Progress requires equal treatment

Tuesday, November 18, 1997

Progress requires equal treatment

RACE:

To move forward, society needs to be more considerate of
nativesBy Daniele Bolelli

The issue is not hard to figure out. In 1492, the entire
continent was inhabited by different Native American peoples. By
1997, American Indians’ limited sovereignty is restricted to a tiny
percentage of the American soil. Can we say that the United States
is occupying land stolen from Native Americans? You bet!

If invading a country, killing large numbers of the native
inhabitants, forcing the survivors into submission and taking
nearly all of their land from them is not stealing, then I do not
know what stealing is. It is ironic that shoplifting in a mall is a
crime, but "shoplifting" an entire nation is considered by many as
an acceptable step for progress. (By the way, progress toward
what?)

In this case, the truth is brutal and simple. Whether we like it
or not, the United States was born out of theft, violence and greed
justified in the name of racist theories of manifest destiny. Every
inch of this country, from New England to the coast of California,
is an inch of land taken away from American Indians. Have you ever
wondered who lived here a few generations ago? Long before the
existence of Bruin Walk, when UCLA and the entire city of Los
Angeles had not yet even become a project in some white man’s
imagination, people had lived here already for countless
generations. The natives did not give up their country on their own
will. They were forced to give it up when the colonists invaded
their land and systematically started to wipe out entire villages
by killing men, women and children. In other words, the
colonization of California (which was only slightly more brutal
than in the rest of the United States) was not different from any
other act of brutal imperialism perpetuated by a militarily strong
power against weaker peoples. Although many would like to think
otherwise, the United States is the booty gained during one of the
largest thefts ever perpetrated in history.

However, this is history. The real issue to be considered is
what we want to do about it. Obviously, it would be ridiculous to
think that we can turn back the clock to 1492. The theft is done
and the booty has already been distributed. But this is not a good
reason for forgetting about it. Feeling guilty is not the answer
either. Guilt does not make anyone feel better nor does it help to
solve any of the problems faced by many American Indians still to
this day. The real issue is not what can be done about the past,
but what can be done right now. The history of American Indian
peoples is not just a page in history textbooks. History is being
made this very moment.

Poverty and unemployment are still prominent on many
reservations. In many states, racism is almost as bad today as it
was over a hundred years ago.

If you think you know what racism is by living in Los Angeles,
think again.

Try taking a walk into a bar in a small town in Montana or South
Dakota. Life can turn unpleasant very quickly. Also, the myth that
all citizens are equal in a court of law quickly vanishes if we
look at the legal proceedings that take place daily in several
states. On average, American Indians accused crimes against white
people are convicted much more often than whites accused of crimes
against Indians. Furthermore, once convicted, Native Americans
often get much longer sentences than those given to whites who have
committed the same type of crime.

In my own experience, I have seen how the law works when Native
Americans are involved. A friend of mine was convicted of
manslaughter during a trial in which the outcome had already been
decided before the case even began. The pathologist, who first said
that my friend could not have caused the death of the victim (a
white man), changed his report immediately after the prosecutor
paid a visit to his office. The pathologist’s career greatly
improved soon after. My friend’s court-appointed attorney did not
even challenge many of the prosecutor’s shortcomings. After the
trial, his career too skyrocketed ­ he is now a very important
judge in South Dakota.

Once he was convicted for manslaughter, my friend received an
80-year sentence which is an insanely longer sentence than the
average for manslaughter. When he moved for a mistrial the court
reporter never turned in a document in which the prosecutor
contradicted himself. Nothing was ever done about it. In another
case, when an Indian prisoner I know had an accident during his
transfer from one prison to another, he was not given any medical
care. That is unless you call medical care giving 27 Tylenols to a
person in a single day. The other prisoner who was in the van with
him received immediate attention and was taken to the hospital for
a Cat Scan. Of course, he was white.

If we want to do something about the theft that the United
States perpetrated against Native Americans, these are the kind of
issues that we should address. Issues that can make a difference in
the lives of native peoples today. Nothing extremely radical. Just
modest goals such as improving the legal conditions of American
Indians or giving them back at least part of those lands which have
a religious significance for them. But even these goals are rarely
taken seriously by the American government. When the Lakota Nation
challenged the fact that, by dispossessing them of the sacred Black
Hills, the American government had violated a legal treaty, it was
agreed that the U.S. government’s action was illegal. However,
rather than being given back the land that was still property of
the government, the Lakotas were offered monetary compensation. It
is as if after conquering Rome and kicking Catholics out of the
Vatican, we offered them money in retribution.

If we decide to face honestly the past of the nation and do
something to correct the wrongs committed in the previous
centuries, American Indians modern problems need to be given the
consideration they deserve.