There is no excuse for being insensitive or ignorant to any atrocity at the scale of genocide. We need only to be more educated about the atrocities committed in Germany, Russia, Japan, Rwanda, Darfur, etc. Our understanding needs to be no less than perfectly accurate.
In the United States for example, the prospective on the “plight of the Native American” has changed over time in expedience with our national interest. When we were conquering new land and expanding a slave-trade economy, we branded the “Indian” as a vicious savage who was in the way of economic expansion and new religious establishment. We committed a genocide that resulted in the deaths of over twenty-six million natives. Soon after, we denied them government, forced them to the west of the Mississippi, and finally, under our government, refused to grant certain Civil Rights. Now, in a more progressive America, these atrocities are obvious and their evils apparent. Certainly the natives still face issues—like mass poverty for example—and with limited assistance from their “American” counterparts.
However, this awareness brought about a new bias. Again, it’s impossible to be overly sensitive to the abusive history the natives endured, but the perception of their culture still is an over-simplification and exaggeration of what their history truly was. Because they’re seen as the victims, they’re now portrayed in movies like Pocahontas or Avatar as totally peaceful societies only interested in unity and somehow environmental protection. In reality, the natives were just as violent as our European ancestors, but simply weren’t as good at it. Look at a map of Europe—kingdoms and nations are compact. Constant competition turned the wheels of European history. England, for instance, was for centuries in constant civil war. France and Germany were also made up of smaller Kingdoms and of course if you go even further back, Rome was rather savage as well. So, these nations and civilizations were constantly developing new weapons and armor to conquer their enemies. Meanwhile, in the Americas or in Africa, tribes were spread out, and only had to develop weapons sophisticated enough to conquer, well, animals. So when experienced Europeans with guns, germs, and steel came to these American shores, it was hardly a fair fight. It wasn’t about who was more savage.
The other new bias mentioned is the connection between these societies with the Earth. In Avatar, the natives are so in tune with the planet, they’re literally connected to it, while the invasive whites were so alien they didn’t even understand or care about basic environmental sciences. But, historically speaking, the natives were no better at farming or irrigation than the Europeans. In fact, they were worse, which is what makes that portrayal just a bias.
Avatar is an interesting example because the natives are meant to be interpreted as a peaceful race while the Americans were cruel and violent aliens. But, when the one American tried to be a native, he was actually better at being a native than the natives! It’s really saying that Americans are really bad when they’re trying to be bad, but when they’re trying to be good, they’re actually better at being good than the natives! Historically, that’s just an absolutely ridiculous thing to say.
Let me be clear. These new perceptions are an obvious step forward. The more educated we are, the more victimized they get—which is the right direction. There is no other way to see it. We only need to caution ourselves and be weary of how our modern media creates certain biases that misinform us about history. The natives were violent. Europeans were just better at it. The natives were not in tune with nature—their societies were, again, due to lack of competition, not as complex and therefore seem closer to our origins—nature. The natives didn’t even ride on horses and hunt buffalo until we taught them how to effectively do both. Horses aren’t even native to the Americas. So while we need to constantly grow our understanding of the plight of the Native Americans, know two things: 1. The Natives have endured constant abuse at catastrophic levels towards their culture and their peoples, and 2. New perceptions can accidentally create new biases towards both Americans and Native Americans.
