It’s shameful how
Americans are forgetting the dark part of
our country's past when the federal government was plotting the extermination
of Native Americans in an active conspiracy to steal their land. Today, people
only correlate Native Americans with being rich and running casinos. Native
American history is not taught in schools,
and it’s certainly not shown to people trying to become citizens. American apathy is intentionally erasing that dark
part of our history and an, "I don't want to know, that way I don't
have to feel guilty" attitude, or a, "My ancestors weren't here yet, so I don't feel guilty at all." The facts
are, as American citizens living on stolen land we all must have a sense of
responsibility for the wrongs that our government committed in the past, just
as we should be concerned with political crimes
committed in the present. The obligation
to remember our county’s past atrocities is ours alone. We need to remember those past nationally sanctioned crimes so that
we don't ever repeat our government's
past mistakes. Personal guilt should not be a defining factor when
contemplating the current and past plight of Native Americans - Just the
commitment of accepting and acknowledging
responsibility for our country’s Guilt. We need to actively enable the healing process
by addressing those great wrongs of the past, and also by offering our help,
love, respect, and support for Native American communities in the present day.
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