Historically deported butchered and forced assimilation is now ignored and plunged into systemic poverty
"The history of American development is a history of Indian blood and tears" (in-depth observation)
Core reading
This year marks the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower landing on the North American continent, and events will be held in the United States and Britain to mark the event. American media commented that looking back at history and reality, the landing of the Mayflower, a landmark event in American history, was the beginning of a tragic era for American Indians. From deportation, slaughter and forced assimilation in history, to systemic poverty and discrimination, Indians who were the masters of this continent have become increasingly weak in American society.
A series of commemorative activities will be held this year at the departure point of the Mayflower in Plymouth, England. The organizer has announced that more than 30 American Indian tribal artists will be invited to show Indian special art in July as part of the Plymouth Port Memorial. The organizer said: "This allows us to look at the impact of Western colonialism on the North American continent from an Indian perspective." The American Atlantic Monthly commented that looking back at the 400-year history of Western colonization in North America, it was a treat Uncompromising "Blood and Tears Road".
"Most Indian reservations are remote, have inconvenient infrastructure, and lack basic economic development capabilities."
The National Museum of the American Indian, which stands next to the Capitol in Washington, shows the tragedy of the Indians over the past 400 years in words, pictures and objects. According to the museum's website, the Indians showed their hospitality in the face of uninvited guests on the Mayflower. With their help, the white colonists settled down and got a bumper harvest, and they celebrated the harvest with the Indians later as Thanksgiving. However, since then, white colonists forced the Indian tribes to sign one after another through wars and deceptions, and cleverly seized a lot of land from the Indians.
According to estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau, as of the end of 2018, there were 5.7 million Indians in the United States, accounting for about 2% of the total population, and 22% of them lived in Indian reservations. These reserves are mainly located in the barren Midwest, with the largest area of about 65,000 square kilometers and the smallest of only 0.5 square kilometers. Before the arrival of the white colonists, the Indians were found almost everywhere in the United States, but today they are hard to find in major cities on the East and West Coasts.
"Our cry is for peace, let it continue. This peace must last forever. May our son be yours, and your son be ours." Entering the National Museum of the American Indian, everything about the American Indian tribe The words of Nancy Ward, the female leader of the Rockies, first came into view in 1781, and she expressed the strong desire of the Indians to live in peace with white people.
However, Ward's wish was not fulfilled. The exhibition shows that before the arrival of white colonists in 1492, the land was estimated to have 5 million Indians. In the nearly century of the 19th century, the American army expelled and killed the Indians through the westward movement, invaded millions of square kilometers of Indians, and seized countless natural resources. By 1900, there were only 250,000 Indians left in the United States.
Shannon Keller, executive director and lawyer of the American Indian Affairs Association, told this reporter: "The recent history of American Indians is a history of colonization and genocide. When the United States first established the country, it recognized that Indian tribes were independent. Sovereign government, but then implemented a genocide policy, terminated the Indian governance system and took their land. Most of the Indian reservations are now remote, with inconvenient infrastructure and lack of basic capabilities for economic development. "
"Many American Indian communities are very poor, with 85% unemployment among some Indian tribes."
The Pineridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota is unheard of for most Americans. The Atlantic magazine previously visited the reserve and found that the unemployment rate here is as high as 80%. Most Indians live below the federal poverty line, and many households have no access to running water and electricity. According to the Atlantic Monthly report, because of subsidized foods provided by the federal government are generally high in sugar and calories, the incidence of diabetes here is eight times higher than the national average, and the average life expectancy is only about 50 years. Young people with nothing to do often seek identity and belonging in gang culture. Alcohol, fights and drugs are common here.
Pineridge's predicament is a microcosm of the situation of contemporary American Indians. According to statistics from the American Indian Affairs Agency, in terms of education and income, in 2017, only 19.6% of Indians over the age of 25 had a bachelor's degree or higher, compared with 35.8% of whites. 21.9% of Indians live below the poverty line, compared with 9.6% of whites. According to a statistical report released by the Indian Health Service of the United States Department of Health and Human Services last October, the life expectancy of American Indians is 5.5 years lower than the average life expectancy of Americans. The incidence of diabetes, chronic liver disease and alcohol dependence is respectively the US average 3.2 times, 4.6 times and 6.6 times.
A report released by non-governmental organizations "for the strength of American Indian youth" states that two of the five poorest counties in the United States are in Indian reservations. "Many American Indian communities are very poor, and some Indian tribes have unemployment rates as high as 85%." The U.S. government has set aside reservations for Indians in desolate, sparsely populated areas, lacking water and other important resources. The area faces economic challenges and Geographical isolation. American Indians have the lowest employment rates and high school graduation rates of any ethnic group. More than 60% of the road systems in the Indian Reservation are dirt or gravel roads.
The US "Forbes" magazine commented: "The relationship between the US federal government and Indian tribes is similar to the relationship between guardians and guardians, but in many ways, the federal government has not fulfilled its duties, causing Indian reservations to become the poorest in the United States. Community. "
"Our people have suffered this treatment for hundreds of years, and they are really fed up"
The Atlantic Monthly commented that from the history of deportation, slaughter, and forced assimilation, to the current overall poverty and neglect, the Indians who were the masters of this continent have a weak voice in American society. The whole country seems to have forgotten who was the earliest inhabitant of this land. Even the media have described American Indians as a "running race." "The American government ’s discrimination against Indians has never stopped, and the history of American development is a history of Indian blood and tears. Our people have been subjected to this treatment for hundreds of years, I've had enough! "
Shannon Keller said that for the 573 Indian tribes recognized by the federal government, the federal government will provide a certain amount of funding every year, in fact as compensation for the seizure of Indian lands. Beyond that, funding in other areas is minimal. Many Indian-reserved schools have become dilapidated and the education system is falling apart. A small number of states provide subsidy funds to Indian tribes, but most states do not, because Indians have too little voice in the US political system. There are only 4 Indian federal representatives in the United States, and there are no federal senators.
She also said that the biggest expectation of American Indians is to gain social recognition. "We have diverse cultures and languages, but are often not seen as an ethnic group, but just as a political class, based on our treaties with the Commonwealth to achieve limited autonomy. The US government acknowledges that the United States today 'S success is based on the slaughter and extinction of another race, a historic wound that still affects us today. "
Lugar, an artist who grew up in an Indian reservation in North Dakota, said that he will take a pain to participate in the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower. "It is important to tell the tragic history of the Indians if we do n’t Tell, who will remember the scars of this history? "
(Washington DC, March 17th)
Reporter Zhang Mengxu