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Saturday, October 10, 2009

It's Past Time To Bring Chief Geronimo Back To His Mountain Home

By Carlos Melendrez
Las Cruces resident
          One hundred years after Geronimo's death, America still refuses to grant freedom to one of its own.
        The U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution on Feb. 23 this year honoring Geronimo's life and struggles: "Goyathlay (Geronimo) led his people in a war of self-defense as their homeland was invaded by the citizens and armies first of Mexico, and then the United States... [and] honors the life of Goyathlay, his extraordinary bravery and his commitment to the defense of his homeland."
        And yet, Geronimo remains a prisoner of war!
        His mournful lament ignored, "It is my land, my home, my fathers' land, to which I now ask to be allowed to return... and be buried among those mountains."
        A campaign to oppose repatriation (of his body for burial in New Mexico) commenced soon after we filed a lawsuit under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. Prominent New Mexico historian Marc Simmons wrote an article that one would have thought was written in the 1880s. It included ridicule of Harlyn Geronimo's statement that Geronimo "fought for his homeland and freedom." And went on to state that no "Apache thought that way or was motivated by those sentiments, as conceived at present by white men and assigned after the fact to the Indians."
        Edward Two Moons Chavez writing to the Albuquerque Journal stated, "Indeed, a fair reading of the historical record reveals that Geronimo and those brave Chiricahuas who stood with him were fighting for the very same things that peoples throughout history,... including the Sons of Liberty in 1776, have held dear; life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
        Repatriation is the long overdue, honorable thing to do. The Indian nations of America are all watching, waiting and hoping. Geronimo's freedom from imprisonment at Fort Sill, Okla., (where he is buried) will send a powerful, and positive message to all of Native America, and to the world. Yet the Department of Defense opposes our efforts and continues to deny an internationally recognized right and obligation for the return of prisoners of war.
        Geronimo's defiance in the face of overwhelming odds earned him respect and carries the hope of all who value freedom and demand respect for their people and cultures. The indigenous peoples of the world, who are also some of the most endangered, view this struggle as their own. Geronimo is their champion and inspiration.
        Geronimo's international acclaim and respect continue to resonate throughout the world. The name Geronimo, once the most recognized name in the world, was only surpassed in recognition by the name Muhammad Ali, another fighter who became a beloved historical symbol of righteous defiance. Were it any other native other than Geronimo, he or she would have been released and repatriated long ago. Because it is the legendary and defiant Geronimo, strong and powerful forces have gathered to deny justice. Because this powerful historical figure remains enveloped in controversy after death; politics and money run interference for those determined to deny justice.
        In their efforts to deny justice, they turn to century-old practices of demonizing Indians, Apaches, Geronimo, and those of his family who petition for repatrition. Instead, we offer a quote by Maurice Salzman writing in 1909 against 50 years of demonization of Geronimo: "I venture to prophesy that as time passes...when we shall be able to look back on this Indian war chief with a historical perspective, we will decide that he was one of the greatest Americans that ever lived."
        We also offer the words spoken at the dedication designating Geronimo's birthplace at the headwaters of the Gila, where Harlyn Geronimo prayed for the administration of President Bush and prayed that "the white, Native American and Hispanic communities... rid itself of conflict, racism and prejudice and that we all get along in a brotherhood." We offer hope of reconciliation, they offer continued imprisonment and division. Basta!