Think About it -- A Historical Lesson in Dealing With Men in Conflict

Few examples of human conflict are as intense as the saga of American Indians. That odyssey lasted hundreds of years. Here is a short summary of the saga of just the plains Indians;

French expedition leader, René-Robert Cavelier, discovered the wealth of furs and fertile soil and “claimed” all the territory draining into the Mississippi River on April 9, 1682. 

Indians were living there, but nobody asked them. France just claimed it.

France controlled it (somewhat) for 80 years, then Spain took it from France in February of 1763. Indians had no part in those negotiations.

On October 1^st, 1800, Napolean took it back from Spain. Indians had no say.

On April 30^th, 1803, America purchased it from France, paying $15,000,000 for 828,000 square miles of land draining into the Mississippi River from the west; everything from the west banks of the Mississippi to Canada on the north and the continental divide to the west.

No Indians were at the table.

Native American Indians hardly knew their country and their lifestyle was being negotiated away by others. As they began to understand what was happening, the momentum was too much to stop. 

Think About it

As with most epic conflicts, history (or current political divisions) labels victors and victims. Many become wrongly glorified or vilified. In the case of the American Indian story, popular opinion increasingly labels American leaders of the time as tyrants and the Indians as helpless innocent victims.

Many books emphasize that angle. Reading through some, one might think Sitting Bull was perfect and President Grant was awful.

The truth (as I understand) is that Grant was the American President most focused on considering the American Indians as equal in humanity with white Americans. Grant wanted a fair and equitable solution. But many will never see it that way.

It is just too convenient to take a position, then vilify anyone who has, or ever will have, a different take.

“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” [i]

As a 12-year-old boy, Black Elk (of the Lakota tribe), witnessed the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Later he survived Wounded Knee. Black Elk died in 1950. He once said, 

“It is hard to follow one great vision in this world of darkness and of many changing shadows. Among those men get lost.”

Enduring words of wisdom.