The history of the United States government with American Indians bears a striking resemblance to our current policies regarding those south of its border seeking asylum today.
The contempt with which the United States government treated the American Indian –vclaiming their lands because of the “insatiable progress of our race,” (General James Carlton, 1862) and its practice of breaking treaties time and again — reminds me of our current impasse regarding immigration. The past and present share a record of broken promises.
Since landing at Jamestown, treaties with American Indians have been broken by our government as regularly as twigs break in the wind. Indians have been stripped of their dignity, lands and freedoms. They have perished under Manifest Destiny, the idea that “this land is my (U.S.) land,” that the United States had a God-given right to conquer the land and the peoples in it.
But in direct contrast to this idea, with the glaring exception of slavery, since the Jamestown landing the idea of hope for a better future has driven not only the narrative of the United States, but also driven people to our shores and borders. The American Dream is fueled by hope, and we have turned this hope into a promise. During most of our history, we have delivered on this promise, but this promise is being broken for thousands from our southern border. Without a correction, the promise of America, branded as a shining city on a hill, is no more.
Reading the classic, "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee," has caused me to reflect on how easy it is to dehumanize a nation of people based on their race. For much of its history, the United States described and treated Indians as savages.
Using similarly loaded language, President Trump stokes the fears by referring to the asylum seekers and would-be immigrants as “murderers and rapists”. His most recent moniker is “terrorists.” In reality, they are a caravan of broken people seeking a better way of life. Hope in the United States got them to this place.
If the data were heeded, such as crime actually decreasing in areas heavily populated with immigrants, or that a physical barrier is not an effective remedy or long-term solution, the current administration might consider a better use of taxpayer dollars. For example, provide more staff, judges, technology, and facilities to humanely process asylum seekers and vetted immigrants in a timely manner. It makes sense to vet and process immigrants more quickly and to dispense with the word “illegal.” And to give DREAMERS their dream back.
The administration might be forgiven for changing course and walking away from the $5 billion wall on the Mexican border if doing so solved a bigger problem: i.e. labor shortages in the United States.
What’s at stake here is not simply the wall, built or unbuilt: It’s the very idea of the United States of America. Our world standing has dropped because of our inhumane treatment of asylum and immigration seekers. If we don’t have moral standing, who are we?
Black Elk’s words, in recollection of the massacre of mostly unarmed men, women and children at Wounded Knee, could be prophetic for the United States: “A people’s dream died there. It was a beautiful dream…There is no center any longer, and the sacred tree is dead.”
My hope is we will work to undue the tragedy in the making at our Mexican border before any more children die. And before the promise of America dies for all who seek shelter in this land of plenty. Let’s reclaim our sacred tree. Let’s honor our heritage.
