In South Florida we have the Bahamian people who have for centuries been crossing over from the nearby Bahama islands, the most populous of which, are north of Miami. ( It has been said that most African Americans are, in part, descended from Native Americans. American Indians had never been exposed to the diseases Europeans brought with them, and consequently lacked the immunities Europeans had built up over countless generations of exposure. Further, Indian religious leaders and Elders complained bitterly when young people in their towns began to rely on European trade goods guns, knives, iron kettles instead of making their own tools in the traditional way. The proselytizing of Christian missionaries was especially reviled. However, few really celebrate this aspect of their heritage. Fifty years ago, in North Carolina especially, there were large groups of people who saw themselves as Black Indians. Franklin Frazier discusses them in depth in The Negro Family in the United States. The French brought some of their own presents, and bestowed upon Indian communities the traditional European hospitality, including dysentery, smallpox, cholera, Christianity, horses and pigs, rats and cockroaches.
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