News Briefs
WANTED: Unpublished Letters to the NYT
Former local activist and candidate for Congress, Dean Baker, is working on a badly needed supplement to The New York Times. He is attempting to publish a collection of letters to the editor whichThe Times has rejected, because of its unwillingness to allow leftist views on their editorial page. Any proceeds from the book will go to Faimess and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR). Send your letters which The Times didn't see fit to print to: Dean Baker, RD #2 Box 22, Winfield, PA 17889.
Huron Chief Addresses Use of EMU Logo
During the course of the current year-long dispute over the use of the "Huron" Indian name and logo by Eastern Michigan University, administration spokeswoman Kathleen Tinney has stated that EMU was unable to locate any Huron Indians for comment. The Hurons, so named by others, traditionally called themselves Wendat, and more modernly by the French version of that name, Wyandotte.
AGENDA has tracked down the last organized remnants of the Wyandotte nation, which once ruled much of modern-day Ontario. Chief Leaford Bearskin, elected leader of the 3,500 strong Wyandotte Tribe of Oklahoma, was reached by phone at the tribal offices in Wyandotte, Oklahoma.
On the issue that has divided EMU, Chief Bearskin acknowledged that Indians are divided over the propriety of the use of Indian names and symbols for athletic teams. Speaking personally and not for the tribe, he said that he does not object to the practice in principle, but that he "would object to anything too undignified."
The chief described the tribe as "fairly poor." Many are small farmers in a time when small-time farming is a precarious venture. The tribe suffered a serious blow when a nearby B.F. Goodrich tire factory closed in 1985, throwing many Wyandottes out of work.
Over the years the Wyandottes have become assimilated to the point that nobody speaks the Wyandotte language anymore. Only ten Wyandottes are now in college. Bearskin expressed pride in this handful, in whom much of the tribe's hope for the future is invested.
Israeli Conscientious Objector to Speak
Hanoch Livneh, an Israeli reserve sergeant who has been jailed for his refusal to serve in the Gaza Strip, will speak at Temple Beth Emeth, 2309 Packard, during the Sabbath evening services on Friday, May 25 at 8 pm.
Livneh, 38, is a member of Yesh Gvul, the protest movement of Israeli reserve officers who refuse to serve in the occupied territories (the West Bank and Gaza) or as guards at detention camps holding Palestinian detainees. Yesh Gvul literally means "there is a border." In Hebrew this term also means "there is a limit."
Livneh served in the Israel Defense Forces from 1970-73 reaching the rank of sergeant in the armored corps. After one month of duty in the Lebanon War, Livneh announced to his commanders that he refused to continue to take part in an "illegal and immoral war."
Soon after the Intifada began, over 620 reserve officers signed Yesh Gvul's letter protesting the continued occupation and announced that they would not participate in repressing the intifada. Eighty percent of these reservists held ranks between corporal and captain.
In the United States, Friends of Yesh Gvul chapters provide moral and financial support to those who refuse to participate in Israel 's war against the Palestinian people. Ann Arbor Friends of Yesh Gvul is a coalition comprised of Ann Arbor New Jewish Agenda, Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice, and Solidarity. For more information call 662-5970.
Arts & Crafts Items Recyclable
The Ypsilanti Recycling Project is now a collector site for materials for Superior Township's arts and crafts programs. The items needed include baby food jars and lids; margarine, yogurt and other containers and lids; coffee cans and lids; cardboard tubes; shoe boxes; egg cartons; thread spools; coat hangers and other items that could be used in arts and crafts programs this spring and summer.
The Ypsilanti Recycling Project drop-off center is located above Frog Island in Historic Depot Town, between Cross and Forest Street, just north of the Farmer's Market. They are open Saturdays: 9 am to 3 pm; and Wednesdays: 2 pm to dusk. The Recycling Center accepts newspaper, computer paper, office paper, corrugated cardboard, glass containers, steel and aluminum cans, motor oil, automobile batteries, egg cartons and plastic bottles. For more information call 485-7799.
Jazz Comedy "Coda" Makes Detroit Debut
"Coda," a play written by Detroiter Bill Harris, to open at Detroit's Attic Theatre April 25th and to run through Sunday, May 20th, is a celebration of African American art, culture and survival. The play is set in Detroit in the 1950s, at the end of the Bebop era, and centers around the life of a Black jazz musician who is returning home to rekindled relationships and redefine his own identity as a Black man and a musician. The play explores the relationships among musicians, and between artists and their families. One of the principal relationships examined in the play is one between the protagonist and his daughter.
The cast includes Von Washington, Booker Hinton, Judith Milner, and David Wayne Parker and is directed by Woody King Jr. Veteran jazz musician Thomas "Beans" Bowles serves as musical director for "Coda." Playwright Harris, currently a Curator of Living History at the Museum of African American History and instructor at the Center for Creative Studies, lived and worked for many years in New York City, before his own homecoming several years ago. He has authored, directed and produced numerous works. For more information call the Attic theatre at 1-875-8284.