|
The Invasion of Europe This story imagines a parallel universe in which Native Americans have conquered
and settled Europe. Part of the point is that Native Americans would not have done to Europeans what Europeans
actually did to them. The main point is (as Sherman Alexie says) is to "turn it around," in order to
expose cultural double standards. Versions of this piece were published in 1992 in Akwesasne Notes, News From Indian
Country, Report on the Americas, and other periodicals. The piece is posted on-line in "Readings on Cultural
Respect" on the Midwest Treaty Network website at http://www.alphacdc.com/treaty/r-explt.html#story . Feel free
to use it (with attribution) for education around October 12th. To read more about the American Indian view of Columbus, visit these sites: Christopher Columbus Columbus Mythbusters
by Zoltan Grossman used with permission
"Wanblee Johnson" is a fictitious character thought up by Zoltan Grossman
It was 500 years ago that Callicoatl sailed across the ocean with three Aztec boats, and found
a new continent, a new Eastern Hemisphere. The commemoration of this event is being marked with great fanfare and
celebration. Every child has been taught the story: how Callicoatl convinced Montezuma II to support his journey,
how the Aztec sailors nearly despaired on the journey, and how they "discovered" a strange white-skinned
race in the "New World." But that is only part of the story. It is important that in this, the 500th
anniversary of Callicoat's voyage, the record be set straight.
For Callicoatl did not "discover" this continent, he invaded it. It was already inhabited by many nations
of people, living our own cultures, and practicing our own religions, on our own land. Over the past five centuries,
we, the Native peoples of Europe, have seen our natural resources and our spirituality stolen, and our relatives
enslaved. That is hardly a history worth celebrating.
In the Pre-Callicoatlian era, great empires were ruled by the Greeks, the Romans, the Egyptians, the Moors, and
many other indigenous peoples of the Eastern Hemisphere. They contributed much to the world, as attested to by
the great temples and pyramids they left behind. They had detailed knowledge of astronomy, law, agriculture, and
religion. True, there were wars among these peoples, and persecution of those who did not follow the state religion.
But they were no more oppressive than the empires of Montezuma II or the Inca Tupac Yupanki in the "Old World"
500 years ago. And, like in the Western Hemisphere, there were many peoples still living in harmony with the land,
here in our hemisphere.
There were many other explorers who sailed to these shores, and even some who claimed to have arrived before Callicoatl
- the Arawak, the Beothuk, and the Lenni-Lenape. But it was the Aztec flag of Anauak and the Inca flag of Tawantinsuyo
that were first firmly planted on our soil. Soon after Callicoatl arrived, this land was named Omequauh after another
Aztec-sponsored explorer. The Aztecs and Incas conquered and divided up South and Central Omequauh - the lands
we call Africa, Iberia, and the islands of the Mediterranean Sea. Later, the Dakota and Ojibwe fought over and
divided North Omequauh, my home continent, which we call "Europe."
Some great "European" leaders pulled together alliances of knights to resist the settlers, but our freedom
fighters were never unified enough to prevail. Some of our Native peoples - among them the Irish, Corsicans, and
Sardinians - were wiped out, their cultures lost to history.
You may know us as "Native Omequauhns", but we prefer to be called the "Original Europeans,"
or the "First Nations." We are not one people but many peoples, following different customs. We speak
many tongues, which you may call "dialects," but we prefer to equate with your languages. We worship
under different religions that were outlawed until recently, and are ridiculed to this day as mere superstition.
The religion of my ancestors was known as "Christianity," and there are some of us who even today pray
to a single god and his son.
Though we are commonly called "tribes," we have historically existed as nations, with our own borders,
provinces, and capitals. The capital of my ancestors, London, was as great in its time as Cuzco or Tenochtitlan,
until it was sacked by the invaders. My people, the York band of the English tribe, were once citizens of Yorkshire
county (or province) in the English Nation (or "England"). Many of our peoples are not even called by
their original names, but by derogatory names that others have given them. The Krauts, for instance, are more properly
called the "Germans," or Deutsche in their own language. Similarly, the Frogs should be called the "French,"
or Français in their own tongue.
These terms are important if we are to reclaim our nationhood. But even more important is reclaiming our ancestral
land rights, which have been steadily whittled away over the past 500 years. My English people, for instance, are
scattered in over 50 small reservations throughout of island of Newfoundland (which we have always called "Britain"),
and on the continental mainland where one-third of us were forcible relocated a century ago. Despite disease, removal,
and loss of lands where we hunted and farmed, our traditional forms of local government have been carried on to
this day.
Agreements we signed with the settlers guarantee that we still have access to natural resources on lands we used
to own. Most of these agreements were broken, and many lands were stolen without any agreements whatsoever. Today,
some descendants of the settlers don't understand why we continue to exercise these rights. Some of them even tell
us to go back where we came from!
My people were forced into dependency after the warriors (who we called the "Long Arrows") slaughtered
our sheep - our main livelihood. The children began to be sent to schools where they were forced to use Dakota
names to replace their English names, and were beaten if they spoke English. Through the generations, many of our
people became so assimilated that they began to look, dress, walk and talk like the settlers. But they still retained
their identity, hidden from view.
It was only about 25 years ago that our peoples started to reclaim their European heritage. On my reservation,
that meant young people starting to relearn the English language. We also began to communicate with Native peoples
in South and Central Omequauh, some of whom actually form a majority in their countries. Though they speak different
colonial languages (Nahuatl and Quechua), our concerns are similar.
Reclaiming our cultures means learning from our elders, and reading the great works of Chaucer and other ancient
prophets. It means challenging stereotypes, such as the view that all of our people wear suits of armor, or live
in thatched-roof huts. Above all, it means countering the despair on many of our reservations - the poverty, the
consumption of beer and chicha, and the low self-esteem among Native youth.
This new pride has led to conflict with the governments occupying our lands. We have had to take on the Bureau
of Caucasian Affairs (BCA), which has controlled our economies and prevented any independent Native voices from
speaking out. We are attacked for being poor, and then criticized for methods we use to get out of poverty. We
have also had to deal with collaborators among our own people, in some of the councils that the BCA established
years ago to replace our traditional governments, and to sell off what is left of our land. Some of the Europeans
on these councils are so obedient to authority that we call the "conches" - white on the outside, but
red on the inside.
The rebirth of our European cultures has also stimulated interest on the part of mainstream non-European society.
Nowadays, some children playing "Warriors and Knights" actually want to be the knights. While this trend
is welcome, we also find non-Europeans romanticizing our cultures, and trying to usurp them in the same way they
usurped our land. We loathe seeing non-Europeans dressing up like our own priests, and conducting the sacred catechism
ceremony, for the benefit of their own curiosity. We don't appreciate seeing ethnic Dakota wearing powdered wigs,
or putting on ballroom dances. And we roll our eyes whenever one of these 'wannabes' says that their great-grandmother
was a Swedish princess.
There was a time when our land would be stolen and our people divided and relocated, with only a passive response.
But no more. The European Wars are being rekindled, as more nations are defending the lands our ancestors are buried
under. Many remember the armed confrontations at the Long Fjord Norwegian Reservation about two decades ago, or
at the Lake Balaton Hungarian Reservation two years ago. If our sovereignty is not recognized, these skirmishes
are likely to continue.
It should be clear to you, the non-European public, that despite 500 years of colonization, we still exist as peoples
and nations. In the face of overwhelming odds - the near-extinction of our population, and the theft of our religions
and lands - we have survived. When you talk about "celebrating" the arrival of Callicoatl, it sends a
chill up our spines. Even Callicoatl's name, in the Nahuatl language, means "Serpent from the West."
If you do not recognize that our people were here when he arrived in our land, you will never be able to recognize
that we are here, in front of you, today.
http://www.indians.org/welker/columbu1.htm
http://www.stmary.k12.la.us/holidays/columbus.htm#Myths
|
Find cissp certification with outstanding variety. How we can forget the toefl practice online and ccna wireless exam questions which are highly being demanded by youth. You can also get special ccie practice test. Get here also gmat preparation exams. |
Canku Ota is a free Newsletter celebrating Native America, its traditions and accomplishments . We do not provide subscriber or visitor names to anyone. Some articles presented in Canku Ota may contain copyright material. We have received appropriate permissions for republishing any articles. Material appearing here is distributed without profit or monetary gain to those who have expressed an interest. This is in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107. |
Canku Ota is a copyright of Vicki Lockard and Paul Barry. |
|