Genocides

California Genocide 1846–1873

State-sponsored campaigns by militias and settlers from that killed thousands of California Indians and decimated their population.

The Trail of Tears 1830s

The forced relocation of southeastern Native American tribes under the Indian Removal Act, resulting in thousands of deaths from exposure and disease.

Sand Creek Massacre 1864

An attack by U.S. volunteer cavalry on a peaceful village of Cheyenne and Arapaho, killing mostly women, children, and the elderly.

Wounded Knee Massacre 1890

The slaughter of nearly 300 Lakota people by the U.S. Army, marking the end of major armed conflict with indigenous tribes.

Boarding School System late 1800s

A policy of "cultural genocide" that forcibly removed Native children from families to strip them of their language and identity.

Armenian Genocide 1915

The mass killing of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire, non-intervention decided by Wilson

Rwandan Genocide 1994

A massacre where the U.S. famously declined to intervene or use the word "genocide" early on, later providing humanitarian aid to refugees.

Indonesian Mass Killings (1965–66)

A "secret" involvement where declassified documents show the U.S. provided lists of suspected communists to the Indonesian military during a purge that killed up to 1 million people.

Guatemalan Genocide 1980s

the U.S. supported the military regime of Ríos Montt with aid and training while it carried out a "silent holocaust" against indigenous Maya people.

Cambodian Genocide early 1970s

While the U.S. opposed the Khmer Rouge, historians argue U.S. carpet-bombing of the countryside destabilized the country and paved the way for Pol Pot’s rise.

East Timor Genocide 1975→

A period where the U.S. provided diplomatic and military support to Indonesia during its invasion and occupation of East Timor, leading to massive civilian deaths.

Bangladesh Genocide (1971)

The U.S. government under Nixon supported the Pakistani military for strategic reasons while it carried out mass killings in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).