Only the Earth Shall Endure: Thoughts on Native American Survival

Authors : Valerian THREE IRONS

Pages : 9-25

View : 8 | Download : 7

Publication Date : 2020-11-01

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :Our native nations of the Americas are survivors. We have survived over 500 years of attempted assimilation and genocide. Manifest Destiny is only an excuse to take our resources and conduct ethnic cleansing. Nations have survived in spite of oppression, imperialism, invasion, and capitalism. Our history and cultural memory differ greatly from that of the general American society. Information about Native Americans in American history books is minimal and for the most part inaccurate. The indigenous nations need to be brought into the twenty-first century, into the new millennium to overcome major problems they face such as poverty, insufficient health care and education, crime and treaty violations that plague their homelands. We need to be seen as here and now, not in the skewed view of the past. We are resistant to joining mainstream America because to do so would mean to lose the things that mean the most to us, and that is our culture. Cultural survival means protecting what we deem of value as a society. Value is what has allowed us to live in harmony with our Mother Earth and all living things. Mother Earth will be just fine. Humankind is the one you need to worry about and pray for. Throughout time Mother Earth has seen species come and go. When one is out of balance, they are not long for this world. As the NuEta people say “Only the Earth Shall Endure.”
Keywords : Genocide, survival, Bering Strait, George Catlin