This pancocojams posts presents a comment exchange from a DailyKos diary about the contributions of Native Americans in Alaska to United States civil rights laws.
The content of this post is presented for historical and educational purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to jennybravo and all those who are quoted in this post.
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COMMENT EXCHANGE FROM DAILY KOS POST
Pancocojams Editor's note:
This Daily Kos diary is about work that Senator Kamala Harris' did in her capacity as California Attorney General against certain Indian tribes' land sovereignty. The cases appear to be quite complicated and -in my opinion- the title of this diary may not be warranted.
The comment exchange that I'm republishing in this pancocojams post doesn't focus on those issues although I certainly recognize their importance.
I'm numbering these comments for referencing purposes only. Comment #4 is the comment that contains information about some of the contributions of Alaskan Native Americans to the United States civil rights laws.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/2/15/1834892/-Kamala-Harris-is-no-friend-of-American-Indians "Kamala Harris is no friend of American Indians" by jennybravo, Friday February 15, 2019 · 2:00 PM EST
1. Got a Grip February 15 · 06:47:33 PM
"Thanks for the diary, jennybravo. I see a lot of people trying to police you for your tone. And while it’s true that a gentler tone might be better in the sense that more people might not be distracted by a rougher tone, you have every right to say what you feel needs said in the manner you choose. This is clearly a personal and emotional issue for you. I appreciate you sharing it with us.
I also want to say that I saw what happened to you yesterday, the way you tried to bring this matter up and were dismissed rudely, as were those that tried to defend your right to comment. That was wrong, and those that did so should know better.
Again, thanks for writing your own diary from your perspective. I, for one appreciate it, and the information. Take care and good luck!"
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2. jennybravo Got a Grip February 15 · 08:43:58 PM
"Thank you for your comment and attempting to see where I am coming from. I am actually in tears over this. It saddens me because Daily Kos and many of its contributors do not care about issues important to my people. We are always last except on the rare occasion when we can swing a state or local election.
In Alaska Tribes and members often had summer homes and winter homes depending on the availability of needed resources at the time. My grandma’s family had a spring encampment they used every year for berry and roots picking and fishing. My uncle took me to see the land after it was no longer ours. In the 1920’s White men just came and took over the land with the blessing of the State of Alaska. Her family was driven away at gunpoint. This was common in Alaska."
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3. Got a Grip jennybravo February 15 · 08:54:14 PM
"I’m so sorry, jenny, both for the devastating history of your family’s experience and what you were put through trying to get your voice heard here. I found it quite distressing to see how you were treated yesterday, especially at the hands of those that should know intimately what it’s like to be disrespected. It’s entirely appropriate to demand respect for yourself and your people. Don’t let those thoughtless acts get you down. There are those of us that support you and hear your concerns. Hang in there, you’re not alone."
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4. jennybravo Got a Grip February 15 · 10:07:54 PM
Thanks again. There is so much people don’t realize about Native American history. That was just one story. In the [mid 1930]* my mom and dad and their brothers an sisters and other Native children in SE Alaska were used as guinea pigs for the BCG tuberculosis vaccine. This was without their parent’s permission. One day all the Indian kids were called out of class and told to go to the main hall and were inoculated with the BCG vaccine. Many had no idea what was happening to them. They found out 60 years later when a follow-up was done to determine the effectiveness of the vaccine. My dad and his sister were doused with DDT when they were sent to Indian Boarding schools. Alaska had its own Jim Crow laws about Native Americans,
Eleven years before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus, Alberta Schenck – a part Eskimo, part Irish teenager – was arrested for not leaving the ‘white only’ section of a theater in Nome. Her action and many others before it contributed to the passing of one of the first civil rights bills effective on U.S. territory – the Alaska equal rights bill of 1945.https://historyastruth.wordpress.com/
Prior to this legislation, Alaska Natives – just like Black Americans in the South – were often forced to live in separate neighborhoods, attend separate schools, patronize separate businesses, worship in separate churches, and sit in certain sections of entertainment venues. Such practices appear to have arisen very early in the history of U.S. expansion into Alaska. In the 1880s, when the white owner of a general store was asked why he insisted on creating two separate departments for Natives and Whites he said, “so that tourist would no longer be obliged to rub elbows with smelly, lamp black-smeared Tlingits.” This kind of racial reasoning – that Natives smell bad and are ‘uncivilized’ – continued to serve as the white justification for segregation throughout the first half of the 20th century.Most discriminatory practices arose as unwritten custom, but schools were officially segregated by law. The Nelson Act of 1905 mandated that local and territorial governments fund the education of white children, while leaving Natives to be educated by the federal government. Unfortunately, federal Indian schools focused on rudimentary education, teaching English and vocations, while white high schools sent a high percentage of graduates to college. Within this system, ‘mixed-blood’ children faced a particular dilemma – in order to attend white city or town schools, both parent and child had to prove that they were ‘civilized’ enough. To district courts, ‘civilization’ often meant giving up Native languages, foods, religions, and even associations with other Natives.
[Source] Nov.20 – The Jim Crow Nobody Talks About: Civil Rights in Alaska
NOVEMBER 22, 2016
Based heavily on: “Jim Crow in Alaska: The Passage of the Alaska Equal Rights Act of 1945” by Terrence M. Cole
This the environment my parents grew up in. And it messed them up some. And in turn they messed us kids up some. And I’m sure I messed my kids up some. It’s just like some people say slavery can not still affect Blacks. Of course, it can. Especially since it was followed by Jim Crow, segregation and the terror of white racism. These things affect generations upon generations. It is a shame. The ignorance and excuses are shameful as hell.
-snip-
The commenter originally wrote “mid 1920s", but corrected the date in this subsequent comment:
5. jennybravo jennybravo February 15 · 10:19:10 PM
"oops. It was actually the mid 30s. My mom wasn’t born until 1928.”
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6. Got a Grip jennybravo February 15 · 10:54:23 PM
Thanks for sharing, jenny. Very interesting, disturbing, and very sad. Racism is ugly in all its forms, and many of us feel the shame of what our forebears have done. We feel shame for what still occurs while we’re not paying attention. My most sincere apologies for what is done is in our names.
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7. RiveroftheWest jennybravo February 15 · 09:53:36 PM
"Thank you for this— for your diary and for insisting that your voice be heard and your people’s concerns be recognized. Too few of us know Alaska’s history outside of the Gold Rush.
Commenters often focus on their own narrowed vision of what’s important, failing to recognize the blinders that keep them from seeing other equally important issues. Please keep speaking out, jenny."
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