"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.