Native Americans and Marxism

[RedGuevara]

Here in North America, mainly the US of A, there is a minor population of natives who have lived in the Americas long before the Spaniards Imperialist came to the land. I myself am a descendant of the Cherokee tribe in North America. I have a huge place in my heart for reparations to my tribalsmen and also an interest in the influence of Marxism in Native American society.

Have there been any Marxists of Native American ancestry? It's something I came across in my daily reflections.

[Hrafn]

I'm not really that good with US history. Elsewhere, it depends on if you define Native American as being from only the US, or include Mexico as well. Been quite a number of indigenous Mexicans and "Mestizos" that have been important to revolutionary ideologies there.

[Flying Purple People Eater]

Eh, I'm sure there've been tons. Many people living in Mesoamerica and South America are at least partly descended from some native americans, and there have been many revolutionary leftist movements in said regions (bar Cuba and Hispaniola, which had their enormous native populations utterly erased from existence under Columbus). "Native American" as a singular group, culturally or ethnically, has never really historically existed, to be quite honest. The amount of countries, and distinct cultural groups ('ethnicity' is somewhat dated terminology) in Mesoamerica on the eve of the conquistador invasion easily rivaled Europe's - scratch that, it put Europe's diversity to absolute shame.

It's interesting to note that a lot of eastern tribal groups in North America echoed a lot of values traditionally found among progressives and the left, albeit on minute and singular issues. These in included egalitarian decision making, a strong anti child abuse sentiment(many British colonists noticed that despite the fact that many of the locals I forget the name of the group but I will edit it in after looking it up they encountered never 'hit their children into shape', most of the adults - who had been brought up this nonviolent way - were more considerate, kind and well-mannered than any in the colonies), and a strong communal sense of help - the entire survival of the first colonies in North America hinged on the supplies and support given to the colonists by unsuspecting native groups. Their style of life was so much better than the British's that many frustrated generals actually wrote pissed off letters to one another about 'townspeople running off to live with the natives'.

As for particular famous marxists? I'm not sure, to be honest. I guess you could put a name to Commandante Marcos.

Hope I was of help.

[RedGuevara]

I shouldn't have just focused on Native Americans because there a huge native influences in Central and South America along with the Inuits in Canada. Yes your statement helped. Just.wondered. Thanks.

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[The Idler]

Both F. Engels and L. H. Morgan wrote about the Iriquois tribe in their classic works
http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/morgan-lewis/ancient-society/ch08.htm
and
http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1884/origin-family/ch03.htm

[Creative Destruction]

you know, i haven't really heard of any American Indian Marxists. i imagine if there were any, they would have been in/are in the American Indian Movement.

[Creative Destruction]

Russell Means had this to say about Marxism as it relates to American Indians:


Revolutionary Marxism, like industrial society in other forms, seeks to “rationalize” all people in relation to industry–maximum industry, maximum production. It is a doctrine that despises the American Indian spiritual tradition, our cultures, our lifeways. Marx himself called us “precapitalists” and “primitive.” Precapitalist simply means that, in his view, we would eventually discover capitalism and become capitalists; we have always been economically retarded in Marxist terms. The only manner in which American Indian people could participate in a Marxist revolution would be to join the industrial system, to become factory workers, or “proletarians,” as Marx called them. The man was very clear about the fact that his revolution could only occur through the struggle of the proletariat, that the existence of a massive industrial system is a precondition of a successful Marxist society.

I think there’s a problem with language here. Christians, capitalists, Marxists. All of them have been revolutionary in their own minds, but none of them really means revolution. What they really mean is continuation. They do what they do in order that European culture can continue to exist and develop according to its needs. Like germs, European culture goes through occasional convulsions, even divisions within itself, in order to go on living and growing. This isn’t a revolution we’re talking about, but a means to continue what already exists. An amoeba is still an amoeba after it reproduces. But maybe comparing European culture to an amoeba isn’t really fair to the amoeba. Maybe cancer cells are a more accurate comparison because European culture has historically destroyed everything around it; and it will eventually destroy itself.

So, in order for us to really join forces with Marxism, we American Indians would have to accept the national sacrifice of our homeland; we would have to commit cultural suicide and become industrialized and Europeanized.

At this point, I’ve got to stop and ask myself whether I’m being too harsh. Marxism has something of a history. Does this history bear out my observations? I look to the process of industrialization in the Soviet Union since 1920 and I see that these Marxists have done what it took the English Industrial Revolution 300 years to do; and the Marxists did it in 60 years. I see that the territory of the USSR used to contain a number of tribal peoples and that they have been crushed to make way for the factories. The Soviets refer to this as “the National Question,” the question of whether the tribal peoples had the right to exist as peoples; and they decided the tribal peoples were an acceptable sacrifice to the industrial needs. I look to China and I see the same thing. I look to Vietnam and I see Marxists imposing an industrial order and rooting out the indigenous tribal mountain people.

IIRC, Means was sort of a situational Libertarian.

http://endofcapitalism.com/2010/10/17/revolution-and-american-indians-marxism-is-as-alien-to-my-culture-as-capitalism/

[Creative Destruction]

aside from all that, though, i'd figure Evo Morales to be somewhat of a Marxist (granted he's not an American Indian in the sense of being from North America.)

[DasFapital]

As for particular famous marxists? I'm not sure, to be honest. I guess you could put a name to Commandante Marcos
I think Marcos is actually a white Hispanic of Spanish descent

[The Garbage Disposal Unit]

To state the obvious, I think the relationship between "American" indigenous peoples and Marxism is complicated on a whole lot of levels. For one, we need to be clear what we're talking about: individual indigenous people who have been Marxists (I know a couple)? The relationship between anti-colonial indigenous struggle and Marxism (it exists!)? The relationship between re/production of/within indigenous communities and settler-capitalism? And, anyway, what do we mean by Marxism (ie at what point do we say that theory ceases to be properly Marxist? Marxian?)?

For me, anti-colonial struggles in Canada have been important for problematizing a lot of Marxism.The Tragedy of Progress (http://fernwoodpublishing.ca/The-Tragedy-of-Progress-David-Bedford-Danielle-Irving-Stephens/), though far from perfect, is an interesting example of an attempt to theorize some of this. I think there is a lot to be gained by looking at critiques of Marxism emerging out of indigenous struggles, which really highlight some of Marx's own liberal idealist baggage.

[Popular Front of Judea]

Lucy Parson was of multi-racial descent. African-American, Mexican-American and Native American.

[Lenina Rosenweg]

The Peruvian Marxist Jose Marietagui believed in a socialism based or influenced by indigenous peoples, in the case of Peru the Incas.

http://www.marxist.com/mariategui-and-the-permanent-revolution-1.htm

There was the American Indian Movement in the 70s which was destroyed by state repression and COINTELPRO. Leonard Peltier is a US political prisoner who was involved with this.

Ward Churchill is a Native activist and fierce critic of US imperialism.

Im not sure of these people are Marxists exactly though.

[RedHal]

if I'm not mistaken, Ward Churchill is also a critic of Marxism

Roxanne Dunbar Ortiz, again not sure if a Marxist, but a radical who is atleast sympathetic to Marxist movements, she gave a talk at an RCP(Canada) meeting

[Creative Destruction]

if I'm not mistaken, Ward Churchill is also a critic of Marxism

there is a lot of (valid) controversy over whether Ward Churchill is actually an Indian.