An interesting time for Native people

I was reading an article in the Arctic Sounder about the words of Byron Mallot, a well-respected Native leader in Alaska:

He’s an optimist, he said, who sees a future where Native and non-Native neighbors live side-by-side, have a sense of responsibility one to another and responsibility to oneself, differences are held up as strengths and where aboriginal people still live on the land.

I have been looking around with great interest in the last several months. There is a cautious optimism in many Native people, an optimism I haven't seen in my few years on this earth. Despite the continuation of life's troubles, I hear many Native people (and non-Native, I might add) talking about "what could be" instead of "what should have been."

I'm not sure if it's the projects I've been working on, or the articles I've been reading, but I'm going to "re-quote" an Indian Country Today editoral that really latched onto the feel of the now:

Like a freshly sober alcoholic who’s lived too long devoid of hope, I’m still waiting for the rug to be pulled out from under me. But I’m fighting to suspend my disbelief and have some faith that change is on the horizon...

It’s often in the midst of the greatest crises that societies finally find the willpower to reinvent their institutions to better serve their people. With the collapse of the banking system and election of a president fully committed to this undertaking, we find ourselves in a once-in-a-generation political upheaval...

And it will be in this turmoil that Native people will be given a window when their voices may once again be heard, and heeded....

We should grab this opportunity and not let go until our roads are fixed, our hospitals are functioning as they should and our children are attending schools that are palaces.

While many will think of hope and change, maybe many Native people aren't *quite* there. "Possibility" is the word I can come up with. Hope might be a bit much, but hope is possible. Change is possible.

Can you feel it?

We SHOULD grab this opportunity - how many more can we possibly have?

_

Hope and a kick in the butt

This is a pretty great editorial from Indian Country Today, much for the fact that it lays out some of what needs to happen in the Native community. The author (Charles Trimble) puts into words the excitement and hope that so many Native people are feeling about the promise of an Obama presidency. Interestingly enough, much of it is through comparison with Bill Cosby, and his so-called "pound cake speech."


This is exactly the kind of thing I've talked about with some friends and family. The expectation for Native people to address the Native issues (and we are!) The article cites what Obama said in an address to mayors:

''Change,'' he said, ''comes from the bottom up, not from the top down.''

This attitude was actually very prevalent when I heard what the plans for the Obama Rural Alaska outreach were. It was impressive to hear plans for a campaign that didn't just involve getting this guy elected - it is set up to build a system in which communities are more involved, more organized for an Obama administration. A full-time gig, not just an effort for three electoral votes and we're done. Point being - Obama is not the one who is ultimately going to make the changes in our community. We are.

I don't exactly subscribe to all the words Cosby used, but it is striking that a man so known for finding the humor in situations says, "When you walk around the neighborhood and you see this stuff, that stuff’s not funny. These people are not funny anymore." And so much of it isn't.

Clearly, we need a little inspiration, a little kick in the butt, a little hope. It is still amazing to me that Obama is still attacked for talking about hope. Hope! My word, if we can agree on anything, can't we agree we need a little hope? There's no way to really know what these candidates will do once in office, but my money's on the one with a good plan and a little inspiration.