October 23, 2012

• Native American Nationalism

   

  Earlier today I read that Native American activist Russel Means has passed away.  I make no personal judgments on that man at this time, but I would like to take the opportunity to thoroughly state my position on Native American nationalism.  In many of my debates liberals have mentioned Native Americans, as if saying “Native Americans” were some kind of trump card.  Each and every time I have suprised them with my position, so here it is in full detail.

  I thoroughly support Native American nationalism.  Any conservative who respects the philosophical basis upon which the US was founded should also support Native American nationalism.  Why?  The driving force behind the American Revolution was the belief that different people groups had the right to rule themselves and to determine their own fate.  The fact is that the American colonists and the English had become separate peoples.  The idea that people groups have the right to self-determinism and to govern themselves does not stop with just the American colonists separating from England, but it applies to all people and it was stated accordingly in the Declaration of Independence. 

  I believe that different peoples have the right to form their own political boundaries, and appoint rulers for themselves which come from their own group.  If a Mexican living in the US gets tired of being ruled by white people, speaking English, and having to be around white people he can always go back to Mexico and be surrounded by his own people.  If a Native American is tired of being ruled by white people, having to obey their laws, having to speak English, or even having to look at them what can he do?  Nothing.  He has nowhere to go.  As it stands now he has the choice of being ruled by anyone but his own people.  Native Americans should have the same options that Mexicans and almost every other people group on the planet has.  If they don’t want to be ruled by Washington, they should not have to be, and I think that is a sentiment that many traditional white conservatives can agree with because many of us feel the same way about ourselves.  Let us also extend that same respect to others.

  Here is what I would like to see happen/what should happen.  Every Native American tribe should receive their own fully autonomous country.  There should be a homeland for each tribe because each tribe is a separate people.  I do not advocate vacating the entire US in order to abandon all the land to the Native Americans, especially given that their total number is less than 1% of the US population.  To even attempt to do so would be a logistical nightmare which would create more problems than it would solve.  Land should be parceled off to each Native American group in the area of their original homelands, and in reasonable proportion to their numbers.  For example, part of Georgia would be parceled off to the Creek.

  Once this is done all the Native Americans would be given the choice to either remain in the US or move to their fully autonomous homelands.  If they move to their own homelands then they are no longer US citizens, which means they will have their own passports, elect their own leaders rather than vote in US elections, make their own laws, and they will not have to obey any US laws.  They will be fully autonomous and independent nations.  If any choose to remain in the US then they will be treated just like everyone else, which means that they can still vote in US elections, but there will be no more special status for them.  They will receive no special scholarships from the government or affirmative action just for being Native American.

  I am a 100% European white male, I have nothing to gain personally from Native American independence, but I advocate what I advocate as a matter of principle.

  That being said, let us also take a moment to examine why and how the Native Americans lost their land.  I want to get away from villifying white people.  I absolutely abhor the concept of white guilt, and in fact I spit on it.  The idea that white people are mean spirited bullies who came to pick on Native Americans and take their land because they are inherently racist is an idea that needs to be destroyed.  First of all, holding people responsible for something that you THINK their ancestors might have done is throughly asenine.  No one can help what their ancestors may or may not have done, and what is in the past is already in the past.  In fact, most of our ancestors came to the US after it was already established. 

  Furthermore, the land was not taken from the Native Americans in one fell swoop.  There was never a day when white people woke up and said, “Let’s take all the land from the natives because we’re racist.”  No.  The land was taken a bit at a time, and it was actually parceled off by the US government.  The government was the driving force behind the land grab.  Part of the problem was that many Native Americans did not understand the concept of land ownership, especially the plains peoples, so many of them sat back and allowed the land to be taken, and the white people did not feel bad about taking it for those reasons. 

  Let’s say that Bob walks out into a field and finds Roy standing there.  A large watermelon is growing in the wild next to Roy.  Bob says, “Is that your watermelon,” and Roy says “no.” Bob says, “whose watermelon is it?” and Roy responds by saying “It’s no one’s.”  So then Bob asks if Roy would mind if he takes it, and Roy says no.  Does Roy have a valid reason for getting mad at Bob if Bob takes the whole watermelon?  Of course that is an oversimplification for illustration purposes, but everything factors in. 

  Another factor was that many Native Americans sided with the English during the American Revolution.  That was of course a tactical error on the part of those groups, and certainly not all Native Americans should have been punished for it, but again, everything factors in.

  The Native Americans had America for thousands of years, and they did nothing with it, so they got beat out by another people group which was more inventive and industrious, but they were not beaten out of spite but rather attrition over a long period of time.  Furthermore, I believe that the creation of the US was a good thing, and it is a fact that white people have brought the world electricity, computers, internet, telephones, cars, and TV’s. 

  I cannot believe that most Native Americans would like to return to the standard of living of their pre-colonial ancestors, but what is in the past is in the past, and if they want to have their own countries and their autonomy today, then they have a right to it.  The fact that after all this time being ruled by us they have remained as separate peoples gives them the right to have their own countries.  Everyone has the right to exist as a people, and to govern themselves as they please. 

  I am not talking about holding white people responsible as a race for something that happened in the past, or even holding the current US government responsible for what happened in the past (even though they were the primary culprit).  What we can do, and must do, is hold the US government responsible for a failure to do the right thing now, in the present. 

  • 12:51 am
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