Racism against Native Americans in the United States

Both during and after the colonial era in American history, white settlers engaged in prolonged conflicts with Native Americans in the United States, seeking to displace them and seize their lands, resulting in Native American enslavement and forced assimilation into settler culture. The 19th century witnessed a surge in efforts to forcibly remove certain Native American nations, while those who remained faced systemic racism at the hands of the federal government. Ideologies like Manifest destiny justified the violent expansion westward, leading to the passage of the Indian Removal Act of 1830 and armed clashes.

The dehumanization and demonization of Native Americans, epitomized in the United States Declaration of Independence, underscored a pervasive attitude that underpinned colonial and post-colonial policies. Historical events such as the California genocide, American Indian Wars, and the forced removal of the Navajos reflected the deep-seated racism and violence which were both ingrained in American expansionism, perpetuating a legacy of suffering, forced displacement, and death among indigenous peoples.

Today, despite legal recognition of their formal equality, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders grapple with economic disparities and disproportionately high rates of health issues, including alcoholism, depression, and suicide. Native Americans face a higher likelihood of being killed in police encounters than any other racial or ethnic group. Native Americans are overrepresented and receive harsher sentences in the criminal justice system, and experience severe disparities in health and healthcare. Racism, oppression, and discrimination persist, fueling a crisis of violence against Native Americans, compounded by societal indifference.