Balancing the Books: Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee

I have known about Dee Brown's classic history of the Western Indian Wars, for some thirty-five years. I can remember it being discussed, when I was in Middle School, between the years 1971 and 1974. Adults would mention it. You heard them talk about it on the radio, and on TV. This was about the time that Marlon Brando refused his Oscar for The Godfather, in protest of the treatment of Native Americans by the government.

It was very much talked about at the time.

Finally, years later, I picked up the book and began reading it. Not only was it in my list of books on American History that I want to read, but recently, it fits into my passion for understanding the history of my own family. My great-great grandmother, Mattie Clemons, was a Creek or Choctaw Indian from Alabama. She was very likely the illegitimate child of a white man named Clemons and an unidentified Native American woman. As a very young girl, perhaps three or for years old, I believe that she was forced west in the Trail of Tears. She spent her life hiding her Indian identity, seeking to blend in with the whites. This rejection of her Creek/Choctaw heritage was passed on to the next one or two generations, and only recently have we begun searching for answers.

For people like me, books like Bury My Heart provide some answers. Our ancestors, that lived only 150 years ago, have vanished into historical thin air. Records are few. Their names are not known. But thankfully, Dee Brown gives us more than perhaps we realize at first glance. I may not know the names, or the places, of my Native American ancestors. But I know more about their lifesyle, and what happened to them, than I do of even my Polish great-grandparents on the other side!

The book is shocking, saddening, sickening, enlightening, and riveting. It is peppered with occasional comic moments, mostly at the expense of the white idiots that dominated the formulation of Indian policy. Our heroes on one side of the American History tome: Jackson, Grant, Sheridan, Sherman, and Schurz, are transformed into near Nazi-like villains on the other.

This mixed bag of human nobility and shame makes the story of Wounded Knee authentically American.

I will never forget some of the book's moments: Of a visit to Chicago by one chief, who noted that the whites tended to go back and forth, hurriedly, like ants, with no particular purpose except to keep on the move; of Chief Joseph's comments about schools and church (see my prior post); of one chief handing to an Indian Bureau agent a handful of dirt, saying "Here, take this - it is all that's left of our land"; of the Indian Messiah that ushered in the Ghost Dance movement, and generated hope that the Indians would make a comeback; of the final massacre at Wounded Knee, where women and children were slaughtered along with the adult males.

The Indian Wars were a shameful chapter in American History. I would argue, with my grandfather E.A.Turnbow, that our horrible treatment of the Indians surpassed even that of the African American slaves. Most likely both are on a par.

American policy was to make the Indians into white people. But those that did, by converting to Christianity and building houses and farms, still were forced onto reservations.

I would recommend this troubling book to any that have not yet read it. We still can, and should, learn much from our Native American brothers and sisters. And if we can have a hand in reviving all that was noble and decent in their culture, it would be a good thing.

Chief Joseph Got it Right

Dee Brown's timeless classic, Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee, (1970, Henry Holt and Company), retells this exchange between Chief Joseph of the Northwestern U.S. Nez Perce tribe and an Indian Agency Commissioner:

In a short time a group of commissioners arrived to begin organization of a new Indian agency in the valley. One of them mentioned the advantages of schools for Joseph's people. Joseph replied that the Nez Perces did not want the white man's schools.

"Why do you not want schools?" the commissioner asked.
"They will teach us to have churches," Joseph answered.
"Do you not want churches?"
"No, we do not want churches."
"Why do you not want churches?"
"They will teach us to quarrel about God," Joseph said. "We do not want to learn that. We may quarrel with men sometimes about things on this earth, but we never quarrel about God. We do not want to learn that." (p. 318)

Something precious was lost, when we wiped out what was most noble within the hearts of our native peoples. The opportunity to successfully blend two wonderful cultures took a fatal beating.

This philosophy, of refusing to argue over things not of this world, is the opposite of the very worst of Western Culture.

This did not come from Christianity. Jesus is the embodiment of refusing to get hooked into mindless debates. He did not deal in vain arguments on finer theological points. The Native Americans had much in common, in this area.

No - the passion to argue and divide, comes from Western European culture. It arose from the close proximity of different cultures and languages, living a few miles from one another, seeking some type of ordered co-existence. Their walled cities and castle fortresses created more than just physical boundaries between people.

The "survival of the fittest" mentality was in practice long before Darwin (a Westerner) articulated it! The good impulse to promote personal responsibility, often decayed into an "eat or be eaten" economic model.

And we see it today, in our politics! My party, right or wrong, has replaced My country, right or wrong! We see it in the hypocrisy of Democrats, who for decades pronounced the virtues of John McCain as a man above party and politics, as a Republican they could actually support, of someone ready to lead the country.

Chief Joseph is talking about getting over this silly partisanship, putting forth a leader, and getting on with it. Granted, in their system there would be no doubt that John McCain, the elder, would automatically be elevated above Barack Obama, the upstart.

Debates, partisanship, arguments, divisions, pointless diversions from the important thngs in life.

Chief Joseph spoke wise words that should be remembered, and followed, with the most profound statements of our great leaders in history.

Did Governor Palin Speak in Tongues?

The answer is, so what? Or even better, who cares?

Millions, and millions, of Christians, speak in tongues in their churches. If you think this is funny, or silly, or scary, so be it. The same people are out there serving in their communities, building Habitat for Humanity houses, providing for their families, learning to become unselfish, learning to love, constantly improving their walk with Christ.

Oops! Did I say "Christ"?

Does Sarah Palin believe that Jesus is coming back? Does she believe in the Rapture?

So what if she does? Have you read the Nicene Creed lately, or Apostles Creed, which are recited week after week, by millions, and millions, and millions of Catholics, Protestants, and everyone in between, right here in the United States?

The belief that Jesus is coming back soon, is shared by all Christians, and is a major tenet of the faith. The belief that people speak in tongues is also right out of the Book of Acts. Maybe they are not running for President, but there are dozens of neighbors within a hundred years of most people, many of whom are your friends, that believe this, albeit they do not talk about it much.

How do I know they believe this? Because they are Christians.

And as such, they are followers of . . . Jesus Christ.

Did I say that again?

While people are out there making fun of Sarah Palin and her religion, let's list briefly some of the core values of Christ-followers:

* Feed the hungry
* Clothe the naked
* Heal the sick
* Serve the poor
* Be honest
* Be faithful
* Practice sexual purity
* Do all things in moderation
* Put your friends, and enemies, ahead of yourself
* Be responsible stewards of the environment
* Be merciful to those that are hurting and in sorrow
* Take care of widows and orphans
* Be kind to people from other countries
* Treat all others equally - be no respecter of persons!

Shall I continue?

Yes, I know that very few Christians have ever gotten the entire list right. That is because we are, in this life, still just a bunch of sorry humans. But we follow a Man that did get it right. We follow Him because only He solved the problem of death, once and for all, by stepping out of the grave.

And, our leader, Jesus, built His Church upon his own sacrifice. Our Master and Lord began a movement by giving up his life, where other religions were formed by taking the lives of others.

This is who we serve. These are our values.

Sarah Palin is not a political hack. She is one of us. A small-town person making it big. Isn't this what we want? Our neighbor down the street has a chance to get that close to the White House, for a change.

And if she happens to be an evangelical Christian (like millions of Americans) then so be it.

This happens to be a good thing. So get over it.

So Many Conference Calls and Webinars

Network Marketing could become more mainstream, if it started paying attention to the best practices of successful organizations.

For example, take the prevalence of "Conference Calls" and "Webinars". These impersonal methods of communications, with a dehumanizing feel to them, are virtual requirements in many Network Marketing programs. You are supposed to dial in once a week, and hear some upline guy go on-and-on about timing, urgency, life dreams, etc. There is no agenda, no training objectives, no action plans, no follow-up. I find myself thinking that the point is for the guy at the top to know that thousands of people are hanging on his every word.

It is pretty much the same with "webinars." If you want the upline to help you, then you must "plug in" to these virtual meetings.

But "conference call" is a misnomer. A conference is an event where two or more people confer, discuss, brainstorm, negotiate, and come to agreement. At conferences, problems are solved, knowledge is gained, relationships are strenghened.

Delegation is the way to go, and with it, the fostering of effective one-on-one working relationships.

According to Temple University professor Ned Kock, quoted in the February, 2002 issue of Smart Business Magazine, "Our biological communication apparatus has been optimized for face-to-face interaction," (Reply to All, p. 34).

Let's trade in the conference calls for true face-to-face communications, the webinars for objective and customer-driven live workshops. Let's bring our people together, learn from one another, solve problems, and build our businesses!

A Terrible Prospect

In this Presidential election season, there is a lot of talk about what Washington should be doing for us. We need a predictable income, health care, education, a safety-net. And we want someone to take care of it for us.

Our generation is spoiled. It has gotten used to getting something for nothing. But we are no longer farmers, growing and crafting our own provisions. The economy has changed, and for the most part we can no longer get by, without some government intervention. You can't function without a social security number, credit cards, an automobile, insurance. Even the public education system has become so expensive for parents, that we have to dig up money so that our kids can participate in extracurricular activities!

The government has created a monster that not even it can pay for!

Even if the big-government liberals passed all the legislation they wanted, they could not pay for it. Or if they did, it would not be much! An economy that took care of everything for everybody, would have everybody living at the poverty level!

Certain elements of the pre-New Deal era were superior to today's bureaucratic morass. In those days, if someone had an extreme health or financial need, the community itself would pull together. People took care of their own. And in most cases it worked very well.

We need a hybrid of the old cooperatives, and of the ability of the New Economy to connect more people together to bring about enormous economies of scale.

It is a terrible thing, indeed, to find yourself on the downside of the modern economy. Divorce, health and education expenses, and incidentals like the occasional auto repair work, can keep people permanently in catch-up mode.

We don't need more government programs. Indeed, these are what got us in the mess, in the first place. We need cooperation, collaboration, and connection.

We are moving to the Networked Economy, or what I like to call the "Star Trek" economy. Have you noticed that, in the Science Fiction world, people do not use cash? I think that this is deliberate, not an oversight in the minds of Sci-Fi writers.

In the future, we will learn how to mutually support one another, so that the talents and passions of all may be realized in this life.

Money is not a big deal. There is plenty of it. We have just not figured out how to spread it around in a free economy. But the Internet, and the Network model, is a step in the right direction.

Some companies, that practice the "Network Marketing" concept, have started us down that path. It will be a way out for many of us. Like domestic drilling will eliminate our dependance on foreign oil, so will the Network Model mitigate the problem of manufacturing and customer support jobs going overseas permanently.

Getting stuck in the New Economy is a terrible thing. It can happen to anybody, at any time. The way out, is to start the long and difficult trek in New Economy solutions. The economy is becoming a network. Become a part of the network, the only true safety net in today's world.

Sarah Palin and Carolyn Kilpatrick

I dabbled a little with the Democratic Party this summer. As many know, I was a Democratic candidate for Scio Township Treasurer.

I really think of myself as a "Democratic-Republican," which is the label that all the history books use for classic Jeffersonians. Would that we had such a party today! There would be frugality in government: only as big as it needs to be, to take care of the needs of the people that only government can address. It would champion the cause of the average, lower to middle class American (and not special interests). And, there would also be a high standard of moral excellence for our communities.

Both major parties today have a little of this on their edges, but neither has all of it.

But every now and then, we get a candidate that comes close to it. Occasionally you see a regular American make it big. A person like Harry Truman, or Abraham Lincoln, gets thrust on the national stage, and proves that regular folks like you and me run circles around the Ted Kennedys and Dick Cheneys of the world, those that act like they were born to be in center stage of American government.

So it is with Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. Already she is being underestimated. But when you underestimate her, you are underestimating your own neighbor, and people in your own family. History has proven over and over again, that the real heroes in America, are real people doing heroic things. When I saw Governor Palin being introduced by Senator McCain last Friday, I felt like I would if he were introducing my friends Brian Koval, John Agno, Mary Pierce, or Leigh Hook to the American people.

And this has nothing to do with pro-life, NRA, or any of that peripheral stuff. Sarah Palin is the real deal, and people know that. In the end, we want real people governing us, not these career politicians from both parties that are only out for themselves.

And we all know that this is what John McCain has been about, his entire professional life. He has taken on people in his own party. He does not play games. And regardless of how much you agree with him on individual issues, isn't this what people keep wishing for in our government? Shouldn't the character of the man, or woman, trump their views on silly little side issues that will never get resolved in our time?

And now the McCain-Palin ticket has changed priorities to put the people of New Orleans ahead of themselves. Michael Moore may have been more correct than he thought, in his foolish quip that there "must be a God in Heaven," to bring a disastrous hurricane down in the middle of the Republican convention! Yes, Mr. Moore, this disaster will provide an opportunity for McCain-Palin to show what they're all about, in the worst of times. Shame on you for your foolish humor.

And shame on Congresswoman Carolyn Kilpatrick, who just this past week, has provided an example of the partisan nonsense that has got to stop. She, more than anyone, is the contrast, of the political partisan versus the people-first ethics of McCain-Palin.

In a church memorial last week, for Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones, who died tragically and suddenly a few weeks ago, Congresswoman Kilpatrick used the event (attended by Republicans as well as Democrats) as a campaign stump for the Obama campaign. She said that, if you want to honor "my sister," then you must work even harder to put Senator Obama in the White House.

Your "sister" is dead, Congresswoman! Even in death, can you find nothing more important than advancing your own career and those of your partisan friends? Shame on you! Death, and disasters, and hurricanes, are times for us to come together, drop the labels, work on common goals, and make progress.

Compare that to the non-partisan response of McCain-Palin, to Hurricane Gustav.

Meanwhile, the Congresswoman might clean up the mess in her own house, and family, before pontificating about building the "Kingdom of God" by electing democrats. I'm pretty sure that the Kingdom of God does not have leaders lying, cheating on spouses, and misusing public resources for selfish ends. Shame on you, Congresswoman! Shame!

The two major parties in the US are actually not the Republicans and the Democrats. They are actually the Politicians and the Non-Politicians. Congresswoman Kilpatrick is from the "Politician Class," that really does not want the rules changed. She knows that, the more Democrats there are in power, the more power (and money, and prestige) she will have. And the Republicans are mostly the same.

But this time we have the good fortune of being able to vote for the McCain-Palin ticket. Real people, like you and me, that are not consumed with some Clintonian life-goal of becoming President.