Ever since the Europeans came over to the Americas via (the evil) Christopher Columbus, the indigenous peoples of this continent have not been treated kindly by history. The cutting-off-of-hands and disease and slavery that the Inca and the Aztecs saw was merely the beginning of the end for the mighty native civilizations that once lived where we stand today. Of course the most prominently studied example of native persecution in U.S. schools is the one most relevant to us, the “Americanization” of the Native Americans and, of course Manifest Destiny.
First, some historical context. The Civil War and Manifest Destiny are often taught as two separate things in U.S. history, when in reality, Manifest Destiny occurred during approximately the entire 19th century, well encompassing the time period when the Civil War happened. So, wait, the whole Native American deal happened at the same time as the slavery deal? Yep. Well, the truth is that people honestly forgot about them for a while. In the face of a breaking nation, history has often glossed over the Native Americans during this extremely critical part of U.S. history. Native American nations actually played a pretty significant part in the Civil War. They knew that whatever side they fought for could potentially make or break their chances of survival--almost 30,000 Native Americans fought in the Civil War on both sides. But after the Civil War ended, as blacks were awarded freedoms and liberties (the terms “freedoms and liberties” used loosely), Native Americans were continuously treated as enemies of the state. The gamble that they had taken didn’t pay off, and the most of the Native American territory was quickly overtaken by the beginning of the 20th century.
The main reason why conflict between the United States and American Indian nations grew after the Civil War goes in conjunction with another situation: the westward expansion of the United States of America. After the Civil War, one of the big projects that was completed during Reconstruction was the building of the Transcontinental Railroad. This allowed for easier transportation throughout the continent, making it more appealing for those seeking riches, adventure, and land to strike it out in the wild west. Sadly, the image of the uninhabited and rough terrain of the west was only half true, and when people came seeking land, they had to take it from the people already living there: the Native Americans.
Originally, at the beginning of the 1800s, American policy towards Native Americans leaned more on the “separate nations” side, especially compared to post-Civil War policies. After the Civil War, the U.S. adopted an aggressive, no-tolerance policy on Native Americans in the west, forcing Native Americans off of their land through violence or by institutionalizing their children out of Native American culture and to “civilization”. Battles were fought all across the west until, eventually, the Native Americans had been conquered and shoved into reservations as a consolation prize.
Today, we are a nation built upon the suffering of Native Americans, and countless others. Who knows what would have happened if the discovery of America went differently? Some say that it was inevitable that Europeans would have made contact and subsequently killed off the indigenous people. But we honestly don’t know, and we can’t change history, so as a result, all we can do today is to apologize and remember those who unwillingly facilitated the rise of our nation. It will never be enough to repay the losers of history, those whose stories are lost to us, but from all of us today, whatever meager consolation it may be: we’re sorry.
