Genocide vs' Vigilantism

1
Genocide vs. Vigilantism

• Brianne Conroy

2
Genocide
The systematic and planned extermination of an
entire national, racial, political, or ethnic
group.
3
Population of North American Indians
Pre contact, 1500 12 million North American
Indians
By the year 1900, 237,000 Native American Indians
4
History of Genocide

• Columbus
• Instituted policies of slavery
• Mass extermination of the indigenous people of
  the Caribbean.
• Disease
• Spread of highly contagious diseases added to a
  sharp decrease in the Native American population.
• Native Americans carried no immunities to these
  diseases.
• Most deadly disease was Smallpox, a highly
  infectious and fatal disease.
• Other diseases increased the death toll, such as
  Measles, Influenza and Cholera

5
History of Genocide

• Indian Removal Act
• In 1830, President Andrew Jackson signed the
  Indian Removal Act. Indians were to give up
  their land east of the Mississippi River in
  exchange to lands to the west.
• US government sent in 7,000 troops to forcefully
  remove the Cherokee
• Resulted in the Trail of Tears
• 4,000 Cherokee died of cold, hunger and disease.

6
History of Genocide

• Missions
• Established in California in 1769
• Indians were used as indentured servants who
  worked the lands and were unable to leave.
• Many of the Indians died of disease and
  mistreatment.
• Indians were unable to practice their own culture
  or religion.
• As a result, many parts of their religion and
  culture were forgotten.

7
History of Genocide

• Gold Rush
• Gold was discovered in 1848 in California
• By the 1850s, Whites outnumbered Indians 2 to 1
• Indians were forced to the least fertile parts of
  land.
• As a result, Indians were starving and sometimes
  would kill and steal livestock belonging to white
  settlers.

8
Violence Against California Indians

• War between Yuki Indians and White Settlers
• Lasted from 1859 to 1864
• Population declined from 5,000 to 300 people.
• Eureka Militia Men
• In 1860 in the town of Eureka, militia men
  retaliated against the Indians, by surprising
  them in their sleep.
• Over 60 Indians were killed
• Two other rancherias were attacked the same day.
• The total death toll reached up to 300 people,
  half were women and children.

9
Vigilantism or Genocide

• Governments Rationale
• Vigilantism
• Casualties of war
• Population Inflation

10
Vigilantism or Genocide

• Native American Rationale
• Genocide
• In 1851, the California Governor Peter Burnett
  stated A war of extermination will continue to
  be waged between the two races until the Indian
  race become extinct.
• The state of California paid 1 million dollars in
  revenue to militias that hunted and slaughtered
  Indians.
• Bounty Hunters were offered cash for every head
  or scalp.
• Towns passed laws that if one Indian committed a
  crime, the entire village and its inhabitants
  would be punished. This caused the destruction
  of 150 Native American communities.

11
Conclusion

• The definition of genocide states that there must
  be a planned extermination of an entire national,
  political or ethnic group.
• The state sponsored killings, relocation, and
  slavery that the Native Americans experienced
  caused them to lose part, if not all, of their
  ethnic identity.

12
Bibliography

• Lewy, Gunter. (2004). Were American Indians the
  Victims of Genocide? History News Network
  George Mason University. http//hnn.us/articles/7
  302.html
• Nation Master. (2005). Encyclopedia Missions
  San Diego De Alcala. Retrieved June 6, 2005 from
  http//www.nationmaster.com
• PBS Online. (1998). Indian Removal 1814-1858.
  Retrieved June 6, 2005 from http//www.pbs.org
• Revolutionary Worker. (2000). Gold and
  Genocide True Story of the 1849 California Gold
  Rush, Part 1. Retrieved June 6, 2005 from
  http//rwor.org
• Trabich, Leah. (1996). Native American Genocide
  still Haunts the United States. An end to
  tolerance, volume 5. http//www.iearn.org