MRFF Assists Client in Standing Up Against Commander’s Christian Nationalist Bigotry, Supremacy, and Pure Unfiltered BS

August 14, 2024

MRFF and its President/Founder Mikey Weinstein have a significant history in assisting Native American service members in responding to astounding levels of condescension and disrespect from their command superiors who somehow feel the need to parrot the un-Constitutional trope of Christian Supremacy as a primary goal of the U.S. Military’s mission.  A couple of these previous situations were detailed by MRFF Senior Research Director Chris Rodda in her 8/15/2024 article for The Daily Kos:

MRFF has often assisted Native American service members whose culturally boneheaded Christian zealot military superiors have seen nothing at all wrong with, for example, telling a Native American subordinate to wear his “best Indian clothes” for their traditional “Puritan” Thanksgiving event last year. (Because a Native American service member would of course have a closet full of “Indian clothes” that they wear to kick back in when they’re off duty.) And that wasn’t even an isolated incident. A few years earlier another commander at another base told a Native American in their unit to dress up like an “Indian” to add to the “historical” nature of their “Pilgrim Heritage” event.

However, Mikey and MRFF have never, until now, run into a command staff so intent in carrying forward the ‘Doctrine of Discovery’ (a religious teaching that led to the ‘legal’ concept that gave European nations the right to claim land and subjugate “non-believers” they “discovered”).   While the Doctrine was finally repudiated by Pope Francis on March 30, 2023 it appears that some U.S. Military commanders disagree with this repudiation due to a ‘historical interpretation’ that would make an actual historian outside of Prager University blush.  The following email from an active-duty Native American officer and military academy graduate details the un-Constitutional alternative reality of a couple of these commanders:

From: (Active Duty Military Officer/MRFF Client’s e-mail address withheld)
Subject: Thanks MRFF from a Native American Military Officer
Date: August 14, 2024 at 8:21:24 AM MDT
To: Information Weinstein <[email protected]>

I am an active duty military officer in the United States (military branch name withheld). I am also a graduate of the United States (military branch name withheld) Academy. I am married with (number of children withheld) kids. Our family proudly follows my Native American spiritualist religious faith which is over 9,000 years old.

I very recently asked for help from the MRFF directly to Mr. Weinstein after suffering a humiliating experience regarding my Native American ethnicity at a mandatory gathering of my military unit a few days ago.  For the record I am an enrolled member of the (specific tribal name withheld) Sioux tribe and my military occupational specialty involves the direct oversight and use of nuclear weapons.

Within the last week or so our unit commander conducted a regularly scheduled “All-Hands” gathering which included a presentation by a local civilian “history expert” who gave a power point presentation on the history of our installation going back to the 1860’s and 1870’s.

When I viewed one of the presented slides with my assembled military unit I became so outraged and sick to my stomach I didn’t know what to do? I was just incredulous!

This slide stated that during the 1870’s the main 3 missions of the U.S. Cavalry stationed at our installation was to “(1) Fight and defeat the Sioux Nation hostiles on the battlefield, (2) Domesticate the Sioux Nation hostiles and, (3) Bring the Sioux Nation hostiles to the grace of Jesus Christ.”

After this power point and when the mandatory meeting was adjourned it all just got worse. I spoke with the senior officer (whom I will refer to as my “sub-commander”) who had arranged this presentation with this so-called local community “history expert” civilian who lived off base in the adjoining town. I explained how enraged I was about what was written about my Sioux people on that particular slide. My sub-commander just dismissed my complaint by telling me that it sounded as if I was a proponent of “Critical Race Theory” and, further, was improperly trying to use DEI (“Diversity, Equality and Inclusion”) as a weapon. He then said something I will never forget or forgive. He told me that he was well aware of my Native American heritage and that it was likely that my Native American heritage “helped” me get an appointment to my alma mater, the United States (military branch name withheld) Academy. He then asked me, if I had been of Japanese ancestry, whether I would have wanted to challenge Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s statement after Japan surrendered in World War 2 that he needed “1 million Christian bibles and 10,000 Christian missionaries to subdue and control the Japanese”?

I was just so stunned by his racist attitude and dismissiveness! I was literally speechless. I was flabbergasted!  That entire slide was so messed up and offensive! “Domesticate the Sioux Nation hostiles” sounded like the U.S. Cavalry viewed us as mere animals like “domesticating” feral dogs, cats or horses. And that statement about “Bring the Sioux Nation hostiles to the grace of Jesus Christ” was equally as offensive. All of it was wrong!

Other members of our unit came up to me and apologized for what had happened as most folks are well aware of my Sioux heritage.  I did some digging and found out that this “history expert” attends the same off base mega evangelical church as our unit commander. It seems likely that our sub-commander was trying to kiss up and curry favor perhaps with our unit commander by arranging this presentation but I don’t know for sure? I just know that I was completely humiliated.

I spoke with my wife who was also shocked. She agreed with my decision to ask for help from Mr. Mikey Weinstein and the MRFF. I was well aware of the MRFF from my days as a (cadet or midshipman) at the Academy.  Mikey shared our anger at what had gone down at that mandatory meeting. He immediately contacted our organizational commander and demanded punishment for what had occurred.

I know that an internal investigation has been launched and that I am supposed to speak with the assigned investigating officer soon. In the meantime I have learned that the sub-commander has so far received “verbal counseling” for his role in this as well as the statements he made to me about CRT, DEI and my appointment to the Academy. I also understand that our unit commander has to date received some sort of “written counseling” for what happened. I hope there is more punishment to come but there is no guarantee.

The MRFF is helping me file both IG and EEO complaints as well. I won’t let this unbelievably demeaning moment against my Sioux heritage go without a fight. And the MRFF is leading the way for us!

Mr. Weinstein and the MRFF, my whole family and I thank you for being there for me and my family in this terrible matter. Please do not release any information which might identify me in this situation as my wife and I do not want to be on the business end of any sort of military organizational retaliation.

(Active Duty Military Officer/MRFF Client’s name, rank, MOS/AFSC, assigned unit and installation all withheld)

MRFF will continue to assist this Client in seeking more appropriate action than a ‘slap on the wrist’ while monitoring any attempted retribution whatsoever against this extremely brave and honorable Client.