The United States Of America
Settler Colonialism
'The Original Terrorists'
It is a common misperception to see the history of Native people in the United States as a history of racial oppression alone, or even a history first and foremost of resistance to colonialism. Native nations were the first nations to encounter, challenge, and resist the imperialism of the so-called New World, an imperialism emanating not from Europe but from the new nation called the United States. Seeking to consolidate itself "from sea to shining sea," the US government waged an all-out imperial war against Native nations, murdering them through genocidal campaigns, removing them from land through scorched earth campaigns, and eventually subjugating them through law (the Marshall Trilogy is the clearest example). While this was obviously a project of settler colonialism, it was also a project of imperialism. Evidence for this claim can be found in how the US government labels Native resistance. From the onset of US westward expansion, Native resistance forces organized by iconic figures like Sitting Bull, Geronimo, and Crazy Horse were called enemies of the state. To this day," any nation or force that resists US foreign expansion into its lands, including locations in the Middle East, Latin America, and the Pacific, is labeled an enemy of the United States-terrorist. As previously mentioned, this is why the 2011 capture and murder of Osama bin Laden was called "Operation Geronimo" by the US government. Native people who resisted US expansion and refused colonial subjugation were the first enemies of the state-the original terrorists.[1]
Cited
- ↑ Estes N. Benallie B. Denetdale J. Cody R. Correia D. & Yazzie M. K. (2021). Red nation rising : from bordertown violence to native liberation. PM Press.