The fate of the original inhabitants of the American continent: Where did the Indians come from?

The American continent between the two oceans was not discovered by Europeans until the opening of a new sea route and merged into world civilization. At first, there was no human habitation in North America. The ancestors of Indians crossed the continental bridge from Asia to the north of America, and then gradually moved south, finally covering the whole American continent. What is the fate of these aborigines? Let's find out today.

First, the origin of North American Indians

There has been a great controversy about where the Indians came from. The ancestors of Indians may have lived on some islands in Asia or the Pacific Ocean, and they migrated to America about 6.5438+0.5 million years ago. Looking at the map carefully, Asia and America are separated by a Pacific Ocean, but looking to the north of the map, the continental bridge formed by the Bering Strait during the ice age may be the way of migration, and the continental bridge may not be the only way for human migration, but? Asian origin theory? It should be the consensus of academic circles at present.

Second, Indian culture.

It is difficult to count the specific population of North American Indians in different periods. They used to be widely distributed in all parts of the North American continent, with different social organizations and lifestyles, belonging to different tribes or tribal alliances. The social structure of Indians is based on consanguinity, and there are roughly steps such as consanguineous family, clan, phratry, tribe and tribal alliance. 1500 or so, North America was discovered in Europe. At that time, there were about 300 indigenous languages popular in North America and hundreds of different dialects, but not a word was left.

In the Indian value system, the relationship between man and nature occupies a primary position. Although there are many Indian tribes and the lives of different tribes are very different, Indians have similar attitudes towards land and war. Indians believe that they only have limited power over land, and the significance of inter-tribal war lies in ceremony, not conflict. In a place like this? Eagle strikes the sky, fish is shallow, and all kinds of frost fight for freedom? In the natural environment, Indians live freely. Before white Europeans set foot in America, for thousands of years, the vast land of America gave people everything to live on, and Indians lived a simple and natural life. They pick wild fruits, harvest plants, fish in rivers and hunt in mountains.

Dale. Fan? Ebri wrote in Denied Natural Human Rights: American Indians: Indians have an unusual ability to feel the natural characteristics of everything around them. They never think that private ownership of land is more reasonable than free ownership of the sky. But their love for this land is more affectionate than other owners. The earth is his hometown, where the remains of his ancestors are laid, and it is a natural religious shrine, which is extremely holy. They advocate freedom, so they believe that everything in the world is free, and everyone can freely have the gift of nature and can't keep it for themselves.

Indians have their own moral standards and norms. They value family and friendship, and generally value honesty, courage, self-esteem and freedom. They like to adopt plundered people and make them members of their own tribe. The culture of North American Indians experienced a long and slow evolution process, and after about 8000 BC, there were innovations in tools and technologies. After 500 AD, Indian culture in North America reached a peak. After about 1250, their culture stagnated or even regressed. Perhaps North America is rich in natural resources and Indians lack enterprising spirit. Perhaps because of the harsh geographical environment, the Indians in North America did not develop a civilization like Maya.

3. War or slaughter?

The arrival of European colonists became a nightmare for Indians. European colonists clashed with Indians a long time ago, but when the colonists arrived in North America, their survival became a problem, so the Indian attack also brought great trouble to the colonists. Some friendly Indians exchanged food for British ironware, but the food was far from enough for the colonists. 1609 16 10 in winter, because there was no Indian food, the colonists in Jamestown basically had no food to eat.

Almost all the early North American colonists encountered diseases, hunger and fatigue caused by long-distance voyage. The cold weather in New England also claimed many lives. For Plymouth colonists, everyone would not have survived the first winter in the United States without the food support of Wapanong Chief Masasut. A year later, the survivors invited Indians to attend the autumn harvest feast, which is also the origin of Thanksgiving.

Most Indians treated the new colonists with surprise and welcome, but their kindness was not rewarded, leaving more enlightenment and lessons. With the increase of colonists, Indian villages quickly became ruins and uninhabited. Europeans brought not only guns, but also diseases (possibly smallpox or the Black Death). Patus and several other tribes were completely extinct around 16 17. The Indians died and ran away. They didn't know where to go. The body rotted in situ and the bones piled up. What a spectacular scene? That? It looks like a newly built mountain. ? Morton, the author of these words, right? Mayflower? Morton, the first historian of immigration, remembers this scene vividly, because the colonists built Plymouth city on the ruins of Patulster village.

With the establishment of the United States and the westward movement, the conflict between Indians and whites turned into slaughter. For more and more land, the United States government has taken the form of forced relocation, and Indians have been driven to small and barren reserves. ? Almost every group of people marching to the west marched on Indian bones and blood? . Under the escort of the federal army, the Indian tribes ordered by the Indians to move were hungry and cold all the way. Many old and weak women and children can't stand fatigue, get sick and die on the road. They were exiled from forests, grasslands and fertile soil to the western desert. Indians were forced to move? The road of blood and tears? . Once the reserves are found to have mineral deposits or other utilization values, they are driven to poorer places.

Four. conclusion

The migration to the west brought genocide to the Indians. The Indian chief in Seattle once said with indignation: We regard every side of the land as sacred, and they have permeated the memory of red people since ancient times. We know for sure that the land does not belong to the people; People belong to the earth, and everything works together. Maybe you and I are brothers. Perhaps, one day, white people will find that the god they believe in is the same as that we believe in. God regards the earth as the most precious thing, and what hurts it is the blasphemy against its creator.

The speech was sincere, tearful and thought-provoking. It shows the Indian's love for this land and permeates the Indian's eternal homeland memory; Express the extreme pain and helplessness of Indians, criticize white people for taking advantage of the fire and being insatiable; He rebuked modern civilization for destroying primitive ecology and turning the land into a desert. But Indians can't stop white people and industrial civilization? West? The prosperity of the United States is also based on the blood and tears of these aborigines.

References:

1. Allen? Vainstain, David? Lu, Color American History (I), Beijing: China Friendship Publishing House, 2008.