Sadly, it probably won't. Indigenous Americans have been fucked for the last several hundred years by European immigrants, and history still doesn't really "judge" that. That's not an American problem, of course, it's a universal problem - history is written by the victors.
Now that Trump is in power, there is nary a chance of this pipeline being blocked. Unless an environmental catastrophe occurs, I suspect future history books will gloss over the injustices of the past few months.
The one tiny flicker of hope I have is that this unprecedented gathering of indigenous Americans is going to wake up the rest of America to their suffering. Aside from the common knowledge that indigenous Americans were screwed out of their land, thanks to #NoDAPL I now also know many people living on reservations in America experience third-world country levels of poverty and unemployment. And I live in Europe. So this action, by attracting worldwide press attention, has generated a level of indigenous awareness that I don't remember happening anywhere else in my lifetime (and I have lived in New Zealand, Australia and Canada). I only hope it will lead to some kind of concrete changes in indigenous policy. Maybe not in Trump's administration, but perhaps the images of this protest will stick in the minds of the the next generation of progressive kids who grow up to be president.
in my heart of hearts, i know you're right. even when i'm fed up and despondent beyond BEYOND, i can't shake the pollyanna tendencies; to be judged harshly would be the right and correct thing, and there doesn't seem to be much of either of those things right now.
i do hope you're right, about the visibility this has gotten and possible changes as a result. i really, truly do.
Now that Trump is in power, there is nary a chance of this pipeline being blocked. Unless an environmental catastrophe occurs, I suspect future history books will gloss over the injustices of the past few months.
The one tiny flicker of hope I have is that this unprecedented gathering of indigenous Americans is going to wake up the rest of America to their suffering. Aside from the common knowledge that indigenous Americans were screwed out of their land, thanks to #NoDAPL I now also know many people living on reservations in America experience third-world country levels of poverty and unemployment. And I live in Europe. So this action, by attracting worldwide press attention, has generated a level of indigenous awareness that I don't remember happening anywhere else in my lifetime (and I have lived in New Zealand, Australia and Canada). I only hope it will lead to some kind of concrete changes in indigenous policy. Maybe not in Trump's administration, but perhaps the images of this protest will stick in the minds of the the next generation of progressive kids who grow up to be president.
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in my heart of hearts, i know you're right. even when i'm fed up and despondent beyond BEYOND, i can't shake the pollyanna tendencies; to be judged harshly would be the right and correct thing, and there doesn't seem to be much of either of those things right now.
i do hope you're right, about the visibility this has gotten and possible changes as a result. i really, truly do.
Reply
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