STATEMENT OF DUANE “CHILI” YAZZIE
MEMORIAL WALK 2006
We were born to this land, we belong to this land, we claim and reclaim this land.
Through the years of our relationship with the newcomers to our land, we as Native People have suffered many hurts and continued to suffer in various ways today. Some of the hurt we feel today we inflict upon ourselves through substance abuse, violence, and family abuse. There are many reasons why we hurt ourselves but one I make reference to today is called Intergenerational Trauma. This is the grief and sorrow that we have passed on from generation to generation. Many of our people do not realize this as a plight of the people. In the same way that members of the Anglo community don’t realize they have cultural biases and notions of supremacy that they have unsuspectingly inherited through the generations.
We may feel to drink to get drunk will relieve the pain and we may not remember that to hurt each other is not acceptable and not in keeping with the
wonderful ways that we were created and were meant to live. We do not put forth this reason as an excuse for our alcoholism and our family violence; we do not blame anyone here for these hurts. We accept that that is not our true way; we know that we are better than that and we know that we can and must rise above these hurts. We declare that we do not and cannot accept alcoholism, violence, and family abuse as a way of life; we do not condone these conditions. We must hold on to each other as family, forgive each other, and rise above these hurts as a proud people.
However, we are here today to address and bring focus to the racial hatred and racial intolerance that has resulted in the killing and kidnap and beatings that a certain small minority of the White community continue to inflict on our family members. This is the year 2006, we are in the day of tomorrow, we are in future, and yet we continue to suffer because the color of our skin is different and the cultural ways of our people are not entirely understood. The Almighty Creator made us the way we are, we are proud of the way we are, we do not find fault with the way we were made, we are made in His image, too.
We bring millions and millions of dollars to this community, this community thrives and grows on our business, we built this town. We call on the City of
Farmington, the good citizens of Farmington and the business community to take ownership of this problem of racism, after all it is not only an “Indian
problem”, it is your problem also. We respectfully request, we require, yes we demand that our Native people be given the respect as breathing and feeling
Five Fingered creations of the Almighty. We expect the City of Farmington and its fair-skinned citizens to honor our civil and human rights protected by the
Bill of Rights, the Constitution of the United States and by the sacrifice of our unselfish and fearless Native Veterans.
DUANE “CHILI” YAZZIE
Please also see:
U.N. Human Rights Committee Denounces U.S. Indigenous Policies
By William Brennan Thomas
http://www.cs.org/publications/win/win-article.cfm?id=2906
MEMORIAL WALK 2006
We were born to this land, we belong to this land, we claim and reclaim this land.
Through the years of our relationship with the newcomers to our land, we as Native People have suffered many hurts and continued to suffer in various ways today. Some of the hurt we feel today we inflict upon ourselves through substance abuse, violence, and family abuse. There are many reasons why we hurt ourselves but one I make reference to today is called Intergenerational Trauma. This is the grief and sorrow that we have passed on from generation to generation. Many of our people do not realize this as a plight of the people. In the same way that members of the Anglo community don’t realize they have cultural biases and notions of supremacy that they have unsuspectingly inherited through the generations.
We may feel to drink to get drunk will relieve the pain and we may not remember that to hurt each other is not acceptable and not in keeping with the
wonderful ways that we were created and were meant to live. We do not put forth this reason as an excuse for our alcoholism and our family violence; we do not blame anyone here for these hurts. We accept that that is not our true way; we know that we are better than that and we know that we can and must rise above these hurts. We declare that we do not and cannot accept alcoholism, violence, and family abuse as a way of life; we do not condone these conditions. We must hold on to each other as family, forgive each other, and rise above these hurts as a proud people.
However, we are here today to address and bring focus to the racial hatred and racial intolerance that has resulted in the killing and kidnap and beatings that a certain small minority of the White community continue to inflict on our family members. This is the year 2006, we are in the day of tomorrow, we are in future, and yet we continue to suffer because the color of our skin is different and the cultural ways of our people are not entirely understood. The Almighty Creator made us the way we are, we are proud of the way we are, we do not find fault with the way we were made, we are made in His image, too.
We bring millions and millions of dollars to this community, this community thrives and grows on our business, we built this town. We call on the City of
Farmington, the good citizens of Farmington and the business community to take ownership of this problem of racism, after all it is not only an “Indian
problem”, it is your problem also. We respectfully request, we require, yes we demand that our Native people be given the respect as breathing and feeling
Five Fingered creations of the Almighty. We expect the City of Farmington and its fair-skinned citizens to honor our civil and human rights protected by the
Bill of Rights, the Constitution of the United States and by the sacrifice of our unselfish and fearless Native Veterans.
DUANE “CHILI” YAZZIE
Please also see:
U.N. Human Rights Committee Denounces U.S. Indigenous Policies
By William Brennan Thomas
http://www.cs.org/publications/win/win-article.cfm?id=2906