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Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, July 2008, page 53 Arab-American Activism Land Day Commemorated at National Museum of American Indian
THE AMERICAN-ARAB Anti-Discrimination Committee Washington, DC Area Chapter (ADC-DC) commemorated the 32nd anniversary of Yom al-Ard, or Land Day, in a novel way. ADC-DC members and friends gathered on March 30 at the National Museum of the American Indian on the National Mall to learn about the culture and history of the indigenous people who were here before and after the United States was founded. Land Day is held every year in remembrance of the loss of Palestinian lives and land. What better way to remember than to be in a place which tells the story of how the Native Americans lost the same precious gifts? Museum tour guide Jose Montano led the group up to the fourth floor to view an exhibit entitled “Peace Treaties, Bibles and Guns.” The U.S. government made 300 peace treaties with the different Native American nations, Montano told his listeners, but in the end the Americans broke every one of them. “The Spanish had a Bible in one hand and a weapon in the other,” Montano said, referring to the Conquistadors who came to the so-called “New World.” Behind Montano was a wall on which were mounted dozens of rifles, two of which had belonged to Sitting Bull, who used them to defend his land from the Americans. In the end he was defeated, and died on a reservation far from his home. According to Montano, before the Europeans arrived in the Americas there were already more than 600 nations of indigenous people, speaking 175 different languages. Only 20 of those languages survive today. “Native people continue to struggle for their rights and land,” Montano said. He told the story of his grandfather, who fought to keep his tribe’s land in Bolivia. In the end, his people lost their battle. During the tour, long-time Arab-American activist Dr. Nader Ayish noticed a blown-up photo taken long ago of a Native American woman in New Mexico with a clay jug on her head. When he showed the photo to this reporter, I recalled the women in my father’s village in Palestine who carried the day’s water supply from the only well in the area. “See the connection we have?” Ayash said excitedly, with a huge smile on his face. At the end of the tour, AET Book Club director and ADC-DC board member Matt Horton explained to Montano why his audience had come on the tour. “It is sad when any people lose their land and their culture,” Montano said. Members of the group showed their appreciation for Montano’s presentation by placing Palestinian solidarity pins on the tour guide’s vest before saying goodbye. Afterwards several of the participates of the tour sat together in the museum and discussed the connection between what they had learned that day and the plight of the Palestinians. One woman suggested that those fighting for the Palestinian cause must find more innovative ways to learn from others. Another person was amazed how the tour guide could speak of the genocide of Native Americans, when the U.S. government funds the museum but still won’t admit the atrocities committed in its name. Parallels could be made, she believed, between what occurred in this country and America’s actions when dealing with the Palestine/Israel conflict. Another participant recalled Montano’s discussion of the peace treaties, which in a way served as a stalling tactic while more land was grabbed. The whole process reminded her of what had occurred with the Oslo peace process between the Israelis and the Palestinians. —Jamal Najjab |
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