The Native American slave trade in the United States dates back to 15th century when Christopher Columbus encountered Native Americans for the first time. About two centuries later the 1848 California Gold Rush would prove to significantly contribute to the enslavement of Native Americans. Despite the strong narrative of disease as causes for the extinction of Native peoples, the buying, selling, and killing of Native communities played a large role in the in the decimation of the Native American population, leading to the small number of tribes/Native American communities that we see today. This unit will focus on the impact Christopher Columbus and the Gold Rush had on various Native American Population

This unit will also use the Native American slave trade as an example of how traumatic events like enslavement create physical, mental, and emotional trauma, which contribute to what is known as Generational Trauma. By analyzing documents that underscore the atrocities that Native peoples suffered during time of enslavement, students will be able to trace the origins of generational trauma within Native American communities today.]]> Traditionally, Native enslavement is often excluded or ‘sugar-coated’ in textbooks; this unit, in conjunction of others, could potentially serve as a way to more accurately depict interactions that took place in creating European colonies and settlements.
This unit will discuss the onset and continuation of Native American enslavement once European settlers reached North America. Not only will lessons address societal changes, but they will also address the forms in which Native American enslavement were manifested. Though there were laws established by the Spanish government to prevent their enslavement, this slavery often took more veiled forms as an encomienda, mission, or reserve. However, this unit will also detail the ways in which Native peoples were able to create freedom for themselves through revolts and uprisings.]]>