Racism isn’t a new concept. Racism doesn’t even start with America. But it is undeniable that the foundations of America have inherent racism built into its system.
LET’S BEGIN WITH STOLEN LAND
As “settlers” (read colonizers) came to the new world, the quest for land became a sport. Land, in the Native worldview, was not (and still is not) something you own. Rather, it is who you are; it is a relative. But in the European worldview, land was (and still is) power, something to own and conquer. In 1493, Pope Alexander VI gave Spain authority (based solely on Catholic “power”) to begin colonizing the Americas and converting Native people to Catholicism.
As more and more “settlers” came to the Americas, conquest for land became more and more important. (I realize there is a lot of history not covered from the last paragraph to this one. I hope to unpack this a little more as I continue to write). There was one problem with the settling of land, the Natives. Native people were in the way of colonizers’ hopes of attaining new and fresh lands. To remedy this problem, a young United States of America invented the idea of treaties. In his inaugural address in 1829, President Andrew Jackson stated, “to observe toward the Indian tribes within our limits a just and liberal policy, and to give that humane and considerate attention to their rights and their wants which is consistent with the habits of our Government and the feelings of our people.” However, this appears to have only been political rhetoric as only 14 months later, President Jackson pushed Congress to pass the Indian Removal Act.
The history leading up to this event is long and detailed. In brevity, Jackson engaged in a violent battle against the Creek tribe in which they were defeated in battle. The result led to the U.S. government forcing upon the tribe a treaty where they “surrendered” to the United States 10 million acres of land. After seeing the devastation in the battles, surrounding tribes attempted to pre-emptively enter into similar treaties hoping that if they gave a large portion on their land, they would spare battle and still be left with some land for themselves. Yet this was not good enough for the U.S. government. This is where we return to the Indian Removal act. This act, implemented in 1830, gave president Jackson the right to offer these tribes land west of the Mississippi for their “relocation.” To make a long story short, there was a lot of resistance met with violence and the ultimately forced removal now known as the Trail of Tears.
The idea of stolen land used government policy and law to implement biases and ultimate harm on an entire race of peoples. The intentional act of removal was not a peaceful act or even one hoping to advance the betterment of democracy. Rather, Jackson intended to clear the land of Native people so he could make way for more plantations and the implementation of more slaves. The system (aka government and enforcement of laws) that allowed for the removal of Natives from their land, is the same system that supported and allowed for slavery (more on this to come).
Stolen land and broken treaties did not stop in the 1800s. We’ve seen the Dakota Access Pipeline protests as Natives fight to protect sacred Standing Rock land. Even more recently, the Tohono O’odham people (of whom I’m a descendent) are fighting to protect their sacred land. As our current president insists on building a wall between U.S. and Mexico borders, construction has begun on sacred Tohono O’odham land. The construction has blasted sacred burial sites and dismantled ancestral land. Imagine a foreign nation going to Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia and desecrating it for the sake of implementing their rights and will. It would be a cause for a war. But the Tohono O’odham people are not looking for war. Just simple respect for and rights to their ancestral land. (For more understanding see visit here: https://culturalpropertynews.org/tohono-oodham-nation-u-s-blasts-a-monument-to-build-a-wall/)
LET’S MOVE ON TO SLAVERY
Upon his arrival in the “New World,” Christopher Columbus immediately saw the land’s current inhabitants as nothing more than obstacles and objects to use in expanding Spain’s territory. In fact, on his first day in the new world, Columbus ordered 6 Natives to be seized stating he thought they would be good slaves and documented it in his journal. (You should read his journals. You can see first hand his racism.)
He continued to enact and enforce policies to force Natives into slavery. (By the way, many of us can quote ‘Columbus sailed the ocean blue…’ and even name the ships he came on but fail to name the tribe he enslaved. They were the Taino people. Say their name.)
During the late 1400s, the slave trade became wildly popular. This was a result of the demand for labor in the West Indes for the cultivation of sugar cane. The practice of enslaving Natives continued into American colonies. One American historian, Alan Gallay, states that between 1670 and 1715, 24,000-51,000 Natives were exported in the slave trade. He further notes that the Indian slave trade was at the center of the development of the English colonies in the American south.
Settlers began establishing polices to enforce and permit slavery. In a Virginia General Assembly declaration of 1705, terms were defined:
And also be in [sic.] enacted, by the authority aforesaid, and it is hereby enacted, That all servants imported and brought into the Country… who were not christians in their native country, (except… Turks and Moors in amity with her majesty, and others that can make due proof of their being free in England, or any other christian country, before they were shipped…) shall be accounted and be slaves, and such be here bought and sold notwithstanding a conversion to christianity afterward. [Section IV.] And if any slave resists his master, or owner, or other person, by his or her order, correcting such slave, and shall happen to be killed in such correction, it shall not be accounted felony; but the master, owner, and every such other person so giving correction, shall be free and acquit of all punishment and accusation for the same as if such incident had never happened… [Section XXXIV.]
The trade of Native Americans ended in roughly the mid-1700s. This was due to two reasons, the Indian Wars of the 1800s and the rise of African slaves in America.
While Natives were defending land, surviving diseases, dealing with broken treaties, and being relocated, European settlers began using African slaves. The first instances of African slavery began around the same time Columbus set out for the New World. By the 18th century, the African slave trade was booming. Historians believe that half of the entire slave trade took place during this time.
These African slaves were brought to America to do the work the colonizers refused to do. Thomas Jefferson stated, “For in a warm climate, no man will labour for himself who can make another labour for him. This is so true, that of the proprietors of slaves a very small proportion indeed are ever seen to labour.” American history shows the nuanced split in ideology surrounding slavery ultimately leading to the Civil War.
The trading of slaves became illegal in 1807. This eliminated the permission of the slave trade but did not ban the owning of slaves. That didn’t come until 1863 with the emancipation proclamation. You see, from the late 1400s to the mid-1800s, the system did not see people of color as the same as European settlers. It took over 400 years, disease, war, and millions of lives lost until slaves were considered “free.”
There is so much more history to this story and there is no way I could adequately do it justice. (for more detail see here: https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/black-history-milestones) I hope, though, it is becoming clear that the system (again read government) has inherent biases and has oppressed people of color for hundreds of years.
BUT THAT’S OLD HISTORY... RIGHT?
1865 – 15th Amendment
1965 – Prohibition of discrimination of voting for people of color
1924-1962 – Native American given voting rights (different years depending on the state)
1964 – Jim Crow laws overturned
1967 – Interracial Marriage Legalized
1978 – American Indian Religious Freedom Act
1990 – Native American Languages Act (Native languages permissible again)
This is by no means a comprehensive list. Rather, this list is various highlights that this problem is not ancient history. Some of these events have occurred in my own lifetime.
THE SYSTEM IS BROKEN
Despite all of this, I love America. I pray for America. I see its potential and believe in democracy (true democracy). But I cannot turn a blind eye to the outright racist actions justified by a broken system. I work within these systems. I know that because of the boarding school era, Native youth are more likely to end up in foster care. I study history. I know that because of relocation, reservations, history of commodities, and lack of access to Native foods, Natives have the highest rates of diabetes and heart disease. I’m a counselor to Native families. I know that Native men have the highest rates of suicide among any other demographic.
This writing hasn’t even touched on modern day problems with the system. Problems like poverty, the homelessness/housing crisis, the criminal justice system, health care, the foster system, education among so many other topics. I could not do any of those topics justice unless I spent time looking at them individually. Rather, the intention here is to show how the system has historically been setup to be oppressive based on oligarchy and arbitrary rule.
I’m watching history unfold. As a black man unjustly died, people of color are pushing back against the system that more often than not supports and vindicates its own. May I remind you of the trial of Rodney King? The current list of black people who have died without receiving a trial or vindication includes Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, Michael Brown, Breonna Taylor, George Flloyd, Riah Milton, Dominique Fells, Robert Fuller, Rayshard Brooks and so many more. Yes, I could indeed add Native names to this list like Jason Pero, Paul Castaway, Corey Kanosh, Raymond Gassman, Zachary Bearheels, Eisha Hudson, Jason Collins, Stewart Kevin Andrews, Abraham Natanine, Reqis Paquet, Everett Patrick, Chantel Moore, and Rodney Levi. Native Americans are killed in law enforcement actions at a higher rate than any other race or ethnicity, according to CDC data from 1999 to 2015.
There has to be a change.
Black Lives Matter doesn’t mean other lives don’t matter. I also believe and support Native Lives Matter as well as Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (another topic too big to unpack here). Rather, BLM shows how the system does not allow for black lives to have the same rights as other lives (namely white and/or “blue lives.”) BLM isn’t necessarily a fight against racism. No movement can end racism for that is a battle each must fight within their own hearts. BLM fights for justice and shows the inherent inequality within the system. BLM is demanding the system to look at itself and challenges its own biases and implement true justice.
If the system can be reformed through the BLM movement, there is hope for the Native Sovereignty pursuit. And the same is true in reverse. The same system has oppressed Blacks, Natives, and people of color since its inception. I support BLM because the system is broken. I support BLM because, well it’s pretty simple, black lives matter.
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