Echoes of the Past: Native American History and Resilience - The Initial Encounters and Land Theft

[00:00:00] Never Again, Never Again, Never Again, Never Again, Never Again, Never Again, Never Again.

[00:00:09] This podcast is presented by the Coalition Against Global Genocide with the goal to further its mission to educate, motivate and empower individuals and communities to oppose genocide and crimes against humanity.

[00:00:26] Echoes of the Past, a Native American History and Resilience.

[00:00:35] Today's episode will focus on the impacts of the systematic land theft from Native Americans and its immediate impact on Indigenous nations of America and the Native society.

[00:01:01] Where do we even begin?

[00:01:04] We must talk about how the Indigenous people lost their homeland to European settlers in early America and their agreements or treaties with the Indigenous tribes.

[00:01:14] I mean, it's a story of clashing cultures, broken promises and a ripple effect of injustice that we are, to this day, still dealing with.

[00:01:25] And that's really what makes this deep dive so important.

[00:01:28] So there's understanding on how we got to where we are now.

[00:01:32] So we never again get here.

[00:01:35] Never again.

[00:01:36] We start in 1493.

[00:01:41] A series of papal bulls were created called the Doctrine of Discovery.

[00:01:46] That sounds kind of ominous, right?

[00:01:49] So, a papal bull is the name of an official decree or like an order from the Catholic Church.

[00:01:57] Every papal bull is issued by the Pope, who is the leader of the Catholic Church.

[00:02:01] The Doctrine of Discovery would change the world forever.

[00:02:05] It declared that any land in the entire world that was not inhabited by Christians was now open to be, discovered, or seized and exploited by Christian rulers.

[00:02:20] The Doctrine of Discovery basically gave Christian European nations the right to claim islands, mountains, rivers, valleys, and resources from non-Christian people and nations.

[00:02:32] It was a framework for explorers like Christopher Columbus, and it allowed men from countries like Great Britain, Spain, and Portugal to colonize America and, eventually, its native people.

[00:02:45] This doctrine has had a lasting impact on indigenous peoples.

[00:02:49] Now we have European settlers who are arriving in America thinking it's some sort of new world.

[00:02:56] But, of course, the Native American tribes had been living there for centuries, so this land or world was far from new to them.

[00:03:05] Imagine those first encounters like…

[00:03:07] Think about the culture shock.

[00:03:09] Two groups of people with totally different skin, different hair, completely different languages, and even the ways of understanding the world around them.

[00:03:21] And, of course, different ideas about land ownership.

[00:03:24] And this was a huge point of tension.

[00:03:27] The settlers wanted more and more land, so they created these land treaties.

[00:03:32] Supposedly agreements between two sovereign nations.

[00:03:35] You know, equals on paper.

[00:03:38] But in reality it was a whole different story.

[00:03:41] The power dynamics at play were clear, and the white settlers often used their military advantage.

[00:03:48] You know, their guns.

[00:03:52] And with legal documents like the doctrine of discovery, justifying their manifested destiny,

[00:03:57] they just decided they could take whatever land and resources they wanted from the Native Americans.

[00:04:03] Throughout history there are tons of examples of laws created to remove Native Americans from their homeland,

[00:04:09] oppress Native Americans' humanity, and their culture.

[00:04:13] Between 1790 and 1830, various tribes situated east of the Mississippi River, such as the Cherokees, Chickasaws, Choctaws, Creeks and Seminoles,

[00:04:25] entered into numerous treaties with the United States.

[00:04:29] Presidents George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison faced the challenge of balancing the new nation's responsibility to honor its treaty commitments with the growing demands of its citizens for additional land.

[00:04:44] In the end, the federal government proved either unwilling or unable to safeguard the Native Americans from the relentless land demands of settlers and their manifest destiny.

[00:04:56] In response to this demand, the United States government created laws like the Indian Removal Act in 1830.

[00:05:04] This basically authorized the forced removal of Native American tribes from their ancestral lands in the southeastern part of America.

[00:05:12] The United States Congress passed this law to supposedly regulate commerce throughout the land.

[00:05:17] These Native American and indigenous people had their own ways of living and trading that had been honored for generations.

[00:05:25] Now the outsiders have changed the rules.

[00:05:30] On May 28, 1830, President Andrew Jackson eagerly signed the Indian Removal Act into law which created a system for the president to set aside or reserve land west of the Mississippi River for Native American tribes who willingly relinquished their ancestral lands.

[00:05:48] Jackson now has the power to negotiate removal treaties with Indian tribes living east of the Mississippi River.

[00:05:56] This included the cotton gold mine of Mississippi, land that was home to Native Americans.

[00:06:03] Remember, slavery is still legal in the United States of America at this time, and Africans and people with darker skin are being captured and stolen from their communities.

[00:06:12] Then, sold as slaves, degraded, and forced to work.

[00:06:18] Plantations with cotton fields in places like Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia fueled the desire to expand American territory here.

[00:06:28] It's all connected.

[00:06:30] Now to encourage participation, the law provided some financial support for the tribes to relocate and establish new lives out west.

[00:06:38] Additionally, it ensured that the tribes would have permanent protection from the United States government on their new properties.

[00:06:46] Justice for crimes committed against them.

[00:06:50] With this law enacted, Jackson and his supporters were empowered to persuade, bribe, and often physically force tribes into signing removal treaties.

[00:07:00] Expanding the American territory by making indigenous people leave the land in what we call Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, and other regions in the southeast.

[00:07:10] Over 70 treaties were signed, one way or another, and at least 50,000 indigenous people moved to avoid future conflicts with white settlers.

[00:07:19] The Cherokee Nation relentlessly fought back and refused to give up their homelands.

[00:07:25] Then, also in 1830, gold was discovered on Cherokee territory.

[00:07:31] This discovery unleashed a flood of Georgians, Carolinians, Virginians, and Alabamians eager for quick riches.

[00:07:39] Georgia organized lotteries that granted Cherokee land and gold rights to white settlers only.

[00:07:45] While the federal government under President Andrew Jackson supported these actions,

[00:07:51] and federal policies like the Indian Removal Act gave states like Georgia the justification to suppress Native Americans' human rights further.

[00:08:01] The Cherokee Nation resisted these injustices by legally challenging Georgia's laws that limited their rights on tribal lands,

[00:08:09] leading to cases like Cherokee Nation v. Georgia where the court ruled that, quote,

[00:08:13] The Indian territory is admitted to compose a part of the United States, end quote.

[00:08:20] Basically this was recognizing tribes as domestic dependent nations.

[00:08:25] The state declared all Cherokee Nation laws null and void.

[00:08:30] However, the following year the Supreme Court reversed its ruling,

[00:08:34] affirming that Georgia's actions were unconstitutional and that Cherokee sovereignty should be respected.

[00:08:40] However, this decision was largely ignored by both Georgia and President Jackson,

[00:08:45] and the Cherokee continued to resist moving from their homelands.

[00:08:50] According to documents from the National Park Archives,

[00:08:53] an old Cherokee chief, this is not his voice, but describes his feelings towards relocation.

[00:09:00] My son of existence is now fast approaching to its setting,

[00:09:05] and my aged bones will soon be laid underground,

[00:09:09] and I wish them laid in the bosom of this earth that we have received from our fathers,

[00:09:14] who had it from the great being above.

[00:09:18] The battles and resistance would continue.

[00:09:21] In 1835, President Jackson penned a letter detailing the terms of a proposed treaty

[00:09:26] and encouraging its acceptance.

[00:09:28] This is not his voice, but the letter said,

[00:09:33] My friends, I have long viewed your condition with great interest.

[00:09:37] For many years I have been acquainted with your people,

[00:09:40] and under all variety of circumstances in peace and war.

[00:09:43] You are now placed in the midst of a white population.

[00:09:46] Your peculiar customs, which regulated your intercourse with one another,

[00:09:50] have been abrogated by the great political community among which you live,

[00:09:54] and you are now subject to the same laws which govern the other citizens of Georgia and Alabama.

[00:09:59] I have no motive, my friends, to deceive you.

[00:10:02] I am sincerely desirous to promote your welfare.

[00:10:05] Listen to me, therefore, while I tell you that you cannot remain where you now are,

[00:10:10] circumstances that cannot be controlled, and which are beyond the reach of human laws,

[00:10:15] render it impossible that you can flourish in the midst of a civilized community.

[00:10:19] You have but one remedy within your reach,

[00:10:21] and that is to remove to the West and join your countrymen,

[00:10:25] who are already established there.

[00:10:27] And the sooner you do this, the sooner you will commence your career of improvement and prosperity.

[00:10:32] You cannot remain where you are.

[00:10:35] You cannot remain where you are.

[00:10:39] You cannot remain where you are.

[00:10:40] You cannot remain where you are.

[00:10:40] You cannot remain where you are.

[00:10:40] You cannot remain where you are.

[00:10:41] And the sooner you are, your children are married,

[00:10:44] and if you are not, you will be a person.

[00:10:44] The sooner you have been a little bit better than you are,

[00:10:45] According to the National Park archives again,

[00:10:48] one Cherokee man named Major Ridge was quoted saying,

[00:10:52] I am one of the native sons of these wild woods.

[00:10:57] I have hunted the deer and turkey here more than 50 years.

[00:11:01] I have fought your battles, have defended your truth and honesty and fair trading.

[00:11:08] The Georgians have shown a grasping spirit lately.

[00:11:13] They have extended their laws, to which we are unaccustomed,

[00:11:17] which harass our braves and make the children suffer and cry.

[00:11:24] I know the Indians have an older title than theirs.

[00:11:28] We obtained the land from the living God above.

[00:11:32] They got their title from the British.

[00:11:34] Yet they are strong and we are weak.

[00:11:37] We are few, they are many.

[00:11:40] We cannot remain here in safety and comfort.

[00:11:43] I know we love the graves of our fathers.

[00:11:46] We can never forget these homes.

[00:11:48] But an unbending iron necessity tells us we must leave them.

[00:11:54] I would willingly die to preserve them.

[00:11:57] But any forcible effort to keep them will cost us our lands,

[00:12:02] our lives and the lives of our children.

[00:12:05] There is but one path of safety,

[00:12:08] one road to future existence as a nation.

[00:12:12] That path is open before you.

[00:12:14] Make a treaty of session.

[00:12:17] Give up these lands and go over beyond the great father of waters.

[00:12:22] About 20 men, none of whom held elected positions within the tribe,

[00:12:27] signed the treaty that gave up all Cherokee land

[00:12:29] east of the Mississippi River to the United States.

[00:12:32] In return, they received $5 million

[00:12:35] and new territories in Indian territory.

[00:12:38] They were given two years to move to their new homes out west.

[00:12:41] Then in 1838, President Van Buren dispatched General Winfield Scott

[00:12:46] to carry out the task hand.

[00:12:49] On May 10th, General Scott delivered the following proclamation.

[00:12:53] Cherokees,

[00:12:54] the President of the United States has sent me,

[00:12:57] with a powerful army,

[00:12:59] to cause you, in obedience to the Treaty of 1835,

[00:13:03] to join that part of your people

[00:13:04] who are already established in prosperity

[00:13:07] on the other side of the Mississippi.

[00:13:10] The full moon of May is already on the wane,

[00:13:13] and before another shall have passed away

[00:13:16] every Cherokee man, woman, and child

[00:13:20] must be in motion to join their brethren in the far west.

[00:13:23] This resistance ultimately collapsed in 1838,

[00:13:27] when groups of white men working as federal troops

[00:13:30] and the Georgia State Militia

[00:13:32] forced every remaining Cherokee man, woman, and child

[00:13:35] to leave on a journey known as the Trail of Tears.

[00:13:39] It was completely brutal.

[00:13:46] Imagine being dragged out of your home.

[00:13:48] In places like Georgia,

[00:13:50] people were given no time to gather their things

[00:13:52] and were captured with just the clothes on their back.

[00:13:55] Looters followed quickly behind to take everything.

[00:13:59] All of their possessions,

[00:14:00] their assets and belongings were taken away.

[00:14:03] The people were taken away from their community,

[00:14:06] the same one their fathers and mothers

[00:14:08] had lived for generations.

[00:14:10] And now, they were at an encampment

[00:14:12] in a military fort somewhere,

[00:14:14] treated like a prisoner.

[00:14:24] As many as 15,000 individuals

[00:14:26] were imprisoned and awaiting removal.

[00:14:29] The sanitation conditions at these encampments were dire,

[00:14:33] there was a severe shortage of food, medicine, clothing,

[00:14:36] and even coffins for the deceased.

[00:14:38] Water was limited and frequently contaminated.

[00:14:42] Diseases spread rapidly throughout the camps,

[00:14:45] leading to many deaths.

[00:14:46] These trails were approximately 2,200 miles

[00:14:50] with both land and water routes

[00:14:51] stretching across parts of nine states.

[00:14:55] These people had to face exposure

[00:14:57] to harsh weather conditions,

[00:14:59] starvation, disease.

[00:15:02] The first groups found out

[00:15:03] it was best to leave before August,

[00:15:05] otherwise there were droughts and harsh weather.

[00:15:08] The northern route was selected

[00:15:09] for its reliable ferries

[00:15:11] across the Ohio and Mississippi rivers,

[00:15:13] as well as a frequently used road

[00:15:15] connecting the two.

[00:15:17] However,

[00:15:17] it proved to be far more challenging

[00:15:20] than anticipated.

[00:15:22] Intense autumn rains

[00:15:23] and the presence of numerous wagons

[00:15:25] turned the roads muddy,

[00:15:26] making travel nearly impossible.

[00:15:29] Additionally,

[00:15:30] there was scarce grazing

[00:15:31] and limited game for hunting available

[00:15:33] to supplement the small food supplies.

[00:15:36] In January,

[00:15:37] two-thirds of the Cherokees

[00:15:39] found themselves trapped

[00:15:40] between the frozen Ohio

[00:15:41] and Mississippi rivers.

[00:15:43] Reports indicate

[00:15:44] that between 3,000 and 4,000

[00:15:46] of the 15,000 to 16,000 Cherokees

[00:15:49] died during this harrowing journey

[00:15:51] known as the Trail of Tears.

[00:15:54] And this is such a heavy part of history

[00:15:56] that we must never forget.

[00:15:59] A Cherokee woman

[00:16:00] named Elizabeth Watts

[00:16:01] kept a diary

[00:16:02] during the Trail of Tears.

[00:16:05] This is not Elizabeth's voice,

[00:16:07] but she wrote,

[00:16:08] The soldiers gathered them up.

[00:16:13] They hunted them

[00:16:14] and ran them down

[00:16:15] until they got all of them.

[00:16:17] Even before they were loaded in wagons,

[00:16:20] many of them got sick

[00:16:21] and died.

[00:16:23] This trail

[00:16:24] was more than tears.

[00:16:26] It was death,

[00:16:27] sorrow,

[00:16:28] hunger,

[00:16:29] exposure,

[00:16:30] and humiliation

[00:16:30] to a group of civilized people,

[00:16:33] as were the Cherokees.

[00:16:35] Another Cherokee survivor shared,

[00:16:38] Long time we traveled on way

[00:16:40] to new land.

[00:16:41] People feel bad

[00:16:42] when they leave Old Nation.

[00:16:44] Women cry

[00:16:45] and made sad wails.

[00:16:47] Children cry

[00:16:47] and many men cry

[00:16:48] and all look sad

[00:16:50] like when friends die.

[00:16:52] But they say nothing

[00:16:53] and just put heads down

[00:16:55] and keep on

[00:16:55] and go towards west.

[00:16:57] Many days pass

[00:16:58] and people die very much.

[00:17:01] It's so important

[00:17:02] to remember

[00:17:02] the human cost

[00:17:03] of policies like this

[00:17:05] and so many others

[00:17:06] that were created.

[00:17:07] These people

[00:17:08] were forced

[00:17:09] onto these reservations,

[00:17:11] designated land

[00:17:12] that grew

[00:17:13] smaller and smaller

[00:17:14] and often less fertile

[00:17:15] than their original land.

[00:17:17] So purposely

[00:17:18] they wouldn't even be able

[00:17:19] to support themselves properly.

[00:17:21] And let's be clear,

[00:17:23] it wasn't just about land.

[00:17:25] It was about lives

[00:17:26] being destroyed,

[00:17:27] cultures disrupted,

[00:17:29] and that sense of injustice

[00:17:30] has lasted for generations.

[00:17:33] So after atrocities

[00:17:34] like the Trail of Tears,

[00:17:36] we still have land treaties

[00:17:37] that are being broken

[00:17:38] and manipulated.

[00:17:40] Let's take the Treaty of Fort Laramie,

[00:17:42] for example.

[00:17:44] In the spring of 1868,

[00:17:46] the U.S. government

[00:17:47] and military officials

[00:17:48] gathered at a place

[00:17:50] called Fort Laramie,

[00:17:51] which today we know

[00:17:52] as Laramie, Wyoming.

[00:17:54] The goal was to establish

[00:17:56] a series of treaties

[00:17:57] that would make Native Americans

[00:17:58] give up their lands

[00:17:59] and move further west

[00:18:01] onto reservations.

[00:18:02] This meeting,

[00:18:04] or conference rather,

[00:18:05] resulted in a treaty

[00:18:06] with the Sioux Nation,

[00:18:07] which included indigenous tribes

[00:18:09] such as Brule,

[00:18:11] Oglala,

[00:18:12] Miniconju,

[00:18:13] Yanktoni,

[00:18:14] Hunkpapa,

[00:18:15] Blackfeet,

[00:18:16] Cuthead,

[00:18:17] Two Kettle,

[00:18:18] Sands Arcs,

[00:18:19] Santee,

[00:18:20] and the Arapaho.

[00:18:22] The treaty,

[00:18:23] which was signed

[00:18:24] on what looks like

[00:18:25] a sheet of paper

[00:18:25] snatched out of

[00:18:26] a fourth-grader's notebook,

[00:18:27] promised ownership

[00:18:29] of the sacred Black Hills,

[00:18:31] which is in present-day

[00:18:32] South Dakota

[00:18:33] to the Sioux Nations.

[00:18:35] All of these tribes

[00:18:37] relinquished thousands

[00:18:38] of acres of their homeland.

[00:18:40] That keep in mind.

[00:18:42] This very same land

[00:18:43] that had already been guaranteed

[00:18:45] to them in previous treaties.

[00:18:47] However,

[00:18:48] in this treaty of Fort Laramie,

[00:18:50] the nations were to maintain

[00:18:51] the rights to their hunting

[00:18:52] and fishing areas

[00:18:53] in their ancestral territories.

[00:18:56] The goal was to bring peace,

[00:18:59] peace between white settlers

[00:19:00] and the indigenous tribes

[00:19:02] who agreed to relocate

[00:19:03] to the Black Hills

[00:19:04] in the Dakota Territory.

[00:19:06] The U.S. government

[00:19:07] created the Great Sioux Reservation,

[00:19:10] consisting of a large portion

[00:19:11] of the western half

[00:19:12] of what is now

[00:19:13] the state of South Dakota,

[00:19:15] including the Black Hills,

[00:19:17] which again are truly sacred

[00:19:19] to the Sioux people,

[00:19:20] and this land was supposed

[00:19:22] to be set aside

[00:19:22] for the exclusive use

[00:19:24] by the Sioux people.

[00:19:26] Well then comes

[00:19:27] General George Custer,

[00:19:29] who was illegally leading

[00:19:30] a group of miners

[00:19:31] into the Black Hills

[00:19:32] to find gold.

[00:19:34] Soon these miners

[00:19:35] indeed found gold.

[00:19:37] And soon,

[00:19:38] more and more white settlers

[00:19:40] began moving on

[00:19:41] to the Sioux hunting

[00:19:42] and fishing grounds.

[00:19:43] This was not taken lightly

[00:19:45] at all.

[00:19:46] The Native American people

[00:19:48] often resisted

[00:19:49] and fought back,

[00:19:50] and settlers began demanding

[00:19:51] protection from the U.S. Army.

[00:19:54] Many indigenous leaders

[00:19:55] like Sitting Bull,

[00:19:57] Crazy Horse,

[00:19:57] and other independent tribes

[00:19:59] and warriors

[00:19:59] did not sign the treaty.

[00:20:01] After continuous clashes

[00:20:03] with Native Americans,

[00:20:05] white settlers began demanding

[00:20:06] protection from their government.

[00:20:08] Soon orders were given,

[00:20:10] and now there's not just settlers

[00:20:11] all over their land,

[00:20:13] there is now

[00:20:13] the United States Army there.

[00:20:15] The agreement

[00:20:16] was completely broken now.

[00:20:18] Eight years after the Treaty

[00:20:20] of Fort Laramie was signed,

[00:20:21] early on a summer morning

[00:20:23] in 1876,

[00:20:25] General Custer,

[00:20:26] this time,

[00:20:27] leading a scouting party

[00:20:28] of about 200 soldiers,

[00:20:30] came upon a village

[00:20:31] at the Little Bighorn River.

[00:20:33] Around 8,000

[00:20:35] Lakota Sioux,

[00:20:36] northern Cheyenne

[00:20:37] and Arapaho people

[00:20:38] were living there.

[00:20:40] During an intense battle,

[00:20:42] General Custer

[00:20:42] and his soldiers

[00:20:43] were killed,

[00:20:44] which is infamously known

[00:20:45] as Custer's Last Stand.

[00:20:48] This made him a martyr

[00:20:50] for American expansionism.

[00:20:52] The United States

[00:20:53] would continue to battle

[00:20:54] the Sioux tribes

[00:20:55] in the Black Hills

[00:20:56] until the government

[00:20:57] confiscated the land

[00:20:58] about a year later

[00:20:59] in 1877.

[00:21:02] To this day,

[00:21:03] ownership of the Black Hills

[00:21:05] remains the subject

[00:21:06] of a legal dispute

[00:21:07] between the U.S. government

[00:21:09] and the Sioux nation.

[00:21:11] These reservations

[00:21:12] devastated their ability

[00:21:14] to sustain themselves

[00:21:15] their culture,

[00:21:16] their whole way of life.

[00:21:18] And we'll talk more about this

[00:21:20] in our next episode.

[00:21:22] But the consequences

[00:21:23] of this history

[00:21:24] are enduring,

[00:21:25] with indigenous tribes

[00:21:27] of America

[00:21:27] facing ongoing challenges

[00:21:29] related to the loss

[00:21:31] of sacred lands

[00:21:32] and the displacement

[00:21:33] of their traditional

[00:21:34] ways of life.

[00:21:36] It's a direct line

[00:21:37] from the past

[00:21:38] to the present.

[00:21:40] Okay,

[00:21:41] so we've covered

[00:21:42] a lot of heavy stuff here.

[00:21:43] But we can't just

[00:21:45] dwell on the past.

[00:21:47] Instead,

[00:21:48] what can we learn

[00:21:49] from all of this?

[00:21:50] The first step

[00:21:51] is acknowledging

[00:21:52] this history,

[00:21:54] understanding how complex

[00:21:55] it is,

[00:21:56] and listening to the people,

[00:21:58] the indigenous voices.

[00:22:00] We need to learn

[00:22:02] from their resilience

[00:22:03] and their continued

[00:22:04] fight for justice.

[00:22:06] We must keep thinking

[00:22:07] about those broken treaties,

[00:22:09] the land that was stolen,

[00:22:11] the generations of lives

[00:22:12] that were changed forever.

[00:22:14] Makes me wonder,

[00:22:15] what would America

[00:22:16] look like today

[00:22:17] if those early agreements

[00:22:19] had been honored?

[00:22:20] What if the indigenous tribes

[00:22:22] had been treated

[00:22:22] as true partners?

[00:22:24] That's something we all

[00:22:25] need to think about.

[00:22:27] Yeah,

[00:22:28] it's on all of us

[00:22:29] to learn from the past

[00:22:31] and build a more

[00:22:31] just future.

[00:22:32] Thanks for diving

[00:22:34] deep with us.

[00:22:36] And for everyone listening,

[00:22:38] keep thinking,

[00:22:39] keep learning,

[00:22:40] and keep the conversation going.

[00:22:45] The Never Again podcast

[00:22:46] is presented by

[00:22:48] The Coalition Against

[00:22:49] Global Genocide

[00:22:50] and its mission

[00:22:51] to educate,

[00:22:52] motivate,

[00:22:53] and empower

[00:22:54] individuals and communities

[00:22:55] to oppose genocide

[00:22:57] and crimes against humanity.

[00:22:59] Thank you.