North American Aborigine Community

 

The original people of North America have a collective name of “Indigenous People”. Their descendants are the original natives of North America. They are also called as “Aboriginal People”. The Constitution of Canada recognizes three sets of Aboriginal People. Indians that are mostly referred to be the first Nation. Inuit and Metis are the secondary groups of aboriginal people. All the three communities are composed of distant people having a unique history and cultural practices. These communities also have their own spiritual beliefs. In Canada, more than 1.67 million people recognize themselves as Aboriginal People according to 2016 Census. The population of Aboriginal People and their increase in Canada is mentioned below:

Aboriginal People are one of the fastest growing people in Canada that grew by a rate of 42.5% (2006-2016). It is one of the youngest populations in Canada where 44% of Aboriginal People are under the age of 25 as per the records of 2016 (Government of Canada, 2017).

The Indigenous People of America were first called as “Indian” by Christopher Columbus. When Columbus arrived in East Indies for the search of India. Those Islands were named as “West Indies” and this name is still used now. This name leads to the Blanket Terms such as “Indies” and “Indians” for indigenous inhabitants. These people have their own racial and cultural unity among themselves. This concept of unification was not recognized by the myriad group of people, but they somehow embraced and tolerated the concept over last two centuries. The term “Indian” can be used for Native Americans but it cannot be used for the indigenous people of Arctic Regions. The Arctic Indigenous are grouped as Aleuts, Inuit and Yupik. They entered the region as a secondary group of people. Their migration dates to several thousand years. These groups have genetic and culture similarities with the aboriginal people of Asiatic Arctic Russian Far East and are called as “Indigenous Peoples of the Americas”.

 

European Colonization and Aborigine Community:

The European Colonization of the Americas induced changes in the lives of resident Indigenous People.  These people experienced cultural changes due to European Colonization. The exact date of the pre-colonization is unknown, but scholars predicted that the Indigenous People mostly diminished between the starting two years of the European Colonization. The diminishing of the Americas is due to introduction of Afro-Eurasian diseases. The diseases became the cause of epidemics such as smallpox, cholera and measles. These diseases were brought by the Early Colonists from the Europe.

Europeans does not suffer from most of these diseases because they have inherited immunity which helped them look not visibly infected. Europeans under the disguise of trade started doing human trafficking. They smuggled massive number of slaves from Western and Central Africa and traded them to Americas. These slaves faced massive suffering due introduction of European Diseases. In 1520 an African having the disease of small pox arrived Yucatan. The disease travelled further to the South America and arrived the Plata Basin by 1558. The violence of the Colonists accelerated the rate of death of Indigenous People.

Slavery and Indigenous People:

European Colonists massacred indigenous people and made them slaves. According to a census carried out by U.S Bureau in 1894, thirty thousand Native Americans lost their life in North American Indian Wars. The first group of the indigenous people which Columbus encountered were 250,000 Tainos of Hispaniola. Tainos represented the culture of Greater Antilles and Bahamas. 70% of Tainos people died within thirty years. The European Diseases were the main cause of their death because they have no immunity to the European Diseases. The outbreak of measles and smallpox effected the population of Tainos and they suffered a lot due to these diseases. A prominent incident was the outbreak that occurred in the campo of African Slaves where smallpox was carried to nearby locality of Taino and they suffered a lot due to the disease. This outbreak of the disease in Tainos Population reduced their number to 50%. Tainos were used as slaves and they were forced to do the labor (Roberts, 2019). This torture of Tainos people caused them to commit suicides and doing abortions and taking violent poison. A Taino Cacique who is named as Enriquillo took the hold of Baoruco Mountain for thirteen years and caused a serious damage to the Spanish and their Indian Auxiliaries. The seriousness of the revolt was reduced by sending Captain Francisco Barrionuevo to sign a peace treaty and to reduce the rebels. After thirty days Enriquillo was given an Island to live with peace.

Aborigine Community and the Laws:

The Laws of Burgos established in 1512 to 1513 were the codified set of laws that govern the treatment done by Spanish settlers in America. The Laws specifically addressed the treatment of Native Indians.

The Law forbade the maltreatment done to Natives and allowed the conversion to Catholicism. Although the law provides complete safety to the rights of Natives, but the Spanish Crown felt it difficult to impose these laws in distant colonies.

 

European Diseases and their Impact on the Natives:

The European Diseases caused a population decline in the American Natives. With the interaction between Europeans and Africans the natives suffered a lot and these old-world diseases caused the deaths of 95% native population. These diseases acted as a nightmare for the Natives for next 150 years.

Nearly half of the native population of Hispaniola was killed by smallpox in 1518.  The Inca Civil War was started when the Incan Ruler Huayna Capac was killed by the disease of smallpox (1529-1532).

The Inca Culture faced Typhus in 1546, influenza and smallpox in 1558, smallpox wave in 1589, diphtheria and measles in 1614 and 1618. This ravaged the Inca Civilization and their remains.

Smallpox was responsible for the killing of millions of people in Mexico. It was unintentionally introduced in 1520 at Vercruz on the arrival of Panfilo and Narvaez. This disease of smallpox ravaged Mexico in 1520’s. 150,000 were killed by this disease in Tenochtitlan alone, this aided the victory of Hernan Cortes at Tenochtitlan (present-day Mexico).

 

Reasons why Native Americans Suffered Immense Losses Due to Afro-Eurasian Diseases:

The factors due to which the Native Americans suffered immense loss due to European diseases are discussed in section of the report. For instance, the cow pox disease that is acquired from domestic animals which is not indigenous for the Native Americans. The Europeans had faced these problems from years and had developed immunity against them, but these were new to the Native Americans and they don’t have the immunity against these diseases. The diseases that were introduced by the Europeans were yellow fever, cholera, measles and smallpox. Yellow fever can be deadly for the adults. Children can survive if proper treatment is given because their immune system is in growing phase and they can make internal immunity to that disease for the rest of their life. The adults who have no previous immunity can suffer deadly consequences if this new age disease hits their old immune system which cannot bear the suffering and result in death and causalities.

The Colonization in Caribbean led the ravaging of Arawaks (Lesser Antilles). The culture of Caribbean was destroyed in 1650. By 1550, only 500 persons were lucky enough to survive. Their bloodline continued and they contributed their share in the modern population. The Amazonia’s Indigenous societies continued to suffer from colonization and genocide.

The Aboriginal People of North America suffered from measles and smallpox and 67 % of them died in the first hundred years of European’s Arrival. 90 percent of the native population of Massachusetts Bay died due to smallpox in 1618. At Fort Orange in 1633, the exposure to Europeans and interacting with them caused the induction of smallpox in Native Americans. It can be said that the virus nearly wiped out the entire population and the groups of the Native Americans. The virus reached Lake Ontario by 1636 and the Lands of Iroquois was introduced to the disease in 1679. By 1770, the smallpox disease nearly killed 30% of the West Coast Native Americans. The North American Smallpox Epidemic and the Great Plains Smallpox Epidemic in (1775-82) and 1837 had drastic effects and the depletion of population among the Plains Indians.

 

Smallpox Vaccination Program:

The Federal Government of the United States introduced a smallpox vaccination program for Native Americans in 1832. (The Indian Vaccination Act of 1832).

 

Current Situation:

The Empire of Spain and other European areas re-introduced the horses to the Americas. Some of the horses escaped the territory and breed in the wild. The re-introduction to the horses had a great impact on the revival of culture for the extinct Americans. The domestication of the horses made certain tribes to expand their territories and open trade with the neighbors and capture game, mainly bison.

 

Rise of Indigenous Movements:

By the end of 20^th Century the Indigenous People in Americas became more active and started to contribute in politics. This expanded their influence on the overall community. Some Natives have the mindset of self-determination and are working for the preservation of their culture.

The Organizations named as Coordinator of Indigenous Organization of the Amazon River Basin and the Indian Council of South America are working in order to overcome national borders for the reunification of Indigenous People. The best example is unification of indigenous people across the Amazon Basin.

United States and Canada also observe movements for Indigenous People like International Indian Treaty Council and the Accession of Native Indians to Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (NETWATCH, 2007).

Indigenous Movements for the Protection of Rights of Native Americans are also addressed on the international forum. UN voted the adoption of Declaration of Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

There are certain riots in Colombia in 2008 as to guarantee the Rights of Indigenous People and to defend their population against violence and reconsidering of free trade pact with U.S.

The political involvement of the Indigenous people advanced their role in policy making. The first indigenous candidate who was elected as the head of the country in Latin America was named as Benito Juarez, Benito Juarez was a Zapotec Mexican. He became President of Mexico in 1858 (Kohl, 2013).

The first indigenous president of Bolivia was Evo Morales. Later, he won in 2005, 2009, 2014 and 2019. After that he was forced out of the office and was exiled due to repeatedly victory in 2019. The role of Evo Morales also encouraged other indigenous people to participate actively in politics.

 

Conclusion:

The above essay provided a detail analysis of the Indigenous people of North America and the Aboriginal Community and the role of Europeans on the Aboriginal Community. The Aboriginal Community suffered a lot due to European Colonization. The Europeans made them slaves and used them as human trafficking. They were tortured and sold out and they were forced to work (day and night). Europeans who were advanced at that time and were immune to different diseases introduced diseases like smallpox and measles to the Indigenous Population. The Indigenous Population suffered a lot because they didn’t had immunity against the new diseases. Many groups of the Native People suffered complete wipe out and the remaining were infected and eventually died. They were sent to different countries where they became the source of carrying the virus. Their resources and lands were ruled out by the Europeans and they treated them like slaves and used them to work for them. After the advancement in technology and the human rights there is a visible improve in the rights of Indigenous and the treatment of Europeans to them became less strict due to involvement of UN and Constitutional safety of Human Rights. Recent Participation of Indigenous people in the politics empowered the Indigenous community and they are thinking about reunification by the help of certain global movements to earn their lost dignity and to contribute effectively in the global politics. References are provided in the end of this report in order to prove the authenticity of this report.

 

References:

1)      Indigenous peoples and communities. (2021). Retrieved 6 March 2021, from https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1100100013785/1529102490303

 

2)      Indigenous peoples of the Americas. (2021). Retrieved 6 March 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_peoples_of_the_Americas

 

3)      Roberts, J. (2019). Wendy Warren. New England Bound: Slavery and Colonization in Early America. The American Historical Review, 124(3), 1063-1064.

 

4)      KOHL, B. (2013). Sven Harten, The Rise of Evo Morales and the MAS (London: Zed Books, 2011), pp. viii+262, £18.99; $34.95, pb. Journal Of Latin American Studies, 45(2), 377-379.

 

5)      NETWATCH: Botany's Wayback Machine. (2007). Science, 316(5831), 1547d-1547d.