By Evon Peter
There is only one path that I see for America to
truly become a land of life, liberty and justice for all. That path is to heal
itself through an uncompromisingly honest acknowledgment and thorough
addressing of its atrocities and lies. Without this, our country will continue
to act out of ignorance, fear, greed and an obsessive need to forcefully
control human lives, both domestically and internationally. Humanity has experienced time and again
how a history rooted in dysfunction and unsustainability feeds the fire of
self-destruction. As sure as the Roman Empire collapsed and a drug addict
smiles as his last dose ushers him to death, the United States will continue to
blindly and, in some cases, consciously inflict suffering at home and abroad if
it does not acknowledge and address the truth of its past and current actions.
The Haudenosaunee (the people of the Iroquois
Confederacy) have said that those who aspire towards “a clean heart and a clean
mind” will be able to live a balanced life and lead wisely. Without
understanding and applying this knowledge, we will continue placing Band-Aids
on a cancer that has been eating this country from within since its inception.
Then, in the aftermath of each new atrocity, we will wonder how our country
continues to send its children to face death in distant wars and why our prison
cells fill to capacity. We will wonder why we are murdering each other in our
own city streets and why both domestic and international terrorists choose to
attack us, feeding the cycle of ignorant violence.
There is a path that can free us from this cycle and
help to transform the world. It is not an easy path, but it is necessary if we
hope to prevent the loss of millions of human lives. We have the resources,
knowledge, technology and time to make a transition, but the question is: Do we
have the courage and the will to face truth and act from a place of humility,
patience, compassion and conscience? How successful do you think Jesus,
Muhammad or Buddha would have been in sharing their teachings with a tainted
heart and a distraught, fearful mind?
We must begin by acknowledging and addressing the
foundation upon which America was built – stolen land and the genocide of
American Indians. The United States has never apologized to American Indian
people for these violations. This country has demonized Hitler and erected
Jewish holocaust museums, yet refuses to acknowledge its own acts of genocide.
An apology or museum alone would not heal the
wounded hearts and disempowered governments of indigenous peoples or the
tainted heart of America. There is one great, critical lie that the U.S.
government has effectively taught to Indigenous and non-indigenous Americans
alike – that there is no way for the United States to honor its treaties with
American Indians and pursue new treaties with those not yet afforded that
opportunity, including Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian indigenous nations.
This great lie is only as true as we Americans accept it to be. There were similar lies told in our country’s history to women deprived of a voice and to African slaves. In the case of abolishing slavery, it took a radical shift in human consciousness, a courage and will to overcome, as well as a changing national economy, as well as a forced acceptance upon many Americans who were not ready for the positive evolution of our country. As painful and challenging as it may be for many Americans, we must begin our healing by dispelling this great lie and moving through a process of reconciliation with American Indian nations.
Our inability to adequately address the many
critical issues facing American people today are symptoms of a United States
that harbors a tainted heart. Reconciling our relationship with American Indian
nations is the first step to building a foundation upon which life, liberty and
justice can be attained for all.
Evon Peter
is a former chief of the Neetsaii Gwich’in from northeastern Alaska and the
current executive director of Native Movement.
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