Thanksgiving - The time to honor Native Americans (Peoria, Bush: live, safe)

[Alexus]

I always take this time of the year to honor and give special thanks and recognition to native Americans. This is their country and their land. They are a beautiful, proud, great people. It's unfortunate that history has not been kind to them as their great culture was decimated by English settlers. Their land was taken away from them by a proclamation of the British Empire that their land succumb to British by mere discovery and subsequent possession. Shameful example of small-mindedness, greed, and lack of respect for the land and culture of others on the part of the British during that time. The British were disrespectful bullies. The native American was a proud, conquered people of immense integrity and an unmatched pride in defending their way of life. We should be honored to have what is left of their descendants among our midst.

So on this Thanksgiving, honor the native Americans for being generous enough to share their land with us.

[runninfiend]

Just a couple of points:

- The "Native" Americans walked across the Bering land bridge 15,000 years ago or so. They were here first but they're not technically "native."

- The Spanish were here over 100 years before the Brits. As much as 90% of the Indian population was already gone via disease before British arrival at Jamestown. Oh, and please don't forget the French.

-"The native American was a proud, conquered people of immense integrity and an unmatched pride in defending their way of life. We should be honored to have what is left of their descendants among our midst."

That's a pretty sweeping, hyperbolic comment. While worthy of respect, I hate to tell ya, but many of the tribal peoples were treacherous. The Iroquois could go blow-for-blow and then some with the Euros when it came to brutal war and torture. As could many other tribes.

That said, native cultures should definitely be respected and their fate is a tragic story, but I always hate to see the naive mythological conceptions that many people have regarding native history.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by RomanInSF

I always take this time of the year to honor and give special thanks and recognition to native Americans. This is their country and their land. They are a beautiful, proud, great people. It's unfortunate that history has not been kind to them as their great culture was decimated by English settlers. Their land was taken away from them by a proclamation of the British Empire that their land succumb to British by mere discovery and subsequent possession. Shameful example of small-mindedness, greed, and lack of respect for the land and culture of others on the part of the British during that time. The British were disrespectful bullies. The native American was a proud, conquered people of immense integrity and an unmatched pride in defending their way of life. We should be honored to have what is left of their descendants among our midst.

So on this Thanksgiving, honor the native Americans for being generous enough to share their land with us.

Blah blah blah. Go post this romanticized BS in the P&OC thread. It has no place here.

[UNITE]

HAPPY THANKSGIVING ILLINOIS!! HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A GOOD AND SAFE ONE. EAT LOTS OF TURKEY, I'M GONNA!! VISIT ME ON THE EDUCATION FORUM SOMETIME. I NEED YOUR THOUGHTS AND IDEAS. LIVE LAUGH AND LOVE

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by RomanInSF

I always take this time of the year to honor and give special thanks and recognition to native Americans. This is their country and their land. They are a beautiful, proud, great people. It's unfortunate that history has not been kind to them as their great culture was decimated by English settlers. Their land was taken away from them by a proclamation of the British Empire that their land succumb to British by mere discovery and subsequent possession. Shameful example of small-mindedness, greed, and lack of respect for the land and culture of others on the part of the British during that time. The British were disrespectful bullies. The native American was a proud, conquered people of immense integrity and an unmatched pride in defending their way of life. We should be honored to have what is left of their descendants among our midst.

So on this Thanksgiving, honor the native Americans for being generous enough to share their land with us.

Well you have some points, but do not forget about the Spanish,French, Dutch, and Russians that took their land too. The Spanish and French took far more land than the English ever did. Get it????????????????????????????????

[Paxtonian]

I'm always amazed at this "noble savage" hooey that gets about concerning the Amerindians. Tribal warfare was violent to a level that is incomprehensible to the modern mind, often reaching the level where women and children were tortured and slowly murdered should they be unfortunate enough to fall into the hands of a rival tribe. Since this IS the Illinois forum, go look up the unfortunate fate of our namesake tribe, the Illini. They were involved in a continuous and losing war with neighboring tribes, and despite their being alligned with the French (whom they welcomed to the region for their help in staving off their destruction at the hands of the other tribes), they were cornered and starved to death at what is now Starved Rock. One of their men escaped by tossing himself into the Illlinois River and managed to summon the French at Peoria, they arrived too late to help. At Thanksgiving think of the Illini and how they met their fate. Attrocities like that would have continued for centuries if European settlement had been somehow staved off. That's just my opinion, of course.

[Alexus]

Originally Posted by runninfiend

Just a couple of points:

- The "Native" Americans walked across the Bering land bridge 15,000 years ago or so. They were here first but they're not technically "native."

- The Spanish were here over 100 years before the Brits. As much as 90% of the Indian population was already gone via disease before British arrival at Jamestown. Oh, and please don't forget the French.

-"The native American was a proud, conquered people of immense integrity and an unmatched pride in defending their way of life. We should be honored to have what is left of their descendants among our midst."

That's a pretty sweeping, hyperbolic comment. While worthy of respect, I hate to tell ya, but many of the tribal peoples were treacherous. The Iroquois could go blow-for-blow and then some with the Euros when it came to brutal war and torture. As could many other tribes.

That said, native cultures should definitely be respected and their fate is a tragic story, but I always hate to see the naive mythological conceptions that many people have regarding native history.

More naive is your assumption that just because these people were "treacherous", that this somehow justifies the subsequent decimation at the hands of the more "civilized" and better armed "pale face." Please. You sound like a Bush supporter, someone who thinks we were justified in attacking that sovereign nation unprovoked simply because we didn't like how they were running their country.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by RomanInSF

More naive is your assumption that just because these people were "treacherous", that this somehow justifies the subsequent decimation at the hands of the more "civilized" and better armed "pale face." Please. You sound like a Bush supporter, someone who thinks we were justified in attacking that sovereign nation unprovoked simply because we didn't like how they were running their country.

I'll say it again: take your troll act elsewhere. This thread has no place here. There is a forum specifically for this crap so that the rest of us don't have to put up with it.

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by Drover

I'll say it again: take your troll act elsewhere. This thread has no place here. There is a forum specifically for this crap so that the rest of us don't have to put up with it.

Well said.