Conquering the Americas
87The history of the Americas is fairly well known. At least parts of it. Europeans came over across the ocean and landed. Here they lied to the natives who lived here (now called Native Americans), stole their land, killed them, made horrible trade deals, and overall used any means necessary to conquer them.
However, this is how history has gone. Settlement always ment conquering the lands and the people who lived in them. We talk about it being a horrible thing to have done here in the Americas and in the United States of America particularly. But this is something that has happened historically. Rome tried to take over everything in its ability during the age of the Roman Empire. Others did the same thing. Settlement was about landing, conquering, and maintaining control.
Do You Feel Guilty?
Do you feel guilty about what was done years and years ago? It would be silly to fall into a trap that isn't yours. You didn't kill off any "indians", take anyones land, or conquer a "new world". At least I doubt you did, and if you say that you did, I will probably recommend you to a good therepist. Taking on guilt that isn't really yours from the past is not a good thing to do and isn't something you should ever do. You shouldn't do it in response the the things your parents have done, let alone the things that were done hundreds of years ago.
Retributions
In America today, retributions are paid to the native Americans. Everyone with 25% native blood, or more gets paid government money. The nations can live on their reservations and govern them almost however they please. They have their own police force and their own system of government. Many are allowed to own casinos where they make lots of money off of people who would have to travel far away to visit a legally owned casino. In addition to that, they go to college free.
This is the United States of America's way of paying back the Native Americans and has been for years. However, this is something that should be let go. There isn't a Native American alive today who had his land stolen from him (or her). History has played itself out and to continue to pay for deeds done hundreds of years ago is rather insane.
Additionally, the Native Americans don't stand alone in races here in America that have been treated unfairly. Yet they alone are the ones to recieve retributions and free college.
Conquering
History is about conquering. Conquering new lands, and races. It is a very modern concept to think that this is wrong. Although in many ways it is still practiced today, just under different names and banners. America has conquered Iraq, at a great expense. They continue to struggle with how they are going to deal with it now that we are there and not wanted by a good portion of the people. We conquered Iraq in the name of domocracy, go figure.
The weakest, least developed people were always the ones to suffer throughout history. Often their weakness came from weaker weopons and even illness. But none the less, their history is often wiped from the face of the map as others took their land, their lively hood, and their peoples.
We are blessed to have some Native American history preserved. We are blessed that we have Native Americans who continue to bless us with their artwork, legends, and histories. However, we do not owe them for what our ancestors did to their ancestors.
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Comments
Just a couple of comments. First, as far as Casino's and Native Americans are concerned, I think you may be surprised to find out that often, the sorrounding non-Native American communities are benifited by Native American run Casino's in one way or another.
Second, yes, often the police officers on reservations are Native Americans simply because it is a source of employment on the reservation. It is a misconception however to think Native Americans live under a different set of laws. What is illegal off the reservation is just as illegal on the reservation. Not to mention that Native Americans do not have the liesure of governing themselves "any way they please." If that were the case, they would first of all leave the reservations.
Third, I wonder what all the Native American educational loans and financial aide is for if Native Americans go to college for free. Seems to me if college were free to Native Americans, there would be no need for such things.
Although it is too late, I think the Native Americans have learned from their mistakes, although they are still paying for them as they are constantly in conflict with the government over misappropriation of moneys owed to different groups of Native Americans, with some of the cases already stretching out for over 20 years. So, in theory, you do indeed still owe for what your ancestors have done, for in many cases, the restitution has still not come.
My last point was to be a comment on the time frame you mentioned as thousands of years. You may care to redo your math.
I have gotten most of my information from living in a town that was on the edge of a fairly large reservation (complete with a casino). I would have to say that everyone is pretty happy that the casino was built there (it is the second largest casino in the midwest). It greatly improved the situation for the Chippawas who lived there, but has definitely brought some trouble for the town. None the less it is a beautiful casino and they have done extremely well with it (it is the only casino I have ever been with, so I have no idea how its beauty actually compares to other casinos).
Their government may not be "however they please", but they have a governing body that is allowed to rule their nation on the reservation and it is indeed more in lines with however they please then with other local governments. Their police force is indeed their own (as most of the college kids remember having gotten ticketed for speeding in their area and paying the fine to the reservation, their police force was much more attentive to the speed limits). Additionally, they can leave whenever they want.
You will have to either believe or not believe me on the college thing. This piece is from memory of going to college in a town with nothing more then a college and a reservation. As for why they don't go to college, my Native American History professor says it often has to do with assimilation. Either you want to assimilate and leave the reservation or you want to continue to live on the reservation (you can go to college and come back, but most don't). This I am sure isn't the case for all, after all stereotyping and grouping people never really works.
There is really no way that I will ever feel the need to pay for what my ancestors have done. I am not one who feels that there really is a way to pay for the deeds that were done.
I don't mean to offend anyone, and really hope that I haven't, but I do have some pretty strong views on that matter. I thank you for making your points.
Math...well it wasn't really my math that was off. The first section hit the math right, I am not sure how the second used the phrase "thousands of years" without me picking it up on the second read, but it has been fixed. Thanks!
just to clarify: the reason scholarships and loans are still available to Native Americans even though, under the Constitution, they are given free education is because 1. you have to be a certain %blood Native to be eligible for the free funds which, due to mixed marriages eliminates many Natives even though they still live on reservations. Secondly, leaving the reservation for University means you will not be contributing to your community and many of those loans alleviate that by giving an allowance that can be appropriated as needed back to the families of those who go to Universities.
Personally, no, I feel absolutely no guilt. Where would ANYONE be without both the 'faults' and blessings of history? Is really having more than 80% of the world living primitively while a small percentage has the resources to evolve technologically and not share any of those benefits? Yes, the history of mankind is bloody and brutal but how many of us REALLY feel guilty enough to leave all this behind and join a reservation, live in a tribe on an island or be an aborigine?
I never thought about exactly where we would be in terms of development. I just thought about where I would be without the history of the United States. I am part Dutch, part French Canadian, part French, and even a tiny bit Native American (a very tiny bit, but it is there none the less). Without the bruetal and bloggy history of the US, my blood could never have been created. Top it all off, I married a man who is mostly German! (the Germans and the French don't marry and I have mostly French blood through a long history).
Mohawk nation cannot receive reparations, nor can any of the other nations that have not been federally recognized in USA. I am 3/8 native (nearly 40%) and cannot receive reparations.
I don't think Americans should feel guilty any longer. I think that Americans should lobby for the recognition of ALL nations, bands, rancherias, and pueblos of Native Americans in the USA. That is the injustice to be remedied at this time.
each country has taken over the land from the native people. any civilisation for that matter
in india the entire land was taken off from adivasis and now we continue to take over lands in our generation from tribals
we go ahead with deforestation
we create real estate in the land of farmers.
can we be guilty of all this?
yes we should be . if not instead of repaying for our sins we will reduce the natives to a landless undignified much insulted lesser brethren
the standing example for this now is the dalits of india - the adivasis - who are the native people who stand in slums with no power no money and no dignity
atleast not to make the natives of america like this the americans need to feel guilty
I don't think guilt will do anything. We should stand up for the injustices of those who have less then we have, but feeling guilty isn't really going to accomplish anything. It is true that all people should be equal and have equal rights, getting that to happen in an unfair world is hard, but we are all created equal. This alone should have us stand up for people less fortunate then ourselves.
Exactly.
The Indexer says:
2 years ago
Thanks for answering the question I raised. It is interesting that national guilt seems to all the rage these days. We in the UK are currently apologising for the slave trade, for example, and I do feel some degree of guilt for what my ancestors did to the native people of New Zealand and Tasmania. I also wonfder if the American sense of "manifest destiny" is, to an extent, behind their support for Zionism - the manifest destiny of the Jewish people to live in a land not occupied by their ancestors for thousands of years.