Slings & Arrows

How Toxic Narratives Perpetuate Poverty in Indian Country

By: David W. Bland

Narrated by: David W. Bland

Stories define us. They tell us who we are or, at least, who we think we are. The American story of westward expansion draws upon heroic tales of courage and perseverance and the "pioneer spirit". But settlers and their descendants also spread false narratives about Indians in order to justify ruinous private and public acts.

The stories we heard and the tales we hear even now give people cover to behave abominably. And this abominable behavior has economic effect. It means that bankers are less likely to make loans to Black and Native American men and women, and it means that fewer businesses are started, less wealth is accumulated, and poverty is more intransigent.

But narrative is not destiny. From "welfare cheat" or "food stamp fraud" to absurd stories about an Indian cutting a hole in his house so his horse could drink from the bathtub, the labels and stories applied to poor communities gain currency in the majority world through their meanness, absurdity, and repetition. It is easy for people to traffic in these toxic stories, but the White majority does not reckon with the impact on minority communities.

Slings & Arrows tries to break the cycle and describes the author's 40 years of experience learning how communities beset by generations of trauma and dispossession fight back using their history and culture to create a better path. A new narrative must be told, and Slings & Arrows is just one small step in rewriting the stories we tell.

©2019 David W. Bland (P)2020 David W. Bland