In the End

            In the end, I feel like I’ve learned tons in this class. But at the same time, I haven’t learned anything, if you step back and look at the whole scope of Native American history.

            I found the American Indian Movement fascinating. It’s the Civil Right Movement all over again, yet somehow completely absent from my education thus far. I was watching some Eddie Izzard standup the other day. The start to it was a comedic bit about a group of tourists going to visit Alcatraz. His camera crew went along for the trip and he dubbed his comedy over the tape later on. And the cameras zoomed in on the handwritten graffiti that read “Native Americans Welcome,” or something similar. Izzard said something along the lines of: “Once a fearful island prison turned Native American protest destination, now just a piece of history for tourists to visit.” Which means this British, trilingual comedian knew more about my own country’s history than I did. If it weren’t for this class, I would never have even been aware of Occupy Alcatraz.

            Similarly, I never would have known about Wounded Knee and the tragedy there. I wouldn’t have known about the existence of a museum in DC dedicated to Native Americans. I would have been ignorant of the ridiculous and recent legislation the United States government has made on “behalf” of Native Americans. The list can go on.

            Like Dr. Morris said on several occasions, this class at least has cracked the door to a whole world of information we’ve never been exposed to before. There’s so much more I don’t know and likely won’t know unless I search it out myself. I’m still completely jaw-drop astounded by how little I knew. I watch the History and Travel channels occasionally. And I watched a tour and history of the underground railroad beneath a church. All the things they were saying, I already knew. But Native American history?? I’m a blank slate.

            I saw the last five minutes of a history program on Ishi. For once, I was shocked there was even a program about him. But then I realized: this was early 1900s information. Information about a Native in the past. Nothing contemporary. The episode ended with this quote, “From a primitive lifestyle to modern society.” It was stated like a good thing, like his removal from his home was an amazing improvement. But he died from tuberculosis he probably never would have encountered at home. And isn’t that quote indicative of most all Native history?

            So I’ll end with the only contribution I can make to this cause: I will pay more attention. And I’ll spread this information wherever the opportunity arises.

Indian Child Welfare Act

            So, this law was brought up in class on Thursday and I was getting the legal grumpies just thinking about it.

            1978 brought about the Indian Child Welfare Act, the law that says people without any association to a tribe cannot adopt a Native American child. From one website, this was said: “The intent of Congress under ICWA was to ‘protect the best interests of Indian children and to promote the stability and security of Indian tribes and families.’"       

            Let me hit you with some quotes before I go on my rampage.

--“Congress, through statutes, treaties, and the general course of dealing with Indian tribes, has assumed the responsibility for the protection and preservation of Indian tribes and their resources.”

--“that an alarmingly high percentage of Indian families are broken up

by the removal, often unwarranted, of their children from them by nontribal public and private agencies and that an alarmingly high percentage of such children are placed in non-Indian foster and adoptive homes and institutions.”

--“The Congress hereby declares that it is the policy of this Nation to protect the best interests of Indian children and to promote the stability and security of Indian tribes and families by the establishment of minimum Federal standards for the removal of Indian children from their families and the placement of such children in foster or adoptive homes which will reflect the unique values of Indian culture, and by providing for assistance to Indian tribes in the operation of child and family service programs. “

--“''Indian'' means any person who is a member of an Indian tribe, or who is an

Alaska Native and a member of a Regional Corporation as defined in 1606 of title 43”

--“The court shall also certify that either the parent or Indian custodian fully understood the explanation in English or that it was interpreted into a language that the parent or Indian custodian understood. Any consent given prior to, or within ten days after, birth of the Indian child shall not be valid.”---This was in relation to the consent given by the parent or guardian to give up the child.

            Look, I could go on and on about this.

            First off, I find it hysterical that they’ve actually defined what constitutes an Indian.

            Secondly, this is one of the first national adoption acts enacted as of late. Usually, adoption laws are voted in on a state-by-state basis. But this is a federally mandated law that all states must follow, whether they like it or not. So thanks, White House.

            HA! Congress has made it their responsibility to “take care” of the Native Americans, to protect and preserve their Indian-ness. What bullspit. Where was this mentality during the Trail of Tears? Or any other relocation program throughout the history of Native Americans? But no, now suddenly it’s Congress’s self-imposed job to be the babysitters to these people.

            “Alarmingly high” numbers of Native families are broken up? Yeah, so what?! How is that any different than any other race in this country! Divorce rates are up to 60% these days. There are drop boxes for unwanted newborn babies in hospitals now. Prom night babies, dumpster babies…But I digress.

            I just cannot comprehend this 100% segregational law. I thought this kind of crap went out the windows with the Civil Rights laws. No more “separate but equal” stuff, right? Wrong. I understand that Dr. Morris said that some of this law was the brain child to the tribes themselves. But…but… *ensue sputtering*

            Here’s my biggest thing. What if you live on a poor reservation? I’m not saying that all of them are poor. But there are more destitute reservations out there. And what if your parents die. And what if there is no next of kin. And what if you have a really good opportunity to get adopted by a non-native family who will still love you but can simultaneously transport you from your low station in life. Why does Congress get the power to say poo-poo and keep you stuck where you are?

            Congress seems to assume that every adoptive family is eager and waiting to brainwash their newly adopted child, to make them forget everything they came from. Not everyone is like that. And why does Congress get to dictate that this specific set of people have to maintain their Indian-ness? That they have to soak in their culture and their heritage?

            Okay Congress, how about this one: No more allowing white people to adopt black children. Oh? Not okay with that? (Sarcastic tone). Because that would mean The Blind Side never would have happened. Or a million other tales of different races adopting other different races.

            Why are we not just supporting healthy, safe lifestyles for all? Why is that so much to ask? Stop looking at heritage, stop looking at blood, stop looking at what box you check on your SAT test. Just look at this child with no parents and give him to the most worthy person. Purple, blue, red, white, black, orange, or rainbow colored.

Links:

http://pages.uoregon.edu/adoption/topics/ICWA.html

http://www.nicwa.org/indian_child_welfare_act/

http://www.nicwa.org/policy/law/icwa/icwa.pdf    (this one is the link to the actual law itself as it stands in the books)

Comedy Jam

            The American Indian Comedy Jam special we were watching in class just the other day was an interesting peek into the feelings of contemporary Native Americans, the techniques to spread information, and the rhetoric they used.

            First and foremost, I would like to know what particular audience they were trying to reach with the show. Probably, every person from every race, color, and creed. It’s not like they were trying to segregate their audience. But here’s what gets me: they started the show with the angriest comedian I’ve seen in a while. Yes, Dr. Morris pointed out that Charlie Hill is considered the father of Native American comedy, and yes, she discussed that Mr. Hill would be considered a more angry Native American. However, if their goal was to start out the show with a blast to non-natives, they certainly achieved it. Chronologically, it made sense to start with the father of Native American comedy. But his style can easily shut off the minds of non-natives who were watching the special. His jokes were bold and loud and aggressive. In this way, I think it was terribly foolish for them to start the show with Charlie Hill.

            If you stuck around to watch more of the show, it was a jarring experience to go from Charlie Hill to Howie Miller. Mr. Miller was very laid back, very soft in his comedic approach. I enjoyed him very much.

            Of the 4 that we watched in class on Tuesday, I would have to say that Vaughn Eaglebear was my favorite. I enjoy a good, dry one-liner. His awkward body language did not make me feel uneasy or bothered, unlike some of my peers. I could see how that could put some people on edge. However, It kept you on your toes, paying attention to his jokes. He reminded me of the late Mitch Hedberg. He was phenomenal with dry one-liners that you didn’t know they were jokes until he was already moving onto the next joke. His body language was also very stiff and very awkward. He had a habit of covering as much of his face as possible with his hair, a quirk that sort of had the same effect as Mr. Eaglebear’s tipsy movements.

            My biggest issue with JR Redwater was his volume. The closest thing I can compare him to is Dane Cook. Dane Cook is very loud and very much in your face. Mr. Redwater’s jokes were mostly funny, but the volume threw me off at times.

            Overall, it was a great special. It was fascinating to me to see the amazing but subtle differences in how the audience reacted to some of the jokes that would have otherwise been supremely racist coming from a non-native person. It was fun to hear well-known songs substituted with different, very funny words. I always love a good parody.

            I can see how some people would be hesitant to watch such a comedy special. They might go into it thinking, well these are all Native Americans, they must be angry and they’ll probably spend their time bashing whites. Which is a foolish thought. Spending any extended length of time bashing anyone gets tiresome and quickly loses its comedic glow. And they’re still people like the rest of us. Not all of their humor is necessarily going to be about Native American life. Like Mr. Redwater’s joke about the club dancing. That wasn’t Native American specific. That’s something we all know and experience.

Teehee

                The clips assigned to the class by Dr. Morris were varied and interesting, to say the least.

                The bit that caught me off guard the most was the “Dropping the Feather” piece. I was startled by the sudden noise and perplexed by what was going on. If my assumption is correct, there must be a sort of stigmatism against dropping a feather to the ground. Perhaps like letting the flag touch the ground to some Americans? But in my confusion, I found the clip very funny. Psychologically, it’s because the juxtaposition between “traditional” Native dress and beliefs and the techno beat partnered with the modern dance moves created an absurd picture…and I laughed. The point of Youtube is to share videos with people of every race, color, and creed. So my laughing at the clip was acceptable and the intended point. However, one Youtube commenter thought otherwise. He (I assume) was horribly offended by such a poke at Native tradition. Essentially, he called the 3 actors sell-outs because they were playing into some Hollywood stereotype. The tone of the comment was accusatory and mad. This once again echoes the issue Native have even amongst themselves. What do we call them? What’s funny? If it’s funny, can non-natives laugh at it? If we do find it funny, does that make us racist?

                But I digress. I appreciated the “Being Gay and Native American” clip for the reinforcement of my last blog. Natives are people just like the rest of us. And some of them are bound not to tickle my particular funny bone. Just like every other comedian out there. It’s a level playing field: regardless of gender or race, you may be the funniest guy alive or you can flop completely. The “Gay” clip, to me, wasn’t funny. The material may have been unique in that I’ve never heard another gay Native comedian before. But its delivery was off and Charlie Ballad seemed uncomfortable on the stage.

                The vlog with Jim Ruel was funny. I actually watched it with my eyes closed (headache). And had I not known, I never would have assumed him to be a Native. And his jokes were funny, regardless of his blood. Anyone saying jokes with his delivery style would have been a hoot.

Time for Some Self-Reflection

                Thus far in this class, I’ve struggled with a few things. First and foremost, the idea that I truly know nothing about this culture. I’ve seen enough PBS specials to know the base minimum about, say, Chinese culture. I can consciously recognize that they are more than Kung Fu movies and crowded cities. Their history is vast and long. But I could pretty well generalize it if I was put on the spot on some strange game show. I can say the same of France, England, Ireland, Germany, and Spain. But then there are the Natives. I knew nothing of the American Indian Movement or occupy Alcatraz or the Wounded Knee incident or even the fact that there is a whole museum in D.C. dedicated to Natives. And I was oblivious to their culture, or rather, their many different cultures: fry bread or hair or humor or rez cars that only go in reverse or a billion other things I’m not yet privy to. Heck, if I think about it, I probably know more about the Aztecs and the Mayans than I do of contemporary Native Americans.

                More than all of this, though, is one bit I cannot seem to comprehend. Call me naïve, call me ignorant, call me blond. But I simply do not understand where these negatives stereotypes of Natives are being portrayed and prolonged. I don’t mean on boxes of butter or caps of sports fans. I mean on a daily basis. Are there people just sitting around with a Bud in their fists bad-mouthing Natives? How is this group of people even coming up in conversation?

                Yes, I grew up in a small town. But that never made me blind towards the bad things said behind backs. I heard people gash the gay kids in school. I saw the compact riot against the African American kids. The football team was no stranger to Asian jokes, despite the Asian on the team. So how am I missing the hateful perpetuation of bad Native stereotypes? I never once assumed Natives didn’t have a sense of humor. I never assumed them to be “noble creatures” or drunken, abusive savages. They’re just…people. No better or worse than anyone else purely because of their genetics. Of all that I struggle with in this class, this tops it.

                If you can give me an insightful response, I will surely welcome it.