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Mission Statement
The primary Mission of “Native American Destiny” is to sound the alarm for Native people to be aware and prepare for the impending danger of programmed extinction.
The US government definition of a legal Indian:
“Any person who has the certifiable Indian blood quantum to meet the enrollment requirements of a federally recognized tribe.”
Whether the elimination of the “Indian Problem” was insidiously planned by the US Government in the past, or a Congressional mandate in the future, the result will be the same.
Blood Quantum requirements for tribal enrollment coupled with Urban migration are generational time bombs quietly ticking in Indian Country!
About the Author
I was born on the Isabella Indian Reservation, and I am an enrolled member of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan. "Native American Destiny" is my perception of the future for Native America from the perspective of a Tribal Elder who has lived as an Urban Indian.
I do not ask that you agree with my perspective, but please consider it in your thinking because I have lived the experience.
The Past
A rhetorical question: "Were Indian people programmed for extinction?"
American Indians survived 400 years of a US Government policy of extermination!
In 1492, when Columbus made landfall in the Caribbean Islands, there were an estimated 5 million Indian people in North America.
By 1900, the US Census counted 237,000 survivors.
Indian children were subjected to over 100 years of Indian Boarding School’s policy of coerced assimilation. The policies may have been well intended, considering the alternatives, but the methodology was brutal and generationally traumatic!
Indian people were often harmed by “good intentions” as much as “bad intentions.”
Political doctrines of “manifest destiny” and “divine providence” became the law of the land. The Indian people and their lands were collateral damage during the birth of a new nation.
The Present
It is imperative for Native people to know their logistics, statistics and resources before significant social, economic or political strategic planning can be developed.
- What is the Native population today?
- How many Tribes still exist?
- How many Reservations are there?
- What are the Reservation resources?
The US Census Bureau and the Bureau of Indian Affairs are the best resources for Native demographics. They have a budget and qualified people to do the job. They haven’t got it quite right yet, but they are getting better.
Presenting a demographic profile of Today’s Native population, tribes and reservations will focus attention on reality based on the facts of life.
The Future
A rhetorical question: "Are Native people programmed for extinction?"
Native American Destiny is at a crucial crossroads and time is of the essence to control of Native Destiny through education, political solidarity, and economic independence.
The time will come in the foreseeable future when the “Indian problem” will be addressed economically and politically by Congressional committees that have little understanding and even less empathy for today’s Native people. The thrust of a Congression legal rapier will be so smooth that Native people will hardly know they have been mortally wounded, until the damage has been done.
There are some 50 Anti-Indian hate groups hard at work to terminate tribes and their reservations. It has happened before, and it will happen again! "The Congressional fox is guarding the Indian chicken coop!"
The time is at hand for Native people to engage in a paradigm shift in thinking regarding tribal membership and the development of an economic and political power base. Some tribes are slowly moving in that direction, but time is of the essence. The digital age is here, and the rest of the world is moving ahead at internet speed.
For the first time in history, Indian tribes have some resources and a window of opportunity to build a power base that could secure the future of all Native people for generations to come.
An exclusive manifesto means fewer tribal members to share in profitable casino money and BIA benefits for the enrolled members. However, this results in a smaller base for the development of economic and political power.
An inclusive manifesto will result in a much larger demographic which in turn will provide a much broader economic and political power base. The issue is, will the 574 tribes unite and coalesce for the common good? Will the successful tribes share their bounty with the less fortunate tribes?
Native people have the difficult political choice of becoming an exclusive demographic of 2.5 million enrolled tribal members; or an inclusive demographic of 7.6 million self-identified Native people which adds 5.1 million members to their economic and political power base. We also need to find a way to engage the 15 million people who claim Native ancestry. The total Native population of 10.1 million is less than 3% of the total US population of 336 million.
“Be Aware and Prepare”.