October 4, 2009
The associated press released an article titled
"Bad spirits in Blanding - A town's love of Indian artifacts backfires"
by writer Helen O'Neil. Because it's a copyrighted story I
provided a link above. But it is good to see this story about robbing Indian
grave sites in Blanding, Utah staying alive.
O'Neil raises the question "Here,
in one of the country's richest archaeological regions -- where the ruins of
ancient pueblos are tucked into towering sandstone cliffs and "pot-hunting"
has been a way of life for more than a century, how should the past be
protected and preserved? And who, if anyone, owns that past?" She then
points out that federal laws protect Indian burial sites, and may I add the
Graves protection Act was passed by Congress in 1906.
O'Neil continues in her article to say "There
are dozens more artifact collections around town, in private homes, in
trading posts, some from legitimate collections and dealers. It is legal to
own artifacts that have been in circulation for decades, before laws
protecting them were passed.
Bob Hosler's Thin Bear Indian Arts trading post is crammed with traditional
Indian jewelry, arrowheads, baskets and pots. Some are ancient artifacts
that Hosler, 75, says he found on his property. Others he has owned for
years.
"It's not moral to dig in graves, but you can find this damn stuff
everywhere," says Hosler, who calls the raids "government entrapment of old
men."
Like other traders, Hosler believes illegal digging will persist because
it's ingrained in the local culture and because the market is so lucrative.
High-end galleries in Santa Fe can sell Navajo blankets and kachina dolls
for hundreds of thousands of dollars. There are dozens of sites selling
Indian artifacts on the Internet. As recently as May, Sothebys auctioned a
classic Navajo blanket for $53,000.
The raids have only cemented attitudes about pot-hunting and about federal
interference, Hosler says, as a couple of Navajo traders, bearing trays of
jewelry, walk into his store.
"We were taught not to touch artifacts, not to dig, to leave the dead
alone," says Melinda Cottman, 38. "To do otherwise is to bring sickness and
bad luck."
"We all own the past," argues Ramona Morris, spokeswoman for the Antique
Tribal Art Dealers Association, which represents collectors and dealers
around the country.
Morris, a collector from Virginia, says the raids sent a chill through
association members, many of whom have been dealing in artifacts for
decades. Though they can claim legitimate title and scrupulously follow the
laws, she says, they fear the entire industry has been branded as
unscrupulous, and criminal.
She describes collectors as "caretakers" trying to preserve a collective
heritage.
Many Navajo disagree."
I for one hope that the
press will continue to cover this story. I should point out that Blanding is
very much a all Mormon community. I know I hear some saying 'here we go
again, bashing the Mormons.' We can say that the church has nothing to do
with grave robbing in Blanding or places elsewhere in the state, but then
where does the church stand on this issue? I'm not a spokesman for the
church,
but it does seem to me that the church has a great deal to do with this
matter as I explain in the following article I wrote herein below.
Is it not the churches
moral, ethical, and legal responsibility as a non-profit religious
organization to
address such social issues? And this is what I don't understand thousands of
American Indian people are members of the Mormon church as are the Blanding
grave robbers are members. Now isn't that a poser?
I think the LDS church is
staying quiet because dirt from many a Indian grave
dug up is under their fingernails.
June 13, 2009
Grave Robbing in Utah is a Cultural Tradition
Deseret
Evening News 1919
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Grave Robbers Blanding Utah
Grave robbing in Utah is a Cultural Tradition
"Why should a man loose his life over trash and trinkets." - a spokesman for
Blanding told a Channel 2 News reporter.
FBI agents after years of undercover work arrested a couple dozen grave
robbers. Among those charged was Dr. James Redd who was the local physician
in the town of Blanding, along with his wife Jeanne Redd on June 10, 2009.
The following day Dr. Redd was found dead on his own property from apparent
suicide, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. This was Redd's second run in
with the law over grave robbing.
It is said, if we do not learn our history, history will repeat itself. And
this is exactly what has happened as I shall point out. And I am going to
push the envelope a bit to make my point.
Arrogance didn't end with the Black Hawk War in 1870. Imagine, if you will,
having the corpse of your father disrespectfully unearthed by grave robbers;
then for some strange reason put on public display in the Church museum on
Temple Square as a mere curiosity.
Black Hawk's remains were unearthed by Mormon looters in 1919, just 49 years
following his death. And for two years were placed in the window of a co-op
store in downtown Spanish Fork; afterwards taken to the LDS Church museum on
Temple Square in Salt Lake City.
Was the reason simply amusement for others, was grave robbing for art,
pleasure, punishment, a morbid fascination of death, divine obligation, or
most importantly, the wielding of power?
Oh yes, I vividly recall seeing the display in the museum as a boy as do
countless others, and no doubt someone reading this remembers as well. For
the skeletal remains of Black Hawk remained there for nearly 70 years, and
all the while his living descendants bore the agony, and humiliation -
unable to convince the church to give up the remains of their beloved
grandfather.
Since the time in 1850 when Church apostle George Albert Smith told the
Mormon legislature that "the Indian have no right to there land" get rid of
them, our Native people have been the victims of thievery. Their land was
not bought, or traded for, it was stolen, as was their culture, and their
grave-sites, and their dignity as human beings.
But why? Where did this mindset of supremacy come from?
Brigham Young in a speech delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City,
April 6, 1854: "If the inhabitants of this Territory, my brethren, had never
condescended to reduce themselves to the practices of the Indians, to their
low, degraded condition, and in some cases even lower, there never would
have been any trouble between us and our red neighbors. Treat them kindly,
and treat them as Indians, and not as your equals."
In the year Black Hawk's remains were dug up by Bishop Ben Bullock and Lars
Croft, Heber J. Grant was president of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints. Followed by George Albert Smith (1945-1951); David O.
McKay (1951-1970); Joseph Fielding Smith (1970-1972); Harold B. Lee
(1972-1973); Spencer W. Kimball (1973-1985); and Ezra Taft Benson
(1985-1994). These prophets have administered the affairs of the Church from
Church headquarters in Salt Lake City. These men presided over "Gods Church"
as the "mouth piece of God," but for some reason never had enough respect,
or compassion toward their fellow man to give up their claim to the bones of
Black Hawk or even consider his living descendants.
The family of Nooch "Black Hawk" had no legal or political recourse until 86
years after his grave was robbed. In 1996 under the protection of the Native
American Graves Protection Reparation Act (NAGPRA) enacted by then president
George Bush Sr., the family of Ute leader Chief Nooch "Black Hawk" were at
last able to rescue his remains. With the help of Charmain Thompson,
archaeologist for the National Forest Service, his bones were found in a
storage box in a basement room at BYU. Gratitude and credit goes to a young
Boy Scout Shane Armstrong who in 1993 elected to earn his Eagle Badge by
getting Black Hawk registered with the National Forest Service NAGPRA. For
weeks no one could locate his remains, according to news paper articles. "I
thought it was weird that no one had records on him," the young Scout
remarked to reporters.
The tradition of exhibiting native Indian remains in Western societies has
existed since the earliest encounters between Europeans, and indigenous
populations. Exhibiting non-white bodies as a popular practice reached its
peak in the nineteenth century in both Europe and in USA. The exhibition of
native peoples for public entertainment in circuses, zoos, and museums
became fairly common. In the USA, in particular, the spectacle of "freaks,"
"natives," and "savages" became a profitable industry at this time, as in
popular traveling shows like Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show and Barnum and
Bailey's Circus. World Expositions were also popular for the display of
native bodies. Dissected and embalmed remains of the "native" body,
particularly the skulls, and sexual organs, were also publicly exhibited.
Now pretend the remains of your father, or say Dr. Redd for example, was dug
up, and put on public display in the window of a hardware store, would there
be anger? Let me take this a step further. Suppose Dr. Redd's head were cut
off and sent to Washington for scientific study, just as Mormon settlers did
at Fort Utah in 1850. Would you feel demoralized? Would you perhaps feel
rage? Suppose all your anger fell upon deaf ears, and you were told there is
nothing you can do about it, "it's just trash and trinkets." And lets
pretend you have to wait 86 years, or until the year 2095 before you are
granted legal right to the remains of your own family member. Or hang Dr.
Redds head from your house like the Mormon settlers did at Fort Utah with
the head of Old Elk. Then, I ask, why is it ok to apply a standard for one
people, and not equally? Are we all children of God - or just some?
Certainly I am not suggesting that I would do any of these things. And I do
not mean to be disrespectful to Dr. Redd's family. I would never rob a
grave-site I don't care how old it is. I would never condone any of the
things I have spoken about. But others have, and did, and it has been
ignored and shrugged off by our so called Christian society, a society that
is as guilty as Dr. Redd by saying, "it's just trash and trinkets." It's a
hard fact to face, but we must as citizens of Utah, as human beings we need
to understand and teach our children to respect each other, love one
another, regardless of who we are or the color of our skin. That to loot
human graves sites is to be a loathsome heathen. That we all are part of
Creators creation. And that we need to understand and learn our history, so
that it is not repeated.
I took note of some 375 comments left on the website of the Salt Lake
Tribune regarding this terrible event. Here are a couple I share with you:
The Racist Comments:
>"The thought of these grandstanding politicians announcing the result of
their "unprecedented two year undercover investigation" makes me want to
throw up. I took a criminal law class from Larry Echohawk at BYU law school
and I wasn't too impressed then. It looks like he has leveraged his "Indianness"
into a position with the US Dep of the Interior. He's a good example of why
affirmative action is a bad idea. As luck would have it, he's one of the few
native Americans who stayed away from the fire water for long enough to
graduate from school; somehow that entitles him to positions of influence."
>"As a Blanding resident i can say we have lost a very good man today. In
fact he did more for the community than most people really know. This goes
to show what scare tactics can do to people over something so little. I take
his death as an attack on me and my family and others in the community
agree. I dont see the problem with digging up history and displaying it in
your home. This family had no evil intents for this pottery. they were not
using it to get drugs they simply loved the art. I think the Mokkies would
be honored to have this man display their dirty dishes in his beautiful home
rather than have them sit in the dirt or even worse in a museum"
>"Let's stop our stone throwing. For all we know, that stone could be
something an Indian held once. We all have made mistakes that, if brought to
public light and moralistic scrutiny, could render us depressed enough to
make suicide seem like the only way out. If we are looking for a way to make
ourselves feel good, let's just send flowers, and keep judgements to God.
(Isn't that somewhere in the Bible?)"
The Fair Minded:>
"This is not about Dr. Redd being good or bad, he chose to break the law.
People who are defending this man keep belittling the Indian culture that
they rummage through for cash. "Oh, its just trash." "don't throw stones,
because an Indian could have thrown that stone." They talk about it like
anything Indian is trash and should be dug up and sold. That is the type of
attitude that got them into trouble in the first place."
The Angry
>"Stupid liberal, are you actually dumb enough to be suggesting that it is
ok to do something illegal as long as you think it isn't hurting anyone
else?
Yes, the punishment fits the crime. These "bowls" as you call them are just
as (if not more) sacred than the temple clothes you're ready to go fight or
murder someone over AND, unlike temple clothes they are irreplaceable,
priceless and historically significant artifacts. What about that don't you
get? Everyone in Blanding needs to LEAVE THEM ALONE. And how in the world
you think selling them is treating them better than any government or museum
is beyond belief. Your stupidity literally astounds me. If you had any
schooling whatsoever, you'd understand you can't break laws just because you
think they are unjust.
There are ways to change the laws - but your tiny hick mind is in a MAJOR
minority when it comes to this issue. The vast majority of people would say
this law is just and accurate & the punishment is probably too low!
They were not Dr. Redd's (or anyone else's) pottery to take. He can't
possibly display them in a way the people who placed that pottery with their
loved ones would want because they wanted them with their loved one - not on
the good doctor's wall. Holy crap... you're a MAJOR moron! I now hope they
hang these grave robbing buzzards to teach the rest of the morons like you a
lesson. PLEASE... normal society begs you... GO BACK TO SCHOOL. I will not
feel sorry for the doc. I feel sorry for his family, but I will not feel
sorry for him. He may have been a good man but his actions also show he was
greedy, and placed himself above the law. He had no respect for the law, he
did it once and got let go with a slap on the wrist. He does it again and
gets caught. He knew what the crime was and what the punishment could be.
This is a doctor who makes made more money than most people in this world.
He is digging up graves to sell relics for capital gain. That is plain
greedy!"
It is here I say the root cause of the discrimination that is so prevalent
in Utah I lay at the feet of our education system. Indian history is not
taught in our schools. Remember, discrimination has to be taught. Our
children learn to discriminate from their friends, family and community. If
Indian history is not taught in our schools, and truthfully, then the
message to our children is that the Indian people, in spite of all they have
suffered, they do not deserve a place in our history, our or community. If
the grave looters of Blanding had been taught in school to respect others,
certainly Dr. Redd would be alive today.
Truthfully I feel deep sorrow for the Redd family, and people who have for
decades turned a blind eye to the looting of Indian graves sites and sacred
objects. I am sorry that selfish indifference and greed has led to such a
tragic conclusion. My sincere hope is that Dr. Redd's life was not in vain
after all is said and done. That we will remember and learn the lessons of
this tragic event in Blanding and realize that those arrested in Blanding
are the product of a society that has ignored the most fundamental teachings
of decency and respect toward others. I am saddened they have not learned to
love one another, and respect one another, and most of all set an example
for the children. Laws against looting sacred Indian burial sites have been
on the books since 1906. For 150 years the American Indian peoples have
pleaded with non-Indians to respect their right to a decent life.
Personally I think all those Indian artifacts should be returned to the
First Peoples of Utah. I think the grave robbers should apologize to the
First Peoples for their selfish greed, and help fund a museum on their
reservation. It would restore the dignity of the American Indian people as
human beings, provide employment, education, and income. You folks in
Blanding say your all good people, walk your talk.
Utahan's, Mormons, have stole from the Indian people for 150 years, land,
water, artifacts, mineral rights, their lives, children, and culture, and
then look down their long noses at them for being poor. Well who's fault is
that? Maybe it's time you give back. Maybe it time you examine your cultural
traditions.
"The time has come when Indian people need to stop being the victim. They
need to stop allowing themselves to be victimized." - Forrest Cuch Division
of Indian Affairs
The message of Indigenous America is connection, relationship, and unity.
All people are one. One of the direct, living descendants of Creator. Chief
Joseph says, "We have no qualms about color. It has no meaning. It doesn’t
mean anything. When we are together we are one. Nothing can break it." This
is the same message Chief Sitting Bull conveyed when he said, "The heart
knows not the color of the skin." This is an ancient traditional teaching.
It still lives among true traditionalists everywhere. The power of
forgiveness is greater than hate; love vanquishes condescension and
discrimination. "That is the power our elders, our true traditionalist
hold." - Markwood Hull
And just one more thought in closing, we don't see American Indians going
around robbing non-Indians graves, do we?
- Phillip B Gottfredson
June 7, 2009
Synopsis of the Black Hawk War in Utah
"It's a curious business,
the history of the First People of Utah. Our ancestors came from abroad
seeking freedom. Here the American Indian were already free and had been for
thousands of years. Our ancestors took from the First People their freedom,
and they have been struggling ever since to be free again.
Over the past seven years
as I have sifted through the now silent ashes of their lives, the haunting
words of my great-grandfather, who spent much of his life in the Ute camps
during the war, kept echoing in my mind "I have often queried; why should
those conditions be forgotten, and why has so little interest been taken in
keeping memorandas and records of events and conditions of those early and
trying times." He was of coarse referring to the Black Hawk War. It was
116 years ago when he wrote these words, and the answer still remains a dark
troubling mystery.
It is deeply disturbing to
me that the tradition has been for most historians and writers to
trivialize, and underrate the agony of the Indian people in Utah, those who
suffered the greatest loss in terms of land, culture, lives, and dignity. It
is criminal to ignore their history, and it is time their story be told.
We have a responsibility to
understand their pain with compassion, and not sanitize the Black Hawk War.
The indigenous people of Utah are, all said and done, the people who made
the ultimate sacrifice and we should see who they are, and what they are
doing. We need to experience their pain... to feel it, and we owe it to the
Native Utah Indians to feel it. Thousands of lives were lost in the war,
many who never knew why, and now we don't even think of the war.
I am shocked and disgusted
by the injustices and discrimination that they face each and every day not
only from the general populace of Utah but the state and federal government.
I am sickened every time I have heard "we have given the Ute every chance
to succeed, yet they choose to live off the government, and live in poverty.
It's their own damn fault." What kind of choice have they been given? To
conform to white man's beliefs or walk knee deep in the blood of their
people? To give up their land, children, culture, traditions or die? Clearly
our education system has failed miserably in teaching us the truth.
But why? Why is this so?
What happened that has brought this shameful condition about in the state of
Utah?
"If the inhabitants of
this Territory, my brethren, had never condescended to reduce themselves to
the practices of the Indians, to their low, degraded condition, and in some
cases even lower, there never would have been any trouble between us and our
red neighbors. Treat them kindly, and treat them as Indians, and not as your
equals."
The above quote are the
words Mormon prophet Brigham Young delivered to a congregation in the
Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, April 6, 1854. He was the father of the
flock, and his words helped forged the mindset of supremacy toward the
Indian people, while arcane messages such as his have some how survived
unchallenged in our modern society. Remember, discrimination has to be
taught. Our children learn to discriminate from their parents, friends, and
community. Up to this
time
when Brigham gave this speech, 139 Ute had been killed at the hands of
Mormon settlers. The family of Black Hawk had been murdered, innocent of any
wrong doing. Seventy more were killed at Fort Utah, beheaded, tortured,
while heads were hung by their long hair from the eves of the buildings.
Human heads that would be later shipped to Washington for scientific
examination. Among those held captive at the fort was a young boy by the
name of Noonch, who had been made to view the horrid sight of his kin for
two long agonizing weeks. This tormented boy would later become known as
Chief Black Hawk of the Noonchee', better known as the Northern Ute Indian
Tribe.
But the name "Black Hawk"
is not a Ute name, it was a name Brigham Young in jest called him. So it
became that Brigham being supercilious referred to him as 'Black Hawk' and
this is the name by which he is now most commonly known. His Ute Name was
Noonch, and he was so
named in honor of his people
the Noonchee. Noonch was born into a noble family of legendary leaders
spanning centuries of time.
The 'Walker' War had broke
out, even though Noonch's uncle Chief Walkara
, (or "Walker" as the settlers
called him), had been baptized and given membership in the LDS Church.
Then in late 1849 apostle
George A. Smith instructed the legislature, "Indians have no right to
their land," to "extinguish all titles and prepare for their
removal." And the most essential first step in the removal process was
to change the conditions in which they thrive. Without any legal basis for
doing so, it was the LDS Church's land grab. Undoubtedly fueled by
O'Sullivan's 1838 Manifest Destiny.
Remember these were different times, and looking back on American history it
is easy to see that the Manifest Destiny concept was ego driven,
manipulative, hypocritical, and down right wrong. But some things, in their
minds were, simply put, necessary evils.
Walkara
was poisoned to
death, with the Utes leader out of the way, chaos soon spread among the
tribes. It was the beginning of the end for the Ute Nation. Twenty-three
years of bloody confrontations followed until the year 1872 when Black Hawk,
the last of the great war Chiefs, died. The decimated population of the Ute
now overcome with despair and hopelessness, the remaining fewer than 3000
survivors would be rounded up as prisoners of war and placed on the Uinta
Reservation, which in all truth was nothing more than a concentration camp.
There they were left with little regard as to their well being. Many more
would parish from starvation.
"Why has so little
interest been taken in keeping memorandas and records of events and
conditions of those early and trying times" my great-grandfather
pondered in 1884. It would be inaccurate to suggest the
settlers were without conscience, as many accounts attest to their remorse.
But memories of the past were short lived as the promise of prosperity
unfolded before their eyes. The end justifying the means giving birth to the
words, "the past is the past, we just need to forget about." And forget they
did, 150 years have passed and but a handful of people know anything about
the war. But for the First People of Utah the story is quite the opposite.
On September 20, 1919, an
article appeared on the front page of the Deseret Evening News with the
headlines that read, "Bones of Black Hawk on Exhibition L.D.S. Museum."
Deep within the article, the writer explains that first the remains of Black
Hawk had been on public display in the window of a hardware store in
downtown Spanish Fork, Utah, before they were taken to the church museum on
Temple Square.
Just 46 years had passed
when Noonch had been laid to rest in 1872 at Spring Lake, Utah, when miners
deliberately plotted the robbery of his grave. Accompanying the article is a
photo of a man standing in the open grave, grinning ear to ear, while in his
hands he is holding the skull of Noonch. While the living descendents of
Noonch were outraged, but their voices fell on deaf ears. They had no legal
recourse until the enactment of the National American Graves Protection
Reparation Act, or NAGPRA, passed in 1994. Noonch was again reburied in the
year 1996. This raises the question why a religious institution and it's
leaders would have no moral compassion toward the family of Black Hawk.
It's
common knowledge Euro-Americans have for centuries forced upon the First
People their views, opinions, cultural and religious beliefs. "The
Mormons brought with them a moral code, a new technology, and an economic
system. Mormon's inability or refusal to accept Indian culture on its own
terms is a conflict repeated countless times throughout the west.
Coexistence, with each culture intact, was impossible; compromise seemed
unattainable, for the cherished ideals of one culture were the unpardonable
sins of the other."
(The
Other 49ers)
Mormons brought the ways
of civilization with them, in their minds. Contrary to their desire for a
enlightened spiritual way of life, they gave way the very kind of
discrimination that they ran from.
Today it's also the little
things that add insult to injury that go unnoticed. For years an
Indian statue by renowned artist Cyrus Dallin has adorned the grounds of the
Utah state capitol, which to many has came to symbolized the First People of
Utah. The fact the figure in the statue is that of Massasoit who died circa
1662, and that Massachusetts was named after him, or that Dallin employed a
African-American model from whom he sculpted the Indian figure, this irony
doesn't seem to matter to the non-Indians of Utah, but most assuredly the
Indian people of Utah are less than amused. For never has there been a
monument or memorial built in honor of the First People, much less a statue
accurately representing Utah American Indians. Is it anti-Indian or
anti-Mormon? Actually it's both. A paradox considering the thousands of
Native Indians who are members of the LDS church."
The arrogance and attitudes
of supremacy toward the First People of Utah has prevailed since before the
Black Hawk War, and few have had the courage to stand up and say, enough, we
must defend a person's right to live a decent life. I am astonished that
they have had little or no voice, ignored, shunned, kept out on the fringes
of society and denied access to even most the basic fundamentals of equality
and human rights. That they live in fear of telling their story, their
truth, that there may be retribution for exercising their legal right of
free speech. That non-Indians have been made to feel they have no obligation
to own the past. I often wonder, is the Black Hawk really over, or has
discrimination simply morphed and become institutionalized?
(Click on above photo
for explanation)
My account of Brigham's Black Hawk War of
Utah is by no means intended as amusement, nor will I make light of or
trivialize the truth. For we owe it to the Native people to feel their pain,
and not sanitize their history. There is nothing amusing or trivial about a
war that resulted in the deaths of thousands of innocent human lives, the
shameful devastation of a once vibrant culture. Contrary to the victors
"feel good" accounts, and their brilliantly managed rhetoric, the Utah
Indian people are the people who made the ultimate sacrifice, who were
subjected to every kind of man's inhumanity to man that you can imagine.
What is the true story of First People of
Utah? The only people who can intelligently and accurately answer that
question are the Indian people. But has anyone ever asked the Indian people?
And that is the essence of our film documentary project. Twenty-six years of
Utah history has been ignored and left out of school curriculum. Twenty-six
years of Utah Indian history that more than 90% of Utah's population never
heard of. A quarter of a century of the history of 40,000 lives has been
tossed aside, forgotten, and made a mockery of.
Secret of the bones: 1853 Indian deaths
may be executions by Mormon settlers
1853 Indian deaths may be executions by LDS
By Jason Bergreen
The Salt Lake Tribune
Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated:06/08/2007 06:47:12 AM MDT
An extensive analysis of seven American Indian skeletons unearthed in a mass
grave in Nephi last year shows that the men and boys did not die in a
skirmish with Mormon settlers, as most historical records suggest, but were
killed execution-style.
That is the conclusion of state archaeologists who spent nearly nine
months examining the roughly 1,800 bones and bone fragments that were found
in a shallow grave in downtown Nephi in August 2006.
Of the seven skeletons belonging to men and boys aged about 12 to 35,
six
showed evidence of gunshot wounds, said Utah assistant state archaeologist
Ronald Rood. Three had bullet wounds near the top of their skulls.
"It's a situation where you see people down on the ground, with their
heads lowered and then shot in the back of the head," Rood said.
The killings appear to be connected to a larger conflict between Mormon
pioneers and American Indians during the summer and fall of 1853 known as
the
Walker War, Rood said.
On Sept. 30, 1853, four men driving a pair of oxen-drawn wagons to Salt
Lake City from Manti were attacked and killed during an overnight raid at
Uintah Springs, according to Springville historian D. Robert Carter. The
killings outraged settlers as the men's bodies were returned to Nephi for
burial.
Two days later, it appears Mormon pioneers sought retaliation for the
slayings by executing the American Indian men and boys, who are believed not
to have been involved in the attack on the wagons.
"I think it's unlikely they were involved in that," Rood said.
Official accounts written by militia leaders of the time referred to the
killings as a "skirmish," Rood said. But the archaeological data and
forensic
study, as well as two journal entries written by two women who witnessed the
men die, now suggest the slayings were committed execution-style.
"These people were seated and shot at close range," Rood said.
Three of the skeletons have defensive marks on their arm bones
suggesting
they were trying to defend themselves.
The child who was around 12 years old had a gunshot wound through his
right leg, Rood said. It is also clear that one of the men killed was bound
because his skeleton was found buried face down with one arm behind his back
and a leather strap with a buckle was still attached to his wrist.
Forensic science was unable to determined the cause of death for a boy
about 16 to 18, Rood said, because gunshot wounds or another cause of death
were not apparent on his bones.
After they were killed, the bodies of the men and boys were dumped in a
shallow grave in Nephi. Last summer, 153 years later, a landowner who dug
into a ravine to pour foundation for a new home unearthed the skeletons. The
bodies were lying on top or next to each other in the 3-foot-wide grave.
Rood said it took him about six days to excavate the site. Then he and
University of Utah forensic anthropologist Derinna Kopp spent two weeks
sorting out the bones and matching them up.
>From that point, Kopp spent several months analyzing, measuring and
recording each bone.
The reason for the extensive analysis was not to rewrite history but to
add to it and give the men and boys who were silenced a voice, Rood said.
"I think it's important that the voices of the seven dead people can be
a
part of the record," he said.
It is still unclear whether the American Indians are members of the Ute
or Goshute tribe, but it was probably one or the other, Rood said.
Their remains will not be shipped to a museum, but hopefully be returned
to their families or tribes. Rood said a process will start in a few months
allowing American Indian groups to make claims on the remains and help
determine their final resting place.
Rood will present his findings today in Orem at a Utah Statewide
Archeological Society gathering.
7/08/2008
Forgive, yes, but never should we forget."
by Phillip B Gottfredson
"Personally I am horrified that our fellow citizens living in this age are being treated with such indifference. And that we, we who live as neighbors to indigenous people know so little of their lives. We can say "that's all in the past and we just need to forget about it." But it would be criminal to do so.
We assume that the Indian people have been given every opportunity to succeed, that "its their own damn fault." But I have lived with the Native people, I have listened to them talk about what it means to be Indian. I can say with certainty we are the ones who are blind to the harsh realities that they are faced with each and every day of their lives, and because of this there is a direct correlation to poor health and political strife.
It is difficult for Indian people to talk about their painful past, especially to non-Indians. And I can't blame them, they have been so demoralized and beaten down, it is very hard for them to trust. And for non-Indian people it is difficult to come to grips with the truth, that our ancestors were involved in such a horrible tragedy.
So it is that there is much healing that is needed on both sides. Healing that can only come from mutual respect, self-respect, and understanding. Some how we need to find a common language that will bring us together as one people, without having to compromise our individuality, our traditions, our culture, but in a good way, where there is freedom for all to live our lives according to the dictates of our own conscience. Without forcing our individual beliefs upon one another. That we may walk our paths together with integrity, honesty, respecting each other, being kind to each other.
Instead of arrogance there should be humility, and instead of hate, there should be love. Both Indian and non-Indian should realize that we all are suffering from the evils of the past in ways we all need to understand.
We need to talk, but we also need to stop talking, and listen. From our hearts we should talk, and listen.
We need to learn from each other. Who is more qualified to teach us about human equality than those who are the victims of the American holocaust? While our ancestors came to America for various reasons, some sought religious freedom, some wealth, and others for political reasons. But unlike our ancestors, the American Indian were not then fighting for independence, or wealth, or religious freedoms, but ironically would find themselves victims of the very injustices that our forefathers died defending for themselves. It is very difficult to explain why our people who advocated human equality, and rebelled against aristocracy and religious dictatorship would come to America and dispossess the Native people of their unalienable rights as human beings. 300 years have gone by and still, to this day, the American Indian continue to struggle for equality as American citizens. It is a disturbing reality that so many cling to the old ways of thinking that one is inferior, and others are superior.
The Black Hawk War was not about race, it was not about religion, race and religion later became the excuse to justify greed, and superiority. It was a human condition where each were putting their lives on the line to defend their freedoms and culture according to the dictates of their own individual beliefs, beliefs that had evolved long before they encountered each other.
It is time that we stop blaming each other. It is time we stop viewing these injustices as simply white or Indian processes, and begin viewing them as human processes.
It is time that our schools adhere to federal mandates and teach the truth about our history in the spirit of equality, and explain compassionately the dynamics of the time that led to such a horrific human tragedy, that we may avoid repeating those mistakes again and again. Explanations give us the tools to bring change. We need to recognize that there is still much work to be done before we can say with a clear conscience that we live in a country that guarantees liberty and justice for all, and not just for some.
It is time that we forgive, and reconcile the past with the present. Forgive, yes, but never should we forget."
GIVE ME A BREAK!
"Testimony to the Ute Indians" ...?
Give me a break! I came upon the website called "Parley P. Pratt" today and found this:
"As the Book of Mormon is very concerned with the history of the Native Americans, Mormons have always been interested in spreading the Gospel to them. Apostle Francis Marion Lyman went on a number of missions to the American Indian tribes throughout Utah, some of which were partly focused on making certain these tribes had fertile land to work with, beyond teaching the Gospel as revealed through Joseph Smith."
I normally don't get upset at other people's articles, but this one really made my blood boil. The sentence "making certain these tribes had fertile land to work with" has anyone visited the Uinta reservation and looked at the so called "fertile" land the Ute were given to work with? Well in case you haven't look at this
photo which gives us an idea of the so called "fertile land" the Ute were exiled to beginning in 1868. Of the three million acres they were originally allotted, less than 25% of that land remains, the rest, the most fertile, was turned back to public domain. The Ute were given a choice, either join the church and do everything the Mormons commanded them to do or suffer
dire consequences. And suffer they did, even though many did join the church they too were made to live on the reservation. Meanwhile the Mormon church stole 260 thousand square miles of Ute land, much of which is the most fertile land in the state of Utah.
The above article I cited is a classic example of the kind of sugar-coated rhetoric, filled with platitudes, I have referred to many times on my website here.
Whereas,
according to the Book of Mormon, the church believed they had a divine obligation to convert the aborigines to Mormonism according to church doctrine, and in so doing the so-called "loathsome" Indians would become a "white and delightsome people" and would be forgiven of the sins of their forefathers. (Book of Mormon 2 Nephi 5:21-23) According to church doctrine, the nature of the dark skin was a curse, the cause was the Lord, the reason was because the Lamanites "had hardened their hearts against him, (God)" and the purpose was to make them "loathsome" unto God's people who had white skins. Ezra Booth wrote the following in the early 1800's: "In addition to this, and to co-operate with it, it has been made known by revelation, that it will be pleasing to the Lord, should they form a matrimonial alliance with the Natives; and by this means the Elders, who comply with the thing so pleasing to the Lord, and for which the Lord has promised to bless those who do it abundantly,
gain a residence in the Indian territory, independent of the agent." Note: November 8, 2007 LDS Church leaders make a change in the Book of Mormon. See
Here.
Contemporary Mormons say this: "It's a rather common mistake for uninformed people to think these type of verses in the scriptures mean that righteous people will be Caucasians on the day of judgment. Certainly that is the conclusion that most of the anti-Mormons want people to draw. They would like to make people to falsely believe we are racist.
Surely the critics aren't suggesting that garments, robes, and fruits are being made Caucasian? To reiterate, the Book of Mormon used imagery, symbolism, and metaphors quite frequently. The term white is often used to denote holy and pure things, especially things which have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. When the Book of Mormon refers to someone's skin becoming white, it is a metaphor meaning that they are becoming free from sin through Jesus' Atonement."
Brigham Young had a different opinion: "You see some classes of the human family that are black, uncouth, uncomely, disagreeable and low in their habits, wild, and seemingly without the blessings of the intelligence that is generally bestowed upon mankind... "Cain slew his brother.... and the Lord put a mark upon him, which is a flat nose and black skin. (Journal of Discourses, Vol. 7, pp. 290-291)
Shall I tell you the law of God in regard to the African race? If the white man...mixes his blood with the seed of Cain, the penalty, under the law of God, is death on the spot. This will always be so." (B. Young, Journal of Discourses,
Vol. 10, 110)
Well this is one Mormon who believes in truth. And for anyone to suggest that the Ute were treated compassionately, and with equality is absurd. In the words of Dr. Floyd O'Neil,
"You can't stretch a rats ass over a rain barrel."
April 20, 2008
Our goal, the Black Hawk War Project, is to reveal the true story of the Black Hawk War in Utah. To honor those who this day morn the past in silence because they have been forgotten. For some reason we have not found a common language where through mutual respect we can begin a healing process based upon a spirit of equality, balance, and compassion. We need to stop blaming each other, and look upon the past as a human condition. To simply ignore this tragedy is to be disrespectful and bigoted toward those whose ancestors died defending their rights, and to their many living descendants who have never understood why. To say "that's all in the past, and we should just forget about it," is to say that the lives of our ancestors are unimportant and have no relevance to anyone. This is the very stuff that causes anger, hate, discrimination, and hence racism. Explanations empower us with the tools to bring about change toward a more humane and compassionate society.
A couple days ago I visited the town of Ephraim, Utah for the purpose of investigating a story about Black Hawk that occurred in the year 1868. The story goes that a Mormon who was prominent in the community at the time by the name of Canute Peterson had learned that Black Hawk had been wounded in battle at Gravely Ford. Canute and his wife sent food and medicine to the ailing Ute leader, a kind gesture, an extraordinary gesture considering this was at the same time the war between the Mormons and the Ute was at it's apex.
Upon receiving the gift from the Peterson family, Black Hawk paid a visit to Canute and his family to show his gratitude for their kindness. He then asked the Peterson's to accompany him to a nearby place where stood a Juniper tree next to a small creek. There Black Hawk asked if Canute if he would share in a prayer for peace. Black Hawk then filled his pipe with sacred tobacco and during the ceremony Black Hawk made a promise to Canute and the people of Ephraim that he would forever be their friend for as long as the stream ran. Today, one hundred and sixteen years later, the stream still runs, and the old Juniper tree stills stands. And the people of Ephraim... some still remember the bond that was made that day between two caring people.
It was an memorable day for me, one I shall never forget. When I arrived in Ephraim I first went to the city building, then to the Snow College to inquire if anyone knew where the place may be located, or if it even still existed. It wasn't long when I was given directions to the very spot.
I can't say enough to congratulate the town of Ephraim for caring enough to preserve this place. There in a beautiful little park the old Juniper, though barely alive now, stands tall. I sat on a bench next to the tree and tried to imagine that moment, trying to get a glimpse of that day in 1868 in my minds eye.
What is important to me about that story is that it speaks to the humanity of both Black Hawk and Canute, and certainly the same for the people of Ephraim. It says that Black Hawk was a man of heart and not the "savage" and heartless warrior who went on a murderous rampage. And too the story teaches us that Canute, a Mormon leader, thought well of the old Chief, well enough to care for him.
I hope the folks of Ephraim will continue in their efforts to preserve the "Peace Treaty Tree" next to the stream for many generations to come, that it may continue to stand as a witness to the best of virtues of humankind.
See The Old Juniper Tree click
here.
March 16, 2008
Yesterday I was in a meeting interviewing an individual of social influence in Provo, Utah for our documentary film. Out of respect for this person I will not name names, it is not important to this comment anyway. But we were discussing my work in Utah as an advocate for the Indian people of Utah when the Interviewee made the following comment: Sometimes when whites learn of the history of the Indians they become so sympathetic toward them that they feel it is their obligation to help them. And because they now have some knowledge of their past they feel that they can speak for the Indians, and represent them. The Indian people are capable of taking care of themselves, they don't need such people speaking for them. Often these people who have good intentions do more harm than good. (Words to that effect).
Of coarse I understood that this persons comments were directed toward me. I was being accused of poking my nose into Indian affairs and assuming the role as a spokesperson for the Indians people of Utah, what is ironic the person was making assumptions by telling me what she believes they think... had been an Indian I would have taken her comment seriously.
A couple years ago I was speaking with my mentor and Indian Elder, and she was asking me why I wanted to help the Indian people. I gave my explanation when she said to me, "who died and made you God." In other words she was asking what made me think that I have the answers that would help the Indian people? She went on to explain that the biggest problem between the whites and the Indian is that the whites have always believed that they know what is best for the Indians, that they never ask us what we need, they never listen, they only cram their ideas down our throats. Indeed it was a valuable lesson I learned that day, and one I will never forget. Its true about us whites, our culture has this tendency to think that our ways are better than anyone else's. One of the reasons for our lack of humility is, and there are many, goes back to the time of our ancestors. Manifest Destiny, the belief that God led our ancestors to the promised land, and because of that God in his infinite wisdom favored our ancestors who then believed they were superior to all others. The concept of being superior is not unusual in our culture, our ancestors came from societies ruled by monarchs. To be number one in all things is to be American. To be ahead of others is our ambition.
In the Indian culture I learned that no one person is superior another. That Creator gave each person talents and gifts, that should be used unselfishly for the betterment of the community. That things have there purpose, and no one or anything should be taken for granted. It follows then that if one person or thing suffers then all suffer, for all things are interconnected one to the other and dependant upon one another. An example would the plant people who breath in the carbon dioxide we exhale to live and breath out oxygen so we can live. Which is more important?
Returning to my interviewee's comment suggesting I am assuming the role as a 'savior' to the Indian people is absurd. It is not about me, or the Indian people that I work with. Its about human rights. When there are injustices against anyone, there are injustices against all others. When one person is denied equal rights guaranteed to all under the constitution, my rights have been violated and so have all others. We are American citizens, regardless of race, color, or religion. And we have two choices in our life, either we forever defend our rights as a community, or we forever leave them alone. To say it's not my problem, I am too busy, or I am just doing my job; is to contribute to the discrimination and bigotry that we think we oppose. Martin Luther King said, "Its not the voices of our enemy were fear, its the silence of our friends." Perhaps in my passion for my work I said something wrong, but I don't know everything, I am only learning as we all are.
I am not "anti-Mormon" but I do discriminate against those who believe they are superior to others and are so fanatical in their beliefs that they are closed minded. The Black Hawk War was about who would control the land and who would survive, the Native Indian people or the uninvited intruders the Mormons. It is what it is.
I am not a spokesman for the Indian people of Utah. Nor do I consider myself an expert in their ways. But they are my brothers, and my sisters, and fellow human beings. And I will stand in defense of their rights as American citizens as I do for myself. We need to stop blaming each other and look upon the problems in our past and present with compassion and equality as a human condition.
"Do not follow me because I may not always lead. Do not lead me for I may not always follow. Let us walk our path together as one."
- Author unknown
Its damned if you do and damned if you don't in my world. One the one hand if I use the words Mormon and Indian in the same sentence I am labeled with the dreaded word "ANTI-MORMON." On the other hand if I say I am an advocate for the American Indian I am a "WANNABE." Both statements are derogatory and demoralizing. And both people who use these terms are being hypocritical in their own beliefs. Both say they believe in equality and do not condone segregation, but do so when they use these terms against others. Anti-Mormon, wannabe,
anti-Mormon, wannabe, anti-Mormon, wannabe, anti-Mormon, wannabe, - sounds like the school yard.
How many times do I hear the words, "That's all in the past we just need to forget about it and move on." True it is all in the past when we are speaking of our history, but we should never forget. On one side of the river the whites don't want to be reminded of how their ancestors treated the Indian people and say, "I have heard it all a thousand times, so what, get over it." On the other side of the river the Indian people are saying we are victims and we won't be happy until you go away and give back our land you stole." Neither side wants sympathy, and sympathy wouldn't resolve anything. Both sides do want empathy however. Each would start to feel better if people would understand why they feel the way they do.
If you want to see the power of empathy and compassion at work I encourage everyone to take a break for a few minutes and look at what is happening in a tiny town in Washington State called Twisp. The town boarders an Indian reservation. Google Twisp for the story, or get the video called Two Rivers. Two cultures came together to reconcile the past. The rules were simple, no religious entity could be involved, no government either. They simply agreed to listen to each other with open minds and open hearts. And if you want to see the power of Creator at work, this will blow your mind.
I began my journey to find answers in 2001. I simply wanted to know what is the Indians side of the story. There is no way I could have anticipated what that question would lead me to. This I know for a certainty, for us to think that we don't need to understand our past, we are doomed to repeat the same mistakes again. Explanations give us the answers to fulfilling the dream we all have - to live in a world of peace and freedom for all our relations.
Bear Butte Update - Since this article ran, many who were concerned voiced their opinions to the legislator who have conceded to purchase the land surrounding Bear Butte to recognize and preserve the sacred site, and to honor the religious rights of the American Indian people.
February 2, 2008
Bill fails to ban alcohol near sacred mountain
Feb. 06, 2008
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) An effort on the behalf of American Indians to make
alcohol off-limits near Bear Butte was rejected today in the South Dakota
Legislature.
The mountain on the outskirts of Sturgis is sacred to Indians, and many of
them go there to pray.
HB1309 would have prohibited alcohol beverage sales within 1 mile of Bear
Butte.
Representative Jim Bradford of Pine Ridge says increased development in the
area is encroaching on the mountain and should be stopped.
But the House Commerce Committee did not agree. It rejected Bradford's
proposed buffer zone by a vote of 9-4.
_www.kxmc.com/News/206652.asp_ (http://www.kxmc.com/News/206652.asp)
Here we have American citizens with good intentions, asking their government leaders to project their religious rights but are denied protection under the law in favor of those who want to use a sacred site so they can get drunk. Are there not enough places in South Dakota to drink alcohol? Or is it because they are Indians who are asking for help? People say there is no racism in America. People say that the American Indian people are treated with equality as are all Americans. Yet here is one of many examples that proves the opposite to be true.
The issue here is not just a few people who choose Bear Butte as a place to drink a few beers. It is the crowds of people who are going to Bear Butte, blasting the area with loud music from boom boxes, and leaving their trash everywhere. This kind of activity is disruptive to those who go to Bear Butte to worship. It would be the same as a drinking party being held in the parking lot of a church disrupting religious services. Of coarse authorities would then take immediate action. Then why are one people given protection under the law and not others? Bear Butte has been a sacred site for worship long before the area became populated by whites.
Discrimination that goes by ignored, people who say "its not my problem" are in fact contributing to the erosion of the human rights of everyone everywhere.
December 17, 2007
Today I read this most disturbing article in the Salt Lake Tribune regarding the school systems on the reservation. Another stark reminder of the racism that continues to exist in Utah resulting in segregation and substandard education for the indigenous people. Those words that I have heard so many times are now ringing in my ears, "We (meaning the Mormon church) have given the Indians every opportunity to succeed, ...it's their own damn fault." Here in this article educators are accused of being racist. Teachers of all people are demoralizing their own students, our children, our American citizens. But because these are Native American Indians, this most likely will be ignored. Whereas if these were white students, and a white school system in would be national news.
Fort Duchesne School Closed After Failing To Meet Fed Standards
By Julia Lyon
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 12/17/2007 08:07:33 PM MST
Posted: 8:06 PM- If the goal of No Child Left Behind is to shut down the worst schools in America, then the federal government has scored its first success in Utah.
After seven years of failing to meet testing and attendance requirements, seeing its student numbers plunge and its reputation decline, West Middle School in Fort Duchesne is shutting its doors. The school was technically the worst in the state. With fewer students came fewer teachers. No band to learn flute in. No wrestling team to join.
Forced by federal No Child Left Behind rules to restructure West, the Uintah County School Board decided to send the kids on a 20-mile bus ride to Vernal instead of shoring up a deteriorating institution. This is the first school in Utah whose struggles to meet NCLB led to its demise.
The roughly 120 students will leave a school almost entirely populated by American Indians to attend schools that are nearly exclusively white. This fact, tribal parents fear, along with a long bus trip is not the best decision for their children.
Rather than being forced to get out of bed early, the students should be able to receive the same education in their own community, parents say. The school is surrounded by the Uintah and Ouray Reservation with several thousand Utes.
Guzman, chairwoman of the Ute education board. "We want the same type of education that the students in the Vernal schools are receiving."
This fall when the Uintah School District considered options for the school's future - its enrollment history and the cost of operating and updating the school - locking the doors seemed the fastest and most economical step toward a solution. There had been complaints that West was a de facto segregated school, said Superintendent Charles Nelson, and bringing the seventh- and eighth-grade students to Vernal schools would immediately provide them with a variety of classes and extracurricular activities.
Exactly when West Middle will close remains undecided. It could take place as early as the middle of January.
The West Middle School property is slated to become home to a new K-6 elementary school, though tribal members hope the school could accommodate additional grades. That could allow American Indian middle school students to stay in the community and off the bus. On Wednesday, the Uintah board of education will meet with tribal members to hear their ideas.
What's offered as a solution to a failing school is more of a question mark, said Curtis Cesspooch, chairman of the tribal business committee.
"The other comments that are made: 'Will this new school guarantee students better academics? Are we going to ensure they are going to learn?' " he said.
Over the years, racial tensions have existed between tribal members and the district.
"Teachers are just blatant," Guzman said. "They outright say very harsh things to their students about their culture and who they are."
If that is the teachers' attitude when the American Indian students arrive at the new schools, "that's not a positive learning environment," she said.
The district is aware of the racial and cultural concerns and is planning cultural sensitivity training for the staffs at the junior high and middle school in Vernal. When West closes, a transition specialist will be hired for Vernal Middle School.
Vernal Junior High Principal Kent Bunderson remembers riding 30 miles on a bus to go to high school when he lived in Emery County years ago. It's something people get used to, he said.
"I can understand that folks would have some concerns that suddenly they're not going to be right next door, but they'll have a lot more and different opportunities," the principal said.
He sees that students who get involved take ownership in the school.
"We'll welcome those students with open arms," he said.
- JULIA LYON can be contacted at jlyon@sltrib.com or 801-257-8748
*Please see Truth in Education by Phillip B Gottfredson
here.
November 24, 2007
Tis the Holiday Season
Years ago I recall vividly when the streets of downtown were brightly lit with the spirit of Christmas. The stores were all decorated in red, gold, and green, and fresh fallen snow blanketed everything. The sidewalks were filled with people all bundled up in warm clothes, and carolers could be heard on the street corners. Horse drawn sleighs with bells jingling. There truly was a magic in the air. People were happy, having a good time strolling about, laughing, smiling, it was the time to celebrate the blessings of life and all that was good. One of the favorite places to shop was a clothing store, because when you went in the scent of apple cider and cinnamon filled the air. It was free if you wanted a hot cup of cider. And they served it in a real ceramic cup, no Styrofoam in those days. I think you could buy all your gifts for five or six people for under a hundred dollars. I remember a seal skin wallet was only $5.95. And if you wanted to have it embossed in gold lettering to the person you were giving it to, it was only a dollar or two more.
There weren't any malls or giant chain stores. Down town shopping meant a leisure walk from store to store, and when you got to the end of the block you crossed the street and walked up the other side. It was just fun to window shop with a good friend by your side.
Often I think back on those days in the late 50's and early 60's. One thing I remember is that the snow on the streets and sidewalks weren't shoveled, and people weren't suing each other, and store clerks were having a good time because customers weren't yelling at them over some petty thing. Those were the good old days, where did they go?
So much has changed in such a short time. The small shops are gone. The merchandise is cheap and over priced. It's a time for corporate America to dump as much junk on the market as they can. "Black Friday," it all about the almighty dollar and if sales quotas are going to be met. A time to crunch the numbers to see if the economy is good or bad. It's the super bowl of the giant retailers. People have terrible attitudes, and so do the clerks in the stores. Christmas advertising now begins in July as television networks start showing re-runs of shows with a Christmas theme. The old magic of the holidays has been eroded by cliché marketing and meaningless sales. Even charitable causes such as feeding the poor has become photo-ops and promotion schemes to generate more sales in the shopping centers. Having 'done their duty' they can now forget the needy again until next year. These things I know to be true because I worked in retail for 35 years. And the last eight years I helped manage a shopping mall. And when it was time to go home after Christmas I was totally exhausted and embittered by the whole experience. One of the worst scams I would see run in the shopping mall was when the toy liquidators would come in and set up shop. They would sells thousands of cheap toys and the second the last day was over they would vanish leaving us to deal with all the irate customers who discovered they were ripped off. Toys that would break only after a few minutes of use would be brought back to be be replaced or to get a refund only to find the sellers had run. Still the profits out weighed the problems so they were brought back by the mall year after year.
So the truth we face is that Christmas is not like it used to be. It is unfortunate as the altruistic intentions behind this most noble of celebrations has been bastardized by corporate greed. Once again we have become blinded by our own acculturation as the greed and selfishness of others have become not the exception, but the norm. A mindset that has shadowed our good intentions from the very inception of America. And for many millions of American citizens who were the brunt of this mindset, Christmas is and always has been a time of remembrance of when their ancestors suffered unimaginable agony under the banner of Christianity. I am referring, of coarse, to the Native American Indian. But lest we forget, there were people with good hearts and good intentions then, as there are now. People on both sides of the river who truly have good hearts and sincerely care about the injustices. Were it not for these people there would be nothing of real value left in our society for the money mongers to capitalize upon. For it has been and most likely will always be, there is nothing that is sacred enough that some greed driven person won't find a way to make a buck from it.
Buy into the bling-bling and you are funding the robber barons, the Grinch who has stolen Christmas.
We wish all our friends a holiday filled with peace, love, food to eat, shelter, and comfort. May our prayers be for the children who are starving in this world, that they may find comfort. May there be beauty above, below, and all around. May we not forget the plants and animals who give of themselves every day that we may live. Let us not take anyone or anything for granted. Let us walk our paths to serve all our relations, that one day we may stand before Creator without shame.
October28, 2007
Ignorance Equals Racism
Many times I have been told with intensity by people here in Utah, "That's all in the past, we should just forget about it and move on." And Nauvoo, Carthage, Illinois; Mountain Meadows Massacre, the Civil War and so forth are in the past too, shall we apply the same mindset and forget those events and move on? Then why is it ok to apply one standard for certain people and not equally? And what about the descendants of those who's ancestors were so brutally treated, is it fair to ask them to just forget about the past and move on? I would be immoral to forget such human injustices as the Black Hawk War.
To tell of this story seems impossible to be politically correct. The indigenous people of Utah have suffered unimaginable physical and mental torment. Exiled from their home, forced onto desolate reservations, thousands die from pandemic disease. They were blamed for mass murders. They were beheaded, and tortured. How many from died from hopelessness and despair? The answer will never be known. Their remains were put on public display as a mere curiosity and entertainment, what other reason could there be, perhaps to express dominance and supremacy? These are glaring examples of the "saints" mindset of arrogance, and moral ambiguities. As shocking the Massacre at Mountain Meadows has been to thousands of people, there is no other event comparable to the trail of tears left behind in the aftermath of the Mormon domination over the Native American Ute Indian in Utah. And last, but not least, they have been portrayed as a "loathsome" people who's dark skin is God's punishment for the sins of their forefathers. One Saint offered this explanation, "In those early days it was at times imperative that harsh measures should be used. We had to do these things, or be run over by them. It was a question of supremacy between the white man and the Indian." This statement was made by John Lowry, the man accused of having triggered the war. It is the single most honest statement I have thus far read in my six years of research of the war. I think the time is way past due that we take a closer look at our Mormon heritage and begin asking questions, reading the accounts, and learning from our history how fanaticism leads to extremism?
The indigenous people of Utah are grossly misunderstood by contemporary society, as are all Native American Indians. Their complex cultures are their traditions; their languages are their traditions; their traditions are orally passed from parent to child many of which take a life time to learn. Once lost, they are gone forever. We should have an America where these unique cultures thrive. "Surely God would not have created such a being as man, with an ability to grasp the infinite, to exist only for a day! No, no, man was made for immortality." - Abraham Lincoln
Today I was told by a well educated Mormon man that he "can't see why it is such a big deal that the Utah Indians are so concerned about loosing their languages and culture." he said, "I am Scandinavian, and my ancestors came from Norway. I don't speak Norwegian or follow those traditions. My life is good and I don't feel I have lost anything." He would not allow me to speak to his comment, he kept interrupting me. But Norway, as with all Scandinavian countries, are intact, and their languages are alive as are their customs and traditions. And if this man wanted to learn to speak his native tongue and live the traditions of his ancestors, he could. Unlike the indigenous people in Utah and elsewhere, this is their homeland. This man had not been stripped of his ways completely. He was not forced speak English or severely punished for practicing his religion. He was not forced to dress & wear his hair a certain way. His society did not kill the white, and spare the child. He was not taken from fertile places & put far away on desolate lands. Nor were his God given staples taken far from him & his family in hopes they would starve to death. Speaking of God, he was not told he would no longer pray to Him either, or there be no more of his churches to attend. This man was not banned from town, voting & public places.
He was not forced to sign treaties, one's he could not read or comprehend. Treaties that "ceded" the lands to Indians. He was not told by General Philip Sheridan that if he did not sign, he would "walk knee deep in the blood of his people."
This man I spoke with was not ordered by the government to remain or pay a penalty, which may be incarceration into an insane asylum, death, or maybe it would forced removal to a different reservation so he would never see his people again under penalty of death. BUT, this man's ancestors were treated this way which was the very reason they and hundreds of thousands like them came to America to be free! Free to worship in their own way. Free to speak. Free to live their lives according to the dictates of their own conscience. Free of government dominance. Free to live in a society that believes in equality and justice as an inalienable right for all.
September 11, 2007
Please see Deseret News article also. Click
here
LDS Admit to Mountain Meadows Massacre, BUT...
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints finally says yes to their involvement in the Mountain Meadows Massacre. In a recent article that appeared in the church's Ensign magazine, church historian Richard E. Turley gives what is said to be the church's official account of the Massacre. By clicking
here you can see the entire article on Paul Harvey's Blog site.
While Turley denies that Brigham Young had anything to do with the murders, that some "saints" acted on their own, I applaud Turley and the church for finally doing the right thing by finally acknowledging addressing this horrible event in a positive, albeit patronizing way. Much of what lingering respect I had for the church has been in some degree reinforced, however I am very disappointed by Turley's blatant disrespect for the Paiute in his article. Again as with so many church authors, Turley stands arrogantly pointing the finger of guilt damning the Paiute Indians without a shred of respect or compassion toward them. True to form the church then bashes the Utah Indian. Turley or the church could have had at least asked the Paiutes what their side of the story is, but instead Turley's obvious biased opinion is proof and sufficient enough.
Mr. Turley goes to great lengths to distance the church and it's leaders from John D. Lee and the other members that were in affect renegade Mormons, to suggest that there were good and bad people in the church and that the massacre at Mountain Meadows was an unfortunate but isolated incident, and that we should not blame the church for the mistakes of a few. Hypocritically he does not apply the same compassion when he unofficially speaks on behalf of the Paiute and makes broad assumptions and presents his case as being gospel truth without making any allowance that they may have their own opinion different from his. Are we all children of Creator, or just some? As Michael Quinn said
in 1981 when he spoke to an assembly of Church members, "The Accommodation History advocated by Elders Benson and Packer and actually practiced by some LDS writers is intended to protect the Saints, but actually disillusions them and makes them vulnerable... The tragic reality is that there have been occasions when Church leaders, teachers, and writers have not told the truth they knew about difficulties of the Mormon past, but have offered to the Saints instead a mixture of platitudes, half-truths, omissions, and plausible denials..." And I stand firm on my observation that believing in these contrived sanitized stories of innocence contributes in the acculturation of a society that is blind to the truth, thereupon unintentionally discriminates, and in so doing the church segregates itself from their fellow human beings.
"Richard E. Turley Jr., “The Mountain Meadows Massacre,” Ensign, Sep 2007, 14–21
This month marks the 150th anniversary of a terrible episode in the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. On September 11, 1857, some 50 to 60 local militiamen in southern Utah, aided by American Indian allies, massacred about 120 emigrants who were traveling by wagon to California. The horrific crime, which spared only 17 children age six and under, occurred in a highland valley called the Mountain Meadows, roughly 35 miles southwest of Cedar City. The victims, most of them from Arkansas, were on their way to California with dreams of a bright future.
For a century and a half the Mountain Meadows Massacre has shocked and distressed those who have learned of it. The tragedy has deeply grieved the victims’ relatives, burdened the perpetrators’ descendants and Church members generally with sorrow and feelings of collective guilt, unleashed criticism on the Church, and raised painful, difficult questions. How could this have happened? How could members of the Church have participated in such a crime?
Two facts make the case even more difficult to fathom. First, nothing that any of the emigrants purportedly did or said, even if all of it were true, came close to justifying their deaths. Second, the large majority of perpetrators led decent, nonviolent lives before and after the massacre.
As is true with any historical episode, comprehending the events of September 11, 1857, requires understanding the conditions of the time, only a brief summary of which can be shared in the few pages of this magazine article. For a more complete, documented account of the event, readers are referred to the forthcoming book Massacre at Mountain Meadows."
