VIEWPOINT
LET TERS
BY K AYL A GODOWATUF TI
Stigmatized,
Stereotyped
FALL HOLIDAYS HAVE A DIFFERENT
MEANING FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
I
n 1990 President George H.W. Bush approved a joint resolution
designating November 1990 “National American Indian Heritage Month.”
The irony is that this falls around the same time as Columbus Day, marking
the “discovery of America” and beginning of colonization. Genocide,
degradation, disease, theft, rape, displacement, starvation, all followed
colonization for Indigenous peoples, and the exploitation of Indigenous
cultures continues to this day all over the world.
It follows Halloween, which always seems to resurrect the uncomfortable
cultural appropriation. I can never go a year without seeing someone dressed
up “like an Indian.” As if some fake feathers in your hair and paint on
your face makes a person even close to defi ning the rich culture, history,
legacy and struggle we have as Native people. It is a blatant mockery of our
ethnicity, for those that may be unaware.
And for the grand fi nale … Thanksgiving. The day to stuff your face with
turkey, and wake up early to catch those Black Friday bargains. Truth be told,
we live in a commercialized society where all peoples culture, ethnicities,
gender and identities are up for blatant objectifi cation. Unfortunately, only
during this stigmatized time of year, do Indigenous people arise in the psyche
of American culture.
Is it OK for a stereotypical image of Native people to be perpetuated
whether it be mascots, advertisements, movies, costumes, etc.? And if I
want to protect the dignity of my community by preventing a stereotypical
image of my demographic from being perpetuated throughout our town, am
I somehow “just overreacting?” Due to our culture that has become so well
adjusted to injustice, it is very diffi cult for us as Native people to defend our
identities with dignity. Especially during a time of year that has so many
stigmas attached to it.
Is it possible to have an honest dialogue about the genocidal history that
this country was founded upon? Our ancestors were among the fi rst victims
of this terrorist attack we know as colonization. This hateful language
and ideology has degraded our precious African-American brothers and
sisters throughout history, and that same ideology is terrorizing our fellow
Indigenous brothers and sisters south of this “American” border. It runs
rampant, waging the longest and least talked about war in U.S. history
on innocent civilians of the Middle East. Yet, when we want to have an
honest dialogue about colonist ideologies and how white privilege has been
systematically put into place throughout this world, country and history, it is
somehow offensive, and the New Jim Crow isn’t?
The Native community, just as so many other stigmatized communities,
has suffered many losses over the last century at the hands of this oppressor,
and we are still here today. We are the survivors of the attempt of the U.S.
government to exterminate an entire culture. I cannot speak for every
indigenous person, but some may share this sentiment when I say, our
ancestors did not suffer to be later remembered as characters and as a culture
to be made a mockery of. This is supposed to be a time when we honor and
remember our Indigenous peoples with dignity and respect, especially those
that have passed on. I am Klamath, Wasco, Chinook, Molalla, Paiute, Warm
Springs, Yakama, Pit River, Modoc, all tribes of Oregon, Washington and
California, and I have been a resident of Eugene for 18 years.
Being a Native woman, I am 2.5 times more likely to experience a sexual
assault than women in other ethnic groups and was born into an ethnic
group with the highest poverty rate in the nation at 39 percent. I live in a
world where I can be harmed, just for being who I am. Though I am very
proud to be a strong survivor and part of the tradition, this is why it is often
referred to as “the struggle,” because we are still subject to harm to this day.
Our families have called this land home for thousands of years and would
like to continue to live here for thousands more with peace, dignity, honor
and respect. Happy Native Heritage month! Kwathla, thank you. ■
Kayla Godowa-Tufti is a member of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs of Oregon.
been in a warm house being pampered,
not lying under a tree in the cold and the
rain with your eyes crusted shut, covered
in feces and urine and so dehydrated you
felt more like a piece of leather than a cat.
I hoped there was something that could
be done for you and took you to the vet. It
was too late to save you. Your eyes were
so infected they had turned to liquid and
were draining. The infection so bad, it had
probably spread to your brain. I would
have done anything to save you but even
heroics couldn’t help you.
We gave you the only gift we could; we
ended your suffering Nov. 8 and made sure
during your last moments on earth you
knew you were loved. Somebody cared
about you. Somebody cried for you. Rest
in peace sweet kitty.
What happened to this cat is totally
preventable. Spay/neuter, vaccinate (we
have great resources like the city of Eugene
Spay/Neuter Clinic and Willamette Animal
Guild). Do not abandon. Very few domestic
cats can make it on their own. Think long
and hard before you get a pet; they are a
lifetime commitment and are expensive to
care for. Don’t turn away when an animal
needs help. If you can’t help, tell someone
who can. We can make a difference.
Lyllian Breitenstein
Springfi eld
First, are you aware that drug testing welfare
recipients in Florida actually increased the
budget for Florida’s welfare program? It
costs more money to ensure that welfare
recipients remain “drug free” than just giving
welfare to whoever qualifi es.
Second, your argument “After all, it
is government money!” implies that we
should drug-test everyone who receives
public aid or wages. Do you also suggest
drug-testing residents of the East Coast
who are receiving aide from FEMA? Or all
elected offi cials? Or all instructors at state
universities?
Third, federal fi nancial aid comes with a
2.0 GPA requirement. You are arguing this
is not enough because some can “party”
and be adequate students simultaneously.
How extensive is this problem? What
percentage of fi nancial aide recipients
at LCC, state and private universities —
both undergraduate and graduate — use
drugs and party? Will this law be enforced
with equal aggression at Harvard as it is
at LCC? This proposal isn’t about being
fi scally conservative. It’s about excluding
a certain demographic from attending
college. A cheaper, easier, more effective
and fair change would be to raise GPA
requirements.
Tim Haley
Eugene
THE 12 R’S
WHAT WORKS
Has anyone else besides me noticed the
following alphabetical anomoley of the
letter “R” as it relates to the Republicans
and their huge election loss? Here goes:
Republicans, Romney, Ryan, Rove, Rush,
racists, rednecks, rich, robber barons,
religious conservatives, right-wing Tea
Baggers and, of course, idiotic comments
about rape. I thought about taking the “w”
out of wrong, but we all know that “W” was
wrong, so we should leave that one alone.
Jay Schwartz
Eugene
Losing is no fun. I can attest to that.
Winning is better. And we who supported
President Obama won “big time,” to quote
former vice-president Dick Cheney. It will be
a while before the entire signifi cance of this
win rolls out. But some of the obvious ones
are: Threatening women with anti-health-
care laws doesn’t work, attempting to return
to the bad old days of voter suppression à
la Jim Crow doesn’t work, and hiding under
a gauze of empty platitudes doesn’t work
either. What does work is sticking by the
middle class, supporting our children in all
of their educational needs, helping those
who need it obtain health insurance and
getting us the hell out of foreign wars and
not starting any new ones.
Winning is better. What the president,
Senate and Congress do with this mandate
is what will really make the improvements
in our lives that we all want and, defi nitely,
voted for.
Gerry Merritt
Eugene
WALL STREET THIEVES
Regarding your Slant comment Nov.
1, a suggestion to Barack Obama to “send
Timothy Geithner and his buddies back to
Wall Street”: You hit the nail on the head.
If you would like confi rmation — in spades
— read Bailout: An Inside Account of How
Washington Abandoned Main Street While
Rescuing Wall Street by Neil Barofsky, the
former special inspector general in charge
of oversight of TARP. Barofsky exposes the
whole bloody mess. And shows clearly, “if
you are who you hire,” then Washington,
D.C., is full of complete morons. Geithner
and his gang of Wall Street thieves have
raped and plundered this entire nation —
legally.
There are more criminals, per capita,
in the securities industry than anywhere
in the entire world. These people have
no conscious, no morals, no ethics, etc.
And our government still protects them.
Barofsky’s comments about AIG are
especially interesting.
Frank Skipton
Springfi eld
DRUG TESTING COSTS
This letter responds to Kim Myers, and
her call to administer drug tests to all welfare
and fi nancial aid recipients (Letters, 11/01).
6
November 21, 2012 • eugeneweekly.com
DIS-ORDERLY CONDUCT
When I went to college if you were
caught with a girl in your dorm room you
were expelled, even if it was your own
mother. This “hippie” is not use to “having
conservative values” but I wager if the UO
bounced a few citation-ed party rowdies
the problem would magically disappear;
behind the closed doors where it belongs.
Vince Loving
Eugene
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