|
by Kaponda
The land and surrounding waters mourned in silence
for Fred Aslin and his eight siblings after their
abduction to the state mental institution. The land and
water would never again be aroused by the delicate
stewardship of Aslin and his Native American sisters
and brothers.
During the height of World War II, in 1944, Aslin
laid helpless on the operating table at Lapeer State
School, an old-fashioned mental institution in
Lansing, Michigan, where he was placed after his
father died. In his first years in the Spartan conditions
of his room at the institution, Aslin reflected on the
invasive surgeries forced upon his brothers and
sisters by the state of Michigan. At age 18, he knew
that sterilization would ravage his Ottawa and
Chippewa heritage, and; therefore, he had refused to
provide any consent to this genocidal scheme.
Like a tiger out of the wild, Aslin felt estranged as his
eyes opened to the closed-in walls of the bleak room.
He was suddenly overcome by a tingly sensation.
Aslin knew at that instance that he had become the last
of his sisters and brothers to be "fixed." The people
of the state of Michigan had heard him reject any
aspect of sterilization, but they nevertheless visited
this cruel act upon him under the pretense that he did
not measure up to the criteria set forth by the
Legislature. He was considered, according to the
hideous standards of enlightened science,
intellectually inferior and had to be sterilized. These
standards were employed by many countries during
World War II as the race for genetic superiority
progressed.
It would take the state of Michigan 50 years to
discover the horrible truth about Aslin. Before he was
committed, Fred Aslin had the ability to learn,
understand or think abstractly as well as, if not better
than, any other citizen of the United States. He had
always known that he was not "mentally retarded" or
a "feeble-minded moron," attributes given to him by
the state of Michigan.
On Tuesday, December 9, 1941, President Franklin
D. Roosevelt began his speech to the nation by stating
that, "The sudden criminal attacks perpetrated by the
Japanese in the Pacific provide the climax of a decade
of international immorality...."
Also, because of the barbarous practices by
Germany, on September 20, 1945, the Allied Forces
included, among other requirements to be imposed on
Germany, Section IX, paragraph 42(a), as an
amendment to the June 5, 1945, Declaration. It states,
in part, "....The German authorities will comply with
such directions as the Allied Representatives may
issue for the rescinding of German legislation
involving discrimination on grounds of race, colour,
creed, language or political opinions and for the
cancellation of all legal or other disabilities resulting
therefrom."
As Roosevelt identified the source of the evil of the 40's as
"international immorality," and as Germany had been
brought to her knees and made to vacate her blatant racist
practices, 27 states in America were either considering or
had passed legislation allowing or mandating forced
sterilization of "mental defectives."
When Aslin was released from the mental institution, he
left the memories of the many belt beatings and knocks of
hatred in the drab environment of the Lapeer State School.
There was a great urgency for volunteers to participate in
the Korean campaign. Like so many other Americans,
Japanese, Germans and others throughout the world,
across time and space, Fred Aslin demonstrated an
unselfish allegiance by defending his country for the
posterity of others, since his state had denied him any hope
of namesakes only four years earlier. Aslin displayed valor
in his stand for his country. He sustained a life-threatening
wound to the lung, but never complained about Armed
Forces policies although racial discrimination and
segregation prevailed.
On Friday, March 3, 2000, a probate judge dismissed a
lawsuit against the State of Michigan for his forced
sterilization, lodged by Fred Aslin. The judge stated that
the three-year statute of limitation has run out since the
rights of Fred Aslin were violated by the state of Michigan.
However, his attorney, Lisa McNiff, urged him to appeal
as there is a precedent in the courts of Michigan to set aside
the statute in situations where an individual had no way of
knowing that their rights were violated.
A successful appeal could have far-reaching consequences,
as the 27 other states which passed laws allowing forced
sterilization of mentally disabled persons will also be
watching this matter very closely to determine the
magnitude of their liability. The state of Michigan has to
show that their conduct was not grossly negligent to
prevail against Fred Aslin.
Meanwhile, Fred Aslin reflects on his 73 years in his home
in Hobbs, Indiana. With his wife and her two sons,
Aslin1s world is like a supernova. His luminosity has
exploded onto the gracious members of his community, as
he is the center of their universe. His family has given him
the strength, once again, to appreciate the sacred grounds
once reserved only for them to whom wisdom of earth was
granted. He has come the full circle in that he is, once
again, the caretaker of the splendid resources of nature. |
