[UPDATE: There was an additional proclamation issued for Native Heritage Month. They created a new historical designation for the “founders” which really doesn’t dilute the insult of doing it this month.]
Each November for the past 29 years, the American president signs a proclamation declaring November as Native American Heritage month, a tradition that began with President George H.W. Bush. It’s a month dedicated to learning not only about Native history but discussing current issues facing Native communities: health care, missing Indigenous women, environmental issues like the Keystone Pipeline, voting rights and more.
That is, until 2019. On October 31, 2019, the White House quietly issued a new proclamation, naming November as “National American History and Founders month.” Trump’s proclamation was filled with language that was not dissimilar to language found in white nationalist literature, softened just enough to pass the public relations filters in the White House. Instead of recognizing the Indigenous people, whose land every one of us occupies, Trump is choosing to celebrate the “patriots and heroes” who stole this land and committed genocide along the way. To do this in lieu of Native Heritage month is an example of white supremacist ideals becoming white supremacist policy in action.
As if that weren’t enraging enough, the proclamation says we need to have a (white) “founders month” because “democracy’s survival is dependent upon a well-informed electorate.” Yes, the reality show president who probably couldn’t pass even the most basic elementary school civics quiz is noting how important it is to understand history. Of course, what he means is the white history of this nation.
Our Nation’s patriots and heroes have always been guided by the belief that America must shine brightly out into the world. Indeed, this conviction has been at the forefront of the American experiment since our founding. This month, we acknowledge the tremendous strides we have made as a people and recognize that our democracy’s survival is dependent upon a well-informed electorate. To ensure the success of our future generations, we pledge to continue to build a more educated citizenry. We heed the warning of President Ronald Reagan that “freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.”
Indigenous people lived on this land for 20,000 years before Europeans arrived. There are 573 federally recognized tribes in America, each with steep history, tradition and knowledge. Their history is American history. Their pain is our continued national shame. Rolling back an acknowledgement of Native history and modern-day Native struggles, which were largely created by white supremacist ideology and policy, is the ultimate slap in the face.
To celebrate people like Andrew Jackson, who ordered and oversaw the genocide of American Indians, is a true disgrace. Our history textbooks already acknowledge the history of our white founders. What they don’t generally include in any in-depth manner is the history of Native leaders like Nez Perce War Chief Joseph, who led his tribe on a heartbreaking journey to find a new home after the U.S. government forced them out of their homeland in 1877.
Chief Joseph was a Nez Perce leader who led his tribe called the Wallowa band of Nez Perce through a treacherous time in United States history. These indigenous people were natives to the Wallowa Valley in Oregon. Chief Joseph was a powerful advocate for his people’s rights to remain on their homeland. In 1877 the Nez Perce tribe was forcibly removed from their native land by the United States government. The Nez Perce were given 30 day notice to leave their homeland. At first the Nez Perce people resisted removal, and this resulted in a series of violent events. They were ordered to relocate to a reservation in Lapwai, Idaho which resulted into the Nez Perce War.
In the Nez Perce War Chief Joseph led a couple hundred of warriors, and many women and children eluding United States troops over a 1,300 mile stretch. In a 3 month period the Nez Perce battled their way across the state of Oregon, and all the way to Montana. The tribe first attempted to settle with the Crow in Montana, but the Crow natives refused to help them. Chief Joseph and his people then headed North in hopes of taking refuge with the Lakota tribe that was led by Sitting Bull. The Nez Perce were skillful warriors in the battlefield which earned them great respect and admiration among the opposing cavalry, and the general public. In the fall of 1877 after a long and brutal battle Chief Joseph and his band surrendered in Montana only 40 miles away from the Canadian border which would have led them to freedom. However along the way many of the Nez Perce had either froze to death, starved, or died of disease including five of Chief Joseph’s children.
After the war Chief Joseph was never allowed to return home. In 1885 the Nez Perce and their fearless chief were escorted to Washington so they could settle on the Colville Indian Reservation far away from their original homeland and people in Idaho. In Chief Joseph’s final years he spoke about the cruelty that his people endured from the United States government. His hope was that one day there would be equality for everyone including Native Americans. Chief Joseph died of natural causes in 1904, and is buried in Nespelem, Washington.
This wasn’t thousands of years ago. In fact, this violent remove of the Nez Perce tribe began only 93 years before this author’s own birth. In the history of time, this is a blink of an eye. And the effects of these racist actions continue to reverberate through Native communities today.
Unfortunately, there is little doubt the mostly older, white audiences at Fox News will support this move. After all, they gleefully cling to any issue that divides us, particularly issues that challenge white supremacy. Founders versus Natives, Black Lives Matter vs. Thin Blue Line. Republicans like Trump and the Fox News audience thrive on these divides. They only seem interested in learning about and celebrating heritage when it comes to Confederate causes and symbols or upholding white supremacist ideology like Manifest Destiny.
As far as the rest of the fluffy White House proclamation calling on Americans to remember the founders’ intent, Trump would do well to study American history. If there was one thing the founder’s valued above all others, it was the notion that no man is above the law. That there are three equal branches of government and they are intended to hold each other accountable.