That "justification" for seizing land that you describe here, Tom, reminded me of a statement made by a USAF base commander I used to commute to some grad classes with after I shared some of my experiences teaching near a Chippewa Reservation in Northern Michigan and encountering a level of subsistence I hadn't seen before. He said to ne…
That "justification" for seizing land that you describe here, Tom, reminded me of a statement made by a USAF base commander I used to commute to some grad classes with after I shared some of my experiences teaching near a Chippewa Reservation in Northern Michigan and encountering a level of subsistence I hadn't seen before. He said to never expect much from the Native Americans because "they have never planted a single flower, not a single flower."
But the tribe has gotten the last laugh and probably a lot of his money because they now own several casinos and resorts around the state and "don't need no stinken flowers." And one of their own became a lawyer and helped them do it. The thing about history is that it isn't over.
Breaks my heart to sit (okay, too creepy to sit, so stand) on the banks of the Tittabawasee River east and south of Dow Chemical Company, where, beginning in the 1950's, my dad as an environmental (then called "sanitary") engineer was responsible for the quality of the water. Always between a rock and a hard place, he kept the state Public Health Department phone number in his wallet. Legend has it that every Friday, Dow served a free fish fry lunch to employees. If workers complained that the fish didn't taste so good, Dad knew the plant had dumped too much toxic chemicals that week. Then there were the weeks when there were no fish to catch. A few years ago I stopped at one of those river banks, signs warning not to fish, the land about looking creepily dead. On a map from the mid 1800s, that land, and the area where the Dow Chemical plant sits, was an Ojibwe (Chippewa) village.
Living up here in Northern Michigan, my Ojibwe husband served as President of the Michigan Indian Confederation in 1975. I remember visiting Native People with him, in squalid homes (one with a dirt floor, but comfortable, and the elder woman so kind and wise), but treated generally as "less thans", in poverty, considered undeserving drunks. What a joy it is today to see the "rise of the red pipe" as the Band's cultural traditionalist described the change casinos and wise investments have brought to The People who always excelled at games and cleverness. And how much they have enriched our region, spiritually as well as monetarily. We CAN do the right thing.
That "justification" for seizing land that you describe here, Tom, reminded me of a statement made by a USAF base commander I used to commute to some grad classes with after I shared some of my experiences teaching near a Chippewa Reservation in Northern Michigan and encountering a level of subsistence I hadn't seen before. He said to never expect much from the Native Americans because "they have never planted a single flower, not a single flower."
But the tribe has gotten the last laugh and probably a lot of his money because they now own several casinos and resorts around the state and "don't need no stinken flowers." And one of their own became a lawyer and helped them do it. The thing about history is that it isn't over.
Yes!
"Never planted"??? I'm thinking it was unnecessary - they didnt plow the soil, clearcut forests, pollute rivers - need I go on???
Breaks my heart to sit (okay, too creepy to sit, so stand) on the banks of the Tittabawasee River east and south of Dow Chemical Company, where, beginning in the 1950's, my dad as an environmental (then called "sanitary") engineer was responsible for the quality of the water. Always between a rock and a hard place, he kept the state Public Health Department phone number in his wallet. Legend has it that every Friday, Dow served a free fish fry lunch to employees. If workers complained that the fish didn't taste so good, Dad knew the plant had dumped too much toxic chemicals that week. Then there were the weeks when there were no fish to catch. A few years ago I stopped at one of those river banks, signs warning not to fish, the land about looking creepily dead. On a map from the mid 1800s, that land, and the area where the Dow Chemical plant sits, was an Ojibwe (Chippewa) village.
And that last sentence says it all, doesnt it? Like what communities are "graced" with the polluting industries, refineries, etc now?
😣😔💔
Living up here in Northern Michigan, my Ojibwe husband served as President of the Michigan Indian Confederation in 1975. I remember visiting Native People with him, in squalid homes (one with a dirt floor, but comfortable, and the elder woman so kind and wise), but treated generally as "less thans", in poverty, considered undeserving drunks. What a joy it is today to see the "rise of the red pipe" as the Band's cultural traditionalist described the change casinos and wise investments have brought to The People who always excelled at games and cleverness. And how much they have enriched our region, spiritually as well as monetarily. We CAN do the right thing.
Yeah - we can do the right thing or in many cases, we could do the right thing.
Wonderful, uplifting story! Thank you so much, MaryPat! (And boy! did I need that today!)