What, the writer for "Smoke Signals" is on here, and I got to read their writing?
It's a good day to be alive, I tell you what!
Now I want to "talk story", a phrase my momma taught me. while I may have been raised in Carson City, where the Native American presence still echoes from Battle Mountain to Pyramid Lake, and down all along the Eastern Sierras. I have not so many stories of Northern Nevada, the Stewart Indian School, riding a bus through the Paiute reservation, (one of the girls I went to high school with lived there). To say Paiute is imprecise, as there are many tribes, clans(?) each with their smaller reservations. Forgive me, Im not academically educated on these things, and it just seemed weird as a kid to ask a bunch of questions to the long-haired Apache kid who sat behind me in math class at Douglas County High School. The one who complained after eating two twinkies, now im gonna have my skin break out.
Anyways, when I was a crazier young-un, still crazy but a bit less today, maybe, I caught rides through the White Mountain Apache tribe reservation. Those who gave me rides, from where I was dropped off by the casino off hwy 70, San Carlos I think. I caught a ride with a I assume Apache, as said earlier, its odd to ask too much into such things, with a nice truck, to Bylas. In Bylas I was given a piece of frybread with refried beans. Best fry bread I ever ate. Those who gave me it, arranged me to ride in the back of someone else's truck, to Safford. These people did not need to show me no kindness. But I will never forget it. It truly was the highlight of my Gold Canyon to OKC trek. Thank you.
There not even that echo of the past here in WV, but perhaps the Melungeon who probably lost track of their respective tribes and history centuries ago, are the closest. I suspect many using these labels you describe would shun these people if they found out they voted a certain way.
Very good article. I also thoroughly enjoyed your movie, “Smoke Signals.” I have never thought all Indians shared political beliefs and you made that case very well. My grandfather got a nice annual check because of his tribe’s casino but I share your squeamishness about Indian casinos and casinos generally. I think no Scottish folks would complain about you calling yourself Scottish although part Scottish is more accurate. I call myself part Cherokee, because I have insufficient blood quanta to be a member of my grandfather’s tribe, the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation. If he had been born into the Western Band in Oklahoma I would be a tribal brother with one of those two Republican Indian Congressmen. My politics is a bit to the left of theirs but I still voted for Trump.
I had my meningioma resected via craniotomy in 2020. Where was yours located? Mine was parasagittal (left parietal). Removed by head of neurosurgery at Hopkins after local brain surgeon and numerous other MDs minimized its significance and/or laughed it off. Pandemic brain surgery was wild.
this is such a great piece, i'm so glad i read it. many agreements and reactions that i am not sure to articulate, so i'll leave it at that. well said.
Sherman, the humanity and generosity that infuse this essay are so refreshing in times like these…and your wonderful sense of humor sparkles throughout 🙏🏼
Interesting read and perspective. I found myself relating to the point that 'indigenous' is itself an erasure of national identity, and have often thought there was a lot of bullshit in the idea that 'all indigenous folk' should have the same perspective or politics. Not to mention the weird colonial idea that black and other coloured people might have the same political needs or desires as indigenous people. Not to mention needs within their own direct communities.
As someone who has existed within and at the periphery of progressive leftist spaces for a long time, this viewpoint is why I also find it deeply uncomfortable to be labeled as "white." It's not an identity, it's a non-identity. An erasure. There is no culture behind it, just a melanin deficiency. I'm British-Armenian. My own identity and culture is tied to a land, lineage and a history. I have culturally very little in common with the Rus, and yet am pigmentally the same.
Good read, and even better to hear that your tribe is capable of holding space for multiple political viewpoints - and not lose their shit over having different politics. Too much emphasis is placed on "staying within your polarity" these days.
Very unnecessarily drawn out essay to first defend an authority no one wanted to challenge and then make kind of a moot point. Yes not all native Americans are leftist activists. I know precisely zero people who thought that before. But glad it’s even clearer now? I am kind of annoyed by this kind of fabrication of a problem so you can give yourself something to solve. Sorry I know this seems to be mostly a place for applause but I found this as well as the DFW piece to be doing a kind of dance with itself that I don’t care to be part of. Thanks.
" I found this as well as the DFW piece to be doing a kind of dance with itself that I don’t care to be part of." If it really was the kind of thing you didn't want to be a part of, you wouldn't have made yourself a part of it.
Thanks for teaching me BIPOC. I am not keeping up with all the acronyms. As a teacher my Tribal kids taught me NDN and it was a clever play on letter sounds. I agree with hilarious, don’t trust the un-hilarious.
You left me with plenty to chew on and question. The main course of this piece, for me, reminded me of the many troubles associated with the umbrella term “Asian American”. And the number of times I have tried to explain that there are plenty of “bad Koreans” and “bad Asians” in attempts to explode the myth that all POCs are left leaning. In fact, I know many Asians who immigrated to America and embrace right wing values because they fled Communism. The final destination of binary thinking can look something like this: “Communism bad. Trump good.”
It can be tough. I understand why the concept of “Asian American” was invented in the 1960s. I also understand fully, the extent to which Asians—and Koreans—do not get along. And how you get Trump supporters in Korea, waving Korean flags while supporting their own Conservative politicians.
Throughout all this, Cathy Park Hong has been a breath of fresh air. So has Julia Lee who writes about how Korean Americans are often upholders of white supremacy. This has turned into a blabby response and long-winded way of me stating that while I felt several points ripe for debate in your piece, I very much see the general arc.
So informative, funny, and good. It also bears pointing out that the one Indian senator (the only one I believe) -- Colorado's Ben Night Horse Campbell, changed parties and retired a Republican.
I loved that story you wrote about I think last year wherein a Native buddy of yours got in a confrontation with a white man who apologized for what America had done. Your Native buddy was conservative and patriotic...because America is awesome. I find this ironic, wonderful and satirical to the core, in a good way. Well-meaning white progressives have a lot to learn about human nature, reality and commonsense. I think this election proves that, if not just the past 5 years in general.
This is so helpful to me, many thanks…
What, the writer for "Smoke Signals" is on here, and I got to read their writing?
It's a good day to be alive, I tell you what!
Now I want to "talk story", a phrase my momma taught me. while I may have been raised in Carson City, where the Native American presence still echoes from Battle Mountain to Pyramid Lake, and down all along the Eastern Sierras. I have not so many stories of Northern Nevada, the Stewart Indian School, riding a bus through the Paiute reservation, (one of the girls I went to high school with lived there). To say Paiute is imprecise, as there are many tribes, clans(?) each with their smaller reservations. Forgive me, Im not academically educated on these things, and it just seemed weird as a kid to ask a bunch of questions to the long-haired Apache kid who sat behind me in math class at Douglas County High School. The one who complained after eating two twinkies, now im gonna have my skin break out.
Anyways, when I was a crazier young-un, still crazy but a bit less today, maybe, I caught rides through the White Mountain Apache tribe reservation. Those who gave me rides, from where I was dropped off by the casino off hwy 70, San Carlos I think. I caught a ride with a I assume Apache, as said earlier, its odd to ask too much into such things, with a nice truck, to Bylas. In Bylas I was given a piece of frybread with refried beans. Best fry bread I ever ate. Those who gave me it, arranged me to ride in the back of someone else's truck, to Safford. These people did not need to show me no kindness. But I will never forget it. It truly was the highlight of my Gold Canyon to OKC trek. Thank you.
There not even that echo of the past here in WV, but perhaps the Melungeon who probably lost track of their respective tribes and history centuries ago, are the closest. I suspect many using these labels you describe would shun these people if they found out they voted a certain way.
Very good article. I also thoroughly enjoyed your movie, “Smoke Signals.” I have never thought all Indians shared political beliefs and you made that case very well. My grandfather got a nice annual check because of his tribe’s casino but I share your squeamishness about Indian casinos and casinos generally. I think no Scottish folks would complain about you calling yourself Scottish although part Scottish is more accurate. I call myself part Cherokee, because I have insufficient blood quanta to be a member of my grandfather’s tribe, the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation. If he had been born into the Western Band in Oklahoma I would be a tribal brother with one of those two Republican Indian Congressmen. My politics is a bit to the left of theirs but I still voted for Trump.
Anyone who recognizes the complexity and contrariness and absurdity of human life is my intellectual brother.
I had my meningioma resected via craniotomy in 2020. Where was yours located? Mine was parasagittal (left parietal). Removed by head of neurosurgery at Hopkins after local brain surgeon and numerous other MDs minimized its significance and/or laughed it off. Pandemic brain surgery was wild.
this is such a great piece, i'm so glad i read it. many agreements and reactions that i am not sure to articulate, so i'll leave it at that. well said.
Sherman, the humanity and generosity that infuse this essay are so refreshing in times like these…and your wonderful sense of humor sparkles throughout 🙏🏼
No, just most of them. Enough to not make a difference if there are a few that are rational and not ideologues.
Interesting read and perspective. I found myself relating to the point that 'indigenous' is itself an erasure of national identity, and have often thought there was a lot of bullshit in the idea that 'all indigenous folk' should have the same perspective or politics. Not to mention the weird colonial idea that black and other coloured people might have the same political needs or desires as indigenous people. Not to mention needs within their own direct communities.
As someone who has existed within and at the periphery of progressive leftist spaces for a long time, this viewpoint is why I also find it deeply uncomfortable to be labeled as "white." It's not an identity, it's a non-identity. An erasure. There is no culture behind it, just a melanin deficiency. I'm British-Armenian. My own identity and culture is tied to a land, lineage and a history. I have culturally very little in common with the Rus, and yet am pigmentally the same.
Good read, and even better to hear that your tribe is capable of holding space for multiple political viewpoints - and not lose their shit over having different politics. Too much emphasis is placed on "staying within your polarity" these days.
Very unnecessarily drawn out essay to first defend an authority no one wanted to challenge and then make kind of a moot point. Yes not all native Americans are leftist activists. I know precisely zero people who thought that before. But glad it’s even clearer now? I am kind of annoyed by this kind of fabrication of a problem so you can give yourself something to solve. Sorry I know this seems to be mostly a place for applause but I found this as well as the DFW piece to be doing a kind of dance with itself that I don’t care to be part of. Thanks.
" I found this as well as the DFW piece to be doing a kind of dance with itself that I don’t care to be part of." If it really was the kind of thing you didn't want to be a part of, you wouldn't have made yourself a part of it.
Thanks for your insight Paul! Appreciate the semantics game! Super fun!
Thanks for teaching me BIPOC. I am not keeping up with all the acronyms. As a teacher my Tribal kids taught me NDN and it was a clever play on letter sounds. I agree with hilarious, don’t trust the un-hilarious.
"Pretendians" Haha, that's a great one.
You left me with plenty to chew on and question. The main course of this piece, for me, reminded me of the many troubles associated with the umbrella term “Asian American”. And the number of times I have tried to explain that there are plenty of “bad Koreans” and “bad Asians” in attempts to explode the myth that all POCs are left leaning. In fact, I know many Asians who immigrated to America and embrace right wing values because they fled Communism. The final destination of binary thinking can look something like this: “Communism bad. Trump good.”
It can be tough. I understand why the concept of “Asian American” was invented in the 1960s. I also understand fully, the extent to which Asians—and Koreans—do not get along. And how you get Trump supporters in Korea, waving Korean flags while supporting their own Conservative politicians.
Throughout all this, Cathy Park Hong has been a breath of fresh air. So has Julia Lee who writes about how Korean Americans are often upholders of white supremacy. This has turned into a blabby response and long-winded way of me stating that while I felt several points ripe for debate in your piece, I very much see the general arc.
So informative, funny, and good. It also bears pointing out that the one Indian senator (the only one I believe) -- Colorado's Ben Night Horse Campbell, changed parties and retired a Republican.
I’m in awe of your writing. So beautiful, thanks for sharing
I loved that story you wrote about I think last year wherein a Native buddy of yours got in a confrontation with a white man who apologized for what America had done. Your Native buddy was conservative and patriotic...because America is awesome. I find this ironic, wonderful and satirical to the core, in a good way. Well-meaning white progressives have a lot to learn about human nature, reality and commonsense. I think this election proves that, if not just the past 5 years in general.