Russell: Got indigenous?
By
Steve Russell
|
| Once more, the bill to recognize Native Hawaiians as having the same sovereign status as Indian nations is pending in Congress. |
Once more, the bill to recognize Native Hawaiians as having the same sovereign status as Indian nations is pending in Congress. In the world of right and wrong, the only opponents with a leg to stand on are the minority of Native Hawaiians who oppose the bill because they want their full sovereignty back. Should a majority of Native Hawaiians adopt that position, the bill should be opposed simply because the politics of the Hawaiian relationship with the United States is Hawaiian business.
As long as the argument of the status of Native Hawaiians persists in Congress or in the courts, Indians have a dog in the fight. If Native Hawaiians win, the legal sovereignty of American Indian tribes is more secure. David Yeagley, the rightwing Comanche activist, recognized this when he wrote an op-ed opposing the Hawaiians. Indians who think the current understanding of tribal sovereignty is not worth maintaining should oppose the Hawaiians just like the white people who consider tribal sovereignty to be “race privilege” that disadvantages them.
An Associated Press report on the Native Hawaiian bill quotes Gail Heriot, a member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights as saying that granting sovereign status to Native Hawaiians would be like doing the same for Cajuns in Louisiana or Chicanos in the Southwest. This appears to be the Republican Party line. Sound familiar?
Nothing I am about to say should be construed as opposing civil rights for any ethnic group. I have nothing but respect for the mainstream civil rights movement by and for African-Americans, and the same for the civil rights of the people I am about to discuss. All I’m saying is that American Indians and Native Hawaiians (and Native Alaskans) are indigenous peoples, and that makes all the difference.
Cajuns, or Acadians, were predominantly French colonists who were in a fight with British colonists called, in this country, the French and Indian War and in Europe, the Seven Years War. They emigrated from Canada to Louisiana thinking that they were staying on French soil when, in fact, France had secretly ceded Louisiana to Spain.
| American Indians and Native Hawaiians (and Native Alaskans) are indigenous peoples, and that makes all the difference. |
Yes, the Cajuns did intermarry with Indians, but so did all the colonists. The Cajun culture is what it is, which is delightful, but it is not indigenous. Yes, the Cajuns were and sometimes are abused, but not because they originally owned Louisiana.
Chicanos in the Southwest are a little harder because their blood is primarily indigenous. How do we know this? Because the Spanish kept very good records and Mexican society was quite racist. A higher degree of indigenous blood meant lower social status. Having Spanish ancestors was very important, and the Spanish ruthlessly suppressed tribalism.
Chicanos have in the past and do to this day in some places suffer from outrageous discrimination. There were the “No dogs or Mexicans” signs on restaurants in the ’50s. There was the attempt to “desegregate” the public schools in Corpus Christi by mixing brown kids and black kids so as not to contaminate the white kids.
Nowadays, there is a political tendency that infests both major political parties but practically runs the Republican Party that could be called, in shorthand, “hate the Mexicans.” Economy in the toilet? Hate the Mexicans! Lousy schools? Hate the Mexicans! Health care too expensive? Hate the Mexicans! The spokesmen for this movement are Tom Tancredo, who compared the National Council of La Raza to the KKK and Lou Dobbs, who warns of the Brown Peril nightly on CNN.
The policy prescriptions these bozos push are aimed at Hispanics but they almost always cause collateral damage among American Indians. They want to give local police authority to make brown people prove their citizenship, and that means Indians get rousted. They want to make the public use of any language but English illegal. They target Spanish but they hit tribal languages. When they attack bilingual education, they force tribal language preservation programs away from public funding. And if a public worker can’t be paid to interpret Spanish, she can’t be paid to interpret Navajo.
| Sociologists call this politics ‘nativist,’ which provides Indians a bit of comic relief, since all the people pushing it are descendants of colonists. |
Sociologists call this politics “nativist,” which provides Indians a bit of comic relief, since all the people pushing it are descendants of colonists. The “nativists” want persons of Mexican descent to “go back where they came from.” Apparently, the nativist history books don’t teach about the Mexican War, because lots of those Mexican-Americans were in Mexico when the border moved and put them in the United States.
At the end of that war, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo said:
“Mexicans now established in territories previously belonging to Mexico, and which remain for the future within the limits of the United States, as defined by the present treaty, shall be free to continue where they now reside, or to remove at any time to the Mexican Republic, retaining the property which they possess in the said territories…
“Those who shall prefer to remain in the said territories may either retain the title and rights of Mexican citizens, or acquire those of citizens of the United States.”
If this treaty means anything, Mexican-Americans living in the Southwest have the full civil rights of American citizens. Like in the case of the Cajuns, these people are abused because they are caught in a struggle between two colonial governments, in this case the U.S. and Mexico. Abusing them is wrong, but abuse does not make them indigenous and neither does intermarriage unless it is coupled with maintaining tribal relations.
Most Native Hawaiians are living where they have lived from time immemorial. Like us, they struggle to preserve their language and customs but their language and customs are not “foreign” – they run with the land. Like us, they have been dispossessed by the colonists. They had an indigenous government that was overthrown by the U.S. government. Native Hawaiians have in common with us that the trespassers seek to treat them as trespassers. That practically defines indigenous, and that is the basis for claims that, like Indian claims, go far beyond equal treatment as citizens.
Steve Russell, Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, is a Texas trial court judge by assignment and an associate professor of criminal justice at Indiana University. He is a columnist for Indian Country Today. He lives in Bloomington and can be reached at swrussel@indiana.edu.
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Tuesday, Jun 30 at 6:50 PM David Yeagley wrote ...
"Misquoted" by Russell. http://www.badeagle.com/cgi-bin/ib3/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST&f=97&t=11303&st=
25211177Monday, Jun 29 at 1:11 PM Leinani wrote ...
Continued post. "The cause of Hawaii and independence is larger and dearer than the life of any man connected with it. Love of country is deep-seated in the breast of every Hawaiian, whatever his station." Liliuokalani, Hawaii's last Queen. Take the time to watch the PBS exploring the life of Joseph Nawahi. The journey from a colonized mind to a deoccupied mind takes time, but the truth will always free you. Sovereignty begins with oneself and you will find federal recognition is not the answer.
25132052Monday, Jun 29 at 1:00 PM Leinani wrote ...
Aloha Kanaka Maoli. Kanaka Maoli is a term used by Hawaiian people of the "Nation" born of the aina - descendant of Papa and Wakea. Kanaka Maoli are not "American Indians". This is not to deny the similarities historical or other, rather this is about "Aloha Aina" the love of the land and Country. Kanaka Maoli do not confuse "federal recognition" with "our Nation". Post continued . . .
25131484Monday, Jun 29 at 11:42 AM Kanaka Maoli wrote ...
Native Hawaiians ARE an indigenous people! We deserve our birthright the SAME as Native Americans -we are more than an ethnic group. We are the very life of the land called Hawaii! Native Americans are tied to their land through their beliefs and practices. We do not deny the Native Americans their reservations and reparations why challenge ours?! `Auwe - the problem is we are fighting ourselves!! Bottom line is the US forced occupation of the Hawn Isles we deserve our Birthrights!!!
25126627Tuesday, Jun 23 at 5:56 PM CurtJ wrote ...
What is the definition of Colonialism? Look it up and see if the murder of 3,000 American Citizens on 9/11. The centuries of colonialism foisted on weaker countries by the European and American governments, at the behest of their Neo Con owned Conglomerates. In order to pillage and plunder their natural resources and lands for colonization. Along with the slaughter and genocide of the Indigenous inhabitants.
24577837Sunday, Jun 21 at 1:34 PM Thanks for YouTube link wrote ...
“The Other Hawaii” video, it has 2 parts,both are very important, a must see. After watching it,I can understand why the REAL Native Hawaiians don’t want to support the Akaka bill.They remind me of tribes in the U.S. who NEVER ceded lands in Treaty to the gov’t however thanks to Indian Claims Commission, stole lands outright. The biggest loss is our lands.Once that’s gone,we are no longer. & as the song goes, NEVER ever have an uncle named "Sam." Please support Native Hawaiian Independence.
24199874Friday, Jun 19 at 4:39 AM kanakaokawaikaaipohaku wrote ...
post continued . . . that will allow kānaka maoli to determine their future, rather than giving the Akaka Bill your blanket support. For more information, visit: http://seededlands.org/; http://www.nohohewa.com/ (watch the trailers and clips); http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIq8x9vnLf4 (Inside USA: The Other Hawaii on YouTube).
24092937Friday, Jun 19 at 4:38 AM kanakaokawaikaaipohaku wrote ...
post continued . . . As a kānaka maoli, I humbly request that you support democratic hearings for the kānaka maoli to voice their concerns about the Akaka Bill and a democratic process that is “fair, free, and impartial” (see next post for more) . . .
24092927Friday, Jun 19 at 4:36 AM kanakaokawaikaaipohaku wrote ...
post continued . . . Furthermore, it is undemocratic that requested hearings by kānaka maoli on the Akaka Bill (H.B. 2314, S.B. 1011) have not been acknowledged and arranged. Kānaka maoli have never been allowed to present testimony on these measures. In 2000, two days of hearings were held on O‘ahu Island, all other hearings were canceled. (see next post for more) . . .
24092917Friday, Jun 19 at 4:34 AM kanakaokawaikaaipohaku wrote ...
post continued . . . Contrary to the establishments’ messages that kānaka maoli support and favor federal recognition; thousands of kānaka maoli do not support nor desire federal recognition. Instead, these kānaka maoli desire a “fair, free, and impartial process” among kānaka maoli to determine our future without being forced to consent to federal recognition that would automatically remove independence as an option. (see next post for more) . . .
24092889Friday, Jun 19 at 4:32 AM kanakaokawaikaaipohaku wrote ...
post continued . . . (i.e. OHA trustee or employee, NHO president, Executive Director of non-profit receiving funds designated for native and part-Hawaiians) that will be expanded through federal recognition, while the majority of kānaka maoli continue to live in poverty, suffer from poor health, and lack educational opportunities. (see next post for more) . . .
24092859Friday, Jun 19 at 4:30 AM kanakaokawaikaaipohaku wrote ...
It is unfortunate that several indigenous peoples continue to be misled by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (a quasi-state entity that has been compared to the BIA) and other American establishments (i.e. CNHA and NHOs) who feel they can promote and seek federal recognition on behalf of the kānaka maoli. Yes, there are some Native Hawaiians who desire federal recognition. For the most part, these Native Hawaiians have some form of self-interest (see next post for more) . . .
24092839Thursday, Jun 18 at 2:33 AM Mike wrote ...
Oh my God, I loved the way you spoke about the many Mexican-Americans AKA Chicanos! Nice piece!
24021124Tuesday, Jun 16 at 3:58 PM Ahalenia wrote ...
Thank you for this perspective. People want to make discussions about Native treaty rights about "race" when it's all about land.
23915962Tuesday, Jun 16 at 1:06 PM Jerry Peltier wrote ...
I watched that hearing via the web, and the part that I really liked is when a colleague of Gail Heriot's, Mr. Michael Yaki was ridiculing her testimony in the background. He was smiling and shaking his head, as if to say "please don't listen to her ranting!" It was rather comical as he then went on to correct some of her testimony. We, as indigenous people need to stand behind the Hawaiian people in their quest for recognition. There is no other ethnic group of people that deserves it more.
23902782Tuesday, Jun 16 at 9:56 AM sam wrote ...
Funny thing about how Spanish speaking people around ABQ, NM, all the Mexican/Hispanic types seem to think "they" are from Spain, but their parents are from Mexico... (from G. Lopez show in ABQ, NM) now that's comical...
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