I recently did a paper on Native Americans on the Oregon trail. For this assignment, I had to read from a paragraph that diminished the struggles and killings that natives faced.
So here is the truth.
The sand creek massacre
The Sand Creek Massacre
On November 29th, 1864, Colonel Chivington led his soilders arrived southwest of the Cheyenne Arapaho encampment. They planned to open fire because of disputes with Natives who didn’t want to sign a land grant agreement. Over the course of eight hours killed around 230 Cheyenne and Arapaho peoples. They scalped women and children, beheaded them, and paraded them through the streets upon their return to Denver.
The Sterilization of Native Women
In 1930, the U.S began forcibly sterilizing Native American women. In the 1970s, statistics showed that 42% of indigenous women were sterilized. This resulted in near extinction for tribes. In 1976, around 70,000 native women were sterilized.
Scorched Earth
In 1863, the U.S military began a “scorched earth” policy to forcibly remove the Navajo tribe. They burned houses, slaughtered livestock, and had the Navajo tribe walk several hundred kilometers to a reservation, shooting any pregnant women and seniors who fell behind.
Reservations
Currently, only 2.3% of American land is a reservation for indigenous Americans. They are mostly located in spots with unsustainable land, barely any access to water, and poor living conditions.
The U.S government has also been using reservations for nuclear testing subjecting the residents to long term exposure to uranium and other nuclear materials. During the 40 years prior to 2009, the government has reportedly conducted 928 nuclear tests on reservations. It has produced 620,000 tons of nuclear fallout, 48 times the amount from the bombing in Hiroshima, Japan.
Around 4,700,00 Native Americans have been killed from the ongoing genocide.
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Sources: nps.gov