Although it is at much lower levels than the past (at least, in the U.S.), it still does exist. Racism by whites towards Native Americans is something that has been going on since day one, when Columbus set foot on North America. The Natives were viewed as savages and inferior to the whites. Because of this, the whites did not want the Natives to live with them, so they had one option: extermination. This racism and extermination continued over the continent into the Pacific Northwest, where racism still exists. One example of the Native American extermination is the Marias River incident. Although this massacre is not widely known, it is a prime example of racism. On January 23, 1870, the U.S. Army wrongfully killed almost 200 Piegans:.

             This event was almost certainly a pre-emptive act of military terrorism [Horsley's emphasis] against the troublesome Blackfoot Confederacy of Blood, Piegan, and Blackfoot tribes. General Phil Sheridan, the architect of the Wa*censored*a Massacre, did indeed specify the camp of Mountain Chief as the [Major Eugene] Baker target - but Baker's local superiors urged him to use his own discretion and "punish" the Piegans who might [Horsley's emphasis] be guilty in the past or future (Gibson 3).

             Horsley is trying to show that the United States Army killed Native Americans because they might be guilty; guilty of being different. Major Baker was urged to attack and punish these Indians. It was almost as though it didn't matter what the Army was fighting to gain, as long as there were Indians to kill. This is a perfect example of the racism and hatred that Americans have put on Native Americans throughout the history of the U.S.

             The problem with racism is that it will never go away. There are still problems today in society, just not the same extent that it has been in the past. There's that phrase again: the past. The past repeats itself because we choose to do nothing about it.