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The Humanity of Native Americans in the Face of Tragedy [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-09-10
In her masterful autobiography, The Expedition of the Donner Party and Its Tragic Fate, Eliza Donner vividly described the poignant encounter between a desperate group of the Donner Party and a Native American village:
Hope had almost died in the hearts of even the bravest. As the day waned on January 10, five days after departing Donner Lake, they spotted a Native American village near the edge of a thicket. The suffering travelers staggered forward, their misery apparent. The warriors gazed in stolid silence; the squaws wrung their hands and wept aloud. Larger children hid, while the little ones clung to their mothers in fear. Once the initial shock wore off, the women began feeding the unfortunates. Some brought unground acorns, while others mixed meal into cakes and cooked them on heated stones, offering sustenance as quickly as they could prepare it. All except Mr. Eddy were strengthened by the food. Unfortunately, it sickened him, forcing him to resort to boiling green grass in water.
The next morning, the village chief ran to neighboring rancherias en route to the settlement, spreading news of the pale faces’ distress and rallying aid. When the Forlorn Hope group prepared to move, the chief led the way, flanked by Native men who supported and steadied the unsteady travelers. At each rancheria, new leaders and fresh supporters took over, ensuring the group’s progress toward safety.
This account exemplifies the generosity and humanity of the Native Americans. Despite their lack of familiarity with these unfortunate strangers, and regardless of their skin color or customs, they extended compassion and aid without hesitation.
The Contrast of Kindness and Cruelty
Tragically, this act of humanity stands in stark contrast to what would follow in the ensuing years. The very people who benefited from Native American kindness would soon wage a war of extermination against them, labeling these compassionate individuals as "savages." The State of California even rewarded those who participated in these brutal campaigns.
The genocide of Native Americans in California and elsewhere in the United States, an atrocity often overlooked or minimized in mainstream historical narratives, was as cruel and calculated as other infamous genocides, such as those in Turkey and Germany. However, the American version of genocide was uniquely characterized by government encouragement and support for individual actions rather than direct military campaigns. For the most part, any direct military intervention was primarily intended to assist and protect non-Native Americans expropriating Native American land for their own economic advantage. This decentralized approach allowed private citizens to perpetrate unimaginable horrors for personal gain, with tacit approval from the state.
Forgotten Stories and Lessons Unlearned
Today, countless books documenting the horrors of this genocide gather dust on library shelves, unread and unacknowledged. The cruelty of this early form of American expansion—akin to "Lebensraum"—remains a dark and often ignored chapter in history. Unlike the more centralized genocides carried out by governments elsewhere, the American model relied on a chilling combination of individual initiative and state support, making it all the more insidious.
This narrative urges us to confront the uncomfortable truths of history, honoring the humanity shown by those like the Native Americans in Eliza Donner’s story and reckoning with the legacy of those who betrayed such kindness with violence and oppression.
The expedition of the Donner party and its tragic fate, by Eliza P. Donner Houghton
http://www.loc.gov/resource/calbk.187
Black son of the Miwok by Jack Dorrows University of New Mexico Press 2000 — tells the story of how the last six Miwok people living in Murphy’s California in the 1920s died mostly horribly and at the hands of the citizens of that town.
Eye of the Bear by Naida West, Bridgehouse Books.
River of Ret Gold by Naida West, Bridgehouse Books
Rest for the Wicked by Naida West, Bridgehouse Books
California Gold Trilogy by Naida West, Bridgehouse Books
A Time of Little Choice, The Disintegration of Tribal Culture in the San Francisco Bay Area 1769-1810 by Randall Milliken, Ballena Press 1995.
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