Onslaught. That's the word that came to me as I contemplated the events in Washington, DC. Especially troublesome to me this morning is the taunting and harassment of Nathan Phillips, the Omaha Elder. I grew up with that sort of behavior in South Dakota.
I suppose I was in junior high at the time of the American Indian Movement protests in South Dakota. They gathered at Wounded Knee. They took over the courthouse in Sioux Falls. They unleashed a furor amid the white population of South Dakota.
I remember a conversation I had with my boss at the grocery store where I worked. Stella was her name. I remember saying "We did take their land, and I suppose we'd be angry too if someone did that to us." Her response was to say what a terrible shame it would have been to leave the great plains and the wonderful farmland in the hands of the Indians. What a waste.
I also remember an event that precipitated the protests at Wounded Knee and elsewhere. A Native American man showed up at a community event south of Pine Ridge, across the border in Nebraska if I recall. A bunch of good ol' boys decided to have some fun and got out their pistols to shoot at his feet to make him dance. Perhaps you've seen that type of scene depicted in art or cowboy and indian movies. It was acted out in real life. The Native American man died that night.
Subhuman. Savages. Drunks. All too common images.
I wish I could say that I had gotten to know my neighbors in South Dakota. Our state had the highest percentage of Native People in the nation. Vast reservations in the western part of the state. Rosebud. Pine Ridge. I played against the Indian Schools in High School sports.
But this was the thing. My belief and experience was that South Dakota was the most segregated state in the nation. The reservations did that. My high school was almost 100% white, save for a couple of Native Americans, who subsequently dropped out of school. The next school district over was on the reservation and 90% Native. There were not separate facilities for whites and 'colored'. There were separate parts of the state for each to live in. Blacks were forced to sit at the back of the bus. There were no buses in South Dakota. No intermingling to speak of at all.
There was the overwhelming sense that the superior race won. White supremacy was so prevalent that it hardly merited speaking about. Everyone just knew it.
But this is the thing. The assertion of racial supremacy is in itself, the proof of the opposite.
One of the best experiences of my collegiate days was to take a minorities studies course at Augustana taught by Dr. Martin Brokenleg. Many lessons about the differences in our cultures. One of the observations that he made which stuck with me is the assertion that Native Americans suffered greatly in this country, in part, because they made lousy slaves. Their spirit simply wouldn't submit. They'd rather die, and many did. That's why we imported slaves. The Lakota were not going to pick cotton.
But back to Covington High School youth and the protests and counter protests in DC. A Christian youth group. A Roman Catholic youth group. Roman Catholic. Many Native Americans have embraced the Roman Catholic faith through the work of the missions over the years. I'm troubled that these young men went to DC as Christians to protest abortion, and yet showed such disrespect for the life of another. Pro-life has to be more than 'anti-abortion'.
Making America Great Again cannot be about returning to the interracial strife of the last century and before.
We are better than that.
This is not a white nation. It never has been. It has always been a mix of peoples, at least since Europeans set foot in the land. Actually, the various indigenous nations that populated the land before European immigration represented a great cultural diversity in and of itself. Cultural diversity is the norm in this land. Always has been.
But the history books I studied haven't done it justice. Hispanics were here first. Natives were always here. This nation was built by immigrants from every part of the world.
Funniest thing about the DC event is that the kids from Covington chanted "Build that Wall". Don't they realize THEY were the immigrants?
I'm hopeful. I honestly believe that we will rise up above racism and grow in our respect for one another. The intimidation of Nathan Phillips would not have made the news in the South Dakota of my youth. We've changed. We will continue to change. And my liberal bias is that we are changing for the better. This latest onslaught of white supremacy will pass. Trump will not be forever.
Yes, one can hope.
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