[News] Osama bin Laden: code-named Geronimo

Tue May 3 12:05:18 EDT 2011

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May 3, 2011

Osama bin Laden: code-named Geronimo

By Ben Carnes

"We've IDed Geronimo," said a disembodied voice, using the 
agreed-upon code name for America's most wanted enemy, Osama bin 
Laden." 
... 
http://swampland.time.com/2011/05/02/inside-the-situation-room-weve-idd-geronimo/#ixzz1LEh1G9iZ 

As a Native man, I was genuinely stunned to learn the US had selected 
the name of a hero who fought to defend his people and way of 
life.  We've been reduced to caricatures as mascots and entertainment 
in sports and media. Our Identity as Native people have been 
confiscated and labeled as "Native Americans' or "American Indians". 
Then to associate one of our icons of resistance is an insult. I 
can't even begin to imagine the horror felt by Geronimo's descendants 
or his people, the Chiricahua Apache. They were branded as Americans 
in 1924 before they were pardoned as prisoners of war, ironically.

I felt a more appropriate name would have been "Custer" or 
"Columbus", both murderers, but this doesn't fit with their version 
of history. And you would think Obama, the president who campaigned 
for Native votes would have been more sensitive to this point when he 
said,  "I'm on your side. I understand what it means to be an 
outsider. I know what it means to feel ignored and forgotten, and 
what it means to struggle. So you will not be forgotten as long as 
I'm in this White 
House,...". 
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2009/11/06/20091106summit1106.html#ixzz1LElNcIbf 

This society tends to marginalize the First Peoples of this land, so 
maybe this shouldn't be a surprise that the hero's of Native people 
are still regarded as terrorists by the military and they saw no 
problem in making the association to Geronimo. Some people may say 
that OBL's skill at evading capture was a tribute in memory of 
Geronimo! Let's do a reality check here, who would want to elevate 
OBL to a glorified level?

What I've seen since the use of this code-name was revealed is shock, 
disgust and outraged. Here's one of many posts on Facebook:   " 
Geronimo was NO TERRORIST, HE WAS HUNTED DOWN BY THIS COUNTRY'S OWN 
FIRST TERRORIST!!!!TRUTHS HURT!!THIS IS THE TRUTH, i AM A NATIVE 
WOMAN VET OF THIS COUNTRY, IM INSULTED!!!!!"

If we want to have a look at terrorism, shouldn't we look at the 
history of the US? When the Oklahoma City bombing occurred, it was 
called the worst act of terrorism on US soil. I beg to differ, as 
Native people we suffer acts of terrorism at Sand Creek, Washita, 
Wounded Knee and the Trail of Tears and Death, etc., place names that 
remains burned into our memories and sacred in our hearts, just as 
the site of the World Trade Center or the Oklahoma City National 
Memorial has for so many people who lost loved ones in recent memory.

I believe the President and the US military owes the Apache people an 
apology and a sincere one at that.

****************************
Author's Bio: Ben Carnes is a Choctaw activist and writer who 
received the 1987 Oklahoma Human Rights Award for making a stand 
against forced hair-cutting policies while incarcerated. After his 
parole in August 1988, he has been involved in organizing events and 
demonstrations on behalf of Native people and Native prisoners, 
including Leonard Peltier. His experiences have led to being asked to 
testify before congressional committees, and speak at numerous 
universities, public forums and events. He has served as a volunteer 
chaplain at the Oklahoma City bomb site and as a board member to the 
Greater Oklahoma City Interfaith Disaster Recovery, Inc. which 
provided aid to victims of the bombing. Along with being a spiritual 
advisor to state and federal prisoners, including acting as a 
consultant to the Oklahoma Department of Corrections. He is currently 
immersed in several writing projects, including his biography that he 
hopes to have published before the end of 2010.

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