Means' empty gesture still makes pointOf the people who called or e-mailed me, most are chuckling at the absurdity of it. Means and his group, of course, would be speaking for themselves and not tribes, whose tribal councils speak for them. But Means and his group have some points--perhaps 200 years too late, but they do have some points.
The land grabs that made Indian country shrink into mostly small land areas involved territory taken mostly “by hook and by crook.” And if you look at many reservations, they are in areas unwanted at the time--rough terrain such as the Badlands of the Dakotas, poor land for growing gardens and in isolated areas.Comment: Means's so-called point is that bad things happened to Indians. No surprise there. People have made the same point in a hundred ways, and this seems like one of the least effective alternatives. It makes people think Indians are angry or crazy without compelling them to think about the issues.
If you ask me, it would be more accurate to say Means makes a point, but it's still an empty gesture.
Writerfella here --
ReplyDeleteAnd for a rare instance, h totally agrees. Concerning Ways and Means, what else is new?
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella'
The Lakota have suffered under colonial rule and occupation for over a 150 years, continuously facing a dire existence of poverty, hunger,and disease. It's no wonder we've seen remarkable reactionary movements such as The Ghost Dance (1890s) and the Wounded Knee Occupation (1974), and now this latest movement by Lakota people.
ReplyDeleteWriterfella here --
ReplyDelete'Reactionary' is an adjectival principally used to mean a move back to a former or less advanced condition or stage, especially in politics. Thus, such usage denotes that Russell Means only is playing political games, and bad chess at that...
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella'
You're being defensive, Writerfella. What are your semantical parameters? Your comment sounds suspiciously like something Adolph Hitler would say.
ReplyDeleteWriterfella here --
ReplyDeleteAdolph Hitler neither had the education nor the vocabulary to make any such kind of statement. However, Hitler did have a long descent into syphilitic paresis allowing occasional bursts of epiphany that used science and military science and history and religious prophecy and the paranormal to inform his strategies. Hmmm, when was the last time Russell Means got tested for STDs?
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella'