Hello my relatives,
Yesterday, I mailed a letter for a co-worker and noticed an Inuit figure on
the 50 cent stamp. This stamp is new to me--I don't know how long it has
been in circulation, so this may not be news to anyone. I read the fine
print around the edges which said "The First Americans...Came From Asia."
I would like to protest this stamp, as I do not feel that it truly honors
Native Americans. If I had not read this stamp closely, I would have
misread it; the "Came From Asia" quote is on a different edge of the stamp.
My uneasiness in protesting this stamp is twofold:
1) I am not a "licensed" Indian; I cannot trace my heritage back farther
than my mother's parents. My grandfather was half Native, but he lists my
mother as Black on her birth certificate and social security card. I found
this out because I had to get a new SS card and found that I was listed as
Black as well (which surprised me because my mother was Indian and Black
and my father was Hispanic). I am uneasy in writing a letter of protest
because I was not raised in connection with a Nation.
2) I know from my work that "commemorative" stamps such as this must be
submitted for approval by a panel of people, in my experience this panel is
usually comprised by people who have some knowledge of the commemorative
area--in this case, Native America--and would hopefully have one or two
Indians on the committee. I also think that if this were the case then
there would be no need for me to protest.
Then again, every brother ain't a brother....
Does anyone have any info on this stamp/stamp committee? Any thoughts?
Peace.
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Sundance dance@cicero.spc.uchicago.edu
Are we then to give up their sacred graves to be plowed for corn?
Dakotas, I am for war. (Mahpiua Luta, Oglala)
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