17 (+2) Million: Reclaiming our historical narratives.

Red-Black Unity In The 21st Century
The Actual Fact is
Stick With Lesson No. C-1

Washington, DC. When I first moved to the D.C. area, I decided to make the best of a situation and get into one of my favorite sports- baseball. The people of D.C. were excited about a new team and a stadium. Even those of us who don't pledge to the U.S. could root for the Washington Nationals. It's big business. It's private ownership. It helped me forget that I was in Alexandria, Va. And I confess, that no matter what, I like mom's apple pie. Seasons changed. Football rolled in, and with it came the image of a strong Native American man, a maroon flag and... "Redskins".

I was amazed that mayors like Marion Berry, Sharon Pratt Kelly and Anthony Williams didn't have prominent pro-First Nations activities in this city. For one, many Black folks I know are part-Indian and proud of it. My own family history includes Native American women on both sides of the family, both married to Black men and one who inspired my Nationalist paternal great-grandmother right into the Nation of Islam.

Well, many Black folks can't say what tribe our Native American ancestors belonged to, and most of us don't know what the First Nations relatives called themselves anyway. For example, I'm part Cherokee, and the definitions on the internet have changed from the late nineties when I read that the word was something of an insult; today you can read that it means 'people of a different speech.' Should I say I'm part Aniyunwiya (real people)?[1] Until I research the family history in detail, I can't say.

After the Honorable Elijah Muhammad died, we listened to Chief Ernie Longwalker remind us that those of us who survived the trauma of the Atlantic genocide (Ma'afa) didn't know what tribe we belonged to until they took us in. It was a given that the Original people of North America work together. I read about Osceola from childhood, and it inspired a couple of over ambitious papers undergrad papers on the Seminole Wars. It inspired me to find out about the tries to which those Africans kidnapped and sold to 'American' shores had been born into and still longed for. Obviously Red-Black mixed people remain one of my standards of beauty for reasons of aesthetics and history.

But where is that Red-Black unity today? After Hurricane Katrina, I didn't read about Black people working with First Nations in Louisiana and Alabama. I know that different states have different histories, and that some Native Americans took up slavery while others fought against the system. Still the Africans who ran off to the Indians and fought ironically at Saint Augustine, or took off to be enslaved by Seminoles and some branches of the Cherokee, obviously found that 'servitude' with the Red people was better than the devil's plantation. The Choctaw might have been an exception to a widespread phenomena of resistance and family renewal.

Have the various legal edicts issued by the devil to enforce white supremacy upon North America and turn it into an absolutely savage wilderness managed to split up the First Nations, Africans, and Afro-First Nations (or Indo-Africans)? Russell Means all but begged that Black folks not forget the First Nations/Native Americans when he spoke to the Millions More Movement. Black people proudly display 'Redskins' flags. The Seminole have been splitting between the full-blooded and part-African for years. Now the Cherokees have voted to detribalize the part-African. Sometimes it seems that the last instance of Red-Black unity I saw were the kids who were arrested for killing Michael Jordan's dad.

Still, there are many Black organizations which have spoken against the 'Redskins' emblem. Fortunately, they are often the entities that are fighting the common use of 'nigger,' and 'nigga' by Black and Hispanic people. After I contacted Indian Country Today about the struggle against the 'R-word,' Ms. Suzan Shown Harjo emailed me. She was one of the plaintiffs in Harjo et al v. Pro Football, Inc., on Sept. 10, 1992. She informed me that Familiar names like Courtland Milloy, NAACP, Leadership Conference on Civil Rights and UNITY: Journalists of Color, among others have weighed in for a change to the Washington football team name.

A Muslim brother from campus sent out a beautiful article entitled 'Your Faith is Your Freedom.' As followers of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad we are taught about the Indians' exile. They may or may not agree with the Honorable Elijah Muhammad on that; but it is up to Students to continue studying and to know that the 'two million Indians' are part of the 4.4 billion Original people and were counted by Our Saviour.

In addition to teaching me 'thank you' (Aho), Ms. Harjo (Cheyenne & Hodulgee Muscogee) kindly answered two sets of questions via email. The full text of the interview is below.

1. Who are the Cheyenne and Muscogee? What is most important for students of history to know about your peoples?

The traditional name for the Cheyenne People is Tsistsistas, who speak a language that is classified as one of the Algonquian languages. Cheyennes are from what is now the northeast U.S. and live in two places, Montana and Oklahoma. I am a citizen of the Cheyenne & Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma. The Muscogee (Creek) Nation is in Oklahoma. I am Hodulgee (Wind Clan) of the Muscogee Nation, whose traditional homelands are in what is now the southeast U.S. My mother was Cheyenne and my father is Muscogee. Both the Cheyenne and Muscogee Nations are ancient cultures and we retain our traditional languages, ceremonies, jurisprudential systems and ways of life.

2. You have been involved in multiple cases and cultural preservation efforts. What is your motivation?

To better the lives of our Native Peoples.

3. As a person who doesn't know which people – from in Africa or America- my ancestors came from, recent disagreements between the 'Red' and 'Black' Seminoles have been disturbing. Are Indian/First Nations people ready to 'kick out' Black people faster than they would whites?

There are no "red" or "black" Seminoles. In order to be Seminole, one must be a citizen of the Seminole Nation in Oklahoma or the Seminole Tribe in Florida. Citizenry is a political distinction, not a racial one. As a racial matter, many Seminole citizens are descendants of Seminoles, as well as from peoples of other races. When the U.S. forced removal treaties on the Seminoles, it also imposed a category called "Freedmen," which was comprised of former Black slaves. That act did not turn Freedmen into Seminoles and it did not make them Seminole citizens. Some Freedmen and Seminoles intermarried and their children may or may not have been eligible to become Seminole citizens. One requirement of Seminole citizenship is a clan, which goes through the mother, not through the father. It's a complex case because the U.S. imposed unjust and inhumane conditions on slaves and on removed Native people, without attempting to set right or make up for what it had done under color of law. Litigation today seems to be focused on the wrong things, rather than on the actual wrongs.

4. To what degree do Indian/First Nations people take part in overseas exchanges, conferences and tourism?

Native Americans and First Nations in Canada take part in many international conferences and exchanges, and have for more than a century. Tourism flourishes in most of Indian country in North America, but is discouraged in sacred places and other off-limits territory.

5. What is the main issue that keeps African-Americans from working with 'full' or 'recognized' Indian/First Nations peoples?

There is no such issue that I am aware of that stands in the way of African Americans and Native Americans working together.

6. Has the move to 'African-American' from 'Black' changed the relationship with Indians/First Nations? Has it changed for the better, or worsened?

It's not as much of an issue for Native Americans as it seems to be among African Americans.

7. Can media be used to improve 'Red'-'Black' relations?

It's painful for Native Americans to see anyone, even some Native people, performing in "red-face" and "Indian cultural drag," as can be seen at games of the Washington football team, among others with "Indian" sports references. Media can help expose and explain that situation, which could improve relations between Native people and all those who engage in that kind of racializing activity.

8. Many Africans-Americans refuse the 'minority' label because we share common features with people throughout South America, Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, and the Pacific. Are there similar moves to help Indian/First Nation's youth see themselves as global people?'

Many Native American young people see themselves as people of their own nations. Others see themselves as people of the U.S . Others relate hemisphere-wide.

9. My mom related that some African-Americans used to include statues of "Mohawk" on personal altars. That's a far cry from wearing a 'Redskins' jersey. Are there traditions preserved by Indians/First Nations that can help unconscious Black people recall their 'American' history?

There is a Mohawk person who was named as a saint by the Catholic Church. That would, of course, be a Catholic tradition.

10. Has the Morning Star Institute undertaken the National Day of Prayer to Protect Native American Sacred Places in conjunction with any African-American/Black mosques, temples, or churches?

The Morning Star Institute has been supported in our efforts by the Inter-Faith Conference of Washington, DC, which includes African American religious institutions.

11. Have many Indian/First Nations and African-American law students worked together on the trademark cases?

I don't know of any law students who worked on our cases. Among the lawyers are those who are white, Asian and Native Americans.

12. The NAACP recently welcomed the Shoshone of Ft. Washakie, Wyoming. Are more efforts of this sort possible? Do such alliances threaten First Nations sovereignty?

First Nations is a term used in Canada. I only deal with U.S. laws that might affect Native Americans or Indigenous Peoples anywhere. I don't know what you are referring to above. I can't imagine that an NAACP welcome could be a threat to any nation's sovereignty.

13. My hometown of Chicago was founded by an Afro-French Haitian and his Indian/First Nations wife. What is the best way for National Museums to treat multi-ethnic cooperation?

Actually, Chicago was Indian land and Chicago is a tribal word. The first obligation of national museums is to convey accurate details and an accurate overview, no matter the subject. Most museums portray the "truth" with a white-centric bias. We have to change that and get more and more of our own museums that tell our own history and the history of our relationships.

14. I try to counter low self-esteem and violence in my community by encouraging Black students to see themselves as catalysts for positive global change. In several of your articles, you discuss alcoholism and domestic violence as a problem for Indians/First Nations. Can Indian students be catalysts?

Yes, of course. Educate yourself, educate the world. Change yourself, change the world. Understand your connectedness to all life and act on that understanding, and you begin to change the world for the better.

Follow up questions and answers

A. When you write that 'we have to... tell our own history and the history of our relationships,':

1-A. do you believe that technology such as the internet is useful for accessing a broader section of Native communities?

No.

2-A. Do you believe that this can help keep communities interconnected worldwide?

No.

3-A. Do you believe that using the internet makes it easier to avoid Native American/First Nations history by not requiring that permanent monuments be erected?

No.

4-A. Native Americans/First Nations are often portrayed in the media as being traumatized. Is that an accurate general description?

Yes.

B. Are Native Americans/First Nations making a national or global impact of which the general public should be aware?

Yes.

C. To what degree do Indian/First Nations people take part in overseas exchanges, conferences and tourism?

Native Americans and First Nations in Canada take part in many international conferences and exchanges, and have for more than a century. Tourism flourishes in most of Indian country in North America, but is discouraged in sacred places and other off-limits territory.

D. I served in the Peace Corps and saw Russian-language movies that portrayed Central Asian peoples in very similar ways to old U.S. Westerns' depictions of Native Americans/First nations (woman snatching, dishonest, whole lines picked off by one shooter, etc.). When I spoke to my Central Asian students about various 'Indian' and Black wars against colonization/genocide and slavery, they had trouble believing that either people had ever struggled to maintain freedom. It seemed that they were best able to relate when I asked them to identify 'English' state names- this opened a discussion on Native American words.

1-D.What Native American/First Nations organizations are available to students and teachers around the world in order to bring the truth of ' Americas' history to other indigenous people?

NMAI. NCAI, NIEA.

2-D. Should 'American' history be taught from thousands of years ago and then move to Spanish, English and other European colonialism?

Yes.

Internet Resources

• [1] added November 1, 2007: (article); (article)
• "Redskins" means Indians don't matter (January 18, 2002) and Honoring Native Americans with Disrespect (BET.com, Posted: Sep 30, 2004 on NewAmericanMedia.org)
• Suzan Shown Harjo; Columnist; Indian Country Today (article)
• Cherokee Nation votes to deny citizenship to Freedmen (source)
• Knickmeyer, Ellen. Cherokee Nation To Vote on Expelling Slaves' Descendants. Washington Post Staff Writer Saturday, March 3, 2007;
• 'Millions More' Sideshow Offers A Who's Who Of Racists (article)
• Red-Black* History & Culture from Our Own Perspective (source)
• Glenn Ellen Starr Stilling. The Lumbee Indians; An Annotated Bibliography Supplement (source)
• Cherokee Indian History (source)

Bibliography

Brown, Dee. Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1970.
The history of various "Indian" nations, with a focus on the Native West.

Brooks, James F., editor. Confounding the Color Line: The Indian-Black Experience in North America. University of Nebraska Press, 2002.
Native American and "Black" Indian experiences; includes a critique of Katz's work, "Black Indians."

Katz, William Loren. Black Indians: A Hidden Heritage. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1997.
One of the earliest histories of red-black resistance to slavery and colonialism.