How Native Americans defend themselves against Ice
The fear of being discriminated against because of the colour of their skin is prompting more and more inhabitants of the reserves (and others) to obtain 'tribal identity cards'
Sioux, Navajo, Apache. On this side of the Atlantic, when one thinks of so-called American Indians, they are often the first names that come to mind. But in the United States the federally recognised Native American tribes number 575. Those who believe they belong there, if they meet the criteria to prove they are descendants of those ancestors who lived in North America long before Europeans landed there, can apply for a'tribal ID card'.
What is the tribal identity card
A document also recognised by the US government, used by Native Americans to access various services: school, health, welfare and voting on reservations, mainly. But also to travel across the States - it is accepted as a method of recognition to board domestic flights - and to access various federal facilities. Until now.
Since a few weeks ago - after Ice agents killed Renée Good and Alex Pretti - the tribal identity card has become also a shield. Because it can make it possible to prove in a short time that one has the right to live in the United States.
The fear of being "mistaken for Latin Americans"
Seventy per cent of Native Americans today - as reported by ABC News - live in urban areas. In Minneapolis and Saint Paul, the so-called 'twin cities', where ICE agents have arrested over 3000 people in less than a week, Native Americans number in the tens of thousands. Increasingly worried, as we read in several overseas newspapers, that their skin colour might endanger them. "People who don't know me might mistake me for a Latino, one man tells ABC News, "that's why I took my tribal identity card out of the drawer and nowkeep it in my wallet all the time. A choice, that of carrying one's ID, encouraged by the tribes themselves.
The reaction of Native American tribes
Dozens, according to Associated Press, are simplifying the process to apply for the card. Basically, one must prove lineage or a certain percentage of 'Native American blood'. But there are those who lower the minimum age required to apply - between 5 and 18, depending on the tribe - and those who remove the application fee, making the process free of charge. Events held in downtown cafeterias, hotel lounges and at the Minneapolis American Indian Center have helped tribal citizens living in the city connect with each other and share resources, Christine Yellow Bird - who heads the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation satellite office in Fargo, North Dakota - told ABC News.
