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BarkellWH -> RE: Mad Max (Nov. 30 2014 19:08:00)
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quote:
I am not nearly as familiar with U.S. government policy toward genocide as I am with attitudes of "Anglo" Texans of my great-grandparents' generation, and of the resulting Texas government policies, both as a republic and as a state. You will note that there are very few Indian reservations in Texas, and the few which exist are very small.
No doubt about the attitudes, Richard. But I think that attitude was shared by many living in the borderlands of Arizona and other states and territories (not just Texas), as opposed to official U.S. Government policy of forcing Indians onto rservations. Texas has very few Indian reservations, but I'm not sure that is a consequence of Texans' attitudes toward Indians. In the first place, the major Indian presence in Texas was the Commanche, and the Commanche entered Texas from the area of the Southern Rockies. When the Commanche established themselves in Texas, they drove out many other Indian tribes and groups, most prominently the Mescalero Apache. Then the Federal Government in the 19th century drove the Commanche out of Texas and onto reservations in Oklahoma. The placement of Indian reservations was primarily the responsibility of the Federal Government, not the states. That might go a long way in explaining why there are fewer Indian reservations in Texas.
Regarding the Commanche forcing the Apache out, it is a historical fact that many Indian tribes and groups were subjugated and forced out of their territory by other Indian tribes. A prime example in Arizona is the Navajo who, along with the Apache (both Athabaskans), came down from Canada to their current territory in Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. Both Navajo and Apache were nomadic and aggrssive toward tribes existing in the region. They made war against the sedentary tribes such as the Hopi, Zuni, and other tribes who had been in the region for centuries. In fact, the Hopi, Zuni, and others, who we now call "Pueblo Indians," established themselves in their iconic cliff dwellings, not because of the Spanish, but prior to the Spanish arrival in order to protect themselves from marauding Navajo and Apache. The myth of "peaceful" Indians living in harmony with their surroundings and their fellows is, in many cases, just that--a myth. It was true in some cases, and in some cases not.
By the way, if you want to read a very good book on how certain vigilantes and "scalp-hunters" operated along the Texas-Mexico borderlands, I highly recommend Cormac McCarthy's "Blood Meridian." It is the tale of "The Judge" and his band roaming the borderlands and killing Indians. It is not easy reading, and the violence inherent in the story is relentless. But I think it is the best book written to date by McCarhy.
Bill
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