Why are indigenous soldiers serving in Iraq?

BY MICHAEL YELLOW BIRD

The United States has abused our trust and has coerced us to fight its illegal, immoral wars long enough.

Our history tells us that because war was so destructive on many different levels, our nations — before committing to war — consulted our elders, peacemakers, women, youth, philosophers, intellectuals, spiritual leaders, children, warriors and veterans to weigh the costs of war. This is something that many of our nations have not done for some time. Many of us have “outsourced” our thinking to the United States with respect to when and why we
should or should not go to war.

We are sovereign nations of intelligent and moral people who do not need to rely on the US to interpret for us the meaning and the costs that war will bring to our communities. Most of us already
know the answer to this. And we know that we should decide for ourselves, after careful, deliberate and intelligent discussions,whether we must commit our people and resources to the wars of the United States.

As with the US invasion of the lands of our own nations, the last two major conflicts of the United States, Vietnam and now Iraq, were based on lies created by the US government. This track record makes it even more imperative that we rely upon our own thinking, experiences and morality when we enter into discussions about why our tribal nations should compel our people to go to war.

Discussions about this war must certainly address the following:

  • All people and beings are related to us, so we are being asked to make war on our relatives.
  • We value all life, so war truly must be a last resort.
  • We value Mother Earth as a living being, and the United States military is contaminating the lands, waters, trees, plants and people in Iraq through the use of biowarfare, landmines and depleted uranium.
  • We believe in the great circle of life, and we are doing to the Iraqi people what the US did to our ancestors.
  • All of the killing, maiming, poisoning, and torturing will have drastic effects upon our people, especially on the psychic and cosmological levels.

    • .
    The US has mistreated us in the past and the present, and it has conscripted our minds and hearts so that we are participating in their oppressive behaviour towards another race of humans.

    It is time for us to demand that our indigenous governments engage in critical and independent discussions about these issues. We need to tell the United States to immediately call for withdrawal of its military forces from Iraq. Most importantly – and independently of their decision or indecision – we must immediately pull our people out of this quagmire.

    Countries such as Japan, Honduras, Tonga, Nicaragua, Spain,Dominican Republic, Philippines, Thailand, New Zealand, Portugal and Moldova already have pulled out their troops, and many other nations are planning to reduce their troop commitment in the near future. So why are we still in Iraq fighting the US’s illegal war?

    It is also time for our leaders and communities to impose a moratorium upon any further enlistments of our young men and women into the US military.

    The United States has abused our trust and has coerced us to fight its illegal, immoral wars long enough.
    ...........

    Michael Yellow Bird is a citizen of the Sahnish (Arikara) and Hidatsa First Nations. He is Director of the Center for Indigenous Nations Studies and Associate Professor of American Studies at the University of Kansas.