It’s not surprising that James Ault denies the existence of Indigenous people (“There are no Indigenous peoples,” Our Readers’ Views, Jan. 13). It is one of the tactics of genocide deniers; if a people didn’t exist, there’s no genocide even if they were murdered out of existence.
The same week I read his letter I’d listened to the Let’s Talk Palestine podcast on genocide. The participants pointed out that genocide involves the erasures of people, their culture, their history and their identities. By their quoted researcher’s standards, Native Americans, Armenians, Jews, Poles, Rohingyas, Bosniaks, and yes, Palestinians have been victims of genocide. I’d include Ukrainians too.
Regarding Native Americans, Mr. Ault should read David Graeber and David Wengrow’s book “The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity.” He might be surprised at learning how uncivilized the ancestors of those descended from Europe were compared to those they colonized; so much so that some of our ideas of government, such as the separation of powers, came from them. It’s also ironic that he calls subjugation, land theft, erasure of culture and genocide “settlement.” It’s an erasure of genocide.
And it continues. Whose side are you on?
