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Welcome to News from Native American Netroots, a Tuesday evening series focused on indigenous tribes primarily in the United States and Canada but inclusive of international peoples also.
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Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer has release the 2010 tribal relations report:
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Bad pennies keep turning up, so here I am.
I enrolled specifically to present a question that this group is especially qualified to answer. I’m soliciting your advice.
In a dKos conversation a commenter described someone as “going off the reservation”. Unless I misunderstand, that’s not exactly a phrase welcome to Native eyes/ears. My reply required that I repeat the phrase, which I was uncomfortable with, but expressed that discomfort only by putting the phrase in scare quotes, which the commenter had not.
Since I was at least mildly disagreeing with the contents of the comment, I certainly didn’t want to start a tangential argument.
Thus I’m asking you guys for your opinions; should I just ignore that kind of thing, or point it out and, if so, what would be the best approach to the desired end?
Any and all opinions are sincerely appreciated.
…you SHOULD bring up this issue. Consciousness raising is important.
“Off the reservation” has a connection to another slur, “renegade.” If you look up the dictionary definition, you’ll find some variant of “traitor,” “deserter,” or a person who sells out her people.
In fact, most Indian “renegades” were the opposite. They were those who fought for people’s right to determine their own lives outside the POW camps. They were, if you will, hard-liners in the struggle for sovereignty and self-determination. Osceola, Tecumseh, Crazy Horse, Chief Joseph and Geronimo were all among these “renegades,” Indians who refused to live where the government demanded they live and died fighting or gave up only when all hope was lost.
So today, like “off the reservation,” “renegade” is a slur that ought to be a badge of honor.