This group, NAFPS represents no one but themselves and their own sick agenda. The vast majority of the membership is not Native American, but people from Europe, or people who claim they are, but they are not.
Groups like this were once spread everywhere until Internet Laws and lawsuits started to be filed about the false allegations and libelous statements they would make about anyone who disagrees with them, or who stands up to them and refuses to take their abuse. To take a stand, is to encourage even more abuse from this group. Fortunately, internet laws have prevented their harassment via email and now web hosts are beginning to realize that they are not worth the time, effort or expense, so they shut them down, which they should do. With all the allegations they have made recently, they have provided no proof at all. When they allege someone is a culture vulture or selling ceremonies, they present no documented evidence, such as filming such events, obtaining records which proves money has changed hands, (they could even use notices of such events which would contain this information if the person is a fake)
What they do time and time again, is allege, insinuate, twist things around and of course, back one another up to prove what? That they are fools, who are so insecure about who they are, that they have appointed themselves guardians of Indian nations' traditions and ceremonies when these nations are more than able to handle such matters and not in the manner in which these people operate. Tricia Jacobs, who claims to be Cherokee, is not Cherokee, but she had a website with the word respect on it, written in the Cherokee language. She never showed one bit of respect to anyone, even to herself. She ripped people to shreds on her website and when the individual was naive and thought if the contacted her they could deal with her allegations reasonably, she would take their email and put it on her website, and rip them to shreds again. She was in total control or so she thought, until people, who were fed up with her attacks, began to file lawsuits against her and she took her website down because as she claimed at the time, "she was tired of being attacked." You would think that feeling that way herself, she would learn what she had been doing to people for years.
Some of the people they have mentioned as being fakes are. But they have no right to harass people and print their personal information online on their websites, or to make so many allegations without providing proof of those allegations. They provide no proof - nothing! Where is their proof? Yet, when they are called on what they are doing wrong, and their websites are removed for violations of the Terms of Services for use, they start crying about how their freedom of speech is being taken from them; they start whining that they are being attacked because they are Native American Indians, their freedoms are being denied to them and on and on. This is the same response that has been used by many other websites that have been removed for the same reasons.
They do not represent any American Indian nations. No Elder would ever approve of the tactics they employ towards others. This claim they make, is an outright lie and they know it. Our Elders teach us to be respectful of all people, that if we cannot get along with others, just to go our own way and let them go theirs, because the Great Mystery will tend to judgement of all people. It is not their job to charge, judge and harass others. If they find an individual who is selling ceremony for an example, then they should go to that nation's tribal council and let the tribal council handle it.
It is impossible to stop every website on the internet that they do not agree with. They got away with that for a very long time, but now, thankfully, there are laws to protect the innocent from such unjustified attacks. John LeKay has a online ezine. They have made many allegations against him, and in doing so, they have shown great disrespect to the true Native Elders who Mr. LeKay has interviewed in the past. He has also presented news items about Native Americans. I have seen nothing in his articles that show anything but a publisher presenting articles for any reader who wishes to read it.
They claim he is attacking Chief Arvol Looking Horse. This is a lie - but I wonder, why aren't they harassing Chief Looking Horse's sister, who made some very unkind statements about her own brother in the local mainstream press? Or other statements that have been made against Chief Arvol Looking Horse, by many well-known activists who are definitely Lakota and live on the reservation? Why aren't they attacking Alfred Boneshirt for an example? He has made many statements about his own concerns about the Sacred Pipe, as have many other Lakota people. The charges being made by many natives against the Chief are even of a criminal nature in some respects - why aren't they supporting the Chief in this regard? They do nothing of good for anyone. They talk about fakes and twinkies, yet they are dealing with Europeans in Sweden of all places and worrying about educating them. Why don't they spend that time in true worthwhile endeavors with native people and work on the reservations, work with the youth, etc?
People are desperately needed to cut firewood at Rosebud and Pineridge. Items such as saw blades and other things are desperately needed by native volunteers to help the people who live there before another cold winter sets in and the elders and families freeze to death in their homes, which has happened too many times. Why don't they help support the efforts of one Lakota family to harvest hemp so they can start a company, offer employment to their own people and become more self-reliant? There are so many good things they could be doing, but they call this activism. They prefer to slander, hurt, and lie about other people because it makes them feel powerful and in control.
They make decent and good native people ashamed by their actions. Al Carroll has an education, it's too bad he wastes it in such a way that he does. I'd also like to know how much money they are making off the native people with their books and now this upcoming movie? Those Swedish people rather than spend thousands of dollars for air fare to fly people such as Chief Looking Horse over to Sweden would have done so much better by donating that money for fuel assistance for the upcoming winter, for personal items, clothing, pot, pans - household goods that the people so desperately need. Instead, everyone seems to be more concerned with making a name for themselves and that helps no one but them."
Sounds like nafps by to a T
Tuesday Sep 4th, 2007 4:54 PM
"Sexual assault is not about needing a sexual outlet, but rather about the need to exert power, control, and humiliation over another." "Sexual gratification is often not the primary reason, whereas desire for control, power and dominance frequently is." Sounds like nafps to a T ! Being a "Mescalero Apache" to a non native following offers a position of power and dominance. This position is available to almost any Mexican who has studied Native American history willing to play the part . Non native people don't know what the real thing is supposed to look like, so no real qualifications are required . This position of power is very enticing and does attract people who are looking for control , power and dominance . For people who were sexually abused by a "medicine man" the opportunity to have this power over anybody practicing "medicine" can be very tempting . It is not uncommon for this to become abusive .
NAFPS is not a First Nation Advocacy Group, they have no tribal affiliations and act badly by QO
Tuesday Sep 4th, 2007 3:41 PM
Dr. Al Carrol nor NAFPS has any First Nation affiliation nor any tribal affiliation. They have misused their opportunities with their website to run abusive campaigns against anyone they dislike or disapprove. This includes bonafide Native American Spiritual leaders or cerimonial leaders that include non-Natives in their practices. NAFPS has no entitlement to claim any authority or special knowledge of who and what has rights to Native America they have shown by their own behavior that they cannot be trusted to honestly live up to their self proclaimed mandate to abuse only non-Natives and call real Native Spiritual leaders frauds.
Spirits for sale
SPIRITS FOR SALE CONTROVERSYby ElizabethMonday Aug 27th, 2007
What this debate seems to have established is the hidden ideological agenda and motives for these attacks on John LeKay and mostly upon Looking Back Woman is because of a so called “proclamation”, regarding the exploitation of ceremonies by a Lakota elder named Chief Arvol Looking Horse , whom Al Carroll and Annika Banfield are heavily promoting in Europe and all around the world in books and a film called Spirits for Sale. See film participants http://web.mac.com/spiritsforsale/iWeb/Webbplats%202/Participants.html
The inherent problem with this film is that serious allegations have been made regarding two of the main interviewees in this film. One being a man named Al Carroll who claims he is of mescalero apache descent but has unable to provide evidence to authenticate this claim. He is also included in a book alongside Trisha Jacobs They Call Us Indians. This person also claims to be of Cherokee descent. See here http://www.trishajacobs.com/ who is also a current NAFPS member. This book with two others is also marketed by the same Swedish filmmaker Annika Banfield. http://www.world-foundation.nu/ who is a NAFPS member along with Al Carroll, Trisha Jacobs. Al Carroll has recently represented Chief Arvol Looking Horse (without his consent) in an attempt to shut down Heyoka magazine and to remove any criticism of himself, Arvol Looking Horse, Annika Banfeild and this Film and their respective organizations: ‘World In Our Hands’, ‘Wolakota’, and NAFPS.
The second major problem with this film is that a raging controversy is taking place among the Lakota people concerning serious allegations towards Chief Arvol Looking Horse.
http://www.dlncoalition.org/dln_issues/pipecommercialized.htm http://www.dlncoalition.org/dln_issues/selling_indian_culture.htm#articles http://www.newagefraud.org/smf/index.php?topic=1296.0
As a result of the timing of the serious nature of this controversy and these outstanding allegations, the ethical step for Swedish film maker Annika Banfied would be to take affirmative action and edit both of these accused men from this film until this matter is resolved.
We ask that you take the perfect example of the moral and righteous action as when Heyoka magazine editor, John LeKay, removed Looking Back Woman’s interview from Heyoka magazine along with some others until more clarity has been brought to this situation.
We humbly ask that Aniika Banfleid remove the interview with Arvol Looking Horse and Al Carroll from this film Spirits for Sale.
We ask that a disclaimer is made regarding these serious allegations, knowing that there is potential that this film will only play into the hands of new age exploiters, hucksters, scam artists, new age interfaith religions and financial marketers; that this film in effect will have the reverse action of its stated intention and will make a mockery out of the exploitation of ceremonies; that this film will set a negative double-standard and by doing so will only seriously damage the Native Americans across the United Sates and from all nations.
Elizabeth, for concerned Citizens for Native American Exploitation and Abuse
Oglala Lakota Says: September 14th, 2007 at 4:07 am
Elizabeth:
I am an enrolled member of the Oglala Nation, Pine Ridge, South Dakota. Your assessment of the film and it’s subsequent censorship is extremely justifiable. I fully support your endeavor in having Al Carroll removed from the film. His website, nafps.org has been shut down several times for slander, libel and identity theft.
Mr. Carroll has never been able to prove that he is in fact a member of the Mescalero Apache. The man is for all intent and purpose a fraud. The film needs to be shelved for it disrespects the true nature of Lakota spirituality. I implore all American Indians and those who truly support Indians to protest “Spirits for Sale”.
What is going on here?
by Tired of the Insults
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Tom Cook or who-ever you really are ------ WHAT'S THIS ALL ABOUT??? We have actually taken the time to look at Heyoka magazine --- and completely disagree with you. The magazine has nothing to do with your assumptions!!! You obviously haven't spent any time perusing the magazine. If you had, you would have seen that Heyoka is about ART --- painting, sculpture, photography, music, dance, poetry, performance, journalism, fashion, film, philosophy, human rights issues, environmental concerns, social and political concerns and spiritual well being. It is all the things that YOU ARE NOT. It is probably not in your sphere of comprehension to read poetry or to look at a beautiful painting or a work of sculpture. Just shut your trap! You don't have a clue of what Heyoka is because you haven't even looked at it. A lot of the artists in the magazine are world renowned. But of course, you probably wouldn't know who any of them were would you? You don't have any iota of what Heyoka magazine is because you are perpetually spinning in your own web of deceitful lies and propaganda. GIVE US ALL A BREAK AND JUST SAY WHO YOU ARE AND STOP RANTING AND RAVING ABOUT WHITE SUPREMACY AND RACISM. Your derogatory comments and abusive language are pathetic! Who do you think you are anyway? We are getting a very clear picture on this end and it's disturbingly UGLY. From what we are gathering -- you are projecting your own racist feelings about the Native Indians. Your heart is filled with venom and you are CRAZED by it! The perception here is that you are so full of JEALOUSY and ENVY about Heyoka magazine that you just can't think straight. You are not making any sense at all! For some reason you are completely obsessed with distorting the truth about Heyoka magazine and what it really is about. What are you so afraid of? We have read some interesting postings about Al Carroll and his website that implicates him and his crew in a very negative light. Why is it that you are not talking about these issues; they seem to concern the movie "Spirits for Sale".
We want the truth!
Mister
by Harmony
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There is a fundamental weakness in Native American Consumer Advocacy Groups and they will continue to fail until that weakness is addressed. That weakness is that rez ndn's choose to demonize legitimate off rez ndn peoples who for various reasons, mostly historical reasons, do not qualify as citizens of their nations. There are a great number of non-enrolled off rez ndn people who do posess the culture and lifeways of their ancestors. These are respectful people who live as ndn despite the denials and hostility of their rez brothers and sisters. These ndn people are treated with the same disdain and hostility as new age frauds. This qualifies as agressive ignorance. These actions are harmful because they fail to fully recognize the depth of the effect that the policies of genocide and it's historical aftermath have had on ndn peoples. Instead of taking the time and making an honest effort to look at the history of each individual tribe and the effect that genocide has had on it's people, the typical Native American Consumer Advocacy Group condems "all" off rez non-enrolled ndn people as new age wannabees. By doing so the Native American Consumer Advocacy Groups actually support genocide against their own people by attempting to deny their existence and "cleanse" non-enrolled ndn people out of existence. So in reality these groups have placed themselves at the forefront of genocide. It is unfortunate that the true exploiters of ndn culture get lost in the careless mindset of ndn on ndn genocide. I can predict with accuracy that the first thing that will come to a rez ndn's mind regarding my comments is denial. That denial is no different than the white man's denial. It is the same. It is just another form of genocide. Native American Consumer Advocacy groups fail because the exist devoid of moral standing. Extremism is blind.
LIBEL AND DEMOCRACY
When public men indulge themselves in abuse, when they deny others a fair trial, when they resort to innuendo and insinuation, to libel, scandal, and suspicion, then our democratic society is outraged, and democracy is baffled. J. William Fulbright 7 LAWS OF NAFPS 1. NAFPS gives no person a fair trial. 2. They are tried and executed in most cases behind the persons back. 3. They do not even have the common decency to alert the person they are gossiping and libeling. 4. Like cowards they resort to using pseudonyms. 5. If confronted or challenged the person is attacked, insulted, libeled some more. 6. Then their words are distorted and deleted. 7. Then they are libeled more on forums like this.
3 comments:
Very interesting quote from Mr. Fulbright - especially considering Al Carroll was just awarded the Fulbright Scholarship - on his fraud site he brags about it, insinuating he is one of only 2, when there were 1200 awarded this year alone. He and Barney blocked me from his site, accusing me of being a John Lekey, whom I have never heard of til now, and a white supremacist - of which I am neither. All my comments, until i was blocked, were peaceful and supportive - check them yourself, including their 'warning' to others like myself who were supposedly John Lekey! My user name was the same there - PaxMan - Pax, as in Peace! something which will never exist on Al and Barney's site.
P.S. Perhaps the Fulbright Scholarship people would be interested in hearing from you, especially when their site leads off with this quote:
"Fostering leadership, learning and empathy between cultures was and remains the purpose of the international scholarship program." – Senator J. William Fulbright ...anybody ever see an ounce of 'empathy' - toward the many good people he libels from the numerous Native cultures - from al Carroll or his uber-ego Barney?
Contact Fulbright:http://us.fulbrightonline.org/about.html
Al is a bigot trying to prove he is an Indian mainly to white people. As to his academic credentials, I'm a retired history professor an his is the worst example of a biased, bigoted, person who is imposing his prejudiced views on students.
I sent tried to post an arricle from Oklahoma Historical Society on lynching in Indian Territory. He called me a racist, hell I'm a Canadian mixed race man.
Al is NOT an Indian nor is he a credible historian. The cheapest trick of every bigot is to accuse everyone and anyone who disagrees with them of being a racist.
Phonies who make a living from exposing "frauds" should be exposed gor what they are, they highest level of wannabees.
I joined Al's group to expose black Indian frauds, and that was great, but when I went against the white Indians in the CNO an their racism, it was different. Now I'm the racist. When people hold slaves, kill them, rape them, and then segregate them and lynch them, I'd call that racist and it doesn't matter what race I am. Al calls me a racist.
I equate Al with a right winger who has madea career out of being a phony Indian. He's no different than Ward Churchill, he just claims to be Apache.
TrueNorth
Hello,
I'm neither a Native American nor do I have any history with this Al Carroll person- or better, 'educatedindian' as known on the NAFPS web-site. Having studied post-colonial theories in the past and currently writing my doctoral dissertation on medical anthropology, I was drawn to the NAFPS forum with the intention of learning more about the cultural (mis)appropriation of Native American rituals, healing practices and plant medicine as seen in many New Age circles today.
I must say that the radical, hatred-fueled attitude on the NAFPS forum was painfully evident from the moment I started checking some discussion threads. 1) Even the slightest form of disagreement or difference of opinion seems to be taken as a call to attack, ridicule or ignore the posters to the extent of denying them their posting privileges as registered members. 2) Once this 'educatedindian' person gives the start signal with his tongue-in-cheek, if not downright hostile replies, other few but regular members of the forum are quick to gang up on the 'challenger' leaving no room for civil discussion of any kind. There's such a clearly observable pattern to this on the NAFPS forum that it makes you wonder if educatedindian is using sock puppet accounts to maintain such a curiously homogenous level of hostility every single time somebody raises an opinion different than his. 3) If those accused of frauds by 'educatedindian' show up and register to the forum in order to express or defend themselves, all they get is cyber-bullying and character assassination as personal details of most irrelevant kind are thrown around by educatedindian & friends. 4) Those who try to object or suggest a different perspective are even told to "shut up & learn to listen" as if they are spoiled brats with an attitude problem. 5) There is no way to engage in any mature conversation with the forum mods or the site admin, for they're capable of magically determining your motives & intentions even if you have never had a single exchange with them or posted on the NAFPS forum before.
I don't know who is who on NAFPS or who holds what responsibility on its forum but my impression is that the whole thing is nothing but an extension of the inferiority complex this educatedindian person seems to be suffering from. His constant need to validate himself by emphasizing how awesomely busy he is with his academic work (which is not so 'fully-bright', pun intended), the nauseating back-patting that goes on between educatedindian and those few but regular forum members (again, sock puppet accounts?), the obsession with putting down & ripping apart people on the basis of their (lack of) heritage and authenticity while refraining from giving clear answers about his own and the way he responds to people registering at the forum only to voice their opinions--all that paint a deeply disturbing picture on this educatedindian's part.
Now amidst all these symptoms of pathology, I did manage to find one or two topics of discussion on the NAFPS forum that would be relevant for my own research. And I'm thankful for that. But I figured I rather not become a member of the forum and decided to stay away from anything this educatedindian person is involved in. Luckily, there are other Native American sources and discussion boards online and I really hope the NA community recognizes how truly hurting this guy is for any NA cause.
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