HuffPost readers ignorant about Indians

Racism against Native Americans must be addressed

By Tim GiagoLike Raina Kelly, many Native Americans are "mad as hell" and they aren't going to take it anymore. Like the movie that coined this phrase, it is easily said, but hard to implement. Why? America does not want to hear about Indians. Native Americans should be left in the pages of history books or in old Western movies. America is not ready for the "tame" Indian yet because there are still many "shoot'um up" Western movies on the horizon and Americans do not want to destroy this false image with reality.

My weekly column on Indianz.com, NativeTimes.com, or on Pechanga.net, is read mostly by Native Americans who know Native America and respond accordingly. But I find it terribly frustrating trying to figure out the readership on huffingtonpost.com, where my weekly column also appears. I run into a totally different kind of audience at huffington. For the most part I am dealing with ignorance, but it seems to be an ignorant audience that not only does not want to learn, but also does not give a damn about Native Americans. Now that is frustrating.Comment:  Along with castigating conservatives in South Dakota and in the media, Giago also castigates the liberal readers of the Huffington Post. I would've thought there'd be a difference, but maybe not. Maybe conservatives think Indians are savage warriors of the past and liberals think they're noble nature lovers of the past. And neither side understands the reality of Indians today.

Of course, I'm doing my part by working at PECHANGA.net a couple days a week. All the news about racism against Indians is there. If only we could get everyone to peruse the site every day.

For more on the subject, see Native Journalism:  To Tell the Truth and Highlights of the US Report to the UN on Racism.