Crews from "700 Club," a news, commentary and ministry program seen by 1 million viewers daily and broadcast continually since 1966, descended on Farmington and the Navajo Nation in January to explore poverty among American Indians. The crew also visited tribal officials and missionaries in Chinle, Ariz., and the Window Rock, Ariz., capital of the Navajo Nation.
The show is the second of its kind produced by Christian Broadcasting Network. The first, which aired last March, sparked questions from the show's vast Christian audience.
"They got a lot of e-mails from viewers wondering why American Indian tribes were in such poverty if they have all the casinos," said Jim Baker, president of Navajo Ministries. Baker was one of two local people interviewed for the segment.
"They wanted to do a followup on poverty, so they chose the Navajo Nation to film because it's the largest reservation and it just put in its first casino," Baker said.
Last year's segment focused on poverty and despair, "700 Club" reporter Mark Martin said. Crews traveled to South Dakota to interview members of the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe about poverty.
Let's review the previous program. The 700 Club visited exactly one tribe, the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe in South Dakota. This tribe has one small casino which isn't a big success because it's in the middle of underpopulated South Dakota.
Based on this one episode, a bunch of born-again Christians wrote in asking why Indians are still poor when they have casinos? Was The 700 Club too biased or incompetent to explain that there are 560-plus tribes in different circumstances? That not all of them have successful casinos? Or did The 700 Club explain this basic fact but the viewers were too biased or stupid to understand it?
Again, the choices are 1) 700 Club too biased or incompetent or 2) born-again Christians too biased or stupid. Hmm...tough choice. Even worse, it could be 3) both.
For the Christian Broadcasting Network's previous attempts to "understand" Indians, see:
Pat Robertson claims that Indians are "not totally literate"
Christian Broadcast Network: "Injuns" surround troops
Below: "Why aren't Indians as successful as us rich white folks? We pulled ourselves up by the bootstraps with a multimillion-dollar televangelist campaign, so why can't they? Are they too busy worshiping their heathen idols?"
That's exactly the assessment that I expected from the likes of The 700 Club - why aren't these people in the trenches on the poorest reservations throughout the country or in the racist bordertowns that are close to many of these reservations or in racially oppressive cities like Billings, MT, Yankton and Rapid City, SD and Cheyenne, WY (to name just a few) or in major urban areas with significant Indian populations where people are suffering in a multitude of ways?
ReplyDeleteAre you singling out "born again Christians"? The perception that Indians are all rich from casinos is quite widespread beyond the 700 Club audience, and shown by many examples in "Newspaper Rock". I doubt that the audience results would be different had this been presented to other non-Native audiences.
ReplyDeleteTo: dmarks -
ReplyDeleteNo, I am being quite specific as to The 700 Club in this case.
If this organization is as "Christian-directed" as they would like people to view them as, then why did they not demonstrate the ability to ferret out the truth as to the casino-rich Indian myth.
From my personal experiences with "born again Christians," the vast majority of them are completely ignorant as to Indian culture, history, cosmology and current events - they are more inclined to accept the Christian belief that Indians are uncivilized pagans who are in dire need of redemption and salvation.
My primary concern with major American Christian groups is this: To reiterate, why are they not in the trenches of Indian Country doing all they can to foster positive change (via "Christian love") or to at least help Indian people with basic temporal needs?
I will always remember this photo I saw in the '90s of this elderly Lakota couple from Pine Ridge, South Dakota, who were forced to tear the wood out of their small home to use as heating fuel. The man, who was in his seventies, had lost his entire nose to frostbite as the article had clearly indicated.
I was absolutely horrified at this man's condition - where were the Christians then?
Melvin: My comment was actually in response to the concluding comments in Rob's post.
ReplyDeleteI think you make pretty good points in your comments before and after mine.
"the vast majority of them are completely ignorant as to Indian culture, history, cosmology and current events - they are more inclined to accept the Christian belief that Indians are uncivilized pagans who are in dire need of redemption and salvation."
I think that, in the part before the hyphen, these Christians are probably not much different from the average American.
I want my credit score to be in the "700 club"! They are just making money exploiting people who don't have as much money as the
ReplyDelete"700 club" execs or owners. Just because a tribe has a casino doesn't make the tribe rich, just a select few. By showing poor helpless minorities, from the christian point of view, the poor represent lost unsaved souls, when you become born again, you aren't a poor Indian no more, you are a born again christian! Serve the lord by spreading the word, but don't take part in your "indian ceromonies" because before you were saved that was the old life and to go back into the old you or old life thats not what jesus wants, get it!
Yes, I'm singling out born-again Christians in this posting, DMarks. For the reasons why, see Targeting Born-Again Christians.
ReplyDelete