Charles Trimble: A summit on Sioux, powwows and other terms

Opinion

Monday, July 12, 2010

In one of our curmudgeonly e-mail exchanges, Sam Deloria and I were discussing overused and misused terms that circulate in Indian and non-Indian political and academic circles. One such term is the word “summit,” used to describe any get-together, no matter how small or insignificant.

We figured that the term was first used to describe the meeting at Yalta on the Crimean at which the Big Three – President Franklin Roosevelt, Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill met to plan the occupation of post-war Europe. Later, following FDR’s death, President Harry Truman met at Pottsdam in Germany with those same key world figures to decide the fate of defeated Germany. In more recent history, the meeting between President Richard Nixon with Chairman Mao and Premier Chou En Lai in Beijing could accurately be described as a summit. These were meetings between leaders at the very top of their spheres of influence and power.

Meetings on Indian Treaties many years ago were certainly summits. The November 5th, 2009, meeting in Washington between President Obama and his key Department heads with the leaders of all federally-recognized tribal nations.

But, today, as Sam says, a summit is any two guys going to lunch to talk business or golf or whatever. There are even youth summits, and summits on anything from alcoholism to zoning. There are even planning summits – which causes me to wonder what the galactic event they’re planning is, or how it might be described – a pinnacle, perhaps?

Perhaps we should just go back to having meetings, conferences, and get-togethers.

There are other words that some say should be discarded and even banned, but serve a valid generic purpose. Take the word pow-wow, for example. The Sioux have mostly abandoned the word in favor of their proper linguistic term wacipi (pronounced wah-Chee-pee). Pow-wow sounds like what John Wayne might describe as any get-together he might have with a chief to talk about peace or war – mostly war, in which the Indians are doomed to defeat, as the script invariably calls for. Nevertheless, most large Native cultural gatherings for singing, dancing and after-hours “49” singing, are intertribal, and the term pow-wow is certainly a handy generic term, whatever its linguistic origin.

On occasion, some readers take me to task for my frequent use of the word “Sioux.” The correct name of my tribe (er, Nation, but that is another thing) is Lakota, more specifically Oglala, because there are other Lakotas such as the Sicangus. Then there are Dakotas and Nakotas, with their own sub-tribes, distinguishable by their histories, cultures and dialects. But coming up with a better generic term for the entire nation is difficult. Some have suggested that we refer to ourselves collectively as LDNs, which might be mistaken for what a certain Church considers us – lost tribes of Israel.

To me the word Sioux is a noble designation. True, it is derived from a derogatory phrase used by the Chippewa folks up in the Land of a Thousand Lakes and Mosquitoes, who claim to have driven us out onto the Plains, but truth is our ancestors were tired of fish and rice anyway, and buffalo looked more appetizing.

The French, of course, screwed up the Ojibwe word by putting an X on the end of it, and here we are.

Nevertheless, it was the word Sioux that sent chills up and down the spines of encroachers in Indian Territory, and gave pause to the bluecoat Cavalry that came along as guardian angels to the wicked. I am proud to say, “I am Sioux.” More proud to say, “I am Oglala.”

On the other hand, is the term Lakota Sioux a redundancy? Or, how about Lakota Sioux Indian?

The word “Indian” is another term that causes some dissension. At the University of South Dakota a few years ago I was approached by a professor who was mightily anguished over a Native American student – Sioux, no doubt – who strongly objected to the professor’s use of the word Indian. I asked the professor if he read the 1960s best seller, Radical Chic, by author Tom Wolfe. In that book, Wolfe describes a phenomenon of that era: New York socially elite courting Black radicals and other oppressed and pissed militants to hear them out, and to talk over ways of aiding their cause. At these gatherings the young black militants would perform what they termed “Mau Mauing the Flak Catchers.” The radical leaders would usually insult the hosts, starting out with the single word “whiteracistbastards.” Then the rich patrons would rub elbows with the proletarian crowd over cocktails and dainty hors d’ouvres, and be further insulted and, often with the ladies, propositioned to retire to the bedroom.

The young radicals knew they were in control of the liberal elites, who would never offend one of the oppressed masses. I think that young Indian students in college sometimes do the same with such things as terminology. Call them Indian, and they’ll insist on Native American. Call them Native American and they’ll insist on Lakota, or Oglala, or even Cherokee. It keeps the professor off balance, and in the new drives for “diversity” on college campuses, the academics – with the exception, perhaps, of Indian professors – are most sensitive to anything that might further traumatize their young victims.

I suggested to that anguished professor that he give the student an assignment and a chance to make his case to the entire class on the preference of the term Indian by Native people themselves. Why, for example is it that they have adopted names for their organizations such as the National Congress of American Indians, the National Indian Education Association, and many others? The assignment would not be punishment, per se, but would challenge the student to give some serious thought on what he was demanding.

So, unless someone like President Obama or whomever is heading up the British these days will be in attendance, just plan on having a meeting, a conference, or convention at best. No more summits, please.

Charles “Chuck” Trimble, Oglala Lakota, was principal founder of the American Indian Press Association in 1970, and served as Executive Director of the National Congress of American Indians from 1972-78. He may be reached at cchuktrim@aol.com. His website is iktomisweb.com.