Indian Giver and Indian Sell Out Out

 

                Ok I was researching what it means to be an Indian Giver. Of course I remember Seinfeld when Jerry was dating Kimberly Norris, who by the way is a friend of mine.  They were dealing with a cigar Indian and Kramer comes by the end of the episode and holds the cigar Indian/statue and does the war hoop. Jerry is caught telling his Indian Girl something about being an Indian Giver.  I loved seeing Kim doing the show and I had an opportunity to ask Kim how it was doing the show.  She told me Seinfeld wanted to get together in more ways than just coffee.  I do not know if you watched the episode but Kim is actually Indian and was doing great things in her day.

                So Indian giver Historically came from the 1700s when the gift was thought to be reciprocal and the White Man did not understand. When the White man came to America the Indian brought gifts and felt like the gift should have been returned.  Ok if you do not understand you probably did not get the gold watch in Johnny Depp Tonto’s when he stole the watch.  In the understanding birds cannot tell time neither does a ranger hold value to bird feed?  So we had cultural issues in the beginning and the white man does not understand generosity.  I liked the Lone Ranger after watching for the fifth time but it really makes sense now that I get it. 

                We can understand we have different cultures now but in the end we are far apart.   It is all about money with the Europeans and we need to understand this value.  Our Indigenous people allowed them to live because of who we are as human beings.  After that happened the Euros took advantage of the east coast tribes.  It is sad they did not know what would happened to the tribes  after the original settlers were brought back to life.  They did not know how to keep their people alive and the goodness of the eastern tribes help them.  But in the end there is no Indian Giver because the white people eventually brought death to the Indigenous people of the Western Hemisphere. 

                Sell Outs is something else when we look at Native America or the American Indian..  Sad we see the code talkers at the Game of the R Word game of the football game.  Shocking but the Sell Outs might just be the ones who sits with the Billionaire in the private box.  I even heard about something with Red Cloud Indian School but of course that is a Jesuit School, another story, but the idea of mascots is crazy but no smart Indian should be wooed by the Billionaire because they become Sell Outs. Wow the Navajo and the Cherokee were fooled by the DC team and probably given a nice room but it does not exchange for our dignity.

I use to not care because I know we have many issues on the Rez and what they do out there does not matter to me, but after understanding the history of REDSKIN I am 100% against the idea of being a Sell Out and it even reminds me of any Lakota leader who would even meet with the XL Pipeline.  No Lakota should ever meet with them because of the Oglala Aquifer knowing full well we support the people, against the pipeline.  There must be something else they can do whether it is a different route or way.  The Lakota would like to protect our water supply.  Water is life.

In the end we are not Indian Givers but the white man has always misunderstood us.  Lakota have not sold out and that includes my cousin Mel and how he lives his life.  We live, but there is no Sell out or Indian Giver you need know this fact.  Remember over 50% of the American Indian population live off the Reservation.  We need to understand people who live off the Rez are doing so because of housing and economic reasons.