Reznjun

today is the last day to sign up for tribal council and gaming. heard there arent many running. some even asked ‘is this all we have to offer?’ no one wants to run. some say it is the $150 filing fee. gamblers know the return on that is great. if you get elected for a 4 year term you can make close to a quarter million dollars. that and the benefits, travel and power that goes with it. some even act as if they reach a demigod status.

sounds attractive but no one wants to run. its like an old song back in the 60s or 70s bout the girl with the skinny legs. no one wanted her. finally they said ‘leroy you got her’. he said ‘i dont want no girl with the skinny legs’. its the same with running for council. not many want to. we created the atmosphere that makes the job undesirable. it is a thankless job. some general councils are nothing more than blame the council for everything wrong in the world. we scare away potential candidates. to be honest some of our past politicians have contributed to this with their behavior. maybe we need to lighten up and work together.

that brings up the question ‘why dont the ones that dominate the general councils with all the right answers run?’ dont know the answer to that. we dont need talkers. we need doers. we need people that genuinely want to do something for the people. with strong leadership there is no limit to the power our tribe could achieve. our casino is making more money than ever but we are told we dont have any money. or your money aint really your money. your business is none of your business. the money should benefit all tribal members. not just the ones in the system. we dont need bureaucrats that stay the course. in the past we have had some that do nothing but fill out the term. you would think they would be obligated by their being in office to do something other than simply fill the chair. we need leaders not bureaucrats.

maybe today there will be more that sign up. some play the waiting game to see who else is running for what spot. they then pick the race they think they can win. i hope more sign up before the days end. we need more choices. there shouldnt be only one or two running for a position. we’ll see…..

back when i was drinking and drugging i assumed i wouldnt live to be old. fortunately i have been blessed with a full life since i quit that nonsense. i have been rewarded. one of the great pleasures in life is hearing your grand child call you ‘misho’ for the first time. when my grand daughter called me misho i reflected back over the years and was amazed i was still around.

now my grand daughter theresa is going to the prom. that ages me somewhat but i gladly accept that. she will graduate from high school next year. time seems to fly by once you reach a certain age.

i seen my first hummingbird of the season yesterday. the sound of its wings caught my attention when it buzzed by me. that reminded me to clean and fill my feeders. i like to watch the hummingbirds. sometimes i will have up to five of them. they remind me of some fort injuns. even though there is plenty to go around the birds will try to chase others off. very territorial. if they would just share they would all eat.

two more days for candidates to file for tribal council. sometimes i wonder if we drive candidates off with our behavior. thomas jefferson said ‘democracy is nothing more than mob rule’. you hear people say ‘no, not me’ when asked if they will run.  some of our people create an ‘us vs them’ mentality. the council is put on the defensive all of the time. they are blamed for everything when often its the inmates that run the asylum. think of the power our tribe could have if we had strong leadership and not just bureaucrats that filled out terms. some are more concerned with not offending someone than they are with doing something.

i got a google alert today about our tribal liquor ordinance. i read it. it sounded real good but i dont think we do enough about alcohol and the problems it causes. in the past some elected officials got all indignant at even the mention that we may have a problem. to protect our image we want to sweep social problems under the rug.

now that the weather has warmed up i am getting plenty of eggs from my chickens. i fed them all winter even tho they werent producing. now they are giving lotsa of big brown eggs. i still want to get some more hens to eventually replace the ones i have.

i am getting spammed every day. sometimes up to 100 spam a day. so if i delete you as a subscriber dont take offense. i am attempting to weed out the spammers. they are the parasites of the internet. i was shocked to see over 30,000 spam were blocked by my protection. thats outrageous. oh well have to live with it…

we have been getting rain off and on for the past week. i was lucky enough to get in part of my garden before it started. so i have spent some time hunting the wild morel mushroom. i have been out 5 times now and found about half a gallon each time. i also found some ticks crawling on me each time.

i found enough mushrooms to give some away. i used to give my first picking to an elderly neighbor lady. we are suppose to do that. same with the first game we get each hunting season. she is gone now so i gave some to my aunt and mother. they both fed me when i stopped in on the way to town. old injun way. dont know many that still do that. when i was growing up we didnt have much so we made coffee for guests. thats how i became a lifelong coffee drinker.

all this rain should make the snapping turtles move. some usually give me turtles they picked up but dont want to clean. i can clean them in no time and pop them in the freezer for later. when i take turtle to ceremonies people usually know i brought it. i save  one turtle bone to put on a buckskin necklace. we had to wear that when i was younger to keep snakes away. so i still do when i am out in the timber. i wear one while hunting mushrooms.

didnt make it to the gathering of nations this year. first time in about 5 years. i didnt make it to denver march either. must be slipping on my pow wowing. oh well there is always another one to go to. got a road trip coming up to illinios. they are having that mound tour again. i went to it last year.

time is winding down for candidates to sign up to run for council. i havent heard who all is running. i know this one guy is. i called him bout something once and he never even bothered to return my call. i wonder if that will play into it when i cast my ballot?  another person running dont like to show up for work. so if i  and others dont vote for him he wouldnt have to bother. should be a flurry of activity the last week. people wait to see who else is running. cant wait to see….

this rain is alright with me. i went to town yesterday and bought some plants and seed to put in my garden. some guy said the rain was coming. i said i hope i get these planted before it does. i did. i already had my potatoes, leeks,  hot peppers, bell peppers, cabbage and onions in. so i planted 3 rows of beans and put in cucumbers, zuchinni, sweet potatoes, radishes, spinach and carrots. that should hold me awhile til i plant tomatoes, squash and corn.

i even had time to mow my yard before the rain. sears delivered my new mower early. i was in town when they called. they said they would just leave it. so much for having someone over 18 there while they deliver. i am happy with my new riding mower. the extra horsepower was worth it. it cuts without any strain, my last mower had to work at cutting.

 now i need to pimp the mower out. put some injun decals on it like the last one. it may be a bit much to put headers on it though. i am using the old mower to pull a cart for hauling things. it wont mow but i can haul things like dirt, water, fertilizer etc in it. i have low spots in the yard that need to be filled in with dirt. the tribe said they would landscape my back yard so the water would drain away and not flood my basement. its been 3 years and they still havent come to do it. i will just till the ground and haul it with the mower and cart.

been waiting for this rain. i know the big mushrooms will come out now. i found two batches so far but they have been small. i logged my miles walking thru the timber. gardening and yard work also burns off the calories.

i took this picture of willie nelson the other night at a concert in topeeki.  i had seen him perform before and knew he would put on a great show. he did. i checked out his bus before going in. it has a big mural of some indians on it. it was nice. didnt get a picture though because my camera battery was low. i just took 4 pictures before it went out. after the show i went up to the stage to see if i could shake hands. didnt get close but i caught the sharpie he was signing autographs with. dont know what the hell i will do with it.

got an appointment at the clinic today. at 2:30. so that means i got to be there at 2:15. silly game they play. i mention that every time i go there. otherwise they doing a fine job with me. got no more back pain and i quit taking all the pills but my arthritis one. not bad. should have a good bill of health. gotta get ready for that…

over the years i have planted many trees in my yard. some of them are just starting to flower now that it is spring. i chose many different  specimen trees that will give me year round color. i have a coupla of shrubs that were suppose to turn yellow but they never have.

i enjoyed the naming ceremony we had over the past weekend. nice to see all the little ones get their name. i was proud of my sons who spoke potawatomi during the naming. they have a talent for the language. my mother woulda been proud too. she did get to hear them speak when they were little.

i didnt go to the general council as usual. people that went said it was the same ol. not surprising. i dont know why our leaders dont assume control of the meetings and not let them get out of hand. nothing gets accomplished. the numbers are down. so if people get tired of the meetings why dont they just stay away? if 10 people stayed home there would be no quorum.

i am almost done putting my strawberries in. i bought 75 plants. the garden plot in front of my house was over run by wild onions. i transplanted them several years ago from the timber. i love wild onions, as did my mother.  i thought the day would come when i wouldnt be able to walk to the timber so i put them near my house. i did the same thing with gooseberry bushes. now i have to dig the onions up. i will dry them so they will store. then i can use them all year as i need them.

i ate mushrooms twice now. they havent been plentiful and were sorta small. the weather guy is saying rain. i think the big ones will come after the next rain. i will look as soon as i can after the rain. i am getting my walk in by hunting mushrooms. i still believe diet and exercise is important.

i’m surprised the tribe hasnt shut down because of the volcano dust in iceland. it wont affect us here but the snow is never a problem either. when they shut down for inclement weather people head to the mall or casino.

i was called for jury duty by the tribe. it was cancelled. my travel plans to the gathering of nations were put off til it was resolved. its alittle late now to make plans. i didnt order tickets on line. i wouldnt want to stand in line for that long. so i will miss for the first time in years. the letter from tribal said thanks for “your willingness to serve your nation”. hell i wasnt willing to serve at all.

i am waiting on delivery of a new riding mower tommorrow. now i can retire the old lawn mower from hell. every year i had to do some kind of repair on it. it was real bad on belts. they would break. i had alot of down time with that mower. it got to be a nuisance. it had a 14 horsepower motor. the new one will have a 24 horsepower motor. i told the salesguy that i mow about an acre of lawn everytime. he said the lawn tractor i bought was the most popular. now i gotta pimp the new one out with some injun decals. gotta head to a pow wow to score some.

better get my potatoes and onions in before the rain hits….

so how do you get elected? if you cant find the ceremonial hall have someone draw you a map. gps wont work. be sure and help out. this creates the image you are a public servant and help people. that goes a long way. while you got your native on, mention your grand parents. dont forget to say one was a chief. definitely give your indian name and clan. if you aint got a name get one. pose for a picture with a ribbon shirt or satchkin on. dont wear minnetonka moccasins. these indians will spot that a mile away.

create a common enemy. this is an especially effective maneuver. it creates an us against them mentality that some thrive on. make them so heinous people will want to cleanse the earth of them. insinuate you are just the person to do that. this will come in handy later. you can point your finger at them so as to divert attention away from yourself if someone questions what you are doing. you can fall back on that many times.

form a posse. since alot of voters simply wont get out and vote you just need a core of voters that outnumber your opponents’. since not many get the 50 per cent plus one majority you only need to make the cut for the run off election. then its an either or situation. to paraphrase lincoln you dont have to fool all the people all the time, you just need to fool part of the people some of the time. create an alliance with the vocal few. get them on your side. make them feel you will help them in any endeavor. gotta head off petition drives before they occur.

have two personas. a public one and a private one. in your public persona dont just tell people what they want to hear, let them tell you what they want. act like you will go along with that. people will think you are a good listener and really care. in your private persona make any promises you think will make voters happy and vote for you. you dont have to deliver on these promises. after all this is politics. dont try to talk out of both sides of the mouth though. this takes a special skill only a few possess.

steer clear of qualifications. yours will pale next to an incumbent or someone that has been there before. they will list all the committees they have served on and voters will be enamored. they wont say they did little while on these committees. some voters wont realize that bureaucrats are more harm than good. the only real qualification you need is matching luggage. if you were in office previously say that it wasnt you but “them other guys”. you wanted to do something but they always held you back. playing the victim evokes sympathy.

travel to where other concentrations of tribal members live, preferably at tribal expense. tell them they are being left out and the ones on the rez are getting everything. make them think you will include them. again creating conflict makes you appear to be a champion of the cause. say you will create district offices to address their needs.

promise change. that always works. people want change. but usually its from one politician to the next. not much else changes. the system changes the candidate. or as the old saying goes ‘you dont change the rez, the rez changes you’.

do say you will be at work every day and your door will always be open. people buy into that. mention all the pertinent issues you can think of. say you will work with the youth–they are our future. you definitely promote education. say you respect the elderly and will work for them. you gotta say you will up keep all the cemetaries. and will work for the veterans. promise to get facebook and blogs back on tribal computers. our workers need entertainment. use tried cliches like “strengthen our infrastructure”, and “we gotta work with other government entities” and so on.

if this all sounds far fetched remember it has worked. forget that some will see right thru this. remember what abe said.

i finally tilled my garden spot up yesterday. that is later than usual. i normally would have potatoes, onions, garlic, carrots and cabbages in by now. the only things that i have planted so far are cabbages and leeks. i like leeks to put in soups and stews. they give them a nice kick.

i bought 50 bare root strawberry plants to put in. i will transplant them this week. i have a flower bed in front of my house that i want filled with berries. right now they are over run with wild onions. i transplanted some there a few years ago and now they are thriving. i will dry alot of them when i dig them up. they also make soups and stews taste good. i also use wild onions and leeks when i cook turtle. they give the meat an unbelievable taste. it is not as gamey.

i also have another gooseberry bush and a raspberry bush to transplant. i will put them in my tree line north of the house. i already have a combination of wild and tame gooseberry bushes there that i had transplanted a few years ago. they might produce this year.

i had my garden halfway tilled up when a tribal worker showed up with a tractor and tiller attachment. he asked if i wanted him to till or if i wanted to use my machine. i told him i would finish it but i thanked him for the offer. i just aint used to someone in the tribe offering help without being asked. kinda threw me. i have been turned down too many times so i dont even bother asking any more. its nice though when someone like that guy offers help. restores faith in some of our workers. not all are bureaucrats. many actually do want to help our people. thats good. hell with the small minority that dont.

the other day at the art show a kid kinda amused me. he asked me how much a particular roach cost. i told him 550. so he said he would take it and reached into his pocket and pulled out some bills. i thought damn this kids a player. he peeled off a 5 spot and a one dollar bill. i told the kid it was 5 hundred and 50 dollars. he said ‘oh’ and eased away.

this saturday is general council. this is an election year so i think the theatrics should be entertaining. today is the first day to sign up for the 3 positions open for election. i hope we can get some new blood in there. in the past we have elected a few that have done nothing but exploit the system for their own benefit. we need people that will do something positive for all of our people.

i finally filed my taxes. i wait til the deadline because many times i  had to pay. i will get a refund this year. that is nice after some years paying an outrageous amount. having my own business can cost me at times. i dont have an employer to match me so i have to match. small businesses dont get the bailouts that big businesses do.

i still have one more garden plot to get ready for planting. gotta pull last years corn stalks and tomato stakes. then till it under. spring is a busy time of year….

i had fun at our first ‘firekeepers art market’ yesterday. it was an activity sponsored by the elder center. it was at our casino so i had to go play the slots. broke even there. i did alright displaying my roaches and hand drum. sold one roach and someone expressed interest in another. i got  orders for six drums. i had a pile of my business cards on my table. i ran out of them. so if i was after exposure or promotion the show was a success. many people said they are interested in buying a roach in the future. i did a trade with another dealer at the show. the nice couple running a jewelry stand wanted a roach for one of their four sons. mary picked out four hand made necklaces made with various stones. they were valued at equal value to my roach. we shook hands on the deal and all were happy. long ago indians used barter system alot. i still do now and then.

i put on my indian duds for the fashion show.  some of the things i wore were given to me over the years.  i made my leggings, otter hat and deer rattles. my uncle gave me the beaded bandolier. it is over a hundred years old. i just put them all together. they made a nice outfit. i had to pose for some pictures. i like what the others in the show wore also. i posted some pictures on my facebook.  they had some elaborate ribbon and beadwork. there are some very talented seamtresses here on the rez.

i went and checked out the other stands. they all had good artwork. one dealer told me he dont like the term ‘crafts’. he said it is artwork. i agreed. i consider mine to be art. i want to enter one of my roaches in an art contest but there is never a category that it would fit in. it is not jewelry, beadwork or painting. it is definitely a native art though.

i visited with alot of people at the show. rez folk came out to see the stands.  i teased a few asking them if the casino was closed. the only time i see them is when we are at the tribal sport–gambling.  i knew several of the other dealers and we talked shop. i met some of the other dealers. one invited me to an art show to be held later this year. he said it will be just native art dealers. i said i would check it out. the casino was a good host. they served a lunch. soup and sandwiches. it hit the spot. some of our homeboys sang with hand drums. they always sound good. they also had flute music.

after i got home i went mushroom hunting because i heard rumors of people finding them. the spots i go to every year are a bit dry. looks like after a rain they will come up. it was a good walk out in the timber. i seen lotsa deer trails. my dog konugish had fun running everywhere. i got my 2 miles in.

this coming week is time to till the garden….

just finished making me an otter hat. heading over to the casino tomorrow for the art show. it is from 8-5. i will show my roaches and one of my hand drums. they are having hand drumming at 11 o’clock.  they are also having a fashion show at 1.  i dressed up at the spring dance in my indian regalia. i guess it aint hip to call it a costume. some of the ladies said i should dress up at the fashion show since i was gonna be there anyway. i thought what the hell, why not. but i needed an otter hat. so i made one from a hide i scored at the trail of courage last september. gotta take the camera along to get a few pictures. i dont dress up often. i want some pictures of the others too. i also want to see other artists’ work.

this will be a great opportunity for me to show my roaches. i had a stand at our gathering last year. i did have a stand at our pow wow once but they are a bit pricey. our gathering last year didnt charge much and there were at least a dozen stands run by our tribal members. gotta be a message in there somewhere. i hope i sell something. i need some travel money to go to gathering of nations.

we decided we want some catfish. only place around that serves the whole fish is up north at our brethrens casino. every friday the buffet serves catfish. so i guess we will have a night of gaming in store. i havent been anywhere besides our spring ceremonies. so i need a night out. my body is still aching from dancing 4 days and playing in our indian ball game. every year i say i will retire but end up playing. i have paid for my decision the past few days. good thing i had a few pain pills left.

i still have to get to my garden. it is burned off. just gotta till it now. i didnt put in any early crops. thats okay. i just love to garden. i know what is in my food i eat. im glad i can still do all the things i do. dont want to slow down.

i get plenty of phone calls that start out with that. i have learned by now that it usually means someone wants something.  when i see this one guys name on the caller i d, i know he wants something. it is the only time he calls me. you would think that maybe once he would call just to talk. or maybe to even to say ‘hey thanks’.  highly unlikely. he dont know it but a few times i didnt answer the phone.

i dont know what people think i am doing but it isnt sitting around waiting for them to call and demand something. it would be simplier for them to just say what they want. the trite pleasantries are just a waste of my time.

been busy for the past week or so with our spring ceremonies. one of my haters wont want to hear that but we had a good time. everything else stops for me while we are in our ceremonies.  we did what we were suppose to do and enjoyed doing it. it was nice to see our people together like that. we got our new year off to a fine start. i am still tired from all that. i said i would give up the indian ball games but didnt. my body ached in various places. no one needs to tell me i aint as young as i used to be. i know i dont have the blazing speed i once had.

the art show at our casino is this saturday. i only had time to get 5 roaches done for the show. they are fine ones though. it is mainly to show my art. i dont know how many other artists will be there. i like to look at others art. in the past i have traded my art for others art if i like what they had. i have made some good trades. like for tanned hides or star quilts. i turned down some things that people offered me though.

my sons and i burned off my garden plot. first i had to get a burn permit from tribal. i will till my garden under next. i dont know if they still have a tribal program that plows gardens. i dont count on it anyway. tribe only did my garden about 3 times in the last 25 years. my neighbors have done it more times than that. they wouldnt take any pay from me. some people use tribal equipment all the time. mostly fort injuns. others dont get that. it may not be too late to get early vegetables in but i wont plant any. i will wait on warm weather things. i have 50 strawberry plants to put in and a couple of berry bushes. still have to get some blueberry bushes. wont get to gardening til after this art show. then i will be busy…