California genocide

California genocide
"Protecting The Settlers", illustration by J. R. Browne in The Indians Of California, 1864
LocationCalifornia
Date1846–1873
TargetIndigenous Californians
Attack type
Genocide, ethnic cleansing, human hunting, slavery, rape, Indian removal
DeathsNo more than 2,000 (per Anderson)[1]
4,300 (per Cook)[2]
4,500 (per California Secretary of State)[3]
9,492–16,094 (per Madley)[4]
100,000+ (per Castillo/California Native American Heritage Commission)[5]
Injured
10,000–27,000[6][7] taken as forced laborers by white settlers; 4,000–7,000 of them children[7]
PerpetratorsUnited States Army, California State Militia, White American settlers

During the California genocide (1846-1873), government agents, private militias, and ordinary people killed thousands of indigenous people in California. These were systematic killings: people organized them and meant to commit them.

Historians do not agree on how many indigenous people were killed in the genocide. Some say it was between 9,492 and 16,094 people.[8] Others say that over 100,000 were killed.[9]

White settlers also kidnapped between 10,000[10] and 27,000[11] natives for forced labor. Hundreds to thousands of natives starved or were worked to death.[8]

State authorities encouraged, tolerated, and committed these acts.[8][9][12] In 2019 the Governor of California admitted that the state's government had participated in the California genocide, and he apologized.[12]

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  7. 7.0 7.1 Cite error: The named reference slavecount was used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page).
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 Adhikari, Mohamed (2022). Destroying to replace: settler genocides of indigenous peoples. Critical themes in world history. Indianapolis, Indiana: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc. ISBN 978-1-64792-054-8.
  9. 9.0 9.1 Holliday, J. S. (1999). Rush for riches: gold fever and the making of California. [Oakland, Calif.] : Berkeley: Oakland Museum of California ; University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-21401-9.
  10. Pritzker, Barry (2000). A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples. Oxford University Press. p. 114.
  11. "NorCal Native Writes Of California Genocide | Jefferson Public Radio". The Jefferson Exchange. Archived from the original on 2019-11-14. Retrieved 2024-09-29.
  12. 12.0 12.1 Favre, Lauren (July 19, 2019). "Newsom Apologizes to Native Americans for California's 'Dark History'". U.S. News and World Report. Retrieved September 29, 2024.

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