Today… Trump was talking/splathering [my combo for splatter and blather] about Elizabeth Warren who has a portion of Native American blood, as many in North, Central and South America and the Island Nations, do– from invasion, from the subsequent dispersal, diaspora, from love, from cooperative ventures, from embattlement, from slaughter.
“The Indian?? Ya mean the Indian??” was Trump’s deleterious nickname, for Warren who, for the last many days, has been using the First Amendment to speak her opinions about him.
However, Trump’s idea is to go after her heritage. Had she been Jewish, would he have said, “Ya mean the Jew?? The Jew??” Or other: “Ya mean the Arab?? The Arab??,” or “Ya mean the whatever”…
But today Donald forgot what those of us concerned with Native affairs, those enrolled, and those carrying the blood as many of us Latinos do for instance, or not carrying the blood, but caring about the many Native issues and struggles just out of human decency… have NEVER forgotten Trump’s displays of racism over the last many decades. That is…
Donald’s continual anger at Native Americans, continual demeaning of Native people. Which included Mexicans who are often mestizo, with half and often near full ancient Native blood. But then of course we dont count as humans, because we’re ‘rapists and murderers’ according to Trump.
But that slurring of people with Native blood, and those who are from the old tribes, is not new for Trump. Not at all.
His lashing out with racist condemnations is not lost on people with Native blood because in ethnic communities whether Cubano, Puerto Ricano, Mexicano, or America Centro or Sur, Santo Domingo and the island Nations [Trump appears to know NOTHING of the history of the slaughters of Native people, the occupations and invasions across the world– and children born– who are now biracial, and often identify most strongly with their indigenous bloodlines and histories– and live here in the USA now.] because we’ve seen his attacks on Native people before.
But I digress.
Time Machine: Just a few instances of Trump’s racism toward Native People that are recent– This text October 5, 2015 from Indian Country, by Tara Houska (Couchiching First Nation) who is a tribal rights attorney in Washington, D.C., a founding member of NotYourMascots.org]
“On Monday, GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump weighed in on the Washington team name. [RedSkins] In an interview with the New York Times, he gave his support for a dictionary-defined racial slur, and went on to say “I know Indians that are extremely proud of that name, they think it’s a positive.”
“So Trump has an Indian friend and they think it’s okay. Gotcha.
“Putting aside the anecdotal evidence of the friend that represents over five million Native Americans, Trump’s past interactions with Native Americans illustrate his understanding of the stereotypes that Native mascots perpetuate…[This despite the numerous tribes and tribal organizations representing nearly 1.5 million Native Americans that condemned the Washington team name…]“In 2000, [Trump] funded an advertising campaign that accused the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe of a long history of violent crimes and drug use. St. Regis was set to open a casino in New York’s Catskill region; the ad asked “Are these the new neighbors we want?” The tribe condemned it as a naked appeal to racism…
[Seven year earlier]…Back in 1993, Trump testified before the House Subcommittee on Indian Affairs and claimed the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation was not authentic, as “they don’t look like Indians to me, and they don’t look like Indians to Indians.” The Pequot Nation’s casino had surpassed his Atlantic City operation as the largest casino in the world at the time.” Read more
There’s more, much more about Trump’s demeaning of Native people and people who carry Native Blood. I’ll detail more in coming days.
But this is what Donald overlooks: Native people belong to Sovereign Nations within our larger USA Nation. They have certain of their own laws and governances and rights on their lands as well as certain issues of protection of religious practices, etc.
However, here’s the news for Trump [who is not a nation builder imo, but a bridge burner in the extreme]: Native people are also FULL USA CITIZENS. And Native people VOTE in Federal and State elections. And can vote AGAINST any candidate by voting for someone who opposes the one who looks at Native people as undesirable, as persons who ought not strive, who ought not to crimp his bully style, who ought not have businesses of their own, and grand ideas.
We were already there in 1519 during the entry of the conquistadores, a group of thug-sailors who took over the Americas by murdering their ways. Columbus too 1492 who wiped out an entire tribal group at fist contact, and bragged about it. Also our ancestors were there and handed the stories of mayhem and beatings and murders as came the Spanish priests who enslaved los indios in the 1600s and 1700s, the cavalry who came, the sudden ‘settlers’ who came who couldnt seem to co-exist. “Trail of Broken Treaties,” is not a global enough phrase. It’s a MOUNTAIN RANGE of LYING, THEIVING, SWINDLING, SCAMMING– that mountain range rings/surrounds the world, anywhere there have been peaceful people who are hunters, fisherpeople, makers, self sustaining families who follow ways time out of mind.
We’ve been there where the loudest mouths of the land with the most money and firepower dictated that the ‘great defective ones’ would die, tribe by tribe.
The difference now, is Trump’s worst nightmare scenario come true. EDUCATED INDIANS.
EDUCATED INDIANS.
No longer on one’s knees. We have a saying in Mexico, No more Malinche on her knees begging to live. [Malinche, said by some to have been a daughter of Moctezuma who is said to have translated for Cortez the invader/ murderer.] No longer easy to boss around because so fearful of losing life or family be harmed. Native people: Articulate, insightful, spiritually strong, often willing to ally straight from the heart with those who truly have hearts. But not with those who do not.
No Malinche. Not ever again.
I’ve an old Irish-Italian-Ute friend [the building of the railroads long ago brought many intermarriages and children of the Irish, and Mediterranean, Native American heritaged people.] [So far spared of Trump’s ethnic slurs against my friend’s Gaelic/Roman ‘kind’ even while clipping his Native heritage, but the night is young]. He says Trump’s long record degrading Native people is because he has the consciousness of a meat-masher, just pounding away impulsively at anything in front of him that does not agree he is a Princeling.
One can easily see in most of the world dictators their huge and inhumane desire to control others, appears to be in order to brag on it. That the bragging is the main point. The slurring is secondary to the mocking, inhumane process of trying to cow and dominate and destroy others. For bragging rights.
Native people seem just to be ‘in Trump’s ambitions’ way’, [the way los indios and farmers and people who watch and care for and are sustained by the land and air and water are –anywhere in the world ever in peril of being ‘in the way’ of those who are invasive, have come to exploit, dictate and dominate for their own narcissistic motives and their power ravenous-rabies-sick animal hungers to ‘be right,’ to be ‘famous’ to be ‘The One’, to have others bow to their fascist ideas of ‘my way or the highway.’]
But /and for certain, today’s Native person is not the obedient, obsequious, bowing person one’s ancestors were beaten into reacting. If Trump were to say ‘When I say ‘Jump Frog!’ you ask How high?’in the mode of all dictators who demand to be served without thought and without self-respect… I think Donald would be very surprised at the response.
As such, he’s made strong enemies. Not a good harbinger. On another front, in the last few days there were many Native protestors on the road as Trump came to give his recent ‘caucus’ speech in Arizona. Developing.]
CODA
‘Us’n Injuns are onter yer’ is what my friend Vine Deloria, author and Native American, replied at a gathering we were at many years ago, when someone introduced him as an “American Injun who was ‘onter’ the ways of the world.’ There is sometimes in some Native Americans [as in many a minority group also] a humor that takes an impolite remark, and repeats it back to make a point.