Highbrow Magazine - Indians https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/indians en The Magic and Beauty of India: A Photo Essay https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/9286-magic-and-beauty-india-photo-essay <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/photography-art" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Photography &amp; Art</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Sun, 07/29/2018 - 19:20</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1hessindia.jpg?itok=xWk2ZWOm"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1hessindia.jpg?itok=xWk2ZWOm" width="480" height="317" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p>When you arrive in India, you immediately encounter the most magnificent colors ever presented in one scene. It’s almost as if an artist’s palette has come alive. The saris, the artwork, the furnishings make you feel as though you woke up in a colorful wonderland. There is no place on earth like this.</p> <p><br /> I was lucky to have visited India during the “Spring Festival of Playing Holi” or the “Festival of Colors.” It is a Hindu festival that is celebrated by smearing, or throwing, colored chalk at others and then spraying water to make the colors run. Everyone is fair game. </p> <p><br /> The trip left me with a lasting sense of spiritualism and beauty. I felt peace and harmony as never before. Even though there is obvious poverty in many regions of the country, there is still a sense of contentment you can’t find anywhere<a name="_GoBack" id="_GoBack"></a> else.</p> <p><br /> <br /> <img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/2hessindia.jpg" style="height:414px; width:625px" /></p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/3hessindia.jpg" style="height:414px; width:625px" /></p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/4hessindia.jpg" style="height:414px; width:625px" /></p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/5hessindia.jpg" style="height:414px; width:625px" /></p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/7hessindia.jpg" style="height:414px; width:625px" /></p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/8hessindia.jpg" style="height:625px; width:414px" /></p> <p><strong>©Copyright Eliot Hess</strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Contributor Bio:</strong></p> <p> <strong><em>Eliot Hess is a lifestyle and travel photographer, currently exhibiting at Williams McCall Gallery in Miami Beach. His work reveals the culture, history and beauty of Cuba, Cartagena, India, Morocco, Peru, Croatia, Southeast Asia, and elsewhere throughout Europe. He lives in Miami Beach and travels frequently to photograph.</em></strong></p> <p><strong><em>Hess is also the co-owner of HWH PR, a leading high-tech public relations agency, and author of bestselling </em></strong><strong>The Munchies Eatbook<em> published by Random House. He is also an investor in two upcoming Broadway projects and is one of the largest mystery book collectors in the United States. He and his wife Lois Whitman-Hess have an extensive contemporary art collection including works by Hung Liu and Jefro Williams. They have one daughter. For more information, visit: <a href="http://www.eliothess.com">www.eliothess.com</a> or on Instagram: eliothess.</em></strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Highbrow Magazine</strong></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/india" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">India</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/festival-colors" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">festival of colors</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/mumbai" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">mumbai</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/new-delhi" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">New Delhi</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/calcutta" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Calcutta</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/hindu" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Hindu</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/indians" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Indians</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/religion" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">religion</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Eliot Hess</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Eliot Hess / Copyright Eliot Hess</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Sun, 29 Jul 2018 23:20:38 +0000 tara 8184 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/9286-magic-and-beauty-india-photo-essay#comments Indian-Americans Push Back Against Hate Crimes https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/7556-indian-americans-push-back-against-hate-crimes <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Sun, 05/07/2017 - 14:20</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1hatecrimes.jpg?itok=Aj3d0Yts"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1hatecrimes.jpg?itok=Aj3d0Yts" width="480" height="319" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p><strong>From <a href="https://www.indiacurrents.com/">India Currents</a> and republished by our content partner New America Media</strong>:</p> <p> </p> <p><strong><em>This story was reported using data from ProPublica’s Documenting Hate Project. This project is collecting reports to create a national database of hate crimes and bias incidents for use by journalists and civil-rights organizations. </em></strong></p> <p> </p> <p>SAN JOSE, Calif. -- On March 19, 2017, Shivani Aggarwal decided to make a Costco run to pick up supplies for her son’s birthday party planned for later that day. She had just about finished and was headed to the checkout counter when a cart slammed into her from behind. “Oh, my goodness! That hurts!” Aggarwal recalled saying as she crouched over her bruised and bleeding foot. “Geez, it couldn’t have hurt that much!” the woman shopper responded.</p> <p> </p> <p>The woman shopper then peered at Aggarwal’s bruised foot and said dismissively, “You have a scrape! You need a band aid.” Aggarwal had been expecting the woman to apologize, so she reminded the lady that she had been hurt. At this lesson in civility, the woman became aggressive and told Aggarwal that she was making a big deal of the incident and to “go back to India.” She then wheeled her cart away calling Aggarwal a crazy person.</p> <p> </p> <p>Leela, Preeti, and Maya were talking animatedly as they hiked up a trail at Rancho San Antonio County Park on March 10. Walking three abreast, they spied a man and a woman coming down from the other side so they moved closer to each other. But Maya still occupied a portion of the wrong side of the trail. The woman brushed past Maya to which Maya turned around and apologized as she walked on. The woman called out, “Wait a minute!” The three friends stopped and turned around. The woman came up to the three women and said fiercely, “I’m American, show me some respect!” “What do you mean?” Maya asked, sounding stunned. At that point the man, who hadn’t participated in the conversation, called his partner and they walked away.</p> <p> </p> <p>On March 5, as he got out of his Mercedes at a farmer’s market parking lot, Jeet Bhatt (name changed) was questioned by two men in a van about the car he drives and why he doesn’t drive an American car. He was then told to “go back where you came from if you don’t like America.” When Bhatt called 911, one of the men taunted him saying, “Do you think I’m going to beat you up?”</p> <p> </p> <p>The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) reported a total of 867 hate incidents in the ten days following the election. The national advocacy organization South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT), meanwhile, recorded 207 hate or bias-related incidents aimed at South Asian, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu, Middle Eastern, and Arab communities in 2016.</p> <p> </p> <p>The SAALT figures mark a 34 percent increase from 2014, with 95 percent of the reported cases motivated by anti-Muslim sentiment.</p> <p> </p> <p>What is more troubling, however, is that official figures may not in fact accurately reflect the true scope of the problem.</p> <p> </p> <p>Brian Levin is director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino. He recently published a study showing that police reports and FBI tracking regularly undercount hate crimes. Issues of language and culture barriers, as well as mistrust between communities and law enforcement, can often dissuade victims of hate crimes from reporting. Also, lack of training can mean police officers do not accurately report incidents of hate or bias as such.</p> <p> </p> <p>As a result, while the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ 2015 Crime Victimization Survey showed some 293,790 reported incidents of hate or bias, the FBI report for the same year contained only 6,573.</p> <p> </p> <p>Moreover, in June 2016, the Associated Press reported that 2,700 city police and county sheriff’s departments had not reported a hate crime for 6 years in their jurisdictions. That amounts to 17% of all law enforcement agencies nationwide.</p> <p> </p> <p>Most hate offenders perceive a palpable threat to their livelihood, way of life, or life and hence commit acts of hate, whether verbal or physical. In all the cases cited above, the aggressors tended to be ordinary individuals unaffiliated with hard core hate groups.</p> <p> </p> <p>Aggarwal described the woman with the cart as white, dressed in sweats, black hair in a ponytail, about medium height and probably in her 40s. The woman who confronted the three hikers was also white and in her sixties, according to one of the hikers. In Bhatt’s case, the men in the van appeared to be thrill seekers.</p> <p> </p> <p>The profiles match what researchers say is typical for a majority of reported hate crimes.</p> <p> </p> <p>“Hate crime assailants include thrill offenders with more shallow prejudices,” say researchers at California State University, San Bernardino. Most commit hate crimes for excitement and social engagement. Some, in reaction to events, like terrorist attacks. Very few are “hardcore hatemongers.”</p> <p> </p> <p>But they also point to anecdotal reports that suggest a growing number of older white women—influenced by campaign rhetoric and the proliferation of fake media reports—are becoming part of the trend.</p> <p> </p> <p>On February 26, single shots were fired at Star India restaurant and Asaab Eritrean restaurant on Geary Boulevard in San Francisco, shattering glass and terrifying diners and staff.</p> <p> </p> <p><br /> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/2hatecrimes.jpg" style="height:352px; width:625px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>Late evening on March 2, Harnish Patel, the owner of a convenience store in Lancaster county, S. Carolina, was killed in front of his home. The investigating authorities have not admitted to the incident being a hate crime.</p> <p> </p> <p>On March 3, a masked man accosted Deep Rai, a Sikh citizen, in his driveway in Kent, Seattle. He scuffled with Rai and yelled, “Go back to your country,” before pulling out his gun and firing. Rai sustained injuries to his arm.</p> <p> </p> <p>As more and more brown bodies are made the target of hate, the response will inevitably move from one of surprise at being assailed to more proactive steps. But just how do communities and individuals respond? And what exactly is a hate crime?</p> <p> </p> <p>Writing nasty comments on websites, using ethnic slurs, exhorting people to leave America, distributing racist flyers, saying something that disparages ethnicities, religions, and races is categorized as hate speech. “They [offenders] can’t be punished, even though it can be very harmful to the victim and other people exposed,” says Phyllis Gerstenfeld, criminal justice professor at California State University, Stanislaus. Hate speech is typically protected by the First Amendment.</p> <p> </p> <p>“Hate crime is a criminal act committed because of a victim’s group,” Gerstenfeld explains, but hate speech is “exhibiting hate without an underlying criminal act.” A hate crime is an addendum on a criminal act. The offender would have been punished anyway, but the hate motivation adds to that punishment. In other words, there is no hate crime unless there is first a crime.</p> <p> </p> <p>Aggarwal’s and the hikers’ cases likely fall under the purview of hate speech, but Srinivas Kuchibhotla’s, who was killed in a Kansas bar by an attacker who later admitted he thought Kuchibhotla and his companion were from Iran, was a hate crime. Purinton is standing trial for murder, and additionally for a hate crime, since he yelled “get out of my country” and identified just the two Indian men for his violent outburst.</p> <p> </p> <p>While a cloud of fear and anxiety has descended on a number of immigrant and ethnic minority communities alike in the months since the election, certain factors set Indian Americans (as well as other Asians) apart.</p> <p> </p> <p>Indian Americans are visibly different from white and black America. These visible differences act as signals to a less informed or selectively informed populace. Indians are targeted for being illegal immigrants, Middle Easterners, Muslims and Arabs. And Sikhs are too often mistakenly identified as terrorists because of their turbans.</p> <p> </p> <p>In a study by the Sikh Coalition released in 2014, it was estimated that two-thirds of Sikh kids get bullied in school because of their visible artifacts of faith: their turbans.</p> <p> </p> <p>But bias against Indian Americans is often contextualized by several factors beyond the lens of Islamophobia, including the general success of many in these communities; weaker assimilation patterns; race, color and religious differences; and H-1B abuse as related to appropriating “American” jobs.</p> <p> </p> <p>Recently 60 Minutes did a segment cementing that narrative. One of those interviewed for the segment was Craig D’Angelo, who recently lost his job to an H-1B visa holder.</p> <p> </p> <p>Despite the experience, D’Angelo expressed some understanding of the situation. “You don’t want to have any animosity towards [Indian workers on H-1B visas] because they’re looking for a better way of life,” D’Angelo says at one point.</p> <p> </p> <p>What the segment failed to cover was the long history of manipulation by outsourcing companies who’ve exploited their workers as well as the H-1B system. D’Angelo’s message of empathy also became lost in the larger framing of the story around Americans losing jobs to foreign nationals from India. The result, as seen in numerous instances, is an uptick in resentment meted out at the Indian American community.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Read the rest <a href="https://www.indiacurrents.com/">here</a></strong>.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>From <a href="https://www.indiacurrents.com/">India Currents</a> and republished by our content partner New America Media</strong></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/indians" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Indians</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/indian-americans" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Indian Americans</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/hindus" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">hindus</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/sikhs" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">sikhs</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/hate-crimes" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">hate crimes</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/donald-trump" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Donald Trump</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/racism" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">racism</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/harassment" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">harassment</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Jaya Padmanabhan</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">New America Media; Wikipedia Commons</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Sun, 07 May 2017 18:20:30 +0000 tara 7503 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/7556-indian-americans-push-back-against-hate-crimes#comments Lawsuit Brings to Light Discrimination Tactics at 7-11 Corp. https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/4183-lawsuit-brings-light-discrimination-tactics-corp <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Wed, 07/30/2014 - 10:53</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1711.jpg?itok=2jkIDUly"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1711.jpg?itok=2jkIDUly" width="480" height="360" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p><strong>From <a href="http://www.indiawest.com/">India West</a> and republished by our content partner New America Media</strong>:</p> <p> </p> <p>Three weeks before Christmas last year, Dilip and Saroj Patel had an alarming meeting with two 7-Eleven corporate officers at their Riverside, Calif., 7-Eleven franchise, which the Indian American couple had owned and operated for nearly two decades.</p> <p> </p> <p>The elderly couple had received a call from 7-Eleven corporate headquarters the night before. “They told my dad, ‘we need to meet with you immediately,’” Dev Patel, the couple’s son, told India-West. Most alarmingly, Dilip was told to bring his wife Saroj, who had not really been involved with the store for some years, according to Dev Patel.</p> <p> </p> <p>Arriving at the store, Dilip and Saroj Patel found themselves confronted by Steve Kellison and Kevin New of 7-Eleven’s Assets Prevention Department. “Dilip, we’re going to take your store away today,” Kellison allegedly said, according to Patel.</p> <p> </p> <p>Kellison and New accused the couple of committing fraud, including the crime of using free Slurpee coupons to double charge. They showed the Patels a hazy 10-second video clip, insinuating that they had evidence to corroborate the accusations.</p> <p> </p> <p>“They used storm trooper intimidation tactics,” charged Dev Patel, adding that his mother started to cry during the meeting.</p> <p> </p> <p>Dilip came out to talk to Dev, and told him that Kellison and New wanted them to sign papers so that the corporation could take over the store. The Patels, who had spent the past 19 years working 18-hour days to keep the store afloat, would receive no compensation from the takeover.</p> <p> </p> <p>Kellison and New allegedly told the couple that, should they refuse to sign the papers, the 7-Eleven corporation would “gut them from the inside out,” by reducing their ability to purchase required products to stock the store.” Kellison and New also allegedly threatened the couple with reducing their ability to make payroll so that employees would quit.</p> <p> </p> <p>“Eventually, we will gut your store,” they allegedly said, according to Dev Patel. The Patels signed the papers, losing a lifetime of hard work and all their assets, worth an estimated $600,000.</p> <p> </p> <p>“Their whole point was to sell our store,” Dev Patel vehemently told India-West. “They are targeting our people — Indians and Pakistanis — in higher dollar real estate markets, taking over their stores and reselling them for higher profits,” he claimed.</p> <p> </p> <p>More than 20 percent of 7-Eleven’s bottom line last year — an estimated $140 million to $200 million — came from flipping stores, estimated Patel. “We work long, we work hard, we have a respect for authority. We put everything into this business and then 7-Eleven comes along and just takes it away,” said Patel, adding that his mom and dad — both seniors — have no idea what they will do next.</p> <p> </p> <p>The Asian-American Convenience Store Association, founded in Tampa, Fla., in 2005 by Satya Shaw and currently chaired by Chandra Patel, estimates there are 132,000 convenience stores across the nation; 80,000 are owned by Indian Americans, mostly originally from Gujarat. On the association’s Web site, Chandra Patel said Gujaratis are very enterprising people. But when they come to the U.S., they cannot find a job because of limited English skills. Buying a small convenience store — with a small investment, often provided by earlier immigrant members of the family — allows them to work and eventually provide seed capital for newer immigrant family members to start businesses.</p> <p> </p> <p>On July 11 — as 7-Eleven (also known as 7-11) stores across the nation were giving away free Slurpees to celebrate the company’s birthday – the Franchise Owners Association of Greater Los Angeles filed a lawsuit against the giant, multinational corporation, alleging racism, ageism, and unscrupulous business practices. The suit said it represents 1,200 franchisees in the area, the majority of whom are South Asian American.</p> <p> </p> <p>Jas Dhillon, vice president of FOAGLA, told India-West the Patels’ experience with the corporation involved a practice known as “churning,” in which long-time owners of 7-Eleven franchises in profitable, high-rent markets are forced out with allegations of stealing from their own business. 7-Eleven has filed RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act), or racketeering or participating in corruption, claims against many of its franchisees, in its attempt to buy out profitable stores.</p> <p> </p> <p>“They are targeting people who are old — easy prey,” stated Dhillon, himself a 7-Eleven franchisee who grew up working in his parents’ store.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><br /> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/2711.jpg" style="height:420px; width:565px" /></p> <p>This year, the Dallas, Texas-based corporation, which was bought over by the Tokyo, Japan-based Seven &amp; I Holdings, intends to take over 120 stores, alleged Dhillon, earning a profit of $60 million without expending $1 of capital.</p> <p> </p> <p>Kurt McCord, a former corporate investigations supervisor with 7-Eleven, Inc., delivered evidence for the lawsuit, saying that the corporation was using “unfair, predatory practices” to flip its stores.</p> <p> </p> <p>“Using an internal team, masquerading as Assets Protection (loss prevention), 7-Eleven set up an annual number of stores to take back, prioritizing locations in the highest retail areas or, in some cases, operated by respected franchisees who had spoken out against the giant corporation’s corrupt practices,” said McCord.</p> <p> </p> <p>7-Eleven, Inc., used tactics such as prolonged interrogations of franchisees, “cultural shaming,” depriving them of food and water during interrogations, third-degree questioning, and false imprisonment, claimed McCord, who quit working for the corporation last year.</p> <p> </p> <p>Franchisees were also threatened with immigration fraud, he alleged.</p> <p> </p> <p>Dhillon released to India-West a 2014 internal memo which hinted to franchisees that their every move would be watched by the corporation.</p> <p> </p> <p>“As part of our ongoing enhancement to the store's video system, we will be beginning the process of connecting (your) current DVR to the 7-Eleven network. This letter is to notify you that an agent of Powerhouse Retail Services has been authorized by 7-Eleven to perform this work in your store,” read a memo signed by Asset Program manager Alan Lott.</p> <p> </p> <p>Dhillon claimed this would allow 7-Eleven to further intimidate their franchisees during the corporate takeover, by suggesting they had video evidence of owners committing crimes.</p> <p> </p> <p>The 7-Eleven corporation declined to respond directly to India-West’s questions, but did provide a statement regarding the suit, saying: “The allegations made in this complaint are false. 7-Eleven is proud of its very diverse, independent franchisee population.”</p> <p> </p> <p>USA Today named 7-Eleven one of the Top 50 Franchises for Minorities in 2013, said the corporation, adding that it has also received recognition as one of the top franchisee opportunities by Professional Woman’s Magazine, Hispanic Network Magazine and BLACK EOE Journal.</p> <p> </p> <p>“7-Eleven is determined to protect our guests, employees and other franchisees by ending the relationship with franchisees that violate the law or the franchise agreement, where appropriate. The company is confident in the thorough and lawful system that it has in place to accomplish this.”</p> <p> </p> <p>“The unfortunate fact is a few franchisees have been caught violating the law or the franchise agreement. This complaint is brought by a small number of individuals who are attempting to thwart 7-Eleven’s efforts to deal with these franchisees. The company has a solid record of prevailing in court on these matters because of its thorough investigations,” read the statement, adding: “Honest, hardworking, independent franchisees are the backbone of the 7-Eleven brand.”</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>From <a href="http://www.indiawest.com/">India West</a> and republished by our content partner New America Media</strong></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/7-eleven" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">7 eleven</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/7-11" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">7 11</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/lawsuit-against-7-11" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">lawsuit against 7 11</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/discrimination" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">discrimination</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/labor-laws" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">labor laws</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/asian-americans" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Asian Americans</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/indians" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Indians</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/infdian-immigrants" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">infdian immigrants</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/fraud" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">fraud</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Sunita Sohrabji</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Wed, 30 Jul 2014 14:53:48 +0000 tara 5022 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/4183-lawsuit-brings-light-discrimination-tactics-corp#comments Environmental Victories of 2013 https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/3416-environmental-victories <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Mon, 01/06/2014 - 10:18</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/2trees%20%28pavelahmed%20flickr%29.jpg?itok=HEnmO9lq"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/2trees%20%28pavelahmed%20flickr%29.jpg?itok=HEnmO9lq" width="480" height="322" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p>From <a href="http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/">Indian Country Today</a> and our content partner <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2014/01/ten-environmental-victories-and-triumphs-of-2013.php">New America Media</a>:</p> <p> </p> <p>With all the talk of rising temperatures, acidifying oceans and melting polar ice, it is hard to see the healthy trees for the forest, as it were. Yes, the emerald ash borer and the mountain pine beetle are making inroads, and extreme weather is becoming the norm. But it’s important, too, to note the environmental triumphs and victories that tribes either helped engineer or benefited from, or both.</p> <p> </p> <p>Native peoples reintroduced fading species, restored habitats and stopped big industry in its tracks.</p> <p> </p> <p>Several species began coming back, many of them thanks to the efforts of tribal programs. Northwest tribes were pleased to see a record return of Chinook salmon to the Columbia River. A healthy wolf population flourished in Yellowstone National Park, strengthening the wildlife web around it. Here are some of the more notable wins, and the tribes involved in making them happen.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>1. Pushing Back Against Mega-Loads</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>The Nez Perce had been trying to stop mega-loads from traversing a federally designated scenic highway through their territory for years. In 2013, a judge finally said, “Enough.” The football-field-sized pieces of equipment destined for the Alberta oil sands up in Canada are no longer permitted to trundle within 50 feet of the Nez Perce creation site. Although the battle has now moved to Oregon and the Umatilla Tribe, this was a big win for the Nez Perce and sacred places.</p> <p><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/1fish%20%28USFWS%20Pacific%20Flickr%29.jpg" style="height:334px; width:640px" /></p> <p><strong>2. The Return of the Salmon</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>Build the habitat—or take out the obstacles—and they will come. Northwest tribes were exultant as more than a million Chinook salmon made their way back up the Columbia River to spawn, a record.</p> <p> </p> <p>Of course, there is still much work to be done—in fact, many habitat-restoration efforts seem to be compromised as fast as they can be put into place—but just the sight of so many fish returning was enough to keep hope alive.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>3. Black-Footed Ferret Rebounds</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>Last August we noted the return of the black-footed ferret, thanks largely to the efforts of the tribes who hosted their reintroduction by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Lower Brule Sioux, Cheyenne River Sioux, and Rosebud Sioux, all in South Dakota, plus the Northern Cheyenne and Fort Belknap reservations in Montana and a deeded ranch in Arizona managed by the Navajo all hosted the nearly extinct animal when it was released into the wild. Last seen, they were starting to reproduce. Could thriving be far behind?</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>4. White Sturgeon Stages Comeback</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>The Kootenai Tribe of Idaho is keeping this endangered species, which has been around since the dinosaurs roamed, from going extinct by breeding them in a fishery.</p> <p> </p> <p>Hatchery workers spend days every month in spring catching these huge fish, taking them to the hatchery and holding them until the females are ready to spawn. They then collect the eggs and return the adult fish to the Kootenai River.</p> <p><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/1cougar%20%28forestwander.com%20Flickr%29.jpg" style="height:367px; width:550px" /></p> <p><strong>5. Air Spawning Keeps Steelhead Trout Alive</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>Without impediments, this sea-going trout can spawn twice, spending the intervening time in the ocean. But slack water reservoirs and numerous dams have caused less than 2 percent of kelts to survive the return trip. Enter the Yakama, Warm Springs, Colville and Nez Perce tribes, which have launched innovative programs to take steelhead trout and store them during the time they would normally live in the ocean, then re-release them when it comes time to spawn. It’s a one-of-a-kind program to save this threatened species that only Indian tribes are engaged in. Although the notion of “recycling” a fish might seem outlandish, that is in essence what they are doing.</p> <p> </p> <p>Over in their corner, the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe celebrated the return of another ancient trout species, the lahontan cutthroat. This one was in fact thought to be extinct, <em>The New York Times</em> reported in April, until fish with the same DNA was found in a creek near Pyramid Lake in Nevada. The tribe got to work, and by summer, tribal members were finding 20-pounders.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>6. Cougars Swarm Turtle Island</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>Be they known as pumas (Inca), cougars, mountain lions, catamounts or panthers, this feisty kitty has “re-colonized the Black Hills of South Dakota, the North Dakota Badlands and the Pine Ridge country of northwestern Nebraska,” <em>The New York Times</em> reported in June. More recently, <em>National Geographic</em> called it one of the more remarkable animal comebacks on record.</p> <p><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/1eagle%20%28PaulWaggener%20Flickr%29.jpg" style="height:428px; width:640px" /></p> <p><strong>7. Big Oil Admits Defeat in the Chukchi Sea</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>For now, at least, offshore drilling has been suspended in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska, after a series of mishaps showed three oil companies that they were woefully unprepared for emergency response, given the extreme weather.</p> <p> </p> <p>Royal Dutch Shell started the trend by nixing its 2013 Arctic offshore drilling plans altogether because of equipment problems, the company announced last February 27. About a week later, Norwegian conglomerate Statoil said it would hold off on drilling until at least 2014. Most recently, ConocoPhillips announced on April 10 that it was suspending its plans to drill exploratory wells off Alaska’s Arctic coast in 2014. Though Alaska Natives did not directly engineer this, it was a victory for them and other environmental stewards.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>8. Bison Gets Its Day</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>The bison finally got its day—the first Saturday in November, to be exact, when the first official National Bison Day was decreed.</p> <p> </p> <p>Earlier in the year, back in August, the first genetically pure bison in a century were released onto the Fort Belknap Reservation in Montana.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>9. Eagle Killing Doesn't Pay</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>In November, Duke Energy Renewables Inc. was not only fined millions but also pleaded guilty to criminal charges for killing eagles with its wind turbines. In doing so, Duke became the first wind-power company to ever be found criminally liable under the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Although Duke’s earnings dwarf the fine, the plea and fine combo marked a milestone.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>10. Wolves Prove Their Worth</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>The resurgence of the wolf population in Yellowstone National Park has benefited everything around it, researchers ascertained last summer. The wolves eat the elk, which then do not eat the berries, which then leaves more food for grizzlies, wrote the team from the universities of Oregon and Washington State in the Journal of Animal Ecology.</p> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/">Indian Country Today</a></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/indians" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Indians</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/native-americans" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Native Americans</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/environment" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">environment</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/wolves" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">wolves</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/bald-eagles" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">bald eagles</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/salmon" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">salmon</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/saving-environment" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">saving the environment</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/going-green" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">going green</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/saving-trees" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">saving trees</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/oceans" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">oceans</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/trees" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">trees</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/nature" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">nature</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">ICT Staff</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">PavelAhmed (Flickr); USFWS (Flickr); Paul Waggener (Flickr); CindyLou Photos (Flickr)</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Mon, 06 Jan 2014 15:18:29 +0000 tara 4065 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/3416-environmental-victories#comments A Century-Old Silent Film Resurfaces and Claims Its Place in History https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/1522-century-old-silent-film-resurfaces-and-claims-its-place-history <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/film-tv" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Film &amp; TV</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Tue, 09/04/2012 - 17:01</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/2mediumsilentfilm%20%28NAM%29.jpg?itok=rgHkAjHe"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/2mediumsilentfilm%20%28NAM%29.jpg?itok=rgHkAjHe" width="480" height="268" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>  </p> <p> From <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2012/09/discovery-of-silent-film-with-all-native-american-cast-has-historians-reeling.php">New America Media</a> and <a href="http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/">Indian Country Today</a>:</p> <p>  </p> <p> How a silent film featuring an all-Native American cast came to be made, lost (seemingly forever), discovered nearly a century later (in shambles), then restored and shown to the cast’s descendants is one of the most fascinating stories in the annals of American filmmaking. <em>The Daughter of Dawn</em>, which had its world premiere in June at the deadCENTER Film Festival in Oklahoma City, may be the only all-Native cast silent film ever made.</p> <p>  </p> <p> In the autumn of 1919 Norbert Myles was hired to direct a film for Richard Banks, owner of the fledgling Texas Film Company. Banks, who had written the story for his new project, was looking to make an adventure film in Oklahoma. He had met Myles a few years earlier on a California movie set and was impressed by the ambitious upstart. Myles, who had been a vaudevillian, a screen actor and sometime Shakespearean actor, had fallen out of favor in Hollywood and had turned to screenwriting and directing.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Banks drew on his 25 years of experience living among the Indians and his knowledge of what he called “an old Comanche legend,” to lend authenticity to the film. He decided to shoot on the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, a national reserve known for its mountains and grassy plains spread across 60,000 acres in southwestern Oklahoma. This was an attractive setting for several reasons, including the fact that in 1907 a program to reintroduce the nearly extinct bison to the Great Plains was launched. Under the auspices of the American Bison Society, 15 of these American icons, plucked from New York City’s Bronx Zoo, were sent by railway to grasslands in Oklahoma, and in little more than a decade, they flourished and were an enormous herd.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Banks must have also realized that shooting there would provide not only the perfect backdrop, but would also afford him an abundant source of American Indian talent. For actors Myles tapped into the local tribes—notably the Kiowa and Comanche, who were living on reservations near Lawton, Oklahoma. This wildly ambitious project had an all-Native cast, just one cameraman, no costumes, no lighting, no props and wild buffalo. The Indians, who had been on the reservation less than 50 years, brought with them their own tipis, horses and gear. Featured in the film were White Parker, Esther LeBarre, Hunting Horse, Jack Sankeydoty and Wanada Parker, daughter of Quanah Parker, a Comanche chief and one of the founders of the Native American Church movement. Among the 100 extras were Slim Tyebo, Old Man Saupitty and Oscar Yellow Wolf.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Myles ordered his cameraman to shoot buffalo chase scenes “from a pit so as to have all the buffalo…and Indians…pass directly over the top of the camera.” To add verisimilitude, Myles incorporated the tribe’s tipis, horses, personal regalia and other artifacts, and shot scenes of the Comanches using cross-tribal Plains Indian sign language. He also shot scenes of tribal dancing while the women prepared buffalo for a celebratory meal.</p> <p>  </p> <p> The tribes’ participation in the film did not sit well with a certain “Assistant Field Matron” assigned to the area by the Bureau of Indian Affairs to monitor the tribes’ activities. In her weekly report, filed July 31, 1920, and sent directly to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, she wrote: “Went to a camp close to headquarters where their [sic] are about 300 Kiowas and Comanches gathered dancing and having pictures taken to be used in the movies.… I talked to the manager to have the camp broken up and dances stopped.</p> <p>  </p> <p> “These dances and large gatherings week after week are ruining our Indian boys and girls as they have been going on for about three months and different places. No work done during these days.”</p> <p>  </p> <p> Her actions had little effect on the enthusiastic cast members, who Myles called “very shrewd” in their financial negotiations with him.</p> <p>  </p> <p> When the 80-minute silent film was screened in October 1920 at the College Theater in Los Angeles, it received raves, with one critic calling it “an original and breathtaking adventure…hardly duplicated before.” But despite favorable reviews, the film was, for some unknown reason, never released. And it was never shown again—that is, until June 10, 2012.</p> <p>  </p> <p> The story of the film’s unlikely return is as dramatic as the story of its making. It began in 2003 when a private investigator in North Carolina looking to collect his fee from a client was given five cans of what was originally a six-reel film. The investigator-for-hire needed to convert the rapidly decaying film into cash to cover his expenses so he contacted Brian Hearn, film curator at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. He told Hearn he believed the film was The Daughter of Dawn. At that time the museum was not in the business of collecting films so Hearn got in touch with the Oklahoma Historical Society (OHS), which also operates the Oklahoma History Center in Oklahoma City.</p> <p>  </p> <p> The film was purchased by the OHS in 2006, and Bill Moore, the society’s film archivist and video production manager, took possession of the five cans of the nitrate film. “Our first concern was to protect it,” he recalls. “So after watching the footage on a Moviola and noting its fragile condition, we applied for a grant from the National Film Preservation Foundation in the hopes of preserving it as soon as possible.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/mediumsilentfilm%20%28OklahomaHistoricalSociety%29.jpg" style="width: 600px; height: 349px; " /></p> <p>  </p> <p> “In the early years of filming, producers had to provide a copy to what was called the Paper Print Collection. It was a requirement to show every frame of film and file it with the Library of Congress’s Copyright Office in order to establish the copyright of the film. The library would then shoot the films from the ‘contacts’—the individual frames—and that’s how this film survived. It took only a few months to restore the film and after the intertitles [dialogue text pages inserted into the film between cuts] were added, the footage expanded out to the full movie and the original six canisters.” The completed film has a four-way love story and includes two buffalo hunt scenes, a battle scene between the Kiowa and the Comanche, scenes of village life, tribal dances, hand-to-hand combat and a happy ending.</p> <p>  </p> <p> In 2008 Robert Blackburn, executive director of the OHS commissioned David Yeagley, a Comanche classical composer who is well regarded in his field, to do a new score for the movie. “I knew the music was important,” Blackburn says. “That’s why we decided to go for a full symphonic score. Yeagley’s original score is timed to each second of the movie, and he uses different styles of music for each character. Seventy Oklahoma City University Philharmonic grad students working on a Fast Track system recorded the score earlier this year.</p> <p>  </p> <p> “This film is so important to Indian people and is a rare piece of art as well, since only two percent of independent films made in this era have survived,” Blackburn says. “We plan to show it in Telluride, Denver and the San Francisco Silent Film Festival in 2013. [Documentary film producer] Ken Burns has committed to assist with the film’s distribution.”</p> <p>  </p> <p> Once descendants of the Kiowa and Comanche cast members were identified, Blackburn arranged to screen <em>The Daughter of Dawn</em> for the families in the Oklahoma towns of Anadarko, Carnegie and Lawton. “There were tears,” he recalls. “They recognized an aunt or a grandparent, and out of that conversation came recognition of the tipi used in the film. It was very powerful for them to see family members who were pre-reservation wearing their own clothing and using family heirlooms that had been brought out of trunks. It was very emotional for them.”</p> <p>  </p> <p> Yeagley, whose works have included a commissioned symphony called “The Four Horses of the Apocalypse: A Comanche Symphony” and who once wrote an opera based on the life of a Holocaust survivor, calls Blackburn a visionary for choosing to score the movie with what he refers to as a high-European classical piece. “You would expect the typical drums and rattles.” He was conscious of how his music will be received—and perceived. “How do you write music that makes sense to a 21st century audience who is looking at something that is right out of history? What are other Indians going to think when they hear symphonic music? How are they going to regard me?”</p> <p>  </p> <p> Blackburn, clearly thrilled with the interest the film is drawing from audiences and historians, describes its appeal this way, “<em>The Daughter of Dawn</em> is all Oklahoma. Acted by Oklahoma Indians, filmed entirely in Oklahoma, in a story of Oklahoma’s Kiowa and Comanche nations, scored by a Comanche and played by the Oklahoma City University Philharmonic students, even the film was restored by an Oklahoman working in Hollywood for the Film Technology Lab.”</p> <p>  </p> <p> He believes the film has the potential to become the centerpiece for a national exhibit and wants it to be shown at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian. In the meantime, the OHS is making a short film to show next spring. It will tell the story of the making of The Daughter of Dawn and Native Oklahomans talking about their ancestors, as well as an interview with Yeagley.</p> <p>  </p> <p> In June at the deadCENTER Film Festival, award-winning actor Wes Studi, Cherokee, came to view this major cinematic event that had brought together film buffs as well as descendants of the Kiowa and Comanche tribal members who had performed in the film. After the screening, Studi said, “It’s a film worth seeing for all people who are either in the business of making films or those who watch film in terms of American Indians."</p> <p>  </p> <p>  </p> <p> <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2012/09/discovery-of-silent-film-with-all-native-american-cast-has-historians-reeling.php">New America Media</a></p> <p>  </p> <p> <em><strong>Photos: Courtesy of Oklahoma Historical Society; New America Media.</strong></em></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/silent-film" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">silent film</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/daughter-dawn" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">daughter of the dawn</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/oklahoma" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Oklahoma</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/native-americans" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Native Americans</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/indians" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Indians</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/cherokee" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">cherokee</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/oklahoma-historical-society" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Oklahoma Historical Society</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/norbert-myles" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Norbert Myles</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/historic-film" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">historic film</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/texas-film-company" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Texas Film Company</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/comanche" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">comanche</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/oklahoma-city-museum-art" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Oklahoma City Museum of Art</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/bill-moore" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Bill Moore</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/kowa" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Kowa</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Jordan Wright</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">New America Media</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Tue, 04 Sep 2012 21:01:05 +0000 tara 1500 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/1522-century-old-silent-film-resurfaces-and-claims-its-place-history#comments Russia’s Ban on the Bhagavad Gita Angers Indians https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/russia-s-ban-bhagavad-gita-angers-indians <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Wed, 12/21/2011 - 11:41</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumRussianBan.jpg?itok=YYiPoH3F"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumRussianBan.jpg?itok=YYiPoH3F" width="480" height="268" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>  </p> <p> From <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/news/">New America Media</a>: The Russian archbishop who tried to malign the Indian sacred text, the Bhagavad Gita, should have known that hell hath no fury like 885 million Hindus scorned.</p> <p>  </p> <p> That fury has been unleashed worldwide this week over remarks by Archbishop Nikon of the Russian Orthodox Church branding Krishna, the protagonist in the Bhagavad Gita, an “evil demon.” State prosecutors in the Siberian city of Tomsk successfully sought help from the courts to ban the scripture for its “extremist” views and accused it of insulting non-believers, according to Russian media.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Following an appeal filed by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), the court has agreed to hear what experts have to say about this Dec. 28.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Earlier this week, angry Indian lawmakers forced parliament to close and protesters gathered outside the Russian embassy in New Delhi. “We will not tolerate an insult to Lord Krishna,” members of parliament shouted, until the house speaker adjourned parliament for several hours.</p> <p>  </p> <p> No fatwah has been handed down, but the Hindu diaspora worldwide, and Hindus in India, have banded together and written to Russian embassies, as well as the Indian Prime Minister, to use diplomatic pressure to force the Russian court to withdraw the ban.</p> <p>  </p> <p> S.M. Krishna, external affairs minister, said the Indian government is “closely monitoring the case” and that the ban is likely being sought by “ignorant, misled and motivated individuals.”</p> <p>  </p> <p> “The Russian embassy has expressed deep regret over the case,” he said. “We are confident that our Russian friends, who are culturally sensitive to our civilization, will resolve this matter appropriately.”</p> <p>  </p> <p> Meanwhile, the Russian embassy in New Delhi issued a statement by Russian ambassador Alexander Kadakin.</p> <p>  </p> <p> “I consider it categorically inadmissible when any holy scripture is taken to the courts,” Kadakin said in the email, adding that the Bhagavad Gita is a “great source of wisdom for the people of India and the world.”</p> <p>  </p> <p> “It is strange that such events are unfolding in the beautiful University City in Siberia,” the ambassador said,  adding that “it seems that even the lovely city of Tomsk has its own neighborhood madmen.”</p> <p>  </p> <p> The Bhagavad Gita is considered a manual for sensible living for all mankind, not just Hindus, even though the Gita is a part of the ancient Hindu epic, the Mahabharata.  It has been glorified by such famous people as Dr. Albert Schweitzer, Albert Einstein, Aldous Huxley, Ralph Waldo Emerson, to name a few. More than once Mahatma Gandhi said that he drew moral strength from its 700 verses while he was imprisoned by the British during India’s freedom struggle.</p> <p>  </p> <p> In a letter urging the mayor of Moscow, Yuri Luzhkov, to ban the proposed construction of a long-awaited Hindu temple in Moscow, Archbishop Nikon reportedly characterized Krishna as “an evil demon, the personified power of hell opposing God.”</p> <p>  </p> <p> The putdown is “a major setback for religious freedom and diversity in Russia,” observed Anutama Dasa, international director of communications of the International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in Maryland.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Dasa said that ISKCON has been the target of the ire of some Russian government officials because they see “minority religions not as neighbors but as threats.”</p> <p>  </p> <p> “Russia has been a difficult place for us to practice our religion,” Dasa said.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Ironically, ISKCON, an offshoot of Hinduism, was the first religious tradition to be officially recognized by Moscow since the breakup of the Soviet Union. Over the years, the group has been running the Food for Life program, a free kitchen, in various parts of Russia, like it does in many other countries. ISKCON has also translated into 80 different languages, including Russian, its founder A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada's commentary on the Bhagavad Gita. The translation has been widely distributed in Russia.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Last year, Russian prosecutors banned Adolf Hitler’s semi-autobiographical book “Mein Kampf” for the same reason they banned the Bhagavad Gita: It was “extremist” literature.</p> <p>  </p> <p> The Tomsk court case has been going on since last June and the Indian government had been alerted to it by ISKCON, according to Indian news reports. But nothing was done about it.</p> <p>  </p> <p> “Perhaps they just tried to wish it away,” said Suhag A. Shukla, managing director and legal counsel of the Hindu American Foundation, an advocacy group, providing the Hindu American voice. And she added: “It needed more than just wishing.”</p> <p> --<a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2011/12/russias-ban-on-bhagavad-gita-incensed-indian.php">New America Media</a></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/archbishop-nikon" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Archbishop Nikon</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/russian-orthodox-church" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Russian Orthodox Church</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/russia" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Russia</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/india" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">India</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/indians" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Indians</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/krishna" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Krishna</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/bhagavad-gita" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Bhagavad Gita</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Viji Sundaram</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">New America Media</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Wed, 21 Dec 2011 16:41:08 +0000 tara 345 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/russia-s-ban-bhagavad-gita-angers-indians#comments