The Great Spirit

[shockwave rider]

The Sami are the nomadic reindeer herding indigenous people of the far north: Sweden, Norway, Finland and parts of neighboring countries. They are very pale skinned, have blue eyes, and have been the victims of ethnic cleansing, discrimination, forced displacement, and racist policies from various governments for centuries. In their case the racism is not based on skin color, but being indigenous people who choose to practice their traditional nomadic lifestyle. The Romani people of Europe are not always dark skinned, but also are undeniably on the receiving end of racism and discrimination, including thousands who perished in Hitler's concentration camps. One branch of my family was refugees in Europe for most of 100 years for having the wrong religion and speaking the wrong language, not one family member who hadn't left the region before WWII survived, they were not wiped out because of their skin color.

So racism and discrimination is not always about skin color, sometimes it is about ethnic identity and/or religion.