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O'siyo Brothers and Sisters!
My half-side received a request from an elder
to comment on the
dishonor and disrespect that seems to becomming the accepted way to
treat others. What follows is "The Lovey Janet's" view of this sad
change in the way things are done. Have we really forgotten how to be
true human beings?
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Last week, one of our elders brought to our attention an event that
pointedly exemplifies the growing arrogance and presumption of people
and institutions, Indian and otherwise, who demand shows of respect,
whether or not merited. These demands often follow the recent
acquisition of power, fame, or money. The event also illustrates the
consequences that often follow.
The example involves a judge and a woman in his courtroom who was
related to a defendant in the case he was trying. The lady was wearing a
hat, and the judge paused to order her to remove her hat out of respect
for his courtroom, or to leave.
The lady protested that she was undergoing chemotherapy and had lost her
hair, and that was the only reason she had the hat on. Unmoved, the
judge demanded she leave the courtroom and she departed, humiliated and
upset, in tears.
A reporter who observed this wrote a news story describing the
interaction, which the local paper published, and the newswires promptly
picked up. Before too long, this judge was receiving irate calls, faxes
and mails about his unfeeling abuse of power.
The judge is in an elected position, and within a couple of days, he was
apologizing to the woman and making excuses. But the damage was done,
both to her, and very likely to his political future.
In Indian country, there have been recent stories of tribes who
disenroll, mistreat, or ignore the needs of members, and of tribes who
use increased sovereignty rights to harass or abuse their non-Indian
neighbors.
It's true that the tribes have never received much respect, even when
they have behaved honorably. But it is also true that some individuals
and tribes, especially those who have achieved quick wealth, are
overreaching, demanding more respect and authority than they merit by
achievements within their own legitimate boundaries. This kind of
behavior is so typical there is an expression for it - "when the
oppressed become the oppressors."
The leaders of these tribes should be aware that, like that judge in the
first example, respect is a thing that is never delivered on demand
without consequences. It may only be earned by honorable and responsible
leadership.
+/// Janet Smith
owlstar@bellsouth.net
/*/+ P. O. Box 672168 OwlStar Trading Post
+ / * Marietta, GA 30008, U.S.A.
http://www.owlstar.com
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Dohiyi Ani Oginalii
Gary Smith (*,*)
wotanging@bellsouth.net
P. O. Box 672168 (`-') gars@nanews.org
Marietta, GA 30006, U.S.A. ===w=w===
http://www.nanews.org
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CONTENTS LIST OF ARTICLES IN
VOLUME 16, ISSUE 004
FOR ARTICLES GOT TO
WOTANGING IKCHE-Native American News
Editorial Section: . Dishonor
- Students Trying To Save Alaskan Village
- US Apartheid Of Indigenous Peoples Documented
- Delaware Still Seeking Official Status
- Urban Indian Center In Wisconsin Shuts Down
- Developer Ordered To Protect Burial Mounds
- The Trail Where We Cried...
- Longest Walk 2008, Northern And Southern Routes
- Groups Forge Plan To Remove Klamath River Dams
- Governments Form Stronger Ties
- Giago: Sen. Barack Obama And The 'R-Word'
- Harjo: On Rick West, Kevin Gover And Nmai
- Yellow Bird: Heady Aromas Of '07 Linger Into '08
- Abourezk: Gop Silent On Indian Health Bill
- Editorial: Polar Bears, Oil And Climate Change
- First Nation Vows To Block Uranium Mine
- Canadian Indian Wonders Why Us Yanking Welcome Mat
- Six Nations Boosting Demands In Land Claim
- Title Holders Assert Great Law Over Algonquins
- First Nation Demands Halt To Mining Proposal
- Canada's Aboriginal Population Tops Million Mark
- Inuit, Aboriginal Populations Grow Across North
- Statement By Carter Camp On Peltier, The Knee Etc
- Bureau Of Indian Education Sued
- Defense Attorney Compares Columbus To Hitler
- Native Justice -- Inmates Find Few Outlets To Practice Traditions
-- Trial Pits Indian Leader Against Ri Government
- Rustywire: Pueblo Bread
- Del "Abe" Jones Poem: Independents' Day
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"Probably the most blatant case in point is the
United States federal
Government's taking of the Black Hills (in the present day state of
South Dakota) from the Sioux Nation during the final quarter of the
nineteenth century. The lands which included the Black Hills had been
reserved for the indigenous nation under provisions of the 1868 Fort
Laramie Treaty.
It is worth noting that in the course of the
litigation prompted by this action, the Indian Claims Commission
declared that `A more ripe and rank case of dishonorable dealing will
never, in all probability, be found in our history,' and that both the
Court of Claims, in 1979, and the Supreme Court of that country 61
decided that the United States Government had unconstitutionally taken
the Black Hills in violation of the United States Constitution.
However, United States legislation empowers
Congress, as the trustee over Indian lands, to dispose of the said
property including its transfer to the United States Government. Since
the return of lands improperly taken by the federal Government is not
within the province of the courts but falls
only within the authority of the Congress, the Supreme Court limited
itself to establishing a $17.5 million award (plus interest) for the
Sioux.
The indigenous party, interested not in money
but in the recovery of lands possessing a very special spiritual value
for the Sioux, has refused to accept the monies, which remain
undistributed in the United States Treasury." ---Miguel Alfonso
Martinez, UN Sspecial Rapporteur on treaties, agreements and other
constructive arrangements between states and Indigenous Peoples'
populations
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As
historian Patricia Nelson Limerick summarized in "The Legacy of
Conquest: The Unbroken Past of the American West...
"Set the blood quantum at one-quarter, hold to it as a rigid definition
of Indians, let intermarriage proceed as it had for centuries, and
eventually Indians will be defined out of existence. When that happens,
the federal government will be freed of its persistent 'Indian
problem.'"
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Once a language is lost, it is gone forever. Of the 300 original Native
languages in North America, only 175 exist today. * 125 of these are no
longer learned by children. * 55 are spoken by 1 to 6 elders; when they
die, their language will disappear. * Without action, only 20 languages
will survive the next 50 years. Source: Indigenous Language Institute
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