10 ICSA TODAY
These phases also parallel the work of Judith Herman and are
described in her book Trauma and Recovery. She strongly points out
how systems abuse people rather than people having weaknesses.
Of primary importance in this process is acknowledgment that
the trauma was not the fault of those recruited or coerced into the
group, and that people’s responses were normal responses to a
very abnormal situation (Herman, 1997).
The Current Story
The United States has not made a formal public apology to the
Native peoples, although a written apology was entered into
the back pages of a Department of Defense funding bill in 2009
(Capriccioso, 2010). One church, the Episcopal Church in America,
has publicly renounced the Doctrine of Discovery (WFN, 1997).
One state, Maine, has begun its own truth-and-reconciliation
process (Maine Wabanaki, 2012).
The state of indigenous peoples now includes recovery, survival,
restoration of pride, and revival of traditional ways. The Native
people who are here and surviving now are strong, resilient.
There is a unique Native sense of humor that I am sure developed
as a survival tool. At the same time, there is much work ahead.
Some Native nations have moved forward economically in very
strong ways. Many have strengthened tribal identity and work
to strengthen or recover their language. Most communities are
working hard to revive and continue traditional spiritual ways.
But there are still huge disparities across the United States in many
areas: Domestic violence and physical and sexual assault are three
and a half times higher in Native American communities than
the national average Native Americans have the highest weekly
alcohol consumption of any ethnic group suicide rates are 3.2
times higher than the national average life expectancy at birth is
2.4 years less than that of all US populations combined (Brown-
Rice, 2014).
The US government has a strong hold in most Native communities,
even though that has lessened in the past 30 years. There is still a
Bureau of Indian Affairs and an Office of Indian Education. Some
boarding schools and some dorms still exist, though attendance is
voluntary, and Native culture is now taught and encouraged most
of the time. Some of the boarding schools and some of the public
reservation schools now have a large number of Native teachers,
which allows students to see people from their own communities
in these roles.
There is still oppression in the schools. I was told of a little girl
in fifth grade who was writing a paper about a Founding Father
of the United States and discovered that the gentleman who
founded Rhode Island was very much in favor of buying land from
Native people, not just stealing it, and the man was disregarded.
She felt very excited to know that someone in history had
respected the Native people. But her teacher red-marked this
part of her paper and told her to stick to the important stuff. This
happened in the past 10 years.
Only last year, when a young person came to school with his
face painted in a traditional way because of the death of a family
member, the teacher, not having a clue of the significance of the
ceremony, laughed and tried to make light of his painted face by
saying he was like a clown.
The Indian Health Services staff still dresses in military uniform
2 days a week. Dorm workers are still called matrons. People
still describe constant racist interactions when they leave the
reservations, even to the point that some of them experience
serious anxiety in the face of fear based on real threat of harm. It is
my observation that all these experiences retraumatize people.
What Does All This Mean for Us?
We at this conference share an interest, and often personal
experience, in the ways human beings can exploit other human
beings, from the use of subtle tools of influence to life-threatening
and extreme forms of abuse. We speak of the unspeakable.
We also bear witness to the strength and resiliency of human
beings and the dignity and respect they deserve. Perhaps this
discussion about thought-reform programs perpetrated by the US
government against Native peoples throughout American history
will broaden our knowledge. n
Acknowledgments
The author wishes to express much gratitude to Sharon Hamm
and the editors of ICSA Today for their thorough and careful
editing, and much appreciation to Jeff Versaw, and Jay and Joan
Vigil for their support and encouragement. The author has granted
ICSA Today one-time-use copyright for publication and on the ICSA
website and otherwise retains full copyright of the article.
Note
[1] These devastating US government policies impacted other
areas of the world, as well. Virtually the same policies were
repeated in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. South
Africa had a similar policy in apartheid. However, following
the defeat of apartheid, South Africa established the Truth
and Reconciliation committees, which allowed people to tell
their stories and begin to heal (1995). Canada has made an
apology to First People, and began its own 5-year Truth and
Reconciliation process to hear peoples’ stories of the Boarding
School Era there (2008). The government of Australia has made
a formal apology to the Aboriginal people (2008). In New
Zealand, the Maori people are now involved in all aspects of
government and education. For additional details about some
of these policies, see trc.ca/websites/trcinstitution/
index.php?p=3, justice.gov.za/trc/, and indianlaw.org/node/
529#.WO7s99GKDCc.email (cited elsewhere in this paper).
We speak of the unspeakable. We
also bear witness to the strength and
resiliency of human beings and the
dignity and respect they deserve.
These phases also parallel the work of Judith Herman and are
described in her book Trauma and Recovery. She strongly points out
how systems abuse people rather than people having weaknesses.
Of primary importance in this process is acknowledgment that
the trauma was not the fault of those recruited or coerced into the
group, and that people’s responses were normal responses to a
very abnormal situation (Herman, 1997).
The Current Story
The United States has not made a formal public apology to the
Native peoples, although a written apology was entered into
the back pages of a Department of Defense funding bill in 2009
(Capriccioso, 2010). One church, the Episcopal Church in America,
has publicly renounced the Doctrine of Discovery (WFN, 1997).
One state, Maine, has begun its own truth-and-reconciliation
process (Maine Wabanaki, 2012).
The state of indigenous peoples now includes recovery, survival,
restoration of pride, and revival of traditional ways. The Native
people who are here and surviving now are strong, resilient.
There is a unique Native sense of humor that I am sure developed
as a survival tool. At the same time, there is much work ahead.
Some Native nations have moved forward economically in very
strong ways. Many have strengthened tribal identity and work
to strengthen or recover their language. Most communities are
working hard to revive and continue traditional spiritual ways.
But there are still huge disparities across the United States in many
areas: Domestic violence and physical and sexual assault are three
and a half times higher in Native American communities than
the national average Native Americans have the highest weekly
alcohol consumption of any ethnic group suicide rates are 3.2
times higher than the national average life expectancy at birth is
2.4 years less than that of all US populations combined (Brown-
Rice, 2014).
The US government has a strong hold in most Native communities,
even though that has lessened in the past 30 years. There is still a
Bureau of Indian Affairs and an Office of Indian Education. Some
boarding schools and some dorms still exist, though attendance is
voluntary, and Native culture is now taught and encouraged most
of the time. Some of the boarding schools and some of the public
reservation schools now have a large number of Native teachers,
which allows students to see people from their own communities
in these roles.
There is still oppression in the schools. I was told of a little girl
in fifth grade who was writing a paper about a Founding Father
of the United States and discovered that the gentleman who
founded Rhode Island was very much in favor of buying land from
Native people, not just stealing it, and the man was disregarded.
She felt very excited to know that someone in history had
respected the Native people. But her teacher red-marked this
part of her paper and told her to stick to the important stuff. This
happened in the past 10 years.
Only last year, when a young person came to school with his
face painted in a traditional way because of the death of a family
member, the teacher, not having a clue of the significance of the
ceremony, laughed and tried to make light of his painted face by
saying he was like a clown.
The Indian Health Services staff still dresses in military uniform
2 days a week. Dorm workers are still called matrons. People
still describe constant racist interactions when they leave the
reservations, even to the point that some of them experience
serious anxiety in the face of fear based on real threat of harm. It is
my observation that all these experiences retraumatize people.
What Does All This Mean for Us?
We at this conference share an interest, and often personal
experience, in the ways human beings can exploit other human
beings, from the use of subtle tools of influence to life-threatening
and extreme forms of abuse. We speak of the unspeakable.
We also bear witness to the strength and resiliency of human
beings and the dignity and respect they deserve. Perhaps this
discussion about thought-reform programs perpetrated by the US
government against Native peoples throughout American history
will broaden our knowledge. n
Acknowledgments
The author wishes to express much gratitude to Sharon Hamm
and the editors of ICSA Today for their thorough and careful
editing, and much appreciation to Jeff Versaw, and Jay and Joan
Vigil for their support and encouragement. The author has granted
ICSA Today one-time-use copyright for publication and on the ICSA
website and otherwise retains full copyright of the article.
Note
[1] These devastating US government policies impacted other
areas of the world, as well. Virtually the same policies were
repeated in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. South
Africa had a similar policy in apartheid. However, following
the defeat of apartheid, South Africa established the Truth
and Reconciliation committees, which allowed people to tell
their stories and begin to heal (1995). Canada has made an
apology to First People, and began its own 5-year Truth and
Reconciliation process to hear peoples’ stories of the Boarding
School Era there (2008). The government of Australia has made
a formal apology to the Aboriginal people (2008). In New
Zealand, the Maori people are now involved in all aspects of
government and education. For additional details about some
of these policies, see trc.ca/websites/trcinstitution/
index.php?p=3, justice.gov.za/trc/, and indianlaw.org/node/
529#.WO7s99GKDCc.email (cited elsewhere in this paper).
We speak of the unspeakable. We
also bear witness to the strength and
resiliency of human beings and the
dignity and respect they deserve.
