Who Killed the People of California? Should Kaepernick Protest His Uniform?

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has been given much deserved credit for protesting racism by sitting out the Star Spangled Banner, which not only glorifies war (which everyone, including Kaepernick is totally cool with) but also includes racism in an unsung verse and was written by a racist slave owner whose earlier version had included anti-Muslim bigotry. As long as we’re opening our eyes to unpleasant history hiding in plain sight, it’s worth asking why the 49ers is not a team name that everyone associates with genocide. Why isn’t Kaepernick protesting his uniform?

Of course, protesting one injustice is worthy of infinite thanks, and I don’t actually expect anyone who speaks out on one thing to also protest everything else. But I’ve just read a terrific new book that I suspect unearths a history that most Californians are largely unaware of. The book is An American Genocide: The United States and the California Indian Catastrophe, 1846-1873, by Benjamin Madley, from Yale University Press. I doubt I’ve seen a better researched and documented book on anything ever. While the book maintains an engaging chronological account, and while there is plenty of uncertainty in the records used, the 198 pages of appendices listing particular killings, and the 73 pages of notes back up an overwhelming case of genocide by the UN’s legal definition.

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