Issues
Mistakes, Lies & Misconceptions
about American Indian people
The B.S. (Bering Strait) Myth
The
Bering Strait Myth is not so much science as it is politics.
Much
objective modern science in the past several decades
has
even suggested that it is highly questionable if there ever
was
a so-called 'land-bridge', or 'ice-bridge' as some have
defined it. Yes, that's right, from an in-depth,
intensive
non-politically affected and unbiased scientific study of earth
history,
countless scientists (mostly non-American) have
concluded
that there most likely never was a 'land-bridge'!
When
I was young, it was '12,000 years ago' when Indians
supposedly
migrated over the 'land-bridge' into this continent.
Over
the years, I have watched this number go up from
12,000
years, to 20,000 years, and now in recent print, I
have
begun to see the number placed at over 30,000 years!
It
seems that scientists just move the number back whenever
something
Indian is discovered that pre-dates their Bering
Strait
migration figure! I can tell you this, science does
not
have the market cornered on fact, nor on truth.......
Most
U.S. History books, and many other books written about
North
American Indigenous people, begin by propagating the
Bering
Strait Myth, telling the silly story of thousands, even
millions,
of early First Nations people migrating from Asia,
crossing
the so-called 'land-bridge' of the Bering Strait. You
may
be surprised to discover that the scientists who support
the
Bering Strait Myth also want us to believe that many kinds
of
animals, plants, and even trees crossed over the Bering
Strait
into this Turtle continent. No kidding! Let me give you
some
more hard facts to help you discard, at long last, the
foolish
Bering Strait Myth once and for all.........................
First....
Many Indigenous Nations have calendars which have
been
counting the years for a very long time. I am aware that
the
calendar of the Mohawk Indian Nation has been counting
the
winters for over 33,120 years. This pre-dates the so-called
'land-bridge'
of the Bering Strait theory, unless, of course, the
Bering
Strait scientists decide to move their interestingly illusive
time
period for "early migration" of Indians back to 40,000 years!
Many
American Indian early histories tell of events that took
place
on this Turtle continent (North America) long before any
so-called
ice age. But, for political reasons, these histories
have
been mostly ignored. You see, the Bering Strait, in truth,
is
a theory that was born of the politics and propaganda of
early
America. In the midst of the American 'Manifest Destiny'
social
climate, the Bering Strait theory provided a 'scientific'
means
to justify the taking of ancestral Indian lands. In short,
the
mythical theory eased the conscience, as it was a way for
land
hungry immigrants to believe that, because Indian people
were
only 'recent inhabitants' of this land , it was not really their
'homeland'.
Therefore Indians were, in their minds, not any more
the
'original people' of this land than they were. This was, and
still
is, the political power of the infamous 'Bering Strait theory'.
Continuing....
The Bering Strait theory would have us believe
that
all of North America was uninhabited by human beings of
any
kind until the supposed 'ice age'. The theory contends that all
the
ancestors of American Indians originated in Siberia. Factual
history
of the ancient people of Siberia in those times indicates
that
these people had plenty to eat, were very settled into their
communities,
and the land they lived on. The Bering Strait
theory
wants us to believe that countless thousands of people
from
these well established communities in Siberia, despite the
fact
that they had everything they needed, just left it all
behind
to head north into a frozen tundra to 'chase and hunt
game'
(which, by the way, also decided for some crazy reason
to
leave their rich marshlands and head for the ice). It is certainly
possible that a handful of ancient Siberian people over the course of
thousands of years may have found their way into the northern parts of
North America. The Inuit cultures of Alaska may well carry an ancient
connection with these people in their bloodlines. But this does not in
any way negate the foolishness of the notion that North America was
entirely devoid of humanity, and then suddenly became populated
entirely by Siberians wandering across a so-called frozen ice bridge.
Here I want to address the 'Human Genome Project' issue. This is a
sensitive issue with many minority groups, and for good reason. The
fact is, people used to believe in God. Now they believe in science.
And DNA, now that stuff is never wrong, right? Not so fast. Though
it may be said that DNA can be a very accurate indicator of certain
human genetics, it cannot - as some mistakenly believe - be used
to distinguish one race from another. Please read the following
quote direct from the U.S. Govt. Human Genome Project studies:
"DNA studies do not indicate that separate classifiable subspecies (races) exist
within modern humans. While different genes for physical traits such as skin and
hair color can be identified between individuals, no consistent
patterns of genes
across the human genome exist to distinguish one race from
another. There also
is no genetic basis for divisions of human ethnicity. People
who have lived in the
same geographic region for many generations may have some
alleles in common,
but no allele will be found in all members of one population
and in no members of
any other. Indeed, it has been proven that there is more
genetic variation within
races than exists between them."
Then there is the 'land bridge' itself.... In order to
create
the
Bering Strait 'bridge', we first need the timeless normal function
of
the earth's wind, evaporation and precipitation patterns to, all of a
sudden,
just change completely. The wind streams need to begin
to
travel south to north, instead of west to east. In order to create
the
Bering Strait 'bridge', we need to drop the water level at least
200
ft. So an enormous amount of water needs to be evaporated -
about
20.82 million cubic kilometers, enough water to cover an
area
of 5 million square miles with a sheet of ice 1.2 miles thick.
To
complete the process, we need this massive evaporation to
take
place in the warmer climates of the south, then the moisture
laden
clouds need to break the natural laws of the planet and
head
to the far north so they can then 'dump' their precipitation as
ice over the northern regions of the earth. To quote from Professor
Vine
Deloria Jr., "We cannot today conceive of a natural process
that
would evaporate this amount of water and transport it safely
from
the temperate zones to ensure that it precipitated as ice in
Canada."
As you can see, when you begin to explore the facts, it
becomes
more and more clear how ridiculous the Bering Strait
theory
really is. The Native people of this Turtle continent did
not
'migrate' to this land.... they have always been here..........
You
may notice that I keep italicizing the word theory. My reason
for
doing this is that I think it is very important to note that this myth
is
still identified today as a theory, not a fact. A theory
is defined as:
"an
offered opinion which may not positively be true."
Yet this theory
is
taught in schools still today as if it were the gospel truth.
It is far
from
the truth, and the time for it to be removed from lessons about
American
Indian people is long overdue.....................................
I
do encourage teachers to use this document in all classrooms
where
it has been decided to teach the truth of Indian culture.
And
again, I strongly suggest you get the book by Vine Deloria Jr.,
Red
Earth, White Lies. May you be blessed on your journey to truth.
(Written by John Two-Hawks)