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THE GREENSBORO TIMES


Native Americans > from page 1 This year marks the 42nd gathering. Native Americans have the highest rate of suicide in the U.S. at


16.25 per 100,000 for 2002-2006 per the Centers for Disease Control, she noted. Millions upon millions of Native Americans have died in European- perpetrated genocide, just as Africans did. And the root of America’s wealth really is in the theft of indigenous land, the genocide of Native people, and the enslavement of Black men and women, Ms. Munro continued.


The National Day of Mourning aims to set the record straight, not just about the past, but about today’s circumstances.


“The biggest issue facing us is poverty and unemployment. In many


states where there’s a larger Native population, our unemployment figures are much, much higher than for White people. In the Northern Plains, for instance, unemployment is around 50 percent and Alaska is very bad, too,” Ms. Munro said.


Other struggles include the continuing theft of traditional lands by the


U.S. government and corporations, and less access to decent health care. And in addition, she’s concerned over the lack of educational opportunities for Native children.


According to Ms. Munro, people who have attended the Day of


Mourning have returned to their homes and told the truth to their families at the Thanksgiving table.


“I think a lot of people want to know the truth about history and


what’s going on in this country and Occupy Wall Street is indicative of that, people trying to break free of mental shackles and understand things and speak with each other,” Ms. Munro said.


Mark Anquoe, of the International Indian Treaty Council and


American Indian Movement, agrees that there’s nothing wrong with giving thanks and feels that the day gives families an opportunity to openly dialogue about what really occurred.


“What happened is not just some harmless lie that can be overlooked with a wink and a smile,” Mr. Anquoe told The Final Call. He recalls being six- and seven-years-old and instructed to dress in costume as a Pilgrim or Indian at school.


“I knew something was wrong, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.


As I grew older, my confusion grew into anger when I realized what had been perpetrated on me, he said. “The modern practice of Thanksgiving makes mockery of our people and that affects children’s self-esteem and emotional growth. Native children have some of the highest suicide rates in the country and that’s part of it,” Mr. Anquoe added.


America’s account of Thanksgiving disregards the American Indian


Movement, the “Longest Walk,” from San Francisco to Washington, D.C. to raise awareness about indigenous sacred sites in 1978, and the massacres of the 1700s, 1800s and 1900s, said hip-hop artist and activist Yonasda Lonewolf Muhammad.


“Even when you look at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, they


don’t even showcase the Native American issue. They focus more on balloons, Broadway plays, and even bring out a big, ole’ turkey, but they don’t show Native Americans and their influence on America,” she said.


Ms. Muhammad said thankfully, her late mother, Wauneta Lonewolf,


an activist and full-blood Oglala Sioux from Pine Ridge, South Dakota, embraced Thanksgiving as a Day of Mourning. Her family marked the day from a similar perspective as many Blacks, as time to be with family.


Instead of false pageantry, children’s school projects should include


in-depth research about what happened to the first contact tribes and their population counts then and now, she added.


In addition, said Hector Perez Pacheco of the Aztlan Mexica


Nation Harmony Keepers, a warrior society that works to protect Native Americans’ sacred ceremonies, Native Americans continue to experience intergenerational trauma in the form of alcoholism, drug abuse and violence, and indigenous nations are continuously denied their sovereignty rights.


“The way that mainstream society has described the actual


occurrence of what took place is incorrect. It’s false,” Mr. Pacheco said. Some people think that Native Americans are doing well because they see the gambling casinos owned by several tribes, but we are suffering like everybody else, he said.


Many Native peoples are prevented from speaking their language or


practicing their traditions, but there are ways to uplift the culture and not remain in the past or have negativity associated with their history, he told The Final Call.


One way is to start speaking truth around Thanksgiving tables, Mr.


Pacheco said. A second way is to talk to the victims of boarding schools, where Native children were placed and stripped of their language and culture. Another is to revive the Native traditions and culture to provide pride and dignity as a people.


“It is a step by step process toward not staying in the negative. Yes, that’s a part of the process but it shouldn’t be the end,” Mr. Pacheco said.


Charlotte Mayor > from page 1


Lyles, 66, who gained the lead over Smith due to early voter turnout, has been viewed as a leader that can build coalitions and bridge communities. That skill will be vital after Charlotte has dealt with major controversies, including the rioting that followed last year’s police shooting of a 43-year-old African American, Keith Lamont Smith. The Charlotte Observer reported on praise that Lyles received from myriad Democrats and Republicans alike for her work in fostering dialogue and bringing together citizens in the aftermath of the unrest.


The new mayor, who handled community outreach for the host


committee of the 2012 Democratic National Convention, will preside over City Hall at a time when major events will come to one of the nation’s financial centers, helping to drive economic and business development for the African American community, among others. One of the largest in 2018 will be the Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Summit, to be held at the city’s convention center from June 6–9. As such, Charlotte will serve as the venue for one of the largest gatherings of entrepreneurs and business leaders as well as an event that will showcase local businesses and stimulate the city’s economy.


Lyles, who graduated from Queens College and gained a master’s


in public administration from UNC-Chapel Hill, began her work in government as a budget analyst and then budget director in 1987. By 1996, she received the position of assistant city manager and handled issues related to community policing and affordable housing and transportation, among others. Retiring from that post in 2004, she joined the nonprofit Lee Institute, which developed programs under the philosophy “Go Slow to Go Fast,” a mode she adopted as project director of UNC Charlotte’s task force on football, according to The Charlotte Observer.


As an at-large city council member, the progressive Democrat backed


last year’s ordinance on LGBT rights, which prompted state lawmakers to respond with House Bill 2, and supported extending rail transit, expansion of affordable housing and advancement of economic development—areas she is expected to continue to champion from City Hall.


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