Indians need an independence day

Some Indians don't celebrate July 4th. Here's why:

When Will Indians Get Their Independence Day?

By Simon Moya-Smith“You know, I don’t celebrate the Fourth,” I said. “It’s not my holiday.”

“What in God’s name is wrong with you?” he bellowed. “This is the time of year that we celebrate our divorce from those damn Brits!”

The bartender eyed me warily as I stood and approached the bar with my drink and my half-devoured burger. I took a seat next to the dingy dullard.

“Well, I’m Lakota,” I said peacefully.

“What? … What’s that?” he asked.

“You see! That’s exactly why we call ourselves Indians. You don’t know us by nation unless it’s Cherokee or Navajo, and then oftentimes your people claim to be one!”

The man just glared at me and now I had the full attention of the bar.

“I don’t celebrate the Fourth because we, American Indians, haven’t had our Independence Day yet. We, unlike you guys, are still under the cloud of a taxing and tyrannical foreign government.”For more on July 4th, see Three Words in Declaration of Independence and The 4th of You Lie.