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Dr Tara Slatton's avatar

I am endlessly amused by people who think land should be given “back” to the indigenous. Exactly what time in history is the benchmark? Because if we give the Black Hills “back” to the people there when the area was settled by Americans those people were predominantly Sioux. However if we give it back to the people who were there when Columbus arrived or when the Pilgrims settled Plymouth Rock then we should give it back to the Crow. The Crow and the Sioux were historically and still are enemies and violence between the two groups still happens on rare occasions. Not surprisingly I suspect the Sioux would prefer we use the 1870s benchmark and the Crow would prefer we use the 1620 benchmark.

History is complicated just as people are.

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The American Tribune's avatar

Ha, yes

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Ahmed’s Stack of Subs's avatar

alan w. eckert did a wonderful historical novel series encompassing the seven years war through pontiac’s war. unvarnished. ritual cannibalism. massacres on both sides.

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Ahmed’s Stack of Subs's avatar

s.c. gwynne’s empire of the comanche moon explains how and why the comanche stalled spanish, mexican, and american expansion. it wasn’t by being prairie hippies.

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The American Tribune's avatar

Lol yes...it's really shocking to me that they say they were hippies when they were obviously brave fighters in martial societies

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Ahmed’s Stack of Subs's avatar

not ironic that the same government and military that freed the slaves and conquered the south learned how useful force and federal funds could be when brought to bear against problems with national significance.

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The American Tribune's avatar

I will check this out, thanks

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VanishingTribe's avatar

Unfortunately, this article is filled with facts, which the "Indians were hippies" coterie will simply ignore so as to continue living in their righteous indignation that white Europeans were and still are the devil's children. This doesn't change the (also) fact that the U.S. government did screw over the Indians multiple times.

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The American Tribune's avatar

Yes, my point isn't that the government wasn't horrible...it was and has always been, but that these societies across which they came were quite warlike

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