USA's 250th through Native American eyes - 13th July 2026

The celebrations to mark the United States of America's 250th anniversary are giving Native Americans pause for thought. The US Declaration of Independence, signed by European colonists in 1776, stated "all men are created equal".

While the USA's founding document also claims "certain unalienable rights" including "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness," it doesn't extend these to Native Nations. The same document uses the term "merciless Indian Savages" to describe Indigenous Peoples.

The false narrative ignores the support that the first settlers received from Native Americans. Historians are suggesting that the USA uses its 250th anniversary to set the record straight.

Following the arrival of Europeans, Native Nations have faced centuries being forced from their ancestral homelands. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 authorised the forced relocation of Native Nations in the Southeast to territories west of the Mississippi river.

The resulting migrations, undertaken by 60,000 Indigenous people and their Black slaves, became known as the Trail of Tears. Exposure to cold weather, disease and starvation caused the deaths of 4,000 to 15,000 people.

Further to this, boarding schools set up by the US government separated Indigenous children from their families. They were assigned English names and prohibited from speaking their own languages or practising their cultures.

Instead, the schools enforced European haircuts and clothing, and a Christian education which attempted to eradicate Indigenous identities. Today, Native Americans still face problems expressing their religion and claiming their rights.

Tracy Canard Goodluck, executive director of the Center for Native American Youth at the Aspen Institute, believes that the 250th anniversary "shouldn't be just about White History." She told the Washington Post that "it should be about all history - the good, the bad and the ugly."

Canard Goodluck points out that language like "merciless Indian Savages" made Native Nations less than human. "We need to change that narrative. We're still here. We're doctors, lawyers, teachers and political leaders."