It is because of people who have turned into the likes of Brooke Wolff, and a needy press that supports such matters, that I hope to leave the States for good after college. Westword, if you are going to put the Stars and Stripes behind something, put it behind something meaningful. Like something that helped found this country. My apologies to anyone uninvolved in the publishing of the story.
Justin Bock
Denver
The Return of the Native
When I picked up the February 9 issue and saw Steve Jackson's "Civil Wars," I had a bad feeling. Westword definitely has published some good articles in the past, but I had a feeling this issue was beyond your ability to handle well.
You see, being white and living among white people, I knew that this was going to present a great opportunity for ignorant, racist whites to denounce Indians in general and Colorado AIM in particular, and some of the letters to the editor have borne this out. Whites don't want to see strong Indians, effective Indians or especially critical and vocal Indians.
I recall a conversation I had with a very successful head of a large business in Denver. After mentioning I was working on a project with AIM, a foreign woman asked what or who AIM was. His reply: "We won't talk about them. They're bad people. They kill people." Now, is this true or is it a media-manufactured idea?
It wasn't long ago that white writers back East cranked out literary pulp about Indians for the benefit of white readers and, by doing so, fueled the genocidal attitude out West. The older I get the more I realize how slowly things change. Raising the issue of the validity of Glenn Morris's and Ward Churchill's contributions to the Indian community based on what percentage of their blood is Indian introduced a racist element into the article. It seems to me the work they do, the acceptance of them in their tribes and the support for them by their tribes determine who they are--not the opinions of a writer or the prejudices of the readers, and certainly not the opinion of the U.S. government, which has shown absolutely no credibility, honor, honesty or legality in its dealings with Indians.
Kerry Appel
Denver
It's good to see the alternative journalism of Westword, i.e., the honest reporting of issues rather than the adver-
tisement-driven, press-release-based regurgitation of "news." "Civil Wars" was refreshing in its candor and political incorrectness--which is to say, it was more honest than what we are accustomed to. The government-paid professors (pretenders) Morris and Churchill only emphasize the administration problem at the University of Colorado. At an institution known for paying teachers not to teach, it should not be surprising that they hire pseudo-Indians.
Colorado AIM is no less administrationally challenged. Why, with the abundance of intelligent and capable Indian leaders, are people like Russell Means, Churchill and Morris in charge? I'm sure that there are many Indians who are honest, proud and self-sufficient, and who would not be so hypocritical as to derive their income from the straw-man government they keep knocking down.
Russell Means--now there's an inspiration for a noble leader. He burned Alcatraz in his "takeover" and most people who see the damage wonder why he's not in a cell. Then he urinates on Rushmore's Washington, and pours red paint on Plymouth Rock. A truly noble leader. But as most Coloradans can see, a hypocrite cannot be expected to be logical. While he demands respect for his heritage, he damns the Italians for celebrating theirs. Let Russell go to Hollywood and leave leadership of AIM and other Indian groups to those who are worthy of being followed.
Larry DeCicco
Evergreen
