America's Native American Debt -- and Mine
"No fee, no carry" -- my commitment to Native Americans
To be honest I don’t think all that often about the Native American populations.
But recently someone I thought was a friend of mine sent me a pretty racist message that Native Americans had contributed nothing to this country save cigars.
His ignorance has inspired me to think a bit more deeply. I’ve been reading and thinking a lot about the Native Americans today and what we — and I! — owe them.
He couldn’t be more wrong. America has always been, as Tocqueville knew, “black, red, and white.”
President Calvin Coolidge — the subject of my first book — knew this too. He signed the Indian Naturalization Act of 1924 — which allowed Natives living on reservations to vote after taking up the duties of armed service — and he proceeded to join their tribes. Coolidge reasoned that if the Native Americans could join our tribe, he should join theirs.
I want to be very clear: I’m very happy that my ancestors got on that boat. That has made all the difference. But when they rolled up in America they were met by others. It certainly hasn’t always been mutually beneficial.
Respect for the Natives runs deep within me. My beloved grandmother, born in Wyoming, spoke Sioux. Her husband — the Admiral — lived next to a Cherokee reservation, a reservation he and his brothers defended when the Klan terrorized them.
I am enormously proud that several of my companies serve the Native American community but it is not enough. The Native American community should be able to benefit from the growth of these companies too.
There has to be a different future possible for our Native peoples than reservations, casinos, fossil fuels, and real estate — all of which seem to be under increased strain. I’ve seen the scams run against the Native peoples in this country and they disgust me.
So I’m inspired by what I’m told investor Chris Sacca is doing for historically black colleges and universities.
As far as I know, Sacca being Sacca —he has a tendency to virtue signal— he hasn’t actually done the work of going to all the HBCUs to get them on board.
Starting now, I’m making a commitment to allocating space, without carry and without fee, to all of our Native American tribes. This would, of course, include the Alaska Natives as well as the Hawaiian populations.
I’m particularly interested in how we might use the latest in genetics to cut down on fraud perpetrated against the Native American community by federal contractors like Kevin McCarthy’s brother-in-law. I’m aghast at how even Native American scholars and U.S. Senators are committing ethnic fraud. Or maybe we can use the genetic advancements to help modernize the Indian Health Service, proving the next generation healthcare to those who were here first.
I know not all tribes are created equal and not all of them have the resources so perhaps we can structure the returns in a progressive manner. I’m open to suggestions.
Let’s talk.
I know it’s not a lot but I want to do something to help.