Native American Genocide

The first Indigenous people of North America have been the victims of genocide by the United States for hundreds of years. The devastation that has been brought upon the first Americans has caused them to develop severe health issues. It all started when the Europeans demanded that the Native people that they came into contact with converted to Catholicism, and show them where the gold was, or else they would be killed. The oppression and slaughter of the Native Americans long continued after Christopher Columbus came into contact with Native Indians in the Caribbean. The colonist tried to take control of land that they thought they were entitled to, and in doing so, they killed thousands of people, and disheartened a society. After the colonist
force many of the natives off the land their ancestors had lived on for, they tried to instill the American culture on many of the Native Indian children. Mainly trying to disconnect them from their previous culture and ancestry. After most of the Native American population was killed off, the ones who had survived were put on reservations. Since most of the US government looked down upon the first Indigenous people, many of them had trouble finding jobs, and were ripped off by the government. This constant oppression has caused a number of health problems to manifest in the Native American community like alcoholism, depression, obesity, and drug dependance. Many of the people living on reservations struggle with being suicidal, and other mental health issues.