Dear CNN commentator Rick Santorum,
In recent televised comments you said that “there isn’t much Native American culture in American culture,” implying that Christian European settlers built this country from nothing.
To set the record straight, this is offensively incorrect. Such words indicate a fundamental misunderstanding of the melting pot of cultures that is these United States.
As a former Pennsylvanian senator and U.S. presidential candidate, you should know better.
As a current voice of conservatism with a broad platform, you must do better.
Do you enjoy corn, Mr. Santorum? Or perhaps peanuts, pumpkins, squash or melons? Native Americans were responsible for genetically modifying many crops that still permeate a typical Westerner’s diet. Settlers arriving in the “New World” would never have survived if the native tribes had not shared their farming techniques with them.
How about rubber, kayaks, certain early forms of analgesic or the game of lacrosse? These tribal cultures you so readily dismissed have cast shadows stretching to today, with their discoveries and practices continuing to impact American lives.
The list of their contributions is lengthy, but perhaps the most significant impact by Native Americans involves the U.S. Constitution. Dating to 1142, the Iroquois Confederacy is said to be the world’s oldest living participatory democracy. This confederacy of six Iroquois-speaking tribes in New York, Pennsylvania and Ontario, Canada, provided inspiration for the original 13 colonies of the United States to band together. To this day, the Great Seal of the United States features an eagle holding 13 bundled arrows, a nod to Onondaga leader Canassatego, who argued in the 18th century that many arrows together are tougher to snap than just one.
More than 200 years later, the U.S. Senate continues to acknowledge the significance of this contribution. In 1988, U.S. leaders passed a resolution (House Concurrent Resolution 331) acknowledging “the contribution made by the Iroquois Confederacy and other Indian Nations to the formation and development of the United States of America.”
Not much Native American culture in American culture? Mr. Santorum, without Native Americans, American culture would not exist. It is one thing to argue that the United States’ founding principles are part of what make this country special. It is another thing altogether to argue that this country’s principles of government are wholly unique and do not owe tribute to the people who already occupied the land.
What was merely embarrassing for you, Mr. Santorum, was highly disrespectful to the millions of Native Americans alive today, as well as to their ancestors. In the future, please think before speaking.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
