Pick one

In advance of my travels I have been doing research. Where to go, when,routes, etc. One thing I have read a lot about is the number and size of reservations in the west and southwest. The Navajo Nation being the biggest.

That brings me to this, whatever you call them, it is not what they call themselves. And, it holds true straight across the board. No one that you or I ever called an Indian calls themselves that. In fact the name Indian was based on a misconception made by the first wave of undocumented aliens...they thought they had arrived in India. More current is the term "Native Americans," a choice of the US government to prove how racially conscious they were. "Do-gooders" in the government? Tell what you think of that. They have even changed the name of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. To what? Who knows?

Something missed in all this posing is that none of the affected peoples think of themselves that way. For instance the Navajo call themselves Dine. The other tribes each have their own names as well. Just as many of us speak of our heritage being either Irish, Italian, German etc. they have their own. Not Indian. That would, first off imply that they are united. They are not and never have been. Nor  are they native, having walked here millions of years ago. First, yes. Native, no.

It is nice to see the governments' concern after years of subjugating them . Trying to eradicate their cultures, languages and beliefs. Yep', nice veer to the do-good side. Here's the question, given the government's shining benevolence, what is it they are trying to steal now? Now, you may call that cynical, but history (which we wrote) indicates that we are shifty and untrustworthy. In blunt terms, the white man speaks with a forked tongue. Some things don't change.