Willravel

I was the Tamien (a specific tribe that was lumped together with other tribes by European and American historians that invented the term Costanoan) that inhabited the area now known as San Jose. The story of San Jose is actually quite interesting. The first European settlers in the area were, of course, Franciscan priests. They settled missions, with permission from the natives, and did their proselytization thing. The Spanish government wanted more land in the area, so the priests actually represented the native's interests in debates, and managed to make a strong enough case for the rights of the natives that they basically won. The natives were granted property and ownership rights by the Spanish government, and a few years later they were all made Spanish citizens.

Not all natives were forced from their lands by European settlers. The descendants of the Tamien are still here and never had their land stolen from them. They weren't forced to live in the worst areas of the country, they weren't besieged regularly by one of the most powerful militaries in the world, and they weren't occupied by a foreign military for decades. I'm being totally honest when I say this history was a determining factor in my living here. I don't like the idea of living on stolen land.

But even if it were the case that the Spanish had stolen the land from the natives hundreds of years ago, that's an entirely different circumstance. The Tamien aren't fighting a war to end the occupation of their homes, they're not having the shitty land they were given occupied by a powerful military, and they aren't attacked by said military often They don't have American homes being built farther and farther into what little land they have left. It would be an entirely different situation, you see.

Israel is building illegal settlements and regularly violates the human rights of the Palestinians with deadly attacks.