We are seeing a trend toward revisionist history in an attempt to destroy commonly believed American History. Let's deal with some facts. The New World was only new to Europeans who crossed the Atlantic to settle in America in the early 1600's and perhaps earlier with Viking incursions into what is now Northern Canada. There were already native peoples living all over what is today the United States. It is believed that they originated in the Americas by crossing a land bridge from Asia thousands of years earlier to settle North, Central and South America. So, they really were not really Native Americans; but rather settlers themselves to the New World.
These native peoples did not own land individually, but rather generally settled lands communally throughout the Americas. However, millions of acres of land in what is today the United States were wilderness settled by nobody by the time Europeans came to America. Nevertheless, there was an obvious culture clash between Native Americans who settled lands communally and Europeans who presumably believed in owning land individually. In fact, aside from the quest for religious freedom, a primary reason Europeans came to America was so that they could own land. The concept of ownership was very different, which is where in which the clash of cultures existed.
It is true that as Europeans took possession of various land that some of it was used by Native Americans as their ancestral lands. It is also true that there were battles among Native Americans in defining their distinct territories for centuries. Further the Native Americans of Central and South America practiced slavery and human sacrifice and also waged brutal war against their fellow Native Americans for control of the lands they occupied. The point is that this was not just about White on Native American injustice. These battles for land were happening long before Europeans came to America.
In any case, there were injustices experienced by Native Americans in what is now the United States at hands of White Settlers. The same was true in Latin America. In the US, they often were forced to live on Reservations primarily to prevent conflict by creating lines of demarcation between White Settlers and Native Americans. Over many decades in an attempt to right these wrongs, the US Federal Government has recognized 578 Native Tribes and paid them billions of dollars as compensation for lands lost. Further, many of these Tribes today have Indian Casinos on their lands earning them billions of dollars each year in some cases often tax free.
The sad part about all of this is that the Reservation system is predicated on Communism rather than individual land ownership. The result has been the mismanagement of all these monies. So much so that very little has actually trickled down to individual Native Americans many of who live in poverty with very high rates of alcoholism. This is another case proving that Communism always leads to poverty, misery and in many cases murder. The Native American story is a tragic one compounded by bad government policy. We cannot reverse what has occurred; but perpetuating bad policy can and should be changed.
The Reservation system should be abolished in favor of private land ownership. The land owned communally should be divided amongst individual Native Americans to do with as they choose. Native Americans are Americans and citizens of the United States that should experience the same freedoms as all our people. Clearly, while government has attempted to right the wrongs done to Native Americans, what has been done has failed to end the poverty that exists in the Native American population. It is time to change bad policy that perpetuates failed Communism in favor of Capitalism, with all its flaws to create wealth for individual Native Americans. That is the best restitution possible.
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