native Americans are the founding fathers of America not Benjamin Franklin?

Question

the native american indian are the only true americans this should never be forgotten, why benjamin franklin got the recognition of founding america when it's not true. yea of the courses the europeans took the land from the native americans which did not belong to them. a white person representing america doesn't make sense aren't the native american suppose to do that part they are the original ones not the europeans . trust me we have enough european representing their country we dont need one in america. and about the europeans fighting for america well thank you i appreciate but they were basically fighting for the land that was stolen from the native americans. europeans living in america never forget where you come from stop denying your culture and learn french, italian, german, polish, russian, dutch because someday it will be useful in case you want to visit your homeland europe. i've to been to european it is a beautiful place and it is not a bad place to start a living.

and please the racism needs to stop. have respect for other races.

yea the white man helped america gain popularity. you need the land to built the country.

for those i wanting to know my nationality i happen to be swiss

Answer 1

You're absolutely right. I couldn't agree with you any more.

Answer 2

I completely agree with you. And some of the respondents obviously don't know very much about Native Americans before contact.

FACTS:
1) They did have a sense of land ownership. The tribes differ tremendously (much more diverse than Europe at that time in fact), but they all did have a concept of land ownership. Usually it involved trap lines in Northern North America and the woodlands... but even Plains Natives had a very strong sense of territory. So don't say they didn't have a concept of land ownserhip.

2) Not all European nations treated the Natives they way Americans/British colonials did. The French in Canada were very respectful actually... most Natives through the Ohio Valley were allied with them. This all has to do with business and kinship ties. Natives provided furs, Europeans sold, Natives got payment in tangible goods beneficial to them. It was all about business until....

3) The United States revolted. The British set out the Royal Proclamation of 1763 banning Americans from individual land purchase of Native territory, and from moving to Canada or West of the Appalachains. Americans didnt like that and revolted, and invaded whatever they wanted anyways.

There is a growing sense that Natives should be more included. I dont live in the STates so I have no idea about US law, but I know here in Canada that some commissions have wanted Constitutional recognition of Natives as a third founding nation in CAnada (British and French are the current 2). Also a third tier of governmnet at the federal level directly related to Native governance. I think these are all great ideas, but unfortunatley in North America there seems to be a sense that Natives need to be looked after and told what is good for them. I sincerely hope that one day Indian Affairs will actually listen to.. and be governed by.. Natives themselves... WHAT A CONCEPT.

Answer 3

People with European background are the founders of the country, the United States of America. Perhaps the land did not belong to them, but do not forget it did not belong to the American Indians either. In their own culture, American Indians believed nobody could own land or have a natural claim to it, but rather land was for people to use. They did not have a sense of property as Europeans did. Furthermore, American Indians were not native to the Americas at all!

If one wants to be technically correct about the natives, the American continent had none! The American Indians are thought to have actually migrated to the Americas through the Bering Strait, back when it was not covered in water. In fact, genetic tests of "indiginous" American Indian populations has revealed that their genes originate in South-East Asia. Whats even more interesting is that some populations of American Indians actually have a genetic marker that is only found in Europe!

This seems to suggest that we are all not as different as we once thought we were doesn't it?

In fact it seems the only truly correct answer to the question of who really is an American native are the people born in the Americas regardless of genetic or cultural background!

Answer 4

The reason we call them the "Founding Fathers" is because they founded a GOVERNMENT, not a LAND. Yes, we know who the original owners of the LAND are but based on your theory should we also round up all Arabs in Europe and send them back to the Middle East? Should we round up all black people in the Americas and send them back to Africa? I'm living in my homeland, thank you very much. I'm an American Southerner and my identity is based on this country despite the fact that I'm physically white. The concept of a "white people culture" has no meaning or appeal to me whatsoever. Southerners have a beautiful culture employing dialect, food, folkways, literature, music, etc. that is based on the blending of races. I'm sick of people being offended by that and always trying to break us up as I think we need more of this type of thing. I resent people suggesting that the only ones who have a right to be here are the few that are almost completely indigenous. You also need to get an education because a lot of us DO HAVE at least some indigenous ancestry despite our white or black skin tone. My ancestors have been here hundreds of years and if I have any native descent then it's thousands. If something were to happen to this place I have no clue where I would go. Some Yanks could easily blend into Canada but Southerners are completely different. I guess we'd just all split up and go to Ireland, Australia, West Africa, Mexico, the Caribbean, etc. but we are so unique that we don't fit into any one place. I'm not sure why so many foreigners are always being so negative about this part of the world but I have no interest in leaving the land of my ancestors.

Answer 5

The people that were living on the plains were here because they wandered over the Bering straights from Russia and found warmer pastures in North America.
They never called it America they never got together to form a nation. They were individual tribes just like the tribes that wandered Europe and Asia before people started to live in one place and build homes.Some tribes still wander in Africa, Asia and South America.
People move and take from another all the time.This wasn't a first time historical event and its still going on when you look at Europe today.
To point your finger and say no people could come to this land and could not build homes because they were trying to avoid living under a cruel ruler is ridiculous.
Who said Ben Franklin founded America? Leif Erikson and Christopher Columbus found this area for the Europeans just like Marco Polo opened Asia for the Europeans.
Just because people live in one country a long time doesn't mean you cannot move to another area and live there.
People all over the world move all the time. Some cultures take over other cultures its an ongoing process.
You sound like an isolationist.
That has been tried all ready.. it didn't work.
Europe is a lousy place to live its in chaos over there and if you think its not you haven't been watching BBC America.

Answer 6

A nice thought but unrealistic.
The native population were living in an area of land which was NOT America. It was just a vast area of open country in which the separate tribes wandered about in a little, taking only from the land that which was necessary.
The Union came along a lot later. In addition, they had no concept of land ownership, which is why they were easil;y duped out of their natural habitat by conniving white men.
The remainder of your input all adds up and I have full and unrerved sympathy for the lot of the First Nation.
However, it seems that every man and his dog wants to claim a First Nation heritage these days, with the legalising of casinos (and subsequent wealth) on 'reservation' land and only for true First Nation people. More power to the true! Deserved.

Answer 7

All inhabitants of what is now America were immigrants, and that includes Native Americans. How far do you want to go back?

Sorry, but it's true that Franklin was one of the founders of the United States of America. Whatever the Native Americans may be founding fathers of, it isn't America.

My culture is American, not European. My ancestors came here in the late 1600s. I think we've assimilated by now.

Answer 8

But who are you to say that the Native Americans were the original "founding fathers" or "true Americans" either?

Research and archaeological evidence now shows that "Native Americans" migrated into what is now North and South America thousands of years ago, themselves.... and may have been just the latest people to have migrated to, and displaced other original settlers. So they themselves can't really be called true "Americans" either, since the original occupants were of Asian and possibly African decent.

It is now universally recognized that neither Vespucci nor Columbus "discovered" America. They were of course preceded by the pre-historic Asian forebears of Native Americans, who migrated across some ice-bridge in the Bering Straits or over the stepping stones of the Aleutian Islands. A black African discovery of America, it has been argued, took place around 3,000 years ago, and influenced the development of Mayan, Aztec, and Inca civilizations.

So we are ALL from somewhere else, even though we may have been associated with a particular place for thousands of years.

I'm Siksika, and my family has a long tradition of recounting the stories of where we came from originally. It's well known that other people lived on the land now known as America, before we did.

BTW.... you say you are Swiss, yet according to your past questions, you're currently living in the US, want to apply for US citizenship (which means that you're NOT an American citizen) but now want to immigrate to the UK. and have been to "European" (by which I'm assuming you mean "Europe") and you're talking to US about denying OUR culture ????
Where do YOU come from, and who are you to judge ?

Answer 9

Talk about calling the kettle black.. Like What did the Europeons do to get there lands? Did they just spring up one day and start living? No .. you invaded and conquered. What The USA did here in American was very tame to what "YOU" did..
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Everybody should read his other questions.. hes supposedly in america going to college in Philly and wanting to move to england, My guess is he has a hair across his A S S because hes being deported..

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And get your history right we had more than just Good old Ben as a founding father..

Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry, John Hancock, Thomas Paine, Roger Sherman, John Jay, James Wilson, and Governeur Morris.

Why don't you be more specific like where your from ? whats your HOMELAND? I would imagine your insulting some Europeon countries who consider themselves individual.. just because you share a common currency (EURO) doesn't make you all relatives.. SO be a man and tell us were your from and see if we can make up some lies about what your country did. Are you sure your Europeon? you talk alot like your a Jihad..

Answer 10

I have both Native American and European ancestry. I am Iroquois and I am in New York. I know that the US constitution was based largely on the ideas of the Indian Nations agreements.
but
The United States was founded by Europeans. Yes, the land was stolen. Yes, they had no right to come here and found a country, but they still did. Look up what it means to found a nation, and then look up what nation this is.
The president is elected by the majority. If you want a Native American president, then that person will have to be elected.
The milk is already spilled, but go ahead and cry your eyes out.

Answer 11

I agree. Native Americans, "dubbed Indians BTW by the "white man" have gotten the fuzzy end of the lollipop for centuries.
They've been pushed around, slaughtered, suffered alot of attrocoties, and seem to have dealt with it with an incredible amount of dignity. I think it's awesome how they have carried themselves and their culture, and how they've truly tried to preserve their way of life.
I have some native american roots in me, and even though it's not that much, it's something I'm proud of.