Contributions of Native Americans

Some of the Things They Took From Native Americans

There was a time when

the so-called Indians were the only

people who lived in the Americas.

Then came the Europeans.

For hundreds of years

Native Americans defended themselves

from the theft of their lands

and the attempted destruction of their culture.

What was the culture

that hundreds of Native American nations

were so determined to defend?

What were some of the things they lost?

The Spanish found gold and silver in

Mexico, Peru, and Bolivia.

They forced Native Americans to mine

those riches and sent them to Europe.

The gold and silver from the Americas

mined under horrible conditions

was the foundation of the political economic system

of capitalism throughout the world.

More important than gold and silver

was the food Europeans found in the Americas.

Much of the food we eat was originally

farmed by Native Americans.

When Europeans began to use the potato

They had more time for other kinds of work,

and this also aided

in the development of capitalism.

Lewis Henry Morgan was intrigued

by lifestyle of Native Americans and lived with the Iroquois,

whose real name is the Ho-de-no-sau-nee,

and are also known as the League of Six Nations.

Morgan, with the help of the Seneca,

Ely S. Parker found that this community

was completely different

from the so-called civilized society he lived in.

Women had real political power

and had the right tell the political

leaders known as sachems

that they would not be sachems any more.

In this community everyone shared

in the work and private property was unknown.

Europeans called Native Americans “Indian Givers”

because all their possessions were shared.

The communist, Frederick Engles

read Morgan’s work and concluded that

the family, private property, and the state

were all creations of the capitalist system.

The psychologist, Erik Erikson also studied

Native Americans and compared

their style of life

to the lifestyle of civilized society.

Erikson made his studies at a time

when Native Americans had been militarily defeated

and forced to live on horrible reservations.

Yet what he saw was truly remarkable.

He found that the Oglala Lakota

and the Yurok people collectively

raised their children

taking much of the pressure off of the mothers.

In these societies children were encouraged to explore.

They were also nurtured in a way where

young people became confident in

carrying out their responsibilities.

Adults had a sense of purpose

because they all played important

roles in teaching the younger generation.

Erikson then looked at civilization and concluded:

If children are not nurtured in their first year,

they will become mistrustful.

If children are not becoming independent in their second year,

they will develop shame and doubt.

If children are not made to feel confident

when they take on responsibility,

they will feel anxious and guilty.

Children need to think logically, or they will feel incompetent.

Teenagers need to be allowed to explore

many roles in order to establish an identity.

Without an identity the teenager will feel lost.

If teenagers don’t learn intimacy, they will feel isolated.

If adults don’t feel they are teaching

the younger generation,

they will stagnate.

And if they do not feel a sense of integrity, they will feel despair.

Today parents have the sole responsibility for their children.

Women are the ones who

have taken on most of this responsibility,

and this is indeed a daunting task.

Today women are paid about 75% of the wages of men.

All workers toil for longer hours

so one percent of the population

can own half of the wealth in the United States.

The government asks children to

pledge allegiance to a flag

which allegedly represents one nation,

under God, with liberty and justice for all.

Yet one out of every four prisoners in the world

lives in a jail located in the United States of America.

And the world’s superpower is located on a planet

where half of the human race lives on $2 per day or less.

Under these conditions, is it any wonder

that people have feelings of mistrust, alienation,

isolation, incompetence, a lack of identity,

stagnation, and even despair?

But these were only some of the reasons why

Native Americans defended their way of life.

Today we know that the first nations

used over two-hundred plants for medicines.

Hundreds of years after these medicines

were used by Native Americans

western medicine claimed

that they were the ones who discovered these treatments.

Mark Twain was a writer who

argued that the Shoshone were

“. . . the wretchedest type of mankind

I have ever seen up to this writing.”

Mark Twain also lived at the time

of the assassination of President Garfield.

A doctor examined the bullet wound to Garfield,

but didn’t clean his hand before the examination.

President Garfield probably died because of an infection

caused by the dirty hands of this doctor.

The Shoshone routinely used a sterile

field in their surgical operations.

Native Americans grew hundred of plants

to treat specific medical conditions in various parts of the body.

Today western medicine develops blockbuster drugs

so the affluent can have lots of money.

Speaking of money, Native Americans

have never been paid for all of the contributions

they have made to the world.

But then someone said:

Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall.

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.

All the kings horses and all the kings men

couldn’t put Humpty Dumpty back together again.

Capitalism will have a great fall just like Humpty Dumpty.

Working people, farmers, and Native Americans

all have the potential to transform the world,

so we can all live rewarding lives with liberty and justice for all.