People have always wondered where the first Americans came from, and the.
Choctow have a creation story that has been passed down from generation to generation, .
it's about a Raven that was so lonely. One day he paced back and forth on the sandy .
beach, feeling quite dejected. Except for the trees, the moon, the sun, water, and a few .
animals, the world was empty. His heart wished for more. Suddenly a large clam pushed .
through the sand making an eerie bubbling sound. Raven watched and listened intently .
as the clam slowly opened up. He was surprised and happy to see tiny people emerging .
from the shell. All were talking, smiling, and shaking the sand off of their tiny bodies. .
Men, women, and children spread around the island. Raven was pleased and proud with .
his work. He sang a beautiful song of great joy and greeting. He had brought the .
first people to the world (Thomas, et al. 30).
Studies done by archeologists, biologists, geneticists, linguistics, and physicists .
offer compelling evidence that Native Americans descended from people that emigrated .
from Asia. Remains of a butchered mastodon found near Tallahassee, Florida, dated .
around 10,200 BC, gives an approximate time of when the Asian migrants hunted in the .
West.
Even though everything was tried, from annihilation to assimilation, the Native .
Americans have survived, and have made significant contributions to the modern world.
With the arrival of the Europeans, trouble began in which groundless fears, .
2.
prejudices, and misunderstandings have led to tragedy. The main problem was a belief .
that the non-Indian cultures, values, religions, life styles, abilities, and achievements were .
more advanced and of a higher order than those of the Indians. And so it followed that .
the Indians were deemed to be inferior, subhuman, barbaric, and dangerous to civilized .
mankind.
More importantly, to justify the white invaders belief in their own superiority, led .