Opinion: The media ignores another 'off the reservation' comment

Just over three months after the Clinton characterization, the Clinton campaign was once again linked with this racist phrase, only this time it was billionaire supporter Mark Cuban. Cuban endorsed Clinton at a July 30 Pittsburgh event with the statement that he could not support Trump because “he went off the reservation and went bat---- crazy.” Unlike when Clinton used the phrase in April, there was no uproar in response though Cuban’s equating volatility and mental illness with indigenous experience is obviously a more injurious affront.

It is more injurious given that history reveals that indigenous peoples were condemned to federal mental institutions, such as Hiawatha Asylum for Insane Indians in Canton, South Dakota or Saint Elizabeth’s Hospital in Washington, D.C., where they awaited forced sterilization, were abused, and lived in unsanitary conditions oftentimes for nothing more than practicing their “cultural traditions, and Indian lifestyles” on the reservation. The asylum advertised itself as a tourist destination where sightseers could “come and see the crazy Indians” and pick-up a few souvenirs to commemorate the occasion.

While Cuban is not employed by the Clinton campaign his use of the phrase, so soon after his nominee of choice’s chastisement, demonstrates a willful desire to remain obtuse. That the media did not pick up on round 2 of “off the reservation” indicates a commitment to reporting on Indian issues only when those issues can be used to stir the pot on a slow news day.