Indigenous Genocide USA

Close to Home When European colonizers arrived, North America held an estimated 5 million to 15 million Indigenous people. By 1900, through warfare. introduction of disease, state-sponsored violence, assimilation policies, systematic destruction, forced displacement, massacres, and cultural erasure the Indigenous population fell to fewer than 300,000. Throughout its history, the United States has been accused of either directly committing or being complicit in violations of international criminal law known as atrocity crime which includes acts of genocide and ethnic cleansing, both within the modern borders of its territory and abroad, as well as war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Native American Genocide in the United States Historians, legal experts, and human rights organizations point to extensive evidence of genocidal acts in United States history - systematic state-sponsored violence, forced displacement, and cultural assimilation campaigns that many modern historians and scholars define as genocide. While debate persists among some scholars over whether the totality of U.S. history constitutes an intentional, centralized genocide, specific state-sponsored campaigns and systematic atrocities meet the United Nations definition of genocide under international law. The United States engaged in a wide range of genocides. The state and federal governments funded and encouraged military campaigns and militias against Native tribes. Scorched Earth In May 1779, Washington ordered the total destruction and devastation of settlements and crops known as scorched earth campaigns. Ethnic Cleansing and Forced Removal The federal government forcibly relocated over Native Americans including the 1830-1850 The Trail of Tears (triggered by the Indian Removal Act) and the 1864 Long Walk of the Navajos and the Yavapai Exodus in 1875. Massacres Federal troops repeatedly targeted non-combatants, including women and children, in events like the Sand Creek Massacre (1864) and the Wounded Knee Massacre (1890). Gnadenhutten Massacre 1852 Intentional Resource Destruction The U.S. military promoted the systematic slaughter of tens of millions of American bison to deliberately strip Plains Indians of their primary food supply, driving widespread starvation. Indian Boarding Schools For over a century, the U.S. government deployed policies explicitly designed to eradicate Indigenous identity, cultures, and languages. Forced Assimilation and Cultural Genocide: The federal government forcible separated Indigenous children from their families and placed them in the Indian Boarding Schools stripping away their native languages, cultures, and traditions. Abuse and Identity Stripping: In these military-style schools, children were severely punished for speaking their native languages, forced to cut their hair, and subjected to harsh labor and unsanitary conditions. Unmarked Graves: Recent federal investigations have documented systemic abuse and thousands of child deaths at these institutions, with many buried in unmarked graves. Chiracahua Apache Children - Carlisle Indian School, Pennsylvania

Colonial Massacres The definition of "Indian Massacre" has evolved and expanded over time. Knowing very little about the native inhabitants of the American frontier, the colonists were deeply fearful. Emphasis was placed on the depredations of "murderous savages" in their information about Indians, and as the migrants headed further west, they frequently feared the Indians they would encounter. Indian Massacres began with the New England Colonies: Pequot War - Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, and Saybrook Colonies (July 1636 – September 1638) The Great Swamp Massacre - South Kingstown, Rhode Island (December 19, 1675) French and Indian War - North America (May 28, 1754 – October 7, 1763) The Western Migration The massacres continued from the colonial period through the founding of the United States and continuing in the twentieth century as settlers migrated west. The following list at the national level includes those cases described in the 1948 UN convention on genocide: Bear River Massacre - Washington Territory Present-Day Franklin County, Idaho (January 29, 1863) California Genocide - California (1846-1873) Comanche Campaign - Texas (1867–1875) Dakota War of 1862 - Minnesota, Dakota Territory (August 18 – September 26, 1862) Gnadenhutten Massacre - Gnadenhutten, Ohio Country (March 8, 1782) Long Walk of the Navajo - Southwestern United State (1864–1868) Potawatomi Trail of Death - Indiana & Kansas (November 4, 1838) Rogue River Wars - Southern Oregon (1855–1856) Sand Creek Massacre - Colorado Territory (November 29, 1864) Snake War - Oregon, Nevada, California, Idaho (1864–1868) Sullivan Expedition - Upstate New York and Northeastern Pennsylvania (June 18 – October 3, 1779) Trail of Tears - Southeastern United States and Indian Territory (1830-1850) Wounded Knee Massacre - Wounded Knee Creek, South Dakota (December 29, 1890) Yavapai Wars - Arizona Territory (1861–1875)