Albert Bender: Stop glorification of Indian killer Andrew Jackson

On Jan. 17, Native Americans held a second demonstration here opposing the campaign of local historians and a newly founded organization to raise the infamous Indian killer, Andrew Jackson to the status of a "great president." The demonstration was held at the Hermitage, the historic home of Jackson, which is considered a tourist attraction by mainstream society.

The seventh president of the United States, Jackson is reviled by American Indians across the country. The demonstrations have been prompted by efforts of the newly-formed Andrew Jackson Foundation (AJF) and local historians lauding him as the " most important American president," the " founder of American democracy" the "People's President," and "the most famous citizen Nashville ever produced." Their actions are part of a commemoration of the 200th anniversary of Jackson's victory at the battle of New Orleans over the British.

Jackson carried out the most murderous removal campaign against American Indians - Cherokees, Creeks, Choctaws, Chickasaws, and Seminoles - in U.S. history. He was directly responsible for the hideous, agonizing deaths of tens of thousands of Native Americans, beginning with the Creek War of 1813-14.

Jackson was accountable for the deaths of thousands of Creek people in that conflict. He envisioned an America without Indians. Jackson led armies that conducted war, a campaign of extermination, against non-combatants - women and children.