Although many people deny that certain acts of genocide happen in different places of the world, there are facts enough to prove that it did happen, and it was a major part of some countries histories. Besides the killing of Jewish people in World War II Germany, two other chief acts of genocide, that some may not consider genocide at all, are the death of millions of Native Americans in North America and the neglect of aboriginals in Australia, both by European settlers. Europeans in the United States have simply hidden the facts on exactly how many natives there were before the settlers got there. In their eyes, how could genocide have had occurred if there were not that many natives to begin with. The government in Australia as well as in North America has also simply tried to get rid of the "aboriginal problem" by having people of native background conform to the ways of the Europeans in a variety of ways. .
To understand how genocide works and what makes something an act of genocide, one must first look at what genocide is defined as. At the end of World War II, a polish man by the name of Raphael Lempkin came up with the definition of genocide we use today. In three parts he described it as: 1)the coordinated and planned annihilation of a National, Religious, or racial group 2)by a variety of actions such as attacks on: political and social institutions, culture, languages, national feelings, religion, and economic basis of life 3) aimed at undermining the foundations essential for survival of the group as a group. Looking at this definition, although many say that the European settlers did not necessarily come straight out kill native Americans or aboriginals, they committed acts of genocide in many other ways.
The Native American Issue:.
Looking first at native Americans in North America, since 1513, when Ponce de Leon landed on this continent in search of the mythical fountain of youth and riches beyond his belief, up to 99 percent of the nations indigenous people have been eradicated (Churchill, 129).
