"Geronimo is an icon to Indian people. The entire U.S. Army hunted him down..."

[achali]

SOURCE
http://inthearena.blogs.cnn.com/2011/05/...-geronimo/

American Indians were hurt by the U.S. military naming the bin Laden kill operation 'Geronimo'

Answering today’s five OFF-SET questions are Fay Givens, executive director of American Indian Services, based in Lincoln Park, Michigan, and, in a separate conversation, Thomas Holm, retired professor of American Indian studies at The University of Arizona.


“Geronimo” was the name the U.S. military gave to the operation to capture and kill Osama bin Laden. How did you and American Indians in your area react to the name?

FG: Well, we were very hurt. Americans Indians have the highest percentage of military participation of any group in the United States.

TH: My first reaction was: why in the world do they keep picking on us? But I do know the answer to that—at least, I think I do: we are Indian people—we are America’s traditional enemy. What that means is that is the frontier experience for Americans has somehow turned into a great blood sacrifice–you celebrate the warrior’s prowess that you overcame.


U.S. military equipment and machinery bear many Indian references: the Apache helicopters, the Chinook helicopters, the Tomahawk missiles. You obviously don’t see this as honoring Indian war prowess…

FG: No, we feel that naming war machines after Indian chiefs is also insulting. Our ancestors –- these Indian chiefs–were defending our land and our way of life, as well as our people and our families.

TH: Why not use Robert E. Lee’s name? He killed more people than Geronimo and Osama bin Laden combined. It’s the same kind of thing–Lee is such an icon, and people have made him into a glorified American hero. But how do you get to be a hero if your intent was to destroy America—which is what the Confederate states were all about.


Why is it ultimately harmful to American Indians when Indian names are appropriated for other purposes?

FG: It sends a negative message to our children, for one thing–it makes us look like we are violent people, which we are not. There is no other group in America whose history is used in this way.

TH: I think we—Native people–have a very different outlook on history than others. I think all we ever wanted is those agreements that were made by the US government with us to be honored. That’s what it’s about. They haven’t been.

You have to have an understanding of the Constitution much greater than Tea Party folks do. Article Six says that treaties carry the same weight of law as the Constitution does. For those to be forgotten or ill-used–you have to say something about that. The United States has to honor those agreements, they bear the highest legal weight. It’s not just about land but about the trust relationship with the Indian people. It’s about keeping promises and guarantees. Making a treaty with our people is the same as making a treaty with China.


Prof. Holm, were you singled out as American Indian during your time in the Marines in Vietnam?

TH: Every native person I knew was called “chief” or something like. I got that, but some guys got it worse than I did.

There’s a kind of Indian Scout Syndrome. Here’s a story a soldier told me—he served in the Army in Vietnam. His lieutenant asked him to go out in advance of troops on patrol. The guy asks: why? He was told there was an expectation that “you Indians know how to deal with the woods.”

He said: “I was raised in Chicago!”


Geronimo’s name may now be linked with Osama bin Laden’s for many years to come. But how should Geronimo be remembered?

FG: Geronimo is an icon to Indian people. The entire U.S. Army hunted him down like an animal and were never able to capture him. He finally surrendered when the Federal government said they were going to kill his entire band. His wife, his mother and his children were all killed by the U.S. military–and he surrendered, trying to protect his band and his people.

TH: He really fought hard for his country, for his people, his family…all the Republican virtues, if you will—and yet he’s being equated with evil. And that’s just not right.


So if you could send a message to the Pentagon today…

FG: I would ask them to remember the contribution that American Indians have made to the U.S. military and I would ask them to apologize.