Since
the coming of the the Europeans to what is now called America,
the indigenous peoples that are now called Native Americans or
American Indians have been getting a raw deal. The atrocities
committed against the indigenous peoples were many. Right from
the time that Christopher Columbus landed, the indigenous peoples
were enslaved, tortured, and murdered.
Slave traders cruised the eastern seaboard of what is now
the United States and captured Indians to take back to Europe
as slaves. In fact, Squanto of the 'First Thanksgiving' fame
was one of those captured and sent to Europe as a slave. In its
wake, the early slave trade left many tribes and nations decimated,
not only because of the taking of slaves
and the outright murder of others in capturing slaves, but because
in its wake, it left behind virus' and bacteria that were not
indigenous to the native peoples. Because they had no immunity
to these newly introduced diseases, the indigenous peoples dropped
like flies, sometimes whole tribes died out because of these
diseases.
The Pilgrims,
who were part of a revolutionary group of people called the Puritans,
were members of a religious sect that tolerated no differences
in religion. If you didn't believe in their exact beliefs, you
were the Devil or Satan himself. Within 40 years, the Pilgrims,
and now the rest of the Puritans when they too came to America,
had passed Blue Laws, requiring the Wampanoag to give up their
religion, their hair and clothing styles, and their culture under
threat of death. Many who were even just partially resistant
to the Puritans demands were tortured and executed. Phillip,
a chief who had been baptised as a christian, soon realized the
the Puritans would stop at nothing, and that they would not quit
until they had everything, the land and lives, of the native
peoples as their own. Phillip sheltered his women, children and
elderly with the Narragansett, then went to fight to keep what
was rightfully his. Other than sheltering the women and children
of the Wampanoag, the Narragansett were neutral. The Puritans
demanded the Narragansett give up the Wampanoag women and children.
When the Narragansett refused, the Puritans attacked the village
killing almost 600 of the Narragansett warriors. By 1680, the
population of natives went from the pre-settlement population
of 15, 000 to 4,000! When Phillip was killed, any remaining living
Wampanoag were then sent to the Carribean as slaves. This is
just the first of many instances!
As the settlers moved across the continent, this type of
scenerio was common place.
Massacres of non-combatants was the norm for the Wasichu. Jeffery Amherst intentionally started germ
warfare in the Americans by giving Indians blankets that were
infested with smallpox. Sand Creek, Washita, and Wounded Knee are just a few of the more prominent
examples of the US Military attacking encampments, killing mostly
women and children. In fact, Sand Creek was so hideous, that
even the US Government condemned the action, although they never
punished the man responsible for the massacre! You can read more
about this at Death Runs Riot. The US government has almost
totally covered up their part in committing these atrocities.
For example,
they said Indians started the shooting at Wounded Knee. But neutral
observers said that the Indians were unarmed, and that the soldiers
started the firing. Also, the US government then gave out Medals
of Honor to many of the soldiers for shooting unarmed women and
children IN THE BACK! The US Government also does not want to
alter the misconception that the treaties they made with various
tribes were 'peace' treaties. Very few were 'peace' treaties.
Most of the treaties were land sale agreements, none of which
has ever been honored by the US Government. In fact, the US Government
never really intended to honor the treaties that they made with
the various tribes.That makes the US Government one of the biggest,
if not the biggest perpetrators of fraud in this country!
You can find a full and TRUTHFUL accounting of what has
really transpired in the US
dealings with Native Americans at FIRST NATIONS/FIRST PEOPLES ISSUES.
While all this may have transpired in the past, there are
many more atrocities being committed by our government today!
This is why they try so hard to keep the truths of the past buried,
so they can continue to commit atrocities against American Indians.
Many of you may have heard of the Indian Mascots issue, but I'm sure, few of
you has heard our perspective on this issue. Few if any people
know of the Forced Sterilization of women on reservations
that continued up until the 1970's. Few if any know of what really
happened at Wounded Knee in 1973, or that they now want to build
a Theme
Park on the site of Wounded Knee, displacing many reservation
residents. How many people know of the 
forced removal of Hopi and Dineh from their
reservations in Big Mountain, Arizona so the US Government
can sell mineral and mining rights? How many know of the executive
order made during WWII, where the US Government took lands from
the Arpahoe/Cheyene at Ft. Reno, Oklahoma? Or that this land
was supposed to be returned when the army vacated that land but
hasn't been returned to the tribe in the decades that it has
been abandoned by the Army? Not only was this land supposed to
be returned, but never was, but Clinton and the DNC attempted
to bilk this poor tribe out of $107,000 to return the land, but
only if one of Clinton's cronies could develop that land? Do
any of you know of the US Government's aid to the massacre in
Chiapas?
Or about the recent blatant murders of two Pine Ridge Lakota
by a sheriff in Nebraska?
Few if any know
anything of these continuing atrocities. You can find many of
these issues,and other issues discussed on the First
Nations/First Peoples Issues website. You can also find other
issues, or other perspectives of atrocities, such as the banning
of the use of American
Indians use of spiritual items, (for example, Medicine Bags)
while in prison at NativeWeb.
Another excellent source of online information about Native Americans
is NA
Resources .
Please read up on these issues. Then complain to your congressmen and senators. How can we condemn others for atrocities like the Holocaust (of the Jews, Gypsies, and others) or what is happening in Bosnia when we are doing it right within our own borders today! Write or email those Representatives and Senators today! You can find their email addresses at Elected Officials Email Addresses.