Letter of the Day: Culture shattered

Culture shattered

EDITOR: Democracy denied (Letters, Thursday)? Native Americans have been denied democracy from the time white settlers landed at Plymouth Rock. True, natives have not "owned" the land. They lived upon it and held it sacred. The land supported and sustained their lives, communities, culture and spirituality.

They were systematically driven off those lands that sustained them. They were denied the right to practice the ceremonies that were spiritually meaningful and persecuted for practicing them. They were herded, en mass, like cattle, into reservations that were nothing but dry deserts and canyons. (Trail of Tears, anyone?)

Their culture was shattered, their spirit and will broken, then they were scorned and derided for having no spirit and will. They were doused with alcohol, then criticized for drinking.

Can any white with a shred of integrity look a native in the eye and complain of being denied democracy? Honestly?

Opponents of the Graton Rancheria casino spoke with very loud and hostile voices, and they were certainly heard. Being loud does not make us right.

I have no native blood, no personal agenda, but I wish for honesty in discourse, and justice.

DELINKE FREED

Rohnert Park