Commentary
U.N. inquiry into U.S. treatment of Indians is overdue
Jose Leonardo Santos is an anthropologist and assistant professor of social science at Metropolitan State University.
I don't like to think of my country as doing evil, but it does. The United Nations has sent someone to investigate abuses in the United States. Not in Haiti, Syria or Sudan. James Anaya is examining how the United States lives up to the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The American media are quiet about the investigation. I found out when a friend showed me a British article. I thought, "This is long overdue." It's time the United States gets called out for its treatment of Native peoples. Just like Guatemala and Brazil.
Twelve years ago I was in Guatemala studying the ancient medical techniques of Chuj Maya. There I encountered the worst racism I've ever seen. Worse than anything I'd known growing up in Texas. In Guatemala, "indio," or Indian, is what you yell at bad drivers. Or at the sex workers passed out drunk on the street. Or at people who make mistakes on a test. Why? Because ever since the Europeans invaded 500 years ago, Native Guatemalans have been viewed as barriers to progress. Uneducated. Drunk. Stupid. Lazy. They're sitting on land that could be used to make money.
I also spent time in Brazil, and it was much the same there.
It would be nice to think that Americans had none of those tendencies, but we do.
Like Guatemalans, Americans portray Native people through caricature. The noble savage. The alcoholic wife-beater. The spiritual guru. The casino millionaire. Indians are shunned for looking dangerous, worshiped as keepers of the Earth, held up as poster people for oppression. Diane Sawyer recently did a piece on the Pine Ridge Reservation. She portrayed it as a haven for poverty and alcoholism. Teens on the reservation found it offensive. They made their own video, aptly titled "More Than That." You can find it on YouTube.
Americans may be tempted to think of Indian oppression as a part of history, like the old textbook paintings of the Trail of Tears and Wounded Knee. Not quite. Oklahoma's Sharia Law Act, now in litigation, bans tribal law. In Minnesota, tribal ID cards are regularly rejected as proof of identification. The Cleveland Indians have a mascot that looks like a drooling idiot.
I write this on stolen Dakota land. It would be foolish to suppose that the United States does not deserve the same scrutiny as Guatemala and Brazil. One hundred fifty years ago, the Dakota Conflict culminated in 38 hangings, the largest mass execution in American history. Minnesota's Native people live with that legacy to this day.
The U.N. special rapporteur on indigenous rights is late. Even so, he'll find plenty of material for his report.
Comments (5)
Thanks for sharing about the UNSR and UNDRIP, as some leaders have said, "this UN stuff is not for us"...well, actually it is and we have the awesome privilege of having James Anaya as an Independant UN Expert examining the issues...and who happens to be Native American himself.
Stolen Dakota land? Are you aware of who the Dakota "stole" it from? How far back do you want to go? Just to what suits your "feelings", I guess. The Tribes recognized the superiority of European culture immediately, and dropped every aspect of their own, including their religion, in order to adopt the tools and God of the white man. I have lived with the Dakota, and the Red Lake and White Earth also. I know what I am talking about. I have never met an "Indian" who would willing give up modern ways for the old, no matter how much they like to play Indian on the weekends. Go out to South Dakota and watch them herd their bison...with 4 wheelers. They willingly gave up their ways and Gods for the European ways and God. It was a good choice, and they know it. Mexicans still pull up their shirt sleeve and show how white the underside of their arm is, saying "Castellano, Castellano!" meaning they have alot of Castilian blood, as much white as possible. White is favored for good reason. Free will choice proves it. Racism isn't in recognizing it, but in denying it. Nearly all oppression and killing of Tribe people in North America has been done by other Tribe people, just as on Africans has been done by other Africans. European activities are minor, statistically irrelevant. The 38 hangings are nothing, barely a blip compared to Tribe on Tribe murder. And much more humane. Europeans brought the tribes out of the Stone Age. The U.N. should thank them.
Kudos to the brave people that stepped forward to speak up on the behalf of the Indigenous population.
Miigwetch.
People that speak & think like Terry Franklin are the problem not the solution.
Thank you, Dr. Santos, for your balanced and insightful comments. Mr. Franklin has freely mixed fantacy with facts. Genocide of the Dakota in Minnesota happened; children were taught in "boarding schools" to speak only English and to "forget" their native traditions and spirituality; the Dakota declared war when they were starving and we hung 38 of those prisoners of war; innocent women, children, and older males were forced marched to a concentration camp at Fort Snelling until they were shipped out of their home lands by force. These lands have never been paid for. We have broken every treaty with the Dakota. They turn to the Treaty of 1805 as the basis of their request to either be paid for the land or return it to them. Most in Minnesota are ignorant of this hidden state history, as is Mr. Franklin. It should be the goal of all Minnesotans to make this sesquicentennial year of the Dakota-U.S. War a year of education and we should declare this "The Year of the Dakota: Remembering, Honoring, and Truth Telling". You have begun this process with your comments. Thank you.
While looking up other information for a class I came upon your article here. I read all of the comments that followed too. It is about time the government and those that wish to support their theories be brought out and made to take responsibility for their actions. I was offened when Mr Frankin made the statement about how the Dakato would happily give up their ways for the white mans. Please do not take the actions of a few and claim that to be the truth spoken by all! My Greatgrandmother was born on the Pine Ridge Reservation sir. At the age of eight she was taken away from her parents and forced to go to a boarding school. There she was slapped by teachers everytime she got caught talking in her native language. She had her left hand beaten until she learned to write with her right hand. They forced her to wear bonnets and white womens clothes because she was lighter skinned, and they didn't want the sun to darken her so she could pass as a white girl. These are the true stories that where experienced first hand in my family. To have someone come here and try to tell me "The natives would happily give up their ways" is an insult. Progress is progress. there is nothing wrong with becoming educated and learn to use modern tools. I could be as foolish to say go back to dragging your women by their hair and keep the stone wheel. Don't fix whats not broken right? It sounds to me like Mr Frankin needs to do some futher research before swinging his verbal ax again.
Post a comment
Please be civil, brief and relevant.
E-mail addresses are never displayed but they are required to confirm your comments. All comments are moderated. MPR reserves the right to edit any comments on this site and to read them on the air with attribution. Please read the Terms and Conditions before posting.
You must be 13 or over to submit information to Minnesota Public Radio. The information entered into this form will not be used to send unsolicited e-mail and will not be sold to a third party. For more information see Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.
