US Founders Demonized Indigenous People While Coopting Their Political Practices

By George Yancy, Truthout

When spending your next $20 bill, take a good look at President Andrew Jackson’s face on the cover. Remember the Indian Removal Act of 1830, which was authorized by President Andrew Jackson, and the resulting brutal Trail of Tears experienced by Indigenous peoples — and the structural and ideological terror that results from efforts to preserve white “purity,” white “civilization” and white “superiority.” Keep in mind that Jackson was an enslaver of Black people and engaged in genocidal practices against Indigenous peoples, which isn’t to reject the genocidal implications of Black enslavement.