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"Power Of People" [Teaser Video #1]
My good friend Talia Keys was kind enough to sing backup vocals on this song. The song drops on all streaming platforms on (first) Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. Produced by: Ben Badenhorst Music BrianErnstMusic.com Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube #SongsInTheKeyOfFreedom  We are back from South Carolina (which was so much fun). We have a bunch of concerts and events planned for the rest of the month! Check out the tour dates for more details.
Photo: Chris Hestand Photo Nikkormat FT with Nikkor 50mm f1.4 Kentmere 100 speed black and white film Home developed in Cinestill Df96 monobath Happy Indigenous Peoples Day.
I am a proud Citizen of the Lenape Nation. Native Americans are not just an ethnic group of people. We are also a political group of people the same way Americans, Canadians and Mexicans are a political group of people (aka. a body politic). What makes Native Americans a body politic? Sovereignty. What are one of the things that only a sovereign nation can do? Sign Treaties. Indigenous Nations have signed 500 Treaties with western nations. 374 of which were ratified by the US Senate. And, those Treaties are also protected by Article 6, Clause 2 of the US Constitution, "All Treaties are the Supreme Law of the Land and Judges in every State shall be bound thereby." Many folks misunderstand Native Americans to be only an ethnic group of people when we are also a political group of people. Many folks misunderstand us by thinking that our blood quantum (ie. the purity or percentage of our blood lines) is what makes us Indigenous and that is not true. Blood quantum is a federally mandated policy that Native American Nations have to do in order to maintain our federal recognition. Blood quantum is not an Indigenous policy; it's a policy that arrived to the western hemisphere on a boat. What makes us Indigenous is Sovereignty. Only a sovereign nation can sign constitutionally protected Treaties - and Native American Tribal Nations have 500. Re: Columbus Day. I know this is a sensitive subject for many people. The world is finally starting to listen to what Indigenous Peoples have been saying about Columbus for the last 532 years. Better late than never, I suppose. Even the US Gov't is considering changing Columbus Day to "Indigenous Peoples Day." And that sounds wonderful, except that a name change is just a ceremonial act that does nothing to dismantle the legal framework that allows the US Gov't to claim dominion over the 2-4% of Treaty Land that the US Gov't neither purchased or acquired via Treaty. Americans are taught that in 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue (as if it wasn't blue before him) and then "discovered" the western hemisphere (as if this entire part of the planet did not exist before him). The idea that 532 years ago, an entire quarter of our planet did not exist and/or was empty is categorically false. Recent studies suggest that North America was occupied (and being governed) by 50-70 million Indigenous Peoples, maybe even more. That's not exactly "empty." If the legend of Columbus was just a fairytale that'd be one thing. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court has woven these fairytales into US Federal Law where it remains the law of the land today. It's called the Doctrine of Christian Discovery and it is the current cornerstone of US Property Law. This legal doctrine says this hemisphere was "discovered" by European Christian Monarchs and therefor Native American Nations do not have the legal right to hold the title to our Land (that we believe God Created us on). The law(s) say that we only have the right to occupy the land (like a buffalo or a deer) and consequently, our 50-100 million acres of Treaty Land (for example) is held in a "trust" with the US Federal Government. I wish I was kidding. How does one acquire already occupied land without the consent of the Nations and Peoples who the private property belongs too? Well, the only way is to dehumanize them, right? Is there any other way? You can purchase land, you can trade land, you can acquire land in a Treaty, you can conquer it (hard to claim that your a paragon of civilization if you go this route but it is a possibility), you can steal land, but you cannot discover it. Am I missing anything? So how do you "discover" private property that already belongs to someone else? Dehumanization. The opinion of the Supreme Court is that this entire hemisphere was "terra nullius" (which is Latin legalese for empty land). Was North and South America empty of humans 532 years ago? Only if you dehumanize, am I wrong? How did the US Gov't convince the Supreme Court that *contrary to facts and logic* this continent was empty of humans prior to 1492? Chief Justice John Marshall, on behalf of the Supreme Court cited the "principle of discovery" as the 1492 Papal Bull (which is like an executive order from the Pope) called the Inter Caetera. This 15th Century Vatican decree proclaims that any land that was not occupied by Christians or under the domain of a Christian Monarch is considered "empty land." The courts interpreted this as being anyone who is not baptized is considered a "heathen" or "savage" that is a step below human but a step above animal. Nevertheless, it is still dehumanization. Quite literally, today, Native American Nations cannot hold the title to our land because our Ancestors committed the crime of not being baptized in the year 1492. It's crazy. But this is current US Federal Law today. Here are the Supreme Court Cases that codify the Doctrine of Christian Discovery into US Federal Law and explain everything I'm talking about. Johnson v. McIntosh (1823) Lone Wolf v. Hitchcock (1903) Tee Hit Ton Nation v. USA (1955) and, most recently, City of Sherill v. Oneida Nation (2005) In the year 2005, the US Gov't argued (and convinced the Supreme Court) that this land was "discovered" by European Christian Monarchs. The majority of opinion of the court was written by (the Notorious) Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Footnote #1. She says, "per the doctrine of discovery, fee title to the land is vested in the sovereign. First the discovering European Nation, then the Original States and then the United States." 2005. It's also worth noting that these four Supreme Court cases are the US Gov't arguing "discovery" not conquest. Why doesn't America argue conquest in the court of law? Because you can either be the paragon of civilization or you can't. Which is it? Conquest is savage barbarism that allows one party to steal, rape, pillage and plunder with impunity while the paragon of civilization settles is differences in a civil manner. With law and order. So to save face, America argues "discovery" because you can't argue conquest and also claim to be God's divine paragon of civilization. America argues "discovery" in the court of law that is what we have to focus on. This is the legal legacy that Christopher Columbus left behind and that is what we have to focus on, NOT changing the name from Columbus Day to Indigenous People Day. A simple name change does nothing to change the legal legacy of Columbus. All a name change does is further conceal this immoral, unjust and theologically misguided legal doctrine by putting the name "Indigenous Peoples" over it. I do not mean to attack or belittle anyone's faith. I am asking Christians to take our bible and our laws to God and ask if "honor thy word" means honor thy Treaties. That shouldn't be taboo. I'm asking my fellow Christians to take our bible and our laws and ask God if "discovery" is anything but theft? I am a proud Lenape and a proud American. It's long past time to do the right thing. I believe in us. Happy Indigenous Peoples Day. |
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