I think it is tidbits like this that tell us the true nature of Sarah Palin and her views on the indigenous people of this country. Her bullshit lines about keeping our country "free" backed with an unapologetic record on women's rights and horrid treatment of indigenous communities keeps it clear. Full of shit would be an understatement.
The Huffington Post reports today,
Gov. Sarah Palin's rural adviser resigned Monday amid criticism of the governor's record on hiring Alaska Natives.Rhonda McBride, who is not an Alaska Native, made the announcement in an e-mail to several Native leaders, saying there need to be more Native voices in Palin's administration.
She left the position empty despite calls from Native leaders.
State Sen. Al Kookesh, a Democrat, said Palin left the position unfilled her first year in office and ignored Native leaders' suggestions on the selection process."We were really disappointed when an Alaska Native wasn't appointed," said Kookesh, a Tlingit Indian who held the job in a previous administration.
Natives bristled early in Palin's administration when she named a white woman to a game board seat held by a Native for more than 25 years. An Athabascan Indian eventually was named to the post after protests.
As though you needed more reason to suggest that Palin represents everything that is wrong with the history of this country. One only looks to the treatment of indigenous folks, one of the most atrocious moments of our history and her mere ignorance of their issues in a face of such a great opportunities. Alaska still have somewhat of an indigenous population, yet Palin barely recognizes them as thinking entities.
Related:
An Indigenous Perspective on Palin, Oil and Alaska
Palin Unpopular Among Indigenous Alaskans
An Open Letter to Sarah Palin
Biden vs Palin on Indigenous Issues
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Samhita, as a Native woman, I have to ask you to choose your words a little more carefully. The mistreatment of indigenous people in the US is more than a mere "moment" in history - it's an ongoing shame that spans the entire history of North America. Also, Alaska's population is more than 15% Native, so it is hardly "somewhat of an indigenous population" -- the ratio of White to Native is the highest of any state.
yes, words are important. It is true, Luckwouldhaveit...an ongoing mistreatment. I was referring more to the historical memory..but lack of clarity can miscommunicate this point. The initial moment of colonization is the only one that is part of the collective consciousness, but those of us that know more, know better.
I also met a lot by somewhat, but reading back it doesn't sound right now does it. I was trying to say that there is a sizable population.
Thanks for the clarifications, I appreciate it.
Samhita, I'm a fan but I think the situation in Alaska is just far, far more complicated than the left blogosphere seems to understand, or at least acknowledge. Her husband is part Native and by extension her children are, too, so I'm not sure where "yet Palin barely recognizes them as thinking entities" comes from. Similarly there are villages that are nearly entirely Native and many, many Native delegates to the state government who Palin has been dealing with nearly every day. Racism is a complicated thing and I think we all know of people who were insanely racist yet managed to maintain close relationships with people of color (or gay people, or religious minorities, or ... ) using all sorts of wacky rationales, but that's not what you're writing about, here.
I've been following Palin's career for several years (since she ran for governor) and my sense is that her appointments have more to do with cronyism and being ridiculously pro-business (although I think cronyism is the weightier factor) than with overt racism. To the extent that racism is in the mix I think it has more to do with structural racism, where her inner circle doesn't include Natives not because she's a raving racist but because of functional segregation in parts of Alaska.
I know that racism is extremely complex. But her unabashed use of it through this campaign has been pretty clear. I don't think it is a leap to suggest that her racism also functions in her dealings with Native and indigenous communities. But I am not an expert on this subject, clearly, which is why I linked to others that have more articulated visions and more accurate information.
Thank you for clarifying, Samhita. I think your post here is right on. I can only hope that a year from now we'll all be saying "Palin who?"
I must admit to being fairly ignorant of the plight of native North Americans, apart from the obvious - I live in an area with very few non-whites, and we never learned about it in school.
So I have to ask an ignorant question here - is it inherently wrong that a white person was hired as a rural advisor? Is there something inherently native about being capable of filling that post competently?
Obviously Palin has a long history of racist behavior, so it's entirely likely that she did that intentionally, but I'm not really clear on what makes it necessary for that post to be filled by a native.
(Also, I have no idea if "native" is considered to be a racist term - apologies if it is.)
mayfly, "Native Alaskans" is what's used in Alaska to refer to both interior aboriginals (people sometimes referred to as "Indians") and Inuit ("Eskimos"). They're distinct groups but have similar legal relationships with the state of Alaska and face similar kinds of problems within the state.
Anyway, there are several issues here. One is that the rural villages tend to be predominantly Native and off the road system and facing similar problems with health and education and ..., and someone from that environment is likely to understand it better. Another is that people in these villages tend to be at least partially dependent on subsistence hunting, etc., for food, and the game and other regulations are different for Native populations than they are for non-Native populations. Third, there's the Native corporations. If you want to have any hope of understanding Alaska politics you absolutely have to understand the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, or at least know it exists. There are 13 regional Native corporations and several hundred, I think, village ones, managing Native holdings acquired through what was basically a land swap with the federal government. If you're dealing with rural populations in Alaska you're almost assuredly dealing with the Native corporations.
To add to Melinda's post, it is usually (though not always) the case that a native person will know the culture(s) they are dealing with better than a non-native person, and therefore be able to not only get more done in a given community but know what actually needs to be done rather than just assuming.