March 26, 2012
The Hualapai of Arizona freely entered into a contract with private (non-Indian) developers to build a skywalk which stretches in an arc over a small section of the Grand Canyon. The developer spent $30 million of his own funds to build it, the Hualapai granted him a concession to do so, and under their original agreement’s terms the developer had a right to manage the site and share in the profits.
Lo and behold, only a few years following its construction the Indians have claimed “eminent domain” and are seeking to renege on the document and steal another person’s productive labor. One might liken it to breaking a treaty, a thing over which Professional Indians ceaselessly howl. Others may point out this is a classic case of what is known as “Indian giving.”
The Northern Arapaho last week were granted licenses to kill the symbol of the United States, the bald eagle. This is an endangered species zoologists have given decades trying to repopulate. Yet Indians need feathers for their little two-steps, and synthetic plumage won”t suffice.
These Indians have to do what granddaddy did lest they feel inauthentic. However they don”t do it the way granddaddy did. Hiawatha Do-As-I-Say-Not-As-I-Do-And-Pay-Me-For-It-Paleface won”t be using a bow made from birch and sinew; he”ll have a high-powered rifle with a sniper’s scope.
The Eskimos (or “Inuit“ if you happen to be a self-abasing moron) were likewise permitted to kill Pacific whales. No matter most of the world has spent the past half-century trying to bring the creatures back from the brink of extinction. These Indians too put away harpoons and oars and instead utilized outboard motors and machine guns.
Nothing honors ancient traditions like pursuing them with the “white man’s” most modern inventions.
But if we”re going to honor history, why can”t everyone get in on the warpath? To make a garden from a wilderness their progenitors had to eradicate certain disagreeable elements. One might even say creating civilization is a quasi-religious experience. Ergo, it is in their “cultural heritage” to go after redskins. Given such tribalistic logic it is perfectly legitimate that millions of pioneer descendants be granted permits to bag some contemporary Injuns.
Obviously, I kid. (I think.) I do not hate Indians generally (or anyone else for that matter). Yet I am exasperated by preening demands and relentless elegiacs to a largely fabricated past.
Sadly, it is Professional Indians (with notable exceptions) who are what most history books prior to 1960 said they were”dishonest, conniving, and brutal. Don”t look for an apologetic in revisiting the facts about them. They act as if they are special yet also act as if everyone else should have to subsidize their specialness.
They act like this because all white people grew up exactly the same over 4,000 years and not one of them ever had any hard times whatsoever. No one white (or other group) has ever in the whole history of their respective races had civilization demolished and been forced to get up off their knees to rebuild it. They think they honor the past with infantile demands. They aggrandize their heritage because fools indulge these childlike tantrums.
In truth, these Indians do nothing but disgrace themselves and their sometimes worthy nations.
