Since 1500, with the arrival of large numbers of European settlers, the history of Native Americans and First Nations Peoples has been marked by recurring periods of intense bloodshed. Our path over the past 500 years has not been pleasant and we are, today, a culture that is quickly vanishing. Atrocities were committed on all sides of the ongoing settlement of North America. This is our past and we must recognize our role as well as the part played by the settling cultures. Here are a few of the most shameful incidents during the long period of time that marked our cultural transition from what it was prior to 1500 to what it is today:
Pandemics. Beginning in the early 16th century, a variety of diseases wiped out millions of Native Americans and First Nation Peoples. No one is sure how many of us died. Low estimates are 1 million. The highest estimate is 110 million. Despite this disagreement about numbers it is obvious that these pandemics changed the face of our culture forever and took far too many innocent lives. Among the worst recorded pandemics were smallpox (1525, 1558, 1589), typhus (1546), influenza (1558), diphtheria (1614), and measles (1618). The years noted were the worst periods of death; however, the waves of diseases rolled almost continuously across our Nations for well over 100 years.
Jamestown Massacre. In 1622, members of the Powhatan Nation attacked and killed 347 British settlers in the Virginia Colony.
Mystic River Massacre. in 1637, British colonists, with Native American allies, attacked a Pequot village on the Mystic River, killing some 500 Natives.
Schenectady Massacre. In 1690, members of the Algonquin Nation attacked the Schenectady settlement, killing 60 settlers, including women and children.
Deerfield Massacre. In 1704, members of the Abenaki, Kanienkehaka, Wyandot, and Pocumtuck Nations, along with a contingent of French Canadian militia, attacked the town of Deerfield, Massachusetts, killing 56 civilians and taking hostages.
Gnadenbutten Massacre. In 1782, nearly 100 civilian members of the Lenape collective of Native Americans were killed by Pennsylvania militiamen. Most were women and children.
Fort Mims Massacre. In 1813, after the Battle of Burnt Corn, a band of Red Sticks attacked Fort Mims, Alabama, killing 400 civilians and taking 250 scalps.
Chehaw Massacre. In 1818, Federal troops attacked a Native American village during the First Seminole War, killing an estimated 10 to 50 men, women and children.
Battle of Bad Axe. In 1832, approximately 300 Native American men, women and children were killed in Wisconsin by Federal soldiers.
Whitman Massacre. In 1847, missionaries Marcus Whitman, Narcissa Whitman and twelve others were killed at Walla Walla, Washington, by Cayuse and Umatilla Native Americans, resulting in the Cayuse War.
Kaibai Creek Massacre. In 1854, more than 40 Winnemem Wintu men, women and children were killed by settlers at Kaibai Creek, California.
Grattan Massacre. The following year (1855), 29 Federal soldiers were killed by members of the Brulé Lakota Sioux Nation in Nebraska Territory.
Indian Island Massacre. In 1860, one of the most notorious massacres occured in Humboldt County, California. At least 100 Wiyot Nation members, mostly women and children, were slaughtered by settlers in a series of planned attacks.
Bear River Massacre. In 1863, Col. Patrick Connor led a regiment of soldiers, who killed at least 200 Native American men, women and children near Preston, Idaho.
Sand Creek Massacre. In 1864, Militiamen killed nearly 200 members of the Cheyenne Nation at Sand Creek, Colorado.
Fetterman Massacre. In 1866, 80 Federals soldiers and two civilians were sent to relieve a waggon train under attack from the Oglala Sioux Nation. The soldiers, led by Crazy Horse, were ambushed and annihilated near Fort Phil Kearny in Wyoming.
Marias Massacre. In 1870, settlers slaughter 173 members of the Piegan Nation, mainly women, children and Elders.
Battle of the Little Big Horn. in 1876, 250 members of the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment, led by Lt. Col. George A. Custer, were killed in a battle against Sioux and Northern Cheyenne Nations.
Wounded Knee Massacre. In 1890, approximately 300 members of the Sioux Nation (men, women and children) were killed by US soldiers at Wounded Knee, South Dakota.
Sadly, these are but a few of the many bloody battles that have laced our history since the arrival of European settlers to our shores. This short list provides a view of the kind of anger and animosity that existed on all sides of the settlement period. Unfortunately, our encounters with the early settlers changed the face of our culture forever. It is a period of history that must always be remembered but never repeated.
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