searching for wishbones and grace notes
poetry
AGAINST
against prep 1. Directly opposite: As in, the Navajos signed a treaty in 1868 that promised protection from anyone who would commit crimes against them. 2.a In opposition or hostility to: The treaty stated that if bad men among the whites commit any wrong against the person or property of the Indians, they shall be arrested and punished. b. Unfavorable to: The treaty guaranteed protection against unauthorized use of reservation land. c. As a defense or protection from: President Andrew Jackson affixed the seal of the United States of America and pledged to uphold the provisions of the treaty against acts by wrongdoers. 3. Compared or contrasted with: When high school students who bludgeon and burn three Navajo men are sent to reform school, when a white police officer shoots and kills a Navajo man in a Wal-Mart parking lot and is cleared of any wrongdoing, it goes against the promises pledged. 4. In preparation or provision for: The Special Navajo Education Program was a weapon used against young Navajos, to teach them to become Anglos, and reject their own language, heritage, and culture. 5.a In the direction of and into contact with: The Bureau of Indian Affair’s Relocation Program lured Indians off the reservation with the promise of jobs. The program promoted urbanization against cultural preservation. b. In contact with: You have to dig pretty deep to bump up against these truths. 6. In a direction counter to: The Department of Justice has ruled against more than half the claims filed by Navajo uranium workers and downwinders who requested assistance under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act. 7. As a counter balance to: Let truth stand against silence and historical omissions. 8. Before the background of: Embroider truth against a field of stars and stripes.