Terese Marie Mailhot: A message to all young Native Americans

Young Native people, it's unfortunate how much you deal with on a day-to-day basis: navigating the world, developing your own beliefs, having to listen to your parents. It's bad enough you have to go through all that, but you also have to deal with people who tell you to “let go of the past, and get over what happened to your people so long ago.” I'm sorry; there isn't an island big enough to put these people on. Unfortunately, you're experiencing a Native rite of passage: dealing with bigots and ignorant racism.

When you encounter the racist ideology, that what happened happened, and that we can't change the past so move forward, tell them you don't have the time to explain why they're wrong. Moving forward is a great thing. Innovation and development are crucial to our culture and the Indian continuum. But ignoring the past, and the struggles that Native people have endured, is neglecting our triumph. I considered compiling a list of all the current atrocities happening to Native people, but it would have to be an anthology. Let's just focus on a few issues --- to relate to you how current and historical atrocities affect Indians today.

Only recently have there been advances against voter suppression of Natives in South Dakota. There is a well-documented history of willful negligence concerning Federal voting law for the people living on Indian land. They've been denied early voting ballads. This gross negligence of our rights is just the remnants of the historical injustices against us. Lest we forget, South Dakota Natives were unable to vote until the 1970's and couldn't hold county office until the 80's. When someone tells you, “What happened to Indians is in the past,” ask them if their mother ever had a hard time voting in an election. Let them know about voter suppression for Indians in Montana, New Mexico, and Alaska.