Trump Keeps Being Racist To Native Americans And Getting Away With It
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
WASHINGTON ― Over the weekend, the president of the United States appeared to make a punchline out of Native American genocide to score political points. You might have missed it because hardly any of the nation’s top leaders called him out on it.
“Today Elizabeth Warren, sometimes referred to by me as Pocahontas, joined the race for President,” President Donald Trump tweeted Saturday. “Will she run as our first Native American presidential candidate, or has she decided that after 32 years, this is not playing so well anymore? See you on the campaign TRAIL, Liz!”
It’s hard to overstate the apparent offensiveness of the president’s words. Trump’s use of “TRAIL” in all-caps evokes the Trail of Tears, the forced removal of Native Americans from their homeland in the southeastern United States, which led to thousands of deaths from disease, starvation and exposure. His constant mockery of Warren as “Pocahontas,” meanwhile, demeans a historic Native woman.
“I’m a Cherokee woman. I have ancestors who were on the trail. And I was ― at this point, I shouldn’t be shocked by anything that President Trump says or does ― I was honestly shocked,” said Candessa Tehee, an assistant professor of American Indian Studies at Northeastern State University. “That he’s willing to so casually invoke the darkest chapter of American history to take a cheap shot at a rival, I was flabbergasted.”
A White House spokesman did not respond to a request for clarification on what Trump was getting at with this remark.
But the paradox of Trump is that he is so casually racist against Native Americans, and yet, his slurs go largely unchallenged by both Democratic and Republican leaders ― even as Native groups denounce him.
This time, some Republicans even tacitly endorsed Trump’s mockery: Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), who chairs the House GOP Conference, shrugged off his tweet when asked about it Sunday and tried to refocus on Warren. On the same day as the president’s tweet, the Republican Party sent out a press release titled “Fauxcahontas’ Failure To Launch.” Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., piled on Trump’s remark with his own slur.
“We see our elected officials speaking out vehemently against racism regularly, yet very few have condemned Trump’s racist rants against Natives,” said Raina Thiele, a former White House liaison for tribes under President Barack Obama and currently a consultant on tribal policy. “I believe this silence is rooted in the continued invisibility of Native people and the lack of political will by politicians. Some don’t think they have to speak out, so they don’t.”
None of the 2020 Democratic presidential contenders appeared to directly condemn Trump’s apparent Trail of Tears reference. None of the top four House and Senate Democratic and Republican leaders pushed back on it, either. The only one of those four who responded to a request for comment was Don Stewart, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who said, “If he issues a comment on the President’s tweet I will send it your way.”
We see our elected officials speaking out vehemently against racism regularly, yet very few have condemned Trump’s racist rants against Natives.Raine Thiele, a former White House liaison for tribes under President Barack Obama
One House leader did speak up. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), chair of the Democratic Caucus, questioned when any Republicans will ever denounce Trump.
“Trail of tears massacre is part of Native American genocide perpetrated against millions of indigenous people,” Jeffries tweeted Monday. “Mocking this shameful episode is a hateful trope.”
Trump has demeaned Native people throughout his presidency. Last month, he made light of the Battle of the Little Bighorn and the Wounded Knee Massacre, a horrifying chapter of U.S. history in which U.S. Army troops killed hundreds of Native people, many of them women and children. In November 2017, Trump repeated his Pocahontas jab at Warren during an event honoring Native veterans, where he stood in front of a portrait of Andrew Jackson, the former U.S. president and slave owner who signed the Indian Removal Act that led to the Trail of Tears.
Trump chose the picture of Jackson for the Oval Office and has said that he is “a fan” of Jackson’s populism.
Elected leaders may be understandably reluctant to wade into Trump’s criticisms of Warren, and it would be essentially impossible to respond to every offensive tweet the president fires off. But if they’re not willing to tease apart the difference between Trump attacking Warren versus his slurs and mockery of Native people and culture, it means the president gets away with normalizing racist language in the name of a joke or a campaign attack.
And in the meantime, it’s not the Massachusetts senator bearing the brunt of those attacks. It’s indigenous people, over and over again.
People in positions of power have a responsibility to call out Trump every time he dehumanizes Native people, said Mary Kathryn Nagle, an attorney and Cherokee Nation citizen. She noted the contrast between the recent widespread condemnation of Virginia elected officials for wearing blackface and the relative silence in response to Trump’s apparent mocking of the Trail of Tears.
“The effect of that silence is incredibly traumatic, especially for our kids, because when they see that, OK, everyone is upset about blackface but no one is upset that apparently the genocide of my people is a joke? What does that mean about me and my worth as a human being?” Nagle said.
The president’s attacks on Native people have the equally distressing effect of erasing the stories of real people, she added. Trump is using indigenous people “as characters, as almost cartoons in a political feud,” she said, and that “gives the American public the implicit permission to do that to the actual Native people living here.”
Nagle’s take echoes the findings of a groundbreaking, multi-year study conducted by Native researchers that surveyed how the American public views indigenous people. They found that the vast majority of Americans learn about Native people only through pop culture and media, where Native Americans are barely represented — and when they are, it is typically in the context of racist team mascots for sports teams or stereotypes. Just 13 percent of state history curriculum standards about indigenous people cover events past the year 1900, which means most Americans have no concept of contemporary Native American people.
The fact that Americans are taught a distorted version of history early on ― one that glosses over the atrocities the U.S. committed against indigenous people ― makes it easier for them not to feel guilty about the country’s history of mass genocide and to keep Native people in the margins, said Dr. Arianne Eason, one of the project’s researchers.
“Until we start unpacking that, we can live in this space where omission feels OK. It assuages our guilt,” Eason said. “We don’t have to feel bad about what’s happening and contend with a group of people saying literally in our faces, ‘We are still here.’”
That he’s willing to so casually invoke the darkest chapter of American history to take a cheap shot at a rival, I was flabbergasted.Candessa Tehee, assistant professor of American Indian Studies at Northeastern State University
Adrienne Keene, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation and assistant professor of American studies and ethnic studies at Brown University, tweeted that every time she hears “Pocahontas” or “Lie-awatha” or “chief” jokes, it’s a reminder of how close to the surface and accessible these stereotypes are.
“These ‘jokes’ show me that most Americans don’t think of Native folks as your neighbors, your professors, your friends, or your fellow citizens,” she said.
Trump has given no indication that he’s listening to Native communities or their concerns when he goes after Warren. To the contrary, he treats “Pocahontas” ― a name he has called Warren at least 18 times on Twitter alone ― as a clever insult.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders has tried to defend Trump for invoking Pocahontas’ name when attacking Warren by arguing that her name is not a racial slur.
But Pocahontas was a real Powhatan woman “whose life was cut short in a terrible way,” as Rep. Deb Haaland (D-N.M.) has put it. “When I think of that story — and the hundreds of sad and disturbing stories of how Native people have suffered throughout history, I can’t imagine making a mockery of their names or their lives,” she wrote.
It may seem futile to try to stop Trump’s racist comments about Native people or any other group. But the way people in positions of power respond to him when he does ― or when they don’t respond at all ― arguably matters more.
Trump may never get the message that Native Americans aren’t a mascot or political joke, Nagle said, but hopefully, the next generation will learn “that what Trump is doing is wrong, and they shouldn’t do this.”
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The fact that Americans are taught a distorted version of history early on ― one that glosses over the atrocities the U.S. committed against indigenous people ― makes it easier for them not to feel guilty about the country’s history of mass genocide and to keep Native people in the margins, said Dr. Arianne Eason, one of the project’s researchers.
“Until we start unpacking that, we can live in this space where omission feels OK. It assuages our guilt,” Eason said. “We don’t have to feel bad about what’s happening and contend with a group of people saying literally in our faces, ‘We are still here.’”
Yeah, we may be "Invisible", but we are still here.
The article left out blacks, browns, tans, and albinos
Looking at the curriculum of the Native American programs offered at the local high schools (4), here in one Southwest state, none of them offer anything dealing with the history of Native Americans in the SW. However, there is lots of information in the state required history classes on the Hispanic population. We have 19 Pueblos and 5 other tribes/nations in our state and you would think that the 11.6% of the population who have been here for over 15,000 years would receive some attention and be stressed in the classroom settings - you would think.
Was the capitalized "TRAIL" in the article an emphasis on how Trump actually said it, or just Lisc. to embellish hate of Trump by the author of the article.
The words "Campaign Trail" is a norm to say ANYWHERE, no matter who you are in politics.
reading is fundamental greg, and trump is still a white supremacist POS/POTUS
Trump wrote the article ?
read it and find out
Trump "Wrote" the article ?
Only if the article was written in crayon.
So you're off-the-cuff saying "it WASN'T written by Trump" ?
What?!?!
You want a member of NT to read the seed??
Outrageous! How dare you!
pay attention greg -
trump wrote TRAIL
Jennifer Bendery and Dana Liebelson wrote the article about it
1stwarrior seeded that article on NT so you and I could read and/or post comments
you can access the original article by clicking on the seeded content bar for even more info
see how that works? have fun!
See comment 3.2.1 and 3.2.3 and 3.2.6 !
nah
ME - read the darn article -
"Today Elizabeth Warren, sometimes referred to by me as Pocahontas, joined the race for President. Will she run as our first Native American presidential candidate, or has she decided that after 32 years, this is not playing so well anymore? See you on the campaign TRAIL, Liz!"
Yes, he used the capital letters for the entire word TRAIL.
Now, discuss the seed/thread.
Thank you.
I read, I commented. TRAIL only means what one wants it to mean....for sure in this matter.
"Trail"....could also be funny a takeoff for "Trailing"...… as in "Behind".
But, to each his own when it comes to "Interpreting" hidden meanings when needed for gain.
In this matter, to the Native Americans, the reference is very clearly regarding the Trail of Tears.
Why? His constant comments about Warren being Pocahontas and being a Cherokee Princess can only result in that conclusion. First, Pocahontas was a Powhatan and daughter to Chief Powhatan, the chief of the Powhatan Confederacy. Anyone who knows even the smallest bit of history knows and understands that reference. Second, his reference to her being a Cherokee Princess (which the Cherokee nor any other tribe/nation had) brings in/up the ties to the massive Trail of Tears march made by the Cherokee, Creek, Chickasaw, Choctaw and Seminole - the Five Civilized Tribes.
So, yeah, the reference is/was clearly regarding the Trail of Tears and the forced removal and genocide of Native Americans.
She HERSELF....in writing....noted "Native American" on "LEGAL" documents......and kept touting it until she messed up and did a DNA test after Trumps Pressure. That was a big Failure on her part too.
MSM, kept her "Made up story" on the front page too !
Would "Apple" fit her better, since on the outside she said …..SHE WAS, but on the inside, she knew SHE WASN'T !
Not too long ago, one drop of Indian or African blood would have been grounds to deny someone the right to vote or own property.
However people split hairs and percentages,
Warren's AI DNA percentage is greater than zero and that's all that should matter.
So you think anyone with .01 percent DNA that is characterized as being of African origin is qualified to receive the benefits of affirmative action?
My "Zero" is greater than her zero for sure. I've been tested.
I don't write "Native American" on ANYTHING.
The "tribes" have made it clear, as has Warren, that the percentage is immaterial.
She always knew she could not qualify to be a tribal member.
Neither do I.
I think that's an excellent topic for an original seed.
Good luck.
If you CLAIM to be Black and can show that you have lived the Black culture and that you have been denied opportunities that the majority could/did receive - yes, affirmative action is available.
Individual choice. "Most" people who have Native American heritage/lineage are/would be proud to claim it. But, then again, it's the individual's choice.
Are you for real?? Gotta look that one up.
Actually, some tribes/nations do recognize you as a tribal member if you meet THEIR criteria - not the BIA's.
Thanks SP.
It's Shaun King and he claims, with a lot of evidence, to be biracial. He certainly lives the life.
from wiki
In his own words, just a smear campaign to deligitimize himself and Black Lives Matter.
Hey BF, you forgot to make fun of him because he's Vegan, too.
CLAIM to be Black and can show that you have lived the Black culture
So Rachael Dozeal should be eligible for AA? Is race simply a matter of choice?
at you have been denied opportunities that the majority could/did recei
How does anyone prove that? Does anyone actually have to prove that?
It's kinda nonsense. The rule for defining "Black" used to be "one drop".
Now... it seems to be whatever Fox News decrees!
EEOC and the Courts make that decision.
Again prove it
And i the first politician to EVER use the term "campaign trail" s/
This is a nothing story.
Always somebody looking to be offended.
Shame....
Well....I was going to say he wouldn't know that the Trail of Tears is but since Andrew Jackson is his hero maybe he does.
hero, yup. Jackson was a landlord POTUS most successful in evicting tenants from their own property, so it could be developed.
So he and his very successfully lined their pockets on the blood and lands of the Native Americans.
Not something to be proud of.
a rewrite on that happy episode in our history should be out by the end of the week.
So, you're gonna rewrite the history of the Holocaust and lynching, burning, riots of the Blacks and Irish???
not me. the fake news chanters usually handle most of the revision and projection when ugly truths of the past reappear.
Of course, Mr Trump says and does racist things to and about Native Americans. They are not White, and are therefore unacceptable in Mr Trump's America.
No one should be surprised by Trump and his degrading comments re Indians...He sure has a history of it.
The sad part is that some think that because Trump has a political battle with Warren it's just fine to be derogatory toward Indians..In fact it seems to be encouraged.
I find it hilarious that Trump is attacking Warren about her heritage when Trump and his father claimed to be Swedish for decades and not German...It was better for business...LOLOLOL fucking hypocrite.
I have a problem with liver but I don't think people should be derogatory towards cows!
But, donchano that sheep's/deer/elk/pig liver is healthier?
It would be really interesting if those that have changed this article to Warren and her % of Indian blood would actually address the derogatory comments by Trump towards Indians....
It's not hard, all you have to say is no, his comments are not acceptable. Or you can say yes, derogatory comments about Indians is totally acceptable in Trump world and thus in my world.
See how easy that is.
Most of his comments have been unacceptable for decades but limited to the New York, New Jersey area where people are just numb or immune to his overstatements of the last 5 decades of lies, bankruptcies and casino failures. Along the history of his many battles over casino licenses, he routinely made insane insults against all American Indians.
Guess who else was involved ? Roger Stone.
Trump and Stone had to pay $250,000 in fines issued by the NY Lobbying Commission for their underhanded tricks...
That should give you a good idea of what he thinks of Indians.
His own party is too scared or weak to do so.
His opposition either finds his bigotry to be self-evident, or is sick of being called "snowflakes", hearing that he never said such a thing at all, and being diagnosed with "TDS".
Trump is their new messiah and god - they will defend anything he says and spin it to be as positive as possible or to be meaningless.. you can't tarnish their messiah and god, they won't allow it and will continually worship him as evident on NT and other places.
You need to put that under a religious thread - not applicable here.
only talking about concept - not an actual religion, concept is completely applicable with many of his supporters.