FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FMI: Lakota Student Alliance
lakotastudentalliance@yahoo.com
Press Statement
LAKOTA STUDENT ALLIANCE JOINS THE CALL TO BOYCOTT PASCO COUNTY FLORIDA
UNTIL OFFICIALS MEET DEMANDS TO CHANGE OFFENSIVE NATIVE STEREOTYPES.
Oglala Lakota Nation - The Lakota Student Alliance supports the efforts of the American Indian Movement of Florida in denouncing colonialism and racism depicted by the annual Pasco County “Chasco Fiesta” held in New Port Richey, Florida.
Every year in March, the state of Florida converges in Pasco County to celebrate inaccurate portrayals of Indian history known as the Racist Chasco Parade. We use the term “racist” redundantly, in this instance, due to the serious nature of this festival that imitates, mocks, and insults Native history. The racist portrayal of Indians as “savages,” or “heathens” has undermined the objectives of American Indian groups toward preservation of culture and heritage.
Every year in March, the American Indian Movement of Florida also converges in Pasco County in Protest of the racist festival. A Major objective of Florida AIM is to “improve the image of American Indian people which has been portrayed in stereotypical form,” to protect the integrity of Native Culture, to preserve Native customs and uphold laws to prevent desecration of Native Graves and Historical Sites. While AIM of Florida struggles in these efforts thru their peaceful protests to protect Native history, the State of Florida and the United States police officials opt to protect inaccurate caricatures of Indian history.
In March of 2003, members of the Lakota Student Alliance joined with Florida AIM in protest against the Parade portion of the Chasco festival at the invitation of Florida AIM. We traveled over 30 hours to be with Florida AIM after it was rumored that the Ku Klux Klan made threats to confront Indian protests against the Parade. The protest also gave us a glimpse of what other native organizations confront daily in their locales. The protest provided us an opportunity to witness a gross display of stereotypical imagery supported and promoted by hate groups in one of the more politically significant states in America.
The Lakota Student Alliance joined 70 or more protesters and concerned Florida residents in March 2003, at the parade to witness the degradation of Native culture.
We also witnessed Police activities toward our protest. This is not surprising though, since the racist state of Florida is also a haven for retired FBI agents, specialists in counter intelligence tactics dating as far back as the 1973 Wounded Knee standoff. One retired agent now living in Florida once tried to compel US 82nd Airborne officials to raid the 1973 occupants in Wounded Knee.
After AIM of Florida announced they would conduct civil disobedience at the 2003 parade, we witnessed massive police personnel arriving in helicopter, and on ground. One plain clothed officer was wearing an “IRA” (Irish Republican Army) T-shirt and tried to infiltrate our group.
Aside from the Hospitality, we were finally able to see the controversial “Krewe of Chasco” Float in the parade. We sang the AIM Victory Song before four of the protesters began their intended civil disobedience by standing in the way of the float. They were hauled away just as quickly by police and taken to the New Port Richey Police Headquarters where they were booked and then later bailed out by AIM of Florida. One of the brave ladies, Rosie Brown, told reporters that day, “I have no Indian blood in me,” but that “even white people” support efforts at ending offensive and racist depictions of American Indians.
Like all divide and conquer systems, the Chasco Committee displayed their arrogance by concluding their festival with American Indians coordinating a commercial powwow. The powwow organizers were from Native nations like the Northern Cree, Mohawk, and Cherokee tribes. It also came as little surprise to see fellow Lakota people participants there too. It seemed that Chasco organizers invested plenty to accommodate a drum group from Rapid City, who was already aware of our presence before we arrived. Inclusive of the backhanded tactics and the racially insulting parade do Chasco officials and city councilmen make threats toward AIM of Florida.
In May of 2003, Florida AIM received its first serious threat when New Port Richey city official Roger Michels, president of Chasco committee, remarked to colleagues “I want you all to buy guns cause we’re gonna kill AIM members.” Also a funeral parlor owner, Michels added, “I want to bury them.” Such statements reminisce the 1970s South Dakota atmosphere when then Governor Bill “Wild Bill” Janklow urged constituents to “put a gun to AIM leaders heads and pull the trigger.”
Finally, Because Florida AIM is risking their well being to make change, we feel we should also acknowledge some of their previous efforts toward changing the racial climate at Chasco Fiesta:
a. The “Krewe of Chasco” float rose to national concern resulting from Florida AIM efforts. That particular float is based on a 1920s novella by a New Port Richey Postmaster. The fantasy novel is based upon earlier events when Spaniards invaded Florida as the Indigenous population was estimated to be 900,000 Indians. Within 4 generations, the Spanish onslaught wrought genocide reducing the population to zero. Hernando de Soto’s memoirs revealed that the “Krewe of Chasco” was involved in the carnage where they would feed captured Indigenous children to the Spaniards’ dogs.
The truth of the Chasco Fiesta has been avoided so as tourist dollars can maintain a representation of the invading Spaniards as the kindred visitor while the Native people are brandished “savage” or “barbaric” whose religious practices are labeled “evil”, thus assaulting the kind hearted Spanish visitor. The 1922 Fictional script withdraws from the reality that Hernando de Soto actually plundered Indigenous homelands of the Caddo, Calusa, Catawba, Chickasaw, and other extinct native nations.
b. From 1995-2000, AIM of Florida had made every effort to dialogue with Chasco Fiesta organizers to change the stereotypes of Indian imagery in that parade, but requests were ignored. For the last few years, Florida AIMs protest had tried to bring awareness of the cultural misappropriation committed by the Chasco festival, yet Indian and non-Indian committee officials ignore them.
c. In March 2003, AIM of Florida filed an injunction to prevent the “Krewe of Chasco” float from its inaccurate portrayal of American Indians, “in a false, racist, and demeaning light.” A Florida Judge has denied their petition.
d. Groups actively supporting Florida AIMs lead role in changing the offensive caricature at Pasco County Florida, include the Choctaw Warrior Society of Mississippi, Choctaw AIM Chapter, Lakota Student Alliance, Collier Citizens Against the War, African Peoples Solidarity Committee, International Peoples’ Democratic Uhuru Movement, Florida Alliance for Peace and Social Justice.
e. We also should acknowledge AIM Florida Support Group members who conducted Civil Disobedience in March 2003, including Cynthia Narcomey (Jacksonville AIM SG); Kathy Martin (Pasco AIM SG); Rosie Brown (North Port AIM SG); and Zot Lynn (Florida AIM supporter). These four brave ladies risked arrest to show solidarity with American Indians opposed to the racism in the Chasco festival.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
1. Please email the Pasco County Commissioners about Roger Michels, Chamber of Commerce member of Pasco County. commissioners@pascocountyfl.net.
Let them know that we view Michels remarks as a threat to the safety of AIM members in Florida. AIM will actively pursue a review by the Florida Attorney Generals office of all requests to inquire about Michels statements.
2. Join the Tourism Boycott of Pasco County Florida where racist hate groups like the Ku Klux Klan along with Pasco County Officials are making threats against AIM members and supporters because of the awareness raised toward the offensive stereotypical imagery displayed during the annual Chasco Fiesta. You can contact American Indian Movement of Florida to announce your boycott of Floridas Pasco County.
3. For more information about Florida AIM’s efforts toward Chasco Fiesta, see their website at: http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/aimfl/chasco.html or email American Indian Movement of Florida at aimfl@aol.com.
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