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For Indians, a time to protest

by: S.E. RUCKMAN World Staff Writer
11/11/2007 3:01 AM

A march and rally decrying the state centennial activities are planned.

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Brenda Golden mulled the state centennial for months. In
the 11th month of the yearlong celebration, the American Indian activist
decided to organize an Indian statement for Oklahoma's 100th birthday.

Golden will be among what she hopes are hundreds who will walk one-quarter
of a mile from Northeast 16th Street to the state Capitol on Friday in
protest of the event.

"The whole idea (the centennial) always bothered me," she said. "I waited
and waited for someone else to do something, so I decided to do it."

Golden and other organizers have acquired a permit to put on a three-hour
event. It will include speeches from elders, marching, singing and dancing
in full regalia. Student groups from across the state have called to lend
support to the idea that statehood also has negative connotations, she
said.

"I thought if just a hundred showed up, I'd be happy," Golden said. "But I
think we'll get more than that."

The protest coincides with other centennial events. State planners, such as
Blake Wade, the executive director of the Oklahoma Centennial Commission,
said centennial events are intended to educate onlookers about Oklahoma
settlement and mark the event.

"In Oklahoma, the No. 1 attraction to the state is Native Americans," Wade
said. "I understand who they are and what they're doing."

Shoshanna Wasserman, the marketing director of the American Indian Cultural
Center and Museum, said she did not want the events to be one-dimensional
and concentrate solely on protest.

"This is a complex issue. I'm just grateful that we live in a free country,
where everyone has a rightful voice," she said. "Native people do have a
voice in the centennial."

Organizers said they eschewed the idea of protesting in Guthrie, where
other commemorative events are slated this week. Glenda Deer, a Kickapoo
from Shawnee, said many were offended by a scheduled mock wedding in
Guthrie of "Miss Indian Territory and Mr. Oklahoma."

"That's denial, that's not the way it happened," she said. "I want my
grandchildren to understand how Oklahoma was acquired. I don't want them to
forget it."

Some leaders of the state's 37 recognized tribes have applauded the idea of
an organized independent centennial statement. Jim Gray, the principal
chief of the Osage Nation, said his tribe of 16,000 chose not to
participate in official centennial events.

"I encourage other tribes to hold their own version of commemorative
events, so you can say who you are," he said.