“The most vicious cowboy has more moral principle than the average Indian… I don’t go so far as to think that the only good Indians are the dead Indians, but I believe every 9 out of 10 are.” - Theodore Roosevelt

I will bet any one of you, right now, the entirety of my savings account ($350) that I am the only Native American in this room. It’s a fun little secret I have. With my light hair, light eyes, and light skin I sure don’t look like it. But what do you think I should look like? The Washington Redskins logo? The wooden warrior with the feather headdress outside the pawn shop on Broadway?

I would also bet that I’m the first Native American you’ve ever met. I make this wager with a little less confidence, but still enough to be depressing. As a matter of fact, I’m one of the only Native Americans I know, aside from my family. The vices one normally associates with us Natives, the ones you see in the story we read this week (What You Pawn I Will Redeem by Sherman Alexie), are slowly picking us off. When I was born, I had 30 cousins. 19 years later, 6 of us remain. Not to mention the loss of our numbers through old age. Roosevelt must be thrilled.

Mikayla ᎡᎶᎯ Hodge