INDIAN PROUD

This section may seem random at times. I will try to keep it at as in-line as possible but while pouring thoughts on "paper" it is sometimes difficult to keep things flowing. I am part Native American as told to me by my grandmother. I have found it difficult to prove this through a family line but taken into account the history of this country and the many assualts and attacks on Indian women it doesn't surprise me. There is probably Indian blood in many who don't know it or expect it based on this brutal history. The issue touches me on a personal level but also on a basic level of outrage over injustice. So even if you aren't personally involved, shouldn't you be involved just for the need to stand up for what is right?

U·to·pi·a (definitions taken from dictionary.com)

1. an imaginary island described in Sir Thomas More's Utopia (1516) as enjoying perfection in law, politics, etc.

2. (usually lowercase) an ideal place or state.

3. (usually lowercase) any visionary system of political or social perfection.

We all dream of living in a perfect society. Most visionaries have written about it many times in many ways. What we are striving for is a life that the Native Americans had and we destroyed. Instead of making them adapt to our ways, what might have happened if we had adopted their ways? Let's take a look at how they lived versus the issues we had and are still working for:

1. The fight for womens' rights and respect for the elderly. The Native Americans held women in great regard. Their opinions were respected and often sought out. Nothing in their daily tasks were considered menial and their roles in war were considered just as important as the fight itself. Elders were very much respected and many, including children, valued their lessons and sought them out to listen to stories. The history, culture, and wisdom was handed down by the elders. During meals they were always the first to be served and taken care of. They knew that great wisdom only comes from experience and lessons learned through time and the willingness to take the time to listen to those with that wisdom.

2. Poverty. In the Native culture, wealth wasn't judged by how much you owned but by how much you gave away. When we celebrate a birth, a wedding, or a holiday we expect things to be given to us. Their greatest moments were celebrated by giving things away. This is where the term "Indian Giver" came into play before it got perverted into what it is now. Everything that was done was for the good of the tribe. Hunters provided meat for everyone, not just for their own families. Greed was not a part of their culture. There were not classes among Natives.

3. Environment. The Natives took care of the land. They were a part of nature and felt connected to every living being. They had respect for the animals and did not kill for sport. They only killed what they needed and did not let any part of the animal go to waste. There was no fear of extinction because there was no excess killing. The tribes moved around from place to place. This was so they would not use up the land till it was barren and useless. They would farm and hunt in one area and then move on to another so that this part of the earth could renew itself and would be ready again for their return. They knew the earth was a gift and a part of them, so they respected the connection and the gift.

4. Healthcare. Healers were very much respected. They were not wealthy, did not turn people away for having nothing to give them, and often suffered much. They did not choose this profession and were not looking for wealth and prestige. They were selfless and existed only to save others.

5. Religion. They had deep spirituality. There were no fights between "denominations", one group is always right and all others are wrong. They didn't have to have fancy buildings built and have competitions over who wears the nicest clothes to service. They weren't preaching one thing and living another. They didn't need a go between to get them closer to the spirit and tell them what to think and how to pray. When they needed to communicate they stripped themselves of everything and isolated themselves. They were constantly connected to spirit through every living thing daily. Perfect harmony.

6. Gay rights. Native Americans also had gay tribe members. However, they were not outcasts or looked down upon. They were considered important members of the tribe and had a special place in it. It was considered a great honor to have a gay member give your child a name. They didn't believe it was unnatural or a sin.

7. Government. While it was true they had Chiefs, each member of the tribe had a say and their opinion mattered and counted. There was no corruption and greed involved and a Chief could not be bribed. Their sole concern was the well being of whole tribe. Our whole government and democracy was taken from the Iroquois.

If these beliefs had been allowed to stay in place and we had adopted those ways, just think of what our world might be like today.

Genocide, Slaughter, Holocaust. Do you think these words are extreme? Think they don't apply? I will have to respectfully disagree with you. I want you to picture something for a minute. Picture yourself living day to day. Making ends meet in a nice house with a nice yard. All of the sudden, the millitary shows up on your doorstep. They tell you that they need your house and land and that you must move and can only take with you what you can carry. Your house and all left belongings are then burned to the ground and a Walmart put in its' place. Or better yet, a politician takes over the property. So with nothing much left you start over and make a new house, not as nice as before but suitable. Again the millitary comes in, takes it all, but this time you don't get to choose where to live. They place you in a run down apartment complex with others who have been removed from their homes. You start to rebuild your life and go on. Again they come in, realizing that the apartment complex is on land that can still be used for other things. You want to stand up for yourself but others before you have done that and been beaten and killed. This time everyone in the complex is put together and you must all carry you possesions and walk miles to your new home. In freezing cold temperatures, no resting, while the soldiers herd you all along like cattle driving in their cars. Children and elderly die along the way. Your destination is a desert. A fenced in area where nothing grows and game is scarce. But this is not the end of the torture. You can not live like you want to. Millitary is always there and in charge. You can not leave the fenced in area. You were promised compensation for your lost property, you had a signed contract proper and right. But ending here you know that you will not get what was owed to you. You are given a shack to live in. The little food you are given each month doesn't last a month and are the leftovers that millitary doesn't want. Blankets and clothes given to you are filthy and full of holes. But it doesn't stop here. English is no longer the language of the country. While it is your native tongue, you are forbidden to speak it and punished if you do. Your children are taken and put into schools so they can be forced to unlearn everything that you have taught them. You are forced to farm land that is unfarmable. Is it bad enough for you yet? It doesn't end there. Your religion? Well that is all wrong. You are no longer allowed to pratice as you always have. Satanism is now the countrys' religion and you must practice it. You have no choice. A group who gathered in secret to practice as they always have, in a country "founded" on freedom of religion, was ruthlessly slaughtered. Men, women, children, elderly, all unarmed, savagely gunned down in the snow. Frozen bodies in death poses all thrown together in one big hole. No ceremony or proper burial for them. Feel like you have been stripped of everything? Because they were. Would you have survived all of this? They did. Despite repeated attempts to wipe out their entire population, they remain today. They are not conquered. Tell me who the "savages" really were. Try to put their struggle into perspective. Do you get angry when they protest holidays like Columbus Day or Thanksgiving? Look at it in a new way. Say we get conquered by the terrorists and suddenly there is an Osama Bin Laden Day. A day to celebrate the mass killings that happened on 9/11. Would you be happy about that? Would you celebrate or protest? Columbus massacred Indians and those he didn't kill he put into slavery. He didn't even discover America. How can you discover a place that is already inhabited? Who is America named after? And Thanksgiving? I feel there is no arguement needed. It's a fabricated story and we all know it. Among Native Americans and their supporters, we celebrate it as the National Day of Mourning. And each year we get together in Plymouth, MA and hold a rally in support of Natives and political prisoners like Leonard Peltier. To learn more about the National Day of Mourning, please click on the link at the bottom of the page. If you can make it, please attend and show your support for this cause, and celebrate Thanksgiving in a new way. Start a new tradition with a positive message.