What's up guys this is will wear with Praeger you today?
We're at the Navajo Nation and we're talking to people today about political correctness issues facing their community in their culture
Let's do it. Do you find the name Washington Redskins? Is that offensive to you? Um, I don't think so
I in my personal opinion know I am a Washington Redskins fan
You know, I don't think it's terrible, you know
Because the Redskins actually came down last year to with our Native American people and talking how to do football the little kids
You know, I don't find it offensive
Someone came to me and called me a Redskin to my face
Hey, it's my fault for letting that hurt me. I
Believe as Navajos and as Native Americans we have larger issues to deal with the name-calling
Like that. I like to Cleveland Indians. I thought that was pretty cool
But some people would say that was like a drunken native on on a logo
You know II mean but the Redskins I don't I mean that's a historic. That's a fighter
You know, I mean and like you look at the Apache helicopters, you look at the Navajo code talkers
You see people jumping on airplanes saying Geronimo
So that's just admiration that the the American cultures that's adapting and bringing into their their environment. We can't dwell on the past
Progress is in the future. And so we have to look forward as Native people
I didn't know if you heard about Elizabeth Warren talking about
1/1000 24th the Native American putting that out there. What does that mean to you?
And she says I think that's just a way of kind of having an advantage
Being in a political position. Yeah. Let me ask a question back if I were, you know, maybe in a different country
Let's say Ireland and maybe I had 1% and I was trying to claim the 1% you know
Any mean kind of like that, you know what I mean?
What would you say are the biggest issues are now facing than I have a whole community
Definitely language and culture preservation and realizing that it is something we need to preserve and it's something very special and unique
something that a lot of
people don't get to enjoy it's it's a cool thing being Navajo and being
Native American in this day and age if someone were to dress up as a Native American for Halloween
What do you think about that someone outside of the community? There's a fine line there
for me, there are
Totems there are pieces of attire and regalia that are
Authentic and only meant to be worn during certain times or certain acts of of ceremony
but you know if you go to
Walgreens or Walmart on the Halloween store or you know a
Costume specialty store, you buy something that's obviously fake
I don't really have a problem with that, you know
the symbolism of the headdress and stuff like that and I can see how Native Americans traditionally
Who may not see that as great but as a young person like myself
I think that's that's that's a cool thing that we get to be represented. Well when you start
mutilating Eagles or
Sacred animals to make up your regalia just for a Halloween costume. Then you're crossing the line disrespecting the culture exactly exactly
but as far as cultural appropriation
Mankind wouldn't be where we are today
If it wasn't for cultural appropriation at some point in our history
somebody took the idea of making fire from another culture and the Navajos were able to adapt and
Basically learn from the people that they were and able to integrate that into their own culture. So we were basically survivors
I really we take a lot of pride in that and then the Navajo code talkers that were in the South Pacific Theater
they used their Native American language and
They were instrumental in every
marine action and all the different scattered Network Islands overseas and
I mean, it could have been any other, you know people in the world, but
By the blessing of the Creator we were we were, you know, given and granted that that opportunity to protect our homeland
which is America, you know, but I think it has become very
Unfortunate that. We live in a culture in a society where outrage has become a recreational pastime
Where people knit and pick until they find something wrong and then they become outraged by it
and
That for me, I believe that hurts
cross-cultural relationships
I believe it hinders us helping to understand each other now here at the Museum
I give a lot of cultural lectures and a lot of cultural tours
that's part of my job here and I always start off every tour and every questionnaires a session with
I'm very difficult to offend and I believe that the most offensive questions are the questions that need to be asked and answered
Because that's the only way we learn with each other
whether it's between religion beliefs cultures gender, it doesn't matter the most offensive things are sometimes the most
important conversations to have all right guys
So we just finished up here at the cache miss festival here at the Navajo Nation
And we found that most Native Americans are not so worried about being offended and more worried about bettering themselves and they love this country
They love the military and they love the USA. So thank you guys so much for watching
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