Robert Jensen: What the "Fighting Sioux" Tells Us About Whites

[Wetzelbill]

The Past & Human Dignity
What the "Fighting Sioux" Tells Us About Whites
By ROBERT JENSEN

(A talk by Robert Jensen at the University of North Dakota on October 10, 2003, sponsored by BRIDGES, a student group that works to remove the university's "Fighting Sioux" nickname and logo.)

Appeals to the dominant white society to abolish the "Fighting Sioux" nickname and logo typically are framed in terms of respect for the dignity and humanity of indigenous people. That is the appropriate way to address the question, but it has failed -- at least in North Dakota -- to persuade most white folks. So, today I want to pursue another argument.

I want to suggest to my fellow non-Indian North Dakotans -- those of us whose ancestors came from some other continent, primarily those of us who are white and of European descent -- that we should support the campaign to change the University of North Dakota name and logo not just because it is offensive, exploitative, and racist (it is all of those things) but also for our own sake. Let us do it for our own dignity. Let us join this struggle so that we can lay honest claim to our own humanity

http://www.counterpunch.com/jensen10142003.html

[Karenina]

1. Here's the meat and potatoes...

<snip>

"I am calling for white people to acknowledge that we have no right to choose how Indians are named and represented. We have no standing to speak on the question. Our place is to shut up and do what we are told. Let me say that again, for emphasis: We white folks should shut up and do what Indians tell us. Let's try it, first, on this simple issue. We might find it is something we should do on a number of other issues.

And if we do that, individually and collectively we will take a step toward claiming our own dignity and humanity. The way in which white America refuses to come to terms with its history and the contemporary consequences of that history has material and psychological consequences for Indians (as well as many other groups). But in a very real sense, we cannot steal the dignity and humanity of indigenous people. We can steal their resources, disrespect them, insult them, ignore them, and continue to repress their legitimate aspirations. We can try to distort their own sense of themselves, but in the end we can't take their humanity from them."

[MountainLaurel]

2. Right on the money

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