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Topic: Slavery through the ages continued.
This segment will be lengthy. So, hang in there or read bits at a time.
So where do we go from here? As I have previously stated, history belongs to the victor. And more often than not, they will toot their own horn claiming what they have done was just. Our Native Americans/indigenous people seem to have been harmed the most. I do not say any of this lightly. But they were the only culture slaughtered to total elimination.
During the Age of Discovery (c.1418-c.1620) the first English settlers arrived in Jamestown in 1607 and all seemed fine. Not long after their arrival, the Pilgrims arrived on the Mayflower in 1620.
By 1530, European powers realized they benefited from sending voyages to the Americas and colonizing the northeastern tip. As more colonizers came, violent conflicts began between the natives and colonizers. The colonizers became greedy and wanted more land, and the natives felt they were losing their territory. As a result, conflicts broke out.
Much of history, as far as I am concerned, is sketchy because it is written by the victor. Many claim the natives began the conflict. Some claim the settlers/colonizers began the conflict. But in the end, it was a sad outcome for the natives.
In 1830, Andrew Jackson ordered the ‘Indian Removal Act’. This act was the government’s policy of what was referred to as “ethnic cleansing,” which was basically genocide
This displacement of the Cherokee, Muscogee (Creek), Seminole, Chickasaw, and Choctaw nations marked a tragic event. They were forcibly removed from their ancestral homelands. Around 60,000 people died during the Trail of Tears.
Some estimates claim that nearly 92-94% of Natives were “ethnically cleansed” (in other words, murdered) from that time-period. Those who didn’t perish were forced onto reservations.
Sadly, many who were murdered had their bodies mutilated by the soldiers. They would remove a woman’s breast and make a tobacco pouch out of it. Or remove the genitals from children. But who knows of that truth? The soldiers were the ones who began the scalping as this was also their souvenirs. But movies and stories portray it the other way around. Again, the story of this so-called history comes from the victor.
When we reflect upon what occurred in this country’s history, we can still see the remnants of what became of the Natives. They are still on reservations, many living poorly, and many are neglected still by our government. (Sidenote: My mother was a registered nurse who worked on a reservation in New Mexico. She saw firsthand the effects of poverty, illness, and the lack of outside government assistance).
Let’s fast-forward to what is happening today. Do you know what happens to Native girls and women today? There are plenty of documentaries out there that show no one really cares about them. One documentary states that many Native girls were (and are) being kidnapped, beaten, raped, and killed. Their bodies thrown away into a field. The local police/authorities refuse to believe they were beaten and raped by the truckers passing through the area at a truck stop. However, evidence has clearly shown bruising and other physical injuries on their bodies that authorities refuse to acknowledge. They instead list their deaths as dying from exposure.
Now, let us think about this. Is slavery still ongoing today for Natives? If so, how? Do the Natives deserve to be free to roam this land as every single person from every walk of life is free to do? I understand that they are. But is it true? Why are they the only culture to have been put on a reservation? What (or whose) side do you believe? And is there the side of the Natives out there? Are movies accurately portraying the Natives? And who actually started the scalping? Additionally, how many charity organizations help them?
So much to think about.
I will wrap up this segment in the next chapter. Thanks for hanging in there.
Footnote: I have read a book by the historian, George E, Polka (Scott), called, “A Clash of Two Cultures.” He personally interviewed (in Montana) many descendants of the time when the genocide was going on. The government tried to stop him from doing these interviews. One time the SWAT team descended upon his home. This happened after he did not comply with stopping the interviews. They broke into his home, grabbed his wife, and threw her to the ground.
I do not make these statements lightly. I knew him for over 45 years. That is what he had said. Unfortunately, he makes no mention of this in either of his books.
He passed away on October 2nd, 2021 at the age of 89.
The other book for reference is, ‘Fort Custer, 1887-1898: Then and Now’ by George E Polka.
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