Native America Calling
Trump turned a ceremony honoring some of America’s finest warriors into an opportunity to insult, but should any television viewers be surprised or shocked by new antics of Donald Trump?
In contrast to the dignity and gravitas of the first president of the United States, Trump’s behavior has earned him monikers such as the “Insane Clown President,” “Benadick Donald,” “Groper in Chief,” and “Dotard Don.”
The world associates Trump with prevarication and egocentric weakness; Americans associate Trump and his family with disrespect for the traditions and institutions of the United States; Trump has associated himself with racism and bigotry while groping his way into sexual harassment; the people think of Trump as treasonous because Trump appears compromised by a foreign government; thus Trump gave new meaning to the GOP as Groping Old Politicians, and redefined Republicans as unpatriotic servants of Putin.
With all those negative accolades, now Donald Trump has added insult to injury by orchestrating a ceremony honoring some of America’s finest warriors, our Navajo Code Talkers, in front of a portrait of Andrew Jackson.
Barring the fact that textbooks sourced in Texas are generally as reliably patriotic as someone sitting in the Texas School Book Depository, most American high school graduates should be aware that Andrew Jackson has the most obvious record of egregious racism directed at Native Americans evidenced by his Indian Removal Act which resulted in the Trail of Tears.
If one considers Trump’s appointments of officials who are apparently intent on subverting and corrupting the agencies and departments they have been charged with leading, it is easy to find another parallel with Andrew Jackson who was responsible for ushering in a form of federal corruption known as the “spoils system.”
Mainstream corporate media is focusing upon Trump’s use of a racial slur directed at Senator Warren who once expressed her pride at the possibility of having Native American ancestors. In contrast to abusive cultural misappropriation by football teams such as the Washington “Redskins,” it is generally recognized that intelligent people are proud of native American ancestry, and even the possibility of having such ancestry considering that due to the genocidal policies of politicians like Andrew Jackson such heritage is quite rare.
The fact that Donald Trump’s behavior during this event was puerile, buffoonish and paternalistic is sadly no longer shocking. However, the additional display of insensitivity through staging the ceremony in front of a portrait of Andrew Jackson demonstrates that either Trump is incredibly ignorant or he is deliberate and calculating in planning such an insult. If it is the former then it must be acknowledged that Trump is unfit for the Presidency on the grounds of incompetence; if it is the latter then it must be acknowledged that Trump is unfit to hold the highest office in the land because he cannot fulfill his duty to uphold the constitution due to the fact that he is unable to be the President for ALL the people.
During the late 1990’s some readers may have been privileged to hear Native America Calling hosted by a brilliant young native radio broadcaster named Harlan Mckosato. The show was broadcast around the nation every weekday at 11am Mountain Time as an “electronic talking circle.” Those of us privileged enough to listen to this extraordinary man were treated to a balanced presentation of topics with listeners calling in from around the nation. Still running today, the show deals with issues affecting all Americans while acknowledging and exploring their impact on Native American peoples in the USA, and First Nations peoples in Canada. It is worth listening to.
Every citizen of the United States owes a debt to Native Americans for the water we drink and the land upon which we walk. This may sound radical for thoughtless people, but to those Americans who are conscious of the truth which has often been excluded from history books, there can be no doubt that Native American citizens deserve our respect and compassionate acknowledgement of the historical facts of colonial genocide as well as support for long abused tribal rights. Recent events in North Dakota highlight that such abuse continues.
“The black snake’s arrival in Lakota territory has long been prophesied” as heralding an awakening of the world to the remembrance and fulfillment of the sacred covenant of all humanity with Sacred Mother Earth / Pachamama / Gaia. Let us affirm this truth and work to insure it is fulfilled.
One of McKosato’s shows reviewed the callous and illegal conduct of President Andrew Jackson whose image has unfortunately appeared on $5, $10, $20 and $10,000 notes. The show highlighted the fact that Conscious Americans who have awakened to the truth of Jackson’s behavior refuse to use such bills. These citizens ask for denominations other than twenty dollar bills which depict Jackson. They do this because Jackson’s egregious actions amounted to genocide. Jackson committed his genocidal acts despite the ruling of the Supreme Court of the United States in Worcester v. Georgia which “held that the Georgia criminal statute that prohibited non-Native Americans from being present on Native American lands without a license from the state was unconstitutional.”
We miss Harlan McKosato’s distinguished and unique insights into American culture. Recent events often prompt the inevitable longing of today’s readers and those listeners from long ago to wish that McKosato was still broadcasting his insights. There is something about Harlan which is truly heroic, not in the same way as the Navajo Code Talkers, but in another way, a uniquely North American Way. The voice calling in the wilderness for necessary change. The man willing to stand in unity with diverse companions who admire him and believe in him. McKosato is one of those voices which inspired us to make sure our radios were tuned in. Considering the plethora of useless right wing radio hosts which pollute the airwaves, it would be nice to hear his voice again.
McKosato comes from the Sac and Fox nation known for another of America’s great heroes, Jim Thorpe. In 1999, it was proposed that Thorpe be recognized as the “Athlete of the Century” by the 106th Congress.
