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WEEKS OF SORROWS –HURRICANE KATRINA
In view of the anniversary of the Hurricane Katrina disaster it is only in memorial that reflections are appropriate. So many sorrows and disappoints were realized during the week of the hurricane and the ensuing weeks after it. What have we learned and what hope is there to keep the African American and Native American moving forward?
As I viewed the Hurricane Katrina weather disaster and the following disaster of judgment amongst officials it was a sad memory of the weakest and poorest amongst us being treated with disrespect and contempt. How could the riches nation in the world not take care of its people as the news media reported their sufferings? And the entire world viewed with unbelief the negligence and politics as usual attitudes and actions. It was weeks of sorrow much like those experienced in the ancestral past as Africans were huddled and lined up like sardines in the hulls of slave ships, much the same memory of the mostly African Americans huddled in the New Orleans Dome. Little to no food, water, and with the simplest accommodations were available. People treated as if they were animals rather than valued humans. Native Americans, mostly Mississippi Choctaw faring much the same, as they suffered many losses. But, with one ray of hope coming as other Native American tribes acted to provide assistance for their brothers and sisters. I am reminded of the Seminole Tribe of Florida who sent emergency crews to the Mississippi Choctaw Reservation. The Klamath Tribes in Oregon who made provisions to send their primary physician, Dr. Curtis Hanst, and their pharmacist, Dr. Matt Baker, to New Orleans, the city that has endured some of the worst damage. The Chitimacha Tribe taking in 400 tribal members who lived in New Orleans. Then, the Poarch Creeks, sending clothing, food and water to the Chitimacha Tribe in Louisiana.. These examples being only a few examples of Native Americans aiding Native Americans. I received an email from a Cherokee Elder requesting clothing be sent to Arkansas to assist Mississippi Choctaw that would be arriving in Arkansas for relief. It was good to help and good to know that a system although informal was in place to aid fellow Native Americans during the Katrina Hurricane disaster. I wondered if the Native Americans knew their assistance from governmental agencies would be limited or non-existent based on past experiences, so they immediately sprang to action to help each other. Self-help is sure help… Article by CherokeeCloud Written August 30, 2006 Article by CherokeeCloud Written August 30, 2006 |
