Skip to main content

Blackness, Indigeneity, and 5$ Indian?

It's also why they erase the ugly parts of their own histories--like 5$ Indians.

In Fall 2020 (right before THE pandemic school year started), I attended a virtual session titled The Legacy of Historical Trauma: A Discussion of the Black and Native American Existence, Identity, and Moves Forward to Healing. It was SUCH an enriching, rewarding, spiritual experience for me. I listened to the panelists (most of whom are Black and Indigenous or were raised in Black/Indigenous households OR are raising Black-Indigenous relatives) speak of the intersecting identities and the double oppressions of being both Black and Indigenous and the acknowledgment of anti-Blackness handed down from our collective oppressors and often internalized and laterally expressed in Indigenous communities, really in both communities. The anti-Blackness being weaponized and stripped from Indigenous Peoples by the dominant culture, to the point that Black-Indigenous people would need to deny their Blackness in order to acknowledge their Indigeneity (a term I learned on that day), or rather to have their Indigeneity acknowledged by and benefits from the dominant culture. And now a reclamation of both identities--because we're all stronger together. Ooohh, chile, it was deep. I learned so much that day that I continue to carry with me.

Which brings me to today's lesson: Dawes Rolls and "5$ Indian."

There is an extra sick and twisted level of oppression, hatred, and racism that has been laterally passed among Black and Indigenous communities, and amongst other communities of color--communities of People of the Global Majority. I continuously learn more about this interconnectedness, and how these double oppressed groups were first oppressed, then used and abused by the dominant culture. But there's also an extra sick and twisted abuse of these identities by the dominant culture, when it benefits them. (We could even draw correlating lines between the existence of "5$ Indian" and cultural appropriation (especially when it comes to appearance) of Black culture.

Today's lesson came from a TikTok from Prof. Sunn mCheaux that I watched recently, and since he had to do TWO videos--1) to make his point about white people commenting on his videos and claiming to be Indigenous, 2) to clarify the term 5$ Indian and add more information and context, I'm sharing the article he linked in the second: "Paying to Play Indian: The Dawes Rolls and the Legacy of $5 Indians." Because as he points out, sometimes, people don't believe what Black folks have to say on stuff until another person from that community speaks on it. But also, often, someone and/or resources from any given community has more credibility to speak on an issue than someone outside that community.

We've only begun to scratch the surface and understand the intersectionality, interconnectedness, lateral violence and racism, and abuse of Blackness and Indigeneity. But I continue to scratch, dig, read, and watch. You should too.

#AlwaysLearning
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Every accusation is a confession

I've been ruminating on how QAnon, or whatever the fuck they were calling themselves back then, REALLY convinced somebody to run up in a pizza parlor to rescue some kids from a PDFile ring in 2016, and how certain folks BEEN hollering about an international PDFile cabal/ring for a LONG ass time--except the super gullible among us are convinced it's only Dems--and those doing the hollering have been labeled "conspiracy nuts," and how folks in power have long scoffed at this idea and laughed at how stupid conspiracy theorists sound for thinking this,  buuuuut... Turns out that  1) yes, an international PDFile cabal/ring DOES exist, has for a long time, likely will continue to as long as no one is held accountable for the horrendous, villainous actions,  2) the cabal includes some of the most powerful people, corporations, entities in the world ,  3) even if they did participate, there was a second class of powerful elite who still willingly hobnobbed with the PDFile p...
Post a Comment
Read more

Attempting to Open Eyes...

In my life, I view it as my goal and life's mission to open people's eyes to things around them, information they've been fed or led to believe, and in general, make people think for themselves .  I seek not to make people think and feel as I believe, but simply to encourage them to think and know for themselves. I am a lover of knowledge.  I don't profess to know everything, but the things I do know, I am sure of and sure that they are right for me and my life.  As my son ages and my second child makes his way towards this world, I grapple with wanting to impart my version of wisdom, truth, faith, kindness, and love of knowledge and progressivism compared with simply wanting them to seek their own truths--even if they depart from mine.  This is something I'm sure I'll battle for many years to come.  Strong willed parents tend to produce strong willed children. Being a strong willed person herself, my mother raised me to be my own woman, to think independen...
2 comments
Read more

What to ADOS is the Fourth?! What to any of us does this day mean?!

There is rarely a Fourth of July that goes by that I don't think of and/or read Douglass' "What to the slave is the Fourth of July?" I typically post it yearly as well. Last year, we were blessed with descendants of Douglass performing parts of his speech and reflecting on who they are and where we are today, as they relate to his speech. Today, I ask slightly different questions: what to the American descendants of slavery (ADOS) is the Fourth? What to any of us is the Fourth? In a year where we've seen the symbolic victory * of federal recognition for Juneteenth while simultaneously witnessing state legislatures across the country and nationally elected folks attempt to shut down any conversations on race, racism, slavery's role in the founding and growth of this country, and real American history instead of American mythology, what to ADOS does this day mean?  At a time when we've lost more than half a million (605,533 as of 11:25a on 7/5/21, accordi...
Post a Comment
Read more