America’s Holocaust
Despite pathetic attempts to whitewash this country’s perpetration of genocide on Native Americans, that great tragedy is now known as “America’s Holocaust.”
In 1813, the U.S. established boarding schools across the country and forced Indian children to attend. They were forbidden to speak their native language, wear their traditional clothing or carry out traditional activities, thereby having their language, culture and identity erased.
That Native American children suffered immensely at these schools, above and beyond the pain of being separated from their families, is well documented. Many died of starvation, disease and abuse.
Since its founding, the U.S. has systematically used killings, displacements and forced assimilation in an attempt to physically and culturally eradicate Native Americans from the land.
The U.S. government and leaders regarded Indians strictly from a viewpoint of white supremacy and superiority, determined to annihilate them and eradicate the race through cultural genocide. This included killing off their primary food source, the buffalo.
The U.S. launched more than 1,500 attacks on Indian tribes, slaughtering Native Americans, taking their lands and committing countless crimes against them. In 1814, the government placed a bounty of $50 to $100 on Indian skulls.
The general attitude of whites was “the only good Indian is a dead Indian” and they had to be wiped out. After all, they were only heathen savages.
But these heathen savages are still the rightful owners of this land. After the next white fools’ Civil War, hopefully they can reclaim it and restore what’s left, if anything.
Mike Epstein
Clarkston
Part of the record
This newspaper has had some recent correspondence on the role of American Indian residential schools. During the years, I have spent quite a bit of time at the Seattle branch of the National Archives looking carefully at the records of the Chemawa Indian School, located in Salem, Ore.
I don’t know if the work of this school was typical. And one could fairly debate if what they aimed to do with Indian children was education or indoctrination. For sure, they taught the superiority of white, European society.
Those goals actually don’t matter much, because what that school really succeeded at was killing Indian children.
Kids arrived and, in a staggering number of cases, quickly died. It’s impossible to examine the records of this school without tears in your eyes.
And by the way, we can thank Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson and President Joe Biden for the privilege of seeing these records in Seattle because former President Donald Trump worked hard to close this great home of our history.
Dennis Baird
Moscow
Applauds Prager
I want to apologize to all of the Dennis Prager believers for a few, but not all, of the things I have written negatively about Prager in past letters to the editor.
The reason for my partial repentance is the fine opinion piece he wrote for Dec. 11 about the Holocaust deniers.
I am a World War II child, and it is difficult to believe anyone can deny the Nazi’s genocidal behavior toward Jews and others.
Prager did not, but he might have mentioned genocidal behavior of the United States government toward indigenous Americans. After all, according to John Toland, one of Adolf Hitler’s best biographers, the American policy inspired him to create concentration camps. I refer the reader to John Toland, “Adolf Hitler Volume 2,” Page 802.
Steven R. Evans
Lapwai
Help available
The Dec. 11 front page article about long COVID was, I’m sure, helpful for patients to know they are not alone with their suffering and realize their symptoms are not “in their head” or fabricated, both of which some people have been told was the case.
There was a phrase in the article about getting care. But there was no mention of what that would be. I suggest that people with long COVID go to the sites of Front Line COVID Critical Care, Dr. Zelenko.com, Dr. Mercola.com and others. People should realize that insurance apparently covers long COVID treatment.
Richard J. Eggleston
Clarkston
