Amerindian Genocide: Difference between revisions

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|motive = Enslave the Native population and use them to find gold Gain the land of Native tribes Impose "superior" cultural values on the Native Americans

|crimes = [[Genocide]] [[War crimes]] Mass [[murder]] [[Slavery]] [[Rape]] [[Ethnic cleansing]] Forced assimilation [[Hate Speech]]}}{{Quote|It is also apparent that the shared history of the hemisphere is one framed by the dual tragedies of genocide and slavery, both of which are part of the legacy of the European invasions of the past 500 years. Indigenous people north and south were displaced, died of disease, and were killed by Europeans through slavery, rape, and war.|Excerpt from ''American Philosophy: From Wounded Knee to the Present''.}}

The '''Amerindian Genocide''', AKA the '''Native American Genocide''', the '''American Indian Genocide''' or the '''American Indian Holocaust''', is a blanket term for the various atrocities carried out against indigenous peoples of North and South America from their discovery right up to the 20th Century. It is considered the foremost example of [[Genocide of Indigenous Peoples|genocide of indigenous peoples]] and being one of the largest genocides in history, surpassing even [[The Holocaust]] in scale and numbers of death. It began in 1494, when the Americas were discovered by the Spanish Empire, and continued well into the 20th century in various different forms and nations. It is estimated a total of 100,000,000 died , one of the biggest ~~cause~~ of death [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_smallpox#Epidemics_in_the_Americas ~~was illness~~ such as ~~small pox~~ with some estimates placing 90% of the deaths as a result of the epidemic introduced by ~~european~~ settlers.]

The '''Amerindian Genocide''', AKA the '''Native American Genocide''', the '''American Indian Genocide''' or the '''American Indian Holocaust''', is a blanket term for the various atrocities carried out against indigenous peoples of North and South America from their discovery right up to the 20th Century. It is considered the foremost example of [[Genocide of Indigenous Peoples|genocide of indigenous peoples]] and being one of the largest genocides in history, surpassing even [[The Holocaust]] in scale and numbers of death. It began in 1494, when the Americas were discovered by the Spanish Empire, and continued well into the 20th century in various different forms and nations. It is estimated a total of 100,000,000 died, with one of the biggest causes of death being [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_smallpox#Epidemics_in_the_Americas illnesses such as smallpox, with some estimates placing 90% of the deaths as a result of the epidemic introduced by European settlers.]

==History==

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===Genocide in the United States and Canada===

~~====Beothuk extinction====~~

The Canadian Beothuk people of Newfoundland became extinct in 1829. Initially co-existing with English settlers, the Beothuk had been forced off their fisheries and hunting grounds in the 17th Century, leading to starvation. The Beothuk’s attempts to reclaim these lands resulted in an all-out war during which the Beothuk were hunted down and killed. The colonial government attempted to mitigate this by putting out a reward for capturing Beothuk alive, but this just lead to more killings as settlers slaughtered any Beothuk who resisted capture. The last few Beothuk died of tuberculosis introduced by the settlers in captivity.

====[[American Indian Wars]]====

Many wars were fought against Native American tribes in the United States and Canada, first by colonial powers and then by the United States and Canadian governments. These wars left thousands, if not millions, of Natives dead and are generally viewed as [[Xenophobia|xenophobic]] and genocidal, often leading to colonists adopting policies of outright extermination against the natives if they started winning (notable examples of this tactic being seen in the Pequot War, King Philip’s War the French and Indian War and the First Seminole War among others).

Many wars were fought against Native American tribes in the United States and Canada, first by colonial powers and then by the United States and Canadian governments. These wars left thousands, if not millions, of Natives dead and are generally viewed as [[Xenophobia|xenophobic]] and genocidal, often leading to colonists adopting policies of outright extermination against the natives if they started winning (notable examples of this tactic being seen in the Pequot War, King Philip’s War the French and Indian War and the First Seminole War among others). There were also cases of U.S. Army troops massacring Native Americans, such as the cases with [[Sand Creek Massacre|Sand Creek]] and [[Wounded Knee Massacre|Wounded Knee]]. Many of these massacres were done in reprisal for attacks and raids on settlements. In one instance, the U.S. government orchestrated a [[California Genocide|genocidal campaign against the indigenous population of California]] that lasted from 1846 to 1873. These wars also led to the extinction of several groups, such as the Beothuk people of the Canadian island of Newfoundland. Several instances of ethnic cleansings were also perpetrated by American settlers to make space for farming, such as the [[The Trail of Tears|Trail of Tears]] and the [[Long Walk of the Navajo]].

====[[Conestoga Massacre]]====

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Once all the Moravian Indians had gathered, the militia confiscated their guns and axes (which they used for hunting), tied them up and announced that they had been found guilty of false charges of [[murder]] and espionage. The militia voted in favor of killing them (with the exception of eighteen who refused to take part in the massacre) before taking them to “killing houses” on 8 March where they were beaten, [[Scalping|scalped]] and hacked to death while singing hymns and praying. Many native women were [[Gang Rape|gang-raped]] by the militia before being killed. Overall, 96 Moravian Indian men, women and children were killed. The militia planned to commit another massacre at a nearby Moravian Indian settlement but the inhabitants were alerted to the events at Gnadenhutten and fled before the militia arrived.

~~====[[The Trail of Tears]]====~~

On 28 May 1830, President [[Andrew Jackson]] signed into law the [[Indian Removal Act]], which authorized the US government to confiscate Native American land. The Act was strongly enforced under Jackson’s presidency and that of his successor, [[Martin Van Buren]].

Under the Indian Removal Act, the government had a mandate to remove 50,000 Cherokee, Choctaw, Creek, Seminole and Chickasaw people from their homeland and seize it for themselves. No means of transportation were provided after the Natives were removed, meaning they were forced to walk 2,200 miles to Indian reservations. 4,000 deaths were reported on one march alone, and estimates of the total death toll range from 5,000 to 25,000. Others Natives were herded into [[concentration camp]]s until new land was found for then to settle on, but this was generally used as a last resort.

~~====[[California Genocide]]====~~

Following the American conquest of California, the American government decided to remove the native population of approximately 150,000 in order to make room for white settlers. This started with the first meeting of the California State Legislature in 1846, when it was decided that white settlers had the right to forcibly adopt native children against their will and instituted enslavement as the punishment for any crimes committed by natives, up to and including minor crimes such as loitering and drunkenness.

When it became apparent that the natives were prepared to resist these abuses, Governor [[Peter Hardeman Burnett]] formed several state militias tasked with hunting down and killing natives, declaring that “[A] war of extermination will continue to be waged between the races until the Indian race is extinct”. The militias raided tribal outposts and shot and scalped natives, and local people soon began to form their own militias to do the same. Entire tribal populations were wiped out during the massacres, and rape of Native women by white settlers was common. Some have tried to claim that the use of rape against Native women during the California Genocide qualifies as [[genocidal rape]]; this claim, however, remains disputed.

~~Even when the massacres ended in 1873, violence was still rife and thousands continued to die from starvation and illnesses introduced by the settlers.~~

~~==== [[Sand Creek Massacre]] ====~~

On February 18 1861, a group of Cheyenne and Arapaho chiefs signed the Treaty of Fort Wise to cease much of their lands under the Fort Laramie treaty to the U.S. Government in exchange for a new reservation in eastern Colorado.

Three years later, Colorado governor John Evans declared that the natives should move to a fort to be granted protection by the U.S. Government in order to be recognized as peaceful. A Cheyenne tribe led by the chiefs who signed the Fort Wise treaty set out to move to the fort to be granted protection and decided to camp at Sand Creek. On May 16th, the 3rd Colorado Cavalry under Colonel [[John Chivington]] began attacking the camp, despite the chiefs signifying that they were peaceful. Under Chivington's orders, the soldiers opened fire and attacked the camp, where they killed and mutilated over one hundred women and children. Chiefs White Antelope and Lean Bear were killed during the massacre, while Black Kettle managed to escape the camp.

~~==== [[Long Walk of the Navajo]] ====~~

In 1864, after a Navajo tribe led by Chief Manuelito were defeated by the U.S. Army with the help of a Ute tribe, they were forced to walk 300 miles from their ancestral homelands in Arizona to eastern New Mexico. The U.S. soldiers were complicit in the suffering of the Navajo during the Long Walk. Several women who struggled to keep up were mercifully killed by the soldiers based on oral accounts from the survivors. The Navajo were also subjected to slavery after being captured by New Mexican and Ute raiders. It is estimated that about 200 Navajo people died on the Long Walk.

~~====[[Wounded Knee Massacre]]====~~

Based on the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie, the U.S. government was able to convince the Lakota tribe to move to the Great Sioux Reservation in return for less inhumane treatment. At around this time, the Sioux took up the "Ghost Dance" religion, which taught that loving each other, working hard and not stealing or fighting would lead to the reunion of the living and the dead and the sweeping away of evil. White authorities, alarmed by this new religion, began arresting Lakota leaders, leading to many Lakota attempting to flee the reservation.

On December 29, 1890, the Seventh Cavalry Unit, lead by [[James W. Forsyth]] and acting on orders from President [[Benjamin Harrison]], intercepted a group led by Chief Spotted Elk as they were fleeing the reservation. Forsyth announced that they were to surrender all their weapons, but one deaf-mute man, Black Coyote, did not understand his orders and failed to put down his rifle. The soldiers attempted to take the rifle from him, causing it to discharge. The panicked soldiers immediately opened fire and some of the warriors quickly retrieved their rifles in defense. Women and children fled and took cover in a nearby ravine, but were killed when Forsyth ordered light artillery positioned on the hill to fire on their position. It is estimated that around 300 Lakota were killed in the massacre. President Harrison rewarded 20 of the soldiers Medals of Honor for the massacre.

====Assimilation policies====

@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 |motive = Enslave the Native population and use them to find gold<br>Gain the land of Native tribes<br>Impose "superior" cultural values on the Native Americans
 |crimes = [[Genocide]]<br>[[War crimes]]<br>Mass [[murder]]<br>[[Slavery]]<br>[[Rape]]<br>[[Ethnic cleansing]]<br>Forced assimilation<br>[[Hate Speech]]}}{{Quote|It is also apparent that the shared history of the hemisphere is one framed by the dual tragedies of genocide and slavery, both of which are part of the legacy of the European invasions of the past 500 years. Indigenous people north and south were displaced, died of disease, and were killed by Europeans through slavery, rape, and war.|Excerpt from ''American Philosophy: From Wounded Knee to the Present''.}}
-The '''Amerindian Genocide''', AKA the '''Native American Genocide''', the '''American Indian Genocide''' or the '''American Indian Holocaust''', is a blanket term for the various atrocities carried out against indigenous peoples of North and South America from their discovery right up to the 20th Century. It is considered the foremost example of [[Genocide of Indigenous Peoples|genocide of indigenous peoples]] and being one of the largest genocides in history, surpassing even [[The Holocaust]] in scale and numbers of death. It began in 1494, when the Americas were discovered by the Spanish Empire, and continued well into the 20th century in various different forms and nations. It is estimated a total of 100,000,000 died , one of the biggest cause of death [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_smallpox#Epidemics_in_the_Americas was illness such as small pox with some estimates placing 90% of the deaths as a result of the epidemic introduced by european settlers.]
+The '''Amerindian Genocide''', AKA the '''Native American Genocide''', the '''American Indian Genocide''' or the '''American Indian Holocaust''', is a blanket term for the various atrocities carried out against indigenous peoples of North and South America from their discovery right up to the 20th Century. It is considered the foremost example of [[Genocide of Indigenous Peoples|genocide of indigenous peoples]] and being one of the largest genocides in history, surpassing even [[The Holocaust]] in scale and numbers of death. It began in 1494, when the Americas were discovered by the Spanish Empire, and continued well into the 20th century in various different forms and nations. It is estimated a total of 100,000,000 died, with one of the biggest causes of death being [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_smallpox#Epidemics_in_the_Americas illnesses such as smallpox, with some estimates placing 90% of the deaths as a result of the epidemic introduced by European settlers.]
 ==History==
@@ Line 85: / Line 85: @@
 ===Genocide in the United States and Canada===
-====Beothuk extinction====
-The Canadian Beothuk people of Newfoundland became extinct in 1829. Initially co-existing with English settlers, the Beothuk had been forced off their fisheries and hunting grounds in the 17th Century, leading to starvation. The Beothuk’s attempts to reclaim these lands resulted in an all-out war during which the Beothuk were hunted down and killed. The colonial government attempted to mitigate this by putting out a reward for capturing Beothuk alive, but this just lead to more killings as settlers slaughtered any Beothuk who resisted capture. The last few Beothuk died of tuberculosis introduced by the settlers in captivity.
 ====[[American Indian Wars]]====
-Many wars were fought against Native American tribes in the United States and Canada, first by colonial powers and then by the United States and Canadian governments. These wars left thousands, if not millions, of Natives dead and are generally viewed as [[Xenophobia|xenophobic]] and genocidal, often leading to colonists adopting policies of outright extermination against the natives if they started winning (notable examples of this tactic being seen in the Pequot War, King Philip’s War the French and Indian War and the First Seminole War among others).
+Many wars were fought against Native American tribes in the United States and Canada, first by colonial powers and then by the United States and Canadian governments. These wars left thousands, if not millions, of Natives dead and are generally viewed as [[Xenophobia|xenophobic]] and genocidal, often leading to colonists adopting policies of outright extermination against the natives if they started winning (notable examples of this tactic being seen in the Pequot War, King Philip’s War the French and Indian War and the First Seminole War among others). There were also cases of U.S. Army troops massacring Native Americans, such as the cases with [[Sand Creek Massacre|Sand Creek]] and [[Wounded Knee Massacre|Wounded Knee]]. Many of these massacres were done in reprisal for attacks and raids on settlements. In one instance, the U.S. government orchestrated a [[California Genocide|genocidal campaign against the indigenous population of California]] that lasted from 1846 to 1873. These wars also led to the extinction of several groups, such as the Beothuk people of the Canadian island of Newfoundland. Several instances of ethnic cleansings were also perpetrated by American settlers to make space for farming, such as the [[The Trail of Tears|Trail of Tears]] and the [[Long Walk of the Navajo]].
 ====[[Conestoga Massacre]]====
@@ Line 102: / Line 99: @@
 Once all the Moravian Indians had gathered, the militia confiscated their guns and axes (which they used for hunting), tied them up and announced that they had been found guilty of false charges of [[murder]] and espionage. The militia voted in favor of killing them (with the exception of eighteen who refused to take part in the massacre) before taking them to “killing houses” on 8 March where they were beaten, [[Scalping|scalped]] and hacked to death while singing hymns and praying. Many native women were [[Gang Rape|gang-raped]] by the militia before being killed. Overall, 96 Moravian Indian men, women and children were killed. The militia planned to commit another massacre at a nearby Moravian Indian settlement but the inhabitants were alerted to the events at Gnadenhutten and fled before the militia arrived.
-====[[The Trail of Tears]]====
-On 28 May 1830, President [[Andrew Jackson]] signed into law the [[Indian Removal Act]], which authorized the US government to confiscate Native American land. The Act was strongly enforced under Jackson’s presidency and that of his successor, [[Martin Van Buren]].
-Under the Indian Removal Act, the government had a mandate to remove 50,000 Cherokee, Choctaw, Creek, Seminole and Chickasaw people from their homeland and seize it for themselves. No means of transportation were provided after the Natives were removed, meaning they were forced to walk 2,200 miles to Indian reservations. 4,000 deaths were reported on one march alone, and estimates of the total death toll range from 5,000 to 25,000. Others Natives were herded into [[concentration camp]]s until new land was found for then to settle on, but this was generally used as a last resort.
-====[[California Genocide]]====
-Following the American conquest of California, the American government decided to remove the native population of approximately 150,000 in order to make room for white settlers. This started with the first meeting of the California State Legislature in 1846, when it was decided that white settlers had the right to forcibly adopt native children against their will and instituted enslavement as the punishment for any crimes committed by natives, up to and including minor crimes such as loitering and drunkenness.
-When it became apparent that the natives were prepared to resist these abuses, Governor [[Peter Hardeman Burnett]] formed several state militias tasked with hunting down and killing natives, declaring that “[A] war of extermination will continue to be waged between the races until the Indian race is extinct”. The militias raided tribal outposts and shot and scalped natives, and local people soon began to form their own militias to do the same. Entire tribal populations were wiped out during the massacres, and rape of Native women by white settlers was common. Some have tried to claim that the use of rape against Native women during the California Genocide qualifies as [[genocidal rape]]; this claim, however, remains disputed.
-Even when the massacres ended in 1873, violence was still rife and thousands continued to die from starvation and illnesses introduced by the settlers.
-==== [[Sand Creek Massacre]] ====
-On February 18 1861, a group of Cheyenne and Arapaho chiefs signed the Treaty of Fort Wise to cease much of their lands under the Fort Laramie treaty to the U.S. Government in exchange for a new reservation in eastern Colorado.
-Three years later, Colorado governor John Evans declared that the natives should move to a fort to be granted protection by the U.S. Government in order to be recognized as peaceful. A Cheyenne tribe led by the chiefs who signed the Fort Wise treaty set out to move to the fort to be granted protection and decided to camp at Sand Creek. On May 16th, the 3rd Colorado Cavalry under Colonel [[John Chivington]] began attacking the camp, despite the chiefs signifying that they were peaceful. Under Chivington's orders, the soldiers opened fire and attacked the camp, where they killed and mutilated over one hundred women and children. Chiefs White Antelope and Lean Bear were killed during the massacre, while Black Kettle managed to escape the camp.
-==== [[Long Walk of the Navajo]] ====
-In 1864, after a Navajo tribe led by Chief Manuelito were defeated by the U.S. Army with the help of a Ute tribe, they were forced to walk 300 miles from their ancestral homelands in Arizona to eastern New Mexico. The U.S. soldiers were complicit in the suffering of the Navajo during the Long Walk. Several women who struggled to keep up were mercifully killed by the soldiers based on oral accounts from the survivors. The Navajo were also subjected to slavery after being captured by New Mexican and Ute raiders. It is estimated that about 200 Navajo people died on the Long Walk.
-====[[Wounded Knee Massacre]]====
-Based on the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie, the U.S. government was able to convince the Lakota tribe to move to the Great Sioux Reservation in return for less inhumane treatment. At around this time, the Sioux took up the "Ghost Dance" religion, which taught that loving each other, working hard and not stealing or fighting would lead to the reunion of the living and the dead and the sweeping away of evil. White authorities, alarmed by this new religion, began arresting Lakota leaders, leading to many Lakota attempting to flee the reservation.
-On December 29, 1890, the Seventh Cavalry Unit, lead by [[James W. Forsyth]] and acting on orders from President [[Benjamin Harrison]], intercepted a group led by Chief Spotted Elk as they were fleeing the reservation. Forsyth announced that they were to surrender all their weapons, but one deaf-mute man, Black Coyote, did not understand his orders and failed to put down his rifle. The soldiers attempted to take the rifle from him, causing it to discharge. The panicked soldiers immediately opened fire and some of the warriors quickly retrieved their rifles in defense. Women and children fled and took cover in a nearby ravine, but were killed when Forsyth ordered light artillery positioned on the hill to fire on their position. It is estimated that around 300 Lakota were killed in the massacre. President Harrison rewarded 20 of the soldiers Medals of Honor for the massacre.
 ====Assimilation policies====