Indian Killer

As I noted in Thursday’s post, the Oneida president of the United South and Eastern Tribes, Brian Patterson, says it’s time for the Indian nations to challenge the plenary power of Congress in order to move beyond the era of US dominance of indigenous peoples. Today, in an article concerning the boundaries of the Oneida reservation, a member of Congress, Charles Schumer of New York, is chastised for his misconduct in attempting to inflame racial prejudice against the Oneida by accusing the tribe and the US Department of Interior of conspiring to appropriate lands the counties claim as taxable. As American Indian nations seek greater control of their lands and resources, perhaps even the right to tax within their boundaries, politicians like Schumer can be relied on to inflame hostilities, leaving it to local communities to deal with outbreaks of violent bigotry. If America is ever to surmount its sordid past and come to terms with Native American sovereignty as defined under the international human rights regime, we will need to actively educate politicians and organize a process that restrains those who refuse to cooperate; there is simply no place in today’s world for the Indian Killer mentality.