 |
|
|
KFAI's Indian
Uprising for April 17th
For the past hundreds of years, dispossession, genocide and oppression against indigenous people on the North American continent have left a legacy of stripped culture, rife with unimaginable poverty and social problems affecting scores of generations continue to this day. Is the tragedy at Red Lake an inevitable fallout from colonization? When human beings are submerged continually through decades under imposed severe economic and social hardships it is unlikely that many will clearly understand how internalized oppression occurs, those destructive elements within tribal communities. It is unlikely that these problems will get the deserved attention, especially when practical resources needed for daily survival are nearly absent. A long history of devastation heaped upon people inevitably conditions them to unwillingly blame themselves for the outcome. This is further encouraged by the dominant societies' racism and stereotypes. In the months and years ahead members of Red Lake will be involved in the healing processes. However, during that journey and beyond, it is necessary to learn thoroughly the history, the policies and politics, the whys and hows of imperialism that dominate our lives, to scrutinize both sides of the fence, no matter how ugly the truth, past and present. In doing so, it will be seen more clearly how the corrosive past lingers, that indigenous values and thinking have been compromised. Let's challenge our hearts and minds: decolonize ourselves, reinforce traditional ways and rebuild our communities with positive cultural beliefs and trust that we practiced long before being invaded by others. At Red Lake and Everywhere: Importance of the children, an editorial by Indian Country Today, April 6, 2005. http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096410656 "It's about the children, who are so easily abused, so easily thrown off-kilter when healthy adults are not there to teach them carefully. All families have suffered. In large and small ways, Red Lake is everywhere. No one can say for sure what causes a young man to lose his way so hatefully and cause such meaningless destruction of life; we can only offer our condolences and heartfelt good wishes to those left behind." Media's coverage of the Red Lake Slaying by George Joe for Indian Country Today, April 6, 2005. http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096410692 Don Wycliff, public editor for the Chicago Tribune, wrote in his March 24 column that he heard from sources that the Red Lake killings were being underplayed ''for what some suspected were racist reasons.'' IHS lacks sexual assault emergency services (New study shows Native women suffer more sexual violence than non-native women) by Sasha Ulvestad for the Dakota Journal, April 8-15, 2005. "According to the study, instances of rape in American Indian communities are 3.5 times higher than that of all other racial groups."
o E-mail: radio@spottedeagle.org o KFAI voice message: 612-341-3144 Ext. 818 o Regular mail: KFAI Fresh Air Radio, Box 61, 1808 Riverside Avenue, Minneapolis MN 55454 KFAI Community Radio is a non-commercial non-profit community station operated by a full and part time staff with over 300 volunteers. |
