Valerie Jarrett’s recognition of the Anishinaabe, Ojibwe, Odawa and Potawatomi nations at Thursday’s Obama Presidential Center dedication drew immediate mockery from right-wing commentators, who revived the familiar “give it back” taunt.
The criticism centered on treating the acknowledgment as a literal property claim, while supporters framed it as a symbolic statement that Chicago stands on Indigenous homelands rather than a demand to return land.
The opinion piece argues the backlash reflects resistance to confronting Native dispossession, broken treaties, boarding schools and other parts of U.S. history that critics often oppose teaching or publicly discussing.
That dispute unfolded at a ceremony otherwise marked by a display of cross-party civility, with George W. Bush joining Bill Clinton and Joe Biden to honor Barack Obama on Chicago’s South Side.
As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, the broader fight is over whether public institutions should pair patriotic commemoration with fuller acknowledgment of Indigenous history.