Genocide
When people first hear the word genocide, many automatically think of the Holocaust. While this is not an uncommon initial reaction, we must acknowledge and be aware of other occurrences of genocide throughout history. By the United Nations definition, the creation and implementation of Native American boarding schools constitutes genocide.
The TermThe term genocide was coined by Polish lawyer Raphael Lemkin [Image 1.] in the years following World War II and the atrocities of the Holocaust. In his book Axis Rule in Occupied Europe, Lemkin introduces and defines the term ‘genocide,’ as the “state-sponsored, systematic and intended extermination of ethnic groups or entire human groups.” [1]
Lemkin, who was Jewish, left Poland after the German invasion in 1939, settling in the United States. [2] During the conflict, Lemkin worked for the United States War Department, where he analyzed Nazi movements and policy, giving him a deep understanding of the Nazi regime’s racialized motives.
Lemkin helped the United States prepare its case at the Nuremburg Trials and later lobbied the newly formed United Nations [Image 2.] for an international definition on genocide. [3] On December 9, 1948, “the United Nations approved the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide,” making the actions or intention of committing genocide punishable under international law. [4]
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The International LawThe United Nations defines genocide as any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, racial, ethnic or religious group:
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deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part
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forcibly transferring children of the group to another group [5]
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Were Native American Boarding Schools Genocide?
Based on the United Nations definition of genocide, and the information you have learned throughout this site, would you consider the creation and implementation of Native American boarding schools by the United States an act of genocide?
Did the United States do any, all, or several of the following, when creating and implementing boarding schools:
Kill members of the Native American population?
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Cause serious bodily or mental harm to members of the Native American population?
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Deliberately inflict on Native Americans conditions of life meant to cause physical destruction?
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Impose measures intended on preventing births within Native American populations?
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Forcibly transfer Native American children from one group to another?
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Page Citations:
[1] James V. Fenelon and Clifford E. Trafzer. “From Colonialism to Denial of California Genocide to Misrepresentations: Special Issue on Indigenous Struggles in the Americans.” American Behavioral Scientist 58, 1 (2014): 5.
[2] United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. “Coining a Word and Championing a Cause: The Story of Raphael Lemkin.” Accessed November 2016. https://www.ushmm.org/ wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007050.
[3] United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. “Coining a Word and Championing a Cause: The Story of Raphael Lemkin.”
[4] United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. “Coining a Word and Championing a Cause: The Story of Raphael Lemkin.”
[5] Elisa Helgensen. “Allotment of Justice” How U.S. Policy in Indian Country Perpetuates the Victimization of American Indians.” University of Florida Journal of Law and Public Policy 22 (2011): 446.
[1] James V. Fenelon and Clifford E. Trafzer. “From Colonialism to Denial of California Genocide to Misrepresentations: Special Issue on Indigenous Struggles in the Americans.” American Behavioral Scientist 58, 1 (2014): 5.
[2] United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. “Coining a Word and Championing a Cause: The Story of Raphael Lemkin.” Accessed November 2016. https://www.ushmm.org/ wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007050.
[3] United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. “Coining a Word and Championing a Cause: The Story of Raphael Lemkin.”
[4] United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. “Coining a Word and Championing a Cause: The Story of Raphael Lemkin.”
[5] Elisa Helgensen. “Allotment of Justice” How U.S. Policy in Indian Country Perpetuates the Victimization of American Indians.” University of Florida Journal of Law and Public Policy 22 (2011): 446.
Photo Citations:
[Image 1.] Photograph of Raphael Lemkin by Arthur Leipzig. Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York City.
[Image 2.] Photograph of United Nations Assembly in New York, October 1978. Office of Legal Affairs. United Nations.
[Image 3.] Photograph of United States delegation at the United Nations, September 16, 1947. Getty Images.
[Image 4.] Photograph of adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, New York, October 14, 1950. Office of Legal Affairs. United Nations.
[Image 5.] Photo of Pupils at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School by unknown, 1900. Cumberland County Historical Society, Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
[Image 1.] Photograph of Raphael Lemkin by Arthur Leipzig. Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York City.
[Image 2.] Photograph of United Nations Assembly in New York, October 1978. Office of Legal Affairs. United Nations.
[Image 3.] Photograph of United States delegation at the United Nations, September 16, 1947. Getty Images.
[Image 4.] Photograph of adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, New York, October 14, 1950. Office of Legal Affairs. United Nations.
[Image 5.] Photo of Pupils at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School by unknown, 1900. Cumberland County Historical Society, Carlisle, Pennsylvania.