Peace and War: Native Ground
Native American tribes have been
shamefully misused and abused by
settlers, colonists, thugs, and others.
In spite of this history of painful and
tragic mistreatment, people survive.
And it’s time to set things right.
The American Indian Movement
and other tribal collectives
are working with everyday people
to restore peace, justice & freedom.
http://www.ThePortlandAlliance.org/nativeamericanportal
Native Americans have the highest mortality rate of any U.S. minority because of U.S. action and policy. The biggest killers though were smallpox, measles, influenza, whooping cough, diphtheria, typhus, bubonic plague, cholera, and scarlet fever.
All imported by the Europeans colonists.
But murders and mayhem which took place, above and beyond these deaths, are the most horrific consequence of the European invasion, occupation, and exploitation.
Two studies have been conducted that attempt to number the native people killed by colonists, settlers, racists, and the US military in the United States.
The first study was sponsored by the United States government, and while official, does not stand up to scrutiny: even this biased accounting admits to between 1 million to 4 million deaths.
The second study was not sponsored by the US Government but was done by independent researchers. This study estimated populations and population reductions using documented census data and the most accurate objective records.
Two figures are given, both low and high: between 10 million and 114 million Indians died as a direct result of US actions. (Some by violence and many by imported disease)
Note: Given the fragmentary nature of the evidence, even semi-accurate pre-Columbian population figures are impossible to obtain. Estimates are made by extrapolations from small bits of data. In 1976, geographer William Denevan used the existing estimates to derive a “consensus count” of about 54 million people. If this were true, then more than 50 million died from disease, murder, war, hunger, or other causes.
Note that Nazi Holocaust estimates are between 6 and 11 million; thereby making the Nazi regime responsible for the 2nd largest mass murder of a class of people in history.
REF:
American Holocaust: D. Stannard (Oxford Press, 1992) – “over 100 million killed”
“One could reasonably argue that the Turkish pogrom against the Armenians during World War I qualifies as a crime against humanity, as does the United States’ ethnic cleansing of Native Americans.”
Sebastian Junger
The time has come for peace, justice, and liberation.
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