And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
>From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>Date: Sat, 20 Feb 1999 21:33:06 EST
>Subject: Racism & Effect on Children
>X-Mailer: AOL 4.0 for Windows sub 230
>
>[EMAIL PROTECTED] replies:
>
>RACISM & STEREOTYPING:
>The Effects On Our Children & On Our Future
>
>By Barbara Gray ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
>(Onondaga/Mohawk)
>
>
>Where do the seeds of racism and the general public's tolerance for
>stereotyping Native American peoples begin? Children are born, at least I am
>told by social scientists, with purity, with no predetermined hate of others.
>Therefore, one can conclude that children learn hatred, racism, and
>stereotyping, but the question still remains where do these seeds of hate
>begin, and what can we all do to stop them from growing into dried-up
balls of
>tumbleweeds that drift everywhere in the wind leaving their seeds to spawn
>more?
>
>As a child, I grew up within a traditional Native American extended
family. My
>grandmother was my primary role model. My grandmother's traditional
>Haudenosaunee stories and cultural wisdom passed on to me many lessons of
>morality. In many ways, as I look back now, I understand her ways of
teaching
>more each day, and her voice and lessons still reach out to me during my
times
>of struggle. These words of the past guide me to take the right road. I
worry
>that today's children are not getting these seeds of morality properly
planted
>within their beings. Today's economy, in the United States, is so bad that
>both parents have to work just to make ends meet, which is causing many
>children to have to grow-up fast and raise themselves. Many children are not
>being given the daily lessons of morality and are not having their seeds of
>love and compassion watered.
>
>In other words, today's world is much too focused on the individual, when it
>should be more concerned with our children, for they are our future. If
we do
>not teach our children that racism and stereotyping is unacceptable, then we
>have failed.
>
>As I look back at my grandmother, I realize that she was a victim of racism,
>and she was taught self-hatred. As a very young child my grandmother was made
>to feel sub-human, and she was made to question the things that made her
>different from other children. Not only was she told, on a daily basis, that
>she was a no good dirty Indian, but she was purposely shown that her
ethnicity
>was not equal to the dominant society.
>
>My grandmother was taught that the doll with blue-eyes and blonde hair was
>beautiful and desirable, but when she looked into the mirror, she saw her
>Indian features. My grandmother saw her braided dark black hair and almond
>shaped eyes set in a face with very high cheekbones, which was very different
>from the blue-eyed, chubby faced baby doll. My grandmother's self image was
>greatly affected by the blatant racism imposed upon her by those who
flaunted
>blue-eyed baby dolls that taught Indian children they were different and not
>desired.
>
>On the other hand, my friend who is Apache told me that as a child, her
mother
>would only allow her to play with brown dolls with black hair, and all she
>really wanted was to have blue-eyed baby doll with blonde, but her mom never
>gave it to her. What lessons can we learn from my friend and my grandmother's
>experience?
>
>I think that we need to give our children dolls that represent all the races,
>and teach them that they are all beautiful. If we can teach this equality,
>then they will retain a positive self-image and a positive image of people
who
>look different than themselves.
>
>Of course giving dolls of all races to one's child is not going to solve the
>seeds of racism from being planted because children are influenced from
>outside the family by peers, the school system, team mascots, and by the
>media; but, it may be a beginning. My premise is that the seeds of love and
>compassion need to be planted in our children so that they will reject the
>seeds of racism and stereotyping.
>
>As a child in kindergarten, my class was asked to participate in projects
that
>were supposed to teach us about Indians. Some of the projects included
>cutting out paper eagle feathers and then pasting them onto an Indian
>headdress, which was a western style war bonnet. The class was also asked to
>learn Indian songs and dances. I was asked to pump my hand over my mouth
in a
>mocking war hoop, to dance around like I had ants in my pants, and to sing
the
>song "Ten Little Indians". I was also asked to sit Indian style!! Something
>I never did understand!
>
>I remember feeling badly. I remember rejecting these class projects, which
>was reflected in notes that were sent home to my mother about how I did not
>participate well with others in class projects. I felt like the teacher and
>the students were making fun of my Indian people and our ways. This
>experience made me feel like I was different and unusual, and it made me
angry
>because it was a mockery of my spirituality and way of life.
>
>As I look back, the teacher was very insensitive to the fact that there are
>numerous Indian Nations, and that each one has major differences in clothing,
>spirituality, etc. Having children make a western style war bonnet,
>especially in the east, without explaining that not all Indians wear Plains
>style war bonnets, teaches children to stereotype that all Indians wear this
>type of headdress, which is not true. For example, my people, the
>Haudenosaunee wear a Kastoweh, which is a feathered hat that has a certain
>number of eagle feathers depending on which nation the wearer is from.
>Furthermore, this project fails to teach children that eagle feathers are
>sacred to Indian people and that they are earned and worn in special
>ceremonies to feed the spirit of the eagle feather, to communicate with the
>Creator, and to keep the wearer safe.
>
>The kindergarten dancing failed to teach the children that dancing is a
>spiritual undertaking, for when one dances they are dancing for the Creator.
>Of course there are social dances, but children should be taught that
there is
>a difference between sacred dances and social dances and that each Indian
>Nation has unique styles of dance along with some shared dances.
>
>Asking children to sing "Ten Little Indians" is pure racism. The song is an
>Indian annihilation song that the Pioneers sang to their children to sooth
>their fears. If you remember the song, they count up and then they count
>backwards until there is no Little Indian boys left. Today most people do
not
>even know about the hidden message of eradicating the Indian people in the
>song; however, this song still plants seeds of racism and stereotyping in the
>minds of our children. This song must be stopped from its use in schools
>today!
>
>When my kindergarten teacher showed the class how to warhoop like an Indian,
>she was further stereotyping Indian people as being war like, and she was
>embedding the seeds of racism by having children think that Indians are
>savages. The image of the Indian pumping one hand over their mouth while the
>other hand is clasping a war club is a very common Indian stereotype, which
>needs to be stopped in our schools.
>
>I can remember teachers, in later grades, telling the class to stop running
>around like a bunch of wild Indians, as I sat quietly at my desk. I remember
>how those stinging words made me feel. They hurt my self-image and my
>feelings. These careless racist words also need to be swept out of the
school
>systems and from home use, for they plant the seeds of racism in our
>childrens' minds.
>
>There is a book that has the premise that we learn all we need to learn in
>kindergarten. If the premise is true, then my kindergarten experience shows
>how the seeds of racism and stereotyping can be planted in the minds of our
>children. If the seeds of racism are planted in our children's mind from a
>very earlier age, then they are definitely re-enforced by schools, sports
>teams, and mascots. Racism is further enforced by society's tolerance for
the
>offensive marketing of Native American people and culture. There are sports
>team with derogatory names like the Redskins, which as Charlene Teeters
points
>out, the name refers to the scalping practice of the English who were paid
for
>every Indian scalp collected. There are mascots like the Cleveland Indian's
>Chief Wahoo, which has been describe by Indian activists as a grinning idiot
>resembling the early Black Sambo. Another Mascot that is offensive to many
>Indian people is Chief Illinick who wears a plains style war bonnet and,
>jumps around warhooping like he has ants in his pants. He looks much like
the
>children in my kindergarten class many years ago.
>
>Another offensive marketing scheme is using the name of spiritual leaders to
>sell their alcohol products. There is Big Foot wine and Crazy Horse Malt
>liquor. Crazy Horse was a Lakota spiritual leader who was opposed to alcohol
>consumption, yet Hornell Brewing Co. uses his name to sell malt liquor.
>
>Dominant society preaches tolerance; however, one does not see a Mother
>Theresa Tequila or a Martin Luther Malt Liquor, and one must question why?
>One reason is because society would not tolerate such use, for they would
>effect change by boycotting or other methods of public outrage. So I ask why
>does society tolerate the use when it comes to Native Americans?
>
>Native American activists become quite upset, and rightly so, when the First
>Amendment's free speech doctrine is used as a shield to protect the interests
>of the corporations that use stereotypes that are racist towards Native
>American Indians. Such was the case in Hornell Brewing v. Brady, 819 F.Supp.
>1227 (E.D.N.Y. 1993), in which Hornell Brewing challenged the
>constitutionality of the Congressional Act Pub. L. 102-393, Sec 633, which
>banned "the use of the name Crazy Horse on any distilled spirit, wine, or
malt
>liquor beverage product." In essence, the court found that Hornell's First
>Amendment right was violated by the act. However, when Native American
people
>have to bear more of the weight and burden then others, for the
furtherance of
>free speech, then it is unfair, and furthers racism towards Native American
>Indians.
>
>If children are taught at an early age that it is ok to mock and stereotype
>Indians, when they become in the position to change policy concerning the
>offensive use of Native American Indians and culture, is it any wonder why
>they don't see such use as racism and stereotyping? What I propose is
that we
>look for the seeds of racism in dominant society, and we destroy them by
>replacing these vile seeds. We need to replace the seeds of racism with
seeds
>of morality, compassion, love, and mutual respect, which is found in our
>traditional teachings, so that are children and future my blossom.
>
>
>I would love to hear your comments and responses to this article please write
>me:
>
>[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
>RACISM & STEREOTYPING: The Effects On Our Children & On Our Future by Barbara
>Gray1999©
>
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Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit)
Unenh onhwa' Awayaton
http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/
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