Aloha
My name is Wilda Asimont and I live on the island of Maui. I am originally from Manitoulin Island Ontario Canada and enrolled with the Wikwemikong Band of Odawa. I was raised by my great grandmother, grandmother and my mother - all full blood Odawa women and who also went through the boarding schools in Ontario.
I was taken from my family and lived in five foster homes but it was due to neglect by my mother. One time when I was at home the elders told me the Children's Aid Society would not tell them were I was and that they were prevented from visiting me.
My relatives are all still there; my aunts, cousins, my brother and his sons. I also have 4 other brothers who I don't know where they are; a couple of them passed into spirt and others are homeless or in prison so I was told.
I married a part Hawaiian from the island of Oahu. Here they are called hapa. I have two daughters - one is a former UCLA gymnast ,and has performed with Cirque du Soeil and now is in Macau China with the House of Dancing Waters, a $250 billion production. She is there until Sept 2012 - a two year contract.
My other daughter lives here and is a musician, poet, artist and has had a couple of bands locally. I have two granddaughters. My family history is riddled with dysfunction so I won't even go into that but I do have a book in progress about my life.
I have a Bachelor's degree in Native American Studies from Black Hills State University and a Bachelor's in Sociology. I just completed an MBA from National American University. I also graduated from Oglala Lakota College in 2002 with an AAS in Human Services.I began my doctorate in Organizational Leadership with Argosy University but I am now taking a break to work on my business and also to decide if I want to continue in that program or go into another field.
I didn't get a degree in Native American Studies because I don't know who I am. I got the degree because I was interested in history. I got the degree in Sociology so I could learn how the U.S. society is structured and so I could KNOW what I am talking about and to be able to present a refutable and educated argument.In other words I have infiltrated the system.
I have found through my experience that the best way to present your argument is to have those little letters behind your name. Yes it is not needed for me but it does create a space where the people who need to hear the history can trust your research and what you are saying. That along with being authentic, being enrolled and having lived the experience of colonization in all its forms is very powerful. That is how to deal with white people.And yes it is disturbing to the white people but....I learned it is how it is set up and historical facts are then something one cannot argue.IN this way I don't come off with emotional content because being emotional only prevents them from listening .I just state facts ----oh well.....lol. the other side of this is that there are those who say with people like myself that I am not authentic because I don't live on the reservation lol. that's fine. My cousin even said we don't have Odawa in Hawaii. I said we do now. lol.
My passion is education but particularly education in American Indian History because I feel that is the best way to educate the non Indian and to prevent what is going on with plastic shamans. Its my idea that with people being able to learn about our history that it will assist them in investigating further any claims which fakes would claim.
I have always been interested in tourism and got my travel certificate back in the 90s. I felt at the time the people most interested in our history would be the international market. I have continually worked on this idea and set up my home based travel business 5 years ago but only completed the last leg of it this year.
Native American tourism is a hot topic. Most native people don't want it and some do. My position is not to encourage tourism for tribes. That is up to them. My position is to partner with tribes who WANT people to visit and who have a solid, strong, reliable and good tourism product to offer. I book the packages to their destination with Native travel guides.
This allows non Indians to visit with Native Americans, learn about that group from the viewpoint that the Native group wants to share. I also developed a training program for Native women interested in booking their own travel products on their own lands rather than have the Germans do it for them and in this way provides self employment in remote reservation lands with 90 % unemployment. I am an entreprenur and have developed training modules to help anyone interested in developing a business all the way from developing a idea, writing a business plan. doing the financial projections, putting together logos, business cards, brochures, web sites etc and how to completely research competitors and the intended target market (any product, idea not just Native American).
I also do cross cultural consultation for American firms going overseas and I concentrate on Asia.Why Asia? Because Hawaii has partnered with S. Korea in geothermal and alternative eneregies . I sell corporate travel and assist Americans on how to understand the need for proper conduct and protocols before or while doing business. I explain this to them from a cultural theory paradigm which they can relate too without being offended. It is documented research which explains the different cultural dimensions among different and varying groups on the globe.
In closing I will say that I believe education is the key. On one of my sites I use the quote "travel builds tolerance."ON the other hand I have observed that people are not stupid....they have a sense of what is real or not.
On a spiritual level "judgment" is not a good practice.It only serves to come back and kick you in the butt. However education from a documented position is not judgement and therein is one of the most powerful weapons we can utilize.
One area I think is problematic is when the Native people themselves go out and teach their ways. If they are doing this how can one complain that the nons are then interested. So it might be helpful for the tribes to get control of their own people. But this is hard since I think we believe we can't tell anyone else what to do. From what I've seen the Lakota go all over the world teaching so ...how can we complain that others are are becoming interested.
How would this look like? Should the tribes implement a law? If so how would it look and how could it be implemented. Would it be through legal means in coordinating efforts with the government?
Aloha
Wilda
