Native Americans
That is a photo of Geronimo. Did you know that his name means "the one who yawns"? Now that I know that, I'll think of him whenever I yawn. Geronimo was an Apache, which draws me even closer to him because one of the ships that I served in during my years in the U.S. Navy was the USS Apache.
According to Wikipedia, "Geronimo was not a chief among the Chiricahua or the Bedonkohe band. At any one time, about 30 to 50 Apaches would be following him. However, since he was a superb leader in raiding and warfare, he frequently led large numbers of men and women beyond his own following."
How often do us white Americans ever stop to think about the Native Americans as real people, with real lives? Or is our image of the American 'Indian' so tainted by Hollywood movies that we can no longer put the early history of this continent into its proper perspective?
Take a moment and look at the photograph of Geronimo and General Crook sitting on a forest floor discussing issues that affected their two nations. Look into the face of Geronimo and reflect for a moment on the depth of history underpinning his entire being. There were indigenous North American and South American nations whose accomplishments equaled, and in some respects even exceeded, those of ancient Egypt and Greece, yet few U.S. school children ever learn any of this history.
A woman who was a direct descendant of Geronimo and I became good friends. She told me that when the Smithsonian came to ask for her grandfather's headdress that her family hid it away in the mountains so that the government would never get it.
Both the white settlers and the native Americans labored under illusions. The whites believed that the land was inexhaustible and theirs to take. The Indians believed that the land should be free for them to use, as it had been. As you already know, this is a story with a very sad ending.
If it hadn't been the EuropeansI imagine it would eventually have been some other group that came in and took over. As the population grows it's just inevitable. A sad reality.
If the culture hadn't been focused on expansion I wonder if the white settlers could have lived peacefully alongside the natives. Of course there were also tribes that weren't so peaceful, but in general it might have been doable.
Considering the close connection between war and technological development, I also wonder if we would be so close to leaving this planet to expand the human population by living on Mars and perhaps other planets or moons in the future, had things been different.
It seems like blockchain tech has real potential to prevent such atrocities in the future, as people, technology, economics, and governance become so intertwined that the masses are leading themselves instead of being led by government policy and propaganda.
Whenever the subject of Native Americans comes up, I think of my closest friend, who is Vietnamese. He has always been proud of the fact that the earliest of the "native" Americans may have come from Asia. Ultimately, we are all Earthlings :-).
That's interesting, one of my two best friends from my high school days is also Vietnamese, though I've never heard him mention anything like that.
Yes, we're all Earthlings. At least as far as I can tell. Would be nice if more Earthlings noticed this.
Most people actually know very little about the american indians as that terrible chapter in the history of this nation is typically at most glossed over in school.
The book Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee was an eye opener for me.
It is no wonder that the harshest punishments among the settlers were reserved for those who chose to go live among the native americans... if too many people defected then there would be no one to left to live off of.
The more I read about their culture (pre 1900s) the more I'm impressed.
And I'm now reading the book titled "1492", which details the early cultures of North and South America, before the year 1492. It is really amazing for me to learn that for hundreds of years in South America there existed cities larger than Paris was in the 1500s. There is so much that our schools mislead us about simply by ignoring things.
That was a good book! If you like that, you might also consider:
1421: The year china discovered america - Gavin Menzies
The Lost Empire of Atlantis: History's Greatest Mystery Revealed - Gavin Menzies
I have yet to read the second (waiting for it to arrive in the mail), but 1421 was so well done that I'd be very surprised if it isn't quite interesting as well.
Hi Lorenzo! First of all let me express my gratitude for all the great podcast that you have put out over the years! Has meant a huge deal for me! I also find the early history of the Americas interesting and I am always looking for new literature on the subject - I was wondering if you got the title wrong and in fact are referring to 1491 by Charles Mann https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39020.1491 ? All the best, Ben