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Everybody loves dead Indians
Shortly before 7AM, on September 23rd, I stood next to a monument by the east entrance of the White House and watched as a crowd slowly gathered. With more than 100 other American Indian tribal leaders, I waited to witness President George W. Bush mark the grand opening of the National Museum of the American Indian.
It was quite an honor to be there. This did not stop me, however, from taking a paper towel with the White House imprint on it, as a memento, from the men's restroom.
My trip to the White House water closet began with the Republican National Convention, which I attended with 35 other American Indians. For the Convention, I wore a bright red T-shirt, emblazoned with "Conservative American Indian."
Elaine Hackett, an American Indian from the Department of the Interior, noticed my T-shirt, and introduced herself. A few weeks after the Convention, she emailed, saying I should expect a call from the White House.
Two weeks later, another tribal member and I, both of the Cowlitz Tribe, were eating breakfast beneath paintings of presidents, getting our picture taken with Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, and visiting with Shannon County Republican Party Chairman, Bruce Whalen, an Oglala Lakota.
Then we assembled in the East Room, where we were joined by President Bush. (President Honors the National Museum of the American Indian)
Praising the new museum, he said that our experience is central to the American story. That it "has involved great injustice against native peoples, and great contribution by native peoples."
It was a good speech, gracious and respectful. One thing in particular that stood out, however, was his emphasis on our present and future.
Everybody loves dead Indians, especially liberals. They seem to want to keep us stuck in old stereotypes of how they believe we once lived. But we are not noble savages, from a mythic native paradise, and we're getting a little tired of living in some modern parody of the Wild West Show.
This is why Indians are beginning to support the Republican party.
Pennies and Programs
The Democrat party gives us just enough money to scrape by. But pennies and programs are no substitute for being self-sufficient, independent and in control of our own destiny.
As the president noted, "Native American cultures survive and flourish when tribes retain control over their own affairs and their own future."
That is sovereignty. That is what Republicans offer, and that, for the sake of our future, is what we need.
Living balanced in the moment, between seven generations future and past, that is the Indian way. To know who we are, we remember our stories. But to walk a good path, we must also see where we are, and choose where we go. There can be no other way, for a sovereign people.
Bush understands.
"Earlier this morning," he said, "I signed an executive memorandum to all federal agencies reaffirming the federal government's longstanding commitment to respect tribal sovereignty and self-determination." (Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies: Government‑to‑Government Relationship with Tribal Governments)
Pausing, he looked into our eyes.
"As we celebrate this new museum and we look to the future," he continued, "we can say that the sun is rising on Indian country."
His words offer us hope, and their meaning to us is profound.
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