Thoughts on Thanksgiving and Native American genocide

[AngryAmish]

When and under what circumstances are people allowed to emigrate? Would it be fair to say the Turks occupy Turkey? Or Russians Russia? Bantu-speaking peoples in Africa? All of these peoples made well documented emigrations to where they live now with military force. At what point do folks not get criticized for having their ancestors live and move about the earth?

[CountAllVotes]

1. restitution ...

when will it ever be paid? The bill is mounting with every generation of Native Americans that ARE STILL AMONG US!

We are not "all gone". We are viable and alive and breathing HUMAN beings, not dogs!

[Warpy]

2. Maybe the people in sub Saharan Africa

who still possess relatively unaltered mitochondrial DNA are the only ones above criticism since they stayed put while the rest of us wandered out of the area and across the globe.

The rest of us kicked somebody else off their land, no matter who we are or where we are.

[hobbit709]

3. And which Native Americans and where

Studies show at least 4 major waves of people coming over the Bering land bridge

[Marrah_G]

4. Always a confusing topic

Since I am a descendant of both Pilgrims and NA....... Mostly I just acknowledge that although history is not pretty, I would not be who I am, my children would not be who they are, without it.

[kineneb]

5. ask the Romans about my Germanic ancestors

and that little incident in the Teotoburg Forest, year 9 CE. (Romans: -3 legions, Germanic tribes: unknown)

Then there is the Germanic tribes "Volkerwanderung" into Europe between 100-500 CE. Think the Angles, Saxons, Goths, Franks, Visigoths, Ostrogoths, Huns and Vandals. Those peoples make up the "native" populations of modern Europe.

[AuntPatsy]

6. A very good question yet I am not sure such an answer can be found

that will or can satisfy everyone's need to be right.

[riderinthestorm]

7. We don't acknowledge what we did to Native Americans

I find it incredible that we still don't have true histories of what we did to the Native Americans that 99% of Americans know about and accept. Our "knowledge" (sic) is still all about conversion myths (we "saved" the NAs via missionaries!), or we lived peacefully alongside them and they welcomed us (Thanksgiving!), or Christopher Columbus "discovered" America!

In places like Australia for example - they really teach all of their population about how destructive the arrival of Europeans was for the aborigines, and they are working a LOT harder than the US at trying to make amends. They aren't still trying to gloss over the monstrous problems that arrival caused. Yes, they had a lot of years where they glossed over it all but they came to their senses a hell of a lot faster than we ever have, and have made determined steps ever since to correct the fallacies.

We're still stuck with Columbus Day for gawd's sake!

[AngryAmish]

8. Do the Turks acknowledge what they did to the native peoples of asia minor?

That is my point.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

11. Huh.

So you're saying we should use the Turks as a role model when it comes to the subject of genocide.

Interesting.

[riderinthestorm]

12. Doesn't make it right though.

We need honest discussion of what we've done. And real attempts to alleviate the (continued) monstrous poverty of our Native American population.

We wiped out their languages, religions, traditions, traditional homelands and in many cases - entire tribes. It's in our country's best interest to reverse our racism and oppression of these groups and acknowledge what's happened and how we can work together now to enrich the land we all share.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

9. Under the condition that they dont' kill the natives.

:shrug:

[Bonobo]

10. People on this board claim we cannot judge Hiroshima/Nagasaki 60 years ago! Ha!

Not only can we, but we must!

Same for our Red White and Blue Genocide of Native American tribes.

[Swamp Rat]

13. ALL wealthy white Americans should be forced to give up ALL their property to Native Americans

and forcefully moved to reservations to live in abject poverty for the next 200 years.

:popcorn: