I'm here today to show my photographs of the Lakota. Many of you may have heard of the Lakota, or at least the larger group of tribes, called the Sioux. The Lakota are one of many tribes that were moved off their land to prisoner-of-war camps, now called reservations. The Pine Ridge Reservation, the subject of today's slide show, is located about 75 miles southeast of the Black Hills in South Dakota. It is sometimes referred to as Prisoner of War Camp Number 334, and it is where the Lakota now live. Now, if any of you have ever heard of AIM, the American Indian Movement, or of Russell Means, or Leonard Peltier, or of the standoff at Oglala, then you know Pine Ridge is ground zero for Native issues in the US.
Danas sam ovdje da vam pokažem svoje fotografije Lakota naroda. Veliki broj vas je vjerojatno čuo za Lakote, ili barem za veliku skupinu plemena nazvanu Sioux. Lakote su jedno od mnogih plemena koja su preseljena sa svoje zemlje u zarobljeničke ratne logore, danas zvane rezervatima. Pine Ridge rezervat, predmet današnje prezentacije, smješten je nekih 120 km jugoistočno od Black Hillsa u Južnoj Dakoti. Ponekad se naziva i zatvoreničkim ratnim logorom br. 334 i to je mjesto gdje sada Lakote žive. Ako je itko od vas čuo za AIM, American Indian Movement (pokret za prava Indijanaca) ili za Russella Meansa ili Leonarda Peltiera ili ustanka kod Oglala, tada znate da je Pine Ridge nulta točka za domorodačka pitanja u SAD-u.
So I've been asked to talk a little bit today about my relationship with the Lakota, and that's a very difficult one for me, because, if you haven't noticed from my skin color, I'm white, and that is a huge barrier on a Native reservation. You'll see a lot of people in my photographs today. I've become very close with them, and they've welcomed me like family. They've called me "brother" and "uncle," and invited me again and again over five years. But on Pine Ridge, I will always be what is called "wasichu." "Wasichu" is a Lakota word that means "non-Indian," but another version of this word means "the one who takes the best meat for himself." And that's what I want to focus on -- the one who takes the best part of the meat. It means "greedy."
Dakle, pitali su me da danas malo govorim o svom odnosu s Lakotama, a to je dosta teško za mene. Zato što, ako niste primijetili po mojoj boji kože, ja sam bijelac, a to je ogromna prepreka u domorodačkom rezervatu. Danas ćete na mojim fotografijama vidjeti puno ljudi s kojima sam se zbližio, koji su me prihvatili kao dio obitelji. Zvali su me bratom, ujakom i pozivali me nazad ponovno i ponovno tijekom pet godina. Ali u Pine Ridgu ću uvijek biti onaj kojeg nazivaju wasichu, a wasichu je Lakota riječ koja znači ne-Indijanac, ali druga verzija ove riječi glasi: „onaj koji uzima najbolje meso za sebe“. To je nešto što želim naglasiti – onaj koji uzima najbolji dio mesa. To znači pohlepan.
So take a look around this auditorium today. We are at a private school in the American West, sitting in red velvet chairs with money in our pockets. And if we look at our lives, we have indeed taken the best part of the meat. So let's look today at a set of photographs of a people who lost so that we could gain, and know that when you see these people's faces, that these are not just images of the Lakota; they stand for all indigenous people.
Sada bacite pogled oko sebe u gledalištu. Nalazimo se u privatnoj školi na američkom zapadu, sjedimo u crvenim baršunastim stolicama s novcem u džepovima. I ako promotrimo svoje živote, zaista smo uzeli najbolji komad mesa. Zato pogledajmo nekoliko fotografija ljudi koji su izgubili da bismo mi mogli dobiti i imajte na umu da, kada gledate lica tih ljudi, to nisu slike samo Lakota, nego svih domorodaca.
On this piece of paper is the history the way I learned it from my Lakota friends and family. The following is a time line of treaties made, treaties broken and massacres disguised as battles. I'll begin in 1824. What is known as the Bureau of Indian Affairs was created within the War Department, setting an early tone of aggression in our dealings with the Native Americans.
Na ovom komadu papira ispričana je povijest kakvu sam naučio od svojih Lakota prijatelja i obitelji. Sljedeće je vremenska linija svih dogovorenih sporazuma, prekršenih sporazuma i pokolja maskiranih u bitke. Počet ću s 1824. godinom. "Ono što je poznato pod imenom Ured za indijanska pitanja osnovan je pod Odjelom rata, od počeka potencirajući agresivnost u našem odnosu prema Indijancima.
1851: The first treaty of Fort Laramie was made, clearly marking the boundaries of the Lakota Nation. According to the treaty, those lands are a sovereign nation. If the boundaries of this treaty had held -- and there is a legal basis that they should -- then this is what the US would look like today. Ten years later. The Homestead Act, signed by President Lincoln, unleashed a flood of white settlers into Native lands.
1851. godina: Prvi ugovor u Fort Laramieju je sklopljen, jasno određujući granice zemlje Lakota naroda. Prema ugovoru, to je zemlja samostalnog naroda. Da su se granice iz sporazuma održale -- a postojala je pravna osnova za to -- danas bi SAD izgledao ovako. 10 godina kasnije, Homestead Act, koji je i predsjednik Lincoln potpisao, propustio je bujicu bijelih doseljenika na domorodačku zemlju.
1863: An uprising of Santee Sioux in Minnesota ends with the hanging of 38 Sioux men, the largest mass execution in US history. The execution was ordered by President Lincoln, only two days after he signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
1863. godine: ustanak Santee Siouxa u Minnesoti završava vješanjem 38 Siouxa, što je najveće masovno pogubljenje u povijesti SAD-a. Naredbu za pogubljenje potpisao je predsjednik Lincoln samo dva dana nakon što je potpisao zakon o ukidanju ropstva.
1866: The beginning of the Transcontinental Railroad -- a new era. We appropriated land for trails and trains to shortcut through the heart of the Lakota Nation. The treaties were out the window. In response, three tribes led by the Lakota chief Red Cloud attacked and defeated the US army, many times over. I want to repeat that part: The Lakota defeat the US army.
1866. godina, početak transkontinentalne željeznice – početak nove ere. Zemlju u središtu Lakota područja prisvojili smo si za željeznicu i vlakove. Na ugovore se više nije mislilo. Kao odgovor na to, tri plemena vođena Lakota poglavicom Crvenim Oblakom napala su i porazila američku vojsku više puta. Htio bih to ponoviti. Lakote su porazili američku vojsku.
1868: The second Fort Laramie Treaty clearly guarantees the sovereignty of the Great Sioux Nation and the Lakotas' ownership of the sacred Black Hills. The government also promises land and hunting rights in the surrounding states. We promise that the Powder River country will henceforth be closed to all whites. The treaty seemed to be a complete victory for Red Cloud and the Sioux. In fact, this is the only war in American history in which the government negotiated a peace by conceding everything demanded by the enemy.
1868. godine: Drugi sporazum u Fort Laramieju jasno određuje neovisnost velikog Sioux naroda i vlasništvo Lakota nad svetim Black Hillsom. Vlada također obećava i zemlju i pravo na lov u okolnim područjima. Obećajemo da će odsada zemlja Powder Rivera biti zabranjena za sve bijelce. Taj sporazum činio se kao potpuna pobjeda za Crvenog Oblaka i Siouxe. Naglašavam da je to jedini rat u američkoj povijesti koji je vlada završila mirom u kojem su pristali na sve uvjete neprijatelja.
1869: The Transcontinental Railroad was completed. It began carrying, among other things, large numbers of hunters, who began the wholesale killing of buffalo, eliminating a source of food, clothing and shelter for the Sioux.
1869. godina: Transkontinentalna željeznica je izgrađena. Počela je prevozite, između ostaloga, velik broj lovaca koji su započeli ubijati bizone na veliko, eliminirajući izvor hrane, odjeće i zaklona za Siouxe.
1871: The Indian Appropriation Act makes all Indians wards of the federal government. In addition, the military issued orders forbidding western Indians from leaving reservations. All western Indians at that point in time were now prisoners of war. Also in 1871, we ended the time of treaty-making. The problem with treaties is they allow tribes to exist as sovereign nations, and we can't have that. We had plans.
1871. godina: Dokument kojim se oduzima neovisnot indijanskim plemenima pretvorio je sve Indijance u štićenike vlade. Usto, vojska je izdala naredbu o zabrani zapadnim Indijancima izlazak iz područja rezervata. Svi su zapadni Indijanci u tom trenutku postali ratni zarobljenici. Također 1871. smo također prestali i sa sklapanjem ugovora. Problem sa sporazumima je bio što su omogućavali plemenima da postoje kao samostalni narodi, a to nismo mogli dopustiti; jer smo imali planove.
1874: General George Custer announced the discovery of gold in Lakota territory, specifically the Black Hills. The news of gold creates a massive influx of white settlers into Lakota Nation. Custer recommends that Congress find a way to end the treaties with the Lakota as soon as possible.
1874. godina: General George Custer objavio je pronalazak zlata na području Lakota naroda, konkretno u području Black Hillsa. Vjesti o zlatu izazvale su masovne navale bijelih doseljenika na područje Lakota nacije. Custer preporučuje Kongresu da pronađe način da se sporazumi s Lakotama prekinu što je prije moguće.
1875: The Lakota war begins over the violation of the Fort Laramie Treaty. 1876: On July 26th, on its way to attack a Lakota village, Custer's 7th Cavalry was crushed at the battle of Little Big Horn. 1877: The great Lakota warrior and chief named Crazy Horse surrendered at Fort Robinson. He was later killed while in custody. 1877 is also the year we found a way to get around the Fort Laramie Treaties. A new agreement was presented to Sioux chiefs and their leading men, under a campaign known as "Sell or Starve" -- sign the paper, or no food for your tribe. Only 10 percent of the adult male population signed. The Fort Laramie Treaty called for at least three-quarters of the tribe to sign away land. That clause was obviously ignored.
1875. godina: Počinje rat s Lakotama zbog kršenja ugovora iz Fort Laramieja. 1876. godina: 26. srpanj na putu da napadne jedno selo Lakota, Custerova konjica je u potpunosti poražena u bitci kod Little Big Horna. 1877. godine: Veliki Lakota ratnik i poglavica Ludi Konj predaje se kod Fort Robinsona. Kasnije je ubijen u pritvoru. 1877. godine smo također uspjeli naći način kako zaobići odrednice sporazuma u Fort Laramieju. Novi sporazum predstavljen je poglavicama i vođama Siouxa, poznat i kao kampanja "prodaj ili umri od gladi". Potpišite sporazum ili nema hrane za vaše pleme. Samo je 10% odraslih muškaraca potpisalo. Sporazum iz Fort Laramieja zahtijevao je da se barem tri četvrtine plemena odrekne zemlje. Taj je članak očito ignoriran.
1887: The Dawes Act. Communal ownership of reservation lands ends. Reservations are cut up into 160-acre sections, and distributed to individual Indians with the surplus disposed of. Tribes lost millions of acres. The American dream of individual land ownership turned out to be a very clever way to divide the reservation until nothing was left. The move destroyed the reservations, making it easier to further subdivide and to sell with every passing generation. Most of the surplus land and many of the plots within reservation boundaries are now in the hands of white ranchers. Once again, the fat of the land goes to wasichu.
1887. godina: Dawes ukaz. Prestaje zajedničko vlasništvo nad zemljom rezervata. Ona je sasjeckana na dijelove koji su podijeljeni pojedincima osobno, a višak je zbrinut. Plemena su izgubila ogromna područja. Američki san o pojedinačnom vlasništvu nad zemljom ispao je kao pametna izlika da se područja rezervata podijele sve dok ništa nije ostalo. Taj potez uništio je rezervate, omogućivši lakšu daljnju podjelu i prodaju sa svakom novom generacijom. Većina onog viška zemlje sada je u vlasništvu bijelih rančera. Još jednom, najbolja zemlja odlazi u ruke wasichua.
1890: A date I believe to be the most important in this slide show. This is the year of the Wounded Knee Massacre. On December 29, US troops surrounded a Sioux encampment at Wounded Knee Creek, and massacred Chief Big Foot and 300 prisoners of war, using a new rapid-fire weapon that fired exploding shells, called a Hotchkiss gun. For this so-called "battle," 20 Congressional Medals of Honor for Valor were given to the 7th Cavalry. To this day, this is the most Medals of Honor ever awarded for a single battle. More Medals of Honor were given for the indiscriminate slaughter of women and children than for any battle in World War One, World War Two, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq or Afghanistan.
Vjerujem da je 1890. godina najvažnija u ovoj prezentaciji. To je godina masakra kod Wounded Kneeja. 29. prosinca čete američke vojske opkolile su Sioux tabor kod potoka Wounded Knee i poubijale 300 ratnih zarobljenika zajedno s poglavicom Velikim Stopalom, koristeći novo oružje koje izbacuje eksplozivne čahure nazvan Hotchkiss pištolj. Za ovu takozvanu bitku dodijeljeno je 20 kongresnih medalja za čast 7. konjičkoj. Do današnjeg dana, to je najveći broj medalja za čast dodijeljen za jednu bitku. Znači, više je medalja podijeljeno za pokolj žena i djece nego za bilo koju bitku iz I. i II. svjetskog rata, Koreje, Vijetnama, Iraka i Afganistana.
The Wounded Knee Massacre is considered the end of the Indian wars. Whenever I visit the site of the mass grave at Wounded Knee, I see it not just as a grave for the Lakota or for the Sioux, but as a grave for all indigenous peoples. The holy man Black Elk, said, "I did not know then how much was ended. When I look back now from this high hill of my old age, I can still see the butchered women and children lying heaped and scattered all along the crooked gulch, as plain as when I saw them with eyes still young. And I can see that something else died there in the bloody mud and was buried in the blizzard. A people's dream died there. And it was a beautiful dream."
Masakr kod Wounded Kneeja smatra se krajem indijanskih ratova. Kadgod posjetim lokaciju masovne grobnice kod Wounded Kneeja, ne vidim samo grob za Lakote ili Siouxe, nego za sve domorodačke narode. Sveti čovjek Black Elk je rekao: "Tada još nisam znao koliko toga je završeno. Kada sada pogledam unazad iz te visoke pozicije svojih starih godina, još uvijek vidim poklane žene i djecu kako leže raštrkani širom klanca jednako jasno kao što sam ih vidio kad su mi oči još bile mlade. I vidim da je još nešto umrlo tamo u krvavom blatu i bilo pokopano u mećavi. Umro je san jednog naroda, a bio je to prekrasan san."
With this event, a new era in Native American history began. Everything can be measured before Wounded Knee and after, because it was in this moment, with the fingers on the triggers of the Hotchkiss guns, that the US government openly declared its position on Native rights. They were tired of treaties. They were tired of sacred hills. They were tired of ghost dances. And they were tired of all the inconveniences of the Sioux. So they brought out their cannons. "You want to be an Indian now?" they said, finger on the trigger.
S tim događajem započelo je novo razdoblje u indijanskoj povijesti. Sve možemo promatrati u okviru događaja prije i poslije Wounded Kneeja. Zato što je tada, s prstima na okidačima Hotchkiss pištolja, američka vlada javno obznanila svoje stavove prema pravima Indijanaca. Umorili su se od sporazuma. Umorili su se od svete zemlje. Umorili su se od plesa duhova. I umorili su se od svih problema što su ih Siouxi donosili. Zato su iznijeli svoje topove. "Sada želite biti Indijanci", rekli su s prstom na okidaču.
1900: the US Indian population reached its low point -- less than 250,000, compared to an estimated eight million in 1492.
1900. godina: populacija američkih indijanaca dosegla je najniži broj – manje od 250.000, u usporedbi s procijenjenih 8 milijuna 1492. godine.
Fast-forward. 1980: The longest-running court case in US history, the Sioux Nation versus the United States, was ruled upon by the US Supreme Court. The court determined that when the Sioux were resettled onto reservations and seven million acres of their land were opened up to prospectors and homesteaders, the terms of the second Fort Laramie Treaty had been violated. The court stated that the Black Hills were illegally taken, and that the initial offering price, plus interest, should be paid to the Sioux Nation. As payment for the Black Hills, the court awarded only 106 million dollars to the Sioux Nation. The Sioux refused the money with the rallying cry, "The Black Hills are not for sale."
Ubrzajmo. 1980. godina: u najdužoj parnici u američkoj povijesti, Sioux narod protiv SAD-a, odlučivao je Vrhovni sud SAD-a. Sud je zaključio da, kada su Siouxi preseljeni u rezervate i 2.832.799,495 hektara njihove zemlje bilo je otvoreno za istražitelje i naseljenike, uslovi drugog sporazuma iz Fort Laramie su prekšeni. Sud je zaključio da je područje Black Hillsa ilegalno uzeto te da se mora isplatiti odšteta plus kamata narodu Siouxa. Kao isplatu za Black Hills, sud je dodijelio samo 106 milijuna dolara narodu Siouxa. Oni su taj novac glasno odbili: "Black Hills nije na prodaju."
2010: Statistics about Native population today, more than a century after the massacre at Wounded Knee, reveal the legacy of colonization, forced migration and treaty violations. Unemployment on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation fluctuates between 85 and 90 percent. The housing office is unable to build new structures, and existing structures are falling apart. Many are homeless, and those with homes are packed into rotting buildings with up to five families. Thirty-nine percent of homes on Pine Ridge have no electricity. At least 60 percent of the homes on the reservation are infested with black mold. More than 90 percent of the population lives below the federal poverty line. The tuberculosis rate on Pine Ridge is approximately eight times higher than the US national average. The infant mortality rate is the highest on this continent, and is about three times higher than the US national average. Cervical cancer is five times higher than the US national average. The school dropout rate is up to 70 percent. Teacher turnover is eight times higher than the US national average. Frequently, grandparents are raising their grandchildren because parents, due to alcoholism, domestic violence and general apathy, cannot raise them. Fifty percent of the population over the age of 40 suffers from diabetes. The life expectancy for men is between 46 and 48 years old -- roughly the same as in Afghanistan and Somalia.
2010. godina: statistika o domorodačkoj populaciji danas, više od stoljeća nakon masakra kod Wounded Kneeja, otkriva o ostavštinu kolonizacije, prisilne migracije i kršenja odrednica sporazuma. Nezaposlenost u Pine Ridge rezervatu kreće se od 85 do 90 posto. Nove zgrade ne mogu se izgraditi, a postojeće se raspadaju. Mnogi su beskućnici, a i oni koji imaju domove moraju ih dijeliti nekad i s 5 obitelji. 39 posto kuća u u Pine Ridge-u nema struje. Najmanje 60 posto kuća u rezervatu ima problema s crnom plijesni. Više od 90 posto populacije živi ispod državnog praga siromaštva. Zaraženost tuberkulozom u Pine Ridge-u je otprilike osam puta veća od američkog prosjeka. Smrtnost dojenčadi je najviša na kontinentu i tri puta je veća od državnog prosjeka. Rak grlića maternice pet puta je češći od američkog prosjeka. Postotak ljudi s nezavršenom srednjom školom je oko 70 posto. Nastavnici se mijenjaju osam puta češće od američkog prosjeka. Često se događa da djedovi i bake odgajaju djecu jer ih roditelji zbog alkoholizma, nasilja u obitelji ili općenite apatije, ne mogu odgajati. 50 posto populacije iznad 40 godina pati od dijabetesa. Očekivana životna dob za muškarce je između 46 i 48 godina – jednako kao i u Afganistanu i Somaliji.
The last chapter in any successful genocide is the one in which the oppressor can remove their hands and say, "My god -- what are these people doing to themselves? They're killing each other. They're killing themselves while we watch them die." This is how we came to own these United States. This is the legacy of Manifest Destiny. Prisoners are still born into prisoner of war camps, long after the guards are gone. These are the bones left after the best meat has been taken.
Zadnje poglavlje u svakom uspješnom genocidu je trenutak kad ugnjetavač diže ruke i govori, "Bože, što si rade ti ljudi? Ubijaju se međusobno. Oni se ubijaju međusobno, a mi ih gledamo kako umiru." Tako smo dobili naše Sjedinjene Američke Države. To je nasljeđe jasne sudbine. Zarobljenici se još uvijek rađaju u zarobljeničkim logorima iako čuvara već dugo nema. To su kosti koje ostaju kad se uzme najbolje meso.
A long time ago, a series of events was set in motion by a people who look like me, by wasichu, eager to take the land and the water and the gold in the hills. Those events led to a domino effect that has yet to end.
Davno prije, serija događanja je pokrenuta od ljudi koji izgledaju popute mene, wasichu, koji su željeli uzeti zemlju, vodu i zlato u planinama. To je dovelo do domino efekta koji još nije završio.
As removed as we, the dominant society, may feel from a massacre in 1890, or a series of broken treaties 150 years ago, I still have to ask you the question: How should you feel about the statistics of today? What is the connection between these images of suffering and the history that I just read to you? And how much of this history do you need to own, even? Is any of this your responsibility today? I have been told that there must be something we can do. There must be some call to action. Because for so long, I've been standing on the sidelines, content to be a witness, just taking photographs. Because the solutions seem so far in the past, I needed nothing short of a time machine to access them.
Iako se danas, kao dominantno društvo, možemo osjećati nepovezano s masakrom iz 1890. godine ili s prekršenim sporazumima prije 150 godina, svejedno vas moram upitati kako se osjećate u vezi današnjih statistika? Koja je veza između tih prikaza patnje i povijesti koju sam vam upravo pročitao? I koliko je ove povijesti zapravo vaše? Je li išta od ovoga vaša odgovornost danas? Rekli su mi da mora postojati nešto što možemo učiniti. Mora postojati nekakvo zvono za uzbunu. Jer previše dugo sam stajao po strani zadovoljan svojom ulogom svjedoka, koji samo fotografira stvari. A rješenje se činilo mogućim samo u prošlosti, a zato mi je bio potreban vremenski stroj kako bi ima prišao.
The suffering of indigenous peoples is not a simple issue to fix. It's not something everyone can get behind the way they get behind helping Haiti, or ending AIDS, or fighting a famine. The "fix," as it's called, may be much more difficult for the dominant society than, say, a $50 check or a church trip to paint some graffiti-covered houses, or a suburban family donating a box of clothes they don't even want anymore. So where does that leave us? Shrugging our shoulders in the dark?
Patnja domorodaca nije jednostavan problem za riješiti. To nije nešto u čemu svi možemo lagano sudjelovati, kao što je pomoć Haitiju, suzbijanje AIDS-a ili borbe protiv gladi. Rješenje ovog problema puno je kompleksnije od doniranja novca, ili crkvenih akcija gdje se kuće pošarane grafitima ponovno liče ili prigradske obitelji doniraju odjeću koju više ne žele. Dakle, na koju nas to poziciju postavlja? Slijeganje ramenima u mraku?
The United States continues on a daily basis to violate the terms of the 1851 and 1868 Fort Laramie Treaties with the Lakota. The call to action I offer today -- my TED wish -- is this: Honor the treaties. Give back the Black Hills. It's not your business what they do with them.
SAD nastavlja svakodnevno kršiti uvjete sporazuma iz 1851. i 1868. iz Fort Laramie s Lakotama. Ono što ja predlažem danas -- moja TED želja je: poštujmo sporazume. Vratimo Black Hills. Nije naša stvar što oni s njima rade.
(Applause)
(Pljesak)