Publisher's Note: The recent media surrounding the anniversary of this event did little to dispel the concern so many visitors to the Native News Network had just a year ago. This was the number one story in May of 2011. Where do you stand today?

Commentary

Geronimo’s Stolen Identity: Why It Matters

by Levi Rickert, editor-in-chief in Native Condition. Discussion »

Geronimo-Apache Warrior

A Northern Paiute woman, who lives and works in Chicago, took her six-year old daughter to get something to eat at a restaurant last week. She and her daughter sat near a father and son who were also there eating. They were close enough for the Paiute woman to overhear the conversation that took place between the father and his son, who was still dressed in his little league baseball uniform.

The exchange between the father and son went something like this:

Son: “bin Laden was an Indian.”

Father: “No, he was an Arab.”

Son: “Dad, he was an Indian, because when he was killed, they called him Geronimo and everybody knows Geronimo was an Indian!”

Also last week, across the country, an email comes to one of the witnesses prior to the time she was scheduled to testify before the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs oversight hearing last Thursday on Capitol Hill on “Stolen Identities: The Impact of Racist Stereotypes on Indigenous People.” The email came from a woman, who has the last name Geronimo and is “not even an Apache.” Ms. Geronimo asked the witness if she would let the senators know she had been called bin Laden on more than one occasion during the week.

Typically things involving American Indians or their names don’t make the national media don’t happen quickly. But the fact bin Laden was referred to as Geronimo came fast. The killing of Osama bin Laden was the hottest news of the decade and somehow the name of one of the most courageous and elusive American Indian warriors, Geronimo, got into the mix. American Indians took notice.

Yesterday, the Pentagon still would not officially comment on the code name because “the Department of Defense does not release and will not release details of a classified operation,” commented spokesperson Lt. Colonel Elizabeth Robbins to the Native News Network.

She did not need to officially disclose Geronimo’s name was used. Two of the highest officials of the United States already did, including President Obama.

Leon Panetta, director of the Central Intelligence Agency let it slip out to the “New York Times” within twenty-four hours of the killing. He told the “New York Times” how President Obama found out bin Laden was dead. He told the newspaper the president got confirmation of the bin Laden’s death when he heard the code talk, “Geronimo E-KIA” (E-KIA - Enemy Killed in Action). President Obama confirmed such in an interview he did with “60 Minutes” last Wednesday that was shown Sunday evening.

American Indians across America were shocked and outraged by the military’s reference to Geronimo. Once again, an American Indian’s identity was stolen. This time it belonged to Geronimo, who was a homeland security defender, not a terrorist.

We recommend:

Geronimo Was No Osama »

Comments posted to numerous published articles on the Internet on the subject gave the military a free pass on its usage of Geronimo’s name. Some postings suggest that American Indians were being overly sensitive. Others said it was an honor that Geronimo’s name was used. Still others alluded to the fact that such usage should not matter.

Well, it does matter.

It matters because American Indians are still here. Often times, we - American Indians - have to fight for our very existence in American society. We are not relics of the past.

It matters to American Indians because of the nearly 24,000 American Indians who are on active duty in the United States as of November 2010. It matters because of the 61 American Indians and Alaskan Native killed and the 445 wounded in Afghanistan and Iraq since 9/11.

It matters because of all the American Indian veterans, who have served in all wars that this country fought.

It matters because as we progress as a pluralistic American society concerned with multiculturalism, American Indians must be treated with respect and dignity. This is not about simply being politically correct; it is about simply doing the right thing.

It matters because all little league baseball players - girls and boys - should never confuse bin Laden with Geronimo.

It matters because Ms. Geronimo’s last name should never be confused with that of despicable man, bin Laden, who caused this country so much pain and grief.