SEE THE SOUL,NOT THE FACE (Satis Shroff)

SEE THE SOUL, NOT THE FACE (Satis Shroff)

The history of Native Americans in the USA began in ancient times tens of thousands of years ago with the settlement of what we call America by the Paleo-Indians. The Paleo-Indians are thought to land bridge that connected Asia with America. It's called the Bering Straight today. It was a hunting group from Eurasia some 12,000 years that wandered across the ice. It is possible that they lived 50,000 years in North America and tamed the fire.

The word Native American or even Red Indian (red war paint on face and body) was used by Columbus who mistakenly thought he'd landed in the east coast of India. This was in 1492 and since the indigenous people were naked, Columbus inferred the native people to be an inferior race. This doesn't seem to have changed till even today in the minds of the whitey people, whose ancestors came from Europe to eke out a new living as settlers in the New World and to escape from famine and poverty in Europe.

The European colonists in North America rationalised their invasion and expansion of empire with the assumption that they were saving a so-called barbaric, pagan world by spreading Christian civilisation wherever they marched into. The Jesuit priests went about their work with zeal with the colonists. The Europeans took indigenous females as slaves and concubines and thus brought epidemic diseases from Europe to the Americas. Internal warfare, enslavement, intermarriage began. Since the indigenous people did not have any immunity against the new diseases brought by the invaders and conquerors, the indigenous population was reduced as they died or were killed by the thousands.

Genocide was rampant as the white colonists had no feelings for the so called 'natives.' By 1800 the indigenous population declined to 600,000. In 1890 there were only 250,000 Native Americans. Chickenpox, measles proved deadly to Native Americans. 50%-70% indigenous people died after first contact with Eurasian smallpox.

Let not the arrogance shine, for we all belong to the human race, Homo sapiens, and have the same set of chromosomes: XX and XY. They're not 'natives' but humans like you and me. The dermatological difference shouldn't play a role.See the soul of a person and not his skin colour and outer appearance. Dankeschön.