Bernie Quigley’s
defense of Elizabeth Warren’s claims of Native American
heritage have been both widely and wisely mocked by the likes of
Ace of Spades,
P.J. Gladnick at Newsbusters and the triumvirate of
Jonah Goldberg,
Kevin D. Williamson, and
Mark Steyn at National Review Online.
But before I pile on, it should be noted that Quigley cannot be
completely dismissed as a left-wing crank. Back in July 2009,
Quigley eviscerated
President Obama for his snobbery in his handling of the
Gates-Crowley affair. Quigley’s evisceration of Obama won him
praise from no less than
Rush Limbaugh.
Having said that, I shall proceed to pile on. Quigley begins by
writing:
Elizabeth Warren might be excused for wanting to be Native
American. She can claim an old American soul, going back
generations in Oklahoma. In the heartland it is almost universal
for those who have been there for a few generations to claim Indian
blood; that is, to wish it were there even if it isn’t.
Well, if not Indian blood then perhaps high cheekbones
will do. It is almost universal for us to want higher cheekbones
and for those of us that have the means, your friendly plastic
surgeon can make those dreams come true. But it won’t make you any
more Native American than the late Chief Jay
Strongbow.
It is not so much a lie as it is the acculturation of personal
and regional American myth; the fabric of old-soul American
consciousness.
If John Edwards is convicted then I guess he can appeal to a
higher court and say that his conduct was only being representative
of old-soul American consciousness.
The first poetic vision of Europeans in the new world was that
James Fenimore Cooper, who conjured Natty Bumpo. He had an “Indian
name” - he had several: Hawkeye, Deerslayer, Pathfinder -
indicating that he had been “reborn” in the new world in the Indian
spirit. It is the oldest and most important myth in the American
canon of our folklore, from Lone Ranger, who died and became “born
again” via agency of an Indian shaman, and Fox Mulder, who returned
from the dead via Indian intercession in “The X Files,” born anew
with the past burned away in death, to enter a new age under the
flag of the White Buffalo.
I mean if Quigley is going to go all out on a limb then why not
conjure up an image of Kevin Costner on his
hand and knees uttering, “Tatanka”?
So Warren’s claim to be “part Indian” is correct in mythical
terms. Every old-school white Oklahoman is in this regard even if
this is nominally not true. But it is not a lie to want to be
Indian and imagine your ancestors were.
Actually, it would be bald-faced lie. To put this matter in some
perspective, I grew up in Thunder Bay, Ontario where there is a
significant Aboriginal population both on and off reserve. I
greatly admire Aboriginal culture and tradition. But I am not about
to go around and claim to be an Aboriginal Canadian. To do so would
be wrong and profoundly disrespectful. With that said, it is one
thing to identify with Native Americans; it is quite
another to identify yourself as a Native American. Even if
it’s only 1/32 Native American.
I hope Mitt Romney remembers this and incorporates Indian
blessings and ritual in his inaugural ceremonies as Canadians do
and as they did in those terrific Winter Olympics in Salt Lake in
2002. And I hope Elizabeth Warren doesn’t back down on this,
because wanting to be Indian, like Hawkeye, makes us in a deeper
sense fully American.
I’m not sure which Canadian inaugural ceremonies Quigley is
referring to exactly. Given that he mentioned the 2002 Salt Lake
City Olympics perhaps he was referring to the Opening
Ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. But there
weren’t
any Aboriginal blessings when Stephen Harper’s Tory government
was first sworn into office six years ago by Canada’s Governor
General at Rideau Hall. Besides, could you imagine if Mitt Romney
were to suddenly claim Native American heritage? The Washington
Post would call him Chief Flip Flop faster than you could say
Bain Capital.
I do agree with Quigley on one thing. I hope Liz Warren doesn’t
back down on this either because as long as she doesn’t then her
credibility remains suspect. OK, so Warren wants to be Native
American. I want to pitch for the Red Sox. That doesn’t mean Bobby
Valentine is going to take Daniel Bard out of the starting rotation
and give me the ball on Memorial Day against the Tigers. And if he
did, it wouldn’t make me any more fully American than I am now.
