Genocide is the systemic destruction of people in society based on the nationality religion, ethnicity or race (United Nations General Assembly, 1948). Some scholars have argued that this is the ultimate violation of human rights. Numerous cases in human history paint the picture of genocide.

A good example is when Hitler massacred the Jews during the Holocaust and had been referred by many as the biggest genocide in the history of the world. Moving closer home many cases in the United States also merit to be termed as genocide. There were cases of genocide of the Native Americans by the colonizers and later on by the government. One such example is the Indian removal policy.

The Indian Removal Act was signed into law by President Andrew Jackson in May 1980. In this policy, the president was granted the authority to issue unsettled lands west of Mississippi in exchange for Indian lands within the existing borders. The problem with this policy is that there were already Natives that were living in this region. Some of the natives were okay with the policy, but some of them did not agree to the removal from their homes. During the winter of 1938/39, the government forced the Cherokees west of the United States. During the process, about 4,000 natives died while other was forced to match out of their lands. Till today, nothing or very little has been done to deal with the atrocities that the natives experienced in the country.

In looking at the Indian removal, there are number issues that clearly show that this was a genocide case. According to the United Nations General Assembly, (1948) Genocide acts would include instances of the killing of members of the groups, causing some severe harm both mentally and bodily to the members and also forcibly transferring children and groups of people to other regions without there consent. In looking at the Indian removal policies, there were cases of people being forcibly moved from their homes. During the moving of these people over 4000 thousand people lost their lives. Besides, there were those that were physically harmed and even maimed. It is then evident that this was a clear case of the massacre of the natives. The government did not have the right to move these people since these were their native homes. However, in many of the discourse on genocide, many people would often overlook these cases in the United States(United Nations General Assembly, 1948). The argument has always revolved in other cases around the world, without really paying attention to the atrocities that the natives faced both the hands of the colonizers and also in the hands of the government.

There are many cases that people have always tried to overlook the traumatic events and the impact the Indian removal policy had on these people. While there is clear evidence that the people were not only harmed physically and mentally but also lost lives, policymakers have never wanted to look at these issues as genocide. However, in looking at this issue based on the definition of article 2 of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, clear examples of genocide can be seen. There is thus the need to look at ways that these people can be compensated because they experienced issues that no human should ever encounter. The events that followed the removal act are a violation of the rights of human beings.

Works Cited

United Nations General Assembly. “Convention on Genocide.” The Human Rights Web Home Page.N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Jan. 2019.

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