Native people and dual citizenship; The long journey

“A council fire for all the nations shall be kindled. We will kindle it also for the seven nations living toward the sunrise, and for the nations that dwell toward the sunsets. All shall receive the great law and labor together for the welfare of man”

– Deganawidah, Iroquois


An overlooked and ever evolving facet of the Native American’s quest today is to plant one foot firmly in the 21st century and still maintain solid footing in our ancient culture and traditions. While the Indigenous Nations of this land paid very dearly for the remnants of sovereignty still extant under the trust relationship with the U.S. government, the slippery slope of dual citizenship requires wearing the mantle of loyalty to this country while still identifying oneself with a separate people’s history on this part of Mother Earth. Day to day survival once was our paramount issue, however, the new generations of native people must now wend through a much different eclectic landscape. International indigenous issues, environmental degradation, still lingering racism, dealing with the very real effects of intergenerational trauma and layers of sophisticated financial and economic problems to name but a few. And then there is politics…. This native elder’s observation today is to depict one positive aspect of this new political era. The “crab barrel syndrome” comes to mind to illustrate a mindset that is, thankfully, becoming past history; “When harvesting crab, the crab as a group will pull down any crab that starts to climb out of the barrel in an attempt to be the first out of the barrel that holds them in, hence crab barrel syndrome.”  Or, in Oklahoma native politics, we’ll call it the crawdad syndrome. This crawdad syndrome may be as unsubtle as calling your opponent an apple (red on the outside, white on the inside) or damning them with the “sell-out” label. By comparison, other ethnic groups, notably Asian and Mexican American minorities, enjoy whole hearted support from their respective communities with fewer “crabs” pulling them back, a trait worth emulating. The following is a recent “crawdad” example. In last weeks Tonkawa tribal election, incumbent vice president Jim Schreen, who also serves as the city of Tonkawa vice mayor, ran (successfully) for a 3rd term. Rather then attempt to besmirch an excellent record, or find fault with the burgeoning prosperity of the Tonkawa Nation, the “crawdads” censored Mr. Schreen for “kissing up” to the city’s administrators. This elder recalls similar negative reports from detractors of enrolled Ponca Nation member, Barbara Warner, during her first years as Oklahoma Indian Affairs Commissioner. Today, after more then 18 years at that post, none can say she has a less then stellar record. Today, Mr. Schreen and Ms. Warner bring a diversity of view points to their respective positions in the sphere of local and state politics as do a legion of native leaders. So… can our successful representatives in tribal government remain champions of our native issues in city, state and federal governments and in so doing, epitomize our unique dual citizenship? The obvious answer is a resounding, yes! With the divergent views of 21st century politics offering ever evolving problems challenging native leaders, this elder believes, with our support, they will they find equitable solutions that reflect a past of honorable Chiefs and Headsmen. Just as I believe we will find fewer and fewer crawdads’ pulling them back into the bucket… as the long journey continues.