Day 12: Attempted Genocide
Choose one thing to read, watch, listen to, do, or engage with today. Try to mix it up each day between the categories!
READ
When Native Americans Were Slaughtered in the Name of ‘Civilization’ By the close of the Indian Wars in the late 19th century, fewer than 238,000 Indigenous people remained of the estimated 5 million-plus living in North America before European contact.by Donald L. Fixico (Shawnee, Sac and Fox, Muscogee Creek, Seminole) History Channel (2023)
Ugly Precursor to Auschwitz: Hitler Said to Have Been Inspired by US Indian Reservation System Hitler often praised to his inner circle the efficiency of America's extermination—by starvation and uneven combat—of the red savages who could not be tamed by captivity. by Simon Moya-Smith (Oglala Lakota) Indian Country Today - ITC (2018)
Nazi Germany's Race Laws, the United States, and American Indians Discussion of how, and to what extent, United States federal and state laws and policies regarding Indians and Indian nations influenced Hitler and Nazi officials in formulating and enacting Nazi race laws. by Robert J. Miller St. John’s Law Review (2020)
The Convention on the Prevention and Punishsment of the Crime of Genocide (1948) Pay special attention to “Key Facts” on page 4. United Nations Genocide Convention FactSheet
WATCH
Exterminate All the Brutes Watch the first of this Four-Part HBO series by Raoul Peck [from I Am Not Your Negro fame]. You need access to a premium channel to view the entire series. Check out this discussion guide. We recommend you watch them all. (2021) 60 minutes per episode
Native American Genocide: A Brief Overview for High School Students Specifically created for California High School students with the understanding that the complete history of the United States cannot be told without studying the story of American Indians. Genocide Education Project (2023) 24 minutes T CC
Lincoln, The Dakota Indians and Largest Mass Execution in American History On the same day that he signed the Emancipation Proclamation President Lincoln signed off on the largest mass hanging in US history. 38 Dakota men lost their lives that day. Massachusetts School of Law at Andover (2011) 3 minutes T CC
LISTEN
Uprooted: 1950s plan to erase Indian Country Podcast about the genocidal Indian relocation and termination policies of the US government in the 1950s and 60s. At the time, “blackness” was defined by the “one-drop rule,” but “Indianness” could be washed away in just a few generations through intermarriage with whites because more black Americans meant more workers to exploit while fewer Native Americans meant more land to take. American Public Media 53 minutes T
BRING IT HOME
How to Teach Your Kids about Native American History Native children grow up knowing their people were brutalized and murdered. How do we help non-Native children catch up on this crucial history? chicagoparent.com (2020)
National Day of Mourning in Plymouth, MA. Dr. Bert Waters leading, circa 2019
DO
Watch these two short videos
The Invasion of America eHistory.org (2014) 1 minute
170 Years of the United States David Ferrick (2014) 2 minutes
21-Day Questions
What did you notice about the sensations in your body as you watched these videos
How long was the land we now know as the United States really still “Indian territory”
When do “reservations” stop appearing
How is this date connected to The Homestead Act (1862) and the Dawes Act (1887). Google these Acts, if you don't know them.
What percentage of the population were Native in 1600? What percentage of the population are Native today?
EXPLORE & REFLECT
What happened in U.S. history immediately following the ratification of the Declaration of Independence?
“Westward Expansion” was possible due to breaking ties [and agreements] with England.
T Transcript Available
CC Closed Captions Available