American Indian Identities

This term, I decided to take a break from Biology classes (and have no more Education classes). Delightfully, I found a class called American Indian Identities, taught by the new professor in Native American Studies at SOU. Our first paper gave me plenty to think about, starting with the Boy Scouts of America. I have nothing against the idea of getting youth involved in "back to the land" type learning, in learning about American Indians or about community service. I do, however, represent many things BSA directly oppose. I am pagan, queer and female. Thus BSA and I do not see eye-to-eye on many issues. Additionally, false assumptions, generalizations and improper contextualization of American Indians provide the basis for much of the infrastructure of BSA. While I admire BSA for attempting to honor natives, I think they fall short, particularly since BSA refers to American Indians in the past in most instances. That being said, I do not blame scout members for any of this. These issues are built into BSA and as such are the responsibility of adults affiliated with BSA to change (or a really inspired scout member). Without further ado, here is the paper:

Boy Scouts, Winnemem Wintu and Public Support for Non-natives While Oppressing Unrecognized Tribes

            My research for this project started with the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). A history of native appropriations exists in the BSA, indeed the progenitor organizations for BSA all based their structure and activities on romanticized ideas of Native Americans. The Indian Lore merit badge continues to be the most popular merit badge, requiring scouts to learn about a local tribe. Order of the Arrow (OA), the BSA honor society, reports a background based in Native American traditions. Additionally, many scout camps are referred to as “reservations.” Lastly, the Tulsa Council from Oklahoma was renamed the Indian Nations Council some time after 1911.

While BSA works with the American Indian Scouting Association (AISA), to support inclusion of American Indian youth and teach about native traditions, many BSA activities seem inherently racist. On the BSA website, I found a brochure about increasing ethnic diversity in BSA. This brochure included suggestions for increasing African American, Asian American and Hispanic or Latin American participation but does not mention American Indians; the peoples reportedly inspiring the organization of the BSA. Finally, H.R. 131 passed in the House of Representatives in September 2009. This bill transferred 140 acres of land in the Ouachita National Forest to the BSA Indian Nations Council in Oklahoma (Congressional Research Service 2009). This bill never passed in the Senate, “dying” in late 2009 or early 2010.

This overwhelming public support for BSA and BSA activities weighed heavily on my mind as I attended a fundraiser and fun-run for the Winnemem Wintu, a federally unrecognized tribe from the McCloud River in northern California. Friday night, the pre-race event included a 20-minute clip of the “Dancing Salmon Home” documentary the Winnemem have been working on for a few years. The Thundering Moccasins Dance Troup performed and Winnemem Chief Caleen Sisk spoke about the tribes’ efforts to bring the McCloud River Salmon back to the McCloud River, about scientists disregarding thousands of years of native inquiry, investigation and discovery and about the Shasta Dam.

As the Winnemem struggle for federal recognition, their ancestral lands and sacred sites are threatened with further flooding. The US Army Corps of Engineers wants to raise the Shasta Damn another 18ft, raising the level of the lake by 60 ft. In direct violation of a treaty (never ratified) from the late 1800s, the Winnemem never received “in kind” lands to replace lands flooded by the Shasta Dam. Despite their removal from traditional lands and the aquatic burial of sacred sites, the Winnemem maintain traditional ceremonies and visit and, when water levels allow, attend to their sacred sites.

Because they are unrecognized, the Winnemem have no federal rights to negotiations to preserve their sacred sites, to conduct their sacred ceremonies or to protect the spring on Mt. Shasta from which they originated. Their unrecognized status allows the US Forest Service to continue refusing to close down 300 yards of Lake Shasta (the McCloud River arm) for the Winnemem’s puberty ceremony. Despite the federal government’s efforts to assimilate the Winnemem Wintu into the dominant culture, the Winnemem remain a distinct culture with ties to their ancestral lands, language and customs.

            The glaring discrepancies between how BSA and the Winnemem are treated can be attributed, I believe, to a number of factors. Primarily, the dominant culture’s belief that American Indians no longer exist, or worse that American Indians should just assimilate and get over the injustices that have occurred and continue to occur. In addition, the belief held by Western scientists and historians that American Indians do not have a strong connection to their history (Smith 2002) or to “real” Indian culture furthers the idea that something more than genetics determines Indianness an that the dominant culture knows what that “something” is. Concerns about appropriations, misrepresentation and injustices are easily dismissed under this paradigm. Thus, it is not shocking when members of the BSA claim that they are honoring natives by dressing in headdresses, or claiming they provide a vital connection to art, language and cultural histories of American Indian tribes (implying that tribes need outsiders to maintain their traditions).

Another key factor in public support of non-Indian organizations, such as BSA, over un-recognized tribes is the continual effort of the government and “white America” to romanticize Indians and to gloss over the wrongs that have been committed. To support an organization that romanticizes natives and their traditions, and encourages non-native connections to such things allows non-natives to continue owning and controlling Indianness. If the dominant culture continues to determine what it means to be Indian it remains easy to continue to oppress and colonize. Owning Indianness, native cultures, traditions and ceremonies is the goal.

Finally, giving up land to the Winnemem, or closing part of Lake Shasta for the four-day ceremony, forces non-Indians to acknowledge that there were people here before the fish hatcheries, dams and gold claims. The Winnemem have a connection to the land, their ancestors and ancestral homelands that most non-Indians do not. All of these things cause discomfort in the psyche of non-Indians, which can then translate into racism, exclusion and oppression. The BSA as an organization allows “white America” to remain in control of culture and of land. “Everyone” is allowed in BSA, thus giving up federal lands and public support is good for “everyone.”

Reflecting on the events this weekend I remember a segment from the “Dancing Salmon Home” trailer. In this segment, an angry non-Indian man attacks the Winnemem, asking “if the salmon are so important to you, why are we just hearing about this now?” He also makes statements about the Winnemem are just trying to get the Shasta Dam removed, trying to take public land and hope to build a casino. Public perception of Indians, particularly in rural areas, is perpetually tainted by stereotypes and anti-Indian propaganda. Couple that with BSA’s romanticized, inaccurate and colonizing representation of natives, and it is no small wonder that American Indians receive less public support than “white,” Americanized BSA practices.

             

Resources

Boy Scouts of America. 2012. Indian Nations Council Homepage. Available at: http://www.okscouts.org/. Accessed April 16, 2012.

Boy Scouts of America. 2012. Successful Recruiting: Tapping Into Diverse Markets. Available at: http://www.scouting.org/FILESTORE/marketing/pdf/02-1066.pdf. Accessed April 16, 2012.

Congressional Research Service. 2009. Summary of H.R. 131 (111^th). Available at: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/111/hr310. Accessed April 16, 2012.

Smith, Linda Tuhwai. 2002. Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples. Zed Books: London

Winnemem Wintu. 2012. Tribal Homepage. Available at: www.winnememwintu.us/. Accessed April 16, 2012.