Opinion

Charles Trimble: Urban Indians put on Christmas pageant in Denver

Monday, January 3, 2011

A few years ago I wrote a column in response to an article that depicted the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ relocation program as like the “pogrom” attacks against Jewish villages in Russia in the late 1800s. My response was not meant in defense of the federal relocation program, but to present a more accurate picture of the Indian communities that formed in the cities where the people were relocated.

To be sure, most of the urban Indian people didn’t sit in ghetto houses regretting their decision to take part of the relocation programs. Almost immediately they formed active community organizations to deal with the problems they faced, and to help Indian newcomers to their communities. Invariably, the organizations established communications through newsletters and broadcast programs. There were regular weekend get-togethers in the organizations for such things as children’s programs, monthly pow-wows, and celebrations of the various Holidays, especially Thanksgiving and Christmas.

In Denver in the 1960s I remember the DeSmet Catholic Indian organization and the White Buffalo Council getting together at a church hall for Sunday afternoons of visiting, beadwork and sewing. There were music instructions for the younger kids with a volunteer instructor from the Denver Symphony. The young musicians were rewarded by being featured in a concert with a full band from one of the city high schools. The concert was in conjunction with the annual Christmas party where proud parents watched their children, surrounded by a full band in uniform, struggling through orchestral pieces. It was great fun.

Another time in Denver, it was decided to put on a Christmas pageant, which would be an Indian version of “Amahl and the Night Visitors,” by Gian Carlo Menotti. The original story was about a crippled boy named Amahl and his mother who hosted the three wise men of the Magi who were on their way to find the new King born to Israel, Jesus.

Although the play’s central figure was the little boy Amahl, no Indian boy could be found to play the part, so a little girl was recruited for the role. The part of her mother was played by a nice lady from Rosebud, whose name I cannot recall. The three wise men were wore headdresses of tribal chiefs and would be played by elder Richard Tallbull, Southern Cheyenne, Richmond Fillmore, Creek, and myself. The director was Lakota scholar Michael Taylor.

Mike was very smart and talented, but old-ladyish and fussy, and rehearsals were long and tiring. As the night of the show approached, all was going well except for one big glitch. In the play, the little crippled girl was miraculously healed by the Magi, and the mother was to ask the little girl, “What will you do with your crutch?” However, instead the mother asked, “What will you do with your crotch?” The three wise men howled with laughter, and director Mike was livid. In the last rehearsals, whenever that line was coming up, Tallbull, Fillmore and I would be snorting and trying to stifle laughter in anticipation of the mother’s sentence. And she never let us down, for no matter how hard she would try, it always came out, “What will you do with your crotch?”

The final performance went flawlessly, and the mother came through with flying colors. Even as we three chiefs snorted in anticipation, she gave her line, “What will you do with your cane?” She fooled us all.

I have many good memories of life in the city, although I was not a “relocated” Indian person. But I have memories of urban Indian people and their resilience. They made the most of the situation and the opportunities that proved out their decisions to go on relocation to the cities. They raised their families there, and many returned to live on the reservations, and to contribute to the tribes as new leaders and as appreciative citizens. That was the point I was trying to make in my article several months ago.

Certainly, there were many that didn’t fare well in the cities, suffering discrimination, and falling prey to alcohol and to crime. The American Indian Movement, in fact, was formed as a protective association to curb violence against urban Indian people, much of it at the hands of the police. And much of the activist leadership for Indian civil rights emerged from urban Indian communities.

It is inaccurate and unfair to depict the urban Indian experience as an integral part of manifest destiny, or as part of a movement to destroy Indian culture. Indians have proven that their traditions and cultures, if not indestructible, are stronger than many of even our own people tend to think.

Charles “Chuck” Trimble, was born and raised on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, and is a member of the Oglala Lakota Nation. He was principal founder of the American Indian Press Association in 1970, and served as Executive Director of the National Congress of American Indians from 1972-1978. He is retired and lives in Omaha, NE. He can be contacted at cchuktrim@aol.com and his website is www.iktomisweb.com.