I can not help but feel frustration at the hypocrisy that this movie is. That clip from the movie trailer struck me cookbook falling off the fridge hard and Clooney's bit of monologue pierced the bones of truth with a whip of bitter coldness. Afterall, I am part of a legacy that had no monuments men sent to try to save my history, the history of the Americas.
In The Monuments Men regular American citizens are on a mission to save the history of the world. Yet, for centuries, and currently, regular American citizens continue doing the same things to the First Nations that inhabit this country that Nazi Germany was doing wherever it invaded. Today, men who stand up for preserving our histories and values are under heavy fire from Neotraditionalist-Americans and sometimes government officials. People who stand up for simply saying that American Indians are human beings, and deserve respect, get landed into "TwitterJail" or "FacebookJail" . If they say we are an alien race or some lost tribe of the Middle East, they can say all they want. That is the truth.
Try it out with your own accounts and see what happens. Before you get banned, other users might say that you "hate white people", "need to go to a Rez", or "Shut ______ ____ up". The hashtags you use to promote simple recognition get marked as Spam so your voice falls silent into an internet pit. After a while, like me, you may realize that only pure-hearted individuals can understand what you are saying. Everyone else is content with the greed-hardware they got bred with.
The same greed that sprouted, like a nuisance palmetto, under the founding floorboards of vast cultures laid down from coast to coast. Like all humans before us our history was connected to our homelands. Once removed from them, decimated and homeless, American society sought to remove our history and achievements from all record. They started with what held the histories the best, the minds of our children.
So American society, with brand names like Doctor Phil and CNN, come in to support the removal our children. Children like Veronica Brown and Desirai Simmons who are to be raised by privileged US Citizens or sent to foster homes, but never returned to their families of origin. In Veronica's case, not for long was she free to be with her sister and father, plus extended family. In Desirai's case, her "sainted-adopted parents" were found unfit and she lingers in a South Carolina foster home despite having a father and grandmother waiting with wrapped Christmas presents. The Indian School doors may have closed, but, hey America, a window called forced adoption is still open apparently.
American society continues it's eradication to this day in other ways as well. Am I not shown how to be a good "Indian woman" is to be a slut when models (naked to barely clothed) wear headresses and traditional regalia or feathers that imitate the way Native Americans wear them? How does that correlate with the 1 in 3 rape & 80% non-Indian attacker statistic my sisters and I endure? Am I not told that Indian culture is to be a "mascot" to American society and NOT anything serious? How does that correlate to the Washington NFL team ignoring every major American Indian organization's calls to end it's Native Mascotry? Am I not told that when I declare that I, myself, am an Indian that I am a drunk, live in a teepee, own a casino, live on a Rez, am inbred, don't speak English well, am dumb as a gumball, and should get over "It"? Just think on that for a moment and consider what I am saying is the truth.
Only follow a vocal #NotYourMascot #ChangeTheMascot #IdleNoMore or #HonorTheTreaties social media activist for a short time and you will have the answers to my questions. Which brings me to my question to you.
Are you ready to be like the Monuments Men and do something to stop the eroding of American history, the history of our home, or aren't you?
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