Racial and Ethnic Politics
Native Americans: Winona
LaDuke
Bio:
b.
1959, Anishanaabe, White Earth
Reservation,
grew
up in LA
Harvard
educated
MN
to help sue government for return of tribal lands; lost but founded
White Earth
Land Recovery Project to raise money to purchase the land struggle.
Vice-presidential
Candidate for the Green Party 1996 and 2000 (with Ralph Nader)
1994
– Time magazine named her one of
1997
– Ms. Magazine Woman of the Year
Environmental,
Native American and women’s activist and author
“Who
Owns the Land:
Delivered
at UW Madison,
Asserts
that concept of land reveals concept of culture, teachings, self
perception
Concept
of land in Anishanaabeg culture
We
belong to the land more than the land belongs to us
The
backdrop for our oral history
The source of life
Collective
ownership, collective relationship to the land
European
concepts of land ownership largely shaped by the Catholic Church
Papal
Bulls issued in the 1400s
Only those is the folds of the
Church, in the folds of Christ, had
rights to the land
Once
the Indians had the land, and the white people had the Bibles; now the
Indians
have the Bibles, and the white people have the land.
Church
as “handmaiden” and “architect” of colonialism
Catholicism
provided the philosophical underpinnings for exploration, colonialism
Ideas
about property incorporated into English common law, legal systems of
land
tenure of modern nation-states
Vestiges
of Church power
–
Emblematic
of their lack of legal status, that their claims to land are ignored,
superceded by more recent claims
Land-naming
Named for Lord Jeffery Amherst
One of the initial purveyors of
smallpox infested blankets to Indians
Politics
as problematic endeavor for Native Americans
Province
of land speculators, thieves
“Self
made man” “industrialist” in
Frederick
Weyerhaeuser, 1890s
In
LaDuke’s estimation he’s a recipient of corporate welfare
1920s
Indian Claims Commission
set up to compensate Indians for
lost land; $800 mln – amount to only
around 10 cents per acre
LaDuke
reading “Buying the Presidential Debates”
Who
has bought the presidential debates?
Who
can participate in the presidential debates?
Who
makes these rules?
How
does the exclusion of third party candidates affect the quality of
American
democracy – especially the articulation of “minority” viewpoints?
LaDuke’s Acceptance Speech for the Green Party’s Nomination for VP in
2000
What
are LaDuke’s goals as a VP candidate?
How
does the Green Party’s platform differ from those of the two mainstream
parties?
What
elements of the Green Party’s agenda resonate with traditional Native
American
beliefs?
Which
resonate with contemporary Native American interests?
What
are some of the statistics LaDuke presents about poverty, unemployment
on her
reservation and among Native Americans??
According
to LaDuke, is the Democratic Party “greener” than the Republican Party?
What
examples of “ungreen” behavior on it’s part does she point to?