"Scoring the Presidents on Integrity and Humanity in ..." Topic

… Dealing with Native American Nations

"The arrival of European settlers on the shores of the eastern seaboard of what would later become the United States proved a tragic occurrence for the indigenous people who had lived on the land for generations. History, we are told ad nauseam, is written by the winners, and in this tale, the Native-Americans were decidedly the losers. Thus, much of their history has been lost, stolen, or neglected. The primary cause of their distress has been the policies of the federal government of the United States, and the political institution most responsible for their plight is the Presidency. Over the past 235 years, it has been primarily US presidents who made Indian policy. Some went to great lengths to respect the interests and histories of the indigenous tribes or nations they met; others viewed these native people as sub-human, and attempted to eradicate the indigenous populations.

In US Presidents and the Destruction of the Native American Nations (Palgrave Macmillan, 2021), co-author Alysa Landry of Dine College on the Navajo reservation, and I conducted a longitudinal analysis of how the US presidents from George Washington to Donald Trump understood, and addressed relations between the government and the native nations. The story is often harsh, brutal, and ugly. But there are also shining lights who tried to treat the Native Americans with dignity and respect…"

Main page

link

Armand

How about someone analyses how various Native leaders and their nations treated their brethren? You know, Iroquois vs Erighs/Eries, etc.? Also eye-opening, if the revisionists wish to get the whole story.

No human group can claim perfection. Unfortunately, sometimes the powerful commit abuses. But no group can claim innocence.

Grading presidents on moral integrity would be very interesting and illuminating. To say the least.

(smile)

Armand