The Montana Special Election illustrates a point I'd like to make (and I can nearly guarantee this take has nothing to do with what you are thinking)

[Waffles731]

So if you actually came to this take thinking it'd be about national politics or Candidates. You'd be completely mistaken. So I was browsing through the Wikipedia page for the special election in Montana and I noticed something that for 99 percent of Americans would have taken no notice of, the only other people who might even take notice after reading it would probably be a minuscule amount of Canadians and it illustrates a point I've been thinking about writing a take on for quite a while.

This was the fact that the Crow Tribe of Montana has Endorsed the Republican Greg Gianforte while the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation has endorsed Rob Quist. Now if you are wondering why a Native American Tribe would endorse a Republican when quite frankly, the GOP has been Exceptionally shitty towards the Tribes in General in the last 30 years or so to the point where plenty of republican state politicians in various westerns states have done a lot to try to reduce the amount of control they have over their own lands and people. The reason is quite simple actually.

The Crow Tribes and the Cheyenne have been bitter enemies for I don't know a the past few hundred years or so and still don't particularly like each other.

The point I've wanted to make is that A LOT of people who don't know any better the uninformed American or Canadian or to be honest, the vast majority of people from Europe from what I've observed seem to use the term Native American like it can sum up them all perfectly. Let me put it this way. In a lot of ways despite them being over 800 miles from each other, in a lot of ways the French and the Polish have more in common with each other, than the Navajo and the Hopi who are literally neighbors.

The traditional religious beliefs for example of the Navajo and Hopi have basically no similarities. The French and the Polish? Both historically Catholic. Hell the Navajo and the Hopi are bitter enemies. Honestly, the relations between the English and the French the 18th and 19th centuries were probably less hostile.

Saying a person is Native American is like saying they are Asian, or African, or European. Its not in the least specific.

The various Native American Nations (as they are officially called) are really just that, nations with their own independent culture and identity and not something that you can really easily lump into one big cultural pile.

[rjroy3]

"Saying a person is Native American is like saying they are Asian, or African, or European. Its not in the least specific."

I assumed this was common knowledge. Do people honestly view Native Americans as a singular group? Always thought the common understanding was that the American Indians were a series of tribes all across the Americas that never formed a unified body or nation.

[Waffles731]

Yeah, there are A LOT of people who do.
From what I've seen of people from Europe on here it tends to be WAY more common

[rjroy3]

I guess that makes sense for Europeans. Kind of like it's less likely for Americans to know anything about European history that isn't directly related to America.

[Waffles731]

Hell, even people who know that often don't realize the scale of it.
Seriously a large chunk of Americans could tell you that the Sioux are a Tribe. But only a Fraction could tell you that pretty much every other Tribe hates their guts and for good reason considering the majority of their history is just going around and pillaging everyone else

[rjroy3]

My Blackfoot Tribe and the Comanche were pretty violent themselves. It all depends on the location and timeframe you look at in particular lol.

[Waffles731]

you're blackfoot?
They are out of the Montana Idaho area righT?

[Waffles731]

the only reason I know these things is because honestly I find
the entire history both pre and post European colonization of the Various Tribes to be pretty damn impressive and fascinating

[rjroy3]

Yessir, Montana and Idaho mostly. They were hardcore Buffalo herders for the most part. I was always amazed that they did it on foot for so long. Horses coming to America was a godsend for business lol

[Waffles731]

see thats one of the things I find extremely impressive. The kinds of places that various tribes were able to sucessfully colonize.
Place like Arizona, New Mexico, Northern Alaska, Montana, Idaho, wyoming. Minnesota, Canada, the Dakotas, places that even today are considered to be so inhospitable that they make places like the Middle eastern deserts seem like central park

[rjroy3]

Lol that's aggressive, but I see what you mean. It is pretty crazy what they could do. Just more proof that the way to solve problems is to innovate your way out of it. That's part of the reason I have faith in humanity as a whole when it comes to survival on this planet.

[NearlyNapping]

"places that even today are considered to be so inhospitable that they make places like the Middle eastern deserts seem like central park"

It's a matter of opinion, but I consider northwest Arizona to be one of the top most beautiful places in N America. I would loooove to live there. I've traveled the US and much of Canada extensively, and I'd call NW Arizona about the closest thing to paradise I've ever seen.

By the way I did live in Flagstaff which is in the lower left of that map.

[Waffles731]

@NearlyNapping I'm not saying it isn't beautiful

[BellePepper]

But waaaafflessss then we won't be able to just lump everyone together and will have to think of them as individuaaaaaals

[NearlyNapping]

There is another thing involved, politics within the tribes. If a "tribe" endorses a candidate, it doesn't mean everyone in that tribe endorses them. It doesn't necessarily mean the majority does. I don't know how they come up with such endorsements, but I don't think it's by popular vote.

As for Navajo and Hopi (should throw in Zuni also), they actually came from different places and settled in the Southwest. The Hopi consider themselves the first peoples. Those three peoples speak three different languages and have some other differences. But the environment shaped them as well, so they have a lot of similarities.

If I remember right, the whole land bridge theory allowed for multiple groups crossing over. So even in pre-history it was not all one group that split after they came to the Americas.

[Other_Tommy_Wiseau]

"Saying a person is Native American is like saying they are Asian, or African, or European. Its not in the least specific."

and here we go XD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEOXF-g7lsY

[Waffles731]

I NEED THAT SZCHUAN SAUCE. THATS MY ONE ARMED MAN MORTY

[MarkRet]

I think a lot of Native American tribes used to refer to neighboring tribes as 'The enemy to the north' or 'They enemy across the river'. They were killing each other long before the whites arrived.

[Anonymous]

Liberals love to lump non-white races together. They won't particularly like the Crow Tribes "leaving the reservation" to vote republican as we all know how liberals hate and try to discredit minorities who don't vote democrat.

[Waffles731]

Except the Reason the Crow Tribe is voting Republican is because the Cheyenne are voting Democrat.
This has less to do with politics and more to do with two tribes hating each others guts.
They do one thing the other has to do the opposite, can't associate with the enemy

[Opinion Owner]

You see that's what I'm talking about, because they are a minority there must be another reason why they are voting Republican.

[Waffles731]

except that IS the reason they are voting republican. Its also the Reason the Cheyenne are voting democrat

[Waffles731]

and quite frankly, the Republicans have been extraordinarily shitty over the past thirty years to the various tribes.

[Opinion Owner]

That's it just lump minorities and the native tribes into an ignorance box when it comes to voting.

[Waffles731]

'That's it just lump minorities and the native tribes into an ignorance box when it comes to voting.'
I'm honestly not sure what you are talking about.
The fact is that the nations DO have their own politics, that often times do to them have more importance to them.

[Waffles731]

quite frankly you are the one who is acting ignorant here, what you are essentially saying is that these people don't have their own culture and internal politics, they are called Nations for a reason

[Opinion Owner]

You are the one saying that minorities only vote republican out of stupidity

[Waffles731]

'You are the one saying that minorities only vote republican out of stupidity'
Did I say this was stupidity?
When considered through the lense of the 300 years of warfare between them I think its honestly reassonable

[Opinion Owner]

... and democrats... and Canadians... spainish... french... British etc

[Waffles731]

'and democrats... and Canadians... spainish... french... British'
Except for the past thirty years a number of both national level and state level republicans have done their damnest to try and reduce the autonomy of the Indian Nations

[Opinion Owner]

In your opinion.

[Waffles731]

no, that is a FACT that various republican politicans have been trying their damnest to reduce their autonomy,

[Opinion Owner]

Complete fabrication

[Waffles731]

no, its not and if you had actually done the research you'd know it

[Opinion Owner]

All we have is your opinion

[Waffles731]

Really? When th3 fact is that a number of republicans have tried to push legislation giving native lands to corporations.

[Waffles731]

That is a fact not an opinion,

[Waffles731]

How about that the Alaskan tribes under Obama weren't facing the harassm3nt from oil companies that occurred under bush and now that trump is in office he's trying to do the same thing that bush did

[Waffles731]

These aren't opinions, these are facts which to be quite frank, conservatives like to plug their eyes and cover their eyes about

[SlightlyCrazy]

This was really enjoyable to read. I admit that even I do forget how varied their cultures are

[pavlove]

The GOP is killing it right now sadly they can't lose

[Anonymous]

Greg Gianforte is da man. He's not afraid of some paperfiller.