James Giago Davies: Reservation reality bows to reservation rhetoric

Monday, September 23, 2019

By James Giago Davies

Native Sun News Today Contributing Editor

Given enough time, powerless people hammer out an empowering narrative, so that when they face the people that took their power, they can maintain their dignity, and pride, and hope.

Since the reality of the reservation is grim and depressing, the rhetoric used by the leaders of any tribe reflects the former glory of the historical warriors that terminated Custer’s command in bloody battle. After a time, that narrative gets refined to the point it starts to distort reality, and the people start to confuse what they want to be true with what actually is true. Eventually, the confusion fades altogether, and what they want to be true becomes the Tribe’s truth, and it can no longer be questioned— any questioning is considered disrespectful.

Aspirational rhetoric becomes the standard policy tool, and it is the starting point, not the long term goal it should be in any discussion. All of the fundamental building blocks for establishing strong and lasting relationships and policies are never established or addressed, assumed to already be in place, but nobody has actually bothered to do the hard work, nobody has bothered to dot the i’s and cross the t’s.

People no longer want leaders who deal in reality. They are winnowed from the selection process long before they get anywhere near the general election.

The tribal president only looks acceptable because the tribal council has been equally dumbed down by the same misguided process. Standard operating procedure for any tribal president and council has become, send the varsity back to the showers, and send the freshmen onto the court to take on St Thomas More, and when they lose by forty points, claim victory.