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Date Posted: 17:28:49 03/31/07 Sat
Author: Dolora Zajick
Subject: Re: bein a 'good' Indian....
In reply to: winyanska 's message, "Re: bein a 'good' Indian...." on 19:52:00 03/30/07 Fri


>
>>so let me get this straight.. you are a non native,
>>and i am a ripe old Indian who has lived long enough
>>to see more than i care to see of the white man's
>>arrogance, and you are tellin me to be a 'good'
>>Indian?

No, I am saying that we as people can be better people than than man who made the prejudicial response. Notice I said "people" not "good Indian'. I may be a non Native, but it would be a mistake to think that I am not sympathetic to the treatment nonnatives have received and still receive. Being a Native American or an African American isn't the only thing people are prejuduced against. If I have presumed too much, I apologize, but you make presumptions too. You presume that I don't understand what it means to be isolated from society as a second class citizen, and there you are wrong. I know what it is like to be humiliated by arrogant people who think they are better, and I learned how to defend myself with dignity. Believe me it is easy to bite back with anger, and to want to give people like that a taste of their own medicine. I know because I wanted to do that myself, but I leaned early, that to defend oneself with strong quiet dignity is far more effective. I think I do know what you feel. Maybe I had no right to make suggestions as to what to do about it, but don't tell me I don't know how you feel, because it doesn't matter whether one is a Native American or not. When one is treated like a second class citizen, the humiliation is the same. But please know this, that I am an ally, not an enemy, and one should not turn away someone who seeks to understand and make difference, and I am sure that you are a nice person too. It's a sensitive subject, but it is dialogue like this that can bridge misunderstandings. If we don't talk aout it, the misunderstandings remain. I hope you are not offended by my candor, and it is important that you know that I am not offended by yours, and I hope we can meet someday as friends. If not, I understand that too. In any case I apologize for any assumptions I have made and am willing to admit to any mistakes, but it is important that you also realize that I think you have misunderstood me, and I am willing to accept the medicine I dish out. I would be glad if you shared and explained some of your culture to me. The more you explain it to me, the less I will misunderstand.
Dolora Zajick

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