by Christina Noll

Created on: March 29, 2009   Last Updated: June 22, 2009

Racism is something America still struggles with even in this modern society of ours. However, not many people realize about the silent struggle the true founders of this land still go through. I am talking about the Native American people. Many people are waking up to the truth and are just now realizing the heinous crimes these people endured during the early colonization. People are reading and researching on their own and finding the truth that was left out of high school text books.

At one time Christopher Columbus was the highly revered founder of this majestic land, however groups of people are now refusing to celebrate Columbus Day. Protests and demonstrations are arising in order to bring the truth out about Columbus, that truth being when he accidentally landed in the New World he forced the Natives into slavery. Columbus kidnapped and sold several Native American people into slavery, shipping these unsuspecting people off to Spain. Several of the Natives died in route. Columbus may have paved the way for colonization in America but it sure came at a hefty price. As new settlers came the Natives were continually being sold into slavery, their homes burned and pillaged by the new settlers and whole tribes were slowly being destroyed. The Natives fought as well, but the Natives had a very helpful side. As some of the new colonists were freezing and starving, the Natives shared what they had. In fact, the story of our first Thanksgiving is based on this. Squanto and his tribe were very helpful to the new settlers in Plymouth by sharing their food and teaching the new settlers how to fish. However, early in his life, Squanto was kidnapped and taken to Spain to be a slave. Squanto escaped Spain to England and then eventually made his way back to New England where he would help the new settlers. Over the next years the Natives would be stripped of their land, murdered, mutilated, stripped of their culture, and starved just to name a few.

One book that really opened my eyes was "Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee" by Dee Brown. This book chronicles many of the atrocities the Native American people endured during the colonization of the west. One battle that is seldom heard of is that of Sand Creek. In 1864, Colonel Chivington led his men into Sand Creek, Colorado, in turn creating one of the worst, yet untold massacres in history. Chivington's soldiers marched against Black Kettle and his Cheyenne tribe. Black Kettle was known for being peaceful and when

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