What SHOULD Be Spoken About on the 4th of July
On June 22, 2021, the US Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland, launched a probe into US practices, including reviewing the history of Indigenous boarding schools. “As part of the initiative, a final report from agency staff is due by April 1, 2022.”
This is a good start and it is only a start. On this 4th of July, let's not forget the OTHER part of the "Independence" story. Without naming the genocides that have happened—and continue to happen—towards the Indigenous peoples of America for 500+ years, without giving the reality space or allowing the grief to be felt and understood, celebrating freedom is thin, insensitive, and quite hypocritical.
I remember traveling in Germany in 2012 and my host father telling me that the town he lived in was the first one to politically support Hitler. He went on to tell me that Holocaust studies and accountability are a normalized part of the German school curriculum. "We Germans talk openly about what the crimes Nazis committed. But in America, you do not talk about things like this, the genocides that still happen in America. I do not understand why. Until you do and until it becomes part of everyday conversation and education, there cannot be an ending." I asked him if the German Nazi's actions were hard to talk about and he shook his head. "Maybe at first, in my parents's generation. But now, no, it is just part of what we know and talk about. We have accepted our history, moved past the shame, and can take accountability without getting all mixed up in the heart. We know what happened and what was wrong. We teach our children the history of our actions to help them understand what must not be done again."
As a woman of Celtic, Gaelic, and Nordic descent, German and Nazi lineage, Swedish crusade lineage, and American immigrant settler culture, I recognize my ancestors had a hand in a lot of pain and cruelty in many places around the world. I understand where their actions and perspectives come from, and I do not believe they were right or ok.
On this 4th of July, and every day, my heart and intentions and ethics stand with the Indigenous peoples of this country; the 500+ years of genocide of people, culture, language, and land must be talked about right alongside active honoring and celebration of the resiliency, brilliance, peace, and creativity of living cultures that have survived. We must learn and understand that cultures and traditions continue, even though genocide continues as well. My, our, freedoms--and there are many--are not just because of the decisions of Europeans escaping to find a "free" country and building their "own" nation; these many freedoms come at the cost of many, many Indigenous lives. It's a painful truth.
May we of colonial and immigrant settler lineages walk humbly and with awareness of the great pains that can never be undone and of the brilliant resiliency that has happened to bring us to this moment. May we face and learn, understand and integrate our history, so we can contribute to the collective healing and teach future generations to make wiser and more peaceful choices.
Photo from www.Native-Land.ca.