Indigenous insights on USA's 250th anniversary - 13th July 2026

While the 250th anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence may be cause for celebration, it's a more complex milestone to ponder for Native Americans.

In 1776, European colonists declared that "all men are created equal" and possess "certain unalienable rights" including "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness." Yet the same document denied Indigenous Peoples these rights, referring to them as "merciless Indian Savages".

This perspective omits the role Native Americans played helping the first settlers, and Indigenous historians believe it's helped perpetuate stereotypes of Indigenous peoples. They've proposed that the United States capitalises on its 250th anniversary to critically re-evaluate the historical record.

Across the centuries, Native Nations have endured forced evictions from their ancestral homelands. In 1830, the Native Nations in the country's Southeast were forcibly displaced to territories west of the Mississippi river by the Indian Removal Act.

Over 60,000 Indigenous people and their Black slaves endured perilous, 2,000-kilometre journeys, collectively referred to as the Trail of Tears. They were subjected to extreme exposure, disease and starvation, which caused between 4,000 and 15,000 deaths. Even today, Indigenous Peoples' sacred sites continue to be sold for mining and to drill for oil.

From the late 1800s onwards, forced migration of Native Nations was followed by attempts to eradicate Indigenous culture. The US government demanded Indigenous children attend Indian boarding schools, separating them from their families and tribes, where use of Indigenous languages and culture was forbidden.

The children were forced to adopt English names chosen for them, along with European haircuts and dress, and followed a mandatory Christian education. Echoes of these experiences continue today as Native Americans struggle to exercise their religious and civil rights.

Tracy Canard Goodluck, a member of the Oneida Nation, is executive director of the Aspen Institute's Center for Native American Youth. She told the Washington Post, "it shouldn't be just about White History. It should be about all history - the good, the bad and the ugly."

Every 4th July, Canard Goodluck wears a t-shirt emblazoned with "merciless Indian Savages" to point out that "words served a purpose back then to dehumanize Native people in this country." She continues, "We need to change that narrative. We're still here. We're doctors, lawyers, teachers and political leaders."