Indigenous Genocides: A Process of Eliminationism

A crime that was without a name… “We are in the presence of a crime without a name.” - Winston Churchill describing the brutality of the German forces occupying USSR, 1941.

A crime that was without a name… “In sheer numbers, these and other killings make the 20th century the bloodiest period in human history” (Unknown). “We will never learn from crimes from the past, instead we will use them as blueprints for the future” (Unknown).

Genocide geno = meaning race/tribe/family cide = meaning killing/to kill The word genocide was coined in the midst of the Holocaust by Raphael Lemkin.

The 1948 U.N. Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide defined genocide as: Acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, gendered, or religious group.

Indigenous Genocides (not a complete list) The First Nations, Métis and Inuit of Canada Genocide (Colonial + Canadian Government) 1600s/1800s - Present Death toll: Population declined 80-90% in the first 100 years, death in the millions

Indigenous Genocides (not a complete list) The Native Americans of USA Genocide (Colonial + US Government) 1492 - Present Death toll: Population declined 80-90% in the first 100 years, death in the millions

Indigenous Genocides (not a complete list) The Mayan Genocide/Guatemalan Genocide (Spain and Guatemalan Government) 1521-1697; 1981-83 - Present 88% of them died during the first ten years of colonial rule

Indigenous Genocides (not a complete list) The Maori Genocide in New Zealand (Britian/Colonial Government) 1791 - Present The population was estimated at about 1,600 in the mid-1830s with about 10% and 20% of the population having died from infectious diseases

Indigenous Genocides (not a complete list) The Aborigines Genocide in Australia/Tasmania (British/Colonial Government) 1824 - Present Of an estimated population of over half a million, fewer than 50,000 Australian Aborigines survived by 1900

Indigenous Genocides (not a complete list) The Inuit Genocide in Siberia/Russia (Russian Government) 1645 - Present 8,000 out of a previously 20,000 strong population remained

Indigenous Genocides (not a complete list) The Ainu Genocide in Japan (Japanese Government) 1869 - Present Exact deaths currently unknown; estimated to be in the thousands

Indigenous Genocides (not a complete list) The Herero and Namibian Genocide in German South-West Africa (the Congo Free State) (German Government) 1885 – Present It is estimated that 200,000 Africans died from famine with some areas completely and permanently devoid of human life

GENOCIDE Happens everywhere and to any type of person but has been especially subjected on Indigenous Peoples. Genocide is often understood as worse than war.

GENOCIDE Genocide is a process that develops in ten stages that are predictable, but not inexorable. At each stage, preventive measures can stop it.

THE STAGES OF GENOCIDE Classification Symbolization Discrimination Dehumanization Organization Polarization Preparation Persecution Extermination Denial There are TEN stages of genocide according to Dr. Gregory Stanton (see additional handout):

GENOCIDE Perpetrator = a person who perpetrates, or commits, an illegal, criminal, or evil act. Victim/Survivor = a person harmed, injured, or killed as a result of a crime, accident, or other event or action.

GENOCIDE Bystander = a person who, although present at some event, does not take part in it; an observer or spectator. Upstander = a person who is present but does not take part in it instead actively works to stop the killing.

WHY GENOCIDE? Reasons for Genocide: Choice Leaders choose to initiate killing People choose to participate Those who have the power to stop it choose to do nothing

WHY GENOCIDE? Reasons for Genocide: Leaders The decision to begin a genocide is the decision of the leader or a small group of leaders = it is a choice to maintain their political goals Genocides are mutinously planned not spontaneous The people committing these atrocities are not crazed – they know, feel that they are right, and act (they are conscious/sane)

WHY GENOCIDE? Reasons for Genocide: Prejudice Tap into pre-existing prejudice = state that these people are threats + are non-human Technology is not needed to kill = it is the will not the way

WHY GENOCIDE? Reasons for Genocide: Cruelty Cruelty is at the heart of Genocide Brutally far exceeds the need to kill the targeted people Overkill = killing in excess – women and children especially targets Rape is a component of genocide = getting rid of a particular group

WHY GENOCIDE? Reasons for Genocide: Non-Human The targeted people are seen as less worthy, less than human Because the instigators of genocide do not see the human in the other it is possible to kill; they kill with zeal because they see the others as a threat/as dangerous

WHY GENOCIDE? Reasons for Genocide: Elimination It is about the elimination of a targeted group not about killing Genocide is part of a larger phenomenon - eliminationism

Genocide is preventable PREVENT GENOCIDE Genocide is preventable Gain the knowledge = with the knowledge you have the responsibility/obligation as a human being to remember + act, speak, and mobilize the international community to stop genocide.

WHY TEACH ABOUT INDIGENOUS GENOCIDES? Discuss