Introduction
Colonialism refers to the practice of domination of one race upon another through conquests. Colonization refers to the European settlers taking lands by force from non-European people. The word colonialism has frequently been associated with the description of European settlement in North America, New Zealand, Australia, Brazil, Canada and places which were under the subjugation of European settlers. German scholar Jurgen Osterhammel described colonialism as "a relationship of domination between an indigenous majority and a minority of foreign invaders" (Nielsen & Robyn, 2003). Though colonizing states like New Zeland, Australia, Canada and the United States vary in their cultures, economies, histories, legal and political relations, they have one similarity between them and that is colonialism. The First Nations of Canada, the Red Indians of USA, the Australian indigenous people and the Maori of New Zealand have endured the same ordeal at the hands of their colonial rulers and even today the socioeconomic and political marginalization of these people in these countries indicate their states have not improved much. The higher number of incarceration of indigenous people in each of these four countries shows the continuation of subjugation of colonialism even today.This paper will discuss colonialism, the processes of colonialism and the committal of atrocity by the colonizing states on the indigenous people through the example of colonial subjugation of the Native Americans in USA by forceful isolation in reserved territories, highlighting simultaneously the debilitating living conditions of the Native Americans even today.
What is Colonialism?
Colonialism has always subjected the indigenous people to inexplicable cruelty. Whichever part of the world was invaded by the European settlers, the aboriginals of those places suffered untold misery at the hands of the colonial rulers. The prime objective of colonial settlers was to remove rich resources from the conquered lands to their own countries in Europe to bolster their economical and ruling conditions. Many tactics were employed to fulfill the purpose of attaining these resources and uprooting the rightful owners of the lands, the indigenous people, from their own motherland.Before colonization took place, the Indigenous people in each of the colonized territories had their own social structures, effective economic systems and self-governing societies. Their social and economic structures were demolished by the European settlers who in quest for precious metals, gold and fossil fuels unleashed a deluge of oppressive measures to bring the colonized aboriginals under domination. Though for the European settlers, the Indigenous lands were the most lucrative resources the Indigenous people themselves were also considered as profitable resources for their usage in labor.According to James M. Baut, "colonialism in its various forms, direct and indirect, was an immensely profitable business and considerable sums of money were invested in efforts to learn as much as possible about the people and resources of the regions to be conquered, dominated, and perhaps settled, and to learn as much as possible about the regions already conquered in order to facilitate the administration and economic exploitation of these regions"(Nielsen & Robyn, 2003).
Processes of Colonization
Colonization doesn't only mean economic domination of one set of people over another, it goes far beyond that. Colonization subverts the military, political, social and the value system of the colonized people who are forced to follow an array of values and cultural practices of the colonizer. In order to gain full control over the colonized, the colonizing states devise new strategies and means of oppression.Colonizing states dominate over the Indigenous people by enforcing legal, ideologicaland administrative processes. Firstly the colonial rulers declare the aboriginals as savages incapable of taking proper care of themselves and unable to control their communities and institutions, buy lands and alcohol and arrange bank loans (Thira). Legislation in the colonizing states is designed in a manner that the Indigenous people and their traditional practices could be controlled so that they gradually assimilate into the mainstream social and economic culture. For example, the creation of 'Department of Indian Affairs' criminalized the traditional cultural practices of the aboriginals and native spiritual, political and cultural leaders were even imprisoned for facilitating such practices.The courts and the criminal justice system in colonizing states enforce laws discriminatory in nature. For instance, in New Zealand, the courts always show favoritism towards non-Maori over Maoris. Maori defendants find it difficult to get a lawyer for fighting their case in the court of law or a jury for their peers.
It is through education, media and religion ideology is spread among the people. The colonial settlers viewed themselves to be superior to others. They believed that their complexion and their civilization are better than the Indigenous people and so it totally justified ruling them and subjecting them to the indoctrination of colonizer's culture. There were beliefs that white people were different from non-whites biologically and therefore, enslaving the non-whites was fair as they belonged to an inferior race. In order to use the Indigenous people as cheap sources of labor, the whites wanted to civilize and convert them to Christianity so that they could assimilate into European culture but not to an extent that they could become equal to the whites.For instance in USA, in order to civilize the Indian students, Indian residential schools were built by the federal government with the propaganda "kill the Indian in him and save the man"and in a bid to enforce this motto, children were removed from their homes, their parents and families for compulsory attendance (Bear, 2008). Thousands of Native Americans and Alaska Natives were compelled to attend boarding schools which purported to teach them the values, cultures and traditions of white Europeans. The schools were strictly disciplinary and students were not allowed to speak their native tongue or practice anything of their traditions. They were taught discipline through severe punishment. Children were not allowed to see their parents and family members for months and years. The ideology of superiority continues to this day in the form of institutionalized racism. Though equal status has been legally granted to Native Americans, American Indians, Native Hawaiians, Alaska Natives and Pacific Islanders are the most economically disadvantageous groups in the country with an increased rate of alcoholism and suicide (Giago, 2009). Native American women are exposed to the higher risk of sexual abuse, reported to be triple times higher than the non-natives. However, the rate of sexual abuse could be much higher as many cases go unreported due to the lack of trust on the police personnel. Though 70% violence against the Native American women is committed by non-Native American men, the inertia and apathy of the judicial system towards Native Americans seem to condone the perpetration of such violence.
Finally there isthe administrative process through which the Indigenous people are forced to relocate to reserved territories. In order to take full possession of the lands, the colonizers forced the aboriginals to relocate to reserved territories as demarcated by the colonial government. These reserved territories were short of natural resources and survival in such locations was challenging. For instance, US government initiated the One Big Reservation policy in 1851 and according to this policy Native Americans were to shift into 'One Big Reservation' but the constant migration of European settlers, the evolution of transportation technology and the development of white towns made the US government break many promises signed in the treaties with the Indian tribal leaders. Native Americans were forced into shifting to less fertile lands and areas not ideal for maintaining tribal customs. Thus a new wave of concentration began when the US government pushed Native Americans into isolation by forcing them to live on lands of reservation. The Sioux got the Dakota region north of the Platte River, the Crows got the west of the Powder River and the Cheyenne and Arapaho received the foothills of Colorado (Bowles, 2011, p 50). But with the continuation of oncoming European settlers, the territory of Indian reservation became smaller by degrees, resulting in a continuous battle between Native Americans and the white settlers.
Atrocity on Native Americans
The atrocity of colonizing states is exemplified in thebarbaric treatment unleashed on the Native Americans by the white colonial rulers in the enforcement of reservation policy. At the beginning of European settlement in North America in 1840s, the number of Indians roaming the country were 10,000,000 which by the end of 1840 reduced to 400,000. By the end of 1890, there were fewer Indians left in the American territory. The US government in order to maintain a peaceful coexistence with Native Americans made a lot of treaties with the tribal chiefs marking the territory for Indian reservation, but the continuous European migration and the mushrooming of white towns along with the evolution of technology made the US government break the promises given to the Indians. With the territories of Indian reservation becoming smaller by degrees and Indians being forced to migrate into barren wastelands, there ensued a series of battles between the Indians and the white Americans.The colonizers’ barbaric action of isolating, controlling and subduing the Indians is exemplified in a number of shocking incidents including the Battle of the Little Bighorn, the battle between the US military and tribal chief Joseph and the Nez Perce tribe, Buffalo Hunting, Ghost Dance and Wounded Knee Massacre.
The Battle of the Little Bighorn
One of the notable incidents bearing testimony to the atrocity of white colonizers is the Battle of the Little Bighorn which was a pinnacle of a series of wars that broke out between the Indians and white men. After the discovery of gold in Black Hills in 1875, a surge of white settlers thronged the area. It was decided in a treaty of 1868 that the area of Black Hills belonged to Native Americans indefinitely. But with the discovery of gold, white Americans started thinking of ways to remove the Indians from the land. They first made a deal with Red Cloud who was the tribal chief of the Lakota Sioux by offering "$6,000,000 for the Black Hills, or $400,000 (per annum) for the mining rights" (Hughes, 2001, p 52).But the Indians didn't see any value in the gold metal nor did they show any interest in financial matters. In the event of Native Americans unwilling to sell off their lands, the US government declared a proclamation that Indians who didn't surrender their land would be declared as hostile. The deadline was fixed at 31st January of 1876 when it was winter in North America. Indians were not known for moving during the winter and hence the government deployed Lt. Colonel George Custer for the mission of forced removal. A series of war and negotiations broke out between the Indians and white Americans which were known as the Great Sioux War of 1876. Of all these battles, the Battle of the Little Bighorn were the most noteworthyas it was known as the last stand of Custer.The loss of Custer and his battalion in this battle led the American military applying force to acquire the surrender of Indians within a year after.
“I Will Fight No More Forever”
Another instrumental battle that exemplified how the US government isolated and controlled Native Americans was the battle that took place between the US military and tribal chief Joseph and the Nez Perce tribe.Originally the Nez Perce tribe shared cordial relationship with the whites and they tried their best to remain friendly with the white men but all their efforts were thwarted by outrageous government policies and headstrong generals leading to a tragedy.When the Nez Perce tribe was ordered by the US government to move into the Lapwai Reservation, the tribal chief Joseph unwilling to comply with the demand decided to leave the ancestral home in western Idaho without fighting. He with his 750 tribal men headed towards the safety zone of Canada and they covered 1,500 miles in their journey that lasted 4 months (Bowles, 2011, p 52). When they were 40 miles short of reaching the safe destination in Canada, they were surrounded by the US military in Montana and most of the leaders were killed except chief Joseph and White Bird. In order to prevent further catastrophe, Chief Joseph surrendered for the sake of his tribe but the Nez Perce encountered the same ignominious treatment by the white men as other Indians faced. His words are worth remembrance: “I am tired of fighting. Our chiefs are killedIt is cold and we have no blankets; the little children are freezing to death “(Bowles, 2011, p 53).
Buffalo Hunting
The deliberate destruction of buffalo herds manifests how the European settlers tried to starve the Indians by taking away their means of survival. North America had about 30 million buffaloes roaming the land before European settlers came here. Native Americans were dependent on buffaloes for their sustenance and everything they required for survival came from buffaloes, right from clothing, shelter, food and bones to make weaponry. But the European settlers came into the land with guns and by the mid-19th century when trains started plying on American lands, buffalo killing became a recreational practice for whites who bored with long tiring journey resorted to killing buffaloes for amusement. In the beginning of 1870s when the tanners realized that buffalo hides could be used for making outstanding leather items, a group of 'hide hunters' emerged and they killed almost 3 million buffaloes every year. In order to put pressure on Native Americans to relocate to the plot of Indian reservation, some officials of US government actively killed buffalo herds to vanquish the Indians who resisted the attempts of white settlers in usurping their lands (PBS). With the rampant destruction of buffalo herds, Indians were left with no other option but to move into the Indian reservation for survival.
Ghost Dance & Wounded Knee Massacre
When the Indians were forcefully confined to the reservations, there emerged one last war from Native Americans against the white rulers and this war was a spiritual war. In 1889 on a New Year's Day, Wovoka who was Paiute Holy Man saw a vision that told him that all their problems would come to an end if they performed a sacred ritual called Ghost Dance. Successful observance of this ritual would eliminate all their agonies by taking them into a utopian world where the buffaloes would roam aplenty, their white enemies would vanish mysteriously without putting up any battle and the ghosts of the dead ancestors of the Indian would return (Hughes, 2001, p 85). Within months of its beginning, the cult spread among the Indian reservations like wildfire. The participants in Ghost Dance started wearing a shirt which the Indians considered as bullet proof but the US government fearing a stage being set for revolt tried to quell the practice, resulting in Wounded Knee Massacre in which the US military fired volleys of bullets at the Indians claiming the lives of 150 Sioux Indians including men, women and children.
Condition of Natives Americans Today
Natives Americans living in the seclusion of reservations today are suffering from the worst living standards. They have a high rate of poverty and unemployment problem. Since the lands allocated to them were rocky and not suitable for agriculture, many Indian tribes struggle today financially with educational, housing, health and social issues. Owing to the lack of support from the government and little connection with the modern society, the economic challenges are paramount for the Native Americans. Alcoholism is another debilitating problem among Native Americans. Before European colonization, the indigenous people of the US mainly used fermented beverages in ceremonial occasions. The use of any potent form of alcohol was alien to them. Early colonial rulers created a demand for alcohol among native Indians by trading alcohol with animal hides and other resources. Traders also tried to introduce heavy drinking spree during trading sessions by providing free alcohol to get advantage in trade deals. Thus an unregulated demand and strong encouragement for drinking created a tradition of heavy alcohol drinking among native Indians which having passed down from one generation to another has resulted in the current issue of alcohol related problems. As per the federal report, about 12% deaths of American Indians are attributed to alcohol related issues and the percentage is three times higher than that of rest of the US population. Further, Indian Americans tend to take drugs along with alcohol and many surveys show that the use of all sorts of drugs and marijuana along with alcoholic beverages is higher among Indians compared to non-Indians. Resultantly, the combination of drugs and alcohol make a combined damaging effect on their health, increasing the mortality rate every year by leaps and bounds. Fatal automobile accidents, cirrhosis and chronic liver disease, fatal injuries in fall, alcohol related suicide and homicides account for majority of the deaths of Indian Americans. One study shows that 68% deaths of Indian men were due to alcohol.The erosion of Native American culture started after the invasion of Europeans. Firstly their relocation to rocky terrains of North America cut them off from their source of rituals. Secondly, due to the urbanization efforts made by the US government, many Native Americans now stay in urban environment thereby losing their connection with their traditional practices and cultures.
Conclusion
Colonialism refers to the practice of taking possession on the lands of one people by another through a series of conquests. Colonialism has always made indigenous people subjected to barbaric cruelty. Colonialism feeds off the rich resources of the conquered lands holding sway over the colonized. Colonization involves legal, ideological and administrative processes in which colonizing states in order to bring the Indigenous people fully under subjugation apply different means and strategies to assimilate them forcefully into Christian society and European cultures but the fine line between the white supremacy and colored inferiority would remain in the form of institutionalized racism.The atrocious treatment the Native Americans were subjected to during the enforcement of reservation policy bespeaks of the crimes the colonial rulers perpetrate against their subjects. The staggering drop in the Native American population shows how mercilessly they were brutalized by the colonial whites. Their barbaric action of isolating, controlling and subduing the Indians is also exemplified in a number of shocking incidents including the Battle of the Little Bighorn, the battle between the US military and tribal chief Joseph and the Nez Perce tribe, Buffalo Hunting, Ghost Dance and Wounded Knee Massacre. The condition of Native Americans is dire even today when they suffer from high poverty rate, alcoholism, unemployment and high mortality rate. The fate of Native Americans which resembles the fate of buffaloes that barely survived the extinction just like the Indians showcases how crimes when committed by the colonizing states and white rulers go unpunished.
References
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