Letters from Readers
What do you know about the other “Indians”?
I thought the Americana column from the November issue (“The disappearance of America’s noble savages”) was well written and provided a good perspective on the Disney version of history vs. reality. However, in an effort to explore the loss of Native voices, the author seems to have uncovered something that often contributes to that loss. His last
sentence was the clearest giveaway: “The voice of our nation’s first people, even the woo woo woo woos, is nearly extinct.”
I must disagree. While Native people face significant challenges, particularly around being marginalized, their voices are still very much alive. By relegating Native societies to the past, we perpetuate the myth that they are stuck there. The reality is that in addition to the difficulties Native peoples face, mainstream culture has a hard time letting go of the romantic version of the Native American as he or she lived one or two hundred years ago. As a result, we do our part in creating that invisibility that Mr. Fitzpatrick spoke about.
To counter this unconscious bias, we might consider learning more about the present day activities of Native tribes. For example, the Cherokee Nation has a detailed website about its government, culture, and services (http://www.cherokee.org/). The voices of Native Americans are still loud and clear if we know where to listen.
Thank you for your consistently excellent coverage of these important topics.
Vicki Flier Hudson
Chief Collaboration Officer and India Specialist
Highroad Global Services, Inc.
Columnist Bill Fitzpatrick responds:
Vicki, you make an excellent point. Aside from those romantic and sometimes inaccurate views of the past, and what I view as short attention span events, such as the protests around the laying of oil pipelines through tribal lands, little is known about the ongoing contributions of our Native people
to American life. It is a topic I will address next year.
More on the 2016 election
I read with interest the two-part cover story (“Two starkly different choices,” October issue). One appeared to be a standard article written by some professional of the Trump campaign. Offering generalities, with no substance and facts, it was reminiscent of Trump’s speeches. The article by the editor on Clinton was well balanced and based on facts. How many people from the Republican Party and their institutions in all levels of society had distanced themselves
from Trump? We had a clear choice and duty to vote in this election. We voted for a dangerous, temperamental, uncivilized, selfish, inexperienced, reckless person, and now face the dangerous consequences in the next four years, and years to come. We could have voted for an experienced, kind, smart, strong, diligent expert and let the country continue to grow on the path of progress in the new millennium. If only we could have advised all voters to think, “If both were doctors, think and
decide whom you would want to treat you.”
Dr. G.V. Raghu
President
Chinmaya Mission Atlanta
What’s on YOUR mind?
We welcome original, unpublished letters from our readers. You could either respond to a specific article in Khabar or write about issues relevant to our community. Letters may be edited for length and other considerations. Longer submissions by readers may be considered for the “My Turn” column.
Email: letters@khabar.com • Fax: (770) 234-6115.
Mail: Khabar, Inc. 3635 Savannah Place Dr, Suite 400, Duluth, GA 30096.
Note: Views expressed in the Letters section do not necessarily represent those of the publication.
Enjoyed reading Khabar magazine? Subscribe to Khabar and get a full digital copy of this Indian-American community magazine.
