The outfits worn by the Europeans during their renaissance have nothing over this one, worn by this Native American. The complexity, plus the skills it took to bring it off, are mind boggling. I saw this image on a Facebook page dedicated to the indigenous peoples of North America, Native American Knowledge. It displays many old, and new, photographs and artwork. The owner of the page, obviously, has as the goal, making the Native Americans, past and present, visible to us.
Another page I follow is Moses on the Mesa. That too, displays photos, usually, older ones, that be quite instructive of the past, visually. The issue we have with visuals is that they can be easily dismissed. We view them, and then forget them. Why is that? We don’t know what we’re looking at. It is rather like being in a museum that does not put up those explanations about the art, the artist, and what the image represents.
In the current world of the victim classes, brought to you by the “woke” there is hardly ever any real information on the people the woke are so very concerned about. Indeed, what we do not need is more haranguing about the “people of color.” If anything, the woken up people of color have done us a service because now we know just how corrupt government has become. Ever since LBJ got that spasm of brilliance on how to get rid of the problem created by the Jim Crow laws, by throwing money on it, we cannot end racism because too many people would be out of a job.
That is always the way of the modern democratic governments. Throw money at a problem. Tax and spend is so effortless. Bureaucracies grow, and community organizers and corporate trainers get rich. In addition to that, they have managed to make us sick and tired of the race issue.
The exception to this is the Native Americans, or indigenous people who were the first to arrive on these lands, approximately 20,000 years back. They were hunter-gatherers on the move. Humans did that, way back then. The weather had something to do with this migration period. Whenever there is an Ice Age, the ice pulls back the water to form those humongous ice cubes, and allows for dry land where there was none before. Once the ice melted, people became isolated. Ditto with the people who crossed over to Australia, and the islands throughout the Pacific. All those immigrants were, and are, Asian, DNA wise. That includes the indigenous Americans as well.
By the way, China too, at one time, mixed it up throughout the Pacific, when they had their own Age of Discovery. China, however, became very racist, yes you read that correctly, and withdrew from exploring, and then built that wall. That’s right, folks, the Europeans were not the first racists.
Back to us, the European Americans. Having an indigenous population is not unique. Indeed, most of the modern world has an indigenous people among them. Like the Basque in Spain, the Ainu of Japan, the Bedouins throughout the Middle East, the Celts of the British Isles, and so forth. Those first settlers to any land mass, will, after a few thousand years, move around themselves. Hunter-gatherer were migratory. And they were not above invading another groups territory. That is, essentially, happening now in America. European Americans are not having enough kids, so what do you think will happen in the not too distant future? If history repeats itself, there will be a population shift. The issue, however, won’t be that America will grow with dark skinned people. The issue is how will the cultures mix? How will Western Civ survive?
I suspect those Americans that are alarmed by this might feel like those natives did when they saw ship after ship of Europeans arriving 500 years ago. And, like most immigrants, those Europeans were not interested in adapting to the natives’ way of life. They were Europeans who brought a bit of Europe with them. Bringing Europe meant bringing a different culture, which means, a different style of living. The Europeans were escaping all sorts of unpleasantness, otherwise, why risk one’s life floating in a boat for three thousand miles across an ocean, just so one could come ashore to even more uncertainty?
In many places throughout the land, natives were curious and some even welcoming. Like the hunter-gatherers in other places, the natives were interested in trade. The immigrants offered new business opportunities. Some of it worked out, but in the end, it was one big disaster as the Europeans were just too damned into themselves. The northern Europeans did not mix into the native population like the Spaniards did. Maybe it was a Protestant thing versus a Catholic thing, in that their Most Catholic Majesties, Ferdinand and Isabel, did not allow for the enslavement of their subjects. Anyone that converted was considered a Spaniard. So those wandering guys had to pony up and marry the local girls. This is why Spanish and Portuguese speaking America has a huge mixed population. Those areas also had developed civilizations, which makes it easier for them to adopt European ways. The northern natives did not have the municipalities like the southern natives did. Why that is so is anyone’s guess. Well, read The History of Everything. They have some theories that are quite interesting regarding the mixes of hunter-gatherers and civilized peoples.
And that brings me to the subject of the outstanding ensemble in the featured image. Why, I wondered, was there no explanation about this outfit, and what its purpose is? One individual attempted to answer my question, by creating more questions. The central question I have now is why didn’t the poster of this image give us provenance and tell us something about the reason such an ensemble is made? You know, what is its purpose? Why is it that there is no information on these FB pages? Why is it that a page dedicated to the knowledge of Native Americans offers no information? Which is to say, they give you a surface, the image, but no substance. They become visibly invisible.
The indigenous people are a part of who we Americans are. It’s a dark place in our history the way they were treated. In the context of the times, we acted the part of the barbarian in the name of not wanting to live alongside barbarians. We were, supposedly, a Christian people. Jesus was rolling his eyes back then, as we killed and stole. We wanted to make this a better Europe, but all we managed is to make ourselves a same-old Europe. We did give the natives a new enemy. Instead of killing other tribes, they had us to kill.
I keep wondering when the Americans along the border states will begin killing those immigrants?
The woman in the outfit needs to talk to us. After all these hundreds of years, those of us who would like to know more about the natives among us shouldn’t have to work so hard to find the info. Back in 2019, the Smithsonian did give teachers a new way of teaching Native American history, including some of the history of nations south of us. But that is mostly for middle and high schoolers. Perhaps it hasn’t worked its way unto the adult level. Perhaps the idea that Native Americans should do the talking doesn’t resonate with the American liberals who think they need to rescue people, instead of people rescuing themselves. After all, the European descendants are no longer the majority. I guess giving lip service about helping “minorities” gives some people something to do. They can get a grant for it, and make a living.
Those of us who have been studying all sorts of history, for more than 20 years, (nearly 60 years for me) know that the First Thanksgiving is a myth. Yes, we exchanged food, and yes, the natives taught us much. Perhaps if the relationship would have remained at that level, things would not have gone awry. But too much psychopathic thinking got in the way when Americans became quite ambitious. We kept coming, and wanting more land.
The essence of immigration is that people seek that greener grass. Whatever they got back home isn’t working for them, for whatever reason. So instead of fixing it, they run away. Those first European Americans were the same. They wanted out of the turbulence of the times. Except human beings have tendency to make a mess of the place they settle in. We see that happening now with cultures that are alien to ours.
Gee, do you think the natives in America thought those same thoughts? They looked at us, and thought, who are these people? They seem kind of weird?
If we really want to know what the natives thought, we need to let them do the talking.
So far, on those FB pages I follow, no one is doing much talking. Ergo, this essay is about encouraging them to do it. To tell me, and us, about this gorgeous outfit. When we learn about this piece of workmanship, we learn something about those who make such things, wear them, and present them, in the context they are to be viewed. That is the secret to being visible. You know, in our faces. A FB page is an excellent place to talk to us.
My point is, Native Americans, there are those of us who want to learn about you. So make yourself visible to us. No one else can do this.
I am ready to be a pupil. Please tell me your stories and sing me your songs, and tell me about that young woman wearing that beautiful ensemble.
Teach me.