In response to the recent letter about making the Hispanics talk “our” language:

Whose language are you talking about? My ancestors were put in boarding schools, washed down with lye, sprayed with pesticide and had all of their hair cut off. They weren’t allowed to speak their own language. They were given “white” names. We are the only race in America that must have a card to prove who we are.

Is this fair?

All of the Indian tribes in America were forced off their land by the U.S. Army and the government. This was our land for as long as the grass was green and the waters flowed. What about the Trail of Tears? My ancestors were forced out of their homes, rounded up and put in stockades and made to walk over 1,500 miles in snow and ice to Oklahoma. We know at least 10,000 people died.

Was this fair?

Remember Wounded Knee! They flew an American flag and were gunned down like animals and buried in mass trenches similar to what Hitler did to Jewish people. We are supposed to live in the land of the free, but we’re not. How would you like to walk into a store and be stared at like a freak? It’s happening here, in dear Rowan County. November is Native American month. What does Rowan County have to offer us? Nothing! Who in Rowan County will sponsor a Powwow or cultural event? Nobody.

I challenge Rowan County to show what they can do for us.

— Diane McCullen

Salisbury

Editor’s note: The writer is a member of the Western Band of the Cherokee/Lakota Sioux.