Support Native Americans, final, part 10


[credit Simon Moya-Smith, Vice magazine]  [my comments in brackets]

91. Treaty rights are not “special rights.” They are agreements between one separate sovereign nation and another (and most have been broken, unfortunately).
92. Natives, per capita, serve in the U.S. military more than any other racial demographic. Just a fact allies should know.
93. Stop using the words, "tribes,” “tribe,” and “tribalism" as hip words for interest groups or groups of shared interest. This usage undermines the political, legal and social unique status of tribes.
94. If your girlfriend or wife is Native, don’t call her “Pocahontas.” Ever. Pocahontas was a child and victim of rape. She only married that white guy to protect her family from murder, mutilation, and enslavement. [note: see more in my post MMIW]
95. No, we do not get reparations from the U.S. government, and please do not assume that if you somehow get enrolled into a tribe you’ll get a monthly check from the feds. You won’t.
96. Peyote is not recreational, it’s medicinal, it’s spiritual, and no, we can’t just give you some. [note: Citizen Potawatomi Nation did not traditionally use peyote.]
97. No, we don’t all commune with animals. I cannot even get my dog to sit. Please stop asking.
98. If you can help it, please stop asking us if we can date “outside of our race.” Yes, we are allowed to date anyone we want, but we also realize we are the smallest racial minority in our ancestral land, and many of us do feel an obligation to make more Native babies. #NativeBabies
99. Stop saying “Native Americans believed...” We believe. We survived. Being a better ally is about getting to know who we are and who we are not. We are not mascots. We are not mere relics of the past. We are writers, doctors, business owners, your classmate, neighbor. We are still here.
100. The title of this list could also be, “100 Basic Ways to be a Decent Human.” So, please just be a decent human being. Don’t be an ass.

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