Don't leave a voicemail, seriously.

This isn't going to be as eloquent as usual (which is bad considering what I'm normally like), because I am feeling poorly, but this topic has been on my mind a lot lately for personal reasons, so I thought I would share since it's ibarw.

I can't be entirely sure about the content of other people's thoughts but it seems to me from interactions with others that a lot of people think of the removal of native peoples and the native genocide as something that happened Back Then. You probably learned about the Trail of Tears and the Indian Wars in school, and in your mind the events are sepia toned and something to feel bad about when you even take the time to remember it, but it's all over and done with, too bad and all, but it was a long time ago. There really aren't an Indians left and those ones who are live somewhere else, on reservations or like in Alaska or something, right?

Count backwards from five, and let's discuss how that attitude contributes to the marginalization and disenfranchisement of your neighbors, coworkers, and maybe even your friends.

Do you know what Federal recognition of native tribes/bands means? Do you know that many many native people are denied official status? Click through that and give it a thought.

What usually happened east of the Mississippi with these non-recognized groups is that their larger population was displaced but remnants dispersed and clung on. More and more white people moved into the area and the native peoples generally moved into marginal areas--swamps, up mountains, far enough in the boonies they didn't come into constant contact with whites—and/or they intermarried. So basically, yes, the upshot here is that the people who managed to survive are now fucked a whole new way: because the white people didn't know about them they are denied self-definition.

Each non-recognized native group has their own story of non-recognition. Here are a few:
Abenaki
Chickamauga
Pequot
Sandy Lake Ojibwe


Some basic issues here are: who gets to define who is and who is not a native American? Should it be a bunch of white people? Is that not a continuation of genocide? Did you even know about these issues? Does apathy equate to oppression?


General explanation of the problem.