An ignorant view about Native people

Recently I woke up in my home in Galisteo to a beautiful blue sky, cool air and a contented spirit. Then I read an article on the front page of The New Mexican written by Andrew Oxford (“Education chief ’s talk of Manifest Destiny draws ire from pueblos,” Dec. 23). In the article, Mr. Oxford described how New Mexico Public Education Secretary-designate Christopher Ruszkowski praised Manifest Destiny as a positive fundamental principle that built the United States.

Frankly, I could not believe that a man in charge of education for New Mexico’s children could be so blatantly ignorant. By the time I finished reading the article, my fear was realized: Secretary Ruszkowski is more ignorant about Native people than I imagined possible in this day of so much information. No wonder New Mexico sits at the bottom of education rankings in the United States. Here is a man advocating racial superiority as a fundamental principle of the United States.

My first thought was that Christopher Ruszkowski, under the cover of darkness, should crawl out from under his rock, slink back in his car and reverse the Western movement of Manifest Destiny by driving back to Delaware. Considering his specious arguments, he has no business educating any of New Mexico’s children.

There is an alternative: Take a month, without pay, since we taxpayers shouldn’t have to foot the bill for his lack of education, and visit every reservation in New Mexico. Let us Indians give you a real education about our people and the genocide we suffered under Manifest Destiny.

Phillip Tuwaletstiwa is a member of the Hopi Tribe.