[Vision2020] Rick Perry's Newest Problem

[Andreas Schou]

Much of this is widely believed. None of it is true.

Though the word "squaw" is offensive, it's offensive for reasons quite
apart from its etymology, which has nothing whatsoever to do with its
being a hypothetical Algonquin obscenity. In most of the languages
where it's used, the proto-Algonquin s-q-w (or s-q-th) roots mean
"unmarried woman" or something similar. There's a poorly-attested
Mohawk obscenity which refers to female genitals, but it's (a) from an
entirely separate language family, and (b) doesn't show up in the
language until the early 1970s. In other words, the evidence is quite
slim that the word "squaw" actually ever meant anything obscene...

... in any language other than English. Just because (for instance)
the root of the N-word didn't ever mean anything racially derogatory
in Latin, doesn't mean that it hasn't picked up that meaning in
English. Which the word "squaw" certainly has, which is a pity,
because it was certainly a perfectly serviceable word in its language
of origin.

-- ASC

On Sun, Oct 2, 2011 at 10:01 PM, Rosemary Huskey
<donaldrose at cpcinternet.com> wrote:
> Sonya Reyes-Rosario did produce a documentary film about the issue in 2001.
>  http://www.wocaonline.org/documents/press/031013.pdf
>
> I am hopeful that Tom Trail could update us on the status of the use of the
> word S**** as a geographic term, and how the Idaho legislature has responded
>  to the issue since 2002.  (They rejected bills in 2001 and 2002 which would
> have mandated name changes. )
>
> Please note the federal websites below which apparently continue to use the
> term.
>
> Rose
>
>
>
> I don’t know the date of the article below, but possibly sometime in 2003.
>
>
>
> Offensive language still plagues Idaho; Legislators slow to make place names
> appropriate
>
> by Morgan Winsor. Argonaut staff
>
>
>
> Many Native American women refer to it as the "s" word. It's a five-letter,
> one syllable vindictive name they have hated for nearly two centuries.
>
> The word "squaw" is a hurtful word, offensive and degrading to Native
> American women, said Ruby Bernal, a Shoshone Bannock tribal member.
>
> Yet the word litters Idaho's map. More than 93 locations in the state
> contain the word "squaw." And tribal members throughout
>
> Idaho want the name wiped off the map entirely. But that day may take a
> while to come. Twice now the state Legislature failed to pass a resolution
>
> to eliminate the word "squaw" from the state's federal map.
>
> The first resolution was killed by one vote last year. The second resolution
> went under the knife two months ago. Instead of voting to approve the
> removal of the word "squaw," the house drafted a new resolution encouraging
> Idahoans to suggest changing offensive names that they think are offensive
> and
>
> present alternatives name changes to the State Historical Society.
>
> Some Native American women are offended that the word "squaw" was removed
> from the resolution altogether. "It was an easy way out," said Sonya
> Rosario, executive director of the Women of Color Alliance. "It takes the
> responsibility off them (politicians). They're playing it safe."
>
> The meaning of the word "squaw" has deep roots in history, dating back to
> the mid-1800s when the white men who worked as trappers and hunters hiked
> through the region and traded goods for sexual services from women, whom
> they called "squaws." Bernal, who works a payroll technician for the Boise
> National Forest, said the word refers to the genital area of women.
>
> "It was a way to communicate between the white settlers," Bernal said. "When
> the white man wanted to have a woman for the night they would ask for a
> squaw. They traded horses, furs, guns, liquor and food." Bernal, a member of
> the Inner Mountain American Indian Advisory Council for Region No. 4,
>
> said the word "squaw" has disturbed her since childhood. "They (white males)
> would drive by while I was walking to school and yell the name (squaw) out
>
> the window at me," she said. "I don't want to worry about that happening to
> my children." Lori Edmo-Suppah, a journalist-in-residence at the University
> of Idaho and a member of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribe, said the same
> name-calling happened to her as a youngster. "The word was always used in a
> manner that was hurtful and degrading," Edmo-Suppah said. Janet Ward, a
> member of the American Association of University Women, supports
> confiscating
>
> the name. "We definitely support changing squaw names," Ward said. "And
> people have to realize that the name isn't just offensive to Native American
> women, it offends all women." Bernal said abolishing the word is "highly
> controversial" and a "touchy subject" because some tribes, such as the
> Navajo, have accepted the word as part of their language. Ward said the
> process of eliminating any offensive geographical name could be frustrating.
>
> "The forms are complicated," she said. "And you need to have a lot of
> support." But having enough support doesn't seem to be a problem when it
> comes to the 's' word. "Most tribal members and leaders feel the same,"
> Bernal said. When and if the National Geographical Name Sight Board in
> Washington, D.C., does approve removing the name, Bernal said she'll begin
> her work first by changing some of the "really offensive geographic names on
> the map."
>
> She said for example, Squaw Tit in Custer County and Squaw Hump in Benewah
> County will be the first names to go. Montana, Oregon, Minnesota, Maine and
> Oklahoma have removed the names. "Let's take the 's' word off all forest
> service maps," she said. "We need to make a difference in our
>
> life and for our kids."
>
>   http://www.wocaonline.org/documents/press/020402.pdf
>
>
>
> the following sites we googled up in under a minute.
>
>
>
> http://trails.mtbr.com/cat/united-states-trails/trails-idaho/trail/squaw-creek-trail/prd_167750_4544crx.aspx
>
> http://www.blm.gov/id/st/en/fo/owyhee/special_areas/wsas/Squaw.html
>
> http://www.hookandbullet.com/squaw-creek-storage-bait-shop_208-628-3578/
>
> http://www.usbr.gov/pn/programs/fcrps/thp/srao/littlesalmon/completion/sqawcrk-culvert.pdf
>
>
>
> Rose Huskey
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> From: Dave [mailto:tiedye at turbonet.com]
> Sent: Sunday, October 02, 2011 7:06 PM
> To: Rosemary Huskey; vision2020
> Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Rick Perry's Newest Problem
>
>
>
> I thought that all the creeks, bays, etc. have been renamed (at least in
> Idaho). Due mostly to the work of a young lady from up north.  There was an
> excellent story on it on Yin Radio on KRFP.
>
> Dave
>
>
> On 10/02/2011 01:45 PM, Rosemary Huskey wrote:
>
> This must read article is a reminder not just of Rick Perry and his ilk, or
> our local defender of Southern Slavery As It Was, but also our “I am not a
> racist”  knuckleheaded neighbors who still find the term sq**w an
> appropriate name for a mountain or a creek right here in our very own
> private Idaho.
>
> Rose Huskey
>
>
>
> Posted by Chauncey DeVega at 11:49 am
> October 2, 2011
>
> http://blogs.alternet.org/speakeasy/2011/10/02/rick-perrys-newest-problem-his-fond-memories-of-niggerhead-and-growing-up-in-a-sundown-town/
>
>
>
> Rick Perry’s Newest Problem: His Fond Memories of “Niggerhead” and Growing
> Up in a Sundown Town
>
> Posted by Chauncey DeVega on @ 11:49 am
>
> Article printed from speakeasy: http://blogs.alternet.org/speakeasy
>
> URL to article:
> http://blogs.alternet.org/speakeasy/2011/10/02/rick-perrys-newest-problem-his-fond-memories-of-niggerhead-and-growing-up-in-a-sundown-town/
>
> It was a mostly white world. In 1950, the census counted about 900 black
> residents out of a population of about 13,000 in Haskell County, numbers
> that have declined steadily. Most blacks worked as maids or field hands and
> lived in an across-the-tracks neighborhood in the city of Haskell, the
> county seat, about 20 minutes from Paint Creek.
>
> Throckmorton County, where the hunting camp is located, was for years
> considered a virtual no-go zone for blacks because of old stories about the
> lynching of a black man there, locals said. The 1950 Census listed one black
> resident in Throckmorton County out of a population of about 3,600. In 1960,
> there were four; in 1970, two; in 1980, none. The 2010 Census shows 11 black
> residents.
>
> Mae Lou Yeldell, who is black and has lived in Haskell County for 70 years,
> recalled a gas station refusing to sell her father fuel when he drove the
> family through Throckmorton in the 1950s. She said it was not uncommon in
> the 1950s and ’60s for whites to greet blacks with, “Morning, nigger!”
>
> “I heard that so much it’s like a broken record,” said Yeldell, who had
> never heard of the hunting spot by the river.
>
> And you wonder why black folks had to use The Green Book as a guide for
> safety while touring this country?
>
> Rick Perry’s family retreat was/is named “Niggerhead.” The Washington Post’s
> cover story is a distraction of course from more important issues such as a
> failing economy, Perry’s questionable record on jobs and the environment in
> Texas, and a far-Right leaning Republican presidential field that would
> combine Ayn Rand with the Christian Taliban. But a distraction can still be
> instructive and productive.
>
> For the Left and other critics, Rick Perry’s Niggerhead hunting camp is more
> proof that he is a racist and a bigot. For the Right, this story will be
> greeted as “gotcha politics” and more bias from the “mainstream media.”
> Lockstep, the Right-wing media will revert to form and argue that “all of
> this race stuff” is playing the “race card” against white people. Who cares
> anyway since Perry’s dad was a Democrat and he originally owned Niggerhead
> anyway? Predictably, there will be more spin from Conservatives and a
> recurring blindness to political history, i.e. Southern Democrats aka
> “Dixiecrats” are now the base of the Tea Party GOP.
>
> And of course, black Republicans such as Herman Cain will be trotted out to
> dance on the stage while they answer questions about Rick Perry and racism.
>
> All in all, theatrics that are par for the course of what counts as
> reasonable discourse in the 24 hour opinion driven news cycle.
>
> I would suggest that Rick Perry’s Niggerhead family retreat is important in
> so far as formative childhood and adult experiences impact political
> attitudes and beliefs. Rick Perry is from the Jim and Jane Crow South and
> has advocated for secession. He also panders to the Tea Party with all of
> their “take my America” pleadings and is part of a cultural movement that
> possesses an almost deranged hatred for the country’s first black President.
> Racism and Conservatism overlap in America; the Conservative political
> imagination yearns for a return to the “good old days” and is blinded by a
> myopic White nostalgia for the past.
>
> In all, why should anyone be surprised that there is a Niggerhead skeleton
> in Rick Perry’s closet? Moreover, I would bet that there are many Niggerhead
> skeletons in many white folks’ closets in this country.
>
> We must also be cautious and not paint with too broad a brush, or suggest
> that Rick Perry is somehow unique in this regard. He is not alone in a
> willful denial of white supremacy and the Slaveocracy/Jim and Jane
> Crow/Confederacy’s hold on American popular imagination even into the 21st
> century.
>
> The white racist Southern Redemptionist fantasy and lie that is Gone with
> the Wind is still beloved by millions of people (all those happy black
> folks; white people in big houses and fancy clothes; what good fun!). Lady
> Antebellum is an acclaimed musical group (where are the Auschwitz singers?
> Or the Trail of Tears emo band?). A significant percentage of Americans do
> not believe that the Civil War was fought over slavery and the rights of
> White people to hold Black people in perpetual bondage. The Whiteness of
> history is glaring. Rick Perry, as demonstrated by his love for Niggerhead,
> is just one of many Americans who are transfixed by it.
>
> Nevertheless, Rick Perry’s Niggerhead moment is teachable history. For that
> reason it is important.
>
> Rick Perry grew up in a sundown town. As James Loewen exhaustively and
> masterfully documents, there were thousands of these communities across the
> country where blacks (and in some cases Jews, Mexicans and other non-whites)
> were not allowed to live, journey through, or be present in after dark.
> These towns were often created by racial violence and the wholesale ethnic
> cleansing of non-whites through murder, forced exile, rape, banishment,
> theft, and violence.
>
> When we wonder why some neighborhoods look the way that they do, why there
> are no black folks or other people of color living there, or stand vexed by
> the intergenerational wealth gap in the United States, part of the answer
> lies in American Apartheid. Sundown towns were a key part of the Racial
> State’s apparatus and how it structured the day to day lives of all people.
>
> Racial terrorism was a tool of economic exploitation. Because many in White
> America are loathe to acknowledge the power of structures and institutions
> as they cling to the lie that is the myth of meritocracy, Niggerhead is a
> reminder of lived history in the present. Yesterday wasn’t even yesterday;
> it created the present terms of political, cultural, economic, and social
> engagement.
>
> While some Americans have a limited knowledge of the relationship between
> housing segregation and the maintenance of the colorline, fewer know about
> sundown towns and America’s history of ethnic cleansing. This history hides
> in plain sight. It lives on in debates over the racialized names of rivers,
> towns, mountains, and other public places. It is present when real estate
> agents refuse to show people of color homes in certain communities. It is
> the ether and lifeblood of whitopia.
>
> Ignorance of race and racism’s historic role in structuring life chances,
> and basic geographies such as where one lived, married, worked, and
> traveled, is especially common among the post-Civil Rights generation. This
> dynamic is especially true for Millennials who would be aghast at the
> reality of white supremacy as the norm for American history where their
> imagined multicultural moment is indeed an aberration–a very recent
> development–and one that works through conservative colorblindness as
> opposed to a deep and radical engagement with human difference, identity,
> justice.
>
> Rick Perry’s Niggerhead moment will be a short-lived blip on the news radar.
> Niggerhead will confirm what his detractors already believe about Rick
> Perry. Niggerhead will encourage his supporters to circle the wagons and
> double down their support because their “culture” is under assault.
> Unfortunately, Niggerhead will be a missed opportunity. This could be a
> teachable moment where White Americans could choose to look in the mirror
> and see the collective ugliness looking back at them. Whiteness, for most
> people in America, and indeed the world, was the face of terror. It was ugly
> and not beautiful.
>
> Folks of all colors should know their shared history; instead it is easier
> to look away, make up fun fictions, and tell yourself easy lies and
> platitudes about “post-racial” America.
>
> Remember folks, there is a little Niggerhead in all of us…for some like Rick
> Perry, a good deal more than others.
>
> Editor and founder of the blog We Are Respectable Negroes which has been
> featured by the NY Times, the Utne Reader, and The Atlantic Monthly. Writing
> under a pseudonym, Chauncey DeVega's essays on race, popular culture, and
> politics have appeared in various books, as well as on such sites as the
> Washington Post's The Root and Popmatters.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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