Gyasi Ross: Indigenous children at border need to be heard

The relatively small number of white folks who oppose the brown, oftentimes Indigenous, children coming across the border pursuant to the Wilberforce Act and who don't want these kids to simply get their day in court (literally) are incredible hypocrites and the ironies run deep. As you probably read, the Wilberforce Act simply allows unaccompanied minors from non-contiguous nations to the US (e.g., not Canada and not Mexico) to receive due process with an intake and a hearing in front of an immigration judge. A day in court. A protocol.

Just like the protocol requirements for arriving canoes on Tribal Journeys. Since time immemorial, there was an opportunity to be heard when you arrived in someone's homeland on this continent.

It's a matter of historical fact that most Native nations welcomed the vulnerable European immigrants, understanding that these pitiful people need our help; maybe we can be stronger as a group if we get their resources on our side. Maybe not. In either event, let's hear them out. As John Mohawk brilliantly articulated, "During the early years, when the English, the Dutch, the Swedes and the French were weak, the Indians insisted on treaty relationships, on a separation of law and territory. Thus, the earliest agreements have the air of treaties, and the earliest treaties reflect Indian thinking about cultural diversity and the right to continue as distinct peoples."

The beginning of this nation's melting pot, and also the beginning of a process to find out whether or not these immigrants came for honorable reasons. Most people of all colors understand that and acknowledge that they benefited from generous immigration policy. But there's always a few...