TMP Considers Multi-Billion Dollar Lawsuit Against Entertainment Industry

Online, February 26, 2010 (Newswire.com) - HOLLYWOOD, CA
Revived after the deadly sting of having its Celebrity Festival For Native America in Hollywood rebuked by hundreds of talent representatives and other entertainment industry insiders, the Ticci Man Project has been given a second life by upset Native Americans demanding respect, if not retribution. The relatively obscure nonprofit may now take on the biggest and most costly legal battle in US history, if not world history, on behalf of Native Americans in a modern day version of David versus Goliath showdown.

The group is now investigating the possibility of plying a multibillion dollar series of lawsuits against the major players in the entertainment industry, from networks and studios, to talent agencies and agents, to directors and producers, to heads of transnational news and media companies and more. At cause, they claim, is not only a 100 year long history of racism and discrimination against Native Americans (that university scholars have quantified in film and television outputs), but today's continued oppression and Civil Rights abuses and discrimination of Indians in modern industry.

"There has not been one major broadcast series or major, modern-set film featuring a tribally recognized Native American lead and yet we cannot say the same for Blacks, Whites, Asians or Women-Indians are a federally protected class and they are not getting any respect from this industry-the Indian Wars died out over 120 years ago so why not in the entertainment industry, too," said Zelan Bonn, chairman of Kon Ticci International, the nonprofit group sponsoring the Ticci Man Project. "If Hollywood will not voluntarily extend the 'olive branch' in a sincere gesture to move forward, then we will fight them and make them waste as much as possible of their ill-be-gotten profits defending a racist industry and its discriminatory actions-Civil Rights and equality are not negotiable," he said.

Organizers have given Hollywood executives until May 30th to respond by mail with an offer to revive and aid the Celebrity Festival For Native America-a long awaited social transformation project designed to help build issue awareness and promote cultural respect and equality for Native Americans in Hollywood and around the world. Last year Hollywood, both the city's leaders and industry, rejected the project outright. The group remains hopeful there will be a change of heart, hopeful celebrities will join the cause.

"The Celebrity Festival for Native America may have been a bad idea because it was so positively charged-but I never dreamed that Hollywood would not help us celebrate our Native American citizens and their uniquely wonderful cultures and talents to prove we have transformed-that we are, indeed, clearly serious about encouraging Native American participation," said Bonn. "I am so sickened and ashamed of the industry I love and work in-we have so many wonderful people in it and yet a few bad apples at the top are ruining everything for us all-what else can we do but fight back if we truly care about ensuring equality for all-we must prove we are not an industry of haters-we simply must!"