Manifest Destiny (Post #4)

The great migration of white settlers from Eastern to Western North America will forever be remembered as a source of pride among people of European descent and a scar that will never be forgotten by the Native Americans. Although most people would like to believe that this period of forcefully taking land from its rightful owners is over, “Manifest Destiny” continues to this day. Promises and contracts are continually broken by governments because of the need for more land and because the Native Americans are such a small group of peoples. Why not profit where a small group of protesters have such a small voice that it barely reaches more than a whisper?

Canada has the same problems and disputes with its indigenous peoples that the United States has. The laws that govern Native Canadians, their land, and their nations are complicated to say the least, and it’s difficult to find much information on them. Their tax systems, laws, and rules are very different from the nations that encapsulate them. For example, the Native Canadians in the story below are loyal to the Haudenosaunee Nation first and Canada second.
Starting in February 2006, the Haudenosaunee (or Iroquois) Nation, which is actually composed of six separate nations, staked out a construction site where new homes were being built in Ontario, Canada. Their reason was simple: the land being built on by Henco Industries was owned by the Six Nations and not by the town of Caledonia. In fact, the Six Nations had never even legally sold a parcel of their land to the Canadian government. By this time, though, they had only 5% of the land that was originally promised to them by General Haldimand of the British Army.
The Six Nations own a piece of land that is called the Haldimand Tract which extends from the mouth to the source of the Grand River. Over the decades, the land has been illegally sold piece by piece to various private owners and developers. According to the Six Nations, the entire town of Caledonia is squatting on their land. Unfortunately, there is little they can do about the situation.
Like we talked about in class, these native people are immobilized by the structure of the government surrounding them. If mobility is freedom, then these people are not free. The land they own is slowly being stolen, effectively reducing the size of the cage that was “given” to them.
Although the nations of Native Americans are given civil rights by their respective governments, these laws almost always favor the white nationals. Indigenous peoples are usually given small tracts of bad land and then ignored. They are to be occasionally seen, but never heard. The small population leftover after the massive genocides that occurred in the last centuries have very little political power or lobbyists to support them. So what are they to do?
Protest is one of the few options left. For a group of once powerful nations that claim to be the oldest participatory democracy on Earth, their words have little sway in an unfair world.
Here is the article about the stand-off in Ontario:

http://www.dominionpaper.ca/original_peoples/2006/04/19/home_on_na.html

And for further reading or history on the Six Nations, I suggest this site:

http://www.ratical.com/many_worlds/6Nations/index.html

Photos and Pictures

Native people have a history that is more rich than most people can imagine.

Proud but in a position that is low on the social ladder, their empires, languages, cultures, and ideas have degraded.

Where once there were proud nations, there are now only remnants of groups that attempt to remain together and gather their dignity in an ever-changing world.

Globalization has not been kind to the indigenous peoples of the world. Their heritage and race are still looked down upon in most of the nations that once exerted their colonial powers.

“The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself.” - Friedrich Nietzsche

As we discussed in class, I believe the empowerment of native peoples in the 20th century was a type of "botched emancipation."

What sort of empowerment results in the confinement of a race of people on reservations, where the laws are different from that of the majority? Doesn't that violate the fundamental principle of equality?

How, if ever, can a culture be restored? How can thousands of cultures be brought back from the grave?

And where have all of these nations gone?

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