Hi Readers,
We have just celebrated The Fourth of July, watched the fireworks and all got stuffed at the barbecues.It was just a big party that we all had fun with. But did you sit back and think about what you were celebrating?. The formal name for the holiday you were celebrating is Independence Day. It is supposed to commemorate the freeing of The USA from British rule. It is also another vehicle for us to honor the soldiers that have gone to wars to protect our freedom in various countries. That is all well and good if your ancestors came from Europe and emigrated to this country. This country provided emigres with a better future and a new beginning with better jobs, more freedoms, and an education for their children to become the next scientists, educators, and CEO's Of corporations. But, there is a hidden group of people who as yet haven't had their share of the American Dream fully realized! They are barely recognized by American culture or media. They are ridiculed daily by many Americans with caricatures all over the place that show no respect for their culture and they were forced to live in small conclaves that are far from the general population that keeps them in never ending poverty, alcoholism, and drug addiction. The people are Native Americans(American Indians)or like in my case Ojibiway Indian!
I spent the first four years of my life on the LCO Indian Reservation in Northern Wisconsin. Sure I am also Caucasian but as my mom always said, "As long as you have a drop of Indian blood you are Indian!" I do favor my Indian blood over my other ethnicities and write that I am bi-racial on all my legal paperwork.
The vast land that is The USA was populated with numerous tribes with different customs and rituals. Most of the American Indian tribes have Mongolic ancestry because Mongolians traveled over the Bering Strait separating Russia from Alaska and settled in what is now Alaska then went south and populated Canada, The USA then Central and South America.
Before the Caucasian Invasion The land was virulent with lush forests ample vegetation and the only time animals were hunted was to provide meat and pelts to make clothing for tribe members. There was no hunting just for sport or bragging rights. Native Americans were the first environmentalists.
The point I am making is when the Europeans came here they entered an already populated region. This land belonged to the tribes that populated it! The Europeans had NO right to take the land and it's assets without permission! What happened was an invasion! Yet most people in this country don't even say, "Sorry!" to Native Americans. To add more injury sports teams poke fun at us with team names using nomenclature referring to American Indians complete with imbecilic caricatures that make us look ugly and stupid! People can call us all kinds of ugly terms like savages, squaws( that means vagina), and breeds (this was what my grandmother was called on my mom's birth certificate).
Picture how you would feel if Germany won WWII and the soldiers goose stepped their way in to our streets gather up people and forced them to walk to Death Valley and forced to live there. Also if another group of people were forced to live in the Mohave Desert. This is what happened to American Indians, they were forced to walk to Oklahoma in the 'Trail of Tears" to lands that weren't fertile and low quality to live. The Invaders kept the best land for themselves. I don't believe in reservations, since all the lands SHOULD belong to Native Americans we should live wherever we want.
The treaties signed by Indian Chiefs were under duress. The language barrier is one consideration and the fact that White People introduced alcohol to the Native population and created an addiction to alcohol that is very much still a problem today! The question, was the Chief sober? The Native Americans were innocent and not book smart so they were easily persuaded by trinkets to sell their valuable property. $13 for Manhattan?
Have Native Americans won their independence? I don't think so. Not until we are seen as correspondents and anchors on TV news show. Not until we have skilled lawyers investigate all treaties and determine their validity. Not until we are respected or feared enough that they watch their language when referring to us. Not until November( the month to honor Native Americans) is respected and is honored with programs all over the media! We also need more then Famous Dave to represent Native American entrepreneurs.