There is a family. They are stripped of their land, their things, their traditions, even each other. The land they once lived on with joy is being destroyed and laden with the massacred bodies of their neighbors. This was said to be done out of love, a claim that can easily be proved false.

      The rich, white "Christians" came to the rescue to bring "the savages" the message of love (so they claimed) and instead made their hands weapons of hate and destruction. When I read Native American writering like Sarah Winnemucca's "Life Among the Piutes: Their Wrongs and Claims", my heart aches at the evil that was done to them- of the life that was sucked out of them, "My people have been so unhappy for a long time they wish now to disincrease, instead of multiply" (Winnemucca 67). With each word in that rich sentence she pours out the pain and torment that is only the result of ignorant, hateful, humans who cannot be of Christ. Nothing makes me angrier than when people misrepresent God and Jesus and do things that are evil claiming to be off the one who is good, just and full of love. Reading Winnemucca made me think of how that type of hypocrisy happens even today. Christianity in America has left a bitter taste in peoples mouths and an image that screams closed-minded, pushy, ignorant, Republican, self-absorbed, and, worse of all, unloving. God is none of those things, in fact, God is love (English Standard Version Bible, 1 John 4.8). Also, those who claim Christianity may not be of Christ because people who follow him love like him, "By this people will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another" (English Standard Bible, John 13.35).

      I wonder if people would've showed love to the Native Americans if there could have been harmony. I wonder if there was more genuine love now if there would be more harmony. My point in harping on this is to learn from the past, to grab hold of the now, and not let anything hinder love. I wish I could go back in time and tell Native Americans that, and that I could show them love and offer protection from the evils of the world, rather than being the evil inflicted upon them. 

     There was arrogance in "the white man's" heart and there was a "need" for a Native American genocide. Not only did they wipe the natives out in bloody massacres, but then they tried to make "peace" by shoving them on to reservations (Anitei). The children of a lot of natives didn't even go to reservations but special boarding schools. The reality of it is that the government was trying to brain wash the children of the Native Americans so they could continue their desires of expanding (Trabich). The way "Christian values" were taught to them was in a forcible and negative way, " Indian education began with forts erected by Jesuits, in which indigenous youths were incarcerated, indoctrinated with non-indigenous Christian values, and forced into manual labor" (Trabich). 

     I believe that there is still racism today because of the events of the past. There is not only a false image of Native Americans, but also of Christians. The people who claimed to be Christian were full of pride and only pushing their own agendas, and that happens still today. Christians are viewed as hypocrites, and thats mostly because those who claim Christ, do not confess sin, but hide it away to make themselves out to be more righteous (Charlotte; Nicole; Marshall). Also, as I said before, not everyone who say they are Christian actually are. So much was wrong and is wrong with the way people treat other people. I only pray that love can grow and outshine all the evil past, present, and future.

Work Cited

 Anitei, Stefan. “The Clash of Two Cultures: Native Americans and White People.” Softpedia. 27 November 2007. Web. 22 February 2009. <http://news.softpedia.com/news/The-Clash-of-Two-Cultures-Native-Americans-and-White-People-72097.shtml>.

Charlotte. “Christians Are Hypocrites.” Evil Bible. Chris Thiefe. Web.  22 February 2012. <www.evilbible.com/christians_are_hypocrites.htm>.

Colourbox. 2012. Web. 22 February 2012. <www.colourbox.com>.

 Marshall, Leslie. “Christian Hypocrisy from the Religious Right.” US News. 26 October 2011. Web 22 February 2012. <http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/leslie-marshall/2011/10/26/christian-hypocrisy-from-the-religious-right>.

Moore, Roger T.. “Moore Texas”. Texas Escapes.  29 July 2008. Web. 22 February 2012. <www.texasecapes.com/Cartoons/20080728Indian-Reservation.htm>

Nicole. “Christianity: Fear, Hypocrisy, Self-Righteousness and Selfish Greed.” Exchristian. 6 April 2009. Web. 22 February 2009. <http://testimonials.exchristian.net/2009/04/christianity-fear-hypocrisy-self.html>.

Trabich, Leah. “Native American Genocide Still Haunts United States.” An End to Tolerance. Iearn. Volume 5. 2005. Web. 22 February 2012. <http://www.iearn.org/hgp/aeti/aeti-1997/native-americans.html>.

Winnemucca, Sarah. "Life Among the Piutes: Their Wrongs and Claims." 1883. The Literary West: An Anthology of Western American Literature. Ed. Thomas J. Lyon. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 67. Print.