"Red, White, and Black"

Red, White, and Black: The Peoples of Early North America
-by Gary B. Nash
1999
"Either the Christian's God was not so good and wise as he was represented, or he never meddles with the marriages of his people; since not one in a hundred of them had anything to do either with happiness or commons sense. Hence as soon as ever you meet, you long to part; and not having this relief in your power, by way of revenge, double each other's misery. Whereas in our [Indian marriages] which have no other ceremony than mutual affection, and last no longer than they bestow mutual pleasures, we make it our business to oblige the heart we are afraid to lose; and being at liberty to separate, seldom or never feel the inclination. But if any should be found so wretched among us, as to hate where the only commerce ought to be love, we instantly dissolve the band. God made us all in pairs; each has his mate somewhere or other; and it is our duty to find each other out, since no creature was ever intended to be miserable." 
-related to Thomas Paine by an "American savage", circa 1775

A fascinating read. There are a few aspects of that quote i'd be happy to cross-examine, but overall it seems rather sensible. And the story of the genocide of this continent's natives is not nearly so black and white (or red and white) as you might think. They were kicking whiteys' ass, and playing one colonial power against another, more successfully and for longer than you may realize. Quick...how many can name the largest slave revolt in the history of this country? If you said the American Revolution, give yourself a blueberry! Although a small number of slaves and some freed blacks fought on the colonist's side, those were but a tiny fraction of those who fought for the british. No wonder, as the british promised full emancipation. I won't give away what happened when the war ended, but it's a fascinating tale. Our history books sometimes mention those few "pro-american" revolutionary blacks, but never the uncounted multitude (so many the british had trouble supplying them) who fought for their own freedom. Why hasn't that been made into a movie? Why is denzel wasting his time on some violent piece of post-apocalyptic tripe, instead of getting that story made?