Jon Greendeer
Ho-Chunk Nation President
They tried removing us to take our traditional homelands for their own.
They’ve fatally attacked many of our villages, brought sick upon our people, pulled our children from our homes, sterilized our women relatives, and forced policies to assimilate us away from our traditional cultures and ceremonies.
To my friends and colleagues leading their tribal nations, remember that day you took office? That day your family dressed you up and that drum sang for you and your people sent you to the front to watch out for them?
This is what they were asking of you. Quit playing the game the federal government wants you to play. They want you to snivel about treaties and the hardships so they can put their white hero cape on and save you. Let me tell you something, they would commit all these atrocities again if their disposition of dominance was ever threatened. Be kind, be prepared, but never forget that. I already died so I ain’t worried walking on eggshells anymore.
The legacy of tribal leadership has gotten us pretty far but the fact that we are all trying to find solutions to feed our people when there isn’t a food shortage should tell you this is a war on those in need. It always has been.
My brain and body are literally corroding protecting our grants, our healthcare, our structures that we actually do THEIR work out of on our time and our dime. It’s a literal clown show that leaders in governance across the country are forced to watch and remediate ridiculous policies to preserve some humanity, decorum, and the far gone notion of tranquility.
Regardless of what they throw at us, we’ll still be standing as we always have been. Those who are first affected by FoodShare benefits, hold tight. I called all of our leaders and legislators together and we should have something to help soon!
And for you, the federal government, don’t EVER tell us what to do if you can’t even figure out how to stay open. Our government is working just fine.
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