A Open Letter to L. Brooks Patterson

To L. Brooks Patterson
County Executive Oakland County
Executive Office Building - 41 West
2100 Pontiac Lake Road
Waterford, Michigan, USA, 48328-0409


Dear Mr. Patterson,

On Monday January 27th I was a member of the Idle No More group that had gathered in front of the Oakland County Courthouse speaking out against what you were quoted in The New Yorker magazine. After some contemplation I think that maybe you spoke such hateful things about Indians to make a point about Detroit without fully understanding what it was exactly you were saying.

I myself have made the mistake of speaking without fully understanding my words. Especially in the heat of the moment! Myabe that is what happened with you in the article, maybe you were "ambushed" as you say. I was not there and can not in good faith tell you the motives of either the writer or yourself.

So here is what I propose Mr. Patterson. I suggest you meet with myself, an elder, and a young member of the Native American community to discusss the things you said. Let me further explain:

You said and I quote, “I made a prediction a long time ago, and it’s come to pass. I said, ‘What we’re going to do is turn Detroit into an Indian reservation, where we herd all the Indians into the city, build a fence around it, and then throw in the blankets and corn.”

Firstly, the conditions on Native American reservations is like third world conditions. Some people may be under the impression that because we have casinos that we as Native people sit back and collect per cap checks with no abandon. This is not true at all. I can give the example of Shannon County on the Pine Ridge reservation. It is absolutely the poorest county in the entire United States. When I tell you they are poor they are not the , "Dang I can't afford the Playstation 4, or 'I can't afford that trip to Florida'" No I am talking about a per capita income of less than $3,000.00 a year, a unemployment rate that has consistently run into the 90th percentil for years. A life expectancy that;s one third shorter generation after generation than the average American people. There is a real degree of impoverishment that has created a tone of death on many reservations. The death of malnutrition and diabetes, high blood pressure, alcoholism, cancer, obesity and a score of other diseases that run the gambit within Indian Country.

I can't think of anyone who becomes aware of those type of conditions in this nation that would not want to step in and help change those conditions.  Maybe you're not aware of the conditions of reservations in this nation and so you wished for Detroit such a terrible fate as just not understanding fully what you were talking about. I would love for the opportunity to discuss that further with you.

So then we move onto the blanket issue. Maybe you are not aware of this but the disease of smallpox was used as a form of chemical warfare against Native people. In 1763 Chief Pontiac of the Odawa Nation began a rebellion at Fort Detroit. I am sure you're familliar with that story but what may have slipped past you is that when the rebellion spread all the way to Fort Pitt which is now present day Pittsburgh. Lord Jeffrey Amherst, a commander of British forces in North America during the French and Indian war (1756-1763) in a letter to Colonel Henry Bouquet, who was leading reinforcements to Fort Pitt. stated:

P.S. I will try to inocculate the Indians by means of Blankets that may fall in their hands, taking care however not to get the disease myself. As it is pity to oppose good men against them, I wish we could make use of the Spaniard's Method, and hunt them with English Dogs. Supported by Rangers, and some Light Horse, who would I think effectively extirpate or remove that Vermine.
 

On July 16 Amherst replied, also in a postscript:

P.S. You will Do well to try to Innoculate the Indians by means of Blanketts, as well as to try Every other method that can serve to Extirpate this Execrable Race. I should be very glad your Scheme for Hunting them Down by Dogs could take Effect, but England is at too great a Distance to think of that at present.

On July 26 Bouquet wrote back:

I received yesterday your Excellency's letters of 16th with their Inclosures. The signal for Indian Messengers, and all your directions will be observed.

Then over in Canada it is well documented that smallpox eliminated over 90% of the Wyandot population. I am sure that many of these truths I have written here has come as a surprise to you. I have made accommodations for you to visit a reservation here in Michigan and maybe attend a class with me about the way to view we Natives as a viable and living culture here in the great state of Michigan. Will you join me and have a sit down with three of us and further discuss these things that you said about my people?


I most anxiously await your correspondence

Davi Trusty

"Herd them all together"

L. Brooks Patterson is an Oakland County executive who was quoted in a New York Times article titled "Drop Dead Detroit" "Anytime I talk about Detroit, it will not be positive. Therefore, I'm called a Detroit basher. The truth hurts, you know?  I used to say to my kids, 'First of all, there's no reason for you to go to Detroit. We've got restaurants out here.' They don't even have movie theatres in Detroit - not one."
So we can gather that Brooksie doesn't care much for the city of Detroit. He's an Oakland county guy. Let me explain that Oakland county is a more affluent suburb of Detroit. It's where all the White people went when Blacks from the south moved here to Michigan for jobs. You know, because of fear and loathing of "them".
Brooksie wasn't done bashing Detroit, he further states in the article,
"I made a prediction a long time ago, and it’s come to pass. I said,
‘What we’re going to do is turn Detroit into an Indian reservation, where we herd all the Indians into the city, build a fence around it, and then throw in the blankets and corn."
I want to point out that smallpox infected blankets and dispossession and repressive policies of Whites caused the death of up too 80% of the Indigenous population.  Don't you see the comedy in his statement? How glib and frank he can be at the same time? Do you know, during the late 1630s, smallpox killed over half of the Wyandot, who controlled most of the early North American fur trade in what became Canada. They were reduced to fewer than 10,000 people.( Robertson, Ronald G (2001). Rotting face : smallpox and the American Indian. Caldwell, Idaho: Caxton Press. pp. 107–108. ISBN 0-87004-419-2.)

I want to point out also that Brooksie is a republican. It's not just that, it is that he got caught being an HONEST republican. Remember these are the people who invented the whole "Obama is a Kenyan" and "Obama the magic Negro" on conservative radio stations. For Brooksie to make such an ugly statement about us is just following suit of the members of that party.Don't believe me?

Rick Santorum while running for nomination under the republican ticket in 2012 said, "I don't want to make Black people's lives easier by giving them other people's money"

Ron Paul argues that the landmark federal legislation that dismantled Jim Crow segregation in the 1960s was a moral evil and a violation of white people’s liberty. Ron Paul’s claim that the rights of black Americans are secondary to the “freedom” of whites to discriminate, is an almost perfect mirror for the logic of apartheid. Ron Paul’s white supremacist ethic is more than a dismissal of one of the crowning legislative achievements of the 20th century: it is the endorsement of a principle that conveniently allows white people to hate and discriminate in the public sphere at will--and without consequence--against people of color. This “freedom” is the living and bleeding heart of white racism. (Daily Kos)

The echo chamber that is Fox News, right-wing talk radio, the conservative blogosphere, and Republican elected officials daily stoke the politics of white racial resentment, bigotry and fear. Ultimately, the Republican candidates would not use racism as a weapon if it were not rewarded by their voters, and encouraged by the party’s leadership. An army travels on its stomach; it needs foot soldiers and shock troops to advance its aims.
From the ugly, race-based conspiracy fantasies of Birtherism to the astroturf politics of the Tea Party to a news network whose guests routinely disparage Barack Obama with such labels as “ghetto crackhead” to the bloviating racist utterances by opinion leaders such as Rush Limbaugh, to the common bigotry on display at right-wing Web sites that use monkey, ape, gorilla, pimp, and watermelon imagery to depict the United States’ first black president and his family, it is clear that racism “works” for the Republican Party. To ignore the attraction of rank-and-file white conservatives to such ugliness is to overlook the driving force behind the Republican nominees’ behavior. (Daily Kos)

Jason Richwine, who received his doctorate in public policy from Harvard in 2009, wrote in his dissertation “IQ and Immigration Policy” that immigrants in the U.S. have lower IQs than native white Americans, and that difference “is likely to persist over several generations.”

“The average IQ of immigrants in the United States is substantially lower than that of the white native population, and the difference is likely to persist over several generations.”

“The consequences are a lack of socioeconomic assimilation among low-IQ immigrant groups, more underclass behavior, less social trust, and an increase in the proportion of unskilled workers in the American labor market,” he writes. “Selecting high-IQ immigrants would ameliorate these problems in the U.S., while at the same time benefiting smart potential immigrants who lack educational access in their home countries.”

No one knows whether Hispanics will ever reach IQ parity with whites, but the prediction that new Hispanic immigrants will have low-IQ children and grandchildren is difficult to argue against.

Now if they can make statements like that about Latinos and Black why are we surprised that Brooksie made those comments about Indians?

See Brooksie cares only for the White base that breeds fear and loathing of Original people. He caters to a base that believes those of us who are blessed to be brown and more are somehow undermining the intentions of the founding fathers. You know, those Indian killing Slave owning White guys on the money? For him to make a ugly statement that Detroit is doomed and wanting to "herd all the Indians" into the city like the government did to my people on the trail of tears, or what they did to the Lakota at Wounded Knee, or wha they did to the Pottawatomie on The Trail Of Death and then say it was nothing more than a "bombastic statement" is an outright lie or he is completely ignorant of history. Brooksie is a smart dude, you can't get to the position he is in by being a dumb ass, I know like I know that he is a liar.

Some want him to apologize, not me. I want him and the rest of the members of that bigoted racist group of things calling themselves "Tea partiers" and "Republicans" and "Conservatives" exposed as the vile devils and cancer to society and progress for what they are. His apology if it ever comes will mean nothing, it will be false and fake and disingenuous at best. He attempted one earlier and it was mumbled and soft. He will apologize only because he got caught being honest and everyone should know by now that an honest republican is nothing more than an exposed devil.

Who TAUGHT you that.....

WHO TAUGHT YOU THAT:

Indians talk like they don't know english?
You're closer to White than you are to Original?
Your reward is in heaven and not here in hell?
You're not a genius?
Big words make you sound like a sell out?
An education makes you and not the other way around?
Money makes you and not the other way around?
"The wrong type of Blacks" will hurt your cause?
True skins only live on a reservation?
You're Christian?
The Devil is a concept and not a person?
Love is for the weak?
What a full blood is?
The more you have the more you're worth?
You're seperate from the source?
You're separate at all?
You gotta be poor to be real?
You're not enough?
You're not dark enough?
You don't look: Sioux, Chippewa, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Ute, Mexica, Guaraini, Taino, Black, Brown, Hip or Beautiful?
Things have value and people have use?
Farrakhan's an anti-Semite?
There is a difference between a Republican and a Facist?
The Government has your best interest in mind?
The war (pick one) is justified?
Person knows God better than you?
You have to speak to him to talk to God?
That book is the "truth"
Tattoo's make ya trashy?
Intellect makes you doubt God's existence?
God exists?
You're superior to _________ (animal, vegetable, mineral or race)?
Thin is in?
White makes might?
Red is a color?
Fear is real?
Hate is the opposite of Love?
This is how it's supposed to be?
You're not an artist?

Someone somewhere taught you that and you fell for it. Damn we got a lot to unlearn......

We are going to have to get serious.

In fourteen hundred and ninety-three, Columbus stole all he could see.

After "discovering" an island, the European explorers would read from a Papal Bull that was issued in 1452 called "The Requirement". Here is one such example.

 "I implore you to recognize the Church as a lady and in the name of the Pope take the King as lord of this land and obey his mandates. If you do not do it, I tell you that with the help of God I will enter powerfully against you all. I will make war everywhere and every way that I can. I will subject you to the yoke and obedience to the Church and to his majesty. I will take your women and children and make them slaves. . . . The deaths and injuries that you will receive from here on will be your own fault and not that of his majesty nor of the gentlemen that accompany me."

So after reciting this, in Spanish by the way, the invaders cold do anything that they wanted to the people who they just discovered. They were given the right by God's representative here on earth to do so!

Of course what this requirement and what mind set it comes from is not divine in any manner whatsoever. It is just White Supremacy in it's most simplistic form. I spoke to an elder of mine today, I call him Cacike which means Chief as he is the Chief of the Jatibonicu Taino Nation. He went into great depth about the truth about Indigenous people's beginnings. Hell he even schooled me on my own people's true history.Now because he is cool, he did not do it in an arrogant manner, he did not do it in an overly "spiritual" manner like some fake elders, truly "olders" do. Cacike broke down the entire history of the effects of white supremacy as it pertains to the Original People explicitly. How this insidious form of racism and control has permeated every institution and manner in which non-indigenous people deal with us. I want to write about all of it but for this particular entry are those of the "plastic nation". In other words the fakes, frauds, phonies, flim-flam artists, wannabes, tricksters, hanger on, pretendian people.

I think almost every "race" has it's own set of people who are not of that race who just so wish that they were. They wish that they were that they begin to act, talk, dress and even participate in traditionally what is "race" specific events. I'll be blunt, it's like the white girl at the predominately black club who commands attention by dropping it and speaking as much ebonics and ghetto as she can. It's the guy who goes to Latino events and only speaks Spanish, or talks about obscure towns in small isolated villages in Mexico or better yet, in remote parts of South America. It's the guy or woman who comes to Indigenous gatherings, dressed in regalia that is representing whatever fantasy that they may have about us, talking about ancestors twice and three times removed and then of course commenting about how "WE" don't do this or that. Inevitably each of these wannabe's will eventually begin talking mad garbage about "White people", when they know good and damn well that they too are white.

Take a look:

 

What makes her think she has the right to do what she is doing? She has that mind set of White Supremacy. They take our spirituality and "improve" on it or in their words, "make it more accessible". Accessible to who? Other Whites seeking a relationship with something outside of themselves. Ask any elder or Medicine person and they will give you specifics on how ceremony's are done. Not some made up voodoo that came from the mind of a burnt out hippie but actual passed down from generation to generation ways on how to do things.

What makes a person think that this is ok? White Supremacy. Plain and simple. I bet any ammount of money this moron read a book, spoke to maybe one or two Indians and then did this proudly for some event without a thought in his mind how wrong he is. How can a person like this operate? How can they do things like this ass-clown and WHITE eagle medicine woman and not give it a second thought? Because 

A. They have no conscience. and 

B. Being what they are they just know better than us dumbass Indians.

Why can they appropriate our very essence and still be able to come and go as they please? Two reasons actually. 

1.) We have members of our own community who assist them. We have people who are us, who are willing to sell names, ceremonies, war bonnets, medicine bundles, who are willing to run sweat lodges, sundances, ghost dances, teaching circles, anything you can think of it can be yours for a price.

2.) Dressing up in an "Indian way" or a perceived Indian way and claiming a heritage that is not yours is acceptable in this society.

An example of this is when the mascot issue is addressed in the media all of a sudden all of these "Indians" come out of the woodwork. These are people who have no ties culturally or spiritually to any of the nations they claim, who do not speak the language, who do not attend gatherings or Pow Wow's or social events. Yet they can be taken seriously because you don't really have to do any of those things to be Indian do ya? If any White folks are reading this the answer is YES. YES you do. If you have no ties to the society of Indigenous people than your just not one of us. It's pretty simple.

The launching of the RAINBOW FIRE DREAM LODGE ceremony for women will set you back $1111.00, 

Activation session of the 64 PRISMATIC FIRE LIGHT BODY CONSCIOUS EVOLUTION is $333.00

TWO HOUR GROUP SPIRIT WALK SESSION $222.00

Think I am making that up? Google Rainbow fire dream lodge and see that what I typed there is the truth. 

The insidious part of this is that it seems Indigenous in it's nature but it is really some made up non-sense. It is appropriation in it's nature because it presents itself as an actual thing but in reality someone somewhere is making money off this bull crap.

Hipsters are now taking part in cultural appropriation by wearing headdresses. They think it is cute and edgy. Never mind the spiritual significance of their meaning. Hollywood has perpetuated the image of a warbonnet and warpaint when in actuality the image that is created bears very little resemblance to the real deal. It also helps to paint us as all the same, when the fact is that there are some 500 plus nations each distinct and unique in it's own way. An Ojibway has very little in common with a Guarani from South America other than a common enemy and of course a bloodline. (I am being VERY sarcastic there).

Then we have the pretendians who think themselves some sort of savior of Indigenous people. These are the "activists" who plan meetings and demonstrations and tell others what type of actions we need to take. The love a good protest, they love to shake the system, they consider themselves so articulate that they can speak on issues as they pertain to us better than WE can! They consider themselves leaders and therefore experts in whatever issue is up for the week. These are the people who "discovered" or "reconnected" with their heritiage just recently or a few years back after watching Dances With Wolves or Pow Wow Highway. 

You might say, "They are well meaning" and my reply is "Who gives a pigs ass about well meaning" We don't need well meaning, we don't need some beneficent white person to come and save us. We have the tools in our possession NOW to do that. I cringe every time I see a non-Indigenous person speaking out on "my" behalf. If you want to help us then move to the back and support, don't step out front and act like this is a personal crusade that "my heart tells me to do" or "my ancestors have called me too". Here is an idea, why don't you let those of us who are actually, by blood and relative connection, speak for us? Why don't you support us when we go to these plastic medicine men and women and call them out as frauds. Why don't you support us by just showing up when we speak out on mascot and logo issues? 

You don't have to be Indigenous to be concerned with the Earth. You don't have to be Indigenous to be concerned about how stereotypes affect our children and adults psychologically. Matter of fact I would prefer that you come to assist us as concerned HUMANS than as someone who's great great great great grandparent once slept next to some Indian dude. 

Here is the thing, it is 2013, Idle No More is rising in relevance, Indian people who were once lazy and not concerned are waking up to a new idea that is as ancient as time itself. I guess I am saying all this to really come out and say, "Knock your shit off and leave us alone. WE GOT THIS".

Trust me, I may be finished but I am NOT done. Also do me a favor and if you read this at least leave a small comment. That way I know it's not just Tony and I reading it. Thanks.

We can't afford you no more. Part ONE

A dear brother of mine sent this picture of the Red Road to me and asked me what I thought. Aside from being a beautiful picture I noticed that the Red Road is EMPTY! Hell yes it is empty! Take a gander at the state of Indian Country, hell take a look at the entire world. Doesn't seem to me that there are very many people on this "red road" at all. Not in the way we back stab, abuse, lie, malign, and attempt to drag one another down constantly.

I was a member of a drum group back in the early 90's to maybe the mid to late 90's. We were a sober drum, we took that commitment to sobriety seriously. We also took the commitment to each other very seriously. We were in a perpetual state of education, we read books, we listened to lectures, we discussed everything from other religions, to politics, to gang violence to interpersonal relationships. Those of us who were younger were blessed to have two "Big Brothers" of the drum who went out of their way to direct us in pow wow etiquette, how to approach an elder, how to build a sacred fire, how to sing a pipe song in both Odawa and Lakota, the importance of Flag Songs, regalia, the whole deal. We were all up in each others business because the idea of gathering around a drum was to bring a community together. This is the land of the drum! That Grandfather is responsible for carrying on our traditions and songs and way of life just as much as elders and our mothers are. Period. It's a fact. As brothers we were ready at the drop of a hat to attend any event and go anywhere regardless of our accommodations. We were not there for comfort we were there for our people. We were in unison because our goal was to bring pride back to where it was not.
I grew a close bond with Joe, Kevin, who is still my big brother. These two men in particular taught me to stand when it is not popular, to face down those who hate and deliver truth. They taught me along with Connie Sagataw and Barb Gentry to speak truth to power. I only learned to do it in the way I do because I came back to our ways because of the drum. Tony Goulet and I became so close because we committed ourselves to serving the community AND one another. We learned of each other. We learn a lot about people, but too few of us learn of. The preposition “of” means that you learn the spirit that motivates a person to say and do what they do. That is what we do.
Do you see how important it is to me to take this stuff most seriously?
I learned not too long ago about some drum groups, I'm not naming names here but I will if you ask, have a "24 hour rule" which is that if you want to sing at the drum you must be sober at least 24 hours. If you ask one member how another member is fairing, out of true concern and not some bullshit gossip session, they have no idea. They will say, "we don't drum like that". What's that mean? How can you sing a song that is sacred, holy or vital (vital means to give life) to our people if just a few hours ago you were drinking? Knowing full and damn well what alcohol does to us? Knowing full and well that Medicine Women and Men and elders have told all of us over and over of what alcohol does to us at a cellular level let alone a spiritual level? These are not "songs" to just sing along with, these are the sounds that we have been blessed with to show appreciation and honor to those things that we need to honor and appreciate.
When did it become OK to NOT be my brothers keeper? You just singing to be singing? If that's the case then turn it over to white folks. Let white folks who admire our culture come on in and take charge. Maybe they will respect that Grandfather and treat that tool that was given to US like it should be. Sadly there seems to be more whites that know about our culture than we do because they at least take an interest in it! I'm saying that because I love it when WE seem to think that the only thing you need to do to be respected as an Indian is be brown. The drum didn't come to us because we were brown, it didn't come to us because we were here first, it didn't come to us because we were so sweet and deserving of The Creator's mercy. The drum came to us because we were so twisted into self that we were beginning to forget that we come from a COMMUNITY, and that without respect for the community and our women we will perish. Women at the drum have an enormous opportunity to show us men and other women the majesty that they are. They have the chance to show the entire world just how important that they are to a culture that has suffered under the oppressive rule of America and the genocidal policies of this nation. I'm telling you when the sisters behind the drum hit that high note it is all I can do to catch my breath and not be overwhelmed at how beautiful this culture that I come from is. 
Do you see how important it is to take this stuff seriously?
The drum is not a musical instrument. The drum is a tool given to us by a divine source that takes mercy on our foolish ways. The drum is a tool that we can use to build a stronger community, that we can use to produce warriors. The drum is where brothers who are not elders necessarily can take a knucklehead like me under their wing and mentor and guide us in a loving fashion so that we can be prayerful and keep our people in our minds. If it was not for Kevin I would not say unpopular shit the way I do. I don't mimic him I admire and emulate him. BIG difference. He invited me to that drum and then he made a choice to assist me when I was so lost.  You don't have to like anything I wrote but I am telling you I had to write it.,