By Andy Porras
La Prensa San Diego
“I give you this one thought to keep,
I am with you still – I do not sleep.”
Thus goes a traditional Native American poem worth knowing as Uncle Sam tips his stovepipe hat to its Native American population during November, Native American History month.
It’s time to celebrate and honor Native heritage and their elders’ wisdom. And nudge those in political power to make a decent effort to include Native American History in their educational programs For too long they have closed their eyes (similar to Black slavery studies) when it comes to learning about this land’s first Americans, too many of them disappeared due the three “Gs” – greed, gold and genocide.
Genocide, by another name, is still the deliberate and systematic extermination of a national, racial, political, or cultural group.
In the case of the unfortunate California Native Americans, it was labeled “ethic cleansing” by crazed gold seekers on a mission to become rich by any means necessary.
Between 1848 and 1855 as many as 100,000 Natives perished due to murder, malnutrition, disease or enslavement.
Yes, the Gold Rush brought prosperity to many of the estimated 300,000 prospectors who flocked to California but for its natives, the Gold Rush turned lethal.
Scholars have stated that the articles published in California newspapers of the time and other sources, made it clear that the horror Native Americans experienced during the Gold Rush coincide with the United Nations official definition of genocide.
The state’s southern and central coastal tribes…
Finish reading November is the time to remember our Natives
