Whisper n Thunder
The Whisper of Native American stories, the Thunder of stories that demand to be told.
Not My America
NOT MY AMERICA
~ by Lorraine Watson enrolled with Summit Lake Paiute Tribe
~ by Lorraine Watson enrolled with Summit Lake Paiute Tribe
The recent world events are tragic and many people have suffered, such as the 7.0 magnitude earthquake occurrence in Haiti. But what about our America?
The waterless, starving, homeless, sick, and tired of give out to other countries America. Our freedom rings with liberty and Justice for all. Justice hardly, not for the waterless, homeless, starving, sick Native American population. There are reservations where the only other place in the western hemisphere with a lower life expectancy is in Haiti!
These are Americans waiting for assistance promised to their forefathers. My reservation has been fighting for years to get clean drinking water for our people. Only to be shut down by the government in every aspect for some excuse or another. Now
the government wants to allow a pipeline to come through, blasting through our sacred ground and cut off our spring, our only source of drinking water.
the government wants to allow a pipeline to come through, blasting through our sacred ground and cut off our spring, our only source of drinking water. What America are we talking about - we must be in third world country - nope, just on the reservation given to us by our Government. A small fragment of our traditional territory.
The America that is so free; land to distribute, our hard work, so fast and quick without asking for our opinions or vote.
While grandpa is sick up on the rural reservation, and waiting for funding so he can have a road to travel on in and out of the reservation - maintenance for that road, transportation for dialysis 6 hours away... while he is still waiting for running water, while we have the good ol' president and government shipping off help to Haiti and other countries, quicker then we can say “water please.“
Where does it say we can’t get assistance as in the Haitians? Please don’t think I’m heartless. Just where is our justice as we were promised? The government must not want to confess their wrong doings and will not reward us for the troubles of our people. We don’t ask for much; clean drinking water shouldn’t be too much to ask, for a beginning.
Hand outs. That’s not what Natives are asking for, not this Native at least.
You work for America and what does she give you? A big debt to our children and grandchildren for helping out other countries and not reaping and sowing our own lands, so sacred and precious to our future.
Maybe if we turn to another country and ask them for electricity, shelter, doctors, and to give us a water filtration system so we don’t have to worry about our children getting sick from drinking water, maybe then we can then feel like Americans.
Free speech protected under our constitution is strong and this is our America. Protect and defend the constitution of the United States. This is our government's responsibility. So what about our AMERICA, our people?
