While driving through Indian Country a few weekends ago my heart began to weep. With tears streaming down my face I wept for the countless atrocities committed against the indigenous peoples of this place. As I wept I wondered how different the course of history might be had my ancestors & European predecessors dealt with Natives honestly and justly.
Strangely, I was also filled with gratitude and joy for the perseverance and spirit of Native Americans. If not for the strength of these people we may still believe that Europeans “saved” Natives from “savagery;” we may still think it acceptable that our history books do not mention the raping, pillaging, and genocide that happened in what many people refer to as the greatest country in the world. Because of the strength Native Americans have demonstrated we are beginning to learn the truth and to understand the horrendous reality of the European conquering of this land.
My message to Natives may not be perfect and is certainly lacking, but it is this: I recognize your journey has been blemished in more ways than one can count. I try every day to empathize with the trauma that endures still today. I stand in solidarity with you as you fight for rights, land, money, recognition, and numerous other things that are rightly yours. I also know that as much as I would like to I cannot right the wrongs of the past, and I alone cannot solve the lengthly list of broken treaties, promises, and systems that perpetuate unimaginable poverty, abuse, and continued trauma. But I also hope you recognize that many of us stand with you, wanting nothing more than to stand in partnership with you to rectify the wretched reality that has existed for far too long.
To those of us who live each and every day with white privilege I challenge you to take some time to evaluate the countless opportunities you enjoy. I challenge you to open your heart to the realities and impact of racism in our communities and our world. I ask to search your own heart for the closed doors or bigoted feelings it may harbor. I ask you to do these things not because I want you to feel shame, but because I know how completely your life will be changed by fully opening your heart, by unconditionally accepting people into your life.
Finally, I challenge you to create authentic relationships with all the people of color in your life. I ask you to listen to their stories and hear them with your whole heart. I hope that by listening with your heart you will be able to begin to empathize with the realities of system racism in our nation. Lastly, I hope that you will begin to act to create the change our world so desperately needs. We need more people on the right side of history, more people who are brave enough to stand up even when it isn’t necessarily popular.
