Are Natives Being Erased from Public View?

6/19/2014

Washington Redskins, UND Fighting Sioux: A Native Elder's Perpective written by: Jennifer Kruse, LMT CRMT - Holistic Healing Expert - Fargo

You don't have to be a sports fan or care what teams call themselves to have a strong opinion about the sports teams controversies caused by native names.

I am not convinced Native people would celebrate the Washington Redskins losing their patent if they knew the whole story of where the team's name came from.

Forming opinions quickly without knowing the whole story is nearly unavoidable in these fast modern times. What if native supporters are actually being tricked into helping erase natives from public view... again?

I felt the same way over the UND Fighting Sioux, especially because a respected Sioux medicine man gave the team it's spirit name in a series of sacred naming ceremonies.

Why aren't native people furious that these agencies are disrespecting their medicine people by reversing their sacred naming ceremonies... again?

Washington Redskins were named in 1933 to honor their head coach, Lone Star Dietz, who claimed to be part Sioux. When someone caused a scandal questioning his native ancestry, the team owner said it wasn't named after him.

Here's a picture of that head coach 1933. He looks native to me. There is an easy way to figure out what's true or not. Simply ask the older native elders if they believe anyone would "pretend" to be native in 1933.

I know native elders, mixed-bloods didn't advertise it, they hid it if they could because of how both whites and natives treated them at that time. Dietz wasn't on a reservation trying to collect anything, he had no reason to lie about his ancestry.

If the team was named "Redskins" to honor a native man in 1933, is it really a good thing they are taking that honor away from him?

Native American Elder provides a different perspective

A native elder was giggling while watching a sports team bearing a native name or symbol on TV. He seemed quite tickled by this and do you know why?

He explained that it was tough growing up in the mandatory reservation mission schools, but sometimes they would get to watch a movie and that was a really big deal. All the years growing up there, they only showed cowboy and Indian movies.

The cowboys were always the good guys and the indians were portrayed as the bad guys who always ended up dead or defeated. He explained how watching those movies made them feel demonized and defeated.

Like other children did, they tried to play cowboys & indians, but they always ended up just playing cowboys because none of the indian boys wanted to play indians. As indians, they felt defeated enough, so most of them ran around playing & pretending they were cowboys.

Insult or Compliment?

He really enjoyed watching all the sporting events on TV where all the white people got all dressed up for the game.

He said, "The white people remember the strength of my ancestors. See how they show up ready to play? Even the white adults are playing dress-up, they are all pretending they are as strong as the indians now."

He really enjoyed watching all of that.

Some native elders feel comforted that their people will always be remembered this way. They feel sad that native people are unknowingly supporting causes which work to erase the memory of their ancestors from the public view.

Sporting teams with native names or logos, they have chosen a symbol to represent the strength of spirit they want their team to have. Some natives enjoy the compliment to their ancestors and are thankful their people's strength of spirit is still remembered and celebrated.

9 Comments

Rick

6/20/2014 06:04:56 pm

Very interesting. Thanks for writing this very good piece that show a different angle on this situation that has been going on for some time.

Jennifer Kruse

6/22/2014 04:15:54 am

Thanks to all readers!
----- My Mom is a member of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians, my Grandfather grew up in the Red Lake Mission School. I am Anishinaabe. I was named by Larry Stillday in the Ponemah Healing Lodge, where I received all of my great great grandmother's names.
----- What happened to the native people was like a holocaust that many don't even realize happened and it went on til not that long ago. I know a woman, current age 42, who grew up in Red Lake Mission school... obviously not ancient history!
----- There was a holocaust in Germany too, but as far as I know, Germany doesn't have any sports teams called the "Fighting Jews." They aren't running around celebrating the strength of the Jewish spirit in this way.
-----   Every time we see sports teams using a name that references natives by name or slang word, we take it as a compliment, as if they are saying: "We were wrong about the Indians, we wish we had native strength of spirit and connection like they have."
----- Like the Elder said, nobody plays Cowboys and Indians anymore... now even the cowboys are just playing Indians. :)
-----   If they aren't allowed to do that anymore, how much longer will the strength of our native ancestors be remembered by everyone, including us?
----- There's so much focus on the negative that happened to the native people, it's easy to remember the brokenness because sadly it is still affecting the people today. There is enough people who remember the brokenness... we need more people to focus also on their strength and become that living strength again. Isn't that what native ancestors would want for us?
-----   When I see teams like the Redskins, the Fighting Sioux and others, I see people of all colors celebrating the strength of my native ancestors, dancing around an arena like their own modern form of powwow. Their strength cannot be forgotten for as long as they continue doing this.
----- I know many native people who agree with me on this point. We know that those who have supported taking the names away from those teams do so believing they are supporting native people so they are not the victims of more racism.
----- We all thank and honor them for this... Chi'Miigwech (Big Thanks)
-----   Racism by its very definition is about hating a certain people because of their race. In no way can I see hate or racism in what these sports teams are doing. I only see them celebrating the native people. Emulation is the biggest form of compliment.
----- The wise elders who perform naming ceremonies often give names that don't seem to make sense or fit the person/place/thing you currently see before you, but they use their gifts to see up ahead and leave messages & guidance for us to discover later in the names they gave in ceremony and left behind.
------ The medicine man who gave University of North Dakota's sports team the name of the Fighting Sioux... He was definitely a wise man who looked forward and saw what would happen in this time!
----- By giving the sports team that name repeatedly in a series of sacred naming ceremonies that the University participated in at the beginning of every game for a long time.... He left several messages for future generations to realize.
----- I encourage everyone to explore that for themselves and discover the great wisdom he left for us all to find. There are many messages he sent forward in time for us to apply today!
Please look for them.
----- Please share your findings and your thoughts here with us! :)
Many blessings to all of you.
Chi'Miigwech,
Zhebaa Cumigook Nindizhinikaaz
Wells family of the Red Lake Nation

Val Hageman

6/23/2014 12:05:17 am

Enjoyed reading your article Jen. Written very well. Appreciate your point of view and agree with it. Thanks for sharing.

Jennifer Kruse

6/23/2014 12:08:40 am

Miigwech (Thanks) Val, means a lot to see another Red Lake Tribal member sees it this way.

Eunice Davidson link

6/23/2014 01:58:44 am

I enjoyed your article Jennifer, I agree with what you've said. I am a full blood Dakota Sioux and enrolled member of the Spirit Lake Nation also a member of the Committee that worked to allow our Tribal members a voice on the Fighting Sioux issue in 2009, which resulted in a 67% margin in support of the name. I would like to add the majority of those who oppose the Native names and images have good intentions but are misguided. There is a percentage of them that are intentionally trying to make us a forgotten people, it is people like you and I and many others who need to start speaking out about this issue. The ones we are fighting have been at this for sometime, and the truth has been hidden.

I would like to see all reservations allow their people a voice and let them vote within each community, but sadly some of the leaders don't want this and are not allowing their people a voice. The tribal councils are suppose to be expressing the will of the tribal members, instead seem to be expressing the will of themselves over the people. We can only guess at the tribal councils motives.

I have never felt anything but pride in the Fighting Sioux 80 year tradition at the University of North Dakota, and I don't have a problem with the Redskins name and logo either or any others. I've heard from so many around the country supporting our names and images and wondering what they can do help? Getting the truth out should be simple but at this time, there appears to be a blackout on the majority of our Native voices. Why is that? Right now I'm working on trying to form a Native coalition to give a voice to the overwhelming majority of Native Americans who thus far have been silenced.

After what happened in North Dakota losing the Fighting Sioux name and image, I felt it was necessary to write a book about the issue, and the biased media can't hide this. The book shows who we were actually fighting. And the length they were willing to go in removing us as Native Americans! History is being repeated again!

The name of my book is: Aren't We Sioux Enough? You can get through Amazon or send a $25 check to: Aren't We Sioux Enough, P. O. Box 716, Devils Lake, ND 58301 and I'll sign a copy for you or send a note along with how you would like it signed?

Like us on facebook, Aren't We Sioux Enough page.

Jennifer Kruse

6/23/2014 02:03:12 am

Thanks Eunice, I also feel that there could be a group that is trying to erase native people from public memory this way. Glad to find out I'm not the only one! You have my support.

maria

6/23/2014 04:06:08 am

I agree! The legitimacy on where and how they got their names from should let them know it came in a good way not a "novelty."

People take words and images that were once coming from a place of honor and change it because they are coming from a place of hurt.. therefore..fear!
Albeit a place that is real for them especially if it still happening for them. I understand why they would feel this way and I was on this fence with them, feeling it was a dishonor but now that I know the facts about it, my perspective has changed.
If one wants to challenge me on it that's ok. I am not here to challenge anyone's beliefs. I do like to seeing these facts and knowing now the history on it. Staying solution based and seeing both sides of the issue. I support by moving forward.

Namaste'
ChiMiigwetch!

Wabentz, doodem Nigig

spirit name Whiteshell, otter clan Anishinaabe Turtlemountains,ND

frank burggraf

6/26/2014 03:05:31 am

When an individual opinion trumps another individual right, we are no longer free men.

The attack on the use of native imagery by those who claim to be shielding the oppressed from the evil selfish capitalist who only seeks to exploit the native and his culture for personal gain. Doing so by again laying false claims as they inject their opinion over the rights of others. They employ tactics of deception while they raise a banner of "doing good for all" by erasing "racist" and degrading names and images from the athletic field. Even in the face of years of positive use, they now step up and demand change. No debate, just change. Something is wrong with their reasoning, or the lack of it. How is a native name or reference make someone racist? Because I played for the Fighting Sioux and am branded and bonded with thousands of people from all walks of life who are alumni from UND, we are racist because we are filled with Sioux Pride? We are filled with green because of our pride and they are filled with green because of envy.

The term “racist” has become a buzzword for anti freedom folks just as Manifest Destiny was the buzzword in the 1800s. Somehow today, after generations as a free society, have honorably embraced the native languages and references throughout our land and history, we allow a small minority to drive the debate surrounding the use of these images today. To put this in perspective, it is ok for UND - North Dakota to compete as North Dakota, but not at the Sioux. Dakota is what? Who? And who were the people on this land and where did the people who lived on the land that is now known as North Dakota…South Dakota go? It was the Sioux Nation. Native names and reference are all around us and they all deserve to remain.

Names are important to all of us. They come to us from past generations or from others with who parents hold in high regard- except for Frank Zappa. The Native culture puts more stock into their names and into things of importance in their culture. We have carried many of their words and names into our culture. Rivers, cities, counties, hills, roads, states, businesses, schools, and countless other things that are called by a native name or reference because of what that name means or brings to it. Our land is filled with native reference and names.

Athletics is about competing. It is about performance and aggressive play. It is also about sportsmanship. Programs try to attach themselves to a branding image that represents their program, school, or team. As in any product, you want a good name that emboldens your participants to a common cause that represents the spirit of who you are on the athletic field. I have yet to find a bad native name that fills the bill for a strong fighting spirit of dedication and determination.

For thousands of years, we have used names to tie a group a people to a land.
This has been common practice for generations. Humans are called by traits of themselves or where they are from. Romans were from Rome. Germans were from Germany, Africans were from Africa. Indians were original indigenous people who were discovered on the “new land”. They were already there when the explorers arrived on shore. They were called “Indians” for a reason. Some groups were notoriously evil, mean, and scrupulous and degenerates. Vikings, Pirates, Raiders, Buccaneers. I am curious as to the lack of outrage by calling our young school children by names of past people who were ruthless barbarians who used to steal, rape and pillage for a living. Now there is an oxymoron if I ever saw one.

The debate should not be centered around heralding a native name on the athletic field as being a racists or being intolerant or insensitive. The debate should be about shedding light on a failed system that has created more harm to a people and culture than a name or image has done. We should be directing our energies into improving the system that has been placed upon the native culture. We would do well to further embrace the cultures that are in front of us and use them as key ingredients of our “Melting Pot” we call America. The Native culture brings simplicity, spirituality, friendship, understanding cohesiveness and more that we as a modern society have abandoned. Calling someone a Redskin is not a bad thing, it is a good thing. Calling someone a Fighting Sioux, Ute or Illini is not a bad thing. It is a good thing because of the virtues that come from that name or image. Honor, pride and respect. The strong grounded principles that our politically correct friends seem to have replaced with tolerance, civility and acceptance.

It is time to take our country back. The Native names, images and reference are as much a part of this country if not more than apple pie, barbecues, and baseball. It is time to tell the PC crowd to pack sand.

Tara Morgan

8/5/2014 10:26:10 pm

I really enjoyed your article. I'm not native, but I'm raising a native granddaughter. We work very hard at keeping the native spirit alive in her. School children make fun of her because she isn't Cherokee like all the rest of the people we live near. She is Sioux as we are from North Dakota transplanted in Oklahoma.
I was very saddened about UNDER changing their name, I graduated from there. When I attended school in Grand Forks I could feel the strength and spirit of the Fighting Sioux. I strongly disapprove of removing native names from schools and sports teams. I believe that they were named in pride and positive remembrance of the native people they were named after.

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