Word: sacajawea
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...fact is that Sacajawea's good works only made it easier for the non-native Americans to exploit her people and the land itself. She may have served as a sign of peace, but Americans were anything but peaceful in forcing hundreds of tribes from their homelands. It is therefore somewhat ridiculous to honor Sacajawea for what Rheta Johnson called "an enormous and personal contribution to this country." Her contribution, willing or not, was to a grand injustice. And if we as a nation didn't care about the plight of the American Indians then, we don't care much...
...most distasteful part of this episode may be the voting now taking place on the Web. Because no one knows what Sacajawea looked like, the Mint consulted 300 people-historians, artists, coin collectors and representatives of American Indian organizations-to choose the best among more than 120 designs. The top 13 are now up for the public's scrutiny and comment...
Admittedly, it is exciting to help pick the new design. But as I evaluated the choices last weekend, I felt the hypocrisy eating at me. Which image of Sacajawea did I prefer? No. 14, where she looks dark and almost manly, with a large nose and braided hair? Or No. 98, where her features are duller and softer, with her baby on her back? And what about No. 100, where we see her whole, thin figure, one arm pointing to the west, mountains in the background...
...Which Sacajawea did I like best? Which American Indian woman do I want on my money? There's really a better question: Who am I-who are we-to decide...
Maybe it's not such a great idea to have Sacajawea on the new dollar coin. This tokenization of American Indians isn't raising awareness of our past and present wrongs; it is merely reinforcing our indifference and self-glorification. Until we more honestly and forthrightly deal with the damage our nation has wrought on an entire continent of people-in our schools, in our politics and in our hearts and minds-it is inescapably hypocritical to use Sacajawea as, in the Mint's words, "an allegorical representation of Liberty...