Slip slidin' away....
I've a soft spot in my heart for Paul Simon, especially with all that hanging out with the natives (alright, they were indigenous Africans, not Americans, but, A for Effort). And so this was the first song that popped into my head when I checked out my preferred search on Technorati, Norton + "Indian Trust". Wow, a whopping whole 20 links in the past month. Unfortunately, only two in the last four days, and one of them was here at Wampum.
Sorry to say, stories about Indians sans casinos just don't have legs, despite a $150 billion price tag draped around their necks (I can't say "our necks", as I'm just from one of those poor, land-less tribes, obviously suffering from slots-envy, which is why my tribe will never, ever, ever be recognized.)
I sometimes think that Progressives suffer from the inability to multi-task when it comes to "minority" issues: They can only focus on one story of profound racism at a time, and this week's flavor of the week is the outrage over the outrage over African Americans acknowledging a 350 year old legacy of racism in this country at the funeral of a woman who spent much of her life airing that dirty laundry. For a short time last week, I though that the Indian Trust Fund might actually make it out of the freezer and into millions of sugar cones around the country. But alas, liberal ADD struck (or maybe Type III diabetes (you know, from indulging in too much outrage)) and back into deep freeze it went, next to the sundry other forgotten causes of the America's forgotten margins. Perhaps if I sprinkle it with more McCain-flavored jimmies, it might stand a chance in the Baskin-Robbins lottery.
[Graphic via National Geographic]
Comments
Hang in there. Even the most liberal are just discovering Indian Country Today or American Indian Radio on Satellite. With the new museum and future embassy in Washington, more of them will realize there's more out there than they realized. Just look at the transition that's taken place between Will Sampson and Sherman Alexie. Native Americans are blasting off.
Posted by: Spartacus | February 10, 2006 07:59 PM
Hey I had to work until 7 all week long!
Those FDL fritillaries hem and haw while you do all the research. You seem have to be fearless, and the reading is always great. Your recent discussion of Akwesasne was excellent, but the 'Casino Jack' articles are a class above that. I agree there's a lot to be done, but most Lefties like me have no real experience with Indians.
Anyway, I still think a special prosecutor with subpoena power to investigate the oil & gas leasing is still a great idea. I wrote Cantwell about it during the filibuster freakout and heard nothing back. Maybe Schumer?
Posted by: BT | February 10, 2006 10:13 PM
Sorry, some of us didn't use the exact words "Indian Trust". But we did link.
Posted by: Anonymous | February 12, 2006 06:14 PM
Oops, that last comment was by me.
Posted by: Charles Kuffner | February 12, 2006 06:19 PM
Charles, (and all the other wonderful people who took this story to heart) my comment wasn't actually just about me, me, me, but about our attempts as a small group to move this. I completely appreciate every single link the story received - I'm just frustrated that it seemed to start to gain a little momentum, and now has fizzled. But I'll keep working at it, and I hope all of you keep the faith as well. Just once in a while, I think it's okay to vent frustration with the workings of the media (new and traditional), and to recognize that if it's slow for a story involving the dominant culture, it's generally tens times as much for one that involves those of us on the margins.
Posted by: MB | February 12, 2006 07:50 PM