Native Americans Change Profile Pictures To Protest Use of “Geronimo” in Bin Laden Mission
Members of the Native American community have spoken out against the assignation of the name Geronimo to the operation to capture and kill Osama bin Laden. They’re asking users to change their Twitter and Facebook pictures to that of legendary Apache leader Geronimo as a form of protest and to honor him.
A message sent Sunday from a team of U.S. Navy SEALS to Washington announced bin Laden’s death: “Geronimo EKIA” (enemy killed in action). The use of Geronimo’s name to identify the most-wanted terrorist in the world enraged many Native Americans.
“To associate a Native warrior with bin Laden is not an accurate reflection of history and it undermines the military service of Native people,” Jefferson Keel, president of the National Congress of American Indians, told CNN.
Geronimo fought the U.S. and Mexico when the American West was being settled.
His 1909 obituary in The New York Times is particularly biased: “Geronimo gained a reputation for cruelty and cunning never surpassed by that of any other American Indian chief. For more than twenty years he and his men were the terror of the country, always leaving a trail of bloodshed and devastation.”
Geronimo managed to never be captured. He died a prisoner of war, after surrendering to the U.S. when a general promised to reunite him with his tribe.
“When people representing the U.S. reach back a century to take a gratuitous swipe at Geronimo as an enemy and to equate him with a terrorist, they are insulting all Native American nations and people,” Suzan Shown Harjo, president of the Morning Star Institute, told a senate committee hearing Thursday. The hearing had been scheduled before bin Laden’s death to address racist names of sports teams.
On Thursday, Indian Country Today asked its Twitter and Facebook followers to change their pics for the next two days. (Some of the Facebook fans asked if they could extend or change the time frame, because they had photos of their mothers up for Mother’s Day. ICT consented.)
Native American leaders, including those from the tribe that descended from Geronimo’s tribe, and descendants of the Apache leader have asked President Barack Obama to issue a formal apology and explanation.
How?
The name seems apt to me – both men fought to protect their principles and home from outside advances. In the case of North America it’s pretty clear that the invaders (us) took over the whole place and left little for the natives. Now the US is in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya etc… history repeating itself?
Not just Native Americans
Wow, I would have completely misinterpreted that, if I hadn’t read this article. Maybe because my history isn’t as good, but when I think of the name “Geronimo” I think of it being a battle cry that means to fully and irreversibly engage with the enemy until the battle is won. So if someone told me that the SEALs mission codename was “Geronimo” I would have thought, “Cool. It wasn’t a fluff mission. It was a mission to go in and kill the son of a …..”
In fact, I would have thought that American Indian groups would have been delighted to have the name of one of their fiercest warriors attached to the mission that killed public enemy #1.
But I guess everyone needs to be a victim, right?
So you think Jews should consider it an honor for a German helicopter to be named after Moses?
How about a German submarine named after David Ben Gurion?
Your analogy is faulty. Neither “Moses” nor “David Ben Gurion” have been used in the vernacular to denote what CGregz described.
great.
Shut up. This is not about you.
@Gabe speaketh in the truth, this isn’t about you. The natives can be upset about the name if they feel like it, but don’t try to make some uber-smart connection about something you don’t even understand.
And you do understand the Native American experience? Under what expertise? Are you at least one-quarter or even one-eight Native American? Do you or have you ever lived on a reservation? I am one-quarter Cherokee (probably more NA than most who are complaining). I taught math and science for 11 years in the Oklahoma Tribal Statistical Area. I’m not offended by the use of the name Geronimo and I support Gabe’s right to make whatever comment he feels like making.
It’s a name. If they said Derek I wouldn’t flip out. Who cares. CODE NAME = NOT REAL.
So tired of everyone getting their little pu$$y hurt…
Geronimo wasn’t even his real name! It was what the White Americans called him… They should be upset about that instead.
Native American’s seem to flip out over a lot of things, and it’s been annoying to me for a while now…I can’t believe this story is even being covered Now that I think about it, I can’t believe that I even clicked on the damn story either…
I can’t believe you took the time to write this drivel.
Really? Why can’t we just be happy he’s gone.
Much ado about nothing… It was a name to disguise who they were speaking about. We seem to be more concerned about offending people than we should be.
Its a name… sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me.
It seems to me that this Indian organization just wants the free publicity. They will try to earn a few more bucks through the government (made to feel guilty) or donations to their cause etc. I do get sick of everyone playing the victim card.
hey eran shut the hell up. I am alaskan native and I was an Infantryman in the Army for 6 years, i don’t have a problem with the code name but some do and that should be respected. The Federal government owes the native people of this country more than they give us. It isn’t about asking for a hand out its the fact that this land that you live on was our’s before first contact. And who knows how many trillions or even quadrillion’s of dollars have been made from this land that was once our’s.
Geronimo is Italian for Jerome.
On the flip side, our best military helicopters are called “Apache” helicopters. Clearly, this wasn’t some pre-meditated attempt at slander.
I can see why some people would be upset. These protests are unfortunately moot. The mission is over and the code-name is no longer in use. And more people are probably aware of the code-name and more people will be making the connection. Maybe instead of changing profile pictures, people could work toward having our public schools provide better American History instruction. Because THAT would actually make a positive difference.
VERY well said. Definite “like” on your comment.
I took the code name to be a sign of respect for the formidable capabilities of the enemy. What am I missing here?
Geronimo is a common name/term used in Military operations. There’s paratroopers called ‘Strike Force Geronimo’ … There have been plenty of other ‘Geronimo Operations’ … some invloving capturing other insurgents. Soooo, what about those?
I see the name being used, more as an honor to a bad ass historical figure.
whatever. Some facebook pages will get some extra 200 likes and people will have their blog stats go up a smidge, and someone will sell a sticker or two.
No religion or race of people have suffered the genocidal attacks and survived as have the Natives of North America. Our Government practiced this genocide on all of the tribes. A better name to have used on Usama Bin Laden would have been Custer or Grant or Andrew Jackson
It’s a code name…
I just migrated w/5,000 friends and NONE of them came over as fans. Ahhhhhhh! I don’t want to have it go back, just want it to do what it said it would do. Any ideas?
I agree with most everyone else. Don’t you think OBL’s people are offended at our insults to their leader? Are we going to apologize for offending them? If the analogy fits (maybe it doesn’t, maybe it was just some name out of thin air), then what in the world is the big deal. I am so tired of a country where our freedom of speech is always in question because of worrying about offending someone. I’m offended that they their offended; do I get an apology?
Seriously this is à non issue. Clumsy codename but nothing more…
I believe the intent is the hardcore seriousness of this operation warranted codename GERONIMO. Geronimo is remembered for being a hardcore steel warrior who wasn’t afraid. Bankers and Companies are doing these things in our news, so it isn’t political, but this is actually an honor to him and all warriors.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. No wonder China is starting to kick our butts. Here we are worried about code names….. Anyways, use my name for a codename if you want. I could care less as long as the job is done….
Don’t people say Geronimo when they are dropping or jumping from a high place? Maybe they picked it to symbolize what some of the people in 9/11 had to do when the towers started to fall. Everyone needs to stop running around like their butt hurts, its getting annoying!
Reading these comments brings home what I’ve heard from American Indians, about their rights in American society. Clearly, these post suggests that the one right American Indians have in America is the “Right to Remain Silent”. To clearify this to those who call American Indians who do speak out: “whinners,”,people who “need to be victims”, claim that “Its [only] a name, claim they are offended because they are 1/4 native by blood and it taught math [forgot the name for this flawed logic], so they are experts themselves, and finally those who attack the messenger cause that is all the argument they have. The posting that argued for a similarity between Gernomimo and Bin Ladin being “apt to me” just doesnt know American History and what Germonimo means to American Indians. There is plenty of great information being shared that explain the position, you don’t have to make up your own. LISTEN to the Native scholars. Have one of you listened to the hearings, or listened to Susan Harjo, or the descents of Germonimo or anything besides reading this post?