Being Native American myself - I call complete bullshit on this. I have a canned response for anyone that puts forth this garbage.
What we see here is a prime example of what is called “presentism” . Presentism is when historical accounts are judged by the standards of the present. Most scholars will agree that it is a rather ignorant way to look at the past.
So let’s instead look at what was acceptable, and encouraged during the time of colonial America. Throughout much of history (including the 1600’s) it was normal for a conquering army to claim the lands of their defeated foe. This is a practice that goes back into antiquity with the Persian, Greeks Romans, Egyptian, Israelis, Chinese and many other cultures taking part.
Taking land by conquest was also a part of Native American culture. Creek Indians conquered land from Choctaws and Chickasaws and the Creeks. Comanches came in and took the land from the Apaches by war, Aztecs, Incas and Mayans all grew their empires by conquering lands from other tribes. The Tainos and Canib tribes fought over land. When Spain Defeated the Aztec empire, the did so with an army of 1,000 Spanish soldiers and 75,000 soldiers from the Tlaxcallans, Choulatecs and Totonac tribes.
The practice of claiming the land of conquered enemies extended well past the colonization of America. It wasn’t until the conclusion of World War II in 1945 that western culture shunned the practice (and even then, the Soviet Union claimed Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Austria, and many other territories as part of their victory spoils).
To claim “white Europeans” “stole” America from the native tribes is to force the cultural norms of the past 50 years (that white Europeans created) on events that happened hundreds of years earlier. That is just ignorant.
You can only have it one way:
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Colonization and invasion are evil, everywhere, across the board. People who consider themselves inidigenous to an area or continent should be encouraged and praised in their savage efforts to drive out an invading force.
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Colonization and invasion are naturally occurring elements of the human animal, as it follows both an evolutionary and learned directive to expand, explore, and conquer.
This line of questioning leads the inquisitive mind further:
Indigenous peoples are those who have been born in an area or on an entire landmass since…?
If we follow certain evolutionary narratives, such as the “Out of Africa” theory (debunked many times, yet still put forward by those with an axe to grind as viable), who can claim “indigenous” status to anywhere, or can all claim indigenous to everywhere?
Either there are more nuances to consider than a simple: “Fuck Columbus and founding fathers,”
and judging a character from the past with the morality of the present is a certain recipe for an ignorant concept of history…
Or-
Man is an animal, might is right, and bleeding hearts should be left to exsanguinate.
You can only have it one way.
In short, if you want my take:
‘Indigenous peoples’ defended their homeland from invasion with savage ferocity.
Columbus/Europeans conquered them.
Conquest and expansion are inevitable.
Those pushing guilt on Columbus’ and founding fathers heirs and those pushing the celebration of ‘indigenous peoples’ are engaged in conquest by another—conniving, cowardly, snake-like—means.