They’ve Lied To Us

I am feeling mixed feelings today.
We celebrate freedom from the British today because we took freedom away from Native Americans.

Normally, I love the 4th of July.

It symbolizes freedom, fun, time with family and loved ones, good food, but how often do we think about what it really means?

This is the first time I took a moment to let it soak in.
Maybe because I have been doing so much soul searching and I have been looking at all the lies that have been told to us.

Everyone loves a day off. But what does the 4th of July mean?

In the history books, (they gave us in grade school), they say that Christopher Columbus “discovered” America in 1492.

They lied to us.

It was discovered before by Native Americans.
The United States didn’t begin because of a “discovery.”
It began from abuse of power.
Europeans believed in Manifest Destiny.
They believed that the more land they possessed, the more powerful they were.
They didn’t care if other people already lived here.
They wanted it for themselves.
Native Americans were not respected because of their race.
Because they were dark-skinned, spoke a different language, and were not Christian, they were seen as inferior.
Our country was created by abuse of power and racism.
Europeans took the land from Native Americans who lived here for centuries.
The idea that Native Americans and white settlers lived peacefully side by side is a lie.
Our national holiday we celebrate every year, Thanksgiving, is a lie.
We learned in school that we have the holiday because Native Americans taught settlers how to survive and cohabitated peacefully.
Instead white settlers shot Native Americas. Many were killed.
White settlers wanted the land so they could bring people from Europe and make a profit.
Native Americans wanted to stay where they were, home.

To make peace, Native American Indian chiefs from all the tribes signed treaties hoping peace in writing would make it come true.
But peace treaties were a trick.
Native Americans didn’t speak their language and relied on translators.
Instead the President of the United States signed the Indian Removal Act which caused forced removal of Native Americans from their ancestral lands.
In actuality, the treaty said there would be peace, only if all Native Americans moved west of the Mississippi.
This time in Native American history was called the Trail of Tears.
It was genocide.
Thousands of Native Americans died walking with all their belongings hundreds of miles.
They died of starvation, disease, extreme weather etc.
This was not covered in our history books.

My own country had an Act to remove the people who were the true founders.

I am part Native American.
I am part Cherokee and Choctaw.
These were some of the tribes that were forcefully removed from their homes.

Native Americans were displaced.
They lost their spirits.
Consequently, now Native Americans live in reservations, the poorest conditions in The United States and Canada.

We have lost their wisdom and their culture.
They understood about sustainability.
They did not over-farm or over-hunt.
They understood about the healing benefits from herbs to treat different ailments.
They understood the importance of community, working together to make a strong team.
They understood the importance of rituals to connect with spirit.
They understood to respect nature and animals.
They understood the importance of spirituality: the mind, body, spirit connection.
They did vision Quests to understand themselves.
They did ceremonies to honor the stages of life.
They gave thanks to their ancestors and to the Great Spirit.

So much of their wisdom has been lost with forcing them into reservations. Their conditions are so poor.

They lied to us about our history.
Why do we still honor Christopher Columbus?
Why do we have a holiday for him?

In San Francisco, they are more awake than other parts of the U.S.
They do not have Columbus Day. They call that day, Indigenous People’s Day.
Yes, we must honor the first Americans. Not the one who stole America from the indigenous people.

Thanksgiving is a lie.

If our country has lied to us for so long about our own history, how can we trust them now?

How can we trust the media and the government?

What else do they want us to believe?

Do they have our own best interests at heart?

Native Americans are getting hit hard by the Coronavirus. How much has been covered on the news about the lack of medical care for Native Americans? When will this racism stop?

And now it is the Fourth of July, and everyone is happy celebrating this holiday, not thinking that in order to have this holiday, we had to not only overcome the British, but also our own Native American people.

And today, people celebrate at Mount Rushmore which was a sacred mountain that was taken away from Native Americans and defaced, literally defaced with our forefathers. A double insult to Native Americans.

The current struggles with Native Americans is talked about so little in this country. It is as if, they don’t exist.

How do you think Native Americans feel on this holiday knowing that white men took their freedom away?

I love the fun of the 4th of July and how it unifies many people; I love my current life, but I would give anything to know more about my Native American culture.

Comment below. Were you aware about this part of our history? Were you aware that you have been fed lies? Do you feel conflicted on this holiday? Do you feel that all people in the United States are not free? Do you feel that we still need to strive for equality?

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