by Scott Barta

Imagine a mainstream, white-euro-American grade school child being required to attend an Indigenous Red “American Indian” Nation ‘Life Renewal “Indian Sweat Lodge” Ceremony’ – as part of his or her school day - and being required to praise “Grand Mother Earth” and “Grand Father Sky” in place of a “god”? Imagine that white child being forced to say that “Grand Mother Earth” is “sacred” and not to be exploited and gouged for coal (electricity), oil (gas for cars), and timber (houses). White parents would undoubtedly be enraged and would pull their children from such “ceremonies”.

As a 5th and 6th grade “radical” in a Sioux City, Iowa grade school, I would stay seated while the rest of the class stood each morning to recite the “pledge of allegiance” – maintaining to myself that I was an “Indian” and not a flag waver – not an “American”. It took a lot of guts I suppose, but had I not been physically tough, I may have been picked on or ostracized by my classmates. I continue still to this day with my “stubborn symbolism” by not standing for the “Star Spangled Banner” at sporting events and other such gatherings where religious, “God Bless America” rituals take place.

Soon, the United States Supreme Court will hear a case against teachers leading “under god” religious ceremonies in classrooms through the famous “pledge of allegiance”. The person who brought the suit – an “atheist” from the west coast - believes schools should only teach and not preach. He believes his child should not have to be subject to possible ostracization by classmates for refusing to say “god” like the rest of their peers.

People against such a suit contend that local schools and states should dictate for themselves what goes on in their own classrooms. They believe the U.S. was founded upon a “god” basis. They say there are references to “god” on money, in courtrooms and courthouses, and that children should have to say “god” in order to return the country to it’s great ways of years-gone-by.

But some maintain that the “good old days” may not have actually been so “good”. Not so good, anyway, for blacks drinking out of certain faucets. And it may be certain George Wallace, former governor of a southern slave state, would still have his blacks drinking from separate fountains, prevented from entering colleges, and riding in the back of all buses. And maybe not so good for women trying to attain a right to vote a few years back. Past government policies and laws probably don’t look so good to Indigenous Peoples, either. How trillions in gold, coal, and timber continue to be extracted from Lakota 1851 Treaty Homelands – without a cent being paid the Indigenous “owners”. Some understand that if state and local “majorities” totally “rule”, racism will dictate local policies and the nightmare of the 1700 and 1800’s will be re-lived all over again.

Should schools be allowed to discriminate against someone based upon a religious belief - by forcing them to say “god” in school? Should students next be required to say under “Mohammed”, under “Goddess” or under “Jesus” or be silent at that point in the “pledge” when the word “god” or “nothing” is supposed to be inserted?

Do you think “god” should be taken off the money, out of the courts, the courthouses – and placed squarely in the church? If someone wants their child to learn specific religious teachings (using or not using the word “god”) perhaps they should merely send them to their own chosen church, mosque or synagogue?

Indoctrination or brain-washing by the forcing of children to recite the praises of the majority-rule, oppressive systems should be unconstitutional, if not just disrespectful. Rosa Parks (who refused to sit in the back of the bus recently) complained of being a second-class citizen and so feel atheists today.
Indigenous Red Nations and Peoples (misnomer “Native Americans”, “American Indians”) have no word for “god”. They believe in balance; in Grand Father Sky and Grand Mother Earth; the Great Mystery and “All That Is” – without questioning or researching to find out if day is really day and night is really night. Unfortunately, however, many “Indians” have been brainwashed into the “god” mentality – replacing female-inclusion, balance, and Grand Mother Earth with “grand father god”.

For those who don’t agree with the majority’s position on requiring the use of “god” in schools, the majority’s attitude may be “love it or leave it”. But Americans cannot logically tell Indians to “go back where you came from”, like some enjoy trying to tell “Mexicans”, “Asians”, and “Arabs”. Americans always seem to forget they are foreigners from other lands and that Indigenous Red Nations and Peoples have always been here upon Great Turtle Island (“western hemisphere”) – whose creation stories need to be respected.

Should the U.S. Constitution – or Congress or the Supreme Court - protect the poor, the weak, the hungry, the tired masses, the minorities, from discrimination and abuse? Or should corrupt localities and states run roughshod over all those who do not look and act like them?

The Americans need to learn from Indigenous Red Peoples. When the Europeans first came here, Indigenous Nations fed and clothed them and allowed them to survive those first winters – only to be stabbed in the back once the invader’s strength in numbers grew and they felt they could take what they wanted.

The U.S. has been attacking, killing and warring with people an average of every 20 years since establishing itself upon Indigenous Homelands – all while being “god-fearing”. While not attacking other nation’s Americans have consistently raped and pillaged Great Turtle Island, polluting its life giving water, air and soil - displaying their “dominance” over the natural world by depleting and destroying. It’s time to discard the pyramid hierarchies “god” and “higher power”, which keep the masses huddled under the control of a vicious few.