INTRODUCTION: There Is No Question of American Indian Genocide (original) (raw)

Among the justifications for this opposition [to the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide] were that the physical destruction of groups was more serious than the destruction of their culture, that cultural genocide could result in 'spurious claims' being brought, and that the inclusion of cultural genocide could inhibit the assimilation of cultural or linguistic groups. Ironically, delegates from some countries, including the United States and Canada, were also apparently concerned that the inclusion of cultural genocide could lead to claims by indigenous groups." Tove Skutnabb-Kangas and Robert Dunbar The images and stories from my 2010 trip to the Pacific Northwest still guide me. I sit across the table from a man, slightly older than me. The water outside lapping the edges of Alert Bay near Vancouver, Canada, remains in my mind even now, just as the colder wind stays within my skin, chilling my bones. It's warmer there by the food, and I pick at my BBQ salmon. The salt mingles with the tangy, smoked sauce. "You worked with those at the museum?" I asked. "Yeah, we did. They called us in to collaborate on an exhibit about our people." The pride fills my breaths. We matter, I think. They might be listening. I am there as part of a group studying Pacific Northwest Alaska Native and First Nations cultures. But it seems I end up studying more the problems with being spoken about as Indigenous peoples by outsiders. "That's cool. Then they took your advice?" "No. Not usually. We went in and told them what things were for or meant. And then they turned around and wrote it differently." My eyebrows rise. I'm starting to not be surprised. I'm starting to get used to a regular turn about us that includes, but doesn't actively listen, and so refuses to actively understand. You know, gaining meaning from the real stories. Recognizing the truth in them and changing their own mindsets, their own misinterpretations. "That's the way it usually goes," he says. Then he continues eating and our conversation moves to the cultural center. The Indigenous peoples I meet over those four weeks in July change my understanding and my purpose for being. Their stories gave me many voices that build one important case: we,