Jun 17, 2012 -- 11:53AM, MysticWanderer wrote:

It is unrealistic to speak of Native Americans as if they were one culture.  There were 500 independent nations on the North American continent prior to the European invasion.  All had their own history and own culture.  Some were actually quite bloodthirsty and others were almost nonviolent, some were still hunter-gatherers and others were farmers.  To lump them all in together or attribute any one custom to all is way too generalized, just as lumping all inhabitants of the Eurasian continent would be.

That is so true.  I am far from an expert but I have done some reading on some of the different nations.  I don't believe it ever would have been possible to coexist with the Comanches.  But there were other groups, too many to count that would have made good neighboors. 

People don't realize events like the small pox blankets were retaliation from when a group of American Indians entered a fort under the guise of playing a LaCrosse style game with the soilders and anyone else at the fort. Everyone was ready to relax  and have a good time and play a little sport.   They had weapons hidden under their robes that they pulled out unexpectedly and brutaly and horrificaly slaughtered every white person they could see. 

Not that this affords justification for plagues.  Then there were other situations like Sandy Creek where the Indian chiefs came with thier families, etc.  in good faith for peace and they were horribly slaughtered and vile things were done to their bodies.   

None of this is unusual in the history of warfare and conquest. Nations have always conquered other nations as they had the capability, and it generally never ended well for the losers. 

I suppose one of the positive things about the 20th/21st century is we finally seem to have developed, most people anyway, some sort of conscience as regards how the losers of these things are treated.

But for sheer magnitude and swiftness, and in particular the blatant lies and hypocrisy and broken treaties and promises that accompanied it- not much in history can match what happened to the North American Indians.

Erey:

"People don't realize events like the small pox blankets were retaliation from when a group of American Indians entered a fort under the guise of playing a LaCrosse style game with the soilders and anyone else at the fort. Everyone was ready to relax  and have a good time and play a little sport.   They had weapons hidden under their robes that they pulled out unexpectedly and brutaly and horrificaly slaughtered every white person they could see."

Would you please cite your source on this?

Jun 18, 2012 -- 4:02PM, wohali wrote:

Erey:

"People don't realize events like the small pox blankets were retaliation from when a group of American Indians entered a fort under the guise of playing a LaCrosse style game with the soilders and anyone else at the fort. Everyone was ready to relax  and have a good time and play a little sport.   They had weapons hidden under their robes that they pulled out unexpectedly and brutaly and horrificaly slaughtered every white person they could see."

Would you please cite your source on this?

The Andrew Jackson Biography by Meacham.  In this particular instance it appears that the small pox had already entered in indian population ahead of the blankets. 

There must have been other small pox blanket situations besides thisone

Jun 18, 2012 -- 1:44PM, mytmouse57 wrote:

I don't know why you keep bringing up Hollywood.

I don't, you do. You keep bringing up a Hollywood version of what the Indians were like. Stop doing that and I'll stop mentioning Hollywood.