Where White Men Fear to Tread, part 1 http://www.examiner.com/x-4319-Denver-Alternative-Religions-Examiner~y2009m6d9-Where-White-Men-Fear-to-Tread-part-1
June 9, 2009 by Michelle Cole Recently I picked up the autobiography of Russell Means "Where White Men Fear to Tread". I first read this book many years ago when it was newly released in 1995. I have read more than a few books written by American Indians, telling their personal tales of struggle and triumph, but this is one of my favorites. It is a large book filled with his personal history of growing up Lakota and figuring out for himself what that meant to him. The story is filled with resentment, frustration, anger and sorrow. I understand there will always be those who feel defensive in the face of such powerful emotion, but it is impossible for me to read his life story up to the publish date, and not understand his emotions are hardly un-deserved. Reading the writings of Russell Means reminds me a lot of the father to my friend Nesto. It was hard to spend time in the company of that man and not feel his anger, frustration and resentment-yet it was clear that he never saw me as the problem simply because I had white skin. He welcomed me into his home, and treated me like family and made it clear I was welcome to share the Sweat ceremony he held every week. If we are to get beyond words and prejudices, we must learn that the term 'white man' is not aimed at anyone other than what Mr. Means refers to as Eurocentric culture/thinking. Eurocentric thinking sees undeveloped land and does not see nature in perfect balance, but wasted space that could somehow be earning money. Time, money, power and greed are all by-products of Eurocentric thinking, while Indigenous culture encourages natural balance, respect for nature, being fully present at all times and using both sides of the brain to survive and appreciate life in it's beauty and bounty. This book will give you examples of events that will help you to understand where the resentment, frustration, anger and sorrow was born from. We start by learning of his parents and the movement to relocate and destroy the heritage of indigenous people by taking the children from the families and sending them to religious boarding schools. There is a whole generation of American Indians who were forced to cut their hair and taught English without being able to learn their native languages. This generation became largely converted to Christianity and were taught to be ashamed of their heritage and they shunned the wisdom of their Elders. These children were pulled away from a Matriarchal society and planted into a Patriarchal society and were told their culture as it had been for eons was nothing to be proud of. Instead of learning the natural rhythms of nature, they were 'educated', instead of being treated with respect and love, they were beaten into submission. Russell was fortunate to have Grandpa John, who held onto his pride and passed to him the habit of thinking for himself to solve riddles, stories and life's problems. From his grandfather he learned to appreciate nature and to learn from the wisdom of the natural world. To give his grandson an idea of how little humans meant to the planet, he explained that if all the growing green things of earth were taken from earth, there could be no life. If all the four-legged creatures were taken, there could be no life. Same could be said of the winged creatures, the creatures that crawled or swam and lived in the depths of the soil or waters of the earth: without them, there would be no life on earth. Take away every living human being and life on earth would flourish. This is a thought I've carried close to my heart for much of my own life, but I did not have a Grandpa John to teach me, I think this should be common sense and instead most humans seem to think life on earth was created solely for them. He had a grandmother, lovingly named Grandma Twinkle Star (for her habit of singing Twinkle Twinkle to her grandchildren) who converted to Christianity but shared some family history with Russell. Her own mother had been a young child when her grandmother grabbed a cooking implement and chased Custer at the Greasy Grass. This was where Custer died and while only those present will know for certain how things happened and why, Grandma Twinkle Star had a different approach than most historians will share. It has been widely accepted that Custer died valiantly during battle and that the Indians held him in such high regard or respect they did not disturb his body where it lay. From her mother's account, none of the Lakota wanted to soil their hands by even touching the vile filth that was Custer and they witnessed his suicide as they ran after him, yelling and screaming for him to leave. They wanted him to return to his government and tell of his defeat, they wanted him to explain the loss of his entire regiment, many to suicide. These men had personally been responsible for the mutilation and deaths of enough native people, they feared being caught and took their lives instead. Suicide can be the ultimate act of cowardice, and I see it a fitting end to the worst kind of coward that Custer was. It does not surprise me that Russell Means was born under the sign of Scorpio, a sign that urges us Scorpios to pursue matters of spirituality. He has spent his life fighting for the Spiritual Rights of his people, to live their lives in peace and harmony, without the interference and harassment of the American government. It is the desire of people like Mr. Means to see their people rise above government reliance and become truly free once again. Even though at one point, along with many others, the Federal offices of the BIA were taken under siege and went unnoticed for over a week, the BIA still exists today. The BIA still carries far too much weight and control over the very people it was developed (supposedly) to protect. Living on a reservation means being under the control of the BIA, living on a reservation means you have no rights. The Bill of Rights that we take for granted do not apply to Reservation Indians, they have no right to bear arms and have no protection from unreasonable searches of their homes. Poverty is rampant on reservations, while people lament the deplorable conditions of children around the world, they ignore the 3rd world country in our midst. Federally supplied surplus food consists largely of nutritionally deprived starchy ingredients, which make a body eager for sugar. The fastest, quickest and easiest form of sugar comes in the body of alcohol and alcoholism and spousal abuse run rampant in a culture that lived in the harmony and balance a Matriarchal society provided them before reservations existed. Russell was raised outside the reservation, a move his parents consciously made to prevent their children being taken from them and sent to boarding school. However, the pressures of trying to keep a family together proved difficult and while his father fought alcoholism, his mother tried to care for her children while working. When the stress become too much, she reverted to what she had been taught as acceptable behavior and was constantly hitting and yelling. Russell grew up spending much of his time fighting and ultimately placed his life in danger more than once to stand up for what he knew to be right. Early in the book he acknowledges that when he put fear aside he won the ultimate victory because "as long as you suffer fear, you cannot experience true freedom" Understandably, he does not have many kind words for the missionaries who moved onto Lakota lands to convert his people. I've never understood this feeling that it is your job to 'save' someone else, especially when that someone else already has in place an extensive and ancient Spiritual practice. Today, many churches still carry title to many native lands actually on reservations. Ask yourself: how can an outside entity, such as a Church, own Indian land? The Quakers were once very active on reservations, but they eventually moved on, realizing Christianity was not helping the Indians. What kills me is the ignorance and refusal to acknowledge that Indigenous people have their own traditions, that to Indigenous people, their spirituality and way of life are one and the same. In a speech given by a friend of his, a number of Ojibwa who were taking place in a Catholic Church pageant were told "They tell us 'Thou shalt not steal', yet the Catholic Church owns more land on Indian reservations than any other single entity!". The Ojibwa took a stand and refused to take part in the farce that was a pageant showing the feelings of brotherhood shared with the Catholic Church. While I respect the born desire to connect to Spirituality in most people, I have no patience for the ignorance of people who believe their personal brand of religion/spirituality is superior to others, especially in regards to cultures that have their own traditions and ceremonies. Especially when you realize those cultures have been in place long before white man even developed written language. During the story of his life, we learn of the many fights Russell Means has fronted to promote the fight for justice in the names of all American Indians, in fact for all indigenous people all over the world! His personal "Holy Grail" has been the fight to restore the lands of the Black Hills to their proper caretakers-the Lakota. I have before mentioned my personal avoidance of Black Hills Gold jewelry and the reasons behind it. In 1868 a treaty was entered with the Lakota, promising them their Holy Lands. Then gold was discovered and even though in a previous treaty it was stated no land could be sold without 75% of the Lakota's approval, less than one ninth of the population were given ample liquor and coerced into putting their 'marks' on a piece of paper, which basically gave away their rights to their sacred Paha Sapa. It amazes me the flippant disregard Americans hold this event with, never realizing the Black Hills are to the Lakota what Israel is to the Jewish. Their traditions state that they came from the earth in the Black Hills, this is where they lived for eons before white men forced them to take residence up on the open plains. While making a stand for attention to the betrayal of the Lakota people, they camped out atop Mt. Rushmore. Upon arrival, they scouted about to get a feel for things, and discovered postcards being sold that depicted the Wounded Knee massacre in 1890. The picture showed a mass grave, Indian bodies piled high and the cavalrymen looking mighty proud of a 'job well done'. This was in the early 70's, not more than 30 years ago the lives lost of peaceful Indian women and children were being touted as meaningless, just a picture on a postcard showing how the American Way had triumphed over those savages. The thought of this postcard makes me ill, angry and saddened at the continuing ignorance prevalent in society. I never plan on visiting Mt. Rushmore, because I see it as insult to injury. First the government steals the Sacred Lands of the Lakota and then carves the heads of men who contributed to their hardships. Russell Means also played a large role in AIM, joining after it was formed and becoming heavily involved in it's fight to promote the rights of American Indians. AIM stands for the American Indian Movement and while it was touted in media and by government as a militant group, they formed to bring power to the voices of ignored Indians across the country. The BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs) was once taken and held by AIM and followers of AIM. The government funded BIA was unable to perform any duties for over a week, and was never missed. What better example of bureaucratic waste of taxpayers money can there be? After reading this autobiography, I am convinced that the 'land-grab' the American government started so long ago is still going strong to this day. People will say it's just the way it is, the conquered become property of the conquerers-get over it. Yet, I still believe in what is right, what is just and I don't understand how anyone can look at the lands originally granted to hundreds of Nations of American Indians compared to what they are today and not feel the wrong done to them. There are many nations that have completely disappeared, slowly having their lands chipped away until they no longer have the will, strength or numbers to continue fighting for their ancestral lands. Whole cultures have faded into American Society and I see that as something to be saddened by, not gladdened by. I will continue the review of Russell Means' autobiography in Part 2. To learn more about Russell Means, his continuing fight for the Lakota and Indigenous people around the world, you can visit these two sites. The T.R.E.A.T.Y. site is dedicated to his personal fight for total immersion schools for Lakota children-to teach them their language and traditions, because it is still illegal for them to learn their own language in the schools our government sets up on reservation lands. I admire this man for his never-ending struggle to bring his people back to balance and harmony, against the greatest of odds and always having to fight the ignorance of the majority. http://treatyschool.org http://russellmeans.com . --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Sixties-L" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/sixties-l?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
