Let’s take a moment to strip away the glossed-over versions of history we were taught in school and dig into the truth—the real truth about how the natives lived long before colonizers came stomping across sacred land with flags in hand and blood on their boots.
This isn’t just history—it’s a legacy. A heartbeat. And it deserves to be heard.
🌿 How Did the Natives Live Before Colonization?
Before European ships scraped the shores of the Americas, native people were thriving in their own worlds. Let that sink in—thriving, not surviving.
They weren’t "savages." They weren’t lost or waiting to be “discovered.” They were builders of civilizations, keepers of the Earth, stewards of wisdom passed down through generations. Their societies had structure, justice, economy, and deep spiritual beliefs rooted in nature and balance.
Tribes like the Cherokee, Lakota, Taino, Arawak, and many others had governments, trade networks, agriculture, languages, medicine, and art. They honored the land—not owned it. They respected the balance between giving and receiving. They taught their children through stories, not screens. And their connection to the Earth wasn’t poetic—it was life itself.
They didn’t need “saving.” They needed respect.
⚔️ How Did Colonization Take Place?
Let’s stop calling it "exploration" when it was actually invasion.
Colonization wasn’t some brave journey into the unknown. It was a violent takeover masked in flags, holy crosses, and royal decrees. The moment Europeans stepped onto native lands, they didn't ask, they took—land, lives, and legacy.
They brought weapons, disease, and a superiority complex. They looked at complex native societies and called them primitive. Why? Because they didn’t fit into the colonizer's blueprint of control and wealth.
It wasn’t just conquest—it was erasure.
🩸 What Was Done to Them?
Let’s speak it plain: Genocide. Enslavement. Rape. Forced conversions. Massacres. Broken treaties. Stolen children. Stolen land. Stolen futures.
Natives were forced onto reservations—scraps of the land they once roamed freely. They were stripped of their languages, cultures, and even their own names. Children were taken to boarding schools where they were beaten for speaking their mother tongue. They were taught to be ashamed of who they were.
And still... they survived.
Still, their blood runs through this land. Still, their songs echo in the mountains and rivers. Still, they rise.
🔥 Why This Truth Matters Today
Because history that isn’t acknowledged is history that repeats itself.
Because you can’t love the land and ignore the people who bled for it.
Because every time we stay silent about what really happened, we let the lie live a little longer.
To honor the native people is to honor truth, to demand justice, and to never forget what was lost—and what still remains.
This isn’t about guilt. This is about responsibility.
We can’t change the past, but we can choose to face it—with open eyes, honest hearts, and a willingness to speak up.
So, the next time someone calls it “discovery,” remember this: The land was never lost. It was taken.
And now, it's time to return to truth.
Let’s keep this conversation going. Share this blog. Talk about it. Teach your children. Speak up when history is watered down. And most of all—listen.
Truth has a pulse. And it’s beating louder than ever.
© 2025 Santiago D.C. Maria. All Rights Reserved
✊🏽✍🏽 Written with conviction, for those who still carry the truth in their bones.
#TruthBeforeColonization
#NativeVoicesMatter
#IndigenousHistory
#UnlearnAndRelearn
#ColonizationWasInvasion
#HonorTheFirstNations
#LandBackMovement
#DecolonizeNow
#HistoryWithoutLies
#WeAreStillHere
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