Opinion

James Giago Davies: The 'blame game' goes on in Indian Country

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

James Giago Davies. Photo from Native Sun News Today

Time for some tough truth talk
My intent is never just to make friends
By James Giago Davies
Native Sun News Today Columnist
nsweekly.com

This country has a serious hang up when it comes to Indians.

For centuries everything they have taken from Indians, every action they have taken against Indians, has been in direct contradiction to their own law, their own morality. They cannot own that reality, because the consequences would be dire, so the self-serving course of action must be to continue to wrong Indians – they cannot set precedent by admitting in principle they are the bad guy, morally obligated to cease their subjugation of a free and independent culture, and compensate for what they took that can’t be returned, and return what they took that can be returned.

This country has no intention of doing any of that. Where would it stop? Trillions would be fair compensation, returning all federal land would be fair compensation. But to a nation of hypocrites, the Doctrine of Fairness the Founding Fathers cited as the basis for their revolt, as the basis of our Constitution, cannot apply to dealings with Indians. It is much easier to blame history, and they pour more blame on history than syrup gets poured on pancakes, and then use the legal system to cynically restrict Indian compensation claims to the bare minimum.

No amount of words or rhetoric can shame them from this dishonorable course of action.

Despite all of that, they are not the chief enemy of the Lakota. That enemy can be found cluelessly gawking back at him from the mirror every morning. Indians are no strangers to the blame game themselves, and well intentioned, but misguided Wasicu social activists make matters that much worse – “Don’t you dare blame yourself for beating your wife, neglecting your children, molesting your niece, or drinking up Gramma’s government check while she starves at the end of the month. The Wasicu did that to you, you aren’t to blame.”