Reardan killed Redskins

Reardan – The Reardan band was playing some Led Zeppelin, music of an English Rock Band. Suddenly the players of Reardan ran onto the basketball court, while they were screaming and two thousand fans were joining the yelling. The team ran through layups, a two-point shot, three-on-three weave drills, a pre-game practise in a weaving pattern, free throws and pick and rolls, an offensive play.

Then the enemy Wellpinit ran out of the locker room and the two tousand people stopped yelling and started booing, extremely loudly. It was so loud, you couldn’t actually hear the band anymore. Arnold stared at Rowdy, a Wellpinit player, and Rowdy stared at Arnold. The two pretended that they weren’t glancing at each other, but, oh my goodness, they were like to killers seeing their victim.

Roger and Jeff, the capitains went to the center circle to have a short game talk with the referees. After that the Reardan band played “The Star-Spangled Banner”, the national anthem of our homeland, the United States of America. The five starters of Reardan and Wellpinit ran out to the center circle. The referee threw up the ball and the game began. Roger tipped it back to the point guard, but Rowdy was a bit faster. He raced towards to his basket, but Junior noticed him directly and ran right behind him. The two were like flashes of lightning. Arnold sped up. It seemed like everything was in slow motion. Rowdy and Junior rose into the air. Incredibly Arnold rose even higher and took the ball out of Rowdy’s hands. It was unbelievable! Spirit spun and dribbled back toward our hoop. The crowd was so excessively loud. They were a bit perplexed and couldn’t believe what had just happend, but Arnold wasn’t finish at all. He raced very fast for our hoop. In private, Arnold was grinning like a complet idiote as he raced down the court. He stopped at the three-point line and head-faked, a sports term used when a player moves his head to fake a change in the direction. Rowdy jumped high over Spirit and everything seemed like slow motion again. Poor Rowdy! Arnold stuck his tongue out at him, like he was the famous basektball player Michael Jordan. He took the three-pointer and the gym exploded, like somebody blew up five kilograms of TNT. Some people even droped a few tears. It was an entire mess, people celebrated and each school band member played a different song. Our coach jumped up and down and the name Arnold clanged all over the gym.

In contrast to that specific move the rest of the game was complete boring. Arnold Spirit didn’t score after that shoot anymore and blocked Rowdy very well expect for two situations. Rowdy scored on a lay-up, sadly Arnold fell over a teammates’s foot and Rowdy scored with only about five seconds left in the game, when he stole the ball from Arnold. He didn’t even chase him anymore, ‘cause Reardan were ahead by amazing forty-two points.

The buzzer sounded loudly and everybody realized happily: Reardan won the match and beat Wellpinit by forty points! The two thousand people laughed, yelled or danced around the gym. Oh my god! The match was so freaking brilliant! In the end Reardan players lifted Arnold Spirit up and carried him all around the gym. And then he started to weep like a little baby, but don’t be ashamed Spirit, ‘cause we know that were real tears of absolute happiness. Arnold, keep it up! We love you! (by bonsjan)

The history of Indian reservations in North America extends back to the early colonial times, but the systematic establishment of reserves for defeated or displaced Indian tribes is a phenomenon of the 19th century. The establishment of Indian reservations, by whites defined residential places for Indian tribes, appeared to contemporaries as a particularly suitable means of legal certainty and protection for the defeated tribes.  At the same time it was expected from the concentration of individual Indian tribes within reservations, to better control the tribes and to bring them close to the lifestyle of the “white men” in a long process. By this you understand both the gradual sedentarisation of originally mostly nomadic tribes.

First various ministries and agencies were responsible for the management of the reservations, at the beginning even the Washington “War Office”. In 1824 the “Office of Indian Affairs”took over the supervision for the evergrowing number of Indian reservations in the United States. This was mostly led by whites until the 1950s. The office managed existing reservations and oversaw the resettlement in newly created reserves.

At the end of the so-called “Indian wars” around the year 1890 all the larger tribes were housed in reservations under the control of the American government. Inside of the Indian reservations, however, far-reaching problems developed: the reservations were often way too small for the nomadic tribes. The Indian tribes had obtained the American citizenship in 1924 – one hundred years after the founding of the disputed “Office of Indian Affairs”. Increasingly, native Indians themselves were included in the management of the reservations. This was a first step towards to a gradual self-government of the reservations through its own representatives of the tribes.

Approaches dating back till the1930s led to the establishment of an Indian self-government and supreme tribal governments, which have gained authority and influence in many reservations after some initial difficulties. They were now involved in decisions of the Federal Government.

Although still many tribes could obviously never recover from centuries of oppression of their culture in their reservations and were still plagued by high unemployment or alcoholism, the situation in some strains improved. An important prerequisite for this were the above mentioned administrative reforms in the reservations. This guaranteed the tribes their own jurisdiction, even a tribal police. At least some Indian tribes used their privileges in the second half of the 20th century to build a flourishing economy in the reservations: tourism and art trade, or the operation of casinos. Thus, some tribes have been able to stabilize their economy significantly. Other tribes remain more dependent on state alimentation.

The process of the recognition of Indian self-government structures on the reservations resulted in many tribes to a strong return to their own culture, religion and language. Nevertheless, inside of the Native American civil rights movement it is highly controversial to what extent the damage caused by decades of violent assimilation might be irreparable.

(by OpokGero, BonsJan, GottJan, MeurPhil)

But still they continue their gang life. You have to imagine that if you live in a reservation you cannot do anything. There is nothing, it is just wasteland so they are maybe even bored. But the main reason is that they have no money and also they want a job. Many Indians do not get one because there are no places of work and when there are some, there are not many. So you become a criminal, even the teenagers. But this does not mean that they want be criminal.

We found an example of a 15 years old boy. Here is his story:

Richard Wilson has been a pallbearer for at least five of his “homeboys” in the North Side Tre Tre Gangster Crips, a Sioux imitation of a notorious Denver gang. One 15-year-old member was mauled by rivals. A 17-year-old shot another gang member on a cocaine binge and firing wildly, was shot by the police. One died in a drunken car wreck, and another, a founder of the gang named Gaylord, was stabbed to death at 27.

So you see the live of an Indian people on a reservation is t not easy most of the time, not for the gangs and not for the families of their members. Because many of these members are shot or die in a fistfight and that’s only because someone names the other asshole or some other bad words. It is only a little thing and because of that they have to die. You can also see that the conditions in the reservations are very hard and brutal. The gangs have no mercy to you and if you will show your weakness you will be shot, you or your family, but not always will they shoot, they may hurt you or destroy your house. And the family of this member has to pay for that, for the mistakes of others. Someone must pay for that with his life. And the police don´t do anything against that, they only do something when it is too late. There is no support from the state or from the other people. They can die there and no one is interested in this horrible story and so there is a very big poverty, and that’s not only because they have no money, it´s because they have a frustrating live, they can´t do any job they want, because they have no school graduation and so they must deal drugs to earn money, so they get on a bad track because there is no way out. They all know their future and they all know, that there is no way to get a better future. Then they join those gangs because otherwise they would be a part of nothing and in a gang they can be a part of something. The young kids get involved when they are around 10-year-old children, they learn how to handle guns and to deal with drugs and weapons. So they do not know any other way of life. They seemm and feel adult with such skills.

The most gangs live in Arizona among the Navajo Tribe 1997. There are about 225 gangs. Those are so many that the gangs linked to each other so only about 75 remain. In some rare cases members of gangs reach a normal life but it is not easy.

Mr. Young Bear from Lakota found out that many members are psychologically damaged. He thinks about something that could help the people who want to get out of this bad live. So he has started a HEAD START program for free. HEAD START means that you first have to get your brain “clean” before you can actually get out of gang life. Mr. Young Bear does things like drumming, sun dances and chanting (it is kind of singing ).

Michael Little Boy Jr., 30, of the village of Evergreen, said he had initially been tempted by gang life, but with rituals and purifying he could save him: “I was able to turn myself around.” He is emerging as a tribal spiritual leader, working with youth groups to promote native traditions.

(written by: Lukas, Leonard, Kathrin, Katharina, Mariella)

American High Schools are comparable with German comprehensive schools.

The level on American High Schools is more diverse. The classes range from the 9th to 12th and the classes there haven’t got only numbers they have names,too:

9. Class = freshmen

10. Class = sophomores

11. Class = juniors

12. Class = seniors

They also have many activities for the students there. The most activities are sports.

The sports are: American football, soccer, basketball, baseball, swimming, golf, athletics, wrestling and volleyball.

These activities start after the last lesson at 14:30 or 15:30 .

The sport teams sometimes have important matches at the weekend. The sports also have standard seasons like: American football and soccer are in Autumn, basketball and volleyball are in Winter and athletics and baseball are in Spring. The popular sports at High Schools are: soccer and basketball.

Baseball:

What is Baseball: Baseball is a bat-and-ball game with two teams – One defense one offense.

The defense team has to catch the ball, after one of the offense players hit this ball. If the defense team gets the ball faster then the offense player is on a base the player is out. The team with the most runs wins.

Rules:re

There are two teams, one plays offense and the other one defense (they turns the offense and defense teams often in the game so that each team plays all). Each team has 9 players when the team plays offense they have to make runs. At the same time the other team has to defend the field and have to catch and control the ball as fast as they can.

Target: The target is to hit the ball from the defense player and run against the clock over the bases to get a run. But when the defense team gets the ball faster as the offense player can get on a base he is out. For getting a run the offense player have to pass 3 bases and the home base. After 3 outs the defense team change with the offense team. This is called a inning. In one game there are 9 innings. The team with the most runs wins the match.

The Glove: Eachplayer of the field team has a glove, because it makes catching easier and painless. The players in the infield wear a smaller glove, because of the speed of the ball. The outfield players have a bigger one than the infield player. The Catchers have specially padded glovse, because some balls from the Pitcher can be very hard. The hit man wears thin Batting Gloves.

The Impact Helmet: Batter and Runner wear a plastic helmet for protection from head shots from the ball.

The Catcher Equipment: The Catcher wears extra equipment to be protected from a fast ball which the Hit man doesn’t get. His equipment is: – Finger free gloves – face mask – helmet

- breast conservation – genital/knee/shin protection.

today Junior (the new guy from the rez) asked me to become friends. Olny, I thought in the first moment that he was homosexual but he meant to become regular friends because we had a lot in common he said. I think he is a cool guy but sometimes an illiterate and pervese Indian idiot, he said “Gordy is a dick without ears and an ear without a dick“, okay in an abstruse way it´s funny but… . He doesn´t know the word “tautologies“ but he said he knew it, I don´t know what to think about that. But he is right in some ways about our friendship, we can do so many things together and a new friend is very good for me (you must know I haven´t got many). Today we read some novels in the school libary and I taught him how to read a book right, because he doesn´t know that you must read it three times to know it right. It´s funny to hang around with him, alone it´s very depressing but when you hang around with a friend it´s so much funnier, and I love it to teach people and to correct them.

Gordy

I´m very glad to hear something about you. But I think you live in a imaginary world. Around you there are so many problems and you don´t see them. You are trying to see everything positively, also things which are bad. For example: you have no job, but you say you would get one soon. That´s not good. One day you will wake up and then you stand there with nothing again. I just want to warn you and it´s your choice if you want to risk that. And I will accept your choice.

I would be glad if you visitet us soon, because I think you have many things to tell me and I have many things to tell you.

I love you and I miss you!

Your brother, Junior!

Many of the families are forced to leave the reservation, their tribe and their traditions behind to seek work. Over 90,000 Natives are homeless, and if they’re lucky to have a roof about their head, 30% of the houses are overcrowded (i.e. there are too many people in one house). The houses are often substandard, and less than 50% are connected to a public sewer (that’s where for example the dirt of the toilet goes). There is a really long waiting list for all the Natives, who are searching a house. Sometimes it’s extremely hard, if for example three or four generations of a family have to live in a two-bedroom home. Many Natives have to live without many things, which are normal for us Europeans, like running water, electricity or telephones.

It’s also hard if you are ill, because outside the hospitals are no doctor offices or pharmacies (that’s where you get your medicine from). This is a big problem, because Indians are more likely to suffer from heart disease and often die because of that.

A big problem on reservations is, that one out of 13 people is an alcoholic. 12% of all deaths along the Native Americans are related to alcohol. The alcoholism related mortality rate (it’s like the rate of deaths) of the Natives is three times higher than in the general population. In reservations, every 6^th  person tries to take his life. One third dies at an age under 45.

The Indians try to conserve their traditions: The children learn their own language again, they learn about their own tribe. They join Powwows, show their dances and paint their faces. At the same time they get money for their dances, because tourists like to watch them. A second important way to get money are casinos, which were opened by the Indians. For those also hotels and gas station are needed, which offer a few places to work. Some reservations, that are too far away from cities to build up those casinos, are dump nuclear waste and get money from the state for that. Some sell earth oil.

There are many clichés about the Indians, for example, that Indians are called ‘Redskins’. That’s not true; the cliché comes from wars, in which the Natives painted their face red. The other use of the red colour was that it protected the Indians from the sun and flies.

Today many Natives try to get their land back, where the white people have settled. Technology has come into the lives of many Indians. If they have enough money, they have got a car, firm houses, a TV and can buy their food in supermarkets.

(written by: Lukas, Leonard, Kathrin, Katharina, Mariella)

the title for your book sounds really good. It is the best title I have ever heard for such a romance. And because of your job – you are right you can’t gain experience if they don’t let you. But you can say you are experienced in for example cooking, because you always cook at home. Your new house looks really nice, but have you got enough place to live? It looks a little bit small for two people. Sorry, but I think your house looks like a TV dinner tray.

If you are interested, I’m now going to school in Reardan outside the reservation. That school is really big and I met the cutest girl in the world there, recently she found out that I am poor and thankfully she doesn’t find it as bad as I thought before. The bad thing is that I often have to go to school on foot so I need a lot of time to get there. But all in all is the school good and maybe I am going to high school later.

We all miss you

Love,

Yours Junior!