Judging from Winona LaDuke, those who profit by promoting ethnic resentment are running out of evils to complain about. She is aggrieved about "the disregard of Indian names for sacred places." The mountain sacred to her tribe is somehow profaned by being called Mount McKay instead of "Where the Sleeping Bear Lies." Of course that's not the Indian name either, just a translation from a language she probably doesn't speak.
Polling the guilt-ridden audience, which listened to her insults and then applauded, LaDuke determined that a few dozen people had been to Mount Rushmore and only one to Mount McKay. "This," she intoned, "demonstrates the power of those privileged." But she has no idea who named Mount McKay and thus she has no idea if he was privileged. She overlooks the obvious explanation. Tourists never went to Mount Rushmore either until it was carved with four gigantic Presidential faces, perhaps she should start fund-raising to have the faces of Pontiac, Tecumseh, Sitting Bull and Geronimo carved on Mount McKay.
There are tens of thousands of places named after Indians across the country. For that matter, Buffalo is named after, or at least has the name of, an animal sacred to many Indians. "They name large mountains after small men," says LaDuke. "They" also name large vehicles after Indians, like Cherokees. So what? When "they" name sports teams after Indians, Indians-for-profit like LaDuke are the first to bitch. Maybe Cleveland just wanted to give something back.
"Why do I work so hard?" she asked. "Because you're not (sic)." She loves to bite the hands that feed her - the flavor is excellent. How does she know that nobody in her audience, few of whom she had ever seen before, works? (And surly some were Indians.) If all college students dropped out of school to become hard-working Green Party canvassers, the easy life of LaDuke would end, and she might find out what real hard work is.
One final shot: What does any of her demented diatribe have to do with women and gender?
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
