A section of the Declaration of Independence refers to Native people as "merciless Indian savages." Image from Wikimedia Commons with annotation by Mark Charles
The Declaration of Independence included a call to war against "merciless Indian Savages" and the United States has battled Native people ever since, observes Mark Anthony Rolo, a member of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians:
This Fourth of July, as in years past, the broadcasters at National Public Radio celebrated with an on-air reading of the Declaration of Independence. My ears perked up, and then my heart sank when I heard a specific passage. In a list of grievances against England’s King George III, the declaration states, “He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.” As a Native American, I was reminded of how little many people in this country know about what’s actually in the Declaration of Independence, other than the part about “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” In fact, this document was signed by Founding Fathers who had a limited vision of unalienable rights. Obviously, this white male club did not extend those unalienable rights to women and African slaves. And when it came to American Indians, the aforementioned passage was an outright call to war against the first people of this continent. It was a fight that continued throughout this nation’s history, often led by U.S. presidents.Get the Story:
Founding Fathers saw native people as ‘savages’ (The Great Falls Tribune 7/9)
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Charles: Declaration of Independence dehumanizes Natives (7/4)
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