Indigenous Peoples' Responses to Conquest

Abstract

While American students learn that Columbus' first voyage to the western hemisphere set the stage for colonization and settler states that are regarded by many as successful democracies, Indigenous peoples living in those states today view that historical chapter less favorably. For many Indigenous peoples, who originated in these areas before the arrival of European settlers, the arrival of Europeans signaled a long period of struggle for their physical and cultural survival. Yet they have never remained passive in the face of imperialistic and settler state-building, and their resistance presents these democracies with new challenges.