>feiming wrote:
>
> 是的,那叫“流泪之路”(trail of tears), 一万七千切诺基部落的印第安人在杰克逊法案签署之后,走上饥馑、悲伤和死亡的旅途,很多人在路上死去。
>
>但有部分人在北卡罗来纳州的深山中隐身活下来(他们被抓住有生命危险),我计划的就是到北卡的山里寻找他们的后代。据说跟以赌博或者旅游为业的印第安人不同,他们保留了最原始的东西。
>
由于扯到了印第安人,我干脆另开一线。《Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee》,这就是我提到的书名,废名可能都看过,七十年代出版时曾引起轰动。现从书中择录几句(自己敲键盘啊),争取继续。
• In 1492, “So tractable, so peaceable, are these people, ” Columbus wrote to the King and Queen of Spain, “that I swear to your Majesties there is not in the world a better nation. They love their neighbors as themselves, and their discourse is ever sweet and gentle, and accompanied with a smile; and though it is true that they are naked, yet their manners are decorous and praiseworthy.” All this, of course, was taken as a sign of weakness, if not heathenism, and Columbus being a righteous European was convinced the people should be “made to work, sow and do all that is necessary and to adopt our ways.”
• Long before the English-speaking white men arrived in Virginia in 1607, however, the Powhatans had heard rumors about the civilizing techniques of the Spaniards. The Englishmen used subtler methods. To ensure peace long enough to establish a settlement at Jamestown, they put a golden crown upon the head of Wahunsonacook, dubbed him King Powhatan, and convinced him that he should put his people to work supplying the white settles with food. Wahunsonacook vacilated between loyalty to his rebellious subjects and to the English, but after John Rolfe married his daughter, Pocahontas, he apparently decided that he was more English than Indian. After Wahunsonacook died, the Powhatans rose up in revenge to drive the Englishmen back into the sea from which they had come, but the Indians underestimated the power of English weapons. In a short time the eight thousand Powhatans were reduced to less than a thousand.
• In Massachusetts the story began somewhat differently but ended virtually the same as in Virginia. After the englishmen landed at Plymouth in 1620, most of them probably would have starved to death but for aid received from friendly natives of the New World….for several years these Englishmen and their Indian neighbors lived in peace, but many more shiploads of white people continued coming ashore…... Settlements began crowding in upon each other. In 1625 some of the colonists asked Samoset to give them 12,000 additional acres of Pemaquid land. Samoset knew that land came from the Great Spirit, was as endless as the sky, and belonged to no man. To humor these strangers in their strange ways, however, he went through a ceremony of transferring the land and made his mark on a paper for them. It was the first deed of Indian land to English colonists….by the time Masasoit, great chief of the Wampanoags, died in 1662 his people were being pushed back into the wilderness.
• When the Dutch came to Manhattan Island, Peter Minuit purchased it for sixty guilders in fishhooks and glass beads, but encouraged the Indians to remain and continue exchanging their valuable peltries for such trinkets. In 1641, Willem Kieft levied tribute upon the Mahicans and sent soldiers to Staten Island to punish the Raritans for offense which had been committed not by them but by white settlers. The Raritans resisted arrest, and the soldiers killed four of them. When the Indians retaliated by killing four Dutchmen, Kieft ordered the massacre of two entire villages while the inhabitants slept……for two more centuries these events were repeated again and again as the European colonists moved inland…...
• In 1829, Andrew Jackson, who was called Sharp Knife by the Indians, took office as President of the United States. During his frontier career, Sharp Knife and his soldiers had slain thousands of Cherokees, Chickasaws, Choctaws, Creeks, and Seminoles, but these southern Indians were still numerous and clung stubbornly to their tribal lands, which had been assigned them forever by white men's treaties. In Sharp Knife's first message to his congress, he recommended that all these Indians be removed westward beyond the Mississippi. Although enactment of such law would only add to the long list of broken promises made to the eastern Indians, Sharp Knife was convinced that Indians and whites could not live together in peace and that his plan would make possible a final promise which never would be broken again. On June 30, 1834, Congress passed An Act to Regulate Trade and Intercoursewith the Indian Tribes and to Preserve Peace on the Frontiers.
- Re: Bury My Heart at Wounded Kneeposted on 05/12/2007
支持继续。
我记得《百年孤独〉里也有这样的情节,欧洲殖民者拿着一些小镜子、玻璃球子之类的破东西trinkets去忽悠当地人。 - posted on 05/13/2007
七月说了活到老,学到老。现在孩子上学,我也跟着以前学过的又学一遍,同时还学了许多以前没学过的。今年四年级的Social Study有一段是学习美国的殖民历史。据说中部殖民地(Middle Colonies)相对于北部和南部殖民地跟印第安部落的关系是很幸运的不错。Kieft's War记载上持续了前后只有两年,死亡人数印第安1200人,殖民者250人。美国的早期殖民历史从十五世纪末到最早十三个殖民地的成型经历了250年左右,其中1605年的Jamestown Settlement是欧洲移民永久定居的开始。
WOA介绍的书既然是讲1860-1890在西南部的印第安部落跟美国政府之间的过节,是美国独立后,挺进西部的事了。这场American-India War持续了三十年,结果死亡人数45,000印第安和19,000白人,双方都包括妇女儿童。
历史只是史学家的的记载和观点,多读一些历史书对真正史实了解会有帮助。但许多时候,真正的历史后世人是没法真正知了的。我很渴望去学阿拉伯语、希伯文,可以去读伊斯兰和犹太教留下的历史。
WOA wrote:
feiming wrote:由于扯到了印第安人,我干脆另开一线。《Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee》,这就是我提到的书名,废名可能都看过,七十年代出版时曾引起轰动。现从书中择录几句(自己敲键盘啊),争取继续。
是的,那叫“流泪之路”(trail of tears), 一万七千切诺基部落的印第安人在杰克逊法案签署之后,走上饥馑、悲伤和死亡的旅途,很多人在路上死去。
但有部分人在北卡罗来纳州的深山中隐身活下来(他们被抓住有生命危险),我计划的就是到北卡的山里寻找他们的后代。据说跟以赌博或者旅游为业的印第安人不同,他们保留了最原始的东西。
• When the Dutch came to Manhattan Island, Peter Minuit purchased it for sixty guilders in fishhooks and glass beads, but encouraged the Indians to remain and continue exchanging their valuable peltries for such trinkets. In 1641, Willem Kieft levied tribute upon the Mahicans and sent soldiers to Staten Island to punish the Raritans for offense which had been committed not by them but by white settlers. The Raritans resisted arrest, and the soldiers killed four of them. When the Indians retaliated by killing four Dutchmen, Kieft ordered the massacre of two entire villages while the inhabitants slept……for two more centuries these events were repeated again and again as the European colonists moved inland…...
- posted on 05/13/2007
zt:
In the 18th century, the British fought France and its Indian allies for possession of what was to become Canada during the French and Indian Wars (1754-63). At the time of the Pontiac rebellion in 1763, Sir Jeffrey Amherst, the Commander-in-Chief of the British forces in North America, wrote to Colonel Henry Bouquet: 'Could it not be contrived to send smallpox among these disaffected tribes of Indians? We must use every stratagem in our power to reduce them.' The colonel replied: 'I will try to inoculate the [Native American tribe] with some blankets that may fall in their hands, and take care not to get the disease
myself.' Smallpox decimated the Native Americans, who had never been exposed to the disease before and had no immunity. - posted on 05/13/2007
Both North & South Colonies had a rough relationship with the Indias in the early colonial years.
Colonial America
Middle Colonies: New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware
Early Indian Tribes - Eastern U.S.
Early Indian Tribes - Western U.S.
- Re: Bury My Heart at Wounded Kneeposted on 05/13/2007
其中1605年的Jamestown Settlement是欧洲移民永久定居的开始。
Jamestown Settlement:去年3月经过那里:
- posted on 05/14/2007
• According to the law, no white persons would be permitted to trade in the Indian country without a license, and no white persons would be permitted to settle in Indian country. The military force would be employed in the apprehension of any white person who was found in violation of provisions of the act. However, before the laws could be put into effect, a new wave of white settlers swept westward and formed the territories of Wisconsin and Iowa. This made it necessary for the policy makers in Washington to shift the “permanent Indian Frontier” from the Mississippi River to the 95th meridian.
• The Cherokees’ removal to the West was planned to be in gradual stages, but discovery of Appalachian gold within their territory brought on a clamor for their immediate wholesale exodus. During the autumn of 1838, General Winfield Scott’s soldiers rounded them up and concentrated them into camps…..from the prison camps they were started westward to Indian Territory. On the long winter trek, one of every four Cherokees died from cold, hunger or disease. They called the march their “trail of tears.”
• Scarcely were the refugees settled behind the security of the “permanent Indian Frontier” when soldiers began marching westward through the Indian country. The white men of the United States -- who talked so much of peace but rarely seemed to practice it – where marching to war with white men who had conqureed the Indians of Mexico. When the war with Mexico ended in 1847, the United States took possession of a vast expansion of territory reaching form Texas to California, all of it was west of the “permanent Indian frontier.”
• In 1848 gold was discovered in California. Within a few months, fortune-seeking easterners by the thousands were crossing the Indian Territory…..to justify these breaches of the “permanent Indian frontier”, the policy maker in Washington invented Manifest Destiny, a term which lifted land hunger to a lofty plane. The Europeans and their descendants were ordained by destiny to rule all of America. They were the dominant race and therefore responsible for the Indians – along with their lands, their forests, and their mineral wealth. Only the New Englanders, who had destroyed or driven out all their Indians, spoke against Manifest Destiny.
- Re: Bury My Heart at Wounded Kneeposted on 05/14/2007
Last week marks the 400 anniversary of Jamestown Settlement. Both the Queen and Bush went there in observance. Lots of fanfare and media coverage.
July wrote:
其中1605年的Jamestown Settlement是欧洲移民永久定居的开始。 - posted on 05/14/2007
谢谢woa辛苦打入这些宝贵的资料,下面是摘自另外一篇资料的介绍。
In one of the saddest episodes of our brief history, men, women, and children were taken from their land, herded into makeshift forts with minimal facilities and food, then forced to march a thousand miles(Some made part of the trip by boat in equally horrible conditions). Under the generally indifferent army commanders, human losses for the first groups of Cherokee removed were extremely high. John Ross made an urgent appeal to Scott, requesting that the general let his people lead the tribe west. General Scott agreed. Ross organized the Cherokee into smaller groups and let them move separately through the wilderness so they could forage for food. Although the parties under Ross left in early fall and arrived in Oklahoma during the brutal winter of 1838-39, he significantly reduced the loss of life among his people. About 4000 Cherokee died as a result of the removal. The route they traversed and the journey itself became known as "The Trail of Tears" or, as a direct translation from Cherokee, "The Trail Where They Cried" ("Nunna daul Tsuny").
- posted on 05/14/2007
now, listen what the Indians have to say:
A TESTIMONY TO THE SURVIVAL OF ORIGINAL PEOPLES DISPLACED INTO EXILE, WHO OVERCAME AND FLOURISHED IN A BARREN LAND
"The way, the only way, to stop this evil is for the red man to unite in claiming a common and equal right in the land, as it was first, and should be now, for it was never divided.
We gave them forest-clad mountains and valleys full of game, and in return what did they give our warriors and our women? Rum, trinkets, and a grave.
Where today are the Narrangansett, the Mohican, the Pakanoket, and many other once powerful tribes of our people?
They have vanished before the avarice and the oppression, as snow before a summer sun."
-- Tecumseh
- posted on 05/14/2007
I have not read enough to know the complete picture of this history, I am sure it was full of tears. I just started to ask some questions related to Indians, after getting to know a little bit about the Colonial Americas.
What were the populations in each regions of the Indian tribes? (the maps I found did not show that information.)
How much Indian influence left nowsdays in the regions where blood & tears were heavliy split? Feming is from DC area? The only things I remember from DC related to Indian is Redskin, the football team. In the NYC area, there are quite a bit Indian traces/influence left, street & town names, many summer camps name their the camps using Indian tribes name. School kids know many tribes because they are in the curriculum. There are treaties between state government to business run by Indians, museum, etc. I wonder what of Indians has left in the southwest where the Indian Countries were eliminated during the Westward Expansion.
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(American Military History )Trail of Tears (1838–39)
In the late eighteenth century, the Cherokees led all other tribes in responding to George Washington's policy of assimilation, establishing a written constitution, a bicameral legislature, and a supreme court. White Americans, however, sought their removal in order to use their land “more efficiently,” and President Andrew Jackson asked Congress to remove them west of the Mississippi. The Removal Bill and the failure to enforce the Worcester v. Georgia (1832) decision sealed the Cherokees' doom. A few unauthorized headmen signed away the nation's remaining land at New Echota, in present day Georgia, in December 1835, and the government gave them two years to remove themselves.
By May 1838, only 2,000 of approximately 16,000 Cherokees had moved, and Maj. Gen. Winfield Scott entered Cherokee territory with about 2,200 federal troops and nearly 5,000 state volunteers from Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, and Tennessee. They herded the Cherokees into stockades, and then, in June, forced three groups—approximately 2,745 men, women, and children—to begin the 850﹎ile march from Tennessee to Indian territory. Sickness and death in the stockades led Chief John Ross to request a delay until cooler weather. The remainder were removed, in thirteen detachments, between 23 August and 5 December 1838. Approximately 4,000 died as a result of their ordeal, most not on the trail itself.
Cherokee removal—the Trail of Tears—remains one of the greatest tragedies that the United States has inflicted upon a minority population. Removal and assimilation, however, remained incomplete. Remnants of the tribe comprise the Eastern Bank of Cherokees today, and many preserve traditional culture.
- Re: Bury My Heart at Wounded Kneeposted on 05/14/2007
The Founding Fathers
- posted on 05/14/2007
自从1492年哥伦布“发现新大陆”,欧洲人来到美洲,他们和美洲本地人的关系,经历了500年的风云变幻。现在的人们叙说这500年美洲文明史,我觉得,一定要注意讲清when,where, who and whom。北美和南美不一样,西班牙人和英国人不一样,弗吉尼亚的英国人和新英格兰的清教徒不同,美国立国前和建国后不同,美国的历届总统执政期间也不同。“眼泪之路”是杰克逊总统任内,发生在现在阿巴拉契山脉南部,现在乔治亚,南卡,北卡和田纳西州交界地区,以切诺基部落为主,印第安人和联邦政府及乔治亚政府之间的一个悲惨事件。如果你们想探索这一眼泪之路,那么,似乎要从眼泪之路的起点开始。那是在乔治亚州,现在的I75公路边:
眼泪之路的起点
——访切诺基国首都“新艾乔塔”
记得那是来美国后第一次开车出远门。那时我们到美国不满半年,开的又是700美元买的小号旧车,速度上不去。于是,身边不停地有集装箱“巨无霸”大车,呼啸着超越我们。这车就不免开得紧张。北上三个小时后,在75号州际公路边,看到一个休息区,决定转进去,歇口气缓缓神儿。
那是我们第一次见到这样的公路休息区,设施完备、整洁,室外花草树木疏落有致。转悠一圈,在建筑物的正立面,我们看到一块历史遗址标牌。牌子写着:离这里不远,曾经有过一个小镇。这个小镇是著名的印地安人“切诺基国”首都。切诺基人在那里创造了自己的文字、出版了自己的报纸、建立了自己的政府。美国联邦政府却在1838年,迫使切诺基国的印地安人,迁往800英里之外的西部。这一事件,史称“眼泪之路”。
“新艾乔塔”,就是这个切诺基小镇的名字。去年冬天,终于专程去寻访了它。在75号公路上看到“新艾乔塔”的指示牌,转向一条乡间公路。大约3公里,就可以看到马路左边的入口标志了。现在,这儿是佐治亚州的州立历史纪念公园。要不是有入口处的纪念碑,如果只看到芳草凄凄中散落的木头房子,大概谁也不会想到,这就是当年印地安人“切诺基国”的首都。
一、华盛顿总统的“光荣扩张”思想
230年前,当美国成立的时候,北美洲移民与印地安人大规模冲突的年代已经基本过去。新生的美国,基于北美殖民地时期和印地安人冲突的教训,试图同印第安人建立起一种和平相处的关系。美国是一个地方自治的国家,而在合众国宪法下,印第安事务被置于联邦政府的权力之下,掌握在联邦议会和总统的手里,希望这样能够避免各州自行其事而造成冲突。联邦政府希望能够约束一些野心勃勃并且自私的州政府,尤其是东南部的南卡罗莱纳州,以及切诺基部落所在的佐治亚州。
当时有一个对比突出的现实是,人口很少的印地安人占有了数量巨大的山林土地;而随着大量移民的涌入,美国的土地势必日益紧张。由于印地安人在军事实力上的弱势,他们几乎无力对付移民的蚕食占有,更不要说一个强国的军事攻击了。他们的生存和权利,事实上必须依靠和强者的妥协。
在华盛顿总统时期,处理印第安事务的任务落在华盛顿总统的首任战争部长亨利•诺克斯(Henry Knox)身上。他认为,印第安部落应该是具有主权的、和美国各州一样的自治邦,美利坚合众国应该承认他们自治政府的权力,承认他们的边界。他认为,白人不断进入印第安人的土地定居是引起冲突的首要原因,而持久和平的惟一办法是联邦政府必须约束它的国民。而且,他还认为,联邦政府有道德上的义务来保护印第安文化免于灭绝。否则的话,发展差异如此之大的文化间的接触与冲突,导致文化上的灭绝几乎是难以避免的。
华盛顿和诺克斯,试图尽量善待印地安人。他们希望能够通过贸易条约,平等合法地从印地安人那里购买土地,以扩展美国其他地区的需求。这就是被史家称为“光荣扩张”的概念。
华盛顿总统一上任,诺克斯就开始了他的印第安政策。联邦政府承认,印第安部落是主权自治邦国,美国必须通过条约来和印第安人打交道。这种条约,根据宪法,必须由参议院2/3通过。国会通过了1790年的《印第安贸易和交往法》,要求购买印第安部落土地的事务,必须通过总统任命的印第安事务专员和印第安人谈判达成条约来进行,各州不得自行强取豪夺。
二、“文明化”政策和切诺基的变化
这样,在和平的前提下,诺克斯提出了保存印第安文化的长期问题。华盛顿和诺克斯都认为,印第安人的弱势是文化发展上的,而不是种族上的。所以,印第安人完全有能力、也应该帮助他们变得“文明化”。他们认为,这不仅能使印第安人溶入美国社会,成为合格的公民,也惟有这样,才能扭转他们的弱势,避免文化灭绝的命运。在今天,这一从多元文化的观点看来似乎大有毛病可挑的看法,在当时却算是善意自然的。因此,他们认为印第安人需要学习,而政府的作用就是鼓励这种学习。
华盛顿和诺克斯首先必须面对历史遗留问题。他们看到,已经无法把以前侵入切诺基土地的白人定居者迁走,他们就和切诺基人谈判土地购买,把这些已经侵占的土地买下来,勘定新的边界,然后严格禁止白人进一步入侵。在1791年的《Holston条约》里,诺克斯要求写进了有关切诺基人 “文明化”的条款,联邦政府将帮助他们从狩猎者转变成畜牧者和农耕者。国会在1793年《贸易和交往法》里,增加了向印第安人捐赠农具、家畜和其他“文明”用品的条款,要求向印第安人示范这些用品的使用方法。
这就是华盛顿总统的“文明化计划”,也是“光荣扩张”概念的核心。这个时候,切诺基传统的猎取鹿皮的经济方式也确实已经难以为继,迫切地需要新出路。这也是切诺基人热情地欢迎美国联邦政府的“文明化”计划的原因。
1804年,基督教摩拉维亚教派的传教团在切诺基地区办起了第一所学校。到1817年,传教团纷纷来到,长老会、浸信会、卫理公会等新教教派都派出了传教团。传教团同时也传授农业技术。
这样,切诺基人的生产生活方式和文化构成在起着明显的变化。在联邦政府指导下,以传教团和南方白人农民为样板,切诺基人开始务农,种棉花,在市场上出售他们的产品,积累资本。甚至像白人一样,拥有黑奴。富有的切诺基人在路边开设酒店,外出贩卖,开办商店,在渡口经营摆渡。这些人家的妇女不再下田,而是让黑奴下田干活,或者把土地出租给白人。
经过短短二三十年的“文明化”计划,到了19世纪20年代,新一代的切诺基领袖出现了。他们中很多是白人和切诺基混血儿,有些人的切诺基血统只占1/8。他们都从小在传教团学校里接受教育,能够流利地使用英语。有些人在战争中帮助联邦军队,还有些人曾经到费城或首都华盛顿,和白人共事过。由于他们生活在尚未废奴的佐治亚州,他们中的很多人甚至还有黑人奴隶。
今天的遗址博物馆里,展示着切诺基人Sequoyah发明的一套85个字母组成的切诺基文字。这种表音文字对切诺基人来说,十分易学易懂。直到今天,在切诺基人中,会读会写这种文字,仍然是他们的骄傲。1827年,切诺基人在如今佐治亚北部两条河流交汇的地方选定了切诺基国的首都,这就是新艾乔塔。
站在新艾乔塔的遗址上,印象特别深刻的,就是切诺基文化演变的深度。他们仿照白人的制度,建立了自己的三权分立的政府。他们的大头人掌管行政,另外有议会制定法律。议会仿照联邦议会的结构,也是两院制。如今修复的议会大厦,是一栋两层的木头房子,立法的两院分别在楼上楼下开会。室内虽然简陋到极点,却完全模仿首都华盛顿国会的布置。切诺基国还有最高法院。我们还看到一栋简朴的两层楼房,就是当年切诺基人的最高法院。
他们的议会在1829年曾经立法:凡私自向外人出卖土地者,判处死刑。由此可以看出切诺基对于他们民族生存的紧张不安心情。在整个新艾乔塔存在的13年里,共有246个案件在这里审理,其中大多是民事案件。不过,他们没有监狱制度,判定有罪的刑事犯,即以绞刑、鞭刑或罚款处之,没有监禁的处罚。最使我们感兴趣的,是切诺基人用自己发明的切诺基文和英文,发行了他们自己的双语报纸,取名《切诺基凤凰》。当年的报馆已经修复,里面陈列着他们的铅字和印刷机器。
这是切诺基人“文明化”的高峰。他们完全改变了人们对印第安人部落文化的印象。可是,谁也没有想到,一场大灾难正在等待着他们。
三、切诺基的灾难
切诺基部落等印第安人命运的转折点是1828年,安德鲁•杰克森当选为美国总统。
安德鲁•杰克森是美国建国以后第一位从平民中崛起,并且是军人出身的总统。他得到南方选民支持的原因之一,是因为他一贯主张西迁印第安人,让出土地来。他上台后,就敦促国会讨论通过他的前任就开始考虑的印第安人西迁计划。
这一计划由于佐治亚州的压力而变得急迫起来。这是怎么回事呢?
在英国殖民地时代,佐治亚殖民地包括直达密西西比河的大片土地,就是现在的阿拉巴马州和密西西比州。后来,在“Yazoo土地买卖案”中,佐治亚州政府出了反悔丑闻,最后在1802年不得不把那片土地交给了联邦政府,而联邦政府作为交换条件之一,答应将来替佐治亚州买下他们州内的印第安部落土地,交给佐治亚州,作为补偿。
佐治亚州一直对它境内具有主权的邦中之邦“切诺基国”很不满意,多年来催促联邦政府兑现当年的承诺,而托马斯•杰弗逊以后的两届总统门罗和亚当斯都一再地说,他们已经尽快地在办,但是法律规定,政府购买印第安土地必须通过谈判条约,联邦政府尊重印第安的自治主权,必须尊重印第安拒绝出售的意愿。他们必须等待进一步的贸易谈判。
就在杰克森总统上台,声称决心实现印第安人西迁的时候,又有一件事使“西迁”火上加油——在佐治亚北部切诺基的土地上,发现了黄金。这下,佐治亚的白人再也等不及了。佐治亚州议会决心自己掌握局势,他们通过法律宣布州的民事和刑事司法权覆盖切诺基印第安人的区域,这显然违背了联邦政府和印第安人的条约,也侵犯了联邦政府的权限。但是杰克森总统却不打算插手阻止,他反而说,佐治亚州有主权来统治它的边界之内的所有地区。
1830年5月,在杰克森总统的倡导下,联邦议会通过了《印第安迁移法》。然而,在美国的法治约束下,这个法案并不能强迫印地安人迁徙,而只是拨出用于购买土地的资金,以便和5个印第安部落谈判西迁,让他们定居在密西西比河以西现在俄克拉荷马州的保留地。
印第安人的切诺基国到底是不是拥有独立主权?佐治亚州到底有没有对切诺基的管辖权?切诺基人决定寻求司法保护,他们向联邦最高法院申诉。在“切诺基国对佐治亚”一案的裁决中,首席大法官约翰•马歇尔裁定印第安人不受州法律的管辖,但是他又说,切诺基国不是一个独立的主权国家,而是 “内部附庸国”(domestic dependents)。
尽管如此,切诺基国这样的印第安政治实体到底是不是独立的主权所有者,这个问题依然没有解决。事实上,一直到几十年后的1871 年,联邦政府还是把印第安部落看作是独立的主权国家的,联邦政府和印第安部落的关系是条约关系。从1778年同印第安部落签订第一个条约开始,到1871 年签订最后一个条约,总共370个条约,除了一个例外,都认定印第安人是他们的土地的所有者,只有通过条约才能从他们那儿得到土地,这就像和外国的关系一样。
根据最高法院的裁决,切诺基人拒绝服从佐治亚州的法律,而佐治亚州则拒绝执行联邦最高法院的裁定。1830年底,佐治亚州议会立法,禁止白人未经州政府允许进入印第安土地,这个法律的动机是不让传教士去鼓励印第安人反抗州政府。结果就有十几个传教士被逮捕关押起来,但是多数在保证不再违反佐治亚法律以后就得到了州长的赦免。可是,一个叫SamuelWorcester的传教士宁可坐牢也不愿接受州长的条件。他向联邦法院申诉,要求他的自由。这个案子,“Worcester对佐治亚州”最后打到联邦最高法院,最高法院作出了对佐治亚州政府不利的裁决,指出根据联邦宪法和法律,佐治亚州没有管辖印第安事务的权力,佐治亚州对印第安区域的干预是非法的,必须马上停止。
在得知最高法院的裁决以后,杰克森总统说了一句历史上很有名的话,几乎在所有有关的历史书里都要重复。第一个平民总统杰克森,表达了他对于这个制度本身的轻率,他说:
好啊,约翰•马歇尔作出了他的裁决。现在,让他去执法吧!
不幸的是,最高法院在作出这个裁决后进入休会期。杰克森总统和佐治亚州政府对最高法院的裁决既不公开抗辩,也不实行,事实上让这个裁决胎死腹中。杰克森总统一方面劝佐治亚州政府释放被捕的传教士,一方面让国会里和切诺基人关系较好的议员出面,劝切诺基人接受西迁的交易条件。
1834年2月5日,杰克森总统在白宫会见切诺基国大头人约翰•罗斯。约翰•罗斯是爱尔兰人后裔,只有1/8的切诺基血统。当时的联邦政府对西迁计划一直抱有希望,也因为切诺基的首领并不是一口回绝,而是在价格上有争执。罗斯让杰克森总统的计划屡屡受挫,因为他对联邦政府的西迁计划开出来的价格,是2,000万美元再加以前违背协议的补偿。这个要求使得杰克森总统非常恼火。他指责大头人罗斯等人已经成为切诺基人中的一个自私的精英阶层,他们只想利用这个机会,牺牲切诺基人的整体利益,以寻求更大的权力与财富。
1835年12月29日,杰克森总统的专员绕开罗斯大头人,与愿意妥协的切诺基领袖二十余人,就在这里,切诺基国首都新埃乔塔,签下了西迁的条约。这一条约规定,切诺基国将出让他们在密西西比河东岸的所有土地,以换取联邦政府在西岸提供的同样面积的土地,同时,切诺基国获得500 万美元的补偿费,和30万美元的安家费。
签署条约的切诺基领袖认为:虽然族人反对搬迁,在条约上签字会招致怨恨,但是这样的交换条件对切诺基的生存是有利的。切诺基领袖梅杰•利基在签字后说,“我签署的是自己的死亡证书”。
1839年,主张签署条约的三个主要切诺基领袖,利基父子和《切诺基凤凰》的编辑Elias Boudinot,在切诺基人西迁以后被仇恨的族人暗杀。
切诺基国议会以79比7通过了西迁条约。不久联邦议会就收到14,000个切诺基人的抗议,人们不愿意离开故土。可是,联邦参议院最后还是以31比15通过条约,刚刚达到法定的2/3。1836年杰克森总统在协议上签字,并且给出2年时间,用于切诺基人的撤离和搬家。2年过去了,没有人搬离。1838年5月23日,条约正式生效,联邦政府和佐治亚州的军人和民兵强行执法,强迫切诺基国执行条约西迁。
四、眼泪之路
于是,在佐治亚州民兵和联邦军队的逼迫下,切诺基印第安人被迫踏上了西迁的长征。
这是一条非常悲惨的路途。在长达800英里的路上,总共迁移的18,000名切诺基男女老少中,有4,000名由于旅途艰辛和冬季的疾病,死在路途中。所以,它被叫做“眼泪之路”。
在他们离开以后,新艾乔塔,这个曾经兴盛了13年的小镇迅速衰败。镇上本来就只是一栋栋的木头房子,人去楼空之后,房子很快开始坍塌,又渐渐被四周蔓延过来的树木野草淹没了。
在我们特意寻访新艾乔塔之前,我们找了一些介绍资料,才了解到整个西迁协议的细节。作为一个历史旁观者来考察这段历史,我们发现,从法律上来说,似乎并没有明显的违法“漏洞”,从交易的条件来说,也不可谓不宽厚。在俄克拉荷马,切诺基得到的同样面积的新土地并非不毛之地,500万美元的补偿费用和30万美元的搬迁费,在1835年是一笔天文数字的巨款。然而,联邦政府给的钱是否落到每一个切诺基人手中,是一件应该探究的事情,因为它肯定也是酿成悲剧的一部分原因。这些细节之所以让我们意外,是因为在一般的介绍中,都没有这些细节。今天的美国人,在回顾这段历史的时候,都忽略了这些细节。
因为,对于今天的美国人来说,不论有什么其他原因,眼泪之路的悲剧和4,000名切诺基人的死亡,压倒了一切。一个弱势民族,他们在不情愿的情况下,被强势民族的武装人员逼迫离开家园,这样的图景压倒了一切。人们把这看作是历史上政府策划的一种罪恶。人们一再提到的是,早在 1890年12月11日,当年参与押送西迁的白人联邦军人Jone. G. Burnett,公开指责这一事件,他说这样的计划形同谋杀。他说:“谋杀就是谋杀,必须有人回答这个问题。……必须有人出来解释这4,000个作为切诺基迁徙标志的沉默的坟墓。我希望我能够忘掉,可是,那645个大篷车和那些人遭受的苦难,至今活在我的记忆里。”
今天的美国人认为,没有任何借口可以让这种历史悲剧发生。
随着对历史的反省,佐治亚州政府开始恢复“新艾乔塔”遗址。20世纪50年代,这里只剩下一栋房子还没有灰飞烟灭。遗址的恢复就从这栋房子开始。在西迁之后,为了防止切诺基人重新跑回来,佐治亚州有过一条禁止他们返回原地的法律。一百多年过去,这条法律其实早已不起作用,美国各地有很多这样的过时法律,它们不再立法废除,只是因为早就失效、被遗忘了。为了治疗历史伤痛,佐治亚州议会特地宣布废除这条早已失效的古老法律。1962年5 月12日,“新艾乔塔”遗址正式开放。许多切诺基人的后代,来到这里,凭吊他们祖先的首都。
我们来到这里的时候,正值冬季,寒风凛冽,似乎提醒我们当年切诺基人西迁的艰难。除了那个博物馆,小镇只能说是象征性的,因为小镇的街区已经不存在了,作为城镇的生命已经不存在了,那几栋被恢复的房子只是孤零零地站在冬季灰黄的草原上。我们只能在房子中间,依稀辨别那宽宽的街道,想象当年的小镇盛况。
在寒冬里,我们是那天惟一的参观者。离开小镇遗址时,最后一次回头,看到的是《切诺基凤凰》的报馆,那是我们很喜欢的一栋老房子。它有一种怀着历史感的、朴素的美。整整齐齐垛起来的黄石基脚,托起粗重厚实的、深褐色的木刻楞建筑主体,端头伸出一个简洁的小盖檐,和下面的柱子短栏形成一个精巧的回廊平台,一头是门,通往室内,另一头是没有任何装饰的几级木板踏步,步向青草的地面。深褐墙体上方的三角形山墙封口,却是白色的,上面是当年切诺基报纸的标志——一只展翅欲飞的凤凰。
林达 《一路走来一路读》
- posted on 05/14/2007
to RZP:
the American Indians don't like the name of Redskin and the symbolic picture of the old Indian man with feather on his head, some Indian organizations protest againt the absusive use of the name and symbols.They feel it is offensive, one of my American friends told me
Redskin is somewhat similar to Nigger for them.
there are a brand new India Museum near Capital Hill too, someday, you should bring your kids to take a good look.
to RZP and WOA:
we still have some slots open for the Trail of Tears trip, are you interested? the schedule could be felxible.
How much Indian influence left nowsdays in the regions where blood & tears were heavliy split? Feming is from DC area? The only things I remember from DC related to Indian is Redskin, the football team - posted on 05/14/2007
DL2老师的专文已经把切诺基西迁的事件说得非常清楚了。我读的这本书还有一个副标题: An Indian History of American West, 所以我上面摘抄的文字都只是一个引子,源于该书的第一章。原书由Dee Brown执笔,共分十九章, 近五百页,主要记录了1860-1890年间,各个主要部落如Sioux, Ute, Dakota被系统毁灭的过程。
William McPherson, of Washington Post, wrote -- A unique and disturbing narrative told with force and clarity, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee changed forever our vision of how the West was really won.
- posted on 05/14/2007
回Lucy,有一本书《Guns, Germs, and Steel》, by Jared Diamond, 就专门指出,枪炮加病菌是白人征服新大陆的直接手段。
回rzp, 根据此书,在1860年美国境内印第安人口大约在三十万左右,依照各类估计,在第一批白人到达弗吉尼亚和新英格兰的时候,他们最初的人口应该是六十到九十万之间,具体部落分部不太清楚。你提到的Indian Heritage, 如棒球队的名字,多半只是一个marketing scheme, 就像汽车品牌 Cherokee, Tahoe, Montana企图给人驰骋原野的形象。 我留意过不少地名,应该就是正宗的Indian heritage, 比如 东部的Ohio, Massachusetts, Ontario, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, 西部的就更多了; 大城市的名字中, Detroit, Toronto, Chicago, Milwaukee, Mississauga, Ottawa, Seattle等等, 应该也算。
回feiming,刚刚把儿子的暑假安排搞定,不回国,送他去一所私立Camp。 所以现在的计划是,八月十号到二十号,亦即Camp 结束与新学期开学之间,我要找点事情做。你们的行程就是那个时候?
- Re: Bury My Heart at Wounded Kneeposted on 05/15/2007
在北美印地安人与国际社会或美国加拿大政府的关系中,凡提及人权,土地权等时,往往还要加上 “treaty rights”,指最早6个Iroquois Nations 在1768年与英国签署的条约,承认其“Nations” 的主权。其中的Onondaga 部落有些人至今还有部落颁发的象征性护照。他们从未放弃过为实现有朝一日作为Nations与美国联邦政府平起平坐谈判的梦想和努力。 - Re: Bury My Heart at Wounded Kneeposted on 05/15/2007
回WOA:
我们的时间相对灵活,我什么时候都可以(当然,最好九月之前,因为山里那时候就凉了),另外两位我需要问他们的时间。
很高兴你有可能成行,你给我一个E
steveguo@hotmail.com
- Re: Bury My Heart at Wounded Kneeposted on 05/15/2007
支持废名走这条路,可惜我孩子尚齿幼,走不了。
印弟安人同属于蒙古亚人种,印弟安人的工作也应该有中国人来做。
丁先生的文章很好读。这一线长知识。
我这边的印弟安人是易落魁族。当年写感恩节的诗写不出来,提到席
勒的一首诗,也提到了电影小大人。小大人在中部?
我还有一个植物园当警察的印弟安朋友。
阿帕奇。 - Re: Bury My Heart at Wounded Kneeposted on 05/15/2007
- posted on 05/15/2007
是,对印第安人的土地权一直是承认的,然后就是1.25刀一亩的价买过来成立白人的殖民地。但印第安人的人权一直是个问号,内战结束后,宪法修正案赋予了黑奴的公民权。黑人祖上来美洲不过三百多年的时间,相比之下,世代都生活于此的印第安人直到1924年才获取公民权利。
鹿希 wrote:
在北美印地安人与国际社会或美国加拿大政府的关系中,凡提及人权,土地权等时,往往还要加上 “treaty rights”,指最早6个Iroquois Nations 在1768年与英国签署的条约,承认其“Nations” 的主权。其中的Onodaga 部落有些人至今还有部落颁发的象征性护照。他们从未放弃过为实现有朝一日作为Nations与美国联邦政府平起平坐谈判的梦想和努力。 - Re: Bury My Heart at Wounded Kneeposted on 05/15/2007
废名请查伊妹。 - Re: Bury My Heart at Wounded Kneeposted on 05/15/2007
woa我查了也回了,by the way, have you seen Dances with Wolves? a nice movive. - posted on 05/17/2007
feiming wrote:
to RZP:
there are a brand new India Museum near Capital Hill too, someday, you should bring your kids to take a good look.
Thanks, next time when I go to DC, will definitely pay it a visit.
to RZP and WOA:Where extactly are you going to go for this trip and how long?
we still have some slots open for the Trail of Tears trip, are you interested? the schedule could be felxible.
- Re: Bury My Heart at Wounded Kneeposted on 05/17/2007
Moutain area of North Carolina, it takes 5 days to a week, again, we are flexible. - Re: Bury My Heart at Wounded Kneeposted on 05/18/2007
读过此书,里面的一句话记忆至深: The only good indian is a dead Indian.
此外,最后自己还试着总结了两句: 野蛮人对野蛮人的征服是借用兵器,文明人对野蛮人的征服是借用条款, 文明人对文明人的征服则是借用上帝 :((. - Re: Bury My Heart at Wounded Kneeposted on 05/18/2007
WOA wrote:
读过此书,里面的一句话记忆至深: The only good indian is a dead Indian.
此外,最后自己还试着总结了两句: 野蛮人对野蛮人的征服是借用兵器,文明人对野蛮人的征服是借用条款, 文明人对文明人的征服则是借用上帝 :((.'
依此类推,当年西班牙和葡萄牙人对世界对征服,算是野蛮人对野蛮人的征服?还是……? - posted on 05/18/2007
西班牙采取殖民,更接近后来英荷法的做法,所以是文明人对野蛮人的征服:))葡萄牙主要是建立贸易据点(尤其在非洲),通过征收买路钱发财,似乎比侵略要文明一点。当然他们在巴西做的和西班牙人一样,协同瓜分了南美洲,都属于“文明人”的野蛮行径。
rzp wrote:
WOA wrote:依此类推,当年西班牙和葡萄牙人对世界对征服,算是野蛮人对野蛮人的征服?还是……?
读过此书,里面的一句话记忆至深: The only good indian is a dead Indian.
此外,最后自己还试着总结了两句: 野蛮人对野蛮人的征服是借用兵器,文明人对野蛮人的征服是借用条款, 文明人对文明人的征服则是借用上帝 :((.' - posted on 05/18/2007
这条线受益匪浅,多谢各位。
上次去Nashville,去看了杰克逊的庄园The Hermitage。他的展览里在墙角的地方有一两张小小的document提到他签署的这个印地安迁移法,in a muted and neutral tone。
DC的印地安博物馆刚开不久时我去过,建筑蛮fancy,展览我个人很失望,主要是与我的expectation不符,民俗展为主。不知现在怎样。不记得看到印地安人历史,更没有这条线里讨论的内容。我的理解它是美洲印地安,而不只是美国印地安博物馆,但只有美国的tribes,中南美洲曾高度发达的印地安文明也不提。一点也不象真正要给我们看印地安的历史文化,从主流文化讲更象是做show,从少数民族的角度讲则是compliance。
- Re: Bury My Heart at Wounded Kneeposted on 05/20/2007
印地安博物馆的展品现在逐渐在增多,而且在年度的印地安节日,会有很多印地安人来,那个有特殊的展览。
不过,“纸上得来终觉浅”,对问题的最好了解就是实地田野考察,同印地安人谈话,看到他们的实地生活状况好过看展览。很多文化人类学的一流作品,大都是亲身体验实地考察后写出来的。我想,就是去印地安的保留地,得到的活的信息也多于一般的博物馆。 - Re: Bury My Heart at Wounded Kneeposted on 12/04/2008
feming,
有没有去年你那个Trail of Tears trip的路线图?相片?
还有这样类似的活动吗?
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