John Muir in Native America
sierraclub.org
sierraclub.org
We should remember people for their good and their bad, not wipe them from the history books.
Every time I see a piece of money with someone’s face in it now, I wonder how much longer that face will be on there once that person’s flaws are put on display. I also find it interesting that the Euro doesn’t honor specific people. I’m guessing that’s because there’s no practical way to find people that all countries would like to see on the Euro.
It is the same reason why the things depicted on the Euro, like bridges, are not depictions of actual things, but loosely based on them.
There’s a lot of great stuff in his writing, but there’s this too.
The idea that people with Indigenous blood have special ownership of land and soil is more dangerous. On the surface you want to support any such claims because of terrible treatment of Indigenous groups. But the idea is completely at odds with that of the United States being a multicultural nation of immigrants. Doesn't immigration just double down on the theft of native land?
Look at a map sometime to see which countries practice "jus sanguineous" citizenship vs. "jus soli" citizenship. The "jus soli" countries are almost always colonial countries. The comparatively-welcoming immigration regime is inextricably linked to a program of population replacement of Indigenous peoples. If you embrace the usual "blue state" catechism of both "Indigenous Rights" and "pro-immigration", you're embracing a contradiction. The only way for it to make sense is to adopt a white-centric attitude that both principles must be in alignment since both groups tend not to be white. This is the height of narcissism.
Parts of the Right have also seen the possibilities in Indigenous rhetoric -- starting with the phrase "my people". Where do you think QAnon Shaman came from? Why do you think Vikings are trending? From a certain point of view, they're just another tribe. It's easy to repurpose "Indigenous Rights" as nativism. And in Europe (but not in North America), it even makes some logical sense.
And when you stop and actually listen to Indigenous rhetoric instead of projecting your own "good person" beliefs onto it, you will start to notice things that really are not Liberal, things that would send a chill down your spine if ever uttered by someone with power. For example, I watched an interview with one Indigenous person who summarized the problem thus: "The white people did horrible things. They killed us. But you know what really did us in? They outbred us." I'm paraphrasing but I'm sure I got that last sentence right, because it rang in my ears.
This is stuff that the "left" is going to have to be more careful with than it is.
Muir espoused nature free of humans while wandering around landscapes shaped by human hands. He invalidated the people who created the forests he loved, and also drove a wedge between humans and nature. That is not the way forward.
Muir is the reason I support other groups besides the Sierra club. My guess is they’ve heard similar stories from other and know they need a change.
Read “Tending the Wilds”, for a start.
Searching for that exact phrase isn't leading me to the resource. Is it "Tending the Wild: Native American Knowledge and the Management of California's Natural Resources"?
If not, do you have a link?