Our National Symbols: Are We “Flexing” When We Should Be Humble?

I recently heard U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin, a Cherokee Nation citizen, mention that the administration wants to reverse the eagle on the Great Seal of the United States and other administrative seals that display the eagle so that the bird faces the arrows and not the olive branch. The eagle has historically faced the olive branch as a symbol of peace-seeking, the opposing arrows signifying that we are prepared for war or conflict if threatened, which I think we have proven more than once. As the twenty-fifth anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks approaches, the symbolism is astonishing if not disturbing.

I wonder if Mr. Mullin remembers his boss smugly placing the portrait of Andrew Jackson in the Oval Office during his first term. Ask any real Cherokee about the actions of Jackson (no relation, by God) toward the Cherokee people. Or better yet, read Steven Inskeep’s Jacksonland. I don’t have anything against Secretary Mullin. He hopefully means well, working within the sphere of his own peculiar reality of current events. But, as a lineal descendant of the Cherokee Nation,  I do find it interesting that one of my cousin-brothers doesn’t seem to see the irony of the symbolism of an eagle, arrows, the preferred historical Cherokee posture of peace versus war, and the general and specific lived experiences of land grabs. My father, an army veteran during the Korean War, was a hereditary member of the Ani-Gatogewi, or Wild Potato clan, traditionally a peace clan. The idea of reaching for the arrows before the olive branch as a national posture would not sit well with him.

The current administration’s propensity of embracing pastimes such as changing the Department of Defense back to the Department of War, intimidating our neighbors in Canada and Mexico, bullying the name of the Gulf of Mexico into the “Gulf of America,” and threats to annex other countries and similar oddities hold little global value. I can appreciate that Secretary Mullin supports his president. That’s part of his job. Interestingly, we have no evidence whatsoever that the man holding the current office of President of the United States has ever served in combat or carried a gun to enforce the law. Yet the perpetual bluster of throwing up all manner of shields, slings, and arrows doesn’t bode well for a guy who avoided Vietnam because of “bone spurs.”

I don’t consider myself a political person. More of an observer. I didn’t care for the previous administration, either. I am simply astounded at the rising number of changes to long-held symbols of what I consider to be America’s humility and courage and our country’s willingness to aid others. The implications of Secretary Mullin’s approval of embracing the arrows strike me as profound given his heritage. To no surprise, many excellent archers exist within the Cherokee community, and embracing the arrows doesn’t translate into bravado for most of these folks. The arrow, as with so many other traditions, is a sacred tool of the tribe.

The flexing and hydrant-spraying, widespread as it seems to be, is unbecoming of the United States and the Cherokee community. Things have probably gone too far if we all wake up one morning and learn that, instead of the rule of law tablet cradled in her left hand, we find that the Statue of Liberty now holds an M7 rifle, her glorious torch having been replaced by a perpetually lit Molotov cocktail.

But don’t be surprised if it happens.