Wampum

It is no surprise to me, as a scholar of native history and culture, and a Native American, that Indian Tribes are beginning to be blamed for the illegal actions of Abramoff. It is a typical tactic to blame the least powerful, and most vulnerable ethnic group in any scandal. Whenever in history, Indian people have been involved with non-natives, we are at fault. A great perception of this phenomenon is conceptionalized in Ralph Ellison's "Invisible Man". One of the historical themes Ellison highlights is that History is written by the conquerers. By extension, this is what the republicans are doing, attempting to influence the public into believing that the Indians are at fault, because they have historically always been the scapegoats for every action of the United States Government. Think about this, why are the wars of the 19th century between the US government and the Indian Tribes called Indian wars? It was not the Indians that encroached on American territory, but the other way around, yet historically these are called Indian wars, as if the US was somehow not at fault. So now we have the "rich" Indian Tribes trying to pull something over on the republicans, simply by association. When in point of fact, the details tell us that it was Abramoff and his buddies(?) who arranged the whole thing, likely without the knowledge of the Tribes. First it was land and identity, and now simply taking money. Indian tribes have been in the casino business for barely 15 years, while the republicans have been doing this much longer. I think we all know who is in control.