"When I began my research into the Black Hawk War in utah. I
simply wanted to know what the Native Americans' side of the story is. There is no way
I could have anticipated what that question would lead to. Written in 2008, I was invited to live with a Shoshoni family who with love and patience took it upon themselves to teach me what it means to be Native American."
by Phillip B Gottfredson | Author of the book "Black Hawk's Mission of Peace"
March 16, 2008
Yesterday I was in a meeting interviewing an individual of
social influence in Provo, Utah for our documentary film about the Black Hawk War in Utah. Out of respect I will not name names, it is not important to this comment
anyway. But we were discussing my work as an advocate for the First Nation
peoples 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" she said. "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 Native people of
Utah, what is ironic, the person was making assumptions by telling me what
she believes they think. Had it been that she was Native American I would have taken her comment more
seriously.
"Because you were born human, makes you superior to nothing."
A couple years ago I was speaking with my mentor a
Shoshoni elder, and she was asking me why I wanted to help Native people.
I gave my explanation when she said to me, "who died and made you God." Her stinging words brought tears to my eyes. I knew she was not trying to be mean-spirited. She went on to explain that "the biggest
problem between the whites and Native people is that the whites have always
believed that they know what is best for Natives, 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. But it takes time to overcome arrogance, especially when your raised with it from childhood as I was. A slap in the face was just the thing I needed to make me shut-up, and listen. There is much we can learn from Native people if only we would get out of our heads, and listen with our hearts. Often they reminded me, "We have two ears and one mouth. Listen more and talk less" they would say to me.
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 arrogance or 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 favored our
ancestors who then believed they were superior to all others. The concept of
being superior is not unusual in our culture, I recall a comment John Lowry made in 1894, he was accused of being the one who caused the Black Hawk War. "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" he said.
To be #1 in all things is to be
American. To be ahead of others is our ambition.
In the Native American culture I learned that no one person is
superior to another. That Creator gave each person talents and gifts, that
should be used unselfishly for the betterment of the community. That things
have their purpose, and no one or any thing 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, the plant-people breathe in the carbon dioxide that we exhale
so they can live, and breathe out oxygen so we can live. Who is more important?
It is not
about me, or the Native people that I work with. Its about Us and the circle of life - equality.
When there are injustices against any one individual, there are injustices against all
others. When one person is denied equality my rights have been violated, so have all others. We are
human regardless of color, or religion. And we have two
choices in our life, either we forever defend our rights, or
we forever leave it 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 say 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 the wrong way. 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 people of Utah, or the
uninvited Mormon intruders. It is what it is.
I am not a spokesman for the Native 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 I do for myself. We need to stop blaming each
other and look upon the problems of our past, and present, with compassion, and
equality as the 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. On the one hand when I am speaking to Mormons, 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 Native Americans I am a "WANNABE."
Both statements are derogatory and demoralizing and causes divisions. 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.
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 Native people and say, "I have heard it all a thousand
times, so what, get over it." On the other side of the river the Native
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 pity, and pity
wouldn't resolve anything. Both sides do want respect 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.
In 2001 when I began my research on the Black Hawk War in Utah. I
simply wanted to know what the Native Americans' side of the story is. 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.
Returning to my interviewee's comment suggesting I was
assuming the role as a 'spokes-person' for the Native people, is absurd. It was just the opposite. The years I spent learning from Native Americans forever changed my life in a good way. They saved me from my own worst enemy - myself.
Note: Since 2008, it followed that Phillip continued in his research of the Black Hawk War while living with Native people throughout North and South America. He was invited to participate in numerous sacred ceremonies while learning the life-ways of Native Americans. "During my time living with Native Americans I was asked to teach others about the things they taught me and help build that bridge between our cultures" Phillip explained. "I have always felt deep respect and humility for the trust Native people put in me. I will always honor the sacred vows I made."
See: Phillip B Gottfredson Bio & Source Material
