I am Levi Rickert, Editor of Native News Online, Here to Talk About Native American News on Indigenous Peoples’ Day

History teacher here. Unfortunately, curricula and exams often force us to teach the standard narrative of American history. At the same time, we do have some wiggle room to introduce alternative narratives. How would you go about either 1) weaving an alternative narrative into the prescribed narrative or, 2) teaching an alternate narrative (and what might the arc of that narrative be)?

Invite in guest speakers who are American Indian who can present our narrative in a positive way.

Do you believe Colombus' arrival should still be taught as an important moment in american history

The narrative should be changed to recognize he came and colonization began. He should not be glorified or made out to be a hero.

Well, happy Columbus Day I guess.

And, I would say "Goodbye to Columbus and hello to Happy Indigenous Peoples' Day!"

Shouldn’t he at least be glorified for sailing across the ocean successfully and founding the first successful European settlements in the new world? Some of the natives were practicing human sacrifice so maybe everyone is bad.

No, he should not be gloriified...read history.

Hi Levi, great to have you on this forum. I'm also a journalist and I work a lot on environmental topics as well as in indigenous communities around the world. However, every time that I've tried to write about Native American traditions or topics I find that the tribes are incredibly difficult to work with. I mostly get turned away from doing interviews and people write pretty scathing things on social media simply for posing questions about traditions.

Let me give you an example. Most recently I was writing a chapter in a book about heat traditions around the world and I wanted to include sections about sweat lodges but the response from the Lakota and Menominee were so hostile that I decided to cut it completely and look at saunas in Latvia instead. When my book comes out I'm sure that people will tell me that I should have written about the traditions in North America, and tell me that I'm purposely leaving them out. I feel like I can't win.

Obviously there is a pretty terrible history between the tribes and the rest of America. So I get the animosity. And yet, I find it relatively easy to report on indigenous communities in South America, Asia, Europe and Africa. So how do white male reporters like me bridge the gap here?

I think building relationships is a critical part of a journalist's job. Identify Native people to become friends and openly disclose your intentions to present an accurate portrayal of American Indians. I hope this advice helps.

What are affirmative ways you can provide context for an alternative narrative to replace "Columbus Day", given indigenous people's contributions to American society have been grossly overlooked throughout history?

Is there really one "Indigenous Narrative" that can be agreed upon by native Americans, given tribal societies are so different from one another?

Here is a great project underway that addresses changing the narrative:

https://www.reclaimingnativetruth.com/

Wow - well done. Very cool!

Megwetch - Thank you!

How do you respond to people who believe we should still call the day Columbus Day?

I think we should abolish Columbus Day as a national holiday. To honor Italian Americans, we should have a National Italian American Heritage Day.

What do Italian Americans have to do with Columbus day?

While I agree that Columbus was a total piece of shit, based on what I've read about him, Isn't the point of the holiday to celebrate the Western discovery of the Americas?

Classically, the term "discovery" when referring to lands, doesn't just mean being the first to find them. It means being the one to find, document, and retain knowledge of and connection to said lands. By that metric, Columbus(or rather his crew) did discover the Americas, regardless of how shitty he (or they) was otherwise.

I can't show up at your house and say I discovered it when you were there first.

I had I mycology professor that said something like "hey, don't talk smack about Columbus, I'm Italian." Does that sound as dumb to you as it did to me?

I would agree. I think we should have an annual day to celebrate contributions made by Italian Americans. As history records Italian Americans faced tremendous discrimination during height of their immigration to America.

Sounds like a reasonable compromise. Did we even have a Columbus Day prior to heavy Italian immigration? Columbus Day could be renamed and repurposed into an Italian St. Patrick’s Day, where it’s understood to be specifically for a particular group but everyone’s invited to have fun with it. Corned beef and beer for one, cannolis and wine for the other...I’m liking this idea!

Columbus Day became a national holiday in 1937. Time to change it to a day to recognize accomplishment of Italian Americans.

Native People groups in the United States have extremely high rates of Alcoholism and Domestic Violence. Unfortunately due to poor funding limited law enforcement resources are available. What are some ways, outside of Law Enforcement, do you think these two serious issues can be addressed?

I am a strong believer American Indians need to embrace our rich culture of our ancestors when alcohol and domestic violence was not a part of how we conducted ourselves. I am not trying to portray paradise, but rather advancing the teachings that include love, respect, honesty, bravery, humility, truth, and wisdom.

Sadly, alcoholism and domestic violence knows no racial or ethnic barrier.

Hello! I'm from Canada and I was recently having a conversation with a First Nations (Ojibwe) friend of mine about the shortcomings of the Reconciliation Act we have here. I was just wondering, as an American what do you think about it? What do you appreciate and what else should be done? Thanks!!

I love the spirit of First Nations people in Canada. Native News covered the Idle No More movement seven years ago. The First Nations people attempt to keep the Canadian government accountable, which in my opinion is great. Governments must be held accountable for their actions.

Did you read Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee? Did you find it accurately presents Native American history?

I have read "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee." I think it is an excellent book.

We often hear about the atrocities that occurred after Columbus' arrival, and of course don't want to diminish the truth - but are there any positive historical accounts of early European explorers interacting, working, or living with indigenous people of the Americas (beyond the "First Thanksgiving" narrative), that could help bridge the current divide between people who disagree on the true narrative? How are explorers like Leif Erickson viewed differently among the Native community when compared to controversial figures like Christopher Columbus?

I agree that we should not always concentrate on the negative aspects of history. Today, we need to discover ways to build positive relationships.

How are you and your organization communicating your goals to the educational community and what has been the response?

I am fine and hope you are as well. Native News Online publishes 365 days per year. We attempt to address these issues on an ongoing basis. The task is huge given curricular seldom addresses indigenous peoples' issues in our schools. We need to get beyond the "Thanksgiving" Indian depicted in our schools.

Have you thought of providing alternative curriculum for different educational levels, especially elementary-aged children that teachers can introduce at a young age?

Also, how can I as an individual Native American who lives in very modern American culture help make a difference?

Thanks for the great work you do!

Several tribal educational departments have been working with school boards to advance a more accurate portrayal of American Indians across the country. As individual American Indians, we should begin at home. When my children were in elementary school, I pushed hard for an accurate portrayal of who we are today in contemporary times. I even was asked to make presentations in their classrooms. These gestures may seem small, but if we all participate, there is a difference being made!

How can other americans help native americans preserve their culture?

Learn the accurate history and then tell others.

Knowing Better - In Defense of Columbus: An Exaggerated Evil

That said I don't care about Columbus day.

Why do you think we should recognize Indigenous people for a day?

It is a replacement to celebrating a man who should not be recognized. For those who think a name means nothing, I would ask why was Saul's name changed to Paul?

I find eating to be one of my favorite ways to experience other cultures. Any recommendations for cook books with native American recipe?

I've heard that some tribes really lost a lot of the cooking traditions when there native lands and thus many of the foods they could hunt changed. But am curious to learn more about the state of modern cuisine.

I highly recommend "The Sioux Chef's Indigenous Kitchen" by Sean Sherman. It won a national book award a few months ago...great book in the indigenous food movement with many recipes.

Do you find the Washington Redskins name insulting? Also, have you listened to Danielli Bolelli's podcast History On Fire, War for the Black Hills about the Lakota struggle? If not, I'd highly suggest it.

I hate the NFL team using the R-word! Very disrepectful. Despite what the Washington Post says most American Indians I know hate the usage...there are always the uncles in families who see no harm in the term...The Washington Post found those uncles.

Is there anything I can do to help your cause?

You can assist by gaining knowledge of who Native people are today -- even beyond Indian gaming. Our culture is intact. You can help spread the accurate narrative.

This is off topic, but if you have any input I would greatly appreciate it.

I travel often, and while I don't have a lot of money I like to support the local community as much as I can. When I am on native lands are there types of businesses I should avoid beyond the big box stores and chain restaurants?

I appreciate you wanting to spend your money in local communities. Please support the Indian artisans on tribal lands.

How did the Natives and Vikings get along when they first discovered America? It's interesting to think they had a couple hundred years on Columbus and their settlements are still being found now and again along the coast. I always heard they had more respect for Native Americans.

Well, you are probably correct. We don't hear the stories of genocide by the Vikings on the indigenous peoples of this land as we do about Columbus' men.

I grew up in Christian and public schools in one of the most conservative parts of the country, but I feel very fortunate that my teachers always managed to dedicate 2-6 weeks a year to learning Native traditions and what was known of the history. In the Christian elementary school, though, they always managed to put the "Divine Providence" bent to Columbus' discovery of the Americas. To this day, I am absolutely fascinated with Native history, particularly north of Mesoamerica because so much is still being deciphered and uncovered.

One thing I am curious about is what is the general feeling among those with official tribal affiliation about white people claiming Native ancestry? And do you have any suggestions about how someone could explore potential ancestry in a reliable and sensitive way?

Like a good portion of families in the South, my dad's side has their family legends about how my grandmother was raised by her single Native mother, but her memory was notoriously unreliable, and there's basically no written records that I'm aware of. That side of the family doesn't even bother with finding the tribe name other than to say it was whatever tribe occupied East Texas at the time (the Coushatta have a reservation in the county where my dad was born, but they're relatively recent arrivals, and the land was historically Caddo). Given my family history is quite fuzzy and untraceable outside of Texas, it would be cool to find a bit more information about these stories I grew up hearing, but I also want to be careful that I'm not claiming minority status like it's a token accessory.

When I ran an urban American Indian center, I often encountered grown adults who had recently found out they had been adopted and discovered they were American Indians. I would tell them that getting involved with their roots or heritage can be a painful experience because of many factors.

So, I would tell you to embrace it with humility and walk softly with respect.

What would be the most important thing you'd like to see changed in American schools?

Teaching accuracy in American history is a good place to begin.

Some friends of mine (at least one of whom is an Indigenous American) have said that because the use of the word "savage" has been applied to native groups en masse that it is, therefore, an intrinsically racist word and can never be used without the racial connotation.

As a Brit I see the word used a lot without the implicit racism in UK publications. I feel that the assumption the word is racist imbues the word with racist meaning, even when none was intended.

Should I avoid using the word online, because of the high proportion of US people where it is a racist term? Should I start to reach out to UK publications and request they consider an alternative synonym? Should I even get involved in this sort of discussion because I'm an outsider?

Everyone should be part of the discussion.

The word savage shows up in the U.S. Declaration of Independence when Thomas Jefferson referred to my ancestors as "merciless savages."

We know that document will never be changed. Nor will the sting ever be removed. However, we can agree Jefferson was wrong to refer to American Indians as being such.

I personally do not like the term.

So I sometimes have need to refer to the First People of various locales (as distinct to those populations who may have migrated/colonised and now live there and have their own descendants) and have been called out for using the term "Aboriginal people of X" because it's believed only the first people of Australia should be called Aborigines. On the other hand I get told "First People" is for the North American populations, only.

If I have other political reasons for avoiding the use of the word "native" (not least because that can imply the people that were born and live there now) am I best off using a single term, or both terms (although there's some duplication)?

Actually, most American Indians like to refer to their tribal affilations. As we know some of the terms such as Indian and Native American are misnomers. I sometimes tell people I really don't care which they use. Treating people with respect is the most important thing we should be concerned with in life.

What's your take on Thanksgiving? What would be your narrative when it comes to informing people about Thanksgiving?

The typical version of Thanksgiving is a constructed history the puts a spin of harmony. A closer examination of history reveals, the tribe was basically wiped out soon thereafter.

https://nativenewsonline.net/opinion/on-thanksgiving/

Good morning Sir, thank you for conducting this AMA.

Where do you stand on the boom of casinos being built on reservations?

Indian gaming brought in $32 billion...much needed money to a people that have been deemed the most poorest. However, I love those tribes that are thinking beyond gaming when it comes to economic development as they build their tribal economies.

You bring up the idea of ancestors, which is in my opinion a pretty powerful part of Native American spirituality and mysticism and history. How do modern Native Americans connect to this idea of "ancestors", or has a lot of that mysticism been lost?

level 1kierkegaardians1 point · 2 hours ago

Many Americcan Indians I know still think in terms of our ancestors to give guidance for our lives today.

I'm preparing to start a podcast here in Montana, and intend to cover some stories from the reservations. What do you think are some of the most pressing issues for Native Americans that urgently need more in-depth coverage?

Please follow Native News Online on regular basis. We cover the issues such as sovereignty, mascots, court cases, among others that highlight the top issues impacting Native people today.

What are some of the top current news topics related to your tribe or Native Americans in general?

The threat to tribal sovereignty. Here is one article that is about a real threat posted on Native News Online on Saturday:

https://nativenewsonline.net/currents/gop-appointed-federal-district-judge-strikes-down-indian-child-welfare-act/

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The First Nations people are fighting for environmental justice. Additionally, there is high concern about missing Native women missing and murdered at outrageous rates.

Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to do this, Mr. Rickert.

How has the current administration impacted the Native American community and what stories are left out of mainstream media that you feel we should know about?

The current administration is not favorable towards American Indian concerns overall...There is a major erosion of our sovereign rights that is currently unfolding that will have negative impacts on Indian Country for a long time.

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Embrace your Native heritage with pride and humility.

Would a protest asserting your views help you, or would it hurt you?

I believe educating non-Native people is the best means. Even our lawmakers are ignorant as to many our reasons for the positions we take when it comes to American Indian sovereignty, concerns, history and treaties.

I am so happy that you are doing this. I may not be a Native American but I firmly believe that your history and culture out weighs the importance of a man who wasn’t the first person to discover the new world. As a fan of history, I hope that you are represented as the man who made today’s holiday what it should be called. How long have you been advocating this change and since then have you made any big break throughs?

I have been involved with American Indian rights issues for decades...I do like the progress being made.

what's your favorite brand of whiskey?

I'm a non-alcoholic drinker...no clue!

Where are they still teaching that Columbus "discovered" America?

The concept is still being taught in many schools.