Indigenous Self Awareness
There’s an Indigenous leader as well as lawyer that made a profound statement once during the DAPL fiasco in 2016 against our peoples, the media tried their hardest to portray us one way as the aggressors the savage Indians stereotype when the truth was all defense even when being highly attacked by both law and DAPL company security (which no surprise were all white) even during peaceful protests on our people end. The gentleman said “Sure we can be savage only when called for but that’s not the center of who we are.” Personally being both an Indigenous person and a person of color I get beyond sick and tired of these rancid non Indigenous beings with generally the brains of nothing that continually are allowed to commit violent crimes against us (as keep in mind violence can be counted as any numerous ways not just physical) then provoke a reaction so they can play victim. The world knows them as Karens of course.. white or non in cases of the epidemic of violence against Indigenous Girls and Women. Nothing ever is rarely done to them because us as Indigenous and minorities haven’t been treated equally in this country we have seen that time and time again therefore those kind know that, that’s why they always target those who are of color…and minority at that because they know they can feign their crocodile tears anywhere in the country practically even if they’re in the wrong and get away with it no matter how illegal, wrong and clearly intentionally violent and a violation against what our equal rights are… or were promised to us anyway. Then again when has America ever kept it’s treaties or anything else with us? Never. As I’ve said to those kind before maybe they should come to our ancestral lands and see how we play sometime if they want to prey upon, attack, and constantly commit crimes against us really convinced it’s allowed. It would no longer be their home court advantage. Why do people think we are laden with the stereotype of getting into fights of any variety a great deal? Because we have to when we have perpetrators coming at us constantly and trying to be the victim when they’re the perpetrator all the time. That’s why some reservations especially the smaller ones won’t even allow anyone who is not registered with that tribe of a certain blood quantum onto reservation territory without a tribal person having invited them as a guest because they will shoot your a$$ in pretty much complete impunity. Who can blame them? They don’t want any problems being brought onto their territory or any of their tribal members harmed in any way especially with the epidemic of narcotics being brought onto reservations, traffickers preying on people, missing/murdered, raped Girls as well as Women.
As spread by the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center a 2010 Vanguard documentary I’ve shared before appropriately titled “Rape On The Reservation” addresses the not only complexity of legalities even in case of sexual violence but also their unwillingness to essentially serve and protect as we have also seen in the case of Black Lives Matter Global Network
Therefore when people think we carry ourselves out in the world with “an attitude”, “mean”, “aloof“ particularly in the case of Pacific Islanders, “intense” as I’ve spoken of before we have to be because non Indigenous or even sometimes other Indigenous depending will walk on and disrespect us that’s just a given fact. The 1998 film ,Smoke Signals, spoke on this. That’s really what many of us reservation homegrown, partially, or not at all are instructed coming up because we are aware we are the minority therefore people will try to mess with one of us more than other types of people due to the fact they are well aware law does not care whatsoever. Matter of fact they’re frequently the ones who enact some of the worst violence against us being we have the highest rates of police brutality and murders of any people despite our lack in numbers. Doesn’t matter how privileged we are or aren’t we all have the same experiences in that department more or less.
