Black Elk Speaks 2

http://de.academic.ru/pictures/dewiki/66/Big_Foot__dead_at_Wounded_Knee_%281890%29.jpg

I noted in my earlier DB that the way European Americans interacted with Native Americans amounted to something very closely resembling genocide. I think it is safe to say that today most educated Americans are well aware that our ancestors did not treat Natives with the respect they deserve. But how many know about the deliberate and common acts of barbarity by the "Wasichus" (Europeans)? Most people have heard of Wounded Knee and the Trail of Tears. But how many have heard about the Pequot War or the Sand Creek Massacre? The history of Native Americans is shrouded in tears and blood.
For the most part, in all honesty, I had no idea what Black Elk was talking about for most of his accounts. I had to read summaries online, and the sobering tale of the Sioux's utter defeat became more clear to me. In particular, his account of Wounded Knee was particularly depressing, with American soldiers stopping at nothing to slaughter the Sioux. The image of "a little baby trying to suck its mother, but she was bloody and dead" was especially haunting (Black Elk Speaks xxxiv).
What drives people to commit such acts? How is such depravity fostered in otherwise seemingly normal people? I think the answer to this question is that the people who engaged in these acts were not aware of the pain they were causing due to a complete lack of understanding, something I touched on in my last DB. I cannot for a second believe that the white men responsible for these killings viewed Native Americans as equal, or maybe not even as true people.An image of the Sand Creek Massacre
http://home.comcast.net/~zebrec/imgs/sand_creek_massacre.JPG
The differences between these two groups was significant. Of particular interest to me in Black Elk's anecdotes is the segment where he travels to Europe. Black Elk does not understand why Europeans do the things they do, and the Europeans treat him like a exotic circus freak show. While the way Europeans treated Native was in no way excusable, it is almost depressingly easy to see how and why it happened. Genocide is never right, but it is sad how much a part of human history it has become.
Because of the history of Native American subjugation, Black Elk's testimony is therefore that more fascinating and important. It is not often that we hear about the Native's viewpoint about incidents like Wounded Knee. To me, the tragedy that is the story of Native peoples is perfectly encapsulated when Black Elk describes the white men throwing dead Elk and Bison overboard on the way back from Europe: "When I saw the poor bison thrown over, I
felt like crying, because I thought right there they were throwing part of the power of my
people away…." ( Black Elk Speaks xxxii)