When New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg used offensive, derogatory and incendiary Old West imagery last month in discussing the controversy over tax collection from sovereign Indian nations, New York Indians staged a protest at City Hall, called on the mayor to apologize, passed resolutions condemning his remarks, and some even explored filing a formal “hate speech” complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice. The National Congress of American Indians and the United South and Eastern Tribes also weighed in, taking the mayor to task for his thoughtless, hurtful words.
Some Indian people, myself included, expected that the mainstream media would pick up on the controversy. After all, whenever a politician or civil servant makes racist or bigoted remarks about other minorities, the national press always seems ready to pounce. But somehow, the fact that Mayor Bloomberg urged Gov. David Patterson to “get yourself a cowboy hat and a shotgun” to enforce the state’s legally questionable efforts to collect taxes from Indian-owned business didn’t even move the needle when it came to the national media’s attention level, while at the same time the mayor calls for tolerance regarding the siting of a Muslim mosque near Ground Zero did.
More disheartening, though, is that the mayor’s comments apparently didn’t even seem to stir Indian country outside the Empire State, either. For all the work American Indians have done in educating themselves and the outside world about who they really are – for all the protests over Indian stereotypes in film and television and offensive sports team names and mascots – politicians still feel free to invoke the shameful era of colonization and “conquest” whenever they covet something the Indians have. Leaders who would never dare to condone violence against our African American, Hispanic or Jewish neighbors feel comfortable using each other to use deadly force against American Indians without the slightest fear of sparking any serious public outrage.
Why is that? Is it because tribal nations are too scattered to band together effectively? Are we too wrapped up in our own concerns to pay attention to, or expend our energy on, events that happen outside our immediate communities? Or have we become so accustomed to this kind of denigration that it no longer has the power to rouse our ire? Whatever the reason, I am deeply concerned that the apathy is a reflection on our own views of ourselves, which may be even more dangerous to us than anything an outsider can say.
Indian people in this country are blessed with a great diversity of language, culture, heritage and tradition. Though we share many similarities, each of us has our own rich tapestry of history and ancestry, and each of us has our own pressing issues to deal with. But there is grave danger in focusing only on our own immediate concerns. Pastor Martin Niemöller’s famous explanation for German intellectuals’ inaction during the Third Reich can be readily adapted to make the same point here: “First they came for the Seneca. But I was not Seneca, so I did not speak up. Then they came for the Choctaw. But I was not Choctaw, so I did not speak up. Then they came for the Lakota. But I was not Lakota, so I did not speak up. And when they came for me, there was no one left to speak up.”
We cannot afford to remain silent. Whether the offensive language or imagery comes from Hollywood or college and major league sports teams or politicians half a continent away, every Indian person has a stake in squashing stereotypes that demean and dehumanize all Native people. If the governor of Minnesota or the mayor of Los Angeles or a sheriff in Arizona makes racist, inflammatory remarks about Native Americans, Indian people across the country should and must let their outrage be heard.
Let us not allow elected officials to remain silent, either. Shame on us for continuing to support their candidacies without finding out their views on Mayor Bloomberg’s bigoted comments, let alone for supporting those candidates – regardless of their political party – who refuse to renounce his statements or to demand an apology from him.
I am reminded of a statement I once read which seems to fit this situation: “those of you who feel powerless continue to express that by maintaining your silence.” We must speak up for each other, lest there be no one left to speak up for us.
Ray Halbritter is the federally recognized representative of the Oneida Indian Nation of New York and CEO of Oneida Nation Enterprises, which includes Four Directions Media, the publisher of Indian Country Today.
