From South Dakota of USA to Araku Valley of Andhra

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: The Story behind the Unification of USA

The story of “Battle of Wounded Knee Creek” is very interesting and also we can draw several lessons from that about United States of America (USA). By now, USA has established itself as the second biggest democracy in the world but the establishment of USA itself has a major historical crunch in which we need to dwell into in order to understand its historical claims in reality.

There are so many stories, histories written about how the George Washington army ruthlessly annexed tribal lands in Northern American continent in its way to the formation of USA. As social science students at our high school we were told that there are three great revolutions in the world history. They are: Bloodless revolution of England, American Revolution, and French Revolution. All of them are part of evolution of modern democratic set up, we were told. And also were taught of the greatness of George Washington who commanded over the army of US in its liberation struggle. But there are two parts of US liberation struggle.
The first part is the struggle the up coming US nobility in the 13 Colonies on the Atlantic seaboard of North America engaged with Great Britain and won independence to become United States of America. The world history threw heavy light on this development and marked it as a watershed in the evolution of modern democracy.
The second part comes from 1783 to 1890, when the newly formed USA gradually annexed the tribal states in its expansionist scheme to put place the USA what we are seeking today. The second part of the story of unification of America was not debated much in comparison to its first part.

I think, in the year 2000 when I was working as a social activist in Hyderabad I had a discussion with Com. Punyavati who happened at that time State Secretary of All India Democratic Women’s Association. Then I argued that USA does not have its own history, culture as we, and the other countries of eastern hemisphere have. Their so called culture is evolved only in about a century till now. In its emergence the behavior of USA towards its native tribal states and population gives an understanding about its nature. Since then, I kept on looking for new material, books which places my arguments in a sophisticated, structured manner. Finally I found in the book Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, something that I was exactly looking for. This is also a part of history of Civil War that threatened newly emerging American nation. This was is in between the already existing tribal nations and newly emerging American nation.

This not only proves my assumption that USA emerged only after brutal annexation of tribal people who are known as Red Indian tribes. For the outer world, the Western Sociology introduces Red Indians as a single tribe where as that was the nomenclature got significance after the Columbus’s discovery of American continent. Like in today’s India, in America also, there number of tribes such as Sioux, about which the present book deals.

This tribal nation enters in to an agreement called Fort Laramie Treaty 1868 there by shedding some land for the white settlements and reserving some land for the purpose of local tribal population’s utilization such as hunting, food collection as it happened to be a forest till that time. This is where for the first time I heard about the Geographical Reservation Policy, which might be a prelude to the reservation polices and affirmative actions which we have been experiencing in the 20th century.

The whole story revolves around how the US Congress and the local white senator acted in a deceitful manner while expanding the white settlements by violating the treaty they entered in to with the South Dakotan tribal nation Sioux. That means till the 19th century US is experiencing the tribal lives where hunting and other primary production modes are in operation and main forms of livelihood! By 19th century India has emerged in to a single nation physically, psychologically and also politically under the English colonialism.

This annexation of South Dakota also is about the gold rush which was found it those areas in 6th decade of 9th century. This gold rush prompted white rulers to expand the white settlements to these areas in order to justify the planned exploitation of gold mines. Now though it may be a disproportionate comparison, I will compare the Sioux annexation by US with the industrialization of Araku Valley in Andhra Pradesh. In Araku to explore the Bauxite for industrial purpose, the government recently sanctioned environmental clearance for a joint venture for exploiting the Bauxite in Eastern Ghats which are famed for their natural beauty. This approval will also as in the case of Sioux tribe destroy the natural livelihood options of local tribal people. At least the imperial USA implemented some geographical reservation, though that could not avoid the war with the local tribes, the modern democratic governments of Andhra Pradesh and India are not providing for the same. The existing environmental laws mandate the government to provide alternative land (as in the case of Dakota) for the rehabilitation of those displaced due to this project. The governments are not coming forward to implement their own laws. Even though they may provide geographical reservation, they can explicate the natural settings of Araku Valley, thus the industrialist, capitalist greed paving way for the annexation of natural settings some times for its settlements and for some times for its profit !

Finally, perhaps as of US expertise in establishing white settlements (that lead to the emergence of USA as a modern nation), it is helping, guiding and also directing all necessary means to expand the Jewish settlements in Palestine lands where by destroying the Palestine Arabs as a nation as they had done with in the case of Red Indian Tribes !!!