History doesn’t repeat itself–but it does rhyme. (Mark Twain supposedly made this observation.) The Indians have it “done to” them again, according to the NY Times Editorial Board:
It’s an old American story: malign policies hatched in Washington leading to pain and death in Indian country. It was true in the 19th century. It is true now, at a time when Congress, heedless of its solemn treaty obligations to Indian tribes, is allowing the across-the-board budget cuts known as the sequester to threaten the health, safety and education of Indians across the nation.
It is easy for the many not living on a reservation to not see what happens on them. Out of sight, out of mind.
Read a bit about the sequester’s effects here:
Abandoned in Indian Country – NYTimes.com.
The editors’ conclusion is sharp:
The next time any Republicans get pious about their party’s respect for life and the rule of law, someone should ask: What about Pine Ridge?
I am a historian. I am particularly interested in "place," the American West, American Indians, religion, the environment, books and libraries, and Christian theology and spirituality. For more on me, see About. For stuff by me, see Miscellaneous.
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