I consider the American narrative, as written, a humdinger of a lie.

Earlier, I’d written that it was complete bullshit, but then I reminded myself that there’s a difference between bullshit and lying. Bullshit is when you pretend to know something, but don’t:

“There were, like, only 4 million Native Americans here before Europeans came, so …”

Bullshit.

Lying is when you know the truth, but voluntarily conceal it, and then present some fabricated fib to cover your ass:

“Who were you with last night?” she asks.

“Just the guys, having some drinks,” he responds, swallowing heavily.

“Then how do you explain this picture this girl – your ‘friend’ – posted on Instagram? …”

Lying.

Get it? Right.

So, let’s start again: The American narrative, as written, is a lie.

The myths and legends about the U.S. told to kids in under-funded classrooms to coax their allegiance are spewed using seriously soft language: The “founding” of America. The “opening” of the west. Shit like that.

“Founding”? Try “invasion.”

“Opening”? How about: “aggressive forced removal of the first peoples.”

This kind of gentle language, this sugarcoated approach to the brutal events that have occurred throughout the annals of U.S. history is misleading; it’s blatantly false, and yeah, it’s after your kids. You’ve been warned.

Yesterday, I was examining a photo of a black man in redface at a Kansas City Chiefs game when I came across a video, dated 2008, of Senator John McCain, R-Arizona, that had sparked controversy on social media.

He said:

“To state the obvious, when the Europeans came to America, it was a clash of civilizations. And throughout history the less mature civilization always suffer …”

Sweet jeezus, I thought. That latter part of that statement is what we in the news biz call a ‘hot damn.’ Boom! Hits ya. Right on the button. Fucking hell. “Less mature”? Hot damn, indeed.

Hang on. Call’s coming in. …

OK. That was Julie Tarallo, press secretary for Senator McCain, whose main point is that the video, sheered down to a single sound bite, “has no context.”

“The video is not new. It’s obviously been clipped to remove any context, and surely when he said ‘less mature’ he meant it in terms of probably developing the means of modern warfare, so obviously Senator McCain has a deep respect for the Native American culture. You can look at his record. To take an edited clip with no context and just attack Senator McCain, you know, that just does not reflect his long history of working with Native Americans. … He’s one of the longest serving members on the Indian Affairs Committee. This video just has no context.”

I agree with Tarallo to an extent. There is no context in the video, but I feel that misses the point. … It’s insulting to refer to an entire race of people as “less mature” – whether regarding their weaponry, politics, spirituality, what have you. The words sting even without context. And in politics, it’s wise never to be caught referring to the ancestors of your voters as “less mature.”

But maybe this is how the politicians, political pundits and schoolteachers have been shoveling this faux U.S. history muck for the past few years, and I just haven’t been paying close enough attention. Lately, I’ve been reporting on the underreported plague of police brutality in Indian country, and of the Native Lives Matter movement. … So maybe, when I wasn’t looking, the powers supplanted the archaic and cutting ‘uncivilized’ for the new and shiny ‘less mature’ when referring to early Native Americans.

RELATED: Oak Flat–Protesting Student vs. Sen. John McCain: ‘Disrespect for a Youth’

Remember, everything is in the language used. Once something is said it cannot be unsaid. A politician knows this axiom well. And, truthfully, as humans, we expect politicians to blunder. Some people even watch politics for the same reason they tune into NASCAR – hoping for a serious crash and burn, and if you observe the pageantry long enough it will happen.

Right.

So, folks, know your bullshit, know your lies, and, for the record, the only thing “less mature” on this continent at the time of European invasion were the ideologies of the European invader who considered the killing of Indians as doing God’s work. Those murders didn’t happen because of advanced weaponry. They happened because the European invaders were racist, immature dicks. No bullshit.

Simon Moya-Smith

Simon Moya-Smith, Oglala Lakota, is the Culture Editor at Indian Country Today. Follow him at @simonmoyasmith.