"Indian Country presented its own heroes in 2011. Debra White Plume, a Lakota grandmother, has become a prominent figure in the Environmental movement. She protests uranium mining on Tribal lands, and was arrested at the White House during protests against the Keystone XL pipeline this year. 102 years after his death, Geronimo made international headlines after it was revealed that his name was used as a code for Osama bin Laden in the Navy Seal operation to dispose of the terrorist. There was a public outcry throughout Indian country and the world, yet President Obama refused to issue an apology for the slight. If Time magazine intended to honor the spirit of defiance of protestors, they could have done no better than naming Geronimo their 2011 Person of the Year.

Deserving people aren’t always honored. Maybe Time’s Person of the Year is like the Oscars. Alfred Hitchcock never received one."

Get the Story:
Ruth Hopkins: Where’s Time Magazine’s Cajones? (Indian Country Today 1/3)

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