In which Americans celebrate their traditional regard for Native culture

[rug]

Damaged petroglyph

November 22, 2012 at 3:41 pm
Chris Clarke

Happy Thanksgiving from those of us in the United States! It’s a day in which we Estadounidenses traditionally gather to celebrate the debt of gratitude we owe the original inhabitants of the land for helping the first European colonists survive. The remembrance takes many forms. Most commonly, we commemorate our Native cousins by not paying any attention to them at all, though on occasion we note their contributions by red-baiting their allies. And every once in a while, we celebrate this holiday by destroying irreplaceable Native ceremonial art dating back to a time contemporaneous with the European Bronze Age.

From my KCET story linked above:

The petroglyphs are thought to be as much as 3,500 years old, and still play an important role in the cultural life of the Owens Valley Paiute and Shoshone people. Paiute tribal historic preservation officer Raymond Andrews told Los Angeles Times reporter Louis Sahagun this week that the vandalized petroglyphs are regularly visited by modern-day Native people of the Eastern Sierra. “We still use this sacred place as a kind of church to educate tribal members and children about our historical and spiritual connections. So, our tribal elders are appalled by what happened here.”

According to the BLM, the vandals drove ladders, power saws, and portable generators to the site to attempt to remove the petroglyphs. Four were apparently removed successfully. A fifth, shown above, was damaged by saw cuts but left in place: a sixth was broken after removal and left on site. BLM rangers also reported hammer damage to dozens of nearby petroglyphs.

http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2012/11/22/in-which-americans-celebrate-their-traditional-regard-for-native-culture/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+freethoughtblogs%2Fpharyngula+%28FTB%3A+Pharyngula%29



Petroglyphs at the volcanic tablelands, 2011 | Photo: Greater Southwestern Exploration Company/Flickr/Creative Commons License

"You ask me to plow the ground. Shall I take a knife and tear my mother's bosom? Then when I die she will not take me to her bosom to rest.

"You ask me to dig for stones! Shall I dig under her skin for bones? Then when I die I cannot enter her body to be born again.

"You ask me to cut grass and make hay and sell it and be rich like white men, but how dare I cut my mother's hair?

"I want my people to stay with me here. All the dead men will come to life again. Their spirits will come to their bodies again. We must wait here in the homes of our fathers and be ready to meet them in the bosom of our mother." - Wovoka, Paiute

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1. There was a thread about this last week ... see below

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=1850031

Needless to say I have some pretty strong feelings re: this subject. I hope this assists in adding to your discussion and helping bring this reality to light so other can see what it is really all about and also how incredible sickening and sad it is.

No restitution can ever be paid if the slaughter of a people's lives and culture continues.

Happy Thanksgiving btw.

We cannot ever forget that this is an American holiday and I was wondering if they might begin celebrating it in other places after not too long perhaps.

in any event.

& recommend.

[rug]

2. Thanks for the link. I missed that thread.