Revisioning America
Why is our civilization based on inequity?
by Mark Harris
There are days when I wish I could write citations for violations of the Turtle Island United Code of Justice. The basic violation is acting as if you are not connected to All Your Relations, in the indigenous sense of the word “relations.” Ignorance of the law is no excuse, any more than it would be under American jurisprudence. It does require that you act as if you have some sense, at least a sense of history before 1492, 1776, 1859 or of late, Sept. 11, 2001.
After attending a series of events over the last few months, starting with a Sesquicentennial Observance at the library and ending with a UO Conference on Racial Formation, the DisOrient Fillm Festival and the Pacifica Forum, I’ve come to revision America beyond a form of settler colonialism (a term from the UO conference). Jared Diamond (Guns, Germs, and Steel) notwithstanding, it’s not your homeland until you’ve lived there for at least 100 generations, until the very soil itself gives you its voice, in the form of your language. For example, Hawaiian He ali’I ka aina, he kauwa ke kanaka: Land is chief, people are its humble servants.
Settlers, much like squatters, come into your homeland and claim it for their own, deeming you too lazy or primitive to possess it — not seeing that the forestlands of Virginia were kept free of underbrush by natives; not seeing that the grass field burning of the Kalapuya kept down the grasshoppers, provided fertilizer for the camas and generally kept the balance in the valley.
But beyond sustainable ecological coexistence, there exist sets of racial grammar and etiquette, rules of discourse and behavior which serve to further understanding or confusion and at worst genocide and oppression. The settlers weren’t interested in coexistence as guests on the homelands of the indigenous. Here and elsewhere, the indigenous were in the way of the progress of Western Civilization. The role of the indigenous is to disappear. The role of yellow, black and brown is to serve while the white man bears his burden of civilizing the rest of us. Thus speaks the Supreme Court in interpreting the Constitution over the years.
Elsewhere conservation refugees — people who have lived on the land for millennia — are moved out of their ancestral lands so the newly created parks can be enjoyed by eco-tourists on safari. When they attempt to hunt as they always have, they are deemed “poachers.” Of course oil companies who pollute are not poachers but bearers of progress and prosperity.
So it’s not just the racial discourse but also the doing. Whether you believe (as I do not) in ZOG, Western Civilization is a social form based on inequity. Like junkies need their fixes, we depend on a system which replicates not only a form of racial superiority but human supremacy rather than interdependency with the rest of our relations. Which of Earth’s children shall remain unfed; which should pass away? Which remain? Why not all?
Mark Harris is an instructor and substance abuse prevention coordinator at LCC.
A Note From the Publisher
Dear Readers,
The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.
That’s because of you!
Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.
Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.
We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.
And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.
None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.
As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.
Thank you for standing with us!
Publisher
Eugene Weekly
P.S. If you’d like to talk about supporting EW, I’d love to hear from you!
jody@eugeneweekly.com
(541) 484-0519