A Native American leader just shredded Trump over his new racist attack

Now that Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has officially announced her exploratory committee for a 2020 presidential run, Trump’s attacks on the progressive icon have become more consistent and cruder than ever before.

Recently, he launched an ugly attack on her claim to Native American ancestry by referring to her “Pocahontas” for the umpteenth time and evoking the memory of the Wounded Knee massacre to mock her.

It should go without saying that an American president joking about the horrific mass murder of hundreds of innocent native men, women, and children at the hands of the U.S. military is deeply offensive and profoundly cruel. In other words, exactly what we’ve come to expect from our vile leader.

Now, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Chairman Harold C. Frazier has slammed Trump for his comments. Writing as a guest commentator for NativeNewsOnline.Net, Frazier cites the content of Trump’s racist tweet and asks America, “when are you going to come to your senses regarding this president?”

“To say that the president of the United States’ tweet is thoughtless would be giving him too much credit. I do believe he put some thought into his tweet, which is obvious as he has once again taken a racist jab, and in doing so, brought up Pocahontas,” writes Frazier.

He goes on to state that Trump’s casual use of the nickname Pocahontas is “disgusting” and that it clearly demonstrates his “ignorance.” It’s extremely callous, in that it overlooks the fact that the historic Pocahontas, as a child, was a victim of rape, kidnapping, imprisonment, and coerced into converting to Christianity, all things that Frazier says still happen to Native American women today.

“Native American women continue to be victims of rape and exploitation by white men. The president of the United States is practicing that by exploiting native women as an insult for political machismo,” he writes.

Frazier then pivoted to take on Trump’s Wounded Knee massacre reference, pointing out that the comment is particularly detestable because less than two weeks ago his tribe observed a day of mourning for their ancestors murdered by the U.S. government. To ram home his message, he also pointed out that Wounded Knee happened under a Republican president.

In the most moving part of the piece, the writer explains that Wounded Knee is one of the “one of the largest mass graves in the United States” and that it represents “the extinction of family bloodlines, the mass murder of children and elderly, and the sum of white hatred, bigotry, and racism.”

Frazier ends with assurances that his people will not give up despite the challenges and ignorance arrayed against them. It’s a brave, poignant work that clearly underlines just how heartless and without empathy our president really is.

Click here to read the full piece.

Natalie Dickinson

Natalie is a staff writer for the Washington Press. She graduated from Oberlin College in 2010 and has been freelance blogging and writing for progressive outlets ever since.