Palestinians have faced displacement, particularly in 1948 and 1967, when hundreds of thousands were forced to leave their homes. Picture: Ayanda Ndamane / Independent Newspapers
The comparison between the historical treatment of Native Americans (as “Red Indians”) in the US and the current Israeli occupation of Palestine reveals striking similarities.
European colonisation of North America led to the displacement, dispossession and systematic violence against Native American populations over several centuries. This was part of a broader pattern of colonial expansion, involving treaties, forced removals, (Trail of Tears) wars and widespread cultural erasure.
Indigenous peoples were subjected to systemic marginalisation, cultural assimilation, and land theft by settlers and the US government.
The Israeli occupation in Palestine has roots in the early 20th century, after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, British Mandate rule, the rise of Jewish nationalism through Zionism and, most crucially, the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948.
This resulted in the displacement of many Palestinians, an event known as the Nakba. Since then, the conflict has persisted, focusing on issues of land, statehood, security and rights, with the situation worsened by wars, ongoing occupation and violence.
In the case of Native Americans, European settlers acted as colonial powers, gradually taking over indigenous land and pushing Native populations into reservations, often through treaties that were later broken.
This was part of a larger pattern of European imperialism. Indigenous peoples were systematically displaced through violence, broken treaties, and government policies aimed at assimilating or removing them from valuable lands, leading to severe cultural, economic and social devastation.
Palestinians have faced displacement, particularly in 1948 and 1967, when hundreds of thousands were forced to leave their homes. The current situation includes Israeli settlements in the West Bank, the blockade of Gaza and military occupation, all of which have led to widespread Palestinian suffering and marginalisation.
Today, Native Americans in the US live as sovereign tribal nations but often face economic challenges, historical trauma and struggles for land rights, and recognition of past wrongs.
Native Americans and Palestinians have experienced displacement and loss of land to more powerful forces. Both groups have faced marginalisation, cultural erosion, and resistance against external powers. The historical trauma of Native Americans and the ongoing trauma of Palestinians are significant, as both groups have suffered large-scale displacement, violence and loss of cultural and political autonomy.
According to an Ottoman archive document from 1890, the US had settled migrants on the lands it took from Native Americans. In other words, it occupied someone else’s land and placed some white prisoners there, never to return.
Another document, from 1927, mentions that publications were requested to be sent to “civilise” the people whose lands, referred to as belonging to the “redskins”, had been taken away.
Israel had not been established then, but the moral structure of the US resembled the terrorist state that now drenches the Middle East in blood.
It is not difficult to understand why Madiba said: “If there is a country that has committed unspeakable atrocities in the world, it is the United States of America.”
* Halim Gençoğlu is a historian with PhD from UCT and is a post-doctoral fellow at Wits University.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.
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