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I’ve Always Wanted to Be an American Indian Author(s): James A. Luna Source: Art Journal, Vol. 51, No. 3, Recent Native American Art (Autumn, 1992), pp. 18-27 Published by: CAA Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/777344 Accessed: 03-03-2019 17:13 UTC
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“I’ve Always Wanted to
Be an American Indian”
James A. Luna
I had heard this before, but
for whatever reason the
quote affected me not like
before: The White Man
looked me in the eye and
quite honestly said, “Gee,
I’ve always wanted to be
an American Indian.”
artist’s pages
The La Jolla Indian Reservation, where I live, is but one of the seventeen reserva
tions in North County, California, one of over three hundred federal reservations in
the United States. It is a small reservation, as reservations go, yet quite typical in
contemporary Indian lifestyle. The reservation is composed of 8,541.25 acres, and
of the 532 enrolled members, 355 of them are living here. The majority of people
living here are Luiseno Indian, but we now also have other tribes, some that have
become part of our families. The tribal groups that are represented here are: Sioux,
Navajo, Hopi, Cherokee, Mojave, Diegueno, Cupeno, Shoshone, Miwok, Wailaki,
and Cahuilla. There are, at this writing, 121 dwellings in which we reside.
During the last five years on the
Reservation there have been and/or are now:
Two men who have lost limbs due to diabetes
Three murders
An average unemployment rate of 47 percent
Fourteen deaths
Five tribal members in prison or jail: One for thirty years One for ten years One for seven years One for two years or more
Cases of diabetes for 42 percent of the tribe
Seven reported cases of cancer
Shootings of four people
Twenty-one divorces and/or separations
Seven youths caught stealing cars
Twenty percent of the residents on welfare
Seven people admitted for mental observation
Two vacant government homes
AND.. . Thirty-nine births
Forty-five government homes built
A tribally run store and campground
A raceway built on a tribal member’s property
A developing volunteer fire department
Two people who have graduated with master’s degrees
One who has graduated with a bachelor’s degree
A tribally owned and operated water park
Four established artists
One singer
An increase in the percentage of high school graduates
There is much pain and happiness, there is success and there is failure, there is
despair and there is hope for the future. Still I would live no place else because
this is my home, this is where my people have come. I also know that this place,
like other places, is the reality that we Indians live; this is it. This isn’t the feath
ers, the beads of many colors, or the mystical, spiritual glory that people who are
culturally hungry want.
Hey, do you still want to be an Indian?
JAMES A. LUNA, a Luiseno Indian, lives on the La Jolla Indian Reservation in North County, San Diego, California. His multimedia artwork in installation and performance can best be described as an “insider’s” view of con temporary American Indian existence.