By Michael Kickingbear
Today is July 4th, 2021. The United States is celebrating its "Independence" from what it considered Its oppressor, Great Britain of England. Specifically, July 4 – also known as Independence Day, (some say) is a time to celebrate America. Since July 4, of 1776, Independence Day has been considered America’s “birthday,” making it (roughly) 245 years old today.
Holidays like this, as well as Thanksgiving, are days where generational trauma raises its ugly head. Because these are days of dark reminders. I as an indigenous citizen of my own tribal nation, cannot “celebrate” America when there is so much that this country must atone for in terms of its sins against our indigenous peoples.
Much like drinking way too much coffee, another habit of mine is watching way too much mainstream network and cable news media. Leading up to today’s “holiday” the media was full of stories about patriotism, American flag waving, and countless stories about Immigrants.
Already this morning, the day of the holiday, I have heard the phrase "We are a nation of immigrants" approximately six times. What I will give some credit to the news media for is that the stories they have been running have been on immigrants primarily of Caucasian, Asian, Hispanic, and Black peoples. Different from what they would run when I was growing up, which were by in large, celebrations of only European whiteness.
The problem with all this banter and focus on “America’s Birthday” is that they continue to ignore us, the Indigenous people who still live here. And what I need people to understand is why. And the “why” is because for the media to run stories about “us” would force a series of things to eventually transpire:
· (As crazy as this may sound) It would simply bring more awareness of our existence.
· It would force new questions to be raised about this country’s history.
· Those questions would reveal more truths about the country’s genocide of indigenous peoples.
· How citizenship was imposed on us, not through a right of choice.
· It would force America to confront its injustices against us.
And much much more…
But rather than American media addressing true history of the founding of this country, rather than bringing awareness to the many wrongs committed against tribal people, and rather than formally asking questions of current lawmakers why they haven’t issued a formal very public national apology to the 500 + tribal nations within America’s self-imposed borders, the media has chosen to instead celebrate America’s immigrants.
Because that’s easier.
You see its easier for the media to convey equality and acceptance of immigrant people. It also helps them maintain access to politicians in Washington to do so. And in turn, it gives Washington a “inclusivity” talking point to convey publicly. However, for the media to Include indigenous people in their focus pieces would be work that they simply do not want to do.
So, allow me to do that for them, and you, the reader of this post.
Did you know that the immigration policy that drove the very long process to immigration citizenship was written by descendants of people who came here when no immigration laws existed? Ask yourself why did they get to write the rules that determines how and who can come here?
Did you know that America imposed slavery first on indigenous people to build European immigrant homes & roads? This was largely a financial decision. Our people were already here. The slave trade was having difficulty in bringing African slaves to this continent through trade routes from West Africa. American media and politicians has chosen to only focus on the African slavery in American history, because so much information exists, and more is being revealed everyday. Contrast that against INDIGENOUS slavery, which again requires more work and research than they are willing to do. Therefore, they ignoring our stories and what our ancestors endured during these same timeframes.
Did you know that early American lawmakers arrogantly decided to write policies to control who they deemed worthy of being here? Did you know that those screenings by in large favored white Europeans rather than other ethnic groups? For example, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 “prohibited certain laborers from immigrating to the United States.” Why were the Chinese excluded as an ethnic group?
Did you know that the general Immigration Act of 1882 “levied a head tax of fifty cents on each immigrant and blocked (or excluded) the entry of idiots, lunatics, convicts, and persons likely to become a public charge”? That last phrase, “become a public charge” describes “people who cannot support themselves and who depend on benefits that provide cash—such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)—for their income.
So if you came from a impoverished country, lawmakers considered you a blight on American Citizens and would deny you entry. The very same attitude still exists towards impoverished indigenous communities in the United States. There are American citizens who themselves largely descend from European immigrant roots, who continue to believe that we leech off of federal dollars. They have purposely not been educated to understand Indigenous history in the context of America in areas such as treaty agreements which were enacted to supposedly assist our people after encroachments. Those treaties continue to be violated to this very day.
Therefore, relevant to immigration, this country practiced exclusion of certain ethnic groups. It excluded those who did not initially have financial means. Today, ”public Charge” is still a criteria considered for citizenship. Capitalism is a strong standard that is at the center of everything. Acceptance for citizenship is not based exclusively on the needs of the people that wish to come here. The hypocrisy of immigration laws and policies are substantial when you consider that the very earliest “American Immigrants” would not be accepted by today’s modern standards.
Further, when you consider Native people’s history in the context of a country which surrounds us, and a colonial/settler mentality which created it, consider that the very first colonial immigrants that came here had nothing. “Public Charge” would have denied them citizenship had it existed in the 1600s. They were starving, dying. They depended on Indigenous people, particularly the Wampanoag to survive. Our indigenous people are giving people. The thank you my Wampanoag relatives received from European immigrants was to take their land. That problem has continued even as recently as 2017.
To our American citizens who came here from another country, I recognize that in some cases, your original country may have been hell to live in. I recognize that there are situations where your original country may have oppressed you. Where your original country may have murdered members of your own family.
Perhaps it was near impossible to feed your family. Perhaps there is political persecution, or a dictatorship controlling everything you saw, heard and dictated what you could or could not do. That is truly terrible, and I sympathize with you if you have come from that kind of a situation.
I would only ask that you please try to understand where I am coming from. I do not hate you. Historically, our indigenous peoples have always been welcoming. I too welcome you. But I ask you to try look at American History though our indigenous point of view. If you come from oppression, I assume you would recognize it when others are experiencing it. Our CURRENT oppression, has lasted for more than 245 years.
American media today may be elevating your stories, your former oppression, and your happiness in now being citizens of the United States. I am happy for you if you have escaped some form of oppression. But for us, the people you may have heard about in passing, that happiness has not happened for many of us.
The media does not run indigenous stories on this Independence Day. In fact, the media does not really run many indigenous stories throughout the year. The media contributes to the continued ignorance of our existence, and continuous attempts at erasure. There has not been a single-story run-on CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, or FOX news which asks a current Native American citizen “What does this holiday mean to you?” The reason for this is very clear.
They fear our answer…