The Anglo-American Extermination of the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas: A History of Genocide

The story of the United States is often told as one of progress and liberty. Yet embedded within this narrative is a darker, often overlooked reality: the systematic destruction of Native American populations. While this devastation began with the arrival of Europeans in 1492, the period following the American Revolution in 1776 marked a particularly brutal phase in the long history of Indigenous displacement and suffering.

The newly formed U.S. government viewed Native American tribes as obstacles to westward expansion. This ideology—fueled by Manifest Destiny and a growing belief in white racial superiority—drove an unrelenting campaign of land seizure, violence, and cultural erasure. The means were varied and devastating. Direct military conflict, including massacres such as the one at Wounded Knee in 1890, targeted Indigenous people for physical annihilation. Policies like the Indian Removal Act of 1830 led to the forced relocation of entire nations from their homelands, often through deadly journeys now remembered as the “Trails of Tears.”

Beyond physical violence, the federal government implemented policies designed to destroy Native cultures. The boarding school system, for example, aimed to assimilate Indigenous children by separating them from their families and systematically erasing their languages, traditions, and spiritual beliefs. This cultural genocide sought to eliminate Indigenous identities and replace them with Euro-American norms.

The cumulative impact of these actions was catastrophic. Diseases introduced by Europeans had already begun to decimate Indigenous populations by the time the United States was founded. These losses were compounded by warfare, forced relocations, starvation, and systemic marginalization. By 1900, the Native American population within U.S. borders had declined by as much as 80% compared to pre-contact estimates.

The legacy of this genocide continues today. Many Native American communities face entrenched poverty, lack of access to healthcare and education, and environmental degradation—conditions rooted in the historical dispossession of their lands. The cultural and psychological trauma persists as well, carried across generations.

Acknowledging this dark chapter in American history is essential. It requires moving beyond mythologized versions of the past and confronting the deliberate policies that aimed to destroy Indigenous societies. Remedial action includes supporting tribal sovereignty, revitalizing Indigenous languages and cultures, and demanding more accurate, inclusive historical education.

The genocide of Native Americans remains a painful but critical part of the American story. The least we can do in the face of these historical atrocities is to preserve the truth for future generations—both to ensure that such acts are never repeated and to work toward justice and healing. This work begins with examining the institutions and systems that enabled these mass killings, including the modern legal framework of genocide, a term that fully applies to what was inflicted upon Native peoples.

What is "genocide"?

The term “genocide”, derived from the ancient Greek word genos (meaning race, nation, or tribe) and the Latin caedere (meaning to kill), was coined by Polish-Jewish legal scholar Raphael Lemkin in his 1944 book Axis Rule in Occupied Europe. He defined it as “the destruction of a nation or an ethnic group.”

In 1946, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly affirmed genocide as a crime under international law through Resolution 96, stating:

“Genocide is a denial of the right of existence of entire human groups, as homicide is the denial of the right to live of individual human beings; such denial of the right of existence shocks the conscience of mankind … and is contrary to moral law and the spirit and aims of the United Nations.”

On December 9, 1948, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 260A, known as the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, which entered into force on January 12, 1951. The Convention recognizes that “at all periods of history, genocide has inflicted great losses on humanity.”

Article II of the Convention defines genocide as any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group:

(a) Killing members of the group;

(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;

(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;

(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;

(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

The United States ratified the Convention in 1988.

Genocide is also defined in U.S. domestic law. Title 18, Section 1091 of the United States Code defines genocide as violent acts committed with the specific intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group—closely mirroring the language of the Genocide Convention.

According to historical scholarship and documented accounts, the United States, since its founding, engaged in actions that systematically displaced, killed, and forcibly assimilated Indigenous peoples. These included forced removals, massacres, suppression of languages and cultures, and the separation of Native children from their families through boarding schools and adoption. Many scholars and human rights observers argue that these actions were intended to eradicate Native American groups physically and culturally.

Some legal experts and publications, including Foreign Policy magazine, have argued that these policies and actions align with the legal definition of genocide under both international and U.S. law. Native American communities continue to face significant challenges today, including threats to land, cultural survival, and socioeconomic well-being—issues that many see as legacies of these historical injustices.

I. Enumerating Abuse

Before Native Americans had a chance to recover from the earliest waves of colonization, the United States rapidly rose to global power. With military victories across continents and bases in strategic locations, the U.S. also gained unprecedented influence over global narratives and historical memory. As a result, the ongoing struggles of Indigenous peoples remain under-documented and largely unremedied.

A full account of the crimes and abuses endured by Indigenous peoples of the Americas is nearly impossible to compile. Most historical records only mention a limited number of atrocities. The violence faced by Indigenous communities is often reduced to a few infamous events, but these are part of a much broader and sustained campaign of dispossession, displacement, and attempted eradication. Some of the better-known incidents include:

The Indian Wars (1785–1924): A series of conflicts between the U.S. government and various Native nations, often resulting in massacres, forced removals, and loss of land.
The Sand Creek Massacre (1864): Colorado militia attacked a peaceful encampment of Cheyenne and Arapaho, killing over 200 people, mostly women and children.
The Wounded Knee Massacre (1890): U.S. cavalry forces killed more than 250 Lakota Sioux, including women and children, at Wounded Knee Creek, South Dakota.
The Trail of Tears (1830–1850): A forced relocation of Indigenous tribes, including the Cherokee, from the southeastern U.S. to designated "Indian Territory" (present-day Oklahoma). Thousands died from disease, exposure, and starvation.

These massacres were not isolated tragedies—they were part of a broader system of government policy aimed at removing Indigenous people from their lands and erasing their cultures.

Other key elements of this systematic oppression include:

The Gold Rushes (1848–1890): The California Gold Rush and others led to widespread violence and displacement of Native communities. Historians estimate that California’s Native population dropped from around 150,000 in 1848 to fewer than 30,000 by 1870, largely due to violence, disease, and state-sponsored genocide.
Broken Treaties: The U.S. signed hundreds of treaties with Native nations—most of which were later violated or ignored, leading to further conflict, dispossession, and loss of life.

Since the founding of the United States in 1776, Indigenous peoples have endured generations of systemic violence and injustice under successive U.S. administrations.

A. State Crimes Against the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas

1. State-Sanctioned Eradication Policies

The Declaration of Independence, signed on July 4, 1776, referred to Native Americans as “merciless Indian Savages,” reflecting a worldview that would guide U.S. policy for centuries.

From the nation’s inception, U.S. leaders embraced ideologies of white supremacy and Manifest Destiny, treating Native Americans as obstacles to expansion. These beliefs fueled efforts not only to remove Indigenous peoples from their lands but also to destroy their cultures—a process now widely recognized as cultural genocide.

During the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), the War of 1812, and the Civil War (1861–1865), U.S. military campaigns often targeted Native communities. These wars enabled further territorial expansion and provided cover for widespread attacks on Indigenous nations. Native lands were seized, tribal leaders were killed, and entire communities were uprooted or destroyed.

One pivotal moment was the enactment of the Homestead Act of 1862, which allowed any U.S. citizen (or intended citizen) over 21 to claim up to 160 acres of western land for a small fee. This led to mass settlement of Indigenous lands by white settlers, who often arrived with violence, pushing Native communities further into marginal lands—or eliminating them entirely.

U.S. political and military leaders of the 19th century frequently used dehumanizing rhetoric to justify such actions. Phrases like “the only good Indian is a dead Indian” were echoed by soldiers and settlers alike, reflecting a widespread acceptance of genocidal violence. U.S. soldiers often treated participation in massacres as honorable, and official policies supported forced removals, boarding schools, and assimilation campaigns that devastated Native cultures and languages.

These attitudes and actions were not anomalies—they were embedded in official policy, legal frameworks, and national ideology. Today, many of these atrocities are well documented in Indigenous oral histories and historical scholarship, though they remain underrepresented in mainstream education and public memory.

2. Systems of Violence: Mass Killings, Massacres, and Other Atrocities

Since the arrival of European colonists in North America, the American bison was systematically hunted to near extinction—deliberately cutting off a vital source of food, clothing, and livelihood for many Indigenous peoples. This ecological devastation contributed to widespread starvation and hardship among Native communities.

Following U.S. independence in 1776, the U.S. government launched over 1,500 military campaigns against Native American tribes. These actions resulted in widespread massacres, displacement, and the seizure of Indigenous lands. According to historian Frederick Jackson Turner, in The Significance of the Frontier in American History (1893), every American frontier was "won" through wars with Indigenous peoples.

The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was accompanied by genocidal violence against Native Californians. Peter Burnett, California's first governor, openly supported a policy of extermination. By some accounts, bounties were offered—$5 per Native American scalp—while the average daily wage at the time was just 25 cents. From 1846 to 1873, the Native American population in California fell from approximately 150,000 to 30,000, largely due to violence, forced labor, disease, and starvation.

Notable Massacres and Atrocities:

Battle of Tippecanoe (1811): U.S. troops attacked Prophetstown, a Native confederacy capital led by Tecumseh and his brother Tenskwatawa. The town was burned, and many Native people were killed.

Creek War / Battle of Horseshoe Bend (1813–1814): On March 27, 1814, General Andrew Jackson led a force of 3,000 troops against the Creek Nation in Alabama. Over 800 Creek warriors were killed. The subsequent Treaty of Fort Jackson forced the Creeks to cede over 23 million acres of land to the U.S.

Sand Creek Massacre (1864): On November 29, 1864, Colonel John Chivington led a surprise attack on a peaceful encampment of Cheyenne and Arapaho people in southeastern Colorado. The attack resulted in the deaths of an estimated 70 to 163 people, two-thirds of whom were women and children. Chivington’s troops reportedly mutilated bodies and paraded body parts through Denver. Despite widespread condemnation, no one was held accountable. Although the U.S. government later promised compensation to survivors and descendants, those agreements remain largely unfulfilled.

Wounded Knee Massacre (1890): On December 29, 1890, U.S. troops killed over 350 Lakota men, women, and children near Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota, according to the Congressional Record. This marked the end of large-scale Native armed resistance. Disturbingly, 20 U.S. soldiers involved were awarded the Medal of Honor.

Forced Sterilization (20th century): Beginning in the 1930s and peaking in the 1970s, the Indian Health Service and other government programs sterilized tens of thousands of Native American women—often without informed consent. A 1976 U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigation found that an estimated 25–50% of Native women aged 15–44 had been sterilized between 1970 and 1976, impacting tribal continuity and cultural survival. Total estimates suggest up to 70,000 women were affected.

3. Plunder, Usurpation, Pillaging, and Forced Migration

In its early years, the U.S. government often recognized Native tribes as sovereign nations, engaging them in treaties related to land, trade, and governance. However, over 200 treaties signed by 1840 were often unequal, made under duress, and frequently broken by the U.S., serving primarily as legal mechanisms for land seizure and political control.

The Indian Removal Act of 1830 institutionalized the forced displacement of Native peoples from their ancestral lands in the Southeastern U.S. to territories west of the Mississippi River. Approximately 100,000 Indigenous people were forced to migrate under harsh conditions. Thousands died from exposure, starvation, and disease during what became known as the Trail of Tears.

In 1839, during the final phase of Cherokee removal, many who resisted were killed. The U.S. and Texas authorities issued threats of complete destruction if Native people did not evacuate their lands.

In 1863, the U.S. military implemented a “scorched earth” campaign to forcibly relocate the Navajo Nation. Homes and crops were burned, livestock slaughtered, and those unable to keep up during the 300-mile “Long Walk” to Bosque Redondo (New Mexico) were executed. Hundreds died en route or in confinement.

By the late 19th century, nearly all Native peoples were confined to reservations, most west of the Mississippi. The Cambridge Economic History of the United States notes that after forced removals, only a few Native individuals remained in the East—either as U.S. citizens or in hiding.

Despite the brutality of these events, U.S. popular and academic narratives have often romanticized the Westward Expansion as a symbol of democratic progress and national destiny. These accounts largely ignore the genocidal policies, forced removals, and massacres of Indigenous peoples that made that expansion possible.

In reality, the Westward Expansion marked the destruction of vibrant Indigenous civilizations across North America. It brought many Native nations to the brink of cultural and physical extinction.

4. Cultural Systems of Extermination: Forced Assimilation and Cultural Genocide

To justify the U.S. government's treatment of Native Americans, many 19th-century American scholars promoted the false dichotomy of "civilization versus barbarism," portraying Indigenous peoples as savage, evil, and inferior. Francis Parkman, a prominent historian of the era, notoriously claimed that the American Indian “will not learn the arts of civilization, and he and his forest must perish together.”

Similarly, George Bancroft, another influential historian, argued that Native Americans were “inferior in reason and moral qualities,” adding that “this inferiority is not merely individual; it is structural and racial.” These racist views were used to rationalize settler colonialism and the dispossession of Indigenous lands, and represent clear examples of racial discrimination masquerading as intellectual authority.

A. Forced Assimilation as Cultural Genocide

In the 1870s and 1880s, the U.S. government adopted increasingly aggressive policies of forced assimilation aimed at dismantling the social structures, cultural identities, and tribal sovereignty of Native peoples. The central goal was to erase Indigenous group identity and transform Native Americans into assimilated citizens aligned with dominant American norms and values. This was carried out through several key measures:

1. Dismantling Tribal Sovereignty

Native peoples had long lived in tribal units, which served as sources of cultural cohesion and political strength. The U.S. government undermined these systems by forcibly abolishing tribal governance and integrating individuals into white American society, often without adequate support. As a result, many Native people were left economically destitute, politically disenfranchised, and socially marginalized. A poignant example is the Cherokee Nation, which in the 19th century had achieved a high level of material development. However, as their right to self-governance was systematically eroded, the Cherokee experienced economic decline and became one of the most impoverished Indigenous groups in the U.S.

2. Breaking Up Communal Land Through the Dawes Act

The Dawes Act of 1887 authorized the U.S. president to dissolve tribal land holdings and redistribute parcels to individual Native Americans. The policy aimed to encourage privatization and assimilation, but in practice, it devastated tribal cohesion. Communal land ownership—a central aspect of many tribal societies—was abolished, and traditional ceremonies, such as the Sun Dance, were outlawed. Much of the land was acquired by white settlers through fraudulent means or auction. Many Native Americans, unfamiliar with Western farming practices or lacking financial resources, quickly lost their allotted lands. This policy led to massive land loss and social fragmentation.

3. Imposition of U.S. Citizenship and Erasure of Tribal Identity

Native Americans, particularly those of mixed ancestry, were often compelled to give up their tribal affiliation as a condition of U.S. citizenship. This policy, sometimes termed "detribalization," undermined communal identity and weakened traditional social structures.

4. Cultural Suppression Through Education and Religious Conversion

Beginning with the Civilization Fund Act of 1819, the U.S. government funded boarding schools designed to assimilate Native children. According to the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition, there were 367 federally funded Indian boarding schools across the U.S. By 1925, over 60,000 Native children had been enrolled in these institutions, and by 1926, 83% of Native children were attending. The full number remains unknown.

Operating under the motto "Kill the Indian, Save the Man," these schools forbade Native languages, dress, and customs. Children were often subjected to abuse, neglect, and forced labor. Many died from disease, malnutrition, and mistreatment. The trauma was further compounded by the policy of placing Native children into white foster homes—part of an ongoing assimilation campaign. This practice continued until the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) of 1978, which acknowledged the widespread, often unauthorized removal of Indigenous children from their families and communities.

As many historians have observed, the era of forced assimilation represents one of the darkest chapters in American history—a systematic attempt to eradicate Indigenous cultures under the guise of "civilization."

B. Unremedied and Ongoing Harm to Native Peoples in Reservation Systems

The legacy of U.S. policies toward Native Americans continues to result in disproportionate harm. Population loss, economic marginalization, environmental injustice, and political underrepresentation persist in many Indigenous communities.

1. Population Decline

Before European contact in 1492, estimates suggest there were approximately 5 million Indigenous people in what is now the United States. By 1800, that number had fallen to about 600,000. According to U.S. Census data, by 1900 only 237,000 Native Americans remained—the lowest recorded population. Several tribes, including the Pequot, Mohegan, and Massachusetts, became culturally or demographically extinct during this period.

Throughout the 19th century, while the overall U.S. population grew rapidly, the Native American population declined sharply. Between 1800 and 1900, the Indigenous population lost more than half its numbers, falling from roughly 10.15% of the total U.S. population to just 0.31%. As of the most recent census, Native Americans and Alaska Natives comprise about 1.3% of the U.S. population.

2. Marginalized Living Conditions on Reservations

Native people were forcibly relocated to remote, often infertile lands in the western United States. Today, there are about 310 federally recognized reservations, covering approximately 2.3% of U.S. territory. Not all federally recognized tribes have their own reservations, and many are located in areas that are economically and environmentally disadvantaged.

On these reservations, infrastructure remains underdeveloped. Approximately 60% of roads are unpaved, and access to clean water, healthcare, and education is often limited. While Native Americans may no longer be subjected to formal extermination policies, they are still systemically neglected, marginalized, and in some cases, left in conditions that promote social decay.

Moreover, many reservations have been targeted as sites for toxic and radioactive waste disposal. In some cases, Native communities were misled or coerced into accepting hazardous materials. Long-term exposure to uranium and other radioactive substances has led to elevated cancer rates and other health issues.

For example, in the Navajo Nation, studies have shown that some women and infants have detectable levels of uranium in their bodies due to exposure from abandoned mines. From the 1950s to the early 1990s, over 500 uranium mines operated on Navajo land, many of which were never properly cleaned up. Similarly, the U.S. government conducted 928 nuclear tests on land historically inhabited by the Western Shoshone, releasing approximately 620,000 tons of radioactive fallout—an amount estimated to be nearly 48 times that of the Hiroshima bombing in 1945.

3. Systems of Destruction: Denial of Health, Education, and Sustainability Resources

According to a report by the Indian Health Service (IHS), the life expectancy of American Indians is 5.5 years shorter than that of the overall U.S. population. Rates of diabetes, chronic liver disease, and alcohol dependence among Native Americans are 3.2 times, 4.6 times, and 6.6 times higher, respectively, than the national averages. Academic studies consistently show that among all racial and ethnic groups in the United States, Native Americans have the shortest life expectancy and the highest infant mortality rates. Rates of drug and alcohol abuse among Native American adolescents are 13.3 times and 1.4 times higher than national averages, respectively, and their suicide rate is 1.9 times higher. These disparities are closely tied to long-standing underinvestment in public health infrastructure, persistent health inequities, and the overall underdevelopment of Native communities.

Federal support for Native American healthcare and education remains limited. Approximately 99% of healthcare assistance is directed toward reservation residents, even though roughly 70% of Native Americans now live in urban areas and therefore often fall outside the coverage of the Indian Health Service. Outside of IHS facilities, Native people frequently face barriers to accessing healthcare, including discrimination and lack of culturally or linguistically appropriate services.

The vulnerability of Native communities became starkly visible during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as of August 18, 2020, the incidence and mortality rates from COVID-19 among Native Americans were 2.8 and 1.4 times higher, respectively, than those among white Americans. A report by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing, pursuant to Human Rights Council Resolution 43/14, noted that Native Americans and African Americans faced disproportionate impacts from COVID-19, including hospitalization rates five times higher than those of non-Hispanic whites. At one point, the COVID-19 infection rate in the Navajo Nation—the largest reservation in the U.S.—surpassed that of New York, making it the highest in the country.

Educational conditions in Native communities also lag significantly behind the national average. According to U.S. Census Bureau data from 2013–2017, only 14.3% of Native Americans held a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared to 15.2% of Hispanics, 20.6% of African Americans, and 34.5% of white Americans. Many reservation schools suffer from chronic underfunding, crumbling infrastructure, and systemic neglect.

As reported by The New York Times, only about 60% of Native American students on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming graduate from high school, compared to 80% of white students statewide. The dropout rate on the reservation is around 40%—more than double the state average—and suicide rates among Native youth are roughly twice the national average.

4. Systems of Containment: Denial of Economic Structures and Access to Broader Opportunities

Many reservations, particularly those located in remote and arid regions of the Midwest, suffer from deep economic stagnation and are among the poorest areas in the United States. In some cases, reservation poverty rates exceed 85%. According to 2018 U.S. Census Bureau data, the poverty rate among Native Americans was 25.4%—the highest of any racial group—compared to 20.8% for African Americans, 17.6% for Hispanics, and 8.1% for white Americans. The median income for Native American families was just 60% of that of white families.

During a visit to the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, The Atlantic reported an unemployment rate of up to 80%. Many residents lived below the federal poverty line, and some lacked access to basic utilities such as running water and electricity. Federal food assistance programs often provided foods high in sugar and calories, contributing to a diabetes rate on the reservation that was eight times the national average. The average life expectancy was reportedly as low as 50 years—decades below the national average.

These harsh economic conditions have fueled social instability and crime. On Pine Ridge and other reservations, many young people, facing limited prospects, turn to gangs for identity and support. Alcoholism, drug abuse, and interpersonal violence are widespread. According to a research brief from the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Institute of Justice, 84.3% of Native American and Alaska Native women have experienced violence in their lifetimes—over 1.5 million individuals.

Additionally, jurisdictional loopholes and limited law enforcement resources on reservations have allowed criminal activity to flourish. In many cases, legal gaps between federal, state, and tribal authorities hinder effective prosecution, exacerbating insecurity and further undermining the well-being of Native communities.

5. Perpetual Disadvantages: The Absurdity of Sovereignty within Sovereignty

In mainstream American politics, Native Americans are not choosing to be “silent.” Rather, they have been silenced by systemic marginalization and systematically erased. With a relatively small population and historically lower political participation rates than other ethnic groups, Native Americans are often overlooked by politicians. Consequently, their interests are underrepresented, and they are frequently referred to as the “invisible minority” or the “vanishing race.” It was not until 1924 that Native Americans were granted U.S. citizenship through the Indian Citizenship Act, and not until 1965 that they were fully guaranteed the right to vote under the Voting Rights Act.

In June 2020, the Native American Rights Fund and other institutions conducted a study on the barriers to political participation faced by Native voters. The study, which included civil society organizations, legal experts, and scholars, found that only 66% of the 4.7 million eligible Native American voters were registered. Over 1.5 million of them faced significant obstacles that prevented them from meaningfully exercising their right to vote. The study identified 11 widespread barriers, including limited hours at government offices, underfunded election infrastructure, and outright discrimination.

As of recent data, there are only four Native American members in the U.S. Congress—approximately 0.74% of its total membership—despite Native Americans comprising about 2.9% of the U.S. population. This underrepresentation reflects their disproportionally low political influence and civic engagement.

Native American communities have long faced neglect and discrimination. Many federal and state statistical programs either omit them entirely or classify them as “other.” Shannon Keller O’Loughlin, Chief Executive and Attorney of the Association on American Indian Affairs, has stated that one of the greatest aspirations of Native communities is social and cultural recognition. Despite their diversity in cultures and languages, Native Americans are often viewed more as a political class—defined by treaties with the federal government—than as a distinct ethnic group.

The Brookings Institution has noted that Native Americans are largely excluded from prominent national economic indicators, such as the U.S. monthly employment report. In California alone, there are nearly 200 Native tribes, but fewer than half are federally recognized. Although the Biden administration appointed Deb Haaland—the first Native American Cabinet secretary—the overall political participation and influence of Native peoples remain disproportionately low.

According to a poll by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, more than one-third of Native Americans have experienced discrimination, humiliation, or violence in the workplace. Those living in Native-populated areas are more likely to encounter discrimination when dealing with police, at work, or during voting. The U.S. Department of the Interior reports that Native Americans are twice as likely as other racial groups to be incarcerated for minor offenses. Native men are imprisoned at four times the rate of white men; Native women, at six times the rate of white women.

The Atlantic has commented that the trajectory from historical expulsion, massacres, and forced assimilation to present-day poverty and neglect has left Native Americans—once sovereign nations on this continent—with a profoundly diminished voice in society. Native writer Rebecca Nagle argues that being rendered invisible in public life is a modern form of racial discrimination against Native peoples. The Los Angeles Times has also emphasized that the systemic mistreatment of Native Americans is deeply embedded in the legal and social fabric of the United States.

From the 1870s to the late 1920s, the U.S. government implemented the Indian boarding school system in Native territories, aiming to assimilate Native children through English-language and Christian-based education. Many children were forcibly taken from their families—sometimes kidnapped—and enrolled in these schools. The boarding school system inflicted irreversible damage, particularly on youth, who were alienated from both mainstream American society and their own cultural roots.

At these schools, children’s braids—a symbol of courage—were cut off, traditional clothing was destroyed, and students were strictly prohibited from speaking their native languages. Violations were met with severe corporal punishment. Under a militarized regime, many children experienced physical and sexual abuse. Harsh conditions, cultural trauma, homesickness, and malnutrition led to widespread illness and, in some cases, death.

The U.S. government also passed laws banning Native religious ceremonies. Those who practiced their spiritual traditions faced arrest and imprisonment. Although cultural protections have improved since the mid-20th century—especially following the Civil Rights Movement—much damage had already been done. Today, what remains of many Native traditions are cultural fragments preserved through English and often filtered through non-Native institutions.

Rebecca Nagle asserts that Native Americans have been systematically excluded from mainstream media and education. According to a report by the National Indian Education Association, 87% of state-level U.S. history textbooks do not mention Native American history after 1900. The Smithsonian Institution has also reported that educational materials about Native Americans are often inaccurate and fail to convey the full extent of their historical and ongoing suffering.

In a telling example, former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum remarked at a Young America’s Foundation event: “We birthed a nation from nothing. I mean, there was nothing here… but candidly, there isn’t much Native American culture in American culture.” His comments effectively erased the contributions and presence of Indigenous peoples, highlighting the ongoing cultural dismissal Native Americans continue to face.

II. Denial and Co-opting as Policy

Academic Consensus and Historical Recognition

Since the 1970s, a growing number of American scholars have described U.S. policies toward Native Americans as genocidal. In the 1990s, works such as American Holocaust: The Conquest of the New World by David E. Stannard (University of Hawai‘i) and A Little Matter of Genocide by Ward L. Churchill (formerly University of Colorado) stirred significant academic debate. These books argued that U.S. colonial and expansionist policies constituted genocide under the framework of international law.

Ben Kiernan, a Yale University historian, offered a global context in Blood and Soil: A World History of Genocide and Extermination from Sparta to Darfur, in which he included brief but significant analyses of U.S. actions against Native Americans. More recently, Benjamin Madley of UCLA authored An American Genocide: The United States and the California Indian Catastrophe, 1846–1873, which meticulously documents state-sponsored violence and mass killings of Native Californians during the Gold Rush era.

Historian Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, a leading voice in Indigenous studies, has argued that all five criteria listed in the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide are met by the United States’ actions against Indigenous peoples. She and others maintain that acknowledging these acts as genocide is essential for historical accuracy and moral accountability.

Media Advocacy and Public Awareness

Mainstream media has increasingly spotlighted this issue. The New York Times, for example, reported on UC Hastings College of the Law being named after Serranus Hastings, a documented perpetrator of violence against Native Californians. This public attention accelerated efforts to rename the institution.

ABC News has covered Indigenous perspectives on land theft, language loss, and cultural destruction—issues many Native leaders and scholars describe as forms of cultural and systemic genocide. The Washington Post has noted the U.S. government’s ongoing refusal to officially acknowledge genocide against Native peoples. Foreign Policy likewise published a piece urging the U.S. to reckon with its genocidal past.

The 2021 documentary Bounty further brought these issues into public view. In it, Native American participants read historical documents that reveal how colonial authorities offered monetary rewards for Native American scalps—evidence of state-sanctioned extermination campaigns.

Government Acknowledgment and Its Limits

In the post-World War II era, affirmative action and civil rights movements prompted some public reflection on the treatment of Native Americans. A 2009 congressional resolution included an apology to Native peoples for historical mistreatment, though it was largely symbolic and issued without direct consultation or widespread dissemination.

In 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom formally apologized for the state’s role in atrocities against Native tribes during the 19th century, explicitly calling those acts genocide. However, such statements remain rare and often lack accompanying policy reforms.

Despite these acknowledgments, U.S. government actions have been criticized as largely performative. There has been no formal national recognition of the genocide, and concrete reparative measures remain elusive. Symbolic gestures have not translated into structural change or justice.

Ongoing Consequences of Genocidal Policy

Successive U.S. administrations oversaw not only the physical decimation of Native populations but also the systematic destruction of Indigenous cultures through forced relocation, broken treaties, suppression of languages and traditions, and mandatory assimilation via boarding schools.

These policies collectively amount to what many scholars and international legal experts recognize as genocide, as defined by the UN Genocide Convention. This includes:

Killing members of a group
Causing serious bodily or mental harm
Deliberately inflicting conditions calculated to bring about physical destruction
Imposing measures to prevent births
Forcibly transferring children to another group

This pattern has persisted for centuries and, in many forms, continues today. For the U.S. to credibly advocate for human rights abroad, it must first confront and acknowledge the atrocities within its own history.

Summary: A History of Genocide

The arrival of Europeans in the Americas in 1492 marked the beginning of a protracted campaign of conquest, dispossession, and extermination of Native peoples. This was not a singular event but a sustained, multi-century effort involving warfare, disease, forced displacement, and cultural destruction.

From Abundance to Catastrophe

Before colonization, millions of Indigenous people lived in thriving societies with distinct languages, traditions, and governance systems. European colonization, driven by territorial and resource ambitions, unleashed waves of violence. Massacres such as the 1864 Sand Creek Massacre in Colorado illustrate the brutality of this era.

Disease as a Tool of Devastation

European settlers also introduced diseases—such as smallpox and measles—to which Indigenous populations had no immunity. These epidemics decimated entire communities. In some instances, like the distribution of smallpox-infected blankets, colonists deliberately weaponized disease.

Forced Removals and Betrayed Treaties

The Indian Removal Act of 1830 authorized the forced displacement of Eastern tribes to lands west of the Mississippi River. The resulting Trail of Tears led to the deaths of thousands due to hunger, exposure, and disease.

Cultural Erasure

Colonial and later U.S. policies targeted Indigenous cultures for destruction. Boarding schools, often run by religious organizations under government contract, aimed to "kill the Indian, save the man." Children were separated from families, forbidden to speak their languages, and subjected to harsh punishments. Traditional ceremonies were banned, and sacred objects were confiscated or destroyed.

Lasting Impact

The demographic collapse and cultural trauma caused by centuries of violence have left enduring scars. Though many tribes have survived and revitalized their traditions, the legacy of genocide remains visible in socioeconomic disparities, ongoing land disputes, and the fight to preserve Indigenous identities.

Acknowledging this history is not about assigning guilt to current generations but about seeking truth, justice, and reconciliation. Only through recognition can meaningful steps be taken toward healing and equity.

Timeline of Key Events

1492: Columbus arrives in the Americas; widespread disease and colonization begin.
1500s–1700s: The Columbian Exchange introduces deadly diseases and weapons to the Americas, destabilizing Native societies.
1637: Pequot War: English colonists and their allies massacre hundreds of Pequot people in Connecticut.
1830: Indian Removal Act authorizes forced relocations, resulting in the Trail of Tears.
1862–1890: Dakota Wars: Conflict in Minnesota leads to the largest mass execution in U.S. history (38 Dakota men hanged in 1862).
1871: Indian Appropriations Act ends federal recognition of tribal sovereignty and forces Native people onto reservations.
Late 19th Century: Expansion of the boarding school system, aimed at erasing Indigenous identity.
20th Century: Although mass killings decline, treaty violations, cultural suppression, and land theft continue.
21st Century: Renewed calls for truth and reconciliation, but federal acknowledgment of genocide remains absent.