How come people of European ancestors who came here years ago say their ancestors came here legally if the..?

Question

Natives did not say their was a way of coming here legally or illegally because most of the Europeans came here for land,power and greed.Then after they did this they stole the land from the Natives who were kind to the whites in the first place. Then after they went on with Manifest Destiney saying God wanted the people to extend the U.S. of A. from the Atlantic to Pacific ocean.When they made the offer to Mexico which Mexico denied they went on and went to war for the land that was not even theirs meaning it was stolen.And yet they complain saying get the illegals out of here when in fact when their ancestors came here they did not come legally.They were not even invited here.They brought diseases and yet they say we natives/Latin Americans are sickly you practically wiped out most of our people with all your sickness which we did not even know existed until you uninvitingly showed up.

Answer 1

I understand your viewpoint. The same aspects of immigration that many in the US are scared of (becoming the minority, ect.) were bestowed upon Native Americans by the current majority. I to find it ironic that the decendants of these same people are very fast to protect the society they built on the backs of others... being "illegals" themselves at one point in time.

Also, historically, when Native legends described "the other people", they were usually talking about other tribes in the area. The Bering Land Bridge THEORY (only a theory folks) has many flaws that don't really add up. For example if the bridge opened up roughly 21 - 27 000 years ago at the latest... how can you explain a 40 000 year old skull at the bottom of a California alluvial fan? IF there were people here before natives were, there is no way that the natives could have completely killed them all. This genocide theory makes no sense whatsoever. If anything, they were simply absorbed. Mostly all creation sagas in Native relgiions across North and South America are very specific of where they originated and where they inhabit. Further to boot, linguistically it's almost impossible to categorize Natives with Asians. Not only are most major Amerind langauges completely different, but there's hundreds of them.

So here we have a theory stating that people from Asia travelled East (even though major migratory patterns for large mammals was North/South), went through 11 mountain ranges all the way to Great Slave Lake in Northern Canada...and then for no reason whatsoever decided to turn South (even though this area was undoubtedly at that time covered with ice anyways). Then they hit an area around what is now Calgary, Alberta, and then for no reason whatsoever after travelling together for over 1000 years, through 11 mountain ranges, and with all the supplies attached to their travel..... they broke up into hundreds of different tribes and went all the way down to South America... all for apparently no reason whatsoever. FACT it's debatable whether there was a Bering Land Bridge. FACT trans-Pacific trade was commonplace long before the average European new the Earth was round. FACT this theory makes no sense whatsoever!

There's no way to morally justify what the United States government (and private individuals) did to the Natives in the past. Taking native children to schools to be "civilized", loosing their culture, language, ect... simply becuase the white conquerors though them inadequate for "progress". Progress, which as we all now, simply harvesting natural resources and changing the landscape in order to provide for a consumer economy which was completely unsustainable.

Back to immigration, realistically these days, I believe many issues should be addressed to REALLY solve illegal immigration. Imagine how much it would change, if somehow the US could regulate it's manufacturing sectors to pay Mexican and Central American workers the same it pays american ones. Perhaps save a few jobs in the US, and make Mexico and Central America more prosperous completely eliminating the need to illegally enter the US. This is an issue of disparity, not illegality. As long as the average Mexican makes 1/7th the amount the average American does... illegal immigration will NEVER stop.

Answer 2

We, like Mexico, got our land through conquest. In fact every country in the world did. We do things differently today. However, we also, not the native Americans, are the ones who built the infrastructure and economy and services people are running to. People don't illegally immigrate to the reservations to stay there, just as a foyer to the rest of the country.

When my ancestors came, this was an English colony, and we came from Germany, so we really didn't have that much to do with the native Americans. Our latest branch to came came in the 1800s when the US government needed farmers and offered them land for 5 years, but no other aid, to get a productive farm going. Times have changed. However, we came legally.

Answer 3

I have to respond to some of the ridiculous comments.

Lakota does not represent Native people. I have attempted to show her respect. But it is pointless. She does not speak for all or even most Native people. I am a Native woman, myself and just about every Native I know don't agree with her philosophy at all.

And just because something is in the past DOES NOT mean we should forget about it. Until everyone is realize to acknowledge the history of this country we still need to bring this topic up over & over. Because until it can be acknowledged and built upon no healing can begin.

Riddlah - And who ever said that Natives or anyone else wants all Whites to leave. We are saying we want acknowledgment of the past and education on cultural issues, especially immigration!

And I know several creation myths and culture and history. I do NOT know what Walter is talking about. Another justification that people try and use over and over, that Natives were savages. This is simply untrue. And even if one believed that it still would not justify Genocide, Cultural Genocide, Rape, Land Theft, Kidnapping, and CONTINUED Oppression.

Your facts are not wrong. You are hurting no one but the uneducated and ignorant stubborn people who refuse to accept this information.

Igive2 - It does matter. This issue is still affecting people today. The law you are talking about was made by oppressors and was made from MANY stereotypes and little truth. Immigration, even illegal immigration, benefits this country more than it hurts it. Let's all get educated on this issue.

Dar- Natives had a healthy economy and infrastructure before colonization. They had advanced science and extremely low crime of every type. It was a good place to live and it did not KILL EARTH like we are doing now.

Even for all the people who came "legally" You still have to fight for cultural education and know the facts about immigration. By continuing to spread false information or insist you have a right to be here you are only continuing oppression. We all need to work as allies and put as much time into helping each other as we do now hating each other.

I AM A NATIVE WOMAN and I do support immigration, even illegal immigration. I stand as an ally to my indigenous brothers and sisters from around the world. And I support education.

I cannot believe how many people on here are telling you this and that and they are SO uneducated about the issue. Trying to act like their opinions are facts... What a waste of time.

Answer 4

I wouldn't know. My Narragansett Indian ancestors completely intermarried with my white Mayflower ancestors and none of us hurt or abused the other. None of us ever fought in the Mexican War, had slaves, distributed small-pox bearing blankets or any other thing. Maybe you would be better served to find out which specific persons have done you and your ancestors wrong instead of labeling all of us as evil.

By the way, according to the myths of the major Native American groups, including both the Bear people and the Eagle people, before Them and YOU came here, there was an indigenous native population loosely called "the other people" that were wiped out by your and other native Americans' ancestors who came over on the land bridge from Asia. So that means your ancestors killed them and took their property, so you are just as bad as the Europeans, only more so, because you try to hide that fact and rub later sins in innocent peoples' faces. PLUS most Mexicans are at least 1/4 EUROPEAN - hint: look at Spain on the map.

I PERSONALLY AM INNOCENT OF WHAT EUROPEANS IN THE PAST DID - JUDGE ME MY BY ACTIONS

Answer 5

Walter's right. Lakota's right.

I don't know how you're gonna do it, kiddo, but somehow, you need to remove all that nasty Euro-blood in your system. Einstien split the atom. Maybe you can figure out how to split DNA.

But get real, here. No one's coming here for the land. Mexico, Central and South America, they all HAVE land. More than the U.S. And every last economy down there is so bad that they have to come here to find a job.

You're not coming here for a "place" but for a way of life. And we're not the only one's with that way of life. Japan, Korea, Sweden, China, Isreal, Germany, Taiwan, etc, etc, etc, all had the foresight to reduce demand (births) and increase supply (education levels).

You're actually hurting Latin America by ranting the same misinformation they are. You need to "Japanize" or "Germanize" or something. Japan, without giving up any of their culture or ethnic heritage, copied practically everything the outside world had done. Right down to Tokyo Disney.

I would advise the same for Latinos.

Answer 6

Mexichica, I wish I could use the proper words to describe you and your utterly ridiculous statement, but I'm afraid that would get my answer deleted by Yahoo censors. Tell me this, did the Aztecs in Mexico just gave their land out of the goodness of their hearts to your European ancestors that came from Spain?. No, Spanish Conquistadors killed the Aztecs, stole their land and gold and raped their women, so who the hell are you to lecture us?.

Answer 7

In your rant, you say "we natives/Latin Americans" Your choice of capitilization tells me a lot about you & who you are defending, you certainly dont hold my ancestory in high regards, and you do not have enough education on the matter to be held creditable as a spokesperson for Native Americans across North America. Go peddle your skewed propaganda elsewhere. You are NOT a Native American. Leave MY country.

Answer 8

Put away the native card, because you aren't American Indian, and don't speak for me. Illegal aliens don't have the right to cross our border, and they are the second invasion.

Walter - Agree, the mestizos like to forget about their Spanish blood, and their history warring with the American Indians, especially the Apache.

RedPower - This is the immigration section. The reason why I post here, is because I am a Rancher, a Mother, and a U.S. taxpayer. I obviously don't live on the rez. I spend thousands of dollars a year to clean up after Mexican illegals who leave trash, destruction, and dead bodies on my land. Drug smugglers carry loaded weapons, and shoot at my family. I can care less about DNA ties with the tribes of Mexico at this moment. If you want to embrace mestizos, that's fine, if you want to want to live in the past, that's fine. None of that, is going to resolve the problems I face as a Rancher, a Mother, and an American taxpayer.

Furthermore "Native Woman", I am not alone as a Native American in this section against the illegal aliens. There is nothing in the above portion of my answer, that states that I speak for all Native Americans, I speak for me, and I am tired of people speaking for me, including you with your previous "bitterness" assumption. I would appreciate it, if you leave my name out of your answers from this point forward, especially since you want to be the "authority" on Native Americans in this section. I don't know you, never met you, you are not my elder, or a member of my tribe. I don't even answer on behalf of Lakota, although I get positive feedback, from Lakota in my email account. You are never going to agree with my "philosophy", because you don't have a clue of what I have to go through, when it comes to border crossings, and immigration issues.

Answer 9

The motivation for coming to America has nothing to do with whether or not it was legal. Nor does it have anything to do with the dastardly things that were done to the Native Americans or the naked-land-grab that was the Mexican-American War.

Answer 10

I have a better question for you: Why do some people ask the same questions that were already asked several times before? Why not just use the search option first to see if the questions were already asked before asking them?

I've answered questions similar to yours several times and have seen questions like yours already answered.