The task of researching the claims made by the “Manataka American Indian Council” of Hot Springs, Arkansas, has been undertaken by the American Indian Heritage Support Center as a public service for state and local governmental agencies, private organizations, educators, and those individuals who are seeking an honest connection with their American Indian heritage.
The “Manataka American Indian
Council” has long been noted among many traditional American Indians and
organizations as an exploitative and misleading corporation that is causing
damage to both legitimate American Indian peoples and those who fall for their
impressive sounding claims. Promoting New Age concepts and rewriting or
misrepresenting history is the foundation that the so-called “Manataka American
Indian Council” is built on.
That Manataka and it’s members might believe that “star people” placed crystal
cones in mysterious crystal caves in Hot Springs, or that Hot Springs had a
Mayan connection, or that they at times associate with Pagan, Wiccan, and New
Age groups is not our concern. They are free to believe in, and do, all of these
things.
Our concern begins when Manataka,
and certain members and associates, present themselves as a legitimate council
and spokes-organization for American Indians, tribes, cultures, traditions, and
ceremonies. In most cases, Manataka has not the moral right to do so, and in
some cases not the legal right. In this, Manataka crosses a permissible
boundary.
To fully address all the misrepresentations, misappropriation, and exploitation
of American Indian traditions that are found within the Manataka American Indian
Council (MAIC) activities and claims is far beyond the scope of this website.
Our research is on-going and requires extensive volunteer man-hours to unravel
years of deceit. Additional pages will be added to this site as our research
continues. MAIC pages that we will not address include the many that are
predominately New Age and have absolutely no connection with the American
Indian, other than within MAIC's own imagination.
Initially, the reader will be
guided through three MAIC documents:
An answer to an inquiry about the “Manataka” name from “John Boy“.
http://www.manataka.org/page513.html
“The STORY OF MANATAKA” By Lee Standing Bear Moore
http://www.manataka.org/page2.html
“HISTORY of the MANATAKA AMERICAN INDIAN COUNCIL”
http://www.manataka.org/page491.html
The reader will be able to read extracted claims from these documents, followed by an exposure that shows the claim to be either misleading or outright false. The URLS given for these documents were current at the time we gathered this information. The original sites might undergo changes as Manataka adjusts it's claims in response to contacts we have had with others. However, the wording of the original documents are used in our responses.
Throughout the documents you will
notice continued charges that the government has either destroyed physical
material or otherwise covered up the “true story of Manataka”, and otherwise
attempted to “wipe away” all traces of Indian activity in the area. We of the
American Indian Heritage Support Center are not associated with the government
in any manner. Our only interest is the preservation of true American Indian
cultures and exposing those who exploit them. If there was any evidence at all
that Manataka’s outrageous claims were true, then they would have our full
support. This is not the case, nor can a finger be pointed at us as being
governmental agents.
It is hoped that these exposures will provide the reader with knowledge gleaned
from facts that will allow him or her to make an educated decision about the
organization. Ultimately, it will be your choice wither or not to accept the
Manataka American Indian Council as a legitimate representative of the American
Indian people, or conclude that it has no legitimacy as an American Indian
organization.
NEW SECTION ADDED! MAIC's website contains their response to this website. Normally we would ignore the comments they made. But, some of the contents are too important in showing how poorly they do their research, and open up the true character of the organization. We have therefore decided to present it here so that readers can determine for themselves the validity of MAIC as a legitimate American Indian organization. As with the rest of this site, we take each MAIC comment section by section and address their claims. MAIC's statements are in black, our statements are in red.
It’s really amazing how
non-American Indians profess to know more about American Indian culture and
traditions than those who are American Indian and are within the culture itself.
Frankly, it gets tiresome being told by a bunch of wannabes that we don’t know
anything.
We invite comments or questions.
Please visit our organization's home website at:
AIHSC
This website was updated on 15 October, 2005