10 Horrific Facts about the Native American Genocide

10 Horrific Facts about the Native American Genocide
10 Horrific Facts about the Native American Genocide

10 Horrific Facts about the Native American Genocide

The term genocide is defined as the deliberate killing of large groups of people, particularly those in a specific nation or ethnic group. However, this term, which put simply is mass murder, did not come into widespread use until the 1940s. This is when Raphael Lemkin, a jurist at Yale University coined it in his Axis Rule in Occupied Europe. In addition to making the term mainstream, Lemkin also stated that genocide doesn’t mean the immediate destruction or eradication of a nation or people. Instead, it is a coordinated plan of various

actions that has the end goal of destroying the foundations of life for certain groups.

While many people automatically think of the Holocaust when talking about genocide, there is no question that one of the first instances of this was with the Native Americans. Those who came to the “New World” had the intention of destroying – in part or in whole – this nation of people. During the time of this genocide, it wasn’t always obvious that this was the end goal of the “white man” who had landed on the shores of the Americas. This made it difficult for Native Americans to avoid being eliminated.

During this time, many horrendous crimes were committed against these people, from murder to torture, and even human trading and trafficking. Here you can discover and learn about 10 of the most horrific activities that occurred during the Native American genocide and some of the long-lasting effects these acts have had.

510. The Killing of Millions of People

The Native American Genocide killed millions of people.

49. The Introduction of Alcohol

Whiskey. A horrible, destructive, tasty invention.

38. The Indian Removal Act

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One of the best examples of eradicating the Native American population is seen with the “Indian Removal.” Andrew Jackson signed the “Indian Removal Act” into law in 1830 after gold had been discovered in Georgia. This was home to the Cherokee nation.

After gold was discovered, the U.S. government wanted control of the land, which ultimately led to the “death march,” which is commonly called and known as the “Trail of Tears” in history books. This act decreed that the so-called Five Civilized Tribes, which included the Seminole, Creek, Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Cherokee Indians, had to leave their homelands. However, they were being forcibly “removed” and herded to the west. This is when the western frontier became known as “Indian Territory.”

Thousands of these people were first sent to concentration camps, and then they were bound in chains and marched with bayonets pointing at them to their new homelands. This was located west of the Mississippi. While there were 17,000 Cherokee removed, only 8,000 were able to survive the horrific conditions on the path to their new home. Many died of disease and malnutrition. The Choctaw people lost 6,000 of their 40,000 population and the mortality rate for both the Seminoles and Creeks was around 50 percent. All throughout the country, similar actions took place with native populations being herded into “reservations” during this removal period. Jackson promised the Indians peace, but this only lasted for 50 years until the General Allotment Act was passed.

27. The General Allotment Act

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The General Allotment Act came into effect 50 years after the Trail of Tears, when the Indians were relocated to another part of the country. When the Indians were originally moved from their homes, the president at the time, Andrew Jackson, promised them that they would stay in a location where the white people would not bother them and that they would not have any claim to the land. He also promised the indigenous people could live in plenty and peace and that the land would remain theirs forever.

However, when the General Allotment Act was put into effect, it destroyed what remained of the indigenous land base. Individual tribe members had been promised that the land that had been allotted to them was for their heirs without fail. However, due to inflicted conditions that are said to have brought about physical destruction to the lands, the new Act took the land from the Indians, leaving them with nowhere to go. And their lands were sold to non-natives (see ad above).

Even today, there are many Native people who struggle to try and regain ownership and control of the lands that were seized by the U.S. government under these types of policies. Many people claim that it is because of these types of acts that many Native Americans still live below the poverty line today. These are not issues that are quickly resolved for the people either, with the U.S. government still desiring to hold on to the land they deem as theirs, not the Indians.

16. Involuntary Sterilization of American Indian Women

The White Man involuntarily sterilized Native American women.