Furthermore, the idea that all of our problems are supposedly internal is to deny just how imposed our current situation really is. The band-council government which centralizes power and leads to governments interested in protecting their privileges as opposed to governing. The Indian Act. The legacy of the Agents. Our relationship with settler media. The perceptions held by settler culture. Legislated disparities in health and education funding. Institutional racism. the list goes on.
Thank you for explaining the term, anon, but that doesn’t make the use of it correct. You can tell me what it means a hundred ways, but it still won’t alter my stance that using derogatory terms hinders rather than helps. I also am not saying that the Native American issues faced by our sisters, brothers, parents and grandparents are entirely internalized; but we cannot help the whole without first helping ourselves. If a single part of our volition is sick, it affects the rest of the body. Such principles can be applied to any issue throughout the world. If we cannot show love and acceptance to one another, how can we demand such a thing of anyone else?
The Alnobak within the US (particularly the Sokoki-St. Francis band) has been fighting for federal recognition for more years than most even realize.
We’re clumped into one mass group, when every tribe has it’s own diverse and unique culture. The teachings that were instilled on me, the legends, the Spiritual guidance differ on someone from another nation.
There are so many angry Indians; and I’m not saying that we SHOULDN’T be angry- but anger in place of love has not won us happiness.
We keep offering anger and hatred for what people were taught by their fathers; and we hate the father’s, too. You cannot change what someone has already been taught, you can only try and clear the path for the children that are meant to inherit this earth.
You cannot throw around harsh terms and respond to racism and other forms of hatred WITH hatred. Calling someone who is set in their ways dumb or uncultured won’t suddenly awaken them- it’ll make them defensive and they will ultimately rationalize within themselves that what they are doing isn’t harmful.
There has to be a better way. You can be firm and fight against things that are wrong and rise on top without being ugly.
We aren’t an ugly people; none of us are. Some are taught it; but as for the rest of us- why?
(thank you for the mature and thought-out response, though, anon. I understand your position, though I may not entirely agree with it.)
Photo by Blogger Denise.
” ‘Allies in War, Partners in Peace,’ this statue is rich with symbolism. It is made of bronze and is a gift from the Oneida Nation, New York. It stand 19-1/2 feet tall, weighs 2,200 lbs. and was created by Utah-based sculptor Edward Hlavka.”Click on image to go see more photos and to learn more about this sculpture.
Also, go look at this sculptor’s awesome gallery of sculptures.
KWAI,
Because some people may respond to this negatively (even though I don’t give a flying fuck) I am going to begin by letting you all know that despite my outwardly appearance, I am Native American (my family is also of French decent). I am part of a tribe, part of a nation, and actively do my best to follow The Red Road.
I have, before, ranted about the ‘war-bonnet craze’ and the cultural appropriation of such an action. (despite my insistence of “it’s not a fashion statement” I still got anon messages that tried to insist to me the very same thing).
Here’s the catch. Native American people are a sporadic group. We all have similar ideals, but we all view things differently.
I prefer the term “Native American” over “Indian” (though I’ve gotten pretty good at not angrily correcting people); I have noticed this is so of a lot of the younger generations, though most of our Elders don’t hang themselves up over whether it should be “Native American” or “Indian”. They also don’t concern themselves with the hatred of colour against colour, or the punishments of others for deeds done by their grandfathers. They do not advocate that “all races are equal” but that “we are all brothers”.
In the legend of The Sacred Tree, we were all joined in the beginning in harmony. We will all find our path back to that very same beginning.
I see people rapidly speaking out against people putting on the bonnets and “war-paint”
I keep seeing a use of the term ‘redface’.
I don’t see how that is any way appropriate, and how anyone doesn’t realize that is just as bad as people parading around in stereotypical attire.
How can you sit there and tell someone they are wrong when you are calling the Native American people “Redface”. I find this particularly disturbing and hypocritical when coming from someone else of Native decent.
ALSO, Can we focus on the racism among our own tribes, for a second? Like. Holy fucking shit.
I see it mostly coming from the younger generations (hello, fucked up society)
for all you “redface” talkers out there, you’ll notice that I am not red-skinned (though I do get ridiculously dark, ridiculously fast). I have a beautiful mix of native and french features.
I have had my heritage challenged many, many times before. I have even been called a “pinto” and “diluted”.
“What tribe are you?”
“Is that even a real tribe?”
“what part of you?”
WHAT PART ARE YOU.
WELL, MAYBE MY TORSO, KIND SIR, BUT IT’S MY FEET THAT ARE MOSTLY FRENCH.
ignorance. pure ignorance.
I used to get upset at the people walking around telling me they’re 1/16 Cherokee and acting like they own the world. But if they want to be proud of it, why should I stand in the way? We are all of the same Creator. We were made to love. (not to mention that most people who challenge my heritage are either not native american at all or have a laughable percentage compared to my own).
I actually don’t even remember my percentage anymore; we’re somewhere around or more than half.
Why should we be caught up in percentages, though? To me, it has always been more than race. Being Native is a walk of life. There are certain thought-processes and traditions that are being forgotten by most of the new generation.
I understand that, in this new world, we have to compromise many, many times. But to abandon all our ideals in the fight against cultural appropriation is a loss all in it’s own.
How can we think to influence any other People with such hatred in our own backyards? It makes me sick to my stomach to see Native American people arguing about what is “native american” and always reverting back to the colour of their skin.
(before anyone starts, despite my French heritage; the Abenaki are not of the Plains, West or Southwest. We’re North Eastern.)
There’s a general idea in most things I’m reading that dressing up in the attire and the paint and hooting and hollaring is what is hindering the Native American people. It’s not, and if in my rant I anyway suggested that- my bad. The only thing that is really keeping the Native People back are the Native People. There is so much acceptance of “just let it be” that many do not have the want to stand up and protest all day.
Like I said, sporadic. Some people are just content with where they’ve arrived to. They’ve learned to live with it. You can’t make anyone jump if they don’t want to.
I can’t even think straight right now this stuff gets me so distressed. I am done for the time being, but there will be more of these in the future.
(for those who want to know a “Pinto” is dirty slang for someone who is half-blood, white/native mix…. which kind of sounds like a Harry Potterish thing….)
Native American Women and Violence
Native American women experience the highest rate of violence of any group in the United States. A report released by the Department of Justice, American Indians and Crime, found that Native American women suffer violent crime at a rate three and a half times greater than the national average. National researchers estimate that this number is actually much higher than has been captured by statistics; according to the Department of Justice over 70% of sexual assaults are never reported.
As women of color, Native Americans experience not only sexual violence, but also institutionalized racism. Alex Wilson, a researcher for the Native American group Indigenous Perspectives, found a high level of tension between law enforcement and Native American women, who report numerous encounters where the police treated the women as if they were not telling the truth.
“In a reservation community,” Wilson said, “911 would dispatch police to a scene of domestic violence, but police would call the victim by cell phone and decide himself when or if he should go to the victim’s home. Often the women would wait for an hour and other times the abuser would answer when the police called, and would say everything was fine, and there was no need for them to come. Native women … who called police for help were often re-victimized by the police.”
Native American women also stand a high risk of losing their children in instances of physical and sexual abuse. The women often will stay with abusive husbands in order to keep their children. In one case, a woman was beaten by her husband so badly that he broke bones and she was forced to seek refuge in a domestic abuse shelter. The husband, through support of his tribe, was able to gain custody of their two children. He continued his violent behavior, at one point, throwing their two-year-old child across the room. The woman was never able to regain custody.
In addition to domestic abuse, Native American women also experience the highest levels of sexual and domestic abuse of any group. A report from the American Indian Women’s Chemical Health Project found that three-fourths of Native American women have experienced some type of sexual assault in their lives. However, most remain silent due to cultural barriers, a high level of mistrust for white dominated agencies, fear of familial alienation, and a history of inactivity by state and tribal agencies to prosecute crimes committed against them.
“There are cultural barriers and a lack of understanding of culture in general,” said sexual offense worker Bonnie Clairmont, of the current systems meant to support survivors of sex crimes. As reported by The Circle On-Line, July 1999, she says, “One of the crucial things many professionals do not understand, is that Native Americans have a legitimate reason to distrust ‘the system.’ After all, memories—both personal and cultural—of forced sterilization and other violent ‘treatment’ procedures are not so far in the distant past for many Native Americans.”
The Report on Violence Against Alaska Native Women in Anchorage, conducted by community agencies in Anchorage, Alaska, found a widespread fear and distrust for law enforcement. Nearly all of the women interviewed felt the system had “turned its back on them” and insisted that their rights had been systematically violated. The report documents an instance involving an Anchorage police officer and a Native Alaskan woman who had been held hostage and dragged across the lawn by an intimate partner. The officer ignored her report and proceeded to tell the woman to undress so he could look for bruises. “I was afraid they might lift up my clothing or maybe that they all would rape me … ,” the woman said. ” I was just terrified.” The police falsely claimed the woman was drunk at the time of the incident despite a hospital report that refuted this. The woman’s attacker was never convicted.
Police and courts tend to ignore cases of violence involving Native American women due to alleged confusion between federal and tribal jurisdiction. Law enforcement and attorneys often are not schooled to deal with the cross-over in dealing between jurisdictions. Eileen Hudon, a sexual abuse counselor from the Minnesota Tndian Women’s Resource Center, said there is a “basic ignorance in the whole justice system.” This causes blatant violations of the rights of Native American women. Technically, cases involving a non-Native American perpetrator and Native American victim fall under federal jurisdiction. According to the Department of Justice, 70% or more of violence experienced by Native American women is committed by persons not of the same race. The problem of violence against Native American women is exacerbated by federal apathy in law enforcement and the courts, and minimal funding for shelters, counseling, and education in Native American communities.
The cycle of violence is continuing into the next generations of Native Americans. The Seminole Tribune reported in June 1999, “Sexual assault and domestic violence are so widespread in Indian Country that spousal abuse is occurring in younger and younger couples and it is not uncommon for date rape or date physical abuse to occur among teenagers.”
“Federal, tribal and state institutions have not made stopping violence against Native American women a priority issue,” says NOW National Board Member and Native American woman, Genevieve James. ” NOW is committed to raising awareness on the problem and will demand that Native American women receive full protection against violence.”
Re-authorization of the Violence Against Women Act has appropriated over $4 million dollars to go toward improving services to Native American women who have experienced domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking. However, crimes committed against Native American women still continue to be marginalized if the United States Attorneys do not feel pressure to prosecute these crimes fairly.
NOW is urging that United States Attorney’s offices develop statistics on crimes committed against Native American women and make them public. NOW also encourages activists, chapters and states to contact the United States Attorney General’s Office and insist that battery, rape, sexual assault, and gender-based violence committed against Native American women be prosecuted to the fullest extent by the law.
NOW will work to educate members and encourages activists to educate others about the growing epidemic of violence against Native American women and to demand that adequate government funding be administered for shelters, counseling, and education in Native American communities.
” – http://www.now.org/nnt/spring-2001/nativeamerican.html
