October 4, 2005 - After weeks without updating my webisite, I am finally sitting down to do it. Where to start...

ABC Talent Development: During the last couple of weeks I have been preparing for the start of the program. First, I had to submit my budget. The nice thing is that my budget will pay for my rent, food, travel expenses, laptop and production costs for the trailer. Then I had to submit my story ideas for my screenplay. I wrote three one-page outlines. Talk about self-inflicted anxiety. As I was writing each page, I kept telling myself that they weren't any good and that they would see right through me. But, I kept going and did the best I could do. Now I am waiting to hear back from them for comments or revisions. Once they decide which story is best, I can start writing my screenplay. The story lines included a boarding school narrative set in the 1930's, a coming of age tale where young Indians have to choose between traditioin and love. The last one I submitted had to do with an unlikely hero who inspires people from his reservation to make a change.

Chickfight: I am currently working with Native American female boxer. I will be filming her as she boxes her way from amateur to the professional world title. We are in the early part of filming. Stay tuned for more information.

American Indian Comminity House Gallery: I am working with Sarah Sense (Curator). We are producing a 28-minute piece on each gallery opening. We are using the facilities at the Manhattan Neighborhood Network (MNN) and our first opening is on October 5th with artist Jeffrey Gibson (Comanche). Stay turned for more updates.

Casino Nation: We are still working on fundraising so we can finish the documentary. In the meantime, we are getting ready for editing by doing as many transcripts as possible. (Special thanks to Joyce Keeler for helping us!)

I am also working with Ben Geboe. He is a writer, producer and director of this film project. He is Native American and Norwegian /American.  He has many years experience creating forums for cultural exchange and hopes that this film project serves as a venue for sharing as well as creating a platform to celebrate how he met his Native American grandmother on the side of a road. More information can be found at www.siouxviking.com

In the third week of October, I went to Norway with my friend Ben, and three of his friends (Richard, Chris and Ole). We were there to scout out for potential funders for Ben's film project. We flew into Oslo and met with a Norwegian film board. It was here that we learned how the film industry works in Norway. Without Ben having a Norwegian on board in a principal role, it was going to be hard to find funders. The lady we met with was very friendly and was eager to help.

From Oslo, we took a train the Lillehammer. We ended up going to a farm owned by Ben's friend, Bord. We were all so tired from the flight and traveling. Board and his grandmother gave a halloween party and fed traditional Norwegian lamb and cabbage stew. Although I NEVER eat lamb, I didn't want to be rude, so I ate the stew. His grandmother didn't speak English, so Bord and Ben had to translate for us. I do have some video fottage of our dinner, so maybe I will post it sometime. We were also doing shots of some kind of Norwegian liquour. I forget the name but the liquor had to be cerfied that it barrel had crossed the equator. We ended up staying up ALL night and only had an hour or two of rest. Bord's grandmother made us breakfast and we shuffled off to the train for Oslo. We caught our morning flight to Stavanger.

In Stavanger, we stayed at Ben's friend's apartment. He name is Marit and she was quite the hostees and so trusting to have four men sleeping on her floor. THANKS MARIT! It was at the nearby university that we screened some of our "American" work. I screened Frybread: A Traumedy, the Casino Nation sample and the Thomas Indian School Reunion doc. There were about 25 students who attended our screenings, but it was hard to tell what they really thought. Without being generalistis about Norwegians, but I felt like they don't share what on their minds so willingly as Amerians can do. I wasn't sure if the native subject matter was not universal engough for them to get, but from what I understood, they did like the Casino Nation sample.

While I was in Norway, I learned about the plight of the Sami people (also known as Laplanders or Reigndeer Chasers). From what Iwas told, the Sami people live in the northern part of Norway who have a completely different culture and language who migrate with the reigndeer. As it turns out, the Norwegian government is trying to get these people to assimilate to Norwegian culture by placing their children in school and forbidding them to speak their own language (much like the American Indians). One night, I was walking outside a night club and a young man walks up to me and asks where I'm from. I tell him America and that I am American Indian. He put his arm around me and says "I'm Sami!:"and then he prceeds to serenade me with a song from his people. I shake his hand and tell him, "I've heard what is happening to your people. Please know that we feel for you and that you need to continue to fight against the injustices being perpetrated against his people.

Being in Norway also gave me my first taste of how a social democracy works. I grew up on the Cattaraugus reservation where for almost 200 years we have been living in a communal setting where the Code of Handsome Lake teaches us that we are all the same in the eyes of the Creator. In my lifetime, I have seen the ifnluences of Capitalism on my people and how we have adopted a class structure where a person's worth is based on his or her monetary value. I don't like how people feel bettter about themselves