Chapter Text
The Heritage glances up from her book, but Pangea will not meet her eyes. The little girl looks deeply uncomfortable.
“Of course.”
“But… only after the White people showed up and made them fight… right?”
The Heritage sighs and shuts her book. “No,” she says gently. “Native Americans were fighting with each other long before the Europeans arrived.”
Now Pangea looks shocked. “Why?”
“The same reasons people have always fought. Somebody had something that someone else wanted, someone did something someone else didn’t like, someone wanted revenge for something… Any number of reasons that someone thought were important enough to kill over.”
“I thought… I thought they all got along.”
The Heritage almost laughs. “The Crow Creek Massacre involved almost five hundred people - men, women, and children - being killed and mutilated. I think it’s pretty safe to say they weren’t getting along with somebody. And even once Europeans did show up, old grudges were a big factor in fights. The Tlaxcala and the Cempoala helped Cortéz fight and defeat the Aztec people because they wanted independence. The Beaver Wars happened because the Iroquois wanted to dominate the fur trade, and you can argue that White people drove them to that, but you can also argue the Iroquois were greedy and used the weapons they were given to commit genocide.”
Pangea fidgets nervously. “I thought it was just… you know, White people doing bad stuff.”
“Hardly. Some Native Americans owned slaves, did you know that? Sometimes they captured people from other tribes, and sometimes they bought African people. Some tribes in Africa actually sold other Africans into slavery. Aboriginal people in Australia had frequent, small-scale battles over women and territory. In China, Shi Min encouraged genocide again the Jie people-”
“That’s horrible!”
“I know. Look at it this way - White people aren’t better than anyone else, but you’re not worse either. People are just people.” The Heritage pauses, studying Pangea’s face. “You okay?”
The little girl’s eyes are shiny with tears. “Why can’t people be nice to each other?”
The Heritage shrugs. “A lot of people are selfish. White, Black, Brown, Native - it doesn’t matter. That sucks, but it’s true. White people happened to do it over a wider area than most, but if any other group had had the chance first, they’d most likely have done the same. Some people from every group want things their way, and they don’t care who they hurt. It’s like that today, and it was like that a thousand years ago. The best we can do is try to learn from history and from our mistakes and be better now.”
“I’m trying to be better,” Pangea mumbles. “I really, really am.”
“That’s all anyone should ask of you. And I think you’re doing pretty well!”