The Daily Show: Ears Edition - Honoring Indigenous Communities

Episode Date: October 9, 2023

Trevor unpacks the Columbus Day debate and whether it's honoring a genocidal colonialist or erasing history. In the field, Michael Kosta explores the conflict between wealthy Hamptons dwellers and the Shinnecock, an indigenous tribe nearby, and Aasif Mandvi reports on Native American sports mascots. Also, actor Jason Momoa discusses "Gather," his documentary about Native American communities' fight to reclaim their food and land.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

John Stewart here, unbelievably exciting news. My new podcast, The Weekly Show, we're gonna be talking about the election, economics, ingredient to bread ratio on sandwiches. Listen to the weekly show with John Stewart, wherever you get your podcast. You're listening to Comedy Central. Here in the United States, this coming Monday is Columbus Day. The holiday celebrating Christopher Columbus for stumbling ass backwards into the new

world and then killing most of the people who lived there. But for a lot of Americans, that story isn't as charming as it once was. You likely learned this line in school. In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue. In 2020, Columbus wore orange paint. Demonstrators around the country have been calling for the removal of statues of Christopher Columbus, saying the Italian explorer is responsible for the genocide

and exploitation of native people. The Christopher Columbus statue in Boston defaced, specifically beheaded. In Minneapolis, protesters tied ropes around the neck of a Christopher Columbus statue in Boston defaced, specifically beheaded. In Minneapolis, protesters tied ropes around the neck of a Christopher Columbus statue and they pulled it down. Demonstrators cheering as they brought down a Christopher Columbus statue in Baltimore and was then dumped into the Baltimore Inner Harbor. Oh, look at that.

Columbus is still exploring the oceans. Don't ever stop doing what you love. But guys, look, for real, we need to think about whether it's the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th th roa th roa to to to to to to to to to to to to to to toeaps. Roa toea thoes thoes th roa ropes ropes ropes ropes ropes th th th. Roa ropes th. Roa ropes th th th roa ropes th roa ropes th roaps th roaps th roaps th roaps thoes toeaps. Roves to to to to to to to to to to to to theaps. Roa the the the the thea thea thea. Roa. Roa. Roa. toea. toea. toea. toes. tieau. tieau. tieau. tieau. tieau. tieau. toau. Rothe oceans. Don't ever stop doing what you love. But guys, look, for real, we need to think about whether it's a good idea to tear down these statues. Because statues are where the birds poop. What are they supposed to do now? Hold it in?

And I feel especially bad for the people who made these statues. You put all that work in. And th, and th, and th, and th, and you th, and thoom, and thoom, and thoom, and thoom, and thoom, and thoom, and thoom, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to the, the, the, the, the, the, the, th, th, th, th, th, th, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, thooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.. too. too, work in and you don't know if this guy's going to get canceled in a hundred years, that's so unfair. That's why beheading the statue is the best solution, because you can save the body and just pop on the head of someone else, like Shaq. You see, flawless. But while one group sees tearing down Columbus statues as an attack on colonialism, another group sees it as a personal attack on their culture. Some here feel like they're the target of reverse racism, arguing we should learn from our past, not erase it. First thing that I learned in third grade, Christopher Columbus discovered America.

So it's an Italian immigrant, okay? But he's telling you we to speak. My Italian history. It's terrible that they would decree something so sacred to us. An attack on Columbus is really a hate crime against Italian Americans. We all remember 9-11. After that fateful, unthinkable day, you remember, right? Red, white, and blue was everywhere.

In a respectful sense, this is our 9-11. They're doing the same thing that Columbus did. They're coming in our neighborhood and taking away our heritage, okay? They're hypocrites. Wow, okay. That's an argument for Columbus. I can safely say I've never heard before. You can't just come in here and destroy our heritage.

That's Columbus's thing, no backsees. And by the way, I can't believe that that that that the other the other the other that the other the other that that the other that the other the other that the other the other that the other that the other that the other that that the other the other the other that that that that that thoesomeaqqqqqqqqqq. the. the, the. theaseaq. that's that's that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that's that's th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. the. the. the. the. the. thea. thea. thea. thea. thea. thea. thea. thea. the the the thea. the way, I can't believe that the other guy said that, in a respectful sense, this is our 9-11. Look, man, I don't care how respectfully you put it. You can't compare anything like this to 9-11. Like, does this guy go through a drive-through? Like, excuse me, you forgot my fries. And respectfully, this is my 9-11. Now, you might wonder, why? Why would Italian Americans want to commemorate the worst part of their culture?

Like, for instance, I love being black, but I'm not going to put up a statue of OJ in my backyard, especially not while my white friends are there. But once you hear why those statues actually went up in the first place, you can understand why they are so meaningful to Italian Americans. In the late 1800s, Italian immigrants were arriving in the United States in big numbers, and they faced harsh discrimination. They were treated as perpetual foreigners, and their Catholic beliefs opened the door for even more discrimination. So they embraced Columbus.

After all, he was Italian and Catholic and already admired. So he quickly became an icon for Italian immigrants who argued that they too belonged in America. In 1892, Columbus Day was first brought into the school system. A year later, Columbus became the theme of the World Expo in Chicago, branding him America's hero around the world. As Columbus and his legend became further embedded in American culture, so did the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic social club founded by Italian immigrants. By 1937, the Knights of Columbus had gained enough influence to convince President Roosevelt

to proclaim Columbus Day a federal holiday. Yeah, I know it's easy to forget that today, but there was a time when Italian Americans were badly oppressed in America. And they held up Christopher Columbus as a role model because he put them at the center of America's story, the same way Puerto Ricans hold up Alexander Hamilton. And look, it's hard to reconcile someone's actions when you've built them up so much. Not just as a person, but as a symbol. I mean, just ask anyone who's trying to decide if they can play Michael Jackson's songs at their wedding. But times have changed. And more and more people are finding it hard

to celebrate Columbus knowing all the bad things that he did. The good news is that times have changed in other ways too. Italian Americans have gone from thia thian thian country's most powerful politicians, entertainers, and med school cadavers. So, you could replace Columbus with any number of deserving Italians. I mean, just off the top of my head, what if we replaced Columbus with Dr. Anthony Fauci? He's an Italian-American hero, he's beloved and respected by everyone, or at least almost everyone, and he's trying to fight disease instead of spreading it all over the continent.

And best of all, Dr. Fauci's a short guy, so you save on the marble costs. The point is, Americans don't need Christopher Columbus to celebrate the deeper meaning of Columbus Day. Honoring America's immigrant heritage, celebrating Italian culture, and most importantly, getting the day off. John Stewart here, unbelievably exciting news. My new podcast, The Weekly Show. We're gonna be talking about the election, economics, ingredient to bread ratio, on sandwiches.

Listen to the weekly show with John Stewart, wherever you get your podcast. Everyone has heard of the Hamptons. It's where New York's rich and famous get their summer on. But these past few months the Hamptons has also been the home of a major dispute. Michael Costa has more. When you think of the Hamptons, you think of pristine beaches, cold rosé and dressing up as a caterer to sneak into Billy Joel's Labor Day party. But the Hamptons also have a dark side, an ancient conflict between the white man and his mansions and the Shinnecock, a native tribe, who lived next door on their ancestral lands.

Now the conflict is erupting again, as the Shinokok have erected a giant tribal monument on the only road into the Hamptons. I went to find out how an indigenous symbol could raise tensions in a place with the world's highest concentration of NPR tote bags. It is kind of an eyesore. You know, you'd come here for its beautiful nature and environment and to see that, it's just out of place. Very obtrusive and distracting. Okay. It's so big. There's so much to kind of cover from top to bottom. It's distracting and so it could be potentially dangerous for any of the drivers.

Okay, it's potentially dangerous for drivers, but that's not the main objection. I believe that it doesn't allow you to maintain the purity of an enclave here. When white people start talking about purity, even I get a little creeped out. But many of these Hantanites really believe the monument infringes on their spiritual connection to the land. To get the tribe's perspective, I met with Chairman Brian Polite. And no, I'm not going to make fun of his name. That would be rude.

Brian, thank you for sitting down. I know you've had some bad experiences with the white man, but I come in peace. Hey, man, we're all about peace. The people of Southampton are saying that due to your monument, their way of life is under attack. You're laughing. Okay. That's just laughable. We're a sovereign nation. And they have no authority to tell tell tell tell tell tell tell tell tell tell tel the the their tel their their their their their their the. the. the. the. the. the. thoome. thoome. thi. thi. tho. thoomea. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. theeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. the. the. the. the.'re a sovereign nation, and they have no authority to tell us what we can and cannot do on our trop of land. What was the reaction within the tribe when the monument went up? Very happy. We're the forgotten people of the Hamptons. So now we have our marker on the gateway of the Hamptons reminding people that they're all visitors on our land. Clearly, the monument is a source of pride, but what is it? Holy shit, it's a billboard. I've never seen anything so big. I mean, I have. I have, I have, but it's pretty big. So these natives are using capitalism to ruin the white man's sacred way of living with nature. Talk about cultural appropriation. This tribal monument looks a lot like an electronic billboard.

If you ask anybody on the Shinocognition, they'll say it's a monument. Let's call it what it is. This monument is your side hustle. You may get some extra money on the side. It's a monument to our monument and saying that we're still here. But also we need money for education, police department, playgrounds, social programs, so it'll have an immediate economic impact to the nation. How much of this monument is economics for the tribe, and how much of it is kind of a fuck you to the Hampton resident? Well, I think it's a little bit of both. Now you see, that's not very polite.

Every time somebody builds a McMansion on our ancestors' bones or plays golf on our ancestors' bones, that's a big F-U to us. So if we can feed our people and at the same time, stick it to us for the last 375 years, so much the better. Okay, so I just want you to know that no more golf for me. Thank you. In response to the monument, white people have been sharing an important part of their culture. Lawsuits.

Members of the tribe see these as part of a long pattern of oppression. There's some restitution and reparations that have to be made the time is now. It's horrible, the way we've been treated in 1640. Yeah, I can go into town and I can mow your lawn and I can scrub your toilet and I can pretend like it's okay. No more. Come to my reservation and see why this is so important to make a stand. As a white man, facing a 400-year legacy of injustice, racism, and poverty made me feel like a total piece of shit. But gazing across the bay at Calvin Klein's $75 million mega mansion, it hit me.

Maybe I could be the guy in that Kevin Costner movie and bring a message of peace to the pale faces, and I knew the perfect way to reach him. Problem solved. Michael Costa, everyone, we'll be right back. Ladies and gentlemen, the passage of time hasn't lessened the debt that we in America owe this country's original inhabitants. Even today, Native American culture is under attack. Osse Manvi has more. For 80 years, Chief Alainawick thrilled the fans at the University of Illinois.

But this past winter, the Board of Trustees voted to send him to the spirit world. Now, this proud chief will dance no more forever. The university made the absolute correct decision getting rid of Chief Alaniwick. American Indians are not dancing clowns. We are human beings. Okay, but what if the football team totally kicks ass? Um, you know, the, uh, that, no. Native American mascots once flourished across this great land.

But in recent years, they've been forced from their ancestral homes, putting their very survival in doubt. As in dances with wolves, it will take one brave, brave to stand up for his people. The chief has gone, and so all the spirit and all the joy and all the pride and the honor, tradition that's all been taken away from us. They're saying we don't care about your culture. We don't care that you will hear first. Yeah. The Board of Trustees, who I believe here first. Yeah, the water trustees, who I believe is all Caucasian, got rid of the Native American chief. Surprise, surprise,

it's the white man. And bullies like this couldn't care less. I am really glad that the school retired Chief Alinewack, I feel like it was the right thing to do. Why pale faces, like you, trying to push Native Americans from their homes? Chief Alenwick, isn't Native American. He's a race-based, racist stereotype. Aren't you a race-based stereotype? Seriously, dude. Have you looked in a mirror lately? You look like a Wands brother playing a white guy.

That's a new one to me. I, um, I've never heard that one. Thanks to insensitive belligerents like this, Native American mascot culture has been unfairly cast as crude and offensive. Our chief was trained by Native Americans so that he could be as respectable as possible while performing his dance. Brave pukes on himself. Do they... That is not my name. Oh, that's what you mean. Brave balls on face. That's not my name either.

Chief three-bear-queer. What are the parts of Native American culture do you honor it? That is it. I just, I honor the dance the chief is done. Like the Native Americans, thaaaaa- tha- tha- tha- tha-like-like-like-like-like-I tha-I tha-I thanananananananananananananananananananananananananananananananananananananananananananananananananananana-a. thianianian. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. the, I the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's ta-a-a-a-a-a-a-a'ea-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-sa-s. t dance that chief has done. Like the Native Americans, you waste nothing. He used every part of the stereotype. Why would you say that? But Leanne, who is an expert on all things Indian, somehow remains unconvinced. They are not American Indians. They are not native.

Those are fraternities. Chief Alanawick is not authentic in any stretch of the imagination. Anyone who has spent time with these noble savages as I have knows that's not the case. I followed them to their happy hunting grounds. We communed with the spirit world and made a traditional offering to Mother Earth. Oh no! With time running out, these indigenous people are making their final appeal to America's values.

The vast majority of the students, faculty, staff, the community wanted the chief here. So that small minority got the chief kicked off the campus forever. Are we supposed to give minorities rights? That's not what this country is about. They should realize that in America, the majority of the chief kicked off the campus forever. Are we supposed to give minorities rights? That's not what this country's about. They should realize that in America, the majority will win, and that's the way that it should be. These minorities, they should either get with the majority or shut the fuck up.

In some aspects, yes. Only time will tell if Native American mascot culture survives, or if the sun will set set on th on th on th on th on th on th on th on th on the the the the the the the the the the the the the the their their their their time will tell if Native American mascot culture survives or if the sun will set on these nearly extinct people. Beautiful story thank you awesome. Okay on a scale from how to. What does this write? What is this right? That's not, that's not, that's not good either. John Stewart here. Unbelievably exciting news. My new podcast, The Weekly Show.

We're going to be talking about the election, economics, ingredient to bread ratio, on sandwiches. Listen to the weekly show with John Stewart, wherever you get your podcast. Earlier today, I spoke with Action Star and activist, Jason Mamoa. We talked about his new documentary that tells the story of Native American communities reclaiming their food and land. What's up, buddy? What's going on, Jason? How you doing? I'm awesome, but not really.

I'm in quarantine, and I'm going out of my mind. A lot of people know you as an action star. I mean, you know, whether it's being a breakout star in Game of Thrones, whether it's, you know, leading the front line of shows on Apple TV with Sea, whether it's, you know, just like blowing up the box office with Aquaman. Jason Mamoua is an action star. This project that we're going to be talking about today is a little different. It's a lot of heart, a lot of pain, and a lot of hope. Tell me about the documentary Gather and why Jason Mamoua decided that this film

needed to be made. Well, I think what you brought up, just being known as an action action star, you know, it's a misconception of who I am. Even going back to my first film that I directed, it had to deal with the atrocities that were happening on Native American reservations. I've made it my duty in many ways and in my art and my companies to kind of fight for justice and bring to the forefront things that are my concerns. And I think all the roles that I play people kind of can think of me in a different way. But when Gather came by, there's, those things are happening to even my own people in Hawaii

or just the things that have been happening and what has happened to our ancestors and the disconnection between our ancestors and our tracea's and and. and an and th and th and th. and thes and our thes and our thes. thes. thes. And thes. And thii. And thi. And thi. And thi. And thi. And thi. And thi. And thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi th th th th th th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi. And thi thi thi thi thi thin. And thin. And thin. And thi thi thi the thi thi thi the thi thi thi their th our ancestors and the disconnection between our ancestries and our traditions, our food source. And so this film is extremely beautiful and I, if I can use my platform in any way to be able to bring something that's an honest human film and in true history and explanation to what has happened to so many of so many indigenous cultures, I'm all on board. So when I saw I blew my hair back, you know, I've seen it about five times. I love it. I just watched it against that I could be with you and I mean, have you had a chance to watch it?

Man, can I tell you something? I learned things watching it that I didn't know. I feel like any great documentary does that. Any great documentary, you know, sharpens up the things you do know, but then it'll always open your eyes to an aspect of an issue that you genuinely never knew before. What a lot of people may not know is how decimating their food, decimating the things that the colonial list did to destroy Native American populations, decimating their food, you know, polluting the way they eat, restricting them from living the way they lived.

And you see those effects still affecting those communities today, and that's what you show in the documentary, which I found really fascinating. I mean, and how it ripples out, I mean, like, it relates to Steve in own culture, which is obesity, and like, just shipping all the crap food that's coming over on boats when we were, you know, we were island earth. We were, we were 100% by ourselves in the middle of the ocean. I just find it that it's so disconnected from the natural food source that it's beautiful to be able to to share a little bit of that, that and be that and be that, and be that, and be that, and be that, and be that, and be that, and be that, and be that, and be that, and be that, and be a that, and be a thi, and be a thi, and be a thi, and be a thi, thi, thi, thi, the, their, to be a to be a to be a tho, tho, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, we thi, thi, we thi, we thi................. We, we, we, we, we, we, we, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, they. they. they. too. tooo. toooooooooooooooooo. toe. toean, their, their, they. the, that you watched it, because sometimes people aren't going to do that. So I'm very thankful for that.

But it's a beautiful film that I want to get out to the world. You showcase people who are putting forth solutions. You know, you're putting indigenous peoples in front of the camera. This isn't one of those stories where, like the documentary filmmaker or the executive producer makes it about themselves. This is a story about the people. We follow these amazing people who are saying, here's how we can combine science with our traditions, here's how we can move into the future, here's how we can claim back our food supply. Why do you think it was so important for you to make sure that this film centered itself around those heroes as opposed to just you telling their story? I mean, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, thus, thus, thus, thus, thus, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the thi, thi, thi, thi, here, thi, thi, thi, thi's thi's thi's thi's thi's thi's thi's thi's thi's thi's thi, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here I mean, that's the best part about this thing. I'm like being involved because it comes directly from there. I felt like I was getting, I felt like I was growing and getting therapy and the experience within the tribe.

I mean, that's what's beautiful about it is it's truly amazing filmmaking. Also, the director is the way that he what makes just a great documentary in general Before I let you go I'm worried about you in quarantine. I know how crazy that can be Here's my suggestion you play music. I say you should do like a free concert every day even if it's for 30 minutes with people live online You like me to quarantine though. I feel like you like I was born in quarantine. I was born in quarantine. I was born in quarantine. I was born in quarantine. I was born in quarantine. I? I feel. I feel. I feel. I feel. I feel. I feel. I feel. I feel. I feel. I feel. I feel. I feel. I feel. I feel. I feel. I feel. I feel. I feel. I feel. I feel. I feel. I feel. I feel. I feel. I feel. I feel. I feel. I feel. I feel. I feel. I feel like. I feel like. I feel. I feel like. I feel like. I feel like. I feel like. I feel like. I feel like. I that. I that. I that. I that. I that. I that. I that. I that. I that. I that. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I'm. I'm. I'm. I'm th. I'm th. I'm th. I'm th. I'm th. I'm th. I'm th. I'm th. I'm th. th. th. th. th. th. the the th. th. th. I was born in quarantine Now man you know what I I I I grew up stuck in the house partly because of apartheid partly because my grandmother was afraid to let me go outside so I mean I'm used to it But I don't think I'm used to anything that's happening in the world so I stay strong Stay strong stay strong stay

giving you a hug with days Yeah, deal my friend. Don't ever threaten me with a hug. J J J Jason. J J J J J j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j ja. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. th. that. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. that. the. th. th. th. th. th. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. to to to t. to teeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. I the. Deal, my friend. Don't ever threaten me with a hug, Jason. I'll take you up on it. Thank you so much for joining us on the show. Thank you very much, Ellen. Explore more shows from the Daily Show from the Daily Show from the Daily Show wherever you get Central podcast.

John Stewart here. Unbelievably exciting news. My new podcast, The Weekly Show. We're going to be talking about the election. Economics. Ingredient to Bread Ratio on sandwiches. Listen to the weekly show with John Stewart wherever you get your podcast.