Incidentally, I guess I should warn you that this is going to be a very long post indeed. But you don't have to read it all. :)
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If you are watching your TV news from outside the USA (or inside it for that matter, I suppose) you will be left with the impression that what Native Americans do mostly is protest their terrible treatment and stage marches to protest the Columbus Day holiday.
To be sure, there are many protests and reasons to protest, and many, many historical examples of terrible things that happened, but to assume that all Native Americans are constantly being mistreated and protesting that mistreatment would not really be a true picture of how things are in the USA today at all.
This post is not about the vocal protesters, but about the average Joe Indian living on the Rez today. And, I hope, a little bit of how highly I hold the average hard-working Native American in esteem.
I live in what we locals call "Indian Country." In fact, for longer than most can remember, my little border town where I live has been known as "The Indian Capital of the World." By us at least. Heh. People living in India would probably differ.
Having said that, I suppose I should pause a moment and tell new readers that this blogger doesn't live in India. He (I am a "he") lives in a place called Gallup, in the USA's 47th state, New Mexico, in a region called "The Four Corners." Our license plates say "New Mexico USA" and we are probably the only state that has to put the "USA" part there. Even our neighboring states of Arizona and Texas often call us Mexico, leaving off the "new" part. Go figure. If we weren't here holding them apart, they would be smack up against each other. But I will admit that "New Mexico" is rather an oxymoron, being neither new nor Mexico.
Our license plates also say "Land Of Enchantment." Because we are, that's why. Much better than "Grand Canyon State" or "Lone Star State" don't you think? Of course you do. Not that we don't get along with our neighbors. But it would be nice to be able to order merchandise from California on the computer without them trying to add foreign postage to our order.
Please note that there are several zillion variations available in each state, depending on what cause you support, what university you attended, whether you have been awarded the Purple Heart and ad infinitum. I just chose these for quick examples. Enjoy. Marvel. The only thing all states seem to have in common, I think, is that politicians seem to always get them for free. And to assure you we don't have a national license plate. Or spell it with 2 Cs.
New Mexicans love Texans, too. Or at least we love their tourist money. Don't laugh — if you lived in Texas, you'd spend your vacation in New Mexico, too, right? Of course. Texans love to ski. Or at least they like to dress up in designer sunglasses and thousand-dollar ski-bunny suits and come bleed all over our mountains. Some cynics have even speculated that "If God had intended Texans to ski, he would have given them a decent mountain."
The wind blows a lot in New Mexico. At least visitors think so. Natives know the truth: Texas sucks. Ta DUM da. How good it is to write mainly to a British and South African audience: Americans groan at these old jokes, but you, the chronically uninformed on most things Texan, think they are new and fresh, and that I am a very sharp wit indeed. Even the few Canadians who stumble by are for the most part impressed. Not hard to impress though, that lot.
I am not quite sure how I have drifted this far afield from my intended subject ("Average everyday Native Americans", for those of you just now joining us) but those of you who follow this blog on a regular basis know (or think you know; you are mostly crazy) that I start out by making up a title for my post and then start writing. If I find that I do not really know anything about the title subject, as is often the case, I will continue writing anyway. It would be a shame to waste a good post title, after all.
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Chapter Two.
The "Four Corners" region of the USA is so-called because it has four corners. By God. Which is to say it is the only place in the USA where 4 states come together, so neatly in fact, that you can stand on one foot and be in four states at the same time. I don't mean YOU personally, it was just a manner of speaking.
Like most things around here, the actual Four Corners is located where the Native Americans can charge you to see it if they want. Usually they want. I am not quite sure why tourists like to drive so far out into the desert just have their pictures taken standing in 4 states at once, but I'm sure the Indians do thank you for your interest (read: "stupidity") and so do we in little border towns who thrive on tourist dollars and Uncle Sam's welfare checks.
Europeans (Germans especially, for some reason) seem drawn to Indian Country, and (Germans again) seem to also like to have their pictures taken standing on one foot on the concrete 4 corners "monument". They also like to dress up like fake Indians with white faces in "authentic", heh, made-in-China costumes, and have their pictures taken again. Which is fine with the real Indians watching the Germans from their pickup trucks, wearing (made in the USA) Stetsons (or Resistols) and Wrangler jeans and Roper boots. As long as that bogus Chinese stuff is purchased from them, then it is okay.
Where was I?
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Chapter Three
(Caution: the real post starts here.)
The "average" Native American (if there is such a thing) dresses like everybody else around here dresses and likes to do the same sorts of things everybody else likes to do. Sorry for that bit of culture shock.
In other words, American Indians dress like cowboys if they are ranchers, blue collar workers if they are that, office workers with suits and ties (usually bolo ties, though) if they are office workers or executives, anything they feel like wearing if they are silversmiths, and in polo shirts if they happen to be on the golf course.
Indians in my little part of the world like to go to fairs, eat junk food, ride bulls at rodeos, play and watch sports, sip Bud Light, disparage George Bush, watch hot air balloons, participate in community affairs, donate to charities, talk trash, go dancing, watch mud bogs, teach school, nurse the sick at hospitals, and disparage George Bush again.
They also enjoy Ceremonial events and Pow Wows, and traveling as a family to those events around the country. That is likely the only time you will see them dressed in any clothes that are accessorized with eagle feathers. But when they do have on their traditional dress, man, bring the camera 'cause they are feckin' gorgeous.
And, no offense, but they will NEVER like you as much as they love their incredibly beautiful appaloosa horses. Just a fact, so don't be hurt.
You will never have a better neighbor than a Native American. If you get your truck stuck in the red mud on the Rez, they will get out of bed and come pull you out. If you come upon them at mealtime, you will be fed. At least you will be fed if you don't mind eating mutton. Just kidding. If you are walking along the road, they will give you a ride. And they don't pay much attention to the color of your skin.
Again, I am not writing this to make you think all is well in America, and that there are no Native Americans who are marching and protesting about past and present abuses. There are plenty. And Native Americans do indeed suffer from alcoholism and diabetes and high unemployment and general poverty. But I am about to tell you something you may not have known, even Americans who don't interact with Native Americans don't know this:
American Indians are some of the most loyal and patriotic Americans who live in this broad country of ours. Bar none. When there is a war, they are among the first to sign up. Always have been. When there is a flag to be carried in a parade, they will carry it. When the colors are posted at the beginning of a rodeo, they are on their feet. When the national anthem is played, their cowboy hats are in their hands.
You see, Native Americans have a strong sense of place, of home, and loyalty to that place that is home, and to the mother earth that home sits on. Their home wasn't always called America. But it is now, and they will kick your ass if you try to do something against that home called America. And if America needs them to fight for that home, then they go sign up. Case closed.
It was the Navajo and Hopi Codetalkers that baffled the Japanese in the Pacific in WWII with their codes consisting of their native languages coupled with a simple substitution encryption. Their code was never broken. And today, in my little town, we are lucky to still have a few of them to honor at our veteran celebrations each year, but they are growing old now, and their ranks are thinner each year. Read about our Native American Codetalkers.
With modern changes, American women now serve in combat rather than simply in support roles. The first American female soldier to die in combat, was a Native American mother, a Hopi named Lori Piestewa. This at the start of the Iraq war. That's Lori in the picture below this line. You can read more about Lori and her friend Jessica Lynch.
Why did Lori even join the army? Partly it goes to what I wrote above. Here is what Hopi Tribal Chairman Wayne Taylor, Jr. said at the opening of a new exhibit at the women's Memorial in Arlington, Virginia: "It should not be limited to this day, or times of conflict and war, but it should be recognized and observed in some fashion every day. We need to be daily reminded that it is the contribution of our veterans which gives us the opportunity to live freely."
Taylor said after Lori Piestewa was killed in action, the most frequently asked question on the Hopi reservation was: "Why did Lori join the Army?"
"Many have speculated and derived their own answers," Taylor noted. "Perhaps it was because she followed in the legacy of those before her – her father, a Vietnam veteran, and her grandfather, a World War II veteran.
"Maybe it was because of early ROTC involvement," he said. "Only Lori could give us the answer. Whatever the reason, the question should not be why did she, but rather, why is it strange for her to?" --------
I was reading my home town paper today and it occured to me that showing you a page of that paper would help you get a better feel for what I am talking about. On this page, there appeared the following:
1. A picture of some Native American (and non-Indian) children (first-graders, mainly aged 6) singing the National Anthem, practicing for a program they are putting on for area veterans on Veterans' Day a few days ago.
2. Some local news and announcement snippets.
3. Some obituaries, one of which I will show here.
4. The weather information for yesterday. Just because you wanted to know why I am freezing out here at night.
All of these are meant simply to show you the general flavor of the somewhat unusual place this bloggers lives. You can laugh if you want to, I don't mind. You will have to click on the pictures in order to get them large enough to read.
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I love the below picture of the first graders practicing the National Anthem for the veterans. I fell in love with the little girl as soon as I saw her. I don't know who she is but I fell in love with her. [Apache Elementary School, Farmington, NM, 10 Nov. 2008] Click to enlarge.
There is some ink bleed-through on these pictures due to the thin paper. Sorry.
The illustration below is simply some local news bits, or announcements, that appeared in the paper yesterday. I show this simply to give you an idea of some of the things that are important to Native people (and the rest of us) in this area. We are perhaps different in our interests than city people. My favorite announcement is circled in red. Click to enlarge.
