A debate may break out here, but in case not, mods feel free to move.
I am in law school and we had a mock oral argument today regarding a pretend appellate issue. I am “representing” a fake Indian tribe who is attempting to negotiate a gaming pact with a fictional state and the state’s governor is refusing to do so.
Anyhoo, I open my argument with a quote from Red Cloud: “I have but a small spot of land left. The Great Spirit has told me to keep it.”
I then explained how Red Cloud obviously was not referring to casino gambling, but the broader sense of his statement, the control and self-determination of Indian tribes, were at the heart of the case at hand.
I then went into arguments and finished.
Game face off and the professor said that I should be very careful about using a quote like I did. He said that in his years of practice, he knows that some judges would be highly offended by my use of that quote and “shut me down” meaning they wouldn’t listen to the rest of my argument.
I was flabbergasted. I asked him what would possibly be offensive about it. He replied that he didn’t think it was offensive, but that some judges might. Anyways, time was up and I moved on.
I asked some of my fellow classmates if what I said was offensive. Three of them felt the same as I did: couldn’t see a bit of a problem with it.
However, another classmate, a Japanese-American student, was APPALLED when I told her what I did. She was actually mad herself saying that I had NO RIGHT to use the words of a Native American Chief when I do not come from that culture or understand the meaning of the words. She actually said that if the Dean heard my speech, I should face disciplinary sanctions!!!
I’ll admit. I’m a white boy from West Virginia and my sonar for insensitivity is not at all there. Can anyone better explain to me how what I said would offend Native Americans? After all, I was their “lawyer” and those words were used to help this “tribe.”