- Splitting the Sky
Splitting the Sky (born
January 7 ,1952 ) is anactivist , struggling for justice for theindigenous peoples of the Americas . His Mohawk name, Dacajeweiah, translated into English is "Splitting the Sky". He was born inBuffalo, New York , colonized as "John Boncore", and also became known as "John Hill". From the age of seven, Splitting the Sky survived many years inNew York foster homes and youth detention centers in which he was ill-treated. Eventually he would become the only man convicted as a ringleader of the infamous 1971 Attica State Prison rebellion inupstate New York , in the course of which 43 inmates were killed. This event has inspired several movies -- "Against the Wall" (1994)" starringSamuel L. Jackson , and "Attica" (1980)" starringMorgan Freeman -- and documentaries including "Attica" (1974)", and "The Ghosts of Attica" (2001)". He was listed by former UNAmbassador Andrew Young of the Carter administration as the number onepolitical prisoner in the USA in 1975.Splitting the Sky founded an organization to unite all Indigenous Peoples into a great confederation called the League of Indigenous Sovereign Nations of the Western Hemisphere (LISN). In 1995 he was the
Sun Dance Chief at Gustafsen Lake,British Columbia , during theGustafsen Lake Standoff , which was precipitated by a rancher who attempted to evict the Sun Dancers from what he claimed was his property. The incident turned into a major protest against the occupation of unceded native land. Splitting the Sky was an outspoken critic of the government's handling of the incident and was among those who raised the question of so-called Aboriginal Title under international law. Specifically, aboriginal title is enshrined under theRoyal Proclamation of 1763 , which is validated as an aboriginal right in section (35) of the Canadian constitution. With his wife Sandra Bruderer, whoseCree name translates to "She Keeps the Door", he co-wrote a 653 page book titled "". Splitting the Sky currently resides inBritish Columbia ,Canada .References
*"This article incorporates text from [http://www.cs.mcgill.ca/~abatko/splitting_the_sky/] released under the GFDL License"
External links
* [http://www.shunpiking.com/ol0206/0206-br-kp-split-sky.htm A review of Splitting the Sky's autobiography]
* [http://www.cs.mcgill.ca/~abatko/splitting_the_sky/www.shunpiking.com/ol0206/0206-br-kp-split-sky.htm A review of Splitting the Sky's autobiography (a copy of the review above)]
* [http://www.cs.mcgill.ca/~abatko/splitting_the_sky/ Splitting the Sky's "Remembering 9-11" speech (September 10th, 2005)]
*imdb title|id=0109053|title=Against the Wall (1994)
*imdb title|id=0080392|title=Attica (1980)
*imdb title|id=0270211|title=Attica (1974)
*imdb title|id=0354599|title=Ghosts of Attica (2001)
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