btw: What do you think of Rep. Joe Wilson’s outburst from the other day?

I can’t imagine him attending. Sending the wreath is enough..but It would have been wise for him to stay as FAR AWAY from that event as possible. Obama is President and has a responsibility to honor all Americans..but he’s also a human being. How could anyone expect him to attend that event as a man of color?

Are you serious? Despite whatever everyone’s interpretation of what the rebel flag means to them the flag already has a bad rap..
I can’t imagine Obama at full attention with the rebel flag in the background paying tribute to a cause that would have made his advancements in life not possible.

Might as well make a Jewish President throw a reef over a WW2 German Soldier memorial..

Their ancestors saw them as heroes.. while Jews remember them as carrying out the policies of their oppressors.

Draws the same internal conflict..

There is another petition that is circulating at this time, and that will be presented to President Obama. Whether or not our President will endorse the position the petition represents remains to be seen. The petition is to redress grievances of those who suffered the abuses of “Indian Boarding Schools”–schools in which the “Indian” was to be “killed” and the man saved. The abuses suffered were neither romanticized nor imagined; they were experienced–and they were experienced by helpless children. I know men and women who attended these boarding schools, and whose parents and grandparents attended them. The experiences they speak of are shocking and devastating. The following is some basic information concerning the schools and the petition. I know this is off topic, but again, maybe not. Thanks again, Kevin. Sherree

Wellbriety Journey for Forgiveness

Healing the Legacy of the Boarding Schools 1879-2009

On May 16th 2009, White Bison began a 40-day, 6800 mile cross-country journey to present and former Indian School sites. It’s goal is to promote awareness, dialogue and forgiveness among Native peoples for the historical trauma of the Indian Boarding School Era which began in 1879. Please support the 2009 Wellbriety Journey for Forgiveness and Native American healing now.

Click to view introductory video from White Bison President, Don Coyhis

Journey Dates and Sites

(Click on map or the links below for more information on the Journey sites – opens new window)
1 May 16th, 2009 Chemawa Indian School – Salem, OR
2 May 17th, 2009 Warm Springs Agency Boarding School – Warm Springs, OR
3 May 19th, 2009 Fort Hall Indian Boarding School – Fort Hall, ID
4 May 21st, 2009 St. Stephens High School – Riverton, WY
5 May 24th, 2009 Stewart Indian School – Carson City, NV
6 May 26th, 2009 Sherman Indian School – Riverside, CA
7 May 27th, 2009 Phoenix Indian School – Phoenix, AZ
8 May 31st, 2009 Albuquerque Indian School – Albuquerque, NM
9 June 2nd, 2009 Concho Indian School, El Reno, OK-Not a public event
10 June 3rd, 2009 Riverside Indian School – Anadarko, OK
11 June 4th, 2009 Sequoyah High School – Tahlequah, OK
12 June 5th, 2009 Haskell Indian Nations University – Lawrence, KS
13 June 6th, 2009 Genoa Indian Industrial School – Genoa, NE – Not a public event
14 June 8th, 2009 Rapid City, SD
15 June 9th, 2009 Morris Indian School – Morris, MN – Not a public event
16 June 10th, 2009 White Earth Indian School – White Earth, MN
17 June 11th, 2009 Red Lake Indian School – Red Lake, MN
18 June 12th, 2009 Leech Lake Indian School – Cass Lake, MN
19 June 14th, 2009 Lac du Flambeau Boarding School – Lac du Flambeau, WI
20 June 15th, 2009 Oneida Indian Boarding School – Oneida, WI
21 June 17th, 2009 Mt. Pleasant Indian Industrial School – Mt. Pleasant, MI
22 June 19th, 2009 Thomas Indian School – Gowanda, NY
23 June 21st, 2009 Carlisle Indian School – Carlisle, PA
24 June 24th, 2009 National Museum of the American Indian – Washington, D.C

Petition Requesting Apology for Abuses at US Indain Schools

This petition calls upon the President of the United States to issue a formal apology for what the US government allowed to happen to Native American children at the schools and for the effects it continues to have on Native American individuals, families, and communities to this day.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=7669826&page=1

Thanks. I noticed that. I’ve referenced the Lost Cause as a religion on a number of occasions. Charles Reagan Wilson expounds on this in his book _Baptized in Blood_ which I highly recommend.

Both your piece and Caitlin’s are referenced in a May 20 piece on the “Religion in American History” blog.

http://usreligion.blogspot.com/2009/05/arlington-confederate-monument.html

I thought that was an interesting place to find a reference to your piece, given the term “Lost Cause religion.”

Bob,

You haven’t offended me yet, but we are getting close, so it is time to stop. We have all argued extensively about agency when it comes to the lives and history of African Americans, and rightly so. I am not romanticizing anyone, and agree that it is a disservice to romanticize any group of people. The myth of the “noble savage” went far in harming Indigenous men and women. Having just returned from sitting in an Indigenous ceremony that was outlawed by the US government until the 1970s, I don’t feel well disposed toward this argument. Perhaps it is white society that is romanticizing itself and refusing to face responsibility for the past.

I do wish everyone a Happy Memorial Day and thank you again Kevin for this forum. I also urge everyone to attend a pow wow some day, if you haven’t already. Most pow wows celebrate Memorial Day every pow wow, and honor veterans of all of our wars in the pow wow arena. It is a very moving ceremony.

Bob, Peace. Sherree

This is an interesting exchange and I appreciate that the two of you have taken the time to flesh out your own view and question one another in a respectful manner. I am no expert, but I think Bob’s final point about our tendency to generalize and even idealize Native Americans is a disservice. [Sherree, I am not suggesting that you are doing so.] To that point I definitely need to read more. I am looking forward to starting Elliott West’s new book, The Last Indian War (Oxford University Press (2009) this summer. Thanks again.

First, let me say that I don’t think there is any way you could offend me. As has been stated on this blog many times, history is complex and open to interpretation. Although I have a BA in Political Science and an MA in History, the one thing my education taught me is that I will never know everything there is to know. That is what makes forums like these so interesting. I will freely admit that I think the weight of historic evidence strongly favors certain interpretations in some of the time periods I have studied, but I am not offended by those who favor interpretations I think are wrong.

Having said that, the main point of my comment was to respond to your statement that no one was considering how to include Native Americans in the new republic that emerged after the Civil War. They were. President Grant in particular. I would not want to defend the corryupot and duplicitous actions of the U.s. government in its dealing with Native Americans, but in assessing Grant’s Peace Policy we must ask what reasonable alternatives there might have been. In Grant’s mind the advance of white civilization was unstoppable and would eventually overwhelm Native American culture, eventually leading to their complete extinction. We can argue that was is not fair, but it was reality. The only way it might have been stopped was if Europeans had not come to North America in the first place. Therefore, the only way to save them was to help them assimilate. Assimilation was not someting that was only asked of Native Americans, it was asked of everyone who came to this country.

You state that “the great warrior chiefs of the Apache, the Nez Perces, the Cheyenne, and the Lakota were overly fond of this philosophy. ” You are correct, and this is one reason why the years of Grant’s Peace Policy are the bloodiest in the history of U.S./Native American relations. But evidence suggests that not all Native Americans opposed the policy, and it seems to me the warrior chiefs were afraid of losing their power. Our leaders don’t always lead us in ways that are most beneficial to us. Alao. the first commissioner of Indian Affairs appoiunted by Grant was a full blooded Seneca Indian named Ely Parker. Parker had been on Grant’s staff during the war and he fully supported Grant’s policy. Grant , I’m sure, was heavily influenced by his friend.

Finally, and I hope I am not offending you, it is easy to romanticize “Indigenous” peoples, but people are people, and Native Americans were not always peace loving inhabitants living in harmony with the land. I would urge you to read Lawrie Tatum’s account mentioned in my last post.