The “Great Peace” an American Utopia.

     The irony of genocide, negative stereotyping, and the false portrayal in history books of Native Americans is that the United States owes its very existence to the “American Indian.” Native tribes like the Lenni Lenape or Delaware in northeastern America had perfected pure democracy and lived egalitarian (Leiser 1).  Settlers who traded with the tribes envied the fact that even the youngest female of a tribe was given the opportunity to vote and speak freely before a council fire on all important matters related to the Indians (1).  Many settlers left their settlements, accepted adoption by the tribe, and lived as Native Americans rather than suffering as a serf in the colonies under the rule of a Governor for the King.  A famous fictional literary character named “Hawkeye” from the classic book, “The Last of the Mohicans"  , is demonstrative of this phenomenon.

("Hawkeye-left, from ,“The Last of the Mohican's", movie 1992 )

     The concept of a “United States” came from the Iroquois League, a confederacy of six Indian Nations in New York and Pennsylvania (Reynolds 1).  Benjamin Franklin in 1754 suggested, “If six tribes of ignorant savages could form a defense union and keep it going for ages, so could we”, to representatives from the English colonies who were looking for a way to rid themselves of the French Forts close to them.  Although, Franklin was ignored at the time, the idea eventually stuck and materialized during and after the American Revolution. 

(The Iroquois Longhouse and the Chiefs of the Six Nations or the Iroquois League)  

      Due to interracial marriages and adoptions by tribes it soon became hard to distinguish “Indian” from “White man” on the frontier.  The frontier moved as the country grew and though their was much official repression those "Whites" who lived in the wilderness with Native Americans usually conformed to their environment and  learned to live peacefully with their neighbors.  Racists could not tolerate this and it became the mission of racists in the government to separate the people by official and unofficial means.

(An Interracial family, Native American and White, from the 1800's)

(Settlers and Native Americans often look indistinguishable from each other)

     The concepts of “individual liberties” and the “respect for minorities “owes a great deal to the Delaware or Lenni Lenape people and especially to one of their great chiefs, ”Tammaned”, as he was known to the Lenape, or as ,”Tammany”, as he was known to the settlers (Leiser 1).   Tammany was a great Lenape leader who worked diligently to provide for his people through his relationship with William Penn founder of Pennsylvania (1). Tammany was born in 1628 in what would soon become Pennsylvania; his name means “Easy to talk to", in his Unami dialect.  He and William Penn visited each other’s homes, shared in feasts and traded goods. Tammany presented Penn with a wampum belt which survives today at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia (1). His image has been immortalized in many places, including a natural rock formation in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. From Route 611, south of the village of Delaware Water Gap, one can look across the Delaware River and see the rock profile of Tammany, chief of the Lenni Lenape (1).

(Tammany's face on the Mountain)

                  

(Statue of Tammany along the Delaware River in Philadelphia)

     Tammany is best known to early Americans as the personification of the, “Honest Indian, “positive stereotype of Native Americans.  Under the name "Tammany", the great chief was a popular figure in America, especially in Philadelphia (Leiser 1). Referred to as the, "Patron Saint of America", he became an emblem of peace and amity. Tammany famously said that the Lenni-Lenape and the English colonists would, "Live in peace as long as the waters run in the rivers and creeks and as long as the stars and moon endure."  For sixty years this statement held true. This is the time in Pennsylvania history known as the “Great Peace”.

(William Penn was unique among colony governors because he purchased lands from the Lenape at a fair price) 

     While other colonies and settlers stayed in a constant state of war with its native inhabitants, Pennsylvanians lived in Peace with the Lenape and they thrived together. Unfortunately, this Utopia of the “New World” would be destroyed by the heirs to William Penn.The Lenape, like all other great tribes, would eventually be forced on migrations of hundreds of miles to reservations too.  However, the seeds of negotiated peace” and “minorities being treated as equals were planted in the minds of citizens as something to strive for.  Next time you celebrate Independence Day you should take time to remember the contribution that Native Americans gave to make this "Land of the Free and home of the Brave".  

     For a brief time in American history “Native Americans” and “Americans” lived harmoniously.  Each respected each others cultures and thrived together.  Unfortunately, greed and hatred soon destroyed this American Utopia but the fact that for more than half a century peace held gives me hope that in the future we can once again coexist in harmony. A good start would be to give back lands stolen from the tribes where possible or pay reparations in different ways where it is not.  We must stop making the “Native American” a source of mythology and respect them instead as living people who deserve justice for damages done to them so we may heal together. 

References

Leiser, A. (2005). William Penn and Lenape Chief Tammany. Monroe County Historical Association, 1. Retrieved from http://www.monroehistorical.org/articles/files/110105_wmpenn.html

Reynolds, P. M. (1988). Colorful characters of Pennsylvania. Willow Street, PA: Red Rose studio.

Erasing the White Man's Indian:  Stereotypes of Native Americans

     The Stereotyping of the Native American Indian in the United States seems to be as American as Baseball or Apple Pie.  The negative labeling of our indigenous people is almost as prevalent as the common cold and has been going on longer than the United States of America has been a country.   The Stereotypes are everywhere in our culture.  They help sell all sorts products and promote many different types of sports teams.  The misrepresentations are in our movies, T.V. shows, pop songs, comic books and have even made their way into our history lessons.  The false portrayal of Native Americans is an institution in the United States that has a long history and if things continue as they have been, they will have a long future.

     Jane McCrea was a 26 year old victim of the Revolutionary war (Jane 1).  She was captured by Native Americans that were allied to the British Crown (Jane 1).  She was scalped supposedly by those same captors (Jane 1)  The British paid hefty bounties for the scalps of enemies of the crown (See March 23, 2013 Post).   The Rebel Colonists embellished the details of her untimely demise and then spread the story in newspapers throughout the colonies (Jane 1). This anti-British propaganda also spread hatred and fear of all Native Americans in the American colonies (Jane 1).  A depiction of Jane’s death was painted by John Vanderlyn in 1804 and the painting helped perpetuate the misrepresentation of “The Skulking Indian Enemy”.

The Death of Jane McCrea

     Newspapers in America have been instrumental in protecting our democracy from the lies of tyrants and seeking out the truth by developing a tradition of journalistic ethics.  Unfortunately, that has not always been the case.  Newspapers and reporters have also been guilty of misleading the public or even spreading lies about Indian attacks on defenseless white settlers to sell more newspapers and thus helped to perpetuate the myth of, “The Skulking Indian Enemy” (Lester 113).  This stereotype takes on many forms most commonly the painted face, war crying savage attacking innocent woman and children (Lester 114).  This is the most recognizable Indian to most of the world due to the movie industry pumping out one flick after another portraying the Native American in this way.

                               

                       (A short documentary on Hollywood's treatment of Native Americans)

Many of Americas young children in this country were introduced to stereotypes of Native Americans through  cartoons.

                              

                       (Short "Betty Boop" cartoon from the late 1930's)

     The opposite of the “Skulking Indian Enemy” is the “Noble Savage”.  This is the Indian we like to talk about on Thanksgiving Day who shared his bounty with the Pilgrims.  He goes out of his way to help the white man at the risk of family relationships and even his own life (Lester 114).  This stereotype implies that the Native American is grateful that the wise and powerful Anglo will rescue him from his primitive backward culture and way of life (114).  Similarly, there is the myth of the “Stoical Indian” who never smiles and is always very serious.  I hope the video below helps to dispel the myth that Native Americans are always serious.  Actually, most Native Americans that I have met have a terrific sense of humor.  (Sorry, but there seems to be a technical problem with uploading this video, "Going Native American American Indian Comedy Slam is the name of the video and can be watched on YouTube.)

(See I told you Native Americans can be funny too!)

Both the ,"Noble Savage" and the“Stoical Indian”, images were on the dime store novels and newspapers of the 19^th Century and helped to perpetuate the myth that the Indian, if he is truthful, is actually grateful for Manifest Destiny rescuing him from his primitive ways (114).  This myth is like the rapist justifying his deed by saying, "She liked it."  If you go to Barnes and Noble today and look through the Romance section you can still find these images.

  The stereotypes of the “Skulking Indian Enemy”, and “The Noble Savage”, are the most common misrepresentations used by sports teams (Lester 115).  Teams like the Braves, the fighting Illini of the University of Illinois, and Sioux of the University of North Dakota rely on the fear that the “Skulking Indian Enemy” social construct might conjure in the minds of their opponents ( 115)  However, some sports teams like the Cleveland Indians have chosen a composite of the two stereotypes.  The Cleveland Indians mascot is “Chief Wahoo” a cartoonish caricature that also exaggerates the racial features that Native Americans are often associated with.   The most blatantly racist team name has to be the Redskins best known as the professional football team representing Washington D.C.  Fans of these teams make war cries, wave toy tomahawks, do war dances dressed as Indians, and threaten to scalp their rivals (115).  Team owners and fans defend these names and mascots by saying that they are respecting and honoring Native Americans.  In all fairness there are some teams like the University of Florida Seminoles that have been given permission by the tribe to use their name and image (115).  Still it is hard to imagine most Native Americans are not offended by the way they are portrayed at these sporting events.  Today, many schools have decided to either change the name of their team or if the tribe still exists ask for permission to use their likenesses in a respectable manner (116).  The stereotypes of the "Skulking Indian Enemy”,  and, “The Noble Savage”, usually seek to dehumanize the male Native American.  Native American women have a different set of negative labels to overcome.

     Native American women have for a long time been referred to collectively as "Squaws".   Native American woman did not refer to themselves as such the name was pinned on them and it stuck. The term "Squaw" in popular American culture has two different derogatory meanings (scholarsbank 1).  The two primary definitions for a  "Squaw" in our culture are first as a sexual punching bag and then as a drudge (1).   Whites pushed the idea of  the "Squaw" being a drudge or workhorse because the concept not only dehumanized them but was the direct opposite of what the ideal white woman was supposed to be this providing evidence of their savagery (Smits 1).  The Indian "Squaw" as a sexual object degrades Native American women and shows them as being an object for men, primarily white, to possess and manipulate (Ardrey 1).  The media markets this look to women and makes the stereotype a norm in society (1).  This type of stereotyping reinforces public impressions of what constitutes female Indian-ness and the place of indigenous women in a simultaneously romanticized and demonized past, present and future (1).  It is time for the squaw to be liberated and no longer the property of Native or non-Native American men.  Some stereotypes can apply to either Native American men or women.  The “Drunken Indian” social construct of Native Americans is completely gender neutral

. 

     The myth of the “Drunken Indian” assumes that all Indians are powerless over alcohol and that despite the noble efforts of the U.S. government the Native American is doomed to be a hopeless drunkard because of the loss of the tribal way of life (Miller 226).  There is no doubt that there are alcohol problems among Native Americans.  There are alcohol problems among all races of people.  Ironically, Native American treatment programs have demonstrated a high success rate especially among the youth (228).   It has been theorized that alcohol was not known to Native Americans and therefore they did not develop the proper genes needed to process alcohol (229).  Alcohol was indeed known to many tribes before European contact although they probably did not consume it other than in a ceremonial manner (229).  Rather than some biological reason for Indian Alcoholism researchers point to deplorable economic and social conditions on reservations and Indians living in urban areas as the leading cause of Native American alcohol abuse.  The U.S. federal government bears a large responsibility for the dissemination of the “Drunken Indian” myth (235).  If the Native American is perceived as helpless then they may need a benevolent “Father” figure that is really a wolf in disguise.  Just like all other stereotypes the “Drunken Indian” is totally false yet still widely believed. 

                               (A brief news report about poverty on the "Pine Ridge" Reservation)

     There are many more stereotypes about Native Americans than could ever fit into this Blog.  I have selected those that are the most pervasive and still widely believed.  All of these negative labels share a central theme.  The idea has always been to dehumanize and make it more socially acceptable to treat Native Americans with less respect and dignity than people of all other races and especially the white race.  What separates the longstanding negative social construct of the Native American from all of the other American ethnic and racial minorities constructs is that their negative labels helped to inspire the greatest genocide the world has ever known. 

I will leave you with a poem that one of my Native American sisters wrote and was published in Aloud: Voices of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe.

Sure You can Ask me a Personal Question
by Diane Burns

How do you do?
No, I'm not Chinese.
No, not Spanish.
No, I'm American Indi..uh, Native American.
No, not from India.
No, we're not extinct.
No, not Navajo.
No, not Sioux.
Yes, Indian.
Oh, so you've had an Indian friend?
That close.
Oh, so you had an Indian lover?
That tight.
Oh, so you've had an Indian servant?
That much.
Oh, so that's where you got those high cheek bones.
Your great-grandmother, eh?
Hair down to there?
Let me guess...Cherokee?
Oh, an Indian Princess.
No, I didn't make it rain tonight.
No, I don't know where you can get Navajo rugs real cheap.
No, I don't know where you can get peyote.
No, I didn't make this... I bought it at Bloomingdale's.
Yes, some of us drink to much.
Some of us can't drink enough.
This ain't no stoic look.
This is my face.

References

Algarín, M., & Holman, B. (1994). Aloud: Voices from the Nuyorican Poets Cafe. New York: H. Holt.

Ardrey, K. (2011). hpiamardrey. Hofstra People. Retrieved March 29, 2013, from http://people.hofstra.edu/daniel_m_varisco/hpiaardrey.html

Smits, D. D. (1982). The "Squaw Drudge": A Prime Index of Savagism. Ethnohistory, 29(4), 281-306.

Jane McCrea Notable Women Ancestors. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nwa/jane.html

Lester, P. M. (2011). Images That Injure: Pictorial Stereotypes in the Media, Third Edition. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO.

Retrieved from https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1794/11739/s-word.pdf?sequence=1

The 'Drunken Indian:' Myth Distilled into Reality Through Federal Indian Alcohol Policy by Robert Miller, Maril Hazlett :: SSRN. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1160478

Proof of Genocide

     When Christopher Columbus arrived in the New World in 1492 there was an estimated 12 to 15 million Native Americans living in what is now the United States by 1890 there were only 250,000 native people left alive (Davey and Woman).  What happened to all those people?  Where did 98% of the native population go?  They were systematically eradicated through what we now call genocide.  Here is the legal definition of genocide from the United Nation's Articles II and III of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide:

Article II describes two elements of the crime of genocide:

1) the mental element, meaning the "intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such", and
2) the physical element which includes five acts described in sections a, b, c, d and e. A crime must include both elements to be called "genocide."

Article III described five punishable forms of the crime of genocide: genocide; conspiracy, incitement, attempt and complicity.

"Article II:  In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:

(a) Killing members of the group;
(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

Article III:  The following acts shall be punishable:

(a) Genocide;
(b) Conspiracy to commit genocide;
(c) Direct and public incitement to commit genocide;
(d) Attempt to commit genocide;
(e) Complicity in genocide. "

     Genocide in the United States was not only the accepted “Indian Policy” it was codified.  While it is still a matter of controversy as to whether or not the indigenous tribes practiced "Scalping" prior to European contact it is abundantly clear that it was not until the English Crown offered paid bounties for scalps that the practice became wide spread (Martin 1).  The English offered bounties for "Scalps" and the American States continued the practice making it a cottage industry (1).  Many White settlers made a living by taking the scalps of Indians who simply did not care whether they were "friendly Indians" or not (1).  The settlers usually took the scalps of the defenseless elderly or woman and children due to the ease of procurement (1).  There is an impression held by many historians that the practice of taking "Scalps" was a purely Indian invention giving  proof to their inherent savagery.  This assertion is pure propaganda. In the book, "Unlearning Indian Stereotypes", author Philip Martin published an account by an Iroquois elder, "Europeans put them up to it, y'know...The Englishmen offered bounties for scalps, since scalps were easily collected as proof of enemy killed.  Lots of cheap whiskey was paid for with scalp money.  Most of the scalps were from "enemy" tribesmen.  Of course by "enemy" I mean enemy of a particular European power , such as Huron scalps when the Brits were backing the Iroquois" (1) The state of Massachusetts codified the taking of Native American scalps in “The Acts and Resolves of the Province of the Massachusetts Bay Vol. 1 1692-1714.  The scalp law read:

"That there shall be paid out of the publick treasury of this province unto any party or parties that shall voluntarily go forth at their own charge, by commission as aforesaid, in the discovery and pursuit of the said Indian enemy and rebels, for every man or woman of the said enemy that shall be by them slain, the sum of fifty pounds; and for every child of the said enemy under the age of ten years that shall be by them slain, the sum of ten pounds . . .."

In modern monetary terms the price for a scalp was $60 per head.  More locally in  1756, Pennsylvania Governor Morris, in his “Declaration of War against the Lenni Lenape (Delaware) people, offered "130 Pieces of Eight [a  type of coin], for the Scalp of Every Male Indian above the Age of  Twelve Years, " and "50 Pieces of Eight for the Scalp of Every Indian Woman, produced as evidence of their being killed " (1).  Being of Lenni Lenape decent I found this fact most disturbing and probably one of the reasons our Indian ancestry was a closely guarded family secret.  The offering of bounties led to widespread violence against any person of Indian blood, male or female, young or old.  Paying money for scalps of women and even children reflected the true intent of the campaign - to reduce native populations to extinction or to smaller numbers so the natives could not oppose European seizure of Indian lands (1).

     At the American Indian Indian Genocide museum in Texas one of the most damning exhibits is the invoice used for the blankets and handkerchiefs infected with the small pox virus and then distributed to the Delaware or Lenni Lenape Indians here in Pennsylvania at what was once Fort Pitt, now called Pittsburgh.  There is abundant evidence that germ warfare was used against Native Americans by U.S. troops.  Col. James Neill a U.S. Calvary officer in Texas wrote in his "Recollections of Early Texas: Memoirs of John Holland Jenkins":

"On this raid, Colonel Neill adopted a singular, if not barbarous, method of sending destruction upon the Indians. Having procured some smallpox virus, he vaccinated one of the captive warriors, and then released him to carry the infection into his tribe! Nothing was ever heard as to the success or failure of this project."

Although we do not have exact numbers we know for certain that millions of Native Americans perished after contracting the Small Pox virus many more died this way than by the gun.  
     
     Those Indians who were not directly murdered by U.S. troops or used as sex slaves by private militias that were compensated for murder by the U.S. Congress were forcibly removed from their lands and herded into concentration camps called Reservations (Brown 78).  Many thousands died during these forced migrations, referred to by Native Americans as the  "Trail of Tears",  because the army provided no transportation for the elderly, no shelters from the elements, and no food rations (80).  Most died of exposure and  were left to rot on the sides of the trails (80).  On the Reservations, which were situated on the most useless farm lands that could be found, the Indian became the first citizen of the welfare state (178).  No longer able to hunt or to grow enough food to maintain proper nutrition many thousands died of hunger and malnutrition.  Those that survived on government rations, which often included rancid canned meats, developed chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease (206).  Leaving the Reservation was forbidden and any escapes were dealt with by summary execution (78).  However, if gold was discovered on a Reservation the Indian population would be forcibly relocated again (79).  After the Reservation system had been well established it was discovered that most tribes resisted assimilation.  The Indians had a nasty habit of remaining Indian. Even though it was now illegal under Federal Law, many tribes persisted in practicing their religion and speaking their native tongue (16).  The "Indian Problem", now became, "How do we force assimilation?"

     A former U.S. Army Calvary officer, Capt. Richard H. Pratt  came up with a solution that is summarized by his famous quote, "Kill the Indian, and save the man."  Pratt became the head of the Indian Boarding school system (Brown 221).  Beginning in 1887, the federal government attempted to “Americanize” Native Americans, largely through the education of Native youth (221).  By 1900 thousands of Native Americans were studying at almost 150 boarding schools around the United States (221). The U.S. Training and Industrial School founded in 1879 at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, was the model for most of these schools (222). Boarding schools like Carlisle provided vocational and manual training and sought to systematically strip away tribal culture (223). They insisted that students drop their Indian names, forbade the speaking of native languages, and cut off their long hair (221).  These schools were divided among the different Christian denominations and run by them with hardly any government oversight (223).  The result was widespread sexual and physical abuse of the Indian children which left them with deep scars that are still felt in their communities today (225).  Their are also allegations of murder at the schools. There have been a few mass unmarked graves found that were filled with Indian children nearby some of the abandoned schools but thus far this allegation has not been substantiated largely because the Justice Department has refused to open any investigations (226).  By the 1960's the boarding school system was deemed a failure and a tremendous waste of money and the program was scrapped leaving poor tribal governments with the legal responsibility of educating their young.

     If you are under the misconception that the genocide of Native Americans has long since ceased in the United States allow me to enlighten you.  Article II, subsection D of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide clearly states, "Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group."

The Indian Health Services or (IHS) is under the direct supervision of the Bureau of Indian Affairs of (BIA) which is a an administrative branch of the Department of the Interior in charge of Native American public policy (Department of the Interior 1).  On November 6, 1976, the Government Accounting Office (GAO) released the results of its investigation into the forced or coerced sterilization of Native American woman under the care of the IHS (Rutecki 1).  The GAO records verified that the IHS performed 3,406 forced of coerced sterilizations between 1973 and 1976 on Native American women.   Per capita, this figure would be equivalent to sterilizing 452,000 non-Native American women (1).  Independent research estimated that as many as 25-50% of Native American women were sterilized between 1970 and 1976 (1).  What may be the most disturbing aspect of the investigations it was physicians and healthcare professionals in the IHS who coerced these women (1). It was they who abandoned their professional responsibility to protect the vulnerable through appropriate, non-eugenic indications for surgery and informed consent prior to the procedures (1).  The same study demonstrated that between 1972 and 1978, sterilization procedures went from 15.1% to 30.7% of total female surgeries on that one reservation (1).  Healthcare professionals’ coercive tactics included the threat of withdrawing future healthcare provisions or custody of Native American children already born—if consent for sterilization was withheld (1).  The scandal of this replay of earlier twentieth century eugenic programs and genocidal tactics led to a congressional hearing (Senator James Abourzek, Democrat, South Dakota), but little else in terms of publicity, justice, or public outcry (1).  This is the last element of the five physical elements needed to prove Genocide under the UN charter.  Clearly, the United States government is criminally liable for acts of Genocide against it's Native American population.

     

      The French poet Charles Baudelaire said, “The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he doesn't exist."  The greatest trick the United States ever pulled off was committing genocide against its Native American population and convincing its own citizens that it never happened or isn't still happening.  That is not to say that  during this genocide there were not voices of decent among the non native and native  citizenry who spoke out against the horror but those voices were and are still in the minority and largely ignored.  So many immigrants who settled on Indian land benefited from the Holocaust it would be like "looking a gift horse in the mouth", to question what happened to the people who lived here before.  So they live in towns named "Catasauqau" or on Pawnee Street and never think twice about  the fate of the people who bear those names.  Like the German citizens of Nazi Germany they claim that they know nothing about what was done in their name or even worse lie about the truth so much that they began to believe their own lies.

   

If there is any doubt that America had an official policy of oppression against Native Americans it is dispelled by the words of our former presidents.

"Indian's and wolves are both beasts of prey, tho' they differ in shape."

                                                                                   George Washington 

"If ever we are constrained to lift the hatchet against any tribe, we will never lay it down till that tribe is exterminated, or driven beyond the Mississippi… in war, they will kill some of us; we shall destroy them all."

                                                                                                                       Thomas Jefferson

"My original convictions upon this subject have been confirmed by the course of events for several years, and experience is every day adding to their strength. That those tribes cannot exist surrounded by our settlements and in continual contact with our citizens is certain. They have neither the intelligence, the industry, the moral habits, nor the desire of improvement which are essential to any favorable change in their condition. Established in the midst of another and a superior race, and without appreciating the causes of their inferiority or seeking to control them, they must necessarily yield to the force of circumstances and ere long disappear."

                                                                                   Andrew Jackson

"Ordered that of the Indians and Half-breeds sentenced to be hanged by the military commission, composed of Colonel Crooks, Lt. Colonel Marshall, Captain Grant, Captain Bailey, and Lieutenant Olin, and lately sitting in Minnesota, you cause to be executed on Friday the nineteenth day of December, instant, the following names, to wit… "Text from President Lincoln to General Sibley ordering the execution of American Indians in Minnesota.

                                                                                                            Abraham Lincoln

"I don't go so far as to think that the only good Indians are dead Indians, but I believe nine out of ten are, and I shouldn't like to inquire too closely into the case of the tenth."

                                                                                   Theodore Roosevelt

                                         Hope and change?

"We also recommit to supporting tribal self-determination, security, and prosperity for all Native Americans. While we cannot erase the scourges or broken promises of our past, we will move ahead together in writing a new, brighter chapter in our joint history."

                                                                                                    Barack Obama

Maybe!?

"Only after the last tree has been cut down, Only after the last river has been poisoned, Only after the last fish has been caught, Only then will you find that money cannot be eaten."

                                                                                                     —Cree Prophecy

References:

Brown, D. 2000.  "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee".  New York:  Henry Holt and Company, LLC.

Davey, R.  Woman, Thunder, Y. (April 19, 2011). The Canary Effect. In Youtube. Retrieved March 20, 2013, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lD7x6jryoSA.

Martin, P. (n.d.). Scalping:  Fact or Fantasy. In Manataka American Indian Council®. Retrieved March 23, 2013, from http://www.manataka.org/page1438.html.

n.a.(no author). (n.d.). Who We Are. In U.S. Department of Interior, Indian Affairs. Retrieved March 23, 2013, from http://www.bia.gov/WhoWeAre/index.htm.

Ricert, L. (February 18, 2013). US Presidents in Their Own Words Concerning American Indians. In Native American News Network. Retrieved March 19, 2013, from http://www.nativenewsnetwork.com.

Rutecki,  G., MD. (October 10, 2010). Forced Sterilization of Native Americans: Late Twentieth Century Physician Cooperation with National Eugenic Policies. In Bioethics and Human Dignity, Trinity International University. Retrieved March 23, 2013, from http://cbhd.org/content/forced-sterilization-native-

                             Making the Case for Genocide

                                 

The Canary Effect

(Do Yourself a Favor an Actually watch this Video!)

This is not the full movie only an excerpt of it.

     "The Canary Effect", is one of the most thought provoking, well documented, and visually stunning accounts of the history of the Genocide of Native Americans.  You may think you know what happened but your knowledge is probably filtered by apologetic historians, revisionist teachers, and misguided patriots who refuse to believe that  their country and countrymen could have behaved so barbarically toward a race of people.  It will not make you feel good about American history but you will at least understand the truth about our past and therefore be more equipped to prevent future mistakes.   

 "Where today are the Pequot?  Where are the Narragansett, the Mohican, the Pokanoket, and many other once powerful tribes of our people?  They have vanished before the avarice and oppression of the white man, as snow before a summer sun.

    Will we let ourselves be destroyed in our turn without a struggle, give up our homes, our country bequeathed to us by the Great Spirit, the graves of our dead and everything that is dear and sacred to us?  I know you will cry with me, Never, Never!”

                                                               —Tecumseh of the Shawnees

     The “Ghosts” in the title of this blog are metaphoric. "Ghosts of America's Genocide", symbolize the race of people we now refer to as the Native Americans whose ancestors were subject to the greatest genocide in human history (Lewy 1).  They are like ghosts because the plight of their ancestors still haunt the collective consciousness of every citizen of the United States who enjoy the benefits of their once sacred lands. Their specters appear on Thanksgiving Day or arrive as a mascot for a sports team and most Americans misunderstand the message that the spirits are bringing.  

     Thanks to our social constructs of the "American Indian" many non Native Americans in this country have either an idealized or unrealistic view of  these people.  Some Americans view the Indian as head-dressed warriors, drunken clowns, or even as mystical shamans that can summon swarms of butterflies at will like the character in the 1982 horror film "Poltergeist".   Then there are the closet historians who have an apologetic take on history, telling themselves and others that a just war was waged against the savages and that there were only the isolated tragedies that occur in any war. Some Native Americans even exploit these misconceptions to make a living at "Pow wows" or as ghost hunters giving much credence to the saying, "If you can't beat them, join them." 

     None of these social constructs have much basis in fact.  The constructs. however, live on and get repeated generation after generation until the truth does not matter anymore.  This blog will examine and deconstruct the pervasive and damaging social constructs that label the surviving proud tribes that still exist.

     In future posts we will look at some very important issues facing Native Americans and the country at large.  My next post will examine the use of Native American mascots and team names in a variety of sports.  Fans and owners of these teams will undoubtedly defend their use of Native American symbolism as paying their due respect to the "American Indian".  While Native Americans and others may argue that it is an American double standard to have it be acceptable to have a sports team named the "Washington Redskins", but that it would be totally unacceptable to have a sports team named the "Newark Niggers".

I appreciate any and all feed back you would like to offer and promise to read all posts to this blog.

 
References:

1. Guenter, Lewy. (Monday, January 22, 2007-23:16). Were American Indians the Victims of Genocide?. In George Mason University History News Network. Retrieved Sunday, March 17, 2013, from hn.us/articles/7302.html.