A wonderful post, Laureli.   The racism in EuroAmerican culture is deep and unconscious, which is why it is so often denied despite overwhelming evidence that it is widespread.  It is continually reinforced and solidified in everyday language itself, as illustrated in today's article about captain Cook's arctic voyage where the researcher defines Cook as the "original polar scientist."   This statement has an unspoken built-in assumption: Native people were not intelligent enough to be competent "scientists," something I know is far from the truth.  Native people throughout the western hemisphere were keen scientific observers of nature.

In addition, yesterday I posted a link to a racial genetic study conducted on 160,000 Americans by 23andMe and Harvard University.  The study's shocking (to me) findings show that white Americans are really, really white, even after more than 400 years on the continent and having arrived in Jamestown with slaves in tow.  to be continued . . .