This Is Native Land

LONG BEFORE the white man set foot on American soil, the American Indians, or rather the Native Americans, had been living on this land. When the Europeans came here, there were probably 10 million Natives north of present-day Mexico and they had been living here for quite some time. It is believed by many anthropologists and archaeologists that the first people arrived during the last ice-age, approximately 20,000 - 30,000 years ago, crossing the land-bridge at the Bering Sound, from northeastern Siberia into Alaska. (* See letter at end)

 (There are other theories being studied, such as travel by boat - similar to Australian settlement.)

Although it is believed that the 'Indians' originated in Asia, few if any of them came from India. The name "Indian" was first applied to them by Christopher Columbus, who believed, mistakenly, that the mainland and islands of America were part of the Indies, in Asia.

So, when the Europeans started to arrive in the 16th- and 17th-century they were met by Native Americans, and enthusiastically so. The Natives regarded their white-complexioned visitors as something of a marvel, not only for their outlandish dress and beards and winged ships but even more for their wonderful technology - steel knives and swords, the fire-belching cannons, mirrors, hawk-bells, earrings, copper and brass kettles, and so on.

However, conflicts eventually arose. As a starter, the arriving Europeans seemed attuned to another world, they appeared to be oblivious to the rhythms and spirit of nature. Nature to the Europeans - and the Natives detected this - was something of an obstacle, even an enemy. It was also a commodity: A forest was so many board feet of timber, a beaver colony so many pelts, a herd of buffalo so many robes and tongues. Even the Natives themselves were a resource - souls ripe for the Jesuit, Dominican, or Puritan plucking.

It was the Europeans' cultural arrogance, coupled with their materialistic view of the land and its animal and plant beings, that the Natives found repellent. Europeans, in sum, were regarded as something mechanical - soulless creatures who wielded diabolically ingenious tools and weapons to accomplish mad ends.

The Europeans brought with them not only a desire and will to conquer the new continent for all its material richness, but they also brought with them diseases that hit the Natives hard. Conflicts developed between the Native Americans and the Invaders, the latter arriving in overwhelming numbers, as many "as the stars in heaven".

The Europeans were accustomed to owning land and laid claim to it while they considered the Natives to be nomads with no interest in claiming land ownership. The conflicts led to the Indian Wars, the Indian Removal Act empowered by president Andrew Jackson in 1830 and other acts instituted by the Europeans in order to accomplish their objectives, as they viewed them at the time.

 In these wars the Native nations were at a great disadvantage because of their modest numbers, nomadic life, lack of advanced weapons, and unwillingness to cooperate, even in their own defense.

*Letter from the Native and world renowned John Two-Hawks dispelling the ice-bridge theory.

Hau kola,
Hello friend. Allow me to offer you some facts and considerations which debunk the 'Bering Strait' theory...

First and foremost, as you have mentioned, there are many Indigenous sites, traditional teachings and calendars that pre-date the ice-age by tens of thousands of years. One such example is the Mohawk Nation calendar. It is not the year 2000 for the Mohawk people, it is the year 33115. This is the number of years the Mohawk people have been recording an annual count.
Other facts...

If indeed there was such a thing as an 'ice-bridge', science clearly shows that it would be virtually impossible for any human migration to have occurred. Any attempt would have almost certainly resulted in death. It is also a reasonable possibility that this so called 'ice-bridge' never even existed at all!
Other facts...

If the Indigenous people of this continent came from Asian people in the distant past, certainly there would remain remnants of Asian culture within the Indigenous cultures in North America. These 'Asian cultural remnants' simply do not exist. There are absolutely no similarities in any of the diverse languages of Indigenous peoples to Asian languages, historic and present. There are absolutely no similarities in the spiritual customs of Indigenous and Asian peoples. There are no similarities in diet. There are no similarities in the music in its uses, structures and instrument origins. So, with years of intense study finding that there exists absolutely no cultural connection, past or present, between Indigenous and Asian peoples, it can be very accurately concluded that the Indigenous people of this continent did not originate from Asian culture.
Other facts...

Propaganda... This 'Bering Strait' theory is just that - propaganda. It was (and still is) perpetuated by the American euro-centric majority to somehow justify their greedy theft of our ancestral land and homes. This theory which is based not in science or history, but rather in American euro-centric propaganda, is taught in schools throughout the U.S. as if it were fact. Simply said - it is not. It is, what many of our Indigenous histories have mistakenly been dubbed, a myth.
Other facts...

As you likely know, a skeleton was found in the Americas that was determined to be an Indigenous person. This skeleton was scientifically proven to PRE-date the ice-age. So there again, we have more solid proof of what we as the Indigenous people of this continent have been saying for 500 years - we did NOT come from Asia, or cross an 'ice-bridge' to get here. Creator made us here, and we have always been here.

I hope this info is helpful to you! Appreciate your interest. Peace to you.

In spirit and power,
John Two-Hawks - Oglala Lakota Nation

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