Sterling HolyWhiteMountain is a fiction writer and essayist. He currently lives on the Blackfeet Reservation, and directs the writing center at Blackfeet Community College.When I think about the Cleveland Indians I think about growing up on the Blackfeet Reservation in northwest Montana. I think about going out with my friends in the summer evenings to hit softballs and, when there werent too many cars parked nearby, baseballs. And I think about a hat I wore all the time, sprung from that common mid-90s mold, with a huge, grinning Wahoo stretched across the front. I was as much an Indians fan as you can be in a state where baseball isnt a thing, on a reservation where basketball is the only thing, at a time when professional sports on TV were not easily accessible.Though I cant say for sure, my identification with the team was probably twofold. I had some sense that I was an Indian, in particular Blackfeet, and the goofy iconography and name were familiar. The name of our high school basketball team is simply the Browning Indians. Kids on this reservation, like kids on many reservations, grow up hearing older people refer to themselves as Indians, though it is becoming more common now for people to refer to themselves by their respective tribal names, in their respective languages, those indigenous languages that precede the arrival of English in North America by millennia. And Wahoo-like imagery is still not uncommon in Indian Country, though it is typically used for humorous or ironic purposes -- our way of turning the stereotype on its red face.For many reservation people, the truth of the Wahoo image has been slow to arrive. Even if we have difficulty admitting it, were aware that Indian people come in all shapes, sizes, colors and attitudes. Although Wahoo is based on a degrading stereotype stemming from a time when America was trying to destroy American Indian people while simultaneously mocking and romanticizing us, it is difficult for that stereotype to take hold in a place where 99 percent of the people are Indian. Like people in any dynamic community, we see each other every day (for better and for worse). There is a palpable distance between the falsehood of the stereotype and our lived experience; Wahoo is overcome by the reality of real Indians, with real names, real hungers, real loves and real problems. Yet reservation Indians live with the difficulties of the noble-savage stereotype each time we cross the boundary lines of our respective homelands and enter that other world called America. We deal with the difficulty of overwhelming American ignorance regarding Indian people -- something Indians who live off-reservation deal with every day.These issues of stereotype are, however, familiar by now, and it has been the great failure of the Indian-mascot debate to connect the issue to something other than racism and the self-esteem of individual Indian people. What remains unaddressed is the true history of Indian Country, which is to say the true history of the United States: a story of abrogated treaties, of tribal sovereignty limited by Congressional law and of specious Supreme Court decisions, all of which have either hampered or destroyed the ability of tribal people to govern themselves as political sovereigns on their own land. It is this history that created a set of systems that keep tribal nations locked in a suffocating political and economic limbo. American Indians are not minorities in any traditional sense. We are the descendants of the original majority, citizens of over 500 distinct tribes, and holders of special legal and political status resulting from the treaties we signed with the U.S. government, the same government that broke every one of those agreements.Right now, while the Cleveland Indians have a chance to win their first World Series since 1948, the most significant American Indian protest of the last 40 years is taking place just north of the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota. At Sacred Stone Camp, hundreds and sometimes thousands of people have been camped for months, protesting an oil pipeline whose route crosses land taken from the Lakota people by Congress, a violation of an 1868 treaty between the Sioux and the United States. More than a hundred peaceful protesters have been arrested in the last week alone, and, as construction has brought the pipeline nearer to the Missouri River, neither side has shown any sign of backing down.It is a strange thing to consider, that while the Cleveland Indians play a baseball game televised to millions of elated fans, all of whom will see the Indians egregious mascot paraded across their TV screens, real Indians will be standing in the way of a pipeline that could endanger not only the water supply of multiple reservations, but also the lower halves of both the Missouri and Mississippi River ecosystems. These latter Indians are the ones I know. The ones who assert their sovereign rights even when those rights are not recognized. The ones who travel from all over the country to support a particular tribes cause because, though we are all distinct peoples, we are nonetheless all in this together. The ones who will laugh, as we American Indians tend to do, even in the darkest of circumstances.Because I cannot be in North Dakota this week, I will undertake my own lesser protest action, that of bearing witness to the World Series. I will bear witness to how far we havent come since the time of broken treaties. I will bear witness to the distance between here and a future when tribal nations can govern themselves without U.S. federal oversight. I will bear witness to Wahoo, who is not merely a symbol of disrespect, but one that reminds Americans and American Indians alike how the United States has failed to honor its agreements with tribal people.And while I watch this Series, my nieces and nephews will surely be around, because they are always around, doing what little kids do. Each one of them beautiful, each one of them Blackfeet, each one of them nothing like Indians are supposed to look. I will watch this Series for them, because, despite the resurgence of Wahoo imagery, it will not always be this way. Someday, when there is less money to be made, Cleveland will come to its senses. Its so-called chief will fade into Native American studies classrooms and Internet searches, and all of us will be better for the loss. I will watch this Series because I want to tell these kids, when theyre old enough to understand, that once there was a World Series played when the most racist mascot imaginable was everywhere you looked, while at the same time Indians, real ones, were being illegally arrested in another state, peacefully protesting a pipeline that endangered millions of Americans. I will tell them that, despite all of those things being past, the history that made them lives on -- and they will fight that history for the rest of their lives. Cheap Rangers Jerseys . -- Los Angeles Lakers guard Jordan Farmar will be out for roughly four weeks after tearing his left hamstring. Cheap Ferguson Jenkins Jersey . But what about the officials? Every sport has officials and they also have stories about hard work and sacrifice but their accomplishments are seldom recognized by anyone outside their inner circle. http://www.cheaptexasrangersjerseys.com/ . -- Most satisfying to Russ Smith about No. Cheap Texas Rangers Jerseys .J. -- Marty Brodeur beat the Pittsburgh Penguins yet again. Cheap Rangers Jerseys China . -- Peyton Manning will have all of his wide receivers available for the first time in a month when the Denver Broncos begin their playoff run Jan. Choice of game I have lived in Australia for 23 years, and this is the first time in my time here that the World Cup has been played in this country. I could not pass up an opportunity to attend a World Cup quarter-final in my home city of Sydney, regardless of the teams playing. That Sri Lanka made it to the knockouts was a bonus.Team supported I always support Sri Lanka, even on days like this when they are soundly beaten. I was also looking forward to seeing Dale Steyn, AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla in action for the first time.Key performer Imran Tahirs excellent spell of leg-spin bowling was the defining performance of the match. His googly was not read well, even by good players of spin. De Villiers used attacking field placements and Tahir bowled accordingly, with very few loose balls. The wickets of Lahiru Thirimanne and Mahela Jayawardene turned the match significantly in South Africas favour, and they did not relinquish control after that. Tahir was well supported by JP Duminy, whose spread-out hat-trick went largely unnoticed by the crowd, and even the announcer only mentioned it at the end of the over!One thing I would have changed The crowd was hoping for another significant partnership between Kumar Sangakkara and Jayawardene for one last time, but, unfortunately, it wasnt to be.Face-off I relished Before the match, I was looking forward to the showdown between South Africas pace spearhead Steyn and the maverick TM Dilshan. The winner of that battle could dictate the rest of the game, and it was decided in spectacular fashion by Faf Du Plessis superb diving catch at second slip.Wow moment Watching du Plessis catch live at the ground, unlike on television, can make you truly appreciate the astonishing hand-eye coordination required to take a reflex slip catch marginally above the ground whilst diving forward, off a fast bowler bowling at 140+ kph.Close encounter To be honest, given the low-scoring nature of the game, outfielders were few and far between. It was clear, however, that Sangakkara, Lasith Malinga and de Villiers were the most popular players in the match.Shot of the day Thirimanne played some eye-catching shots in his 41, but the pick was a glorious lofted off-drive off Steyn. It was an effortless stroke, and one of the very few highlights for Sri Lanka on the day.Crowd meter The ground was about 75% full, an excellent turnouut given Australia were not playing, and both sets of patriotic fans created a fantastic atmosphere.dddddddddddd Every boundary or wicket was raucously cheered. The split between the supporters was about 65-35 in favour of Sri Lanka. There were thousands of flags and jerseys (from both teams) and plenty of noise. The Sri Lankan fans, as always, continued to cheer enthusiastically until the end, even as the result became more and more apparent.Fancy-dress index A group of fans were dressed up as Tigger from Winnie-the-Pooh, and there were a few Irish fans wearing St Patricks Day gear after celebrating yesterday.Entertainment The entertainment began outside the stadium with Baila music being played by a Sri Lankan band on a stage. Inside the ground, the papare bands played throughout the day. The acoustics in the upper tiers of the Trumper stand meant the music reverberated thunderously off the roof to a near concert-level volume. The drummers in those bands drowned out the official drummers at the ground. The fans next to the bands danced until the very end, and even as Sri Lankas ship sank, the bands played on. Some notable song choices by the DJ included Africa by Toto when South Africa took a wicket, and Summer Rain and Why does it always rain on me? during the rain break.Accessories I had plenty of food (which ultimately wasnt needed given the early finish), a Sri Lankan jersey (one of thousands in the stadium), and blue and yellow sneakers.Overall Despite a brief rain shower, it was largely a wonderful day for cricket, played in an iconic stadium in front of 27,000 passionate fans. Unfortunately, a thoroughly one-sided match left most in the crowd disappointed.Marks out of 10 If I was a South Africa supporter, Id say 10/10, but for me it was just pass mark. Despite the result, a day out at the cricket with friends and family is still an enjoyable experience, particularly at the picturesque SCG.Last chance to see It was a solemn farewell to two legends of world cricket - Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene. On behalf of all Sri Lankan fans, I thank you for your tireless dedication, the countless great performances and many unforgettable victories. We will miss you, and we wish the two of you the best for the future. ' ' '