An article of mine titled "Changing The Racist Name Of The Knights Of Columbus" was posted
on Indigenous Peoples Literature. It can be viewed by clicking
Changing The Racist Name of The Knights of
Columbus
This article was also posted on the very popular Indigenous Peoples news website - My Two Beads
Worth. Click
My Two Beads Worth to
view and read the My Two Beads Worth post.
The Sisseton-Wahpeton Dakota nation's on-line newspaper editor also recently posted this article.
Shortly after Indigenous Peoples Literature posted my article titled, Changing The Racist Name
Of The Knights Of Columbus, Tony Castanha (Taino), an internationally renowned leader of the
movement to put an end to the glorification of the colonial pirate Christopher Columbus,
contacted me and said that I am doing "great work" and to keep him "updated". More recently,
after I sent him a link to my youtube.com video, titled: "Protesting The Racist Name Of The
Knights Of Columbus" Mr. Castanha contacted me and said: "time to go after these
'Knights' guys..." This new video of mine can be watched by clicking Protesting The Racist Name of The Knights of
Columbus
Note: When I wrote this article I mentioned in it that I was a
Roman Catholic. I am now a New Age Syncretist.
************************************************************
Changing The Racist Name of The Knights of Columbus
By Thomas Dahlheimer
I am spearheading a local, national and international movement to
revert the faulty-translation and profane name of Minnesota's "Rum
River" back to its sacred Dakota Indian name Wakan, which translated
means (Great) Spirit. After sending MN Representative Mike Jaros
my draft bill to change the name of the "Rum River" as well as 13
other MN geographic site names that are offensive to American
Indians, he slightly edited it and then with the
consent of the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council he introduced it
to the MN legislature.
Anoka, Minnesota is located at the confluence of the Wakan/"Rum" and
the Mississippi rivers. During the summer of 2007 Jim Anderson, the
Cultural Chair for the Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota Community and a
leading Minnesota Dakota activist, and I gained permission from
Anoka's Mayor, president of the Anoka area chamber of Commerce and
the executive director of the Anoka County Historical Society to set
up a tepee at the Anoka County Historical Center (located in the
City of Anoka) during an Anoka County sesquicentennial event for
the purpose of teaching the Dakota people's history in Anoka County.
During the event Jim Anderson brought awareness to the effort to
change the profane Rum River name as well as to our plan to
establish an Anoka Dakota Unity Alliance. We later met with the
Mayor of Anoka and discussed our plan to establish an Anoka Dakota
Unity Alliance. He is now helping as to establish an Anoka Dakota
Unity Alliance. In the near future we will be meeting with him
again. During our first meeting we told him that Columbus was a
genocidal maniac Indian killer. And I told him that during a meeting
with the pastor of the Catholic Church of Saint Stephen in Anoka I
told the pastor that Columbus was a "genocidal maniac who was
following the edicts of a genocidal maniac pope" and that he then
said "YES". Before our meeting the pastor had read articles of mine
about Columbus and I had also sent him the Transforming Columbus Day
Alliance website address.
However, when I later asked the pastor if he would help me "put an
end to the Knights of Columbus organization in Anoka he said "NO",
and then gave some lame excuse as to why not.
If their bishops are not asking them to take a counter cultural
position on an issue, it seems like most priests will always go
along with the majority position in their church and nation. Like
when German Catholic's went along with Hitler's madness and also
when priests went along with their bishops who bought and owned
American Indian slaves as well as black African slaves. In my
opinion, they do not listen to the Great Spirit calling them
to "come out and be separate, and protest". And I also believe that
most present-day Catholic priests are conformist, not Christians,
they go blindly in the way of the many, they're, as a former MN
Governor once said, "weak mined people who need strength in
numbers", and so are most of their fellow parishioners. When they
were young and vulnerable they were led into the "conformist box"
and then had their consciouses sheard.
And I recently spoke on the phone with a prominent member of Anoka`s
Knights of Columbus. He called me to see if I, a new member of the
Church of Saint Stephen in Anoka, would like to join the Church of
Saint Stephen's Knights of Columbus. We had a fifteen minute
conversation wherein I told him about my international movement to
change the profane name of the "Rum River" back to its sacred Dakota
name. And I also told him about my draft bill that Rep. Jaros
introduced to the Minnesota legislature.
I also told him about the UN's World Conference Against Racism
document that identifies two Papal Bulls as the source of white
racism associated slavery, genocide, ethnic cleansing, grand theft
of the indigenous peoples of the Americas homelands, denial of these
indigenous peoples' fundamental human rights, including the right to
have absolute root ownership of land, full independent nation
sovereignty rights and religious freedom. I also told him about
Columbus and his knights' evil exploitation of the native people
whom they came in contact with.
In addition, I told him about the bicentennial national debate
wherein some American Indian leaders were trying to influence the
leaders of the Knights of Columbus to change their organization's
racist name; and that I have received support for my effort to
change the profane "Rum River" name from national and international
renowned American Indian activists, and that I have been
corresponding with national and international renowned multicultural
educators and social activists who have given their support for the
effort to change the profane Rum River name.
I also told him that I believe that the Knights of Columbus name is
a white racist name; and that I was trying to influence the pastor
of the Church of Saint Stephen as well as other members of the
Knights of Columbus in Anoka to leave the Knights of Columbus and
start up a similar organization, and then write a letter to the
leaders of the Knights of Columbus, a letter wherein they would
inform them as to why they left the KC's, and that after they change
the racist name of their organization they will rejoin the
organization.
I also told him that I would like to address Anoka's Knights of
Columbus and personally present information to the Knights of
Columbus about Columbus and his knights as well as about my plan to
put an end to the Church of Saint Stephen's Knights of Columbus; and
then, later, after the leaders of the Knights of Columbus change
their organization's white racist name, reestablish a chapter in
Anoka. I also told him that I had met and spoke with the pastor of
the Church of Saint Stephen and that he agreed with me when I said
that: "Columbus was a genocidal maniac following the edicts of a
genocidal maniac pope".
The prominent member of Anoka's Knights of Columbus then told me
that he would inform the other members of Anoka's Knights of
Columbus, especially including the pastor of the Church of Saint
Stephen, about our conversation. I then told him that there is
a "problem" and what the problem is. I told him that it is very
difficult for a pastor to tell his congregation that they might,
because of a unique situation, "have to do something different". He
agreed with me.
I also told him that Jim Anderson and I had met with the mayor of
Anoka and that he understands that the Dakota people are coming back
to Anoka; and doing so, because it is a part of their homeland. And
I told him that the mayor is helping us to establish an Anoka Dakota
Unity Alliance, so that the residences of Anoka and the Dakota
people can participate in Anoka pow wows, intercultural education
classes and blend spiritually services, etc.. I also told him that I
thought that Jim Anderson, the Historian and Cultural Chair of the
Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota Community and leading Minnesota Dakota
Indian activist, would also like to address Anoka's Knights of
Columbus.
Rum River name change website
Name changing MN bill
Minnesota Indian Affairs Council draft resolution
Flier that Jim Anderson pasted out during an Anoka County
sesquicentennial event
Genocidal Maniac Christopher Columbus
Combating White Racism Against Indigenous Peoples
******************************************************************
Correspondance with an internationally renowned indigenous activist:
On October 4, 2007, I sent an e-mail to Tony Castanha, an
internationally renowned indigenous activist who is
leading the international campaign to revoke two 15th
century Papal Bulls that were primarily responsible
for the atrocities committed against his descendents
when Columbus and his knights invaded his people’s
homeland in 1492. My e-mail to him and his response
e-mail are presented below.
More about Tony Castanha:
Tony Castanha is a representative of the United
Confederation of Taino People (UCTP) and he is this
coalition’s focal point for the campaign to revoke two
15th century Papal Bulls. The members of this
internationally renowned indigenous people’s advocacy
coalition are the descendants of the first "American
Indians" to encounter Columbus in 1492. A picture of
Mr. Castanha along with some information about him can
be found at:
http://www.uctp.org/hawaii.
htm
Video of Roberto Mucaro Borrero, president of United Confederation of Taino People, interviewing Tony Castanha about his people's
annual protest against the 15th century Papal Bull Inter Caetera.
THE UNITED CONFEDERATION OF TAÍNO PEOPLE (UCTP) is an
international coalition of Caribbean Indigenous
Peoples dedicated to the promotion, and protection of
the cultural heritage and spiritual traditions of
their aboriginal ancestors for their present and
future generations. With the historic establishment of
the UCTP, the descendants of the first "American
Indians" to encounter Columbus in 1492 now have a
forum to present a unified voice to address the many
issues concerning contemporary Indigenous Peoples
throughout the Caribbean and the Diaspora. ~ The UCTP
has been represented in various international,
national, and local forums and currently has regional
representatives in Puerto Rico, the Dominican
Republic, the United States, Trinidad, Barbados, St.
Lucia and honorary membership in Cuba.
Ref:
http://www.uctp.org/English
Ver.htm
Ref: UCTP’s home page can be found at:
http://www.uctp.org/index.
html
Roberto Mucaro Borrero, the president of UCTP, wrote a
UCTP letter of support for the work that Mike Graham
and his Unite Native America organization (an
organization with over 30,000 registered members) are
doing to put an end to Columbus Day as a federal
holiday.
Roberto Mucaro Borrero wrote: On behalf of the United
Confederation of Taino People (UCTP), please allow us
to commend you and United Native America on the
composition of your petition calling for a National
Native American Holiday in the United States. We
recognize it is an important step in promoting the
rights of Indigenous Peoples; therefore we
wholeheartedly put forth our support for the
declassification of Columbus Day as a federal holiday.
Ref:
http://www.unitednativeamer
ica.com/tribal/atl2.html
King Ferdinand's letter to the Taino Indians
http://www.uctp.org/KingFer
dinandLetter.html
Note: The Taino people were not a “barbaric nation”
Because of a 15th century Papal Bull Columbus felt
justified and righteous to write in his journal that
the Taino people were "very friendly", "an inoffensive
people", "they could be much more easily converted to
our holy faith by gentle means than by force",
"weapons they have none", and that "with weapons and
50 men I could enslave the entire population". He
later wrote: "Let us in the name of the Holy Trinity
go on sending all the slaves that can be sold."
Ref: Columbus’s log
http://www.franciscan-archive.
org/columbus/opera/excerpts.html
Ref:
http://www.towahkon.org/Col
Genocide.html
My e-mail correspondence with Tony Castanha:
On Thu, 4 Oct 2007, I wrote:
Dear Tony Castanha,
I support the work you are doing. Indigenous Peoples
Literature recently posted an article of mine titled,
Changing The Racist Name Of The Knights Of Columbus.
Ref:
http://
www.towahkon.org/Changeknights.html
I am spearheading the local, national and
international movement to revert the
faulty-translation and profane name of Minnesota's
"Rum River" back to its sacred Dakota Indian name
Wakan, which translated means Spirit or Great Spirit.
I am also try to change 13 other derogatory geographic
site names that are offensive to American Indians.
After MN Representative Mike Jaros received my draft
bill to change the name of the "Rum River" as well as
13 other MN geographic site names that are offensive
to American Indians, he slightly edited it and then
with the consent of the Minnesota Indian Affairs
Council he introduced it to the MN legislature.
I am also trying to influence the Catholic Church to
revoke the 1493 papal degree "Inter Caetera."
Ref:
http://www.towahkon.org/
SEED.html
Ref:
http://www.towahkon.org/
ColGenocide.html
You could help me to influence the leaders of the
Knights of Columbus to change their organization's
racist name by giving your support for this mission of
mine.
Best wishes,
Thomas Dahlheimer
Director Of Rum River Name Change organization, Inc.
Tony Castanha’s response e-mail to me:
This is great work you're doing. Please keep me
updated. Best regards, Tony
*************************************
Tony Castanha e-mail address:
castanha@hawaii.edu
United Confederation of Taino People’s website page
about Tony Castanha
http://www.uctp.org/
hawaii.htm
United Confederation of Taino People’s website
http://www.uctp.org/index.html
************************************************
Blessings,
Tom
****************************************************
Kevin Annett, an internationally renowned indigenous
peoples rights activist recently sent me an e-mail in
response to the information I sent him about Tony
Casyanha contacting me. Mr. Annett wrote:
“Thanks Thomas, this is crucial work. I should contact
Tony directly and interview him, and link our work.
I'll send you some recent updates,
Kevin
ps: see our film on genocide in Canada here:”
The recent update information Kevin Annett sent me:
update
