Who’s appropriating?

Discussion

September 3, 2008

Anonymous The Tahlequah Daily Press Wed Sep 03, 2008, 08:28 AM CDT

Editor, Daily Press:

Possibly I was the only person in attendance at the Friday session of the State of Sequoyah Conference who neither possesses nor claims “Indian” or Cherokee ancestry. But this intertribal warfare comes to us Scots-Irish backwoodsmen, and some of the topics promised were of personal and professional interest. The Cains’ presentation on “Hunting and Gathering in the 21st Century” was useful and interesting. Then, things went south.

Without doubt, the actions of Murv Jacob were disruptive. But later I wondered: What is an appropriate response to racism, slander and ignorance? For those who suck on the teat of the Cherokee Nation, the response is likely to be silence. But some of the artists, historians and writers who engage with and learn from Cherokee history and folkways will never be tribal members or employees of Cherokee Nation. We are free to comment and critique.

Shortly after Jacob was hustled out of the ballroom [at the Friday session], Dr. Richard Allen said into the open microphone, “That was a local artist without any Cherokee ancestry.” That struck me as a remarkably arrogant and ignorant statement, and perhaps a libelous one. Can Allen prove Jacob has no such ancestry? Does his job as “policy analyst” at Cherokee Nation provide him ample time to investigate the lineage of local citizens and cultural workers? Next, Dr. Carol Morrow presented a talk on the “Missouri Cherokee” and although she stated she is not a historian and it was not her field of expertise, she told the audience what she had been paid to tell them, and she was greeted with applause.

The last session, “Fraudulent Tribes and Individuals,” was part Klan rally and part self-congratulation. If Troy Poteete believes “the federal government could save millions by not awarding grants to dubious claims for tribal recognition,” he could go a step further and say the feds could save hundreds of millions by instituting a blood quantum, releasing from membership hundreds of thousands of “white” Cherokees. But Poteete is not interested in saving anyone money. He is interested in keeping Cherokee casinos up and running, unopposed, in his own 19th-century, racial ideology.

Even whiter than the 1/32-degree Poteete, the 1/256-degree councilor, Carol Cowan-Watts, complained of Ward Churchill’s “appropriating Cherokee culture.” I do not claim to be an expert on Churchill’s work; I’ve only read eight or 10 of his books. He writes sourced history and extreme political commentary, but I remember nowhere in his books where he deals with Cherokee culture. From this I can only infer Cowan-Watts is a bit clueless. More interesting is the astounding delusional and racial worldview required for a 1/256-degree Cherokee to accuse anyone of “cultural appropriation.”

There is some appropriation going on, and it’s more perverse than “new-agey” white people taking Indian names and wearing feathers. It is the Cherokee Nation appropriating discredited 18th- and 19th-century ideologies of “citizenship by blood.” These concepts, retrieved from the ash heap of history, were learned from the white man. Nowhere do they exist in the traditional Cherokee worldview. Now, they have returned under the guise of “sovereignty.” These ideologies were learned from white colonialists, but the “white” Cherokee “elite” have learned these lessons well. White Indians, like Cowan and Poteete, mistake race for culture, blood for community, and exclusion for strength.

James Murray

Tahlequah

Text Only

Letters to editor

Make sure you vote
It’s that time of the year again – time for the school board to extend a two-year contract to three years. It seems the board is much more interested in the job security of [Superintendent] Shannon Goodsell than for the teachers and staff.

February 2, 2012
Ego influencing justice
Last year’s incident in the jail where inmate Daniel Bosh received significant injuries from what appears to be an attack by a jail employee serves as a reminder that we have flaws in our justice system.

February 2, 2012
Harnessing talents
Women met Tuesday, Jan. 17, who believe in the values of a strong U.S. Constitutional government, with more power in the state and local government; women who believe our federal government is spending out of control, to the point of pushing our nation into the poor house. We call ourselves conservatives.

January 30, 2012
Flip-flopping on issues
Shannon Goodsell, superintendent of Tahlequah Public Schools, apparently can’t make up his mind when it comes to giving taxpayer money to private organizations.

November 23, 2011
Thieves target cross
I am writing you regarding my cousin’s memorial cross on State Highway 51. He has been gone for four years now. The week before the four-year anniversary of his passing, someone stole his cross.

November 23, 2011
Kudos to the City Council
Editor, Daily Press:
Our elected officials showed wise judgment at [last] Monday’s City Council meeting. They chose individualism over collectivism.

November 7, 2011
Scare tactics on aliens?
Editor, Daily Press:
I just finished watching scare tactics on a new channel called the Curiosity Channel, on satellite television. It was about, “What would we do if we were attacked by beings from outer space?” It was, in my opinion, designed and produced by the big corporations who are now running the world.

November 7, 2011
Think twice about testing
Editor, Daily Press:
I do not condone the use of drugs by welfare recipients and I do not believe that many can afford to use drugs. I also do not condone government intrusion into the private lives of citizens.

November 7, 2011
No tax for B&GC
Reader Everett Childers argues there are better ways to fund the program.

October 31, 2011
Many are seeing ‘red’
Oct. 26, 2011

October 27, 2011
More Letters to editor Headlines

Tax-filing season is upon us. Which best describes your course of action?

Letters to editor

Search Results

Discussion

Who’s appropriating?

Tax-filing season is upon us. Which best describes your course of action?

Site Map

Contact Us