At one time, this country was the home of those labeled Native Americans.

Slowly, then rather viciously, this country became home to invading Europeans, many of them criminals, murderers, thieves, debtors and rapists — the rejects of their various countries and communities. They made Native Americans, and all their various tribes, the enemy.

Native Americans sought to defend themselves from these invading immigrants forcefully taking over the land, killing off the animals that provided food and other necessities and polluting the waters. But they ended up being killed, many of their families exterminated by the invading Europeans and their military or confined to land these invaders didn’t want.

These invaders took over the land, declared it theirs and made Native Americans non-entities. Various tribes had to plead to be recognized by a federal government in order to receive some of the services made available to and by the invading immigrants. 

If oil or other valuable commodities or minerals were discovered on the “useless” land on which Native Americans were forced to live, often the Native Americans would be moved, often without receiving any of the financial benefits from the oil or mineral extraction.

For anyone who is not a Native American to criticize today’s immigrants as taking away from “America as we know it” should not be allowed, especially from some folks like Laura Ingraham of the FOX News Channel.

Native Americans are the only ones who can plausibly, accurately and truthfully make such statements. Anyone else who is not a Native American should be laughed out of the room for uttering such nonsense and ideas.

RODNEY B. THOMAS

Richmond