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COAIM BLOG CO AIM LATEST NEWS MEDIA
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Position Regarding the One of the darkest days in the history of the Indian peoples of the Americas was the first time that one Indian allowed himself to be separated from his people, spiritually and politically, by non-Indians, to be used for their own purposes. Nothing good ever came of such separation, and it led to the virtual destruction of our Indian nations. Tonight, once again, we find non-Indian organizations pitting Indian against Indian, this time placing "their" Indian against the position of the Colorado American Indian Movement. Once again, no good will come of it for Indians, but that seems to be of little consequence to the non-Indian organizers of the "Struggles of Native Peoples" program. It is unfortunate that the non-Indian organizations and sponsors of the program, while professing deep concern for the Indian peoples of the Americas, are promoting divisions within the Indian movement, and have exhibited blatant disrespect for our dead, our traditions, and our Indian community. February 27th is the anniversary of the liberation of Wounded Knee in 1973. No other single contemporary event has stirred the spirit and pride of traditional Indian people more than Wounded Knee II, and each year Indians from across the continent are called back to honor those that have fallen in defense of Indian people, and to honor those who continue to struggle. This year, the Wounded Knee memorial was also designed to be a time of discussion, and possible resolution, of the differences within the Movement. The AIM leadership was invited to convene at WK to consider and articulate national AIM policy. The Colorado AIM leadership and membership will be in attendance, as will such leaders as Bill Means and Madonna Thunderhawk. For the organizers of the "Struggles of Native Peoples" program to schedule their event at exactly the same time as the memorial is an affront to our struggle, and to our fallen warriors. That the speakers on the program would choose to play into the hands of non-Indians rather than to meet to resolve our differences is, to say the least, disturbing. Equally disturbing, however, is their disrespect for members of their own movement, namely Colorado AIM. According to Indian tradition, when a visiting Indian enters a community not his own, the visitor is obliged to enter with respect and courtesy for the Indian people of that community. That obligation is heightened when the visitor purports to represent, or to speak for, a segment of that community. Colorado AIM was not invited to participate in this program, nor was its opinion solicited regarding the speaker, dates, or format. In fact, no Denver Indian organization was involved in the planning or endorsement of this program. In Colorado, Colorado AIM speaks for the Movement, but we would no more travel to Minneapolis or to the Navajo Nation, at the invitation of non-AIM non-Indians to speak on AIM issues, than we would travel to Chile, uninvited, to speak for the Mapuche Indians. Consequently, we are dismayed and insulted that a program to speak for and about AIM was organized and conducted with purposeful disregard for our concerns and opinions. Colorado AIM will not attend your program, and we have encouraged other Indians not to attend. We are not afraid of controversy or debate; in fact, we welcome it. We do, however, retain some self-respect, and we will not allow ourselves to be played off against other Indians in public by non-Indians who have neither an understanding of our aspirations, nor a genuine interest in our future as peoples and nations. While the organizers of "Struggles of Native Peoples" will be wallowing in their self-satisfaction that "their" Indian has given them their money's worth, Colorado AIM will be carrying on the work of our ancestors, meeting and working with other Indians, resolving our differences and solidifying our agreements at Wounded Knee. We will be recommitting ourselves to the defense of Indian peoples, wherever they are. Finally, we will be reminding ourselves that we are the American Indian Movement, defending Indians, and we refuse to do the bidding for any non-Indian ideology or government. |
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Colorado AIM Contact us at
denveraim@coloradoaim.org or
303-832-2544 |
