Masks and memories

This picture is of a mask made by the ancient Calusa tribe which once governed South Florida before the coming of the "windships" of white people, in this case, the Spaniards.

Before their coming, the Calusa were a large and flourishing society which lived mostly on the seafood so readily available in their coastal environment. They were a sophisticated and sustainable culture, and developed cities, wonderful art, and a wealth of fascinating ceremonies and stories.

As I stood before this mask at a museum built on an area where the Calusa had lived on Pine Island near Sarasota, Florida, I felt a strong pang of grief at the tragedy of the destruction of so many ancient peoples and their rich cultures on this continent, including the Calusa. They were destroyed by the Spanish invasions, by white slave traders attaching from the north, and the diseases white folk brought with them to this continent. As far as anyone knows, there are no more Calusa alive on this earth. They have joined many other peoples who are also exctinct, thanks to the coming of the white man to "America."

What is it about the white race that has made it so arrogant and destructive in the many lands to which has gone in the past few centuries? The bitter legacy of the imperialism and colonialism of the white race still lives on, and the possibilities of what might have been if Europeans had been willing to make every effort to live peacefully and respectfully with the people of the countries to which they came remain alive only in wistful dreams.

I read recently in YES magazine that by 2050 the majority of people in this nation will not be white. Could it be that the dominance of the white race is finally coming to an end in this world? what will this mean for the future?

I don't think it is helpful for me or anyone who might be part of the white/Caucasian race to go around feeling guilty for this fact. But it might behove us to learn from the mistakes of many people of our race in the past, and realizing we are in the minority, cultivate those virtues which will make us a pleasure to live with, and reduce the possibility that someday, we may suffer the same deadly racism that we have collectively inflicted on people of other races for centuries. This was the message of the mask to me as I gazed sadly on it in the museum.

If this mask could talk to us, I wonder what it would say?