No words from me are needed about some of the messages above, for those who have posted them reveal far more about themselves than I could ever do.

To get back to the thread....Words from Floyd, a man for whom I have the greatest respect. Like Chief Oren Lyons he was a man of great Honour, Integrity and Intelligence, loved and respected by many people around the world. I am merely one of those people. The video these words are taken from is below. Please, those who care, find the time to watch it. - Thank you


From Floyd Red Crow Westerman of the Dakota Sioux Nation:
>>>"....What happened to the Indigenous Peoples of this country is much like the Jewish Holocaust, only America's ethnic cleansing was at the hands of people who would later claim innocence in the name of god, freedom and democracy.

Historians have been reluctant to use the word 'Holocaust' to describe the taking of the land in the shaping of America. Instead they use rhetoric like 'The New Frontier', or claim that the Indians were savage after all, or describe it as 'Manifest Destiny'. Manifest Destiny means that the taking of the land was not only justified, but ordained by god. Most schools in America still teach this feelgood version of history.

'America's War On Indian Nations' tells another side of the story. This series will tell the truth about gross injustices and rampant human rights violations inflicted upon an entire culture. Early-day Europeans who came to America were commissioned to look for gold. With gold the objective, it meant that nothing would stand in their way.

State by state various tools of genocide were employed in what became a systematic clearing of the land.
The first of these tools was the bullet. The bullet was used to kill many millions of my People. Another tool of genocide was the smallpox infected blanket. To Indians the blanket was a dominant trade item. To give a blanket was a gesture of respect. Knowing this, early Americans distributed smallpox blankets in order to exterminate and eradicate the existing population. Those who survived this early form of biological warfare were removed by government-funded militias and more bullets.

Imagine being in your home having dinner with your family, when suddenly, armed intruders break in and shoot your parents, take your children, burn your house, the children to be later used as servants and sex slaves. And if you survived *that*, to be rounded up like cattle and put on death-marches to remote locations far from your homeland and put on reservations, a nicer term for what they *really* were, concentration camps.

This horrific scenario is what happened to thousands and thousands, if not millions, of Indian people.

For my ancestors, the Dakota, Lakota and Nakota, this policy of concentration camp lifestyle was in effect from 1890 to 1930. For 40 years my People were prohibited by law from leaving the reservations.

The ethnic cleansing was effective. It is estimated that when Columbus arrived there were approximately 20 million Indians in America. By the end of WWII only 500,000 remained. This means that complete extermination was accomplished.

Listen to the words of some of the Founding Fathers of this country.

George Washington, revered as the father of this country wrote, and I quote: "Indians were wolves and beasts who deserved nothing from the whites but total ruin."

Thomas Jefferson, acclaimed proponent of freedom and democracy argued that the United States Government was *obliged*, and I quote: "...to pursue Indians to extermination, or to drive them to new seats beyond our reach."

Andrew Jackson, founder of the modern democratic party and the greatest Indian killer of all American presidents, urged United States troops, and I quote, "..to route out from their dens and kill Indian women and their whelps."

It is a great irony that American Indians, after being denied for many years their right to practice their own religion, speak their own languages, after being forced to live in the oppressive concentration camp lifestyles, after all that, Indians have gone on to become staunch defenders of this country in times of need. More Indians have received the Congressional Medal of Honour, per capita, than any other group.

We remain a proud People in spite of the efforts to exterminate us.

In order to heal, we first must accept our past."<<<<<

These words above are taken from Floyd's introduction to excerpts from 'Exterminate Them - The California Story, from the documentary series 'America's War on Indian Nations.


If you have not seen this video, please, watch it.

Exterminate Them - The California Story from 'America's War Against the Indian Nations