Dealing effectively with abusive "law enforcement" -- and a fine old film

"'Hunter Gray' [email protected] [marxist]" <[email protected]> Fri, 05 Dec 2014 16:26:52 +0000
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HUNTER BEARDECEMBER 5 2014
The non-violent protests at Ferguson,New York City metro, and now many othe=
r settings, are obviously refreshing tohumanrights and social justiceadvoca=
tes generally =E2=80=93 and certainly to all those who are traditionally an=
dfrequently victimized by lawmen (law persons.)
The town in which I grew up,Flagstaff Arizona, was racist as hell--a blend =
of border south with its southwestern kin.My parents were among an initiall=
y smallinterracial/intercultural band of people who challenged injustice in=
 thatsetting =E2=80=93 gross injustice which involved, among other things, =
blatantlydiscriminatory and sometimes lethal =E2=80=9Claw enforcement.=E2=
=80=9D Eventually, there werevictories on that front (and some other fronts=
 as well) =E2=80=93 including getting asheriff who immediately hired a numb=
er of minorities as deputies.I learned much from all of that.
In the last analysis, it=E2=80=99s localaction =E2=80=93 just what=E2=80=99=
s ongoing now =E2=80=93 that deals most effectively with racism andethnocen=
trism and their poisonous offspring.My own organizing, in many settings ove=
r many decades, has frequently,among other challenges, confronted =E2=80=9C=
law enforcement=E2=80=9D injustice.And there have been instances where thos=
esituations have been the primary target.This includes my present setting, =
southeastern Idaho, which has come aways =E2=80=93 via various actions from=
 many of us =E2=80=93 since 22 year old Felipe Galloway,a Shoshone/Bannock =
Native, was shot and killed twelve years ago in hisgrandmother=E2=80=99s of=
f reservation home by an Anglo lawmen.The police officer claimed self-defen=
se butall Felipe Galloway was holding was a can of shaving cream.That killi=
ng was officially whitewashed, butit immediately generated much constructiv=
e local and regional pressure whichcontinues at various levels.
There were two very bad local lawenforcement situations that we challenged =
directly and successfully in NorthDakota during our long sojourn in that ra=
ther isolated geographicalsetting.
One of these was the deplorablepolice situation at Grand Forks, where we li=
ved.The other was at Devils Lake, one of theworst racist complexes I=E2=80=
=99ve ever seen outside of Deep Dixie.
Here are two brief sketches of thosesituations and our effective approaches=
.There is much more detail involved, of course, but these convey thebasics:
Grand Forkshttp://www.hunterbear.org/there_is_a_saying_in_our_native_.htm
Devils Lakehttp://www.hunterbear.org/Devil's%20Lake.htm
And here=E2=80=99s the story of Broken Arrow,a fine Hollywood film thenand =
now, madenear Flagstaff, which helped change things.The basic screen play w=
as done by Albert Malz, soon to be blacklisted byHUAC; and the film also fe=
atures Will Geer, soon to be blacklisted as well.


NOTE BY HUNTER BEAR [12/26/09]
There=E2=80=99s an old Hollywood film which,when it=E2=80=99s occasionally =
run on television, I always see =E2=80=94 sometimes in part,sometimes all t=
he way through. It appeared this morning It=E2=80=99s Broken Arrow[1950], t=
he story of Tom Jeffords, a U.S. Army Scout who, in the Arizonaterritory of=
 1870, saw the Apaches as human beings, developed a friendship witha major =
Apache leader, Cochise, married a young Apache woman, and forged a kindof p=
eace between Cochise and his people =E2=80=94 and most of the Americans. Th=
e filmfollows the actual historical record with, all things considered, rea=
sonableaccuracy =E2=80=94 but with the still common fictional modifications=
 that characterizeHollywood=E2=80=99s treatment of many subjects.
But, to come quickly to the mainpoint, Broken Arrow could be considered the=
 first pro-Native film of widespreadreach ever filmed by Hollywood.
Seen by today=E2=80=99s yardsticks, BrokenArrow could, I suppose, be viewed=
 as simplistic, maybe even a little hokey. Thelead Native figures are playe=
d by non-Indians: Jeff Chandler as Cochiseand Debra Paget as Sonseeahray =
=E2=80=94 with whom Jeffords falls in love and marriesvia the Apache Way. [=
She is later killed by Anglo die-hards.] JimmyStewart depicts Jeffords and =
Jay Silverheels [Mohawk] plays the dissidentGeronimo.
Broken Arrow was filmed for thegreatest part in the Oak Creek Canyon countr=
y, close by to Flagstaff, but in amuch lower elevation. It was one of the f=
irst films to be made in thatbeautiful area =E2=80=94 and has been followed=
 by countless others. The othersetting, purely secondary to Oak Creek, is t=
he film town of Old Tucson nearthat then rather small [but not now] major c=
ity of the state.
The filming occurred mostly in 1949,while the Big Snow that had hit the hig=
h country [Flagstaff got 17 feet in twoor three weeks and more followed] wa=
s beginning to melt. A fair number ofNavajo people were used in the film =
=E2=80=94 something that almost immediately beganto disturb the considerabl=
e racist Anglo component in Flagstaff. Whenthey learned, soon enough, that =
the film was really quite pro-Indian, theybecame increasingly vocal in thei=
r hostility. There was no violence, such asoccurred in the making of Salt o=
f the Earth in not-far-away southwestern NewMexico in 1953-54 =E2=80=94 but=
 the level of hostility at Flag was high. This wasmuch less true at well-in=
tegrated Flagstaff High where I was a keenly observantsophomore and, as the=
 controversy went on, a junior.
[Will Geer, the Salt sheriff plays anAnglo rancher in Broken Arrow. The mai=
n screen writer was Albert Maltz,black-listed in Hollywood by the House Un-=
American Activities Committee andthus never credited for his fine work for =
Broken Arrow. Geer was soon tobecome a black-list victim -- and so was Salt=
 of the Earth.]
In those days, Phoenix was a 12 hourdrive from Flagstaff [now, sadly, it's =
less than three], and the Hollywood filmfolk bought many supplies at Flagst=
aff. That economic fact softened some=E2=80=94 but only some =E2=80=94 of t=
he pervasive hostility which reached the point ofan effort to prevent the f=
ilm, when it was completed, from playing intown. When Broken Arrow was clos=
e to heading out to the world in 1950, itbecame known that it was scheduled=
 to play forthwith at our primary theatre,The Orpheum. [The other movie hou=
se in town, Lyric, was a dive.] Opponents of Broken Arrow, at Flag and envi=
rons, called on =E2=80=9Cwhite people=E2=80=9D toboycott the movie. At that=
 point, Platt Cline, owner and editor of thedaily paper, Arizona Daily Sun =
=E2=80=94 and more than just a =E2=80=9Cmoderate=E2=80=9D on racialmatters =
=E2=80=94 ran an editorial suggesting that people simply see the film and d=
rawtheir own conclusions. He pointed out that Broken Arrow could beconsider=
ed, in a very real sense, =E2=80=9Cour film=E2=80=9D =E2=80=94 since it inv=
olved Oak Creekcountry and Navajos. That netted Platt, a good friend of my =
parents,quite a number of hostile letters, He didn=E2=80=99t give a damn, p=
rinted some ofthem.
Flagstaff was pretty pervasivelyracist =E2=80=94 one of the reasons our fam=
ily lived in outlying parts. It wasn=E2=80=99tthe total segregation complex=
 of the Deep South and there were interestingdiversities that warrant a lon=
g article in their own right. The high school, asI=E2=80=99ve noted, was th=
oroughly integrated: Anglo, Chicano, Native, Black,Chinese. There was a sma=
ll Black elementary school. Somerestaurants served only Anglos and I rememb=
er outside signs, =E2=80=9CNo Indians OrDogs Allowed=E2=80=9D; a few also s=
erved Chicanos and Indians and Orientals; nomainline eating places served t=
he small Black community which had, of course,developed its own places whic=
h would serve everyone.
The low-brow Lyric Theatre =E2=80=94 kind of awful in retropect =E2=80=94 w=
ould serve anyone, sit wherever you wished. The Orpheum had a large balcony=
 where Blacks had to sit. =E2=80=9COthers=E2=80=9D,whoever they were, could=
 sit downstairs or in the balcony =E2=80=94 whatever theywished. On the oth=
er hand, most Chicanos and almost all Natives preferredto sit in the much f=
riendlier balcony =E2=80=94 where our family always sat and wherethe price =
was a bit lower and, frankly, the view much better.
Broken Arrow came to Flagstaff asscheduled =E2=80=94 in its first release w=
ave. I and my multi-ethnic group of buddieswere there, almost at the head o=
f the line. We were far from the onlyones. The Orpheum was literally packed=
 brimful =E2=80=94 balcony anddownstairs. In the end, it played at Flag for=
 a number of days =E2=80=94 muchlonger than its original scheduling.
And it always drew bumper audiences.
As nearly as I and my family and myfriends could tell, almost everyone in t=
he throngs who viewed it, liked it verymuch =E2=80=94 fascinated in many ca=
ses. And almost from the first showing onward, thebitterly hostile comments=
 by the die-hards who would eventually die but neversurrender, were muted, =
no longer public.
Broken Arrow didn=E2=80=99t turn Flag intothe =E2=80=9Cbeloved community=E2=
=80=9D =E2=80=94 not a chance of that =E2=80=94 but it was a very significa=
ntstep for everyone, and a source of considerable pride for Indian people. =
Years later, in the =E2=80=9960s, I gave a fairly long speech at Flagstaff =
which hadchanged somewhat for the better, still to this moment an on-goingp=
rocess. My talk was well attended by a wide variety of people and, inthe co=
urse of it, I mentioned Broken Arrow. I was pleased that thatstruck a note =
of positive resonance with almost all adults present. They wellrecalled the=
 hassle and its aftermath.
So when, as it occasionally does,appear on television =E2=80=94 and I spot =
it =E2=80=94 I always greet Broken Arrow with goodwords and thoughts, thank=
 it, and wish it and our Cause, very well indeed.
Hunter [Hunter Bear]

HUNTER GRAY [HUNTER BEAR/JOHN R SALTER JR] Mi'kmaq / St. Francis Abenaki / =
St. Regis Mohawk=20
Protected by Na=C2=B4shdo=C2=B4i=C2=B4ba=C2=B4i=C2=B4=20
and Ohkwari' . Check out our massive social justice website:=20
www.hunterbear.org
Member, National Writers Union AFL-CIO=20

Core dimensions of my Community Organizing course:
http://www.labornet.org/news/0000/hbear.htm

My expanded/updated "Organizer's Book,"=20
JACKSON MISSISSIPPI -- with a new 10,000=20
word introduction by me. Covers much of my=20
confrontational social justice organizing life to=20
date. Contains much how-to grassroots organizing=20
methodology: http://hunterbear.org/jackson.htm

See this for mini-bio, efforts to prevent JM=E2=80=99s appearance in
Mississippi, a wide range of its many reviews, and some
photos: http://www.amazon.com/John-R.-Salter/e/B001KMEHWY/ref=3Dntt_dp_epwb=
k_0

The Stormy Adoption of an Indian Child [My Father]:=20
http://hunterbear.org/James%20and%20Salter%20and%20Dad.htm
(Photos)=20



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<div><font face=3D"Verdana" size=3D"2"></font></div>
<div><font face=3D"Verdana" size=3D"2">&nbsp;<font face=3D"Times New Roman"=
 size=3D"3">

</font><p style=3D"margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><b style=3D"mso-bidi-font-weight: =
normal;"><span style=3D"line-height: 107%; font-size: 12pt;"><font face=3D"=
Calibri">HUNTER BEAR<span style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>DECEMB=
ER 5 2014</font></span></b></p><font face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D"3">

</font><p style=3D"margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><b style=3D"mso-bidi-font-weight: =
normal;"><span style=3D"line-height: 107%; font-size: 12pt;"><font face=3D"=
Calibri">The non-violent protests at Ferguson,
New York City metro, and now many other settings, are obviously refreshing =
to
human<span style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>rights and social jus=
tice
advocates generally =E2=80=93 and certainly to all those who are traditiona=
lly and
frequently victimized by lawmen (law persons.)</font></span></b></p><font f=
ace=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D"3">

</font><p style=3D"margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><b style=3D"mso-bidi-font-weight: =
normal;"><span style=3D"line-height: 107%; font-size: 12pt;"><font face=3D"=
Calibri">The town in which I grew up,
Flagstaff Arizona, was racist as hell<span style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes;">&nb=
sp; </span>--
a blend of border south with its southwestern kin.<span style=3D"mso-spacer=
un: yes;">&nbsp; </span>My parents were among an initially small
interracial/intercultural band of people who challenged injustice in that
setting =E2=80=93 gross injustice which involved, among other things, blata=
ntly
discriminatory and sometimes lethal =E2=80=9Claw enforcement.=E2=80=9D Even=
tually, there were
victories on that front (and some other fronts as well) =E2=80=93 including=
 getting a
sheriff who immediately hired a number of minorities as deputies.<span styl=
e=3D"mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>I learned much from all of <span sty=
le=3D"mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>that.</font></span></b></p><font fac=
e=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D"3">

</font><p style=3D"margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><b style=3D"mso-bidi-font-weight: =
normal;"><span style=3D"line-height: 107%; font-size: 12pt;"><font face=3D"=
Calibri">In the last analysis, it=E2=80=99s local
action =E2=80=93 just what=E2=80=99s ongoing now =E2=80=93 that deals most =
effectively with racism and
ethnocentrism and their poisonous offspring.<span style=3D"mso-spacerun: ye=
s;">&nbsp;
</span>My own organizing, in many settings over many decades, has frequentl=
y,
among other challenges, confronted =E2=80=9Claw enforcement=E2=80=9D injust=
ice.<span style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>And there have been in=
stances where those
situations have been the primary target.<span style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes;">=
&nbsp;
</span>This includes my present setting, southeastern Idaho, which has come=
 a
ways =E2=80=93 via various actions from many of us =E2=80=93 since 22 year =
old Felipe Galloway,
a Shoshone/Bannock Native, was shot and killed twelve years ago in his
grandmother=E2=80=99s off reservation home by an Anglo lawmen.<span style=
=3D"mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>The police officer claimed self-defen=
se but
all Felipe Galloway was holding was a can of shaving cream.<span style=3D"m=
so-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>That killing was officially whitewashed, b=
ut
it immediately generated much constructive local and regional pressure whic=
h
continues at various levels.</font></span></b></p><font face=3D"Times New R=
oman" size=3D"3">

</font><p style=3D"margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><b style=3D"mso-bidi-font-weight: =
normal;"><span style=3D"line-height: 107%; font-size: 12pt;"><font face=3D"=
Calibri">There were two very bad local law
enforcement situations that we challenged directly and successfully in Nort=
h
Dakota during our long sojourn in that rather isolated geographical
setting.<span style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span></font></span></b>=
</p><font face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D"3">

</font><p style=3D"margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><b style=3D"mso-bidi-font-weight: =
normal;"><span style=3D"line-height: 107%; font-size: 12pt;"><font face=3D"=
Calibri">One of these was the deplorable
police situation at Grand Forks, where we lived.<span style=3D"mso-spacerun=
: yes;">&nbsp; </span>The other was at Devils Lake, one of the
worst racist complexes I=E2=80=99ve ever seen outside of Deep Dixie.</font>=
</span></b></p><font face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D"3">

</font><p style=3D"margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><b style=3D"mso-bidi-font-weight: =
normal;"><span style=3D"line-height: 107%; font-size: 12pt;"><font face=3D"=
Calibri">Here are two brief sketches of those
situations and our effective approaches.<span style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes;">=
&nbsp;
</span>There is much more detail involved, of course, but these convey the
basics:</font></span></b></p><font face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D"3">

</font><p style=3D"margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><b style=3D"mso-bidi-font-weight: =
normal;"><span style=3D"line-height: 107%; font-size: 12pt;"><font face=3D"=
Calibri">Grand Forks<span style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&n=
bsp; </span></font><a href=3D"http://www.hunterbear.org/there_is_a_saying_i=
n_our_native_.htm" mce_href=3D"http://www.hunterbear.org/there_is_a_saying_=
in_our_native_.htm"><font color=3D"#0563c1" face=3D"Calibri">http://www.hun=
terbear.org/there_is_a_saying_in_our_native_.htm</font></a></span></b></p><=
font face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D"3">

</font><p style=3D"margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><b style=3D"mso-bidi-font-weight: =
normal;"><span style=3D"line-height: 107%; font-size: 12pt;"><font face=3D"=
Calibri">Devils Lake<span style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&n=
bsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></font><a href=3D"http://www.hunterbear.org/Devil's=
%20Lake.htm" mce_href=3D"http://www.hunterbear.org/Devil's%20Lake.htm"><fon=
t color=3D"#0563c1" face=3D"Calibri">http://www.hunterbear.org/Devil's%20La=
ke.htm</font></a></span></b></p><font face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D"3">

</font><p style=3D"margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><b style=3D"mso-bidi-font-weight: =
normal;"><span style=3D"line-height: 107%; font-size: 12pt;"><font face=3D"=
Calibri">And here=E2=80=99s the story of Broken Arrow,
a fine Hollywood film then<span style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>=
and now, made
near Flagstaff, which helped change things.<span style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes=
;">&nbsp;
</span>The basic screen play was done by Albert Malz, soon to be blackliste=
d by
HUAC; and&nbsp;the film&nbsp;also features Will Geer, soon to be blackliste=
d as well.</font></span></b></p><font face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D"3">

</font><font face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D"3">

</font><font face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D"3">

</font><p style=3D"margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><b style=3D"mso-bidi-font-weight: =
normal;"><span style=3D"line-height: 107%; font-size: 12pt;"><font face=3D"=
Calibri"><br></font></span></b></p><p style=3D"margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><b sty=
le=3D"mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style=3D"line-height: 107%; font=
-size: 12pt;"><font face=3D"Calibri">NOTE BY HUNTER BEAR [12/26/09]</font><=
/span></b></p><font face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D"3">

</font><p style=3D"margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><b style=3D"mso-bidi-font-weight: =
normal;"><span style=3D"line-height: 107%; font-size: 12pt;"><font face=3D"=
Calibri">There=E2=80=99s an old Hollywood film which,
when it=E2=80=99s occasionally run on television, I always see =E2=80=94 so=
metimes in part,
sometimes all the way through. It appeared this morning&nbsp; It=E2=80=99s =
Broken Arrow
[1950], the story of Tom Jeffords, a U.S. Army Scout who, in the Arizona
territory of 1870, saw the Apaches as human beings, developed a friendship =
with
a major Apache leader, Cochise, married a young Apache woman, and forged a =
kind
of peace between Cochise and his people =E2=80=94 and most of the Americans=
. The film
follows the actual historical record with, all things considered, reasonabl=
e
accuracy =E2=80=94 but with the still common fictional modifications that c=
haracterize
Hollywood=E2=80=99s treatment of many subjects.</font></span></b></p><font =
face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D"3">

</font><p style=3D"margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><b style=3D"mso-bidi-font-weight: =
normal;"><span style=3D"line-height: 107%; font-size: 12pt;"><font face=3D"=
Calibri">But, to come quickly to the main
point, Broken Arrow could be considered the first pro-Native film of widesp=
read
reach ever filmed by Hollywood.</font></span></b></p><font face=3D"Times Ne=
w Roman" size=3D"3">

</font><p style=3D"margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><b style=3D"mso-bidi-font-weight: =
normal;"><span style=3D"line-height: 107%; font-size: 12pt;"><font face=3D"=
Calibri">Seen by today=E2=80=99s yardsticks, Broken
Arrow could, I suppose, be viewed as simplistic, maybe even a little hokey.=
 The
lead Native figures are played by non-Indians:&nbsp; Jeff Chandler as Cochi=
se
and Debra Paget as Sonseeahray =E2=80=94 with whom Jeffords falls in love a=
nd marries
via the Apache Way. [She is later killed by Anglo die-hards.]&nbsp; Jimmy
Stewart depicts Jeffords and Jay Silverheels [Mohawk] plays the dissident
Geronimo.</font></span></b></p><font face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D"3">

</font><p style=3D"margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><b style=3D"mso-bidi-font-weight: =
normal;"><span style=3D"line-height: 107%; font-size: 12pt;"><font face=3D"=
Calibri">Broken Arrow was filmed for the
greatest part in the Oak Creek Canyon country, close by to Flagstaff, but i=
n a
much lower elevation.&nbsp; It was one of the first films to be made in tha=
t
beautiful area =E2=80=94 and has been followed by countless others.&nbsp; T=
he other
setting, purely secondary to Oak Creek, is the film town of Old Tucson near
that then rather small [but not now] major city of the state.</font></span>=
</b></p><font face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D"3">

</font><p style=3D"margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><b style=3D"mso-bidi-font-weight: =
normal;"><span style=3D"line-height: 107%; font-size: 12pt;"><font face=3D"=
Calibri">The filming occurred mostly in 1949,
while the Big Snow that had hit the high country [Flagstaff got 17 feet in =
two
or three weeks and more followed] was beginning to melt.&nbsp; A fair numbe=
r of
Navajo people were used in the film =E2=80=94 something that almost immedia=
tely began
to disturb the considerable racist Anglo component in Flagstaff.&nbsp; When
they learned, soon enough, that the film was really quite pro-Indian, they
became increasingly vocal in their hostility. There was no violence, such a=
s
occurred in the making of Salt of the Earth in not-far-away southwestern Ne=
w
Mexico in 1953-54 =E2=80=94 but the level of hostility at Flag was high.&nb=
sp; This was
much less true at well-integrated Flagstaff High where I was a keenly obser=
vant
sophomore and, as the controversy went on, a junior.</font></span></b></p><=
font face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D"3">

</font><p style=3D"margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><b style=3D"mso-bidi-font-weight: =
normal;"><span style=3D"line-height: 107%; font-size: 12pt;"><font face=3D"=
Calibri">[Will Geer, the Salt sheriff plays an
Anglo rancher in Broken Arrow.&nbsp; The main screen writer was Albert Malt=
z,
black-listed in Hollywood by the House Un-American Activities Committee and
thus never credited for his fine work for Broken Arrow.&nbsp; Geer was soon=
 to
become a black-list victim -- and so was Salt of the Earth.]</font></span><=
/b></p><font face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D"3">

</font><p style=3D"margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><b style=3D"mso-bidi-font-weight: =
normal;"><span style=3D"line-height: 107%; font-size: 12pt;"><font face=3D"=
Calibri">In those days, Phoenix was a 12 hour
drive from Flagstaff [now, sadly, it's less than three], and the Hollywood =
film
folk bought many supplies at Flagstaff.&nbsp; That economic fact softened s=
ome
=E2=80=94 but only some&nbsp; =E2=80=94 of the pervasive hostility which re=
ached the point of
an effort to prevent the film, when it was completed, from playing in
town.&nbsp; When Broken Arrow was close to heading out to the world in 1950=
, it
became known that it was scheduled to play forthwith at our primary theatre=
,
The Orpheum. [The other movie house in town, Lyric, was a dive.]&nbsp;
Opponents of Broken Arrow, at Flag and environs, called on =E2=80=9Cwhite p=
eople=E2=80=9D to
boycott the movie.&nbsp; At that point, Platt Cline, owner and editor of th=
e
daily paper, Arizona Daily Sun =E2=80=94 and more than just a =E2=80=9Cmode=
rate=E2=80=9D on racial
matters =E2=80=94 ran an editorial suggesting that people simply see the fi=
lm and draw
their own conclusions.&nbsp; He pointed out that Broken Arrow could be
considered, in a very real sense, =E2=80=9Cour film=E2=80=9D =E2=80=94 sinc=
e it involved Oak Creek
country and Navajos.&nbsp; That netted Platt, a good friend of my parents,
quite a number of hostile letters,&nbsp; He didn=E2=80=99t give a damn, pri=
nted some of
them.</font></span></b></p><font face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D"3">

</font><p style=3D"margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><b style=3D"mso-bidi-font-weight: =
normal;"><span style=3D"line-height: 107%; font-size: 12pt;"><font face=3D"=
Calibri">Flagstaff was pretty pervasively
racist =E2=80=94 one of the reasons our family lived in outlying parts.&nbs=
p; It wasn=E2=80=99t
the total segregation complex of the Deep South and there were interesting
diversities that warrant a long article in their own right. The high school=
, as
I=E2=80=99ve noted, was thoroughly integrated: Anglo, Chicano, Native, Blac=
k,
Chinese.&nbsp; There was a small Black elementary school.&nbsp; Some
restaurants served only Anglos and I remember outside signs, =E2=80=9CNo In=
dians Or
Dogs Allowed=E2=80=9D; a few also served Chicanos and Indians and Orientals=
; no
mainline eating places served the small Black community which had, of cours=
e,
developed its own places which would serve everyone.</font></span></b></p><=
font face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D"3">

</font><p style=3D"margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><b style=3D"mso-bidi-font-weight: =
normal;"><span style=3D"line-height: 107%; font-size: 12pt;"><font face=3D"=
Calibri">The low-brow Lyric Theatre =E2=80=94&nbsp;
kind of awful in retropect =E2=80=94 would serve anyone, sit wherever you w=
ished.&nbsp;
The Orpheum had a large balcony where Blacks had to sit.&nbsp; =E2=80=9COth=
ers=E2=80=9D,
whoever they were, could sit downstairs or in the balcony =E2=80=94 whateve=
r they
wished.&nbsp; On the other hand, most Chicanos and almost all Natives prefe=
rred
to sit in the much friendlier balcony =E2=80=94 where our family always sat=
 and where
the price was a bit lower and, frankly, the view much better.</font></span>=
</b></p><font face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D"3">

</font><p style=3D"margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><b style=3D"mso-bidi-font-weight: =
normal;"><span style=3D"line-height: 107%; font-size: 12pt;"><font face=3D"=
Calibri">Broken Arrow came to Flagstaff as
scheduled =E2=80=94 in its first release wave. I and my multi-ethnic group =
of buddies
were there, almost at the head of the line.&nbsp; We were far from the only
ones.&nbsp; The Orpheum was literally packed brimful =E2=80=94 balcony and
downstairs.&nbsp; In the end, it played at Flag for a number of days =E2=80=
=94 much
longer than its original scheduling.</font></span></b></p><font face=3D"Tim=
es New Roman" size=3D"3">

</font><p style=3D"margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><b style=3D"mso-bidi-font-weight: =
normal;"><span style=3D"line-height: 107%; font-size: 12pt;"><font face=3D"=
Calibri">And it always drew bumper audiences.</font></span></b></p><font fa=
ce=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D"3">

</font><p style=3D"margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><b style=3D"mso-bidi-font-weight: =
normal;"><span style=3D"line-height: 107%; font-size: 12pt;"><font face=3D"=
Calibri">As nearly as I and my family and my
friends could tell, almost everyone in the throngs who viewed it, liked it =
very
much =E2=80=94 fascinated in many cases. And almost from the first showing =
onward, the
bitterly hostile comments by the die-hards who would eventually die but nev=
er
surrender, were muted, no longer public.</font></span></b></p><font face=3D=
"Times New Roman" size=3D"3">

</font><p style=3D"margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><b style=3D"mso-bidi-font-weight: =
normal;"><span style=3D"line-height: 107%; font-size: 12pt;"><font face=3D"=
Calibri">Broken Arrow didn=E2=80=99t turn Flag into
the =E2=80=9Cbeloved community=E2=80=9D =E2=80=94 not a chance of that =E2=
=80=94 but it was a very significant
step for everyone, and a source of considerable pride for Indian people.&nb=
sp;
Years later, in the =E2=80=9960s, I gave a fairly long speech at Flagstaff =
which had
changed somewhat for the better, still to this moment an on-going
process.&nbsp; My talk was well attended by a wide variety of people and, i=
n
the course of it, I mentioned Broken Arrow.&nbsp; I was pleased that that
struck a note of positive resonance with almost all adults present. They we=
ll
recalled the hassle and its aftermath.</font></span></b></p><font face=3D"T=
imes New Roman" size=3D"3">

</font><p style=3D"margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><b style=3D"mso-bidi-font-weight: =
normal;"><span style=3D"line-height: 107%; font-size: 12pt;"><font face=3D"=
Calibri">So when, as it occasionally does,
appear on television =E2=80=94 and I spot it =E2=80=94 I always greet Broke=
n Arrow with good
words and thoughts, thank it, and wish it and our Cause, very well indeed.<=
/font></span></b></p><font face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D"3">

</font><p style=3D"margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><b style=3D"mso-bidi-font-weight: =
normal;"><span style=3D"line-height: 107%; font-size: 12pt;"><font face=3D"=
Calibri">Hunter [Hunter Bear]</font></span></b></p><font face=3D"Times New =
Roman" size=3D"3">

</font></font></div><p>
HUNTER GRAY [HUNTER BEAR/JOHN R SALTER JR] Mi'kmaq / St. Francis Abenaki / =
St. Regis Mohawk=20
<br>
Protected by Na=C2=B4shdo=C2=B4i=C2=B4ba=C2=B4i=C2=B4=20
<br>
and Ohkwari' . Check out our massive social justice website:=20
<br>
<a href=3D"http://www.hunterbear.org" mce_href=3D"http://www.hunterbear.org=
">www.hunterbear.org</a>&nbsp;=20
<br>
Member, National Writers Union AFL-CIO=20
<br>

<br>
Core dimensions of my Community Organizing course:
<br>
<a href=3D"http://www.labornet.org/news/0000/hbear.htm" mce_href=3D"http://=
www.labornet.org/news/0000/hbear.htm">http://www.labornet.org/news/0000/hbe=
ar.htm</a>
<br>

<br>
My expanded/updated "Organizer's Book,"=20
<br>
JACKSON MISSISSIPPI -- with a new 10,000=20
<br>
word introduction by me. Covers much of my=20
<br>
confrontational social justice organizing life to=20
<br>
date. Contains much how-to grassroots organizing=20
<br>
methodology: <a href=3D"http://hunterbear.org/jackson.htm" mce_href=3D"http=
://hunterbear.org/jackson.htm">http://hunterbear.org/jackson.htm</a>
<br>

<br>
See this for mini-bio, efforts to prevent JM=E2=80=99s appearance in
<br>
Mississippi,  a wide range of its many reviews, and some
<br>
photos:   <a href=3D"http://www.amazon.com/John-R.-Salter/e/B001KMEHWY/ref=
=3Dntt_dp_epwbk_0" mce_href=3D"http://www.amazon.com/John-R.-Salter/e/B001K=
MEHWY/ref=3Dntt_dp_epwbk_0">http://www.amazon.com/John-R.-Salter/e/B001KMEH=
WY/ref=3Dntt_dp_epwbk_0</a>
<br>

<br>
The Stormy Adoption of an Indian Child [My Father]:=20
<br>
<a href=3D"http://hunterbear.org/James%20and%20Salter%20and%20Dad.htm" mce_=
href=3D"http://hunterbear.org/James%20and%20Salter%20and%20Dad.htm">http://=
hunterbear.org/James%20and%20Salter%20and%20Dad.htm</a><br>
(Photos)=20
<br></p>




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--Marx, Capital, Vol. 1, Chapter 31<BR>
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