Opinion | Politics

Steve Russell: Being indigenous after the 'Trump Apocalypse'

Thursday, November 10, 2016

A "Love, Hope, Rise" protest against Donald Trump protest in St. Paul, Minnesota, on November 9, 2016. Photo by Fibonacci Blue

Well, Indian Country, it happened -- Donald Trump is headed to the White House. Steve Russell, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, warns of disaster for tribal sovereignty:

We are still struggling with the death of God after the military defeat of the men who claimed that God left a power vacuum to be filled by secular power. All these years later, though, Donald J. Trump is elected on Benito Mussolini’s platform. The people still yearn for a strong leader who will make sure the trains run on time, a populist of a stripe not handed power in this country since Andrew Jackson. Reaching for an American Mussolini, the voters killed principles thought to be as immortal as God. The massacre happened last night.
This election was the death of meritocracy. Trump did not pretend to know how the government works and he showed no interest in learning. His opponent lived by the conviction that any problem would have to yield to a panel of experts with the right research tools and enough time to use them.
This election was the death of data. We live in an age when all opinions are equal because there is no consensus on the difference between the opinions and the facts that are supposed to support opinions.
The voters think this election was the death of economic and political globalization. It was not.
The voters think this election was the death of the service and knowledge economy. It was not.

Read More:
Steve Russell: Being Indigenous After the Trump Apocalypse (Indian Country Today 11/9)