Every February, I am overwhelmed by the tragedies told in Black History Month. I watch many of the documentaries and programs that describe in painstaking detail the shameful history of White America. I read about children of tender years torn from their parents to be auctioned away from them. Stories of unspeakable cruelty at the hands of so many, not just slave owners or people of the south, but in the north as well. In the aftermath segregation was the norm in too place places, red-lining for housing was practiced, and equal pay was a myth. Lynching continued well into the 20th century, with the last one thought to be Michael Donald on March 20th, 1981. Yes, you read that right. 1981 in Mobile, Alabama, Michael Donald walking home from the gas station, was chosen at random for being Black...and hanged. 1981, people. Think about it.
The injustices perpetrated against Black America are manifold. If, after abolition, there was any discernible progress made toward citizenship and equality, then perhaps We, the People, might have a leg to stand on in saying we did our best but the sad truth is we did not, nor do we even now. The long legacy of slavery still impacts our daily lives, and if you doubt that statement, just remember what flags were flown at the insurrection. There are pockets of this nation where if slavery could be reestablished they would jump for joy. The root of that particular evil continues to run deep, and the crimes against People of Color continue unabated. If you want to really know what Black Lives Matter is all about, you need to look beyond the placards and to the root of anger. As ugly as it gets, the anger part is real, palpable, and pretty much justifiable. Black Americans have a whole lot to be angry about.
[Note: The violence, however, just feeds the enemy of equanimity exactly what it needs to thrive: another excuse to hate. We saw that in action during the George Floyd riots in Minneapolis and New York - provocateurs adding hatred to the flames.]
There is not a minority group in the nation that has not felt the sting of unfathomable hatred. Jews are still under attack from all sides (see Jewish Space Lasers,) Latinos, Asians, Muslims. In the old days you could've added Irish, Italian, and Polish to the list. What is very clear is that if your appearance is different, or perceived different, you become a target. The bullies will find you. It's just that simple.
One group, however, has been banished from sight, hidden away in corners you might not even know are there. There are actual places for those people who were once the majority population here. In fact, they pretty much owned this country and ran it on their terms. Oh, they had their spats, but they also had different systems of governance that worked well for them. And then they were herded up, shipped off, and denied all rights. Even when the Civil War was setting the slaves free, these people continued to be pushed aside, denied all civil rights including citizenship in their own country, and no one came to their rescue.
Yeah, yeah, I know. This is one of my usual soapboxes. Too bad. It is. And it doesn't get enough attention.
Do you even know there is a Native American Heritage Month? Just so you know, it's November, the same month as Aviation Month, Latin American Month, Good Nutrition Month, Hunger Awareness Month, Aids Awareness Month, Vegan Awareness Month...and others. But nowhere on the list appears Native American Heritage Month. Gee, I wonder why? Maybe because it's the same month as Thanksgiving, when we lie to ourselves about our relationship with the people who lived in the soon-to-be-Boston area?
Does your local PBS station run a zillion documentaries about the plight of those still on the Res, or those groups without access to any sort of health care? Your local news might show pictures of the pow wows in late summer, but does anyone ever have a special about what those dances are and how they came to be? That they are often religious in nature... or do they just tell you where you can go to see one? How would you feel if people came to gawk at your place of worship?
Chief Joseph of the Nez Percé was the leader of the Wallowa band and lead his people on an incredible flight across the Rocky Mountains. On October 5th, 1877, he surrendered to General Nelson A Miles at the Bear Paw Mountains of Montana. In his surrender speech he said, My people–some of them–have run away to the hills, and have no blankets, no food. No one knows where they are—perhaps freezing to death. I want to have time to look for my children, and see how many of them I can find; maybe I shall find them among the dead. Hear me, my chiefs; my heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever!
Chief Joseph was an eloquent speaker. He was later invited to Washington, D.C. in January of 1879, and met with President Rutherford B. Hayes, Congress, and lots of other people to tell them about the plight of his people and other tribes in the west. In one of his speeches he said, I only ask of the government to be
treated as all other men are treated. If I cannot go to my own home, let me
have a home in a country where my people will not die so fast. I would like to
go to Bitter Root Valley. There my people would be happy; where they are now
they are dying. Three have died since I left my camp to come to Washington. When
I think of our condition, my heart is heavy. I see men of my own race treated
as outlaws and driven from country to country, or shot down like animals. I
know that my race must change. We cannot hold our own with the white men as we
are. We only ask an even chance to live as other men live. We ask to be
recognized as men. We ask that the same law shall work alike on all men. If an
Indian breaks the law, punish him by the law. If a white man breaks the law,
punish him also. Let me be a free man, free to travel, free to stop, free to
work, free to trade where I choose, free to choose my own teachers, free to follow
the religion of my fathers, free to talk, think, and act for myself—and I will
obey every law or submit to the penalty. Whenever the white man treats the
Indian as they treat each other, then we shall have no more wars. We shall be
all alike—brothers of one father and mother, with one sky above us and one
country around us and one government for all. Then the Great Spirit Chief who
rules above will smile upon this land and send rain to wash out the bloody
spots made by brothers' hands upon the face of the earth. For this time the
Indian race is waiting and praying. I hope no more groans of wounded men and
women will ever go to the ear of the Great Spirit Chief above, and that all
people may be one people.
Heinmot Tooyalakekt has spoken
for his people. (January 14, 1879)
Heinmot Tooyalakekt (Thunder Rising to Loftier Mountain
Heights) was Chief Joseph's Nez Percé name. I guess it was too much to ask the
historians of the period to bother learning how to spell it. Oh, hell; if we
Minnesotans can learn to spell Bde Maka Ska.....
You may not know it, but Heinmot Tooyalakekt is
considered one of the great civil rights leaders of America. He spoke up for the Indigenous Peoples of this land. Didn't get him
very far, nor did too many people in DC pay any attention to him then, just as
we pay no attention to him now. That is very broken.
See, that's the thing. He's still ignored. Not much has changed for his descendants; they're ignored, too. Too many of our Indigenous population remain on reservations or in places where the rest of America doesn't have to deal with seeing what We, the People have done to them. They are not front and center, even when living in cities. Did you know there are people fighting right now to get COVID vaccines to those populations because they have been "missed?"
How do you miss an entire tribe like the Navaho? Ask Mae Tso's family.
Black Americans are doing the absolute right thing in standing up to demand justice, to demand equality, to demand equal access to education, health care, and justice. In their struggle to be recognized as equal partners in these here United States, to be an absolute part of We, the People, they are setting the example for the other exploited minorities in the nation. In pushing for their rights, they have an incredible obligation to be the example for the rest of the "others" in this nation who are denied civil rights and full participation in America. ALL Americans of any and all stripes should be marching shoulder to shoulder with them under the tent of the Constitution. We, ALL the People, have an obligation to them. It's long past the time when the IP are set free.
And maybe, just maybe we will understand the need to have the original owners of this land to have a seat at this table beneath a tent that is rightfully theirs.
The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week
Be not afraid of cataract surgery. It's frickin' painless.
The drops are a pain in the ass,
but hey! I can see bright, shiny, clear colors with both eyes.
And today, for the first time in a zillion years, I drove without glasses.
Who knew?
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