Falls.  And also, one of my favorite hiking spots at the aptly named Devil's Hole.  But be sure to stick around for the truth, as always it is much more interesting than the myth.  So, for lack of a better word: let's dive right in.     Niagara Falls – one of the seven wonders of the natural world, is a group of three waterfalls (the bridal veil falls, horseshoe falls, and American falls, respectively) that spans the border between the Canadian province of Ontario and the state of New York.  Located on the Niagara River, which drains into both Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, the combined Niagara Falls has the highest flow rate of any waterfall in North America.  More than 168,00 square meters, or six million cubic feet, of water goes over the crest every minute.   So much history surrounds Niagara Falls it is near impossible to dive into: from initial exploration by white folk, exploitation of the falls and indigenous peoples, to the history of hydroelectric power, mortuary science experiments, and daredevils who have ridden down the falls in barrels (only some who have survived) –it seemingly never ends.  However, while Niagara Falls is heralded for its natural beauty, booming tourist trade, and rich history -- behind its bridal veil lies something sinister, brooding beneath the foam.    At first glance, it seems innocent enough – if you discount historic atrocities to its indigenous inhabitants – but as you peer a little closer a pattern emerges. Perhaps most glaringly, is Devil's Hole state park.  Named as such for…no discernable reason.  It is a park that overlooks and descends into the Niagara river gorge, a 6.8 mile long canyon with cliffs as high as 1200 feet, carved by the Niagara River.  The hiking in this particular area can become quite hazardous.  In fact, the current of the Niagara River in the gorge is one of the most powerful river currents in the world: which, unsurprisingly has taken many lives.  Perhaps this is where its hellish name originates.   Perhaps it is partially due to the famed cave halfway down the steep escarpment: the Cave of the Evil Spirit.  While not a clever name, it sums up its origin quite well.  Long ago, the Great Spirit who created man, sealed away the Evil Spirit within the walls of the Niagara Gorge.  However, over time as man turned evil and began waging wars, the walls of the gorge began to split.  Eventually, the cave opened and the Evil Spirit was once again free, cursing all those who entered the cave.   Famously, the explorer Robert Cavalier de LaSalle ignored the warnings of his Seneca guide.  Upon entering deep into the cave he heard a voice tell him   "Return" said the voice, "to your home in Canada, and wealth, honors, a long life and usefulness will be yours, and when death comes, generations of your descendants shall follow you to your grave, and history shall transmit your name to prosperity as the successful founder of a great empire. Proceed to the West, and although gleams of hope may, at times, shine in your path, in gratitude and disappointment will be sure to meet and follow you, until a treacherous murder shall end your days remote from human habitation, without the shelter of even a wigwam of a friendly red man. The Eagles of the desert shall strip the flesh from your bones, which shall lay bleaching under the tropical sun, unburied and unprotected by the cross you now so devotedly cherish."   LaSalle foolishly disregarded the warning of the Evil Spirit.  LaSalle's fortune eventually dwindled and he became poor and desolate.  In a last-ditch effort to regain his wealth and fame, he decided to go out west to Louisiana to begin a colony – doing exactly what the spirit warned him against.  Even LaSalle's precious crucifix of his Christian god could not save him from the curse of the Evil Spirit.  LaSalle was eventually murdered by his own men and left to rot in the woods near the Mississippi river.   But the city's connection to the crowned prince of hell and malevolent spirits do not end at the mouth of the Niagara Gorge, instead we must look to the Niagara rapids at the top of the falls and turn our attention to five innocuous islands.   Bisecting the Bridal Veil Falls and the Horseshoe Falls is an island known as Goat Island.  It is the location of the famed Terrapin point observation area and is large enough that it carries not only pedestrian traffic, but car and trackless train traffic as well.  Goat Island is largely wooded with many nature trails.  The island also provides access to the Cave of the Winds tour, which takes you down the escarpment to the foot of the falls.   Just off the southern shoreline of Goat Island are the Three Sisters Islands.  These small islands provide an excellent view of the upper rapids.  They are connected by a series of bridges and consist solely of nature trails.  Biologically speaking they are fascinating: each sports a variety of microhabitats and possess its own unique floristic character. However as is the nature of…well, nature, it is not all pretty petals.    It is easy to access the raging rapids from these islands, which spell certain death for those unlucky enough to be swept into the current and hurled over the falls…that is if the large boulders hiding in the cataracts or the undertow don't do you in first.   The Three Sisters islands were home to mysterious rituals before European settlers came to the area.  Iroquois shamans would offer sacrifices and gifts to the spirit that dwells inside the mist shrouded cave at the base of the falls.  Mediums and psychics who visit these islands in modern times can hear the voices and screams of spirits long gone.   Lastly, there is Luna island.  Which, like, Goat island, bisects two of the falls but unlike its larger counterpart it is situated between the American Falls and the Bridal Veil Falls.   Aside from sacrifices – you may be asking – how are these satanic?  Let's take a closer look at the names.  Devil's hole is quite obvious in its own right.  And while innocuous at first glance you may now realize…Goat Island.  The goat has long been a symbol of the horned demon Lucifer.  Luna island.  The moon.  Where dark rituals take place beneath.  And, the most insidious of these names: Bridal Veil Falls and the Three Sisters.  It's subtle, but for those who know satanic lore, the Devil married Three Sisters.   Niagara Falls has always been a nexus of spiritual and physical power: as evidenced by its hydroelectric powerplants and numerous malevolent hauntings and the spirits that Native tribes worshipped and feared.  The city was erected and planned around these power sources, built to exploit them and harness them.  Niagara Falls was created in the same fashion as Washington D.C. Both hiding occult symbols in their streets and place names, used to exploit the negative energies they draw forth, and route them to areas of their choosing.   Next time you visit the falls, remember to hold that crucifix tight.  Or don't…it didn't quite help LaSalle…did it?                   Wow, it's so crazy this isn't talked about more!  All these satanic connections…that…I just made up?  Yeah.  I made it up.  Kind of?  All the place names are real but they're not satanic in origin.  With all the crazy conspiracy theories flying around I wanted to illustrate how easy it is to draw lines between seemingly unconnected things and create a new narrative.               To be clear: to my knowledge no one has drawn up these satanic connections before me.  I did it while researching something else entirely and was like “wow these names really all have a connection to the devil” until I learned the real origins of these place names.  The three sisters, goat island, luna island, the bridal veil falls, and devil's hole are all very real names.  But they don't have any connections to satanism or the occult.  But what they do have are really interesting and unique histories.               Devil's hole and the Niagara gorge are two of my favorite places in the world.  I have spent countless hours alone on those treacherous trails.  The trails can be narrow and precarious, made from silty, crumbling rock, overhead you have the risk of huge boulders falling down, and directly below you is one of the most powerful river currents in the world.   Of course my favorite time to go is when it's raining…which is pretty reckless.  Probably the only reckless thing I like participating in willingly.  But I do love it.  I have a deep personal and spiritual connection to the area and learning it's history has definitely made me appreciate it even more.    Sadly, people do die there.  I know one individual personally who has.  As with many things in nature it's to be both revered and feared.  Nature has many sides, and sadly nature can also destroy.   That being said let's talk about the history of Devil's Hole itself and the state park named after it.   Devil's Hole The area surrounding Devil's Hole has a lengthy indigenous history long before white settlers came into the area.  Devil's Hole received its name from either the story told earlier of the Evil Spirit or from the area's inhabitation by the Neuter Nation.    When white settlers first appeared in the area the area was mainly inhabited by what the French called the Neuter Nation of Indians.  It was used as a hiding place during times of war or conflict, and in order to keep their hiding place secret they would kill anyone who entered the gorge.  These people would never return to tell of the location and this is possibly the root of the tale of the Evil Spirit.   However, the same friend/medium that saw the Red Lady at my old house before I ever talked about her, which I still haven't told this story to y'all, came on a hike with me to Devil's Hole State Park.  He was not from the area at all, not even from the region of the state, but he did mention he sensed a very old, angry spirit in the area.  I didn't think anything of it…but now knowing of the Evil Spirit, I can't help but wonder…but again, I digress.   What made Devil's Hole such a great hiding spot was not only that it is set in the cliff face but a rock, known as ambush rock was positioned perfectly above the cave that nothing could be shot down into it.  The area is prone to rockslides…or boulder slides really, it's made of of massive limestone boulders.  You would honestly be amazed by how large they are…but I digress.  Ambush rock was removed for safety reasons, though a rock fall in the 1990's left a similar rock, albeit much, much smaller, at the entrance to the cave.   According to an old brochure for the area published in 1890, at the top of the park, before you begin your descent into the gorge there is a large boulder, one of many, known as Council Rock.  It was shaped like an arrow, but centuries of weathering slowly changed its shape, and it is now believed to have been removed since the brochure is over 120 years old.   Council rock was a meeting place where yearly councils of Native people would take place.  Others claim that it was a “worshipping stone” that was connected with indigenous “religion”.  Legend has it that due to the way the Seneca Chiefs would stand on the rock during meetings, with one hand on the rock, that anyone who touches the rock can drive the devil away for a year. Of course, this narrative comes from white folk.    Also just a great time to remind everyone that indigenous people are still around.  They are not bygone people of history!  History likes to act like they are ancient, mysterious, and extinct.  The Seneca Nation still has a strong presence in the area, so it is possible that stories of council rock still exis within their traditions and oral histories.    There was a massacre known as the Devil's Hole massacre that occurred on September 14, 1763 during the 7 Year's War, also known as the French & Indian War.  A supply train of 350 British soldiers that were making their way from Fort Niagara to Fort Schlosser stopped to rest for dinner on a large flat rock near Devil's Hole.  While enjoying their supper they were attacked by a group of Senecas.  There was a massive loss of life, and those not killed directly by the ambush jumped off the precipice to have a chance at survival.  But those that did so, if they survived the steep jump, did not survive much longer as the Senecas sent the wagons, baggage, and horses of the supply chain off the edge, crushing and killing those that remained.  There were only two survivors.    Sadly, modern day Devil's Hole cave bears no resemblance to what it once was.  It is covered in graffiti and often littered with trash as it has become a favourite place for wayward teenagers to party.   There is a large cave at the bottom of the gorge that many people think is Devil's Hole cave…but it's not.  In fact there are many caves in the area, some of which aren't true caves but just massive boulders that have fallen on top of one another.   To find the real Devil's Hole cave you have to make your way partially down the gorge precipice and veer off to a path that backtracks partially back up the cliff.  The cave is made up of DeCew Dolostone, a fine crystalline dolostone that is dark grey in color.  The cave's entrance is 10 feet wide and 8 feet high.  The initial passage of the cave is at a gentle incline, and after making your way about 12 feet into the cave the ceiling is only 4 feet high.  However, if you continue onward the ceiling will reach a height of 9 feet.  At this point one will find a manmade wall, beyond which there is a drop in floor level of about three feet.  Beyond the wall the 6 foot tall passage continues at a very narrow width of 6 inches.  It continues for about 10 feet before veering off to the east where you lose sight of its path.   There was once a mineral spring in the cave but it seems to have since dried up, much like the now defunct stream known as Bloody Run.   And that's the short and long on Devil's Hole!  Not demonic, but definitely a hole.  What?   Chile, anyway.   Now, back to the city of Niagara Falls.  There are so many actual haunted locations in Niagara Falls which you may have seen on television like the Red Coach Inn that I could cover another time if you'd like – just let me know!   But I do need to set the record straight on Goat and the Three Sisters Islands. Especially with the bridal veil falls my fake conspiracy makes so much sense, but no, the Three Sister Islands did not get their name from the three brides of Satan.  Instead, they are named after the daughters of General Parkhurst Whitney: Celinda, Angelina, and Asenath Whitney.  Although…that does sound demonic.  Asenath Metrione Zinthos?  Azarath Metrione Zinthos?  No?  Okay, I need to bury that one just like the three sisters are in the famous Oakwood Cemetery.  Well, maybe infamous as it is the only place in the world where individuals are interred using a unique form of corpse preservation known as cementation.  Essentially bodies were encased in cement for years, and the “watery portions” of the body would be absorbed, leaving behind a well preserved body  along with a perfect cast of the original corpse.   The story behind this is fascinating and the inventor (and I'm not joking here), Judge Theodore Graves Hulett was quite the kook.  But I digress!   Offerings were presented at this island by the Iroquois, that is true.  But no sacrifice or anything sinister was involved.  More along the lines of gifts and presents.   Goat Island!  Not demonic, though a part of H.G. Well's 1908 novel The War in the Air is set on Goat Island.  During the novel the United States is iinvaded by Imperial Germany and the protagonist is left stranded on the island with two German soldiers and must fight for survival.  Exciting stuff…but sadly, the origin of its name is much less exciting.    Goat Island is named such because John Stedman, who was an earlier pioneer, kept a heard of goats on the island.  SO…yeah…very descriptive, very literal.  The island officially obtained the  name in 1780 when he returned after a terrible winter to find all but one of his goats dead.  And if you know anything about Western New York winters…wow.  I…yeah.  Niagara Falls can literally freeze in place, that's how cold it can get.    Other than the fact there is a very cool Nikola Tesla monument on the island gifted by the government of Yugoslavia, it's rather unremarkable.  I do have rather flamboyant picture of myself in Daddy Tesla's lap, as I call him, from a few years ago when I scaled the statue.  Shh.  It didn't happen.  I'll slap it up on the gram for you to see.

John explores the long history of New York State screwing over Senecas. Even with unfettered access through Seneca land for their commerce the state still criminalizes Native businesses and extorts revenue from Seneca casinos. Like what you hear? Support the show on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/letstalknative

With all legal remedies exhausted, the Seneca Nation is preparing to cut a check to New York state for over four hundred million dollars. Only one option remains but will they press the new leadership at the Interior Department for a solution? John breaks down the three questions the Senecas should demand answers to. Check out John's in-depth explanation of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act here! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7O0Twq8jvk Like what you hear? Support the show on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/letstalknative

In dieser Folge beschäftige ich mich mit der Wut des Menschen. Seneca hat sehr viele Denkanstöße dafür geliefert , wie man mit der Wut umgehen sollte.

Wut und Zorn sind aus stoischer Sicht eine gefährliche Gefühlsregung. Guido Bellberg erklärt, was wir tun sollten, wenn wir unserem Zorn begegnen und wie man auf das „Argument“, Zorn sei doch ein großartiger Motivator, eingeht. Dazu bespricht er das erste der drei Bücher Senecas vom Zorn.

Wut und Zorn sind aus stoischer Sicht eine gefährliche Gefühlsregung. Guido Bellberg erklärt, was wir tun sollten, wenn wir unserem Zorn begegnen und wie man auf das „Argument“, Zorn sei doch ein großartiger Motivator, eingeht. Dazu bespricht er das erste der drei Bücher Senecas vom Zorn.

A US District Court Judge ruled for the State in the Seneca battle to keep their gaming revenue from NYS. Ooh! What a surprise! Happy Native American Heritage Month! Now Pay Up, Sucka! Join me for a recap on the Billion Dollar Squeeze the State is attempting to put on the Senecas!

NYS Governor Cuomo is refusing to repair and maintain the section of NYS Thruway where it crosses Seneca land. He seems to think this is a way to punish Senecas for not sharing gaming revenue. Hey Andrew! We don't use that section of Thruway! It can go to Hell for all we care. Anyone gets hurt on your mess of a highway and it's on you!

The Senecas aren't the only ones being squeezed for their gaming revenue. Other states want what New York has: Native casinos paying 25% of their slot revenue for NOTHING!

The Lockport Journal joined The Buffalo News in calling down the Seneca Nation. These guys even blamed the Senecas for Niagara Falls having old fire trucks. They ignore the State taking a billion dollars out of the region and worse want it to continue.

Do you believe God wants to use you in fresh ways today, no matter your age? Is there a dream in your heart to fulfill that you doubt even God could bring to pass? If so, you’ll find a lot of encouragement in this episode with returning music makers, Jed & Claire Seneca. Jed is a published country songwriter married to an amazing vocalist, Claire. They burst onto the music scene 25 years ago as a husband/wife duo and caught a lot of attention, back ​then​. But what about now? After decades away planting churches around the country and raising a family, can they revive their dreams of impacting the world with their songs again? This is a must-listen episode for all aspiring Christian songwriters, regardless of your age, as Jed & Claire share their experience and hope that God is up to something new in their lives and music. jedandclaire.com   The Song Revolution Podcast is dedicated to helping you grow as a songwriter and worshiper. Our goal is that this podcast is something for you to look forward to on your Mondays morning commute, workout, or new-week routine. We are so excited to welcome "Word Worship" as a sponsor of this podcast episode! Word Worship serves worship leaders by bringing the best in current worship music, helping cut through the noise to discover the songs that will help bring the church into a deeper expression of love and praise to God. You can check out all of their resources and sign up for some free resources over at wordworship.com.   HERE'S HOW YOU CAN GET INVOLVED: Now you can join a powerful community of dedicated Christian songwriters by becoming an exclusive Nashville Christian Songwriters Member! Tap into your greatest creativity with monthly masterclasses, articles, videos, deep discounts, and so much more - just click here to grab your seat at the table: https://nashvillechristiansongwriters.com/membership/ If you liked this episode, be sure to subscribe and leave a quick review on iTunes. It would mean the world to hear your feedback and we€™d love for you to help us spread the word!

Back from vacation and time to update the latest on the billion dollar battle between the Senecas and New York State.

Two of the three arbitrators hearing the case between the Seneca Nation and NYS say the Senecas owe the State $266 million. The Senecas call BS. So do I!

I discuss some passages from Senecas letters 1 &2 about excessive movement, and thr illusion of beong productive --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/tstuch/support

One more crack at the recent ruling against the Senecas in an arbitration hearing. The two white judges rewrote the gaming compact by ignoring the existing language and choosing to rule since they did pay, they should pay. Yup! Crazy but true. But that's not the end of it the Senecas have plenty of solid ground to stand and fight from. I'll lay it out here.

The fix was likely in from the start. Guess how the two white judges on the Seneca/State arbitration panel ruled? The State wins and the Senecas lose! Big surprise! But the fight is only over if the Seneca Nation folds. They have a strong argument against paying the revenue sharing payments: It's illegal! The arbitration ruling didn't address IGRA, only the compact. So to Hell with their ruling! They cannot impose a fee on Seneca gaming.

LTN on a Tuesday night? Yep! Congrats to my grandson Gavin on hitting double digits in his game last night. I also offer my condolences to my daughter and grandchildren on this anniversary of the loss of my son-in-law Lesten White-Pigeon. I speak of decolonization and promote resistance to assimilation quite a bit on this show. And it pisses some people off. But we must resist and part of that resistance includes standing up to state oppression. The Senecas are waiting for a ruling from arbitration judges over their battle with NYS on revenue sharing but what deals are being proposed while the waiting game is played?

New York State took the Seneca Nation to binding arbitration over revenue sharing in hopes they can either get a favorable ruling or scare the Senecas into paying. The arbitration hearings are done. Now the State and the Senecas are in waiting game for a ruling. So what happens now as they wait 30 days for a ruling? Will the State push for a settlement before the ruling? Will the Senecas cave in like they did in 2013? The Senecas are if the stronger position on this issue BUT the fear that choked them out in 2013 still looms large now for 2023. And that is renewal of the gaming compact. They settled in 2013 out of fear that the State wouldn't renew in 2016. So revenue sharing is no longer about the State providing exclusivity. It's about extortion! All of "Indian Country" is watching the Senecas. Will the Seneca Nation stand up to the State? If not the Senecas, then who?

Ed Schindler and John Kane address Niagara Falls mayor Paul Dyster's racist rant on 9-11. They call out his inappropriateness, his mischaracterizations and outright lies. They also put out a warning to the Senecas not to be lulled into playing nice with this mayor or the governor.

The Buffalo News offered its opinion about the "ethical obligations" the Senecas have to Niagara Falls relating to the sharing of gaming revenue; well, I'll offer my thoughts on the Buffalo News and their ethical reporting on the subject. Seneca President Todd Gates proclaimed April 19th 2018 as Israel Independence Day in Seneca Territory and praised Israel's "warrior spirit" in their fight for freedom. Yeah! He really did and said that. He must have overlooked the abuse of Palestinians has he proclaimed his common passion with Israel. I offer my thoughts on this as well.

As arbitration stumbles out of the gate between the State and Seneca Nation, what is the status of revenue sharing. Every level non-Native government involved keeps insisting that the Senecas will pay. They say over and over again that they anticipate that the Senecas will resume payments to the State. The Senecas are silent on the issue. Join me as I bring the issue up to date.

The Washington Redhawks? No, not really but viral parody sites caused quite a stir on Wednesday with this story. Black voters came out strong in Alabama to defeat a racist child molester and push a civil rights champion to victory in the Senate race. But that does NOT mean that Native people should vote in non-Native elections. The City of Buffalo is broke and guess whose faulty it is? The Senecas, of course.

Since last week's episode was titled Westward Ho! As we track the expansion of the Faith into the New World with Spain and Portugal's immersion, this week as we turn to the other Europeans we'll title this week's episode, Westward Ho-Ho, because I'm tired of saying Part 2. I know it's lame, but hey, it's my podcast so I'll call it what I want.Before we dive into this week's content, I wanted to say a huge thanks to all those who've left comments on iTunes and the CS FB page.Last week we ended the episode on the expansion of the Faith into the New World by speaking of the Spanish missions on the West Coast. The Spanish were urgent to press north from what would later be called Southern CA because the Russians were advancing south from their base in Alaska. And as any history buff knows, they'd already established a base at San Francisco.Russians weren't the only Old World power feared by Spain. The French had New World possessions in Louisiana and French Jesuits were active in the Mississippi Valley. Some dreamed of a link between French Canada and the South down the Mississippi River. The gifted linguist Father Marquette, sailed south along the Mississippi and attempted a mission among the Illinois Indians. While in Quebec, he'd made himself master of 7 Algonquin languages and gained a mighty reputation as an Indian-style orator. He combined preacher, pastor, explorer and geographer in one. His writings contributed to local knowledge of Indian peoples, culture, and agriculture. As any high school student knows, the French were to lose New Orleans and Western Mississippi to Spain, while Eastern Mississippi went to the British. But French Carmelites, a 16th C branch of the Franciscans known as the Recollects, and the Jesuits accomplished much in French possessions before the expulsion of the Jesuits in 1763. They'd attempted a failed mission to the Sioux. Nevertheless, French Roman Catholic influence remained strong in Canada.As I tell these ultra-bare sketches of mission work among New World Indians, it can easily become just a pedantic recounting of generalized info. A sort of, “Europeans came, Indians were preached to. Churches were planted. Movements happened, some guys died - blah, blah, blah.”Our goal here is to give the history of the Church in short doses. That means, if we're to make any headway against the flow of it all, we have to summarize a LOT. But that works against real interest in the history and what makes the story exciting.It's the individual stories of specific people that make the tale come alive. à Jesuit, Franciscan, and Protestant missionaries; and just ordinary colonists who weren't set on a specific mission but were real-deal born again followers of Jesus who came to the New World to make a new life for themselves and their descendants, and just happened to share their faith with the Native Americans and they got saved and started a whole new chapter in the Jesus story. è THAT'S where the good stuff is.So, let me mention one of these Jesuit missionaries we've been talking about who brought the Gospel to Canadian Indians.Jean de Brébeuf was born to a family of the French nobility and entered the Jesuit order in 1617. He reached Canada 8 yrs later. He learned Algonquin and lived among the Huron for 3 yrs. After being captured by the British, he returned to France but renewed his mission in 1633. He founded an outpost called St Marie Among the Hurons in 1639. The Mission was destroyed by the Iroquois a decade later.Because De Brébeuf was tall and strongly built, he became known as the Gentle Giant. Like the Jesuits in Paraguay we looked at in the last episode, he could see ahead into how European colonists would bring an unstoppable challenge to the Indian way of life and advocated the Hurons withdraw into a secluded missionary settlement in order to preserve their culture. He's an example of the heroic pioneer Jesuit, of which there were many, whose missionary life ended in martyrdom in the field.De Brébeuf stands as a little known, but ought to be lauded, example of the fact that not all Europeans who came to the New World, especially not all missionaries, conflated following Christ with European culture and lifestyle. That's an assumption many moderns have; that it wasn't until the modern era that missionaries figured out people could remain IN their culture and follow Jesus, that they didn't have to become converts to Western Civilization BEFORE they could become Christians. While it has certainly been true that some missions and eras equated the Faith with a particular cultural milieu, throughout history, MOST believers have understood that the True Gospel is trans-cultural, even super-cultural.Many Jesuit missionaries in the New World like De Brébeuf tried to preserve the native American cultures – while filling them with the Gospel. They saw the emerging European colonies as a THREAT to the Indians and wanted to protect them.With the end of the 7 Years War, or as it's known in the US, the French and Indian War, French Canada became a British possession. The Jesuits, on the verge of their being banned from the New World, expanded their work among the Indians to include the Mohawks, Oneidas, Cayugas, and Senecas, as well as those Algonquins yet unreached in Quebec. While converts were made among the Iroquois tribes, the majority remained hostile. Among the converts, there was a huge problem with disease introduced by the missionaries themselves, and the influence of alcohol brought by Europeans. Indian physiological tolerance to hard alcohol was low and addiction quick. Jesuit missionaries reached the Hudson Bay area and baptized thousands. Even after the British won Canada and the Jesuit order was suppressed, some remained in Canada as late as 1789.In the far NW, Russians entered Alaska in 1741. Russian Orthodox Christianity had begun on Kodiak Island, just off Alaska, in 1794. By ‘96 thousands of Kodiaks and the population of the Aleutian Islands had been baptized. They met hostility from the Russian American Company but the mission received fresh invigoration by the arrival an Orthodox priest from Siberia named Innocent Veniaminoff.  He reached the Aleutians in the 1820s and mastered the local dialect well enough to translate the Gospel of Matthew and write a devotional tract that became a classic, titled = An Indication of the Pathway into the Kingdom of Heaven. After working among the Aleutians for some years, Veniaminoff served among the Tlingit people. After his wife died, he was appointed bishop of a vast region stretching from Alaska to CA. Between 1840 and 68 he carried out a massive work. Although 40 yrs of missionary service, often in conditions of tremendous physical hardship, left him exhausted and longing to retire, he was appointed Metropolitan of Moscow, a position he used to found the Russian Missionary Society as a means of support for Orthodox missions. His outstanding service was recognized in 1977 by the Orthodox Church of America conferring on him the title of ‘Evangelizer of the Aleuts and Apostle to America.'Alaska was sold to the United States in the 1870s but the Orthodox Synod created an independent bishopric to include Alaska in 1872. By 1900 there were some 10,000 Orthodox Christians in the diocese. Of the 65,000 Alaskan and Aleutian people today, some 70% claim to be Christian and many of these belong to the Orthodox community.The Roman Catholic orders had a great advantage in missions due to their central organizing body called The Sacred Propaganda for the Faith. Today this structure is called the Congregation for the Evangelization of the Nations.In contrast to Roman monastic orders and their missionary zeal, Protestant churches had little missionary vision in the 16th C. When they engaged in missions in the 17th they had no organizing center.French Protestants, led by the Huguenot Admiral Coligny, attempted a short-lived experiment off Rio de Janeiro when Admiral Villegagnon established a Calvinist settlement in 1555. It folded when the French were expelled by the Portuguese. A more permanent Calvinist settlement was made by the Dutch when they captured Pernambuco, a region at the eastern tip of Brazil. This settlement remained a Calvinist enclave for 40 years.North America presented a very different scene for missions than Central and South America. The voyage of the Mayflower with its ‘Pilgrims' in 1620 was a historical pointer to the strong influence of Calvinism in what would become New England. The states of Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Hampshire were strongly Congregationalist or Presbyterian in church life and heavily influenced by English Puritanism. At least some of these pioneers felt a responsibility for spreading the Christian faith to the native Americans.John Eliot is regarded as the driving force behind the early evangelization of the Indians. He was the Presbyterian pastor at Roxby, a village near Boston in 1632. He learned the Iroquois language, and like the Jesuits in Paraguay, though surely with no knowledge of their methodology, founded ‘praying towns' for the Indians. These were communities that, over a period of 40 yrs, came to include some 3,000 Christian Indians in Natick and other settlements. Eliot translated the entire Bible into Iroquois by 1663 and trained 24 native American pastors by the time of his death.A remarkable family called The Mayhews were pioneers in missionary work in Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, and the Elizabeth Islands off Cape Cod. Thomas Mayhew bought the islands in 1641 with an Indian population of around 5,000. His son, Thomas Jr., began a mission and by 1651 200 Indians had come to faith. After the death of Thomas Sr. and Jr., John, youngest son of  Thomas Jr., along with his son Experience Mayhew continued the mission.  Experience had the advantage of fluency in the Indian language with the ability to write it. Zechariah, his son, carried on a tradition that lasted all the way to 1806 and produced many Indian clergy and a Harvard graduate. The ministry of the Mayhews spanned almost 2 centuries.Another New England figure who became a missionary icon to such great spreaders of the faith as William Carey and David Livingstone, was David Brainerd. Brainerd was born in the farming country of Haddam, Connecticut, and studied for the ministry at Yale College, from which he was wrongly expelled in 1741. He impressed the local leadership of the Scottish Society for the Propagation of the Gospel enough for them to employ him for missionary service in 1742. He worked among the Indians of Stockbridge and then, after ordination as a Presbyterian, he worked in western Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. There he experienced genuine religious revival among the Delaware Indians, which he recounted in detail in his journals.Brainerd died young but his diary and the account of his life by the great preacher, theologian, and philosopher, Jonathan Edwards, became immensely influential in the Protestant world. Edwards, also a student at Yale, was himself a missionary at Stockbridge among the Indians from 1750–58.While it's risky to do a diagnosis on someone 270 years later, we glean from David Brainerd's logs that he suffered from at least a mild case of a depression-disorder, and maybe not so mild. It's his honesty in sharing with his journals his emotions that proved to be a tonic to mission-luminaries like Carey and Livingstone.New England Presbyterians and Congregationalists were matched by other Protestants in their efforts among Indians. Episcopalians and the missionary society of the Church of England achieved some success in evangelizing them.Work among the Iroquois of New York was initiated by Governor Lord Bellomont, and a converted Mohawk chief, Joseph Brant, who helped establish a Mohawk church. Queen Anne of England even presented silver communion implements to 4 Mohawk Christians in London in 1704 for use in one of their chapels.In Virginia, the royal charter declared one of the aims of the colony was the conversion of Indians. The first minister of the village of Henrico, Alexander Whitaker, did significant missionary work and introduced the Indian princess, Pocahontas, to the faith.BTW: Pocahontas was her nickname – which translates roughly to “Little Hellion.” Her real name was Matoaka, but she was so precocious as a child her nickname became her favored label.Whitaker established a college at Henrico for the education of Indians and there were appeals for funding for Indian missions back in England by King James I and his archbishops so that 1 of 6 professorships at the College of William and Mary was set apart for teaching Indians.Methodists had the example of John and Charles Wesley when they were Anglican priests and missionaries for the Society of the Proclamation of the Gospel in Georgia from 1735. Though John's primary assignment was a chaplain for the English settlers, he tried to reach out to the Choctaw and Chickasaw. He had little response from the Native Americans. No wonder, since he'd later say he was most likely unconverted at that point.After his break with the Church of England, Wesley's chief lieutenant in the New World was Thomas Coke who became a driving force for Methodist missionary work, attempting a mission in Nova Scotia in 1786 before being re-directed to the West Indies by a storm. Methodist missions came into their own in the 19th C after Coke's death and took the form of frontier preachers and ‘circuit riders' under the direction of Francis Asbury, who traveled some 300,000 miles on horseback in the cause of the Gospel and whose vision included both Indians and black slaves for Methodist outreach. By the time of Asbury's death in 1816 Methodist membership had risen from just 13 to 200,000 over a 30-yr period.The 19th C in North America saw the far north reached by Roman Catholics, Anglicans, and Methodists.The 19th C was a time of extraordinary development in North America, despite the ravages of the Civil War in the 1860's. Great numbers of immigrants flooded into the country from Europe, estimated at 33 million between 1820 and 1950. Of British emigrants between 1815 and 1900, 65% found their way to the US. Of African-Americans, whereas only some 12% belonged to a church in 1860, by 1910 that number was 44%. Many joined the Baptist and Methodist congregations of the southern states after the abolition of slavery. In the Nation at large, the extraordinary achievement to any non-American was the blending into one nation of so many different peoples, so that their American citizenship was more prominent than their roots as Italian, Irish, Jewish, German, Scandinavian or English. This influx posed great challenges to the churches but Americans largely became a church-going people. And while differences over Religion had become the cause of so much misery and bloodshed in Post-Reformation Europe, Americans learned to live in civil harmony with people of other denominations.