Ask the indigenous about being a nation of immigrants

Whenever I read about the United States being a nation of immigrants, I think of the people whose ancestors were already in this hemisphere for perhaps 20,000 years or more before the first Europeans “discovered” it. I know very little about my own ancestry, especially before my grandparents, but from their names I assume that my ancestors mostly immigrated from various nations in northern Europe, making me “white” in the eyes of those who classify groups of people by their “race.” I sympathize with more recent immigrants who are being blamed for many of our current problems, although I don’t think that means we should not have any immigration policy and allow anyone into our country that wants to come here.

I wish that Americans whose ancestors are from other continents would remember the many diverse people who populated this hemisphere for thousands of years before there ever was a United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, etc. The descendants of many of this hemisphere’s original inhabitants are still here and often continue to suffer from the consequences that earlier immigrants, including my ancestors, inflicted upon them. Many, if not most, of the descendants of those original inhabitants are still not being treated fairly by current governments and other powerful interests. Yes, we are mostly a nation of immigrants, but that has not always benefited everyone. My “white” race is in no way superior to any other and has never been entitled to harm or exploit indigenous people or any other people that we think are different from ourselves.