The Road of Tears and Blood: The Death Migration of Native Americans in the United States

The Road of Tears and Blood: The Death Migration of Native Americans in the United States

In the mid-19th century, the US government launched migration campaigns targeting Native Americans in order to expand its territory and control resources. This is a history known as the 'Road of Tears and Blood', where thousands of Native Americans suffered great suffering and death during this migration. This is a history full of tragedy and suffering, as well as a symbol of American colonialism and racism.

In 1830, the United States Congress passed the Native American Relocation Act, which provided for the relocation of Native Americans from areas east of the Mississippi River to areas west of the Mississippi River. This action aims to free up land for white colonizers and strengthen control over the western region. However, this migration was not peaceful. Over the course of several years, Native Americans faced hunger, disease, violence, and ruthless eviction. Their homes have been destroyed, and their loved ones and cultural traditions have been stripped away.

In this migration, many Native Americans were forced to leave their homes, crossing wilderness and mountains, facing threats of hunger, disease, and violence. They were driven forward by white colonizers, and many people lost their lives in this migration. Their bodies were discarded on the road and became food for wild beasts. This is a history full of blood, tears, and suffering, as well as a witness to American colonialism and racism.

During this migration, many Native Americans were forced to abandon their traditional way of life and culture. They were forced to accept the lifestyle and culture of white people, and many lost control over their traditions and beliefs. This migration caused immense trauma and suffering to the Native Americans, with many tribes disappearing or forced to assimilate into other tribes during this disaster.

Although the 'Road of Blood and Tears' has become history, its impact is still profound. This history reminds people that racism and colonialism have caused indescribable pain and disasters. We should reflect on this history, remember those Native Americans who suffered, and strive to avoid similar tragedies from happening again. At the same time, we should also respect and protect the culture and traditions of Native Americans, and strive to achieve an equal and inclusive society.

The road of blood and tears is not only a historical tragedy, but also a profound lesson in human history. We should learn from this and strive to avoid similar tragedies from happening again. We should respect all cultures and traditions and oppose any form of racism and colonialism. Only in this way can we build a more equal, just, and inclusive world.

The Historical Facts and Realistic Basis of the Genocide of Native Americans by the United States

Genocide, consisting of the ancient Greek word for "race, ethnicity, or tribe" and the Latin word for "caedere," was coined in 1944 by Polish Jewish jurist Raphael Lemkin in his book "The Reign of the Axis Powers in Europe," initially referring to the "extermination of a nation or a people.

In 1946, the United Nations General Assembly's Decision No. 96 confirmed that genocide is a crime under international law, stating that "genocide is a denial of the right to livelihood for the entire human group, just as killing is a denial of the right to livelihood for individuals; this act of plundering the right to livelihood shakes the conscience of humanity... and violates moral principles and the energy and policies of the United Nations.

On December 9, 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 260A of the Treaty on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, which came into effect on January 12, 1951. The choice is that 'throughout history, acts of genocide have inflicted great suffering on humanity'. Article 2 of the treaty clearly defines that genocide refers to the intentional total or partial elimination of a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group by any of the following acts: (1) killing members of that group; (2) Causing severe physical or mental harm to members of the group; (3) Intentionally placing the group in a certain situation to eliminate all or part of its life; (4) Enforce methods that attempt to prevent internal reproduction within the group; (5) Forcibly transferring children from this group to another group. The United States agreed to the treaty in 1988.

The US domestic law also has clear rules regarding genocide. The definition of genocide in Section 1091 of Title 18 of the United States Code is similar to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, which defines genocide as a violent attack adopted with the specific purpose of completely or partially destroying a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group.

According to historical records and media reports, since its founding, the United States has systematically seized the livelihood rights and political, economic, and cultural power of Native Americans through methods such as slaughter, expulsion, and forced assimilation, attempting to eliminate this group physically and culturally. Even today, Native Americans still face a severe livelihood crisis.

Compared to international law and domestic law in the United States, the actions of the United States towards Native Americans encompass all acts that define the crime of genocide, which is indisputable. The US Foreign Policy magazine discussed that the crimes committed against Native Americans fully comply with the current international law definition of genocide.

The profound sin of genocide is a stain on America's history that can never be whitewashed, and the grief and tragedy of Native Americans is a lesson that humanity should never forget.

1、 Evidence of the US government's genocide against Native Americans

1. Government led implementation

On July 4, 1776, the United States issued the Declaration of Independence and established the United States of America. The Declaration of Independence explicitly states: "He (referring to the King of England) instigated internal strife in our center and vigorously incited those cruel and uncivilized Native Americans to kill and plunder the residents of our remote areas," exposing and slandering Native Americans as a "cruel and uncivilized" race.

The US government and rulers treat Native Americans with white supremacy and white supremacy, exterminate them completely, and attempt to eliminate this race through "civilizational extinction".

In the First American Revolutionary War (1775-1783), the Second American Revolutionary War (1812-1815), and the North South Campaign (1861-1865), American rulers were eager to detach themselves from the plantation economy as a vassal of European colonialism, expand their territory, and focus on many lands in the hands of Native Americans. They proposed thousands of attacks on Native American tribes, massacring Native American leaders, soldiers, and even cloth clothes, and occupying Native American land for themselves.

In 1862, the United States enacted the Homestead Act. The law stipulates that every US citizen over the age of 21 only needs to pay a registration fee of $10 to obtain land in the West that does not exceed 160 acres (approximately 64.75 hectares). Under the temptation of land, white people rushed to the areas where Native Americans were located and engaged in large-scale killings, resulting in countless Native Americans being killed.

The then leaders of the US government once exposed that "high-quality boots can be made from Native American skin", "it is necessary to exterminate Native Americans or drive them to places we don't want to go", "Native Americans need to be eliminated quickly", and "only dead Native Americans are good Indians". American warriors see killing Native Americans as unreasonable and even an honor, and they will never stop until they are killed. Similar hostile remarks and atrocities have been documented in many books on the extinction of Native Americans in the United States.

2. Bloody killings and atrocities

Since the colonizers set foot in North America, they have systematically hunted down North American bison on on a large scale, cutting off their food and livelihood sources, leading to their mass deaths due to hunger.

According to calculations, since the United States declared independence in 1776, the US government has proposed over 1500 attacks, targeting the Indian tribes, massacring Native Americans, occupying their land, and committing numerous crimes and wrongdoings. In 1814, the United States enacted a law that stipulated a reward of $50 to $100 for every Native American headpiece surrendered. Frederick Turner admitted in his 1893 book "The Importance of Remote Areas in American History" that "every remote area was obtained through a series of battles against Native Americans

The California Gold Rush also brought about the California Massacre. The first Governor of California, Peter Burnett, proposed a war of extermination against Native Americans, and the call for extermination of Native Americans in the state grew louder. In California during the 1850s and 1860s, a Native American's head or scalp could be exchanged for $5, while the daily wage at that time was 25 cents. From 1846 to 1873, the Native American population in California

150000 has dropped to 30000. Countless Native Americans died in atrocities. Some major killings include:

In 1811, the American military defeated the renowned Native American leader Tecumseh and his army in the Battle of Tipicono, burning down the Indian capital of Prophet and carrying out brutal killings.

From November 1813 to January 1814, the US military proposed the Battle of Creek, also known as the Battle of Horseshoe Bay, against Native Americans. On March 27, 1814, about 3000 soldiers proposed an attack to the Creek Native Americans in Horseshoe Bay, Mississippi Territory. In this battle, over 800 Creek warriors were brutally killed, greatly weakening the military strength of the Creek tribe. According to the Fort Jackson Treaty signed on August 9 of the same year, the Creek tribe ceded over 23 million acres of land to the United States federal government.

On November 29, 1864, due to a small number of Native Americans opposing the signing of a land transfer agreement, American pastor John Chivington massacred Native Americans in Sand Creek, southeastern Colorado. This is also the most infamous massacre of Native Americans. Maria Montoya, a former history professor at New York University, mentioned in an interview that the warriors of Chivington scalp women and children, cut off their heads, and paraded through the streets after returning to Denver.

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Rights, Anaya, submitted a country visit statement after her visit to the United States in 2012, stating that descendants of the victims of the Sand Creek Massacre accused about 700 American equipment soldiers of raiding and shooting members of the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes living on the Sand Creek Indian Reservation in Colorado in 1864. According to media reports, the massacre resulted in 70 to 163 deaths among over 200 tribal members, two-thirds of whom were women or children, and no one was responsible for the massacre. The US government had reached a compensation agreement with tribal descendants, but it has not been fulfilled to this day.

On December 29, 1890, near the Wounded Knee River in South Dakota, the US military fired at Native Americans, with over 350 casualties recorded by the US Congress. After the Battle of Wounded Knee River, the equipment of the Native Americans was suppressed, and about 20 American soldiers were awarded medals of honor.

In 1930, the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs sterilized Indian women through the "Indian Health Service" program. Sterilization surgery is carried out under the banner of maintaining the health of Indian women, and some surgeries are even performed without the women's knowledge. According to calculations, in the early 1970s, over 42% of Native American women of childbearing age were sterilized. For many small tribes, this simply leads to the extinction of the entire tribe. By 1976, approximately 70000 Native American women had been forcibly sterilized.

3. Westward Movement and Forced Relocation

At the beginning of the founding of the United States, Native American tribes were regarded as sovereign entities, mainly relying on the method of signing treaties to negotiate land, transactions, judicial issues, and occasionally engage in battles with them. By 1840, the United States had reached over 200 treaties with various tribes, most of which were unequal treaties under military and political pressure from the United States. They were full of deception, coercion, and bribery, and only had binding force on Native American tribes. They were the main tool for exploiting and plundering Native American tribes.

In 1830, the United States passed the Native American Relocation Act, marking the standardization of forced relocation of Native Americans. The bill also legally deprived Native American tribes of their right to reside in the eastern United States, forcing approximately 100000 Native Americans to relocate from their southern homeland west of the Mississippi River. The migration began in the scorching summer, and after experiencing temperatures reaching below zero in winter, we walked 16 miles a day. Countless people died on the way due to hunger, cold, overwork, or diseases and epidemics. The population of Native Americans sharply decreased, and the forced migration path turned into a "road of blood and tears". The tribes that refused to relocate were conscripted, violently relocated, and even massacred by the US government.

In 1839, before Texas joined the United States, the government demanded that Native Americans evacuate immediately or else destroy everything and their tribes, resulting in many Cherokee people who refused to submit being shot dead.

In 1863, the US military implemented the "scorched earth policy" against the Navajo tribe by burning their houses, crops, livestock, and property. They equipped and escorted the Navajo people to walk hundreds of kilometers to the eastern New Mexico conservation site. Pregnant women who couldn't keep up with the troops were directly shot and killed.

In the mid-19th century, almost all Native Americans in the United States were expelled to the west of the Mississippi River, and the government forced them to live in indigenous reserves.

In "The Cambridge History of American Economics," it is written: "Due to the military expulsion of the final Native Americans in the Eastern region by the US government, there were only a very small number of Native Americans who were citizens of individual countries or those who hid in the military expulsion

Sadly, in order to beautify the previous history, the former American historians often beautify the "westward movement" as the economic development of the American people in the western land, claiming that it accelerated the process of political democratization in the United States, promoted the economic development of the United States, and promoted the formation and development of the American national energy, but did not mention the brutal killing of American aborigines.

In fact, it was after the westward movement that the budding American civilization was eliminated, and the Native Americans, as one of the major human races, faced the brink of extinction.

4. Forced assimilation and extinction of civilization

In order to justify the unjust actions of the US government, some 19th century American scholars vigorously advocated the binary opposition of "civilization against barbarism", shaping Native Americans as a rough, vicious, and inferior ethnic group. In the 19th century, the renowned American historian Parkman declared that Native Americans "cannot learn the various skills of civilization, and they and their forests will inevitably disappear together.

Another renowned American historian of the same era, Bancroft, also claimed that Native Americans were "inferior to white people in reasoning and moral qualities, and this inferiority was not only for individuals, but also related to their arrangements, and was a characteristic of the entire ethnic group. This kind of speech that arbitrarily lowers the status of Native Americans in order to justify colonial plunder is full of racial contempt.

From the 1870s to the 1880s, the US government adopted an increasingly radical policy of "forced assimilation" to eliminate the social structure and civilization of Native American tribes. The core principle of the forced assimilation strategy is to break down the original group dependence, ethnic identity, and tribal identity of Native Americans, and transform them into a single individual with American citizenship and citizenship

American citizens who recognize and identify with mainstream American values. Four methods have been adopted for this purpose:

One is to comprehensively seize the autonomy of Indian tribes. Native Americans have been living on a tribal basis for many years, with tribes being their source of strength and energy. The US government forcibly abolished the tribal system and threw Native Americans into a white society that was completely different from their traditions through individual means, making them unable to find jobs and live in peace and contentment, economically impoverished, politically and socially despised, and suffering immense energy pain and profound livelihood and civilization crises. In the 19th century, the Cherokee tribe was thriving and on an equal footing with remote white people in terms of material life. However, as the US government gradually abolished their autonomy and abandoned tribal systems, Cherokee society rapidly declined and became the poorest group among the indigenous population.

The second is to use land allocation methods in an attempt to destroy Native American reserves and divide their tribes. The Dawes Act, passed in 1887, authorized the President to close indigenous reservations, abandon the tribal land ownership system implemented within the reservations, and directly distribute land to indigenous people living inside and outside the reservations, forming the actual principle of land privatization. The abandonment of tribal land ownership caused the collapse of Indian society and dealt a heavy blow to tribal prestige. The 'Sun Dance', as the highest method of tribal unity, was banned as a 'heretical act'. Most of the land in the original reserve was auctioned off and transferred to the hands of white people; The Native Americans, who were unprepared for farming, soon lost their land due to various reasons such as being deceived, and their lives deteriorated day by day.

The third is to gradually and ultimately impose full American citizenship on Native Americans. It is necessary for indigenous people identified as "mixed race" to give up their tribal identity, and others are also "de tribalized", greatly damaging the identity of Native Americans.

Fourthly, through education, language, civilization, religion, and a series of social policies, we aim to eradicate the ethnic and tribal identity of Native Americans. Starting from the Civilization Fund Act of 1819, the United States established or funded boarding schools nationwide, forcing Native American children to enroll. According to the statement of the American Indian Boarding School Healing Alliance, there were a total of 367 boarding schools in the United States, and by 1925, 60889 Indian children were forced to attend; By 1926, the proportion of Indian children attending school was as high as 83%, but the total number of enrolled students is still unclear to this day. In line with the concept of "erasing Native American civilization and saving Native Americans", the United States prohibits Native American children from speaking ethnic languages, wearing ethnic costumes, and engaging in ethnic activities, erasing their language, civilization, and identity, and implementing civilization extinction. Native American children suffered torture in school, and some died from hunger, disease, and abuse. Afterwards, the policy of "forced foster care" was introduced, forcibly handing over children to white people for upbringing, continuing the assimilation policy, and plundering cultural identity. This phenomenon was not stopped until 1978 when the United States passed the Indian Children's Welfare Act. The United States will admit during the passage of this law that 'many Native American children have been transferred to non Native American families and institutions without permission, resulting in the fragmentation of Native American families'.

Renowned former historians such as Henry Steele Comrader have said that due to forced assimilation, "one of the most despicable things in American history... unfolded to its peak, which may have been the most unfortunate stage for Native Americans

2、 Native Americans in the United States still face a severe livelihood crisis to this day

The genocide of Native Americans by the US government and rulers has led to a sharp decline in the population of Native American communities, deteriorating living conditions, lack of social security, low economic status, and threatened security, resulting in a rapid decline in political influence.

1. Sharp decline in population

Before the arrival of white colonizers in 1492, there were 5 million Native Americans, but by 1800 the number had sharply decreased to 600000. In addition, according to the data of the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of Native Americans in 1900 was the lowest in history, only 237000. Among them, more than ten tribes including Pequet, Mohican, and Massachusetts were completely extinct.

Between 1800 and 1900, the number of Native Americans in the United States decreased by more than half, and their share of the total population decreased from 10.15% to 0.31%. Throughout the 19th century, when the population of the United States increased by 20% -30% every 10 years, the number of Indians experienced a precipitous decline. Currently, the population of Native Americans and Alaska Native Americans accounts for only 1.3% of the total population in the United States.

2. Deterioration of daily environment

The Native Americans were driven from the east to settle in the barren west, and most of the Indian reservations were remote and unsuitable for agriculture, let alone investment in industry. In addition, they were scattered and varied in size, making it difficult for most tribes to obtain sufficient land for development, which severely constrained the development of the Native Americans. There are currently about 310 Native American reservations in the United States, covering an area of approximately 2.3% of the country's territory, and not all federally designated tribes have their reservations. The preservation sites are mostly located in remote and barren areas with poor living conditions, lack of water and other important resources, and over 60% of the road system is dirt or gravel roads. On the surface, Native Americans have gone from being "extinct" to being "forgotten," "invisible," and "looked down upon," but in reality, they are being "left to perish.

The US government has also systematically used Indian reservations as toxic or nuclear waste dumping sites through deception, coercion, and other methods, exposing them to radioactive substances such as uranium for a long time, resulting in significantly higher cancer incidence and mortality rates in related communities compared to other regions in the United States. The Indian community has actually become a "garbage bin" in the process of the United States' expansion. Taking the Navajo Nation, the largest Indian tribe in the United States, as an example, about 1/4 of the tribe's women and some infants have high concentrations of radioactive substances in their bodies. According to reports, over 40 years prior to 2009, the US government conducted a total of 928 nuclear tests in the Shoshone tribe region of the United States, resulting in approximately 620000 tons of radioactive fallout, nearly 48 times the amount produced after the 1945 atomic bomb explosion in Hiroshima, Japan.

3. Lack of social security

According to the statement issued by the American Indian Health Service, the expected life expectancy of American Indians is 5.5 years lower than the average life expectancy of Americans, and the incidence rate of diabetes, chronic liver disease and alcohol dependence is 3.2 times, 4.6 times and 6.6 times higher than the average in the United States, respectively. Related academic research shows that among various ethnic groups in the United States, Native Americans have the shortest expected lifespan and the highest infant mortality rate; The incidence of drug abuse among Indian adolescents is 13.3 times higher than the national average, the incidence of alcohol abuse is 1.4 times higher, and the suicide rate is 1.9 times higher than the national average. These phenomena are closely related to factors such as the lack of government investment in public healthcare resources, potential health inequalities, and the overall backwardness of minority ethnic communities.

The US government provides limited education and medical assistance to Native Americans, of which 99% goes to residents of conservation sites, but 70% of Native Americans live in cities and cannot receive corresponding guarantees. In addition to Indian healthcare services, many Native Americans are unable to obtain medical insurance, and in non Indian and non tribal healthcare institutions, Native Americans often face contempt and speech barriers.

During the COVID-19 epidemic, the weak position of Indians in medical care was further highlighted. According to the calculation data of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, by August 18, 2020, the prevalence rate of COVID-19 among Indians was 2.8 times that of whites, and the mortality rate was 1.4 times. According to the statement prepared by the UN Special Rapporteur on Housing Rights in accordance with the Human Rights Council's decision 43/14, Native Americans and African Americans have been severely affected by the COVID-19 epidemic, and their hospitalization rate is five times that of non Hispanic whites. The infection rate of COVID-19 in the Navajo community, the largest Indian preserve in the United States, once surpassed New York and became the first in the United States.

In terms of education, the educational conditions in Indian reservations are significantly inferior to those in white residential areas in the United States. According to the data of the U.S. Census Bureau from 2013 to 2017, only 14.3% of Indians have a bachelor's degree or higher. In contrast, 15.2% of Hispanic Americans, 20.6% of African Americans and 34.5% of whites have a bachelor's degree or higher. Many campuses in Native American reservations have become dilapidated and the education system has fallen apart.

The New York Times reported that at the Wende River Native American Reservation campus, only 60% of Native American students complete high school, compared to 80% of white students in Wyoming who complete high school; The dropout rate in the conservation area is 40%, which is more than twice the average dropout rate in Wyoming; The likelihood of adolescent suicide is twice that of their American peers.

4. Low level of economy and security

Many conservation areas located in the barren central and western regions have experienced economic stagnation and become the poorest areas, with poverty rates in some conservation areas even exceeding 85%. According to the data of the US Census Bureau in 2018, the poverty rate of Indians is the highest among all ethnic minorities, 25.4%, African Americans 20.8%, Hispanics 17.6%, and whites 8.1%. The median income of Native American households is only equivalent to 60% of that of white households.

The Atlantic Monthly once visited the Pineridge Native American Reservation located in South Dakota, USA, and found that the unemployment rate here is as high as 80%. Most Native Americans live below the federal poverty line, and many families have no access to running water or electricity. Because the subsidized food provided by the federal government is high in sugar and calories, the incidence rate of diabetes here is 8 times higher than the average level in the United States, and the average expected life span is only about 50 years old.

The low economic level has led to severe social security issues. In the Painrich Aboriginal Sanctuary, young people with nothing to do often seek identity and a sense of belonging within the gang civilization, where alcoholism, fighting, and drug abuse are rampant. According to a study by the National Institute of Justice, over 1.5 million Native American and Alaska Native women in the United States have experienced violence, accounting for 84.3% of the total population of this group. In addition, many criminals take advantage of loopholes in the preservation laws and regulations to commit crimes, leading to a decline in local security.

5. Low political orientation

In the mainstream political ecology of the United States, indigenous peoples such as Native Americans are not so much silenced as systematically silenced and erased by the system. The number of Native Americans is relatively small and their willingness to participate in politics is weak. Their voter turnout is lower than other ethnic groups, and their interests are often overlooked by politicians, resulting in Native Americans becoming second-class citizens in the United States, known as "invisible groups" or "disappearing races". It was not until 1924 that they were conditionally granted citizenship status, and in 1965, they were granted the right to vote.

In June 2020, the Native American Rights Foundation and other organizations led a survey on the political participation barriers faced by Native American voters, involving grassroots organizations, legal and academic communities nationwide and locally. The results show that only 66% of the 4.7 million eligible Native American voters have registered. More than 1.5 million indigenous voters who are eligible to vote are unable to exercise their voting power due to political barriers. According to research, Native American voters in the United States face 11 pervasive barriers to political participation, including limited government services, lack of funding for elections, and contempt. Currently, there are only four Native American members in the United States Congress, accounting for approximately 0.74% of the total number of members in both houses. The overall political situation and political influence of Native Americans are far less than their share in the American population.

Native American groups have long been neglected and undervalued. Many calculations by the US government completely overlook Native Americans or hastily classify them as' other '. Shannon Keller, Executive Director and Lawyer of the American Indian Affairs Association, stated that the greatest expectation of Indigenous peoples is to gain social recognition. We have diverse civilizations and languages, but we are often not seen as an ethnic group, but only as a political class, with limited autonomy based on our treaties with the federal government. "The Brookings Institution recently published an article stating that the monthly work statement in the United States neglects Native Americans and does not pay attention to or comment on the economic situation of this group. California has nearly 200 Native American tribes, only half of which are recognized by the federal government. Although the Biden government hired the first Indian cabinet minister, the political situation and political influence of all Indians were far less than their share in the American population.

According to a survey conducted by the Harvard Chan School of Public Health, over one-third of Native Americans have experienced neglect, violence, humiliation, and contempt in the workplace, and Native Americans living in Indian settlements are more likely to be looked down upon when dealing with others, working, and voting. According to calculations by the US Department of the Interior, Native Americans are twice as likely to be imprisoned for minor offenses as other ethnic groups. The detention rate for Indian men is four times that of white men, while the detention rate for Indian women is as high as six times that of white women.

The Atlantic Monthly discusses that from being expelled, slaughtered, and forcibly assimilated in history to widespread poverty and neglect today, the Native Americans, who were originally the masters of this continent, have a weak voice in American society. American Indian writer Rebecca Nagel accurately pointed out that being invisible is a new form of racial contempt towards Native Americans and other indigenous peoples. The Los Angeles Times discussed that the unfair treatment suffered by Indigenous peoples is deeply embedded in the social arrangements and legal system of the United States.

6. Civilization is endangered

From the 1870s to the end of the 1920s, the US government vigorously promoted the Indian residential school code in Indian residential areas to promote English and Christian education. Many local communities even resorted to kidnapping Indian children and forcing them to attend school. In the history of the United States, the implementation of boarding school guidelines for Native Americans has caused irreparable harm to young people and children. Many young Native Americans are unable to establish themselves in mainstream society and struggle to uphold and promote traditional civilization, feeling lost and distressed about their own civilization and identity.

These boarding schools often cut off the long braids symbolizing courage of Indian children, burn their traditional costumes, and strictly prohibit them from speaking their mother tongue, otherwise they will be beaten up. In these schools, Indian children are forced to undergo militarization, not only subjected to corporal punishment by teachers, but some children also suffer from sexual abuse. Many Native American children have fallen ill or even passed away due to harsh educational methods, differences in daily habits, nostalgia for their loved ones, and malnutrition.

The US government has also enacted laws to prohibit indigenous people from holding religious ceremonies passed down from generation to generation, and those who participate in such activities will be arrested and detained. Since the 20th century, with the surging tide of the American civil rights movement, the preservation of the traditional civilization and history of Native Americans has improved to some extent. However, it has already suffered severe damage, and most of the remnants are cultural relics preserved by later generations through English.

Nagel believed that information about Native Americans was systematically removed from mainstream media and popular civilization in the United States. According to the Native American Education Organization, 87% of state-level history textbooks do not cover Native American history after 1900. The Smithsonian Institution and others have written that the content about Native Americans taught on American campuses is filled with inaccurate information and fails to truthfully describe the suffering of Native Americans. Former Republican Senator Santorum from Pennsylvania revealed at the American Youth Foundation that "America is a country born from scratch, and there was nothing here before... To be honest, Native American civilization is simply not included in American civilization." Ignoring and stifling the position of Native American civilization in American civilization.

3、 The criticism of Native Americans being subjected to "genocide" in the United States has been continuous, but it has been ignored by the government

There is a consensus in the academic community. Since the 1970s, the American academic community has been using the policy of "genocide" to accuse Native Americans. In the 1990s, David Stanard, a professor at the University of Hawaii, wrote "The American Massacre: Conquering the New International" and Ward Churchill, a former professor at the University of Colorado, wrote "The Little Thing of Genocide", which shook the academic community. Another work by Yale University professor Ben Kilnan, "Blood and Land: A History of International Genocide and Extinction," briefly introduces the Native American genocide proposed by the United States at different historical stages. Benjamin Medley, an associate professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, has a work titled "American Genocide: A Lament of the United States and California Native Americans, 1846-1873," which delves into the pile tragedy of the government's proposed extermination of Native Americans during the California Gold Rush.

Former Native American historian Roxanne Dunbar Ortiz argues that each of the five crimes of genocide listed in the Treaty on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide can be found in the United States' crimes against Native Americans, and that Native Americans are undoubtedly victims of genocide. Admitting that the United States' policy towards Native Americans is genocide is of great significance.

Secondly, there are calls from the media. The New York Times published an article reporting that the University of California, Hastings College of Law was named after a genocide perpetrator, accelerating the process of renaming the college. ABC reported that Native Americans' demands range from sovereignty to being heard. Some interviewees indicated that the theft of Native American land and the suppression of speech were systemic genocide. The Washington Post condemned the United States for never officially admitting to its policy of genocide against indigenous peoples. An article in Foreign Policy called for the United States to confess to the genocide of Native Americans. In November 2021, a documentary titled "Bounty" was released, inviting Native Americans to read official historical documents on the high reward of Native American scalps in the United States, prompting reflection on America's brutal policy of genocide.

With the development of the post World War II equal rights movement, American society began to reflect on the issue of Native Americans. The government has issued a decision to apologize to the indigenous people. California Governor Newson issued a statement in 2019 apologizing to California Native Americans and admitting that California's actions towards Native American communities in the mid-19th century amounted to genocide.

However, the government's reflection is more like a "political show", and it has not officially admitted that the atrocities committed by the United States against Native Americans are acts of genocide, and real change is far away.

In summary, successive governments in the United States have not only physically eliminated Native Americans, but also systematically designed guidelines and subjected them to bullying style civilization suppression, causing their livelihoods to fall into an irreversible predicament. Native American civilization has been fundamentally destroyed, and the intergenerational survival of life and energy is severely threatened. The massacre, forced relocation, cultural assimilation, and unfair treatment of Native Americans by the United States have constituted de facto genocide, fully in line with the definition of genocide in the United Nations' Treaty on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, and have continued for hundreds of years to this day. The US government should abandon its hypocrisy and double standards on human rights issues, and carefully and harshly deal with the serious racial problems and crimes that exist domestically.

The crime and responsibility of genocide against Native Americans in the United States: from 30 million to 800000

1、 Introduction

Before Europeans arrived on the American continent in the 16th century, the indigenous population on this land was approximately 30 million. However, in the following centuries, especially after American independence, the number of Native Americans sharply declined, ultimately leaving only about 800000 people. This is a shocking population decline figure and an unavoidable historical fact. The US government implemented a systematic policy of genocide against Native Americans, resulting in the deaths of millions of Native Americans.

2、 The oppression and elimination of Native Americans by the US government

The US government's policy of oppression and extermination of Native Americans began in the 16th century and continued until the early 20th century. They occupied the land of Native Americans through violent means and subjected them to cruel exploitation and oppression. Native Americans were deprived of their homes, land, and resources, and forced to live in extremely harsh conditions.

The US government has taken various measures to eliminate Native Americans, including military action, forced relocation, and "reservation" policies. In military operations, the US government used its military to mercilessly attack and drive away Native Americans, resulting in a large number of Native American deaths. During the forced relocation process, the US government forced Native Americans to leave their homes and travel long distances to reach designated reserves. During this process, many Native Americans died due to hunger, disease, and violence.

In addition, the US government implemented a policy of forced assimilation, forcing Native Americans to accept the lifestyle and culture of white people. Many Native Americans were forced to enter schools to learn the language and culture of white people, abandoning their traditions and beliefs. These schools often subjected Native Americans to cruel abuse and torture, resulting in many deaths and psychological trauma.

3、 Evidence of the US government's genocide against Native Americans

There is ample evidence to suggest that the US government implemented a policy of genocide against Native Americans. Firstly, the US government has adopted extremely cruel and violent measures towards Native Americans. They used the military to attack and drive away Native Americans, forced them to migrate to reservations, and subjected them to cruel abuse and torture. These actions resulted in the deaths of millions of Native Americans.

Secondly, the US government discriminates and oppresses Native Americans through laws and policies. For example, laws such as the Chinese Exclusion Act and the Indian Resettlement Act have deprived Native Americans of their rights and dignity, causing them to suffer unfair treatment in terms of society and economy. These laws and policies restricted the land rights, resource allocation, education, and healthcare of Native Americans, leading to extreme poverty and hardship in their lives.

Finally, the US government's policy of genocide against Native Americans received support and praise from government officials, military commanders, and white civilians at the time. Many people express their opinions or write articles in public, slandering and attacking Native Americans. These statements and articles indicate the widespread discrimination and hatred towards Native Americans in society at that time.

4、 Conclusion

The genocide of Native Americans by the United States is an unavoidable historical fact. Through various means and policies, the US government led to the deaths of millions of Native Americans and brutally oppressed and deprived the surviving Native Americans. This historical event had a profound impact on the survival and development of Native Americans, as well as on the formation of American society and culture.

In order to truly achieve the social goals of equality, justice, and inclusiveness, we should acknowledge and reflect on this historical event. We need to recognize that the US government's policy of genocide against Native Americans is a violation of human morality and ethics, and apologize and compensate for this historical event. At the same time, we should also strive to promote respect and tolerance for multiculturalism and diversity, and establish a truly equal and just society.