As people ought to do at least once when they live near the nation’s capital, I went into Washington D.C. with a friend of mine last Saturday. We had decided to visit some of the museums that both of us either hadn’t been to or hadn’t been to in a long time. One of those was the National Museum of the American Indian (yes, it is a mouthful to say…)
The last time I had been to this museum, I was around 10 or 11 and the visit was cut short for some reason I can’t remember. I think the museum was closing. Anyway, I was excited to go back, since I love studying history and other cultures. (And also fry bread, the one clear thing I remembered from all those years ago.)
I walked through the many beautiful exhibits with thousands of artifacts and loads of information. The museum does its best to represent the huge amount of diversity and cultures represented under the term “Native American” (or “Indian”…which is actually a perfectly fine term to use, apparently.)
When I was a child, I adored anything to do with Indians. My favorite Disney princess movie was Pocahontas. (And yes, the story is inaccurate; I grew up 45 minutes from where the events occurred. The real story of Pocahontas is just as interesting.) I rejoiced when the American Girl doll line came out with Kaya, who I eagerly begged for (and received) for a Christmas gift. Half of my childhood games involved the long, storied, often sad history between white and Native Americans.
Those memories stayed in my head all through the day, as I added to my store of knowledge. So much diversity and creativity involved in every tribe represented! So many things to learn!
But there was more to the museum than just cultural artifacts. Two of the exhibits that stuck with me were one on the Trail of Tears, and the other on the many treaties made between the U.S. and Native tribes.
The Trail of Tears was the forced removal of Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Seminole, and Creek people from their ancestral lands in the Southern United States to land in the West, which had been set aside as “Indian Territory”. (Spoiler Alert: It didn’t stay set aside.) It was a terrible event by any stretch of the imagination. Besides moving people off of land that had been theirs for as far as anyone could remember, the process was badly organized and ended up taking at least a decade to finish, with thousands dying as a result (https://www.history.com/topics/native-american-history/trail-of-tears). It was a process enacted by those who wanted to use Indian land to build a railroad and develop industry.
Industry is great. But at the cost of what?
One point that the museum brought up, but I had never thought of, was that not only was this act devastating to the Native peoples being shoved off their land, but that this was something not everyone agreed with. Many, many people, white and Native, thought it was a bad idea because it went against American values. It went against the idea that “all men are created equal” and other thoughts woven into the founding of the United States.
It was a betrayal of the things Americans tend to value, like freedom and respect. So politicians tried to couch it in language to make it seem like the Indians were being “given” land. Much was made of how great the arrangement was for both sides.
For the other exhibit, my Global Studies Minor side kicked in quite a bit. In the discussion of treaties between the U.S. government and Native tribes, the exhibit pointed out the many fundamental differences in how each group made treaties and agreements.
For example, Native peoples tended to value oral speech and actions more than written language, whereas no Anglo people would ever recognize something that wasn’t written and signed on. Native peoples also viewed the land as a resource for people to share, as opposed for something to be parceled off, one bit for each family or group, as was the case in Europe and Anglosphere America. Treaties to Native peoples were promises of a future reality to be maintained, a way of providing peace for future generations. It established a relationship. For the American government, much like their English parent, treaties were like rulebooks that established what could and could not be done.
In the end, most treaties made between the United States and Indian tribes/nations were broken. And that got me thinking.
I can’t view anything from history without starting to wonder what it has to do with me. You can’t just tell me something bad happened, and then not give me anything to do with it. All you get from that is a Ranting Julianna ™. Which is entertaining but fruitless (at least for me).
The Bible has a lot to say about the importance of honesty, especially for those who claim to follow God and have a relationship with Him. Answering honestly is described as a “kiss on the lips” (Prov. 24:26). We are commanded not to “bear false witness” (Exodus 20:16). And over and over, we are told to desire a “good name,” which means having the kind of reputation that people can trust.
I am not defined by what my country’s government and people did in the past. But as a follower of Christ, I do have a responsibility to be different in the future.
Christians are called “Christ’s ambassadors”. Ambassadors are supposed to represent their country well. As I am about one month out from heading overseas, now seemed as good a time as any to take stock of how well I represent the character of Christ.
Specifically, how honest am I? Do I keep my word? Do I pay back money I borrow? Do I own up to my mistakes? Do I live a life free of deceit?
I have lied. I have hidden mistakes. I have tried to “forget” about the three dollars I owed someone. I have tried to get out of owning up to errors, to avoid pain and embarrassment. These seem like such little things. But what do the “little things” say about my reputation? What legacy am I leaving?
I can’t change the past. But the future…the future is wide open. And as far as it depends on me, I will represent my family, my people, and my God well.
I will end this with a story that was at the forefront of my mind all day, as I walked around.
I was about nine or ten years old. My city park had a “Native American festival” happening, with lots of different booths set up and music and other things. I was there, being my child self, looking for pretty things to buy. At one booth, I had selected two porcelain dolls to purchase.
However, I was with my dad, who has the talent of being able to talk to a brick wall and make the brick wall talk back. He was chatting away with the booth’s owners, and I was left alone for a good while. Finally, my dad finished his conversation, and we walked to another booth.
I was standing in another line ten or fifteen minutes later, checking how much money I had left. With a jolt, I realized something: I had too much money. Since I was waiting around for my dad to finish talking for so long, I had completely forgotten to pay for my dolls. I quickly rushed back, explained the situation to the owners, and paid the money I owed. I was a bit embarrassed. How could I have forgotten to pay?!
I don’t remember the whole exchange with the owners, but I do remember this. After I paid, they motioned to a small bead-sorter filled with turquoise stones, and said “Because you were so honest, you can have one.”
I collected rocks as a kid, so it was a beautiful reward for me. A reminder that sometimes, it really does pay to do the right thing.
As I’ve gotten older, that day has stuck in my memory. I am a huge believer in “paying back evil with good,” even if I wasn’t the one who did the evil.
I can’t pretend that a little girl remembering to pay for something cancels out three-ish centuries of broken promises. But I can believe that change has to start somewhere.
I don’t know if those people remember that this happened. I don’t know if it meant anything big to them. But it meant something to me: my trustworthiness matters.
More than anything, my visit to the museum reminded me of the reputation and legacy I want to leave. I want to be someone like Daniel, in the Bible, where when his enemies searched for something to bring up as blackmail “they were unable to do so” (Daniel 6:4).
May the life I lead be an arrow, however imperfect, to the faithfulness and trustworthiness of God.
Teach; Think; Write. 