by Justine Hemmestad
3-21-24
A very different way to view the ongoing war in Isra- el may be through the lens of Indigenous People the world over. Indigenous People have lived in Iowa for approximately 11,000 years, and in fact their presence closely follows the receding ice age. According to the Univer- sity of Iowa, the Woodland culture appeared about 3,000 years ago. Historical Perspectives has earlier profiled the Skillet Creek burial mounds, which were once created by the Woodland culture. For 2,000 years the Woodland Indians were the dominant population in Iowa. After the Woodland culture, the Ioway, Sioux, Sauk, and Mesquakie tribes made their home in what we know today as Iowa, though these peoples were forced from their ances- tral homelands by Europeans. The forced removal of the Sauk caused the Black Hawk War of 1832, and by the 1840s, all of Iowa’s indigenous tribes had been resettled by the U.S. Government on reservations in Kansas and Oklahoma. By 1850, there remained no organized groups of Indians left. In 1857, however, the Mesquakie tribe came back to Iowa and tribal representatives purchased land in Tama county. Since then, the Mesquakie have owned and controlled their own land, without any government intrusion, and they maintain their cultural identity in art, music, dance, and poetry. Nearby in Omaha, Nebraska, Julius Meyer was the Jewish owner of a late 19th Century cigar and jewelry store who found his niche trading with the Native American tribes who had been relocated from their indigenous lands in Iowa. Meyer lived for weeks at a time with Native Americans and spoke several Native American languages. He earned the name “CurlyHaired White Chief Who Speaks with One Tongue,” in reference to his curly hair and his honesty in trading. Meyer died in 1909. However, as though a continuation of Meyer’s and Native Amer- icans’ mutual respect, an Indigenous Embassy opened in Jerusalem last month to celebrate Israel’s relationship with indigeneity around the world. Similar to Meyer, Indigenous Peoples identify with Israel and its native population. Like the Mesquakie who were once exiled from their homeland, the Jews returned to the land of their indigeneity, post exile to maintain their age-old culture (for the Jews, it was 2600 years of exile). Jerusalem’s Deputy Mayor, Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, said, “We are grateful for the Indigenous Coalition For Israel (ICFI) leadership for pursuing this initiative, especially during a time of war.” Hassan-Nahoum continued to say that enemies of Israel, “try to separate the Jewish people from their native land…” Hassan-Nahoum said that the embassy will be inclusive of all people from all faiths, since it is intended to be a gathering place for indigenous peoples visiting Israel, as an expression of support. It won’t officially represent any one government. Apache activist, Santos Hawk’s Blood Suarez, who brings fellow Native Americans to pro-Israel events, says, “I admire the people who take a stand. That’s why I admire the people of Israel: They’re people who take a stand to defend their homeland.” Author Ryan Bellerose says, “Because Jews and Indians are both ethno-religious tribal indigenous peoples, we have a high level of sympatico that may seem odd to outsiders, but is based on the fact that we both deal with issues of language loss, culture loss and assimilation. We seem to understand each other and our communities’ concerns easily…Jews and my people tend to see the world through a very similar lens, so we easily find common ground. We are both survivors of multiple attempted genocides and takeover of our indigenous homeland by outsiders and we see ourselves as survivors, not victims.” The opening of the Indigenous Embassy in Jerusalem during a time of war is testament to two peoples who identify with each other, sup- porting each other when one is in greatest need of support.
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