Words Are Not Enough...

One good deed is worth a thousand words of wind...

--ryan

Words are not enough to end racism

By Alan Aker, Journal columnist
 

PIEDMONT - Not so long ago, in our own area of the world, a race of people was conquered in war and forced to live under the control of a foreign government. The conquerors spoke a different language and followed a religion which was strange and new to the Lakota. The foreigners destroyed their economy to the point where many of them died of starvation, preventable disease, and exposure. The occupiers forced their children to live in distant boarding schools where they were forbidden to speak their language or practice their religion.
Of all these terrible things, the worst may have been forcing children into boarding schools. It galls me. It was the deliberate, arrogant destruction of families and culture.
 
Taking away my children is one of the worst things anyone could do to me. It would leave some kind of hole in my soul, which would grow with time and fill with rage and despair.

It's been decades since that kind of institutional racism, but the wounds have not healed. By almost every measure, American Indians today are in crisis: fatherlessness, infant mortality, addiction, crime, life expectancy, disease, poverty, educational achievement.

Not all their wounds are old. Fresh ones are added, even now. In our time, it's against the law to discriminate, but American Indians still have a tough time getting a job, renting an apartment, or doing other kinds of routine business in Rapid City. And it isn't just a cycle-of-poverty phenomenon. They have a tougher time than non-Indians with similar attributes.

Most white people know these things and wish it weren't so, but don't know what to do about it. Many of us accentuate the positive and avoid thinking about the problems. We're hopeful about tribal colleges and casinos. We're proud of American Indian artistic or athletic achievement. We celebrate when run-down reservation schools and clinics are replaced with new buildings. We declare reconciliation periods. Our state and local governments have committees and task forces to discuss racism. We covered a painting in the state Capitol which offended American Indians. We attend pow-wows to better understand and appreciate Lakota culture.

But after all these years of talking and meeting and understanding and reconciling and healing, can anyone say that life is any better for American Indians now than 30 years ago? Especially when compared to the rest of South Dakota? It is not.

Some say that what's lacking is government action. We could get marginal improvements that way, but not real progress. Consider a few examples: If we agree that, on average, Native American children have a poor environment for doing homework, the government could purchase better housing for them. But does it really matter how nice the house is when parents are absent or addicted or kids are pressured to join gangs? Another example: Government can set goals on what percentage of contracts and jobs go to American Indians, but what if they don't have the experience, wealth, or education to do the job or complete the contract?

Others say that real improvement can only come from within American Indian culture. A Lakota woman once told me, "Us Indians are like a bucket of crabs. As soon as one starts to pull himself out of the bucket, the rest of us pull him back in."

But even though I've been a next-door neighbor, employer, landlord, and friend of several Native Americans, I have no standing to say what's wrong with Lakota culture. Only Lakota leaders can do that.
There's a third option. It's what the rest of us can do, without any help or direction from the government. It's riskier than attending pow-wows and task force meetings. It's harder work than covering offensive paintings or feeling guilty about the past. It's expressed in action verbs, not passive feelings and symbolism.

These are things we can do for American Indians: Employ them. Rent to them. Prosecute, convict, and punish them when they break laws. Assume they're innocent until proven guilty. Invite them to join clubs. Do business with them. Educate them. Flunk them for poor school work. Console them in emergency rooms. Tell their children not to play in dangerous places. Worship with them. Report child abuse or neglect. Pull their cars out of snow banks. Fire them for poor work. Promote them for good work.

If we do these things, we may learn a few things from American Indians which would benefit our own culture: The courtesy not to interrupt others in conversations. Greater respect for military service, physical courage, and the flag. More value seen in those with less beauty, talent, strength, or wealth. Generosity. Respect for elders. Joke-telling that's more frequent and less likely to be at someone else's expense.

American Indians have a lot to overcome. The rest of us have a role in that, and some things we can learn from them.


Alan Aker is a Piedmont businessman and a former state senator. Write to aker@akerwoods.com