Indigenous Erasure on the 4th of July: Prayer for a Common Memory
I am writing this post knowing full well people will disagree with me and that this will touch a nerve for die-hard Patriots. Holidays, religion, racial matters, politics, etc are all very charged topics for humans, and we cling to our ideas with irrational deep seeded fervor. I do this too and am not condemning anyone, only seeking to bring to light other aspects of the story that I cannot ignore. I am also not seeking to disrespect or overlook any veterans.
I suppose this paragraph is a disclosure that I understand that many Americans are tied to an idea of freedom that will make what I have to say something they either don't agree with or even violently reject. first photo
But I feel that part of being a whole human being is being willing to look at the whole picture and even though I am an able-bodied white woman, it is part of my growth and healing generational trauma of which I am a part that I take a look at this.
Because when Diné (Navajo) people living the United States of America grow up like this, not because of choice (like we have as privileged white homesteaders), but because this is what life in many Native American reservations looks like...
We know there is systemic, generational, injustice clearly alive and well in the United States.
This isn't just poverty. This is the result of a 500 year war on native people, to erase their culture, language, presence and very beings. It's evident in the fact that not even 1 treaty (in US OR Canada) has been kept.
The spiritual aspect of treaty-making escaped the United States government, history tells us. The U.S. federal government entered into more than 500 treaties with Indian nations from 1778 to 1871; every one of them was “broken, changed or nullified when it served the government’s interests,” Helen Oliff wrote in “Treaties Made, Treaties Broken.”
All images and life story from @lilnativeboy on Instagram
Because the bottom line is that these people aren't choosing to be homesteaders and the education on the history of this is severely lacking to a point of negligence in schools. Kids are not learning the true history of the United States of America and this continues to perpetuate and serve the colonial settler narrative of which we are all a part of and benefit from.
As a nation we embrace this history because we are largely ignorant of the true nature of our past and have never been held accountable for our actions. As Americans we celebrate our foundations of 'discovery' and cling to our narrative of 'exceptionalism' because we have been taught that this nation was founded by God on a principle of freedom for all. source
Let me be clear, by writing this article I am not denying the US independence from Britain, but I am grieving and shedding light on the ongoing ill treatment of indigenous peoples. Celebrating a holiday based on a document that literally calls Native Americans Mercliess Indian Savages and the fact that nothing has been done to amend this (please don't list scholarships for natives to go to schools as "something" that has been done) is something that I can't get down with.
From @lilnativeboy on Instagram
This country wasn't empty when people came here. It wasn't the New World. It was inhabited with a diverse array of tribes who were completely not savages in need of saving, but highly organized self-governing autonomous communities with complex trade, governance systems, medicine and ritual.
As Mark Charles says in THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. IT’S NOT WHAT YOU THINK,
This continent had been inhabited by millions of people for centuries, even millennia. And you cannot discover lands that are already occupied. That action is better known as conquering, stealing or colonizing. The fact that history books refer to what Columbus did as discovery reveals our racial bias. The ‘manifest destiny’ of the United States of America was achieved through a violent history of systematic ethnic cleansing (Indian Removal Act of 1830, Trail of Tears, the Long Walk, massacre at Sand Creek, Indian Boarding schools the massacre at Wounded Knee, etc., etc., etc.). The notion that America was discovered, is a racist colonial concept that assumes the dehumanization of indigenous peoples.
When we read these words, realize that in the context in which they were written, the "Merciless Indian Savages" were not considered equal (neither were women or the enslaved Africans either.)
In saying all of this, I am hoping to join our collective memory and ground us in the reality that our Nation has not fully taken responsibility for its history of colonial takeover and the effects (spiritual, emotional, economic, physical, communal, etc) that this has had on Native Americans. I know we are certainly not the only nation with this history and that colonialism and power-over warring has happened all over the world throughout time, but I live in this specific place in time and I urge us all to take a look: to understand, to come together, to grieve and ultimately to acknowledge and repair.
I will leave this article with this from THE DILEMMA OF THE FOURTH OF JULY by Mark Charles,
Georges Erasmus, an Aboriginal leader from Canada, said, “Where common memory is lacking, where people do not share in the same past, there can be no real community. Where community is to be formed, common memory must be created.”
As a nation, the United States of America does not share a common memory, and therefore struggles to have true community.
So this Fourth of July I invite every American to start their day by learning about the Doctrine of Discovery. Allowing the reality of the dehumanizing nature of this doctrine to temper your celebrations.
You can still light your fireworks and eat your BBQ as you celebrate a hard fought victory over the British. But at the end of the day, I humbly ask you to conclude your celebrations with the following prayer.
“May God have mercy on the United States of America and give us the courage necessary to create a common memory.
America should always be aspirational. Good post. Those who celebrate an idealized founding and past without considering our actual history will not move America forward.
💕 agreed, thanks
yes. agree.
I agree! But not only America! The worst thing that ever happened was to place people on reservations. It was their land first!
👏 yes
I agree with your first statement but question the rest. I grew up when we were allowed and encouraged to celebrate our history without being repeatedly told how guilty we all are for things that happened before we were born. Yet I did not grow up with any illusions that our founding was idealized, I was taught that it was bloody and messy and complicated and that made me even more grateful for the world that grew out of that past.
I am not saying don't look there. I am just really sick of the trend of denying and begrudging the things about American culture that really are worth celebrating.
What, in 1776, should the founders have done to heal the generational trauma already in place? Massacres were definitely happening on both sides by then (for at least a generation), and their own government had started to use force against them. If you'd like to see how neutrality and reasoning worked out back then, look up "Acadians".
I'd argue that the actions taken by the founders in 1776 led to the best possible outcome for the greatest number of people, an outcome that was far from perfect and continues to be imperfect but which has continued to foster improvement through generations. That is very much worth celebrating.
hey @wholeself-in, i read your comment before i went to bed last night and have let it sit on the "back burner" since then. i wrote a post this morning reflecting upon your statement about being tired of hearing about "white guilt" continually -here. as far as balancing "looking" and celebrating 'what is'- I don't intend to say don't celebrate these things -- however, this post was specifically geared toward "the looking." we each have differing experiences of our lives in America and are a part of differing cultures. if you want to write a post -- or write more in general celebrating the things you're grateful for, I'd be interested in hearing it.
personally i don't see "the trend of denying and begrudging going away" - why? because for too long there have been too many voices that have been silenced. the narrative that we have learned in schools (at least i can speak for myself) was one that glorified the colonizers and again is a case where the oppressor writes history. this has a stark effect for whoever grew up on the other side of that history. as these marginalized voices keep coming to the fore, i think there is a lot of reckoning to do (to achieve balance and make reparations) and i will speak for myself in saying that i cannot with eyes wide open and a whole heart celebrate this country until this takes place.
i'm not exactly sure what you mean here? people left england looking for freedom and they found people existing on what is now called America (some of whom extended a warm welcome). the colonizers brought war, disease and have consistently and continually sought to erase the native presence (as i detailed above in this article.) if people are coming to a land to colonize it or "discover it" or save and control "the merciless savage" that right there is their first error. hundreds of years into this bloodshed, i'm not sure what you're referring to about generational trauma. the worldviews of the "founding fathers" were too steeping in colonizer mindset to even see natives or blacks as "men like them"
we'll just have to agree to disagree on this one. personally i don't think much has changed, and in fact, it's even become worse.
I realize I've invaded your post (until yesterday, I was naive enough to think the "tribe" in "tribesteemup" referred to a modern internet community, not an ancient tribal identity), not my intent so I will desist after answering this.
This condenses at least 100 years of history and lays it at the feet of the men who signed the declaration of independence, most of whom were born here (as I was - heck, as my great- grandparents were). When I ask what could they have done in 1776, I am attempting to recognize that the long arc of history is made of many tiny human lives, including the lives of these men who somehow managed to stand up to a powerful tyrant AND frame a constitution that has survived two and a half centuries of rapid change.
"Generational trauma" was your phrase, I think. I might have an intuitive sense what it means, but still I want clarification, because words like this and like "reparations" have serious implications that ought not to be left vague.
I'll go read your new post, and thank you for giving my comment some thought. I doubt I'll be writing about what I am grateful for in our history - mostly, I am grateful that I'm here and not there! When I think about history, I have two impressions: 1, how amazing it is that I'm here at all, and 2, these historical figures were just regular people, how crazy is it that the decisions they made still affect us today? (Also, what does that imply about the decisions we make in our lives?)
Hey I’m confused what you mean by this?
Only that I stumbled upon something that was not meant for me, which became obvious when I saw this post by tribesteemup.
Not wanting to act on my initial knee-jerk reaction to seeing swastikas on the U.S. flag, I read several of the articles. I also saw the tribesteemup logo, which seems to indicate a Native American heritage - I didn't connect those dots simply from the word 'tribe', which on the internet often means a more intentional community.
(Note, I don't see the Native imagery as having any connection to the swastika flag, and I'm not sure why they'd want to.)
Native Americans surely have a different perpective from me on the meaning of "tribe," hence my wanting to back away from things I know nothing about.
I think tribalism gets more dangerous the farther technology develops, and at this point it is something we should all back away from. I think that's a good lesson to take from the last 200 years, especially from the last 100.
ah i can see the confusion.
i can't speak for that image that was used in the post, but the swastika does have history beyond its use by the nazis -- https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007453
tribesteemup is not a tribe of native people and i specifically have voiced (to the group) my discomfort with those logos as i also believe they misrepresent our tribe as we are not native identifying (though there may be native people in it) and i think it's appropriation of native symbology and stereotyping....
And even the free education... did you know that the current administration ended the funding for transportation to the American schools off the rez? So the dept. of the Interior had to scramble to come up with something and now the kids can go to school 2-3 days a week. Could you have kept up in math going to school only 2-3 days a week? I know how hard it was any time I was out for a few days sick within just one week, not a whole school year.
And yet today I sat with a Native American man (part Taos, Navajo, Blackfeet (like me) and Hopi) and talked about a Steemit project I'm planning for the rez there. He was giving me all the info I need on how I could make the right connections to get started. We talked about that and the importance of all people coming together with respect for each other and letting their be kindness among us all.
There is hope. The hope is that Americans start learning from Native Americans instead of thinking we are the superior culture. I say this as someone who, though part Native myself, has been acculturated with the mentality of an American. There is much to unlearn and much to learn. And so it goes.
Yes precisely... your last paragraph...✨✨
I didn’t know that about the transportation...
The people of Taos Pueblo have such a rich culture and as u know the longest standing Pueblo in the nation... they never were forced to move (what a horrendous thing to be an anomaly because of)... I have a memory of being invited to one of their sweat lodge ceremonies... so open to me being there while they held their ceremony- they didn’t have to let me come, but they did and I am immensely richer for it. I’m excited for your project and hope to hear more about it as it unfolds.
Kindness, respect and coming together yes, and yet I see so many harmful American cultural ideologies and (incomplete or even straight up wrong- oppressor often writes history) histories informing realities. we must bring this to light as we are coming together. So much division in this country... I know it in my family, local community, I see it everywhere on the internet. so much to unlearn as you say and then share as we are unlearning. I know I didn’t learn any of this in school. So it goes indeed 💙🌀
thank you Wren for writing this and sharing the truth. It is the exact same in Australia when they celebrate Australia day. As it is in many other countries as well, so much violence and suffering turned into a day of celebration is nothing to be proud of, instead it should be turned into a day to seek recognition and reconciliation xx
exactly. it shocks me how few americans think this way ^^^
we have a lot of work to do. people don't want to see it.....
This country was founded by slave owners who wanted to be free.
-George Carlin
Our beloved late, great, no bullshit truth-teller. Miss him a lot.
mmmmmmmm
RE STEEMED! I posted a similar rant today. I've been wanting to start a 4th of July protest to bring awareness to these facts. Glad you all were out there protesting.
https://steemit.com/freedumb/@hippie-witha-gun/happy-burn-an-israel-saudi-and-blue-lives-matter-flag-day
Yeah! Sadly hundreds of years later were still in an awarenessness raising stage! Ugh! I’ll check out your post and thanks for the resteem.
When I ask my children who is the bad guy when playing cowboys and Indians, do you know what they say... cowboys.
My children and husband are part Blackfoot. We don’t live on a reservation. Why live in a cage when the USA government has set us free.
Why hold onto a grudge, it does nothing but stir sickness in the heart.
<3 <3 <3 well said <3 <3 <3
Just a little side note here on 'history'.
Vast populations of natives and settlers ended up inter marrying and even natives today intermarry at rates above or near 50%.
Often what is lost in these types of discussions is that the outrage is pointed at the very people who have and are the products of a common past.
While that is true, I’m not pointing at anyone specifically, yet encouraging us as a collective nation to acknowledge that this has taken place and to find creative ways to own and repair it.
We all share this past and I find interesting that instead of responding to what I actually said, you brought up a new topic altogether.
The term 'priviledged white' in this article shows your hand.
Either you were 'taught' in a liberal education school or grew up in a liberal population center, because most anyone outside of those typically has varying degrees of native blood and already understands common memory and shared history.
The 'collective history' part is another indication of the underlying socialist agenda.
There is a tendency to point out factions and try to foment hostility or guilt. This is not a way to repair anything.
Reservations are supposed to be sovereign. It is the nation state of the tribe. If you don't like the impoverished conditions, go to the tribe and tell them how bad a job they are doing running their own nation. Now that really would look bad wouldn't it.
As someone who has both native and 'priviledged white' blood i can say this kind of socialist non-sense needs to stop.
your entire reply is so stereotyped and based on assumptions i'm not even sure it's worth a reply because you've revealed your hand as someone who lives in assumptions and isn't willing to think critically or specifically.
from my experience:
Neither is true of me and I currently don't live in a liberal population center either
this is an audacious overstatement that doesn't contain a shred of the generalized truth you're trying to come to here.
in fact, i currently live in an almost completely white rural area with hardly any "liberal socialist agendas" (they all voted for trump) and daresay most of them definitely don't have "varying degrees of native blood and already understand common memory and shared history."
i'm not sure exactly where you're coming from, but i think you've got a painfully obvious narrow worldview -- and it's showing.
what???
understanding what actually happened is not coming to a collective history, it is a collective history that our culture as a whole has continued to pass over and ignore. although in the sentence before this you said that everyone outside of my supposed liberal milieu already shares a common memory and shared history (yet their collective history doesn't lead them down this supposed socialist path)...
what kind of point are you trying to make here? you're pegging me for a liberal socialist, which i'm not
your point also about going to a Rez and telling them "what a bad job they're doing" is ridiculous. the whole point of my article is to shed light on the terrible history that has led to the current state of the Rezs. Native people in the face of this have continued to be resilient, strong and hold onto and revive their culture even though the government and individuals have tried to strip them of their land, traditions, identity, language, spirituality, etc.
all i can say is that you're barking up the wrong tree with your line of thinking in this previous comment. look beyond that. you're dealing in generalizations that hold no merit and it gives you no "argument" (since you've insisted on bringing one from the beginning).
My apologies. 'priviledged white' and 'collective memory' in the post are terms that rarely, rarely, show up without a specific reason. If you didn't orient to those through a educational facility, then did you adopt those terms of your own accord? Where did you gain exposure to them?
Of course if you are young, you probably wouldn't have noticed how far the overton window has traveled in areas of white guilt, and giving agency to natives.
Curious why you keep centering me?
The article clearly isn’t about me; I just shared that paragraph speaking from my perspective, but there’s a whole lot else up there ☝️👆☝️
Just trying to figure out where it's coming from.
So there appears to be three arguments/claims are being made:
1-Indigenous Erasure on the 4th of July
2-ongoing ill treatment of indigenous peoples
3-When we read these words, realize that in the context in which they were written, the "Merciless Indian Savages" were not considered equal
Is this correct, or is there more?
Is there a resolution to these that you prefer but haven't stated?
I'm not sure it matters where it's coming from, more what it's aimed at and where it's going to? Your comments do seem a little bit of a personal attack rather than looking at the content itself? @joesal
That’s correct. I’ve stated acknowledgment of the history and reparations, along with that::
Support native people// be an ally to them to stop the continued oppression and help them thrive
https://linktr.ee/lilnativeboy
This will likely be my last reply in this thread.
A wonderful, conscious and heartfelt post. In Australia, we have a similiar debate on Australia Day, which commemorates the landing of the First Fleet - this is also called 'Survival Day' by indigenous people who see it as the beginning of their dispossession and the genocide and miscengation of their people and a highly insensitive celebration, much like the 4th of July. We too get a a holiday for it, but we don't 'celebrate it'. There's always calls to 'change the date' - some argument for May 8 which is funny (mayeight - read 'mate' in an Aussie way) which is probably a good idea. Fuck Cook and the boat he road in on. Again, Ihijrack your post with an Australian view/story - but I guess it's how I digest and relate to our two countries dilemmas and struggle to move forward to a more unified whole - God bless (which doesn't feel right on my lips, but the sentiment is there).
Also, I enjoyed the debates and discussion in the comments, which is always healthy. :)
yeah, mine either and i don't even really feel that, but i included that in the article b/c honestly i was struggling with how to make my message palatable--- i want to engage and not to turn people off. americans are so fragile and touchy... and this shit doesn't go down our throats well (as evidenced by how few people commented on this article who disagree...).... i wish there was more debate/discussion and i'm glad you said that. although personally I AM SO OVER the stereotyping--- oh she's just a liberal-- chalk it up to that! like that one guy (who's never commented on our posts) who just wanted to know who had taught me what i know and surely i was just liberally educated because otherwise NO ONE EVER is aware of their privilege as white person-- or heaven forbid willing to acknowledge/discuss the underbelly of this country, the fact that it still has implications today, etc. honestly i'm sick of it and i've been doing a lot of processing lately. wtf is up with americans and not being able to face this shit....
i had no ideas of the details of any of your history so thank you for sharing about your similar holiday. i like that you process that way as it helps me see the similarities.... are australians resistant to seeing the damage they've done? i know in canada they're working on reparations for indigenous people (ini's sister is a historian and when she visited earlier this year i picked her brain heavily)... we are so far from reparations it's laughable/a travesty....
Ha even from a distance we label Americans in that way - touchy, patriotic - and what the hell is up with that fierce defence of a constitution that no longer works and that is a fussy historical document born in a time where things were set in motion that created such an unstable and unpleasant future that goes against what your forefathers (maybe) had in mind?
Labels are gettting more and more damaging in this world. Iread what that guy said and responded. Who gives a shit whether 'white priv' originated in social marxism or wherever, it's just words to describe a reality of social division. Sure, not our fault personally, but we have to acknowledge it because then we're also seeing the lack for others.
I'm not sure what reparations means for Americans or you personally.
We are getting there. Yet on one of our morning shows the other day a woman called for indigenous children being adopted into white families because 'thhose people' can't look after their own (this was in the wake of an abuse of an indig child) which was horrifying, considdering we have the 'stolen generation' that involved miscegnation, bleeding out of colour and aboriginality as an express government mandate here in the 20's, 30's - so many children taken away from their families for no reason but to get rid of an entire race. What a naive and ignorant woman - yes, those people still exist. As do the people that say 'don't give them handouts, they'll jsut drink them away' and all those other stereotypes born of ignorance and unwillingness to see the cause of it all - and rather sit on the beach, drape themselves with aussie flags, drink beer and think we're the greatest nation on earth.
americans are so touchy about this is crazy. that's why i made that clause in the beginning.
americans are literally crazy about this shit. it can get you killed and ostracized here to disagree with the flag. it's literally a religion!!!!
yepppppp
this is basically where i live in white rural amerrrrrrrrrrrica .......
I think, to be honest, you're far worse than we are - you have a terrible reputation for it, so much so that I never wanted to go to America nor befriend Americans, and I thought you were all flag waving wankers.
However, I've formed strong friendships with many of you online, and found out that some of you are actually nice, decent, lovely, smart, thoughtful, creative and interesting human beings.
Who knew!!!
lol oh i know we all have a horrible rep. sad part is that yeah a lot of us are like this evidenced by trump. american "exceptionalism" has americans believing we're "the best country on earth" (and i grew up hearing this shit!!) with the "most opportunities, most freedom, best education, most diversity, most stable democracy"-- it's brainwashing at its finest because (as i wrote in my shadow post), as i've grown up, i've started to see what the US really is!!! and how horrible it is!!!! but american exceptionalism is still rampant and breeding like a disease in every nook and cranny of this country. disgusting!!!!
Bahahahahahah
Thank you for sharing this, I agree that we need to create a common memory. A lot of people do not know the real history or their country, many don't even know what these celebratory days stand for.
A lot of people think that Canada is this really friendly place but the story of racism and hatred of first nations people is still deeply woven in our cloth. There is a lot of anger flowing through veins of both the indigenous (First Nations and Inuit) and non indigenous people of this country. Many don't even understand why they hate.
A lot of Canadians judge the reserves without ever having stepped foot on one. The slurs and nastiness is quite shocking. When people share the insane food prices in the North the response is"why don't they just move". A lot don't realize that without many of the Arctic settlements were placed purposefully to protect the sovereignty of Canada's borders not to mention why should they leave their community and family and way of life? I get into a lot of arguments when ignorance is spewed. It is a topic that really fires me up.
Our government attempts to make themselves look good and appease people with celebrations such as: Indigenous peoples day and multicultural day to go along with Canada day but this is not enough. They need to educate and tell the truth and take accountability for what has been happening and is still happening today. If all people including the younger generations that are in school today are educated properly on the history of our country (and it's failure to do right by its people) the future will be a lot brighter for everyone. We need to be strong as a country and that will only happen if there is unified love, compassion and respect.
Phew. If felt good to share a little of how I feel about this. Needless to say there weren't any fireworks or parties at our house on July 1st - Canada Day.
YES - so much about what you shared is true here ,too. this whole "why don't they just move". - paired with their actual, literal traumatic displacement (that is a part of our history people just want to gloss over?!!?!). the entitlement is sick. i'll have ini take a look at your comment and he may have more to say. this canadian context comes up sometimes in discussion- as you say, i think a lot of people want to say/think that canada is so friendly and doesn't have these same atrocities hidden in its closet, but the indigenous displacement, indian residential schools, and way native populations (big focus on the amount of missing indigenous women here) are treated across the country speak volumes.
yes^^^^
i'm glad you shared about it- personally, it's enlightened me how FEW people (who comment on our stuff regularly here) have chosen to even acknowledge this post ... that there is still such a stigma attached to speaking out, speaking the truth, etc. i am betting that many of the homesteaders on this forum (from US) actually would vehemently disagree with me on this article. this is truly where the US is. that is how trump got elected. this underbelly is america and i'm getting over my fear of being unpopular by saying that. i've been burned for speaking out in my family about politics- the fervor and depth of opinion (even if not fact based- or differently fact-based) is so strong that even with a family we cannot "go there".... but i can't be silent any longer. it's time for us all to step up and speak to these things that we know even though it may be difficult or unpopular to articulate.
thanks again for your comment @walkerland. <3 much love to you.
Sometimes humans and human nature (or the nature which many currently embrace) gives me a very heavy heart.
You have very bravely opened up dialogue on a topic that is very contentious. I think it is good to make people feel uncomfortable. Hearing the truth is often very uncomfortable. I do understand why after a certain point sometimes we have to take topics off the table with our families. I only hope that what we do say will sink into their conscience and eventually effect some level make sense to them.
When you mentioned the missing and murdered aboriginal women my heart instantly ached with sadness. I've written about this before (not here) and the lack of attention and outrage that it has garnered in our country horrifies me. Having spent my life in a place where indigenous culture was the only culture that I appreciated I have seen it all, from all sides and perspectives. I know what is true and there is a lot to be answered for.
The one thing that everyone should be aware of is that oppressed people here and in many other countries are finding their voices and strength and bravely standing up. Change is coming.
On a side note. The Inuit culture is fascinating and I think you might enjoy reading this PDF. http://apihtawikosisan.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/InuitWay_e.pdf