Introduction: The Misconception of Assimilation
A common belief is that racism in America is driven by cultural and economic differences. The idea suggests that if people of different racial backgrounds integrate into American capitalism and culture, racism will fade. However, history tells a different story—one where skin color, not just culture or economics, is the defining factor of racial oppression. The experience of Native Americans, particularly the “Five Civilized Tribes,” illustrates that no matter how much they assimilated economically and culturally, their skin color made them targets for ethnic cleansing.

1. The Story of the Five Civilized Tribes
The Seminole, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek (Muskogee), and Cherokee were known as the “Five Civilized Tribes.” They believed that by adopting the economic and cultural practices of white settlers—building plantations, owning slaves, and engaging in capitalism—they could coexist peacefully. They integrated themselves into the American way of life, hoping this would lead to acceptance and safety.

2. Full Assimilation: Economic and Cultural Integration
These tribes didn’t just adopt American capitalism; they excelled at it. They owned plantations, worked the land, and even used enslaved African labor. The Cherokee went further by creating their own written language, establishing a newspaper, and structuring their legal systems to match that of the U.S. They became fully integrated, but their success only attracted more hostility from the American government and white settlers.

3. The Reality of Skin Color: The Case of the Cherokee
Despite their deep integration into American society, the Cherokee, like the other tribes, faced brutal dispossession. President Andrew Jackson’s administration, eager to seize the land and wealth the Cherokee had built, ignored the tribe’s cultural and economic assimilation. Even when the Cherokee took their case to the U.S. Supreme Court in Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831), where the Court ruled in their favor, the ruling was ignored. Jackson’s government forced them onto the Trail of Tears, leading to the deaths of thousands.

4. The Treaty of New Echota: Forced Removal
The Treaty of New Echota was signed under duress, essentially at gunpoint, as Cherokee leaders were threatened with execution if they refused to sign away their lands. Even though the Cherokee had embraced American capitalism and culture, their skin color and heritage made them expendable in the eyes of the U.S. government. Their economic success didn’t protect them; in fact, it made them a greater target for white greed.

5. The Core of American Racism: Skin Color Over Assimilation
The story of the Five Civilized Tribes dismantles the idea that racism is driven solely by cultural or economic differences. Despite adopting American economic and cultural practices, Native Americans were still viewed as inferior and disposable because of their skin color. This history reflects a larger truth: American racism is deeply rooted in white supremacy and the belief in the racial inferiority of non-white people, regardless of how much they assimilate.

Conclusion: A Warning Against the Myth of Assimilation
The history of the Five Civilized Tribes serves as a cautionary tale. While cultural and economic assimilation may provide temporary relief from discrimination, the deeper issue lies in the racist structures that prioritize white supremacy. The experiences of Native Americans reveal that skin color has historically been, and continues to be, the primary driver of American racism. True equality can only be achieved by addressing these underlying racial biases, not by simply assimilating into the dominant culture.