The fate of the Cherokee freedmen does not surprise me. It is the result of white supremacy and the conditioning that Original people have faced for the last 514 years. Although this claim may be virulently denied a member of the Cherokee, this denial is the same as an average so-called Latin American denying his/her African blood. It's disgraceful and disgusting. The Cherokee's own history, as well as even some of the other so-called "5 civilized Tribes" but more so the Cherokee, has paved the way for this kind of situation.
Many/most tribes acknowledge the planet Earth as their Mother, and ultimately as a feminine principle. This is because it is the truth. The Original woman is the Earth, the mother of civilization, and exhibits many qualities that reflect this. The Earth, the land is vital to our existance as a people. This principle has been well known through out time and has been employed in most aspects of civilization, even war. To control a people during times of war you must have the advantage of the land, the terrain, as it states in the Art of War. Many times, when one people would invade another the first task, aside from plundering and defeating the opposing army, was to confiscate the women. This is down by abduction or by raping the women. When you control a people's women you control their ability to reproduce and often control the inheritance of wealth and land. Thus, the sole purpose of any form of acknowledged 'legitimate bondage' or marriage between a man and a woman. The conqueror would attempt to marry into the top or head family. the family with the most wealth, to gain control of that people by becoming king or chief. One example would be Alexander the Great and the influx of Persian blood into Egypt during his reign. His army made it a point to marry into the royal family subsequently mixing the blood and lightening the complexion of the the Black Egyptians. There are those who claim that the Egyptians were not black based of of the majority of the population appearance in these times. They are not aware of the history of Egypt and the constant influx of invading 'white' blood by the Hyksos, Persians, Romans, etc which contributed to their modern appearance.
Another example of this strategy of control over wealth came with the European colonizers in the Americas. Colonizers would take Indian women was wives, marrying into the tribal Nation or even aim for the Chief's daughter from the start. Other times they would simply rape the Indigenous women. Either method would produce 'mixed blood' children would would be more than likely sympathetic to their 'white blood line' and still afford them the privileges of their Native social/tribal status (the reason why the sons and daughters of chiefs were shipped to the Carlisle Indian School, to transform their mindsets, to make them 'think' white and be sympathetic and compliant with the white cause) . This increased the potential for Europeans to establish a favourable contact amongst the Original people, giving them space to dictate policy and ultimately control the Indian's lives, relieving them of their land. This produced people like Cherokee Chief John Ross, who as 7/8th's Scottish, was Principle Chief of the Cherokee and was one of the people responsible for the Treaty of New Echota and ultimately selling out his people. John Ross pretended/attempted to take his people's best interests into consideration and strove to avoid the total extermination of the Cherokee by signing off Cherokee land in Georgia to the state of Georgia and the Andrew Jackson regime. Let us be reminded that the '5 Civilized Tribes" were referred to as such by whites because they are the ones who seemed to be more acceptable of the European culture and ways of life. Many wealthy amongst the tribes held plantations and slaves, both Indian and African. It most be said that, according to most documents I've read, they dealt with their 'slaves' more humanely. Most times a slaves never wanted to run away from their Cherokee plantation. The Chickasaw were a little more less humane. However, many of the slaves were able buy their freedom and were accepted as a tribal member. This is one reason so many so-called African Americans fled with their Native counterparts to Indian territory or Oklahoma, during the Trail of Tears. The popular cuisine's throughout the South and so-called 'Soul Food'- greens, cornbread, black eyed peas, were all Cherokee dishes. However, in attempts to show that they were "civilized" and not "fighting-rebellious-injuns", John Ross and other like Major Ridge and his son John Ridge, ceded land to the whites and accepted their destiny in the West. This outraged the Cherokee Nation, who maintained a strict policy that no one individual could buy or sell land or make decisions without the whole like that. Viewed as a betrayal, vengeance was taken against John Ross and the Ridge's as they were murdered in front of their families.
Many tribal Nations were being led by 'mixed bloods'. While I, myself, don't subscribe to such an idea as 'mixed blood' because color, melanin is dominant. If one of your parents are Original, you are Original. The fact though, that many Nations were and are under the leadership of Chiefs who are 'mixed blood' and whose policy for tribal growth and development is akin to Nations establishing Free-Trade agreements with the U.S. They have been sympathetic to and more than willing to work hand in hand with policies that ultimately do not favor their people. Why? Because if you don't own any casinos then the majority of your income comes from U.S. grants and subsidies. The is the reason that Puerto Rico remains a puppet of the U.S. and sambo of the Carribean. To much of the island's income comes from the U.S. If the U.S. was to stop funded Puerto Rico they island would literally plunge into nothingness. They are dependant on the U.S. and so are most Native Tribal Nations. So they are scared to call shots with Big Brother for fear they won't receive money or help from the institution that didn't help you anyway. After all, what treaty has really been upheld? And the Trail of Tears still happened? So that's what trying to work out a deal with the U.S. governement has gotten you. Rather than working to becoming self sufficient and through new means or strategies as Hugo Chavez is doing in Venezuela.
Instead, many of our people want to cling to the old ways. Old ways are good, but you can't travel backwards to move forward. You can retain some of the old ways and improve upon them while at the same time forging new ways. Many Indigenous people want to simply 'just get along'. While others resurrect Warrior Society's and move towards their survival like the Zapatistas.
Instead, many of our people want to cling to the old ways. Old ways are good, but you can't travel backwards to move forward. You can retain some of the old ways and improve upon them while at the same time forging new ways. Many Indigenous people want to simply 'just get along'. While others resurrect Warrior Society's and move towards their survival like the Zapatistas.
The issue with the Cherokee and their expulsion of the freedmen is laden with racism, regardless to their claims.They are not the only tribe who has been cutting people from their rosters. While the the 'freedmen's' tribal membership will affect their housing, health insurance etc, it goes to show that our focus has been misdirected. We need to move towards independance and self-sufficiency. The Cherokee are exhibiting the racism that they have internalized whether they know it or not. To look down on 'blackness' is to be a reactionary, a victim of the the wicked U.S. institutions. "Blackness" did not become a 'sin' until 1492. Not until Ferdinand and Isbella waged their campaign against the Moors, expelling them from Spain, under the banner of 'White Christianity'. They aligned their ethnicity with religion and demonized the Moors, irregardless to the sciences and wealth the Moors exposed to Europe (bringing them out of the 'dark ages').
The Principle Chief, Chad Smith, remarked that the decision was not race based and that it was based on a 1906 tribal membership document. To him I say, you are full of shit. If you were near anything of an intelligent human being you would know that the current method of qualifying who is and who is not Indigenous was introduced and instituted by the U.S. government via the Bureau of Indian Affairs. That means that an opposing force created the guidelines that you are using. They created the tribal rosters and the reservation cards. They did this to foster the idea of private property and individual land ownership. So they could take the Indians away from their collectiveness and solicit land to specific individuals and your enrollemnt determined that. The point that many are missing is that the governement didn't and doesn't want to allocate any land anyway. So they created some tough guidelines. Also, if you do research you'll see that after these guidelines were established in the late 1800's, the number of 'white people' claiming Native ancestry and applying for membership skyrocketed. It was the great land grab. So Chad Smith, is relying on the U.S. government's interpretation of who is and isn't Indian, from a hundred years ago. The U.S. plays with definition and defines who they want to be what when it suits them. The U.S. government looks at Mexicans as 'illegal aliens' of Spanish descent, not as Indigenous peoples, "Indians", crossing a government established border into land that rightfully and naturally belongs to them. They don't look at the 85% of Latin America as Indigenous. Instead we were given the concocted idea that we were "Mestizo". It's all political. You have to be "100% Indian" (or 'white' with a sprinkle of 'Indio' in you) to be considered an 'officially recognized tribal member'. Well, if that's the steps Chad Smith is taking, then I will that he cut loose those 'white' Cherokee members as well. In all honesty, since the advent of colonialism, capitalism and globalization, no one is 100% anything in this day and time, except a small population of people across the planet.
The Principle Chief, Chad Smith, remarked that the decision was not race based and that it was based on a 1906 tribal membership document. To him I say, you are full of shit. If you were near anything of an intelligent human being you would know that the current method of qualifying who is and who is not Indigenous was introduced and instituted by the U.S. government via the Bureau of Indian Affairs. That means that an opposing force created the guidelines that you are using. They created the tribal rosters and the reservation cards. They did this to foster the idea of private property and individual land ownership. So they could take the Indians away from their collectiveness and solicit land to specific individuals and your enrollemnt determined that. The point that many are missing is that the governement didn't and doesn't want to allocate any land anyway. So they created some tough guidelines. Also, if you do research you'll see that after these guidelines were established in the late 1800's, the number of 'white people' claiming Native ancestry and applying for membership skyrocketed. It was the great land grab. So Chad Smith, is relying on the U.S. government's interpretation of who is and isn't Indian, from a hundred years ago. The U.S. plays with definition and defines who they want to be what when it suits them. The U.S. government looks at Mexicans as 'illegal aliens' of Spanish descent, not as Indigenous peoples, "Indians", crossing a government established border into land that rightfully and naturally belongs to them. They don't look at the 85% of Latin America as Indigenous. Instead we were given the concocted idea that we were "Mestizo". It's all political. You have to be "100% Indian" (or 'white' with a sprinkle of 'Indio' in you) to be considered an 'officially recognized tribal member'. Well, if that's the steps Chad Smith is taking, then I will that he cut loose those 'white' Cherokee members as well. In all honesty, since the advent of colonialism, capitalism and globalization, no one is 100% anything in this day and time, except a small population of people across the planet.
I'll admit, I do not recognize Reservation ID's or tribal enrollment cards. I don't have one and don't want one. I don't want anything from these devils. I know who I am and no one can take that away from me. These guidelines have allowed for the formation of elite circles of identity and privilege. The bourgesie of Indian country. And I also don't buy that idea of a person's indentity being matrilineally based. If you do, then you're more than welcome to. I respect and love the Original woman. However, I know and understand, scientifically and mathematically, I came through her and not from her. I came from my father. The organism of life exists within the man. Some may argue that the man came through woman. I say that the woman didn't impregnant herself and neither did the Earth, before the Sun's light penetrated her. The Sun is symbolic to Man, as the proactive force within the universe. He is the spark of life. The man contains the XY chromosomes necessary to bring forth man and woman. The woman only contains XX which can only beget herself, a woman. Man was first and is the foundation.
With all that being said, the Cherokee decision shows us that "Uncle Tonto" like Uncle Tom, still sits rights amongst us.
For further reading, please check out- http://www.meadvilletribune.com/opinion/cnhinscolumns_story_067093413.html?keyword=topstory
Proper Education Abolishes Conditioning by Europeans
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