Racism and Genocide in America by the US Government

[vern_humphrey]

I thought the Ghost Dance was outlawed. Am I wrong? Do you have some info on the Sun Dance? Bro gave us some stuff on sweat lodge earlier.

The Ghost Dance was a messanic religion preached by a Piute named Wevoka in the 1880s. Although it swept across the western tribes, the Kiowas never accepted it. They sent representatives to visit Wevoka and found he could not speak Kiowa, so they rejected his religion.

The Sun Dance is an old tradition among the Plains Indians, but the Kiowa have “put it away” and no longer practice it.

 

[Jerusha]

From my research, the Ghost Dance Religion was Wvoka’s response to the offense of Mormonism to Native Americans. He had had extensive contact with them. Remember that Wounded Knee was the white response to the killing of a Mormon cow by starving Indians.

The Sun Dance has many analogies to a re-enactment of the Crucifixion. It may have Christian roots.

 

[vern_humphrey]

From my research, the Ghost Dance Religion was Wvoka’s response to the offense of Mormonism to Native Americans. He had had extensive contact with them. Remember that Wounded Knee was the white response to the killing of a Mormon cow by starving Indians.

The Sun Dance has many analogies to a re-enactment of the Crucifixion. It may have Christian roots.

The Sun Dance does not have Christian roots – the Sun Dance was being celebrated before European contact – but some Christian ideas may have been incorporated in some native religions.

The Ghost Dance, on the other hand, is definitely Christian-inspired. At one time, the indian tribes were “given” or assigned to various Christian sects. Ironically, the Commanche-Kiowa, possibly the most warlike of all, were assigned to the Quakers. The rude clash between theory and practice in running their reservation resulted in the Agent, Lawrie Tatum, being censored by the Quakers.

 

[Bennie_P]

The Sun Dance does not have Christian roots – the Sun Dance was being celebrated before European contact – but some Christian ideas may have been incorporated in some native religions.

The Ghost Dance, on the other hand, is definitely Christian-inspired. At one time, the indian tribes were “given” or assigned to various Christian sects. Ironically, the Commanche-Kiowa, possibly the most warlike of all, were assigned to the Quakers. The rude clash between theory and practice in running their reservation resulted in the Agent, Lawrie Tatum, being censored by the Quakers.

Wow, Vern this is interesting information, is there a book(s) on the subject that you could recommend?, I would really like to read more about it, that is missionaries being assigned to the tribes. Thanks Bennie P

 

[vern_humphrey]

Wow, Vern this is interesting information, is there a book(s) on the subject that you could recommend?, I would really like to read more about it, that is missionaries being assigned to the tribes. Thanks Bennie P

The place to start on anything to do with Indians is to get a catalog from the University of Oklahoma Press.
oupress.com/

Publishes scholarly books, especially Native American studies, classics, natural history, and regional interest titles.

(The site is currently down for maintenance, however.)

One book I strongly recommend is Carbine and Lance by William S Nye. Nye was assigned to Fort Sill, OK in the 1920s, when many of the old warriors were alive as well as many of the old soldiers. He spent years making friends, winning the confidence of Indians who feared imprisonment for their deeds during the Indian wars, and locating and marking historic sites in the area.

 

[Bennie_P]

The place to start on anything to do with Indians is to get a catalog from the University of Oklahoma Press.
oupress.com/

(The site is currently down for maintenance, however.)

One book I strongly recommend is Carbine and Lance by William S Nye. Nye was assigned to Fort Sill, OK in the 1920s, when many of the old warriors were alive as well as many of the old soldiers. He spent years making friends, winning the confidence of Indians who feared imprisonment for their deeds during the Indian wars, and locating and marking historic sites in the area.

Thank you Vern.

 

[vern_humphrey]

Thank you Vern.

If you ever get a chance, Fort Sill is well worth visiting. Be sure to see the Old Post Guardhouse and the Corral.

 

[JohnPaulTwoToo]

Let’s say some prayers for these folks:

It appears the OPP may have finally taken some action against native protestors in Caledonia. Reports from the scene of a long standoff at a housing subdivision indicate cops moved into the disputed land on Wednesday afternoon and took 18 people into custody. All those arrested are said to be natives.

There’s no word on what prompted the police action or if any charges have been laid. But there doesn’t appear to have been the kind of violence many fear a police move might incite. And the OPP hopes to keep it that way. “We’re just asking everybody to be respectful to each other while this is unfolding and we’ll have a peaceful resolution at the end of the stay,” offers Sgt. Dave Rektor.

The natives have been involved in a land dispute in the Hamilton-area town since February 2006. Tempers have flared constantly between residents and those occupying the tract since then. The natives insist the land is theirs and are demanding the government return it to them. Residents counter the government is too afraid to do anything and have handcuffed police, allowing the natives to get away with serious crimes.

This latest incident follows a violent confrontation that took place last week between a home builder and those on the land. Fifty-two-year-old Sam Gualtieri was discovered unconscious and bloody after he went to check out a home under construction. He suffered serious skull injuries and there are allegations he was beaten during a confrontation with the protestors.

But Rektor refuses to say if the arrests are related to that attack, although they did take place in the same area. “The investigation into the assault on the contractor is still under way,” he explains. “We’re working with the Criminal Investigations Unit to find the persons responsible for that and we’re very hopeful that we’ll be able to do so.”

18 Protestors Arrested In Caledonia

http://www.citynews.ca/images/2006-06/apr2106-caledonia320.jpg

 

[mgrobertson79]

Osiyo (Cherokee for Hello),

It has been quite a few months since I have posted to the forums here and this topic in particular. I would like to point everyone to a few examples of the true poverty that exists in America and in particular on Native American reservations.

On the Pine Ridge reservation in rural Shannon County, South Dakota many people are forced to share housing with multiple families due to a lack of housing. They are also lacking in food and basic nutrients. There are children here who go to bed each night hungry, only getting one small meal during the day. The life expectancy here is only in the mid 40’s with a large number of diabetes cases and other likely preventable medical problems. The people are living in houses where, due the large amount of moisture, black mold grows on the walls and mushrooms grow in the bathtubs and other parts of the houses.

This story is not uncommon on reservations in the US today. The situation, short of some serious help, is bleak to say the least. We have shown our generosity as a nation when it comes to helping overseas disasters, remember the tsunami. What are we going to do to help alleviate the disaster that is ongoing here at . home? There are ways to help. As far as the Pine Ridge reservation, you can contact a few organizations.

One Spirit
nativeprogress.org/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/

Friends of the Pine Ridge Reservation
friendsofpineridgereservation.org/

Re-Member
re-member.org/

I know that any and all assistance will be appreciated this Christmas season and remember in the great scheme of things, we are all related.

 

[mgrobertson79]

Remember that Wounded Knee was the white response to the killing of a Mormon cow by starving Indians.

Actually this statement is completely false. The massacre at Wounded Knee Creek occurred due to white supremecism which can still be seen in America and around the world today. The soldiers opened fire on the Natives from surrounding hills, shooting Women, Children and Elderly men in the backs. This was a corwardly act for which the nations highest honor was bestowed, the Congressional Medal of Honor. There was no honor in the acts these men did that day and the revisionist history would have you believe the Lakota somehow started it. They did not. They were a peaceful people who were tired of white settlers and the US government breaking treaty after treaty in relation to their land. The treaty of Fort Laramie is the main treaty refered to and the US government can even abide by it today. The dispicable way the “christian” and even catholic communities treated the Native Americans needs to be repudiated. These people were not savages as the white explorers would have had you believe(Yes, Lewis and Clark were bigots). The missionary priests abused and mistreated Native American children. They basically told them the way they had lived for there entire lives was uncivilized, when in fact the way the whites treated them was what was uncivilized. To remain quite about this is to condone it and we can not at any cost condone this or any form of racism or genocide.

You may ask why I have used the word Genocide here. There are a number of reasons. Starting with President Andrew Jackson(notorious bigot), the country began mistreating the native population and in the late 1830’s forced entire tribes including the Cherokee and others to march from the mountains in NC, SC, GA, AL and TN to Oklahoma(anywhere from 800 to 1000 miles). These people were helpful to the whites and were in no way a threat to anyone, it was all about greed and land possession. The army after the civil war was over was tasked with protecting settlers during the “westward expansion”. The indians saw the way the whites treated the land and the way they destroyed or harmed everything they touched and some decided to fight for their way of life. The settlers came in larger numbers and by the early to mid 1870’s conflicts became more common. The natives were not the first to scalp there enemies, this distinction goes to the French Canadian fur traders and others who taught the natives. Custer and his 7th Cavalry was tasked with defeating and containing the natives. Custer was extremely brutal in his fighting and met his end in a fitting manner for a cold blooded murderer. General Philip Sheridan allowed millions of buffalo to be slaughtered by both settlers and the army and said the only way to have peace was to exterminate the buffalo and make the natives dependent on the US government. The Lakota and many other tribes are dependent on the government to this day. They have lost most of there culture due to the US government completely outlawing their different religions(contrary to the constitution) and forced there children to be put up for adoption by non natives. The goal was to make them, by force if necessary, civilized. If this is civilized I want no part of it.

 

[JohnPaulTwoToo]

The Lakota and many other tribes are dependent on the government to this day. They have lost most of there culture due to the US government completely outlawing their different religions(contrary to the constitution) and forced there children to be put up for adoption by non natives. The goal was to make them, by force if necessary, civilized. If this is civilized I want no part of it.

The government’s goal of cultural devastation as being primary is very carefully obscured and obstinately denied. Although the native population in Canada has recently topped a million and is rapidly growing, language and culture is being lost at an unprecedented rate. I stumbled upon this article about the so-called settlement of residentional school claims that really got me thinking:

…what has never been resolved or even adequately discussed is just how many of the 12,000 natives suing the residential schools, are doing so for sexual abuse or for physical abuse, or for cultural/linguistic reasons. Native children were taken from their communities and then forbidden to speak their own languages at the schools. This policy was devised by the federal government in order to prepare them for integration into the larger Canadian society.

So far, there has been no legal precedent to compensate for the cultural/linguistic loss and in fact, the government has not, as yet, even considered any such claims. But the loss of language and culture rank much more highly in the priorities of native leaders than in those of the federal government.

Ken Young, vice-chief of the Assembly of First Nations, said in a letter to Ralph Goodale, the federal minister in charge of the issue: “Providing a resolution model that deals only with physical and sexual abuse cases as the sole legal solution. . .is totally unsatisfactory.”

Matthew Coon-Come, former National Assembly chief was heard in a CBC radio interview on November 20, 2002, to say that the Federal/Anglican agreement was objectionable because it left out the cultural aspect. This aspect he said, was the principal harm inflicted in 90% of the cases (N.Post; Toronto Star; CBC).

Yet all this time, we have been told that the issue was sexual abuse, or at least physical abuse; now it seems to be mostly cultural.

What kind of abuse at residential schools?

So it looks like Catholics and Natives are really brothers and sisters in the culture wars. All are fighting for our spiritual lives against a monster that wants to turn us into soulless robots.

 

[RachelsAlumni]

All this issue of blood lines, I think has to do with establishing whether an individual belongs to a Indian sovereignty rather than racism. African Americans are not considered a separate sovereignty so there is no need to establish blood lines.

I have some experience with Indians since I used to work for the So. Cal Tribal Association (SCTA).

Indians are considered a Sovereign Nation and their land, the Rez, sovereign land.

While working for the SCTA I was injured on the job. My workplace was on US/State land, not on Tribal land, but my employer was the tribe. Only two weeks after my injury and filing a worker’s comp claim my employer fired me and refused to pay for my medical bills.

This act is highly illegal in US labor law, but because they are sovereign they do not have to abide by US Federal or State labor laws.

My only recourse was to sue them in their Indian courts, a tribal court. There is only one attorney in my area who handles tribal cases and he told me that even if I win my case I will still be responsible for attorneys fees because Tribal courts do not compensate for attorneys fees, which were higher than average since there’s only one attorney who knows tribal courts.

I wound up having to pay for my own medical costs from my injury since it turned out to be less than what I would pay the attorney.

Needless to say, I would never work for them again and don’t recommend others to as well. You have to view them and dealings with them the same way you would view working for a Canadian, Mexican, or other foreign country.

 

[JohnPaulTwoToo]

I stumbled on an initiative that may provide Catholics with an avenue to help heal the wounds and change the playing field:

Catholic Aboriginal Council for Reconciliation

The Catholic Aboriginal Council for Reconciliation (CACR), established in 1998 by the Bishops of Canada, encourages Aboriginal leadership in the Christian community, supports healing and reconciliation, and advises the bishops on Aboriginal questions.

Six Aboriginal Catholics from all parts of Canada are members, as well as Most Reverend Albert LeGatt, Bishop of Saskatoon, and Most Reverend Claude Champagne, O.M.I., Auxiliary Bishop of Halifax.

Mandate

• The mission of the Catholic Aboriginal Council for Reconciliation (CACR) is to examine and address current issues regarding Aboriginal Peoples within the Catholic Church in Canada. The CACR will seek to promote Aboriginal People’s culture and traditional celebrations within the context of the Catholic faith.
• In particular, the Council will study and analyze issues related to Catholic Aboriginal spirituality and education. It will encourage Aboriginal leadership in the Christian community, as well as support and encourage reconciliation in the context of the Catholic reality.
• The CACR will serve as an important link between Aboriginal Catholics and Non-Aboriginal Catholics; it will establish partnerships that promote and advocate for meaningful relationships between Aboriginal Peoples and the Catholic Church at large. The CACR will also advise the Bishops of Canada on issues related to Aboriginal Peoples.

 

[markomalley]

In America there is a government agency known as the Bureau of Indian Affairs. It is the agency tasked with administering the programs relating to the Native American population. The agency has a long standing policy requiring what is known as a Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood for registration with a tribe and for tribes to be eligible for federal recognition. What would happen if we were to require African Americans to show proof of African Blood, or Irishmen to show proof of Irish Blood and so on. It is the only place in this country where a particular group of people are segregated due to their race and others excluded by the government because their ancestors were not listed on a particular “roll” or census taken among Native Americans at the turn of the 20th century.

The policy is known as Blood Quantum and effectively assures the elimination of the Native Americans in only a matter of time. It is said that this policy ensures this by “watering down” the blood lines of Native Americans through intermarriage and so on. In the old days the natives intermarried as a part of their culture and assimilated each others tribes. It wasn’t a big deal until the US Government came along and said that unless they were full blooded Cherokee or Sioux or Creek or Choctaw or whatever tribe they were, then they were not really Indian.

This means that through intermarriage under this policy of the BIA that Native Americans only become more white, but never more Indian.

I believe it is time to acknowledge the original inhabitants of this country and give them at least an apology and make an attempt at restitution for the crimes perpetrated against them in the name of progress.

It is also time to abolish the almost 160 year old practice of requiring registration with the US Government to claim Native American heritage. The racism must end and in order for that to happen it must be brought out into the open.

There is a survey online at petitiononline.com/0001/that will at least give a voice to those of us who wish to stand up for the civil and human rights of the Native Americans and their descendants.

[SIGN]Social Justice - dialogue about Church teaching with societal implications, pro-life/pro-choice issues, just war doctrine, human rights [/SIGN]

Why was this thread started? At least, why was this thread started in the “Social Justice” forum?

You made no points about the Church’s teachings, about the Church’s stand on the current issue, or whatever else.

Although I, too, have a grandmother who was Cherokee, I have absolutely no dog in this fight (I have never felt discriminated against…except against the other 3/4’s of my blood). So I would simply dismiss this as another “I hate _____” thread…but I have no idea the agenda for putting this within the Apologetics Forum in the Social Justice subforum.

Could you please enlighten me as to the reasons for posting this in the “Catholic Answers Forums” and its relevance to the subject, at hand?

(BTW, yes, I do see that some other posters happened to bring this thread into the context of the forum, but I perceive that to be an act of mercy)

Thank you

(on edit, to correct formatting)

 

[Bro_Joshua]

[SIGN]Social Justice - dialogue about Church teaching with societal implications, pro-life/pro-choice issues, just war doctrine, human rights [/SIGN]

Why was this thread started? At least, why was this thread started in the “Social Justice” forum?

You made no points about the Church’s teachings, about the Church’s stand on the current issue, or whatever else.

…

(on edit, to correct formatting)

Well, I can’t speak for why the issue originated in Catholic Forum, but I can explain why I made some contributions to this thread. These are real life issues that many people of faith are concerned with and many would like to handle through our Church Elders. The famous American Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s-1970s had many Clerics and Religious, Bishops and Pastors involved in sorting through those issues along with their parishioneers. I recall in the early days of that movement a lot of folks, laity and religious or clergy felt that was not a Church concern, but it certainly became a dominate Church issue.
We spoke of it in the Church circles, the Medicine Lodges, and the Civic or political circles also. Some folks were angry the issue was raised, others realized it was a Christian or Traditional obligation to get involved and make a difference because we are all related, and we have One Great Father of all and we need to care for each other.
Maybe some of these topics are not welcome by some in the organization called Catholic Answers Forum – but it is in the universal forum of the Church that we address these things. Pope John Paul II and our current Pope Benedict XVI accepts these issues and have frequently address these concerns.
I see there has been no posting from February until now following your request. Perhaps the concerns of our relatives are unwelcome here?
I trust that we are all welcome to talk about this. It affects the relationships our children and grandchildren and the next seven generations will have with each other. So much has improved once the old Civil Rights Movement gaind overall Church membership approval and support; but there was lots of pain and fears, tears and trials in getting there. I guess that is how relationships eventually are uplifted.