Native americans: hunted wild buffalos, killed one, then used every part of it
Farming industry: breeds genetically adapted cows, kills males because they don't give milk, let them live under inhumane conditions for years, exploit them, then kill them
Native Americans also liked to stampede buffalo off cliffs, use what they had time for and leave the rest to rot. They weren't special just because they were indigenous, they went for the easy win just like we do.
Ok. So this is a good time to talk about racism. There are no “native Americans.” It’s a convenient label that isn’t much different from “Indians” in just lumping a bunch of people together. “Americans love the Patriots.” “Americans wear cowboy clothes still.” “Americans wrestle raccoons on meth.” Well- some Americans. Some states love the patriots, some places cowboy boots and hats are pretty common, and Florida is a state and not an acid hallucination- and all are in America. But not all. See- tribes existed all over America, and they didn’t have a border between The USA, Canada, Mexico, it was a big giant whatever. Tribes have and had their own laws, beliefs, practices. Not all natives lived in “teepees,” but some actually did even if they used different words. So there wasn’t one big group of “native Americans” that we can talk about like all are the same. There’s also a mysticism often applied to native peoples that while sometimes flattering, itself is somewhat racist.
"native americans" is the term we use along with "Indians." It's no different than saying europeans. When two natives are introducing themselves to each other tribe will come up it will be just another flowing part of the conversation probably very early on. If race comes up with any non-native its likely tribe won't come up unless they specifically ask. We'll just say we are native or that we are indian. There's nothing racist about calling natives natives that is what we are and that is what we call ourselves to outsiders. What's racist is running around with a headdress and slapping your mouth while yelling as your "costume" and naming a football team after the flayed scalps of our ancestors.
You don't get to get on a soap box for us especially when its something as a whole most of us don't care about.
Please don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying the term “Native American” is in itself racist. I am saying that the grouping of all native peoples into a singular entity when talking about things that are specific to certain groups is racially insensitive at the least. As for soap boxes- I’m glad that you told me how “we” feel about things or I may not have known. When I used to visit my family on the reservation where my father lived before they moved off res, we didn’t talk a lot about labels, but back then you got asked a lot if you’d like to take a shower since not everyone had running water. Of course, we did talk about labels a lot in my Native American heritage classes when I was growing up. And as I said in my original post- not all natives can be lumped together. You and many others do not care about certain things. Many cared though. Many boycotted Disney’s Pocahontas and many thought it was a good and positive thing in mass media. So I suppose not all natives are the same...
But I will get off my soapbox now, the chairperson of intercontinental unified native tribal affairs has spoken. Please anyone reading, disregard my previous posts as they go against the wishes of the great council that speaks for us all.
Me, my grandmother and my grandfather have all been to conferences and meeting country wide talking to native tribes and people about an extremely large amount of things tho my grandmother was focused on Medical stuff as her thing was representing the Cherokee nation EMS in medical conferences. I've went with them on these trips literally my entire life, my aunt works with tribal outreach to get the opinions of tribe members outside the tribal lands as well as teaches them about their culture, my cousin has been going around the country doing stuff with said aunt since he was but a child. One topic that is discussed occasionally at most of these things (save for the medical stuff and some of the outreach program stuff) is labeling and cultural appropriation along with how it affects the American view of the modern native as well as how it misinforms people of the historical native.
I've got the experience to talk about this with authority.
I never said you didn’t. You came out of the gate questioning my ability or right to have an opinion on the subject, and stating that your experience and opinions invalidate my own. I wouldn’t invalidate your experiences. Those are your experiences. I trust that you are relating them honestly. As I said in the original and subsequent reply- that’s exactly the point. The experiences of peoples even in the same “group” are not identical. The way one person feels isn’t how all feel. Many black people think the N word is acceptable. Many think it is empowering to “take it back,” and many feel that it is acceotable and a method of self enforced subjugation. Who is right? Who has the authority to speak for all black people on that issue? No one. Eachnperson has their own experiences and views. So, we have largely proved my original point. That the idea that all native Americans would do one thing because one tribe did is not a correct idea. Some natives, certain natives, yes. All- no.
Taxonomy wise no human is any different, human races aren't different enough to even be considered breeds. The differences between the races is smaller than the difference between 2 members of the same race. It's purely a cultural and medical thing. (in the case of susceptibility to certain disorders)
Farming industry: breeds genetically adapted cows, kills males because they don't give milk, let them live under inhumane conditions for years, exploit them, then kill them
You don't get to get on a soap box for us especially when its something as a whole most of us don't care about.
I've got the experience to talk about this with authority.
*gets mic so has mic for future mic drop