WHY INDIGENOUS LIVES SHOULD MATTER

In this week’s Podcast #28, the topic is “Why Indigenous Lives Should Matter”, and really the topic is not just a subject but addresses real human lives we are losing every day and diminishing our diversity as humanity year to year. In the United States, we live in a “post-genocide” society, whether or not we are cognizant of this fact or not. What do I mean by that? In order for the United States to have fulfilled its so-called “Manifest Destiny”—the divine right to conquer the lands west of the Mississippi River—we needed to wipe out the remaining Native Americans living on western lands. Today, unfortunately, many indigenous peoples are still broken because of this past genocidal history. Native Americans were put on reservations, their lands were stolen, and their cultural heritage was dismissed and eradicated through the boarding school system. Yet, the United States has not been alone in its maltreatment of its indigenous populations. For example, Australia, Brazil, and Canada, have similar histories of genocide against their aboriginal peoples. In the cases of Australia and Canada, like the United States, are only recently coming to terms with their genocidal histories. While Brazil is still massacring its indigenous peoples in favor of agro-businesses, cattle ranching, hydro-electric dam construction, timber extraction, mining and oil operations, and other development schemes in Amazonia. There is a psychological pattern among Native peoples which follows on from massacres of indigenes, which is suffering from alcoholism, child neglect, domestic violence, and sexual abuse. Moreover, there is increasing evidence demonstrating an epigenetic association of transgenerational trauma, that is traumatized parents genetically passing on trauma effects to their children. The trauma of the external is internalized, scarring populations for years. First, we must recognize how indigenous peoples have been dehumanized and how such dehumanization has led to genocide. Moreover, we must recognize many indigenous peoples live in areas of the world needing protection for the sake of our environment and our planet. The Brazilian Amazon is just one good example. Second, we need to recognize the needs for a healing process to begin for past atrocities against Native peoples. While indigenous peoples themselves must be recognized as having the right to decide for themselves appropriate ways to remember genocides against them. So, truth and reconciliation commissions should be established to be able to heal and listen to truth telling. Likewise, apologies should be official and made by governments and reparations should be established for survivor-descendant victims.