Alexie condemns "Native Extraction" ad

Valerie Taliman writes an op/ed piece condemning the "Native Extraction Service" classified ad.

Stop the racist attacks on our children

By Valerie TalimanThe message is clear: Native people are like pests or vermin, and can be disposed of by simply calling a free service to have them “extracted.”

It was the cyberspace equivalent of a “Wanted” poster, reminiscent of bounties once paid for Indian scalps in the old West. And in my view, it’s a classic hate crime, carried out for the sole purpose of inciting racism and hate against indigenous peoples.More Natives condemn the ad:Tracy Rector, Longhouse Media executive director, said the use of their photo in such a “hateful and demeaning way was deeply hurtful to these young men and their families, and to the Native community as a whole.

“This ad could intimidate and incite violence against indigenous youth in North America, and we are joining with Manitoba chiefs to call for an end to hate crimes such as these. We want to see the perpetrators brought to justice.”

Author and poet Sherman Alexie, a founding board member of Longhouse Media, called for collective action. “As much as the world has changed for indigenous people in good ways, there are still many violent and hateful folks out there who seek to harm us, and we must condemn them in print and in action, and we must do this together.”Why people should take this seriously:Walter Lamar, a twice-decorated FBI special agent and former national director of law enforcement for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, said it was hard to imagine why a news organization would publish such a sinister advertisement.

“Those willing to demonstrate their hate publicly are equally capable of violence,” said Lamar, who now owns a firm that specializes in helping to reduce violence and drug abuse on reservations. “As a former FBI agent and Blackfeet Nation citizen, I have seen firsthand the carnage left by those consumed by racist hatred. History can produce example after example of racist hatred being translated to violence.”Comment:  This is a textbook case of how to respond to a media controversy, especially in Indian country. Here's how it went:

When the story broke, I saw it first on Facebook. I think my boss Victor was the first to post it, but others soon followed. I posted an item on it in my blog that night.

When people discovered the misuse of the March Point photo, Tracy Rector posted a comment on my blog item. She or Valerie Taliman wrote a statement for Longhouse Media and posted it on the Longhouse Media website. They both e-mailed me about the statement to make sure PECHANGA.net was aware of it.

Now Taliman has written a followup piece to keep the issue in the public eye and make sure everyone knows about it. Indian Country Today has published it, PECHANGA.net is linking to it, and Indianz.com may link to it also. She and others are posting this followup on Facebook and probably on Twitter as well.

At this point, anyone who follows the Native media must've heard about this story. I'm not sure what they can do about it, but at least they're aware of it. From a PR standpoint, that's a good result.

For more on the subject, see Racists Lack Self-Esteem and Tribes Need Better PR.